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Lawson Crouse Signs Five-Year Extension

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Arbitration will have to wait. Lawson Crouse and the Arizona Coyotes have agreed on a five-year contract extension, just ahead of their arbitration hearing that was scheduled for today. The deal will carry an average annual value of $4.3MM. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports has the full breakdown:

  • 2022-23: $3.6MM
  • 2023-24: $4.6MM
  • 2024-25: $4.6MM
  • 2025-26: $4.8MM
  • 2026-27: $3.8MM

The two sides had exchanged arbitration figures over the weekend, with the Coyotes filing for $2.5MM and Crouse asking for a $4.0MM contract. That would have been a one or two-year deal, which is why the number crept a bit higher as the two sides agreed on a long-term solution. General manager Bill Armstrong released a short statement:

We are very pleased to sign Lawson to a long-term contract. He is a big, strong, skilled power forward and we look forward to him being a big part of our future.

Crouse, 25, still had two years of restricted free agency left, meaning this contract is buying out three UFA seasons for the power forward. He’s coming off his first 20-goal season, one in which he was an impressive blend of size, physicality, and scoring touch. Those 20 goals and 34 points came in just 65 games, along with his 181 hits.

Originally selected 11th overall by the Florida Panthers in 2015, Crouse was part of the trade that sent Dave Bolland’s LTIR-bound contract to the desert in 2016. Since then, he has played in 346 games for the Coyotes, scoring 56 goals and 110 points.

While those numbers don’t jump off the page, he did experience a solid improvement this season and is the kind of power-skill mix that is difficult to find in today’s NHL. He’ll join Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz as the only Arizona players who are signed for more than three years, and slides in as one of the team’s building blocks moving forward.

The team still has Barrett Hayton to sign as a restricted free agent, but otherwise looks rather set for the upcoming season. Arizona does still have close to $20MM in cap space, meaning they can continue to use that room to acquire more futures for the rest of the summer, if the opportunity arises.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to break the news on Twitter. 

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jesse Puljujarvi

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The Edmonton Oilers have avoided arbitration with restricted free agent Jesse Puljujarvi, agreeing on a one-year, $3MM contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Puljujarvi was the next scheduled arbitration hearing, set for this Friday, which will no longer be necessary.

The 24-year-old winger had been issued a qualifying offer before he filed for salary arbitration and had a rather strong case after scoring 36 points in 65 games this season. Selected fourth overall in 2016, Puljujarvi has had a rocky career with the Oilers so far (including a stint spent in Finland) but is starting to show signs of being a strong two-way winger that can contribute and help drive play.

This season, he set a career-high in points, assists, shots, and average ice time, while also even earning a fourth place Selke Trophy vote. His defensive ability has developed nicely, even if his overall offensive ability is still incredibly inconsistent.

There have been many who believe a change of scenery is the best option for both the Oilers and Puljujarvi, a thought only amplified when Ken Holland said at his end-of-year media availability that he had to “sort out” the situation and talk to the coaching staff before making a decision. Reports have continued to surface in the weeks since that though there were a handful of teams interested, the Oilers would be selling him for a relatively low return.

That could still happen after this agreement, and in fact, it might help any trade talks move along. Teams rarely target players headed for arbitration as acquiring them means preparing for the hearing as well. In Puljujarvi’s case, figures would have been exchanged tomorrow and once the hearing began, no settlement is allowed.

Now, the Oilers sit over the cap with a 19-man roster, though Mike Smith and Oscar Klefbom are both expected to spend the entire season on long-term injured reserve, giving the team a bit of flexibility. Edmonton still has two key restricted free agents to go, including Kailer Yamamoto whose arbitration hearing is set for August 7. When that case is settled, they will receive a short buyout window that could be used to clear additional cap space, if they chose to use it.

San Jose Sharks Hire David Quinn

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July 26: The Sharks have now made it official, announcing Quinn as their next head coach. Earlier in the day, Kevin Weekes of ESPN also reported that Calder Cup-winning coach Ryan Warsofsky will be interviewing with the team for an assistant position, after failing to land the head coaching job.

July 21: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the San Jose Sharks are “zeroing in” on former New York Rangers bench boss David Quinn to be their next head coach. While this is no confirmation that a deal between the two parties is done, it seems likely that Quinn will return to an NHL bench in 2022-23 with the Sharks.

Friedman reports that Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Spencer Carbery, who was reported as a candidate yesterday, and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci were finalists for the job.

Quinn has been out of an NHL job since the Rangers fired him shortly after the 2020-21 season, concluding a mediocre three-year run with the team. According to reports, Quinn was at one point the front-runner for the Boston Bruins’ vacancy this offseason before they opted to go with former Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery.

Those three seasons in the Big Apple comprise Quinn’s only NHL coaching experience aside from one season spent with the Colorado Avalanche as an assistant coach in 2012-13. Between 2013 and 2018, Quinn had a strong run as the head coach of the Division I program at Boston University.

He’s also represented USA Hockey as a coach at multiple international tournaments, including serving as their head coach for the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Championships. The USA failed to medal in either tournament.

This story will be updated as details emerge.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Isac Lundestrom

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The Anaheim Ducks have avoided arbitration with restricted free agent Isac Lundestrom, reaching a two-year agreement worth a total of $3.6MM. Lundestrom was scheduled for the first arbitration hearing of the summer on Wednesday and would have had to file salary figures later today. That hearing will no longer be required.

While everyone was watching Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, and Jamie Drysdale in Anaheim this year, Lundestrom quietly had a strong season in his own right. He actually ranked fourth on the team in goals with 16 despite tough defensive deployment and showed he could be a real difference-maker on the penalty kill. His four short-handed tallies trailed only Alex Formenton and Trevor Moore (who both had five) for the league lead, and his other 12 goals all came at even-strength.

In more than 1,000 even-strength minutes, Lundestrom was on the ice for only 43 goals against despite starting just 135 of his nearly 1,500 shifts in the offensive zone. With Ryan Strome joining the team in free agency, it appears as though the 22-year-old will stay in that defensive role, for the time being, giving the Ducks a rather deep group down the middle.

At a $1.8MM cap hit, there is a real opportunity for some surplus value in this case too, especially if his knack for goal scoring continues. It also gives the team a chance to sign him to a longer deal down the road, as he’ll still be a restricted free agent at its expiry.

The Ducks don’t have many long-term commitments at this point, with only Strome, Cam Fowler, Frank Vatrano, and John Gibson signed to one-way contracts through 2024-25. With Zegras, Terry, and Drysdale now eligible for extensions, that could be changing soon. Getting Lundestrom locked in at a relatively low price will give the team a little more understanding of how much they have to work with next season.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet broke the news on Twitter. 

Florida Panthers Acquire, Extend Matthew Tkachuk

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The Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames have completed a massive, blockbuster trade.

The teams have each announced the swap: Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional fourth-round pick are going to the Florida Panthers, while Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick will head to Calgary.

With the trade completed, the Panthers announced that Tkachuk has agreed to an eight-year extension carrying a $9.5MM average annual value. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the breakdown of Tkachuk’s contract each season is uniform – a base salary of $1MM and a signing bonus of $8.5MM.

That settles the Tkachuk contract situation and closes off any talk of Tkachuk joining the St. Louis Blues, which had been heavily rumored in the days leading up to this trade.

Overall, this is the sort of trade that we just don’t see all that often. It involves three superstar players, two wingers who crossed the 100-point threshold last season and one late-blooming defenseman who has blossomed into a true top-pairing, all-situations minutes-eater. A trade involving three stars doesn’t happen very often, making this swap all the more interesting to unpack.

For the Flames, the rationale for making this deal was quite simple. The team had barely any time to recover from the loss of Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets before Tkachuk informed them of his intentions to test free agency in a year’s time. GM Brad Treliving was backed into a corner, and he needed to find a way to revive his team’s competitive prospects despite his leverage decreasing and assets’ values dwindling. This trade is Treliving’s way of jump-starting the Flames’ hopes for next season after a nightmarish start to their offseason.

One could very easily argue that, on a player-for-player basis, the Flames got significantly better through this trade. Yes, Tkachuk is a superstar, combining incredible skill with physicality and peskiness to provide a package of tools few players can rival. On a line with Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm, Tkachuk smashed past his career highs in 2021-22, scoring 42 goals and 104 points. But in exchange for Tkachuk, the Flames are getting a player who also blew past his career highs and reached new heights in production – Huberdeau. In 80 games, Huberdeau scored 30 goals and 115 points, helping power a Panthers offense that scored at will. And it’s not just offense with him either, Huberdeau also saw nearly two minutes of short-handed ice time per game and has made great strides in refining his 200-foot game.

But that’s not all the Flames are getting. They’re also receiving Mackenzie Weegar, a 28-year-old former seventh-round pick who’s quickly risen to be one of the most reliable, impactful, underrated two-way defensemen in hockey. Weegar scored 44 points this season and averaged 2:46 in short-handed ice-time per game. When Aaron Ekblad was struggling to stay in the lineup, Weegar became a true number-one defenseman on the best regular-season team in hockey, a true feat. It’s fair to call Weegar a number-one defenseman and he should instantly be expected to slot into that role on an already talented Flames blueline.

In addition to Weegar, the Flames are getting prospect center, Schwindt. Schwindt is 21 years old and was drafted 81st overall at the 2019 draft. The former Mississauga Steelheads star has adjusted well to professional hockey, and had 40 points in 70 games as a rookie in the AHL. Schwindt represents the future-oriented part of the return, along with the lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick the Flames also received from the Panthers.

So, for Calgary, this trade works on two levels. On one level, it helps them recover from the loss of Gaudreau and compete for a Stanley Cup next season. They are adding an MVP-level, line-driving, 100-plus point winger to replace their lost 100-point winger. They’re also adding a minute-munching, all-situations number-one defenseman as well. Instantly, their team is better. They also receive a solid prospect to develop at their new Calgary-based AHL affiliate, and a nice first-round pick as well.

The true beauty of this trade for Calgary, though, is on its second level. See, this trade gives Treliving something that is all too rare in today’s flat cap world: flexibility. Let’s say, for whatever reason, Huberdeau and Weegar aren’t great fits. The team could struggle out the gate, and it could become clear that expecting the 2022-23 Flames to compete for a Stanley Cup is unrealistic. Well, if that ends up happening, Treliving will have Huberdeau and Weegar on expiring contracts. He will be able to immediately pivot to a rebuilding planfor his club and jump-start it with two players who will likely be the most coveted assets on the deadline trade market.

Treliving would be able to, essentially, orchestrate an auction for Huberdeau and Weegar’s services next season and accumulate a significant stockpile of draft picks and prospects in the process. When added on to the prospect and draft pick already received in this deal, it’s not a bad way to begin an organizational reset, especially when it comes at the cost of a player who had already communicated his intentions to leave in free agency. So for Treliving, this trade gives him and the entire Flames organization the flexibility to be able to effectively pursue either a cup-or-bust competitive window or a future-oriented reset.

Yes, there is some risk for the Flames, there’s no doubt about that. If a rebuild is, in fact, off the table, then adding two players with just a single year of team control each as the main return for Tkachuk is a gamble. If Weegar and Huberdeau both leave as free agents next summer, and the Flames don’t win a Stanley Cup, the initial good feelings generated from this trade could evaporate. But for a Calgary team that badly needed optimism and direction after such a bad month, this is the sort of gamble they’re prepared to make.

From the Panthers’ side of the equation, the motivations behind making this trade are a bit less immediately clear. This is a team that just won the President’s Trophy, so swapping one superstar winger for another at the cost of a top-pairing defenseman might not seem like the wisest choice, especially when they need to surrender a talented prospect and a first-rounder for their trouble. But one look at the Panthers’ cap sheet can give a bit more insight into why GM Bill Zito and the Panthers made this swap.

With major cap hits for Aleksander Barkov, Sergei Bobrovsky, Ekblad, and Sam Reinhart already on the books, the Panthers were looking at a very realistic scenario that either Huberdeau, Weegar, or even both would leave as free agents next summer. That was seen as a necessary risk for a team intent on winning the Stanley Cup, of course, but Zito seemingly decided that that risk was too much to bear. So, he decided to trade both Huberdeau and Weegar at a time when they were still extremely valuable assets in order to secure a younger superstar winger who he can lock into a long-term deal.

With Weegar gone and Tkachuk swapped for Huberdeau, it’s difficult to say that the Panthers are an improved team for next season. But if this trade as well as the departure of interim head coach Andrew Brunette tells us anything, it’s that the Panthers were extremely displeased with their second-round loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers clearly believe that they need a change in how their group plays, to play with more physicality, fire, and passion. There are few 100-point wingers who offer those three attributes more plentifully than Tkachuk, and even at this steep price, it’s easy to understand why Zito wanted him in Sunrise. If his presence in the lineup and locker room can help augment their team’s identity, it’ll be assets well spent.

This trade will be an extremely interesting one to track, and the storylines it creates could dominate the hockey headlines for months to come. Tkachuk is now in the same division as his brother, Brady, who captains the Ottawa Senators. The Flames have recently had to deal with questions over their ability to retain star players, and they’ve now added two star players who will, in just a year’s time, be free agents. Will the Flames be able to keep them? Will the new-look Flames be as good as last year’s club? Will Zito’s no-holds-barred chase of superstar talent, at the cost of the team’s first-round picks for the next three seasons, result in a Stanley Cup victory for the Panthers?

Those are definitely questions to ponder, and it’ll be extremely interesting to see how they end up answered.

Sportsnet’s Eric Francis was first on the trade. Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

San Jose Sharks Sign Luke Kunin, Kaapo Kahkonen

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The San Jose Sharks have signed Luke Kunin to a two-year contract, according to PuckPedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.75MM. Kunin was eligible for salary arbitration this summer but chose not to file. Sharks general manager Mike Grier also announced Monday afternoon that the team has signed goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to a two-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the deal carries a cap hit of $2.75MM.

Kunin, 24, was acquired from the Nashville Predators this offseason in exchange for John Leonard (who also signed today) and a third-round pick. The young forward has changed his game in recent years to lean into his physicality, and after racking up a whopping 223 in 2021-22, he offers something new to the San Jose bottom six.

There’s also a bit of offensive skill in the 2016 first-round pick, who has double-digit goals in each of his last three seasons, all of them coming at even-strength or while short-handed. That kind of scoring upside will come in handy as the Sharks start to tear apart the old core and rebuild it under new general manager Mike Grier.

Notably, it will leave Kunin as a restricted free agent at its expiry, giving the Sharks a chance to re-assess whether he can be a long-term solution. He will once again be up for arbitration at that point.

Kahkonen excelled after San Jose acquired him at the Trade Deadline from the Minnesota Wild. The 2020 AHL Goalie of the Year had just a 2-6-1 record, but that was no fault of his own, posting a more-than-respectable .916 save percentage in 11 games played (10 starts). Kahkonen has a career .908 save percentage through 65 NHL games, 54 of which came with the Wild. He’ll join a crowded crease in San Jose next year that also includes James Reimer and Adin Hill.

The 25-year-old Finn will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when his new contract expires.

Penguins Acquire Jeff Petry

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The Penguins moved out a right-shot defender earlier today when they sent John Marino to New Jersey.  It appears he’ll be replaced by Jeff Petry as Pittsburgh has acquired the veteran along with center Ryan Poehling from Montreal in exchange for blueliner Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick.  Both teams have confirmed the swap.

The 34-year-old is coming off a tough season with Montreal that saw him struggle as their top defender in the absence of Shea Weber.  He struggled mightily offensively to start the year as over the first three months of the year, he had just two assists in 27 games.  However, Petry’s performance improved following the coaching change that saw Martin St. Louis take over behind the bench and he was much better down the stretch, picking up 21 points in the final three months of the season.  Overall, Petry finished up the year with six goals and 21 assists in 68 games, his lowest point total since the 2015-16 campaign, his first full season with the Canadiens.

Around the midway point of the year, he also requested a trade for family reasons.  While he was widely expected to move at the trade deadline and again at the draft, it has taken a while for a move to materialize.

Petry has three years left on his contract with a $6.25MM AAV and Montreal GM Kent Hughes stated earlier this week that he wasn’t interested in retaining any salary to facilitate a trade.  While the Marino move freed up roughly $3.5MM in cap flexibility, that wasn’t enough to absorb Petry’s full deal which is what prompted Matheson’s inclusion in the swap.  Petry had been speculated as a possible replacement for Kris Letang if the veteran was to leave in free agency.  Instead, Letang signed a six-year deal and Petry will now help form a quality one-two punch on the right side of their back end with Petry’s AAV checking in just above Letang’s to make him the highest-paid blueliner on the team.

Matheson was a top-four defender early in his career with Florida but his stock started to dip a few years ago, resulting in him being flipped for Patric Hornqvist.  The move worked out well for the 28-year-old as he had a career year offensively in 2021-22, picking up 11 goals and 20 assists in 74 games while logging just under 19 minutes a night.  He was also quite productive for the Penguins in the playoffs, notching a goal and five helpers in seven games to lead all Pittsburgh blueliners in scoring while averaging over 25 minutes per contest.

Matheson has four years remaining on his contract with a $4.875MM AAV on a deal that is somewhat heavily backloaded with his payout set to jump to $6.5MM per season in each of the final three seasons.  He immediately becomes the blueliner with the longest contract on the Canadiens while also being their highest-paid.  He’ll likely take the place of Alexander Romanov on Montreal’s depth chart as the youngster was traded back at the draft to the Islanders for the 13th-overall pick which was then flipped to Chicago to pick up center Kirby Dach.

As for Poehling, the 23-year-old was a first-round pick of Montreal back in 2017 (25th overall) and spent most of last season with the Canadiens, notching nine goals and eight assists in 57 games while averaging just over 12 minutes per game.  He’s likely to have a similar role in Pittsburgh’s bottom six in 2022-23.  Poehling is signed for the league minimum for next season and will be a restricted free agent next summer.

With the move, Pittsburgh now has just under $2MM in cap space with RFA winger Kasperi Kapanen still to sign.  That’s not enough for the 25-year-old so it would appear that GM Ron Hextall has another move to try to make.  Meanwhile, Montreal frees up a little over $2MM with this swap, giving them a little over $2.3MM in cap room with Dach as their most notable RFA in need of a new deal.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract and cap info courtesy of CapFriendly.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Petry was heading to Pittsburgh.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the trade details.

Washington Capitals Sign Dylan Strome

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5:46 pm: The Washington Capitals have made the deal official, bringing Strome to the United States’ capital on a one-year, $3.5MM deal.

4:35 pm: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Washington Capitals are expected to sign top unqualified RFA Dylan Strome to a one-year contract worth $3.5MM.

For Washington, this is an important signing to give them a legitimate second-line center in the absence of Nicklas Backstrom. While the team is more optimistic Backstrom will be able to return during the season after a serious hip surgery that could threaten his career, Strome is a strong option with top-six experience to replace him.

Despite going unqualified by the Chicago Blackhawks (and some puzzling early-season scratches by former head coach Jeremy Colliton), the 25-year-old had a strong year on a weak Chicago team with a career-high 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points in 69 games. With the chance to play with names like Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Anthony Mantha, T.J. Oshie, Connor Brown, and others, Strome could finally hit the offensive potential he had when he was drafted third overall in 2015.

It’s a strong signing for Washington, who’s had a quietly great offseason by adding defensive depth and signing veteran netminder Darcy Kuemper.

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Max Pacioretty

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes are acquiring Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan from the Vegas Golden Knights in a blockbuster trade. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the return to Vegas is nothing but future considerations.

Pacioretty, 33, has just one year left on his contract and carries a cap hit of $7MM. The Golden Knights are not retaining any of that, meaning they’ve cleared a huge chunk of space for their other moves. Still, this move appears to be a stunning example of poor asset management for the Golden Knights.

In 2018, the team traded a first, second, and third-round pick for Tomas Tatar at the trade deadline. After playing just 28 total games for the team, they then included Tatar in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens to acquire Pacioretty. Along with Tatar went recently drafted Nick Suzuki and another second-round pick, while the Canadiens retained just ten percent of Pacioretty’s contract. The Golden Knights then signed the former Montreal captain to a four-year, $28MM extension before he had even played a game for them, a contract that they are now sending along with 24-year-old defenseman Dylan Coghlan for no return.

They did receive parts of four seasons from Pacioretty in the interim, though his time in Vegas has been marred by injuries. He played just 39 games this season, a big part of why the Golden Knights eventually missed the playoffs.

Still, the Hurricanes are getting an impact goal-scoring talent, if the veteran forward can stay healthy enough next season. In his career, Pacioretty has 323 goals in 850 games, an 82-game pace of over 31. For nothing but cap space, it is a worthwhile move for general manager Don Waddell, who also landed veteran Brent Burns earlier today.

Carolina is obviously pushing some of their chips to the middle, though it’s important to note that this isn’t a long-term gamble. Pacioretty will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and off the books for the Hurricanes if it doesn’t work out.

For Vegas, this opens enough space to sign Reilly Smith, while the team also has the Shea Weber LTIR flexibility to work with.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Philadelphia Flyers To Sign Braun, Deslauriers, Marody

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It’s time to come home for Justin Braun, who is signing a one-year, $1MM contract with the Philadelphia Flyers according to Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic. Because it will be a one-year, 35+ contract, Braun is eligible for performance bonuses, which can take the value of the deal to $1.75MM.

He’ll be joined by Nicolas Deslauriers, who is also heading to the Flyers on a four-year deal that will carry an average annual value of $1.75MM. In a lesser move, minor league star Cooper Marody will also be joining the Flyers on a two-year deal, according to his agency Bartlett Hockey.

Braun, 35, played parts of three seasons with the Flyers before ending up traded to the New York Rangers at this year’s deadline. A dependable defensive option, he doesn’t offer much offensive upside and will likely play an even smaller role this year as Philadelphia tries to contend for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.

It’s Deslauriers that will get the headlines, given the four-year term that the physical forward landed in Philadelphia. Already 31, this is a contract that will take him deep into his thirties despite Deslauriers scoring just 44 goals and 85 points in 506 career games.

He offers a bunch of other things, including the ability to drop the gloves, but handing out that many years to a fourth-line player isn’t common in today’s NHL. Still, with a cap hit of just $1.75MM it doesn’t carry a ton of risk for the Flyers, who could bury most of that in the minor leagues if necessary.

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