Snapshots: Orpik, Ennis, Bruins-Flames
While the irony of the situation was clear all along, the assumption was that there was no issue with the Washington Capitals’ trade of Brooks Orpik to Colorado earlier this off-season, the Avalanche’s subsequent buyout of Orpik’s contract, and then the veteran defenseman re-signing with the Caps. However, GM Brian MacLellan told The Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno that the team actually underwent a thorough investigation from the NHL. The league questioned Washington executives about the team’s trade and later signing of Orpik to a lesser salary than the one bought out. It is illegal for a team to re-sign any player they themselves initially bought out, but Orpik was bought out by Colorado. As such, the investigation did not uncover any conspiracy; the league found that the Capitals conducted themselves “above board”, as MacLellan put it. He stated that there would be no further repercussions from what seems to just be an honest coincidence. Whyno reached out to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who confirmed that the Capitals were cleared of any alleged wrongdoing. The Capitals are now set to save significant cap space on the same services. Had they held on to Orpik this summer, he would be making $5.5MM against the cap. Instead, they were able to sign him to a $1MM deal with incentives that is much kinder to their salary cap crunch. It’s fair to be skeptical of that circumvention, but MacLellan affirms that the team “did everything by the book”, making it simply shrewd business management on their part.
- One player who wasn’t as fortunate as Orpik following his buyout is forward Tyler Ennis. After injuries forced Ennis out of Buffalo last summer, with the Sabres trading him to the Wild, Minnesota also couldn’t get the former rising star going and bought out the remainder of his contract earlier this summer. Ennis’ value has plummeted so far over the past three seasons that it completely overshadowed the fact that he recorded 212 points in 345 games in the five seasons prior. Ennis could only manage to land a one-year deal worth the minimum salary, a $650K pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that only came after a series of meetings with GM Kyle Dubas in which he had to sell himself to the young Toronto executive. Yet, TSN’s Kristen Shilton writes that this has done nothing but motivate Ennis. Speaking with determined veteran at the start of Leafs training camp, Ennis said “Absolutely, I have something to prove. There are a lot of people that doubt me, there are a lot of people that have written me off and I’m just here to show them I have a lot left to give… My goal is to show people that I can play, that I have a lot of talent still and I’m ready to work.” With William Nylander still unsigned and not in camp, Ennis has had the good fortune of filling his spot on a line with Matthews and Patrick Marleau thus far in camp, which is a good way for him to impress the Maple Leafs’ brass. Shilton notes that he has already impressed teammates and coaches alike thus far and could be well on his way to a key role in Toronto this season. It would be quite the rebound story for a player who is correct in his opinion that many people have counted him out, but those same people could soon be forced to change their minds.
- Believe it or not, the NHL preseason kicks off in just over six hours. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are set to square off in Shenzen, China at the Universiade Sports Center in the first of two match-ups of the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games. Despite the odd timing for fans in North America, both the NHL Network and Sportsnet will air the contest, which begins at 2:30 AM Boston time and 12:30 AM Calgary time. For those staying up for the first game of the 2018-19 season, both the Bruins and Flames have released their split squad rosters who have made the trip and will compete in the series. Tonight’s game marks the beginning of Boston’s evaluation of several young forwards fighting for a top-six right wing spot and third-line center spot, while Calgary must determine both who their primary backup goaltender and how the bottom-six will work out.
Latest On William Nylander Negotiations
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their training camp roster today and young forward William Nylander was not on it as he continues to negotiate his next contract. Though both sides seemed very confident that a deal would be done before the season, nothing has been announced yet as the team prepares for camp to open. Darren Dreger was on TSN radio earlier today discussing the situation, and suggested that other sources around the league believe that Nylander’s ask could have been around $8MM per season. The Maple Leafs meanwhile, according to Dreger, are looking at other comparables that sit somewhere in the $6-7MM range.
Nylander, 22, is coming out of his entry-level contract and has made it clear that he would rather sign a long-term deal with the Maple Leafs. The team meanwhile has to carefully consider their options, given that big extensions are coming down the pipe for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at some point. After handing out a $77MM contract to John Tavares this summer, the team could be trying to get Nylander on a bridge contract for now and deal with the cap problems up front later. Nylander’s teammates meanwhile have said that they expect him in camp, though unless something is announced in the next few hours it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be there for day one.
The Maple Leafs are a rising pick to contend for the Stanley Cup this season after their big free agent acquisition, but there is more than just Nylander’s deal to be done before they find themselves in the playoffs. The team’s defense still has several question marks given Travis Dermott‘s relative inexperience and the lackluster right side, while there isn’t a ton of depth after their big three centers. At camp there will be a battle for the backup goaltender position as well, but the biggest distraction will easily be Nylander’s contract situation if it drags out. Though the report of $8MM could have just been an initial ask when the negotiations started, the two sides obviously haven’t yet come together on a number that suits both the long-term financial structure of the Maple Leafs and Nylander’s self perceived worth as an up and coming star.
After two consecutive seasons with 61 points, Nylander has already established himself as one of the better players from the 2014 draft. When we examined a group of players from that class and asked the PHR community which they’d rather have, the young Maple Leafs forward came in second behind David Pastrnak and ahead of both Nikolaj Ehlers and Dylan Larkin. If that’s his value going forward, he’d have to settle for a deal somewhere between Ehlers’ $6.0MM and Pastrnak’s $6.67MM cap hits.
East Notes: Glendening, Rangers, Nylander
Red Wings center Luke Glendening was linked to the Maple Leafs towards the trade deadline as the team was seeking fourth line center help and head coach Mike Babcock is certainly familiar with him from his own time in Detroit. However, MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that former Toronto GM Lou Lamoriello wasn’t as enamored with the 29-year-old which was why they were only offering up a late-round pick for his services.
With the Leafs still not quite set at that fourth line center spot – rookie Par Lindholm appears to be an early contender for the position, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Red Wings circle back to see if new Toronto GM Kyle Dubas would be willing to offer a bit more now. Red Wings GM Ken Holland has acknowledged that they may need to clear a little bit of payroll off their books and moving Glendening – who has three years left with an AAV of $1.8MM – should allow them to get under the Upper Limit regardless of Henrik Zetterberg’s situation while filling a need on Toronto as well.
Elsewhere out East:
- After being active near the trade deadline last season, NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz suggests that the Rangers may be a team to watch for on the trade front again in 2018-19. New York has a pair of notable forwards that are slated to be unrestricted next summer in winger Mats Zuccarello and center Kevin Hayes and with the team firmly committed to a rebuild, those two could very well be on the move in the coming months.
- Maple Leafs winger William Nylander remains unsigned and is the most prominent restricted free agent remaining on the market. In an appearance on the Steve Dangle podcast (video link), Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston suggested that it may still be a few more weeks before a deal gets done. He viewed the opening of training camp (September 13th) as an artificial deadline to get something done and that it’s certainly possible that it could go a day or two beyond that as well. Nylander’s case has been well documented already and it will be interesting to see if Toronto can reach a long-term agreement or if they opt for a bridge deal to keep his cap hit down in the short-term.
Poll: Which 2014 Draft Pick Would You Rather Have On Your Team?
Dylan Larkin hit the news today when he inked a five-year, $30.5MM ($6.1MM AAV) contract with the Detroit Red Wings which will take him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2023. That will be nearly a decade since he was drafted 15th overall in 2014, a year that is still recent enough to not be able to make clear definitions of the players taken in the first round. Aaron Ekblad was the first-overall selection that year and has turned into a very good defenseman for the Florida Panthers, though has been slowed in recent seasons by head and neck injuries. Leon Draisaitl was the third-overall pick and quickly established himself as a pillar of the contender that the Edmonton Oilers were trying to build, signing an eight-year $68MM contract last summer. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett were second and fourth respectively and have been underwhelming, though the former will now be surrounded by the best supporting cast he’s seen since joining the Buffalo Sabres.
Lower down in the first round though there is a group of forwards that are constantly compared. Larkin is included in this group, which also stars William Nylander (8th overall), Nikolaj Ehlers (9th), and David Pastrnak (25th). Nick Schmaltz (20th) may be soon included in any comparison, but has only just finished his first full season in the NHL. Other forwards around this part of the draft lag significantly behind in point totals, but these four have all already established themselves as key parts of their team’s offense. Pastrnak leads the way with a 0.80 points/game rate, while Nylander falls in just behind him at 0.73. Ehlers signed a seven-year extension with the Jets last fall which is about to kick in and pays him an average of $6MM for the next seven years. Pastrnak, who stepped almost directly into the NHL, inked a six-year deal a year ago which pays him $6.67MM per season. He proceeded to record an 80-point campaign in the first year of it, immediately making him a bargain for the Bruins.
Nylander is the last of the group to be signed long-term, and the Toronto Maple Leafs now find themselves at something of a crossroads. With Larkin’s deal coming in shorter and more expensive than Ehlers’ extension, the Maple Leafs are likely looking at something more akin to Pastrnak’s deal. It could very well even eclipse that $6.67MM number if the team tries to buy out several UFA seasons, which the Red Wings were only able to secure one of with Larkin. Though Nylander has made it clear he wants to sign a long-term deal with the Maple Leafs, the team might be forced into a bridge deal just so they can fit all of their young talent in alongside John Tavares‘ huge free agent deal.
Since these four are so closely linked and compensated, there is an obvious question that arises. Who would you rather have on your team? Though Pastrnak has the upper hand in point production at the moment, he’s also been able to play on a line with some of the best in the league in Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Only Larkin plays center with any consistency, though Nylander has spent time there in the past. The added defensive responsibility in the middle might make him a better choice to build a team around, though he has lagged behind offensively through his first few seasons. Ehlers comes with three years of UFA status already purchased, and likely will have the lowest cap hit of the bunch. His $6MM cap hit is more than reasonable now, and should be a bargain as the cap continues to grow.
Cast your vote below for the player you would want most, including the contract situation they now come with. Make sure to leave your explanation in the comment section below.
Snapshots: Offer Sheets, Hall, O’Gara
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.
East Notes: Cole, Nylander, Backstrom
The Blue Jackets would like to keep defenseman Ian Cole in the fold, notes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). The pending unrestricted free agent was acquired from Ottawa (who had previously added him from Pittsburgh) at the trade deadline and he played an important role, logging over 18 minutes a night in 20 regular season games and better than 19 minutes per game in the playoffs. Cole is set to earn a considerable raise from the $2.1MM cap hit on his current deal; Portzline surveyed some NHL agents and their expectation for his next contract checks in around $4.5MM per year.
Elsewhere in the East:
- While the league, in general, has been gravitating towards bypassing the bridge contract in favor of a long-term deal as entry-level contracts expire, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman speculated in an appearance on 630 CHED in Edmonton (audio link) that Maple Leafs winger William Nylander could be a player to get a bridge deal. He notes that Nylander’s end to his season (which saw him briefly dropped to the fourth line) will have hurt his leverage and accordingly, it would make more sense for the 22-year-old to go short-term and try to boost his value. Doing so would also give Toronto a bit more flexibility to work with in terms of trying to add to their roster this summer.
- It doesn’t appear the Capitals will have center Nicklas Backstrom in the lineup for Game Two of their Conference Final series against Tampa Bay on Sunday. Head coach Barry Trotz told reporters, including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post (Twitter link), that while Backstrom is working out on his own, he wouldn’t be participating in any on-ice work today. He is dealing with a hand injury that kept him out of their series-clinching victory last round against the Penguins. Trotz also added that he is optimistic that he will play at some point in the series and that he remains listed as day-to-day.
Performance Bonuses Still A Consideration For Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the teams in the league who are almost always right up against the salary cap ceiling. With their tremendous financial backing from corporate ownership, and a rabid fan base that is hard to scare away with even the most futile rosters, they use their situation to get every advantage possible. With that in mind, they’ve previously completed moves that a less wealthy team would just not be able to—moving David Clarkson (who was healthy but ineffective at the time) for the injured Nathan Horton for instance.
Last year brought the next wave of Maple Leafs stars, with rookies like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev all finding great success as freshmen. While all of them were on inexpensive entry-level contracts, their excellent play earned them all hefty performance bonuses. Leading the way was Matthews, who earned $2.85MM thanks to his 40-goal performance. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet broke down the bonuses for the Maple Leafs, which totaled a whopping $5.37MM on the year, the second most of all-time.
Because the Maple Leafs were using long-term injured reserve (from the aforementioned Horton along with a few others) last season and were above the salary cap ceiling, that entire bonus pool of $5.37MM was applied to this year’s salary cap as an overage. That hurts their ability to manipulate the cap, but not nearly as much as it could in the future.
The Maple Leafs are still in relative safety when it comes to the cap, with their stars still vastly underpaid and a pair of long-term injuries to use as a cushion of sorts. They were able to use some of that room to bring in Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey to augment the roster, while seeing almost their entire core return from last year. The problem arises when these entry-level contracts start to expire.
Much has been written over the past year on the Maple Leafs impending contract negotiations with Matthews, Nylander and Marner, but little of it has concerned the impact bonuses could still have. With the team again over the cap and using LTIR, any bonuses earned will again be carried over. With the roster they’re currently carrying, there is the possibility for up to $6.25MM in bonuses, though it doesn’t look early like they’ll have to pay the maximum.
Matthews, with his explosive start looks like a good bet to max out at $2.85MM, though he’d have to finish in the top-10 in goals once again. He’s currently tied for fourth, though obviously it is still early. Nylander and Marner each could earn up to $850K again.
The two wildcards are Swedish defenders Andreas Borgman and Calle Rosen. The pair have rotated in and out of the lineup early on, and are generally limited to the bottom pairing. If that changes because of injury, or they show improved ability and force head coach Mike Babcock into giving them more minutes they too could each earn up to $850K.
While performance bonuses are never exactly a bad thing—they do after all reward success—the Maple Leafs don’t want to have to deal with overages as they head into the next contracts for their big three. Though right now they project to have over $26MM in cap space for next season, that’s not including Nylander’s new deal or possible new contracts for James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak or Leo Komarov. Hacking 20% off that amount with another $5MM bonus penalty will certainly hurt their ability to re-sign the pending unrestricted free agents, and push them even closer to the 2018-19 cap ceiling where they really need to be careful.
Obviously, the Maple Leafs are quite a distance away from being locked into any cap situation. But they have to be considering how to manage the cap for the 2019-20 season when the rest of the big three (Matthews and Marner) move onto their next contracts. That’s not even considering a Jake Gardiner extension, as he’s headed for UFA status in the summer of 2019 as well. When the Maple Leafs are spending next offseason, don’t be surprised if they leave themselves a little bit of extra room to avoid an overage. If not, they could be putting themselves in a very tricky situation.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
William Nylander Extension Not Expected During Season
As Nikolaj Ehlers and Jack Eichel sign their respective long-term extensions, many fans in Toronto looked at the contracts as parallels for their own young stars. While Eichel compares favorably to Auston Matthews, Ehlers is almost a direct comparison for William Nylander. The pair were selected back to back in the 2014 draft, and have similarities in both style and production.
The Jets inked Ehlers to a seven-year extension today worth $42MM, but the Toronto forward won’t be negotiating during the season according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Like many other athletes, he instead wants to focus on his team’s success and his own game rather than where his future contract status lies.
In reality, it’s probably a good move for the Nylander camp. Entering the final year of his entry-level contract, Nylander is poised to spend the entire season riding shotgun with Matthews and racking up points. The two combined for 130 last season and could easily surpass those totals, especially given the innate chemistry they’ve shown once again in the preseason. If Nylander sets a new mark for points this season he could easily demand more than Ehlers’ $6MM per season. If not, he likely won’t be asking for much less.
It’s easy to bet on yourself when you’re as talented as Nylander, but the Maple Leafs likely want to know where Matthews’ salary falls before getting into any real negotiations anyway. As the Edmonton Oilers are finding out, when you have several superstars ready to get paid it is a tough job to fit them all into a salary structure and leave yourself any room. The Maple Leafs also have Mitch Marner to worry about, and eventually will have to decide if Jake Gardiner is worth a long-term extension. Waiting on Nylander may just be out of necessity.
William Nylander Not Focused On Contract Extension
William Nylander spoke to the media after an optional skate in Toronto today, and one of the first questions asked was about a potential contract extension. Nylander is heading into the final year of his entry-level contract, and proved last season that he’s ready to step into a starring role on the young Maple Leafs squad. The 21-year old was non-committal when talking about whether he’d thought about his next contract yet.
I’m just focused on the season right now. Nothing big, just want to be ready and be prepared for when the season starts.
I don’t know, [my agents and the Maple Leafs] have talked a little bit, but we’ll see what happens. I just want to focus on the season right now.
Nylander exploded onto the scene in 2015-16 with 13 points in 22 games, before outdoing himself as a (technical) rookie with 61 points last season. That 0.72 points-per-game rate puts him right up among some of the best players in the NHL already, and there is still plenty of room to grow. We featured him in our look at who could earn in-season contract extensions this year, and it’s good news that the two sides have at least begun to talk about a potential deal.
This year, if Nylander plays with Auston Matthews once again there could be room for even more offensive production and with it an even higher price tag. Looking forward for the Maple Leafs, the team will need to figure out how to fit their trio of top forwards—Nylander, Matthews and Mitch Marner—into a cap structure that allows them to still compete. Just recently we learned that pending free agent forward James van Riemsdyk is looking for something around $6MM per season, something that the Maple Leafs might just not be able to afford.
Eastern Notes: Toronto’s Defense, Prospects, Butcher
The Toronto Maple Leafs have received plenty of attention this offseason with their moves, including the surprising signing of San Jose veteran Patrick Marleau to a three-year deal. Add Marleau to the young cast of offensive weapons the team already has like Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, the team has hopes of making a run towards a Stanley Cup Finals this season.
However, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun is quick to point out that the Maple Leafs need to emphasize defense too. He writes that many people have forgotten that the team finished 22nd in goals against last year. Every team that finished behind them didn’t make the playoffs. And when you look at the moves the team made, very little of it was to help the defense. The team did sign 36-year-old Ron Hainsey, but how much will that help? He’s 36 years old.
Simmons writes that Toronto leadership knows the importance of defense. Coach Mike Babcock, who has won a Stanley Cup in 2008 with the Detroit Red Wings, had a team that was first in goals against that year. General Manager Lou Lamoriello won his last Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003, they were also first in goals against.
However, the team’s defense should be stronger. The team boasts a number of young, developing defensemen like Nikita Zaitsev, who is just 25 years old. Morgan Rielly is only 23 years old. Jake Gardiner is 27. Martin Marincin is 25 as well, while Connor Carrick is 23. That’s a young defense and maybe a major reason why the team brought Hainsey in. However, even with a year of development, how much better can this defense be?
- With rookie camps just a week away for many teams, Fanrag’s Craig Morgan put together a detailed list of rookies who could make an impact on the team. While it has the usual candidates like Nico Hischier, Nolan Patrick and Clayton Keller, there are quite a few lesser known ones as well. Players like Washington’s Jakub Vrana, New York Islanders’ Ryan Pulock and Columbus’ Pierre-Luc Dubois are players rarely mentioned who could make an impact this year.
- Sports Illustrated featured New Jersey Devils Will Butcher after he chose the Devils last weekend. Butcher claims he sees similarities in his game to three NHL players including Chicago’s Duncan Keith, Boston’s Torey Krug and New Jersey’s Andy Greene. ”If I was fortunate to make the big team, he would be a great mentor to me, just because he does everything,” Butcher said of Greene. ”He penalty kills, power play, all situations. He is a smart player, not necessarily the biggest guy, but he uses his abilities to defend well and play the game of hockey.”