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Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Oilers, Canucks

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After two years of heavy turnover and maneuvering to get their franchise off to a hot start, it looks like the Vegas Golden Knights will be taking a back seat when free agency opens on July 1. While most people weren’t expecting Vegas to be active this offseason, with their cap room already used up, Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas writes that President of Hockey Operations George McPhee admitted the team will be inactive:

Well we’re in pretty good shape with our core group. We have basically everyone signed up and we are close on some other things. So I don’t imagine we’re going to be out looking at free agents this summer. We like the team the way it is and we like the young guys that we have coming along.

What McPhee meant when he said the team was close on some other things could be very interesting, although it could range anywhere from a potential long-term deal with restricted free agent William Karlsson, to potential deals for fellow RFA’s Nikita Gusev, Tomas Nosek, Jimmy Schuldt or veteran UFA Deryk Engelland, or even a trade to free up cap space to sign any of them.

  • The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis (subscription required) looks at the potential compatibility between the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets, wondering if the two teams might be a perfect match for solving each of their problems. The scribe suggests the Jets could use Edmonton to help unload some of their less-significant contracts, such as Mathieu Perreault or Dmitry Kulikov, or if the Jets are more motivated, they could consider sending winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who is coming off a disappointing season, to Edmonton for a package that could include a defenseman such as Darnell Nurse or Andrej Sekera and some of Edmonton’s youth that could help bolster the team’s depth.
  • Allan Mitchell of the Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Oilers are in need of an inexpensive third-line center option, one that can kill penalties, suggesting the team look via the trade market to find that player. He writes that the Oilers should consider trying to pry Montreal Canadiens’ center Phillip Danault, as well as look at Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry, Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Detroit’s Luke Glendening, or Dallas’ Radek Faksa. The scribe adds that the most likely candidate that Edmonton would be able to steal away could be Pageau.
  • The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that the Vancouver Canucks should seriously consider trying to convince Toronto Maple Leafs unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner to sign with them this offseason. While there have been rumors that Toronto wants to unload other contracts in hopes of keeping Gardiner in the fold, Johnston writes that Gardiner would be the perfect puck-carrying defenseman that the team hasn’t had since Alexander Edler was in his prime. However, he wonders whether the U.S.-born blue liner might prefer to avoid playing in Canada after a taking a lot of heat from Toronto fans over the years.

Snapshots: Datsyuk, Faulk, Karlsson, Sutter

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Despite some initial speculation early this off-season, it seems an NHL comeback for Pavel Datsyuk is unlikely. Speaking to Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press, agent Dan Milstein stated that Datsyuk’s probable landing spot remains his home town of Yekaterinburg with the KHL’s Avtomobilist. A free agent after wrapping up a very successful three-year stint with SKA St. Petersburg, Datsyuk made it known that he was leaving SKA and was hoping to land somewhere more familiar to he and his family. The 40-year-old center’s NHL rights are currently owned by the Arizona Coyotes, but they expire on July 1st with the start of the new league year. As such, there was some thought that he could return to the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent all 14 years of his NHL career. Datsyuk would be joining a team now run by fellow Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman and even in his advanced age, Datsyuk would have had the chance to return to a key role for Detroit. Although he recently visited the city and reportedly spoke to Yzerman and company, Milstein maintains that Datsyuk is more likely to settle into a cushy role in Yekaterinburg. “We are meeting in the coming days to discuss options and future plans,” Milstein said, but it seems that the decision is already close to being made. “It’s very likely Pavel will live up to his promise of playing for his hometown team in Russia.”

  • In an article offering up some trade suggestions over the waning days of the NHL postseason for those teams no longer in the running, USA Today’s Kevin Allen notes that teams may not want to waste their time trying to pry a defenseman out of Carolina. The Hurricanes succeeded this season largely because of their strength on the back end and GM Don Waddell appears more concerned with maintaining that depth rather than leveraging it. Allen reports that the team is engaged in extension talks with long-time stalwart Justin Faulk, whose current contract expires after next season. Allen adds that the team is not interested in dealing Faulk or any of their top-four defensemen at this time, which certainly includes Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce, but may also include their big free agent addition from last summer, Calvin de Haan. The one defenseman who might have been dangled as trade bait is Trevor van Riemsdyk who, like Faulk, has only one year remaining on his contract. However, a long-term injury that will see van Riemsdyk on the sidelines to begin the season will probably put a damper on any trade talks. van Riemsdyk’s early-season absence will also allow youngsters Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean to see some NHL ice time, keeping all blue line parties content through another season at least.
  • Offer sheets remain a rare occurrence in the NHL – the last came in 2013 – but that doesn’t stop talk from spreading every off-season that one of the top restricted free agents could finally land such an offer. One prominent RFA whose name has not been associated with an offer sheet thus far, perhaps should be, writes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Schoen believes that center William Karlsson is a prime candidate for an offer sheet this summer. The Vegas Golden Knights are already buried in payroll and the off-season has yet to begin. CapFriendly estimates that they are already over the projected $83MM ceiling for next season, yet still have Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Malcolm Subban, and others to re-sign. The Knights will be forced to move out salary regardless, but a substantial offer sheet signed by Karlsson may be too much for Vegas to match. Specifically, Schoen names the Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings as potential suitors, citing cap space and need for all four teams.
  • While it is not a done deal, the Los Angeles Kings don’t appear worried about losing one of their key free agents. Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that the Kings are close to extending Brett Sutter, the captain of the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Sutter, 32, is a respected veteran who Rosen states is a “great conduit between the coaching staff and dressing room.” An experienced and productive minor league forward, Sutter is the type of dedicated player that all organizations like to have around and it seems he will be back with L.A. for at least one more year.

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Brodie, Schmaltz

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While the names of Mitch Marner, Sebastian Aho, Brayden Point and William Karlsson are popular names brought up amongst the multitude of upcoming restricted free agents this summer, one name that often gets missed is Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser. The 22-year-old has been a key figure with the Canucks the past two years as he’s combined for 51 goals and 111 points in the last two seasons, making him quite an interesting figure, considering Vancouver needs to lock him up.

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal (subscription required) analyzes what it might take for the Canucks to sign Boeser this summer. While the Canucks have the cap space to be generous to their young forward, the scribe writes they need to be cautious as both Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes will be watching as they will also be looking for new record-breaking deals in the next two years, but when noting that it took Boeser a couple of years to break into the league before his entry-level deal kicked in, the best comparisons are Filip Forsberg and Jordan Eberle. With those numbers in mind, the scribe says that a rough estimate puts Boeser at approximately $7.25MM with Boeser likely asking for $8MM, while the Canucks hoping to keep it as close to $7MM as possible.

However, with no eligibility for arbitration or a potential offer sheet to use as leverage, Boeser isn’t exactly in the prime situation to force the Canucks to pay $8MM unless he wants to hold out.

  • While there has been talk that the Calgary Flames might be ready to move on from defenseman T.J. Brodie with their influx of talented blueliners ready to take bigger roles in the near future, The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) does an in-depth look at Mark Giordano as well as his impact on Brodie. The scribe notes that Brodie, who looked to be on the decline a year ago, had an improved year when paired with Giordano, but when he wasn’t playing with the star defenseman, Brodie’s numbers were extremely mediocre, even more suggesting that Calgary might be best served in moving Brodie now before his value slips even more. The 28-year-old will be in a contract-year at $4.65MM, which might make him even more valuable to other NHL teams.
  • Craig Morgan of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Arizona Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz, who the team acquired last November but only appeared in 17 games before going down with a season-ending meniscus injury, is changing his diet in hopes of being in the best shape of his career. With a history of eating burgers and cheese curds, the team has asked him to start eating healthier this summer. “I have never really cooked in my life,” he said. “It was always easier to go out or order something, but learning how to cook healthy food is a big step, and you can really focus on that in the summer.”

William Karlsson Looking For Long-Term Contract

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The Vegas Golden Knights came into existence last season with almost no long-term commitments. It was obvious from their expansion draft strategy that they were after as much flexibility as possible, and selected several players with expiring deals. Now just two seasons into their history that has completely changed, with long-term extensions handed out like candy for their core pieces. Mark Stone, Reilly Smith, Jon Marchessault, Max Pacioretty, Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, Colin Miller, Brayden McNabb, Nate Schmidt and Marc-Andre Fleury are all signed through at least 2021-22, and there soon could be another name to add to that group.

William Karlsson, the breakout star of the Golden Knights’ inaugural season, is scheduled to be a restricted free agent for the final time this summer and is arbitration eligible once again. Karlsson told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he had some preliminary talks with the team before the playoffs and that he hopes to sign a long-term deal with Vegas. If Karlsson went to arbitration the process would only be able to award him a one-year contract, taking him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020.

There were some who expected the Golden Knights to lock up Karlsson last summer, but their decision to wait seems to have paid off. The 26-year old forward could not replicate the 43-goal campaign he had in 2017-18, and finished with just 24 goals and 56 points this season. While that was still good enough for second on the team in scoring, Karlsson is in a much different place when heading into negotiations.

It was always expected that Karlsson would experience some regression, given the mind-boggling 23.4% shooting percentage he enjoyed in 2017-18. His previous high for goals had been just nine in a full season, but a move to Vegas has turned him into a much more effective offensive player. He also won the Lady Byng award last year, and received votes for both the Selke and Hart trophies.

That outstanding season turned into a one-year $5.25MM contract for Karlsson, a contract that will have an interesting effect on his next deal. UFA seasons usually cost more to buy out in long-term deals, meaning any multi-year contract will be an expensive addition to the Vegas salary structure. How that can fit in isn’t totally clear, given the some $82MM that the team has already committed to next year. That total doesn’t include new deals for Nikita Gusev or Jimmy Schuldt either, though it’s not clear how expensive they will be after burning through their entry-level deals without really playing.

The Golden Knights have quickly put themselves in a tricky financial situation, and one that may result in the team moving out a player or two as a cap casualty. It would have been difficult to see that coming a few days after the draft, but GM George McPhee has been aggressive in acquiring the talent to make his team a Stanley Cup contender right away.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Karlsson, Haula, Lightning, Stolarz

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While there has been plenty of talk recently about players potentially signing contract extensions, don’t expect that to be the case between the Golden Knights and center William Karlsson.  In an appearance on Fox Sports Las Vegas (audio link), GM George McPhee indicated that there is no push to get a deal done with his top pivot.  He noted that both sides came into the season looking for clarity and that they will re-assess the situation over the summer.  Karlsson signed a one-year, $5.25MM last summer following a breakout year that saw him collect 78 points, well above his previous career best of 25 so there were plenty of questions regarding whether or not he could duplicate that.  The 26-year-old has slowed down a bit with 30 points in 47 games and will once again be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights.

McPhee also commented on center Erik Haula’s status.  He noted that his rehab is going well but there is no timetable for his return and they remain unsure if he’ll be able to return this season.  Haula sustained what McPhee called a rare injury for hockey players (the exact details are unknown but it pertains to his knee) and has been out of the Golden Knights lineup since early November.

More from around the league:

  • The Lightning hope to have forward J.T. Miller back in their lineup sometime during their upcoming three-game road trip, notes Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times. He has missed the last six games due to an upper-body injury.  Meanwhile, winger Ryan Callahan is also expected to return during this trip.  Head coach Jon Cooper indicated that the veteran re-aggravated something in his upper body (he has missed time with back and shoulder issues) which has caused him to miss the last two games.
  • Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz took part in a full practice today, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News (Twitter link). He appears to be on track to return following the All-Star break.  Stolarz has struggled this season, posting a 3.90 GAA and a .880 SV% in nine appearances but he will give Philadelphia another option between the pipes.  They could then opt to waive the recently-acquired Mike McKenna or perhaps return Carter Hart to the minors although that scenario seems unlikely at this point given how the youngster has fared so far.  The Flyers carried three goalies earlier in the season and could do that again although they’d need to free up a roster spot first to do so.

Poll: Who Are The Best Centers In The NHL?

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The NHL Network lit up the hockey world recently when they revealed their list of the Top 20 Centers in the league, ranking Connor McDavid as the best in the league ahead of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The number four slot was occupied by Auston Matthews, which ruffled some feathers, while the reigning Stanley Cup champions Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom were down at 13 and 14 respectively.

The Penguins (Croby, Malkin), Maple Leafs (Matthews, John Tavares), Capitals (Kuznetsov, Backstrom) and Oilers (McDavid, Draisaitl) all had two names on the list, while other potential options like Eric Staal, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Toews, Brayden Schenn, Brayden Point, Ryan O’Reilly, Sean Monahan and Dylan Larkin were all absent.

Since the NHL Network’s fan vote was so different—Jay Beagle ranked 20th on the list—we thought we’d do our own tally here at PHR. In the poll below we’ve listed many options and are asking you to vote for your top group by selecting 10 names. Does Matthews stay in the top five? Can defensive wizards like Anze Kopitar and Patrice Bergeron climb up the rankings? Does the PHR community believe in William Karlsson? Cast your vote for the top 10 centers in the league and make sure to leave a comment explaining your choices.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*Though Claude Giroux has played center for much of his career, his absence from the NHL Network list means he was likely left off the ballot. We’ve similarly left him out of the poll, along with other part-time centers like Joe Pavelski, Blake Wheeler and Logan Couture. If you feel as though any of them should be included in this group, make sure to leave a comment down below.

Golden Knights, William Karlsson Agree To Terms On A One-Year Contract

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While Golden Knights center William Karlsson was slated to go to arbitration this morning, the hearing didn’t go ahead. Instead, the team announced that they have agreed to a one-year, $5.25MM contract with their top scorer. The deal includes just $500K in signing bonuses.

Before the hearing, the two sides had filed their salary requests.  Karlsson was seeking $6.5MM while the team came in at $3.5MM so the settlement comes in beyond the $5MM midpoint.

The 25-year-old had a breakout season in 2017-18, one that no one could have reasonably expected.  After putting up 25 points in 81 games in 2016-17, the Blue Jackets reached a deal with Vegas for them to take Karlsson instead of winger Josh Anderson or goalie Joonas Korpisalo in the Expansion Draft.  It’s safe to say that the deal worked out extremely well for the Golden Knights.

While he started out in a bottom-six role, that didn’t last long and Karlsson took off after that.  He wound up scoring a whopping 43 goals which ranked third overall in the league while adding 35 assists while becoming their top line pivot.  He also led the league in plus/minus with a +49 rating.  However, he also led the league with a 23.4 shooting percentage, a number that many view as unsustainable and use that as an argument that he is due to regress in 2018-19.

Although he cooled off a little bit in the Stanley Cup Final, Karlsson also had a productive postseason, notching seven goals and eight assists in 20 games which certainly helped to bolster his case and helped him earn a $4.25MM raise in salary compared to what he made last season.

Karlsson will be eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration rights once again next season.  His $5.25MM salary for next season will also represent his qualifying offer at that time.

With the signing, Vegas has all but one of their players signed for 2018-19 with nearly $8MM in salary cap room to work with; RFA defenseman Shea Theodore is still in need of a new deal.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston was the first to report (Twitter link) that the two sides reached a settlement before the hearing.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to note via Twitter the value of the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights Exchange Arbitration Figures

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The very last arbitration hearing on the books, scheduled for Saturday, is with William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights. Almost an impossible to predict contract given his absolute offensive explosion last season, Karlsson and the Golden Knights have exchanged figures today. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Karlsson filed for a $6.5MM salary, while the team has offered $3.5MM.

Karlsson, 25, was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2011, but was eventually sent to Columbus as part of a package for James Wisniewski. Despite his obvious potential as a defensive center, there wasn’t a ton of opportunity for him to show what he could do on the offensive side of the puck for the Blue Jackets. In 165 games for Columbus he scored just 47 points. Well, after heading to the Golden Knights in the expansion draft he nearly matched that total in just goals, scoring 43 on the season and registering 78 points. He would take home a Lady Byng trophy, and finish in the top-10 for both the Hart and Selke trophies, while also helping the team to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

It’s that lack of offensive history that could hurt Karlsson in arbitration, as the team will argue it was an outlier and he poses a real risk of regression next season. Karlsson did shoot an incredibly high 23.4% in 2017-18, a number that is almost certain to go down in the future. If that number dropped to something like 15%, which is still well above league average, Karlsson would have scored fewer than 30 goals had his shot creation stayed the same. Obviously no one knows what will happen down the line for him, but after earning just $1MM last season it’s tough to justify a $5.5MM raise.

There is obviously also the chance that the two sides will come together on a long-term deal that could buy out some of Karlsson’s unrestricted free agent years, but as of yesterday nothing was imminent. Since he is two years away from UFA status, you can bet the Golden Knights will choose for a one-year arbitration award should it get that far. That way he’ll still be a restricted free agent next summer, giving the team more time to negotiate with him.

Snapshots: Offer Sheets, Hall, O’Gara

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With a limited pool of quality unrestricted free agents this year and quite a few impressive names among restricted free agents available, one has to wonder whether this might be the year that a team makes an attempt to pry away one of them with an offer sheet.

Sure, no team has used an offer sheet since 2013 when the Calgary Flames attempted to sign center Ryan O’Reilly away from the Colorado Avalanche. It didn’t work and since then, there hasn’t been one. Yet with names like Noah Hanifin, Dylan Larkin and William Nylander still available, you would think a team might attempt to go the offer-sheet route.

However, Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that won’t be happening this year, if again. The scribe informally polled nine general managers, who all collectively said there would be no offer sheets handed out this summer. One reason is that general managers see it as a way to drive up salaries, which they don’t want, and since almost all offer sheets are matched, then what would be the point? Custance adds that the compensation for offer sheets must be changed, so teams might be more willing to let a player go.

  • Chris Ryan of nj.com analyzes the success of Hart Trophy winners the following year they won, as he wonders how New Jersey Devils Taylor Hall will respond next season after winning the Hart Trophy with a 39-goal and 93-point season. While most of the previous winners (going all the way back to the 2006 season) saw a decline in their play the following year, most of them still put up solid numbers and still were in the voting for the Hart Trophy the following year, even if they didn’t win it. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid finished fifth in the voting the following year, while 2016 Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane finished sixth the next season.
  • Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that former Boston Bruins defenseman Rob O’Gara, who was traded at the trade deadline to the New York Rangers as part of the Nick Holden trade felt the trade was bittersweet. The 25-year-old blueliner was still on his entry-level contract and had only played 11 NHL games before the trade, but the four-year Yale University product had already lost some faith in him. In a league where youth thrives, O’Gara had already run out of time as he failed to crack Boston’s rotation and was often passed over for promotion by younger defenseman. In New York, however, he got a legitimate chance to take on a more permanent role, as he played in 22 games, a role he hopes to hold onto this season.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Colin Miller To Four-Year Deal

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The Vegas Golden Knights have signed restricted free agent Colin Miller to a four-year, $15.5MM contract worth an AAV of $3.875MM, according the Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno. The deal makes him the highest paid defenseman with the Golden Knights.

Miller was one of the key components for Vegas during an impressive run in its inaugural season that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The 25-year-old had his best year as a pro player with the Golden Knights. He led all defenseman with 41 points, including 10 goals and 31 assists and was a key contributor in the team’s playoff run, where he tallied three goals and seven points in 20 games. He was also a critical part of the team’s power play unit. For Miller, it marks a big raise as he played the last two seasons for $1MM per year.

Acquired through the expansion draft from the Boston Bruins, Miller has quickly taken the reigns as the top defenseman along with Nate Schmidt in Vegas. His average ice time for the year increased from over 15 minutes a game last year in Boston to 19:21 this year with the Golden Knights. Considered to have an elite-level slapshot as he had a record-breaking shot back in the 2015 AHL Hardest Shot competition, clocking in at 105.5 mph, Vegas has asked him to shoot more, which he did all season. However, more importantly, Miller’s defensive game has rounded out this year, which has been key to the blueliner’s success.

The four-year deal means the team opted to offer him a long-term deal that ate into two future unrestricted years. At $3.875MM, the Golden Knights got solid value again from a young, emerging player. The team still has quite a few restricted free agents it must deal with including No. 1 center William Karlsson, as well as Shea Theodore, Tomas Nosek, William Carrier, Philip Holm and Teemu Pulkkinen. Vegas remains in a good situation cap-wise as the team still has a little under $15MM in salary cap space left after the Miller signing and that doesn’t include the money they will get back for David Clarkson, who’s $5.25MM contract can be put onto LTIR when the season starts.

 

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