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Garnet Hathaway

Garnet Hathaway Suspended Three Games

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The ruling is in, and the Washington Capitals have lost Garnet Hathaway for three games. The forward has been given a three-game suspension for the spitting incident on Monday night, which also earned him a match penalty. Hathaway spat towards Anaheim Ducks defenseman Erik Gudbranson while officials tried to separate them.

Hathaway will miss the next three contests and is eligible to return on November 29th against the Tampa Bay Lightning. His absence forced the team to make several transactions earlier today and when combined with injuries to Carl Hagelin, Nic Dowd and Nicklas Backstrom, tests the Capitals’ depth.

It is important to note that this suspension was not handed down by the Department of Player Safety. As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports, any appeal of the ban would go to the commissioner himself, not an independent arbitrator because it is fewer than six games.

Washington Capitals Make Several Roster Moves

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With Garnet Hathaway expected to get some sort of suspension for his spitting incident, the Washington Capitals needed to make some roster moves. Today, the team has recalled Beck Malenstyn, Michael Sgarbossa, Tyler Lewington and Ilya Samsonov while returning Vitek Vanecek to the minor leagues. These moves are designed to give them depth options and maximize the amount of salary cap relief available when they placed Carl Hagelin on long-term injured reserve. Nic Dowd, who was also a potential candidate for the LTIR list, has been placed on regular injured reserve.

With Nicklas Backstrom also set to miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, the Capitals will likely be without four of their regular forwards should Hathaway get suspended. That leaves quite the opening for some of these younger players to get an opportunity.

This is one of the biggest problems with spending right up to the cap, as Washington has to deal with tricky CBA machinations just to fill their roster each night. Injuries and suspensions only complicate the matter further. Hagelin will now be out until at least December 2nd.

Snapshots: Hathaway, Zykov, Kovalchuk

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It’s not clear what punishment if any Garnet Hathaway will receive from the league for spitting at Erik Gudbranson last night, but Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told reporters including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that a suspension is possible. (Update: Hathaway will have a hearing on Wednesday morning) The Capitals are preparing to make some roster moves to accommodate the potential discipline.

Hathaway was involved in a fight with several Anaheim Ducks players after Brendan Leipsic landed a big hit, and ended up spitting at Gudbranson while the officials separated them. The incident came with a match penalty that includes an automatic review of the situation and potential suspension. For a team like the Capitals that are pushed right up against the salary cap ceiling, even losing a player like Hathaway (who carries a $1.5MM cap hit) creates a tricky situation.

  • There was a familiar face at the Vegas Golden Knights morning skate today, as Valentin Zykov re-joined the group after serving the first part of his suspension. Zykov was suspended 20 games for testing positive for a banned substance, but is allowed to return to practice ten days before the end of it. He is eligible to return to game action on November 29th against the Arizona Coyotes.
  • It has been widely reported that Ilya Kovalchuk is due a portion of his signing bonus on December 15th, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic clarifies exactly how much will be paid out. Kovalchuk will earn another $2.65MM that day, at which point there will be less than $5MM total remaining on his $18.75MM contract.

Garnet Hathaway Signs With Washington Capitals

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The Washington Capitals have signed another depth forward to a multi-year deal, inking Garnet Hathaway to a four-year $6MM deal according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

It took quite a while for Hathaway to become an NHL regular after four years at Brown University. They 27-year-old finally become an NHL regular in the 2017-18 season, but took his game to another level this season, posting a career-high 11 goals and 19 points, while providing the necessary grit and grind while playing on Calgary’s fourth line. He also finished with a career-high 200 hits last season.

It’s that energy and physicality that prompted the Capitals to add the forward to their team. Washington had already agreed to a deal with Richard Panik to fill the third-line role that was vacated when they traded winger Andre Burakovsky to Colorado a couple of days ago. Now Hathaway should fill a need on their fourth line as he likely will supplant either Travis Boyd or Chandler Stephenson there. The bump up in pay shouldn’t hurt either as he made just $850K last season with the Flames.

UFA Notes: Hathaway, Lindberg, Gibbons, Lehner, Tanev, Chiarot

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Garnet Hathaway appears to be on his way out of Calgary.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the winger is looking at a few options in the East.  The 27-year-old is coming off a career year with the Flames that saw him go from a depth option to an important piece of their fourth line.  He chipped in with 19 points (11-8-19) in 78 games along with a team-high 200 hits.  That should be enough to land Hathaway a multi-year deal this summer at a nice raise over the $850K he made last season.

Other UFA notes this morning:

  • The Senators aren’t expected to re-sign center Oscar Lindberg and winger Brian Gibbons, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Both players were brought in near the trade deadline and Gibbons in particular finished up quite strong with 14 points in 20 games with Ottawa.  Meanwhile, Lindberg didn’t fare so well but as a 27-year-old pivot with a few decent years under his belt, he should have quite a few suitors on the open market.
  • Goaltender Robin Lehner declined a two-year, $10MM offer from the Islanders, reports Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest (Twitter link). The netminder had a career season which makes him one of the top goalies available but his struggles in his time with Buffalo are likely playing a role in him only receiving a short-term offer from New York.
  • The Jets won’t likely be able to retain defenseman Ben Chiarot or winger Brandon Tanev, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe (Twitter link). He notes that both players are likely to earn significant raises on what they made last season ($1.4MM AAV for Chiarot, $1.15MM for Tanev) which will price them out of what Winnipeg can afford.  The 28-year-old Chiarot logged 18:37 per night last season and is one of the more underrated blueliners in free agency while Tanev, 27, had a career season offensively with 29 points (14-15-29) while being among the league leaders in hits with 278.

Pacific Notes: Edler, Burns, Grabner, Veronneau, Hathaway

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A week ago, longtime Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler refused to waive his no-trade clause and accommodate a team that was considering moving their veteran defenseman. Edler, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has made it clear that he wants to remain in Vancouver for the rest of his career. The 32-year-old will be tested as the team will likely expect Edler to take less money after signing a six-year, $30MM contract ($5MM AAV) in 2013, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.

“I’ve been fortunate to have very good contracts with money,” he said. “But there are other things, too. It’s different when you have a family. There are a lot of factors you have to take into consideration. Those things are important.”

With plenty of cap room and the need for a solid veteran defensemen who could continue aiding the play of young future defenseman like Quinn Hughes and Olli Juolevi, the Canucks might want to bring him back too, but with an upcoming expansion draft, the team doesn’t want to be placed in a situation where they will have to protect Edler and lose a more talented young player, which likely could be the key to negotiations.

  • Despite rumors that he might miss a game, the Mercury News’ Paul Gackle reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns will play Sunday against Chicago. Burns was rumored to be questionable as he had been suffering from the flu and missed a practice. That means that he won’t jeopardize his iron man status of 454 straight games played.
  • The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required) writes that the Arizona Coyotes may get another player back soon as winger Michael Grabner could be back within the week. Grabner hasn’t played in a game since suffering a serious eye injury on Dec. 1. He has been fitted with a new contact lens, which is helping him eliminate his remaining vision issues, although the scribe adds that his return date could still be altered.
  • Mark Divver of the Providence Journal writes that the Los Angeles Kings are considered the frontrunners to sign Princeton University forward Max Veronneau, who will be an unrestricted free agent once his college team is done playing next weekend. Veronneau, a four-year player, has 13 goals and 36 points this season and has tallied 52 goals in his four-year career. Los Angeles has a history of dipping into the college free agent market, grabbing defenseman Daniel Brickley and forward Sheldon Rempal last year, while signing goaltender Calvin Petersen two seasons ago.
  • The Athletic’s Michael Russ reports that Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway will not receive any supplementary discipline from the Department of Player Safety for driving Minnesota Wild’s Luke Kunin into the boards Saturday in the second period. Hathaway was given a match penalty and a game misconduct, but the league obviously didn’t feel the hit was intentional.

Pacific Notes: Silfverberg, Czarnik, Hathaway, Oilers

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The Anaheim Ducks are committed to paying more than $66MM for 13 players for the 2019-20 season after agreeing to a extensions with center Adam Henrique (five years, $29.25MM) and goaltender John Gibson (eight years, $51.2MM) this summer. So with those extensions already completed, the next question is whether there will be enough money to extend forward Jakob Silfverberg.

The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (subscription required) writes that the good news is that there are no major extensions that have to be dealt with for several years, so what money is left, the team is free to use without having to worrying about having to use the money to sign the next superstar. In fact, most of the team’s top prospects such as Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Jones and Jacob Larsson will be on entry-level deals until at least 2020-21.

However, much of the team’s ability to sign Silfverberg will depend on what the 27-year-old is demanding. His defensive abilities is what makes him so intriguing as his offense is rather pedestrian, though Silfverberg has posted at least 17 goals over the past three seasons. But the winger hasn’t really seen a significant improvement to his offensive game in four years. Stephens writes that if Silfverberg is willing to take $5MM per year for four years, the team would likely be able to fit him in, but any higher demands could easily prompt the team to trade him if they can’t come to an agreement as opposed to losing him for nothing next offseason.

  • Kent Wilson of The Athletic (subscription required) takes a deep look at the Calgary Flames new acquisition Austin Czarnik, who many people have been fascinated by. The diminutive forward, who stands at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, was extremely successful in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, but has never really given a chance at a full-time NHL job. The scribe compares his skills to that of Vegas’ Jon Marchessault, and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde as smaller players who thrived in the AHL and then took off at the NHL level as well. Despite being older than the standard prospect (he played four years at Miami University of Ohio, the 25-year-old could step in and make an immediate impact in Calgary.
  • A year ago, Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway found himself regular playing time after being recalled from the AHL after 18 games. He managed to appear in 59 games, posting four goals and 13 assists on the team’s fourth line, but might have an even tougher challenge this year with the team making quite a few offseason changes, according to NHL.com’s Alex Medina. Hathaway, who signed a one-year deal with Calgary on July 30, is ready for the challenge. “It’s my goal to be there for game one and for all the games,” Hathaway said. “Management has done a great job bringing guys in and I think it’s going to be a very competitive camp and competitive season. I think that’ll help the team improve having guys push each other to get better. That’s what makes a team take the next step.”
  • The Edmonton Oilers have 13 forwards under contract currently, but intend to be patient about finding a 14th forward, according to NHL.com’s Paul Gazzola. In an interview with 630 CHED Oilers Now, Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said the team will look at multiple avenues to fill that 14th spot from offering PTO to some veteran free agents to looking at young players who might impress at training camp. “I’ve been asked quite a bit about that 14th forward,” Chiarelli said. “We’ve talked to a number of players on PTOs. We’re going to look at waivers and see what’s available there. We’re going to kind of take it slowly because we also have some guys that may compete and beat out guys – younger players – that might be in that category.”

Troy Brouwer Placed On Unconditional Waivers, Will Be Bought Out

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The Calgary Flames earned a second buyout window after wrapping up their arbitration cases, and are going to take advantage of it. The team has placed Troy Brouwer on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout, something that we suggested might happen when Garnet Hathaway settled on Monday. Brouwer has two years remaining on his current deal, and carries a $4.5MM cap hit.

Because Brouwer’s contract has no signing bonuses remaining and was not front-loaded, the Flames will save a considerable amount over the next two years. They will now carry just a $1.5MM cap hit for the next four seasons, giving them plenty of flexibility for 2018-19. Not only will the team now have around $7.5MM in cap space with only Noah Hanifin and Hunter Shinkaruk left to sign, but they also will gain a roster spot for some of their younger forwards. Hathaway, Curtis Lazar, Dillon Dube and Spencer Foo will all be battling for playing time in training camp, as the Flames try to get quicker and more skilled on their fourth line.

That lack of skill and speed was the downfall of Brouwer, who plays a physical, bruising game. While he put up consistent offensive numbers throughout a good portion of his career, those numbers dropped off dramatically since signing a four-year $18MM contract with Calgary in 2016. It was a scary contract right from the outset given Brouwer was already 31 when he played his first game in a Flames uniform, and those fears came true almost immediately. In 2016-17 he recorded just 13 goals, his lowest total since his rookie season and followed it with just six last year in a diminished role.

A diminished role is exactly what he might find elsewhere this season, as there will surely be teams lined up to sign him for a lower salary. Teams looking for leadership, physicality and plenty of experience on their fourth line will be interested in a cheap Brouwer, who can sign as soon as the Flames officially buy him out.

Garnet Hathaway Avoids Arbitration

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Garnet Hathaway and the Calgary Flames were scheduled to hold an arbitration hearing today in Toronto, but will avoid the process and sign a one-year contract worth $850K. Hathaway had filed for $975K, while the team had countered with a league minimum $650K.

Hathaway, 26, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this contract and finds himself in another battle for an NHL spot this fall. Undrafted, the big winger has played 99 regular season games for Calgary over the past three seasons and contributed 13 points in 2017-18. Now after the team has added players like Elias Lindholm, James Neal, Austin Czarnik and Derek Ryan, there may be even less opportunity for depth players like Hathaway to really make an impact at the highest level. If he does find himself on the NHL roster out of camp, it will likely be battling with someone like Curtis Lazar for playing time on the fourth line.

The Flames have now resolved all of their arbitration cases for this offseason, meaning a second buyout window will open for them later this week. The team still does have restricted free agent Noah Hanifin (and minor league player Hunter Shinkaruk) to re-sign, and only around $4.5MM in cap space. Should the team want to free up any with a buyout, really only Troy Brouwer would be a potential candidate though the team still seems to value his experience and physical presence.

Calgary is desperate to get back to the playoffs after an extremely disappointing 2017-18 season, and players like Hathaway will have to step up if the team faces injury this season. With other younger options like Dillon Dube and Spencer Foo pushing hard for a chance at the NHL level, it may be the last chance for Hathaway to show what he can do for the organization.

Flames, Garnet Hathaway Exchange Arbitration Filings

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With their salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday morning, the Flames and RFA winger Garnet Hathaway have exchanged their filing figures.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Calgary has offered a one-year deal at the league minimum $650K salary while Hathaway is seeking $975K.  Both offers are one-way contracts.

The 26-year-old split last season between the Flames and their AHL affiliate in Stockton.  He was quite productive at the minor league level, collecting 11 goals and eight assists in just 18 games.  However, that production wasn’t carried over to Calgary.  While Hathaway got into a career-high 59 NHL contests, he collected just four goals and nine helpers while logging 11:32 per night.

Hathaway spent most of last season in the bottom six and will likely reprise that role once again in 2018-19, especially with some of the additions they made to shore up their existing bottom six in center Derek Ryan and winger Austin Czarnik.

While the $325K difference may seem relatively inconsequential, Calgary projects to be fairly tight to the salary cap next season.  They currently sit with just shy of $5.4MM in cap room per CapFriendly but still have RFA defenseman Noah Hanifin to lock up.  He will take up the bulk of that remaining cap space so the Flames will be trying to save whatever they can with Hathaway in an effort to leave themselves with a little bit of flexibility heading into the year.

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