2019 Trade Deadline Day Recap
The trade deadline for the 2018-19 season has come and gone, with teams all around the league loading up for a Stanley Cup run. This year saw a nearly unprecedented level of skill available, though things got started quite early. Before deadline day, names like Matt Duchene, Brandon Montour, Mats Zuccarello, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Dzingel, Gustav Nyquist and Nick Jensen all switched teams. However, the day was no disappointment; a slow pace early on ended in fireworks right before the deadline and as deal trickled in right after. Below is a complete list of the 21 trades featuring all but seven of the NHL’s teams made on February 25th alone (chronologically):
To Anaheim Ducks:
D Patrick Sieloff
To Ottawa Senators:
F Brian Gibbons
To New Jersey Devils:
2022 fifth-round pick
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
G Keith Kinkaid
To Winnipeg Jets:
F Kevin Hayes
To New York Rangers:
F Brendan Lemieux
2019 first-round pick (top-3 protected)
2022 conditional fourth-round pick (if Winnipeg wins Stanley Cup)
To Montreal Canadiens:
F Jordan Weal
To Arizona Coyotes:
F Michael Chaput
To Florida Panthers:
F Cliff Pu
Future Considerations
To Carolina Hurricanes:
F Tomas Jurco (AHL contract)
Future Considerations
To Colorado Avalanche:
F Derick Brassard
2020 conditional sixth-round pick (no pick if Brassard re-signs)
To Florida Panthers:
2020 third-round pick
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
D Adam McQuaid
To New York Rangers:
D Julius Bergman
2019 fourth-round pick
2019 seventh-round pick
Carolina Hurricanes Trade Cliff Pu
The Carolina Hurricanes have traded a big part of the return for Jeff Skinner, sending prospect Cliff Pu to the Florida Panthers. While technically not the same trade, the Hurricanes have received Tomas Jurco in return. Jurco is on an AHL contract and had to be involved as a separate transaction.
Pu, 20, had recently been assigned to the ECHL after struggling in his first professional season. The former Buffalo Sabres prospect has just six points in 44 games with the Charlotte Checkers, and will now try to turn his young career around in his third organization. Pu along with three draft picks was the package the Hurricanes acquired for Skinner in the offseason, in a deal that now looks even worse for Carolina.
There’s still plenty of time for Pu to turn things around and develop into the big offensive threat he showed in junior, but the Checkers needed help now for a potential Calder Cup run this season. Carolina apparently believed Jurco’s addition was more valuable, and he will certainly bring a lot of experience to the table. The 26-year old forward has 10 points in 14 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, and won a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2013.
Under an AHL contract, Jurco cannot be recalled to the NHL.
Minor Transactions: 01/03/19
The Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs kick off a busy NHL schedule today with an afternoon game which will see Michael Hutchinson suit up with his new organization, while the Los Angeles Kings will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a David vs Goliath matchup to wrap things up. Six other games will be played around the league, and as teams prepare we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor movement.
- Tomas Jurco has landed a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds for the rest of this season, giving the minor league squad some extra firepower for the second half. It wasn’t so long ago that Jurco was an up-and-coming forward prospect with the Detroit Red Wings, and even last season he recorded 10 points in 29 games for the Chicago Blackhawks.
- Speaking of forward prospects, the Dallas Stars have sent Denis Gurianov back to the minor leagues after he played just 7:44 last night. Gurianov has looked like a completely different player this season in the AHL, but still can’t seem to establish himself at the NHL level.
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Zach Sanford from San Antonio, but will play with seven defensemen tonight after activating Carl Gunnarsson. Sanford will sit out for now, but could get into some action if Vladimir Tarasenko misses any more time with the illness that will keep him out tonight.
- Stefan Elliott has been returned to the minor leagues by the Ottawa Senators, leaving them with just six active defensemen on the roster currently. The Senators don’t play again until Saturday, giving them a chance to activate another player or recall someone tomorrow.
Avalanche Lose Varlamov, Johnson To Major Injuries
The Colorado Avalanche’s playoff chances took a big hit as the team announced today that starting goalie Semyon Varlamov will be out for the season after sustaining a lower-body injury Friday night, while defenseman Erik Johnson will miss the next six weeks with a fractured patella. The two injuries figure to be a huge blow to team who many felt had a good chance of reaching the playoffs this year.
The irony is that Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier made history Friday after the two combined for the first combined shutout in franchise history (Nordiques as well). Varlamov saved 30-of-30 shots before Chicago’s Tomas Jurco collided with Varlamov on an attempted shot late in the third period, forcing the goaltender to be helped off the ice. Bernier finished the game. Varlamov was having a solid season as he has a 2.68 GAA and a .920 save percentage in 51 games. Bernier will have to take over as starter. He has a 2.82 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 33 games this year.
Johnson did not play in Friday’s game with no explanation, but is just as likely done for the year unless the Avalanche can not only reach the playoffs, but make an extended run in them. The oft-injured defenseman has been having a solid season, but has never played an entire 82-game season ever. His 62 games this season are the highest in two years.
Despite the disappointment, the Avalanche who finished with the worst record last season, have put together a remarkable season and considering they made no moves at the trade deadline, the team should look at this season as a positive regardless of whether they make the playoffs or not.
Waivers & Recalls: 10/02/17
The waiver wire is very busy today as teams pare down their rosters. The season begins this week, and teams will try to sneak through some veterans and prospects to keep them in the organization. Here is the entire list of waivers for today:
Malcolm Subban (BOS)
Phillip Di Giuseppe (CAR)
John Ramage (CBJ)
Luke Gazdic (CGY)
Garnet Hathaway (CGY)
Jean-Francois Berube (CHI)
Tomas Jurco (CHI)
Jordin Tootoo (CHI)
Gabriel Bourque (COL)
Curtis McKenzie (DAL)
Patrik Nemeth (DAL)
David Booth (DET)
Ryan Sproul (DET)
Ryan Murphy (MIN)
Byron Froese (MTL)
Andreas Martinsen (MTL)
Brian Gibbons (NJD)
Brian Strait (NJD)
Steve Bernier (NYI)
Stephen Gionta (NYI)
Matt Read (PHI)
Brandon Bollig (SJ)
Troy Grosenick (SJ)
Brandon Mashinter (SJ)
Jordan Binnington (STL)
Cory Conacher (TB)
Colin Greening (TOR)
Vincent LoVerde (TOR)
Chris Mueller (TOR)
Kerby Rychel (TOR)
Ben Smith (TOR)
Garret Sparks (TOR)
Andrey Pedan (VAN)
Teemu Pulkkinen (VGK)
Anthony Peluso (WSH)
J.C. Lipon (WPG)
2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.
Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.
July 1st:
- Anaheim re-signs Cam Fowler (8 years/$52MM)
- Anaheim signs Ryan Miller (2 years/$4MM)
- Arizona signs Adam Clendening (1 year/$650K)
- Boston signs Paul Postma (1 year/$725K)
- Buffalo signs Benoit Pouliot (1 year/$1.15MM)
- Buffalo signs Chad Johnson (1 year/$2.5MM)
- Carolina signs Justin Williams (2 years/$9MM)
- Chicago signs Patrick Sharp (1 year/$1MM)
- Chicago signs J-F Berube (2 years/$3MM)
- Chicago signs Jordan Oesterle (2 years/$1.3MM)
- Colorado signs Jonathan Bernier (1 year/$2.75MM)
- Dallas signs Martin Hanzal (3 years/$14.25MM)
- Dallas signs Tyler Pitlick (3 years/$3MM)
- Detroit signs Trevor Daley (3 years/$9.534MM)
- Florida signs Radim Vrbata (1 year/$2.5MM)
- Los Angeles signs Mike Cammalleri (1 year)
- Los Angeles signs Cal Petersen ( 2 year ELC)
- Los Angeles signs Christian Folin (1 year/$850K)
- Minnesota signs Ryan Murphy (1 year/$700k)
- Minnesota signs Landon Ferraro (2 years/$1.4MM)
- Minnesota signs Kyle Quincey (1 year/$1.25MM)
- Minnesota signs Cal O’Reilly (2 years/$1.4MM)
- Montreal signs Kyle Alzner (5 years/$22.5MM)
- Montreal signs Byron Froese
- Montreal signs Peter Holland
- Nashville signs Nick Bonino (4 years)
- Nashville signs Scott Hartnell (1 year/$1MM)
- Nashville signs Anders Lindback (1 year/$650K)
- Nashville signs Matt O’Connor (1 year/$650K)
- New Jersey signs Brian Boyle (2 years/$5.1MM)
- NY Rangers sign Ondrej Pavelec (1 year/$1.3MM)
- NY Rangers sign Kevin Shattenkirk (4 year/$26.6MM)
- Ottawa signs Nate Thompson (2 years/$3.3MM)
- Philadelphia re-signs Mike Vecchione (2 years/$1.88MM)
- Pittsburgh signs Antti Niemi (1 year/$700K)
- Pittsburgh signs Matt Hunwick (3 years/$6.75MM
- San Jose re-signs Martin Jones (6 years/$34.5MM)
- San Jose re-signs Marc-Edouard Vlasic (8 years/$56MM)
- San Jose re-signs Joe Thornton
- St. Louis signs Beau Bennett (1 year/$650K)
- St. Louis signs Chris Thorburn (2 years/$1.88MM)
- St. Louis re-signs Oskar Sundqvist (1 year/$650K)
- Tampa Bay signs Dan Girardi (2 years/$6MM)
- Toronto signs Ron Hainsey (2 years/$3.25MM)
- Toronto signs Curtis McElhinney (1 year/$850K)
- Toronto signs Dominic Moore (1 year/$1MM)
- Toronto signs Garret Sparks
- Winnipeg signs Dmitri Kulikov (3 years/$13MM)
- Winnipeg signs Steve Mason (2 years/$8.2MM)
- Vancouver signs Sam Gagner (3 years/$9.45MM)
- Vancouver signs Michael Del Zotto (2 years/$6MM)
- Vancouver signs Anders Nilsson (2 years/$5MM)
Chicago Blackhawks Sign Anton Forsberg, Tomas Jurco
The Chicago Blackhawks have signed two of their pending restricted free agents, inking Anton Forsberg to a two-year contract and Tomas Jurco for one year. While no details have been released, getting the two restricted free agents under contract early is a nice bonus for the Blackhawks, who will be navigating a difficult salary cap all summer. While Jurco will still be an RFA at the end of the contract, Forsberg could potentially become a Group VI free agent should he play less than 19 games over the next two years.
Acquired last week from the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the Artemi Panarin deal, Forsberg is the likely backup for Corey Crawford next year. His short experience in the NHL has been very underwhelming, though he’s performed incredibly well in the AHL. He was a big reason the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters won the 2016 Calder Cup, recording a .949 save percentage after taking over from Joonas Korpisalo. He’ll have big shoes to fill, as Scott Darling has been one of the best backups in the league in recent years and earned himself a starting job with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Jurco on the other hand was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline but recorded just one point down the stretch for Chicago. Hoping he could be the next Richard Panik, the Blackhawks will try to turn him around and get back to the offensive player he was in junior and the early parts of his professional career. Selected 35th-overall by Detroit in 2011, he’ll need to make an impact soon or will have a hard time finding a regular job around the league.
Detroit’s Uncertain Future
The Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs for the first time in 25 years in 2016-17. Not seeing the winged wheel on the ice is something deeply unfamiliar to many, and Detroit’s management is hoping that it won’t become a trend. However, there is definitely concern going forward as to what direction the team will head. While the team is technically going through a rebuild, effectively doing so can be quite difficult when you have so many aging players taking up spots and cap dollars. There are also questions as to whether any extended period of failure would be embraced by management, as fan-site Winging it in Motown wondered earlier this month. The strategy for GM Ken Holland is going to be complicated, as fans might need to grow accustomed to losing for a brief spell if the team is to strengthen its core.
Firstly, they will need to decide which players are part of the core and which are accessory pieces. There were good signs this off-season when Holland decided to sell assets, including Thomas Vanek, Tomas Jurco, Brendan Smith, and Steve Ott. This is a solid portent that there will be future moves, but there is room for doubt. For example, the 36 year-old Henrik Zetterberg has 4 years left on his contract at $6.083 MM, while the 33 year-old Frans Nielsen was just signed to his long-term deal, good for another 5 years at $5.25 MM. Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm still have plenty left in the tank, but at $4.25 MM and $3.8 MM respectively, and years of term, is a full rebuild truly so feasible? Niklas Kronwall is another well-paid veteran at 36 years-old, and he has two more seasons under contract.
Then there is the goaltending situation. Detroit is paying over $9 million dollars in contracts to their two tenders, both of which have had their difficulties. Jimmy Howard had what could be considered a bounceback year, posting a .927 save percentage after the awful .906 dip the season before. The caveat – he only started 26 games. The other half of the duo, Petr Mrazek, received the bulk of the starts – 50 in all. Unfortunately, his stats took a nosedive to a .901 save percentage, as he struggled mightily behind his flightless team. To complicate matters, Howard has a modified No-Trade Clause, under which he can list the 10 teams he would accept a trade. The obvious decision seems to be that they will bank on Howard going forward and try to flip Mrazek to a team in need of help in the crease – he only has one year remaining at $4 MM before he needs his contract re-negotiated. If they are unable to do so, Mrazek would likely be snagged by Vegas in the expansion draft. But management obviously showed confidence in Mrazek’s abilities this season, sticking through him despite his impressively bad statistics. Perhaps Howard is the one on the way out of Motown. But if Mrazek flounders yet again, what does the pipeline hold?
The team as a whole has already allotted $67.09 MM to 18 players (two of whom are now on LTIR), and they need to sign RFAs Andreas Athanasiou, Xavier Ouellet, and Tomas Tatar. Only two players are coming off the books, the moderately paid forwards Joe Vitale and Drew Miller, either of whom could potentially re-sign. In terms of prospects, the talented winger Evgeny Svechnikov is the most promising potential addition. He posted 20 goals and 51 points in his rookie season with the Grand Rapids Griffins and impressed with his size. Anthony Mantha continues to be intriguing, and Athanasiou definitely has the talent to take another step forward. However, there isn’t a ton of help on the horizon in terms of defense. A top-flight prospect here would do wonders for the squad going forward. With 11 picks in this year’s draft, in what is Holland’s last contracted season as GM, decisions with incredible importance lie ahead. Will Hockeytown fully commit to a long-term rebuild, or will they make runs at competing in the relatively weak Atlantic division with a mix of aging and inexperienced players?
Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Atlantic Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the neck-and-neck Atlantic Division:
Winners
Boston Bruins:
- Acquired Drew Stafford from Winnipeg Jets for conditional 2017 sixth-round pick
GM Don Sweeney did not want a repeat of 2016, when he gave up second, third, fourth, and fifth-round picks for Lee Stempniak and John-Michael Liles, only for the team to miss the playoffs. In 2017, he succeeded in bringing in a reliable depth player and goal-scorer, Stafford, without having to pay the price of a top pick or any of Boston’s numerous high-end prospects. Sweeney deserves credit for not panicking when his divisional rivals all began making multiple moves, holding to his word of not overpaying and eventually getting a last-minute deal done at a bargain price for a good player.
Detroit Red Wings:
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick from Chicago Blackhawks for Tomas Jurco
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and 2018 second-round pick from New York Rangers for Brendan Smith
- Acquired 2018 sixth-round pick from Montreal Canadiens for Steve Ott
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and Dylan McIlrath from Florida Panthers for Thomas Vanek
As hard as it is to imagine, the Red Wings are going to miss the playoffs and were in a complete fire sale at the deadline. For as long as it has been since they were in such a position, the team did pretty well. GM Ken Holland may have been able to get a better deal for Vanek earlier in the season, but getting two high picks for Smith and anything at all for Ott was nice maneuvering. The Red Wings in essence added five picks for four players that were unlikely to be on the team in 2017-18 anyway. Could they have dealt Riley Sheahan and Drew Miller too? Possibly, but they did enough as is.
Friday Trades Recap: Patrick Eaves, Tomas Jurco
Friday featured a couple trades as the trade deadline approaches. Here’s another look at what went down today, and what it could mean for both teams down the road.
Trade #1: Anaheim acquires Eaves
Ducks Receive: F Patrick Eaves
Stars Receive: 2017 2nd round pick (conditional)
The Details: This could be a huge win for both teams should the Ducks see the playoff success they hope for. Eaves has had a tremendous season, netting 37 points (21-16) for a Stars team that could never turn the corner. Eaves brings another dimension of scoring for the Ducks who are looking up at the Sharks and Oilers. The Stars did well, too, snaring a 2nd round pick at the very least for a player who only had one 20-goal season until this year. Should the Ducks advance to the Conference Finals, Eaves needs to play in at least 50% of those games for the 2nd rounder to turn into a first.
Who wins? It all depends on how far the Ducks advance. It’s a win-win should the Ducks go to the Conference Final or beyond since the Stars have a second round pick become a first. If Eaves bolsters their scoring or has a good playoff, it helps the Ducks case in dealing away a second round pick. Should they get bounced in the first round or Eaves not help out as anticipated, it would be a slight nod to the Stars.
Trade #2: Chicago acquire Jurco
Blackhawks receive: F Tomas Jurco
Red Wings receive: 2017 3rd round pick
The Details: The Red Wings and Tomas Jurco never worked together. A highly touted prospect, Jurco never gave the Wings what they sought while the Wings never gave Jurco the ice time or playing time he expected. Enter the Blackhawks. Chicago dealt a third round pick for the 24-year-old winger, who can slide in nicely on the third or fourth line that is less about grit (unlike Detroit) and more about goal scoring and puck possession. Two seasons ago, Jurco netted eight goals in 36 games. The Blackhawks boast a much stronger roster than the Red Wings, and it could be a steal if Jurco lives up to the potential many thought he had.
Who wins? If Jurco flourishes in Chicago, it’s an absolute win for the Hawks. Still young, Jurco never really broke into the lineup despite being known for his puck possession prowess. While Ken Holland is known for letting his prospects “over-ripen,” this seemed to be an “over-done” situation in Detroit. Regardless, they still got a third round pick for a player they would have most likely lost this summer. Another way of looking at it? The Wings weren’t playing him regardless, and getting a third round pick is an absolute win. Should Jurco be a regular contributor for Chicago, a third round pick suffices as a nice giveaway and pickup for both teams.