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Vancouver “Still In The Mix” For Gustav Nyquist

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The Vancouver Canucks have had quite the interesting offseason so far, highlighted by the retirement of Roberto Luongo placing more than $3MM of cap recapture penalties on their books. To combat that the team placed will buy out Ryan Spooner to open up some more cap space for potential free agent signings and new contracts for their own RFAs. While Vancouver has been routinely linked to free agent defenseman Tyler Myers, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet reports that the team is currently “still in the mix” for Gustav Nyquist as well.

Nyquist, 29, was acquired by the San Jose Sharks at the deadline and fit in quite well with them, scoring 22 points in 39 games including a solid postseason. Even with the good fit he may end up being too pricey for the team to retain after they made Erik Karlsson the highest-paid defenseman in the league and need to get Timo Meier under a new deal. That opens him up for a bidding war on the open market as one of the top second-tier free agent forwards, something Vancouver is obviously interested in.

Coming off a four-year $19MM deal signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 2015, Nyquist is undoubtedly looking for a raise on the $4.75MM cap hit he carried last season. After recording a career-high 60 points his market won’t be small, and there has been plenty of speculation on where that might lead him. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested recently that the Columbus Blue Jackets may be a fit, which would make sense given Aaron Portzline of The Athletic’s reporting (subscription required) that they have been focused on free agent forwards.

If Vancouver does get involved with Nyquist, they’re going to have to make sure they don’t overextend themselves while Brock Boeser is still without a contract. The 22-year old forward should be getting a healthy raise on whatever deal he signs, and is much more important to the team’s future than a free agent forward who will be 30 before the season begins.

Snapshots: Duchene, Donskoi, Vrana, Engelland, McElhinney, Berglund

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While speculation has center Matt Duchene likely signing a long-term deal with the Nashville Predators, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the Montreal Canadiens aren’t out of the running yet. While Nashville may still be the favorite to land the star center, Friedman writes that one of his sources says that it’s not locked in and Montreal still is in the race.

Duchene, who grew up a fan of the Canadiens, would be a big addition for the Canadiens if they can land him. Duchene would likely become their top center in hopes of vaulting Montreal back into a playoff spot.

  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that while things are still in the works, he believes that the Colorado Avalanche and an unidentified team are the finalists to sign unrestricted free agent forward Joonas Donskoi. The 27-year-old scored 14 goals and 37 points last season and could provide the team with a solid middle-six option for the Avalanche. While LeBrun notes that he doesn’t know who the other team is, he believes that Buffalo and Edmonton are not in the running anymore.
  • The Washington Capitals managed to trade off one of their key restricted free agents in Andre Burakovsky Friday in hopes of saving some cap room, but even being free of that contract, the money is tight in Washington. In fact, Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said that because the NHL salary cap was lower than expected ($81.5MM), the team will likely be forced to sign restricted free agent Jakub Vrana to a short-term deal, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulliti. Washington had initially planned to lock up Vrana to a long-term deal when the team had expected the cap to be set at $83MM, but with the number being lower than expected, the MacLellan doesn’t believe the team has the money to sign him long-term.
  • Vegas Golden Knights President of Hockey Operations George McPhee confirmed that the team is close to signing veteran unrestricted free agent defenseman Deryk Engelland, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. The 37-year-old had a down season last year, but the veteran who actually played in Vegas in the ECHL before the Golden Knights came about, has been a community leader there. He is likely expected to take a bottom-six role next season and could find himself more in a 6th/7th role on defense.
  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Montreal Canadiens are among three teams that are interested in signing veteran goaltender Curtis McElhinney. The 36-year-old had a great season in Carolina after the Hurricanes claimed him off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the beginning of the year. He finished the season with a 2.58 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 33 appearances. LeBrun also adds that it doesn’t look like Toronto is one of the other two teams.
  • Former NHL player Patrik Berglund, who walked out on the Buffalo Sabres in the middle of last season, is exploring a return the the NHL and has several teams interested, according to Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland. Berglund, who was packaged to Buffalo in the Ryan O’Reilly trade last offseason, didn’t like it in Buffalo and finally requested that his contract to be terminated after playing just 23 games in a reduced role. The 31-year-old scored 17 goals in the 2017-18 season, but scored just twice before walking away this year.

Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Phil Kessel To Arizona Coyotes

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have traded forward Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes, finally ending a long saga in which Pittsburgh has been trying to unload the unhappy veteran. The Penguins will send Kessel, prospect Dane Birks and a 2021 fourth-round pick to Arizona for forward Alex Galchenyuk and prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Phil Kessel for his contributions to the Penguins. He was a key component to our success in winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. We couldn’t have done it without him, and for that, we are grateful,” said Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. “With that being said, we are excited to welcome a young, skilled player in Alex, and add depth to our defense with first-round draft pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph.”

Kessel’s name has been in the news all offseason as the team is interested in moving the veteran forward and the three years remaining on his deal at $6.8MM and with some bad blood between Kessel and the Penguins, general manager Jim Rutherford was looking to move him. Rutherford said that Kessel requested to be traded several times during last season and then changed his mind, although Kessel denies that, according to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. The Penguins attempted to trade Kessel to Minnesota in May in a package that included Jason Zucker, but Kessel, who has a modified no-trade clause where he can pick eight teams that he can be traded to, rejected the deal as he had no interest in going to Minnesota. However, Kessel would be interested in going to Arizona as he has a great relationship with their coach, Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach in Pittsburgh before he took the Coyotes’ job. Tocchet was, in fact, known in Pittsburgh as the “Phil Kessel Whisperer,” and is considered the one coach who can get the most out of the veteran.

The 31-year-old Kessel is coming off a solid season in which he scored 27 goals and 82 points, which would have been tops on Arizona’s squad by 35 points as the team’s points leader was Clayton Keller, who put up 14 goals and 47 points. Kessel provides the Coyotes with a proven veteran scorer, something that was desperately needed as no one in Arizona got to 20 goals last season. In fact, Kessel has scored 291 goals in the last 10 seasons, which is only behind a handful of top players in the league, including Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Joe Pavelski. Kessel’s contract will be the second-biggest on the team behind defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Kessel also should provide some stability in the lineup as Arizona was ravaged by injuries last year. Kessel has gone nine straight seasons without having missed a regular-season game. While Kessel isn’t known for his defensive play, it evens out as Galchenyuk is considered to be just as weak defensively.

In Galchenyuk, the Penguins would still get a solid top-six forward, but at both a cheaper price tag and with less term. Galchenyuk has just one year remaining on his deal at $4.9MM, which gives the Penguins some much-needed cap room to attempt to add to a team that got swept in the first-round of the playoffs last year and have a limited time to make a Stanley Cup run as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aren’t getting any younger. The 25-year-old Galchenyuk put up 19 goals and 41 points in 72 games last season, his first in Arizona after being acquired last offseason via trade from Montreal and should become a solid winger on one of Pittsburgh’s top two lines.

The Penguins also added some young defensive depth as Joseph was Arizona’s first-round pick in 2017 and is ready to turn pro, although he will likely need at least one year in the AHL. The 19-year-old posted nine goals and 42 points for two junior squads last year. Birks is likely to even out the trade as the 23-year-old spent all of last season in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the trade. 

Latest On Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Saturday: While he can’t get confirmation from either team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes are are currently working on a Kessel deal. No word on what the deal might consist of, but Arizona is one team that Kessel would be interested in playing for as he is close to Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach for the Penguins before taking the Arizona job.

Friday: The Pittsburgh Penguins had a trade worked out earlier this month that would have seen Phil Kessel head to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. It didn’t happen because of a no-trade clause that Kessel refused to waive, something he had negotiated into his contract years ago when he first signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Exercising his clause to block a trade was well within his right, and it seemed to quiet things down for a while in regards to the Penguins. GM Jim Rutherford admitted that a Kessel trade this offseason was now unlikely, but that hasn’t stopped reports surfacing on consecutive days that the team is still trying to unload their enigmatic star.

Yesterday, Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) reported that trade talks for the Penguins were “heating up” though it wasn’t clear exactly what Rutherford was trying to accomplish, other than dealing Kessel while making the team younger and faster. Today, another detailed piece was released by Rob Rossi of The Athletic that examines exactly what has gone wrong in Pittsburgh between Kessel and the organization and how the star player is currently holding the rest of their offseason “hostage.” Rossi quotes multiple sources that feel a Kessel trade was priority number one this offseason, in order to accomplish a sort of culture reset in Pittsburgh.

The 31-year old Kessel has three years remaining on his current contract and carries a $6.8MM cap hit thanks to a portion being retained by the Maple Leafs from an earlier trade. The deal owes him even less in actual salary, and Kessel is coming off another outstanding offensive season with 82 points in 82 games. He’s also currently on an iron man streak that hasn’t seen him miss a game since the 2009-10 season. Point-per-game wingers don’t get traded very often, but a deal this summer would be the third time Kessel is traded in his career.

Still, there is the problem of a no-trade clause that lists just eight teams that the Penguins can send Kessel to without his permission. Players in that situation usually list teams that would have little interest or that would hesitate to deal in-division. Teams like Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto and Boston all seem unlikely to get into real discussions for one reason or another, meaning his list could basically be limited to just a handful of potential destinations. With Rutherford after a “hockey trade” that brings back a player (or players) that can help the Penguins immediately, a deal might be extremely hard to find.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Toronto’s Nikita Zaitsev Likely Heading To Ottawa

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been trying to find a way to unload the contract of defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who still has five years remaining at $4.5MM. It looks like the Maple Leafs have found a trade partner as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Toronto is working with the Ottawa Senators on a trade, while Sportnet’s Chris Johnston adds that it likely will involve a swap of defensemen as Cody Ceci could find himself heading back to Toronto.

The deal may take a couple of days as it’s likely Ottawa is waiting until July 1 so that Toronto is forced to pay Zaitsev his $3MM signing bonus before pulling the trigger on the trade. Ceci will be a restricted free agent and could become an unrestricted free agent in one year. Ceci and the Senators have been trying to work out a long-term deal, but haven’t been able to come to terms, and in fact haven’t even been close, with recent rumors suggesting that Ottawa has been considering shopping him now instead.

A trade with Ottawa could be interesting as TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Zaitsev has Ottawa on his 10-team modified no-trade list. However, the 27-year-old does have a relationship with new Senators head coach D.J. Smith, who has been an assistant coach in Toronto. That could be enough for Zaitsev to waive his no-trade clause and head to Ottawa. He has already requested a trade in the first place in hopes of getting a new opportunity somewhere else after struggling the past two years after an impressive rookie campaign. In Ottawa, he would likely take a significant role, especially if Ceci is headed the other way. The Senators do have Thomas Chabot as a top-four option and they have veteran Mark Borowiecki, but little else that is established yet, which should give Zaitsev the opportunity he is looking for.

Ceci, could be the defenseman they are looking for. The team has been looking to upgrade its defense without having to pay out any substantial money since they are up against the cap with a number of key free-agents to sign. Ceci should give Toronto that top-four defensive presence the team is looking for at a similar cost to that of Zaitsev, although it would give the team another restricted free agent that it would have to deal with this summer. Ceci finished last year with seven goals and 26 points. The team must decide whether it would want to sign Ceci to a long-term deal or allow him to go to arbitration with the possibility of losing him next season, although the team would have accomplished their goal of shedding the contract of Zaitsev, which may be the priority for Toronto at this point.

There is also the possibility that Toronto is taking on the contract with the idea of letting Ceci go to arbitration and then possibly walking away from Ceci without signing the contract, making him a free agent to free up the cap room. The team could also attempt to flip Ceci to another team as well.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Andre Burakovsky

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The Colorado Avalanche have added some more skill and youth to their team, acquiring Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick (previously acquired from Arizona in the Carl Soderberg deal) and minor league forward Scott Kosmachuk. Burakovsky is set to become a restricted free agent, and Kosmachuk is actually set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent in a few days.

Burakovsky could potentially accept his $3.25MM qualifying offer as well, given that his development hasn’t quite gone the way the Capitals hoped the last few seasons. In fact, the 24-year old forward has now posted two 25-point years in a row, a far cry from the 17-goal 38-point sophomore season that looked like his coming out party. Armed with plenty of speed and skill, Burakovsky was the 23rd-overall pick in the 2013 draft and quickly made his way to the NHL.

In Colorado, he will likely receive a bigger offensive role on the left wing where the Avalanche needed some more depth. A change of scenery may be the key to unlocking his full potential, something the Avalanche will hope for after giving up a not-insignificant package for him. Those two draft picks plus the potential $3.25MM salary is a fair amount of assets for a 25-point player, so he will have pressure on him to perform with his new team.

For Washington, trading Burakovsky was basically inevitable after extending the qualifying offer. The team didn’t have enough cap space to afford him this season and he just wasn’t providing the necessary offense for their championship goals. With a new contract due for Jakub Vrana and potential extensions on the horizon with Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby, moving Burakovsky was an obvious choice. Getting two relatively high draft picks out of the move is a win, though GM Brian MacLellan had tried to secure another young player during the most recent season and wasn’t able to.

At the very least, Washington now has some more ammunition for a potential trade deadline acquisition. Depending on where Vrana falls they could also potentially circle back to 20-goal forward Brett Connolly, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Monday and was previously too expensive for the team to retain.

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Coaching Notes: Schultz, Blues, Senators

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The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Nick Schultz as a player development coach, beginning his transition from a playing career that only ended a couple of seasons ago. The former Flyers defenseman retired in 2017 after 1,069 games in the NHL, most of which were spent in a Minnesota Wild uniform. Originally selected in the second round by the Wild in 2000, he carved out a career as a stay at home defender that could be relied on in the toughest situations. He released a statement on his new position:

It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to working with the guys, helping [director of player development] Kjell Samuelsson with the defensemen, and getting to know the kids and their game a little bit. I’m looking forward to working with them throughout the year, watching them play and helping them make it to the next step, and ultimately one day become a Flyer.

The Flyers made a pair of other promotions in the hockey operations staff as they continue to transition under relatively new GM Chuck Fletcher. Some other coaching notes from around the league:

  • Not only is Craig Berube sticking around as St. Louis Blues head coach after agreeing to a multi-year contract this week, but the entire coaching staff. St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong announced that all of the current assistants would be returning next season, though the team may add another one because of the vacancy left when they promoted Berube during the year. Mike Van Ryn and Steve Ott currently serve as assistants for Berube.
  • Another team that is looking for assistants is the Ottawa Senators, and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that candidates for the job include Stu Barnes, Kris Knoblauch, Dave Lowry, Davis Payne and Manny Viveiros. If it were Knoblauch, who served as an assistant with the Flyers the last two seasons, it would be a meeting of former enemies as Senators head coach D.J. Smith was behind the bench of the Oshawa Generals when they defeated Knoblauch’s Erie Otters in the 2015 OHL Championship. Smith already brought in Jack Capuano to serve as an associate coach and lend some experience to the staff.

Market Materializing For Corey Perry

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The Anaheim Ducks said farewell to a franchise icon earlier this month when they bought out the remaining years of Corey Perry’s contract, making him an unrestricted free agent headed for the open market. The veteran forward is determined to return to a competitive level after failing to record 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, and it appears as though he’ll have more than enough opportunity. There was already reporting that linked Perry to the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, but now Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet indicates that the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars are among those on his radar.

The Stars have also been linked to another veteran from the Pacific Division in Joe Pavelski, and as Friedman puts it they are “determined to add scorers.” That would certainly describe Perry, as the 34-year old has 372 goals including six seasons of at least 30. The question is can Perry still be that kind of player, dangerous on the powerplay and effective at even-strength. Dallas already watched the rapid decline of a former star over the last few years as Jason Spezza’s career wound down.

Montreal meanwhile seems to be poking around most free agent, though they won’t be able to bring in everyone. The team has almost $9MM in cap space right now but needs to sign a few restricted free agents and think about the extensions that Max Domi and Victor Mete will be after next summer. If they plan on bringing in some help on the blue line a deal for Perry would have to be relatively inexpensive.

That’s exactly what might happen with the former Duck, as Perry is actually eligible for a performance bonus-laden deal if he settles for a one-year contract. Despite not being 35 yet he qualifies because of the number of days he spent on injured reserve last season. That could be the perfect answer for teams like Montreal or Pittsburgh who may not want to sacrifice much cap space to the former Hart trophy winner.

Adam Musil Placed On Unconditional Waivers

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Tuesday: Musil has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.

Monday: The St. Louis Blues have placed Adam Musil on unconditional waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The move is likely a precursor to a mutual contract termination, as Musil still has one year remaining on his entry-level deal.

The 22-year old Musil was born in Canada, but spent much of his childhood living in the Czech Republic where his father and uncle, former NHL players Frantisek Musil and Bobby Holik, are from. He eventually returned to play in the WHL and was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 draft by the Blues, eventually signing and playing for the San Antonio Rampage, their AHL affiliate.

In 65 games last season Musil recorded just 14 points, and may be looking at a return to the Czech Republic to continue his career. If a termination does take place, he would be an unrestricted free agent and able to sign wherever he wanted.

Canucks Not Expected To Qualify Ben Hutton

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A weak free agent market for defensemen may be getting an unexpected major addition. With the deadline to qualify restricted free agents arriving tomorrow, teams are down to the last minute to extend offers to retain their young RFA’s. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Vancouver Canucks are not planning to make that offer to one of their top defensemen, Ben Hutton. If Hutton is not qualified, he will become an unrestricted free agent and would jump to the top of the list available defenders in terms of ice time and arguably all-around role last season.

According to Friedman, the Canucks and Hutton had not come close to an extension as of yet and the team was worried about a possible arbitration award for the capable defenseman. Vancouver has ample cap space heading into the off-season, but need to re-sign Brock Boeser and were already rumored to be in the market for a top free agent defenseman. The team clearly prefers spending money on the existing UFA blue liners more than retaining Hutton, as his departure will only exacerbate their need for help on defense. Top free agent options Jake Gardiner and Tyler Myers are surely to be targets of the team now, if they weren’t already.

Hutton will get his money from another team, if not the Canucks. The 26-year-old University of Maine product recorded 20 points this season, his third year of 19+ points in four NHL seasons, and set a career high with 22:21 ATOI. A reliable two-way contributor, Hutton’s defensive game has also grown and Vancouver relied on him in all situations last season. Few available defenseman can eat minutes and play competently at even strength, man-up, and man-down to the degree that Hutton did last year, so he will likely draw considerable interest if and when he hits the market.

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