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Mattias Janmark

Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Mattias Janmark

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After acquiring Adam Gaudette, the Chicago Blackhawks have sent one of their other forwards elsewhere. Mattias Janmark has been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in a three-team deal that also includes the San Jose Sharks. The full deal:

  • To Vegas: Mattias Janmark, 2022 fifth-round pick (CHI), Nick DeSimone
  • To San Jose: 2022 fifth-round pick (BUF)
  • To Chicago: 2021 second-round pick (VGK), 2022 third-round pick (VGK)

Chicago retained 50% of Janmark’s cap hit, and subsequently the Sharks retained 50$ of what remained. That means the Golden Knights are on the hook for just 25% of what is remaining on Janmark’s deal.

Adding a player like Janmark is a sneaky pickup for the Golden Knights, who already have a team capable of contending for the Stanley Cup. The 28-year-old forward has 10 goals and 19 points in 41 games this season and has proven in the past he can produce some valuable secondary scoring from a depth role.

A strong skater, Janmark can play on the powerplay or penalty kill, but it’s hard to see him getting much time with the man advantage in Vegas. Instead, he’ll give the team another moving part in their bottom-six or even move up in a pinch.

Still, one could argue that the Golden Knights gave up more for Janmark than the Bruins did for Taylor Hall. A huge part of that (not to mention Hall’s no-movement clause) is the difference in cap hits; Janmark comes with just a $2.25MM full-season hit on his one-year deal, while even a 50% retained Hall was at $4MM. The Blackhawks did well to receive a second-round pick and another pick swap, adding some valuable draft capital to the cupboard for a player who is on an expiring contract.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic was first to note a deal was coming.

Blackhawks To Scratch Mattias Janmark

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The weekend before the trade deadline is when it becomes time to keep a close eye out for surprising scratches as those often signal a possible trade is on the horizon.  That is what has happened with Blackhawks winger Mattias Janmark as head coach Jeremy Colliton told reporters, including NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link) that the forward is being held out of the lineup for tonight’s game versus Columbus due to an “organizational decision”, a phrase that seems like a professional way of saying that they’re not risking an injury with the deadline just over 48 hours away.

The 28-year-old is in his first season with Chicago after signing a one-year, $2.25MM deal with them at the beginning of free agency last summer following a strong showing with Dallas in the bubble.  While his possession numbers have been ugly, he has been one of their better secondary scorers as he has notched ten goals and nine assists in 41 games to put him fourth in team scoring while averaging a career-best 16:49 per night.  1:50 of that has come on the penalty kill which will definitely intrigue teams that are buying.

Playoff-bound teams would likely be eyeing Janmark as a bottom-six addition and with it shaping up as a buyers’ market so far, GM Stan Bowman likely won’t be able to get a significant return and will probably need to retain on the contract (or take a player back) to help facilitate a move.  However, with Chicago starting to fall further out of the Central playoff picture (they’re now four points behind Nashville while Dallas can pass them if they win some of their games in hand), the apparent decision to part with the pending UFA certainly makes sense.

Trade Deadline Primer: New York Islanders

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We are now just two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the New York Islanders.

The New York Islanders, perpetual underdogs, are again delivering an excellent season. Picked by many before the season to miss the playoffs in a loaded East Division, the Islanders have outplayed their competitors for much of the season. A top-five team in goals against average and shots against per game, the Isles have again bought in to head coach Barry Trotz’ conservative, smothering style and are frustrating opponents left and right.

With that said, New York does not have a top-class offense, and that was even before the season-ending injury to captain Anders Lee. The Islanders are just a middle-of-the pack team in terms of scoring and are below average on the power play. As a side effect of the system, they do not put a lot of shots on net and have few odd-man rushes. Simply, they need to make their scoring chances count and without Lee that becomes more difficult. The Islanders have won just five of their past nine games since their leading goal-scorer went down and have slipped into a tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins in second in the division. In terms of points percentage, New York is closer to the Boston Bruins in fourth (who have many more game in hand) than they are to the Washington Capitals in first. The Islanders are unlikely to fall out of the playoff picture completely, but to stay near the top they desperately need to add offense.

Record

22-10-4, .667, T-2nd in East Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$0MM in full-season space (LTIR, $6.53MM unused), 0/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: NYI 1st, COL 2nd, NYI 3rd, NYI 4th, NYI 5th, NYI 6th, NYI 7th
2022: NYI 1st, NYI 2nd, COL 2nd, NYI 3rd, NYI 4th, NYI 5th, NYI 6th, NYI 7th

Trade Chips

Like many contenders, the Islanders don’t have the strongest pipeline to lean on. However, likely looking to add just one rental forward in a buyer’s market, they shouldn’t have to offer up any of their few elite prospects to get the job done. So fear not Isles fans, Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson aren’t going anywhere.

Kieffer Bellows is likely the name that will be heard most often as being linked to outgoing Islanders’ packages. A polarizing, but promising prospect, Bellows hasn’t found the success in the NHL that was expected of a first-round pick and World Juniors standout, but he could benefit from playing in a different system. The 22-year-old may very well be selected by the Seattle Kraken in this summer’s Expansion Draft if he is still on the roster and not protected, so the Islanders might be looking to deal him rather than risk losing him for nothing.

The Islanders also have an organization depth chart chock full of young defenseman that they could offer up in a deadline deal. Bode Wilde will be the player most suitors ask about, but the team will try to steer them away from the talented righty. Sebastian Aho and Grant Hutton are NHL-ready assets who don’t necessarily have a full-time spot waiting for them in New York next season, making them expendable, while Robin Salo and Samuel Bolduc are younger options with intriguing upside.

Others to Watch For: F Ross Johnston ($1MM, 2022 UFA), F Michael Dal Colle ($700K, RFA), F Otto Koivula ($787K, RFA), D Parker Wotherspoon ($725K, 2022 RFA), G Jakub Skarek ($764K, 2023 RFA)

Team Needs

1) Top-Six Winger – GM Lou Lamoriello will have his sights set on one thing and one thing only at the deadline: a Lee replacement. While the captain’s locker room leadership and even his two-way effort and IQ likely cannot be found on the market, the Islanders need to find someone who can take up his knack for scoring goals. The team relies on efficiency on offense and are now missing their most reliable scorer. They are solid down the middle and have plenty of other talented wingers, but no one who isn’t already playing in the top-six can reliably fill Lee’s shoes. With up to $7MM in cap space to use with Lee on Long-Term Injured Reserve, nearly any rental winger can fit under the cap. Buffalo’s Taylor Hall, the lone exception, could be had with some retention involved, but New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri or Nashville’s Mikael Granlund would fit nicely under the cap. If the Islanders can’t manage to land one of those top options, dark horse candidates could include Chicago’s Mattias Janmark, who is scoring goals at a torrid clip this year, Vancouver’s Tanner Pearson, if healthy, or another New Jersey option, Nikita Gusev. 

2) Goaltender – Being the shrewd veteran executive that he is, don’t be surprised to see Lamoriello look at solving an Expansion crisis ahead of the deadline as well. With young Ilya Sorokin exempt from the draft and Cory Schneider headed for free agency, the Islanders do not currently have the necessary goalie to expose to Seattle assuming they protect starter Semyon Varlamov, unless they  extend the 35-year-old Schneider that is. Instead, look for the team to add a keeper with term on his contract or heading for restricted free agency. The team could kill two birds with one stone if they make can find a dependable addition; having a fourth-string for the playoffs and a third-string to replace Schneider next year would be a wise move.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Mattias Janmark

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The Chicago Blackhawks have made a short-term signing to help their forward group, inking Mattias Janmark to a one-year deal worth $2.25MM. This deal comes after Jonathan Toews’ remarks in The Athletic, critiquing management for not indicating to the team’s core they were entering a rebuild.

In certain situations, Janmark signing a short-term deal may appear to be adding depth for a lengthy playoff run. The veteran forward played in 26 postseason games with the Dallas Stars this summer, recording eight points and 38 penalty minutes along the way. Following the other Chicago moves, however, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a house flip.

Though Janmark is better suited to a bottom-six role and has scored just six goals in each of the last two seasons, he did record previous totals of 15 and 19. That would indicate there is a little room for improvement in Chicago if fed juicy minutes, leading to a possible deadline deal to bring back more prospects or draft picks for the rebuild.

After letting Corey Crawford walk in free agency the Blackhawks will be going with a tandem of Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban in net this season, something that certainly doesn’t inspire confidence for a Stanley Cup push. The team also moved on from the last year of Brandon Saad’s contract, though did bring Nikita Zadorov, an established NHL defenseman, back in that deal.

There’s no doubt that Toews and the rest of the Blackhawks will have a chip on their shoulders this season as they try to prove that they shouldn’t be in a rebuild. Perhaps Janmark, who had to settle for a one-year deal, will be able to do the same.

Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars

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With free agency now just a couple weeks away,  teams are looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Fresh off of a heart-breaking loss in the Stanley Cup Final, the Dallas Stars will have to evaluate the cost of bringing back the veteran UFA’s that contributed to their playoff run while also maintaining enough space to extend several core RFA forwards.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Roope Hintz – Hintz came out strong as a rookie in 2018-19 with 22 points in 58 games only to top that this year with 19 goals and 33 points in 60 games. The 23-year-old is still trending upward and projects to be a core piece for a long time for the Stars. Coming off of his entry-level contract, Hintz is in for a major raise, especially on a long-term deal. And with so many of their top forwards on the wrong side of 30, Dallas will likely aim for a lengthy deal to make sure Hintz is around to help take over.

F Denis Gurianov – Gurianov is part of that next wave of core forwards in Dallas as well. The 2015 first-round pick took some time to arrive on the NHL stage, but in his first full season with the Stars this season shook off any doubts about his potential. With a team-leading 20 goals and 29 points in 64 games, backed up by 17 points in 27 playoff games, Gurianov proved himself to be a dangerous scoring threat. With his entry-level contract expiring, Gurianov is in for a payday, perhaps even more so than Hintz, due to the possibility that he could be Dallas’ top goal-scorer for years to come.

F Radek Faksa – Faksa’s future with the Stars may be a bit more uncertain than his fellow RFA forwards. The 26-year-old center, who is owed at least a $2.2MM qualifying offer, declined this season and his role moving forward in Dallas is unclear. Faksa snapped a three-year streak of 30+ points with just 20 on the year, his lowest per-game rate since his rookie season. He also finished outside the top nine scoring forwards for the Stars and saw his ice time slashed as a result. A good two-way player, Faksa is best suited for a bottom-six role but Dallas may question how much that role is worth to them. Faksa could sign a short-term deal, especially given the current flat cap conundrum, with the chance to prove himself worthy of an extension before he reaches unrestricted free agency.

Other RFAs: F Tony Calderone, F Joel L’Esperance, F Josh Melnick, G Landon Bow

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Anton Khudobin – Has Khudobin priced himself out of Dallas? After outplaying Ben Bishop this season and then taking over for the injured starter in the playoffs and marching the team to the Stanley Cup Final, Khudobin’s stock has never been higher. Which is saying a lot about a player who has been considered one of the top backups in the league for many years. With so many teams looking for a shake-up in net this off-season, including several teams with young netminders who would love a reliable veteran to share starts, Khudobin should draw a ton of interest on the open market. With a solid starter in Bishop and a promising young option in Jake Oettinger pushing for opportunities, will the Stars keep up with the top bidders to retain Khudobin? It seems unlikely.

F Corey Perry – Perry is another player whose stock soared this postseason. A former superstar now past his prime, Perry was still clutch in the playoffs and showed over the course of the whole year that he can still be an effective player. An intense physical presence and a smart offensive mind, Perry can still make a difference even if his 21 points this season is more reflective of his new ceiling. In fact, while Perry may be limited to another one-year deal this off-season, he might be able to command more than his $1.5MM “show me” salary from this season. As the price goes up on the open market, it becomes less likely that Perry returns to Dallas. However, if he’s seeking consistency in his older age, Dallas was a good fit and a return makes sense.

D Andrej Sekera – Dallas has everything you could want in a defense corps: high-end talent, depth, size, experience in the minors, and budding young prospects. However, sometimes a respected veteran and leader is the finishing touch that a contender needs. Sekera is not the player he once was -not really even close – but was a great fit on the bottom pair in Dallas. Sekera can still play meaningful minutes, provides solid defense, blocks shots, and can contribute on offense from time to time. An experienced asset who can help bring along the Stars’ young defenders while playing a reliable role, Sekera fits well in Dallas and should return on another minimal deal as long as he wants to keep playing.

Other UFAs: F Mattias Janmark, F Michael Mersch, F Oula Palve, D Gavin Bayreuther, D Dillon Heatherington

Projected Cap Space

CapFriendly projects the Stars to have about $15.5MM in current cap space. However, that projection includes two-way players whose roster spots are not necessarily secure, such as forward Justin Dowling and defensemen Taylor Fedun and Ryan Shea. It also seems likely that forward Joel Kiviranta and defenseman Joel Hanley have earned roster spots next season with strong playoff performances, but are not included in the current projection. All things considered, the Stars should have at least $16.2MM in flexible cap space heading into the off-season. This will be plenty to extend Faksa, Hintz, and Gurianov while leaving room to explore the free agent market.

Snapshots: King Clancy Trophy, Kucherov, Bishop, Holzapfel

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Now that the NHL has reached the conference championship phase of the playoffs, so too can the NHL awards, which are expected to be handed out day-by-day over the next couple of weeks. First up is expected to be the King Clancy Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. The trophy will be awarded this evening before the start of Game 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. The three finalists for the awards are Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba, New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist and New Jersey Devils’ P.K. Subban.

Dumba has been committed to racial and social justice and the Hockey is for Everyone initiative and helped form the Hockey Diversity Alliance with seven current and former NHL players. Lundqvist supports several different initiatives, including aid for children’s health, education, underprivileged youth, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Make a Wish Foundation. Subban also supports several groups, including initiatives for underprivileged youth, medical support and promoting racial and social injustice.

  • Despite the bad news that the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to go through the Eastern Conference Finals without Steven Stamkos, the team did get some good news, however, on the injury front. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that first-line forward Nikita Kucherov is expected to be available Monday for the Lightning’s first game against the New York Islanders. Kucherov was forced to leave Game 5 against the Boston Bruins with an undisclosed injury, but has had almost a week to recover. The 27-year-old has been quite effective in the playoffs so far with four goals and 16 points in 13 games.
  • The Dallas Stars will be without starting goaltender Ben Bishop once again as The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that Bishop and defenseman Taylor Fedun remain “unfit to play.” Both skated today, but neither appear ready to play. The scribe did add that forwards Andrew Cogliano and Mattias Janmark are both expected to be game-time decisions today. Bishop has appeared in just three games during the playoffs and hasn’t made an appearance since Aug. 31 against Colorado when he allowed four goals in 13 minutes before being replaced. The team will rely on Anton Khudobin once again, who is 8-5 with a .909 save percentage in 14 games during the playoffs.
  • Former AHL forward Riley Holzapfel announced his retirement after spending his four years with the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian League. Holzapfel was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006 and five season in the AHL before opting to play overseas in 2013, playing three seasons in the SHL before joining Vienna in 2016. He was never able to break into the NHL, however. The 32-year-old was still productive with Vienna, scoring 18 goals and 46 assists in 48 games.

Dallas Stars Re-Sign Mattias Janmark

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The Dallas Stars have been busy today. The team has announced a one-year contract for Mattias Janmark, who was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer for the final time. Janmark will earn $2.3MM on the new deal, the same amount he was paid last season for the Stars. GM Jim Nill released a statement on the signing:

Mattias is a relentless forward who combines his tremendous skating ability with sound positioning, making him a disruptive force. He is a versatile player that can play up and down the lineup at even strength, and was one of the key members of our penalty killing group, which was a top-five unit all season.

Janmark, 26, was originally a third-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2013, but ended up as part of a package exchanged for Erik Cole in 2015. He quickly became a full-time member of the Stars after that, recording 15 goals and 29 points in his rookie season. Unfortunately, a major knee surgery forced Janmark to miss all of the 2016-17 season after he was diagnosed with osteochrondritis dissecans, a genetic disorder that can affect the cartilage in his joints. He returned with a vengeance in the fall of 2017 and had an excellent season, scoring 19 goals and 34 points, but took a step back offensively this year.

Still, even with his down year in terms of goal scoring, Janmark had value to the Stars. The speedy winger averaged more penalty killing time than any forward other than Blake Comeau and Radek Faksa, and actually provided the fourth-most even-strength assists among the forward group. His massive drop in shooting percentage was a huge culprit in his goals falling off, as he shot just 5.7%, down from his previous career number of 14%. If he can bump that back up next season there is no reason he won’t be able to provide tremendous value on a $2.3MM cap hit, especially given his defensive ability.

It is interesting that the Stars re-signed Janmark so easily, given that they were “dangling” him in trade talks just a few months ago. This one-year deal could very well lead to that happening again, given that he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. If the Stars fall out of the race, he will be an interesting trade candidate at the deadline for a team that wants to add some more depth up front, especially given his (albeit short) history at the center position and effectiveness on the penalty kill.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Dallas Stars Considering Buying Out Valeri Nichushkin

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The Dallas Stars have quite the to-do list this offseason, but perhaps the most challenging decision it has to make will have to do with its fringe prospects. The team has a number of interesting young forwards who might be ready to take on a full-time role in Dallas, but the last thing they want to do is have some of its fringe players to slow up the development of those prospects.

One key decision the Stars must make is what to do with forward Valeri Nichushkin, who signed a two-year, $5.9MM contract last offseason to return to Dallas after bolting for the KHL earlier in his career. SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks writes that the team must decide whether they are better off without the 24-year-old, who failed to score a goal this year in 57 games, and buy him out.

The former 10th overall pick in 2013 started his NHL career strong with a 14-goal, 34-point season as a 18-year-old. However, injuries hampered him after that as he saw his playing time cut and Nichushkin opted to return to the KHL after his entry-level deal ran out. While his numbers in the KHL weren’t exactly overwhelming (27 goals over two seasons), the Stars had hoped that bringing him back this year would put him back on course to being a top-six winger for the team. Instead he struggled terribly, putting up just 10 assists in 57 games as he saw a career-low 11:55 of ATOI and also saw him as a healthy scratch for multiple games.

At $2.95MM, Nichushkin is the sixth-highest paid forward on the team and if the team values restricted free agents Brett Ritchie and Mattias Janmark as bottom-six depth options, they may feel it’s better to allow Nichushkin to leave and return to the KHL. If the team opts to buy him out, it would only cost them $700K in 2018-19, while costing them a reasonable $450K in 2020-21. However, with some interesting prospects close to ready to make an impact such as Denis Gurianov, Jason Robertson, Ty Delandrea and Joel L’Esperance, the team needs to make a little room for one or two of them.

Dallas Stars “Dangling” Mattias Janmark In Trade Talks

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The Dallas Stars have climbed back into playoff contention after a troubling start to the season, and will likely be one of the bubble teams looking to secure their spot by adding talent at the trade deadline. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that Dallas is “dangling” Mattias Janmark in addition to Valeri Nichushkin and Brett Ritchie, who had previously been linked to trade talks.

Dallas hasn’t gotten enough production out of the bottom half of their lineup this season, relying heavily on the top trio of Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov and Jamie Benn to carry the offensive weight. The team traded Devin Shore earlier in the year to bring in a new face in Andrew Cogliano, and it now sounds like they might be considering moving some of the other disappointing names. The above mentioned trio of trade candidates have combined for just six goals and 27 points this season, with Janmark leading the way with 15 of those. The 26-year old forward was a 19-goal man a year ago, but has been snake-bitten all season and is shooting just 4.3%.

Janmark and Ritchie are both restricted free agents with arbitration rights at the end of the season while Nichushkin is under contract for another season at a $2.95MM cap hit. The latter is younger than the other two, but also has failed to score a single goal this season in his return to North American and is routinely seeing fewer than 12 minutes of ice time in recent weeks. It’s hard to trade an asset in that situation, given Nichushkin is at his absolute lowest value right now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Dallas Forward Devin Shore Out With Lower-Body Injury

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The Dallas Stars are having a hard time staying healthy. The team is already without top-six forward Alexander Radulov and defensemen John Klingberg, Marc Methot and Connor Carrick, not to mention they have yet to see either Stephen Johns or Martin Hanzal hit the ice this season. That list has grown yet again, as forward Devin Shore is now expected to miss time as well due to a lower-body injury. Stars head coach Jim Montgomery told the media that Shore is expected to miss a minimum of seven to ten days.

Shore, 24, was off to a hot start this season. The University of Maine product is tied for fifth on the team in scoring behind five goals and six assists and has frequently been skating on the Stars’ top line. While Shore still has ample room to grow into a more offensively involved player, his 50-point pace was easily making 2018-19 look like his best season yet. The 2012 second-round pick has finished in the low thirties in back-to-back 82-game seasons to begin his NHL career. The question now is whether Shore will be able to bounce back quickly and get back to his current scoring clip or if an extended absence or slow return could send him back toward that 30-point projection.

While Shore is out, the Stars will have to call upon their depth once again. The team recently recalled Denis Gurianov from AHL Texas and will likely ask he, Mattias Janmark, Gemel Smith, and free agency addition Blake Comeau to take larger roles. This could be an opportunity for 2018 re-draft Adam Mascherin to make his NHL debut as well. Dallas is in the bottom third in the league in scoring as is and will have to find some suitable replacement for Shore’s production while he remains sidelined.

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