Eastern Notes: Yzerman, Tavares, Hellberg
The Tampa Bay Lightning might be currently watching the playoffs rather than playing in them, but Steve Yzerman is already working on his offseason plans. The GM has said his top priority this season is to lock up three core restricted free agents in Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin, which is expected to be quite a challenge, considering how up against the salary cap the Lightning are this offseason.
Tampa Bay Times writer Joe Smith suggests Yzerman might have trouble signing all three of them and acquire a top-four defenseman they desperately need and acquire a goaltender they need at the same time. That doesn’t include Victor Hedman‘s $7.875MM extension that kicks in (and almost doubles) next year and the future contract they will have to negotiate with Nikita Kucherov in two years, which is likely to be huge.
Yzerman successfully helped Tampa Bay’s cap situation at the trade deadline when he moved the contracts of Ben Bishop ($4.76MM), Brian Boyle ($2MM) and Valtteri Filppula ($5MM). While all three were important to the Lightning, getting their cap numbers off their books only increased their chances of resigning the trio of young stars.
The scribe writes the Lightning should focus their efforts on resigning both Palat and Johnson who are integral to the team’s success and even went on to suggest that the team should consider trading the 22-year old Drouin, who enjoyed a breakout campaign this year. The thought being that Drouin may have the most trade value of the three and might net them a nice haul right before the 2017 NHL draft.
Smith also suggested other possibilities including looking to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, which has heavily scouted Tampa Bay in the last couple of months, as an option to move a player like Johnson as there is a potential replacement for him in rookie Brayden Point.
All said and done, Yzerman has his work cut out for him this offseason.
Other notes:
- The New York Islanders, also sitting home during the playoffs, need to focus their attention on re-signing star player John Tavares. The belief is that the Islanders naming Doug Weight the permanent coach was critical to get the 26-year old star to return. Weight, who served as interim coach since January, produced a successful second half for the Islanders as he posted the second-best NHL record during that time. Unfortunately, they fell short of reaching the playoffs, but it is believed that Weight’s return will only help in Tavares opting to return. Tavares, who led the team with 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, is in line for a potential 8-year, $100MM extension this summer. A free agent defection would be crippling to the Islanders’ franchise.
- The New York Rangers have recalled goaltender Magnus Hellberg for Game 3 of their playoff game with the Canadiens today. He will serve only as an emergency backup as the Hartford Wolf Pack just finished their regular season.
Lightning Notes: Yzerman, Callahan, Stamkos
It was a successful trade deadline for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who moved Valtteri Filppula, Brian Boyle and Ben Bishop out of town to create cap space for this season and beyond. The team finds themselves just three points back of a playoff spot after Nikita Kucherov‘s disgusting shootout winner, and is right in the thick of the race as the season comes into its final stretch.
Just because the deadline is over though, doesn’t mean Steve Yzerman can relax. He still has quite a bit of work ahead of him to sort out the cap issues the Lightning will face this summer reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. With Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson all needing big raises (that are getting bigger as the playoffs get closer), the team will likely have to move out even more salary at some point. Smith points to the Nashville Predators as a natural trading partner for the team, and that they scouted each other heavily leading up to the deadline.
- Ryan Callahan may miss the rest of the season, but there is optimism he’ll be ready for next year. The latest hip procedure was not to repair a labrum tear like originally reported, but just to clean up a scar tissue issue that was impacting his movement. Smith quotes Bryan Kelly, the surgeon who performed both operations: “There’s no reason to think [players who go through this procedure] couldn’t go back to play.” Callahan has three years remaining on his current contract at $5.8MM per season.
- Though Smith’s article is enlightening on many subjects, he drops a bombshell in the notes at the bottom. Smith “would not be stunned” to see Steven Stamkos back at practice with the team this week. Stamkos has been out since the middle of November, but has recently returned to the ice for his own workouts. The idea that he would be back at practice with his teammates would be a huge step towards his recovery, and makes the Lightning a team to watch down the stretch. Even without one of the greatest goal scorers in the league they’ve climbed their way back into the playoff picture, imagine what they can do when their captain returns.
Steve Yzerman Explains Ben Bishop Trade
Yesterday a shockwave went through the NHL world when the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to trade pending free agent netminder Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings. Almost no one understood it at the time, as the Kings had just gotten Jonathan Quick back from injured reserve and looked set in net. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman met with the media today and explained a few things about the trade and where his franchise goes from here (video link via TSN).
I did talk to a team in the league about [Bishop] prior to the draft last year, but for whatever reason that didn’t come to fruition.
The biggest reason to make the move now, ultimately is that we’re concerned with the salary cap for next year. With what we have in some performance bonuses for our younger players we felt we’re going to be squeezed next year with the cap. We felt the need to do this right now to give ourselves as much cap space [as possible] for next year.
It’s true, the Lightning do have bonuses that will kick in this season and should they not have the cap room to pay them, would be penalized next season. By trading Bishop they have opened up a good amount in order to not have any carry over to next year, when they’ll have to re-sign Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson among others.
While it had been speculated that as many as five teams could have had interest in Bishop to help them down the stretch and into the playoffs, Yzerman relates that the appetite wasn’t quite so ravenous around the league.
When I decided to get the deal done yesterday, that was the deal that made the most sense and to be honest with you was the only option I had. My options were to make this deal with LA or to sit tight and go through with the season.
If that’s true and there was no interest from anywhere else in the league, then Yzerman did well to clear the cap space and at least receive a prospect in the form of Erik Cernak. While Bishop would have undoubtedly helped the Lightning in their playoff push—one that he assures is still the goal of the team this season—the cost of the bonus penalties on the squad going forward would have been far greater than his impact. In getting Budaj in return, he at least addressed the issue of insurance for a Andrei Vasilevskiy injury should the team make it to the post-season.
Yzerman also spoke about Steven Stamkos and his potential return this year. Stamkos has been out November 15th and has recently begun skating again on his own. Yzerman admits that it’s not a guarantee, but that he’s progressing well. A healthy Stamkos would definitely give the team a boost as they sit just six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Minor Transactions: 02/24/17
Just like always, we’ll keep you up to date with all the minor moves around the league in one thread. The NHL has just four games on tap for this Friday night, as teams get ready for the last weekend before the trade deadline.
- It was a fleeting call up for Cory Conacher, who has been sent back to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL this morning. Brought up to replace Jonathan Drouin last night in the Tampa lineup against the Calgary Flames, he will head back to the minors now. The diminutive forward has again shown his scoring ability at the lower level, with 44 points in 42 games this season.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch tells us that the Blue Jackets have brought Markus Hannikainen and Joonas Korpisalo back up from the Cleveland Monsters, and assigned Anton Forsberg to the AHL. Korpisalo and Forsberg have been ping-ponging back and forth between the two leagues since the team let Curtis McElhinney hit waivers, but Hannikainen hasn’t played with the NHL club since the beginning of the month.
- The Jackets have also placed Lukas Sedlak on injured reserve retroactive to February 17th. They add that Hannikainen is on an emergency recall.
- The Buffalo Sabres recalled Justin Bailey and Evan Rodrigues from the AHL and flipped Derek Grant back down. Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News wonders what that means for Zemgus Girgensons on the health front.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Nicolas Kerdiles back down to the AHL after making his NHL debut on Wednesday night. The acquisition of Patrick Eaves likely leaves no room for him on the wing.
- Arizona has recalled goaltender Adin Hill on an emergency basis from the AHL, and will have him back up Louis Domingue tonight in Dallas. Mike Smith will be not be dressed for the Coyotes as he battles an illness.
Latest On Kevin Shattenkirk
As we learned yesterday, the St. Louis Blues have had three different deals fall through for Kevin Shattenkirk in the last nine or so months, starting with one that could have taken the star defenseman to Edmonton before they eventually dealt for Adam Larsson. As Bob McKenzie of TSN reported, the latest trade would have had Shattenkirk sign a seven year, $42MM extension upon the completion of the deal, and Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks he knows which team it was.
While he can’t be sure, Rutherford writes that it was likely the Tampa Bay Lightning who had the deal completed in principal but needed the extension to pull the trigger. Just six weeks ago Shattenkirk vetoed it, which would have been right around the time the Lightning were 19-19-4 and struggling to get anything going in the Eastern Conference. It’s unclear what they would have given up, but Rutherford does mention that the Blues have shown interest in both Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin in past discussions.
All this while Darren Dreger of TSN very much believes that the Toronto Maple Leafs are still involved in discussions about the right-handed defenseman, recently saying that they’ve had consistent interest in him. As yesterday, they still are balking at the asking price which has been talked about as a first round pick, prospect and perhaps even more. Dreger says that Shattenkirk has played himself into a perfect spot, where he can either stay where he is “comfortable” in St. Louis, or head to a playoff team—which St. Louis is currently—and then hit the open market in a few months.
For any player, signing a long-term extension with a team before you’ve set foot in their organization would be a tough decision. In free agency you can take your time and have several meetings, be shown the facilities and talk about the state of the club going forward. During the season none of that can take place, and agreeing to go live and work in a city that you may not know very well would be a life-changing decision. Shattenkirk looks more and more like a rental piece that you’ll have a few months to try and convince to stay, rather than get an extension done prior.
Many teams in the league should be happy with that, as even rentals of his caliber don’t come around very often. The bidding will be high, but likely will include some conditional picks hinging on the team’s ability to re-sign him. What we know though is that he obviously doesn’t want to rush into an extension, if he’s already turned down three.
Lightning Notes: Deadline, Playoffs, Stamkos
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times caught up with Lightning GM Steve Yzerman for his latest column and discussed things from expiring contracts to injured players. When broaching the subject of the trade deadline and the possibility of moving upcoming free agents like Ben Bishop and Brian Boyle, Yzerman wasn’t willing to give up on his squad.
We’re competing for a playoff spot so if I’m going to move people.. I’m not just giving people away here. If it makes sense, I’ll do it. If it doesn’t make sense, I’m not. It’s not a firesale.
That’s a common opinion among GMs across the league, who are finding the deadline this year extremely difficult. The looming expansion draft is changing the way teams operate this year, and as Yzerman notes “protection issues, that is a factor in acquiring and trading players.” Indeed, adding a player who might have to be left exposed is just another complication to a deadline that has become more and more difficult since the salary cap debuted.
- The other thing to note about the Tampa Bay deadline is that playoff spot that Yzerman mentions. Even though the team is just two games over .500 and four points out of last place in the entire Eastern Conference, he’s right when he says they’re still in a playoff race. The Atlantic division in particular is still wide open, with only 12 points separating first and last place. The Lightning find themselves just five points out of the final wildcard spot, and six out of third in the Atlantic.
- Yzerman is still operating as if Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan will return at some point this season, which would greatly affect their salary cap situation. If the two can get back though, they’ll be a bigger addition than any trade deadline acquisition. Stamkos has reportedly begun some light skating, and is still on his 4-6 month timeline—that leaves much speculation though, as four months would be mid-March and six would be the end of the playoffs.
- Even if a firesale isn’t happening, the Lightning will have some tough decisions up front. As we’ve detailed before, they have an expansion draft crunch and a salary situation that will make for a tough summer. With Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin all needing new deals, it looks like at least one of their forwards will need to be shipped out. Alex Killorn looks like a natural possibility, but it may have to be the diminutive Johnson depending on the offers that come in.
Friedman’s Latest: Bishop, Kulikov, Dadonov, Shipachev
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman posted the latest installment of his “30 Thoughts” feature and as usual, it’s replete with interesting tidbits. The whole piece is well worth a read in full but here are a few of the highlights:
- With Ben Bishop nearing free agency and with the presence of Andrei Vasilevskiy as the team’s future in goal, rumors have circulated since this past summer that the Tampa Bay Lightning might attempt to deal the former rather than losing him for nothing in July. Friedman indicates that word is the Lightning are willing to move the 30-year-old netminder but that the offers Tampa GM Steve Yzerman have so far received are not good enough for serious consideration. Yzerman is in a tough spot. His team has underachieved and may well miss the playoffs altogether unless they go on a run soon. Barring a surprising Stanley Cup run fueled by strong play in goal from Bishop, there is essentially no chance the team re-signs the veteran goalie. With three key RFA’s – Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat – to extend this summer the cap savings the Lightning will receive with Bishop leaving is simply too valuable. At some point Yzerman will have to make a decision and the best bet might be to deal Bishop now and try to add assets in return. Those assets can either turn into young NHL-ready talent to help the Lightning on the ice next year or can be used to help entice other clubs to take a burdensome contract off their hands to improve their cap situation.
- Another pending UFA, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, is also said to be available via trade and Friedman considers the 26-year-old blue liner a player “worth watching.” Kulikov was acquired from Florida along with a second-round pick just prior to the draft in exchange for Mark Pysyk, and second and third-rounders in 2016. The Sabres were hoping Kulikov would fill a need in the team’s top-four but injuries have derailed his season so far. All told, the Russian defender has played in just 23 games this season, compiling two points along the way. However, Kulikov seems to be getting his game back in order just in time for the trade deadline. Over the past three games, he has averaged around 24 1/2 minutes of ice time and has netted both of his points in the last four appearances. Defensemen are always in demand at the deadline and Kulikov should be no different. Unless Buffalo puts on a full court press to ink him to an extension, it seems likely the Sabres will move Kulikov in the coming weeks.
- Friedman notes that NHL clubs have been scouting the KHL more than usual and adds that the league is considering contraction, meaning there will be fewer jobs overseas next season. This could prompt some KHL stars to consider plying their trade in North America in 2017-18. Friedman specifically mentions Evgeni Dadonov and Vadim Shipachev, both of whom play for St. Petersburg SKA, as two of the bigger names who could draw a lot of attention if teams believe there is a chance they will come over. Front offices are always looking for talent and expect clubs to look to exploit the opportunity if the KHL does scale back on the number of teams in the league.
Lightning Notes: Koekkoek, Callahan, Bishop
After trading Nikita Nesterov the other day to the Montreal Canadiens for a relatively small return, some thought that it would open the door for Slater Koekkoek‘s return to the team. Don’t count on it, as Steve Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times yesterday.
He’s an important part of our future, and I see a very bright future for him still. So if we need a left shot or we feel Slater will come up and play a lot, then I’ll bring him back up.
That’s a good point when it comes to the former 10th-overall pick. If he’s not going to play big minutes with the club, it may be better for his development to stay in the AHL. With Victor Hedman, Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn locked into the left-side, it doesn’t seem like there would be a lot of time for him.
- The team is looking to pull off more moves in the near future, but one player that hasn’t been approached yet is Ryan Callahan. The injured alternate captain has just four points this season and holds a full no-movement clause in his contract. That means he’ll force protection in the upcoming expansion draft, a spot that the Lightning could really use for a different player. Players can opt to waive their NMC in order to be exposed at the draft, but since they’ve earned the right to have it in their contracts it’s hard to ask them.
- Smith says that the team does want to move Ben Bishop if possible before losing him for nothing this summer. The upcoming free agent has had a season troubled by injuries and inconsistency but still represents a potential upgrade in net for many contenders. A two-time finalist for the Vezina trophy, Bishop holds a career .919 save percentage.
- One of the reasons for the Nesterov trade apparently was Luke Witkowski, who the team didn’t want to lose on waivers. Instead they dealt Nesterov, who would have been a restricted free agent this summer for a team that will have a real cap crunch. Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin will all need new deals this summer.
Tampa Bay Lightning Deadline, Expansion Notes
The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a ton of success the past few seasons, winning at least 46 games three straight seasons and making a Stanley Cup final in 2015. Today, they find themselves in last place in the Atlantic division and one point out of the bottom of the conference. They’re 2-7-1 in their last 10, and haven’t been able to find any consistency at either end of the ice.
When looking at the rest of their season, it’s not all bad. Despite being close to the bottom of the conference, they’re also just four points back of the Maple Leafs for the last wildcard spot (though they’ve played 48 games, four more than the Leafs). They should get Steven Stamkos back at some point, though depending on when he returns (likely mid-March) it may be too late.
When looking at their roster, they have very few expiring deals to sell off at the deadline. Ben Bishop would be a big chip, though most Cup contenders already have a #1 installed firmly in net. He’s also struggled through inconsistency and injury this season, making him a hard player to value for the back half of the season. Brian Boyle is a UFA this summer, and while he’s have a nice season he likely isn’t the 20 goal scorer he once was for New York. He’d be attractive to some teams to plug into a bottom-six, but wouldn’t bring much back.
The biggest problem for the Lightning though may be the upcoming expansion draft, where they will have a tough time protecting their current assets up front. Since Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Ryan Callahan and Valtteri Filppula all have no-movement clauses and come with automatic protection, the team has just four forward spots left to protect.
Nikita Kucherov and Jonathan Drouin are locks to be protected, meaning there are two slots left for the crop of forwards including Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Vladislav Namestnikov among others (many, many others). Losing one of those players for nothing would be a questionable move, meaning GM Steve Yzerman may be busy in the next month positioning his team better for the draft.
Adding a defenseman is a big need for the Bolts, and if they could find one that is exempt from the draft (meaning a young, first or second year player) it would be advantageous. Johnson could likely have fetched a huge price two years ago coming off his 29-goal, 72 point 2014-15, but after the struggles last year and a perceived step backwards defensively it may be selling low on him. He’s an RFA again this summer meaning he’ll be looking for a big-money deal, but perhaps the team could get a better price after letting him play out the rest of the regular season and (hopefully) topping the 50 point mark once again.
Killorn just signed a new deal this summer that locked him up for seven years, which may scare some teams off after a sluggish first half. Palat, though also not having a huge year probably has a bigger upside than Killorn and is two years younger. Though he’s also up for a new deal this summer as an RFA, the Lightning would likely need a big offer to pry him away.
If the team still thinks that it can compete in the Eastern Conference playoffs once Stamkos is back, perhaps they don’t need to sell one of their forwards for help down the line but with the draft looming and this season slipping away they may end up shipping out a well-known name.
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Friedman’s Latest: Strome, Shattenkirk, Sharp, Filppula
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet published this week’s “30 Thoughts” column this morning and like always, it’s worth the read in its entirety. Of course the scribe touches on several trade-related topics as the calendar closes to within six weeks of the deadline. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights from the column.
- An NHL executive evidently felt the Islanders were recently nearing a trade of Ryan Strome but the firing of Jack Capuano may have postponed the move. In the opinion of Friedman, Isles GM Garth Snow may elect to see how Strome responds to the coaching change before moving on from their 2011 first-round draft choice. Strome, who has only 14 points in 39 games this season, has struggled in each of the last two campaigns but did tally 50 points in 2014-15 as a 21-year-old sophomore. Prior to the season, Strome inked a two-year bridge deal with an AAV of $2.5MM. Given his potential and the additional year on his contract at an affordable rate, there would likely be a number of teams in the league with genuine interest in the 23-year-old forward, should the Islanders put him on the market.
- St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who is in the final year of his pact with the team, has frequently been mentioned in trade rumors going back to the 2016 draft. It’s thought the native of New Rochelle, New York, who grew up a New York Rangers fan, would ultimately choose to sign with a club on the east coast this summer as a free agent, with the Blue Shirts emerging as early favorites in that scenario. Also, it’s been reported that Shattenkirk derailed a potential offseason trade to Edmonton due to his reluctance to sign an extension with the Oilers, but Friedman wonders if he would consider a deadline deal to a playoff team in which he would see his role, and therefore potentially his free agent value, increase. Friedman mentions the Oilers and perhaps the Maple Leafs as teams who might pursue a player of Shattenkirk’s ilk as a rental to boost their postseason chances. The suggestion makes sense for the Blues as well, since the organization has fellow right-handed blue liners Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo on hand to pick up the slack. St. Louis was also stung losing veterans David Backes and Troy Brouwer for nothing as free agents this past summer and may be unwilling to do the same in the case of Shattenkirk. Trading the skilled defender would allow them to add some young talent to the system while opening up additional salary cap space in the event they wish to chase forward reinforcements at the deadline.
- With Chicago reportedly searching for a top-six winger to slot next to star center Jonathan Toews, Friedman wonders whether the club will seek a reunion with Patrick Sharp. Sharp spent nine-plus seasons with the Hawks and was part of three Stanley Cup championship teams. His familiarity with the organization would seem to appeal to Chicago GM Stan Bowman as he searches the market for scoring depth. Additionally, Sharp is in the last year of his contract and qualifies as a pure rental; something the Blackhawks would likely value given their tight salary cap situation. Of course Sharp’s $5.9MM cap charge complicates matters for Chicago, as the club is currently slated to only have roughly $3.3MM in space at the deadline. It’s conceivable, however, that Dallas would be willing to retain enough salary to make the finances work, assuming the Blackhawks made it worthwhile to do so. Sharp’s season has been marred by concussion problems and he has just four goals on the season, though two came last night in Dallas’ wild 7 – 6 win over the New York Rangers. The Blackhawks could also entertain other rental options, such as Thomas Vanek of Detroit, who has 30 points in 33 games for Detroit and carries a cap charge of just $2.6MM.
- One unfortunate consequence of team success in the NHL is having to navigate through the resulting salary cap challenges as an organization’s younger contributors advance into free agency. Tampa Bay, who has appeared in the Eastern Conference Final in each of the past two seasons, is set to encounter that very problem this summer. Projected to have only about $12MM in cap space and with only 14 players under contract for next season, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is going to have his work cut out for him as he attempts to find common ground on new arrangements with pending RFA’s Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. If the team has any hope of extending the trio, they will inevitably have to trade a high-salaried veteran to create the necessary salary cap flexibility. Friedman believes the Lightning might be best served by moving veteran forward Valtteri Filppula and his $5MM cap charge. Filppula, who has a partial NTC, might be appealing to other teams given his ability to slot in on the wing or at center. The veteran Finn has 29 points in 44 games for Tampa Bay and could provide versatility to any number of teams with the requisite cap space to add the 6-foot, 196-pound forward. Unless Tampa Bay is well out of the playoff chase by the deadline, it’s likely the team will hang onto Filppula through the end of the season and look to move him this summer when there may be more interested suitors.