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Winnipeg Jets, Neal Pionk Avoid Arbitration

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The Winnipeg Jets and Neal Pionk won’t need their upcoming arbitration hearing after all, as they’ve agreed on a long-term contract instead. The RFA defenseman has signed a four-year deal that will carry an average annual value of $5.875MM. Pionk’s hearing had been scheduled for Friday. PuckPedia reports the full breakdown:

  • 2021-22: $3.5MM
  • 2022-23: $6.5MM
  • 2023-24: $7.5MM + 6-team no-trade
  • 2024-25: $6.0MM + 6-team no-trade

It’s easy to underestimate just how strong a player Pionk has become because of the market he plays in and the high-profile player he was traded for. Acquired as part of the package for Jacob Trouba, the 26-year-old defenseman has become one of the most reliable offensive defensemen in the league. In fact, since joining the Jets in 2019, Pionk ranks 13th among all NHL defensemen in scoring with 77 points in 125 games. That’s more than twice as many as Trouba, who signed a seven-year, $56MM deal with the Rangers upon arrival.

That’s not to say the two are directly comparable, but is just evidence to show how valuable Pionk has become in Winnipeg. He has averaged nearly 23 minutes a night since arriving, contributing to both the powerplay and penalty kill. When the Jets’ need for a defenseman was discussed at length this season it was to find Pionk some help, but his place on this team will continue to be a leading one.

By buying out two years of unrestricted free agency, the Jets have locked up Pionk through his prime, but it didn’t come at much of a bargain. After acquiring Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon this offseason, the team now has five defensemen making at least $3MM for the next three seasons. Winnipeg now sits just barely under the salary cap ceiling but still has a lot of work to do, with an arbitration case for Andrew Copp on the horizon. The team does have some wiggle room as Bryan Little will be placed on long-term injured reserve again, but it isn’t a lot considering they have just nine forwards signed to one-way deals at the moment.

Committing so much to the defense is not usually a bad plan, but it’s unclear exactly how the Jets expect to give their young options playing time now. Logan Stanley, Ville Heinola, Sami Niku, and Dylan Samberg are all ready to contribute, but the route to the roster is pretty much blocked through 2023-24. There will be one regular spot to fight over when the season begins (injuries notwithstanding), with Stanley obviously having the inside track after his performance this year.

For Pionk, this contract is basically perfect, giving him a huge raise through the next several years while still letting him test free agency at a young enough age to land another multi-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Radim Zohorna

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have finished some restricted free agent business, signing Radim Zohorna to a two-year contract. It will be a two-way contract in 2021-22 and a one-way contract in 2022-23, carrying an average annual value of $750K in the NHL. Penguins GM Ron Hextall released a short statement on the young forward.

Radim impressed us last season with his ability to transition to the smaller ice surface quickly and adapt his game. He is a power forward with a lot of potential and we are excited to watch him continue to grow as a player.

Zohorna, the 6’6″ behemoth that came up to play eight games with the Penguins this season, is an interesting player to follow as training camps open and rosters take shape. He scored three goals and 11 points in 12 minor league games and the 25-year-old seems to have legitimately turned a corner in his professional career. Undrafted, he also dominated the Czech league early in the season, one which had usually dominated him in the past. In 21 games for Mlada Boleslav BK, he scored 12 goals and 22 points, matching his career-high in points in fewer than half the games.

If Zohorna can continue that breakout offensively, he suddenly becomes a potential option for head coach Mike Sullivan in the bottom-six. The team essentially lost both Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann to the Seattle Kraken, but have added names like Danton Heinen and Brock McGinn through free agency. Even if he fails to make the team out of camp—and the fact that he is still waiver-exempt does not work in his favor—Zohorna will almost certainly get into some games for Pittsburgh this season as an injury replacement.

List Of Players Not Receiving A 2021 Qualifying Offer

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The deadline to issue a qualifying offer to pending restricted free agents is today, making any player who has not received one eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. It does not stop them from re-signing with the team for a different amount. Below are the players who will not be issued a qualifying offer:

(this list will be updated as reports continue to come in)

Anaheim Ducks

Danton Heinen

Arizona Coyotes

Dryden Hunt, John Hayden, Frederik Gauthier, Nathan Sucese

Boston Bruins

Ondrej Kase, Robert Lantosi, Nick Ritchie

Buffalo Sabres

Stefanos Lekkas, Dawson DiPietro

Calgary Flames

Dominik Simon, Artyom Zagidulin

Carolina Hurricanes

Jeremy Helvig

Chicago Blackhawks

Pius Suter, Josh Dickinson, David Kampf, Adam Gaudette

Colorado Avalanche

Travis Barron, Peyton Jones, Ty Lewis, Adam Werner

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kole Sherwood, Cliff Pu

Dallas Stars

Julius Honka

Detroit Red Wings

Evgeny Svechnikov

Edmonton Oilers

Jujhar Khaira, Dominik Kahun, Theodor Lennstrom

Florida Panthers

Lucas Wallmark, Patrick Bajkov, Ryan Bednard, Alec Rauhauser, Jake Massie, Brad Morrison

Los Angeles Kings

Matt Luff, Michael Eyssimont, Drake Rymsha, Tyler Steenbergen

Minnesota Wild

Dmitry Sokolov

Montreal Canadiens

Jake Lucchini, Joseph Blandisi

Nashville Predators

New Jersey Devils

Evan Cormier, Brandon Gignac, David Quenneville, Colby Sissons

New York Islanders

Michael Dal Colle, Dmytro Timashov, Robert Carpenter

New York Rangers

Yegor Rykov, Patrick Newell, Brandon Crawley, Gabriel Fontaine

Ottawa Senators

Marcus Hogberg, J.C. Beaudin, Michael Amadio, Jack Kopacka, Zachary Magwood, Jonathan Davidsson, Brandon Fortunato

Philadelphia Flyers

Pascal Laberge

Pittsburgh Penguins

Mark Jankowski, Sam Miletic, Jesper Lindgren, Emil Larmi

San Jose Sharks

Ryan Donato, Nicholas Merkley

Seattle Kraken

(none)

St. Louis Blues

Jacob de La Rose, Erik Foley, Evan Polei, Evan Fitzpatrick

Tampa Bay Lightning

Ryan Lohin

Toronto Maple Leafs

Veini Vehvilainen

Vancouver Canucks

Marc Michaelis, Petrus Palmu, Jake Kielly, Jayce Hawryluk, Mitch Eliot

Vegas Golden Knights

(none)

Washington Capitals

(none)

Winnipeg Jets

(none)

Sam Bennett Re-Signs With Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers are busy completing their RFA work today. After signing two depth defensemen earlier, the team has now reached a much bigger deal with Sam Bennett. Bennett has signed a four-year contract with the Panthers that Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports will carry an average annual value of $4.4MM. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet provides the full breakdown:

  • 2021-22: $1.925MM + $1MM signing bonus
  • 2022-23: $3.425MM salary
  • 2023-24: $6.35MM salary
  • 2024-25: $5.0MM salary

Florida GM Bill Zito released a short statement:

Sam’s impact on our club this past season was seen immediately, injecting physicality, skill and energy into our lineup. We are thrilled to have him in our Panthers lineup and look forward to what he can bring to our offense in the upcoming 2021-22 season.

Bennett, 25, is probably the happiest man in the world looking back at his deadline trade to the Panthers. He has recorded just 12 points in 38 games for the Calgary Flames, spending considerable time on the fourth line. Upon arriving in Florida, he was immediately placed in the top-six, given 18 minutes a night and managed 15 points in his final ten games. That was followed by a point-per-game performance in the first round of the playoffs, where Bennett has always excelled.

It shouldn’t be expected that Bennett performs at the level he did in those ten games, scoring at a pace that he’s never come close to in the past, but he doesn’t have to reach quite that level to be a valuable contract for the Panthers. At $4.4MM, as long as he’s a reasonable second-line player that provides physicality and playoff performance, it will work out just fine. A four-year deal buys out three years of unrestricted free agency, but also provides Bennett with the kind of security that wouldn’t have necessarily been available on the open market. Florida figures to be a strong team for the duration of the deal, providing Bennett with plenty of opportunities to show off his offensive skills.

Of course, there is a salary cap, and the Panthers have a big name to sign over the next year. Aleksander Barkov’s deal will expire after the 2021-22 season, a player the team obviously can’t afford to lose. With Bennett now taking up a good chunk and newcomer Sam Reinhart also expected to sign a multi-year deal, the Panthers are betting they’ll still be able to fit everyone in down the road.

Senators Will Not Extend Qualifying Offers To Six RFA’s

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The deadline to extend qualifying offers to restricted free agents arrives on Monday, but the Ottawa Senators have already made their plans clear. The young team has no shortage of restricted free agents, but that list is about to be trimmed substantially. As relayed by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators GM Pierre Dorion has confirmed that forwards Michael Amadio, J.C. Beaudin, Jonathan Davidsson, and Jack Kopacka, defenseman Brandon Fortunato, and goaltender Marcus Hogberg will not receive qualifying offers. That group of six is nearly half of Ottawa’s current 14 restricted free agents.

The most notable name on the list is Hogberg, who served as the Senators’ primary backup goalie the past two seasons. However, he is also the least surprising inclusion on the list. The team informed the 26-year-old back in May that they would not qualify him and have stuck to that promise. Hogberg has struggled in the NHL and is expected to return to Sweden.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Amadio, who would only require the minimum $750K salary to qualify. Acquired this season from the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Christian Wolanin, Amadio has 173 NHL games on his resume including a 2018-19 campaign in which he scored at a full season pace of 12 goals and 25 points. One would think that this could be a useful player for the Senators to hold on to, at least for a full year, but instead they will move on quickly from the 25-year-old winger.

Kopacka was also new to Ottawa this season, acquired from the San Jose Sharks as part of the package for defenseman Christian Jaros, but has never played in the NHL and did little in the AHL to show he was worthy of a new contract. Beaudin, who saw 22 games with the Senators this season, seemingly did not do enough in his audition to stick with the club. Fortunato, the most expensive player to qualify despite having no NHL experience and unspectacular AHL numbers, and Davidsson, who is signed to a multi-year deal overseas, are not surprising inclusions on this list of soon-to-be former Senators.

If anything, this exodus of RFA’s from Ottawa implies that the Senators see better uses for their maximum 50 contract slots. With a deep pipeline of prospects, the team could be looking to bring younger, more exciting options into the fold this season in place of these aging, uninspiring players.

Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Spencer Smallman

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The Carolina Hurricanes have taken care of business with a would-be restricted free agent. The team has announced that they have come to terms on a one-year contract extension with forward Spencer Smallman. Smallman has signed a two-way contract that pays him the minimum $750K in the NHL and $75$K in the AHL. The deal comes in slightly below Smallman’s $772K qualifying offer.

Smallman, 24, is still a ways away from seeing any of his NHL salary. Smallman is a gritty, hand-working forward with character, but it will take more than that to advance his career. Smallman was able to produce on talented QMJHL Champion Saint John Sea Dogs team in his final year of junior hockey in 2016-17, but has failed to make an impact at the pro level. The 2015 fifth-round pick has played in only 90 games total over four pro seasons, 65 in the AHL and 25 in the ECHL. Smallman has failed to assert himself as an AHL regular to this point, due in no small part to just three goals and 21 points in his AHL experience (compared to 27 points in 40 fewer ECHL games).

Yet, the Hurricanes like his work ethic enough to re-sign him to an NHL contact, believing that he can still work his way into becoming a potential depth option. With two other important RFA forwards in Andrei Svechnikov and Warren Foegele and just ten players total on one-way contracts heading into next year, Smallman was the least of Carolina’s worries this off-season. They can now move on and focus on what should be a busy summer.

New York Islanders Re-Sign Andy Greene

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The NHL’s pre-Expansion Draft roster freeze had ended and it appeared as if the New York Islanders had gotten themselves into quite the pickle. After trading Nick Leddy earlier this week, the Isles were left with just two defensemen who fit the exposure requirements for expansion – 27+ games played this year or 54+ games played over the past two years, plus term remaining on their current contract – and one of those two had to be exposed. However, those two defensemen were Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield, who alongside RFA Adam Pelech were expected to be protected from expansion. After all, that was the main catalyst of the Leddy trade.

Well, long after the deadline had passed it has now been confirmed that the Islanders did find a solution to their problem, with the timing suggesting this was perhaps a fallback plan in the event they could not add an exposure-eligible defenseman. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple was the first to report that New York has extended veteran defenseman Andy Greene with a one-year, $1MM contract. The deal carries a minimum $750K salary and a $250K signing bonus. Most importantly, Greene is now under contract and has more than enough games to his credit this past season to serve as the Islanders’ expansion exposure prop.

Greene, who will turn 39 early this season, is still a good player and a great locker room presence. However, re-signing the veteran may not have been GM Lou Lamoriello’s plan, even with a relatively inexpensive deal. Greene saw a 12-year low in ice time last season as his offense dried up, his puck movement suffered, and he was less disruptive on defense. Greene is still a smart, capable defenseman, especially in a third pair role, but at his age and ability his ceiling is low. Meanwhile, the Islanders have young defensemen like Noah Dobson, Sebastian Aho, Bode Wilde, Grant Hutton, Samuel Bolduc, Robin Salo, and more who are pushing for NHL opportunity and ice time. The Isles will have to toe the line between not blocking those young players and not upsetting the locker room by benching or demoting Greene, a veteran leader.

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Dylan Wells

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The Carolina Hurricanes have acquired goaltender Dylan Wells from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for future considerations. This move is designed to help the Hurricanes expansion situation, as Wells can fill the exposure requirement if tendered a qualifying offer this week. Wells is a pending RFA coming off a season as a taxi squad netminder.

Wells, 23, didn’t play a single game at any level during the 2020-21 season, and suited up only seven times for the Oilers AHL affiliate in 2019-20. Most of his professional career to this point has been in the ECHL, but perhaps he will get a bigger chance in the Carolina organization. The 6’2″ netminder was selected 123rd overall in 2016 but has struggled in his AHL chances, posting an 0-4-1 record in 2019-20 with a .878 save percentage.

Future considerations, in this case, are likely either nothing or a minor league trade that will be completed in tandem. Players on AHL contracts cannot be included in NHL deals, and the Oilers just recently did something similar in the Duncan Keith deal. A second AHL trade was completed the same night, sending a minor league forward to the IceHogs to replace Tim Soderlund.

The Hurricanes are set to protect Alex Nedeljkovic in the upcoming expansion draft and could have used Jeremy Helvig for the exposure requirements if they intend on extending him a qualifying offer. If not, Wells can now slide into that role as expansion draft fodder, without any real risk of being selected by the Kraken.

Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

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Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Rangers are more concerned with the latter than the former, with few impending UFAs of note but quite a few impact RFAs.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Pavel Buchnevich – Buchnevich is one of four of the Rangers’ top-twelve scoring forwards without a contract for next season, alongside Chytil, Gauthier, and Di Giuseppe, but is by far the most important. Buchnevich finished third in per-game scoring for New York this year, behind only stars Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. His 48 points were two more than his 2019-20 total, but in 14 fewer games. Buchnevich’s consistent scoring paired with his defensive improvements and success on both special teams units led to an increase in ice time to 18:44 per game, top line minutes again behind only Zibanejad and Panarin. Buchnevich timed this breakout year well; the 26-year-old forward is now a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. This is not an aberration either, as Buchnevich has shown steady improvement throughout his career and is firmly established as a top-six forward with 20-goal and 50-point regularity. The Rangers will have no choice but to pay up, short-term or long-term, with an unfavorable arbitration decision, not to mention the animosity created by the process, as a looming threat.

G Igor Shesterkin – The Rangers may have two young goaltenders in the pros and a multitude of talented prospects in the pipeline, but make no mistake: Shesterkin is invaluable. The 25-year-old netminder has only played in 47 games across two seasons since coming over from the KHL, but has been superb with a .921 save percentage, 2.59 GAA, and a .611 points percentage in his decisions for a team that has played at a .552 clip over the past two years. Shesterkin is the best of the bunch in net in New York and the Rangers need to lock him up on a multi-year deal, regardless of his lack of NHL experience. Shesterkin’s arbitration eligibility ensures that they will have to pay him fairly as well. Shesterkin is close to unrestricted free agency and the worst thing the team could do is sign what looks to be a solid NHL starter to a short-term deal (or settle for an arbitration decision) only to see him continue to perform or even improve and then price himself out of town.

Other RFAs: F Filip Chytil, D Brandon Crawley, F Gabriel Fontaine, F Julien Gauthier, F Tim Gettinger, D Libor Hajek, G Adam Huska, F Patrick Newell, F Ty Ronning, D Yegor Rykov

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Brendan Smith – It wasn’t long ago that Smith’s contract was one of the most criticized in the NHL as he was buried in the minors in the first season of a four-year, $17.4MM deal with the Rangers. In the years since, he has somewhat recovered to become a good albeit still overpaid depth defenseman for New York. Smith has played in over 80% of the Rangers’ games over the past three seasons since his abysmal debut season, providing physicality and defensive stability and, for the first time in 2020-21, more secure puck-handling and a hint more offense. With a deep stable of talented young defensemen, the Rangers don’t need Smith. However, they could do far worse than someone with versatility, checking ability, and veteran experience as a depth option. He would come much cheaper this time around as well, as Smith is unlikely to have a competitive market as a free agent.

F Phil Di Giuseppe – At 27 years old with only 201 career games and 53 career points, Di Giuseppe has not much more than a depth option during his time in the NHL and likely won’t be. However, he proved to be valuable in that role in two seasons with New York, playing a gritty checking game and contributing some modest offense. Di Giuseppe’s success as a plug-and-play bottom-six forward is not limited to his time with the Rangers either, as some of his best seasons were playing the same role with the Carolina Hurricanes. As an affordable extra man, Di Giuseppe has value to the Rangers as an extension candidate, but he may be on the lookout for more opportunity rather than staying on a New York roster that is deep in young players in need of ice time and hoping to add more veterans this off-season.

Other UFAs: D Jack Johnson, D Darren Raddysh

Projected Cap Space

While Buchnevich and Shesterkin will earn considerable deals this summer and Chytil is deserving of a sizeable raise as well, the Rangers remain in good shape with the salary cap. They currently project to have $22.89MM in cap space with 18 players on the NHL roster, but that includes third-string goaltender Keith Kinkaid and cap charge for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who will be traded or at worst bought out in the off-season. A more accurate projection is closer to $25.5MM with 17 players on the roster. New deals for Gauthier, Hajek, and possibly Smith or Di Giuseppe (or replacements) should come cheap, leaving plenty of room to re-sign the key trio of RFA’s with room to spare to add another impact forward or two.

Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens

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Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Montreal Canadiens come bitterly into the offseason after a Stanley Cup Final loss, but a large amount of unrestricted free agents mean it’s a pivotal time for the franchise.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Artturi Lehkonen – An up-and-down season ended strongly for the first Finnish Canadiens RFA. While in part due to the shortened season, Lehkonen had his worst offensive season to date, failing to post either 10 goals or 20 points for the first time in his five-year NHL career. He didn’t fare too well under either Claude Julien or Dominique Ducharme, at least in the regular season. It resulted in the lowest usage of his career, being played just 13:25 minutes per game. However, when the opportunity arose during their playoff run, Lehkonen rose to the challenge. Taking the left-wing spot with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher, Lehkonen helped formed a line that shut down opponents’ top players for the majority of the playoffs. He added an overtime series winner to boot, as one of his three playoff goals sent Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final. Yet the reality stands that Lehkonen was inconsistent at best overall this season, and his next deal will likely reflect that. A shorter-term deal should be expected for a depth player like Lehkonen.

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi – It’s hard to know what to make of Montreal’s 2018 top draft pick at this stage in his career. Coming off of his entry-level deal, Kotkaniemi has broken expectations during each of his playoffs runs, totaling nine goals and 12 points in 29 games. Yet Kotkaniemi didn’t even score that amount in a full 56-game campaign this year, potting only five goals. While the young Finnish center has oozed potential during Montreal’s playoff appearances, he hasn’t been able to perform at the same level over the course of his regular seasons. With all that being said, it’s extremely unlikely that general manager Marc Bergevin commits to Kotkaniemi long-term this offseason. At just 21 years old, Kotkaniemi still has four more seasons of RFA eligibility. It’s impossible to imagine that Montreal would give him a deal longer than that, instead allowing Kotkaniemi to live up to his potential over the course of a lower-stakes bridge deal.

Other RFAs: F Joseph Blandisi, F Michael Pezzetta, F Ryan Poehling, F Jacob Lucchini, D Otto Leskinen, D Cale Fleury, G Michael McNiven

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Phillip Danault – Danault had largely been regarded as one of the more underrated defensive centers in the NHL over the past few seasons. That’s no longer the case. Danault’s shot-suppressing expertise was on full display throughout the regular season and playoffs. And while his offense took a backseat in the playoffs with just one goal and four points in 22 contests, he’s scored 124 points in 205 games over his past three seasons. The offense will come back next season if history is any indicator. It’s why Danault is expected to get a significant raise on his $3.083MM cap hit. With Danault possibly receiving offers over $5MM and even $6MM on the open market, Montreal will have to shell out the cash to retain their Quebec-born top-six center.

F Tomas Tatar – Montreal’s usage of Tatar this season, especially in the playoffs, was puzzling to many. It was just last year where Tatar had emerged to lead the Habs in scoring with 61 points in just 68 games. While Tatar was limited to just 30 points in 50 games this year, his line with Danault and Gallagher had performed extremely well from a possession standpoint. Even through the beginning of their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tatar’s line had succeeded at silencing Toronto’s top talent. Yet Tatar soon found himself scratched for the rest of the playoff run, with Lehkonen taking his role on that line. It’s hard to expect that Montreal will want to retain Tatar at this point, especially with outside teams knowing what they can get out of him. Expect Tatar to be in a top-six role again next season — just not with Montreal.

Other UFAs: F Corey Perry, F Joel Armia, F Eric Staal, F Michael Frolik, F Jordan Weal, F Alex Belzile, D Jonathon Merrill, D Erik Gustafsson, D Gustav Olofsson, G Charlie Lindgren

Projected Cap Space

While Montreal sits with a respectable $14.7MM in cap space, the team has a lot of expiring talent. Retaining the expected pieces and building on this roster’s weaknesses will likely bring Bergevin and Montreal into a tricky dance with the salary cap yet again next season. And while no drastic moves are expected from this year’s Stanley Cup finalist, it might be challenging for Montreal to navigate the free-agent waters after they’ve re-signed key pieces. However, Montreal’s camaraderie and team strength were on full display this season. It’s the type of performance that incentivizes players to take pay cuts to play for a winner, something that may very well be a reality for Montreal this offseason.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

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