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Valeri Nichushkin

Central Division: Remaining RFAs

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We are 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 continue our break down of the remaining RFAs by taking a look at the Central Division:

Dallas Stars – $7.98MM in cap space, according to Cap Friendly – The Stars have yet to re-sign their first round pick from 2013, Valeri Nichushkin. As we reported yesterday, the Stars and Nichushkin are continuing to talk. A trip to the KHL was speculated earlier in the off-season after Nichushkin said he would “perhaps consider”  leaving the NHL because he felt head coach Lindy Ruff didn’t trust him to play big minutes. Nichushkin scored 34 points in his rookie year, 2013-14, but has only posted 30 points in the two seasons since, having missed all but eight games of his sophomore season.

Winnipeg Jets – $9.37MM in cap space, according to Cap Friendly – The right-handed defenseman is one of the hottest commodities in the NHL these days, so the Winnipeg Jets have quite a nice problem on their hands. Jacob Trouba is a big, mobile, two-way defenseman who is right handed and should be making huge steps forward in the coming seasons. However, he’s blocked from playing big minutes by other big right-handed defensemen Dustin Byflugien and Tyler Myers. Trouba can play the left side, but performs better on his natural right side. According to Gary Lawless of TSN, Trouba feels he should be playing bigger minutes, and negotiations aren’t going well – the two sides are apart on “everything”. Despite all that, Lawless said a trade was unlikely; no team is likely to want to pay the asking price to acquire Trouba after a down season. Trouba will be playing for Team North America in the next month’s World Cup of Hockey, so like Johnny Gaudreau, expect both sides to try get this resolved before then.

Nashville Predators – $5.41MM in cap space, according to Cap Friendly – The Predators NHL roster appears to be set, but they still have one last minor league signing to go; Stefan Elliott is without a contract. The Predators acquired him from Arizona as part of a bizarre three-way trade that sent Pacific Division All Star Captain John Scott to Montreal. Elliott played 21 games in the big leagues last year, but figures to be a solid AHLer who can step in to the NHL if injuries arise.

Related: our reviews of remaining RFAs in the Pacific and Atlantic Divisions.

Snapshots: ELC Bonuses, Neal On Subban, Nichushkin

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The contact of the newest member of the New York Rangers is now confirmed. Jimmy Vesey will make the maximum allowable salary for a rookie: a base salary of $925K with $2.85MM in signing and performance bonuses. Vesey is just the fifth college player to sign for the maximum amount, according to Cap Friendly. The other four are Tyler Bozak with the Maple Leafs in 2009, Justin Schultz with the Oilers in 2012, Corban Knight with the Flames in 2013, and Vesey’s soon-to-be teammate Kevin Hayes in 2014.

There are 22 total players who have signed the maximum rookie contract since the first salary cap was instituted more than a decade ago. In addition to the five college players, the list includes all 13 first overall picks since Alex Ovechkin, notable second overall picks Evgeni Malkin and Jack Eichel, and two players who came from the KHL in Evgeni Kuznetsov and Sergei Plotnikov.

Here are some other notes from around the NHL:

  • Predators sniper James Neal is looking forward to playing with his new teammate P.K. Subban, instead of against him. Neal told the Predators website that Subban is “a guy that gets under your skin, and plays the game well when he’s under a guy’s skin.” Neal is entering his third season with the Predators, having scored 54 goals and 95 points in his first two seasons.
  • Mark Stepneski, writer for the Dallas Stars official website, reports that negotiations between the team and restricted free agent (RFA) winger Valeri Nichushkin are continuing. Nichushkin has struggled to build on a decent rookie season; he tallied 14 goals and 34 points in 79 games, but has only posted 30 points in the next 87 games after missing all but eight games of his sophomore season.

Dallas Stars Notes: Niemi, Lehtonen, Nichushkin

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The Dallas Stars surprised many by taking the Central Division crown and finishing with the most points in the Western Conference in 2016-17, just one season removed from missing the postseason entirely. Their success was driven primarily by the most prolific offense in the league as Jamie Benn (41), Tyler Seguin (33) and Jason Spezza (33) led the way with hugely productive seasons. However, while the team had no problem putting the puck in the opposition’s net, they did have plenty of issues keeping it out of their own. Along those lines, Jason Brough of Pro Hockey Talk writes that the club’s “biggest question mark” entering the new season remains between the pipes in Big D.

Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen combined to stop just 90.6% of the shots they faced during the regular season a year ago. Lehtonen (90.6%) ranked 38th and Niemi (90.5%) 40th overall among qualified net minders in that category. They were even worse come playoff time with neither goalie able to stop 90% of the shots against.

The Stars were thought to be considering the possibility of acquiring another goalie, with Ben Bishop named as one possibility but it’s not clear whether any substantive talks with the Lightning or any other club ever took place. Nevertheless, Jim Nill seems confident his goaltending tandem will rebound enough to give the club at least capable play between the pipes. Each has had success in the recent past and it wasn’t that long ago that Niemi backstopped the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup so there is some reason for Nill’s optimism.

For more on the Stars…..

  • In a separate piece for Pro Hockey Talk, Brough identifies Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin as being “under pressure.” Despite playing on the most prolific offensive team in the league, the 21-year-old Nichushkin struggled, netting just nine goals in 79 regular season contests. He followed that up with a lone point, an assist, in 10 playoff games. Nichushkin, the 10th overall selection in the 2013 entry draft, has a ton of ability and as veteran scorers Patrick Sharp and Ales Hemsky each enter the final years of their respective contracts, the club may well need the young Russian to step into one of those spots sooner rather than later.
  • Revisiting the goaltending situation in Dallas, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News addressed a reader’s question on the subject as part of a recent chat. Specifically, Heika was asked how much salary the Stars would need to retain in order to facilitate a trade of one of Niemi or Lehtonen. Heika speculated that any team that would look to acquire either goalie would want Dallas to keep 50% of the player’s salary on their books. On the other hand, Heika says that GM Jim Nill doesn’t seem too keen on the idea and would rather hang on to the duo in the hope that one or both can rebuild value with solid 2016-17 performances. At this point it seems most likely that the Stars will at least open the season with Niemi and Lehtonen manning the net. But should they again scuffle and with plenty of teams perhaps willing to move a goalie prior to the 2017 expansion draft, Dallas could look to upgrade the position ahead of the trade deadline.

 

Stars Notes: Oleksiak, Seguin, Nichushkin

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Athletic ability really is a family matter. Stars’ defenseman Jamie Oleksiak may be the highest paid member of his family after he inked a new deal that will pay him almost $1MM next season, but he’ll have to take a supporting role in the family newsletter this month.  Oleksiak’s 16-year old sister Penny won two Olympic medals over the weekend, capturing silver in the 100m butterfly and anchoring a team that was awarded bronze for their time in the 4x100m freestyle.

When Jamie was asked about his state of mind while watching Penny swim for their native Canada, sibling rivalry didn’t come into the equation:  “It’s just surreal. I feel like the biggest super fan right now watching her and I’m screaming and losing my voice. She’s done such a great job and we’re all so proud of her. We’re all so proud to watch her represent Canada.”

Oleksiak will try to get his hockey career back on track this season after playing in only 19 games last year. His waiver eligibility and the acquisition of Kris Russell mid-season played the biggest parts in his time in the press box, and the former first-round pick will have to prove he’s deserved of more playing time in 2016-17.

  • In a Q&A with media on Saturday afternoon, Tyler Seguin (via The Dallas News) answered questions about his injured Achilles tendon, but also shared some feelings on the Stars’ chances this season. “Our window really just opened and I think every team’s got kind of that window that opens where you can win a championship, and I think our time definitely has now, so that part’s exciting. Getting a veteran guy like Hamhuis, it makes you even more excited for the season to start here.”  Seguin is referring to Dan Hamhuis, who signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal on July 1st.
  • While the team quickly came to an agreement with Oleksiak for next season, Valeri Nichushkin remains unsigned. It was almost a month ago that GM Jim Nill reported that Nichushkin was training in North America and isn’t considering an exit to the KHL, but there has been no other news on the contract negotiations.  Nichushkin is coming off a promising season that saw him contribute 29 points in limited minutes.  Still just 21, the former 10th-overall pick will have to show some more goal scoring ability if he’s to cement his spot next to Jason Spezza on the second line.

Central Notes: Nichushkin, Wild, Redden

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Dallas GM Jim Nill met with the media on Friday following the Jamie Benn extension.  While most of the talk naturally was focused on the new contract, Nill was also asked about current restricted free agent Valeri Nichushkin and the status of their contract talks.  Nill didn’t provide much of an update other than to say both sides are going through the process but had this to say when asked if he was concerned that Nichushkin could look for a deal in the KHL instead; quote courtesy of Mike Heika of the Dallas News:

“No, I don’t think so. Val’s over here training and I don’t think there’s that issue. Val wants to be in the NHL and he wants to have a good year this year, so I don’t think that’s possible.”

Nichushkin struggled in his second full NHL season after missing most of 2014-15 with a hip injury.  The 2013 first round pick had nine goals and 20 assists with the Stars last season while averaging 13:56 per game.  He was less of a factor in the postseason, collecting just a single assist in ten games.  He received a qualifying offer of $874K last month but that offer expired on Friday.

Other news and notes from the Central Division:

  • Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher spoke with Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune and provided a small update on their free agent situation as well as several top prospects at their development camp. On the free agent side, Fletcher noted that assistant GM Brent Flahr is handling talks with RFA defenseman Mathew Dumba and that he doesn’t anticipate any problems getting a deal done.  Fletcher also acknowledged that the team is still talking with some of the free agents left on the market but that they’re in no hurry to add anyone right now.  Russo notes that Matt Cullen has some interest in signing with the Wild.  The 39 year old spent three seasons with Minnesota from 2010-11 to 2012-13.
  • Former NHL defenseman Wade Redden is beginning his post-hockey career as the assistant director of player development for Nashville. As Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press writes, there’s already a connection to his playing days in one of the players he’s mentoring.  Rem Pitlick was a third round pick of the Predators in last month’s draft and is the son of former NHL’er Lance Pitlick, Redden’s roommate and blueline partner in the mid-to-late 1990’s.

Free Agent Focus: Dallas Stars

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After a season that saw the Dallas Stars lead the Western Conference with 109 points, and be one of only two teams to record 50 wins, they have a long offseason in front of them if they’re to keep the strong core in tact. On the backs of superstars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, they easily led the NHL in goals, hitting the twine 267 times in 2015-16. Here is a look at their upcoming offseason:

Key Restricted Free Agent: RW Valeri Nichushkin – Unfortunately for the Stars, it’s not the restricted free agents that are going to cause them headaches this summer it’s the eight UFAs they’ll see leave them. They do, however have one very important RFA in Valeri Nichushkin, the Russian powerhouse selected in the first round (10th overall) of the 2013 entry draft.

After putting up 14 goals and 34 points as an 18-year old after being drafted, the winger missed almost all of 2014-15 with a hip injury that needed corrective surgery.  This season the now 21-year old was back on a strong development path, putting up 29 points coming off injury. His 6’4″, 205 pound frame is a scout’s dream when it comes with at least average skating ability, and Nichushkin has shown he can keep up in the NHL. While the idea of him hitting the ice alongside Benn and Seguin might still be another year away, he played well when paired with Jason Spezza this season, and will look to continue his development into a top-flight power forward in the league.

Other RFAs: Jamie Oleksiak

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Alex Goligoski, D Jason Demers, D Kris Russell – Somehow the Stars have three excellent defenders 30 or under hitting free agency this offseason, and are expected to lose at least two of them if not all three.  They still have John Klingberg and Johnny Oduya under contract for next season at $4.25MM and $3.75MM respectively, but might not be able to keep up with the bidding war that the trio will command.  Other than Keith Yandle in New York, these three represent the best young defense options on the market this summer.

With Jamie Benn set to become a UFA in 2017, the Stars will be trying to keep some room under the cap to extend him long-term. He’ll be looking to jump from his current $5.25MM salary to somewhere around $10MM, and with Patrick Sharp and Ales Hemsky becoming UFAs at the same time, the Stars might not have the room to commit long term to more than one of the d-men.

Other UFAs: Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Eaves, Jordie Benn, Colton Sceviour, Travis Moen

Projected Cap Space: $13.75MM, 16 players under contract.

Overall, the Stars have a little bit of money to play with but have to be very careful where they put it, as the mentioned names are coming up next season.  With Jason Spezza earning $7.5MM a season over the next three years, the team will have over $20 million locked into three players if they indeed extend Benn. With the cap looking like it will hold steady for at least a couple of seasons, putting almost a third of your budget in three players is a risky proposition – just ask the Chicago Blackhawks who had to give up Teuvo Teravainen earlier today because of their cap mismanagement.

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