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Michael McCarron Re-Signs With Montreal

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The last of the Montreal Canadiens’ restricted free agents is signed, as Michael McCarron has come to terms on a new deal with his team. The Canadiens reported a one-year, two-way extension with the forward. The deal carries a minimum $700K salary at the NHL level and a $125K salary at the AHL level, with $150K guaranteed. McCarron will be an RFA with arbitration rights again next summer, though he opted to not exercise those rights this offseason.

McCarron, 24, has had somewhat of a backwards pro career thus far. A 2013 first-round pick, McCarron was a rare prospect who had spent considerable time with both the U.S. National Team Development Program and at the Canadian major junior level, excelling in both places by using his massive 6’6″, 220-lb. frame at both ends of the ice. McCarron turned pro in 2015 and played in 20 games with Montreal as a rookie. He then played in 31 more with the Habs as a sophomore. However, while the team had given him more than a fair shake, the production had not matched the opportunity. By the end of 2017-18, a season spent mostly in the minors, McCarron had just eight points to show for 69 NHL games. As a result, he spent the entirety of this past season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Montreal hopes that McCarron’s size and the scoring ability he has flashed in the minors will eventually come together into an effective NHL contributor. However, until that happens consistently in the AHL, McCarron is unlikely to be back with the Canadiens on a regular basis. CapFriendly currently projects the big right winger to be in the minors this season. He won’t be alone though; Montreal currently has 25 players listed on their NHL roster via CapFriendly, a number that will have to be thinned in training camp. It’s also fair to speculate that, with all of their RFA’s signed and cap space remaining despite the overloaded roster, that the Canadiens could go back on the hunt this off-season for yet another NHL piece, after a swing and a miss on their Sebastian Aho offer sheet.

Vinni Lettieri Agrees To Terms With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Vinni Lettieri on a one-year contract, leaving them with just three restricted free agents to sign this offseason. Lettieri decided not to file for arbitration despite being eligible, and will still be an RFA when this contract expires.

The 24-year old Lettieri was one of the top college free agent signings in 2017, but still hasn’t quite found his offensive touch at the NHL level. Despite scoring 85 points in 112 minor league contests, the former University of Minnesota standout has just eight in 46 games with the Rangers. That and the increased talent up front from a busy offseason will make it extremely difficult for the young forward to land an NHL spot out of camp, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see him as one of the very first call-ups if the team runs into injury trouble.

Luckily for the Rangers, Lettieri is still waiver-exempt for the time being and can be sent down without trouble. That will give the team some flexibility over choosing their opening day roster, a group that is still unclear at the moment. Brendan Lemieux and Pavel Buchnevich would both figure into that lineup but are without contracts currently—Buchnevich has an arbitration hearing scheduled for next Monday—while the future of players like Chris Kreider and Vladislav Namestnikov is still unclear after both have been included in trade rumors over the summer.

At the very worst, Lettieri will serve as a top offensive option for the Hartford Wolf Pack as they try to turn around their fortunes. The team went 29-36-11 last season and finished in 28th place.

Tampa Bay, Dallas Among Teams Facing Contract Limit Crunch

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are not only up against the NHL’s $81.5MM salary cap upper limit, but also the league’s 50-contract limit. They’re not alone either; in addition to the Bolts, the Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, and Anaheim Ducks each have 48 players already signed to contracts next season as well. Six other teams have 46 or 47 players signed. The closer a club gets to 50, the less roster flexibility they have during the season. When it comes to making trades, claiming players on waivers, or signing college or junior free agents, teams without room can be hamstrung and forced to either pass up on possibilities or make desperation moves to free up roster space. It’s not an ideal situation and could force more than a few teams to make a move or two as the summer wears on.

Tampa Bay is in the worst position of all, as not only do they have just two contract slots available, but they also have two NHL regulars who remain unsigned restricted free agents in need of contracts – Brayden Point and Adam Erne. It’s hard to imagine that the Lightning, who also need to open up considerable cap space, don’t move out a player or two to help clear things up in both regards. One other possible saving grace could be sending 2019 first-round pick Nolan Foote or fellow prospect forward Gabriel Fortier back to their respective junior teams. Even if under contract, 18- and 19-year-old junior players who are still slide-eligible do not count against the 50-contract limit once returned to the junior level. If Foote and/or Fortier don’t crack the Tampa lineup, they would additionally clear up some room. A surefire contender, who also could use some affordable support where they can get it, the Bolts will definitely be a player on the trade and waiver markets this upcoming season, assuming they have the means to do so.

Dallas is in a similarly difficult situation. With just two contract slots available, the Stars need to re-sign (or do something with) defenseman Julius Honka. If the team signs Honka or trades him for another signed player or prospect, they are down to just one open space. Fortunately, unsigned RFA Niklas Hansson is expected to spend the season in Sweden and will not need a contract to become Dallas’ 50th man. Junior forwards Ty Dellandrea and Riley Damiani would also no longer count against the contract limit if sent back to their respective teams, although many in Dallas would like to see Dellandrea push for a spot on the roster.

L.A. has just one unsigned RFA remaining, promising forward Adrian Kempe, so they aren’t in danger to hit 50 at this time. The Kings also have a number of young players under contract who will battle for roster spots, which could force Akil Thomas back to juniors for one more year, removing his contract from the mix. L.A. has been a highly active team on the college free agent market of late and will want some contract room later in the season for potential additions.

Similarly, Ottawa has just Colin White left to sign, so barring further additions are not at risk of hitting 50 contracts. However, the Senators are just narrowly over the league’s salary cap floor, which could prompt them to add another contract so that they don’t have to risk falling below the floor during the year due to a trade. Right now, only Jonathan Gruden is a candidate to go back to junior and remove his contract from limit calculations, so if Ottawa does make another addition, they’ll likely look to make a subtraction or two as well to remain flexible in-season.

The final team at 48 contracts is the Ducks. Fortunately for them, Anaheim has no one left to sign and by all accounts are not looking to make any other moves this off-season. They should be safe, but may look to move a contract just in case the opportunities present themselves to add on during the season.

One team who isn’t at all worried about the contract limit: the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey currently has just 39 players under contract, third least behind Carolina and Winnipeg, but also have just two unsigned RFA’s in need of contracts while the Hurricanes and Jets each have a handful. The Devils project to enter the season with the fewest players under contract, as well the smallest payroll other than Ottawa. That could change though, as the team continues to be included in rumors pertaining to many of the top unsigned UFA’s and top trade targets this summer.

Evan Rodrigues, Buffalo Sabres Exchange Arbitration Figures

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In a strange twist, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Buffalo Sabres and RFA forward Evan Rodrigues have exchanged arbitration figures ahead of their scheduled Tuesday hearing. The timeline is actually appropriate for both sides, but oddly the information comes out while the three cases scheduled for Monday – Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar, Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese, and Washington’s Christian Djoos – have yet to have their filing numbers leaked. Regardless, the numbers are in for Buffalo and Rodrigues. The player side has filed at $2.65MM and the team side has filed at $1.5MM. The resulting midpoint for the case is $2.075MM.  It is important to remember that not only can the two sides still negotiate a different deal in the time remaining (and even for a short period after the hearing), the arbitration decision also does not need to be one figure or the other. The award can (and usually does) fall somewhere in the middle of the submitted salaries.

Rodrigues, who turns 26 next week, has been a project player for the Sabres that has panned out over the past two seasons. A highly productive college player at Boston University, who put up a whopping 61 points in 41 games skating alongside Jack Eichel in his senior year, Rodrigues was a no-brainer as an undrafted free agent signing for Buffalo in 2015. However, he played in only two NHL games as a first-year pro and was very quiet through 30 NHL games in year two. In total, he notched only eight points in his first 32 NHL games. That all changed in 2017-18, when Rodrigues took advantage of a mid-season call-up to record 25 points in 48 games to finish among the Sabres’ top six forwards in per game production. Handed a regular role this season, Rodrigues continued to impress with a career-high nine goals and 29 points in 74 games.

The debate moving forward – which is difficult in arbitration, where projections are not allowed – is what Rodrigues’ ceiling will be. Although his total points increased in 2018-19, it was a modest gain considering he played in 26 more games. However, Rodrigues’ side can point to an unusually low 5.4% shooting percentage, though the argument may not carry much weight. Instead, the real benefit to the player side is that Rodrigues proved he can be a regular contributor. The slick center skated in almost 16 minutes per night, fourth-most among Buffalo forwards, was third in face-offs taken (although he was not very successful), and again finished among the top six scoring forwards.

It’s hard to argue that Rodrigues is not a useful forward, but the Sabres can make a strong argument that his usage was a function of a thin roster up front and his production given his minutes and role are not exactly stunning. He failed to show that his 2017-18 breakout was a level of output that he was capable of continuing. Instead, Rodrigues is likely a bottom-six forward for most NHL teams rather than the top-six forward he has been for Buffalo over the past season and a half. The team will try to make the case that he should be paid as such. Given their additions of Marcus Johansson and Jimmy Vesey this summer, the Sabres may very well have plans to move Rodrigues further down in the lineup, but again that is not an argument they can make at hearing. It’s a curious case that could make for a fascinating back-and-forth in front of the arbitrator.

Snapshots: Maroon, Rantanen, Ryczek, Puutio

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Defending Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon tells NHL.com’s Lou Korac that “it’s tough right now” for veterans to find a contract. Given the meager increase of the salary cap and the immense number of restricted free agents still unsigned, there has been a considerable break in unrestricted free agent signings over the past week or two. 14 of PHR’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents still remain available, including Maroon, with little chatter pertaining to any of them. Maroon at least offers a glimmer of hope for his own situation, also informing Korac that he has had discussions with GM Doug Armstrong about a return to his hometown St. Louis Blues, saying that they’ve “had good conversations.” However, the Blues still have four RFA’s to sign, including three potential arbitration cases in Joel Edmundson, Oskar Sundqvist, and Ville Husso. Maroon will also be looking for fair value from St. Louis after taking a hometown discount last summer and becoming a key contributor for the team down the stretch and in the postseason. An extension won’t come easy for either side, but both parties and fans would surely like to see Maroon back in town next season. He and other unsigned veterans may just have to wait a while longer for offers to finally come through.

  • On the off chance that RFA Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche cannot come to terms on an extension this summer, his KHL rights holder is preparing their pursuit. However, it’s not exactly a Godfather offer. Sport Express’ Igor Eronko reports that Ak Bars Kazan is willing to offer Rantanen a one-year, $4MM contract. While Eronko notes the lower tax rate in Russia and lack of escrow concerns, it’s still a very underwhelming number for a 22-year-old star forward coming off back-to-back 80+ point seasons. The Avalanche would be happy to top that salary, even taking the differences in tax and escrow into consideration. Rantanen is well within his right to be seeking a long-term contract with an AAV of $10MM+ or at least a bridge deal in the $8MM range, so Ak Bars’ offer is unlikely to move the needle toward a return to Europe.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jake Ryczek will have to prove himself in the AHL before earning an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Chicago’s affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs, the team announced. Ryczek was a 2016 seventh-round pick, expected to be a long-term project developing at Providence College. Instead, Ryczek left the Friars midway through his freshman year and joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. The problem now is that Ryczek has aged out of the junior level with just a year and half of QMJHL experience and is still a raw prospect. Rather than use a limited roster spot to sign an unproven commodity, the Blackhawks will see what he can do in the AHL for the time being. Ryczek remains Chicago’s exclusive property until June 1st of next year.
  • The first overall pick in the CHL Import Draft has signed. Finnish defenseman Kasper Puutio, taken at No. 1 by the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in June, has officially joined the team. Puutio began turning heads this past season when he was called up to the top level of Finland’s junior ranks at the age of 16 and performed well to boot. Draft source Future Considerations ranks Puutio as the No. 67 prospect for the 2020 NHL Draft in their early initial rankings, but some have called him a first-round caliber player, and that was before he joined the Canadian junior ranks. If he can continue to grow and produce in the more competitive WHL as a very young prospect, he could easily climb into the top 31 picks next year. Either way, the Broncos hope that they can take advantage of his puck-moving ability and competent defensive game for several years to come.

Panthers Re-Sign Samuel Montembeault And Jayce Hawryluk

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July 19: The Panthers have officially announced the contract for Montembeault, confirming the details. Hawryluk’s deal was announced on Wednesday.

July 15: The Panthers have re-signed two of their remaining restricted free agents as goaltender Samuel Montembeault has signed a one-year, two-way deal, CapFriendly reports.  The contract is worth his qualifying offer of just over $708K in the NHL and $70K in the AHL.  Meanwhile, CapFriendly also notes that forward Jayce Hawryluk also accepted his qualifier worth a little more than $874K in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

Montembeault went into last season as the backup at the AHL level behind Michael Hutchinson but a decent showing from him allowed Florida to deal him to Toronto.  The 22-year-old then got a look with the Panthers as Roberto Luongo and James Reimer dealt with injury issues and general struggles.  He held his own in his time with Florida, posting a 3.04 GAA with a .894 SV% in 11 appearances.  As things stand, he heads into next season as the frontrunner to be the backup to new starter Sergei Bobrovsky.  However, as he’s still waiver-exempt, it’s quite possible that he will be back in the minors next year with the team bringing in another backup in the weeks to come.

Hawryluk also split last season between Florida and AHL Springfield.  While he was quite productive with the Thunderbirds with 32 points in 31 games, he wasn’t able to come close to that type of success in the NHL.  He suited up in 42 games with the Panthers but recorded only seven goals and five assists although his ice time was rather limited at only 9:26 per night.  He’ll likely get a chance to reprise his role on the fourth line next season and if he fails to make the team, Hawryluk will have to pass it through waivers to make it back to the minors.

Poll: How Many Unresolved Arbitration Cases Will Require An Award?

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In the NHL, the salary arbitration process is more often used as a negotiating tool – an incentive to get a deal done before the uncomfortable setting of a hearing and the unknown of an arbitrator’s decision – than it is for its actual purpose. A vast majority of players who file for arbitration end up settling before their hearing or even at the last moment before an award is handed down. Last year, 44 players filed for arbitration and 40 settled prior to their hearing. The year before, all 30 cases were resolved before an arbitration award could be made.

So what about this year? There were initially 40 cases of player-elected arbitration and one case of team-elected arbitration (the St. Louis Blues and goalie Ville Husso), but that number is now down to 25 open cases. That’s a substantial drop-off, but time is running out for some RFA’s and their teams to come to terms, as the first scheduled hearing is set to take place on Saturday, July 20th. Listed below are all of the remaining cases:

July 20: Brock McGinn, Carolina Hurricanes
July 21: Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets
July 22: MacKenzie Weegar, Florida Panthers; Zach Aston-Reese, Pittsburgh Penguins; Ville Husso, St. Louis Blues; Christian Djoos, Washington Capitals
July 23: Evan Rodrigues, Buffalo Sabres
July 24: Oskar Sundqvist, St. Louis Blues; Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets
July 25: Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers
July 26: Colton Sissons, Nashville Predators
July 27: Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames
July 28: Mirco Mueller, New Jersey Devils
July 29: David Rittich, Calgary Flames; Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers
August 1: Remi Elie, Buffalo Sabres; Chandler Stephenson, Washington Capitals
August 2: Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres; Charles Hudon, Montreal Canadiens; Will Butcher, New Jersey Devils
August 4: Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres; Anton Forsberg, Carolina Hurricanes; Sheldon Dries, Colorado Avalanche; Rocco Grimaldi, Nashville Predators; Joel Edmundson, St. Louis Blues

Given the time constraints and the complexity of each of these cases, how many will feel forced to go to hearing? Will Trouba be one of that select group, as he was last year? Will the Sabres struggle to settle four cases before their scheduled hearing dates? Will the Blues see through their team-elected case with Husso? Will other goalies prove to be difficult negotiations? And will polarizing players like Bennett and Buchnevich fail to find common ground with their teams? Or will it be under-the-radar players like Gemel Smith and Brett Kulak last year who go through the full process?

There are many questions left about this group of restricted free agents and time is running out before we know the answers. So the choice is yours: will we see an unprecedented class of arbitration awards or will all or most cases reach a resolution in the coming weeks?

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Lightning Re-Sign Dominik Masin

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Another day, another restricted free agent back under contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After inking Ben Thomas to an extension yesterday, the team has announced that fellow RFA defenseman Dominik Masin has also re-signed. It is a one-year, two-way contract for Masin. No financial terms were disclosed, but CapFriendly anticipates a minimum $700K NHL salary.

Masin, 23, has been a long-term project for the Bolts whose potential is still unclear. A 2014 second-round pick out of the Czech Republic, Masin played two productive years in the OHL before turning pro in 2016. He immediately jumped into a starting role with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, but struggled to put up points in his first season. That changed in 2017-18, when Masin finished second among Crunch defenders with 24 points in 72 games. Yet, he regressed offensively this season, dropping to 12 points in 69 games. On the other hand, his defense improved and his +36 rating led the team and was among the best in the league. Masin has yet to make an NHL appearance, but this season may finally offer him a chance to debut and for Tampa to get a better idea of what they have in the prospect.

With Masin locked up, the Lightning are down to just two RFA’s left to sign: Adam Erne and Brayden Point. Point has been and will continue to be Tampa Bay’s biggest priority this summer. The team has a projected $5.58MM in cap space, but will need much more than that to get Point re-signed, not to mention Erne.

Coyotes Re-Sign Dysin Mayo

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Arizona has locked up one of their remaining free agents, announcing the re-signing of defenseman Dysin Mayo to a one-year, two-way contract.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal is worth $715K in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

The 22-year-old wrapped up his entry-level contract last season, suiting up in a career-high 67 games with their AHL affiliate in Tuscon.  However, he made a very limited impact offensively, collecting just two goals and four assists on the season which had him on the bubble to receive a qualifying offer.  Mayo was a productive blueliner at the WHL level, recording at least 35 points in each of his three full seasons but that has yet to translate to the pros.

With Arizona’s depth on the back end, it’s hard to envision Mayo realistically pushing for a roster spot with the Coyotes in training camp.  Instead, he’ll likely be exposed to waivers and if he clears, he’ll once again serve as injury depth in Tuscon.  The team now has 46 players under contract and they still need to re-sign goalie Adin Hill; RFA center Emil Pettersson has already signed in Sweden for next season.

Snapshots: Sabres, Gardiner, Tkachyov

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Few have criticized the Sabres’ side of the recent Henri Jokiharju–Alexander Nylander trade, but it’s a fact that Buffalo is overflowing with defenders after acquiring the young right-hander from the Chicago Blackhawks. As Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News’ points out, the Sabres still have needs to fill up front and they could use their defensive depth to do so. Lysowski writes that Buffalo has ample cap space to make an addition at forward, but there are few ideal candidates left on the free agent market and the team may as well use their surplus of blue liners to swing a deal. Jokiharju is safe, as are fellow recent additions Brandon Montour and Colin Miller and 2017 No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin. RFA Jake McCabe is not likely to be dealt, but a potential candidate and injury-prone Zach Bogosian and overpaid veteran Matt Hunwick might be hard to move. That would seemingly leave Rasmus Ristolainen, a fixture on the rumor mill, Marco Scandella, and Casey Nelson as the most likely names to be dealt and it would not be a surprise if more than one ends up elsewhere. The Sabres are certainly not done making moves this summer.

  • Of course, this makes Buffalo just one of a surprising number of teams not biting on Jake Gardiner this summer. PHR’s top-ranked UFA defenseman, Gardiner remains unsigned more than a week after the market opened. NBC Sports’ Scott Billeck reports that Gardiner is seeking $7MM annually in his next year, which is likely pricing himself out of the range that many D-needy teams are looking for. It’s hard to argue that Gardiner was not the best available defenseman when free agency opened, but he’s also not a top-pair defenseman by most metrics and teams aren’t willing to shell out right now simply due to a weak market. Billeck names the Winnipeg Jets as a team that could use Gardiner, but can’t afford him at his current asking price. The Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and his own Toronto Maple Leafs also fit that description. Billeck feels the New Jersey Devils could be the leading candidate to land Gardiner right now, but there really aren’t many clear fits for the defender at this time unless he changes his expectations.
  • Despite flirting with a jump to the NHL for several years, Vladimir Tkachyov has decided to re-sign in the KHL once again. SKA St. Petersburg has announced an extension with the young scorer. Tkachyov, 23, has been a solid offensive contributor for the past several years but the best may still be yet to come. The winger was acquired by SKA last month from Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the rights to Nikita Soshnikov, who has since signed in Ufa, and Tkachyov could be set for some career-highs with the perennial contenders in St. Petersburg. It is a two-year contract with SKA, so Tkachyov has a couple more years to further prove he is a formidable forward, and could very well drawn NHL attention once again in 2021.

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