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Kailer Yamamoto

2022 Arbitration Tracker

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The dates for the upcoming arbitration hearings have been set, with the first one scheduled for July 27. Hearings will continue through August 11 this year, with that being the busiest day of the schedule. It is important to note that the CBA agreement in 2020 changed the rules for arbitration so that once a hearing begins, teams are no longer allowed to negotiate with the player in question.

The full schedule is:

July 27
Isac Lundestrom (Anaheim Ducks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.8MM AAV

July 29
Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 1 year, $3.0MM

July 30
Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh Penguins) – Settled: 2 years, $3.2MM AAV
Matthew Phillips (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 1 year, $750K AAV (two-way contract)

August 1
Mathieu Joseph (Ottawa Senators) – Settled: 3 years, $2.95MM AAV
Steven Lorentz (San Jose Sharks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.05MM AAV

August 2
Yakov Trenin (Nashville Predators) – Awarded: 2 years, $1.7MM AAV

August 3
Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $5.45MM AAV

August 5
Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 3 years, $5.8MM AAV

August 6
Miles Wood (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $3.2MM AAV

August 7
Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 2 years, $3.1MM AAV

August 8
Ethan Bear (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $2.2MM
Lawson Crouse (Arizona Coyotes) – Settled: 5 years, $4.3MM AAV
Zack MacEwen (Philadelphia Flyers) – Settled: 1 year, $925K

August 9
Maxime Lajoie (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $750K (two-way contract)

August 10
Keegan Kolesar (Vegas Golden Knights) – Settled: 3 years, $1.4MM AAV
Oliver Kylington (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 2 years, $2.5MM AAV

August 11
Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets) – Settled: 3 years, $2.167MM AAV
Morgan Geekie (Seattle Kraken) – Settled: 1 year, $1.4MM AAV
Tyce Thompson (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 2 years, $762.5K AAV (partial two-way)
Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) – Settled: 8 years, $9.5MM AAV
Jake Walman (Detroit Red Wings) – Settled: 1 year, $1.05MM
Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins) – Settled: 1 year, $3.5MM

Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Kailer Yamamoto

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The Oilers have reportedly settled with one of their restricted free agents, avoiding an arbitration case. Per a team announcement, the Oilers and RFA forward Kailer Yamamoto have settled on a two-year contract with a $3.1MM average annual value.

The financial structure of the deal is as follows:

22-23: $3MM
23-24: $3.2MM

Yamamoto, 23, is coming off of the most productive season of his young career, save for a 27-game run in 2019-20 where he had 26 points. Yamamoto, often playing next to former Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl, scored 20 goals and 41 points in 81 games. He also chipped in seven points in 14 games during the Oilers’ run to the Western Conference Final. It’s similar production to another one of the Oilers’ young wingers, Jesse Puljujarvi, who also settled before his own arbitration case, receiving a deal with a $3MM cap hit.

Perhaps the best development in Yamamoto’s play has been the recent refinement of his overall game. Some might look at the five-foot-eight winger and immediately peg him as an offense-first, perimeter player. But what might be surprising to those people is that Yamamoto actually spent more time killing penalties in 2021-22 than he did on the power play. Yamamoto averaged 1:09 short-handed ice time per game and 0:49 of average power play ice time per game. Yamamoto isn’t going to win Selke trophies, don’t get the wrong idea here, but his time spent short-handed is genuinely encouraging and an indication that he’s found a way to remain an impactful NHLer even if he’s in a scoring slump.

A $3.1MM cap hit is a fair number for what Yamamoto provides, and it allows the Oilers to re-engage with him on long-term extension talks as a restricted free agent in two years’ time.

The Oilers are now over the salary cap, but they will get relief in the form of Oscar Klefbom and Mike Smith being placed on long-term injured reserve. They still have Tyler Benson and Ryan McLeod as RFA’s to sign, so they’re not out of the woods just yet. A trade may be necessary to help their salary cap situation, although they could also opt to carry less than the maximum number of players on their roster and slowly accumulate cap space as the season goes on.

 

Oilers Notes: Yamamoto, Bourgeault, Free Agency

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While Edmonton settled for a one-year deal with Jesse Puljujarvi, they’re hoping to sign Kailer Yamamoto to a multi-year contract prior to his arbitration hearing, notes Postmedia’s Derek Van Diest.  The 23-year-old winger is coming off a nice bounce-back year that saw him put up 20 goals and 21 assists in 81 games last season while chipping in with seven points in 14 playoff contests.  Without arbitration rights last summer, Yamamoto settled for a one-year, $1.175MM agreement but now stands to receive more than double that this time around, even if it doesn’t get to a hearing.  With Yamamoto’s hearing slated for August 7th, filing numbers will be exchanged on August 5th if a new deal isn’t in place by then.

More from Edmonton:

  • Prospect Xavier Bourgault is leaning towards not participating at the upcoming World Juniors, mentions Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Several Canadian forwards are opting out of the summer tournament to instead prepare for NHL training camps in the fall.  Bourgault was a first-round pick by Edmonton last year (22nd overall) and had a strong season with QMJHL Shawinigan with 36 goals and 39 assists in 43 games and with the Oilers needing some low-cost players to round out their roster to stay cap compliant, he could have a chance to push for a roster spot in the preseason.
  • In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek posits that UFA winger Phil Kessel could wind up with the Oilers. The 34-year-old had just eight goals last season with Arizona but still put up 44 assists in 82 games.  Kessel’s days as a top winger are basically done but in a secondary scoring role, he can still be a contributor.  However, once Yamamoto and Ryan McLeod sign their contracts, Edmonton will be capped out so a trade or two will need to be made to free up the money to take a run at Kessel later in free agency.

24 Players Elect Salary Arbitration

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The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) announced that 24 players have filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the deadline for which came this afternoon. This list is not necessarily the final and complete list of players headed for arbitration, with clubs now eligible to elect salary arbitration until tomorrow, July 18th at 5:00 pm ET.

Mason Appleton (WPG)

Ethan Bear (CAR)

Jesper Bratt (NJD)

Lawson Crouse (ARI)

Morgan Geekie (SEA)

Mathieu Joseph (OTT)

Kaapo Kahkonen (SJS)

Kasperi Kapanen (PIT)

Keegan Kolesar (VGK)

Oliver Kylington (CGY)

Maxime Lajoie (CAR)

Steven Lorentz (SJS)

Isac Lundestrom (ANA)

Zack MacEwen (PHI)

Niko Mikkola (STL)

Andrew Mangiapane (CGY)

Matthew Phillips (CGY)

Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM)

Tyce Thompson (NJD)

Yakov Trenin (NSH)

Vitek Vanecek (NJD)

Jake Walman (DET)

Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)

Pavel Zacha (BOS)

Notably out of this list, Mikkola had previously filed for arbitration, but the two sides were able to settle on a one-year, $1.9MM contract that will leave the defenseman an UFA after next season.

A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.

Snapshots: Gibson, Dahlen, Brink, Oilers

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With the Maple Leafs being one of the teams that still need to add a starting goaltender, some have speculated that Ducks goaltender John Gibson could be a potential trade option for them.  However, his agent Kurt Overhardt told Sportsnet 590’s Nick Kypreos (Twitter link) that Gibson has “no interest” in playing in Toronto and is committed to staying in Anaheim.  Gibson has five years left on his deal with a $6.4MM AAV with a ten-team no-trade clause so even if the Ducks were inclined to move him this summer, the 28-year-old may be able to block a move.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • While Sharks winger Jonathan Dahlen had a decent rookie season with 12 goals and 10 assists in 61 games, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports that the team is considering non-tendering him by tomorrow’s deadline. Even though he has only been in the NHL for one year, this is his fourth year on an NHL contract which gives him salary arbitration rights.  While Dahlen couldn’t command a significant increase on his league-minimum salary from this past season, San Jose likely will want to keep the last few spots on their roster at low salary slots so whatever raise he could get from an arbitrator may be more than they can afford to allocate.
  • Flyers winger Bobby Brink has sustained a hip injury during offseason workouts that might require surgery, Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad was first to report (Twitter link). No timeline for a return is known yet but SanFilippo suggests the injury is severe enough that it could run into the start of next season; Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds (via Twitter) that the 21-year-old will see a specialist in a few days and that the team will have a better understanding of how much time he’ll miss by the end of the week.  Brink had four assists in 10 NHL games down the stretch while logging over 15 minutes a night.
  • The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve tendered qualifying offers to forwards Tyler Benson, Ryan McLeod, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Kailer Yamamoto. That means that defenseman Filip Berglund and forwards Brendan Perlini and Ostap Safin will go non-tendered.  Those three will become unrestricted free agents later this week.  Of the unqualified players, only Perlini has NHL experience and had four goals and an assist in 23 games this past season while Berglund has already signed in Sweden.

Pacific Notes: Miller, Winterton, Yamamoto

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Despite the fact that J.T. Miller is coming off a career year, he has been in trade speculation for several months with the Canucks alternating between making him available and not.  As CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (video link), it appears that Vancouver is back in the camp of listening to offers for the 29-year-old.  Miller has one year left on his contract with a $5.25MM AAV but after collecting 99 points in 80 games this season, he will have a strong case for a significant extension, one that can be signed as early as mid-July.  However, Dhaliwal notes that Vancouver’s internal limit would be an AAV in the high-$7MM range and that will likely come in lower than Miller’s camp will be looking for.  Barring a change of heart on how much they’re willing to offer, it would appear that Miller’s name will remain in the rumor mill for a little while yet.

More from the Pacific:

  • Kraken prospect Ryan Winterton played an important role for OHL Hamilton as they won the league title and have advanced to the Memorial Cup semifinals. Despite that, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that Seattle won’t be signing him to his entry-level deal this summer and instead will wait and see how 2022-23 goes.  The 18-year-old was a third-round pick in the 2021 draft and potted 20 goals while adding 26 assists in 37 games with the Bulldogs this season while averaging more than a point per game in the playoffs as well.
  • Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal examined the improvements in winger Kailer Yamamoto’s performance following the midseason coaching change which has helped give him leverage heading into contract talks with salary arbitration rights for the first time. However, he suggests another bridge deal (Yamamoto played on a one-year deal this season) is the best way to go.  Yamamoto is still four years away from UFA eligibility so a two-year would buy them a bit more time to evaluate the 23-year-old and keep the cap hit lower.  Yamamoto is coming off a 20-goal, 41-point season with the Oilers so he’ll still be getting a decent-sized raise on the $1.175MM he made this year.

Snapshots: Muzzin, Oilers, Russia

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When defenseman Jake Muzzin landed on long-term injured reserve earlier in the week, speculation ramped up that the Toronto Maple Leafs could make an unexpected big splash at the Trade Deadline with some added salary cap flexibility. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on yesterday’s edition of 32 Thoughts that Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is telling teams around the league that if Muzzin “is healthy enough to return before the end of the regular season, they’re not going to hold him out until the playoffs.” That’s to say that the team isn’t operating under the assumption that they’ll have the full $4.47MM in deadline cap space that CapFriendly suggests. While the team is still in a position to add a solid depth piece, or even a higher-end middle-six forward with some salary retention, any chance of Toronto being among the deadline’s biggest buyers is likely gone at this point.

Some more hockey notes on this Sunday:

Oilers Place Five Players In COVID Protocol

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Edmonton will be without several players for their next game on Monday against Ottawa as the team announced that wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Brendan Perlini, defensemen Evan Bouchard and Slater Koekkoek, as well as taxi squad goaltender Ilya Konovalov have all entered COVID protocol.  In addition, six members of their support staff have also been placed into protocol.

Yamamoto and Bouchard are the most notable among the new absences.  Yamamoto has been starting to produce more in recent games, collecting six points in his last six games and has been a fixture in Edmonton’s top six for most of the season.  As for Bouchard, his first full NHL season has been a good one as he has notched 19 points in 34 games to lead all Edmonton blueliners in scoring, just ahead of veterans Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse.

Assuming the placements are for confirmed positive tests, each player will miss at least the next five days.  They join centers Connor McDavid and Derek Ryan, as well as Barrie, as those that are currently unavailable to COVID protocol.

They won’t be getting any help on the injury front either as Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is at least a week away from resuming on-ice activities due to his lower-body injury. He was placed on IR earlier this week with no definitive timetable for a return.  Meanwhile, Nugent-Bowman adds that defenseman Kris Russell is still another week away from returning from his upper-body injury.  The veteran has missed nearly a month so far.

Oilers Notes: Yamamoto, Holloway, McDavid

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced that Kailer Yamamoto was pulled from practice this morning because of a positive result on a rapid COVID-19 test. He is currently in the protocol, but will await further results to confirm his status. Should he test negative moving forward, he would not need to face the mandatory five-day isolation period.

Yamamoto, 23, has been relatively underwhelming this season even if he is one of the team’s most reliable forwards. With just seven goals and 12 points in 34 games, the young forward isn’t producing anywhere near the 2019-20 rate that made him so exciting to watch. With a contract negotiation and potential arbitration right around the corner, a strong second half would certainly go a long way for his financial future.

  • Speaking of exciting young Edmonton forwards, it’s been a challenging year for prospect Dylan Holloway. After fracturing his wrist while playing for the University of Wisconsin, he underwent surgery in March 2021. Several months later and he was under the knife a second time after consulting with specialists, meaning he’s been away from the game for quite some time. Today, Holloway joined the team at practice and was a “full participant.” Selected 14th overall in 2020, Holloway blew up at Wisconsin last season, scoring 35 points in 23 games while also taking home the silver medal with Canada at the World Juniors. Now 20, he’s in the first year of his entry-level contract and could be activated whenever healthy enough to contribute.
  • Head coach Dave Tippett confirmed that Connor McDavid, Tyson Barrie, and Derek Ryan are eligible to exit the COVID protocol on Sunday, should they be able to provide negative test results. That would make them available to the team for Monday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, though nothing is certain at this point.

Pacific Notes: Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, Holland, Kane

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The Oilers aren’t expected to engage in any extension talks with pending RFA wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi this season, reports Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link).  Both players carry a $1.175MM cap hit this season and are eligible for salary arbitration this summer.  However, they’re on opposite trajectories which makes in-season discussions a bit tricky.

Yamamoto has struggled considerably this season, collecting just five goals and two assists in 29 games, a sizable drop from the 26 points in 27 games he had as a midseason recall just two years ago.  Puljujarvi, meanwhile, is off to the best start of his career and is only two points shy of matching his career high in points (25) that he set last season.  With limited cap space to work with beyond this season, GM Ken Holland may need to free up some money if he wants to sign either of them long term.  Given that the Oilers are trying to contend this season, a move like that is likelier to happen in the offseason which makes the decision to wait on extension talks an understandable one.

More from the Pacific:

  • Still with Edmonton, many teams are having cap issues with multiple players in COVID protocol but Holland has an idea to try to get around that. In a recent interview with 630CHED (audio link), he proposed that players in COVID protocol get the same treatment as players on LTIR – teams can exceed the cap by up to that players’ AAV but have to be compliant to activate them.  That would allow them to afford to bring up replacements without having to play short for a game to receive a cap-exempt recall with those players returning to the minors when those in protocol return.  Edmonton is among the many teams facing that issue as they return to play as Holland acknowledged they will have some cap challenges with at least four regulars – Puljujarvi, Duncan Keith, Darnell Nurse, and William Lagesson – among those that won’t be available if play resumes over the next few days.
  • Evander Kane is among a trio of players placed into COVID protocol earlier this week on the Sharks’ farm team, per an announcement from the Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. The 30-year-old – who is now fully vaccinated – is off to a good start to his first career stint in the minors with six assists and eight points in five games but will have to wait for a little while to add to those totals.

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