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Slater Koekkoek Re-Signs With Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have locked up one of their restricted free agents, signing Slater Koekkoek to a one-year contract worth $865K. The deal is one-way, and could potentially take Koekkoek to Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer if he’s not given an opportunity with the Lightning this year. He needs just four games for the team to retain his rights as an RFA, but with a crowded blue line in Tampa Bay, it’s not a guarantee that he receives the chance.

Koekkoek, 24, was a first round pick of the Lightning in 2012, selected 10th overall. He was expected to become a top-pairing two-way defender, but hasn’t quite made the impact Tampa Bay had hoped. In 76 games he has recorded 13 points, but has now been bumped down the depth chart by additions like Ryan McDonagh. Tampa Bay is committed to contending for the Stanley Cup right now, and can’t wait around hoping Koekkoek continues to develop

If he’s going to ever fulfill his potential, he’ll have to take advantage of the next opportunity he’s given. If not, there might have to be a change of scenery for the left-handed defenseman. The signing doesn’t pose much risk to the Lightning as he can be completely buried in the minor leagues, but that’s certainly not the outcome GM Steve Yzerman is hoping for.

Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Free agency is now less than a day from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Tampa Bay’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Cedric Paquette — Nine points hardly seems like a lot of points for key restricted free agent, but the 24-year-old Paquette isn’t about offense. The defense-first forward has been a key part of the team’s bottom-six line, which included Ryan Callahan and Kunitz line that was constantly put against opponents’ top lines. Now that he’s been qualified, Paquette, who scored just five goals during the regular season (and one in the playoffs) might be more needed than ever with Kunitz likely headed elsehere. Regardless, he could be in line for a significant raise after making $812K last year on his two-year bridge deal. Now with arbitration rights, he could walk away with quite a bit more.

D Slater Koekkoek — The 24-year-old blueliner has worked hard to try and break into the deep defensive core of Tampa Bay and did manage to get into 34 games last season and avoid a trip down to the Syracuse Crunch, but Koekkoek’s usefulness came to an end after Tampa Bay acquired Ryan McDonagh at the trade deadline. From that point on, he appeared in just three regular season games and did not appear in the playoffs. While the team intends to bring him back, recent rumors that the team might consider trading the youngster are also a possibility. He made $800K last year on a one-year deal.

Other RFA’s: F Adam Erne.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Andrej Sustr — The 27-year-old depth defender could easily find himself on a new team with the amount of defenders under contract in Tampa Bay. The blueliner had been a regular on the Lightning’s defense over the past three years, but he found himself often a healthy scratch with the addition of players like Mikhail Sergachev, Jake Dotchin, Koekkoek as well as McDonagh. After making $1.95MM last season in the last of his restricted free agent years, the team must decide if they want to bring back the undrafted free agent they signed back in 2013.

Chris Kunitz — The 38-year-old winger was a big part of the Lightning’s shutdown line along with Callahan and Paquette in his one year with Tampa Bay, but there is little indication that Kunitz is expected return. Despite a productive season in which he tallied 13 goals and 29 points last season, rumors suggest he’s interested in a possible return to Pittsburgh.

Other UFA’s: D Mat Bodie, F Erik Condra, F Alex Gallant, D Jamie McBain, F Matthew Peca.

Projected Cap Space: The Lightning don’t have much cap space to work with this offseason as the team has just $5.3MM. On top of that, Tampa Bay has quite a few free agents they must deal with next year including Nikita Kucherov, McDonagh and Yanni Gourde to name a few, so they need to have as much cap room to maneuver with as possible. Despite their interest in John Tavares, don’t expect the team to dip heavily in the free agent market this year and more likely depend on their AHL depth to carry them through.

Free Agent Focus: Nashville Predators

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Free agency is now just days from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Nashville’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: G Juuse Saros — The goaltender of the future just burned his final year of his entry-level deal and now goes into restricted free agency. Still blocked by Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne, the 23-year-old netminder has transitioned nicely into the team’s backup who can give the 35-year-old Rinne a breather once in a while. In a career-high 26 NHL games last year, Saros put up a 2.45 GAA and more importantly a .925 save percentage.

With Rinne on the last year of his current seven-year, $49MM deal he signed back in 2011, Saros time as the starting goaltender of the future could come soon, who even managed to make four appearances in the team’s abbreviated playoff run. With an AAV of $925K last season, Saros should get a nice bump up in pay next season.

F Ryan Hartman — The gritty forward was picked up at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks for their playoff run and projects as a solid and versatile bottom-six option for a deep Nashville roster. The 23-year-old posted a 31-point season between the two teams last year, including three goals and six points in 21 games with the Predators, while averaging 13:46 of ATOI. He added another two goals in nine playoff games for Nashville. After a season in which he made just $863K last season, he should get a raise, but with no arbitration rights, probably won’t cost the team too much.

Other RFA’s: F Miikka Salomaki.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Alexei Emelin — The team traded for Emelin last offseason as a means to bring in a potential top-four defenseman to fill in for the injured Ryan Ellis for the first half of the season. The 32-year-old posted almost the exact same numbers last year, but once Ellis returned in January, Emelin’s minutes dropped and in the end averaged a career-low in minutes with just 16:53 ATOI. He will take a major paycut after receiving $4.1MM last year in a deal he signed with Montreal back in 2013. However, with seven defensemen with NHL experience already locked up on the Predators roster, it doesn’t look like Emelin will return to Nashville next season.

F Scott Hartnell — While the 36-year-old had respectable numbers in his return to Nashville, the 17-year veteran is not expected to return to Nashville with the amount of young talent that is trying to break into the Predators lineup. Regardless, the veteran has already stated that he intends to play for another season, but almost assuredly will be looking for a new home.

Other UFA’s: F Cody Bass, F Brandon Bollig, G Anders Lindback, F Mark McNeill, G Matt O’Connor, D John Ramage, F Trevor Smith, F Harry Zolnierczyk.

Projected Cap Space: The Predators are projected to have $12MM in available cap space going into free agency and while the team does have to lock up a couple restricted free agents like Saros and Hartman, the team has money to play with. Regardless, the Predators haven’t been in on many free agent rumors so far suggesting the team might hold back and add specialty players to team that intends to challenge for a Stanley Cup this year. The team also must be ready to have the eventual cap space to lock up Ellis, who will be a free agent in the 2019-20 season.

 

Poll: Biggest Surprise Among Non-Qualified Free Agents?

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When the deadline to issue qualifying offers to restricted free agents comes and goes each year, there are always a few surprises on the list of those who did not receive an offer. For both those players and teams across the league, it can often be a shock that those players are suddenly unrestricted free agents able to sign with whoever they like. Oftentimes, not receiving a qualifying offer does not automatically mean that the player and his team are through. Already this year, defensemen Derrick Pouliot, Ryan Murphy, and Joe Morrow and forwards Riley Sheahan and Phil Di Giuseppe were not tendered an offer, but soon after signed with their respective squads. Yet, this year has also left more notable names than usual to be scooped up by another team come July 1st.

Robin Lehner, the 26-year-old starting goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres, was one of the earliest known players to not be qualified. Whenever a starter hits the open market it can draw attention, but it’s much more surprising when that starter is both young and experienced. Lehner has seen regular NHL action for the past five years, some as a backup or “1B” with the Ottawa Senators and others as the “1A” for Buffalo. Granted, Lehner has had his fair share of difficulties, both staying healthy and performing when he is on the ice, but it came as surprise that the rebuilding Sabres were so willing to move on from their young keeper. In each of his first two seasons in Buffalo, Lehner posted a save percentage of .920 or better and a majority of his appearances were quality starts. Only this season did those numbers drop off, but apparently that was enough for Buffalo to cut him loose. With Chad Johnson also a free agent, the Sabres head into the off-season lacking any true NHL-caliber goalies on the roster.

Anthony Duclair, just 22 and a former 20-goal scorer, was another surprise that many did not see coming. In his sophomore season in the NHL in 2015-16, the 20-year-old Duclair played in 81 games for the Arizona Coyotes and registered 44 points, good enough for fourth on the team. The young winger even garnered Calder Trophy votes. However, last season his play fell off substantially and this year was only marginally better, prompting a mid-season trade to the Chicago Blackhawks. Many opined that a change of scenery would be good for Duclair, who has shown great talent but needs to put it all together on a more consistent basis. Yet, Chicago gave the experiment 23 games before deciding to move on. A team with major cap problems who is always in need of affordable scoring let a young goal-scorer with years left of team control remaining walk in free agency after less than half a season.

Tobias Rieder, a 25-year-old two-way forward, found himself in a similar situation. Rieder was traded to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline and played well in his limited role down the stretch for the Kings. However, it wasn’t enough as Rieder was curiously non-qualified after just 20 regular season games in L.A. Before that, the well-rounded forward had played a major role in the forward corps of the Arizona Coyotes. Rieder has recorded more than 20 points in each of his four NHL seasons and has been a double-digit scorer in each year as well. The young German winger plays a smart, physical style and has an innate ability to crash the net and light the lamp. At 25, he still has room to grow and has 20-goal potential in the right situation. The Kings passed up a chance to take a longer look at what Rieder can do and, of course, have scoring winger as their biggest need this summer.

Dylan DeMelo, the 25-year-old defenseman most recently of the San Jose Sharks, is a hard one to understand as well. DeMelo seemingly did everything he was asked of in San Jose, but found himself a free agent anyway. DeMelo had worked to carve out a role for himself with the Sharks in his first two seasons with the team, but in 2017-18 seemed to have found his place. The young defender skated in 63 games and set a new career high in points by a wide margin with 20. While DeMelo is not an offensive juggernaut by any means, he is solid defensively and was a nice complement on the blue line to the many other talented defenders in San Jose. Even if the Sharks were worried about committing too much money to defense or wanted to give some more time to other even younger options, it is hard to imagine that they couldn’t have found a taker for DeMelo on the trade market.

What do you think? Who is the biggest surprise among the RFA’s that did not receive qualifying offers this year and now find themselves looking for a new team this summer as a UFA?

Biggest Surprise Non-Qualified Free Agent?
Anthony Duclair 44.12% (540 votes)
Robin Lehner 21.57% (264 votes)
Dylan DeMelo 12.91% (158 votes)
Tobias Rieder 12.58% (154 votes)
Other - Shore, Nordstrom, Yakupov, Carr, Davidson, Claesson, Mrazek, Kuhnhackl (comment below) 8.82% (108 votes)
Total Votes: 1,224

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Winnipeg Extends Defenseman Joe Morrow

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Wednesday: The team has officially announced the contract, bringing back Morrow for one year at $1MM.

Tuesday: A team declined to extend a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent defenseman who had been a good fit, only to re-sign him to an affordable one-year deal. Sound familiar? Less than an hour after the Vancouver Canucks re-signed Derrick Pouliot to an extension, the Winnipeg Jets have followed suit with a new contract for Joe Morrow. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that Morrow has signed a one-year, $1MM extension to remain in Winnipeg.

Like Pouliot, Morrow does not lose out on not getting a qualifying offer by yesterday’s deadline. The 25-year-old defender made the league minimum $650K last year, making a new million-dollar pact a substantial upgrade. In fact, it is almost a surprising raise for Morrow. The young journeyman, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins and traded to the Dallas Stars and then to the Boston Bruins before even making his NHL debut, was on his third team in two years when he finished the 2017-18 season with the Jets. Boston had declined to qualify Morrow last summer, only they intended to let him walk as a free agent. Morrow signed with the Montreal Canadiens and posted a career high in games played and points while also showing some defensive improvements. However, Morrow was still less than a full-time player and his move to Winnipeg was more of an afterthought depth addition at the time of the NHL Trade Deadline. Morrow was solid albeit unspectacular down the stretch for the Jets and was used only sparingly in the postseason. With that said, the Jets were vocal about how pleased they were with Morrow’s acquisition.

The Winnipeg front office and coaching staff clearly saw enough of the puck-moving defenseman to decide on using some of their precious cap space to bring him back. The Jets face a daunting number of restricted and unrestricted free agency conundrums this summer, but seemingly worked quickly to get a deal done with Morrow. With four veteran defenseman signed for next season and three more qualified as RFA’s, Winnipeg has plenty of depth on the blue line, but must have plans to use Morrow in some capacity next season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign J.T. Miller To Five-Year Deal

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have decided that J.T. Miller is a good long-term fit for the team, signing the RFA forward to a five-year, $26.25MM contract. Miller will carry a $5.25MM cap hit for the next half decade, after fitting in tremendously following a midseason trade from the New York Rangers. The deal contains no signing bonuses, and is broken down as follows:

  • 2018-19: $5.25MM
  • 2019-20: $6.0MM
  • 2020-21: $4.5MM
  • 2021-22: $6.0MM
  • 2022-23: $4.5MM

Miller, 25, came over from the Rangers in a package that also included Ryan McDonagh, and ended up being a huge part of the Tampa Bay success down the stretch. With 18 points in 19 regular season games, he took to his role beside Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov with aplomb. Ten goals including five on the powerplay in those 19 games gave him 23 on the season, a new career high and his third consecutive season above 20. Unfortunately, that goal scoring dried up in the playoffs when Miller was able to record just two tallies in 17 games. That postseason performance will have to improve as he heads into the prime of his career if this contract is going to be worth it, as the Lightning aren’t waiting around for their next chance at a Stanley Cup.

Amazingly, the Lightning are one of the teams scheduled to sit down with pending free agent center John Tavares this week, despite having just over $5MM in cap space after re-signing Miller. The team already has expensive long-term contracts with five forwards, and that doesn’t include the mega extension that Nikita Kucherov is eligible to sign on July 1st. Kucherov has just one season remaining on his current contract at a criminally low cap hit of just under $4.8MM. Kucherov should become one of the highest paid wingers in the league on his next contract, after breaking 100 points this season and leading the Lightning in scoring for the third consecutive season.

With Miller now under contract for several seasons, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman can turn his attention to issues like re-signing Kucherov, McDonagh, Brayden Point and Anton Stralman, all who see their deals expire next summer. The wizard-like GM has convinced franchise players to stay for less than market value before, and will need to work some more magic to fit everyone in. Miller’s $5.25MM cap hit certainly isn’t unreasonable for a 50-60 point player, but it’s also not a huge bargain for the team. If he’s destined to stay on the wing in Tampa Bay—which is far from guaranteed—he’ll have to really keep producing offensively to reward the team for making such a big investment in his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

List Of Players Who Will Not Receive A 2018 Qualifying Offer

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The deadline to issue a qualifying offer to pending restricted free agents comes down at 4pm today, making any player who has not received one eligible to become an unrestricted free agent, though 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 page will continue to update as more teams release their lists:

Anaheim Ducks

F Scott Sabourin

Arizona Coyotes

F Freddie Hamilton, G Sean Maguire

Boston Bruins

F Justin Hickman

Buffalo Sabres

F Victor Antipin, G Robin Lehner, F Scott Wilson

Calgary Flames

F Austin Carroll, F Emile Poirier, F Daniel Pribyl, F Nick Shore, F Hunter Smith

Carolina Hurricanes

F Phil Di Giuseppe*, F Joakim Nordstrom, F Sergey Tolchinsky, D Klas Dahlbeck, D Tyler Ganly, D Keegan Kanzig

Chicago Blackhawks

D Adam Clendening, F Anthony Duclair, F Tomas Jurco, F Michael Chaput – unofficial (not disclosed)

Colorado Avalanche

D Duncan Siemens, F Nail Yakupov, F Reid Petryk, F Felix Girard, D Jesse Graham

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Ryan Kujawinski

Dallas Stars

F Cole Ully

Detroit Red Wings

D Dan Renouf, F Zach Nastasiuk – unofficial (not disclosed)

Edmonton Oilers

F Iiro Pakarinen, D Ben Betker, F Kyle Platzer

Florida Panthers

D Edward Wittchow, F Gregory Chase

Los Angeles Kings

F Tobias Rieder, F Justin Auger, D Jordan Subban

Minnesota Wild

D Ryan Murphy*, G Steve Michalek, D Dylan Labbe, F Adam Gilmour, G Adam Vay

Montreal Canadiens

F Logan Shaw, F Daniel Carr, F Jeremy Gregoire, D Tom Parisi, G Zach Fucale

Nashville Predators

(none)

New Jersey Devils

G Ken Appleby, F Mario Lucia

New York Islanders

F Alan Quine, F Shane Prince, D Brandon Davidson, F Kyle Schempp

New York Rangers

F Adam Tambellini – unofficial (not disclosed)

Ottawa Senators

D Fredrik Claesson, F Nick Moutrey, G Chris Driedger

Philadelphia Flyers

G Petr Mrazek

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Frank Corrado, F Riley Sheahan, F Tom Kuhnhackl, F Vincent Dunn

San Jose Sharks

D Dylan DeMelo

St. Louis Blues

F Justin Selman, D Thomas Vannelli

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Alex Gallant

Toronto Maple Leafs

(none)

Vancouver Canucks

D Derrick Pouliot, F Cole Cassels, D Anton Cederholm, F Griffen Molino, D Mackenze Stewart

Vegas Golden Knights

Not Disclosed

Washington Capitals

F Devante Smith-Pelly, G Adam Carlson, F Adam Chapie, F Tim McGauley

Winnipeg Jets

D Joseph Morrow, D Jan Kostalek, F Jimmy Lodge, G Jamie Phillips

* – re-signed by team

Hurricanes Re-Sign Phil Di Giuseppe

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Although the Carolina Hurricanes did not qualify restricted free agent Phil Di Giuseppe earlier today, it was quickly revealed that they were still in negotiations with the young forward. Now a deal is done, as TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Hurricanes have signed Di Giuseppe to a one-year, $750K extension.

While there is no official report yet from the team indicating the nature of the contract, it is possible that this is a two-way deal for the 24-year old left winger. Di Giuseppe signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $725K at the NHL level with the Hurricanes last season, making this new deal a slight raise. However, Di Giuseppe also played in a career-high 49 games with Carolina this season and very well may have earned himself a one-way deal.

Di Giuseppe notched five goals and added eight assists this season with the ’Canes, mostly skating in limited minutes on the fourth line in an energy role. Yet, he showed a much-improved defensive game this year, as well as stronger possession game. The former University of Michigan star displayed the makings of a more complete NHL style in 2017-18 and on another affordable contract, could play a larger role in Raleigh this year and prove to be a bargain asset.

Philipp Grubauer Generating Plenty Of Interest

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Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was very clear after the season that he would try to give Philipp Grubauer a chance to be a starting goaltender. That chance won’t be with the Capitals though, as MacLellan admitted he’d explore the trade market to try and find Grubauer an opportunity where he could step into a bigger role. In doing so, several sets of ears perked up around the league and speculation started swirling around who could afford to acquire the 26-year old goaltender.

Grubauer is a restricted free agent this summer, meaning a trade is the best outcome for the Capitals as well. Even with the increase in the salary cap from $75MM to $79.5MM, Washington doesn’t have a ton of room. Unrestricted free agent John Carlson may take half of their projected $15.7MM in cap space should they re-sign him, while Tom Wilson and others are also restricted free agents looking for raises. Grubauer, with all his success as the backup to Braden Holtby, is a luxury the team may not be able to afford.

He does have a successful resume though, which is likely why several teams have been calling with interest. Bob McKenzie of TSN was on the radio this morning reporting that there is plenty of interest in acquiring Grubauer, and listed the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche as teams that are “in” on the RFA goaltender. McKenzie suggests that teams may be willing to part with a first or second round pick if they believe Grubauer can step into a starting role, or at least a tandem with one of their current options. That goes along with the reports from Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) and Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that the Capitals are looking for—or perhaps expecting—a late first or early second-round pick in exchange for their backup goaltender.

None of this means that the team will definitely trade Grubauer at the draft this weekend, but a draft pick today is worth more than one down the line in terms of development. The Capitals are looking to compete for a second consecutive Stanley Cup in 2018-19, but are also committed to building a program that can continue contending long-term. They are one of the few contending teams that did not give up their first-round pick at this year’s trade deadline, and are in good shape to keep adding prospects to a pipeline that has produced several key players over the years. If they can procure a pick in tonight’s first round, it would by default be higher than their first selection and allow them some more currency to try and work with as they strengthen their roster for another run.

Rutherford Eyeing Trade Market To Improve Penguins

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Changes are coming in Pittsburgh this off-season, but GM Jim Rutherford is “not even really thinking about free agency right now”. Speaking with Josh Yohe of the Athletic, Rutherford admits that “we won’t really have the cap space to do anything anyway. We’re going to re-sign some of our restricted free agents. And at that point, we’re around the cap.” The Penguins need to re-sign RFA’s Bryan Rust, Riley Sheahan, Daniel Sprong, Jamie Oleksiak and more and even with the expected increase to the salary cap limit will only have $8-12MM maximum to work with. The team could make a couple additional minor moves here and there on the unrestricted free agent market, but Rutherford is correct that team is strapped for the cap space to make any significant signings this summer, at least as things stand now.

As a result, it is the trade market that Rutherford is more interested in. The team has already stated that they don’t plan to buy out any of their current players, but they could look to move them via trade. Atop that list are likely wingers Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick. In fact, the blue line appears to be the most likely area for a player to be traded away, as the team enters next season with six veterans under contract and Oleksiak and Frank Corrado as restricted free agents. Rutherford stated to Yohe that defenseman Brian Dumoulin is the most untouchable player on the back end due to his invaluable defensive play, and also expressed his fondness for Oleksiak and Olli Maatta as well. Rutherford said that the front office is optimistic that Kris Letang and Hunwick will perform better next year and were happy with the play of Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel as they made up for Letang’s and Hunwick’s shortcomings respectively this season. However, Rutherford added that his comfort with this group doesn’t mean that won’t make a change.

The goal in making any deal is to improve the depth and youth of the Penguins’ forward corps. This explains why the team was connected to Max Domi recently, before he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens last week. The team is seeking versatility and upside up front and are willing to move substantial assets to get it, but Rutherford wasn’t willing to part with the Alex Galchenyuk-level ask from the Arizona Coyotes for Domi. Rutherford knows that even if he does nothing this summer, Pittsburgh will still be a contender, and as such he does not need to overpay in any trade. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not going anywhere and Rutherford has already confirmed that he is not shopping Phil Kessel. It’s safe to assume that young winger Jake Guentzel and new acquisition Derick Brassard are also safe. That is already shaping up to be a solid group yet again and the internal addition of younger players should add energy and potential. However, Rutherford’s preference still is to add depth and even more youth if he can to combat the injuries and fatigue that hurt his aging roster last year. Those are the moves he is looking to make this summer and it seems inevitable that at least one such transaction will be made by the expert executive. They may not be three-peat champions, but the Penguins are going to re-stock and be dangerous again in 2018-19.

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