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Minor Transactions: 02/20/18

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The trade market is heating up, with two deals yesterday that indicate a willingness to sell. Though much of the action may come down to the very last day, this week will be filled with preparations. We’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here, as teams set their roster for a big deadline splash.

Complete List Of Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents

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Back in November, we took a look at some of the potential Group VI free agents that could hit unrestricted free agency early this offseason. Of that group, Josh Leivo was extended and Stefan Noesen eclipsed the number of games played needed to stay with the New Jersey Devils organization. Now, CapFriendly has compiled a complete list of players still at risk of becoming free agents early, including how many games they need. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:

  1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
  2. The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
  3. The player has played less than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.

The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.

*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency

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Minor Transactions — 1/7/18

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After a nine-game schedule Saturday, the NHL has another busy day of action today as 20 teams will be on the ice. There have already been a few moves made and many more are likely:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have activated veteran defenseman Tobias Enstrom off of injured reserve. The 33-year-old went down with a lower-body injury back on Nov. 18 and was deemed out for eight weeks. Slightly ahead of schedule, the defensive-minded Enstrom should improve the defensive play of Winnipeg, especially since they also just got back defenseman Dustin Byfuglien five days ago.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced they have made a three moves this morning, as defenseman Andrei Mironov and winger A.J. Greer and goaltender Andrew Hammond have all been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. It’s likely that all three are being sent down to get regular playing time while the Avalanche begin their five-day bye week. The Avalanche don’t play again until next Saturday.
  • After sending this group down one day ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets recalled center Zac Dalpe, defenseman Dean Kukan and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, while returning goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters. All were sent down to get in some playing time in the AHL in Cleveland’s 4-3 shootout loss to Rockford. Dalpe scored a goal, Kukan added an assist and Korpisalo stopped 37 shots on goal.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled goaltender Jared Coreau from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He will serve as the emergency backup for Petr Mrazek after it was reported Saturday that starter Jimmy Howard will sit out today’s game with a lower-body injury. Coreau played 14 games for the Red Wings last year, but hasn’t had as good of a season in Grand Rapids as he did a year ago. The 26-year-old netminder has a 2.77 GAA in 25 games so far this year with the Griffins. It will likely be a one-game stint for Coreau as the Red Wings go on a bye week and won’t play again until next Saturday.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have reassigned winger Reid Boucher to the Utica Comets today. Boucher has been with the team since Dec. 13, but has appeared in just three games with the team. He has been a healthy scratch in five of the team’s past six games. The 24-year-old returns to Utica where he has 13 goals and 25 points this year in 25 games.
  • After sending Marcus Sorensen down Friday night, the San Jose Sharks have recalled the young forward back to the team, according to CapFriendly. Sorensen has three goals in 13 games with the Sharks.  Defenseman Dylan DeMelo was placed on IR to make room for Sorenson on the roster.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Jonny Brodzinski and Kevin Gravel to the minor leagues after losing yesterday to the Predators. The Kings are headed into their bye week, and won’t play again until next Saturday night.
  • Following their game this afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have returned winger Tyrell Goulbourne to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  He played in two games while on recall, averaging 5:34 per game.  The Flyers are also heading into their bye week and could potentially bring Goulbourne back up next weekend.
  • The New York Islanders also made several roster moves following their matinee against the Devils.  Forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Tanner Fritz as well as defenseman Sebastian Aho have all been sent down to Bridgeport.  There is a good chance some of them will be recalled following the bye week.

Options In Net For The Edmonton Oilers

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Things went from bad to worse for the Edmonton Oilers’ 2017-18 season when dependable starting goaltender Cam Talbot went down with and upper body injury and landed on IR and could remain out through December. His replacement, Laurent Brossoit, is struggling and that’s putting it gently. In 8 appearances, Brossoit has one win, an .872 save percentage, and a 3.80 GAA. Neither of the backup options, Nick Ellis or Eddie Pasquale, has any NHL experience, nor has either been given a chance to gain any just yet, nor has either played remarkably well in the AHL as well. It’s a dire situation for a team that is desperate for wins, or else the face a familiar possibility of finishing as one of the league’s worst teams this season.

So what are the options? TSN’s Frank Servalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is scouring the trade market for help in net. Servalli lists Buffalo’s Chad Johnson, Winnipeg’s Michael Hutchinson, Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth, Toronto’s Calvin Pickard, and Detroit’s Petr Mrazek as the top targets for Edmonton.

Johnson, of course, is known to be on the trade block courtesy of the Sabres’ own struggles and seems to be the best fit of these options as a reliable veteran on a one-year deal. Servalli even states that Johnson, along with Neuvirth, were among the Chiarelli’s free agency targets to be Talbot’s backup. However, as Servalli points out, there could be other suitors for Johnson, which could drive the price up.

More affordable assets to acquire could be Hutchinson or Pickard, due to their teams’ depth in goal. The Maple Leafs acquired Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this year, but with Frederik Andersen playing well, a veteran backup in Curtis McElhinney, and other promising young goalies in Garret Sparks and Kasimir Kaskisuo in line, Pickard is expendable. So too could be McElhinney or Sparks as well, if Chiarelli favors those Toronto alternatives. In Winnipeg, the thriving Jets are doing just fine with Connor Hellebuyck, rookie Eric Comrie, and expensive free agent acquistion Steve Mason as their net rotation. A solid goaltender with ties to Chiarelli from the Boston Bruins, fourth-string Hutchinson seems like a likely target.

Mrazek and Neuvirth less so. Mrazek is still young, is making $4MM, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. It is likely that he would be costly to acquire and costly to re-sign, when the Oilers really just need a stopgap. Neuvirth, who has a year remaining at $2.5MM, could replace Brossoit as the long-term backup to Talbot if Chiarelli so chooses, but also seems like an unlikely acquisition. AHL goaltenders from both the Red Wings and Flyers – Jared Coreau and Alex Lyon – might actually make more sense.

Other options: Eddie Lack or David Rittich from the rival Calgary Flames, Colorado’s Andrew Hammond, Anaheim’s Reto Berra, L.A.’s Jack Campbell or Jeff Zatkoff, and several more. The options are there, so the pressure is on Chiarelli to find a fair deal and to do it soon. Edmonton may simply lose upcoming games regardless of who is in net, but if the team continues forward with only Brossoit, the blame will fall on the front office for not doing something to at least increase their chances.

Minor Transactions: 07/27/17

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While the whole league considers their options now that the Montreal Canadiens have announced Andrei Markov will not return, teams will continue to make minor changes and signings to finalize the fringes of their roster before training camp. Here we’ll keep track of all the minor signings of the day.

  • The New York Islanders have signed Connor Jones according to Arthur Staple of Newsday, inking the 26-year old forward to a one-year two-way contract. Jones got into four games for the Islanders this season, his first taste of NHL action. A graduate of Quinnipac University, Jones has had a hard time replicating any offensive success in the professional ranks, and was held scoreless in his short NHL stint last year.
  • The Milwaukee Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators, inked former Detroit Red Wings goalie prospect Jake Paterson to a minor league contract today, per a team release. A 2012 third-round pick from the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, the 23-year-old keeper was one of the best goalies in the ECHL last year. Not only did he lead the league in wins with 34, but he posted an impressive 2.28 GAA and .918 save percentage as well. This is the second season in a row that Paterson had dominated the ECHL and has likely earned a shot at regular AHL time. However, he joins a crowded pipeline in Milwaukee that includes Marek Mazanec, Matt O’Connor, and veteran Anders Lindback fighting for time in net. Barring an injury or two, Paterson will likely be back in the ECHL next year. Yet, Paterson was still one of the top free agent goalies remaining on the market before the Admirals scooped him up.
  • If Paterson had stayed in the Red Wings organization, he would have faced a similar roadblock to AHL play time behind Calder Cup hero Jared Coreau, the recently re-acquired Tom McCollum, and Czech import Matej Machovsky. However, Pat Nagle appears to be up for the challenge. The 29-year-old minor league veteran has signed on with Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on a minor league deal, the team announced. The Michigan-native has played with Grand Rapids before – a two-game stint on loan from the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets in 2014-15 – and was loaned again to the Griffins last season, but did not see any action. Now officially part of the team, the veteran keeper will look to earn a permanent spot in Grand Rapids, but faces an uphill battle against both the trio of goalies ahead of him on the depth chart and his own age in inferior play at the AHL level.

Detroit’s Contract Pitfalls

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Detroit is currently dealing with one of the more contentious RFA negotiations in recent memory, as Tomas Tatar has refused a multi-year deal and is not happy with the franchise’s perception of him. The team also needs to negotiate a new contract for Andreas Athanasiou, a speedy center with flashy hands and a lot of upside. The major problem, however, is the cap space with which GM Ken Holland has to operate.

Detroit’s perilous situation is bizarre primarily because it has been largely self-inflicted, and unnecessarily so. The team already has an under-performing and vastly overpaid defensive group, but decided to bring in declining veteran Trevor Daley to a $3.17 MM, three-year deal. This places the team with $2.28 MM left in cap space while still needing to lock up Athanasiou and Tatar. It should be noted that 37 year-old Johan Franzen has been on long-term injured reserve since 2015, so they should be able to allocate his $3.95 MM salary to that reserve upon resumption of the season. Considering the apparently lax interpretation of the off-season rules, this effectively allows Holland $6.23 MM left to sign his two players. Theoretically, it could be enough, but in reality money will need to move out.

Tatar turned down a 5-year deal worth $5 MM per season, according to Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan. If that AAV isn’t enough, which it appears not to be, Holland is in a bit of a bind. Tatar was their only player to break 20 goals (25), and finished third on the team in points behind only Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist. His offensive capabilities are pretty essential to a team hurting so badly for consistent production. Tatar wants his $6 MM, and there’s a good chance he’ll get it. Holland could try to deal Tatar before his arbitration date, but the return might not be as productive as Holland would like. If the parties do go to arbitration, Tatar will only need to sign for one season, which would almost assure his eventual departure.

Athanasiou will come cheaper and likely on a shorter term. If Holland can secure the player for under $2 MM, it would be a boon. The wiser move would be to try to extend the player on a longer deal in hopes that he becomes a bargain in the near future. Unfortunately, with the Tatar situation taking precedence, it seems an unlikely scenario. Even still, his measly $2 MM would put the Wings over the cap ceiling, even with Franzen on LTIR. So who would be on the outs?

Petr Mrazek was almost lost to the Vegas Golden Knights through the expansion draft, and with Jared Coreau playing stellar in the Grand Rapids, he seems the most likely candidate to move. He only costs $4 MM and after his down season, Holland would like to give Jimmy Howard the reigns back. Unfortunately, the Mrazek “attitude” rumors may have lessened his trade value. Perhaps even more importantly, the goaltending carousel has ground to a halt, with essentially every team securing a starter for the coming year.

Justin Abdelkader is on a really poor contract, complete with a no-trade clause, worth $4.25 MM AAV for the next six seasons. After a seven goal season, however, there won’t be many teams chomping at the bit for his services. Darren Helm didn’t fare much better offensively, but with a $3.85 MM contract and only four years on his deal, he’s not entirely unmovable. Again, he has a no-trade clause to complicate matters. There are the defensemen, such as Jonathan Ericsson, but with three years left and already declining at 33, he would also net little in return. Luke Glendening is an interesting option, as he is the cheapest of this group. Despite his two-way prowess, a forward with 3 goals in a season, even at a mere $1.8 MM, will still be a tough sell.

Ultimately, the Wings have overpaid a number of players and the contracts are for far too long. The amount of no-trade clauses handed out is an absurd hindrance when a team is trying to rebuild or retool. With 8 players on the roster with some sort of movement-limiting clause, Holland has few options to give himself relief. The worst case scenario would be to lose Tatar, but the team has truly painted itself into a corner regardless of who is shipped out. With an aging defense and an uninspiring offense, the Wings’ return to relevance will only be delayed from here on in.

Red Wings Acquire Keeper Tom McCollum

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On the biggest signing day of the year, the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings have instead been talking trade. The Flames have agreed to send goalie Tom McCollum, extended only for Expansion Draft purposes, to the Detroit Red Wings for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Flames, who have recently added both Mike Smith and Eddie Lack in net and have to also accommodate prospects Jon Gillies and Mason McDonald, were reportedly working to loan McCollum out to another AHL team anyway. Instead, McCollum will head back to Detroit, the organization who drafted him and where he spent the first seven years of his career, presumably to back up Jared Coreau in the AHL.

Mrazek Exposed Due To “Attitude”

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In one of the more surprising exposures of an action-packed Sunday, Petr Mrazek was left un-shielded by the Red Wings in favor of his senior backup Jimmy Howard. The reason why is even more surprising.

Howard ($5.292 MM) earns more than Mrazek (4.0 MM), and has an extra year on his contract. More shocking is the difference in age – Howard is 33 whereas Mrazek is only 25, still young for a goaltender in development. Howard has started far fewer games the last two seasons, only 24 in 2016-17. He did perform statistically well and rebounded with a .927 save percentage, whilst Mrazek posted a .908. Still, when Mrazek was on the list of those exposed, many assumed Detroit GM Ken Holland had negotiated a side-deal with Vegas to protect the tender. Not the case, apparently.

According to Holland, “I’m not spending any future assets to hang onto players”, which is as cut-and-dry a response as we’ve seen. Ansar Khan of Michigan Live states that the Wings passed on Mrazek in their expansion list due to a combination of “performance and attitude”. He even went so far as to claim that Mrazek is believed by some in the organization to be “too cocky for his own good”. The article even mentions Mrazek’s alleged unhappiness with the inability of Holland to trade Howard after the 2015-16 season.

Mrazek certainly had a better season in 2015-16, and contract negotiations did drag on for quite some time before the parties settled on a two-year deal. Mrazek was one of the most surprising goalies in that year, helping sneak the team in for their 25th consecutive playoff berth behind a mediocre defense. At the age of 23, it looked certain that the era of Howard in Hockeytown was nearing a close. After his pitfalls through 50 starts last season, management obviously decided that risking Mrazek would not hurt the team in a sizable way. If any trades were attempted to deal Mrazek, they were apparently quite unsuccessful.

Regardless of how toxic the relationship between the parties is, these sentiments might scare Vegas off of placing a claim. They certainly have a plethora of other options available around the league to tend net or flip for picks. Detroit certainly won’t be hurting for goaltending now that Jared Coreau has led the Grand Rapids Griffins to an AHL championship and is ready for prime-time. But if off-ice issues truly are a concern, and Vegas doesn’t select Mrazek, Detroit could have a very tense situation on their hands next season.

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

Missing the playoffs for only the first time in 25 years, the Detroit Red Wings plan on rebuilding but still keeping the playoffs in their sights. Detroit is in an interesting situation as they hold a slew of draft picks, and a number of contracts they could expose, giving some relief if one is taken.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar (RFA), Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou (RFA), Frans Nielsen (NMC),

Defensemen:

Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson, Danny DeKeyser, Niklas Kronwall, Nick Jensen, Xavier Ouellet (RFA).

Goaltender:

Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek, Jared Coreau

Notable Exemptions

Dylan Larkin, Johan Franzen.

Key Decisions

One of the chief reasons the Red Wings have lost their footing as a contender is not only a lack of high draft picks, but some disastrous decisions when it came to handing out contracts. Though I have written about this before, it bears repeating that under general manager Ken Holland, the Red Wings will always be loyal and choose to, as Holland always says, “draft and develop” before looking elsewhere for help. This is a key point to keep in mind as decisions are to be made. One of the biggest knocks on Holland is that he falls in love with his players–especially those he drafted.

One of the simplest ways Detroit could get salary cap room would be by protecting those who are absolutely necessary and allowing several high priced players to be exposed. Holland stipulated that he will be going with the 7-3-1 format when it comes to keeping players, and that will allow for some higher priced players to be exposed. Additionally, Holland has made it clear he will not part with draft picks in order to move contracts. Options, then, are aplenty.

Henrik Zetterberg will be protected because of his role as captain, and the all but guaranteed moment of his number hanging from the rafters. Barring some sort of crazy change, Zetterberg will be protected.

Feb 12, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Detroit Red Wings forward Riley Sheahan (15) during a game between the Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Red Wings 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Riley Sheahan is a curious case. Sheahan struggled mightily, scoring two goals all season, both coming in the final game of the year. Still young and only a $2M cap hit, he could be snapped up. Sheahan has to be due for a bounce back, and with a hodgepodge of new talent and a fresh start in Vegas, it could be a boon for him professionally.  It’s a risk the Wings have to look at, being that the bounce back could also occur in Hockeytown.

Abdelkader is also an interesting case. He is owed a lot of money ($4.25MM AAV) through 2023, and hasn’t produced to justify the expense. But this is where Holland’s loyalty comes in. It’s highly unlikely Vegas would take him at that hit for the next six years while the Red Wings are believed to be grooming Abdelkader as the next captain of the team. Expect Abdelkader to be on the protected list. But rolling the dice and putting Abdelkader out there would not only allow them to hold onto a cheaper player who seems prone for a bounce back, but also provides the chance of getting significant cap relief should Abdelkader be selected.

Darren Helm and Luke Glendening at this point are role players who both hold higher cap hits ($3.85MM and $1.8MM respectively). Helm has traditionally been a third line center while Glendening spends the majority of his time on the fourth. They should both be exposed.

Finally, a quirk in CBA wording made Anthony Mantha eligible for the expansion draft. Holland will have no choice but to include him on the list. Detroit blog Winging It In Motown did a great job of breaking down the verbiage in the CBA that makes Mantha eligible.

Projected Protection List

F – Henrik Zetterberg
F – Anthony Mantha
F – Andreas Athanasiou
F – Frans Nielsen (NMC)
F – Justin Abdelkader
F – Tomas Tatar
F – Gustav Nyquist

D – Mike Green
D – Xavier Ouellet
D – Danny DeKeyser

G – Petr Mrazek

The goalie situation is another precarious case for the Wings, as Mrazek, who was anointed the starter last year, struggled to gain form and saw Howard take over the top spot until injury caught up with him. Coreau just backstopped the Grand Rapids Griffins to a Calder Cup trophy and comes very cheap as  an NHL backup, especially with little NHL experience to his name. The choice here would have to be Mrazek, as Howard has only a couple years left and can rarely stay healthy enough to maintain a #1 job. Youth and Mrazek’s potential are reasons to protect him. The Czech netminder has flashes of brilliance and should Detroit restock with a stalwart defense and supportive scoring, it’s not out of the question that Mrazek could be one of the best in the league.

Oct 30, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) is pulled out and replaced by goalie Jimmy Howard (35) during the second period against Florida Panthers at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

On defense, the Wings will protect both Green and DeKeyser, the latter who they re-signed to a large deal that was panned by many, especially after DeKeyser sputtered last season. Still relatively young at 27, the Wings are trying to find a #1 or 2 defenseman that would ease the pressure on DeKeyser. The real question comes in at who to protect after that. The loyalty piece of Holland could put Kronwall on the list of protected because of his time in Detroit. The 36-year-old defenseman has been lauded for his leadership abilities as well. But that leaves a number of young talent exposed, namely Ouellet, and Jensen. The better bet is that Kronwall will be exposed, and the Wings will protect Ouellet over Jensen. Their numbers were similar this season, but Ouellet, just about three years younger than Jensen, seems the smarter choice to place on the protected list. It is highly unlikely that Kronwall will be taken, being that he experienced a major dip in play last season due to a nagging knee injury. His mobility and skating ability isn’t close to what it once was.

The takeaway with the Red Wings is that they are truly a team in transition. Their building blocks for nearly a decade are aging, they have question marks in net, and defensively, there is no clear cut number one or number two defensemen.  While they don’t have a lot to lose in terms of talent, Holland will most likely defer to youth rather than loyalty when making his final choices.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Grand Rapids Griffins Win 2017 Calder Cup

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After a tense, back-and-forth Game 6, Grand Rapids emerged victorious with a 4-3 final score over the Syracuse Crunch, capturing the 2017 Calder Cup. The newly crowned AHL champions found the eventual game winner off a mid-3rd period tally from winger Martin Frk. His shot from the point found its way through traffic and beat Crunch tender Mike McKenna. McKenna had misplayed an earlier goal as well, which is an unfortunate turn of events for the veteran who’d performed quite well, posting a .914 save percentage through 21 games.

Other important Red Wings prospects who will  benefit from this experience include Tyler Bertuzzi, Tomas Nosek (who led the team in points), and Ben Thomas. Also of note were the performances of Eric Tangradi, Ben Street, and Mitch Callahan. Captained by veteran defenseman Nathan Paetsch, and backstopped by 25 year-old goalie Jared Coreau, the team defeated the Milwaukee Admirals in 3 games, the Chicago Wolves in 5 games, and the San Jose Barracuda in 5 games on their march to the finals.

The Crunch had a lead for the majority of the game, but the Griffins kept close and eventually pulled ahead. Syracuse’s most noticeable player of the night was Yanni Gourde, who scored two of the team’s three tallies in the losing effort. Cory Conacher also had a resurgent season, leading the whole field in both playoff goals and points.

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