Snapshots: Byron, Lindback, Bettman
With the departures of Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk this summer, Paul Byron has seen his stock rise in Montreal. After breaking out with a 43-point campaign in 2016-17, Byron was again a top forward for the Canadiens last season with 35 points and a second consecutive 20-goal season. While the team’s trades have brought in the likes of Max Domi and Tomas Tatar, Byron is now one of the elder statesmen in the Habs forward corps and will be looked upon to take another step forward this year. Byron underwent off-season shoulder surgery and is focused on working his way back to full strength in training camp, with the Canadiens certainly hoping that he will be fully prepared for the regular season. One way or another, Byron’s production in 2018-19 will play a major role in Montreal’s season. Some fans see the 28-year-old impending free agent going the way of Pacioretty and being shipped out of town before he can walk next off-season. Others see him as part of the team new core moving forward. The latter philosophy gained some credence today when Sportsnet’s Eric Engels spoke with Byron. Byron stated that his agent and GM Marc Bergevin have had preliminary extension talks, although he admitted that all parties are interested in how his shoulder recovery and resulting scoring ability pan out. Byron added “I want to stay, I think they want to keep me. Hopefully we’ll get something done soon.” It seems that perhaps the Habs are moving on from trading away core pieces and could look to keep a healthy Byron around beyond this season.
- While yesterday’s signing of Anders Lindback by HC Davos of the Swiss NLA is newsworthy enough – the veteran goaltender spent last year in the AHL and has 130 NHL games to his credit – the team’s reason for signing him will also have reverberations in the NHL. Davos was a playoff team in the NLA last season behind their young tandem of Gilles Senn, 22, and Joren van Pottelberghe, 21, and with both keepers still under contract, there was some question as to why the team felt the need to bring in a third goalie of Lindback’s pedigree. Swiss news source Tages Anzeiger reports that the age and performance of those goalies is the exact reason the team decided to move forward with a new starter. Both Senn and van Pottelberghe are NHL draft picks; Senn was selected as an overage player by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round of 2017, while van Pottelberghe was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round when first eligible in 2015. Given their success, Davos was unable to convince either to abandon their plan of making the jump to North America next season, after their current contracts end, to begin the next stage of their careers. Rather than be left without any experienced goalies heading into next season, Davos decided to sign Lindback to a one-year deal to see if he could instead be their long-term solution. If Lindback meets expectations this year, expect an extension sometime over the course of the season.
- Elsewhere on the international stage, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is very happy about the league’s growing relationship with China. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are currently overseas in the second O.R.G. NHL China Games, after the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks squared off last fall. Per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Bettman sees this as just the beginning and has big plans for China. In fact, Bettman stated at a press conference on Friday that he envisions regular season games in China in the future, similar to the games planned in Sweden and Finland this season. With the Chinese government and several large companies committed to building rinks and arenas across the country, it’s fair to say that hockey has already made an impact and will only continue to grow in popularity in the world’s most populous country. Bettman acknowledges that no formal talks have been had about regular season games yet, but more preseason games are being scheduled and the league only stands to benefit from a continued presence in China.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens
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.
Montreal Canadiens
Current Cap Hit: $71,687,975 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (three years, $925K)
F Nikita Scherbak (one year, $863K)
D Noah Juulsen (two years, $863K)
F Artturi Lehkonen (one year, $839K)
D Victor Mete (two years, $748K)
Potential Bonuses:
Kotkaniemi: $2.5MM
Juulsen: $425K
Mete: $183K
Scherbak: $175K
Total: $3.28MM
It’s too early to tell if the Canadiens intend to thrust Kotkaniemi onto an NHL roster. Most people feel that the third-overall pick from this year’s draft still needs another year to get bigger and develop his skills, but Montreal is desperate for help at the center position and could consider the 18-year-old to make the leap. Regardless, whether he comes to the NHL now of in the near future, the team does have a franchise center they can look forward to placing into the top-six soon.
Mete had a turbulent rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp. The 20-year-old was brought in to complement Weber due to his speed and puckhandling skills, but he struggled at times and eventually was moved out of the top four and was almost sent back to juniors. In the end, the youngster played 49 games, but with a year of experience under his belt, he is expected to take on a top-four role this season. Juulsen is another solid prospect who should get some time, although more likely in a third-pairing situation.
Scherbak could be the most interesting player. The 22-year-old was a point-a-game player with the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but when recalled to Montreal, he was immediately injured and wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunity. Scherbak didn’t get the minutes once he returned, scoring four goals in 26 games. However, he might get a chance to gain a regular role this year if he can make a strong impression in camp this year.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Max Pacioretty ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Plekanec ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($1.85MM, RFA)
F Paul Byron ($1.17MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Antti Niemi ($950K, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($725K, RFA)
D Xavier Ouellet ($700K, RFA)
F Charles Hudon ($650K, UFA)
Much has been said about Pacioretty over the past few months and even in the past week, but as of now, it looks like the 29-year-old is going to end up back on the first line, barring a trade. The team captain is coming off a disappointing 17-goal season after five straight years of 30-goal campaigns (not including the strike-shortened season in 2012-13). The team will have to determine whether they believe last year’s season was a fluke or whether he’s beginning to decline. The team has already committed to several major contracts and adding another one could be detrimental to a team who should rebuild. If he can prove his value with a bounce back season, the team may look to lock him up.
The 35-year-old Plekanec returns after the team traded him away at the trade deadline. He lacks the offense from the old days, but Plekanec still provides an excellent presence as a bottom-six center who has the experience and solid face-off skills, although his six goals and 20 assists is a career low. Byron is coming off a pair of 20-goal seasons for the Canadiens, but is expected to miss part of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in April. However, the 29-year-old has to prove that he can continue his goal-scoring ways.
The team hopes to get a boost from Armia, who came over when the Canadiens took on Steve Mason‘s contract from Winnipeg. The 25-year-old got a full season in with a loaded Jets roster and tallied 12 goals and 29 points. With a bigger role in Montreal, he could become a solid 20-goal scorer. The remainder of players will have to prove their value if they want to come back.
Two Years Remaining
F Max Domi ($3.15MM, RFA)
D David Schlemko ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Matthew Peca ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($950K, UFA)
F Jacob de La Rose ($900, UFA)
The Canadiens gave up a quality player in Alex Galchenyuk in order to acquire Domi. The highly-touted winger has struggled in the NHL over the past couple of years and it probably isn’t a good sign that the Arizona Coyotes gave up on the 23-year-old already, suggesting they didn’t feel that he was going to contribute to their team this year. After a impressive rookie season in which he scored 18 goals and 52 points, he has failed to break double-digits in goals in each of the past two seasons since then. Regardless, Montreal is ready to hand him top-six minutes to prove his value and show that he’s better than Arizona thought he was.
Schlemko provides the team with another depth defenseman, but likely isn’t going to play top-four minutes for the team, while the team has high hopes that Deslauriers can duplicate a 10-goal season on the team’s energy line.
Three Years Remaining
D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($3.08MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($750K, UFA)
While many players had down years, Gallagher was the bright spot for the Canadiens as the 26-year-old broke the 30-goal mark last season for the first time and has established himself as top right wing on the team. It was a big improvement from his injury-riddled 10-goal campaign the previous year. Suddenly, at $3.75MM over the next three years, his contract is likely the best value on the team. The team also gave Danault a solid three-year extension. The 25-year-old only had eight goals and 25 points, but would be a more ideal third-line center. Unfortunately, with a hole at the second-line center, Danault has been thrust into a role he wasn’t ready for. We’ll see if he can handle that same role this season.
The team is paying a lot of money for Petry, who is one of the team’s most experienced defenseman with the injury to Weber, and the veteran should be able to handle the No. 1 duties for the time being. The 30-year-old blueliner showed off some offensive skills last year, posting a career-high 12 goals and 42 points.
Four Or More Years Remaining
G Carey Price ($10.5MM through 2025-26)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
D Karl Alzner ($4.63MM through 2021-22)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM through 2021-22)
The timing of Price’s poor season could have been better after the team extended the netminder last offseason. Now after a major drop off in performance after many felt he was the best goaltender in the world, the $10.5MM deal that kicks in this season, suddenly looks quite undesirable. After a season in which he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 62 games, Price struggled with injuries and struggled all year behind Montreal’s weakened blueline. He put up a 3.11 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 49 games. The question is which Price will come back this year? If he can bounce back and perform even close to his 2016-17 statistics, that contract wouldn’t look to be quite as bad.
Unfortunately, Weber’s contract is another story. The 33-year-old blueliner still has eight years left on his contract, only managed to play 26 games last season after he was forced to undergo surgery on a torn tendon in his foot and now is expected to miss a large chunk of the season with the possibility of returning in mid-December. While a dominant defenseman when healthy, one has to wonder whether a major foot injury may alter the impact that Weber makes for the rest of his career, considering his advancing age and the way that speed has taken the league over recently. Whether the team can keep him on the ice for another year or two, let alone eight, will be something to closely monitor.
The team has high expectations will be able to bounce back after his struggles to adapt to the center position. Drouin will continue to play there this season and with a full season of experience and a chance to train there in the preseason, Drouin should be much more comfortable, centering the team’s top line. The third-overall pick from the 2013 draft, Drouin has all the talent to make the adjustment and give the team a top-six center. However, his numbers took a hit with the change in positions as he managed just 13 goals and 46 points on the year. The team also has high expectations that Alzner, the team’s big free-agent signing a year ago, will bounce back as well. The veteran defenseman had trouble getting integrated with his new team as well as having to deal with the expectations that came with the contract he signed. However, with a year of experience, he should be able to settle into top-four role this season.
Buyouts
G Mason ($1.37MM through 2019-20)
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: Gallagher
Worst Value: Weber
(Excluding entry-level contracts)
Looking Ahead
The team has all the contracts of a team trying to rebuild with youth. Unfortunately, it also has two contracts that are going to weigh down the franchise for eight more years, which is a long time, especially when some of the young players begin to develop and will need new contracts of their own. While the contract of Price might not seem as bad if the veteran goaltender can rebound, it’s likely that Weber’s deal will be a major albatross and it’s way too early to even consider trading that contract or buying it out. Regardless, the team needs to rebuild despite their strange salary cap situation. The addition of Kotkaniemi, regardless of when he arrives to the team, is a start to the rebuild, even if the team won’t acknowledge that’s what they’re doing.
Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Barkov, Canadiens
While the Boston Bruins added a couple of small, but important pieces to their team this offseason in goaltender Jaroslav Halak and defenseman John Moore, their two biggest Atlantic Division rivals seem to be working at a much bigger scale. The Toronto Maple Leafs have already successfully signed superstar center John Tavares to a long-term deal, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are trying hard to acquire superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Those two moves (although nothing is definite about Karlsson going to Tampa) suggest that maybe Boston isn’t doing enough to improve their own team. The team looks like they lost veteran Rick Nash who is still trying to decide if he intends to return to the NHL and hasn’t added much to their forward core this season. No doubt Boston general manager Don Sweeney is trying to work the trade market in hopes of picking up a Jeff Skinner or Artemi Panarin. However, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that there is nothing wrong if the team can acquire such a player, but the team needs to stay the course and not overreact to the whatever the Maple Leafs or Lightning do.
Haggerty writes the team had a plan at the end of the season and they need to stick to it, which means the team must hold onto their talented young players and not consider moving them for big-name players. The team already had a plan in place in hopes to upgrade its team, using prospects and pieces such as Torey Krug and Anders Bjork. However, the team also needs to keep their elite young players like Charlie McAvoy and Jake Debrusk, because they will need them to stay with the organization for the next decade. The team shouldn’t panic and attempt to grab a big-name player if it will cost them their long-term future.
- The Florida Panthers could be making major shakeups in their lineups next season, according to Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel. With the addition of more talent this season, including Mike Hoffman and a host of young talent, coach Bob Boughner has a lot of option for loading up his top line which features star Aleksander Barkov. The talented center has spent much of the last three years playing alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgeni Dadonov, who arrived last season. However, with Hoffman and how well forward Nick Bjugstad played on the top line at times last season, it’s likely Barkov could get all new linemates next season, giving the team more depth on both their second and third lines.
- Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette writes that the Montreal Canadiens have done nothing to get better this offseason. The scribe writes that when you finished the season as the 28th worst team in the league, you need to make big changes. Instead, the team’s biggest trade of Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi didn’t make the team better, especially since most experts believe that Arizona won the deal, but at best it’s a wash. Then the team’s biggest free agent signing was bringing back Tomas Plekanec, who isn’t the same player he once was and since he spent the majority of the season with Montreal last season, also can’t be anything more than a wash as well. The scribe also points out that if the team was rebuilding then they wouldn’t have tried so hard to go after Tavares or Paul Stastny this offseason. It just looks like another down year in Montreal.
Pittsburgh Made Rust, Sheary, Simon Available In Max Domi Negotiations
Josh Yohe of The Athletic has some of the best sources inside the Pittsburgh Penguins, and in a piece (subscription required) detailing the potential availability of Phil Kessel this summer—something Yohe confirms is possible, though takes the Arizona Coyotes out of the running for financial reasons—he reports some of the players made available in GM Jim Rutherford‘s recent pursuit of Max Domi. The Penguins were willing to talk about Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Dominik Simon, though what the exact offer for Domi was is unclear. The Coyotes would eventually trade Domi to the Montreal Canadiens instead for Alex Galchenyuk.
Rutherford is known as an executive willing to trade, and there has been no denying that he’d like to improve his club. As soon as Domi was rumored to be available many reports linked him to the Penguins, but it was never clear what kind of value the team would put on him. Now it’s clear, as all three of the mentioned players are important pieces to the Pittsburgh attack.
Rust may be the most interesting name, after a 38-point season that saw him become one of the most versatile and effective forwards on the roster. Contributing on the powerplay and penalty kill while putting up some of the team’s best possession numbers, Rust is a perfect fit for a club that wants to spread offense across three lines. He can play both wings and has bounced between several groups over the last two seasons. He also is 26 and a restricted free agent however, meaning he’s due for a raise and is closing in on UFA status. After earning an average of $640K in each of the last two seasons, he’ll cost the Penguins a lot more this time around. Any multi-year deal is buying out unrestricted free agent years, and should send his cap hit skyrocketing despite his pedestrian goal totals.
Sheary on the other hand is already signed for two more seasons at a $3MM cap hit, but could be replaceable for the team if they can find offense somewhere else. The 25-year old saw his ice time drop to under 14 minutes a night this season and without anything to offer on the penalty kill his role is limited to an offensive presence. That point production dropped significantly from the 2016-17 season, and while Sheary still scored 18 goals this year he recorded just 30 points.
Simon lands somewhere else on the value chart, as he’s both a restricted free agent this summer and hasn’t yet shown he can handle the NHL on a full-time basis. The 23-year old was good this year in his 33-game stint, scoring 12 points and recording solid possession numbers, but with just 38 NHL games under his belt since being drafted in 2015 it’s not clear yet what he can really become.
When presented with the choice of these players or Galchenyuk, it makes sense that Arizona would take Montreal’s offer. We don’t know though how the negotiations took place exactly, and instead can only take from this report that the Penguins would be willing to move each of the three for the right return. While that’s not very surprising given their GM’s propensity for trade, it gives us an idea of what to expect from Pittsburgh in the coming weeks.
Rutherford Eyeing Trade Market To Improve Penguins
Changes are coming in Pittsburgh this off-season, but GM Jim Rutherford is “not even really thinking about free agency right now”. Speaking with Josh Yohe of the Athletic, Rutherford admits that “we won’t really have the cap space to do anything anyway. We’re going to re-sign some of our restricted free agents. And at that point, we’re around the cap.” The Penguins need to re-sign RFA’s Bryan Rust, Riley Sheahan, Daniel Sprong, Jamie Oleksiak and more and even with the expected increase to the salary cap limit will only have $8-12MM maximum to work with. The team could make a couple additional minor moves here and there on the unrestricted free agent market, but Rutherford is correct that team is strapped for the cap space to make any significant signings this summer, at least as things stand now.
As a result, it is the trade market that Rutherford is more interested in. The team has already stated that they don’t plan to buy out any of their current players, but they could look to move them via trade. Atop that list are likely wingers Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick. In fact, the blue line appears to be the most likely area for a player to be traded away, as the team enters next season with six veterans under contract and Oleksiak and Frank Corrado as restricted free agents. Rutherford stated to Yohe that defenseman Brian Dumoulin is the most untouchable player on the back end due to his invaluable defensive play, and also expressed his fondness for Oleksiak and Olli Maatta as well. Rutherford said that the front office is optimistic that Kris Letang and Hunwick will perform better next year and were happy with the play of Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel as they made up for Letang’s and Hunwick’s shortcomings respectively this season. However, Rutherford added that his comfort with this group doesn’t mean that won’t make a change.
The goal in making any deal is to improve the depth and youth of the Penguins’ forward corps. This explains why the team was connected to Max Domi recently, before he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens last week. The team is seeking versatility and upside up front and are willing to move substantial assets to get it, but Rutherford wasn’t willing to part with the Alex Galchenyuk-level ask from the Arizona Coyotes for Domi. Rutherford knows that even if he does nothing this summer, Pittsburgh will still be a contender, and as such he does not need to overpay in any trade. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not going anywhere and Rutherford has already confirmed that he is not shopping Phil Kessel. It’s safe to assume that young winger Jake Guentzel and new acquisition Derick Brassard are also safe. That is already shaping up to be a solid group yet again and the internal addition of younger players should add energy and potential. However, Rutherford’s preference still is to add depth and even more youth if he can to combat the injuries and fatigue that hurt his aging roster last year. Those are the moves he is looking to make this summer and it seems inevitable that at least one such transaction will be made by the expert executive. They may not be three-peat champions, but the Penguins are going to re-stock and be dangerous again in 2018-19.
Arizona’s Moves Continue To Improve Coyotes Team
With the recent acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk, the Arizona Coyotes are well on their way to taking another step towards building a winning team in the desert. If you add the players Arizona acquired last year at this time, a full year under the belt of coach Rick Tocchet and the continued development of their young players, the team seems to be heading in the right direction and the team is starting to get excited.
Throw in franchise defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson as someone who sees the changes. Many thought Ekman-Larsson might spurn the struggling franchise, yet he agreed to sign an eight-year, $66MM extension last week. Just last year, the team went out and traded their first-round pick (seventh overall) to the New York Rangers and picked up two key pieces to their team in center Derek Stepan and goaltender Antti Raanta. Stepan has continued his solid play, while Raanta put up a solid second half of the season after an injury-plagued first half, putting up a 2.24 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 47 games. He has also been rewarded with a three-year, $12.75MM extension, which kicks in this year. Chayka also went out and traded for veteran defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers in separate deals last year.
While many people felt that after a flurry of moves a year ago, the Coyotes would make a huge jump in the standings, that didn’t happen, especially after starting the season with an 11-game losing streak. However, their second half showed more of that improvement as the team had a stretch towards the end of the season in which it went 17-8-3.
Regardless, there seems to be a lot going right for the Coyotes right now, according to NBC Sports’ James O’Brien. The scribe points out some key facts, including the initial reaction to the Galchenyuk deal has been positive. While it’s too early to tell, Galchenyuk’s chances of becoming a solid player is quite a bit higher than Max Domi, who the Coyotes sent back to Montreal. Assuming that Galchenyuk can make the conversion to center, that would relieve some stress from the team’s lack of depth at that position. Now if the team wants to move Dylan Strome or Christian Dvorak to the wing position, there won’t be extra pressure to keep him at center due to their lack of depth.
One other key factor is the team still has an enormous amount of young players who could be ready to take that next step. Clayton Keller scored 23 goals in his rookie year and could improve on that exponentially. Other players like Dvorak, Jakob Chychrun, Strome, Brendan Perlini and Christian Fischer could also take that next step. And don’t forget the sixth pick in next week’s draft.
The team also still has plenty of cap space available with more than $18MM in space waiting for them to use. They could dip into the free agency market or continuing to add players through trade. However, with the way Chayka is constantly tweaking this team, there are likely more changes to come.
Reactions to Alex Galchenyuk-Max Domi Trade
The first big trade of the offseason hit the NHL Friday when the Montreal Canadiens sent forward Alex Galchenyuk to the Arizona Coyotes for youngster Max Domi in a rare one-for-one deal. For Montreal, the Canadiens finally move on from a forward, who failed in their experiment to move him to the center position and while they didn’t get a center in return for the 24 year old, they have high expectations for the 23-year-old Domi to step in at a cheaper price. For Arizona, this gives the team another established scorer to potentially pair with Derek Stepan and push Arizona out of the cellar in the Pacific Division.
Here’s a rundown from across the league:
- While there is a lot we don’t know, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that Galchenyuk was a valuable asset for Montreal, who put up a 30-goal season while playing center for the team and for reasons that will never entirely be clear, the team decided he couldn’t play that position again. Basu writes that Montreal needed a center desperately, but the team opted not to work with him, or build his confidence or let Galchenyuk know they believed in him. Instead, they did the opposite of that, pointing out his defensive deficiencies, especially publically. The scribe writes the Canadiens didn’t want to give him an opportunity last season to return to the center position, because they feared had he played well, it would make the organization look bad.
- Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that despite failing to succeed in Montreal, the Arizona Coyotes are looking for Galchenyuk to play some center this coming season, potentially even taking the No. 2 center spot behind Derek Stepan. “I think having depth at that position and having players who can play that position is something that we desired in this trade,” said Coyotes general manager John Chayka Friday after the trade. “He’s had success playing the centre position. I don’t think we’d make this trade if we didn’t think he had the ability to play centre.”
- TSN’s Frank Seravalli writes that the trading of Galchenyuk reminds him of a trade last year when the St. Louis Blues traded for Brayden Schenn and turned him into a full-time center. Back then people had said that Schenn couldn’t play the center position either, but St. Louis got a great season out of Schenn and he proved that he could play there. Seravalli writes that Arizona hopes they can get the same spark out of Galchenyuk this season.
- AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan writes that Galchenyuk asked if he could move back to center earlier this season, but it never happened. He was told it wasn’t his job to worry about it and it was his job to produce whether as a winger or at center. Regardless, Galchenyuk wants to play center in Arizona. “You’re more involved in the game and I feel you touch the puck, you have the puck on your stick way more than a winger,” Galchenyuk said. “I feel really comfortable when I have the puck on my stick. I really believe in my offensive abilities when I have the puck.”
- Cowan also reported that while general manager Marc Bergevin has a policy about not talking about contract negotiations, the GM says that he expects winger Max Pacioretty to be back with the team next season. Could an extension be near?
- The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun writes that this trade should have no impact if Montreal attempts to acquire Buffalo center Ryan O’Reilly. The Sabres would have had no interest in Galchenyuk and would want a different mix of assets.
- Basu writes that Bergevin used the word “intangibles” multiple times while discussing Domi and why the Canadiens are a better team today.
- Cowan tweeted that Bergevin said that while Domi can play center, the team acquired him to play the wing position.
Canadiens Sign Max Domi To A Two-Year Contract
The Canadiens didn’t waste much time getting a new deal done with forward Max Domi. After acquiring him last night, the team announced that they have signed him to a two-year, $6.3MM contract. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the contract carries a base salary of $2.9MM plus a $250K signing bonus for each season.
The fact that he received a bridge deal doesn’t come as much of a surprise as he is coming off somewhat of a quiet season. While he picked up 45 points, he failed to hit the double-digit goal mark for the second straight year so it wasn’t likely that Montreal was going to commit to a long-term pact right away without seeing how he’d fit in first.
It will be interesting to see how Domi slots in with the Canadiens. The team is desperate for help at center but the 23-year-old has spent the majority of his three-year NHL career on the left wing although he did see some time down the middle in 2017-18. If he gets to play there and succeeds, he’ll position himself nicely for a long-term pact two years from now.
Regardless of which position he plays, the team will certainly be counting on more goal production from him after tallying just nine times in each of the last two years. On a team that struggles to score as much as Montreal does, the fact that they moved a goal scorer in Alex Galchenyuk for someone who is more of a pure playmaker certainly raised some eyebrows.
Domi will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of this deal and will have arbitration rights, something that he was not eligible for this time around.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coyotes Acquire Alex Galchenyuk From Canadiens For Max Domi
The first big trade of the 2018 off-season has dropped and to no surprise, the Arizona Coyotes are right in the middle of it. After making two minor deals on Thursday, Arizona GM John Chayka has made a much bigger trade, acquiring forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Montreal Canadiens. In return, Max Domi is headed to Montreal in a one-for-one swap. Both teams have confirmed the deal.
This trade is very much about both players getting a fresh start. Both Galchenyuk and Domi have been discussed as trade candidates this off-season and now they have been traded for one another. They are also similar in their struggles with both consistency and injury. Galchenyuk, the third overall pick in 2012, has shown flashes of brilliance but has yet to put it all together to reach his ceiling. Galchenyuk has 255 points in 418 NHL games, by no means a disappointing total, and even notched a 30-goal season in 2015-16. However, his scoring has been streaky and when he is not producing offense, his lack of a two-way defense game and difficulties at the face-off dot have become glaring. Under head coach Claude Julien, Galchenyuk struggled to find a defined role and lost play time as a result. On the other side of the deal is Domi, the 12th overall pick in 2013. After a breakout rookie campaign, Domi has been unable to produce at the same level the past two seasons. Altogether, he has 135 points in 222 games, but has failed to hit double-digit goals in each of the past two years and has also lost some of his two-way edge he displayed in year one. Like Galchenyuk, Domi’s issues at the dot and in playing a consistent well-rounded game had caused the Coyotes to question where he fit in their lineup.
The trade is even in many ways. The two players are almost identical in per-game scoring albeit Galchenyuk has done it over more seasons and clearly has a superior goal-scoring touch. Galchenyuk has a higher ceiling as an offensive producer but, while neither plays much of a physical game, Domi has shown a superior two-way ability and has been leaned on to play a bigger role in Arizona that Galchenyuk was ever asked of in Montreal. The deal is actually almost too similar, as both players get a much-need change, but both teams end up with the same type of player with positional questions and consistency issues. There is upside on both ends, but also bust potential for either acquisition. It is very much a gamble for both the Coyotes and Canadiens that their new player will somehow find their game in a way that the old player couldn’t. Both players are obviously talented, but need some work to reach their vast potential.
The only real significant difference in the deal could be a slight reprieve on the salary cap for Montreal. Galchenyuk is signed through 2019-20 at $4.9MM, while Domi is an impending restricted free agent who is unlikely to command that much given his recent struggles. While Galchenyuk will be an unrestricted free agent when his deal expires and could command market value, Domi is under team control for four more years. We will soon find out exactly how much the Canadiens value their new forward, as TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the team is already close on a new contract with Domi, indicating that this trade has been in the works for some time. LeBrun speculates that it will be a bridge deal; a reasonable assumption for a brand new player with some concerns to work through.
Free Agent Focus: Arizona Coyotes
Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Arizona’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agent: F Max Domi – The 12th-overall pick from 2013 is an enigma for the Coyotes, who have received flashes of dominance and bouts of inconsistency from Domi throughout his young career. Few would argue with 135 points in 232 games for any forward before his age-23 season, but there is clearly more to get out of Domi as he heads out of his entry-level contract. After spending time at center this season his point totals were boosted by a late-season run, but he failed to eclipse the 10-goal mark for the second consecutive year. Perhaps because of that relatively disappointing total, trade rumors have popped up around Domi with the Pittsburgh Penguins showing interest.
While nothing is certain for any NHL player, the future for Domi is particularly unclear. Does he sign a long-term deal with the Coyotes this season to be a core piece of their rebuild, anchoring the top-six alongside Clayton Keller and others? Is a short-term bridge deal a better option for a player who has yet to really show his full potential in the NHL? Do the Coyotes use this summer to cash in on their asset before he becomes too expensive, and try to acquire a more veteran presence to help them win in the near future? With GM John Chayka loathe to lose out on young inexpensive assets, trading Domi at this point seems like the opposite of the Coyotes model. Perhaps Arizona will show patience and accept his 6.0% shooting percentage in 2017-18 as more of a bargaining chip than reason to move him.
Other RFAs: F Freddie Hamilton, F Laurent Dauphin, G Sean Maguire, D Dakota Mermis, D Trevor Murphy, G Marek Langhamer, F Michael Bunting
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Kevin Connauton – The Coyotes face a much more difficult crop of unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niklas Hjalmarsson and others are scheduled to hit the free agent market. They also already dealt with Antti Raanta, their biggest question mark from this offseason, when they signed him to a new three-year extension. Still, Connauton has a pretty compelling case for a raise this summer from the $1MM he’s earned the last two years.
The 28-year old defenseman finished third on the Coyotes in scoring by defensemen with 21 points, and did so in limited minutes that included almost zero powerplay time. His 11 even-strength goals actually put him fourth on the entire team—not just among defensemen—and he tied for the lead with three game-winners. All that while playing just over 15 minutes a night, and getting relatively even zone starts (if not a little negative). There’s obviously an argument to be made to let Connauton walk, as the team will likely have Jakob Chychrun back and could get contributions from younger players—including perhaps one selected with the fifth-overall pick in the upcoming draft. His agent also recently told Craig Morgan of AZ Sports that like many other players, Connauton wants a bigger role. If that’s not possible in Arizona, perhaps he’ll find himself in a new sweater come October.
F Brad Richardson – Richardson’s fate may have been sealed when the Coyotes traded for Marcus Kruger in early May, as the former Carolina Hurricanes forward is expected to take over as the shutdown center for Arizona next season. The 33-year old Richardson then would be expendable, even if he has proven to be a big part of the leadership group for the club. His 15 points in 76 games this season were far from a career-high, but still represented a solid campaign for a player tasked with winning faceoffs and getting the puck out of his own end. Richardson had a whopping 66% defensive zone-start percentage, easily the highest on the Coyotes last season.
Centers are difficult to find on the open market, but there may be no room for Richardson any longer on a Coyotes team that is looking to contend for the playoffs in 2018-19. If Dylan Strome is truly ready to step into a full-time role in the NHL, it gives the team four—Derek Stepan, Christian Dvorak, Strome and Kruger—capable options down the middle with even more experience in other players on the roster. His market may lie elsewhere around the league as he’s proven himself a capable NHL option over the last decade.
Other UFAs: F Zac Rinaldo, D Luke Schenn, D Joel Hanley, F Pierre-Cedric Labrie, F Mike Sislo, F Tye McGinn
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images