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Rickard Rakell

Ducks Expected To Make Trade Once Rakell, Lindholm Sign

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According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Anaheim Ducks are going to have to make a deal after completing contracts with their currently pending restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm.  As discussed on this site yesterday, Rakell isn’t any closer to a deal with the Ducks, however McKenzie does hear that the two sides are close on money and term and that it’s something else holding up the deal.

Either way, when Rakell and Lindholm come in for something around $9MM combined, the Ducks will be way over the cap and need to shed some salary. McKenzie says as much in a tweet today, in which he suggests that Cam Fowler will be the odd man out in Anaheim and be on the move while the ink is still drying.

If it is Fowler, one would imagine many teams would be after the 24-year old. The former first-round pick will have over 450 games in the NHL before his 25th birthday, bringing a mixture of youth and experience to whichever team lands him. Fowler is owed $8MM over the next two seasons, a fine number for a player who many would consider a top-4 defenseman. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent following the 2017-18 season, and be looking for a long-term deal.

The Ducks seemingly have painted themselves into a corner this summer, with the addition of Jonathan Bernier’s deal. If Frederik Andersen being shipped to Toronto was a cost-saving measure, it has been completely undone by taking the former Leafs goaltender back. The Ducks are expected to start John Gibson for the majority of their games this season, despite making almost $2MM less than Bernier.

There is also the impending expansion draft, in which one of the Ducks young defenders is sure to be at risk, as the picture stands currently. If the team was to start moving pieces like Fowler out however, perhaps they’ll be able to keep their whole pipeline intact.

Clayton Stoner Clears Waivers; Stays With Ducks

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After placing Clayton Stoner on waivers this week, the Anaheim Ducks were hoping a team would take a shot at the veteran defender and take the entirety of his cap hit off their hands.  Instead, the 31-year old has cleared and will remain in camp according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.

Stoner has become the odd man out in Anaheim after the development of their young defense corps, and is dead cap space for a team trying desperately to re-sign Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell. The two young stars are still both without contracts as opening day approaches, with some believing that the team doesn’t have enough room to sign both to long-term deals.

The Anaheim blueline is very crowded even without Lindholm in camp however, as the team sent down two blue-chip prospects in Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore today. As discussed previously, the team will have to sort out the situation before next year’s expansion draft, or risk losing one of them for nothing.

Stoner for now will continue to skate in camp, and may perhaps find a spot on the team if Lindholm is not signed in time. More likely however, the veteran of 346 career NHL games will be buried in the AHL to save as much money as possible.

No Progress In Rickard Rakell’s Contract Talks

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The agent for Anaheim RFA Rickard Rakell, Peter Wallen, told Eric Stephens of the OC Register that “no progress” has been made over the last week in negotiations.  Rakell is one of two key Ducks who remain unsigned with less than a week to go until the season gets underway, the other being blueliner Hampus Lindholm.

It’s believed that both sides are interested in a long-term deal, with TSN’s Bob McKenzie reporting late last week that the team would like to come in with a cap hit below $4MM per season.  Carolina’s Viktor Rask, a comparable player to Rakell, signed a six year, $24MM deal back in July.

Rakell had been named to Sweden’s roster for the World Cup of Hockey but had to withdraw due to complications arising from an appendectomy he had back in March.  While he was able to play in pre-tournament action last month, he was hospitalized shortly thereafter.  He has since received the green light to resume training.

The 23 year old center played in his second full NHL season in 2015-16, scoring 20 goals and 23 assists in 72 games.  Once he signs, he is likely to reprise his role as a top six forward for the Ducks this season.

Anaheim currently has just shy of $8.5MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly, which likely won’t be enough to give both Rakell and Lindholm long-term deals so GM Bob Murray may still have some work to do.  The team waived Clayton Stoner earlier today but that only freed up $950K in space.

Ducks Looking To Make Trade To Clear Cap Space For RFAs

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Pierre McGuire today spoke with Blake Price of TSN 1040 in Vancouver and ssiad that the Ducks were in talks with a team in the Eastern Conference to “unload a significant contract,” presumably in order to clear enough space to re-sign RFAs Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell, according to this tweet from Price. We discussed Lindholm’s situation specifically earlier today, and if McGuire is accurate it would seem the Ducks and the Swedish-born defenseman have made enough progress on a new contract to prompt Anaheim to scour the trade market.

Earlier reports have placed Linholm’s asking price to be in the $6MM – $6.5MM range annually with the Ducks preferring to keep the AAV at around $5.5MM. For his part Rakell is looking for a contract similar to that which fellow Swede Victor Rask signed this summer: six years with an AAV of $4MM. Even if the parties meet somewhere in the middle of their respective positions, it looks like Anaheim will need somewhere between $9MM and $10MM of cap space to re-sign Lindholm and Rakell.

At this moment, the Ducks have around $7.5MM in available space according to Cap Friendly; meaning they will need to free up an additional $2MM to $3MM. It’s long been suggested Anaheim could move one of their other defensemen – Cam Fowler has been mentioned frequently – if needed, and they do have five on the roster – not counting Lindholm – slated to earn upwards of $3MM in 2016-17. The Ducks also boast enough young defensive depth in Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour to make the hypothetical loss of a veteran blue liner manageable.

Detroit has long been thought to be in the market for a top-four blue liner and has been linked to Fowler in the past. However it must be noted that the Ducks wouldn’t appear to be interested in taking back much, if any salary in a trade. Detroit is currently over the cap – though placing Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale on LTIR would bring the club within compliance – and would therefore seem a long shot to add salary without sending a contract back in the exchange.

Boston is another club who could use some help on the back end. They have enough room under the cap ceiling but may rather elect to see if some of their younger defenders evolve into top-four options as opposed to swinging a deal for an expensive veteran.

A wild card might come in the form of New Jersey, who could conceivably be interested in bringing in more blue line depth even after inking Kyle Quincey to a one-year contract earlier this week. The Devils have plenty of cap space and created a void on the back end earlier in the offseason in the Taylor Hall-for-Adam Larsson trade. Plus it’s interesting to note Devils GM Ray Shero was running things in Pittsburgh when the Penguins  drafted Simon Despres in the first round and perhaps Shero would be interested in reuniting with another of his former charges. Shedding Despres’ $3.7MM cap charge would free up the needed space for the Ducks to re-sign both Lindholm and Rakell, though the notion of trading Sespres is purely speculative.

Latest On Rickard Rakell

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In a series of tweets Wednesday evening, Bob McKenzie shed some light on the status of restricted free agent Rickard Rakell.  Still unsigned, Rakell has been rehabbing from appendectomy surgery performed in September, and is still unable to skate or work out, though he’s expected to get back on the ice in another week.

While the young forward is rehabbing, McKenzie reports that there is an ongoing dialogue between his camp and the Ducks; a promising sign to be sure. From the player side, a contract like the one Victor Rask of Carolina received, $4MM per season for six years, is a starting point though Anaheim does not want to commit that much money to a player who has only 165 games under his belt.

Last season was a breakout for the Swedish centerman, as he increased his goal total from nine to twenty, and estabilished himself as a legitimate top-six player.  While Anaheim doesn’t have any interest in a bridge deal, McKenzie speculates that a six-year deal paying Rakell under $4MM per season is what it will ultimately come down to.

If Anaheim can get him for that much, it would be quite beneficial to both sides.  The Ducks would have their young second-line center locked up long term for a reasonable hit, and would be ecstatic if he developed into the 60+ point player his potential shows. Rakell, on the other hand, would guarantee himself a big paycheck even if 2015-16 was a career high in goals.

Rakell was never the biggest scorer in junior (though he did have very solid numbers), and he was thought of coming into the draft as a respectable player at all facets.  At 23, if he can solidify himself as a perennial 20-25 goal man, he’d hit the open market at 29 with the chance for another big contract.

RFA Notes

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It’s been an unusual off-season in the NHL, with seven high profile Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) remaining a week into training camp. Compared to last off-season, when teams moved quickly to sign or trade players to avoid the threat of offer sheets.

In a series of tweets, TSN’s Bob McKenzie sent out the latest in negotiations from across the league.

Anaheim Ducks – Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell – The Ducks are using Morgan Rielly and Seth Jones as comparable contracts, while Lindholm’s camp is pointing to Aaron Ekblad’s $7.5MM AAV. McKenzie clarifies that Lindholm isn’t asking for $7.5MM, more in the $6MM-plus range. McKenzie hasn’t been able to determine the range of numbers from the Rakell negotiations yet.

Arizona Coyotes – Tobias Rieder – The two sides are less than $500K apart. Rieder is currently looking for two years at $2.5MM per season, while the Coyotes aren’t budging on their offer of two years in the low $2MM range. Rieder does have KHL offers to consider, or McKenzie suggests he could ask for a trade or hold out.

Buffalo Sabres – Rasmus Ristolainen – The Sabres and Ristolainen are in the same situation as the Ducks and Lindholm, according to McKenzie. The two sides are at least $1MM apart, with each side standing firm with their comparables.

Calgary Flames – Johnny Gaudreau – This is likely the most fascinating case, as Gaudreau isn’t technically an RFA because he falls under the 10.2(c) CBA clause. Because Gaudreau hasn’t accrued three years experience, he isn’t eligible for an offer sheet and therefore has basically no power, other than holding out. McKenzie believes the Flames want Gaudreau to sign in the same range as Sean Monahan (six-years, $6.375MM per) and no higher than captain Mark Giordano ($6.75MM per), while Gauderau is looking for more than $8MM per season. The two sides have not negotiated recently, according to McKenzie, who called the situation “bit of a Cold War”.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Nikita Kucherov – If not Gaudreau, then Kucherov is definitely the most complex RFA situation due to the Lightning’s cap issues. While Kucherov has a long list of comparable contracts in the six-year, $36MM range, that’s not possible in the Lightning’s current state. They’ll need to move someone to accommodate another $6MM; McKenzie believes Ben Bishop will be traded sometime this season, but expects he’ll start the season in Tampa.

Winnipeg Jets – Jacob Trouba – There has been plenty of digital ink spilled on Trouba’s trade request, but the only new information from McKenzie was that Trouba is not interested in signing an offer sheet, because the Jets would not be allowed to trade him for a calendar year, should they match. That defeats the purpose of wanting to be traded.

It is still early in the season, but there is a firm deadline coming up: December 1st. Should an RFA not be signed by then, then he will be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season.

This is likely only a consideration for Trouba, with the Jets’ habit of slow-playing trade requests and waiting out poor trade offers.

West Notes: Rakell, Nakladal, Fischer, Vegas

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Ducks center Rickard Rakell underwent surgery late last week to fix issues that arose from his appendectomy back in March, writes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.  The problem first presented itself following Sweden’s first World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament game and he was hospitalized shortly thereafter with his agent noting he was unable to eat at that time.

Rakell has been advised that he will have to rest up for a couple of weeks before he can resume training to get ready for the upcoming season.  On top of that, he still finds himself without a contract as one of 14 remaining restricted free agents.  At this point, a bridge deal is looking more and more likely.  Rakell had 20 goals and 23 assists in 72 games last season and is expected to be a top six forward when he is cleared to return to action and has a contract in hand.

More from the West:

  • Unrestricted free agent defenseman Jakub Nakladal is seeking a one-way contract to remain in North America, reports Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Nakladal played in 27 games with Calgary last season, his first in the NHL.  The 28 year old noted that he would like to return to the Flames but they are hesitant to give him a one-way deal at this point.  Nakladal is currently playing for the Czech Republic at the World Cup and is hoping a strong performance could help him land a guaranteed deal, whether it’s with Calgary or somewhere else.
  • While most North American-based junior aged prospects have only two options where they can play in a season (the NHL or junior hockey), Coyotes prospect Christian Fischer is one of the few who has a third option, notes the Arizona Republic’s Sarah McLellan. As Fischer was drafted out of the US Development program and not the Canadian Hockey League back in 2015, Arizona has the ability to assign him to their AHL affiliate in Tucson.  After a 40 goal, 90 point season with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires (which ranked him in the top ten in goals and points league wide), there is a good chance that the Coyotes will opt to have him play against tougher competition in the AHL instead of repeating the junior circuit, assuming he doesn’t crack Arizona’s opening roster.
  • The expansion Las Vegas team that will begin play in 2017-18 has sold out their season tickets with 16,000, the team announced.  As a result, only single game tickets will be available in their inaugural season.

Rickard Rakell To Miss World Cup; Patrik Berglund Named Replacement

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Anaheim center Rickard Rakell will miss the World Cup of Hockey, Team Sweden announced.  Taking his place will be St. Louis Blues center Patrik Berglund.

Rakell played in Sweden’s first pre-tournament game, collecting an assist in 13:47 of ice time vs Finland on Thursday but did not play in the rematch on Saturday.  He did not travel with the team as they flew to North America and is currently in a Swedish hospital being treated for an unspecified illness.

Rakell is currently a restricted free agent and is coming off his best NHL season so far, picking up 20 goals and 23 assists in 72 regular season games last year.  He’s expected to play a top six role for the Ducks this coming season.

The issue may pertain to the surgery Rakell had back in March to remove his appendix, reports Eric Stephens of the OC Register.  His agent, Peter Wallen, noted that Rakell is currently unable to eat.

Berglund, meanwhile, is coming off a tough year with the Blues.  He didn’t get into game action until January after undergoing shoulder surgery last August and suited up in just 42 regular season contests, scoring a career low ten goals and five assists.  He did, however, fare better in the postseason, tallying nine points in 20 games.

[Related: Sweden’s World Cup Depth Chart]

World Cup Injury Updates: Rakell, Kruger

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Joe McDonald, writing for ESPN, provides more info on an earlier note mentioning the absence of Team Sweden forward Rickard Rakell from practice today due to an unspecified illness. McDonald says Rakell remians hospitalized and did not travel with the team to the U.S today. McDonald’s article states Sweden’s head coach Rikard Gronberg had this to say about Rakell’s illness:

“He didn’t feel any better this morning, so he went back to the hospital. So far we haven’t found anything. We’ve got to be in contact with him [Monday] and then we’ll see where we’re at, and hopefully for his own sake we know what it is because right now we don’t.”

Rakell, a RFA who the Ducks are still trying to sign, was named to Team Sweden as a replacement for Blues forward Alexander Steen. He had a breakout season for Anaheim in 2015-16, scoring 20 goals and 43 points in 72 regular season games.

Should Rakell not recover in time to participate, Sweden would have until September 16th to designate a replacement, according to McDonald. His piece does not list any specific possibilities in that regard but speculatively speaking, the Swedes could choose either Alexander Wennberg, who tallied eight goals and 40 points as a rookie with the Blue Jackets, or Detroit’s Gustav Nyqvist, who has recorded three straight seasons of 40-plus points for the Red Wings.

On a side note, McDonald does say that Marcus Kruger, who missed Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury, was back on the ice for practice today. Kruger also said that he hopes to return to the lineup in Wednesday’s tuneup game against Russia. If Kruger is a go, he could step into the lineup and replace Rakell.

Pacific Division: Remaining RFAs

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We’re now in the dying days of August, less than a month away from the start of the World Cup and training camps. However, there are still 15 restricted free agents remaining, and many of them are not who you would expect to be unsigned at this point. Two NHL teams’ leading scorers, four top-four defensemen, and several other high quality players are still looking for new deals.

Let’s break down the remaining RFAs by division, starting out west in the Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks – $7.52MM in cap space, according to Cap Friendly – The Ducks have mostly stood pat this summer after bringing back Randy Carlyle to replace the fired Bruce Boudreau. However, the budget-bound Ducks still have some work to do – their best defenseman, Hampus Lindholm, and World Cup-bound center Rickard Rakell still need new contracts. Lindholm logged the most minutes on the Ducks and put up 28 points as a dependable two-way force. Rakell is behind Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler on the center depth chart, but finished fourth on the Ducks in points with 43. The Ducks would like to get both signed long term, but will need to get creative to fit it all under their self-imposed budget. Cam Fowler has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the summer as the Ducks ready themselves for these two contracts and next summer’s expansion draft.

Arizona Coyotes – $7.85MM in cap space, according to Cap Friendly – Arizona has been locked in tough negotiations with Tobias Rieder all summer. It’s believed the talented scorer and reliable two-way winger is looking for a contract similar to new Coyotes forward Jamie McGinn, who signed a three-year, $10MM contract. However, new GM John Chayka isn’t budging, and Rieder has threatened to head to the KHL if the two sides can’t come to an agreement.

Calgary Flames – $8.59MM in cap space, according to Cap Friendly – The Flames have been in an unenviable situation this summer, with their two top forwards needing new contracts. GM Brad Treliving locked up center Sean Monahan to a seven-year, $44.625MM contract last week, but has yet to sign the team’s leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau. Gaudreau has said he won’t negotiate during the upcoming World Cup, where he’ll suit up for Team North America. Their camp starts on the long weekend, so there’s just two weeks remaining for Gaudreau and the Flames to put pen to paper. The Flames also have to sign Freddie Hamilton, minor league center and brother of Dougie. Hamilton played four NHL games last season, potting a goal and an assist.

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