Kevin Hayes

Snapshots: Allen, Heiskanen, Rangers

August 17, 2018 at 8:13 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 7 Comments

Despite the vast improvements made by the St. Louis Blues this off-season, the common perception is that their fate still lies in the hands of goaltender Jake Allen. Last season, in the first of a new four-year, $17.4MM contract, Allen took a major step back. The 27-year-old had been a great success as a part-time goalie early in his career and looked like he was ready for full-time duty after the 2016-17 campaign, but was unable to handle the workload. Allen’s appearances actually dropped last season from 61 to 59 as backup Carter Hutton took over the starter’s job with consistent and impressive play. Allen posted a .906 save percentage and career-worst 2.75 GAA and failed to record a plus quality starts percentage. That has to change next season. As The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton writes, Allen is the key to St. Louis’ success (or failure) in 2018-19. With Hutton gone, replaced with journeyman Chad Johnson, the pressure is back on Allen to be the legitimate starter that he has shown flashes of. The Blues should be applauded for re-hauling their forward core this off-season, somehow managing to add Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Patrick Maroon without going over the salary cap. The team also continues to sport one of the deeper blue line’s in the league. However, they need consistent capable play out of Allen or it could be all for not. St. Louis has a contender’s roster if only they can get Allen back on track.

Dallas Stars super-prospect Miro Heiskanen is all-in on making the team this season. The 19-year-old is just one year removed from being selected third overall in the NHL Draft and is ready to show that he was worth the selection. Stars beat writer Mark Stepenski reports that Heiskanen has already arrived in Dallas and has begun working out with teammates, including veteran leaders Jamie Benn and Ben Bishop. The young defenseman has worked hard this summer and is preparing to wow the Stars’ coaches and executives in training camp. For their part, the Stars’ decision-makers already believe that Heiskanen is ready, although they caution that there will be some adjustments to make and that expectations may be getting too high. Some have even stated that Heiskanen is a legitimate threat to No. 1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres in the upcoming Calder Trophy race. They might not be too far off; like Dahlin, Heiskanen has two years of pro experience already, in the Finnish Liiga, and possess both elite skating ability and next-level awareness and positioning. With those skills already at a pro level, it might not be too difficult of a transition for Heiskanen after all.
The New York Rangers not only lost captain Ryan McDonagh last season, but they also lost alternate Rick Nash and head coach Alain Vigneault. In speaking with new coach David Quinn, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen discovered that the freshman bench boss would like to get to know his locker room and see how the season begins before naming a new leader. Quinn said:

“We’ve talked about it as an organization. I think a captain emerges. You don’t want to put a burden on somebody that isn’t ready for it. So I think that will just happen one way or the other. It either will happen that someone will emerge and separate themselves as someone who is clearly going to be the captain, or it won’t happen. I think that will take care of itself.”

Frequent alternates Marc Staal or Jesper Fast could emerge as favorites, but neither jumps out as a spectacular candidate for captain. Long-time forward Mats Zuccarello also wore the “A” often, but one has to wonder if it would be worth giving the “C” to a player on an expiring contract who seems unlikely to earn an extension. The same could be said for top center Kevin Hayes. While it is uncommon, Quinn could lean towards awarding the captaincy to star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who Rosen writes he has already gotten to know very well. Young defenseman Brady Skjei, fresh off of a six-year extension this summer, appears to be the cornerstone of the Rangers’ rebuild and could emerge as a top candidate. As Quinn says, only time will tell.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers

August 11, 2018 at 6:20 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

New York Rangers

Current Cap Hit: $73,823,569 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Pavel Buchnevich (one year remaining, $925K)
D Neal Pionk (one year remaining, $925K)
F Lias Andersson (three years remaining, $894K)
F Filip Chytil (three years remaining, $894K)
D Anthony DeAngelo (one year remaining, $863K)
G Alexandar Georgiev (two years remaining, $793K)

Potential Bonuses

Pionk: $850K
Andersson: $850K
Deangelo: $400K
Chytil: $350K

Total: $2.45MM

With the team in quick rebuild mode, there are some entry-level deals already and if the team continues to trend in that direction, they will have quite a bit more. The team’s most prominent player at the NHL level to date would be Buchnevich, who improved on his rookie campaign with a 14-goal, 43-point season last year. He saw more ice time as well, improving from 13:16 ATOI to 15:01 as well as saw significant time on the team’s power play, potting five goals and 11 assists with the man advantage and has earned himself a solid spot in the team’s top-six. Another improved season could see him being an expensive restricted free agent.

The team has high expectations for their two 2017 first-rounders in Andersson and Chytil. Both have shown excellent skills and have received some time playing for the NHL with Andersson seeing seven games, while saw nine games. Both are expected to earn time with the Rangers out of training camp, but both may find themselves on bottom-six lines unless they can prove that they can center the second or third lines in training camp.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Kevin Hayes ($5.18MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Rob O’Gara ($874K, RFA)
F Cody McLeod ($750K, UFA)
D Fredrik Claesson ($863K, RFA)
F Peter Holland ($675K, UFA)
D Steven Kampfer ($650K, UFA)
G Marek Mazanec ($650K, UFA)

The team agreed to a one-year deal with Hayes, avoiding arbitration, but now face the possibility that Hayes could walk away at the end of the season as he will be unrestricted, which will force the team into two possible directions, including attempting to work out a long-term deal with the team after Jan. 1, 2019, or trading him, possibly at the trading deadline if the two sides can’t agree on anything. Hayes, who has been a jack of all trades playing multiple positions, seems to have developed into a solid center as he produced his best season ever, which included 25 goals, eight more than any previous year. The question is, do the Rangers view him as a fixture in their lineup as they continue to rebuild?

At age 30, Zuccarrello still puts up solid numbers, but despite the high-end minutes that the veteran gets, he falls into a similar category to that of Hayes where you have to ask whether he is in the team’s long-term plans. The winger is penciled in to play on the team’s top line once again, but has only put up 31 goals over the past two seasons. He does produce quite a few assists (81 over the past two years), but what the Rangers need more than anything is goals. Zuccarello will also turn 32 before he begins his next contract and at that age, how long are the Rangers willing to commit to him?

Two Years Remaining

F Chris Kreider ($4.63MM, UFA)
F Ryan Spooner ($4MM, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($4MM, UFA)
F Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM, UFA)
F Matt Beleskey ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Jesper Fast ($1.85MM, UFA)

Kreider is coming off a tough year in which he had to deal with blood clots and had surgery to relieve the pressure and missed almost two months of time. The 27-year-old didn’t have as solid of a season as he tallied just 16 goals in 58 games, which is a far cry from the 28 goals he scored in 2016-17 although a lot of that is due to the fact that his playing time dipped as the team didn’t want to play him too many minutes due to the blood clot issue. Regardless with a full offseason to rest and recuperate, Kreider should be able to bounce back as one of the team’s top scorers.

The team also have high expectations from two other forwards that the team acquired through at the trade deadline a year ago in Namestnikov and Spooner. Namestnikov was the biggest name to arrive in New York in the Ryan McDonagh trade with Tampa Bay. He was a key player for the Lightning, posting 20 goals and 44 points with them, but he actually lost playing time once he arrived in New York and put up just two goals and four points in 19 games. The team hopes that a new coach and proper training camp with his new team will make quite a difference. Spooner came over in the Rick Nash trade with Boston and has posted solid numbers with the Bruins over the past few seasons and could turn out to be a top-six wing or third-line center in New York. Between the two teams, Spooner combined for 13 goals and 28 assists.

The team also expect big things from Vesey, who signed as a undrafted collegiate free agent a couple of years ago and if finally starting to show that he belongs in the NHL. The 25-year-old winger has put up solid numbers for two years, but could find himself getting more opportunities in the team’s rebuild. In two years, he’s combined for 33 goals and 55 points.

Three Years Remaining

G Henrik Lundqvist ($8.5MM, UFA)
D Kevin Shattenkirk ($6.65MM, UFA)
D Marc Staal ($5.7MM, UFA)
D Brendan Smith ($4.35MM, UFA)

Lundqvist has made it clear he wants to stay with the Rangers, rebuild or not, but his numbers have steadily declined over the past four years when he posted a 2.25 GAA in 2014-15. However, those numbers have dropped each year to 2.48 in 2015-16, 2.74 in 2016-17 and finally to 2.98 GAA in 2017-18. Granted the defense that has surrounded the veteran has been horrible, but if Lundqvist can’t start rebounding, the team will have to find someone else to take some of his load in the future.

With a team looking to rebuild, the team does have quite a few contracts that suddenly don’t look that good anymore when it comes to their offseason signings last year of Shattenkirk and Smith. Shattenkirk put up solid numbers to start the season, but dealt with a knee injury in January and was eventually shut down. Regardless, the team can only hope the 29-year-old can bounce back and quarterback their offense, which was lacking this season. Smith, however, came into camp out of shape and struggled immensely before the team finally buried his contract in the AHL. Supposedly, Smith has been working out all summer and is expected to earn back a roster spot for this year.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Mika Zibanejad ($5.35MM through 2021-22)
D Brady Skjei ($5.25MM through 2023-24)

Zibanejad is another center who seems to fall into a long line of players who fans wonder whether he’s good enough to be their future No. 1 playmaker. The 25-year-old, however, had a solid season, posting 25 goals and 47 points as their top-line center. He is locked up for another four years, so he’s likely to stay there unless Andersson and Chytil develop into that elite center the team has been looking for years.

Skjei signed his extension over the summer, and is expected to be a key contributor to the team for years. However, the problem is that Skjei regressed last year after a big rookie season. Whether it had something to do with the coaching or their defensive system or whether he wasn’t ready for a big role on the team’s defense, Skjei struggled to produce points, posting just 25 points after scored 39 the previous year. Regardless, most feel that Skjei will bounce back and be one of the team’s top defensemen over the next few years.

Buyouts

D Dan Girardi ($3.61MM in 2018-19 and 2019-20; $1.11MM in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Zibanejad
Worst Value: Smith

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The Rangers future, however, looks bright as they have no contracts that will hold the team hostage in four years, meaning New York can build their future now and sign their best players without having to worry about big contracts weighing down their team. Granted, the team still must deal with four big contracts in Shattenkirk, Smith, Staal and Lundqvist for the next three years, but hopefully the team and new coaching staff can get more out of that group next year. Regardless, if the team can develop talent, they are in good long-term position to rebuild this franchise.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dallas Stars Still Scouring Trade Market

July 30, 2018 at 7:24 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

It has been a quiet off-season for trades to this point, with the last major deal being the St. Louis Blues’ acquisition of Ryan O’Reilly for a package of three players and two picks back on July 1st. It has also been close to a month since the Dallas Stars were named the front runners for superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson – or any legitimate Karlsson rumors for that matter. Yet, the Stars still remain active on the trade market, according to Dallas beat writer Mark Stepenski. Could they be the team that makes the next big trade?

Stepenski recently spoke with Stars GM Jim Nill about the off-season. While their discussion mostly centered on a Tyler Seguin extension, Martin Hanzal’s recovery progress, and the restricted free agency situations of Mattias Janmark and Gemel Smith, the two also talked about bringing in players not currently on the roster. Nill admitted that the team was still interested in making additions this summer, saying:

“I can’t name things, but there is still lots out there. We’re talking to teams. There is still a lot of movement happening within the business. I can’t say there is anything happening overnight, but there is a lot of dialogue still.”

The Stars are clearly interested in adding another big-name defenseman to add to defense that already sports John Klingberg and a now-healthy Marc Methot among others. Karlsson is obviously the top available defenseman, but the Ottawa Senators’ asking price was reportedly too high. The team could also look at the likes of Justin Faulk, Chris Tanev, or perhaps even disgruntled Jacob Trouba. However, the team actually performed better at preventing goals than they did scoring them last season. Despite impressive forward depth on paper, the Stars tied for 18th in the league in goals for and a scoring drought was one of the main factors behind the late-season collapse that cost them a playoff spot. While the team has already re-added Valeri Nichushkin and signed Blake Comeau and Erik Condra, it wouldn’t be surprise if the “lots out there” that Nill is looking into are forwards. Artemi Panarin, Max Pacioretty, Jeff Skinner, and Mathieu Perreault have all been considered likely to move at one point this summer and now New York Rangers’ center Kevin Hayes can be added to that list as well.

It does seem that Nill is right that there are a lot of talented players available and he is no doubt talking to teams, but the question remains whether he can actually put together a big trade to help his team this off-season. Dallas has more than $6MM in cap space and many intriguing young players and prospects. They certainly seems like a team that could make a splash at some point this summer.

New York Rangers Sign Kevin Hayes To One-Year Deal

July 30, 2018 at 4:34 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The New York Rangers have settled with Kevin Hayes prior to his arbitration hearing, but it’s not for a long-term deal. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Hayes has signed a one-year contract worth just over $5MM, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. Larry Brooks of the New York Post gives a bit of detail, reporting the deal is worth $5.125MM. Hayes was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on August 2nd, which only could have resulted in a one-year contract for the 26-year old.

Hayes is coming off a season in which he traded some point production for more goals, scoring a career-high 25 times but only registering 44 points. A very useful player for the team who can line up at wing or center, there was already plenty of reason to believe that the Rangers could be interested in trading him for the right price. The team has committed to getting younger and faster over the last year, and it wasn’t clear that Hayes really fit into that plan going forward. The team also has several interesting center prospects ready to take on bigger roles, and Mika Zibanejad still signed for another four years.

A deal of this sort gives Hayes a chance to impress early in the season with improved performance, but also puts him squarely in the crosshairs for a February trade. A player many teams would love to have for a late-season playoff push, if there’s no chance of a long-term deal the Rangers would be making a mistake by not moving him for a return as they recently did with Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and Nick Holden. The team isn’t expected to really contend for the Stanley Cup again next season, but are building an incredible prospect pipeline in short order.

At a little over $5MM, Hayes is certainly an affordable target for teams at the deadline, especially if any of the salary has been given out as a signing bonus. With teams struggling to find center depth and willing to pay a premium for it when in a playoff race, the Rangers may have just secured themselves another nice package with very little risk. That’s assuming that the team doesn’t re-open extension talks in 2019, when the two sides will be able to negotiate. For now, all contract talks have to be put on hold until January since it is just a one-year deal.

With the earlier signing of Miikka Salomaki with the Nashville Predators, that leaves just six restricted free agents still scheduled for arbitration. One of those is Rangers’ forward Ryan Spooner, who is also only eligible for a one-year award given his age. The team, meanwhile, has quite a bit of cap space remaining even after adding Hayes big deal, and could take on some excess salary in trade if they are given the opportunity. For a team trying to complete a quick rebuild, getting assets by flexing their financial muscle is an easy way to speed up the process.

New York Rangers, Kevin Hayes Far Apart In Negotiations

July 29, 2018 at 9:58 am CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

Given the number of unsigned restricted free agents that the New York Rangers had on their plate to begin the off-season, it’s impressive that they have already locked up the bulk of those young players without much issue. However, Ryan Spooner and Kevin Hayes still remain without an extension and are slated for a salary arbitration hearings later this week. It seems at least one of those cases is likely to make it through to the arbitrator’s decision, as the New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that Hayes and the Rangers are not close to a long-term extension.

According to Brooks, little progress has been made between the two sides in recent weeks and with Hayes’ hearing scheduled for Thursday, August 2nd, it seems the best case scenario now is a one- or two-year deal negotiated post hearing, while the more likely result is simply accepting the one-year award. Hayes is believed to be seeking between $5.5MM and $6MM per year on a long-term contract, which Brooks believes he could get on the open market. However, the Rangers don’t seem likely to make a commitment of that magnitude for Hayes and that might be a good call. The 26-year-old is a well-rounded center, but the Rangers are deep down the middle – for now – and Hayes has yet to crack 50 points in a season through four NHL campaigns and could regress from many of the career-high marks he set last season.

However, this still adds a new obstacle to the Rangers’ rebuild. A one-year contract for Hayes would make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season and thus a major trade deadline piece should New York struggle again in 2018-19. He would join Mats Zuccarello and possibly Spooner as impending free agents next summer who would be likely trade bait. The only problem is that trio could also be among the Rangers’ top scorers next season and could set the rebuild back even further if they end up making progress during the campaign, only to be dealt for picks and prospects. The Rangers rebuild was never going to be neat and tidy given their current composition, but after a smooth off-season to this point, Hayes is the first obstacle that signals some difficult choices coming up for New York.

Remaining Restricted Free Agents

July 26, 2018 at 12:29 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

We’re getting closer to turning the calendar over to August, and there is still a lot of work to do for teams around the NHL. 10 arbitration cases remain unsettled, including for star players like William Karlsson and Mark Stone. Both will be extremely interesting to follow, as their respective teams have tough decisions on their hands.

For the Vegas Golden Knights, do you hand out a long-term expensive contract to a player that is still relatively unproven. Though Karlsson scored 43 goals this season he had just 18 career tallies beforehand, and finished this season with an impossible 23.4% shooting percentage. There is almost no chance that he can maintain that rate going forward, meaning his huge 2017-18 season may be a career-high. On the other side of that coin though is the increased opportunity he was given after switching teams, which could provide a realistic chance for him to be a 30-goal, 65-point player going forward. Signing him now would likely get you a bit of a discount on that type of scoring threat, though Vegas would assume almost all of the risk.

In Ottawa, there’s no clear direction on how the team will deal with Stone’s impending unrestricted free agency. Obviously one of the team’s most talented players, an arbitration award of one year would stop the Senators from negotiating with Stone’s camp until January on any potential extension and could make him a prime trade candidate. The 26-year old posted his fourth consecutive 20-goal season in 2017-18 despite playing in just 58 games. With all the turmoil in Ottawa it could be difficult to convince him to stick around long-term.

Beyond the arbitration cases though there is an incredible amount of talent left on the RFA board. Dylan Larkin, William Nylander, Sam Reinhart, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey and many others remain unsigned and could all be looking at expensive long-term deals with their respective clubs. These players are already excellent players in the NHL before they’ve even become eligible for arbitration and could really grind the offseason to a halt if they decide to hold out. There’s no indication that anyone is planning a long negotiation, but we’re now almost a month into the signing period without any deals.

Below is the full list of unsigned restricted free agents:

Ondrej Kase (ANA)
Nick Ritchie (ANA)
Marek Langhamer (ARZ)
Sam Reinhart (BUF)
Noah Hanifin (CGY)
Garnet Hathaway (CGY) – Scheduled for arbitration, July 30
Hunter Shinkaruk (CGY)
Patrik Nemeth (COL) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 4
Gemel Smith (DAL) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 1
Dylan Larkin (DET)
Matt Puempel (DET)
Darnell Nurse (EDM)
Michael McCarron (MTL)
Kerby Rychel (MTL)
Miikka Salomaki (NSH) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 2
Kevin Rooney (NJD)
Steven Santini (NJD)
Miles Wood (NJD)
Kevin Hayes (NYR) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 2
Ryan Spooner (NYR) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 4
Cody Ceci (OTT) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 1
Mark Stone (OTT) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 3
Robert Hagg (PHI)
Jordan Schmaltz (STL)
William Nylander (TOR)
William Karlsson (VGK) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 4
Shea Theodore (VGK)
Eric Comrie (WPG)
Nicolas Kerdiles (WPG)
J.C. Lipon (WPG)
Josh Morrissey (WPG)
Nic Petan (WPG)

Full 2018 Arbitration Hearing Schedule

July 22, 2018 at 9:00 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

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

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Grant, Guentzel, Ho-Sang

July 21, 2018 at 4:03 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

The New York Rangers have made a few changes, but so far remain quiet this offseason as the real changes the team has made has been in their coaching staff. From new head coach David Quinn to assistant coaches Greg Brown and David Oliver, the team expects many of the changes to be within the organization as new coaches mean using players in different ways, which could see several players see big improvements.

Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down some of the changes the coaching staff intends to implement this season and suggests the team could get boosts in performance from multiple players, targeting Kevin Hayes, Pavel Buchnevich, Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk. Assuming Hayes isn’t traded this offseason as has been rumored, the team could see him take another step in his development.

Shifted into a shutdown role more recently, Hayes has been successful, but he has the skills to be a top offensive forward if needed, which could happen this season. Buchnevich is another offensive force who has been slowed by injuries, while the team has high expectations for Skjei and Shattenkirk (finally healthy) to return to form as top-four defenders.

The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) explains the reasoning behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ recent signing of center Derek Grant. While there has been recent talk about the excessive amount of centers the team has, there have been even more after the team added Grant. Yet, Yohe writes that the Penguins feel the team needs as many centers as they can find for depth purposes and that Grant could find himself playing either center or wing, depending on how training camp shakes out. However, the possibility the team might still make a late offseason trade remains a legitimate possibility, suggesting that Derick Brassard could be moved still.
The Athletic’s Nick Kelly (subscription required) writes that Pittsburgh Penguins Jake Guentzel is enjoying his offseason this year, while playing in Da Beauty League, because he got some extra time off when the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs this past year. While he has no wish to get that extra time off again, Guentzel has spent his time this offseason in the weight room in hopes of becoming a more well-rounded player. He hopes to take his game to the next level after a full season in which he tallied 22 goals and 48 points last year. However, he scored just two goals in his final 20 games, suggesting he needs to work on his strength and conditioning to take that next step.
Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that the New York Islanders Joshua Ho-Sang should get a clean slate with a new coaching staff and management coming into the fold. Ho-Sang is expected to take on a full-time roll with the organization this year after he spent most of last season in the AHL due to issues with Ho-Sang’s attitude. The 22-year-old criticized management about how they were handling their development. He started the season in New York, posting solid numbers, including two goals and 12 points in 22 games, but was sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to work on other parts of his game and played 50 games there, but struggled at times, finishing with just eight goals.

Remaining 2018 Arbitration Dates

July 17, 2018 at 4:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

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

July 15, 2018 at 12:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 5 Comments

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.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines