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Mason Appleton

Winnipeg Jets Sign Mason Appleton, Avoid Arbitration

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Winnipeg Jets have avoided an arbitration hearing with forward Mason Appleton. He’s signed a three-year deal with the Jets worth a cap hit of $2.167MM. He’ll be paid $2MM in 2022-23 and receive $2.25MM in the following two seasons.

The Jets already lost Appleton once, and they don’t seem intent on having it happen again. Left unprotected in the last offseason’s expansion draft, Appleton was an inaugural member of the Seattle Kraken before Winnipeg re-acquired him at the Trade Deadline. Across 68 games with Seattle and Winnipeg in 2021-22, Appleton scored eight goals, 13 assists (tying a career-high), and 21 points.

Appleton’s point production may not jump off the page, but he’s posted decent defensive analytics throughout his 206-game NHL career. 26 years old now, Appleton has produced a nice NHL career for a sixth-round pick. The native of Green Bay, Wisconsin will try to continue to prove his worth as a valuable bottom-six forward over the next three seasons in Manitoba.

For Winnipeg, their only remaining restricted free agent is 22-year-old David Gustafsson, who appeared in just two games for them last season.

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

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.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Acquire Mason Appleton

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The Seattle Kraken aren’t done. The Kraken have sent winger Mason Appleton to the Winnipeg Jets, the team the Kraken selected him from in the Expansion Draft. In exchange, the Jets are trading the Kraken a 2023 fourth-round pick. Both teams have announced the deal. With tonight’s trades of Appleton and Jeremy Lauzon, two more members of the Kraken’s original Expansion Draft roster are no longer with the team. The Kraken now have 23 picks in the next two NHL drafts, up from the normal 14 (one per round) allotted automatically to each club, and it is clear that GM Ron Francis has decided to prioritize building a strong prospect pool for his franchise over keeping players who could help his team in the short and medium-term.

Appleton himself did seem to be a player who could help Seattle not only this year but in the next few seasons as well. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native is a pending restricted free agent (with arbitration rights) currently costing his club $900k against the salary cap. His play this season has not led many to believe he would be deserving of a significant raise, which means the motivations for moving Appleton likely could not have been financial. Instead, this trade seems to be about cementing Francis’ front office going full-steam ahead in the direction of building a draft pick stockpile that can rival the Central Division rival Arizona Coyotes’ impressive hoard. The Kraken’s roster is undoubtedly made worse for this season and next by the loss of Appleton, but in trading him they do get to add another pick to help them build a prospect system they hope will become the envy of the league. Ultimately, finding a third or fourth-line winger who plays energetically to fill the role Appleton is vacating is not the hardest task in the offseason, so if the Kraken didn’t believe that Appleton specifically was worth keeping long-term, adding a fourth-rounder is a nice way to fill out an unsurprisingly barren prospect cupboard.

For the Jets, this trade helps them this season and next as they anticipate the exit of middle-six staple Andrew Copp. Appleton is an energetic, fast bottom-six winger who plays relentlessly on the forecheck and can add a little bit of offensive touch. Appleton had his first campaign as an NHL regular last season, scoring 12 goals and 25 points in 56 games, and his success was what led him to be selected by the Kraken in the first place. This season, as the Kraken overall struggled to find their form, Appleton’s production suffered, and has only six goals and 17 points in 49 games. If Appleton can return to being the player he was in Winnipeg, this will be a solid use of a 2023 fourth-rounder by Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. The Jets have been a disappointment this season, and one of their better forwards in Copp is set to depart sooner rather than later, but this trade reinforces Cheveldayoff’s long-held belief that his team is not too far off from re-establishing themselves as a contender. Adding Appleton is another minor piece of evidence reinforcing the generally-held idea that the Jets don’t plan on rebuilding any time soon, and that 2022-23 is going to be a big year in determining the future of the franchise. With this trade, Appleton will again play a role on the Jets and will now have a say in how the team fares in that all-important year.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported Appleton returning to Winnipeg. TSN’s Darren Dreger was first on the draft pick compensation returning to Seattle. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nathan Bastian Placed On Waivers

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The Seattle Kraken had to make room for Mason Appleton, who has been activated off injured reserve, so Nathan Bastian finds himself on waivers today.

Bastian, 23, was the Kraken’s expansion pick from the New Jersey Devils, but saw very limited time in his games with Seattle. Averaging just over nine minutes of ice time through 12 appearances, he hadn’t even gotten into the lineup since November 9. With Appleton returning, someone on the roster was going to have to be exposed, since none of the Kraken skaters are waiver-exempt.

It will be interesting to see if Bastian clears, given his obvious upside. Though he has just two points this season, he has scored in bunches in the minor leagues, was a high draft pick in 2016 (41st overall), and possesses the size–6’4″–that many teams covet in the bottom-six. He’s more than willing to use that size too, as Bastian recorded 136 hits in just 41 games for the Devils last season and even drops the gloves on occasion.

New Jersey themselves could even bring Bastian back, though they made a move to bring up Chase De Leo recently to fill out the last spot on the roster and have other forwards who will return from injury at some point.

If he isn’t claimed, Bastian could be sent to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL.

Injury Notes: Saad, Girard, Kraken, Johnson

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St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad is skating Saturday after spending the past nine days on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, per Blues reporter Chris Pinkert. Saad is expected to return to the lineup for their Wednesday game against the Los Angeles Kings. He’s ineligible to play in Saturday night’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks. It appears to be a huge boost for the Blues, who are also without captain Ryan O’Reilly as he was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list on October 26. Saad had two points in three games before being placed in the protocol, but his absence has caused him to miss the last three (that number will be made four tonight). In his absence, younger forwards such as Klim Kostin and Jake Neighbours have gotten extended looks in the lineup.

Other injury notes from around the league on Saturday:

  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports defenseman Samuel Girard will return to the lineup for tonight’s home game against the Minnesota Wild. Expected to play on a pairing with Erik Johnson, it’s another step closer to full health for a Colorado blueline that’s faced injuries to their best two left-shot defensemen early on this season. Girard missed Colorado’s last two games after suffering an injury on a hit from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steven Stamkos at the end of a game on October 23.
  • Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol issued injury updates today on forward Mason Appleton and goaltender Chris Driedger. Appleton was placed on injured reserve today and is now out indefinitely, while Driedger is now labeled as day-to-day. Kraken reporter Bob Condor relays information that Driedger practiced today, and could potentially work his way into game action as the Kraken have a back-to-back this Sunday and Monday. Appleton was in the midst of a rough start to his Kraken tenure, posting just one assist in seven games and playing just 11:14 per game.
  • The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope reports that Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson suffered an apparent arm or wrist injury during the team’s 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday and is expected to miss Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, if not more time. Johnson was playing in a top-line role, flanking Kirby Dach along with Dominik Kubalik prior to the injury with Patrick Kane in COVID-19 protocol. Johnson’s scored one goal and two assists in eight games this season. Forward Dylan Strome could draw into the lineup tonight in his place.

Pacific Notes: Possible Eichel Trade Partner, Stone, Appleton

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Talks between the Golden Knights and Sabres regarding center Jack Eichel have picked up in recent days, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.   Vegas is off to a tough start to their season with a 2-4 record and bringing someone like Eichel in won’t exactly help in the short term with him still needing neck surgery which will take him out for several months, whichever version of the procedure he winds up getting.  Seravalli adds that there has been some talk about getting a third team involved to make the financial element work with the Golden Knights tight to the Upper Limit of the salary cap as usual.  Buffalo has insisted they won’t retain on the remaining five years and $50MM of Eichel’s deal although they are open to taking other contracts back to make the money work.  Enticing another team to retain on Eichel’s deal would be costly – it has to be done for the remainder of the deal and not just certain years – but it would certainly make it easier to fit Eichel into their salary structure.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Also from Seravalli’s column, the Golden Knights are still waiting for some clarity on Mark Stone’s injury. There is some concern that it could be a long-term issue which could free up the short-term LTIR room needed to absorb Eichel’s contract although that’s only good until both players would be ready to return.  Stone is currently listed as somewhere between day-to-day and week-to-week which is a creative way of saying he’s out indefinitely.
  • Kraken winger Mason Appleton will “miss some time”, head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters including Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The 25-year-old left Tuesday’s victory over Montreal after two periods with an undisclosed injury.  Appleton has an assist in seven games so far this season while his average ice time has dipped by more than three minutes a night compared to his usage with Winnipeg in 2020-21.

Expansion Tracker: Seattle Kraken

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The Seattle Kraken expansion picks were submitted to the league this morning, and after the conclusion of tonight’s Expansion Draft, everything has become official. It was a rather anticlimactic evening, as all of the picks had been leaked accurately throughout the day. It is important to note that considering some puzzling player selections and a large amount of cap space, more moves from the Kraken should happen later this week.

Anaheim: D Haydn Fleury
Arizona: F Tyler Pitlick
Boston: D Jeremy Lauzon
Buffalo: D William Borgen
Calgary: D Mark Giordano
Carolina: F Morgan Geekie
Chicago: F John Quenneville
Colorado: F Joonas Donskoi
Columbus: D Gavin Bayreuther
Dallas: D Jamie Oleksiak
Detroit: D Dennis Cholowski
Edmonton: D Adam Larsson
Florida: G Chris Driedger
Los Angeles: D Kurtis MacDermid
Minnesota: D Carson Soucy
Montreal: D Cale Fleury
Nashville: F Calle Jarnkrok
New Jersey: F Nathan Bastian
New York Islanders: F Jordan Eberle
New York Rangers: F Colin Blackwell
Ottawa: G Joey Daccord
Philadelphia: F Carsen Twarynski
Pittsburgh: F Brandon Tanev
San Jose: F Alexander True
St. Louis: D Vince Dunn
Tampa Bay: F Yanni Gourde
Toronto: F Jared McCann
Vancouver: F Kole Lind
Washington: G Vitek Vanecek
Winnipeg: F Mason Appleton

The Kraken finish with $29MM in cap space, via CapFriendly. Notable RFAs include Twarynski, Dunn, Borgen, and Cholowski. They could be looking at players like Geekie to make the full-time jump to the NHL next season, but for now, the roster looks relatively filled out. It’s got to be expected at this point that some defensemen will be dealt off the roster, as they currently sit with 10 at the NHL level with none of them being waiver-eligible.

This page will be updated as further reports come in, and the official list will be published later tonight.

Roster Freeze Notes: Sharks, Flames, Dunn

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With NHL Expansion Draft protection lists due at 4:00pm CT today, the league has enacted a freeze in all roster transactions that goes into effect in less than an hour from now at 2:00pm CT and lasts through Thursday morning after the Expansion Draft is complete. NHL teams are not taking this deadline lightly; numerous reports suggest that the trade market is no less than a complete frenzy right now as teams look to use their expansion flexibility (or lack thereof) to make deals before the clock runs out. Bally Sports’ Andy Strickland spoke with an agent who said he has never seen so many players available for trade from so many teams.

One team that seems poised to make a move are the San Jose Sharks. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that the Sharks are attempting to add a goalie before the deadline. San Jose is likely to expose expensive, underperforming starter Martin Jones in the Expansion Draft and seemingly would be open to exposing young Josef Korenar as well if they can add another legitimate NHL goaltender worth protecting. Not many teams across the league have the luxury of adding a goalie before the expansion process begins, so the Sharks are trying to take advantage of a goalie market with far more sellers than buyers.

  • The Sharks are certainly not alone in pushing for a last-minute deal. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that among the most active teams are the Winnipeg Jets, who are shopping Mason Appleton, the Calgary Flames, and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks appear to be specifically targeting a landing spot for restricted free agent defenseman Nikita Zadorov, Garrioch notes. There has been some speculation that Chicago was not enthused about Zadorov’s asking price or potential arbitration award, but don’t necessarily want to expose him to Seattle and lose him for nothing in return. The Flames are far less single-minded; Garrioch calls the roster “unsettled” and believes that many players could be up for grabs.
  • St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn is out there in current trade discussions as well, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic.  The 24-year-old has been in trade speculation for the last couple of years now but expansion could be the pressure point to get something completed.  Many expect St. Louis to use the standard protection scheme which allows for seven forwards and three defensemen.  The three blueliners expected to be protected in that scenario are veterans Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, and Justin Faulk which would leave Dunn unprotected and seemingly a prime target for the Kraken.  They could go to eight skaters to protect Dunn but would then leave three more forwards available to Seattle.  Accordingly, if the Blues want to get an asset for Dunn, today may be the last chance that can happen.

Jets Trying To Move Mason Appleton

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With the transaction freeze now just over an hour away, the Jets appear to be trying to move a player that’s likely to be left unprotected from Seattle as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link) that they are shopping winger Mason Appleton.

The 25-year-old secured a full-time spot with Winnipeg for the first time this past season and certainly made the most of it, posting career highs across the board with 12 goals and 13 assists in 56 games while averaging 14:25 per night, primarily suiting up on their third line.  He chipped in with three more points in eight postseason contests.  However, while the Jets would like to protect Appleton, he’s likely to be the odd forward out when they submit their protection list to the NHL later today.

[Related: Jets Expansion Primer]

Appleton has one more year left on his deal with a more than reasonable $900K price tag which is something that most teams around the league will be able to afford.  While his overall track record isn’t the longest (just 138 career NHL games), the success he had on what was an effective third line for Winnipeg should be enough to generate some interest in his services.

Of course, one of those teams should be Seattle which is why he’s a contender to become a member of the Kraken if he’s not dealt.  The question now for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will be if a possible return for Appleton is high enough to justify moving him and losing another player off their roster or if they’re better off just losing him on Wednesday during the expansion draft.  We’ll find out one way or the other within the next hour.

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