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Patrick Marleau

Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

November 29, 2020 at 1:01 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 8 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  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 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

San Jose Sharks

Current Cap Hit: $79,146,667 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Mario Ferraro (two years, $925K)
F Danil Yurtaykin (one year, $925K)
F Lean Bergmann (two years, $837K)
F Fredrik Handemark (one year, $793K)
F Noah Gregor (one year, $768K)
F Alexander True (one year, $763K)
F Joachim Blichfeld (one year, $737K)

Potential Bonuses:

Ferraro: $213K
Bergmann: $133K
Handemark: $133K
Gregor: $65K
True: $20K
Blichfeld: $20K

Total: $584K

The Sharks are overloaded with plenty of prospects on entry-level deals. The team sampled many of those players last year in hopes of finding some bottom-six depth, but very few players were able to make their mark last year. The most obvious success was the play of Ferraro, who established himself as an NHL defenseman after spending two years at the University of Massachussets-Amherst playing alongside Cale Makar, and now will battle for a top-four spot in the Sharks’ lineup this year. While his offense is still coming around, the defenseman is a hard-worker and impressive locker room presence already after one season and should only get better.

Another player who should get a legitimate opportunity at center for San Jose is Handemark. The 27-year-old SHL veteran has been solid presence in Sweden for years and now will bring his talents over to San Jose in hopes of adding to the team’s bottom-six depth. Handemark had career highs of 14 goals and 38 points in 52 games and should replace the spot formerly held by Joe Thornton. The rest are less likely to make the squad unless one of them can prove they can handle a bottom-six role.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Devan Dubnyk ($2.17MM, UFA)
F Ryan Donato ($1.9MM, RFA)
F Marcus Sorensen ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($925K, UFA)
F Patrick Marleau ($700K, UFA)
F Matthew Nieto ($700K, UFA)
F Antti Suomela ($700K, UFA)
F Dylan Gambrell ($700K, RFA)

*- Minnesota is retaining an addition $2.17K of Dubnyk’s cap hit and salary

One of the most interesting acquisitions this offseason was bringing in both Dubnyk and Donato from Minnesota. Both be free agents in a year, although Dubnyk will be an unrestricted free agent. The team brought in the long-time Wild starter with the hopes that the 34-year-old might push for the starting goalie spot next season. Dubnyk is coming off one of his worst seasons in Minnesota after many solid seasons. The team hopes he can bounce back and solidify a weak position last year. The other piece to the trade with Minnesota was Donato, a highly-touted college prospect who is already on his fourth team in just three years. The Sharks hope that dropping him into a top-six situation might set the young forward off after scoring 14 goals last season.

For a minimum deal, the team will bring back Marleau, who has the opportunity to pass Gordie Howe for first place in the NHL in games played this season. Sorensen and Noesen should establish themselves in the bottom six. Sorensen looked on the verge of joining the top six after a 17-goal season in 2018-19, but came down to earth instead, scoring just seven goals. Noesen scored 13 goals in 2017-18 with New Jersey, something that San Jose hopes he can re-create this season. The same sentiment goes for veteran Matt Nieto signed out of Colorado.

Two Years Remaining

F Tomas Hertl ($5.63MM, UFA)
F Joel Kellman ($750K, UFA)
D Jacob Middleton ($725K, RFA)

Not much went right in San Jose last year and a major injury to Hertl, who tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee in January and had surgery in February to repair them. However, when healthy, Hertl was one of the team’s top players. He made the all-star game after posting 16 goals and 36 points in 48 games before the injury and was coming off a 35-goal season the previous year. If the team can get him healthy and have him bounce back in 2020-21, the team should be in good shape and have two seasons to observe his play before having to make a decision on a long-term deal.

Three Years Remaining

F Timo Meier ($6MM, RFA)

The 24-year-old forward has proven to be a solid, dependable goal scorer for the Sharks as he posted 22 goals and 49 points in 70 games last year. That’s a touch less than the 30 goals and 66 points he had in 78 games in 2018-19, but considering the type of season that San Jose had, he is still one of the core pieces for the next three years.Read more

Four Or More Years Remaining

D Erik Karlsson ($11.5MM through 2026-27)
F Logan Couture ($8MM through 2026-27)
D Brent Burns ($8MM through 2024-25)
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($7MM though 2026-27)
F Evander Kane ($7MM through 2024-25)
G Martin Jones ($5.75MM through 2023-24)
F Kevin Labanc ($4.73MM through 2023-24)
D Radim Simek ($2.25MM through 2023-24)

This is where the Sharks have failed, locking up all their aging veterans and the team is only beginning to feel the effects of all these long-term deals, many of which are on the wrong side of 30.

Karlsson hasn’t looked like the dominant blueliner they thought they acquired from Ottawa two years ago. Karlsson, now 30, has dealt with continual injuries in his two years in San Jose and despite solid numbers (six goals, 40 points in 56 games), the team was hoping for a game-changing player when they brought him aboard and signed him for an $11.5MM AAV. Burns is no different. The team has another five years of the 35-year-old blueliner, who saw a major drop off in points last season. After posting an 83-point campaign in 2018-19, Burns managed just 45 points last season and is starting to look his age. Don’t forget that the team also is investing seven more years in Vlasic, already 33 years old, who also has seen his game diminish on the ice.

On the forward end, Couture, 31 years old, is locked up for seven more years and the captain also dealt with injuries and posted just 16 goals last season in 52 games. The Sharks have to hope that he can bounce back this season or that contract too, could look like a mistake. The team also has to look at itself in the mirror after handing a four-year, $18.9MM deal to Labanc after a disappointing season where he scored just 14 goals and 33 points after scoring 17 goals and 56 points the previous year. A risky move after struggling last season. Kane was one of the few players that posted solid results for a second straight year. The 29-year-old did see his points total drop a bit, but Kane posted 26 goals in 64 games after scoring 30 goals the previous year in 75 games.

However, the biggest question mark has been the play of Jones in net. The 30-year-old has posted two straight subpar seasons with the exact same save percentage of .896 and continues to struggle. The team hopes that a new goalie coach and the addition of Dubnyk can change the outlook of Jones’ career, who the team still has four more years invested in.

Buyouts

None

Contract Terminations

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

F Jonathan Dahlen (RFA)
D Tony Sund (RFA)

Looking Ahead

The Sharks are hoping that several of their veteran players can get back on track in 2020-21 as most of their team struggled to one of their worst seasons of their franchise, a year when they thought they could challenge for the Stanley Cup. With so much money invested in a group of veterans, there is little money to provide significant depth, both in the top-six as well as in the bottom-six. To make matters worse, the team has quite a bit of young talent, but very few of them are ready to help the NHL club this coming season, leaving the team in a tough place if the veterans can’t return to form.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Antti Suomela| Brent Burns| Devan Dubnyk| Dylan Gambrell| Erik Karlsson| Evander Kane| Jacob Middleton| Joachim Blichfeld| Joel Kellman| Kevin Labanc| Logan Couture| Marc-Edouard Vlasic| Marcus Sorensen| Martin Jones| Matt Nieto| Patrick Marleau| Salary Cap Deep Dive 2020| San Jose Sharks

8 comments

Snapshots: Brassard, Marleau, World Championships

November 20, 2020 at 6:40 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Derick Brassard is one of quite a few veterans of note that are still without a contract as free agency concludes its sixth week.  He told Le Droit’s Marc Brassard that he turned down some overtures from European teams in the hopes of landing another NHL contract.  The 33-year-old had a good season with the Islanders in 2019-20, recording 10 goals and 22 assists in 66 games despite spending a fair bit of time in their bottom six but that hasn’t helped him land a deal thus far.  Brassard indicated that the Islanders haven’t ruled out the idea of him returning but until they get a contract done with RFA center Mathew Barzal, they’re limited in what else they can do at the moment.

More from around the hockey world:

  • Sharks winger Patrick Marleau sits 45 games shy of the all-time games played record in the NHL and depending on the length of the schedule next year and his health, he should have a chance of beating Gordie Howe’s mark. But if next season isn’t able to get going, the 41-year-old told NBC Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil that he’s already planning ahead to be ready for a 2021-22 campaign.  Marleau saw his numbers dip to career lows in 2019-20 with 11 goals and 11 assists in 66 games between San Jose and Pittsburgh and will likely have a limited role with the Sharks next season, assuming it’s able to be played.
  • After another lengthy list of tournaments being cancelled by the IIHF earlier this week, the World Championships is one of the few still standing but there are changes coming to that one. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that one of the venues for the tournament is being changed.  While Riga, Latvia will still host part of the event, the other host venue will be changed from Minsk, Belarus to Moscow, Russia.  Kennedy notes that meetings to finalize the plans are set for next week.

Derick Brassard| Free Agency| IIHF| New York Islanders| Patrick Marleau| San Jose Sharks| Snapshots| World Championships

0 comments

San Jose Sharks Sign Patrick Marleau, Matt Nieto

October 13, 2020 at 11:06 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

The San Jose Sharks have brought back a pair of familiar faces, signing Patrick Marleau and Matt Nieto to one-year contracts. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Marleau has signed for just $700K, while Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group adds that Nieto will also earn just $700K.

Marleau is obviously a franchise icon and is now just 45 games behind Gordie Howe for the all-time lead in NHL games played. He should break that this season if healthy and could eclipse 1,600 games with the Sharks. San Jose GM Doug Wilson explained why they are bringing the 41-year-old back:

Patrick is one of the most iconic players in San Jose Sharks history, as well as being one of the most respected veterans in the National Hockey League. The leadership he brings on and off the ice has been well documented over his fantastic NHL career and his competitive fire to win is still burning strong. Patrick’s lead-by-example demeanor is inspiring and continues to resonate with our group of younger players.

The veteran forward leads the Sharks in almost every record thanks to his two decades in the uniform, starting way back in 1997-98. One of the most consistent offensive players in the NHL over his years, father time has finally started to catch up with him. In 2019-20 he scored just ten goals and 20 points in 58 games for the Sharks before a deadline deal to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marleau had two points in eight games down the stretch and was basically invisible during the Penguins’ qualification round loss.

Nieto too should be comfortable in San Jose, having played parts of four seasons there to start his NHL career. The 27-year-old actually recorded his career-high in points with San Jose back in 2014-15, scoring 27 in 72 games that season. Though he’s not a top-six contributor, Nieto does have a little scoring punch to add some depth to the lineup and now has plenty of playoff experience.

Neither player will push the needle very far for the Sharks, but come with absolutely no risk at their league-minimum salaries. Marleau does not have trade protection in his deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Matt Nieto| Patrick Marleau| San Jose Sharks

5 comments

Free Agent Focus: Pittsburgh Penguins

October 4, 2020 at 3:44 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Penguins have some key decisions to make, but with a plan to keep their cap number down and their overall goals of making changes to keep their team in the playoff picture for the next few years, they may have to let some players go.

Key Restricted Free Agents

G Matt Murray – With the signing of Tristan Jarry on Saturday to a three-year deal, the Penguins are basically making it clear that they have chosen Jarry over Murray in net. While they could conceivably keep both as it is expected that the team will tender a qualifying offer, it still is more likely that Murray will be traded shortly. That’s a far fall for the “goalie of the future” three years back when they allowed Marc-Andre Fleury move on. Many teams are waiting for the huge free-agent goalie market to disseminate in the next week as Murray sounds like a cheaper option, but the 26-year-old’s lack of consistency likely worries plenty of teams. Murray finished the season with a 2.87 GAA and a .899 save percentage in 38 games, although the netminder did fare better in three postseason games as he had a 2.50 GAA and a .914 save percentage in three games.

F Dominik Simon – Hardly a top-six player, but the versatile Simon suddenly looks like he could be a cap casualty as The Athletic’s Rob Rossi reports that he could make as much as $1.25MM, a high price for a capped-strapped team. The 26-year-old played all over the lineup, but has never managed to post more than 30 points in his career. He tallied seven goals and 22 points last season in 64 games. The forward is also recovering from shoulder surgery in late April, which was expected to keep him out six to seven months.

Other RFAs: F Pontus Aberg, F Anthony Angello, F Graham Knott, F Sam Lafferty, F Sam Miletic, D John Nyberg.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D – Justin Schultz – The blueliner was singled out last month by general manger Jim Rutherford as one of the problems on the Pittsburgh blueline. That likely means that the team will allow Schultz to explore other offers around the league. The team did get an impressive year out of John Marino, suggesting the team can get along without him and $5.5MM cap hit that came with him. It’s highly unlikely he will get anything like that on the market anyway, but Schultz definitely struggled since signing that three-year, $16.5MM contract. Since posting a 51-point season with the Penguins and signing that deal, he has posted just 54 points combined in those three seasons and has dealt with a number of injuries that has affected his overall game.

F Conor Sheary – The Penguins re-acquired Sheary at the trade deadline from Buffalo after trading him there back in 2018. The 28-year-old winger scored 23 goals in his second year with the Penguins back in 2016-17. Those goals, however, have declined every year to 18 to 14 to 10 last season. The team has made it clear it doesn’t want to put Sidney Crosby next to lesser players like Sheary has, meaning if they held onto him, they would more likely move him down to the third line. The question is whether Sheary is affordable enough to bring back to the team.

F Patrick Marleau – The Penguins picked up the legendary winger from the Sharks for their playoff run, but he managed to scored just one goal and two points in eight games before the shutdown and was scoreless in four playoff games. It isn’t likely that the 41-year-old will return to Pittsburgh, although a return to the Sharks for one final season isn’t necessarily out of the question.

Other UFAs: F Riley Barber, F Thomas Di Pauli, F Adam Johnson, F Kevin Roy, F Phil Varone.

Projected Cap Space

Rutherford vowed to change up his roster this offseason in hopes of giving Crosby and Evgeni Malkin every opportunity to win another Stanley Cup before their time in the NHL is up. That will require some major decisions in both free agency and through trades, something that Rutherford is an expert on. The biggest problem remains the salary cap where the team has just $2.6MM in available cap space to make all these moves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Conor Sheary| Dominik Simon| Free Agent Focus| Free Agent Focus 2020| Justin Schultz| Kevin Roy| Matt Murray| Patrick Marleau| Pittsburgh Penguins

2 comments

Draft Pick Fall Out From Qualifying Round Results

August 8, 2020 at 3:30 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 31 Comments

It was a dark day in the NHL on Friday as five teams were eliminated from playoff contention and, barring a miraculous last-minute comeback by the Toronto Maple Leafs, it could have been six-for-six. While the focus on these pivotal games yesterday was on those teams advancing and those team going home, there were also numerous draft picks impacted:

  • In addition to yesterday’s winners, it was also a big day for the New Jersey Devils. In a year in which the draft class is lauded for its depth, particularly in impact forwards, the Devils are now the proud owners of three first-round picks. New Jersey acquired Arizona’s first-rounder in the Taylor Hall trade and Vancouver’s first-rounder from Tampa Bay in the Blake Coleman However, both picks were lottery protected. Now that the Coyotes and Canucks have advanced, they will not take part in Monday’s second draft lottery to determine the No. 1 pick and as a result their picks have officially been sent to the Devils.
  • The Ottawa Senators will also have three picks in the first round of the 2020 Draft. Already owners of their own pick and San Jose’s, the Senators officially acquired the New York Islanders’ pick yesterday. The Isles had sent a lottery-protected first-rounder to Ottawa in the Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade, but with New York moving one they will not be in the running for a lottery pick. There is also a conditional 2020 second-round pick involved in that deal which will transfer to the Senators if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup. That dream for now remains alive for New York.
  • The clock is ticking on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The first-round pick that the team sent to the Minnesota Wild in the Jason Zucker trade contained a condition that the Penguins could keep the pick if it landed in the top 15. Now that the team has been surprisingly knocked out of the postseason, their first-rounder will fall in that range. They now have seven days to decided whether or not to retain the pick and send their 2021 first-round pick instead or to simply trade their 2020 selection. Obviously, the team will wait for the results of Monday night’s lottery, but regardless it seems likely that the Penguins will keep the pick and bet on themselves to make the playoffs next season.
  • One first-round pick that still remains undecided is the pick that will transfer to the New York Rangers as part of the Brady Skjei When the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Skjei, they promised the Rangers the later of their two first-rounders, their own and the Toronto Maple Leafs’, acquired alongside Patrick Marleau. However, the Toronto pick has conditions of its own; if the Leafs pick lands in the top 10, they will retain the selection and transfer their 2021 first-rounder instead. The only way for this to occur would be for Toronto to both lose Game Five against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday and then win the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s draft lottery. If the Maple Leafs lose both the game and the lottery, their pick will be No. 13 and by default will be earlier than Carolina’s, meaning the Hurricanes’ own pick will go to the Rangers. Should Toronto win on Sunday, it will remain to be seen how far each team goes in the playoffs and which pick will head to New York.

Arizona Coyotes| Blake Coleman| Brady Skjei| Carolina Hurricanes| Columbus Blue Jackets| Jason Zucker| Jean-Gabriel Pageau| Minnesota Wild| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| Patrick Marleau| Pittsburgh Penguins| Taylor Hall| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vancouver Canucks

31 comments

Stretch Run Storylines: San Jose Sharks

May 16, 2020 at 3:57 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks.  Assuming the regular season continues and play doesn’t jump immediately to the postseason, there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run.  Over the weeks ahead, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team.  We complete our look at the Pacific Division with San Jose.

The San Jose Sharks made a solid run through the 2018-19 playoffs and looked ready to challenge for another run in hopes of winning a Stanley Cup final. Instead, the wheels fell off with the team struggling immensely. Lack of depth and not enough stars stepping up, San Jose wasn’t able to put together their winnings ways, which cost the job of head coach Peter DeBoer (who eventually took the Vegas job and turned their struggles around) and saw the team drop like a brick in the standings with the worst record in the Western Conference.

Hertl Bounce-Back

The team suffered through a number of injuries this season, but their most devastating loss was top scorer Tomas Hertl, who tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee during a game on Jan. 29. Even if the league does go with a 24-team playoffs, the Sharks would be on the outside looking in, so they have to  hope their star players can bounce back.

After a 35-goal, 74-point season in 2018-19, many thought that Hertl might take his team to the next level. His numbers, however, were down this year in 48 games, scoring just 16 goals and 36 points. The team will need the veteran to not only bounce back from a major knee injury and find that scoring touch, which could be a great challenge. Word is that Hertl is making valuable progress in his recovery and is well ahead of schedule, suggesting he should be ready to be ready for training camp, whenever that is. Of course, can he bounce back offensively?

Will Sharks Bring Back Veterans?

The Sharks will have a couple decisions to make about their longtime veterans, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Both are unrestricted free agents, but do they want to bring back both their long-time stars for another year?

Thornton will turn 41 in July and has expressed interest in returning to the Sharks for another season. The veteran was open to a trade when the trade deadline neared, but he received little interest from top playoff teams and San Jose didn’t get an offer worth taking. Thornton remains a solid middle-six option for them. Even at age 40, he still managed to score 31 points, while averaging 15:30 of ice time. The question is can he keep those numbers up or will his play continue to regress, making him more of a liability on the ice.

Marleau is a somewhat different story as the Sharks did get an offer for him at the trade deadline and did trade him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional 2021 third-rounder (unless the Penguins win the 2020 Stanley Cup, which would make it a 2021 second-rounder). However, there have been plenty of reports suggesting that Marleau, who will be a unrestricted free agent this offseason, would be open to returning to the Sharks. Even though he will turn 41 in September, Marleau finished with 11 goals and 22 points this season and showed some of his old scoring ways. Again, those numbers are also career-lows even with the Coronavirus shortening the season. However, he is just 51 games away from breaking Gordie Howe’s games played record, which suggests he’s open to another season.

Goaltending Needs

The Sharks goaltending was also a significant reason for the teams’ struggles. San Jose locked up Martin Jones in 2017 to be their long-term goalie for the next six years, but with four years still on his contract, the team has to wonder if Jones is that answer. The 30-year-old is coming off two straight inconsistent seasons as he finished this season with a 17-21-2 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .896 save percentage. The hope was that backup Aaron Dell might be able to take a bigger load, but he struggled as well this year and now will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Where will the relief come from. It seems likely the team will bring in someone to help out, but with cap room being an issue, the Sharks may not be able to add anything more than a backup. The team did sign Russian goaltender Alexei Melnichuk to an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old dominated as a backup netminder in the KHL, but likely will need some time in the AHL before being ready to contribute.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Joe Thornton| Martin Jones| Patrick Marleau| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| San Jose Sharks| Stretch Run Storylines 2020

2 comments

Evening Notes: Marleau, Stamkos, Timashov, Merzlikins

February 29, 2020 at 8:58 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

Just a handful of months ago, veteran winger Patrick Marleau made it clear he only wanted to play for the San Jose Sharks after he was bought out of his previous contract. He did eventually sign with them, but with Marleau’s approval, the Sharks traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline in hopes he might be able to chase a Stanley Cup.

However, with just 51 games remaining before he breaks Gordie Howe’s games played record, many wonder if Marleau might opt to re-sign with the Sharks this summer. When asked, Marleau admitted that might be a possibility, according to Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka.

“Yeah, I think the door’s open maybe to come back,” said Marleau. “I definitely would like to play another season, so that would be good.”

  • Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said that the decision to allow forward Steven Stamkos to undergo muscle core surgery was a tough one, but was the result of multiple tests and discussions with Stamkos and doctors, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. Stamkos will have the surgery on Monday and will miss six to eight weeks, meaning he is likely to miss some of the playoffs. The timing is tough, but Cooper added, “Good thing is when it gets done, it’s done, and now we never have to worry bout it again.”
  • Detroit Red Wings forward Dmytro Timashov, claimed off waivers last Monday, will make his debut with the Red Wings Saturday in Ottawa. However, the forward will not travel with the team back home, however, as the forward is still dealing with visa issues and can only play with Detroit because they are in Canada at the moment, according to NHL.com’s Dana Wakiji. “He’ll have to stay in Canada here,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “He has to pick up his passport. So he’s hoping to get that Monday and get back for the game Monday night.”
  • The Athletic’s Alison Lukan reports that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who left last Monday’s game after colliding with Ottawa’s Anthony Duclair, is out with a concussion. The scribe writes that the head injury is considered to be minor, but Columbus is taking the injury cautiously. Merzlikins has a 2.53 goals against and a .922 save percentage in 32 appearances. However, with Joonas Korpisalo back in the fold, the team doesn’t have to rush Merzlikins back quickly.

Columbus Blue Jackets| Detroit Red Wings| Elvis Merzlikins| Patrick Marleau| Pittsburgh Penguins| San Jose Sharks| Steven Stamkos| Tampa Bay Lightning| Waivers

1 comment

Deadline Notes: Skjei, Parise, Targets

February 26, 2020 at 6:31 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers were perhaps the most surprising team at the NHL Trade Deadline. Still competing for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers nevertheless traded away a top-six forward in Vincent Trocheck and failed to acquire a defenseman, which was considered their biggest need. As it turns out, they nearly got close on a major addition. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun writes that the Panthers were in on defenseman Brady Skjei for much of the day on Monday. After moving Trocheck, the team had hoped to fill his departed salary commitment with a term defenseman and Skjei was the top target, made available by the New York Rangers’ extension of Chris Kreider earlier in the day. However, Florida did not want to take on all of Skjei’s contract, preferring to make a hockey deal instead. LeBrun notes that Michael Matheson would have been part of the return to New York. However, taking on salary was contrary to the Rangers’ plans, and so they went for the Carolina Hurricanes’ offer of a first-round pick instead. Skjei would have made a huge difference in Florida, arguably more than on a deep blue line in Carolina, but the Panthers could not get the deal done. Expect Florida to continue scouring the trade and free agent markets this off-season for a long-term upgrade on the blue line.

  • The biggest rumor that emerged on deadline day was a possible trade of Minnesota Wild star Zach Parise to the New York Islanders. Few expected that Parise, who at 35 years old still has five years left on his contract at over $7.5MM AAV, could be a potential trade candidate. Yet, both Parise and the Islanders’ Andrew Ladd had waived their respective trade protections and were merely awaiting the finalization of the deal. That of course never occurred, as Minnesota GM Bill Guerin stated that the deal was very complex and simply did not come together in time. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the two teams have actually been discussing the deal for some time, but concerns over balancing salary and potential cap recapture penalties should Parise retire before his contract expires halted the deal, at least for now. Guerin stated that the two sides could revisit a possible trade in the off-season, but meanwhile Parise is back to work for the Wild. Twincities.com’s Dane Mizutani writes that Parise was relatively tight-lipped about the situation and understands that trades, actual or theoretical, are part of the business. He reaffirmed that he enjoys playing in Minnesota and in no way requested a trade; he was simply willing to waive his No-Movement Clause if the Wild felt that moving him was the best decision. It will remain an interesting topic through the remainder of the season and into the off-season how well Parise and the Wild play in light of this near-blockbuster and whether the trade finally does come to fruition.
  • Friedman writes that a number of players traded before the deadline nearly went elsewhere, while some players who stayed put were heavily pursued. Perhaps the most notable move could have been Robin Lehner to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Cane’s were anything but quiet at the deadline, acquiring Trocheck, Skjei, and Sami Vatanen, but failed to address goaltending, arguably their biggest need in light of recent injuries. Carolina has long been linked to Lehner dating back to the 2018 off-season (and could look at him as a free agent again this summer) but balked at the Chicago Blackhawks asking price for a rental. Two other teams that revisited players who they had previously pursued were the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Both team made notable additions as they fight for a Western Conference playoff spot, but allegedly could have done more. Friedman notes that Calgary was in on veteran winger Wayne Simmonds for the second deadline in a row, but likely could not make the salary work, whereas Edmonton kicked the tires of Patrick Marleau after courting him as a free agent this summer. Finally, two players that received considerable interest per Friedman but did not move were Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening and Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton. Detroit has little to play for this season, but have always highly valued Glendening, who has another year left on his contract. A league source told Friedman that the asking price was simply too high. As for Laughton, the Flyers made only minor moves at the deadline and could not also trade away a key bottom-six piece with term remaining on his contract. It sound as though considerable interest did not sway the team into even considering offers for Laughton.

Andrew Ladd| Bill Guerin| Brady Skjei| Calgary Flames| Carolina Hurricanes| Chicago Blackhawks| Chris Kreider| Detroit Red Wings| Edmonton Oilers| Elliotte Friedman| Florida Panthers| Luke Glendening| Michael Matheson| Minnesota Wild| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| NHL| Patrick Marleau| Penalties| Philadelphia Flyers| Players

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Snapshots: Three Stars, Vegas’ Pick, Marleau, Sheahan, Archibald

February 24, 2020 at 12:37 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

The NHL announced its Three Stars for last week with Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz getting the top honors. Francouz, filling in for the injured Philipp Grubauer went 3-0-1 for the week, posting a 1.46 GAA and a .941 save percentage along with a 1-0 shutout over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Francouz is in his first full season with the Avalanche and had done an exceptional job as their emergency starter where he ranks fifth in the league with a 2.27 GAA and tied for fourth in the league with a .927 save percentage.

Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers received the second star, scoring three goals and five assists over three games for the Rangers. He helped lead New York to three victories as the rebuilding franchise suddenly is within four points of a playoff spot. Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane takes the third star honors with five goals and six points in three games, which includes his first-career hat trick against Anaheim on Feb. 17.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have been quiet so far on Monday, but the team still managed to pick up a fifth-round pick in 2021 from the Carolina Hurricanes, a condition of the Erik Haula deal this offseason, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Haula was traded earlier today to Florida as part of a package for Vincent Trocheck, which enacted a condition in the Golden Knights trade which stated that the Hurricanes would send a fifth-round pick to Vegas if Haula was traded to another team for a player.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz adds that even though the San Jose Sharks have traded away veteran forward Patrick Marleau to Pittsburgh earlier today, the veteran is expected to be welcome back next year to San Jose if he is interested. The 40-year-old is just 53 games away from breaking Gordie Howe’s all-time games played mark. A reunion would allow him to do it in a Sharks sweater next season.
  • The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reports that the Edmonton Oilers are currently working on getting extensions worked out for forwards Riley Sheahan and Josh Archibald, both who will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Both players are key players on the team’s penalty kill with Sheahan logging the second-most minutes on the PK, while Archibald is fourth. Both players have fared well after singing one-year pacts this summer. Sheahan has seven goals and 14 points in 57 games, while Archibald has with 10 goals and 17 points in 53 games.

Anaheim Ducks| Andrew Mangiapane| Calgary Flames| Carolina Hurricanes| Colorado Avalanche| Edmonton Oilers| Erik Haula| Gordie Howe| Josh Archibald| Mika Zibanejad| New York Rangers| Patrick Marleau| Pavel Francouz| San Jose Sharks| Snapshots| Vegas Golden Knights

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Patrick Marleau Traded To Pittsburgh

February 24, 2020 at 10:03 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 7 Comments

After spending the first 19 seasons of his NHL career with one organization, Patrick Marleau will now join his fourth in the past calendar year. The San Jose Sharks legend will be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a third-round selection according to Pierre LeBrun on TSN, pending a trade call with the league. LeBrun adds on Twitter that the pick can become a second-round selection should the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.

Marleau, 40, was traded last summer from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Carolina Hurricanes, only to be bought out and become an unrestricted free agent. After it looked like he might have a hard time finding work, his old team in San Jose ended up signing Marleau for one more go-round. In 58 games with the Sharks the veteran forward has ten goals and 20 points, but will bring his near 2000 NHL games played to the Penguins for one more shot at the Stanley Cup.

While he likely won’t be playing 20 minutes a night like he did earlier in his career, Marleau still has enough game left that he can give the Penguins’ bottom-six a different look. The team already added Jason Zucker to the group to skate next to Sidney Crosby, but still had some questions at the bottom of the lineup given their injuries.

Marleau never has lifted the silver chalice over his head, despite playing 191 playoff games in a long career. The iron man hasn’t missed a game due to injury in a decade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Patrick Marleau| Pittsburgh Penguins| San Jose Sharks

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