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Matthew Tkachuk Suspended One Game

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2:20pm: Tkachuk has been suspended for one game according to John Shannon of Sportsnet. The Flames play tonight in Montreal. This is Tkachuk’s third suspension of his young career. As the accompanying video explains:

While the spear itself is not forceful or malicious enough to merit supplemental discipline on its own, two factors caused this play to rise to the level of a suspension. First, Tkachuk is on the bench when he intentionally strikes a player on the playing surface…second, Tkachuk is a repeat offender, having been suspended for a similar incident just ten games ago.

8:16am: The Department of Player Safety must have Matthew Tkachuk on speed-dial by now. The Calgary Flames forward will receive another hearing with the disciplinary committee after spearing Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin from the bench in last night’s game. Tkachuk, who wasn’t involved in the scrum at all, stuck his stick into Martin’s ribs without the officials noticing on the ice.

Matthew TkachukIt’s not the first time Tkachuk has been caught for a stick infraction like this. Just recently, he was suspended one game for his part in the Flames-Red Wings brawl, when he used his stick to goad Luke Witkowski back onto the ice. Witkowski was given an automatic 10-game ban for coming back after being ejected.

To be clear, the hearing isn’t for the act of spearing itself. Tkachuk is instead receiving it for “unsportsmanlike conduct” which likely has more to do with his history with the league. The young forward also received a two-game ban for elbowing Drew Doughty last season, and has built quite the reputation for himself already. The league likely believes they can put a stop to this kind of behavior by handing out a suspension for a play that was relatively innocuous, letting Tkachuk know that he has a target on his back.

The pesky Calgary forward has become one of the best in the league at getting under opponents’ skin, and did so last night against the Maple Leafs. He drew a cross-checking penalty on Jake Gardiner, when the Toronto defender got a little frustrated with his play, and was in Frederik Andersen’s crease all night. Though Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock praised Tkachuk’s overall game, he called the spear “junior hockey stuff” and said that he’d learn not to do it eventually.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Athanasiou, Canadiens, Kronwall, Marner

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Often when you have lengthy holdouts, fans have to wonder whether one of the big obstacles (besides money) is that the player doesn’t really want to play for the team he’s on, only creating a longer bridge towards finding a happy stalemate. Even after the holdout ends, often the player finds himself resenting the organization, which only creates more problems. Not so, however, with the Detroit Red Wings and recently signed forward Andreas Athanasiou, according to Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required).

The scribe writes that a conference call held earlier this week between Athanasiou, his agent Darren Ferris and Red Wings brass changed everything and was not just the critical step that helped end the stalemate, but helped show the 23-year-old center that the team really wanted him to return to the team, while the Red Wings understood Athanasiou’s reasons for asking for a trade.

“The philosophical stuff that was causing the desire to be traded was addressed,” Athanasiou’s agent Darren Ferris said. “I really think that call turned the bus around.”

After that phone call, the wheels of progress began to churn and a deal began to be chiseled out. Custance writes that Ferris said while only a one-year deal was struck, Athanasiou plans to prove himself to the Red Wings in hopes of getting a long-term deal with them for next year — in Detroit. Ferris says he wants to stay there.

  • Mitch Melnick of The Athletic writes his Good, Bad and Ugly column about the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks last night, pointing fingers to Paul Byron and Victor Mete as the team’s top players lately. While that was the good, Melnick points out how bad that is too if those two are your best players. The 19-year-old Mete, who no one expected to make the Canadiens’ roster this year, has thrived on the team’s defense in his rookie campaign, while Byron is a 28-year old, whose best season saw him score 22 goals last year. Neither was expected to make a major impact. Catch all of Melnick’s commentary as it’s a good read.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall tried stem-cell treatment for his bad knee. The 36-year-old blueliner revealed the information today after having played in his 800th career NHL game yesterday. He has been playing on a permanently damaged knee for the past two years and has been told that surgery would not help him. St. James writes that Kronwall wouldn’t go into specifics about what procedure he had undergone. “It’s a long process,” he said. “It is for another time to discuss.”
  • Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, recently downgraded to the team’s fourth line, was quite positive about his demotion and has learned a lot from veteran Matt Martin, tweets Kristen Shilton of TSN. “You just want to go out there and help the team win,” Marner said. “If you don’t, then just be the guy on the bench that’s staying positive and helping the guys out. That’s what I’ve learned from Marty.”
  • CapFriendly tweets that the site has confirmed that Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid has gone on LITR. The move gives the Bruins a $2.75MM salary relief pool. Boston can now exceed the cap by $2,654,209.

The Signing Bonus: Rise Of The Buyout-Proof Contract (A Reprise)

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This article was originally published in July of 2016, but seems extremely relevant a year later. Most of the players discussed inside underachieved in their first season, and again we saw signing bonuses handed out like candy this summer. Included at the bottom is an update with new contracts from this offseason.

The life of an NHL agent is tough. As the league continues to tweak (or totally overhaul) their CBA each few seasons, changing contract regulations and offering teams different ways of structuring deals, agents are always trying to find ways to circumvent them and get the best offers for their clients.

With teams becoming more and more willing to use buyouts to rid themselves of the horrible contracts that they sign on July 1st – famously a day of simultaneous excitement and regret – agents around the league needed to find a way to protect their clients from losing out on a third (or sometimes two-thirds) of the salary the sides agreed on.

The most recent buyout window, which lasted from June 15th to 30th, saw a dozen NHL players bought out, including household names like Thomas Vanek and Dennis Seidenberg. While some fans may see this as an opportunity for a player to earn two contracts at the same time – Vanek was signed on by Detroit for $2.6MM on July 1st, more than the $1.5MM he surrendered in his buyout – most take it as a personal slight, an indictment of their play or character. Regardless, agents continue to try and secure guarantees for their clients, instead of leaving the power in the hands of the league’s general managers.

"<strongEnter the signing bonus, this summer’s contract-du-jour. All across the league, big name free agents have inked deals that will see them paid almost entirely in signing bonuses, with very little actual salary being given out each season.  Take Loui Eriksson for instance:

2016-17 – Salary: $1MM, Bonus: $7MM
2017-18 – Salary: $1MM, Bonus: $7MM
2018-19 – Salary: $1MM, Bonus: $6MM
2019-20 – Salary: $1MM, Bonus: $4MM
2020-21 – Salary: $1MM, Bonus: $3MM
2021-22 – Salary: $3MM, Bonus: $1MM

While Eriksson’s cap-hit sits at $6MM per year, he’ll make more than that in bonuses alone each of the next three seasons. There are a couple of reasons why this would benefit the player.

For one, everyone loves getting a big check rather than a weekly salary – who would turn down a piece of paper with six zeros?  As any economist will tell you, money in hand is worth more than money promised to come, and just as teams in other sports are deferring payments for this reason long into the future, having money up front is actually more valuable for the player in question.

It’s in the buyout rules that the contract really holds value though, as – hinted at by the title – these contracts are basically buyout-proof.  Under the current CBA, buyouts are calculated by taking two-thirds of the remaining salary owed, not including signing bonuses, and spreading it out over twice the remaining contract length. The new cap hit is determined by subtracting the savings from the average annual value of the deal which includes signing bonuses.

This means that if the Canucks were to want to buy out Eriksson after say, the third year of his new deal, they’ll only be saving $333K of cap hit in 2020-21, an insignificant portion of the $6MM number. That last season of $3MM is a bit better for the Canucks (they would save $2MM of his cap hit), but structuring it this way almost guarantees that Eriksson will collect at least $35MM of his deal – more than 97%. It’s just not worth it to buy him out any sooner than his final year.

"<strongAndrew Ladd, Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo all signed deals heavily impacted by signing bonuses, protecting them against a buyout through all but the very end of their agreements.  Even Matt Martin, a career fourth liner secured a $10MM deal that is 65% bonus.  He’ll only be collecting $750K in salary in years three and four of the deal.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean trouble for clubs around the league, you can bet the owners and NHLPA will take a look at it when negotiations begin on the new CBA.  The current agreement expires in 2022, though the two sides have the option to end it a year earlier.

Just as the league has used cap recapture and contract limits to close loopholes in the past, be sure that if they want to continue to have the option to buyout bad contracts they’ll remove this option from the equation.  Creating a rule that would make signing bonuses only be able to hit a certain percentage of each season’s salary would be the easy fix, but expect push-back from the NHLPA.

Even if they do end up closing it, agents will work on another way to get their clients the best possible guarantee; they always seem to be one step ahead of the league.

This summer, signing bonuses have taken off even further. Carey Price’s eight-year extension with the Montreal Canadiens is over 80% signing bonuses, with the goaltender making a maximum of $2MM in salary per year. A $10.5MM cap hit through age-38 will be impossible to buy out, offering almost no cap savings. The Blackhawks face a similar situation with Brent Seabrook, whose 2015 contract is looking worse and worse, and provides little incentive for a buyout.

Interestingly, the Nashville Predators have continued in their practice of avoiding signing bonuses altogether. After signing Filip Forsberg to a bonus-free deal last summer, both Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson have taken similar structures in their long-term extensions this year. GM David Poile has taken much of the risk off the table even as he allocated many of his resources to his trio of young forwards. Though they pose little risk of age-decline, all three carry large enough cap hits to really hurt the Predators if they were to take a step backwards in their development. It’s hard to see any deserving a buyout, but the option is still there.

Alexander Radulov may be the biggest example among 2017 unrestricted free agents, as his contract with the Dallas Stars is both front-loaded and filled with signing bonuses. Radulov will earn just $13.25MM in salary over the next five seasons, making it difficult to buy out even as he enters his mid-thirties. For a player who has a relatively short track record of success in the NHL, it may quickly turn into a problem if he starts to feel the draw of father time.

Matt Martin Speaks Out On John Tavares Free Agency

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Since John Tavares didn’t sign a contract extension with the New York Islanders when he became eligible on July 1st, most of the hockey world has started to speculate on what it means for his future. Tavares will be a free agent in the summer of 2018, and will have contract discussion follow him all year like Steven Stamkos a year ago. Though Tavares has never said anything that would make you think he wants to leave New York, many believe the uncertainty regarding their future arena plans and the relative disappointments on the ice throughout Tavares’ career could push him to greener pastures. John Tavares

For what it’s worth, former teammate and friend Matt Martin of the Toronto Maple Leafs—a long speculated destination for the Toronto-born Tavares—doesn’t think so. Martin spoke to Brian Compton of NHL.com about several things including Tavares’ pending free agency, and made it clear that he supports any decision his friend will make.

As a friend of mine would it be great to have him? Absolutely. But I want him to do whatever will make him happy and wherever he feels where he can win and be successful is what you hope for.

Like Stamkos, Tavares would enter free agency as a young superstar capable of starting a bidding war between a dozen teams if not more. Top line centers in their prime don’t hit the market very often (see: never), and Tavares could easily challenge Connor McDavid for the title of highest paid player in the league should he make it that far. McDavid earned $12.5MM per season but was giving up just four UFA seasons and left money on the table to help the Oilers. Tavares will be just 27 next summer, and would basically have no comparables in free agency since the salary cap was introduced.

The speculation is only going to continue until a contract is signed, even though that may last until after next season like Stamkos last year. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward even met with other teams in the pre-July 1 window, but eventually settled at home for an eight-year deal. A similar script would be a distraction all year for the Islanders, but is a real possibility.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Toronto Notes: Andersen, Matthews

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Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen has “no symptoms” of a concussion, but will sit tonight’s game against Blue Jackets, according to coach Mike Babcock. The goaltender is expected to start Game 1 of the playoffs.

Andersen, who was hit by Pittsburgh’s Tom Sestito who ironically was back for his first game after serving a four-game suspension for a hit against Tobias Enstrom, hit Andersen in a fly-by. Initial belief was he had suffered a concussion. Backup Curtis McElhinney took over in Saturday’s game and is expected to get the start with recent callup Garret Sparks to take backup duties.

Other Toronto notes …

  • When rookie Auston Matthews scored his 40th goal Saturday, an empty netter with three seconds remaining that clinched the Maple Leafs a playoff spot, it put the teenager into rare company. The 19-year-old rookie is now the fourth rookie-teenager in NHL history to score 40 goals. He joins elite company next to Dale Hawerchuk (45 goals at 18 years of age in 1981-82), Mario Lemieux (43 goals at 19 years of age in 1984-85) and Sylvain Turgeon (40 goals at 19 years in 1983-84). Matthews had previously broken the American-born rookie scoring record when he recorded his 39th goal Monday.
  • Dave McCarthy of NHL.com reports the Leafs will have nine players play 82 games this year, a testament to their health and one reason for the team’s success this year in reaching the playoffs. Matthews, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Connor Brown, Leo Komarov, Zach Hyman, Jake Gardiner, Matt Martin, Nikita Zaitsev have played all 81 games so far and are expected to play tonight. William Nylander is only at 80 games.

 

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