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Dougie Hamilton

Pacific Notes: Neal, Montour, Brickley, Reaves

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The Calgary Flames have been extremely active this offseason after last year’s second-half collapse. The team went out and traded defenseman Dougie Hamilton for a pair of younger talents in Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. They also added center depth with the addition of Derek Ryan. However, the key addition was the signing of veteran goal scorer James Neal.

The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) looks into the five-year contract that Neal received, which was worth $28.75MM. At 31 years old, the Flames are taking a big risk that the deal will eventually drag the team’s salary cap situation down when he no longer is productive. However, with the Vegas Golden Knights as well as other teams moving up the Pacific Division race, Calgary feels that a goal scorer who has tallied at least 20 goals for the past 10 seasons is worth the risk as well as the fact that Neal has a history of making the players around him better.

  • Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports that Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray told season ticket holders today that he is flying to Toronto for defenseman Brandon Montour’s arbitration hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday. However, Murray said he is interested in locking up his 24-year-old blueliner to a bridge deal before that, if possible. The two sides gave up on a long-term extension and are hoping to come to an agreement before the hearing. Montour is an interesting case as he has only played for one and a half seasons for Anaheim, but already has arbitration rights, which makes this a more challenging deal to get completed.
  • The Los Angeles Kings will be in desperate need for blueline depth this season and they have high hopes in Minnesota State University-Mankato star Daniel Brickley. The Athletic’s Josh Cooper (subscription required) writes that the 23-year-old defenseman has taken an unusual route to get to the NHL, but might be heavily needed this coming year with no veterans signed for depth purposes. He signed with the Kings in March and with his size (6-foot-3, 203 pounds) and abilities (95 mph shot), he has a good chance to make the team, which is quite possible as the team is known for taking talent and inserting it into their lineup immediately. Last season, the Kings placed forward Alex Iafallo on the first line for a large chunk of the season.
  • Ken Boehlke of the SinBin writes that enforcer Ryan Reaves, who procured a two-year, $5.55MM deal, played a great game of poker with the Vegas Golden Knights this offseason when the team gave him three years of money, but with only a two-year term. While the deal gives Vegas more flexibility with just a two-year term and the fact that they have extra money after not acquiring Erik Karlsson and Bobby Ryan in a big offseason trade, the move doesn’t look so bad, but Reaves made the most out of his situation. He was evidently offered a one or two year deal after the season, but Reaves believed he could garner a three or four year deal. A team offered the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder a three year deal and Vegas general manager George McPhee offered equal value, but refused to go past two years, eventually adding the third year in money, but not in term. Regardless, it was a well-played hand by Reaves.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Kovar, Seguin, Eriksson-Ek, Yeo

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Many teams in the Central Division have been quite active this offseason as they attempt to force their way to the top of the standings next season. However, the Chicago Blackhawks who need to move up in the standings more than anyone have been quite quiet so far this offseason.

If fact, the team have made just a handful of small moves, which included signing a 39-year-0ld forward, a backup goaltender and a depth defenseman in Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning. However, after a season that saw the Blackhawks drop from perennial playoff powerhouse to a team that lost more games than they won with a 33-39-10 season, these moves aren’t going to propel them back to the top of the Central. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the team is likely done with the free agent market and if there is any plan to improve the team, it will need to be done through the trade market.

The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) adds that the team must address its defensive deficiencies and Manning doesn’t add anything to a team that showed its defense has slowed down considerably. While the team has quite a few defensive prospects, none are likely to be ready to help the team next year, suggesting the team must address that deficiency via trade.

Both writers suggest the team must engage the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Justin Faulk, who would complement the team’s defense. Now with Dougie Hamilton and Calvin de Haan in place in Carolina, Faulk would seem to be quite expendable.

  • NHL.com’s Chris Kuk reports that the Blackhawks are not in the mix of  teams to land KHL forward Jan Kovar, who has expressed interest to come to the NHL this season. His agent, Allen Walsh tweeted that Kovar is considering various offers and will make a decision Sunday.
  • In a mailbag segment, NHL.com’s Mike Heika writes about what the likely scenario could be if the Dallas Stars are unable to work out an extension with star center Tyler Seguin. He suggests that Seguin, whose six-year, $34.5MM contract expires after next season, very likely will want to look at options, much like Steven Stamkos and John Tavares did. The fact that the Dallas Stars have only reached the playoffs once in the past four years isn’t in the team’s favor when they are trying to convince him to stay. Heika writes that if an extension isn’t reached before the 2018-19 season ends, the team would trade his rights rather than lose him for nothing. However, there is also high hopes that new head coach Jim Montgomery will have a major effect on the team as well as on Seguin.
  • In another mailbag, The Athletic’s Mike Russo (subscription required)writes that the team hasn’t made many moves as they are in a precarious position where they are left with many unmovable contracts to go with a group of young, talented players, who they would like to develop, leaving the team with few trade assets. The injury to defenseman Ryan Suter at the end of last season also has hindered the team’s trading ability as the team does have excess defense they could move, but won’t now that Sutter’s target date for a return is still up in the air. However, Russo writes that team has high expectations for Joel Eriksson Ek, who they want to move into a top-six center position and he could envision a position battle between Eriksson Ek and Mikko Koivu, who coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t mind moving to a checking role in the near future.
  • In yet another mailbag, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that with the acquisition of top talents in Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron and Tyler Bozak, that much of the team’s success will now fall on head coach Mike Yeo who could find himself on the hot seat quickly. If the team falters early on, Yeo is likely to be replaced with Gordon suggesting that Dave Tippett or Alain Vigneault would be candidates to replace him midseason.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Calvin De Haan

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The Carolina Hurricanes, known for their depth and talent on defense, continue to surprisingly add top blue line names to the roster this off-season. After previously trading for right-handed scoring threat Dougie Hamilton, the team has reportedly agreed to a deal with arguably the top defender on the free agent market, left-landed shutdown defenseman Calvin de Haan. The Raleigh News & Observer’s Luck DeCock first reported that the team has signed de Haan to a four-year, $18.2MM contract – a $4.55MM AAV. The team confirmed the deal soon after.

De Haan, 27, was No. 9 on PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents List. Although he missed the majority of last season due to injury, de Haan has shown a high-end defensive ability in his pro career. The 12th overall pick in 2009 by the New York Islanders, de Haan has proven to be one of the best shot blockers in the NHL and an extremely reliable presence on the back end. Yet has has also improved his offensive production with each year, including a career-best scoring rate prior to his injury last season. While many may have balked at a $4.55MM value for de Haan in a vacuum, he is clearly superior to nearly every other defenseman in this free agent market.

Carolina is a surprise landing spot for the defensive standout though. De Haan’s arrival in Raleigh will only add to a formidable corps of rearguards that includes Hamilton, Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk (an RFA), young pros Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown, and elite prospects Jake Bean, Luke Martin, and Adam Fox. De Haan’s signing very well could be a sign of more changes coming in Carolina under new ownership and new GM Don Waddell. 

Hurricanes Notes: Free Agents, Darling, Skinner, Tavares

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The Carolina Hurricanes have already made some noise this off-season, acquiring Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland, and Adam Fox from the Calgary Flames for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, but what else the team plans to do this summer remains a mystery. In speaking with Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, GM Don Waddell indicates that they may simply stick with the status quo for now. Waddell confirmed that the team is not pursuing contracts with pending unrestricted free agents Cam Ward, Derek Ryan, and Lee Stempniak and expect all three to hit the open market on July 1st. Ward, the Hurricane’s long-time goalie, is rumored to be headed to the Chicago Blackhawks, while Ryan is expected to re-join former Carolina coach Bill Peters and his recently-traded teammates in Calgary. Stempniak’s name has not drawn much attention so far this off-season, as the veteran struggled in 2017-18 with nine points in 37 games. Waddell did not discuss recently non-qualified free agent forward Joakim Nordstrom, likely implying that they are moving on from him as well. Waddell also did not offer any updates on negotiations with restricted free agents Trevor van Riemsdyk, Lucas Wallmark, and Valentin Zykov.

  • Waddell did state that the team has no plans to move goalie Scott Darling and are committed to having him on the roster moving forward. The 29-year-old struggled in his first year with Carolina after signing a long-term contract last summer, but the team hopes that his second season as a starter will go smoother. However, Carolina is looking to add a goalie in free agency and have spoken to upwards of six candidates already. The question remains what type of goalie they are looking to bring in. A starter to compete with Darling could look like Robin Lehner, Kari Lehtonen, or Jaroslav Halak, while a steady backup could be Ondrej Pavelec, Chad Johnson, or a reunion with Anton Khudobin.
  • As of now, there is no imminent trade involving forward Jeff Skinner. Skinner’s name has been one of the hottest on the rumor mill and many speculated that the Los Angeles Kings signing Ilya Kovalchuk could be the domino that would lead Skinner to being dealt to a team that missed out on the sharp-shooting veteran. Instead, Waddell says that talks with other teams have been ongoing and they have seen some good offers, but haven’t been “comfortable” with accepting any of them. One has to wonder that if they could pull off a trade as big as the one during draft weekend but aren’t comfortable with “good” offers for Skinner, if they are even looking to trade the talented winger at all.
  • For any ’Canes fans out there still holding out hope that Carolina was a secret seventh team in on the John Tavares sweepstakes, Waddell confirmed that he has had no contact whatsoever with Tavares’ camp. The Hurricanes do have more than enough cap space to add a Tavares though, so perhaps Waddell will be active in free agency after all, but focused on other big names.

Pacific Notes: Flames, Lindholm, Oilers, Hughes

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The Calgary Flames did more than just swap some players earlier today when they traded Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox in exchange for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. The team finally made the changes it had said it would after a dismal second half of the season. Despite starting a solid 25-16-4 through Jan. 14, the team instead fell apart, putting up a 13-23-6 second half in which the team looked disinterested and forced the Flames to make changes.

The Calgary Sun’s Eric Francis suggests that this is just the beginning of changes for Calgary and suggests that moving Hamilton was the start of it. The scribe reports that Hamilton’s apathy was an issue in the clubhouse, so just moving on from him is a positive step in fixing the Flames’ issues. The Flames also rid themselves of Fox, currently playing for Harvard University and who was unlikely to sign with Calgary as they are deep in blueline prospects. Postmedia’s Kristen Anderson interviewed Flames GM Brad Treliving, who added that Ferland’s unrestricted free agent status next season was a key reason the team moved him. “Michael is a warrior and has one year left on his contract and will be a UFA. That always comes into consideration,” Treliving said.

  • Sticking with the Flames, Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reports that Lindholm is likely to be given a much bigger role than he had in Carolina as he is expected to start the season on the team’s first line playing the wing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The former fifth-overall pick in 2013 has put up solid numbers, but hasn’t had a breakout season yet. He finished last season with 16 goals and 44 points. Lindholm, who is a restricted free agent, along with Hanifin, both need to be signed as they rejected initial offers from Carolina, which prompted the trade.
  • The Edmonton Oilers announced they have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Darnell Nurse, Ryan Strome and Anton Slepyshev. Not offering them a qualifying offer would allow them to become unrestricted free agents. Nurse was one of the few bright spots on Edmonton’s defense. He had a career year, averaging 22:15 of ice time and scored six goals and had 26 assists on the year. Strome, who came over from the New York Islanders last offseason, had a quiet year with his new team, putting up 13 goals and 34 points, while Slepyshev continued in his struggles to break out in the NHL as he potted just six goals in 50 games played. All three, however, still are considered promising players. The only restricted free agent who was not mentioned as receiving a qualifying offer was Iiro Pakarinen, who has already signed a deal to return to the KHL next season.
  • Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun writes that there is belief around the Canucks that defenseman Quinn Hughes, the team’s first-round pick in the draft, might be ready to contribute to the Canucks immediately. The scribe writes that general manager Jim Benning feels that Hughes is close to ready now. “I just look at that world championship and he was playing against NHL players,” Benning said. “He didn’t look out of place at all. He’s never going to run guys over but he has a good stick. He understands angles.” Hughes, who might be the best skater to come out of this draft, is the perfect compliment to coach Travis Green’s system, according to Botchford.

Metropolitan Notes: Tavares, Hamilton, Rask, Rangers

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In a follow-up story about New York Islanders and John Tavares upcoming free agency, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello left the draft to fly to Los Angeles to be nearby while Tavares meets with the teams that he and his representatives have invited to speak with him. Lamoriello will meet with Tavares last in hopes of keeping the superstar in the fold.

As reported earlier, it is believed that he will meet with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars and possibly the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadiens, although that isn’t too clear so far. However, Staples writes that an earlier rumor today that the Islanders made an eight-year, $88MM deal may not be accurate. He believes in the end, whether offered by the Islanders or another team, that Tavares will be making $12MM per year, which Lamoriello has said that ownership has said that money is no object.

  • Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that the Carolina Hurricanes intend to keep defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who the team acquired in the five-player trade earlier today. The scribe said the team had no intention of flipping the blueliner for more assets. Hamilton should provide the team with a No. 1 defenseman to go with their core of young blueliners. The six-year veteran is only just 25 years old and put up 17 goals and 44 points last season.
  • Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Carolina Hurricanes were supposedly close on sending winger Victor Rask to the Montreal Canadiens, but the asking price of two second-round picks in this draft (including the No. 35 pick) was too much for the Canadiens. The 25-year-old winger still has four years at $4MM AAV and seems to have regressed somewhat since a 21 goal season back in 2015-16.
  • The New York Rangers had three first-round picks in this latest draft with much speculation wondering if general manager Jeff Gorton would use those picks as assets to either acquire a pro-ready player or even to move up in the draft. Instead, the Rangers used all three picks (albeit, they traded up late in the first-round). NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Gorton said he was never close to making a deal this weekend. Gorton said he was ready to change his draft strategy if he got a trade offer he liked, but never got one. “I would say there was probably less conversations than I anticipated,” Gorton said.

Carolina Hurricanes Trade Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin To Calgary Flames

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The Carolina Hurricanes have made their first big trade, reportedly sending Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox. The deal was officially announced on the draft floor.

Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer tweets that both Hanifin and Lindholm had recently rejected contract offers from the Hurricanes, as both are scheduled to be restricted free agents this summer. Both will be reunited with Bill Peters, who resigned as coach of the Hurricanes earlier this spring to take a job in Calgary. They also will change the look of the Flames significantly, adding some more young talent to a team that already had Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk leading the way.

It’s not the first time Hamilton has been involved in a blockbuster deal. The pick that was used to select him by the Boston Bruins was one sent to them by the Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel, and Hamilton himself was dealt to Calgary just a few years later. He’ll be on his third team already despite just turning 25 last week, and could represent the best individual player in the deal. He’s coming off a 17-goal campaign with the Flames, and will bring another exceptional defender to the Hurricanes.

Ferland and Fox too can’t be overlooked. The former has proven that he can handle playing alongside star talent, sliding in beside Monahan and Gaudreau for large stints. That resulted in a 21-goal season in 2017-18, while bringing his normal physical style to the ice. Fox is a top defensive prospect in his own right that is headed back to Harvard for his junior season, but could jump directly to the NHL after his NCAA season. He’ll join some other impressive defense prospects in Carolina, including Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean.

Speculation immediately exploded around Justin Faulk, another right-handed puck-moving defenseman that now appears redundant for the Hurricanes. With Hamilton in the fold, Faulk could be moved in the next few days to bring in even more talent up front or in goal for Carolina. Faulk has just one season left on his current contract, and according to Bob McKenzie of TSN has a no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1st.

Rangers Likely To Trade A Center This Offseason

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With many teams in the league looking for center help this offseason and seeing few options on the free agent market, the trade market seems to be the best way to fill that heavily in-demand. Just earlier this week, the Montreal Canadiens traded Alex Galchenyuk, who failed to succeed at the center position for the team in previous years, to Arizona. The Coyotes have already stated they intend to move him back to center in hopes that he can make the conversion and fill their No. 2 center hole.

The New York Rangers seem to be in a unique situation. Despite the franchise suddenly finding themselves in rebuilding mode, the one thing the Rangers have plenty of is reliable centers. In fact, the team has eight potential centers currently on the roster, including Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes, Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ryan Spooner, Boo Nieves and Brett Howden. While some of those eight will be forced to move to the wing position, there is also a strong possibility that the team will move at least one of those centers during the offseason, and very possibly, before next week’s draft.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that while the team has a solid combination of Zibanejad, Chytil, Hayes and Andersson currently penciled in as their top four centers next season, that’s a logjam at that position that likely would not aid the development of Chytil and Andersson, two teenagers who need as much playing time as possible at the NHL level. Andersson especially, last year’s No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, needs time on the ice and a fourth-line role isn’t going to cut it.

The scribe writes that Hayes may be available after quietly putting up a career-high 25 goals while playing center for New York last year. The restricted free agent is in line for a potential five-year deal worth about $4.5MM per year based on his success last season and there is no guarantee that Hayes would earn the No. 2 center spot with all this depth. Regardless, Hayes would be a highly coveted commodity for many teams who are in desperate need for help at that position.

The key for the Rangers is to trade him straight out for help on their blueline, according to Brooks, who adds that New York is unlikely to use Hayes as part of a package to move up in the draft. The team’s biggest need is at defense and there are many teams that could use a center and have defense to trade, including the Calgary Flames who might be ready to move Dougie Hamilton.

Rangers Must Continue To Upgrade Their Defense

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The New York Rangers still have to hire a coach, but the team’s top goal is to continue to improve its blueline this offseason. Just a year ago, the Rangers invested heavily into a veteran defense that was expected to be among the best in the league. The team went out and signed highly coveted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signed Brendan Smith to go with captain Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal and a rising Brady Skjei.

Instead the defense struggled mightily as they were ranked fourth in goals against, allowing 3.21 goals per game during the 2017-18 season. Now with McDonagh gone and the team in a rebuild, the Rangers must make more changes to improve their struggling blueline.

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes that a few pieces are certain. A healthy Shattenkirk should boost the team’s defense after the team shut him down in the middle of the year with a torn meniscus. Throw in a much improved year for Staal and the Rangers have a couple of solid pieces to aid them. The team still has high hopes for Skjei, despite his second-year struggles, but Smith is a complete unknown as it will be up to him to get into game shape and prove he was worth the four-year, $17.4MM deal he signed last offseason. The team did like the way rookie Neal Pionk played in his 28-game trial at the end of the year. Even defenseman Anthony DeAngelo showed improvement at the end of the year as well. The team also added a number of new young d-men at the trade deadline that aren’t too far off, including Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek and Yegor Rykov.

Regardless, the team could use a boost from an experienced young defenseman that can help stabilize last year’s crew or at the very least, more young talent that will be ready within a year. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the team should consider offering up either Kevin Hayes or Mike Zibanejad in exchange for defensive help, assuming the player they get back is a current or future top-four defenseman. While he believes that Dougie Hamilton would be the perfect trade target, he doubts the Calgary Flames would move him. However, Calgary is loaded with defensive prospects that are stuck behind their veteran defense, suggesting the Rangers go after prospect Adam Fox, who is a top defenseman at Harvard University, and who was the former partner of Lindgren. Trading one of those young veterans could work as centermen are in high demand right now with few available on the free agent market and with the Rangers putting much of their hopes on both of last year’s first-round picks in Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil at center next season.

No matter what, the team will have to make some changes if they hope to improve on their disappointing 2017-18 season.

Dubas Has Many Decisions To Make In Toronto

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Just a couple of days into his new job and people are starting to see the challenges ahead for Toronto Maple Leafs new general manager Kyle Dubas. To start, the 32-year-old GM has been with the organization for four years and must deal with older, more experienced personnel, including 55-year-old Mark Hunter (at least for now) and 55-year-old Mike Babcock.

While Dubas has been given the keys to one of the most famed and loaded franchises, Dubas must also make his mark on the roster and lead the team to that next championship level. Many big decisions will come up just in the next few months including locking up his young players for the future, while building a winner in the one-year window before those deals kick in.

The first big decisions the GM will have to deal with is deciding if one or any of their unrestricted free agents will be brought back, including James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov. Both van Reimsdyk and Bozak are expected to get significant raises this summer when they sign new contracts and would be very challenging to bring back. Bozak in particular is valuable as the team is not nearly as strong at the center position as they are at the wing. However, Komarov could be a possibility if he encounters a dry market and the Maple Leafs believe he can still be of help. However, with great depth and a GM who is well aware of what type of players the team has at the AHL level, letting all three walk away is a legitimate possibility.

However, James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Dubas will want to put his own brand on the Maple Leafs, so expect multiple changes. Among those possibilities, includes a potential run at John Tavares or a defenseman like Dougie Hamilton. However, Mirtle points out that a player like Nikita Zaitsev could become one of those changes. With a partial no-trade clause kicking in next year and Zaitsev’s limitations with the puck, this might be a good time to move on from him if they don’t feel he will be a good fit in the future.

The defense might be the key to Dubas success. Often labeled as the team’s failing this season, a change might be necessary, but with limitations to long-term deals, the most likely way to upgrade the blueline would be through a trade, although it’s unlikely Dubas would move Mitch Marner or William Nylander to make a major upgrade.

Goaltending could be an issue too. Despite the solid performance by backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney this year, Dubas might look to trading the 34-year-old veteran netminder. With Garrett Sparks dominating in the AHL (1.79 GAA, .936 save percentage with the Toronto Marlies) and the real possibility the team could lose him to waivers at the start of next season, the team must decide whether it’s time to give Sparks the No. 2 spot.

While a decision on Roman Polak might be an easy one, Dubas is well aware that the defenseman is a personal favorite of Babcock and does the young GM throw the veteran coach a bone and bring him back? In the end, nothing will be easy for Dubas, who will be scrutinized more than any general manager in the coming months.

 

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