Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Zdeno Chara

East Notes: Chara, Hamilton, Dahlin, Brassard

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Islanders are starting to receive trade interest in veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara, Pierre LeBrun reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment.  While the 44-year-old is no longer the top pairing player he was for a lot of his time in Boston, some contending teams could use him as a shutdown and penalty kill player in a limited role.  He carries a $750K AAV although there are bonuses of up to another $750K in the existing deal but those could roll over and be applied on next year’s cap with the bonus cushion.  While Chara doesn’t have any trade protection, LeBrun adds that GM Lou Lamoriello will go to the veteran to see if he indeed wants to move.  He has seven assists in 42 games this season while still averaging over 18 minutes a game.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • New Jersey is set to get blueliner Dougie Hamilton back on Thursday, notes NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. The veteran has missed the last 17 games due to a broken jaw although he still sits second in scoring by Devils defenders with 20 points in 30 games.  New Jersey is currently carrying a full roster and will need to make a move in order to free up a spot to activate Hamilton from IR.
  • The Sabres should have defenseman Rasmus Dahlin back in the lineup on Wednesday in Montreal after he missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old is on pace to surpass his career highs offensively from back in his rookie season as he already has 33 points in 49 games this season while logging just shy of 24 minutes a game.
  • The Flyers have transferred center Derick Brassard to injured reserve, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The placement was not backdated so it appears the veteran – who has battled hip injuries all season long – will miss at least another week.    Brassard played in one game two weeks ago after coming back from hip trouble and clearly, the injury hasn’t fully healed yet.  When healthy, he has been productive with 11 points in 20 games.

Chara Placed In COVID Protocol; Nelson Out 2-4 Weeks

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The New York Islanders have had another player enter this COVID protocol, as general manager Lou Lamoriello told reporters including Arthur Staple of The Athletic that Zdeno Chara tested positive. The rest of the team has tested negative so far, and they are preparing to play tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the bad news for the Islanders. Lamoriello also explained that Brock Nelson will be out two to four weeks with a lower-body injury. To fill out the roster, Thomas Hickey and Anatolii Golyshev have been recalled from the AHL.

Chara joins Adam Pelech, Andy Greene, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Kieffer Bellows, and Ross Johnston in the protocol, all of whom are not expected back in time for tomorrow. That means the Islanders will continue to play extremely short-handed unless the league steps in to postpone some games. The team is scheduled to take on the New York Rangers tomorrow night and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

It’s not even just COVID-related absences hurting the team though, as Ryan Pulock is also out long-term with an injury and now Nelson also finds himself on the shelf. The team has now lost six games in a row and finds themselves slipping completely out of the playoff picture in the Metropolitan Division.

Zdeno Chara Signs With New York Islanders

at CDT | by 15 Comments

October 10: Per CapFriendly, Chara’s one-year deal carries the league-minimum cap hit of $750,000. The deal contains an additional $750,000 in performance bonuses.

September 18: A future Hall of Famer is heading back to where it all began. As first reported by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and then confirmed by the team, the New York Islanders have signed veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara to a one-year contract. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Chara was of course drafted by the Islanders all the way back in 1996. He played his first four pro seasons with the club before being dealt to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 in the infamous Alexei Yashin trade. Since then, Chara has established himself as one of the best defensemen of his generation. A Stanley Cup champion, Norris Trophy winner, seven-time all-league defenseman, the NHL’s active leader in career plus/minus and penalty minutes, and an all-time captain, Chara has accomplished more than anyone could have expected when he last with the Islanders. However, he still wants to add another title to his trophy shelf and feels a return to New York could be the best fit.

The long-time Bruins captain, Chara left Boston after the 2019-20 season as the team was looking to move on with a younger core of defensemen and only offered Chara a depth role. The Washington Capitals took him on as an affordable, one-year rental and he provided solid stay-at-home defense all year. Yes, it was a career-low in ice time and a drop-off in most statistical categories, but at 44 years old that is to be expected. The skating and skill are largely gone from his game, but Chara was still a plus player who contributed physically and was not a liability on the back end. Having see up-close what Chara can do, the Islanders have signed him away from the division rival Capitals and will likely use him in a similar fashion. However, given their far more conservative system than Washington’s and the presence of several other dependable defensive blue liners such as Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, and fellow veteran Andy Greene, Chara will be under less pressure. This could serve to keep him well-rested and even more effective defensively late in the season and into the playoffs of his 24th NHL campaign.

Chara wanted to stay on the east coast near his family in Boston while still landing with a team that could give him one last shot at the Stanley Cup. It is safe to say that the reigning “East Division” champs have as good a shot as anyone who fits that description. Add in a homecoming to the team who started his illustrious career and the pairing of the Chara and the Islanders seems to be an excellent fit.

East Notes: Eichel, Chara, Hallander

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It was a busy news day in the Eastern Conference. It was highlighted by the New York Islanders signing Zdeno Chara and the Ottawa Senators signing Logan Brown, both to one-year deals. But those weren’t the only items of note from around the East today as things begin to heat up prior to training camps. The Associated Press’s John Wawrow reports that Jack Eichel will indeed report to the Buffalo Sabres for his physical next week. Considering the importance that Eichel’s health status plays in any potential trade from Buffalo, the results of this appointment will likely be of especially high interest to Buffalo and teams interested in acquiring the star center. It could provide some additional clarity about paths forward for Eichel, as well as a potential return date from his neck injury.

Elsewhere from around the East:

  • Assuming Chara actually suits up for game action with the Islanders this year, he’ll be setting an NHL record in the process. According to Sportradar, Chara will have gone the longest amount of time between games with a singular franchise of anyone in the league. His last game with the Islanders was in April of 2001, making it roughly 20 years and six months since he last suited up for the Isles. It smashes the previous record held by Brendan Shanahan, who went 17 years and nine months between games with the New Jersey Devils.
  • After being dealt from and back to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization via trades with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Filip Hallander remains committed to making an NHL career for himself with the team. Participating in this year’s development camp with the team, he notes to Penguins writer James Leo that he’s “here to take a spot.” It’s not something that’s entirely out of the realm of possibility. Neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin will be ready for the start of the season, stretching the team’s center depth extremely thin. The 21-year-old had 24 points in 51 games last year with Luleå in the Swedish Hockey League, and could at least earn a few games out of camp in a bottom-six role while the team heals up.

East Notes: Chara, Malkin, DeBrusk

at CDT | by 2 Comments

While the Blues are believed to have shown interest in Zdeno Chara, it doesn’t appear to be mutual.  Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland notes (Twitter link) that if the 44-year-old decides to play next season, his intention is to stay in the Eastern Conference to be closer to his family.  Chara still logged more than 18 minutes a game with Washington last season and led the team in shorthanded ice time so he can still contribute in a limited role.  But at this stage of his career and knowing he’s going to be signing for the minimum salary or close to it (plus possible bonuses) for cap purposes, Chara can afford to be selective about where he wants to go and if the right fit doesn’t materialize, he can simply call it a career.

More from the East:

  • While teams have often wanted to front-load contracts to players signing their final contracts at the end of their career to try to keep the AAV down, Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now suggests the Penguins may want to try a different approach when it comes to center Evgeni Malkin. Instead, with the 35-plus penalties not applying to contracts for players that age that have the same salary throughout, a deal like that could potentially allow Pittsburgh to tack an extra year on in return for a lower AAV while giving Malkin the opportunity to retire or go to the KHL without any risk of cap penalties that most 35-plus deals carry.
  • A pair of Western Canadian teams still have varying degrees of interest in Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk, reports Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (subscription link). The scribe notes the Oilers and Flames as teams interested, though Calgary is to a lesser degree.  DeBrusk is coming off a tough season that saw him post just 14 points in 41 games, hardly worth the $3.675MM AAV (that also carries a $4.85MM salary).  However, he scored at least 16 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons so there is a track record of some success.  Shinzawa suggests that a swap for a center would be Boston’s preference but neither of those teams have a center that could plausibly be had around that particular price tag.

Latest On Zdeno Chara

at CDT | by 10 Comments

With one more full season, Zdeno Chara would take the lead among all NHL defensemen in career games played. He currently sits in fifth, just 43 games behind the leader Chris Chelios, who played until he was 48. Chara isn’t quite that old at 44, and is coming off a relatively effective season with the Washington Capitals. If he intends on playing again this season as expected, there’s an old rival interested in his services. According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, the St. Louis Blues have expressed interest in Chara, as they did in the 2020 offseason before he signed with the Capitals.

Chara and the Blues know each other very well from their 2019 Stanley Cup Final, which went the full seven games and resulted in St. Louis’ first franchise championship. As usual, the veteran defenseman was dealing with injuries by the time the title series came around—this time playing with a broken jaw—but still managed three points in the seven games. Chara is up to 200 playoff games in his career, but hasn’t been able to hoist the trophy since 2011.

It also wouldn’t be the first defenseman from that 2019 series that the Blues would be targeting; they signed Torey Krug to a seven-year, $45.5MM contract last fall after losing captain Alex Pietrangelo to free agency. But as Rutherford writes, Chara is a long-shot for the Blues, as the veteran defenseman would like to stay as close to his family in Boston as possible with everything else equal.

There is still a place for Chara in the league, as a defenseman that is deployed almost solely in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill, but he’s obviously not what he used to be. He agreed to a one-year deal last season that paid him just $795K in base salary with another $730K in potential performance bonuses, but even that may be more than he gets this time around. He averaged just over 18 minutes this season for the Capitals, the first time since 1999 that he was under the 21-minute mark over a full season.

East Notes: Capitals Cap Overage, Jankowski, Lycksell

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Washington will be facing a bonus overage penalty of nearly $473K for next season, Mike Vogel of the Capitals’ team site relays (Twitter link).  Defenseman Zdeno Chara reached his games played and playoff qualification bonuses while goaltender Ilya Samsonov met his shutout bonus mark as well.  With the team being in LTIR all season long due to injuries to blueliner Michal Kempny and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, they were never in a position to bank any space during the season that could have offset those bonuses.  The Caps already have over $72MM in commitments for next season per CapFriendly and still have to re-sign captain Alex Ovechkin, Samsonov, and round out the rest of their roster.  GM Brian MacLellan will undoubtedly be working hard in the coming weeks to free up some much-needed cap flexibility.

More from the East Division:

  • The Penguins are unlikely to tender center Mark Jankowski a qualifying offer next month, suggests Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 26-year-old signed a minimum-salary contract after being non-tendered by Calgary back in the fall in a move that looked like a good one for both sides at the time.  However, he was largely ineffective during the season and was a healthy scratch down the stretch and for their entire first-round series.  Jankowski is only owed a qualifying offer of $750K – next season’s league minimum – but with arbitration eligibility, he could get a bit more than that in a hearing.  With their cap situation, that little bit more is probably more than they can afford for a player on the fringes of the roster.
  • Flyers prospect Olle Lycksell signed his entry-level contract last month but the team will have to wait a little while longer to get him to North America as Vaxjo of the SHL announced that they’ve added the 21-year-old forward on loan for the entire 2021-22 season. Despite not playing in Philadelphia’s system next season, Lycksell will still burn the first year of his contract.

Washington Capitals Extend Bobby Nardella

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals have come to terms on a new deal with defenseman Bobby Nardella. CapFriendly reports that the two sides have agreed on a two-year extension that will keep the 25-year-old under contract through 2022-23, at which point he will be an unrestricted free agent. The contract carries the minimum NHL salary of $750K and is two-way this coming season, at $110K in the minors, before transitioning to one-way in year two.

If Nardella’s name does not immediately come to mind, it may be because he was under contract with Washington but playing in Sweden this past season. Nardella joined Djurgardens IF back in September, but rather than re-join the Capitals when training camps opened, the team allowed him to say overseas where he was thriving. Nardella recorded 33 points in 47 games this year in just his second professional season. He led Djurgardens in scoring and finished in the top five among SHL defenseman. He returns to North America having tasted what it is like to be an elite scoring defenseman in the pros and the Capitals hope to see that continue.

An undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2019, Nardella is an undersized and offensive-minded blue liner, but has not let that limit him from making a difference in all three zones through his NCAA career and a season apiece in the AHL and SHL. Likely to return to the Hershey Bears to at least begin the 2021-22 season, Nardella could quickly earn a recall if he can show that his time in Sweden improved his game. The Capitals have no shortage of talented left-handed defense prospects such as Alexander Alexeyev, Martin Fehervary, and Lucas Johansen, but they could need immediate help at that area with Jonas Siegenthaler gone, Zdeno Chara heading for free agency or retirement, and Brenden Dillon a potential Expansion Draft casualty. Washington could be inclined to go with their most experienced option among that young group if they need defensive depth and that would be Nardella.

Nominees Announced For 2021 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2021.

Past winners of the award include Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014), and Josh Harding (2013).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – David Backes

Arizona Coyotes – Phil Kessel

Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller

Buffalo Sabres – Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames – Milan Lucic

Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks – Andrew Shaw

Colorado Avalanche – Valeri Nichushkin

Columbus Blue Jackets – Zac Dalpe

Dallas Stars – Roope Hintz

Detroit Red Wings – Danny DeKeyser

Edmonton Oilers – Mike Smith

Florida Panthers – Chris Driedger

Los Angeles Kings – Matt Roy

Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens – Corey Perry

Nashville Predators – Pekka Rinne

New Jersey Devils – Scott Wedgewood

New York Islanders – Casey Cizikas

New York Rangers – Colin Blackwell

Ottawa Senators – Nick Paul

Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom

Pittsburgh Penguins – Casey DeSmith

San Jose Sharks – Patrick Marleau

St. Louis Blues – Vladimir Tarasenko

Tampa Bay Lightning – Steven Stamkos

Toronto Maple Leafs – Jack Campbell

Vancouver Canucks – Tyler Motte

Vegas Golden Knights – Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington Capitals – Zdeno Chara

Winnipeg Jets – Eric Comrie

Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.

East Notes: Malkin, Siegenthaler, Chara, Capitals

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin returned to practice on Friday with a non-contact jersey as he continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury that’s believed to be a knee issue, notes Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  The veteran has been out since mid-March and is currently on LTIR.  If he’s able to return between now and the end of the regular season, Pittsburgh will need to clear just over $2.6MM off their books to get cap compliant before he can be activated.  Injuries have limited the 34-year-old to just 29 games this season and he hasn’t been as productive as usual with eight goals and 16 assists in those contests.

More from the East Division:

  • Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler has been placed in COVID protocol, the team announced (Twitter link). New Jersey acquired the 23-year-old earlier this month and had given him a bigger role as Siegenthaler has averaged 17:10 per game in six contests with the Devils after logging just 13:23 per game in seven matches with Washington.  Colton White was recalled to take Siegenthaler’s place in the lineup.
  • The Rangers were among the teams that showed considerable interest in Zdeno Chara last offseason, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 43-year-old was eyed as a mentor to what has become a very young back end with five rearguards aged 23 or younger suiting up against Philadelphia earlier in the week.  However, Chara opted to sign with Washington in the hopes of a long playoff run.  New York is likely going to have a similar desire to add a veteran for next year as well but they may be better served going after someone that can play a bit higher in the lineup.
  • The Capitals will be keeping their AHL coaching staff around for the foreseeable future as the team announced recently that head coach Spencer Carbery, assistant coach Patrick Wellar, and associate goalie coach Alex Westlund have all signed multi-year contract extensions. Carbery is in his third season at the helm with Hershey with the Bears posting a .702 points percentage over that span.  Hershey has a 16-5-2 record this season to lead the seven-team North Division in points with 34.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top