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Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents

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After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).

Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front.  Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.

Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.

David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season.  Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.

Full List Of Mandatory-Protection Players In Expansion Draft

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Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has published the full list of players who, due to no-movement clauses in their current contracts, must be protected in the upcoming expansion draft for the new Vegas Golden Knights. These are players who will count against the protection limits should they choose not to waive their NMC rights prior to the draft.

Each team has the right to protect either:

A) Seven forwards, three defenders, one goaltender

or

B) Eight skaters, one goaltender

These players will count against those numbers, and as Johnston points out, there are some notable inclusions and omissions from this group. Players like Jordan Staal, Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan all had incorrect information spread about their contracts. The former two will now need protection, while the latter will not, due to his deal only having a no-movement to the minors clause.

The Chicago Blackhawks, with eight players listed, will have little flexibility at the draft, with only four forward spots (or one defenseman) left to use. Many others, according to Johnston, including Toronto’s Nathan Horton, are likely to be made exempt if they are still on LTIR as the draft approaches.

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Nikita Kucherov Closing In On Bridge Deal With Tampa Bay

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According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, restricted free agent Nikita Kucherov is en route to North America from Russia to sign a bridge deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.  While the team has been trying to lock the winger up long-term, it doesn’t look like that kind of a deal will get done before the season starts; instead, the two sides will agree to a shorter term and re-evaluate in two or three years.

Kucherov is coming off back-to-back all-star seasons, scoring 65 and 66 points over the last two. Leading a team in scoring that includes Steven Stamkos is no small feat, though the winger did just that in 2015-16. Already a 30-goal scorer at 23, Kucherov will eventually be given a huge contract to play in this league.

After re-signing Stamkos, Victor Hedman and others this summer, the Lightning have to be careful with their cap space going forward, having just $5.5MM at the moment for this season. Though a bridge deal would likely come in just shy of that for Kucherov, a long-term deal that bought out any free agent years would have seen that rate jump quite a bit.  Johnny Gaudreau recently signed for $6.75MM, and only gave up a single year on the open market.

World Cup Roster Changes: Keith, Bouwmeester, Kronwall, Lindholm

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Earlier today Hockey Canada added St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to its World Cup team to replace Chicago blue liner Duncan Keith. Keith is still not 100% as he continues to rehab from a right knee injury suffered last season. Blackhawks team physician, Dr. Michael Terry, had this to say about Keith’s recovery:

“As Duncan continues offseason rehabilitation on the right knee injury that he sustained last season, we understand his decision not to participate in next month’s World Cup of Hockey. We believe it is in his best interests to focus on getting stronger and not risk further injury.”

Bouwmeester joins Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jake Muzzin as the only left-handed shooters on Canada’s blue line. That’s likely the primary reason Bouwmeester was chosen over right-handed options such as Kris Letang and P.K. Subban. It was also somewhat surprising that Bouwmeester was added over Mark Giordano of the Flames.

Giordano tallied 21 goals and 56 points while playing a full slate of games for Calgary. He has developed into one of the league’s best offensive defenseman over the last three seasons and like Bouweester, is a left-handed shot.

Bouwmeester, conversely, recorded just 19 points and was had a plus-minus rating of -4 in 72 games for the Blues. In all probability, Hockey Canada favored Bouwmeester’s extensive experience representing his home country. He was a part of the 2004 World Cup-winning team and also won a gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

This is the second change in as many days to Team Canada’s roster. Yesterday, Logan Couture was added to replace Jamie Benn.

Team Canada is obviously still going to be one of the tournament’s favorites but if there is a weakness, it may well be the team’s blue line.

Elsehwere, Anaheim Ducks defender Hampus Lindholm, currently a RFA, has been named to Team Sweden to replace Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall is still recovering from knee surgery performed in January.

Lindholm, 22, scored 10 goals and 28 points last season for the Ducks and is considered one of the up-and-coming young defensemen in the league. He’ll join an excellent blue line group anchored by Erik Karlsson from Ottawa and Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay.

Sweden is expected, along with Team USA, to be one of the biggest threats to Canada’s chances in this tournament. In addition to an excellent defense corps, Sweden will have Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes. Up front they have plenty of skill led by the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, Filip Forsberg and Nicklas Backstrom. Obviously Sweden boasts a formidable roster with plenty of talent.

Roster Crunch: Atlantic Division

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Over the past few days, we’ve looked at the final few spots on the roster for both the Pacific and Central divisions. This time, we’ll turn our attention to the East starting with the Atlantic.  This division will be in turmoil over the next few years, with clubs like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs going through slow, deliberate rebuilds, and perennial contending squads like the Detroit Red Wings finally starting to slow down.

Florida Panthers – While the Panthers have pretty much accomplished everything they set out to do this off-season – improving the blueline with Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, getting a capable replacement for Roberto Luongo in James Reimer, and locking up their young core – they failed in one, big $5.5MM way. Dave Bolland failed his physical and therefor couldn’t be bought out. He’ll try to prove he deserves some playing time this season, but may find himself buried in the AHL to make room for Jared McCann, the prize Florida received when they dealt Erik Gudbranson to the Canucks.

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Snapshots: Hedman, McRae, Predators

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Even with the recent decision in the NBA of Kevin Durant heading to the Golden State Warriors to create a ’super-team’, it’s still not very often that you see superstars take less money to stay in a place they feel comfortable. That’s what happened the past two weeks, as both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman re-signed for eight years (and considerably less money than expected) with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in part because of their personal bond. When talking to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, Stamkos said just as much:

“Victor and I are extremely close friends. We came up in this organization as 18-year-old kids. To say that we’re going to be together for the long run, and on one team, that’s something special. A big reason why both of us stuck around is because of the relationship that we have as teammates and as friends as well.”

To see two superstars leave some money on the table and not even hit free agency is a rare one indeed in today’s sporting world, but we may be about to catch it again in Calgary.  Pending RFAs Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have expressed a similar sentiment, and hope to be together for ’the next ten years’. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have brought in former London Knight general manager Basil McRae to become their director of player personnel, according to a team release. After capturing the 2016 Memorial Cup, McRae will return to the club he worked for in 2013-14 this time in a more advanced role. With the signing, the Blue Jackets have also announced two promotions, Ville Siren moves from pro scout to director of amateur scouting, and Josef Boumedienne moves from pro scout to director of European scouting.
  • After being knocked out in the second round by the San Jose Sharks, the Nashville Predators came into the offseason with the plan to get faster on the back end. Buying out Barret Jackman after just his first year with the club was the first move towards that end, and bringing in Yannick Weber to replace him was the next. For what it’s worth, Weber seems to have turned down more money in Europe to stay in the NHL, according to Adam Vignan of the Tennessean.  Weber took a minimum deal of $575K to secure an NHL job with Nashville.
  • Flyers prospect Philippe Myers underwent hip surgery on Wednesday, and will not be participating in the Philadelphia development camp, according to GM Ron Hextall.  Myers went undrafted out of Rouyn-Noranda in 2014-15, but exploded onto the scene last season with 45 points from the back end. He’ll now try and work his way back from surgery to return to the Flyers’ future plans.

Lightning Extend Andrei Vasilevskiy

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After re-signing both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman to eight year extensions, the Tampa Bay Lightning have turned their attention to goal, re-upping Andrei Vasilevskiy for another three seasons, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.  Vasilevskiy was still under contract for 2016-17, so the extension comes into effect after next season at $3.5MM per.

After being drafted in the first round in 2012, Vasilevskiy has continued his dominance of the KHL, AHL and now NHL, succeeding at every level.  Though the Lightning have former star goaltender Ben Bishop still under contract for next season, it would appear as though Vasilevskiy has taken over as the number one guy after performing well in the playoffs.

Since his extension doesn’t come into effect until after next season, the $5.95MM that is owed to Bishop isn’t completely handcuffing. The Lightning will still be paying less than $7MM total next season for what would be one of the best duos in the league.

Vasilevskiy, still only 21-years old, played 24 games last season with a .910 save percentage, but really made his mark in the playoffs where he increased that mark to .925. Even if he falters next season with a bigger workload, he looks like one of the best young goaltenders in the league, and is now under contract for a very reasonable cap hit.

Victor Hedman Signs Eight-Year Extension With Tampa Bay

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The turning of the calendar into July also means that players under contract for just one more season can officially negotiate contract extensions.  We already saw it with Jake Allen earlier today, and now the top 2017 UFA defenseman is off the board.

Victor Hedman has re-signed with Tampa Bay for eight seasons, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The 25-year old will earn $7.875MM annually, starting in 2017-18.

For the Lightning, this is the second huge contract extension of the last few days, following the Steven Stamkos deal on Wednesday afternoon. They have now guaranteed that their two best players will be playing with each other until 2023. With both players under contract for less than $17MM combined, GM Steve Yzerman has set up his club for long term success.

In Hedman, the Lightning are re-signing one of the best defensmen in the league.  Since going second overall in the 2009 draft, Hedman has been a mainstay on the blueline, logging over 20 minutes a night since he was 19. The last few years have seen an increase in offensive production as well, with his point totals climbing to 55, 38, 47 in the past three seasons.

Generally regarded as an elite possession defenseman, Hedman is still only 25 and is probably going to continue to improve. There may be Norris trophies in the future for this Swede, as he follows in countryman Nicklas Lidstrom’s footsteps as a positionally sound, physical-when-he-needs-to-be shutdown defenseman.

The Steven Stamkos Contract And Its Long Term Effects

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Had it happened at any point over the last year, Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos re-signing with the Lightning would have been the top story of the day and dominated the conversation. However, on a day where big names were being traded left, right, and center, the Markham-native forgoing unrestricted free agency seemed like a side note.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the structure of Stamkos’ new contract being heavily bonus-laden: Stamkos will make a $1MM salary with the rest in bonuses. Friedman has the salary at five years of $9.5MM, followed by $7.5MM and two years of $6.5MM. That’s a total of $68MM over 8 years, for a cap hit of $8.5MM, which is only $1MM higher than his expiring contract.

It’s a similar structure to the contracts of David Clarkson and Ryan O’Reilly, with great benefits to the player in the event of a lockout or buyout: Stamkos will still get the signing bonus money if the NHL goes through another lockout in 2023 at the expiration of the current CBA. As well, should the Lightning ever want to buy him out (don’t laugh, they bough out Vincent Lecavalier), it would cost the team $2.83MM per season. That’s 283% of his actually salary. (Buyout calculation done on General Fanager).

The feel-good aspect of the signing is this: Stamkos took less money to stay than he could have gotten on the open market (not factoring taxes). He wants to retire a member of the Lightning. In the Lightning’s press release, Stamkos was quoted as saying “it’s not often that a player gets the chance to spend his career in one organization and I am hopeful that this agreement sets me on that path”.

However, the part that is going to make Lightning fans nervous is how it will affect the team around Stamkos. The team has $9.3MM in space for next season. However, leading scorer Nikita Kucherov still needs a new contract after being qualified earlier this week, as does two-way winger Alex Killorn. Those two contracts are doable; it’s next summer where it could get ugly. Top defenceman Victor Hedman, both starting goalie Ben Bishop and goalie-of-the-future Andrei Vasilevskiy, and forwards Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat will all see their contracts expire.

One of the goalies will likely be traded before then, but the rest of the group will cost serious money to keep together. Defenceman Matt Carle has two years left at $5.5MM and figures to be traded or bought out to save space for the upcoming group of free agents. This is also where gritty winger Ryan Callahan’s contract is going to hurt. Callahan will make $5.8MM annually until 2020, but scored just 28 points in 73 games last season and is on the wrong side of 30.

Wily GM Steve Yzerman will have his hands full again this season, after masterfully handling the Drouin and Stamkos sagas last season. It’s going to be a very interesting year for the Lightning and their fans.

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