West Notes: Rakell, Nakladal, Fischer, Vegas
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
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
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
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.
The Latest On Rickard Rakell’s Contract Talks
As we head towards August, the Anaheim Ducks still have two key restricted free agents to re-sign. One of those is forward Rickard Rakell, who is coming off a career year.
Rakell’s agent, Peter Wallen spoke with Eric Stephens of the OC Register regarding negotiations and said that “We are talking and I think we will find common ground for a solid agreement as I feel both parties seem to want that to happen very much”.
Rakell is coming off his entry-level contract and did not have any arbitration rights this offseason. He played in 72 games with the Ducks last season, collecting 20 goals and 23 assists, setting career highs in both categories. He also saw a significant increase in ice time from 12:34 per game in 2014-15 to 16:04 last year.
Anaheim currently has just over $8.4MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly but also still have defenseman Hampus Lindholm to re-sign. There may not enough space to sign both to long-term contracts so one of the two may be forced into taking a shorter-term bridge deal as a result.
If they opt for a long-term deal, Rakell is comparable to Hurricanes forward Victor Rask, who inked a six year, $24MM contract earlier this offseason. A deal like that would buy out all of the remaining RFA years plus a pair of UFA-eligible seasons. If they go the bridge route though, his stats the last couple of seasons are similar to San Jose’s Tomas Hertl, who signed a two year, $6MM pact late last month. Going that route would likely allow them to be able to sign Lindholm on a long-term contract this summer but would likely result in Rakell receiving a higher AAV down the road.
The preseason is still nearly two months away so there’s no rush to get something done with Rakell or Lindholm but if GM Bob Murray wants to make any more moves this offseason, he’ll likely need to get contracts done with both players to see how much cap and budget space he has left to work with.
Pacific Division Notes: Puljujärvi, Lindholm, Vegas GM
Edmonton Oilers fourth overall pick RW Jesse Puljujärvi is not taking part in the on-ice portion of the team’s rookie camp in Jasper, AB, after undergoing knee surgery following the U-18 World Championships. Puljujärvi expects to be “good to go” in a month, meaning he’ll be ready for training camp in September.
More from the Pacific Division:
- The Anaheim Ducks did not take part in the madness that was the opening of free agency, but still have some serious work to do this summer. Number one defenceman Hampus Lindholm and third line center Rickard Rakell still need to be signed. Lindholm will be looking for a long-term deal over a more team-friendly bridge contract, but the Ducks will want to get him under contract before another team decides to offer-sheet him. While there hasn’t been an offer sheet since the bizarre Ryan O’Reilly situation between Colorado and Calgary in February 2012, the Ducks won’t want to risk exposing their number one defenceman to an expensive offer sheet, which they would almost certainly match despite being a budget team.
- The Las Vegas expansion franchise wants to name a General Manager before the end of the month, according to a report on NHL.com. Owner Bill Foley said he’d like the team to come up with three to five candidates to interview, and the team is working with the NHL to properly contact teams about potential candidates. Foley also revealed that the team’s nickname and color scheme will be unveiled in the fall.