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Dustin Brown

Patrick Marleau, Toronto Maple Leafs Ready To Part Ways

June 2, 2019 at 1:29 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 12 Comments

A rumor several days ago suggested that the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to move on from 39-year-old winger Patrick Marleau, who is coming off a disappointing season this past season. With Toronto’s general manager Kyle Dubas trying to balance multiple players and their contracts into the team’s already full salary cap, the team was expecting more out of Marleau, who posted his worst goal totals (16) since his rookie campaign back in the 1997-98 season.

While many have squashed the rumors that Toronto was trying to send him to the Los Angeles Kings Friday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported late last night during a Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada that Marleau would like to leave Toronto and would prefer to be moved to a west coast team:

It sounds like Marleau and the Maple Leafs are set to part ways. The family is going to move back to San Jose. Patrick Marleau has made it clear to the Toronto Maple Leafs that he’d like to get closer to his family once again, which means moving to the west coast area.

That could make Los Angeles a legitimate candidate, despite reports to the contrary. Kypreos also mentioned the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes as other options for Marleau, while can you never totally rule out a return to San Jose. The original belief is that with a no-movement clause, the Maple Leafs might have had a challenging time finding a trade partner considering he could reject any offer, but it now looks like Marleau will be much more willing to move on from Toronto. Marleau, who will be wrapping up the final year of the three-year, $18.75MM deal he signed back in 2017, will make only make $4.25MM next season, but does carry a $6.25MM AAV. The Maple Leafs would likely have to attach a pick or prospect to any deal to unload Marleau’s contract and might even have to retain salary to make a deal work.

The Avalanche might be one of the best options for Toronto as Colorado should have more than $37MM in available cap space, although the team has a number of important restricted free agents they must re-sign, including winger Mikko Rantanen. However, Marleau could be a veteran presence the Avalanche wouldn’t mind adding for one season. The other teams would require sending another significant contract back to Toronto, perhaps one with a lower AAV, but longer term. The Kings would have to send back a contract and while they might be willing to move on from some players such as forwards Ilya Kovalchuk (two more years at $6.25MM), Dustin Brown (three more years at $5.875MM) or defenseman Dion Phaneuf (two more years at $5.25MM), none of whom would fulfill Dubas’ desire to free up salary cap space. Arizona, which is another team that must deal with salary cap issues starting this off-season, has a few cheaper options and could be an interesting option, including forward Michael Grabner (two more years at $3.35MM) or defenseman Jason Demers (two more years at $3.94MM).

Arizona Coyotes| Colorado Avalanche| Dion Phaneuf| Dustin Brown| Dustin Brown| Ilya Kovalchuk| Jason Demers| Kyle Dubas| Los Angeles Kings| Michael Grabner| Mikko Rantanen| Patrick Marleau| Salary Cap| San Jose Sharks| Toronto Maple Leafs

12 comments

Los Angeles Kings Fire Coach John Stevens

November 4, 2018 at 1:06 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 6 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings announced that general manager Rob Blake has relieved coach John Stevens of his duties. The Kings have made Willie Desjardins as the interim coach for the rest of the season.

“This is a critical time in our season and our results to date have fallen well below our expectations. With that in mind, this was a difficult decision but one we feel was necessary,” said Blake. “We have a great deal of respect and appreciation for John’s time with our organization. He was a key part of our past success, and we have tremendous gratitude for his many contributions.”

Despite picking up a 4-1 victory Saturday over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the victory didn’t do anything to allow Stevens to keep his job as the team remained 4-8-1 in the team’s first 13 games, giving them the worst record in league with the Florida Panthers the only other team that has nine points (although they have played two less games). Stevens, in just his second year as head coach of the team, took the team to the playoffs last year as the fourth-seed in the Pacific Division, but were swept in the first-round of the playoffs as the Vegas Golden Knights exposed their lack of speed.

Los Angeles responded by adding 35-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk through free agency this offseason and was expected to make a renewed run for a Stanley Cup title with the likes 30-somethings Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty (he’s actually just 28), Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis, Nate Thompson, Dion Phaneuf and Alec Martinez. The team was expecting some of their young players to step up, but players such as Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson have struggled under Stevens’ tenure and haven’t developed into the goal scorers that everyone had hoped for. The team also has been without Quick, their star goaltender, for much of the season and there is no word on how much time he might miss with his most recent injury. Throw in the lack of development of some of their prospects and the team was heading down the wrong path with many of their veterans under contract for three of four more years.

Desjardins, who has 20+ years of coaching experience, has been acting as Team Canada’s men’ head coach, including leading the team in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea. He served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons between 2014 and 2017, compiling a disappointing 109-110-27 record. He also led Team Canada to gold at the Spengler Cup in December of 2017. Desjardins also served eight years as head coach in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers where he won two championships in eight seasons there.

The team also released fired assistant coach Don Nachbaur from his duties, who served as the team’s assistant since last season. The team has brought in current German National Team coach and former Kings player Marco Sturm. The team did retain assistant coach Dave Lowry.

One has to wonder what Stevens chances will be to get another head coaching position. He served as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers between 2006 through 2009, reaching the Eastern Conference finals once and a second playoff appearance. He has a combined record of 171-148-43.

Helene Elliott was the first to report the coaching change.

 

Alec Martinez| Anze Kopitar| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dion Phaneuf| Drew Doughty| Dustin Brown| Florida Panthers| Free Agency| Ilya Kovalchuk| Jeff Carter| John Stevens| Jonathan Quick| Los Angeles Kings| Nate Thompson| Newsstand| Philadelphia Flyers| Rob Blake| Spengler Cup| Team Canada| WHL| Willie Desjardins

6 comments

Minor Transactions: 10/26/18

October 26, 2018 at 1:46 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

All eyes are Colorado tonight to see the league’s hottest line back in action against the Ottawa Senators. Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen will welcome former Avalanche star Matt Duchene back to town for the first time since his trade last season, while trying to continue their winning ways. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves teams make to get ready for tonight’s games and tomorrow’s full schedule:

  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Sheldon Rempal back to the minor leagues, as Dustin Brown prepares for his return to the lineup. Rempal played in three games for the Kings but was held scoreless, something he hasn’t experienced in the minor league so far. Rempal has recorded at least a point in each of his first four AHL games with the Ontario Reign, and has a total of eight on the season. The 23-year old undrafted forward was signed out of Clarkson University after a breakout season.
  • With John Quenneville sent to the AHL, the New Jersey Devils have recalled Joey Anderson according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Anderson would be making his NHL debut if he gets into a game, but Gulitti believes he’s only up as an insurance policy for Marcus Johansson who missed practice today with an illness. Anderson, a promising forward prospect for the Devils, has five points through his first eight professional games and may end up outplaying his third-round draft status with ease.

AHL| Dustin Brown| Los Angeles Kings| Transactions

0 comments

Poll: What’s Next For The L.A. Kings?

October 20, 2018 at 8:52 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 12 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings entered the 2018-19 season with high expectations, at least in-house that is. After landing prized veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk and getting Jeff Carter and others back to full strength, the Kings and many of their fans and pundits felt that this was a team that could truly contend for the Stanley Cup.

Today, L.A. lost 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabres. On Thursday, they lost 7-2 to the New York Islanders. That’s a combined 12-3 result against two non-playoff teams from last season. The Kings are currently 2-5-1 and suffering through a four game losing streak with a combined score of 21-5. The team is 30th in goals per game and 27th in power play efficiency, continuing their scoring struggled from last season. Except now they are 23rd in goals against per game and 24th on the penalty kill, struggling to prevent goals for the first time in recent memory.

The problem is not anything short-term. Yes, Dustin Brown has yet to play this season and Jonathan Quick has missed time. Yes, Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, and others will surely improve their production. However, these minor fixes are not solving the major problems.

Beat writer Jon Rosen reports that this has become increasingly clear to those in and around the organization early on this season. The team held a closed-door meeting after the game today, not long after defenseman Jake Muzzin told the press that the team plays without a passion to win and have “accepted being okay”. For his part, Rosen believes that the problems with the Kings may be more connected to what Muzzin stated, calling them “abstract issues” such as “identity and culture”.

Helene Elliott of the LA Times gives a more tangible opinion of the team’s shortcomings, blaming management for relying too much on an aging core from the team’s 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup runs. Meanwhile, the pace of the game has passed up that core, as youth and speed now dominate and the Kings instead rely on experience, structure, and a more old-fashioned style. Even those old hallmarks have begun to crumble, as the team has failed to find suitable secondary scoring and locker room leadership to support their struggling core.

So what next? There’s no easy answer. If playing style and leadership is what the team truly feels is their biggest flaw, perhaps head coach John Stevens needs to be replaced. If the core that the team has trusted in for so long is no longer up to snuff, the Kings could take a look at the trade value for a Muzzin or a Carter. Maybe the biggest issue is simply a lack of secondary support. Could the team simply replace aging checkers like Trevor Lewis and Kyle Clifford with young scoring prospects or trade acquisitions? Could the team get a good return for Pearson, who is beginning to look like a player who needs a change of scenery? Or maybe this is a problem with an internal solution if, as Rosen believes and Muzzin all but confirmed, this team is in need of an attitude shift and a dose of reality. Is this scenario reconcilable without major change, though?

The Kings are built like a perennial contender, with several expensive long-term contracts and even role players with lengthy contracts. The only problem is that they are built to win in a game that has passed them by and their current roster looks far from contending any time soon. Something needs to change. So what will it be?

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Anze Kopitar| Dustin Brown| Ilya Kovalchuk| Jake Muzzin| Jeff Carter| John Stevens| Jonathan Quick| Kyle Clifford| Los Angeles Kings| Prospects

12 comments

West Notes: Brown, Gaudreau, Oilers, Wild Injuries

October 18, 2018 at 6:27 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

It doesn’t appear as if the Kings will be without Dustin Brown for too much longer.  He’s currently on long-term injured reserve as he works his way back from a broken finger and isn’t eligible to be activated until October 28th at the earliest.  While there was some concern he’d be out longer than that, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider notes that the winger has begun taking part in team drills that don’t involve contact and that he could be activated for their game on the 28th.  The 33-year-old is coming off a career year in 2017-18 that saw him collect 61 points and he could be a boon for a Los Angeles power play that has failed to score so far this season.

More from the West:

  • Although Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau was pulled from Wednesday’s game against Boston by concussion spotters, he is feeling fine which should have him in line to play on Friday night versus Nashville, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Francis (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Francis adds there won’t be any disciplinary action towards Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who delivered the hit on Gaudreau.
  • While there are teams that are keeping tabs on the potential availability of Toronto RFA William Nylander, don’t count the Oilers among that group. TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link) that Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli is not pursuing the winger although they could certainly benefit from some extra scoring pop up front.  However, given their limited cap room, finding a deal that would keep them under the Upper Limit would be tricky.
  • The Wild will be without center Matt Hendricks for the next two-to-three weeks, head coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters, including Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link). The injury was sustained on Tuesday night against Arizona.  Meanwhile, center Joel Eriksson Ek has been ruled out for their next two games while Boudreau is hopeful that winger Marcus Foligno (illness) will be able to travel with the team to Dallas for their game on Friday.

Calgary Flames| Dustin Brown| Edmonton Oilers| Joel Eriksson Ek| Johnny Gaudreau| Los Angeles Kings| Marcus Foligno| Matt Hendricks| Minnesota Wild| William Nylander

0 comments

Injury Notes: Krug, Brown, Schneider

September 30, 2018 at 9:30 am CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug left the team’s preseason finale in the first period last night and the early indications are not good. Krug did not return to the game and was later seen in a walking boot. Head coach Bruce Cassidy did not have much of an update after the game, saying that he has “no information” on his status, adding “hopefully it’s nothing serious, but it’s tough luck if it is, obviously.” The offensive blue liner was already returning from a fractured ankle suffered in the postseason and had been limited in training camp, but this sounds as if it was a new injury on Saturday night. Whether that is good or bad remains to be seen and with the regular season opening in just a few days, Krug’s availability is up in the air. The team does have fellow puck-moving lefty Matt Grzelcyk to fall back on. Grzelcyk was a starter as a rookie last season for the Bruins, but looked slated for No. 7 duty to begin the year. If he can overcome his own minor lower-body injury, he would be an easy fix. If not, Cassidy said that he would not hesitate to start rookie Urho Vaakanainen. The 2017 first-round pick is in his first season in North America, but has impressed in camp and has yet to be cut. While Krug is clearly the superior option, the Bruins have plenty of depth to manage his potential absence to begin the year. The concern would be just how long their power play quarterback remains sidelined.

  • Los Angeles Kings veteran forward Dustin Brown was another casualty last night. The big winger took a shot up high from teammate Anze Kopitar and was forced out of the game. Brown did not return and the team issued an update that he had suffered an upper-body injury on the play. However, there has been no word from the Kings since. The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reached out to head coach John Stevens and GM Rob Blake, but could not get any more information. The team is likely taking their time to evaluate Brown, but it’s also possible that the injury is more serious and the team wants to approach the news on their terms. Like Krug, the proximity of the injury to Opening Night leaves his status to begin the year as a question mark.
  • One question that has been answered is who starts the year in net for the New Jersey Devils. Although he traveled with the team to Europe for their exhibition game in Switzerland and regular season opener against the Edmonton Oilers in Sweden, Cory Schneider is primarily there to continue working with the team’s medical staff. Head coach John Hynes made it official today that Schneider will not start for the Devils in their opener, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Still rehabbing from off-season hip surgery, it was always a long shot for Schneider to be ready to go for game one. New Jersey’s starter has yet to even be cleared to play. As such, last season’s savior Keith Kinkaid is likely to get the call, while veteran third-string keeper Eddie Lack remains on the roster as the current backup. Schneider is actually progressing well in his recovery and could be back in net soon, just not next week.

Anze Kopitar| Boston Bruins| Bruce Cassidy| Cory Schneider| Dustin Brown| Dustin Brown| Eddie Lack| Injury| John Hynes| John Stevens| Keith Kinkaid| Los Angeles Kings| Matt Grzelcyk| New Jersey Devils| Rob Blake| Torey Krug

0 comments

Snapshots: Kings, Parent, Galchenyuk

August 23, 2018 at 3:29 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Kings struggled to create offense from anywhere but Anze Kopitar’s line in the first half of last season, mostly because of the absence of Jeff Carter as the team’s second line center. Carter played just 27 games for the Kings, but registered 13 goals and 22 points showing that even in his mid-thirties he’s still a very effective offensive player.

This time around they’re hoping for better results, and look healthier coming into training camp. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times reports that Carter, Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis and Jake Muzzin are all expected to be ready for training camp in a few weeks, despite dealing with some injuries this summer. If the Kings can squeeze out some of Ilya Kovalchuk’s previous performance and put a healthy Carter over the boards every few shifts, the team could have a much improved offense this season.

  • The New Jersey Devils have hired Ryan Parent as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate, bringing in the NHL veteran to join Mark Dennehy’s staff. Parent is a veteran of more than 100 NHL contests, and even suited up for 27 playoff contests with the Philadelphia Flyers between 2008-2010. Once a first-round pick by the Nashville Predators, he’ll be able to provide valuable insight to Devils prospects as they come through the system as well as helping to develop the defensemen already in Binghamton.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will have a glut of options for the center position this season, as several newcomers have experience at the position. One of those players, Alex Galchenyuk, wants to prove to his doubters that he can handle the position and according to a conversation with Dave Vest of NHL.com, will be given that chance by head coach Rick Tocchet. Galchenyuk was drafted as a potential first line center by the Montreal Canadiens, but struggled to find much consistency at the position during his time there. After being swapped for Max Domi earlier this offseason, both he and the Coyotes have expressed a desire to see him return to the middle if possible. If he can handle the move back to the middle, the Coyotes find themselves deep at the position with Derek Stepan, Christian Dvorak and Brad Richardson already on the roster and Dylan Strome expected to compete for a full-time role this season.

AHL| Alex Galchenyuk| Arizona Coyotes| Dustin Brown| Jake Muzzin| Jeff Carter| Los Angeles Kings| New Jersey Devils| Rick Tocchet| Snapshots

0 comments

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Los Angeles Kings

August 18, 2018 at 5:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

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.

Los Angeles Kings

Current Cap Hit: $77,345,227 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Alex Iafallo (one year, $925K)
F Sheldon Rempal (one year, $925K)
F Gabriel Vilardi (three years, $925K)
D Daniel Brickley (one year, $925K)
F Adrian Kempe (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Rempal: $850K
Brickley: $850K
Vilardi: $500K

With a franchise filled with veteran contracts, the team has been forced to slowly integrate some youth onto the team. What the team has recently done successfully is signing several undrafted collegiate free agents, including Iafallo, Brickley and Rempal. Iafallo made the Kings’ team out of training camp after four years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and even started on the team’s top line, posting nine goals and 25 points. This year, the team has the same hopes for Brickley and Rempal, two of the top college free agents, who each signed earlier this year and have solid chances to make the club out of training camp.

The team also have high hopes that Kempe can continue to develop into a top-six forward after finally breaking into a full-time role with the Kings this year. The 21-year-old 2014 first-round pick posted 16 goals and 37 points last year and could be primed to take that next step next season. Vilardi, the team’s 2017 first-rounder, might have made the L.A. team last year if he hadn’t suffered a back injury at the end of the 2016-17 season. He missed half of last season, but still posted solid numbers in junior on his return, posting 22 goals and 58 points in just 32 games. He could easily win a bottom-six role immediately and work his way up the depth chart as the season rolls on.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Nate Thompson ($1.65MM, UFA)
G Peter Budaj ($1.03MM, UFA)
F Jonny Brodzinski ($650K, RFA)
F Zack Mitchell ($650K, RFA)
D Oscar Fantenberg ($650K, UFA)

The team has few contracts that they have to worry about among non-entry level deals. Fantenberg may be the most intriguing of the bunch as the 26-year-old defenseman showed some offensive potential in limited action after coming over from the KHL last year. While he played in just 27 games last season, he posted 13 points and managed to play a significant role in their four-game playoff series with the Vegas Golden Knights. Other than Mitchell, who came over from Mitchell, all are unrestricted free agents and will have to prove their value to get a new contract in the future.

Two Years Remaining

F Tyler Toffoli ($4.6MM, UFA)
D Jake Muzzin ($4MM, UFA)
D Derek Forbort ($2.53MM, UFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($2MM, UFA)
F Kyle Clifford ($1.6MM, UFA)
D Kurtis MacDermid ($675K, RFA)
G Jack Campbell ($650K, UFA)

Toffoli posted solid numbers for the fourth straight year, putting up 24 goals and 47 points as he enters the second year of a three-year, $13.8MM deal. The 26-year-old flashed some offensive potential two years ago when he scored 31 goals. Hoping that he might build on that number, Toffoli has scored just 40 goals in the past two years, so the team hopes he can return to an elite level soon. Muzzin is a solid top-four defenseman on a team that is loaded in defense and proved his value by putting up a career-high in points with 42, despite missing eight games last seasons.

Read more

Three Years Remaining

F Ilya Kovalchuk ($6.25MM, UFA)
D Dion Phaneuf ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Alec Martinez ($4MM, UFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($3.75MM, UFA)

The majority of the team’s significant contracts are three years and above and the team added a critical addition in the offseason when they won the Kovalchuk sweepstakes as he chose Los Angeles over a number of other teams to sign a contract with. Many believe that Kovalchuk only signed with L.A. because they were the only ones to offer three years to the 35-year-old winger, but Kovalchuk adds a new element to the team’s top line as he made it clear that he wanted the opportunity to play next to a top-line center. Kovalchuk, might not produce the type of numbers he did five years ago when he was with New Jersey, but Kovalchuk is still expected to post at least a couple of 20-goal seasons for the Kings. He did score 63 goals in his last two seasons in the KHL, so his abilities remain high.

While the Kings took on the contract of Phaneuf in order to unload Marian Gaborik, the team may have got an overpaid player in Phaneuf, but they have a player who can play in the top-four still and immediately provided the team with some quality defensive play upon joining the team. He may no longer have the elite skills of a top-pairing defenseman, but he’s still good enough to provide important depth. Martinez has also been one of the team’s top defenders even if his offensive output went down this year. After two season with at least 30 points, he dropped to just 25 points last year. However, his defensive presence and more importantly his shot-blocking skills have been key for the Kings. He blocked a career-high 206 shots last season.

The Kings handed Pearson a four-year, $15.MM deal after last season when he had a breakout season, scoring 24 goals in the 2016-17 season. Before that he had just 27 goals over his first two years. However, he regressed last year, finishing the season with just 15 goals. The team will need more out of the 26-year-old if they want to keep their success going.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Anze Kopitar ($10MM through 2023-24)
D Drew Doughty ($7MM next season; $11MM through 2026-27)
F Dustin Brown ($5.88MM through 2021-22)
G Jonathan Quick ($5.8MM through 2022-23)
F Jeff Carter ($5.27MM through 2021-22)

Kopitar, who inked an eight-year, maximum extension back in 2016, continues to prove his value to his contract as he posted up career numbers last year. The 30-year-old who once posted 81 points for the Kings back in the 2009-10 season, finally broke that career-high this year with a 92-point season, including a career-high 35 goals. While few people believe that Kopitar can repeat that type of success a second straight year, Kopitar should be good for 70-80 points and is likely going to be playing with Kovalchuk at his side, which can’t hurt his numbers.

Doughty just signed an extension of his own this summer. While he’ll make a solid $7MM next season, that number bumps up to a team-high $11MM for the next eight years after that. The extension came at the right time as the 28-year-old posted a career-high of 60 points last year, but an eight-year deal now will run until he’s 36 years old, which could hurt the team’s long-term outlook.

The 33-year-old Brown finally had a big season for the club. He scored 28 goals. However, Brown hasn’t tallied that many goals since the 2010-11 season. In fact, his goal numbers have decreased since then as he went from 28 to 22 to 18 to 15 to 11 to 11 and then to 14 in the 2016-17. To assume that Brown, who is in the middle of an eight-year, $47MM deal, can repeat those goal numbers after five years of mediocrity is unlikely. Carter, however, may be the opposite. The 33-year-old suffered a severe cut to his left leg that forced him to miss all, but 27 games of the season last year. He still managed to score 13 goals upon his return, but Carter should return to his standard numbers this season as he’s tallied at least 24 goals over the previous five seasons.

Quick bounced back after an injury-plagued 2016-17 season. As goaltender salaries continue to rise in the NHL, Quick is proving to be one of the best deals in the NHL at $5.8MM, which is right in the middle of NHL goalie salaries. Quick posted a 2.40 GAA and more importantly a .920 save percentage in 64 games. The team is so confident in his health that they traded solid backup Darcy Kuemper to Arizona and are using Campbell as their backup. The team even has a top goalie prospect in the wings in Cal Petersen, but it’s unlikely that Quick will give him an opportunity to do more then eventually be a backup.

Buyouts

D Matt Greene ($833K in 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Salary Cap Recapture

F Mike Richards ($1.32MM through 2019-20)

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Quick
Worst Value: Brown

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The Kings are obviously hoping that the addition of Kovalchuk will push the Kings from a playoff team into a Stanley Cup contender, but they are also battling with time as much of the team is over 30 years old now. Even Kopitar has hit 30, suggesting that time is not on their side for very long. Add in that many of those mid-30 players are on long-term deals and the team will have some trouble adding too much more help, which will force them to look at youth. With a little luck a player like Vilardi or one of those college free agents can help, but so far they have had little help.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Adrian Kempe| Alec Martinez| Alex Iafallo| Anze Kopitar| Cal Petersen| Daniel Brickley| Darcy Kuemper| Derek Forbort| Dion Phaneuf| Drew Doughty| Dustin Brown| Dustin Brown| Ilya Kovalchuk| Jake Muzzin| Jeff Carter| Jonathan Quick| Jonny Brodzinski| Kyle Clifford| Los Angeles Kings| Marian Gaborik| Matt Greene| Mike Richards| Nate Thompson| Oscar Fantenberg| Peter Budaj| Salary Cap| Salary Cap Deep Dive 2018

2 comments

The Contract Each Team Would Most Like To Trade: Part II

July 27, 2018 at 7:55 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 12 Comments

Nearly every team has one of those players: a top talent they were excited to sign and never thought could do anything but help them. In hindsight, history shows that more often than not, expensive, long-term free agent contracts don’t work out. It may look good at first (or it may look bad right away to the outside observer), but players struggle to make their value last throughout a lengthy contract. Those contracts come back to bite teams and are hard to get rid of. As teams begin to finalize their rosters at this point in the off-season, many are struggling to make everyone fit under the salary cap and are regretting these past signings that exasperate a cap crunch that can be tough for even a mistake-free club. We already took a look at the first third of the league; here are the contracts that each team would most like to trade, from Detroit to Ottawa:

Detroit Red Wings: Frans Nielsen – four years, $21MM remaining

As speculated by some readers in the comments section, it was no mistake that Part I ended with Dallas. Detroit deserved both some extra consideration and to lead off an article about poor contracts. There is an argument to be made that almost every single player age 28 and over on the Red Wings roster is signed to a bad contract for one reason or another. Detroit is a team that ranks towards the bottom of the standings and towards the top of the salary cap and that is not just bad luck. However, some are much worse than others and they are so bad that it is tough to choose between them. Take this scenario: Player A scored 35 points in 75 games last season. It was 14 points more than the season prior, including six more goals, and Player A also led the team in hits. He is 31 years old and signed for five more years at $4.25MM per. Player B scored 33 points in 79 games last season. It was eight points less than the season prior, and Player B also had the worst face-off percentage among the team’s centers. He is 34 years old and signed for four more years at $5.25MM per. Still undecided about which contract the team would rather trade? Player A is a Michigan native and career Red Wing and Player B is entering only his third year after signing a lucrative free agent contract. Player A of course is perennial whipping boy Justin Abdelkader. Yes, the Abdelkader contract is terrible. At no point in his career has he been worth his current contract value. Yet, he improved last season, is younger and brings a defensive element to his game, and is also loyal to the current administration – the call of the question after all is which contract the team would most like to trade. That would instead be Player B, Frans Nielsen, who at 34 is predictably declining and last year made more than Abdelkader for less production and there is no reason to believe that trend won’t continue. The team rewarded Adbelkader for years of service, whereas they took a gamble on Nielsen that hasn’t paid off. One of those moves is far more regrettable. Nielsen is the guy, but he only narrowly edged out Abdelkader and defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who also has relative age and Detroit roots to his advantage.

Edmonton Oilers: Milan Lucic – five years, $30MM remaining

The Oilers can refute trade rumors surrounding Milan Lucic all they want. The truth of the matter is that GM Peter Chiarelli signed Lucic hoping that he could both produce with and protect Connor McDavid in Edmonton as he did for David Krejci in Boston. The only problem is that the 30-year-old power forward can no longer keep up with a player of McDavid’s caliber. Lucic managed to score 34 points last season, tied for fourth on the team, but that is nowhere near what is expected of a $6MM player, especially when he scored 50 in year one with the Oilers and topped that mark many times with the Bruins. Edmonton still may be holding out hope that Lucic can turn it around and be just as much of a scoring threat as he is a physical threat, but make no mistake that the team would be quick to get rid of his contract if the right deal came along. In contrast, the team would be far more hesitant to move a hefty contract like defenseman Andrej Sekera who has been good and injury-prone, rather than healthy and underwhelming.

Florida Panthers: Roberto Luongo – four years, $18.13MM remaining

Florida is a tough one. Dale Tallon has done a good job of locking up his core long-term and, despite being right up against the cap, there are few egregious contracts on the roster right now. Give it a few years and maybe Michael Matheson will hold this title, but for now it goes to Roberto Luongo by default. Of course, Luongo is beloved in Florida and the team doesn’t even have to carry the whole of his cap hit, with the Vancouver Canucks retaining $800K each year. However, the reality is that Luongo will turn 40 this season and it will be only the first of four years left on his deal. The Panthers have almost $8MM committed to two goalies for the next few years and the other, James Reimer, is younger and outplayed Luongo in 2016-17 and in more games to boot. While they both fought injuries this past season, it was Luongo back on top performance-wise, but the impressive numbers he did post came in just 35 appearances versus Reimer’s 44. Florida paying over $4.5MM per year to a backup goalie in his forties just doesn’t make sense and the team would be better off moving forward with just Reimer and Michael Hutchinson if they could find a way to trade Luongo. Another reason this contract is bad: both the Panthers and Canucks will be hit with cap recapture penalties if Luongo retires prior to 2022.

Los Angeles Kings: Dustin Brown – four years, $23.5MM remaining

For the first time in years, Kings fans are feeling good about Dustin Brown. That is why now is the perfect time to trade him. Brown had been the bane of L.A.’s existence for four years, registering no more than 36 points each year while eating up $5.875MM in cap space, when he finally broke out of his funk in 2017-18 with a massive 61-point season and one of the league’s best plus/minus ratings. The question now is whether the past four years were an aberration with this season setting a new baseline or will Brown regress back to his bottom-six production. With a cap-strapped roster full of expensive contracts for older players, L.A. can’t take the risk of keeping Brown around if the right opportunity presents itself. They would be forced to trade the career King if a taker came forward rather than hold out hope that he doesn’t revert back to his old ways of being drastically overpaid.

Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise – seven years, $52.77MM remaining

When the Wild signed 28-year-old’s Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to matching 13-year contracts worth almost $100MM apiece, they knew that those deals would have dark days at some point in the future. However, they never could have imagined that Parise’s decline would come so soon. Parise remains one of the most popular players on the team, but injuries have kept him off the ice and affected his play when on the ice over the ice and his stock is falling quickly. Parise has never been able to reach the peaks he enjoyed in New Jersey, but he still produced at a high level over his first four seasons with the team. The past two years have been a different story and Parise appears to be trending in the wrong direction. Now 33, Parise isn’t totally beyond help and could turn it around. If back at 100%, Parise has enough natural ability and enough talent around him to still be a $7.5MM player. However, it would be nearly impossible for Minnesota to ever move the behemoth that is his contract so, if somehow they received an offer, they would take it without a second thought. Fan favorite or not, there is too much risk associated with Parise moving forward.

Montreal Canadiens: Shea Weber – seven years, $55MM remaining

I know what you’re thinking and yes, the Carey Price contract doesn’t look great right now. However, an extension of any length and value for any player coming off an injury-riddled season would bring a skewed perception. Price has been one of the best goalies in the league for years and one bad season doesn’t change that. Will he lose that title in the next eight years? For sure, but it would be a shock to see the Canadiens move their poster boy any time soon. Their #1 defenseman is another question though. When Montreal acquired Shea Weber for P.K. Subban, they never could have anticipated that his body would break down so soon after. Injuries cost Weber all but 26 games last season and he will miss the beginning of 2018-19 as well. Weber doesn’t seem like the type of player who will retire early, but there is no guarantee that these injuries won’t slow him down significantly for the remainder of his contract. In fact, the only guarantee is that he will slow down over the next seven years. At $7.86MM, the Canadiens need Weber to be his dynamic two-way self. The team already has one overpaid stay-at-home defenseman in Karl Alzner and can’t afford another. If they could move Weber, they would.

Nashville Predators: None

GM David Poile flat out doesn’t sign bad contracts. Criticize the deals for Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris if you like, but the bargain contracts throughout the rest of the lineup have allowed Poile to overpay for reliable centers and that is a team-building model that anyone can get behind.

New Jersey Devils: Corey Schneider – four years, $24MM remaining

The easy answer is that the Devils don’t feel any pressure to trade anyone on the roster. They currently have the lowest payroll in the league with nearly every player signed to a fair deal. Those who are overpriced – Travis Zajac and Andy Greene – play important leadership role and the only player signed to a substantially long-term deal is electric young blue liner Damon Severson. The one and only player that sticks out as a potential long-term cap problem is starting goaltender Corey Schneider. This may surprises some; after all Schneider trails only Tuukka Rask among active save percentage leaders. Schneider had been elite since arriving in New Jersey, but something started to change in 2016-17. His SV% fell to .908 and his GAA inflated to 2.82 and then things only got worse last season with a SV% of .907 and a GAA of 2.93. He was also limited to just 40 appearances this year and was outplayed by journeyman Keith Kinkaid. The Devils can’t count on Kinkaid to repeat his 2017-18 performance moving forward and if Schneider’s back-to-back bad years are more than a fluke, they can’t depend on him for four more years either. He’s not going to be a $6MM backup either. New Jersey will give Schneider the time he needs to return to form, but they may not hesitate if the right trade comes their way as well.

New York Islanders: Andrew Ladd – five years, $27.5MM remaining

The Islanders without John Tavares are a totally different animal. A six-year, $30MM extension for Josh Bailey now looks bad. A $5.75MM cap hit this season for free agents Leo Komarov and Valtteri Filppula signed to make up for Tavares’ lost production looks bad. The likes of Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Cizikas, and Matt Martin now look worse on a team that needs more offense and less grit. However, the one contract that looked miserable well before Tavares bolted to Toronto is Andrew Ladd and it is only going to get much worse. The veteran forward was intended to find chemistry with Tavares when he was signed to a seven-year, $38.5MM contract two years ago. Instead, Ladd has just 60 points over the past two seasons combined and has by all accounts been relegated to a bottom-six role. The 32-year-old will now be asked to take a bigger role in Tavares’ stead and that is a scary proposition. The Islanders aren’t in any cap trouble, but the team should be thinking rebuild and would likely take any offer at all to rid themselves of Ladd.

New York Rangers: Brendan Smith – three years, $13.05MM remaining

Has any free agent contract in recent memory soured as quickly as Brendan Smith’s? Smith signed a four-year deal with the Rangers last June and was expected to play a top-four role for the team for years to come. By February, he had been placed on waivers and buried in the AHL. Smith played in only 44 games with New York and saw less and less ice time as the season wore on and he continued to turn the puck over at an alarming rate and cost his team goals. Now what? One would assume that Smith will be given a second chance this season, but the relationship between he and the team may be beyond repair. There is no doubt that the Rangers would take a re-do on that deal and would move him if possible. Marc Staal is another player that New York wouldn’t mind moving, but as a player who can eat minutes and provide solid play most of the time, his $5.7MM contract seems like nothing next to Smith’s $4.35MM deal.

Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan – four years, $29MM remaining

No contract in the league has become as notorious for being labeled a “bad deal” that the team is desperate to trade like Bobby Ryan’s. The Senators are so determined to move on from Ryan that they are trying to force Erik Karlsson trade suitors to take the overpaid forward as well. At one point in time, $7.25MM per year for Ryan seemed like a fair deal. At 23 years old he was a 71-point player with the Anaheim Ducks and even after moving to Ottawa, Ryan started his tenure with three straight seasons in the 50-point range. However, the last two years have been very different. Ryan has only suited up for 62 games in each campaign and has looked like a different player on offense. At his best, he looks disinterested and lucky to be in the right place at the right time and at his worst he costs his team goals. Ryan has managed to register only 58 points combined over the past two years; he had 56 alone in 2015-16. Ryan may just need a change of scenery to jump start what used to be dynamic goal-scoring game, but the Senators don’t care about that. All he is to them is a waste of cap space and of owner Eugene Melnyk’s dwindling wealth. They want him gone at any cost.

Look out for Part III of this three-part series early next week…

 

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Andrej Sekera| Andrew Ladd| Andy Greene| Bobby Ryan| Boston Bruins| Brendan Smith| Cal Clutterbuck| Carey Price| Casey Cizikas| Connor McDavid| Dale Tallon| Damon Severson| Danny DeKeyser| David Krejci| David Poile| Detroit Red Wings| Dustin Brown| Dustin Brown| Edmonton Oilers| Erik Karlsson| Florida Panthers| Frans Nielsen| Frans Nielsen| Injury| James Reimer| John Tavares| Josh Bailey| Justin Abdelkader| Karl Alzner| Kyle Turris| Leo Komarov| Los Angeles Kings| Marc Staal| Matt Martin| Michael Hutchinson| Michael Matheson| Milan Lucic| Minnesota Wild| Montreal Canadiens| Nashville Predators| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| P.K. Subban| Salary Cap| Trade Rumors| Vancouver Canucks| Waivers

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Snapshots: Lottery, Hischier, Brown, Bruins

April 26, 2018 at 4:18 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The NHL Draft Lottery is scheduled for this Saturday, but it won’t happen all at once. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, picks 4-15 are set to be revealed between 6:30-7:00pm CT, while the last three will be unveiled during the first intermission of the Vegas Golden Knights-San Jose Sharks game.

Remember that three teams are picked in the draft lottery, and can potentially move up all the way from 15th to 1st. The full odds have the Buffalo Sabres as the most likely to select first overall, and the Florida Panthers the least likely. Though the first pick will get the right to draft Rasmus Dahlin, there are still exceptional players available in the next few slots.

  • Nico Hischier played all season with a left wrist/hand injury according to the New Jersey Devils, who announced that he would not need surgery but won’t be heading to Denmark to take part in the World Championships. Both Hischier and Pavel Zacha were invited, but will be nursing injuries for the next two to four weeks. The pair of young forwards are integral to the Devils progression from playoff surprise to Stanley Cup hopeful, and will be expected to take on an even heavier load in 2018-19.
  • Speaking of injuries, Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings had shoulder surgery today but is expected to be ready for the regular season according to Jonathan Davis of NHL Network. Brown was one of the many Kings players shut out in the postseason, assisting on just one of the team’s three goals in their first round series. The 33-year old nevertheless had an outstanding bounce back campaign that saw him record 28 goals and 61 points (a career-high) in 81 games. The physical forward is under contract for another four seasons, but has turned himself from a buyout candidate to an important piece for the Kings once again.
  • When the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, it meant that the conditional fifth-round pick that they sent to Chicago for Tommy Wingels was converted into a fourth-round selection in 2019. That’s a small price to pay for success in the postseason, but will help Chicago (if only slightly) restock their cupboards even more.

Boston Bruins| Dustin Brown| Injury| Los Angeles Kings| New Jersey Devils| Nico Hischier| Pavel Zacha| Schedule| Snapshots

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