Pacific Division Roster Battle Notes: Setoguchi, Dell, Hamilton, Jones, Booth
A 30-goal scorer in the NHL at the age of 22, Devin Setoguchi was well on his way to stardom once upon a time. But a steady decline in his on-ice performance coupled with a well-documented problem with alcohol derailed his once promising hockey career. Now completely sober, Setoguchi is in camp with the L.A. Kings and according to Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News, the 29-year-old forward is taking full advantage of what well could be his last opportunity to make an NHL roster.
Steoguchi, who the Kings signed to a PTO earlier this month, has impressed the Kings coaching staff with the “energy and effectiveness” that is reminiscent of his early days playing for the Sharks, opines Teaford. And while the Kings may not expect Setoguchi to again score 20 or more goals in a single season at this level, there is a real opportunity for him to make the roster and contribute. The Kings lost LW Milan Lucic to free agency while Marian Gaborik injured his foot at the World Cup and is set to miss the start of the 2016-17 season. Even if it’s in a bottom-six role, Setoguchi can add quality depth to the Kings lineup if he continues to play with energy.
Kings assistant coach John Stevens had this to say about Setoguchi:
“You have to give him a lot of credit.” He was out of the league for a little bit and I didn’t know what to expect, but to his credit he came here in a very good condition and was ready to go and wanted to put his best foot forward to win a position on the squad. I think for me it’s exciting to see that, just coming in here prepared.”
“He’s going to give himself a good chance to perform well, so it’s good to see.”
Whether Setoguchi will make an impact with the Kings in 2016-17 and possibly jump start his NHL career remains to be seen. But at the very least, it appears as if he has his life in order again.
Elsewhere regarding position battles in the Pacific Division:
- When James Reimer signed lucrative contract this summer to become the Florida Panthers new backup goalie, the Sharks were left searching for his replacement. As Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News writes, it appears as if 27-year-old journeyman netminder Aaron Dell is the front-runner to earn the #2 position behind incumbent starter Martin Jones. Dell, who played collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota, suited up for five different professional teams prior to signing with the Sharks organization in March of 2015. He finished with 17 wins, a GAA of 2.42 and a save % of 92.2 in 40 appearances for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL during the 2015-16 season. Troy Grosenick represents Dell’s competition for the position. The two shared duties with the Barracuda a year ago with Grosenick’s numbers – 3.16 GAA, 89.4% Save % – inferior to those posted by Dell. Of the pair, Grosenick is the only goalie with any NHL experience, albeit with just two appearances with the Sharks in 2014-15.
- Last season, Freddie Hamilton assisted on a goal by his brother, Dougie, becoming the first set of siblings to appear on the same line on the score sheet. As Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun writes, Freddie would like that to be the first time of many for the brothers. While Dougie is a big-ticket player for the Flames and assured of a spot among Calgary’s top four blue liners, Freddie will have to earn regular ice time as a forward. The elder Hamilton brother recently inked a two-year, one-way contract with the club but as GM Brad Treliving noted, “Last year, we had players on one-way contracts that were making good money that went to the minors. I think all the players know that there is still the make-the-team portion of this, and that’s no different for Freddie or anybody.” Hamilton appeared in just four games with the Flames in 2015-16 and has only 33 career games of NHL experience. Hamilton’s chances of making the club could hinge largely on whether the team elects to keep Matthew Tkachuk on the roster or return the 2016 first-round pick to juniors. If Tkachuk makes the team it would likely push more accomplished players down the depth chart and leave little room for Hamilton.
- The Anaheim Ducks may be deep on defense but they have a couple of openings up front with plenty of competition for those spots. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register writes, veteran forwards David Booth, David Jones and Sean Bergenheim are in camp with Anaheim, trying to convert a PTO into a guaranteed deal. All three have achieved a fair amount of success in this league but have struggled in recent seasons, with Booth and Bergenheim each failing to land an NHL job in 2015-16. Jones, on the other hand, scored 11 goals in 75 games between Calgary and Minnesota.
Atlantic Notes: Florida Goalies, Wisniewski, Tanguay
The Florida Panthers will be heading into training camp next week with somewhat of a logjam between the pipes. Joining incumbent Roberto Luongo are June trade acquisition Reto Berra and free agent signing James Reimer. At the time Berra was acquired, it was expected that he would replace Al Montoya (who later signed with Montreal) as their backup goalie.
Their decision to pursue Reimer caught many by surprise, including Reimer himself. Speaking with George Richards of the Miami Herald, Reimer commented on his initial surprise when he was approached by the Panthers shortly after their acquisition of Berra:
“I didn’t know what their intention was. They called, and we got to talking and there was interest there. We pursued it, and it looks like a good fit.”
As it turns out, GM Tom Rowe was viewing Berra (who actually played in two more games in the AHL last year, 16 AHL to 14 NHL games) primarily as an insurance policy for Luongo as it was unknown if he would be ready to start the season following offseason hip surgery. However, the 37 year old has been skating for a month and appears to be on track to start Florida’s season opener on October 13th.
If that is the case, the Panthers plan to try to send Berra to the minors. He will have to pass through waivers to get there and if he clears, he will still partly count against Florida’s salary cap to the tune of $500K (his cap hit of $1.45MM minus [$375K plus the minimum salary of $575K]).
More from the Atlantic:
- After being bought out by Carolina in late June, James Wisniewski was targeting two teams in free agency. One of those teams was Tampa Bay, he told Bryan Burns on the Lightning’s website. Wisniewski played only a single game last season with Carolina as he tore his ACL on his first and only shift with the team and signed a PTO with the Bolts last month. However, he’s only two years removed from a 51 point season with Columbus and could be a low risk, high reward pickup if he’s able to make the opening night roster.
- While he expressed a desire to return to Montreal earlier this offseason, the Canadiens do not have interest in signing free agent left winger Alex Tanguay, Richard Labbe of La Presse reports (link in French). Tanguay played one season for his hometown team back in 2008-09. He’s the highest remaining point getter among UFA’s after putting up 35 points in 70 games with Colorado and Arizona last season. It was reported earlier this month that Tanguay has a handful of tryout offers on the table but that he is still seeking a guaranteed deal.
Panthers Reach Six-Year Extension With Jonathan Huberdeau
The Florida Panthers have locked up another young forward. The team has come to a six-year extension with Jonathan Huberdeau that will pay him $35.4MM ($5.9MM AAV). Currently under contract for one more season, Huberdeau is earning $3.25MM in 2016-17, and would be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer. 
The 23-year old was once the third overall pick by Florida in the 2011 draft, and has done nothing but score in his short NHL career. In 272 career games, the former Saint John Sea Dog has 172 points, including a career-high 59 last season. Skating mostly alongside Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr, the trio formed one of the more dominant lines in the Eastern conference last season, combining for 184 points.
Florida has quickly locked up much of their future this summer, signing extensions with Reilly Smith (Five years, $25MM), Vincent Trocheck (Six years, $28.5MM) and Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM) while signing free agents Keith Yandle (Seven years, $44.45MM), Jason Demers (Five years, $22.5MM) and James Reimer (Five years, $17MM) to long-term deals.
With it, the team has created cap certainty in a world where that’s very valuable from year to year, and has built a core that is easily a playoff contender every season. With no one cracking $8MM per season (Ekblad comes the closest at $7.5MM) they’ve also ensured that they won’t have too much money tied up in a single player or pair like many of the other cup contenders around the league.
Bob McKenzie of TSN was first to report the sides were close, and Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reported it was done.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Roster Crunch: Atlantic Division
Over the past few days, we’ve looked at the final few spots on the roster for both the Pacific and Central divisions. This time, we’ll turn our attention to the East starting with the Atlantic. This division will be in turmoil over the next few years, with clubs like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs going through slow, deliberate rebuilds, and perennial contending squads like the Detroit Red Wings finally starting to slow down.
Florida Panthers – While the Panthers have pretty much accomplished everything they set out to do this off-season – improving the blueline with Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, getting a capable replacement for Roberto Luongo in James Reimer, and locking up their young core – they failed in one, big $5.5MM way. Dave Bolland failed his physical and therefor couldn’t be bought out. He’ll try to prove he deserves some playing time this season, but may find himself buried in the AHL to make room for Jared McCann, the prize Florida received when they dealt Erik Gudbranson to the Canucks.
Panthers Notes: MacKenzie, Reimer, Huberdeau
Today marked another long-term extension for the Panthers, as the team locked up 25-year old Reilly Smith for another five seasons. It’s the latest in a series of big moves the Panthers have done as they build their team to compete for the short and long term. In a series of tweets, play-by-play announcer and Fox Sports Florida reporter Steve Goldstein gives us some insight into the rest of their summer:
- Assistant captain Derek MacKenzie is currently an unrestricted free agent but seems destined to head back to Florida at some point. Goldstein describes it as a formality, and expects him to be around for the next few seasons. MacKenzie is regarded highly in the Panther dressing room, and provides some toughness to their bottom six.
- Newly signed goaltender James Reimer may play in as many as 35 games this season even without an injury to starter Roberto Luongo. With Luongo’s advanced age, the team will look to protect him for a long playoff run. Reimer signed for five seasons and is expected to take the reins at some point down the road.
- GM Tom Rowe expects to get a long-term extension done at some point with forward Jonathan Huberdeau. The former third overall pick represents the last of the young group Florida has built, and due to some savvy cap management, the team will have money for him going forward. Huberdeau scored 20 goals and tied for third on the team in points last season with 59.
Panthers Extend Reilly Smith For Five Years
Clearly the biggest players in free agency this year, the Florida Panthers are close to another move to lock up their young core. Gary Lawless of TSN was first to report that the team was close to an extension with forward Reilly Smith that would pay him $5MM a season for an additional five years. The team has since confirmed the length of the deal, though not the financial details.
In just the past few weeks, the team has traded for then signed Keith Yandle, dealt away Dmitry Kulikov, given extensions to Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck, signed free agents Jason Demers and James Reimer, and pretty much owned the hockey world.
Smith, 25, had an excellent season last year with the Panthers, scoring 25 goals and 50 points. The former third round pick has had quite a start to his career, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first three full seasons. The talented young winger came over to Florida in the deal that saw them take on Marc Savard‘s cap-hit from the Bruins, one that they recently dealt to New Jersey for some cap relief of their own.
The Panthers have been on quite a clear path lately, trying to push past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the year they lost in the Cup finals to Colorado. After being knocked out by the New York Islanders last season, the team has made clear upgrades to their defensive group, and should have one of the better top pairings in the league with Ekblad and Yandle signed long-term.
Smith is still under contract for next season at a $3.43MM cap hit, meaning that a five-year extension would take him through the 2021-22 season. Perhaps not coincidentally, that is also when Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov will hit free agency, giving the team a chance to re-tool if they need to at that point.
If the financials are true, it would mean the Panthers have four young forwards under contract long-term for less than $6MM apiece in Barkov, Trocheck, Smith and Nick Bjugstad. All 25 or under, that quartet scored 93 goals last season. Next on the to-do list would be Jonathan Huberdeau, the former third overall pick who put up 20 goals of his own last season. He’s due $3.25MM next year before becoming an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.
James Reimer Signs 5-Year Deal With Florida
Free agent netminder James Reimer has agreed to a deal with the Florida Panthers that will see him earn $3.4MM per year over the next five seasons, according to General Fanager.
The deal comes as somewhat of a surprise considering the Panthers already have Roberto Luongo under contract for the next six years with a cap hit just over $4.5MM. This locks up their goalie tandem for the rest of the decade while giving the Panthers a backup goalie capable of playing more than 15-20 games which could useful as Luongo ages.
Last season, Reimer had his best year, split between Toronto and San Jose. Between the two teams, he posted a 17-14-7 record with a 2.31 GAA and a .922 SV% with three shutouts.
In his career, the 28 year old has played in 215 games, collecting a 91-78-23 record with a 2.78 GAA and a .914 SV%.