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Dominic Toninato

Minor Transactions: 11/06/19

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Last night was another step in the right direction for three struggling Western Conference teams, as the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild were all victorious in their respective matchups. The same can not be said about the Los Angeles Kings, who are now 5-10 and have trade rumors swirling all about. Just two games are on the schedule tonight, and as teams prepare for that action we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • With Alexandre Texier nearing a return, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Markus Hannikainen to the minor leagues. Hannikainen still hasn’t played in a single game for the Blue Jackets this season after suiting up 44 times in 2018-19. The 26-year old is just injury depth at this point.
  • Dominic Toninato has been recalled by the Florida Panthers, after they sent Riley Stillman back yesterday. The Panthers acquired Toninato from the Colorado Avalanche just a few months ago, and this will be his first call-up with the organization.
  • German Rubtsov’s time with the NHL club is over for now, as the Philadelphia Flyers have sent him back to the AHL and recalled Mikhail Vorobyev. In three games Rubtsov was held scoreless and still looks to have some development to do in the minor leagues. The 21-year old has played just 21 AHL games so far after injury robbed him of much of the 2018-19 season.
  • Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy are on their way back to the Chicago Wolves, the latest in a series of transactions for the pair of Vegas Golden Knights prospects. The team is using off days to bank some cap space, but could recall one or both down the road.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have sent Ashton Sautner back down, a good sign after he was forced from his only game with an injury. The 25-year old defenseman won’t be a full-time player for the Canucks this season, but is valuable injury depth.
  • Josh Mahura has been assigned to the Anaheim Ducks, another likely cap-saving move that while the team waits for their next game. The Ducks don’t play again until Sunday.
  • Zachary Senyshyn and Cameron Hughes have both been sent back down by the Boston Bruins, who don’t play again until Friday evening. At least one of the young forwards will likely be recalled at that time, but for now the team will save some cap space on the off days.
  • Jayson Megna has been returned to the AHL by the Colorado Avalanche, with T.J. Tynan taking his place on the NHL roster. The 27-year old Tynan has been on fire at the minor league level, scoring 12 points in his first ten games for the Colorado Eagles.
  • The Washington Capitals have returned Liam O’Brien to the minor leagues, giving him a chance at some playing time after sitting on the sidelines the last few days. O’Brien is an important player for the Hershey Bears, but hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since 2017-18.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks announced that defenseman Dennis Gilbert has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. The 23-year-old has split his season between the NHL and AHL, most recently getting some starts in Chicago in place of Brent Seabrook. 

Florida Panthers Sign Three Players

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Both Anthony Greco and Dominic Toninato decided not to file for arbitration earlier this month, but they won’t have to wait through a long contract negotiation. The pair of minor league forwards have both agreed to one-year, two-way contracts with the Panthers. According to PuckPedia, Jayce Hawryluk has also signed, accepting his two-way qualifying offer worth $874K at the NHL level.

Greco, 25, made his NHL debut last season for the Panthers while also putting up a career season in the minor leagues. The undrafted forward scored 30 goals and 59 points for the Springfield Thunderbirds, leading them in both categories. That kind of offensive production is more than anyone saw coming with Greco, who never cracked 23 points in a single season at Ohio State University where he played for four years.

Toninato is a bit of a different story. Originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, he also went the NCAA route for four years. After signing with the Colorado Avalanche however, he quickly made it to the NHL and suited up 37 times in 2017-18. Incredibly, Toninato was held to just two assists in those 37 NHL games and has just three points total over 39 contests. After a trade brought him to Florida it seems unlikely that he’ll get a real shot with the Panthers before proving himself in their minor league system.

That may not be the cast for Hawryluk, who will be battling for a roster spot right from the beginning of the season. The 23-year old played 42 games for the Panthers last season and recorded 12 points, establishing himself as a legitimate NHL option. Whenever he was in the minor leagues he dominated the competition, and looks about as ready as he’ll ever be for the big stage. The 32nd overall pick from 2014, Hawryluk has even more competition for the last few spots on the roster thanks to free agent additions like Brett Connolly and Noal Acciari pushing everyone down a peg.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Florida Panthers have quite a few restricted free agents to acquire although no young players worthy of significant deals, while the team has few important unrestricted free agents to worry about, which gives the franchise the opportunity to focus completely on the free-agent market that opens on Monday.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D MacKenzie Weegar – The Florida Panthers have brought the 25-year-old blueliner slowly and he’s starting to provide some value as bottom-tier defenseman. Weegar almost doubled his offensive output, putting up four goals and 15 points last season, while seeing his ATOI increase by more than two minutes to 16:58. Injuries kept him out of 18 games, but Weegar is slowly developing into a reliable player the team needs as defense remains one of the team’s biggest weakpoints. His minus-three rating isn’t too bad, but could be improved upon.

F Denis Malgin – The team has gotten some output out of the 22-year-old Malgin, but the forward has failed to play more than 51 games in any of his three seasons so far with the Panthers as he has dealt with numerous injuries. Regardless, Malgin has showed some potential to put up some points, although he is never likely to be more than a third-line option at best for the Panthers. He tallied seven goals and 16 points, a little less than the 11 goals and 22 points he put up in 2017-18. While he’s shown to be a serviceable depth option for Florida, he likely will never be a 20-goal scorer.

G – Sam Montembeault – With a need for a starting goaltender and the fact that Florida traded James Reimer earlier this morning, the team doesn’t even have a legitimate backup on the roster. The 22-year-old Montembeault did get some NHL playing time this season and might be ready for a permanent back-up role. He played 11 games for the Panthers last season, posting a 3.04 GAA and a .894 save percentage. His numbers weren’t much better in Springfield, suggesting that he probably needs more seasoning, but the youngster is likely the heir apparent to the backup sometime in the future.

Other RFAs: F Anthony Greco, F Jayce Hawryluk, F Dryden Hunt, F Juho Lammikko, F Maxim Mamin, D Ian McCoshen, D Thomas Schemitsch, F Dominic Toninato

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Riley Sheahan – A former first-round pick with the ability to play center, the 27-year-old has now found himself with three teams already and it could be a fourth. Sheahan was acquired in February as part of the deal that saw Florida trade off Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad, but didn’t do much to impress with the Panthers. He scored just two goals in 33 games for Florida and finished the season with nine goals and 19 points. However, the main reason that the Panthers took on Sheahan was that his contract was expiring, which the team wanted in hopes of bringing in a big-game free-agent.

Other UFAs: F Troy Brouwer, D Ludwig Bystrom, D Michael Downing, F Henrik Haapala, F Jamie McGinn, D Julian Melchiori, F Vincent Proplan,

Projected Cap Space: The Panthers currently sit a little more than $25.23MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, which should give them plenty of maneuvering room to sign multiple big-name free agents. The team is well-known for being interested in signing both of Columbus’ top free agents in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky and, if the team can convince both to sign, they have ample cap room to lock up both to long-term deals. If they can only sign one, that still leaves them with Plan B options as well, although their top priority is to add a goaltender, their most desperate need.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Panthers Acquire Dominic Toninato From Avalanche

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The Panthers and Avalanche have made a swap of minor league prospects.  Florida has acquired center Dominic Toninato from Colorado in exchange for defenseman Jacob MacDonald.  Both teams have announced the trade.

Toninato spent most of 2018-19 with Colorado’s AHL affiliate where he posted 29 points (14-15-29) in 57 games.  Although he only got into a pair of games with the Avs, the 25-year-old played in 37 NHL contests back in 2017-18, his rookie season.  Originally a fifth-round pick of Toronto in 2012, Toninato signed with Colorado back in 2017 as a free agent after not getting signed by the Maple Leafs.  He will be a restricted free agent on July 1st with salary arbitration rights.

MacDonald, meanwhile, is a late bloomer.  He spent three full seasons playing on minor league contracts before a 55-point breakout year with New Jersey’s AHL team in 2017-18 got him on the NHL radar.  That earned him a two-year contract with Florida last July and he was once again productive in the minors, recording 43 points (14-29-43) in 72 contests while picking up a goal in a pair of games with Florida.  He’s under contract with a $750K cap hit for next season and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins Recall “Black Aces”

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Recalls and reassignment are few and far between these days, with just eight teams still alive in the NHL and AHL alike. A flurry of activity occurred today though, as two surviving Stanley Cup Playoffs contenders have called up a number of players from their AHL affiliates, who both ducked out of the Calder Cup Playoffs with first-round losses. According to the AHL, both the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins have recalled their “black aces”, the group of minor league players brought up largely to practice with the NHL team during the postseason once their own season is over. With the salary cap not a factor in the postseason, most big league teams often choose to bring up a large number of AHLers for the experience, as well as emergency depth, and the Avs and Bruins have done just that.

Little more than a paper move for the Avalanche, the team has called up five players from their neighboring affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The group includes goaltender Pavel Francouz, defenseman Anton Lindholm, and forwards A.J. Greer, Dominic Toninato, and Logan O’Connor. Each of these players has logged time with the Avs this season, with Greer leading the way with 15 games while the others all played in at least two. The skaters played minimal roles and combined for just three points, but Francouz, a veteran import from the KHL, was clutch in two relief appearances with a .943 save percentage and 1.96 GAA. Yet, it is Francouz who is least likely to see any playoff action as the third-string keeper. With lineup regular Matt Calvert battling an injury, one of the forwards could in fact make an appearance in this postseason. Greer and O’Connor, who finished second and third respectively in Eagles scoring, would be the top candidates.

Boston’s recruits are not coming from far away either, as they have called up a whopping 13 players from the nearby Providence Bruins. Forwards Anton Blidh – who signed an extension earlier today – Paul Carey, Peter Cehlarik, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Trent Frederic, Zach Senyshyn, Lee Stempniak, Jack Studnicka, and Jordan Szwarz and defensemen Jeremy Lauzon, Urho Vaakanainen, and Jakub Zboril have joined the club. Amazingly, all but Fitzgerald, Studnicka, and Szwarz have suited up for Boston this season and Szwarz played in a dozen NHL games last year. The least experienced name is actually the most exciting, as this will be Studnicka’s first non-training camp experience with the Bruins. The 20-year-old, who most consider the Bruins’ top prospect, is fresh off a 73-point regular season and point-per-game postseason in the OHL and his NHL debut is highly anticipated. However, it is very unlikely to come in these playoffs. In fact, the Bruins are deep at every position as is and it would be a surprise to see any of their “black aces” take the ice outside of extenuating circumstances. On the other had, the team could use some energy and offense in their current series, so who knows.

Minor Transactions: 01/24/19

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The league is has gone dark as they prepare for the All-Star festivities to start tomorrow, and with it teams will be sending their eligible players down to the minor leagues. This is done to save a few days of cap space and give young players a chance to continue their development. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • Along with Jordan Kyrou and Jordan Nolan who were sent down yesterday, the St. Louis Blues have assigned Mackenzie MacEachern and Sammy Blais to the minor leagues over the break. The Blues don’t play again until February 2nd, meaning the set of forwards can get some extra ice time in for the San Antonio Rampage.
  • Colin Blackwell has been sent down by the Nashville Predators, returning the 25-year old center to the Milwaukee Admirals after three games in the NHL. Blackwell is still waiting to register his first NHL point, and could get that chance later on in the year.
  • After bringing up Ryan Graves for last night’s game, the Colorado Avalanche have returned him to the minor leagues. Graves will be accompanied by both Dominic Toninato and Sheldon Dries, two other waiver-exempt players that can spend the break in the AHL.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have returned Alex Nedeljkovic to the minors where he’ll resume starting for the Charlotte Checkers, and Haydn Fleury has also been sent down to get some more ice time. Fleury has been a regular scratch in the NHL this season as the odd man out among the Carolina defense corps.
  • Trevor Moore played again for the Toronto Maple Leafs last night but is now on his way back down to the AHL to participate in that league’s All-Star game. The speedy forward has made quite the impact this season with 19 goals in 32 AHL contests.
  • Joel Eriksson Ek spent some time in the minor leagues earlier this year to get his game right, and now he’ll get another chance to hone his skills in the AHL. Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin have both been sent down for the time being, though one or both could see a recall immediately after the break.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have flipped backup goaltenders, sending Maxime Lagace back down and recalled Oscar Dansk. Dansk won’t be starting anytime soon for the Golden Knights, but will receive a bigger paycheck while the team lets Lagace get back on the ice.

Minor Transactions: 01/20/19

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Ten teams are on bye this week, but the NHL schedule isn’t slowing down and neither will the transactions as we head toward the All-Star break and the trade deadline. Sunday’s slate of five games is spread throughout the day, with the Capitals and Blackhawks squaring off early this afternoon, two more later matinees, and then two night games. Highlighting the lineup is a battle between two teams active on the trade market and desperate for a postseason berth this season, the Hurricanes and Oilers. With both teams needing a win in the worst way to stay relevant in the playoff race, expect an intense match-up between two teams that normally have little ill will between them. Keep up with all of today’s moves – and there have already been a lot – right here:

  • The Dallas Stars, one of the teams taking the week off, have sent several players to the minors for that stretch, including defenseman Connor Carrick, who is reassigned on a conditioning loan. Young forwards Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov will also head to the AHL’s Texas Stars for at least the coming week. The trio have all seen limited play time in the NHL this season, so rather than let them sit for a week while healthy, Dallas has opted to give them the opportunity to get some work in with the AHL squad.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced that they have recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Fleury, who played in 67 games with the ’Canes last season, has only been with the team for ten contests this year. The 22-year-old was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, but thus far has been unable to show elite offensive ability at the top level. Carolina will continue to give him chances when they can, but behind a deep and talented group of defensemen, Fleury will have to do more with his opportunities moving forward.
  • Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post suggests that the New York Rangers, also on bye, will send top pro defensive prospect Ryan Lindgren down to the AHL during the break rather than make him sit for a week. Lindgren’s recent recall received great fanfare from the Rangers’ faithful and this bye week demotion back to the Hartford Wolf Pack won’t change the team’s plans, which likely are to keep Lindgren in the starting lineup for as much of the remainder of this lost season as possible. Cyrgalis adds that another Rangers rookie, Brett Howden, will not be sent down, as the team hopes some time off will help him break his recent slump.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have reassigned recently-acquired forward Joseph Blandisi to the AHL, the team announced. It wasn’t clear where Blandisi fit in the Pittsburgh lineup after the trade that sent Derek Grant back to the Anaheim Ducks, so the team will let him serve as minor league depth for the time being. Blandisi has found success as a scoring forward in the AHL and will be an asset to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but he has been unable to translate that ability to the NHL in stints with the Ducks and New Jersey Devils and will need to adopt a more physical, energy line role to stick at the top level.
  • The “bye week” claims another, as the resting Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Kevin Stenlund down to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Stenlund made his NHL debut last week and did not look out of place in a bottom-six role, but nevertheless is better suited to get some additional work this week in the minors rather than sitting. Don’t be surprised to see the big 22-year-old center back up in Columbus after the break.
  • CapFriendly reports that defenseman Anton Lindholm has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche. Lindholm has been up and down several times for the Avs this season, but has only skated in two games with the team after suiting up for 48 games last year. The small, but solid stay-at-home defender has shown some more offensive ability with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles but until he can provide a little more production at the NHL level, he’s likely nothing more than a replacement-level depth option. The Avalanche also announced that forward Dominic Toninato has been recalled as well.
  • CapFriendly also adds that the Winnipeg Jets have sent little-used defenseman Cameron Schilling down to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the bye week. The veteran has only skated in four games with the Jets in his first season with Winnipeg, but did record his first NHL point back in November. Schilling is a ways down the depth chart for the Jets, but has the experience to step in if need be down the stretch. To keep him sharp, they’ll send him back to the AHL, where he’s played 27 games this season. With no game until Jan. 28, the Jets also have assigned defenseman Sami Niku to Manitoba, according to CapFriendly. The 22-year-old has fared quite well filling in on Winnipeg’s blueline.
  • Peter Cehlarik has played well alongside David Krejci and Jake Debrusk since his recall three games ago, but with the Boston Bruins hitting their bye week, they have announced that Cehlarik is headed back down to the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Cehlarik has been perhaps the closest thing to a solution on the Bruins’ second line all season and is sure to be back up after the break. In the meantime, The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver suspects that Cehlarik could replace the injured Ryan Fitzgerald at the AHL All-Star Game.
  • The San Jose Sharks announced they have placed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic on injured reserve today and have recalled defenseman Jacob Middleton. The team has been without Vlasic for eight games already with an undisclosed injury, so he can return to the lineup whenever he is ready. Vlasic’s number’s and play have dropped a little this season, but the team still misses his blueline skills as the Sharks have now lost two straight. The 23-year-old Middleton has appeared in one game for the Sharks this season. He has two goals and 12 points with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL.

Minor Transactions: 10/03/18

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The NHL season will get underway in just a few hours, and teams have already started tinkering with their rosters. Throughout the year we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league and elsewhere in the hockey world.

  • The Colorado Avalanche are sending Dominic Toninato to the AHL for the time being, signaling that one of their injured players may be close to returning to the lineup.  Mike Chambers of the Denver Post also tweets that the team is likely to carry fewer than 23 players at times during this season, given the new geographical proximity of their primary affiliate. The Colorado Eagles joined the AHL this season, giving the Avalanche a team that they can quickly get players up from on short notice.
  • Nate Schmidt won’t be with the Vegas Golden Knights for the next 20 games after his PED suspension, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the ice with a professional team. Schmidt—hilariously, given his former team in Washington—will practice with the Vienna Capitals in Austria while he waits out his NHL ban.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated Ryan Murray from injured reserve in time for their opener, while moving Scott Harrington to the IR with his concussion. Murray has a lot to prove this season after signing a one-year deal in the offseason, and should get increased opportunity with Seth Jones starting the year on the shelf.
  • It didn’t take long for the Detroit Red Wings to bring some players back up, as Ansar Khan of MLive reports that Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Luke Witkowski have all been recalled. The trio were sent down to finalize the roster this week, but with Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall being moved to injured reserve, reinforcements were needed.
  • Emerson Etem had his NHL tryout ended this week, but has signed another one with the Ontario Reign. Etem is trying to catch on somewhere and show that he still has some of that immense potential he showed early in his career. The 26-year old has played so few games over the last few years that it’s hard to believe he’ll be back in the NHL at some point, but he’s still a name to keep an eye on.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Colorado Avalanche

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Colorado Avalanche

Current Cap Hit: $67,318,095 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Alexander Kerfoot (one year, $925K)
F Dominic Toninato (one year, $925K)
F J.T. Compher (one year, $925K)
F Mikko Rantanen (one year, $894K)
F Tyson Jost (two years, $886K)
F Vladislav Kamenev (one year, $833K)
F A.J. Greer (one year, $741K)
D Samuel Girard (two years, $728K)
D Anton Lindholm (one year, $718K)

Potential Bonuses:

Rantanen: $850K
Jost: $850K
Kerfoot: $213K
Girard: $183K
Lindholm: $183K
Compher: $100K
Greer: $75K

Total: $2.47MM

For a successful team that made it into the playoffs and gave the Nashville Predators a run for their money, it’s a bit surprising that the team got quite a bit of contributions from entry-level players, with Rantanen probably at the top of the list of contributors. After a 20-goal season in his first full season on the team, the 21-year-old took that next step and benefitted from playing with Nathan MacKinnon on the first line, breaking out with a 29-goal, 84-point season. With the top line expected to return this season, don’t be surprised if the winger puts up another big season right before he becomes a restricted free agent and could get rewarded with a long-term contract.

The team expects similar success from Kerfoot, who arrived in Colorado as a four-year college free agent from Harvard University. The 24-year-old posted a 19-goal, 43-point rookie campaign last year as a member of the team’s third line and now is expected to move up a notch and battle Jost for the second-line center position, with the loser moving to right wing on the same line. Jost, scored 12 goals last season in his rookie season, but the 2016 first-rounder is expected to break out if he can earn a spot on that second line as well. Both are likely to have promising seasons.

The 23-year-old Compher is another young talent who will be given every chance to fight for a spot as the left wing on the second line. In his first full season, Compher posted 13 goals and could be in line for a bigger season next year. The team also has high expectations for Girard on the defense. One of the key pieces of the Matt Duchene trade, the then 19-year-old defenseman was able to stay in the NHL, averaging 17:39 ATOI once he was traded from Nashville and posted 20 points in his rookie season and should be able to improve on that as he will likely assume a top-four role already next season.

One interesting prospect is Kamenev, who also came over with Girard in the Duchene deal, but the 22-year-old center was injured one game into his Colorado career, and he missed most of the season. Now healthy, Kamenev has a good chance to earn a role on the team’s third line in hopes of putting up good numbers next year. Toninato may also be an interesting addition as he has a chance to pick up the fourth-line center spot after signing last season out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Semyon Varlamov ($5.9MM, UFA)
F Colin Wilson ($3.94MM, UFA)
D Patrik Nemeth ($2.5MM, UFA)
D Nikita Zadorov ($2.15MM, RFA)
F Sven Andrighetto ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Gabriel Bourque ($950K, UFA)

With cap room at a premium, general manager Joe Sakic had the opportunity to use that to his advantage as he was able to acquire the bloated contract of Brooks Orpik from Washington to acquire their future goaltender in Grubauer, who has posted two straight seasons of .923 save percentages or higher. The Capitals’ backup goalie looks ready for a chance to take a starting role and while he might split time with Varlamov early on, the team’s hopes is that Grubauer steals the job away from him. Varlamov and his $5.9MM contract is set to expire next year, meaning the Avalanche are likely going to allow him to walk.

The team has a pair of defensive players in Zadorov and Nemeth, who will be fighting for contract extensions next season. Zadorov has been a key defensive player for the team, posting 278 hits as well as blocking 106 shots. He even posted a career high in both goals (7) and points (20). Nemeth came over to Colorado from Dallas and immediately jumped into the rotation and led the team with a plus-27 rating and was crucial to the team’s penalty kill and likely will take a third-pairing role once again.

Wilson could be pushed down to the team’s third line or provide a veteran presence on the second line depending if one of the youngsters fails to impress in camp. However, the 28-year-old is coming off of one of his worst-ever seasons as he posted just six goals and 18 points last season. Andrighetto will be another youngster who should get some time in the team’s bottom-six.

Two Years Remaining

D Tyson Barrie ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Carl Soderberg ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Matthew Nieto ($1.98MM, UFA)
D Mark Barberio ($1.45MM, UFA)
D Mark Alt ($725K, UFA)

The 27-year-old took that next step for the Avalanche, putting up career numbers in both goals and points as he posted 14 goals and 57 points last season as he’s proven to be a No. 1 defenseman that the franchise really needs. The team must find a way to lock him up to an extension in July next year.

Soderberg doesn’t post big offensive numbers, but is viewed as a critical shutdown defender, who the Avalanche put up against other teams’ top players. The 32-year-old did put up 16 goals and 37 points last year, but his main responsibility is to center the team’s third line. Nieto will likely end up there with him, who also produced at a career-high as he posted a 15-goal season last year.

Three Years Remaining

F Gabriel Landeskog ($5.57MM, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($4.25MM, UFA)
G Philipp Grubauer ($3.33MM, UFA)
F Matt Calvert ($2.85MM, UFA)

Landeskog has become an integral part of the Avalance’s top line as he posted numbers that are comparable to his best seasons of his career as he posted 25 goals and 62 points. The 25-year-old has added excellent balance to that top line since the team moved on from Duchene. The second-overall pick in 2011 might be able to start meeting the high expectations of his draft status if the chemistry between Rantanen and MacKinnon continue.

Cole, Grubauer and Calvert were all recent additions this offseason with Grubauer having already been discussed. However, the team hopes to get some solid value out of both Cole and Calvert at their respective positions. Cole should provide veteran depth to developing defense and if he plays well enough could beat out Girard or Zadorov for a top-four spot, but is more likely to settle into a third-line pairing. Calvert should be able to provide third or fourth-line depth since his lack of offensive skills would likely prevent him from earning a second-line role.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3MM through 2022-23)
D Erik Johnson ($6MM through 2022-23)

The amazing thing is that Colorado only has two players locked up long-term and considering that MacKinnon was one of the top vote-getters for the Hart Trophy last season after the 23-year-old posted 39 goals and 97 points, the team has a steal of a deal with him. With the rising salaries of star players, the fact that Colorado has MacKinnon locked up for five more years at just $6.3MM only makes their situation better and should allow the team to add even more talent over the next couple of years.

The team also has five more years of Johnson at $6MM, which isn’t as good. While Johnson is a solid defensive defenseman, the 30-year-old is injury-prone and hasn’t been able to play 80 games just once in his 10 NHL seasons. He managed nine goals and 25 points in 62 games last season and still remains the team’s second-best defenseman.

Buyouts

D Brooks Orpik ($2.5MM in 2018-19; $1.5MM in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: MacKinnon
Worst Value: Johnson

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The Avalanche is a young team that just a year ago many considered to be one of the worst in the NHL. Thanks to the superb play of many of their young players, the team should be in good hands. Colorado has plenty of cap space to handle long-term deals that will need to be given to their many youngsters with Rantanen the most likely to be handed a long-term extension and the team may even have the ability to go after a big-name free agent in a year or two if they continue to improve and show they are the most intriguing team in the Central Division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 01/26/18

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The All-Star break is upon us, and players all over the league will be flying away to get a few days of rest and relaxation. For some, the destination will be Tampa Bay to suit up and represent their team among the best of the best. For others, the minor leagues might be at the end of that flight, with no rest awaiting them. Many waiver-exempt players will be sent down this weekend, though not all of them will actually suit up for their AHL squads. We’ll keep track of all the minor movement right here.

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