The Best Deal Of The Offseason: Brad Marchand
When you think back on any signing season, your mind immediately goes to the big deals handed out to free agents. This season saw over $600MM dollars handed out on the first day of free agency, and was followed by a lucrative summer for tons of players. Because of the lack of a superstar name—thanks Steven, you couldn’t just wait another couple of days?—second-tier all-stars were given incredibly lucrative contracts. Recently, our Zach Leach took a look back at July 1st and the mistakes teams made, handing out term and money to players who were perhaps already over the hill.
But this offseason’s best deal may not have come until much later in the summer. In fact it didn’t happen in the summer at all, but on September 26th just a few weeks before the Boston Bruins would start their season. The Bruins were getting ready for their preseason debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets—a game they would lose in a shootout—while two thirds of their top line was prepping for the World Cup of Hockey final in Toronto.
It was that morning of the 26th that Bob McKenzie of TSN would report that the Bruins had completed a contract extension with Brad Marchand that would see him stay in Boston for another eight years. He would be paid $6.125MM each season with several different clauses attached. Even though he was starring at the World Cup alongside Sidney Crosby—and would score the tournament winning goal just a few days later, shorthanded with 44 seconds left—many people thought the deal was a huge overpay. In fact, the replies to McKenzie’s tweet are mixed at best, with it being hard to understand the value Marchand brought to the Bruins.
Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents
After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).
Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front. Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.
Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.
David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season. Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.
Washington Capitals Recall Aaron Ness; Matt Niskanen Out
After getting hit face-first into the boards by Patrice Bergeron in yesterday’s game, Matt Niskanen is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will be out for the Washington Capitals next matchup. To replace him, the team has called up Aaron Ness from the Hershey Bears Thursday afternoon.
Ness was originally acquired by the Capitals in 2015 after the Islanders let him hit free agency. The former captain of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Ness fit right in with the Bears last season, scoring 27 points during the regular season and being a huge part of their run to the Calder Cup finals. He also spent eight games with the Capitals in 2015-16, recording two assists and not looking out of place.
The former second-round (40th overall) pick of the Islanders is a smooth skating defenseman who can make an excellent outlet pass and rack up points. At 26 he’s not exactly young, but could still develop into at least a part-time NHL player. He’ll have big shoes to fill in Washington however, as Niskanen was logging over 22 minutes a night this season and skated on both special teams.
Following the Niskanen hit, Bergeron will receive no addition discipline from the league. The Capitals defender however isn’t travelling to Buffalo with the team and will be re-evaluated daily.
Full List Of Mandatory-Protection Players In Expansion Draft
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has published the full list of players who, due to no-movement clauses in their current contracts, must be protected in the upcoming expansion draft for the new Vegas Golden Knights. These are players who will count against the protection limits should they choose not to waive their NMC rights prior to the draft.
Each team has the right to protect either:
A) Seven forwards, three defenders, one goaltender
or
B) Eight skaters, one goaltender
These players will count against those numbers, and as Johnston points out, there are some notable inclusions and omissions from this group. Players like Jordan Staal, Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan all had incorrect information spread about their contracts. The former two will now need protection, while the latter will not, due to his deal only having a no-movement to the minors clause.
The Chicago Blackhawks, with eight players listed, will have little flexibility at the draft, with only four forward spots (or one defenseman) left to use. Many others, according to Johnston, including Toronto’s Nathan Horton, are likely to be made exempt if they are still on LTIR as the draft approaches.
Bruins Notes: Chara, Pastrnak, Miller
The Boston Bruins are off to a solid 11-8-0 start to the year, and much of the success has to be attributed to the tight defensive hockey the team is playing. That might take a hit over the next two games, as the team has officially announced that Zdeno Chara will miss tomorrow’s game against the Ottawa Senators, and is questionable for Friday’s matchup. Without Chara, the Bruins’ and their 6th place ranking with 44 goals against is in jeopardy. Even at his advanced age (39), the Solvakian defender is a monster on the ice, limiting goal opportunities and dominating puck battles.
- The team will get David Pastrnak back though, in a hope that his added offense will equal out the defensive loss. The Bruins’ leading goal scorer this season was out for two games this weekend before returning to practice today. Skating alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, the former first-round pick has 10 goals in 14 games, on pace to shatter his career-high of 15. At just 20-years old Pastrnak looks like he’s developing into a top-line winger, capable of skating opposite Marchand for many years. Coach Claude Julien says he’s likely to play “unless there’s a setback tomorrow”.
- Kevan Miller was also cleared to return to practice today, and took a regular turn alongside Joe Morrow among Boston’s defense pairings. While Julien wouldn’t say whether Miller would get back into the lineup, his return obviously lines up fairly well with Chara’s absence. “We’re going to have some decisions to make before tomorrow’s game” is all the coach would say. Miller has yet to suit up for a game this year after breaking his left hand and needing surgery prior to the season opener. The 29-year old played in 71 games for the club a season ago, notching 18 points and 53 penalty minutes.
Injury Notes: Hammond, Letang, Pietrangelo
After dealing for Mike Condon today to give himself some insurance, Ottawa Senators’ GM Peter Dorion says that Andrew Hammond is out for at least another week dealing with a groin injury. Hammond was placed on injured reserve last week.
While Hammond is out with a known injury, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen reports that the Craig Anderson situation is “very fluid”, meaning the goaltender may miss additional time during the year. Condon will fly to meet the Senators in Ottawa for tomorrow’s game against the Canucks.
- Kris Letang is back in uniform for Pittsburgh and will play tonight against Anaheim, says Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. Along with the top blueliner, the Penguins will be welcoming back Matt Murray to the ice as he gets his first start this season. Murray was nursing a broken hand suffered at the World Cup.
- The Blues have announced that Alex Pietrangelo will likely play tomorrow even though he didn’t practice today with the club. While he’s due for another evaluation in the morning, head coach Ken Hitchcock said he looks to be “OK” for tomorrow night.
- David Backes is back skating for the Boston Bruins, after receiving medical clearance yesterday. According to Claude Julien “everybody’s on track right now and heading in the right direction.” Practice was a little thin today as Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara and John-Michael Liles were all given the day off.
Atlantic Notes: Chabot, Panthers, Bergeron, Nylander, Leivo
The Ottawa Senators are expected to make a decision in the next few days regarding what to do with defenseman Thomas Chabot, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports (Twitter link). The 19 year old is one of several ‘slide-rule players’ who can play up to nine NHL games before the first year of their contract kicks in.
As Chabot was drafted out of the CHL, the Sens must return him to his junior team in Saint John (QMJHL) if they don’t want to keep him up with the big club; the AHL is not an option for him. So far, Ottawa has played him just once and only gave him 7:09 of action in that lone appearance so at first glance, it would seem likely that he will eventually be heading back to junior.
If they were to send him back, Ottawa may be on the lookout for a veteran depth defender as they were back in the offseason. Internally, a likely option to be recalled in the interim to take Chabot’s place would be Mike Kostka who spent time in that role with the Senators last season.
[Related: Senators Depth Chart]
More from the Atlantic:
- The Panthers are getting great value from a pair of under the radar free agent acquisitions over the summer, writes George Richards of the Miami Herald. Wingers Colton Sceviour and Jonathan Marchessault were lost among the dozens of early signings on July 1st but have been key contributors for Florida this season. Marchessault is tied for the league lead in goals while Sceviour is second on the team in points behind only Marchessault. Both players signed for under $1MM (Sceviour $950K and Marchessault $750K, both for two years), giving the Panthers two of the best bargains in the NHL through the first month of the season.
- Boston center Patrice Bergeron sustained a minor injury following Monday’s practice and is questionable for tonight’s game, reports CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty. The issue is not related to the lower body injury that he had earlier this season. Head coach Claude Julien wouldn’t rule out Bergeron playing but the team has called up prospect Sean Kuraly from their AHL affiliate in Providence in case he is unable to go. The team will also be without David Backes who recently underwent elbow surgery.
- The league announced that Toronto center William Nylander has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month. While Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have garnered the most attention, Nylander is tied for the league lead in multi-point games this season with four. He leads all rookies in scoring with 11 points (4-7-11). The Leafs also announced that winger Josh Leivo has been sent to the AHL on a long-term injury conditioning loan. This loan typically lasts a maximum of six days or three games.
Morning Snapshots: Backes, Trouba, Rantanen, Boychuk
Former Blues captain David Backes inked one of the richest deals of the offseason when he left the mid-west to join the Boston Bruins on a five-year, $30MM deal. While Backes is an excellent two-way player, many criticized the length of the contract given to the 32-year-old C/RW. However, teams today seem to realize that is an inherent risk of free agency and generally hope to see surplus value in the earlier years of the pact.
Backes is only four games into his Bruins career yet the early returns are solid – two goals and three points. But as the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa writes, the biggest benefit of the Backes addition may be in how it’s allowed bench boss Claude Julien to balance out his lines to better take advantage of the skill-sets of his other forwards.
With Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup, he joins Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on the Bruins top line. Backes, meanwhile, is slotted in as the second line RW with rookie Danton Heinen on the left of veteran pivot David Krejci. The left-handed Heinen and right-handed Backes give Krejci two wings who play on their strong side and allow the gifted center to deliver passes to his linemates’ forehands. As Shinzawa notes, Krejci has had some of his best seasons when he’s “had a right-hand strongman clearing space on his wing.” In past years, Nathan Horton, Jarome Iginla and Blake Wheeler have provided Krejci with just that and now he has Backes.
More from around the NHL:
- The Jacob Trouba saga in Winnipeg appears no closer to a resolution, as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes. Trouba and his agent, Kurt Overhardt, recently made public the defenseman’s request to be traded citing a desire to play top-four minutes on his natural, right side. With Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien under contract with the Jets for at least the next three years, that opportunity didn’t appear to be in Winnipeg. For their part, the Jets have understandably placed a high price tag on Trouba, rumored to be a left-handed defenseman of comparable age and talent to the former first-round draft choice. According to LeBrun, the club hasn’t received an offer to their liking and are prepared to wait it out until they do. There is a hard deadline of December 1st; if Trouba is not under contract at that point he won’t be eligible to play this season.
- The Colorado Avalanche appear poised to recall prospect Mikko Rantanen next week from San Antonio of the AHL, writes Mike Chambers of The Denver Post. Rantanen has been with the Rampage since the start of the season in what has effectively been a conditioning assignment as he works his way back from an ankle injury suffered during training camp. The Avalanche used their first-round selection in the 2015 draft to select Rantanen and the Finnish forward debuted in the NHL in 2015-16, appearing in nine games for the Avalanche. Chambers speculates the team will make room on their 23-man roster by placing veteran center John Mitchell on IR or by sending Gabriel Bourque or Ben Smith to San Antonio.
- Zach Boychuk, who has appeared in 127 NHL games over parts of seven seasons with Carolina, Pittsburgh and Nashville, has inked a pact of HC Sibir of the KHL according to this link, re-tweeted by Cap Friendly (original link in Russian). Boychuk was chosen in the first-round of the 2008 draft by Carolina and has scored 12 goals and 30 points during his NHL career. He has had more success in the minors, once tallying 36 goals and 74 points while playing for Charlotte of the AHL during the 2013-14 campaign.
Atlantic Notes: Cowen, Larkin, Bergeron, Koekkoek
The Maple Leafs and Jared Cowen held their arbitration hearing on Wednesday regarding the contested buy out of his contract back in June, notes Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star. Toronto opted to pay Cowen $750K in each of the next two seasons over carrying his $3.1MM cap hit (and $4.5MM salary) for 2016-17. Doing so created a $650K cap credit for this year and a charge of $750K next season.
However, the CBA stipulates that an injured player cannot be bought out and Cowen and his representatives are contending that he remained injured with long-term hip problems at the time the Leafs executed the buyout. Cowen was acquired late last season as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade but Toronto allowed him to go home early to work on rehabbing his hip.
If Cowen wins and has his contract reinstated, the Leafs will technically be over the salary cap. However, given that Cowen isn’t healthy enough to play, he would be eligible to be placed on long-term injury reserve which would get them back under. There is no timetable for the arbitrator to make his decision.
More from the Atlantic:
- Detroit’s Dylan Larkin is off to a slow start this season but as Ansar Khan of MLive writes, part of his struggles could be attributed to his conversion back to center. Last season – in his rookie campaign – the team often played him on the left wing to take some of the pressure off of him. With long-time Red Wing Pavel Datsyuk now retired from the NHL, the team needs Larkin to step into his vacated position at center. Through four games, the 20 year old has a single assist and a -5 rating although he has been a bit better at the faceoff dot, winning 44.4% of his draws which is above his 41% mark from last season.
- Boston center Patrice Bergeron is on track to make his season debut tonight against New Jersey, Joe Haggerty of CSN New England reports. He has missed the first three games of the season so far and should step back into his top line role assuming there are no setbacks. Boston coach Claude Julien also noted that defenseman Adam McQuaid won’t play against the Devils but he believes the blueliner is only a few days away from returning to the lineup.
- The Lightning re-assigned defenseman Slater Koekkoek to the minors yesterday but Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times believes that the demotion will be a short-lived one. Koekkoek has yet to play this season despite making the opening night roster and with him being waiver exempt, he’s expected to get into a couple of AHL games to stay in game shape before being recalled sometime next week.
Snapshots: Bruins Injuries, Crosby, Lindgren, Lindback
Judging by their roster to start the new season, the Boston Bruins’ new colors might be black and blue. Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid, and Kevan Miller will all miss the season opener in Columbus on Thursday night.
While Bergeron and McQuaid are considered day-to-day with lower and upper body injuries respectively, Miller will miss approximately six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand.
- Sidney Crosby practiced with the full Penguins this morning. Crosby took a line rush, then changed into a non-contact jersey, according to Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Crosby’s participation lessened throughout the practice, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Crosby will not play in the Penguins season opener on Thursday.
- With Carey Price expected to miss the Canadiens season opener with the flu, Montreal has recalled goalie Charlie Lindgren to backup for Al Montoya in Buffalo on Thursday night.
- The New Jersey Devils will not be signing goaltender Anders Lindback after his PTO, according to Andrew Gross of the New Jersey Record. Lindback was brought in to cover for Cory Schneider while he was away at the World Cup of Hockey.