Matt Nieto Expected To Sign With Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting a head start on free agency, reportedly getting a veteran addition to their bottom six. Winger Matt Nieto is expected to sign a two-year deal worth $900K to join the Penguins, says TSN’s Darren Dreger, who previously reported Nieto was heading to Edmonton.
Nieto, 30, is a respected bottom-six player who split last season between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. Nieto has averaged just over 14 minutes of ice time per night in his career, though he saw his ice time drop dramatically after his mid-season trade to the Avalanche. He was averaging over 15 minutes per night in San Jose, and went to under 11 minutes with the Avalanche.
A capable penalty-killer and defensive presence, Nieto chipped in 12 goals and 24 points in 81 games last season. While Nieto doesn’t offer the size or overwhelming physicality that some teams would like to see out of their bottom-six forwards, there are far worse options for a team to run in their bottom-six.
Nieto has been on a few playoff runs of significance, and that’s exactly what Pittsburgh hopes to be doing next season. An offseason priority for the Penguins has been upgrading the lower-end of their lineup, and adding Nieto will help them do just that.
Atlantic Notes: Andersen, Kerfoot, Panthers UFAs
Goaltender Frederik Andersen‘s future with the Carolina Hurricanes remains uncertain, as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic suggests the Danish netminder is likely to test the UFA market today. While the door isn’t entirely closed on a return to the Hurricanes, speculations have surfaced about potential landing spots for the experienced netminder, including the Ottawa Senators, who Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch says will be calling when the market opens at 11 am CT.
As Garrioch notes, Andersen played under Senators head coach D.J. Smith when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where Smith was an assistant for part of Andersen’s tenure. The team is looking for a veteran to supplement Anton Forsberg in the crease after deciding not to re-sign Cam Talbot, as well as providing insurance for young third-string netminder Mads Sogaard – another Dane to whom Andersen would provide invaluable mentorship.
Per LeBrun, the Pittsburgh Penguins could also attempt to sign Andersen if re-signing Tristan Jarry falls through. The Senators, on the other hand, are also still holding discussions with Travis Hamonic, but Garrioch says it’s unclear in which direction negotiations are headed.
More from the Atlantic Division this morning:
- After a four-season stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs, forward Alexander Kerfoot is set to hit the open market, per Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. While there is a possibility of a potential return to Toronto, it hinges on the financial demands that Kerfoot’s new contract may entail – they’re not willing to overpay on market value to retain him and would rather keep their salary cap flexibility open to get some new names on the UFA market. After being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 Nazem Kadri trade, Kerfoot totaled 40 goals, 94 assists, and 134 points in 285 games for Toronto in a middle-six role.
- The Florida Panthers are gearing up for free agency, with their main focus on strengthening their defense corps, which is set to be hit with significant injuries to start 2023-24 in Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. While the team aims to secure players on shorter-term contracts, two of their UFAs, Radko Gudas and Lucas Carlsson, could still receive offers to return to the Panthers, general manager Bill Zito told reporters, including The Hockey News’ David Dwork. Gudas has been an invaluable shutdown defender since joining the Panthers in 2020, also compiling over 200 penalty minutes during his time in Florida whilst in a bottom-pairing role. Carlsson, on the other hand, is likely to receive a lot of NHL interest after an impressive season with the Charlotte Checkers, leading all AHL defensemen in goals. He could vie for an everyday role out of camp, with injuries opening up roster spots.
Blue Jackets Officially Name Mike Babcock As Their Head Coach
The final NHL head coaching vacancy has officially been filled. Prior to the opening of free agency today, the Blue Jackets announced that they have named Mike Babcock as their new head coach, signing him to a two-year deal. Earlier this week, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported (subscription link) that the contract will pay Babcock $4MM per season. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement:
Our goal at the outset of this process was to find a coach to give our players the best chance to succeed through structure, discipline and experience as we continue to build a team that can compete for a Stanley Cup championship. After a very thorough and lengthy process we are pleased to welcome Mike Babcock as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It was reported last month that Babcock was set to take over as the new bench boss for Columbus. However, since he was still under contract with Toronto until yesterday, the team waited until today to make the hire to ensure that the Maple Leafs alone were the only team paying out the remainder of his record-breaking eight-year, $50MM contract.
Babcock hasn’t been behind an NHL bench for a while as he last coached during the 2019-20 campaign before being let go by Toronto after an underwhelming 9-10-4 start to their season. Since then, his coaching experience has been limited to one season as a volunteer coach at the University of Saskatchewan. However, the Blue Jackets believe that he’s the right fit to turn things around after they finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last season.
Babcock has a 700-418-183 record over parts of 17 NHL seasons between Anaheim, Detroit, and Toronto. Internationally, he is the only member of the ‘Triple Gold’ club among coaches (Olympics, World Championships, and a Stanley Cup). That experience comes in stark contrast to former head coach Brad Larsen who was a first-time NHL bench boss before being let go after the season.
Columbus has certainly been active this offseason already, looking to augment its roster. On the back end, they’ve acquired Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, giving them two proven top-four pieces to help take some of the pressure off Zach Werenski who should be ready to go after missing most of last season due to injury. Up front, they picked up Adam Fantilli in the draft this week and are encouraging him to turn pro right away; TSN’s Darren Dreger suggests (Twitter link) that his signing could occur today. With nearly $5MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, they could still try to add another piece or two in free agency or on the trade front.
Kekalainen clearly believes last year’s showing was an aberration with the hiring of Babcock, a win-now coach, and his defensive upgrades. The Blue Jackets play in a tight Metropolitan Division that has only one team (Philadelphia) looking to bottom out so even with these moves, their work to get back to the playoffs is going to be cut out for them.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
List Of Players Not Receiving A 2023 Qualifying Offer
The deadline to issue a qualifying offer to pending restricted free agents is today at 4 pm CT, making any player who has not received one eligible to become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow. This does not mean a team is cutting ties with a player entirely, as they’re eligible to re-sign with the team at a different salary than their qualifying offer dictates. However, some have already signed contracts overseas for 2023-24. Below are the players who will not be issued a qualifying offer, listed by team:
This is a complete list as of 6:00 p.m. CT, two hours after the deadline.
Anaheim Ducks
F Bryce Kindopp, F Josiah Slavin, F Max Comtois, D Axel Andersson, D Simon Benoit, G Olle Eriksson Ek
Arizona Coyotes
F Christian Fischer, D Cameron Crotty, G David Tendeck
Boston Bruins
F Samuel Asselin, D Kai Wissmann
Buffalo Sabres
F Matej Pekar, F Tyson Jost, D Kale Clague
Calgary Flames
(none)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Dominik Bokk, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Stelio Mattheos
Chicago Blackhawks
F Anders Bjork, F Austin Wagner, F Cameron Hillis, F Maxim Golod, D Caleb Jones, D Hunter Drew, D Jakub Galvas
Colorado Avalanche
F Denis Malgin, D Ryan Merkley
Columbus Blue Jackets
(none)
Dallas Stars
F Marian Studenic, D Dawson Barteaux, D Oskari Laaksonen, G Adam Scheel
Detroit Red Wings (report)
F Jasper Weatherby, F Klim Kostin, F Matt Luff, F Pontus Andreasson, D Gustav Lindstrom, D Seth Barton
Edmonton Oilers
(none)
Florida Panthers
F Colin White, F Givani Smith, F Serron Noel, D Max Gildon
Los Angeles Kings
F Aidan Dudas, F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, F Lias Andersson, F Nathan Schnarr, F Taylor Ward, F Zack MacEwen, D Tobie Paquette-Bisson, G David Hrenak, G Jacob Ingham, G Matt Villalta
Minnesota Wild
F Damien Giroux, F Mason Shaw, F Sam Steel
Montreal Canadiens
F Denis Gurianov, F Joel Teasdale
Nashville Predators
F Isaac Ratcliffe, F Jimmy Huntington, F John Leonard, F Markus Nurmi, F Rasmus Asplund, D Callan Foote, G Tomas Vomacka
New Jersey Devils
F Aarne Talvitie, F Jesper Boqvist, F Michael McLeod, F Nathan Bastian, F Timur Ibragimov, D Jeremy Groleau, D Zack Hayes, G Zachary Emond
New York Islanders
F Blade Jenkins, F Collin Adams, D Bode Wilde
New York Rangers
F Patrick Khodorenko, D Cooper Zech, D Libor Hajek
Ottawa Senators
F Dylan Gambrell, F Julien Gauthier, F Viktor Lodin, D Jonathan Aspirot, G Dylan Ferguson,
Philadelphia Flyers
F Evan Barratt, F Kieffer Bellows, D Wyatte Wylie
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Ryan Poehling, D Colin Swoyer, D Joshua Maniscalco, D Peter DiLiberatore
San Jose Sharks
F Evgeny Svechnikov, F Jonah Gadjovich, F Noah Gregor, G Mackenzie Blackwood, G Strauss Mann
Seattle Kraken
F Daniel Sprong, F Morgan Geekie
St. Louis Blues
F Logan Brown, D Brady Lyle, D Dmitri Samorukov
Tampa Bay Lightning (report)
F Grant Mismash, F Rudolfs Balcers, D Dmitri Semykin
Toronto Maple Leafs
D Filip Kral, D Mac Hollowell, D Victor Mete
Vancouver Canucks
F Carson Focht, D Ethan Bear, D Travis Dermott
Vegas Golden Knights
F Maxim Marushev, F Nolan Patrick, D Connor Corcoran
Washington Capitals
F Kody Clark, D Gabriel Carlsson
Winnipeg Jets
F Alex Limoges, F Kevin Stenlund, G Arvid Holm
Snapshots: Granlund, Wheeler, Canadiens
Taylor Haase of DKPittsburghSports is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins are not going to buyout Mikael Granlund before the 5pm buyout window later today. Granlund has had his name thrown around for weeks as a player that was likely to bought out, but it appears he will remain with the Penguins barring a trade, or a buyout in the second buyout window should one open for Pittsburgh.
Granlund was acquired on trade deadline day by previous Penguins general manager Ron Hextall and did not fit in well with the club. After posting 36 points in 58 games with the Nashville Predators, Granlund was traded to Pittsburgh for a second-round pick and put up just a goal and four assists in 21 games as the Penguins failed to qualify for the playoffs. If he does remain with the Penguins, it’ll be interesting to see how head coach Mike Sullivan deploys the 31-year-old as he was not a fit in the Penguins bottom-6 and the recently acquired Reilly Smith is expected to take their vacant left-wing spot on the second line.
Some more snapshots from around the league:
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted that recent buyout recipient Blake Wheeler would prefer to play for an Eastern Conference team to have a new experience and less travel. The news comes from Wheeler’s agent Matt Keator and it makes sense given Wheeler’s age and his family considerations. The former Winnipeg Jets captain is a free agent for the first time and should have several teams to consider given that is coming off a season in which he posted 16 goals and 39 assists in 72 games.
- Eric Engels of Sportsnet is reporting that he expects the Montreal Canadiens to be quiet in free agency as the team has a lot of players that they would like to move to open roster spots for their younger prospects. While Engels jokes about Canadiens’ general manager Kent Hughes putting his phone on silent, he does concede that the Canadiens could add a player if they fit into both the short-term and long-term parts of their rebuild plan. He mentions Mike Hoffman, Joel Edmundson, and Christian Dvorak as players Montreal would like to move on from and given that all three are veterans on expensive cap hits it does seem unlikely for the Canadiens to acquire more of that through free agency.
Winnipeg Jets To Buy Out Blake Wheeler
The Winnipeg Jets have placed Blake Wheeler on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout, according to a team announcement.
Should he clear, Wheeler will become an unrestricted free agent as a result. TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the move, and he also named the Dallas Stars as a team with interest in signing Wheeler once he hits free agency.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff issued a statement thanking Wheeler, which included the following:
We would like to thank Blake for his dedication and service to the Jets, the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba. We are incredibly grateful for the contributions that he has made during his 12 seasons with the franchise. Most notably, the seven years when he served as the captain of the Jets and helped lead the team to the 2018 Western Conference Final.
As a result of this buyout, the Jets will save $5MM in cap space for this season, reducing Wheeler’s cap hit from $8.25MM to just $2.75MM.
That comes at a cost of a $2.75MM cap hit next season, though. This buyout is about more than just financials, though, it’s about giving the player a fresh start and also allowing the Jets to move on from someone who was once arguably the face of their franchise.
Now 36 years old, Wheeler captained the Jets for six seasons before having the captaincy stripped by incoming head coach Rick Bowness a year ago. A two-time NHL All-Star, Wheeler has been with the Jets since they relocated from Atlanta, and has totaled nearly 900 games for the franchise. He’s scored 255 goals and 795 points as a Jet, first among all players of the franchise’s newest era and third all-time including the Jets’ earlier era, behind just Dale Hawerchuk and Thomas Steen.
Wheeler oversaw the rise of the Jets under Paul Maurice, an era that culminated in a run to the Western Conference Final in 2017-8, where they fell to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Jets afterward failed to re-capture the magic of that year, though Wheeler himself continued his personal brilliance hovering at or near a point-per-game rate.
Late in his Jets tenure, Wheeler and other members of the team’s veteran core drew criticism for what looked from the outside to many fans to be a toxic culture and lack of accountability in the Jets locker room. While as outside observers we don’t truly know what the reality of the Jets’ locker room and culture actually was, it became clear after the “C” was removed from Wheeler’s jersey that a fresh start would eventually be necessary for both sides.
Now, that fresh start has been secured, and the Jets have opened up some significant cap space in a summer where financial flexibility is at a premium. As for Wheeler, he’ll hit free agency a year early and have the ability to select where he potentially spends the rest of his playing career.
Wheeler scored a combined 61 points in 77 regular season and playoff games, so while he might not be the dominant offensive force he once was it’s clear he still has something to contribute.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Shayne Gostisbehere To Test Free Agency
It’s been a busy week. There have been several significant trades, the sell-off of high-priced assets, and buyouts exercised to clear cap space. Oh yeah, and the 2023 NHL Draft, where all 32 teams added young, exciting talent to their prospect pipelines.
One thing that may have slipped under the radar was a note at the very bottom of Pierre LeBrun’s Tuesday column for The Athletic: Shayne Gostisbehere “will not be re-signing with Carolina.”
Gostisbehere, 30, finished 13th on our list of the Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents after an interesting season. He started the year with the Arizona Coyotes, continuing to provide strong offensive production from the back end. His 31 points finished eighth in Coyotes scoring, despite only playing 52 games for the team.
A deadline deal took him from the bottom of the standings to the top, as he joined the Carolina Hurricanes to try and fix a struggling powerplay. In 23 games with Carolina, Gostisbehere added three goals and ten points, posting insane possession numbers in a sheltered role.
That sheltered situation positions Gostisbehere as such an intriguing free agent. He is not a strong defender, and takes too many risks to be trusted as a top-pairing option (at least on a contender). But few defensemen in the league can generate offensive chances as efficiently as him, and he routinely tilts the ice in his team’s favor when played in the right situation.
Since entering the league in 2015, Gostisbehere sits 17th in points from defensemen, ahead of names like Aaron Ekblad, Shea Theodore, and Josh Morrissey. Over that stretch, he ranks even higher in powerplay points, ahead of players like Morgan Rielly and Dougie Hamilton.
There is a role for Gostisbehere on a contending team, but it’s unclear how much teams will want to pay. The six-year, $27MM contract he received from Philadelphia in 2017 is probably out of the question, but it will be interesting to see how much he can secure this time.
Jesse Puljujarvi Undergoes Double Hip Surgery
NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston has an unfortunate injury update on 2016 fourth-overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi: he “recently underwent double hip surgery and is facing a lengthy recovery.” Johnston adds that Puljujarvi won’t be issued a qualifying offer by the Carolina Hurricanes and will hit unrestricted free agency in a few days.
This is the second significant medical setback hitting a young winger of the day, as it was recently announced that Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn will miss quite some time with an Achilles injury. But while Quinn is firmly in an NHL team’s future plans, Puljujarvi is going to be looking for a new opportunity on the open market. The 25-year-old was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes last season but struggled to make an impact for head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s team. He scored just two points in 17 games and one point in seven playoff games.
Puljujarvi had his moments as an Edmonton Oiler, such as in 2021-22 when he scored 36 points in 65 games but struggled immensely early in the season with them and played his way out of a future with that organization. Since he was making $3MM against the cap his qualifying offer’s cost made it incredibly unlikely, and now we know he will indeed go unqualified.
The level of interest he garners on the open market is going to be a bit of a mystery due to this injury, which does not have a disclosed recovery timeline. Given the severity of the injury, though, it could be quite some time before we see Puljujarvi back on NHL ice.
Free Agent Notes: Lucic, Halak, Domi/Glendening
Veteran grinder Milan Lucic still has some hockey left in the tank and will be looking for a new home in 2023-24. While reports had connected him to playing for his hometown Vancouver Canucks, it now appears he’ll be joining another nostalgic franchise for him, per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal – the Boston Bruins.
Coming off a monster seven-year, $42MM deal, Lucic won’t command much on the open market and isn’t suited for anything above a fourth-line role, especially for a team with playoff aspirations. Boston is in need of cheap forward depth, but it’s fair to question the use of precious cap space on a veteran who can provide little offense, especially with hard-nosed Trent Frederic already occupying the token bottom-six grinder role. It would be a nice career bookend for Lucic, though, who won a Stanley Cup in Boston in 2011 and had 342 points in 566 games there between 2007 and 2015.
More tidbits before the free agent market opens on Saturday:
- One of the longest-tenured netminders in the league is looking to extend his career in 2023-24, but it could be with a new team. Player agent Allan Walsh said today his client, Jaroslav Halak, will hit the unrestricted free agent market on July 1 and won’t re-sign with the New York Rangers before then. Halak, 38, is now sorely planted in “serviceable backup” territory, but there are certainly worse options for the No. 2 spot on your depth chart. The veteran of 17 NHL seasons posted a 10-9-5 record, .903 save percentage, and one shutout in 24 starts (and one relief appearance) with the Rangers this season.
- The Dallas Stars don’t have a lot of cap flexibility this offseason, and it was expected they’d only be able to re-sign one or two depth forwards hitting the open market. That’s holding true, as after the Stars signed Evgenii Dadonov to a two-year extension yesterday, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports both Max Domi and Luke Glendening will hit the open market. The Stars have $5.1MM in projected cap space, per CapFriendly, and still need an extension for pending restricted free agent Ty Dellandrea.
Kraken Defenseman Carson Soucy Likely Headed To Free Agency
Another player that is likely headed to the free agency market is defenseman Carson Soucy. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff is reporting that the Seattle Kraken and the hulking defenseman had discussions about an extension, but it appears that at this point he is going to unrestricted free agency and will be in a new uniform next season.
This past season Soucy finished last in Kraken defensemen for points and ice time, however, he will still be a significant loss on the backend for Seattle. Together with offensive defenseman Justin Schultz, they formed one of the top third-defensive pairings in the NHL last season, which is what will ultimately price Soucy out of Seattle.
Soucy had three goals and 13 assists in 78 games last season and while he will never an offensive defenseman, he may be paid like one given that he’ll be entering a very weak free-agent market for defensemen. Soucy can bring a lot to a new team, he can play on both sides of the ice, has a bomb from the point, and is a good penalty killer. The one caveat to Soucy’s recent success is that he’s played sheltered minutes for the past two seasons. If a team pays him like a second-pairing defenseman, they might be very disappointed with the results.
Given what is known about Soucy’s game it seems unlikely that a team will dramatically overpay him. Daily Faceoff is projecting a three-year contract for him with an average annual value of $2.5MM, while The Athletic is projecting a $2.6MM annual value also on a three-year deal. Those numbers are more in line with a third pairing defensemen and that is a role the Soucy can flourish in as demonstrated by the past two seasons.