West Notes: Byfield, McBain, Flames, Hertl, Suter
Kings forward Quinton Byfield has been one of the top breakout performers of the early season, notching 16 points in his first 19 games, just six points shy of his career-high already. The timing is certainly good on his part as the 21-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level contract this season. However, despite the hot start, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there have been no discussions about a possible contract extension just yet. At this point, it might make sense for both sides to wait it out for a while yet to see if Byfield is able to sustain this type of production over a larger sample size since that would greatly influence any negotiations. With the number of big contracts Los Angeles has on the books, a bridge agreement might be the eventual outcome for Byfield’s next deal.
More from the Western Conference:
- It will be a while yet before the Coyotes get Jack McBain back in their lineup. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports (Twitter link) that the center is still several weeks away from returning from his lower-body injury that has kept him out for a couple of weeks already. The 23-year-old was off to a nice start to his season before the injury, collecting three goals and four assists in 13 games while chipping in with 33 hits.
- The Flames announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jacob Markstrom will miss tonight’s game with the flu. However, as it was too late to recall a goalie from the minors (past the 5 PM local time deadline), the team has signed Dustin Nickel to an ATO agreement to serve as the emergency backup to Daniel Vladar tonight. Nickel spent four years at Mount Royal University, wrapping up that part of his career following the 2015-16 season.
- Sharks center Tomas Hertl will miss tonight’s game due to what’s being termed a mid-body injury, relays Max Miller of The Hockey News. While many of San Jose’s players have struggled mightily this season, the 30-year-old has put up reasonable numbers, notching four goals and a dozen assists through 20 games. His injury paves the way for the recently-signed Justin Bailey to make his San Jose debut.
- Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet provided an update to reporters including Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link) that center Pius Suter is dealing with a lower-body injury that is taking longer to recover from than originally expected. He had a setback a week ago and has yet to resume skating. Suter, who has four goals in 15 games this season, was placed on IR last week.
Canucks Sign Nils Aman To Two-Year Extension
Friday was a good day for Canucks center Nils Aman. Early in the day, he was recalled from AHL Abbotsford to take the place of Pius Suter on the roster with Suter being placed on injured reserve. He then made his season debut and picked up a pair of assists in a Vancouver victory. In between that, the team announced that they signed Aman to a two-year contract extension. While financial terms were not disclosed, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the one-way deal carries an AAV of $825K.
GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement about the signing:
Nils has worked hard on his development since we brought him into our organization. He is a smart two-way hockey player who uses his speed to his advantage. We will continue to work with Nils to help him grow and improve his game.
The 23-year-old was drafted by Colorado in the sixth round in 2020 (167th overall) but didn’t sign with the Avs in 2022, making him an unrestricted free agent. Less than a week later, Vancouver inked him to a two-year entry-level deal; he’s in the final season of that agreement this year.
Aman spent most of last season with the Canucks, getting into 68 games where he had four goals and 14 assists in a little under 13 minutes a night of ice time. He was a bit more productive in a short stretch in the minors, however, notching nine points in 17 contests during a six-week stint with them midseason.
With Vancouver adding more forward depth over the offseason, that pushed Aman to the AHL at the start of this season where he has been quite productive with 15 points in as many games, helping him to earn this promotion.
While it would be reasonable to assume that Aman will be sent down once Suter is cleared to return, that’s unlikely to be the case. When he plays in his next game for Vancouver, he will lose his waiver exemption, meaning the Canucks would have to waive him to send him back to Abbotsford. Considering this extension, it doesn’t feel like that’s a route they will want to take which means he might be up with the big club for good now.
Injury Notes: Fehérváry, Bjornfot, Suter
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry has returned to practice in a normal jersey, according to team reporter Tarik El-Bashir. This is an important development for both Fehérváry and the Capitals, as the defenseman has missed the team’s last three contests with a lower-body injury.
Fehérváry is a top-four defenseman in Washington, averaging 18:19 time-on-ice per game. He also takes regular shifts on head coach Spencer Carbery’s penalty kill. Should he be ready to return to the ice, he would need to be activated off of injured reserve. The Capitals currently have a full 23-man roster, so to activate Fehérváry a player may need to be sent to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Some other injury updates from across the NHL:
- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Tobias Bjornfot, who is currently playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, left last night’s game against the Coachella Valley Firebirds with an injury. He had to be stretchered off of the ice after taking a hit from Firebirds forward Jacob Melanson, who was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding on the play. Bjornfot, 23, has played in three games for Ontario this season and one game for Los Angeles.
- Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet told the media yesterday, including The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, that forward Pius Suter would not travel on the team’s road trip as he continues to be evaluated for an undisclosed injury. Although Suter, 27, has struggled to find the scoresheet he has played some important minutes for the Canucks. He averages over 15 minutes of ice time per game and skates on both special teams units, so the Canucks will definitely hope that whatever is keeping him out of the lineup is not an ailment that will cost him significant time.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Pius Suter
The Vancouver Canucks have signed free agent center Pius Suter to a two-year contract worth $3.2MM, according to the team. The deal carries a $1.6MM cap hit and keeps him in Vancouver through 2025.
Suter heads to his third NHL organization in four seasons after coming over from Switzerland for the COVID-shortened 2021 campaign. 2022-23 was his second year with the Detroit Red Wings after signing a two-year, $6.5MM contract with them in the summer of 2021, but he saw his production take a step back from the previous two NHL seasons he’d played to date. The 27-year-old center had 14 goals, ten assists and 24 points in 79 games for Detroit, setting career-lows in assists and points in the process. Part of that was likely due to a decrease in ice time, as he played just over 14 minutes per game after averaging north of 16 minutes over the previous two years.
With Detroit signing J.T. Compher to fortify their center depth when free agency opened on July 1, there simply wasn’t a place for Suter in the organization anymore, and they opted not to re-sign him. That being said, Suter is a fine third-line center – a position Vancouver’s struggled to get quality out of for the past few years. $1.6MM is a solid cap hit for what he brings to the table, even if he is coming off a down season. Suter’s agent, Georges Mueller, told CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal that they’ve been in discussion with the Canucks since the beginning of free agency, and it’s likely he sees significant time on their penalty kill. He excelled there in Detroit, posting strong relative Corsi numbers in each of his two seasons there. Dhaliwal also reports Vancouver was the only NHL team to offer Suter more than one year on a new deal.
This was Suter’s second stint on the UFA market after the Chicago Blackhawks surprisingly opted not to qualify him after a strong rookie season. He’ll be a UFA again in two seasons at age 29.
Suter is widely believed to start the season at center behind Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller in a third-line role. Out of CapFriendly’s lineup projection for Vancouver’s bottom six, Suter’s 0.3 points per game last season trailed only Conor Garland.
The signing does exacerbate Vancouver’s salary cap bind, however. While CapFriendly projects the Canucks with just over $750K in cap space after the signing, that’s not entirely accurate. Forward Tanner Pearson is listed as a candidate for long-term injured reserve, but GM Patrik Allvin said earlier this summer that Pearson is likely to be fully healed from his hand injury by the end of the summer and is expected to join the team at camp. Losing out on his $3.25MM of LTIR relief means Vancouver is now close to $2.5MM over the Upper Limit, although Dhaliwal says he believes the Canucks can be compliant without making a trade from their roster, although he doesn’t rule out the possibility.
Free Agent Profile: Pius Suter
At this point in free agency, many teams are looking for bargains, trying to find a certain role player that fits a need while also fitting within their tight salary structure. It isn’t often this deep into the summer that there is a potential bargain addition that carries some upside. But that just might be the case when it comes to Pius Suter.
The 27-year-old got a late start to his NHL career, only signing with Chicago back in 2020 coming off a stellar season in Switzerland that saw him pot 30 goals in 53 games. Suter made what looked like a favorable first impression in his rookie campaign, collecting 27 points in 55 contests while finishing 11th in Calder Trophy voting. However, concerned with a possible arbitration award, the Blackhawks somewhat surprisingly non-tendered him that summer, sending him back to free agency.
His stint on the open market didn’t last long as Suter quickly inked a two-year, $5MM deal with Detroit. He collected 36 points in his first season with the team and while he had a more limited role offensively last season, he still was a decent depth contributor while also taking a regular shift on the penalty kill. He also showed that he can play on the wing after spending his first two seasons as a full-timer down the middle.
While this isn’t necessarily the most exciting profile, Suter has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three years, can kill penalties, and is a natural center. That makes his continued presence on the open market at least a little surprising.
Stats
2022-23: 79 GP, 14-10-24, -13 rating, 6 PIMS, 106 shots, 46.8% faceoffs, 45.5% CF, 14:04 ATOI
Career: 216 GP, 43-44-87, -19 rating, 42 PIMS, 384 shots, 46.7% faceoffs, 52.5% CF, 15:44 ATOI
Potential Suitors
In theory, Suter is the type of player who could fit in with most organizations. For deeper win-now teams, he’s at a minimum capable injury insurance with the type of versatility to move up and down the lineup where needed. For rebuilding squads, he’s the type of player who could suit up a little higher in the lineup to start and is young enough to possibly be around for more than just a year if things went well.
In the East, the Senators stand out as a possible fit, depending on how things go with their pursuit of Vladimir Tarasenko. If that falls through, they have enough cap room to re-sign Shane Pinto and still have enough for Suter who would give them some offensive upside in their bottom six. If Suter winds up settling for a minimum-salary contract, Boston stands out as a fit as a team that could certainly benefit from some more depth down the middle. If Carolina isn’t sold on Jack Drury as a full-timer, the Hurricanes could be a landing spot for Suter as well although it’s likely that some of their other possible dominoes need to fall first to see what space they may or may not have.
Out West, the Kraken have had some success in their first two seasons with players like this and they certainly have the cap and roster space to add Suter in. If Minnesota is hesitant about Marco Rossi’s readiness, Suter could represent an insurance policy, basically filling the role that Sam Steel did last season. Winnipeg has made an effort to bolster its bottom six this summer but there is still room to improve on that front and Suter’s positional versatility would be beneficial for them.
Projected Contract
Suter narrowly missed the cut in our Top 50 UFA rankings last month, slotting in as part of the group of five that landed just outside in our voting. At this point, the hopes of landing a contract like the one he had in Detroit (with a $2.5MM AAV) should basically be dashed. But there are some teams that could afford a low seven-figure deal for him if he wants to go for top dollar. Alternatively, if Suter is open to taking less for a more desirable fit, there should be interest from several playoff-caliber teams. The price tag should be low and there might be a modicum of upside still. As far as combos go at this time in free agency, that’s certainly not a bad one.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Zucker, Red Wings, Maple Leafs
Jason Zucker had a strong showing for the Penguins this past season, notching 27 goals and 21 assists while, perhaps most importantly, staying healthy after a pair of injury-plagued years. Despite that, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that the prudent move for Pittsburgh would be to not bring the pending unrestricted free agent back for next season. The 31-year-old is likely to be seeking a contract similar to the $5MM AAV he has played on the last five years and with the team needing to eventually transition toward becoming a younger and quicker team, locking up another player well into their thirties won’t exactly accomplish that objective. Not bringing Zucker back would also give Kyle Dubas more flexibility to work with this summer, albeit with an extra opening of significance on his roster.
Elsewhere in the East:
- It appears that the Red Wings won’t bring back any of their pending unrestricted free agents, suggests Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now. Duff adds that Detroit is believed to have made a one-year offer to center Pius Suter who declined in the hopes of securing a multi-year commitment while winger Alex Chiasson has passed on a two-way offer, hoping to land a one-way deal on the open market this summer. Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and winger Adam Erne are among the other players set to hit the open market in a couple of weeks.
- It’s extremely unlikely that the Maple Leafs bring back forward Alexander Kerfoot or defenseman Justin Holl, reports Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. Kerfoot has been a capable secondary producer over his four seasons in Toronto but cap space will be at a premium and they wouldn’t be able to offer him the $3.5MM he made on his set-to-expire contract. As for Holl, he has shown himself to be a serviceable role player on the back end but it appears that Toronto is trying to re-sign Luke Schenn to fill that spot, pushing the 31-year-out out of a place in the lineup. Both players will hit the open market two Saturdays from today.
Snapshots: Vancouver, Pettersson, Combine
Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal wrote an article for The Athletic today outlining the best third line center options for the Vancouver Canucks to look at when free agency opens on July 1st. Vancouver has an excellent 1-2 punch down the middle of the ice with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller currently occupying the top two spots. Drance and Dayal begin their article by highlighting the fact that Vancouver not only needs a third line center, but they also need the right fit for the third line, preferably one with more of a defensive skill set.
While this year’s free agent class leaves a lot to be desired, there are some good top-9 center options for the Canucks to consider. Drance and Dayal produce an exhaustive list that includes bargain bin shopping as well as some players that will likely fall outside of Vancouver’s price range given their salary cap constraints. The most realistic targets, and the ones on the top of the list are Pius Suter and David Kampf.
What a change two years can make. In the case of Pius Suter, it’s the difference between being non-tendered (as he was in 2021 by the Chicago Blackhawks) and being a sought after unrestricted free agent (after two good seasons with the Detroit Red Wings). Suter is a bit undersized but could offer the Canucks a solid top-9 option at a reasonable price. Over two seasons in Detroit Suter put up 29 goals and 31 assists in 161 games. While those numbers won’t blow anyone away, the 27-year-old did this while hardly benefiting from any powerplay time as he saw just six minutes of ice time this season with the man advantage.
Kampf offers much stronger defensive metrics than Suter and is a bigger body, however he is more limited offensively as he had just 18 goals and 35 assists in 164 games over the past two seasons. He also saw very little powerplay time but struggles to drive play at even strength as he has a negative offensive impact even at 5v5. Drance and Dayal do wonder if having a better defensive player such as Kampf in the third line center role might make more sense for Vancouver as it could free up the top two line for more offensive deployment.
Other snapshots from around the league:
- The Score is reporting that J.P. Barry, the agent for Vancouver Canucks superstar Elias Pettersson expects talks between his client and the club to begin this summer as they look to hammer out a long-term deal for the 24-year-old. Pettersson is just a year from being a restricted free agent and two years away from unrestricted free agency. He is due $10.25MM this upcoming season and would require an $8.82MM qualifying offer next summer for Vancouver to retain his rights. Given that he is coming off a 102-point season it would make sense for the young Swede to try and sign a long-term deal to obtain some security and peace of mind heading into next season. For the Canucks it would also give the club some cap certainty as they try to re-tool after missing the playoffs this past season.
- Mike Morreale of NHL.com tweeted today that no Russian prospects who played overseas this season will be attending the NHL combine. The combine will run from June 4-10 in Buffalo and will give all 32 clubs the chance to get a look at the top prospects in this year’s entry draft. It’s an interesting development, but not a surprising one. Projected top-3 pick Matvei Michkov stated in Russian media back in May that he likely wouldn’t be at the combine but would be at the draft.
East Notes: Tuch, Red Wings, Sgarbossa, Point, Dauphin
The Sabres are set to welcome back winger Alex Tuch for their game on Monday, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 25-year-old was a big part of the Jack Eichel trade but he has yet to play this season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. With Vegas, Tuch was used in more of a secondary scoring role but with Buffalo, he should get a chance to play a considerably bigger role. He was expected to be back in roughly six months and if he does suit up against Columbus, he’ll have gotten back in just under five months.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- When the Red Wings had their pre-holiday break games postponed, some wondered if there may be more positive tests coming from them. That’s indeed the case as the team announced (Twitter link) that centers Pius Suter and Joe Veleno plus winger Sam Gagner along with assistant video coach Jeff Weintraub in COVID protocol. That brings them up to nine players currently unavailable.
- Capitals center Michael Sgarbossa was a late scratch from their game tonight against Los Angeles and it turns out that it was COVID-related as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old was coming off a two-point performance on Friday and has three points in seven games with Washington this season. The Caps did get some good news on that front as well, however, as winger Garnet Hathaway was taken out of protocol.
- The Lightning could be getting a key player back soon after the holiday break. Head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link) that center Brayden Point could be reclassified as day-to-day once they return from the break. Point has been out with an upper-body injury for just under a month and was off to a strong start to his season before it occurred with 13 points in 16 games.
- The Canadiens announced that they’ve placed center Laurent Dauphin in COVID protocol. The 26-year-old was recalled two weeks ago and has three points in five games since then including his first NHL goal in over five years. The team has also shut down their facilities through December 26th.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Pius Suter
After the surprise of not being extended a qualifying offer from the Chicago Blackhawks, Pius Suter has found a home with their historical arch-rivals. The Detroit Red Wings have announced a two-year contract for Suter, who recorded 27 points in 55 games as a rookie this season. Suter will earn $6.5MM total over the two years, his agent reveals on Twitter.
Suter, 25, made quite the impact as a rookie in Chicago, scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 55 games. He received a huge opportunity when Jonathan Toews missed the season due to illness and Kirby Dach was out with a broken wrist, playing way more than anyone ever expected. Those 14 points earned him some Calder Trophy votes and could have landed Suiter a substantial contract through arbitration. Instead, he’ll get a hefty deal from Detroit, where he could reunite with a couple of old junior teammates.
The Swiss forward went undrafted and spent five years in the NLA, but before that he played two seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm. The top line on that 2014 Storm team that won the OHL championship? Suter between Robby Fabbri and Tyler Bertuzzi, who both happen to be in the Red Wings organization and could even potentially be a line this season. Bertuzzi of course is a restricted free agent and has been involved in trade rumors over the summer, but GM Steve Yzerman did say recently that they hope to keep him if possible.
Suter will be an unrestricted free agent again when this contract expires, and there’s certainly plenty of minutes up for grabs in Detroit. He’ll have a chance to really establish himself as a premiere UFA option if he can improve on that rookie season and post three straight quality campaigns.