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Jared Cowen

Snapshots: Tavares; Goalie Equipment; Cowen

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News and notes from around the NHL

  • New York Islanders captain John Tavares spoke to Newsday’s Arthur Staple on Monday, stating that he has no reason to leave Long Island when his contract expires. Tavares is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2017-18 season, and rumors are already swirling that he may leave. The comments Tavares made are an attempt to quell the media attention Tampa Bay Lighting Steven Stamkos endured this offseason on whether he would re-sign with the Lightning. Many media members speculated that he would join his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, and the same media attention looks to descend upon Toronto-native Tavares as well. Proving further speculation was this offseason’s UFA exodus. Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, and Matt Martin all signed elsewhere within the first day of free agency.
  • TSN’s Jason Gregor tweeted that goaltender equipment may not be streamlined this season, a move widely expected by the NHL. The new equipment standards would shrink the chest protector, upper pads, and pants, making everything more streamlined and less bulky. Gregor noted that he trained with five NHL goaltenders who said that no new equipment has been ordered yet. The NHL wants to decrease goaltender bulk in an effort to increase scoring, but the league may have to wait another year to implement.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jared Cowen will have a grievance hearing sometime in the future regarding his buyout. The Maple Leafs waived Cowen this offseason with the intention of buying him out, but Cowen states that he was injured. A team cannot buy out an injured player, and the Leafs say that he is not injured—hence the grievance proceeding. A date has not been set yet, but the Leafs ideally want this situation resolved before the season starts as they are currently have only $500K in cap space. Buying Cowen out would not only free up his $3.1MM salary, but will actually create an additional cap credit of $650K for the upcoming season. Next year Cowen’s buyout cap hit would be $750K. So by buying out Cowen, the Leafs instantly go from sub-$500K in cap space to over $4MM.

Atlantic Notes: Kane, Ceci, Leafs

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After turning himself in for arrest on July 22nd, Evander Kane was charged with four counts of non-criminal harassment and one count of criminal trespass which, according to Kane’s attorney Paul Cambria, he plans to plead not guilty to. Now, police documents acquired by WKBW Buffalo show (via Deadspin) sworn statements from multiple women and the bouncer at the club which the incident occurred.

“He grabbed my hair. He pulled it so hard he pulled my whole head. It hurt a lot.” claims one of the women, who also says Kane tried to force her to kiss his hand. Another woman claims that this is “how he always treats women. Aggressive and disrespectful.”

Immediately after news of the incident broke, trade speculation surrounding the former fourth-overall pick heated up, with many believing that his hometown of Vancouver would be a natural destination as they look to rebuild their club. Canucks’ beat writer Jason Botchford (The Province) fanned the flames today when he told TSN 1040 “there is no doubt about it. The Vancouver Canucks are going to be in on Evander Kane. Ownership loves Kane. Jim Benning really likes Kane. Trevor (Linden) is maybe a little ambivalent, but he can be won over.” Kane has two seasons remaining at $5.25MM, and scored just 35 points last season.

  • The Ottawa Senators addressed one problem today when they re-signed RFA Mike Hoffman to a four-year deal, and will now turn their attention to defenseman Cody Ceci. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports what many have thought, that Ceci is amiably working towards a deal with the Sens and will work something out before camp starts.  Garrioch goes on to report that the sides are working on a two-year deal at the moment, though obviously anything can change before ink goes to paper. Ceci scored a career-high 10 goals last season and is a big part of the Senators’ top four.
  • Martin Marincin represents the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last remaining arbitration case after re-signing Peter Holland and Frankie Corrado on Monday.  While Marincin offers some intrigue to Leaf fans because of his improved play last year as Morgan Rielly’s partner, there is more to his signing than meets the eye. Three days after Marincin signs (or has the arbitration dispute resolved at his August 2nd hearing), the Leafs will be awarded a second buyout window which they could use to free up some more cap space.  With Jared Cowen having filed a grievance over the attempted buyout from the first window (he maintains that he’s still rehabbing an injury sustained during the season, which would make him exempt from any buyout), the team may be waiting until it’s resolved in order to use the second buyout to terminate his contract. Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Brooks Laich all remain as other possible options for the second buyout window, should the Maple Leafs choose to use it.

The Latest On Jared Cowen

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Back when the buyout window opened up, Toronto D Jared Cowen was the first to go through (and clear) the waiver process, paving the way for the final year of his contract to be bought out.  However, the first window ended last night and the Maple Leafs have not bought Cowen out.

The issue, according to TSN, appears to be Cowen’s medical status.  He missed the bulk of last season due to a hip injury and TSN’s Bob McKenzie suggests that the NHLPA is now involved in a potential grievance process.  That would suggest that Cowen may not be fully recovered from his hip concerns and players cannot be bought out unless they’re healthy.  Neither the Leafs nor Cowen’s representatives are commenting on the process.

For the time being at least, Cowen’s $3.1MM cap hit in 2016-17 comes back onto the books for the Maple Leafs instead of the $650K cap credit they were pegged to receive.  Should it be ruled that Cowen is still injured long-term, the potential to place him on LTIR next season would exist for the Maple Leafs.

Cowen played in just 37 games last year, all with Ottawa who dealt Cowen to Toronto as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade, collecting four assists.  In his six year career, all with the Sens, he has 15 goals and 31 assists in 249 games.

Minor Transactions: 6/16/16

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Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions.

  • Craig Cunningham, who would have been a Group VI free agent July 1st, has re-signed on a one year, two-way deal with Arizona, according to General Fanager.  Cunningham will earn $600,000 at the NHL level and $200,000 in the AHL while the pact contains a $250,000 guarantee.  He has 3 goals and 5 assists in 63 career NHL games between Boston and Arizona.
  • Rob Klinkhammer, a pending UFA with Edmonton, has signed a contract with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, according to the team (link in Russian). Klinkhammer has 193 NHL games under his belt and suited up in 14 games with the Oilers last season, collecting a goal and 6 penalty minutes.
  • The Hurricanes announced the re-signing of Derek Ryan to a one year, two-way contract. The 29 year old center made his NHL debut in 2015-16, picking up 2 goals in 6 games.  He also was the leading scorer for Carolina’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte.  Ryan will earn $600,000 at the NHL and $300,000 at the AHL level with a total guarantee of $350,000.
  • The Bruins announced the signing of prospect forward Peter Cehlarik to a three year, entry-level contract. Cehlarik was Boston’s third round pick (90th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.  He will carry a cap hit before performance bonuses of $742,500 according to Cap Friendly.
  • Jared Cowen went unclaimed at today’s 11AM CST waiver deadline according to the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. The Maple Leafs are now free to proceed with buying out the final year of his contract.
  • Florida has re-signed forward Connor Brickley to a one year, two-way deal according to George Richards of the Miami Herald.  Brickley played in 23 games with the Panthers last year, scoring once while adding 4 assists.  They also inked G Sam Brittain to a one year, two-way pact, reports the Sun Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov.
  • Anaheim has reportedly re-signed forward Joseph Cramarossa to a one year, two-way deal according to Cap Friendly. Cramarossa had 11 goals and 6 assists for the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego last season.

Buyout Notes: Cowen, Bruins, Brown

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The first window to buyout unwanted contracts begins Wednesday at 4pm CST, and the process has already begun with the Maple Leafs placing defenceman Jared Cowen on waivers early this morning in preparation to buy him out this evening. While Cowen was long-expected to be bought out, there are many others that will see their names bandied about in the coming weeks.

Bryan Bickell, expected to be bought out, was moved to Carolina earlier today along with Teuvo Teravainen for draft picks. Carolina will keep Bickell under contract as they will have trouble hitting the cap floor this season, and need veteran players to fill the bottom two lines. The window is open until June 30th, here are some other tidbits on upcoming buyouts:

  • Still on Cowen, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox brings up an interesting point: due to a contract quirk the Maple Leafs will actually get a $650,000 cap credit for the 2016-17 season, while only paying a $750,000 hit in 2017-18. For the Maple Leafs, this credit gives them even more room to take on bad salary this season while they continue to rebuild.
  • DJ Bean of WEEI in Boston reports that the Bruins aren’t ruling out using buyouts on multiple players, listing Jimmy Hayes and Dennis Seidenberg as candidates. As of early afternoon on Wednesday, Seidenberg had not been told anything in regards to receiving a buyout.
  • The Hockey News noted that if the Los Angeles Kings did decide to use a buyout on Dustin Brown, his cap hit would stay with them until 2027-28, a tough pill to swallow.  After losing the captaincy earlier this month, and posting his forth straight year of fewer than 30 points, the former USA Olympian is a tough sell to any team. With six years remaining at $5.875MM, Brown’s self-negotiated contract is one of the biggest anchors in the NHL.

Maple Leafs Place Jared Cowen On Waivers; Will Buyout

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According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Toronto Maple Leafs have placed struggling blueliner Jared Cowen on waivers before buying out his contract.  The 25-year old defenceman came to the Leafs in the Dion Phaneuf trade with the Senators this past season, and never was in the long-term plans. Cowen never suited up as a Leaf, hitting LTIR immediately after the deal.  His $3.1MM cap-hit will be eaten by the Maple Leafs in order to keep their flexibility this offseason.

After being selected 9th overall by the Senators in the 2009 entry draft, Cowen has been an underwhelming performer thus far in his career. Never expected to be an offensive force, the Saskatoon native relied on his size and physical play to be an effective player. With his footspeed declining over recent years, he was too often found out of position and unable to catch up in the NHL game. The Senators sold-low on the former top pick after years of waiting on any potential to show itself.

The Leafs, uninterested in the lumbering defenceman, put him on waivers in February, and told him to go home and wait out the season. Cowen was understandably upset with this, still believing he has more to offer as an NHL regular.  He’ll probably get looks around the league because of his first round pedigree and relative youth, with a rebuilding club hoping he can find some of that magic he showed as a lock down defender for the Spokane Chiefs years ago.

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