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Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Puljujarvi, Kempe, Goldobin, Tkachuk

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It’s rare for players to debut in the NHL and make a significant impact for their teams in the same year they are drafted. In 2015-16, just three players selected in the prior June’s draft – Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin – appeared in more than 18 NHL contests as rookies. However, we could see as many as five 2016 draftees all earn regular shifts with their clubs during the 2016-17 season, two of whom appear in this post.

Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton) – Expected to go in the top-three of the draft, Puljujarvi surprisingly dropped to #4 after Columbus elected to take C Pierre-Luc Dubois at #3 instead of the Finnish winger. Edmonton happily grabbed Puljujarvi with their choice and this stroke of good fortune may have played a role in the June 29th trade of Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Having Puljujarvi in the fold provided Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli the knowledge he had enough depth on the wings to cash in a player of Hall’s caliber to address their weakness on the blue line.

Puljujarvi combines NHL size at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds with excellent skating ability. He starred for the Finns helping his home country win the gold medal in the World Junior Championships. He also captured the tourney’s MVP award and finished tops among all participants in both assists (12) and points (17).

The Oilers already have one of the top young superstars in the game in MacDavid and saw 2014 first-round pick Leon Draisaitl bust out with a 51-point campaign in 2016-17. Joining that dangerous duo up front is former top overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton boasts plenty of talented high-end forwards which virtually assures Puljujarvi will have a chance to skate with some good players. Don’t be surprised if he ends up as a Calder Trophy finalist and the leading scorer among all 2016 draftees.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – After losing forwards Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg to free agency and with Dustin Brown’s offense regressing to a level where he has no business in the top-nine, the Kings could turn to Kempe to provide additional scoring. Kempe, the team’s first-round choice in 2014, already has 55 games of pro experience in North America after suiting up this past season for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The Swedish winger tallied 11 goals and recorded 28 points during the regular season and another four goals and five points in 13 postseason contests.

Since Kempe doesn’t turn 20 until later this month and given he didn’t exactly dominate at the AHL level, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the Kings sent him back to Ontario to start the 2016-17 campaign and get some more seasoning. But with Kyle Clifford (nine points in 56 games) and Brown (28 points in 82 games) currently expected to hold top-nine spots, according to Roster Resource, Los Angeles might decide they need to inject more offense into the lineup and Kempe could be the source of that offense.

Nikolay Goldobin (San Jose) – The Sharks addressed any need they may have had for a scoring line LW by signing Mikkel Boedker as a free agent this summer. With Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau also listed as LW’s on the team’s depth chart, it’s likely the highly skilled Goldobin begins the season with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL to gain more experience. But in the event of injury, Goldobin could be among the team’s first choices for a promotion to the big club.

Goldobin is said to have an excellent shot and release and is a creative offensive player. He can use some work on his defensive game, as do many young players, which is another reason he might find himself in the AHL to start the 2016-17 campaign. But with Marleau entering the final year of his contract, Goldobin is in line to land a job with the Sharks soon enough; perhaps as early as this year.

Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary) – The Flames already possess several skilled young players, but as mentioned in an earlier installment of this series, if they do have an opening it would be for a scoring line LW with size. Hunter Shinkaruk might get the first crack to fill that role though he doesn’t possess the size the Flames would seem to need. If Shinkaruk isn’t ready for regular NHL action, Tkachuk could be an option for Calgary up front.

Tkachuk, the son of former NHL power forward Keith Tkachuk, was drafted by the Flames with the sixth overall selection of the 2016 draft following an impressive 107-point season with the London Knights of the OHL. While his dad was noted for playing a physical game (2,219 PIM in 1,201 NHL games), as well as being a terrific goal scorer, Matthew is more of a complete, two-way player who is also a good skater with high-end offensive instincts. He helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2016 WJC U20 tournament, tallying 11 points in seven contests.

Tkachuk might be better off returning to junior to gain more experience. He will certainly have to prove to the Flames that he is truly ready to play at the NHL level but he has the talent and the skill to provide some offense if he earns a role in Calgary.

 

 

Can’t-Miss Games Of The 2016-17 NHL Season: October

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The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games of October:

Oct. 12th – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators

The puck drops on a new NHL season at 7pm ET in the Canadian capital, as the Sens host the Leafs in a rivalry match-up. With #1 overall pick Auston Matthews and newly acquired keeper Frederik Andersen expected to be among many new faces in the Toronto lineup, the Leafs will have a clean slate as they start the year off against old friend Dion Phaneuf and an Ottawa team looking to get back to the playoffs.

Oct. 12th – Calgary Flames  vs. Edmonton Oilers

Later that night, the Oilers will open the brand new Rogers Place for it’s first NHL regular-season game, as they welcome their Alberta rivals. Edmonton will definitely be curious to see if the newly-acquired Adam Larsson can help to slow down the Flames’ dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Leaving behind Rexall Place and the many memories (though few good ones in recent years) they had there, the Oilers will look to start the season off on the right foot in a new building, while Calgary hopes to play spoiler.

October 13th – Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The home opener for the 2015-16 Stanley Cup champs comes against none other than the 2015-16 President’s Trophy winners, as fans are treated to a battle of talent and intensity between two fierce rivals on just Day 2 of the NHL season. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will each look to start off strong and lead their teams to victory, as the Penguins begin a title defense and the Capitals begin another long march toward that elusive Stanley Cup championship.

October 20th – San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have another big game a week later, this time against their Stanley Cup competitors, the Sharks. The 2016 Stanley Cup final was one of the best in recent memory, with immense speed and talent on both sides and young goalies Martin Jones and Matt Murray standing on their heads. Though nothing can make up for falling short when it mattered most, you can bet that captain Joe Pavelski and the Sharks will be fired up for some revenge in this game.

October 23rd – Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets will get their first taste of outdoor hockey, as they square off against the Oilers in the Heritage Classic. Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, will host the game as these two Canadian teams look to battle it out, and at least put on a better show than the much talked-about Alumni Game.

 

 

 

Snapshots: Canucks, Avalanche, Nielsen, Donskoi

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Many pundits feel the Vancouver Canucks are a team lacking direction. On the one hand, they introduced some much-needed youth to their aging core last season with young forwards Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann given their first extended NHL looks and joining second-year pro Bo Horvat as possible future building blocks. On the other hand, Vancouver failed to advance their rebuild by dealing expiring assets at the trade deadline for draft picks and/or prospects. Trading Dan Hamhuis and/or Radim Vrbata would have netted the Canucks multiple futures to further the team’s roster reconstruction.

Instead, the Canucks surprised many this spring by parting with the aforementioned McCann as part of a package to acquire veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson in what was clearly a move designed to help the team win now. The free agent addition of winger Loui Eriksson also signals that Vancouver is not committed to a rebuild and will rather try to slowly integrate younger players onto the roster while at the same time attempting to remain in the mix for a playoff spot.

It’s with this mentality that GM Jim Benning continues his search for an impact offensive LW, as Ben Kuzma of The Province writes. Daniel Sedin remains the team’s top port side winger and the team expects young Sven Baertschi – currently listed as the team’s #2 LW – to improve upon his 15-goal output in 2015-16. Beyond those two the Canucks have a few wingers who can line up on either side of center – including Eriksson – but don’t have enough depth to switch a player to the left without creating another hole on the right side.

Kuzma lists several candidates who could fill the role of impact LW, both internal and external. The most interesting might be Anton Rodin, the team’s second-round pick in 2009 and whom the Canucks signed to a one-year deal worth just $950K. Rodin enjoyed an excellent 2015-16 campaign, netting 16 goals and 37 points in 33 contests with Brynas IF of the Swedish Elite League while capturing the league’s MVP award.

As for possibilities currently outside the Canucks organization, Kuzma lists Evander Kane as a potential trade option – a notion we’ve reported on in the past –  though he also brings up the off-ice issues surrounding Buffalo’s talented winger and suggests that might limit Vancouver’s interest. Kuzma also opines that the cost to acquire an established player like Kane would likely start with one of Chris Tanev or Horvat, and that’s simply a price the Canucks are unwilling to pay.

Surprisingly, Kuzma writes that the Canucks didn’t view Jiri Hudler as a short-term answer even though the Czech winger is just two seasons removed from a 76-point campaign and ultimately signed a one-year pact with Dallas worth $2MM. Hudler would have been a perfectly reasonable buy-low add for the Canucks. He’s capable of producing at a rate more than acceptable for a top-six forward and would have been a potentially valuable asset to possess at the 2017 deadline with contending teams always looking to augment their scoring depth.

Elsewhere in the NHL on this Labor Day:

  • At his introductory news conference last week, new Colorado head coach Jared Bednar confirmed he would be keeping all three assistant coaches – Tim Army, Dave Farrish and Nolan Pratt – from the previous regime, according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. It’s not much of a surprise given the late hiring of Bednar meant that many coaches he may have considered for positions were already committed elsewhere. Additionally, Pratt worked under Bednar as an assistant with Lake Erie in 2015-16 so there was already a comfort level between the two coaches. After talking with each of his assistants, Bednar is satisfied he has the right mix of experience and knowledge among his staff.
  • An unheralded free agent signing by the Sharks in May of 2015, Joonas Donskoi would end up playing a key role for the Western Conference champions in 2015-16, scoring 11 goals and 36 points in 76 regular season games. He would ramp up his performance in the playoffs tallying six goals and 12 points in 24 contests. Now that Donskoi has established himself as an NHL regular, the expectations have been raised going into year two of his career, as Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes. After establishing solid chemistry with C Logan Couture, both down the stretch of the regular campaign and in the postseason, Donskoi is again likely to slot in on the right side of the skilled pivot. If he takes advantage of his opportunity to play with Couture, it’s conceivable Donskoi could approach 50 points in a full season.
  • After losing superstar center Pavel Datsyuk, who chose to return home to Russia to be closer to his family, the Detroit Red Wings were left with a gaping hole down the middle of their lineup. They attempted to address that loss in part by signing solid two-way pivot Frans Nielsen to a lucrative six-year, $31.5MM free agent deal this summer. While he won’t be expected to replace Datsyuk’s offense, he will be counted on to play a responsible game and appear in all situations for the Wings, says Ansar Khan of MLive.com. Nielsen has only ever tallied 20 goals or 50 points on two occasions but is known as an excellent playmaker and someone who should help improve both the Wings PP and PK units. He is also an elite shootout performer who might be worth an extra few standings points a year to Detroit in that area alone.

Snapshots: Blues, Hertl, Moses

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St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock may be heading into his final season behind an NHL bench but he’s certainly not being complacent, writes Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Hitchcock along with coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo and the rest of the coaching staff have put the finishing touches on their new system in advance of training camp later this month.  In particular, the team is changing the way it plays in its own end, something that should keep both the players and the coaching staff on their toes; Hitchcock added his thoughts about the decision to change:

“For a coach, when you’re secure in the way you play and then all of a sudden you’re going to make changes, it’s pretty dramatic. Coaches don’t view offensive changes as dramatic, but when you’re changing things defensively most coaches view that as pretty dramatic.”

With their plans in place, the coaches are now in the process of presenting it to their leadership core, including new captain Alex Pietrangelo.  Assuming the players are all on board with the changes, then the new system will be unveiled to the rest of the team in training camp.  While it may seem odd to seek approval from the players on the system, Hitchcock added that “There’s no point in putting it together if the players don’t buy into it”.

More from around the league:

  • While Sharks forward Tomas Hertl won’t play at the World Cup, he doesn’t appear likely to miss any NHL action. In a statement from GM Doug Wilson (courtesy of CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz), he noted that Hertl is on track to be ready to start the year and doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.  Wilson also praised Hertl for choosing “to put his commitment to the Sharks and his teammates first”.
  • While his most recent return to North America didn’t go well, left winger Steve Moses hasn’t ruled out giving the NHL another shot down the road, writes Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. Moses signed a one year, $1MM deal with Nashville last year but didn’t make the team out of camp and was assigned to their AHL affiliate.  After 16 games with that team, his deal was terminated and he returned to the KHL where he remains under contract through 2017-18.  He has flirted with the point-per-game mark in each of his last two years in Russia and if he keeps that up, he should stay on the NHL radar.  However, Moses acknowledges that it will take a richer contract for him to try again as he is making more than the $1MM he was set to earn last season.

Radko Gudas, Tomas Hertl To Miss World Cup

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The injuries keep piling up for the Czech Republic in advance of the World Cup of Hockey as both Philadelphia defenseman Radko Gudas and San Jose forward Tomas Hertl will not play as first reported by hokej.cz’s Vaclav Jachin (link in Czech).  Gudas is dealing with a wrist injury while Hertl still hasn’t recovered from the knee injury that forced him out of the lineup in the Stanley Cup Final back in June.

Gudas is coming off a strong first season with the Flyers where he provided the team with some grit on the back end.  He played in 76 games, collecting 14 points while adding 116 PIMS, 304 hits, and 157 blocked shots.  He also played in six postseason contests, being held pointless but he managed to average five hits per game.  The 26 year old was rewarded with a four year extension this offseason with a cap hit of $3.35MM.

Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall released the following statement on the Flyers website about the injury:

“Radko Gudas sustained an upper body injury during his offseason training and will be evaluated on a week to week basis. We are hopeful and optimistic that he will not miss any regular season games.”

As for Hertl, he’s coming off the best season of his three year career, recording 21 goals and 25 assists in 81 regular season games for the Sharks.  He continued his strong play in the postseason, picking up another 11 points in 20 games to give San Jose some secondary scoring.  He inked a two year, $6MM bridge deal back in June.

No replacements have been named at this time.  For now, it’s likely that Roman Cervenka, who has added to replace David Krejci yesterday, will move into a regular role with the Czech squad.

[Related: Updated Czech World Cup Roster]

Snapshots: Torres, Jokipakka, World Cup

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Raffi Torres will turn 35-years old on October 8th. He hasn’t played an NHL game since April 30th, 2014 (when the Sharks were eliminated from the postseason). He has been suspended five times during his NHL career, the latest lasting 41 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs, after agreeing to acquire his rights in a deadline deal last year, immediately loaned him back to his current AHL team, not wanting any part of him in their organization.

But somehow, he’s earned a professional tryout from the Carolina Hurricanes this fall and will skate to try and snatch a spot on their fourth line. In a piece by Chip Alexander of The News & Observer today, Torres and GM Ron Francis talk about his latest (and possibly last) opportunity in the NHL.

“I know I’ve got to change. I know I say that over and over, but I’ve got to change and I can change,” says Torres when speaking about his suspensions. He admits that what he’s done over his career is wrong, and seems genuinely convinced he could offer something to the Hurricanes this season. Francis, for his part says he has “served his time” and is willing to at least give him a look this fall. If he does make the roster, he’ll be joining his eighth NHL team in 16 years.  Here is more from around the league:

  • Among the news that Sean Monahan is still too injured to participate in the upcoming World Cup, Wes Gilbertson of Postmedia tweeted out another interesting injury tidbit. Jyrki Jokipakka, who underwent hip surgery at the end of the season is now expected to be “good to go” for the tournament. Jokipakka was part of the return for Kris Russell this past year, and was well received in his 18 game Calgary stint. He’ll be suiting up for a Finnish team that is looking like a darkhorse candidate; Patrik Laine recently won tournament MVP at the World Championships, while the goaltending tandem of Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask should be among the best.
  • Staying with the World Cup, Rob Vollman of NHL.com published a piece that says the possibility that the North America team wins the tournament isn’t necessarily a long-shot, due to the usual peak of physical performance around 24. Indeed, the youngster team led by Connor McDavid will have a speed advantage over the rest of the field, and can create offense at an elite level already.  The one thing Vollman mentions as a weakness though, faceoff skill, was weakened today when Monahan withdrew.  The Calgary centerman was clearly the best on the team in the circle, meaning players like Auston Matthews and Mark Scheifele will have to step up in the defensive end.

Las Vegas Hires Kelly Kisio As Pro Scout

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If you were an expansion team, looking to fill your ranks with the best hockey minds not currently employed by an NHL team, where would you look? Las Vegas has decided that the WHL is the place to go, as they’ve mined another long-time front office member from the junior ranks.  According to a team release, Kelly Kisio, a member of the Calgary Hitmen front office for the past 18-years, has been hired by the expansion franchise as a pro scout.

Kisio first joined the Hitmen in 1998-99 as the General Manager, and continued in that role until 2013 when he was promoted to President of Hockey Operations.  He also spent four seasons behind the bench with the club from 2004-08 while still in his GM role.  He’ll now join the Vegas club as a pro scout covering the western region.

An excellent player in his day, Kisio scored 658 points in 761 goals for the Red Wings, Rangers, Sharks and Flames, including a 78 point effort in 1987-88. Serving as captain of the Rangers for over three seasons he made one all-star appearance in 1993.

The hiring of Kisio follows a clear pattern for GM George McPhee this summer, after he hired AGM Kelly McCrimmon from the Brandon Wheat Kings and amateur scout Bruno Campese from the Prince Albert Raiders among others.

San Jose Goalie Conundrum

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San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones was excellent last year. In his first season as a full-time NHL starter, Jones won 37 games and posted a .918 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average en route to a Western Conference championship. On Sharks off nights, San Jose was still home to a star goalie as Jones’ expected backup in 2016-17, former North Dakota Fighting Sioux standout Aaron Dell, was also great in his first full-time AHL season with the San Jose Barracuda. Dell had a .922 save percentage and 2.42 GAA, earning himself a two-year, $1.25MM contract extension this off-season. So where is the problem? Unfortunately for the Sharks, the problems abound with this duo going into the new season.

First, there is the reliability of Jones to worry about. Although he has given the Sharks no reason to worry about him, nor did his time as a backup with the Los Angeles Kings raise any red flags, Jones is swimming through dangerous waters in 2016-17. The dreaded sophomore slump has not been kind to goalies in Jones’ position. Even though he was not technically a rookie last season, it was his first year as an NHL starter. In the past, goalies who have shined bright in their first season as the number one man in net have often faltered the next season. The most recent example is Steve Mason. The former Columbus goalie, who started for the Blue Jackets right out of junior hockey, was outstanding in his first year. His .916 save percentage, 2.29 GAA, and league-leading 10 shutouts earned him the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2008-09. In 2009-10? Mason’s GAA blew up to 3.06, while his save percentage fell to .901. Mason went 20-26-9 that season, after posting a 33-20-7 line the year before. Even worse than having just one bad sophomore slump year, Mason’s struggles in Columbus continued until he was finally traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012-13. But surely a Calder-winning goalie having the wheels fall off is just an anomaly, right? Not so much; it happened just a few seasons before Mason. This time, it was Boston Bruins rookie sensation Andrew Raycroft. After a few seasons as a backup to the less-than-stellar likes of Byron Dafoe, Steve Shields, and John Grahame, Bruins fans were ecstatic when Raycroft took the reins in 2003-04 and put up a .926 save percentage and 2.05 GAA. Then it all fell apart. Following the lockout year, Raycroft started the 2005-06 season off as a hero and ended it as a disgraced third string. He had a miserable .879 save percentage and .371 GAA, which gave the Bruins more than enough reason to hand the starting job to Tim Thomas. They took it a step further in the off-season, dealing Raycroft to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Tuukka Rask. In 2006-07, Raycroft allowed a league-high 205 goals as the Leafs net minder, and would never work as a starting goalie in the NHL again. You can of course make the argument that Martin Jones is simply a better goalie than Raycroft, but is he better than the aforementioned Rask? Probably not. (Rask is second all-time in save percentage) Even Rask encountered this problem though. After a few seasons as a backup, Rask played so well in 2009-10 that he forced a share of the starting job with the fan-favorite Thomas. Rask played in 45 games to Thomas’ 43, and in those appearances he had an impeccable .931 save percentage and 1.97 GAA, both of which led the league. Rask finished fourth in Calder voting and seventh in Vezina voting and there was a general assumption that the team was his. Entering his first year as the presumptive starter, Rask struggled. He had only a .918 save percentage and 2.67 GAA for the season, as Thomas took back the starting job early on and led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup. Yet another case study: former Penguins goalie J-S Aubin. Aubin’s numbers in his final year as a backup and first year as a starter in Pittsburgh are very comparable to Jones’ past two seasons. In Aubin’s next season, he had a gruesome .890 save percentage and 3.13 GAA.

Such a drastic collapse like Aubin’s or Raycroft’s may not happen to Martin Jones, but it could. He could also just see his stats fall to pedestrian levels like Rask or Mason. Either way, the Sharks are not prepared. If Jones’ numbers fall off, they do not have the goalie depth they need. As good as Dell was last season, he would be a 27-year-old rookie who has bounced around the ECHL and AHL for the past four years. The Sharks claim to have faith in their backup, but their actions betrayed their words when they kept the struggling Alex Stalock as the backup last season, until it reached a breaking point and they decided to trade for James Reimer. Though Dell has the experience, he has not proven himself at the NHL, nor has he dominated in the minors like he did in college. If he was to be eased into the NHL, he might gradually find success. However, if Jones hits a sophomore slump and Dell is thrust into high pressure situations, he is likely to fail.

In house, there are no solutions to the Sharks goaltending problem. If Jones struggles they need a reliable veteran backup who can handle a workload and important starts. If Jones doesn’t struggle, they could still use a reliable veteran backup. After playing in 65 regular season games and 24 playoff games in 2015-16, Jones is deserving of some more off-days this season. Dell simply may not be good enough to make all of the starts needed of him. Right now, Dell is “penciled in” as the backup, but unless the Sharks can make a big trade or savvy signing, it may as well be permanent marker. Troy Grosenick, a Union College grad who backed up Dell with the Barracuda in 2015-16, has a brutal .894 save percentage and 3.16 GAA in 28 AHL games last year and is not even a consideration at this point. Mantas Armalis, a 24-year-old Lithuanian goalie who the Sharks signed this off-season from Djurgardens of the Swedish Elite League, has upside, but is hardly ready for any NHL action this year.

That leaves the Sharks one choice to solve their goalie issues: acquisition. Whether it is signing a goalie to a short-term deal or PTO before training camp starts, or waiting for a goalie market to develop once the season begins, San Jose will have to make a move or else stand by their risky Jones-Dell tandem. Veterans available as of right now include Karri Ramo, Anders Lindback, Ray Emery,  and Michael Leighton, while some younger, but riskier options like Joni Ortio and Kevin Poulin could also be had. Of all of these, Calgary castoffs Ramo and Ortio represent the best options. Although neither had a strong 2015-16 campaign, they did make a significant number of starts and are used to facing NHL, and even Western Conference, competition. Both goalies are prime candidates to soon bolt overseas though, and a signing would need to happen soon for the Sharks. If they miss out, or simply don’t trust any of the available free agents, they face a more difficult task in finding a trade. San Jose is projected to have less than $1MM in cap space at the start of the season, meaning that acquiring an expensive backup on the trading block like the Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard or either of Dallas’ disappointing tandem of Antti Niemi or Kari Lehtonen would have to involve significant salary leaving the Sharks. More affordable targets like Michael Hutchinson, J-F Berube, Mike Condon, or Curtis McElhinney could be the solution, but only if they are available at the right price. There is no easy answer for this scenario, and it may go unsolved as a result, and that is why San Jose certainly has a goalie conundrum on their hands.

Snapshots: Bishop, Burns, Howden

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Barring the unexpected, Ben Bishop will enter the 2016-17 season as the starting goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After leading the NHL in GAA (2.06) and finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting, Bishop has established himself as one of the league’s top net minders and is a key reason the Lightning will be among a small handful of teams expected to challenge Pittsburgh for Eastern Conference supremacy. But as he enters the final year of a contract, which comes with an AAV of $5.9MM, Bishop’s time in Tampa may be nearing its end, as Mike Halford of Pro Hockey Talk explains.

At 29 and with presumably several years of elite-level play ahead of him, Bishop will be in a position to command a significant multiyear deal next summer. The Lightning already have $55MM tied up in their 2017-18 salary cap – according to Cap Friendly – and will need to re-sign pending restricted free agents Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin, none of whom will come cheaply. Additionally, that figure does not yet account for the eventual cap charge of Nikita Kucherov, who is still a RFA and is in line for a nice payday. Chances are Tampa simply won’t be in a position to offer Bishop what he can command elsewhere.

On top of that, as Halford noted, the Lightning were proactive and inked backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year extension which goes into effect in time for the 2017-18 campaign after Bishop’s contract ends. Vasilevskiy is one of the top young goalie prospects in the NHL and should be ready to assume a larger role. This gives the Lightning a fair amount of protection should they reconcile themselves to the likelihood of Bishop’s departure.

Halford wonders if Tampa would consider dealing Bishop prior to the trade deadline but points out that as long as GM Steve Yzerman feels the team’s chances of contending are better with Bishop than without, he is more likely to hang onto the goalie. He goes on to mention Calgary and Dallas as potential suitors, should the Lightning conclude moving Bishop is the best course of action. Both of those teams were linked to Bishop this summer.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • Assuming he plays out the season without signing an extension, Brent Burns will be one of the most sought after free agents on the market next summer as an elite, puck-moving blue liner who can produce points. Joey Alfieri, who writes for Pro Hockey Talk, considered what Burns’ next contract might look like, suggesting Dustin Byfuglien’s recent extension with Winnipeg as a fair comparable. Like Byfuglien, Burns is 31-years-old and both men are among the most dynamic offensive defensemen in the game today. Byfuglien inked a five-year pact worth $38MM with Winnipeg during the 2015-16 campaign. The Byfuglien comparable seems reasonable but it’s likely Burns can get more, particularly if he reaches the open market. The San Jose Sharks defender has tallied 44 goals and 135 points over the last two seasons. Byfuglien, on the other hand, has recorded 37 goals and 98 points. San Jose tends to tread carefully when it comes to the contract length for aging players – think the matching three-year deals for Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton – and they promote a willingness among many of their players to take fewer dollars from the Sharks than they could secure otherwise in free agency. Re-signing Burns will surely be a top priority for the Sharks and it will be interesting to see if the two sides can get something done.
  • Quinton Howden, who signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1st, is thrilled to have the chance to play for his hometown team, as Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press writes. Howden was a first-round pick of the Panthers in 2010 and played the previous three seasons with the Florida, tallying 10 goals and 17 points in 92 games. Howden, who grew up in Oakbank and played his junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors, is expected to compete with several others for one of three or four forward spots up front for the Jets.

 

Pacific Division Notes: Coyotes, Daly, Marleau, Goldobin

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After acquiring Dave Bolland and Pavel Datsyuk in separate trades this summer, the Arizona Coyotes could be in a position to conceivably carry nearly $18MM – once Chris Pronger’s $4.935MM cap hit is added – on their salary cap for three players who won’t be suiting up for the this year. All told, the Coyotes will pay out just $1.675 in actual salary for those players (Pronger is set to earn $575K in the final season of a long-term arrangement he originally signed with Philadelphia, while the insurance policy on Bolland’s contract will cover all but $1.1MM once he is placed on LTIR). These maneuverings have allowed Arizona to easily cross the salary cap floor while at the same time limiting the actual salary obligations; not an unimportant factor for a small market, budget team.

In a piece appearing on Today’s Slapshot, Craig Morgan asked NHL deputy commissioner if Arizona’s handling of the salary cap was a growing concern for the league. Surprisingly, Daly indicated the league did not feel the Coyotes were exploiting a “loophole,” in the CBA while still leaving open the possibility the NHL could look to address the matter in future bargaining with the player’s union.

“I would say that it’s a matter that we monitor, like all other areas of the CBA (collective bargaining agreement), and if we believe it starts to be abused in a way that is inconsistent with how the system is designed to work, at that point, we would try to correct it in collective bargaining with the union. I would say we aren’t at that point on this issue — we do not view it as the loophole that‎ some describe it as.”

While most teams utilize their available cap space to sign or trade for players from other organizations, or to extend their own players, Coyotes GM John Chayka is using Arizona’s as a method to add more quality young talent to what is already considered a strong group of prospects. It’s simply good business and soon enough Chayka’s talent-acquisition strategies will start paying off on the ice for the Coyotes.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division…

  • Patrick Marleau has spent the entirety of his excellent 18-year NHL career with the San Jose Sharks; a career which has seen the forward tally 481 regular season goals and 1,036 points. Marleau’s name has shown up in trade rumors on more than one occasion during his time in the Bay Area, most recently last season, but nothing has ever come of it. Yet, as Joey Alfieri of Pro Hockey Talk writes, the 2016-17 campaign will, in all probability, be the final one of Marleau’s storied Sharks career. As Alfieri points out, Marleau is in the final year of his contract and the team has several younger options on the LW – Mikkel Boedker, Tomas Hertl and Nikolay Goldobin – under team control for the next several seasons. Even if Marleau is willing to take a discount on the $6.66MM he is earning this season, the Sharks are far more likely to prioritize re-signing Brent Burns and Joe Thornton, both of whom are also scheduled to reach free agency next summer.
  • The Calgary Flames recently reached agreement with one of their top players, Sean Monahan, inking the restricted free agent to a monster seven-year deal worth $44.6MM. That’s quite an investment for a player just coming off his ELC but as the Calgary Sun’s Kristen Odland writes, Monahan is already well worth the financial commitment. She points out that he has produced more offense than other pivots comparable in age and who have also recently signed extensions. As good as Monahan is he may not even be the best player on his team. That distinction might belong to winger Johnny Gaudreau, a restricted free agent who remains unsigned. Inevitably the Flames will also get Gaudreau under contract but it will be interesting to see how his contract compares to that of Monahan’s.

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