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Filip Forsberg

Extension Notes: Severson, Forsberg, Paul

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After seeing the packages that fellow defensemen Ben Chiarot and Hampus Lindholm were traded for, Damon Severson’s name began circulating as a potential trade chip for the New Jersey Devils. When asked about the possibility of Severson being moved, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman put the brakes on the idea, indicating that he believed Severson wanted to stay and was interested in discussing a contract extension (link). Severson is currently in the second-to-last year of a six-year, $25MM contract he signed with the Devils prior to the 2017-18 season, which carries a cap hit just below $4.2MM.

If Severson was to discuss an extension with the Devils, the two sides could not begin those discussions until at least July 1st of this year, and any extension with Severson would not begin until his age 29 season, starting in 2023-24. It’s a fair point to wonder if Severson should be dangled at this year’s trade deadline, as the talented defenseman is not a rental, having an additional year of term at a reasonable cap-hit, is on pace to have a career year, currently sitting on 33 points in 60 games, and the Devils well out of playoff position. Also, comparing the packages the Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks received for Chiarot and Lindholm, respectively, it’s plausible to think Severson could fetch New Jersey a strong return.

  • Last night on Hockey Night in Canada, Friedman touched on Filip Forsberg’s contract-extension status and potential trade market. He says that the two sides are not close and that talks have not gone well, and that he believes Nashville Predators’ GM David Poile haas tested the market on Forsberg. Despite this, Friedman says he does not believe that Forsberg is going to be traded at the deadline. While nobody knows for certain where the two sides are in their negotiation, the general expectation is that the Predators do not want to go beyond Roman Josi’s $9.059MM cap hit, however Forsberg may believe he can get at least $10MM per year on the open market. Even without an extension in place, it makes sense that Nashville would hold onto Forsberg. With the team in playoff position, Forsberg could act as a sort-of rental for the Predators.
  • Friedman also touched on the Ottawa Senators’ Nick Paul and his extension talks with the team. He believes that while both sides want Paul to remain in Ottawa, they have both dug in in their negotiation. As a result, Paul could be dealt by Monday if an extension is not reached. Although the Senators would prefer to keep Paul, the gritty, well-rounded forward should develop a strong market from contending teams.

Nashville Predators Still Trying To Extend Filip Forsberg

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The Nashville Predators sit firmly in the first wild card position in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the skidding Vegas Golden Knights and five points ahead of their Central Division rivals, the Dallas Stars. In fact, Nashville is closer to the second-place St. Louis Blues than the Stars are to the, though Dallas does hold two games in hand. With that playoff spot in hand, it certainly would be surprising to see the Predators sell pending unrestricted free agent Filip Forsberg before Monday’s deadline.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising then when Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Predators have re-engaged in extension negotiations with Forsberg. The insider explains that just “marginal” progress has been made, though the team maintains the focus is on keeping Forsberg, not trading him.

Forsberg of course has been involved in a deadline deal before, one that impacted his entire NHL career to this point. In the spring of 2013, the now-infamous deal for Martin Erat (and Michael Latta) brought the young Swedish forward to Nashville less than a year after he was selected 11th overall by the Washington Capitals. In the decade since, he’s racked up 210 goals in 545 games, including 32 tallies this season. That number puts him in a tie for ninth in the league, and in line for a huge contract, whether it comes with Nashville or not.

One of Predators’ general manager David Poile’s trademarks is signing players to long-term extensions for reasonable–but risky–cap numbers and the 27-year-old forward is one of his biggest wins. Signed to a six-year, $36MM extension in 2016, just before he became a restricted free agent for the first time, Forsberg provided years of excess value as one of the most reliable goal-scoring wingers in the league. Now, on the precipice of just his third contract, he’s having the best season of his career and would likely be sought after by a huge chunk of the league this summer.

With that tempting experience just a few months away, it will certainly be difficult for the Predators to lock him up at this point. The team will undoubtedly need to offer a substantial raise on the $6MM cap hit he has carried so far, and the ink is just barely dry on Tomas Hertl’s eight-year, $65.1MM contract extension that could shape this offseason’s market.

In this case, at least, the Predators don’t necessarily have to get a deal done before Monday’s deadline. Like any other team that is adding rentals, keeping Forsberg for their own playoff run seems prudent. But deadlines in general have a way of speeding up negotiations, meaning perhaps there will be a decision one way or another before the weekend is through.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Capitals, Comtois, UFA Extension Discussions

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With the March 21st trade deadline approaching, and the Washington Capitals currently in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, the organization is looking at different trade deadline scenarios. The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir shared his thoughts on the team’s deadline approach (subscription required). Perhaps most notably, the Capitals could look for an upgrade at the goaltender position, as the team is currently running a tandem of Vitek Vanecek and the struggling Ilya Samsonov. While Vanecek has impressed as of late, El-Bashir mentions the desire for the Capitals to add a veteran goaltender who would be a “significant or legitimate” upgrade over their current goaltenders.

Also mentioned was the Capitals’ possible desire to add a forward. While an addition such as Filip Forsberg or Claude Giroux has not been ruled out, it is unlikely. El-Bashir suggests Seattle forwards Calle Jarnkrok and Marcus Johansson as potential options for depth scoring. Both players are unrestricted free agents after this season, Jarnkrok carrying a $2MM cap hit and Johansson a $1.5MM cap hit. In addition to those two, the Capitals could also call on the Detroit Red Wings’ Vladislav Namestnikov, as well as New York Islanders’ forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Zach Parise. While none of these players would bring the excitement of a Giroux or a Forsberg, they can certainly provide the low-cost, depth scoring the Capitals need.

  • Last night on Hockey Night in Canada, SportsNet’s Jeff Marek added a new name to the list of trade deadline candidates: Max Comtois. The young forward has struggled to stay in the lineup this year, and has struggled when he is in the lineup.  Comtois has just six points in 31 games this season, missing time with a hand injury and COVID-19 earlier in the year, and has been scratched lately as well. It certainly has been a turn this year for Comtois, after leading the Ducks with 33 points in 55 games last season.
  • Also on Hockey Night in Canada yesterday, SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman touched on several notable pending UFAs, including Forsberg, Johnny Gaudreau, Tomas Hertl, and Hampus Lindholm. Friedman mentions that their teams are pushing hard to extend them prior to the trade deadline, and of course before the free agency period. While the Calgary Flames are quite unlikely to try and move Gaudreau, with the team poised to make a playoff run, rumors about Forsberg, Hertl and Lindholm continue to swirl, especially with San Jose and Anaheim on the outside of the playoff picture. Nashville on the other hand, is in a tricky position, as they currently sit in a playoff spot, but holding on to a major trade chip in Forsberg. Friedman also adds that while the contract talks have really heated up on Hertl and Lindholm, word around Forsberg and Gaudreau is notably quiet.

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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Heading into the season, many believed that Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg, a pending UFA, would be one of the most coveted players on the in-season trade market. The 27-year-old winger was coming off a season where he battled injuries but still managed to post 12 goals and 32 points in 39 games, leading the Predators to a hard-fought six-game series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. It was believed by many observers that Nashville’s downward trajectory as a team since their 2017-2018 President’s Trophy win, combined with Forsberg’s age and bouts with inconsistency would keep him from getting a long-term deal in Nashville.

But the play of the Predators so far this season has corrected those preseason observers. John Hynes’ squad is 30-18-4 and has a firm grip on the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. With his team in the playoff hunt and Forsberg surging to 26 goals and 44 points in 39 games Predators GM David Poile now has to navigate a difficult situation with his star winger.

It was reported earlier by Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest that Poile had begun “actively shopping” Forsberg in advance of the trade deadline, and that is certainly one approach he could take with the player. He could also choose to re-sign Forsberg, and in Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts blog he sheds light on that possibility. Friedman writes that he believes there exists a “will” for both sides to reach an agreement on a contract, and that such a contract’s cap hit would likely need to fall between the cap hits of Forsberg’s Predators teammates Matt Duchene and Roman Josi. ($8MM and $9.059MM, respectively.)

While he states his belief that the Predators’ priority is to re-sign Forsberg, Friedman also notes that Poile’s “preference” is to not keep Forsberg beyond the March 21st trade deadline without a long-term contract. Friedman states that it “won’t happen” if progress on a long-term deal isn’t made, which should intrigue onlooking rival teams. Given Forsberg’s form this season and the chronic scarcity of wingers who can drive play at the NHL level, Predators fans should expect a significant return in exchange for Forsberg should the contract negotiations deteriorate to a point where a trade becomes necessary. They should definitely expect a bit more than Martin Erat and Michael Latta, that’s for sure.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Golden Knights, Forsberg, Blackhawks

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Much has been made of the Vegas Golden Knights’ salary cap management, with the team playing with fire ever since acquiring Jack Eichel. Now, with the team potentially in a bind if they don’t have enough room to activate healthy players off long-term injured reserve prior to the playoffs, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger suggests a post-Trade Deadline cap-clearing move could potentially be in play. The return dates of Alec Martinez and Mark Stone aren’t certain, and it’s possible both could be healthy before May. If that’s the case, the Golden Knights could potentially move a player after the deadline to a non-playoff team in order to become cap-compliant. There’s no rule preventing this, as the Trade Deadline is legally only relevant because players moved after that date aren’t eligible for playoff games. However, as Granger notes, this could likely significantly reduce the trade value of any player Vegas is looking to move out, considering they’d have no other option to become compliant.

Other rumblings from the Wild West:

  • Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports that he’s hearing the Nashville Predators are “actively shopping” Filip Forsberg ahead of the deadline. While the team is a likely playoff lock in the Western Conference at this point, they’re likely not in the Stanley Cup conversation, and Forsberg is a free agent at season’s end. The NHL’s leader in even-strength goals would likely become the deadline’s biggest prize, and any Forsberg deal could reap considerable rewards for Nashville’s future and help replenish a prospect pool that, while it has some nice names, isn’t the strongest. He’s carrying an extremely reasonable $6MM cap hit that most contenders can stomach with some retention.
  • According to Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus at The Athletic, if the Chicago Blackhawks and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury agree on a trade, it could potentially net the team a first-round pick. While they do say a second- or third-round selection is probably more realistic, some do believe teams will pay up for last year’s Vezina winner. The team does not have their first-round pick this year after including it in the Seth Jones trade.

West Notes: Canucks, Forsberg, Oilers

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While there has been plenty of trade speculation surrounding several of their veterans, Canucks president Jim Rutherford told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that their immediate goal is to get to the playoffs this season.  Center J.T. Miller, winger Conor Garland, and goaltender Jaroslav Halak have all been mentioned as candidates to be moved but it would stand to reason that Rutherford’s preference is to give his current group more time together if he wants to see Vancouver get back into the postseason picture.  The Canucks currently are seventh in the Pacific Division and are nine points out of the last divisional seed and six points behind Calgary for the final Wild Card seed although the Flames have four games in hand.

Elsewhere out West:

  • The Predators plan to escalate talks on a possible contract extension for pending UFA winger Filip Forsberg, GM David Poile indicated in an appearance on ESPN 102.5 (audio link). The alternate captain is having the best season of his career with 38 points (including 24 goals) in 33 games and while he was speculated as a possible trade candidate earlier in the year, the fact that Nashville is soundly in a playoff spot (second in the Central) likely takes that option off the table.  Forsberg has a $6MM salary and AAV and will be looking to beat that on the open market this summer.
  • Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski examines some of the storylines for the Oilers for the second half of the season and naturally, goaltending is among them. While he notes that Mike Smith will be able to return – a welcome addition – even that may not be enough to sustain their goaltending situation.  Edmonton has 40 games remaining due to a lot of COVID-related postponements so they will need to rely on two goalies consistently, especially with Smith being 39 and just coming back from injury.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Ken Holland try to shore up the backup goalie position over the next few weeks though they will need to offload Mikko Koskinen’s contract to be able to afford any newcomers.

Mattias Ekholm Added To COVID Protocol

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When the Nashville Predators take the ice against the Boston Bruins this afternoon they will be missing another one of their cornerstone players. The team has announced that defenseman Mattias Ekholm has been placed into the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol. With forward Filip Forsberg also still on the COVID list, the Predators will be missing two impact players for the foreseeable future.

Ekholm is part of Nashville’s dominant top pair alongside Roman Josi, who each play over 23 minutes of ice time per night. While the second pair of Alexandre Carrier and Dante Fabbro have performed well this season, Ekholm’s absence will be felt, especially if he misses an extended stretch. The Predators have a busy week ahead, starting a stretch of five games in eight days on Saturday, with divisional match-ups against St. Louis and Winnipeg among them. While the Preds have the appearance of a division leader due to total points, their record is in fact fourth in the Central, sandwiched between the Blues and Jets. Ekholm’s stable play in big minutes and critical penalty kill role are not easily replaced, so the Predators will hope he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later.

Nashville did get one name back from the COVID Protocol though and that is forward Yakov Trenin. The physical winger has cleared the protocol’s requirement and is back in the lineup on Saturday. Trenin is fifth among Predators forwards with nine goals this season and in the top ten in points too, well on his way to a career year.

Central Notes: Klingberg, Forsberg, Johnson

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The Hurricanes have inquired about the availability of Stars defenseman John Klingberg, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (video link).  The 29-year-old is in the final year of his contract and a report earlier in the season suggested that he was seeking a max-term eight-year extension worth over $60MM, a price tag that Dallas clearly hasn’t been willing to meet yet.  He’s off to a quiet start to his season with no goals and seven assists in 15 games although his track record suggests he’ll turn things around offensively.  The fit in Carolina is interesting as they’re already using LTIR and don’t have the cap space to take on Klingberg’s $4.25MM AAV; they’d need Dallas to retain or to send close to matching money the other way.  They already have a strong back end and Klingberg would certainly give them a big boost but it’s the type of trade that is more plausible closer to the trade deadline than this early in the season.

Elsewhere around the Central:

  • The Predators will soon have a decision to make on pending UFA winger Filip Forsberg. Do they re-sign him and keep trying to win with their current core or go in a different direction to shake things up?  Adam Vingan of The Athletic makes the case (subscription link) that Nashville should take the latter option over running the risk of being saddled with another high-priced contract on a core that already has over $46MM in commitments for 2024-25.  Considering that core probably isn’t good enough to contend, moving on from Forsberg – likely making him a rental trade at the deadline – would be another critical step in GM David Poile’s shakeup, one that saw Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Ellis head elsewhere this past summer.
  • The Blackhawks were hoping to have center Tyler Johnson back soon but it doesn’t appear as if that will be the case. Interim head coach Derek King told reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that the veteran isn’t as far along in his recovery as they hoped from an undisclosed injury that has kept him out for the last week and a half.  Johnson is in his first season with Chicago after being acquired from Tampa Bay but has been limited to just eight games so far due to injuries while he has just a goal and two assists when he has been in the lineup.

Morning Notes: Harris, Schenn, Forsberg

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The Montreal Canadiens were unable to convince Jordan Harris to turn pro and sign his entry-level contract last offseason, as the 21-year-old instead returned to Northeastern University for his senior season with the Huskies. Serving as captain, he now has ten points in 14 games, and in a piece from Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic, Harris’ coach Jerry Keefe calls him “the best defenseman in the country.”

The piece details how Harris has always shown loyalty to the programs and teams he plays for, but also examines how the young defenseman’s draft rights will expire if not signed by August of 2022. At that point, he could become an unrestricted free agent and sign anywhere in the league, should he decide that Montreal isn’t the best step for his career. It’s obvious that the Canadiens want to bring him into the organization, but there will be a ticking clock from the time his season ends.

  •  The St. Louis Blues are getting a key player back, as Brayden Schenn will make his return to the lineup tonight when they take on the Detroit Red Wings. Schenn has missed nine games with an upper-body injury and will be playing in just his tenth game of the season. In fact, this will be the first time all year that the Blues are icing a fully healthy lineup.
  • Speaking of Central Division reinforcements, the Nashville Predators had Filip Forsberg on the ice today at practice. The injured forward has only played in a single game this month and nine on the season so far. It’s not clear exactly when he’ll be back in the lineup, but the team has remained within striking distance in the meantime, just two points behind the Minnesota Wild for first place in the division.

Injury Notes: Forsberg, Cousins, Brown

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The Nashville Predators are on a roll, winning seven out of their past 10 games, but they’ve been without their best forward in Filip Forsberg since early November. Placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, Forsberg is now “trending in the right direction” according to head coach John Hynes. Forsberg is now skating, a good sign for the 27-year-old Swede. At the time of his injury, he’d scored four goals and seven points in nine games while averaging a tick over 18 minutes per game. Forwards like Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene (both with 16 points in 16 games) have done an admirable job stepping up in his absence, but still, Forsberg’s return to this lineup gives this team an added scoring boost. Hynes notes, however, that there’s no definitive timetable for Forsberg’s return.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • There’s more good news on the Predators front, as the team’s activated forward Nick Cousins from injured reserve. Cousins was originally placed on injured reserve on November 7 and he’s missed the team’s past four games. The versatile 28-year-old forward has been spending most of his time on the wing this season, scoring three points in 12 games while averaging 12:24 per game. He’s expected to ride shotgun with Ryan Johansen and Eeli Tolvanen in his return to the lineup.
  • Newly claimed Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Brown didn’t get much of a chance to show what he can do with the team before suffering a dislocated thumb earlier in the month. Listed as week-to-week, Brown is now deciding between rehab or surgery for the thumb, per head coach Alain Vigneault. The 29-year-old Brown had gotten into just six games with Philadelphia, notching one assist while playing 9:18 per game. It’s a hit for a team that’s seen a lot of turnover in its bottom six in this short season, gaining Zack MacEwen but losing Nicolas Aube-Kubel to waivers.

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