Full 2018 Arbitration Hearing Schedule
Almost four dozen players decided to file for salary arbitration this summer, and while some of them have already been signed to contracts many others now know when their hearing will take place. The NHLPA released the full schedule of hearings, spread out from July 20th to August 4th. Remember that players can sign up until an arbitrator awards a contract, including in the short window after the hearing.
July 20
Jacob Trouba – Team filing: $4.0MM, Player filing: $7.0MM. Awarded one-year, $5.5MM contract.
July 23
Brett Kulak – Team filing: $650K, two-way contract, Player filing: $1.15MM, one-way contract. Awarded one-year, $850K contract.
July 24
Brandon Montour – Team filing: $1.5MM, Player filing: $4.5MM Settled before hearing, two years $6.775MM
July 30
Garnet Hathaway – Team filing: $650K, Player filing: $975K Settled before hearing, one-year $850K
August 1
Cody Ceci – Team filing: $3.35MM, Player filing $6.0MM. Awarded one-year, $4.3MM contract.
Gemel Smith – Team filing: two-way contract, Player filing: $900K. Awarded one-year one-way, $720K contract.
August 3
Mark Stone – Team filing: $5.0MM, Player filing $9.0MM Settled before hearing, one-year, $7.35MM
August 4
William Karlsson – Team filing: $3.5MM, Player filing $6.5MM
Remaining 2018 Arbitration Dates
As usual, arbitration hearings scheduled for later this month have been getting cancelled every day as teams lock up their restricted free agents. Hearings are scheduled each year between July 20th and August 4th, but we’ve already seen 18 players that filed for player-elected salary arbitration reach a settlement with their respective teams. Those players are listed below, with their contract details:
Elias Lindholm (CGY) – 6 years, $4.85MM AAV
Trevor van Riemsdyk (CAR) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Matthew Nieto (COL) – 2 years, $1.98MM AAV
Devin Shore (DAL) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Joel Armia (MTL) – 1 year, $1.85MM AAV
Phillip Danault (MTL) – 3 years, $3.08MM AAV
Blake Coleman (NJD) – 3 years, $1.8MM AAV
Stefan Noesen (NJD) – 1 year, $1.73MM AAV
Jimmy Vesey (NYR) – 2 years, $2.28MM AAV
Taylor Leier (PHI) – 1 year, $720K AAV
Alex Lyon (PHI) – 2 years, $750K AAV
Jamie Oleksiak (PIT) – 3 years, $2.14MM AAV
Dmitrij Jaskin (STL) – 1 year, $1.1MM AAV
Oskar Sundqvist (STL) – 1 year, $700K AAV
Colin Miller (VGK) – 4 years, $3.88MM AAV
Liam O’Brien (WSH) – 1 year, $650K AAV
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 6 years, $6.17MM AAV
Tomas Nosek (VGK) – 1 year, $962.5K AAV
The remaining arbitration schedule looks like this:
July 20
Chris Tierney (SJS)
Jacob Trouba (WPG)
July 22
Adam Lowry (WPG)
July 23
Brett Kulak (CGY)
Mathew Dumba (MIN)
July 24
Brandon Montour (ANA)
July 25
Joel Edmundson (STL)
Brandon Tanev (WPG)
July 27
Mark Jankowski (CGY)
July 28
David Rittich (CGY)
Jason Zucker (MIN)
July 29
Troy Stecher (VAN)
July 30
Garnet Hathaway (CGY)
MacKenzie Weegar (FLA)
Marko Dano (WPG)
July 31
Brady Skjei (NYR)
August 1
Cody Ceci (OTT)
Gemel Smith (DAL)
August 2
Miikka Salomaki (NSH)
Kevin Hayes (NYR)
August 3
Mattias Janmark (DAL)
Mark Stone (OTT)
Brock Nelson (NYI)
August 4
Ryan Spooner (NYR)
Patrik Nemeth (DAL)
William Karlsson (VGK)
Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Oleksiak, Skjei
With the team’s work with their restricted free agents now complete, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen now has time to work on more important projects for the team. The GM’s top priority is to attempt to talk to star Artemi Panarin and try and talk him into signing a long-term deal. Now, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that Kekalainen intends to meet with Panarin in France on Monday.
Panarin, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, could become the headline superstar available to teams like John Tavares was this offseason. The 26-year-old originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded a year ago to Columbus to alleviate salary cap issues. He posted excellent numbers with the Blue Jackets in the first season, putting upu 27 goals and a career-high 82 points. He has already stated that he isn’t willing to discuss an extension “as of now,” and it has been suggested by his agent Dan Milstein that the Blue Jackets might be better off trading him now.
Kekalainen obviously hopes that he can either convince Panarin to consider signing an extension soon or be convinced that he will have to make a trade to get Panarin to a team that he wants to play for.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to a three-year, $6.4MM deal a few days ago, but it shows how far the 6-foot-7, 255-pound blueliner has come, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Unable to break into the Stars’ lineup throughout the first five years of his career, he found himself traded to Pittsburgh where assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Sergei Gonchar altered his entire game like the franchise has done in the last few years with other blueliners such as Justin Schultz, Ian Cole and Chad Ruhwedel. Using film, they have worked on his defensive skills, penalty killing, his shot and his stickhandling to start and have high expectations for him next season. His offense has already started as in 47 games with Pittsburgh he posted four goals and 14 points.
- Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down the New York Rangers restricted free agency dilemma, especially looking at what to do with defenseman Brady Skjei in regards to giving the blueliner a bridge deal or long-term deal. The scribe looks back to forward Kevin Hayes, also a restricted free agent, who received a two-year bridge deal, but now will cost the team quite a bit of money. Skjei, who is coming off a down year, might be better off with a bridge deal to see what kind of player he becomes over the next two seasons. However, a long-term deal might also be quite beneficial because it would come at a lower cost. Even if he doesn’t become more than a third-pairing defenseman, a low-cost long-term deal has quite a bit of trade value as well.
Penguins Re-Sign Jamie Oleksiak
The Pittsburgh Penguins had one arbitration hearing on the books this off-season and it can now be canceled. The team announced that they have agreed to terms on a new contract with defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. It is a three-year extension that carries a cap hit of approximately $2.14MM.
Oleksiak, 25, flourished in 2017-18 after a mid-season trade from the Dallas Stars. The 6’7″, 255-lb. bruiser had always been a difficulty to play against, but his offensive game developed nicely when he was given increased ice time and responsibility on the Pittsburgh blue line. In 47 regular season games with the Penguins, Oleksiak recorded 14 points; he had only managed to score 22 total points prior in 140 games with Dallas. He also took far more shots and carried the puck more often following the trade. Not only did this offensive uptick not come at the cost of defense, but Oleksiak actually improved his physical game with 138 hits with Pittsburgh – more than double his previous career high in any season with the Stars.
Oleksiak set career marks across the board with Pittsburgh and looked at home with his new team. Both sides are likely very happy with the term of this contract, while the salary is a nice bump for Oleksiak after six seasons coming in at under $1MM. The Penguins now have the bulk of their top six – Oleksiak, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Jack Johnson, and Olli Maatta – signed through 2020-21. The deal does move Pittsburgh ever closer to the cap though; the team is currently projected to enter the upcoming season with just $745K in space with their current 23-man roster. The Penguins likely aren’t done making moves this off-season.
Rutherford Eyeing Trade Market To Improve Penguins
Changes are coming in Pittsburgh this off-season, but GM Jim Rutherford is “not even really thinking about free agency right now”. Speaking with Josh Yohe of the Athletic, Rutherford admits that “we won’t really have the cap space to do anything anyway. We’re going to re-sign some of our restricted free agents. And at that point, we’re around the cap.” The Penguins need to re-sign RFA’s Bryan Rust, Riley Sheahan, Daniel Sprong, Jamie Oleksiak and more and even with the expected increase to the salary cap limit will only have $8-12MM maximum to work with. The team could make a couple additional minor moves here and there on the unrestricted free agent market, but Rutherford is correct that team is strapped for the cap space to make any significant signings this summer, at least as things stand now.
As a result, it is the trade market that Rutherford is more interested in. The team has already stated that they don’t plan to buy out any of their current players, but they could look to move them via trade. Atop that list are likely wingers Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick. In fact, the blue line appears to be the most likely area for a player to be traded away, as the team enters next season with six veterans under contract and Oleksiak and Frank Corrado as restricted free agents. Rutherford stated to Yohe that defenseman Brian Dumoulin is the most untouchable player on the back end due to his invaluable defensive play, and also expressed his fondness for Oleksiak and Olli Maatta as well. Rutherford said that the front office is optimistic that Kris Letang and Hunwick will perform better next year and were happy with the play of Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel as they made up for Letang’s and Hunwick’s shortcomings respectively this season. However, Rutherford added that his comfort with this group doesn’t mean that won’t make a change.
The goal in making any deal is to improve the depth and youth of the Penguins’ forward corps. This explains why the team was connected to Max Domi recently, before he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens last week. The team is seeking versatility and upside up front and are willing to move substantial assets to get it, but Rutherford wasn’t willing to part with the Alex Galchenyuk-level ask from the Arizona Coyotes for Domi. Rutherford knows that even if he does nothing this summer, Pittsburgh will still be a contender, and as such he does not need to overpay in any trade. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not going anywhere and Rutherford has already confirmed that he is not shopping Phil Kessel. It’s safe to assume that young winger Jake Guentzel and new acquisition Derick Brassard are also safe. That is already shaping up to be a solid group yet again and the internal addition of younger players should add energy and potential. However, Rutherford’s preference still is to add depth and even more youth if he can to combat the injuries and fatigue that hurt his aging roster last year. Those are the moves he is looking to make this summer and it seems inevitable that at least one such transaction will be made by the expert executive. They may not be three-peat champions, but the Penguins are going to re-stock and be dangerous again in 2018-19.
Western Notes: Former Stars, Turris, Kyrou, Heiskanen
After a disappointing showing in the 2017-18 season that saw the Dallas Stars fall out of the playoffs early, SportsDay’s Mike Heika takes a look at former Dallas Stars players who got an opportunity to compete in the playoffs, asking the question of whether trading away players is the way to go or should teams keep all their players?
He points out several former Stars, including defensemen Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, as well as Matt Niskanen, as well as the Vegas Golden Knights’ trio of forwards James Neal, Reilly Smith and Cody Eakin.
The scribe writes that while Nemeth was lost to waivers to Colorado, it was unlikely that he was going to get an opportunity to play, while Oleksiak who the team traded away to Pittsburgh for a fourth-round pick, also would have found playing time remote with their group of young defenseman like Esa Lindell, Julius Honka, and Stephen Johns.
Neal and Niskanen were both traded back in 2011 for Alex Goligoski. Heika points out that while that trade looks bad now, Goligoski was a major contributor for years with the Stars as one of their top defensemen. Eakin was lost in the expansion draft, but freed up enough cap room to add Martin Hanzal via free agency, although so far that hasn’t worked out as well as they wanted. Smith went to Boston to get Tyler Seguin, which no one would complain about, although despite having already played for four teams, Smith might be the guy they could use the most.
- Team Canada announced that they have added Nashville Predators center Kyle Turris for the IIHF World Championships in Denmark. He should add some veteran depth to a strong Canadian team. Turris, whose Predators were eliminated Thursday, had a solid year between Ottawa and Nashville, putting up 16 goals and 35 assists, but struggled in the playoffs. He failed to score and only had three assists in 13 games.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon answers questions in a mailbag column, but says that St. Louis fans shouldn’t hold their breath when it comes to the status of prospect Jordan Kyrou joining the St. Louis Blues out of training camp next season. The 20-year-old center is one of the team’s most heralded prospects after putting up 109 points in 56 games with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting this past season. However, Gordon writes it’s far more likely that Kyrou will start the season in the AHL and shuttle back and forth to gain experience.
- Dallas Stars prospect Miro Heiskanen has been making his mark at the World Championships in Denmark for Team Finland. At 18 years old, the 2017 third-overall pick helped his team to a victory over Team Canada Saturday, which included a key save to a likely goal by Connor McDavid. His success on the ice likely means that he is ready to join the Stars next season. “It’s nice to face those guys and see where I am,” Heiskanen said. “It’s a good test to play them, maybe I will play them next year in the NHL. I want to play there as soon as possible, that’s my goal.”
Penguins Announce Multiple Roster Moves
A disappointing season for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins just took another tough turn. The team announced this afternoon that defensemen Kris Letang and Chad Ruhwedel and forward Bryan Rust have all been placed on injured reserve. There had been indications of possible moves such as these earlier in the day when head coach Mike Sullivan stated that Ruhwedel was “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury and Rust was out long-term with an upper-body injury of his own, as well as confirmed that Letang would remain out of the lineup, but the reality of three starters hitting the shelf on the same day could be jarring for Penguins fans.
In corresponding moves, the team has recalled defenseman Andrey Pedan, forward Garrett Wilson, and goaltender Casey DeSmith after previously calling up rearguard Frank Corrado earlier in the day. Pedan could potentially be making his Penguins debut soon after coming over from the Vancouver Canucks this summer in the Derrick Pouliot trade. Between the 6’5″ Pedan and newly-acquired 6’7″ Jamie Oleksiak, the Penguins certainly have some size on the blue line right now. However, with both Letang and Justin Schultz out of the lineup, it will likely be the more offensively-inclined Corrado looked to for a greater impact. Up front, Wilson seems more likely to be an emergency depth option or occasional fourth-line contributor than any sort of replacement for Rust. The 26-year-old has zero points in 34 NHL games. If scoring becomes a problem with both Rust and Letang now sidelined long-term, it could be time for Daniel Sprong to make his much-awaited return to Pittsburgh.
The most interesting impact of these injury moves could be the effect on the trade status of Letang. The All-Star defender’s availability has been a hot topic recently, but these new health concerns added to the career laundry list for the oft-injured defenseman will surely be a factor in talks.
Snapshots: Penguins, Boeser, Maple Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins made two trades today ahead of the holiday roster freeze, but might not be done this season. Josh Yohe of The Athletic spoke with Penguins’ GM Jim Rutherford earlier, who told him that the presence of Jamie Oleksiak—a player Pittsburgh has been looking at for two years—could mean more trades down the line due to added depth on defense.
That’s the same idea that Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had when he suggested Oleksiak could potentially be “insurance against a future Ian Cole trade.” Cole has been rumored to be available since ending up a healthy scratch earlier this season, and has reportedly clashed with head coach Mike Sullivan multiple times. You’d expect Oleksiak would need to prove his worth for a while before they sent any defenseman out of town.
- Amazingly, Brock Boeser might play tonight for the Vancouver Canucks. The injured forward, who had to have an MRI done on his foot to see if there was any damage after blocking a Mark Giordano shot, will take warm up with the team and see if he can go. His bone bruise is apparently something that isn’t a big worry for the Canucks, as head coach Travis Green told Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130 “we’re not going to tell Brock to stop blocking shots.”
- During the Toronto Maple Leafs’ afternoon game to celebrate 100 years of NHL action, the team broke a big franchise milestone. When James van Riemsdyk scored in the first period, it was the Maple Leafs’ 20,000th goal in franchise history. This comes just a night after Ryan Strome scored the 10,000th in Edmonton Oilers history.
Dallas Stars Trade Jamie Oleksiak To Pittsburgh Penguins
After clearing some room on the roster by dealing Josh Archibald, the Pittsburgh Penguins have now acquired Jamie Oleksiak from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2019 fourth-round pick. Pittsburgh had just acquired Minnesota’s fourth-round pick from the Arizona Coyotes in the previous deal. Dallas will get whichever pick, Minnesota or Pittsburgh’s own, is earlier in the fourth round.
Oleksiak, 24, was a first-round pick by the Stars in 2011 but hasn’t quite had the impact expected at the time. The 6’7″ defender has had trouble staying in the lineup for Dallas, even playing forward at times just to get back in game action. At times he can look like the dominating defensive presence the Stars had hoped for, but those moments have been too few and far between for them to give him added responsibility.
In Pittsburgh, Oleksiak will get another chance to impress and prove that he’s an NHL defenseman before hitting restricted free agency again this summer. Currently on a one-year deal worth $965K, he’ll actually cost the Penguins a little more than Archibald on the year. Interestingly, Oleksiak is another left-handed defenseman for the Penguins, something they’re already full of. With Justin Schultz on injured reserve, only Kris Letang and Chad Ruhwedel hold right-handed sticks at the moment, making it unclear where Oleksiak will fit in. Kevin Czuczman has been sent to the minor leagues for the time being.
Still, it is clear that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford has decided at least a minor shakeup is needed for his club. Pittsburgh has been a disappointment this season after back-to-back Stanley Cups, and find themselves out of a playoff spot at the moment. Oleksiak isn’t the answer to all of their problems, so expect other moves to eventually come down the pipe for the Penguins, though they may have to wait until after the holiday roster freeze.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Central Notes: Zucker, Methot, Berglund, Bouwmeester, Yzerman
Minnesota Wild’s Jason Zucker has scored six consecutive goals for the team over the past three games, giving the team all their offense. The 25-year-old wing put up team’s only two goals in their 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. He followed that up with a hat trick in the Wild’s 3-0 shutout of the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
He added the team’s lone goal in last night’s matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers to continue his streak. That goal held up as Minnesota walked away with a 1-0 shutout. While skill has propelled the forward on his hot streak, his goal Saturday just happened to be a lucky bounce that deflected off his stick and got past Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott, according to Rachel Blount of the Star Tribune.
“I have no idea,” the Wild winger said, when he was asked how the puck got past Elliott. “It was an empty net, and it had a lot of spin off the boards. So I think when it hit my stick, it just kind of shot off, and I honestly couldn’t tell you what it hit. That’s just a lucky bounce.”
- NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro writes that Dallas Stars defenseman Marc Methot will miss the next two games with a lower body injury. The 32-year-old defensive defenseman will not travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, but Shapiro also notes the team will not have to add another defender. The team will move defenseman Jamie Oleksiak back into their defensive rotation instead. The team also said that forward Tyler Pitlick, who has been out for the last week, is ready to go and Shapiro suggests that Pitlick will likely move into the lineup for Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
- The St. Louis Blues got some good news as Tom Timmermann of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that center Patrik Berglund and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester practiced with the team today and are expected to travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip. While coach Mike Yeo said that neither is expected to play on the road trip, both are close to returning to the lineup. Berglund was not projected to return until December after undergoing shoulder surgery and could be ahead of his timetable. Bouwmeester only practiced today for the first time since fracturing his ankle earlier this season.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun tweets that while it may be meaningless, Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman was in attendance at the last two Winnipeg Jets games, having been at the Jets’ 4-1 victory over Arizona last night and the Jets’ 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.