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Devils Re-sign Sergey Kalinin

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According to a team release, the New Jersey Devils have re-signed RFA Sergey Kalinin to a one-year deal. The deal will see Kalinin earn $800K next season, his second in the NHL.

After coming over from the KHL last season, Kalinin put up eight goals and 15 points in 78 games, playing mainly bottom six minutes, with the odd powerplay and top line shift. If Kalinin can continue to find chemistry with Kyle Palmieri, he might find himself riding shotgun to Taylor Hall and what would be an elite combo.  Otherwise, the 25-year old will continue to provide a big body on the powerplay, with his 6’3″ frame helping to remove the puck from defenders down low.

For the Devils, it’s their 12th signing since July 1st as GM Ray Shero is not waiting around to get his RFAs under contract. With Kalinin earning just $800K, it is another reasonable cap hit for their bottom-six, and leaves them with over $15MM in cap space with Palmieri and Reid Boucher still to sign.

Snapshots: Hedman, McRae, Predators

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Even with the recent decision in the NBA of Kevin Durant heading to the Golden State Warriors to create a ’super-team’, it’s still not very often that you see superstars take less money to stay in a place they feel comfortable. That’s what happened the past two weeks, as both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman re-signed for eight years (and considerably less money than expected) with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in part because of their personal bond. When talking to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, Stamkos said just as much:

“Victor and I are extremely close friends. We came up in this organization as 18-year-old kids. To say that we’re going to be together for the long run, and on one team, that’s something special. A big reason why both of us stuck around is because of the relationship that we have as teammates and as friends as well.”

To see two superstars leave some money on the table and not even hit free agency is a rare one indeed in today’s sporting world, but we may be about to catch it again in Calgary.  Pending RFAs Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have expressed a similar sentiment, and hope to be together for ’the next ten years’. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have brought in former London Knight general manager Basil McRae to become their director of player personnel, according to a team release. After capturing the 2016 Memorial Cup, McRae will return to the club he worked for in 2013-14 this time in a more advanced role. With the signing, the Blue Jackets have also announced two promotions, Ville Siren moves from pro scout to director of amateur scouting, and Josef Boumedienne moves from pro scout to director of European scouting.
  • After being knocked out in the second round by the San Jose Sharks, the Nashville Predators came into the offseason with the plan to get faster on the back end. Buying out Barret Jackman after just his first year with the club was the first move towards that end, and bringing in Yannick Weber to replace him was the next. For what it’s worth, Weber seems to have turned down more money in Europe to stay in the NHL, according to Adam Vignan of the Tennessean.  Weber took a minimum deal of $575K to secure an NHL job with Nashville.
  • Flyers prospect Philippe Myers underwent hip surgery on Wednesday, and will not be participating in the Philadelphia development camp, according to GM Ron Hextall.  Myers went undrafted out of Rouyn-Noranda in 2014-15, but exploded onto the scene last season with 45 points from the back end. He’ll now try and work his way back from surgery to return to the Flyers’ future plans.

NHL Players Not Electing Salary Arbitration

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24 players elected salary arbitration today, which means that 48 players eligible for salary arbitration elected not to go that route. While those remaining players might still be brought to arbitration by their team via club-elected salary arbitration, teams only have until tomorrow at 5pm to do so.

Most of the 48 players refraining from player-elected salary arbitration are AHL-dwellers, but a few have NHL experience. The following is a list of players with at least 10 NHL game experience who did not elect salary arbitration.

Fredrick Claesson – OTT
Nick Cousins – PHI
Stefan Elliot – NSH
Dennis Everberg – COL
Marcus Foligno – BUF
Derek Forbort – LA
Freddie Hamilton – CGY
Joey Hishon – COL
Sergey Kalinin – NJ
Petr Mrazek – DET
Jamie Oleksiak – DAL
Dmitry Orlov – WSH
Teemu Pulkkinen – DET
Max Reinhart – CGY
Jiri Sekac – ARI
Brody Sutter – CAR

The most interesting player not electing arbitration is Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek. The Czech goaltender took over the number one role in Detroit over Jimmy Howard last season, starting 49 games and going 27-16-6 with a .921 SV% and a 2.33 GAA. Mrazek is expected to compete for the starting job next season, and represents a cheaper option for Detroit between the pipes than the veteran Jimmy Howard.

Confused about the arbitration process? See our guide on the arbitration basics.

Capology 101: Arbitration (Part 1)

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Salary arbitration remains one of the more complex aspects of the NHL’s CBA. With the player-elected salary arbitration notice deadline passing this afternoon, ProHockeyRumors is here to give you a breakdown of the process.

At its heart, salary arbitration is simply asking a designated third-party arbitrator to determine a player’s salary. Both sides—the team and the player—present their case to the arbitrator. Like in court, the parties will use evidence such as graphs, statistics, and comparable players to make their case. Arbitration presents an independent and decisive way to determine a player’s salary in situations where both parties are at odds. The process, however, is inherently unpredictable, and is why most players and teams facing arbitration hearings settle before being heard.

Arbitration Basics

Two types of salary arbitration exist: (1) player-elected salary arbitration (PESA), and (2) club-elected salary arbitration (CESA). Definition-wise, they differ only in who elects the arbitration hearing. The difference lies in the procedure requirements.

Player Eligibility

A player’s arbitration eligibility is the same regardless of whether arbitration is player-elected or club-elected. A player is arbitration eligible if:

  1. He qualifies as a restricted free agent;
  2. He did not sign an offer sheet; and
  3. He meets the minimum professional experience guidelines.

The first two criteria are self-explanatory. The third, however, requires some additional explanation. The minimum professional experience (PE) required for salary arbitration eligibility depends on when a player signed his first Standard Player Contract (SPC):

  • If a player signs his first SPC at 18-20, he needs four years of PE;
  • If a player signs his first SPC at 21, he needs three years of PE;
  • If a player signs his first SPC at 22-23, he needs two years of PE;
  • If a player signs his first SPC at 24 or older, he needs one year of PE.

As with everything in the CBA, each key word entails specific definitions. Here, both age and professional experience are specifically defined.

Age is defined as the player’s age on September 15th of the calendar year he signed the SPC. That means that if a player born in July signs an SPC in June at 20 years old, his age for eligibility purposes is 21 because he is 21 on September 15th.

Professional experience is defined as a condition of age. An 18 or 19 year old player must play in 10 or more NHL games to accumulate a year of professional experience. Players 20+, however, accumulate a year of professional experience by playing in any professional league (AHL, KHL, etc).

Additional CESA eligibility requirements

In addition to a player being arbitration-eligible, the CBA requires more for club-elected salary arbitration. A club can only elect salary arbitration for a player who has not been subject to a previous club-elected salary (any team), and either:

  1. made more than $1.75MM (including bonuses) in the previous year and in lieu of a qualifying offer; or
  2. received but did not sign a qualifying offer.

Finally, a team may only elect salary arbitration twice per year.

Deadlines

The deadline for PESA is 5pm EST on July 5th. The deadline for CESA is either (a) the later of June 15th or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Finals for arbitration in lieu of qualifying offers, or (b) 24 hours after the player-elected deadline passes.

Miscellaneous

Teams can trade players with pending arbitrations up until the hearing. Teams and players can also come to a contractual agreement. Because of the unpredictability mentioned above, players and teams rarely go to hearing—most cases settle.

Part Two will address the arbitration Process, and Part Three will address the arbitration decision.

Canadiens Ink Phillip Danault For Two-Years

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The Montreal Canadiens signed another one of their pending RFAs today, as they reached a two-year deal with Phillip Danault, according to a team release. Renaud Lavoie of TVA tells us he’ll earn $912K per season.  Danault is coming off his entry-level contract and was not eligible to file for salary arbitration today.

After acquiring the left winger mid-season from the Chicago Blackhawks, Danault played in 21 games for Montreal down the stretch. A bottom-six forward, the 23-year old played just over twelve and a half minutes per night for the club and registered four goals and ten points for the two teams combined.

At less than $1MM per season, the Habs have found a cheap option to play on their fourth line after being in cap-trouble earlier this summer. The team now has just $256K under the cap, with all of their free agents signed (according to CapFriendly).

Avalanche Re-sign Calvin Pickard To Two-Year Deal

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According to a team release, the Colorado Avalanche have re-signed netminder Calvin Pickard for two years prior to the arbitration deadline.  Pickard got into 20 games at the NHL level last season, performing admirably with a 2.56 GAA and .922 save percentage.

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post gives us the financial details on the deal, which will see Pickard earn $925K in the first year, and $1.075MM in the second.

With Reto Berra dealt to the Panthers earlier this offseason, the door is wide open for Pickard to become the full-time backup for Semyon Varlamov. The duo will be earning a combined $6.925MM per season, a reasonable number for a team looking to get a handful of young RFAs under contract.

Pickard has performed well since being drafted 49th overall in 2010, and should eventually push for the starting role in Colorado. With Varlamov due to become an unrestricted free agent in three years, Colorado will see if the 24-year old Pickard has what it takes to become a number one in this league.

New Jersey Devils Sign Josefson, Gazdic

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According to a team release, the New Jersey Devils have signed another one of their RFAs, this time in the form of Jacob Josefson.  Josefson will receive $1.1MM on a one-way deal.  The Devils have also signed free agent forward Luke Gazdic to a one-year, two-way deal that will pay him $700K at the NHL level, according to Brennan Klak of The Hockey Writers.

Josefson, 25, has played partial seasons for the Devils since 2010 after coming over from the Swedish Elite League, suiting up for 238 games during that span. Never an offensive threat, Josefson has provided value on the penalty kill, where he excels in suppressing shot opportunities. The young center will continue to work at his even strength consistency, trying to solidify his role as a shutdown player.

Gazdic spent last season bouncing back and forth between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate Bakersfield. The winger has scored double digit goals just once in his professional career, but will provide some veteran leadership on the Albany Devils this season.

RFAs Still Waiting On Contracts

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After a busy few days watching free agent contracts be handed out like candy, and millions of dollars spent like pennies, there are still some key restricted free agents out there negotiating their next contracts.  Vincent Trocheck, Filip Forsberg and Seth Jones have already received deals eclipsing $25MM, locking them in long before they even get a sniff of unrestricted free agency.  Here are a few more names still waiting on deals:

For the entire list of RFA players, and the projected depth charts for each team head to Roster Resource and check out their detailed info.

Shawn Matthias Signs With Winnipeg

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According to James Mirtle of TSN, the Winnipeg Jets have signed free agent forward Shawn Matthias to a two-year contract.  Elliot Friedman reports that the deal will pay Matthias $2.125MM per season. The former Maple Leaf was traded to the Colorado Avalanche mid-season, and put up 12 goals and 28 points on the year.

Matthias, 28, has always been regarded as somewhat of a scoring winger that could play anywhere in your top nine, despite ever only scoring more than 15 goals once in his career. His $4.25MM deal comes in as the biggest of his career, despite actually taking a salary cut from $2.3MM.

He’ll join a Jets team still reeling from last season’s poor performance, and still struggling to reach a contract with RFA Jacob Trouba.  Rumors of offer sheets have swirled around the young defenseman in recent days, and he’ll be their next priority after the first day of free agency cools off.

Capology: Restricted Free Agents (Part I)

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Restricted Free Agents can sign with any team once their SPC expires, but the player’s prior club can either match the new contract—called an offer sheet—or receive compensatory draft picks from the RFA’s new team. It allows a young player the opportunity to experience free agency while giving teams a exclusive chance to match any offer their player may receive.

Who is Eligible to be an RFA?

A player generally becomes an RFA after his first contract expires. Essentially, RFA status is tied to a player’s age* when he signed his first SPC:

18-21 when signing ELC: RFA after 3 years of pro experience
22-23 when signing ELC: RFA after 2 years of pro experience
24+ when signing ELC: RFA after 1 year of pro experience

Age is defined as the players age on September 15th of the year he signed his first SPC. Professional experience however, depends on a player’s age. For players 18 and 19, professional experience is 10+ games in the NHL. For players 20+, professional experience is merely 10+ games in any professional league.

Just because a player is eligible to be an RFA, however, does not automatically bestow RFA status. As explained below, a team must either make the player a Qualifying Offer (QO) or elect to take the player to salary arbitration. If a team does neither, the player becomes a UFA.

Flowchart Illustraing NHL RFA Timeline

 

What is a Qualifying Offer?

A qualifying offer (QO) is an offer of a one year SPC by a player’s team. The CBA requires that the SPC meet certain terms and conditions:

Salary

An SPC’s minimum salary is determined by a player’s previous year’s NHL Salary

  • If a player’s previous year’s NHL salary was $660,000 or less, the SPC must offer a minimum of 110% of the player’s previous year’s salary;
  • If a player’s previous year’s NHL salary was greater than $660,000 but less than $1,000,000, the SPC salary must be at least 105% of the player’s previous salary but cannot exceed $1,000,000; or
  • If a player’s previous year’s NHL salary was equal to or greater than $1,000,000, then the SPC salary must be 100% of the player’s previous salary.

One-way and Two-way

Most QOs are two-way (meaning that the player receives a minor league salary if he is sent down). A QO must be one-way, however, if the player meets the following conditions:

  1. played at least 180 NHL games in the previous three NHL seasons;
  2. played at least 60 NHL games in the previous season; and
  3. did not clear waivers during the regular season waiver period.

Qualifying offers sheets are predominantly a formality. Teams are required to make an offer so they can retain a player’s RFA rights. Players can reject a team’s QO—something they usually do. Once the QO expires, both the team and the player will negotiate a more lucrative deal.

When Does a Team Make a Qualifying Offer?

A team seeking to retain its rights in RFA players (and not electing arbitration) must tender the QO by the later of June 25th or the first Monday after the NHL Entry Draft. That means that a player must receive the offer by that date. A late QO is insufficient, and the player immediately becomes a UFA.*

When Can a Player Accept a Qualifying Offer?

Even though a QO must be offered in June, a player cannot accept a QO until July 1st. The QO is open for two weeks until it expires on July 15th.

What if a Team does not Make a Qualifying Offer?

If a team does not make a Qualifying Offer by the CBA-imposed deadline, the RFA-eligible player immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent.

So an RFA either receives a QO, or becomes a free agent. If they receive a QO, they can still sign with another team, but their original team has right of first refusal. This process is called the offer sheet process. See our forthcoming post on offer sheet soon.

* in 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks tendered their QOs late, and their RFA-eligible players became UFAs

 

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