Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Snapshots

Snapshots: Buffalo’s Other Picks, Faulk, Draisaitl, Honka

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While their first-round pick in next week’s NHL Entry Draft is a no-brainer, there is still a lot of decision-making in Buffalo. One key change that Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has said he needs to make is the improvement of their drafting, most particularly, the drafting of players later in the draft, especially from the third-round and on, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington.

The main reason for that is the team’s inability to get players drafted in the third round or later to contribute to the Sabres’ team. Since 2010, the Sabres have had seven goals from any player drafted in the third round or later — all from 2013 third-round pick Nicholas Baptiste.

“Those later picks show the importance of having a strong organization across the board,” Botterill said. “When you’re dealing with mid-round picks and later-round picks, it’s making sure your amateur staff brings in the right people and then having a strong developmental model.”

The team has already seen some success in Botterill’s first draft last season when he selected Casey Mittlestadt in the first round, which looks to be a solid pick. However, it’s some of their other picks that already seem to be working out as second-rounder Marcus Davidsson and third-round pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are getting solid reviews after their first season since being drafted.

  • While Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Justin Faulk has been linked to the Edmonton Oilers many times since the NHL season ended, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that his value shouldn’t be as high as many project Faulk to hold.  The scribe writes that while the Oilers would be interested in acquiring the 26-year-old blueliner, his minus-26 rating and 12 even-strength points don’t suggest that the Oilers should be giving up a top talent or a high draft pick for him.
  • Sticking with the Oilers, rumors suggesting that the Oilers are considering trading center Leon Draisaitl are erroneous, according to Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. The scribe writes there is no way Edmonton would trade Draisaitl, who the team signed to an eight-year, $68MM contract a year ago, not even for Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson. The 21-year-old has scored 54 goals and 147 points in the past two seasons.
  • In a separate tweet, Matheson writes that the Oilers could be interested in acquiring Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka, who could find himself without a spot in Dallas’ crowded defense. However, the scribe writes that Honka isn’t worth the No. 10 pick in next week’s draft. He suggests the team offer their second-round pick in hopes of acquiring the 22-year-old right-shot defenseman. Despite looking early in training camp last season as a key youngster to make the team, Honka found himself on the outside looking in as he had trouble breaking in to the team’s lineup. In 42 games last season with the Stars, the 2014 first-rounder played 13:01 of ATOI and posted just four points in limited action.

Snapshots: Offer Sheets, Wideman, Bergevin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL has restricted free agency for a reason, but instead of it being a way for talent-deprived teams to sign away top young players, offers sheets are ignored and never used. The last offer sheet signed was five years ago when Ryan O’Reilly signed an offer sheet with the Calgary Flames in 2013 and there have only been eight offer sheets signed in the salary cap era.

After all, with a weak unrestricted free agent class this season, teams would benefit if they had an equally good chance at competing for restricted free agents. This year’s restricted free agent class is quite impressive. Led by Vegas’ William Karlsson, Ottawa’s Mark Stone, Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba and Toronto’s William Nylander, teams should be making a move on some of these players.

Sportsnet’s Sean McIndoe writes the main reason for the lack of offer sheets comes down to the compensation that is returned if a team allows a team to leave. The scribe writes that the compensation is not good enough and forces teams to sign their restricted free agents regardless of their cap situation. He points out that the compensation looks impressive when dealing with a player that makes more that $10.15MM per year. A team that signs a restricted free agent in that bracket would receive four first-round picks. Unfortunately, few players are in that salary bracket unless your name is Connor McDavid. If he was a restricted free agent, any team would give up four first-rounders for McDavid.

If the NHL wants to improve on restricted free agency, then they must double the compensation so teams really need to think about whether they would rather have that player or let him go and take the compensation package. Unfortunately right now, no team wants the compensation package.

  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that unrestricted free agent Chris Wideman said that he wants to return to the Ottawa Senators next season, but isn’t sure he’s in the team’s plans for next season. The 28-year-old defenseman said he talked to general manager Pierre Dorion recently and was told that the organization had other matters to attend to before addressing whether they plan to bring him back. Wideman missed most of the season last year after having surgery in December to repair a torn hamstring after Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin fell on him on Nov. 16. Used as a depth defenseman for his three years in Ottawa, he averaged a career-low 11:33 of ATOI in 16 NHL contests, despite putting up eight points in that time period.
  • Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette writes that general manager Marc Bergevin said today that the team is willing to trade the No. 3 pick in the NHL Entry Draft. “I’ll listen, I’m open,” Bergevin said. “I’ve told teams if they want to make me an offer, I’ll look at it. But again, sometimes teams don’t want to move up. As much as a team wants to move back or move up, if there’s no takers or buyers then you just sit where you’re at.”

Snapshots: Islanders, Gudlevskis, Lucic, Canadiens

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The New York Islanders have made a coaching move, but not the anticipated one. Still lacking a head coach for his team, Lou Lamoriello has nevertheless made another change to the coaching staff, firing assistant Greg Cronin. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple confirmed the move, but added that no other coaching decisions have been made yet at the NHL or AHL level. Staple also had nothing to say about any of the motivations behind Cronin’s departure. Ironically, if Lamoriello was to tab Boston Bruins’ assistant Jay Pandolfo as his head coach, the Boston native Cronin would be an easy fix to replace him.

  • The Islanders have struggled in net for too long and need to make a change at goalie. That all but rules out recycling any of their unrestricted free agent goaltenders. Jaroslav Halak, Christopher Gibson, and Kristers Gudlevskis are all set to hit the open market and of the three, Gudlevskis faces the lowest chances of finding employment again in the NHL. Once a highly-regarded prospect for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Gudlevskis play in the AHL simply never reached an elite level that would have warranted an extended look at the highest level. This past season, he performed poorly and was handily outplayed by Gibson. As such, he may not have many opportunities in North America next season. It is no surprise then that Latvian news outlet OlyBet reports that Gudlevksis has had preliminary talks with Dinamo Riga, the KHL team in his native country. Gudlevskis was brought up in the Riga junior ranks and even appeared in two games with the big league team before coming overseas. Gudlevskis has never returned to Europe since and his preference would likely be to stay in the NHL, but it would be a natural fit with Dinamo if the offers don’t come from NHL teams this summer.
  • In today’s edition of TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger have set the record straight about the trade market for Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic. It was previously believed that the Oilers were shopping Lucic in hopes of ridding themselves of his contract, but in speaking with several team executives, LeBrun and Dreger feel that is not the case. Instead, they have heard that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is seeking hockey trades rather than cap dump trades for Lucic. This would indicate that it is Lucic who has requested the trade and Edmonton is simply trying to oblige him.
  • One team rumored to be in on Lucic is actually out, according to LeBrun. The Montreal Canadiens, who pursued the power forward and former Bruins enforcer vigorously when he initially hit free agency, were speculated to again be interested in acquiring Lucic. The Habs could use some size up front and Lucic shared a strong rapport with coach Claude Julien when the pair were in Boston. However, LeBrun states that they are definitively “out” on Lucic.

Snapshots: Couture, Stastny, Saad

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Last summer, the Sharks moved quickly to get a pair of core players locked up as soon as the window to sign contract extensions opened up as they inked defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and goalie Martin Jones to long-term deals.  It appears they may be heading down that route again this summer as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (subscription required) that talks on a new deal are progressing with center Logan Couture and that they’re hoping to have a deal done for July 1st, the first day an extension can be made official.

The 29-year-old has been a fixture in San Jose’s lineup for the better part of the last decade after they made him the ninth-overall selection back in 2007.  He’s coming off of a career year in goals (34) and adapted well when he was asked to spend some time on the left wing.  Couture is set to earn $6MM in 2018-19 and will undoubtedly get a raise from the Sharks on this new contract.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Still from LeBrun, the Jets have yet to begin contract talks with pending UFA center Paul Stastny. The 32-year-old played a key role for Winnipeg in their postseason run but with Mark Scheifele and Bryan Little locked up long-term, it’s hard to imagine there’s room for him unless they find a way to move a sizable contract out.  Stastny is set to hit the open market as the top pivot not named John Tavares and will draw plenty of interest around the league.
  • Among the pieces that the Hurricanes are interested in from Chicago in their trade talks regarding defenseman Justin Faulk and goaltender Scott Darling is winger Brandon Saad, reports Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 25-year-old failed to have the type of impact the Blackhawks were hoping for when they reacquired him last year as part of the Artemi Panarin trade.  However, after averaging 51 points over the previous four seasons, it’s reasonable to expect that he will have a bounce-back campaign in 2018-19, something that Carolina likely believes as well.

Snapshots: Ekman-Larsson, Futa, Islanders, Blues

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Contract talks are going well between the Coyotes and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that teams inquiring about his availability in a trade are being told that he is not available while Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan adds that an extension is close.  Arizona had reportedly offered an eight-year, $66MM earlier this offseason and it appears that the new contract will come in at or around that amount.  The belief was that if they couldn’t come to terms on an extension, the team would then turn around and try to move him this offseason, something that appears to be off the table now.  However, nothing can be finalized until July 1st as players cannot sign contract extensions until they are officially in the final year of their existing deal.

More from around the NHL:

  • The Kings have signed Assistant GM Mike Futa to a contract extension, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Curtis Zupke of the LA Times adds (Twitter link) that it’s a multi-year deal.  Futa has been with Los Angeles since 2007, holding down a variety of positions including Director of Player Personnel, Amateur Scouting Director, and VP of Hockey Operations.  He has been interviewed for several GM spots around the league in recent years including Carolina’s vacancy earlier this year (that was later filled by Don Waddell).
  • The Islanders intend to have their new head coach in place by the middle of next week, reports Chris Botta of Sportsnet New York. They are the only team without a bench boss and it makes sense that they would want to get someone in place before the free agent interview period opens up following the draft.  Botta adds that Scott Stevens, who resigned from his role as an assistant coach with Minnesota last month, is in the mix for a spot on the coaching staff.
  • While prospect and development camps won’t occur until after the draft, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides a list of who will be attending camp with the Blues near the end of June. Among the notable invites are top prospects Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou while three non-drafted players will also get a look – wingers Ty Amonte (Boston University) and Jared Thomas (Minnesota-Duluth), plus center Austin Rueschhoff (Western Michigan).

Snapshots: O’Connell, Meyer, Vermette, Rust

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

A pair of NHL draft picks have committed to Ohio State for the 2018-19 season.  The Buckeyes announced (Twitter links) that defenseman Ryan O’Connell and winger Carson Meyer will be joining them next year.  O’Connell, a seventh-rounder of Toronto last June, had previously committed to join Boston University next year and spent this past season with Penticton of the BCHL.  Meyer’s case is more intriguing.  The Columbus prospect (selected in the sixth round last year) has spent the past two years at Miami-Ohio.  After a strong rookie campaign where he posted 26 points in 34 games, his output dipped to just ten points in 34 contests as he dealt with season-long fatigue issues.  Typically, a player who transfers is forced to sit for a year but it is expected that Meyer will petition the NCAA for a waiver to allow him to play next season.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Ducks pending UFA center Antoine Vermette acknowledged to TVA Sports’ Mario Morrisette that he may have played his final game. While he’s hopeful to land another contract for next season, he wants to be closer to his family and has already ruled out the idea of going overseas.  The soon-to-be 36-year-old had just 16 points in 64 games with Anaheim and got into just a pair of playoff contests where he played just over six minutes per game.  However, he won 60% of his faceoffs which could still help him garner some interest in free agency next month.
  • Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is well-known for being aggressive when it comes to shaping his roster and after they fell in the second round this postseason, many expect changes are coming. One player that could be on the move is winger Bryan Rust, suggests Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  The pending RFA is due a sizable raise after posting 38 points in 69 games but Pittsburgh has good depth on the right side and plans to have Daniel Sprong (also a right winger) in the lineup regularly in 2018-19 which could make Rust expendable.  The 26-year-old is arbitration eligible and is one year away from qualifying for unrestricted free agency.

Snapshots: Fleury, Trotz, Lucic

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Among the many players that are eligible to sign contract extensions next month is Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.  He wasted little time making his preference known, telling reporters, including Jesse Granger of the Las Vegas Sun, that he’s hoping to stick around beyond next season:

“Vegas has given me this opportunity to do what I love, and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. Hopefully I can finish my career here.”

The 33-year-old will enter the final year of his contract in 2018-19 with a $5.75MM cap charge.  His first season with the Golden Knights was certainly a memorable one as he posted a 2.24 GAA and a .927 SV% in 46 regular season games while putting up identical numbers in 20 postseason starts.  If he can put up comparable numbers next season, Fleury may be lining himself up for a nice raise on his next deal.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • There has been plenty of discussion surrounding Capitals head coach Barry Trotz who is without a contract for next season. Speaking following their win on Thursday, GM Brian MacLellan stated that Trotz wanted to be back, then he would be back.  Trotz told reporters, including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, that he “absolutely” sees a future for himself in Washington.  He plans to take a couple of days to enjoy the Stanley Cup victory and then start discussing a new deal.  One team that will certainly be keeping an eye on how talks go is the Islanders who now have a head coaching vacancy of their own to fill.
  • Following a report from Thursday that suggested that the Oilers were looking to move on from winger Milan Lucic, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal believes that there may be a taker for him around the league, even if it does require some sort of inducement to get someone to take the 30-year-old. He points out that there are always teams who value size and grit and the success of Washington’s Tom Wilson in the postseason certainly shows that there is still a place for those types of players in the league.  If a trade involving Lucic was to happen, it seems reasonable to think that it would occur after July 1st as he is due a $3.5MM signing bonus on that date.

Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Hartnell, Matthews

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The 2018 NHL Entry Draft is less than three weeks away, and teams and pundits around the league are finalizing their rankings. Today, TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button released his final list of the top-100 prospects eligible for the draft, and Rasmus Dahlin remains on top. That’s not unexpected, neither is Andrei Svechnikov or Filip Zadina at the number two and three spots respectively.

Where Button’s list may vary from others is where he lists his top two center prospects, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Barrett Hayton. The two young pivots are fifth and seventh respectively, ahead of top defensive prospects like Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard and Adam Boqvist. Button is also high on towering power forward Serron Noel (#13) and shifty winger Akil Thomas (#17). Joe Veleno, once expected to be selected at the very top of the first round, is way down at #28.

  • Scott Hartnell has begun training for the 2018-19 season, but as Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes in his recent profile on the Nashville Predators free agent, if the 36-year old forward doesn’t find a contract he’s okay with that too. After registering 24 points in 62 games this season there is still reason to believe that Hartnell can be an effective bottom-six player, but it was just a year ago that he was bought out by the Blue Jackets and had to settle for a $1MM contract. If it is the end of his career, he’ll go out with 707 points in 1,249 games—a great career to say the least.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs fans were up in arms last night questioning what it could mean when James Mirtle of The Athletic reported that Auston Matthews had changed agencies. Matthews has followed his agent from CAA to the Orr Hockey Group, with many pointing to the fact that they also represent Connor McDavid and negotiated his league-leading eight-year $100MM extension. Matthews can sign an extension on July 1st, and could be the league’s next highly-paid young star. While it may not match the $12.5MM/year that McDavid will start earning next season, Jack Eichel’s eight-year $80MM deal is certainly within reach.

Snapshots: Kunitz, Cameron, Anderson

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning have some tough decisions to make this summer as they try to decide how to improve and get them to the next level, and Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the future of every player on the roster in his latest piece. When it comes to Chris Kunitz, who is one of the team’s few players scheduled for unrestricted free agency, Smith relays some comments from agent Ben Hankinson:

There’s no quit in [Kunitz]. He loved everything about the city, the team, the fans, and the direction they’re going. He’s wired for another run.

Kunitz, 38, registered 29 points for the second regular season in a row, but couldn’t find any of that playoff magic he had in Pittsburgh and Anaheim. Held to just a single assist in 17 postseason contests, it might be time for the Lightning to move on from the veteran winger. Whether they do is unclear at this point, but Smith does believe that Andrej Sustr, the only other roster player scheduled for UFA status, is as good as gone this summer. The towering defenseman played only 44 games in the regular season and was held out of the playoffs for the team.

  • Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that Dave Cameron, former Ottawa Senators head coach and recently a Calgary Flames assistant, has taken a job with the Vienna Capitals in Austria for next season. Cameron was a long time junior and minor league head coach, but will now journey to Europe for the next chapter in his professional career. We’ve seen it work for other NHL coaches in the past, including Marc Crawford who spent four years in Switzerland before returning to the NHL, and Bob Hartley who won a championship in Switzerland and recently had been leading the Latvian national team. Hartley is now headed to the KHL, another option for Cameron down the road if he isn’t given another opportunity in the NHL.
  • Speaking of coaches leaving for other opportunities, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Minnesota Wild assistant coach John Anderson will not have his contract renewed. Anderson had come with the team alongside Bruce Boudreau two years ago, but will have to find another landing spot for the next part of his coaching career. A four-time 30-goal scorer during his playing days, Anderson was a long-time head coach of the Chicago Wolves and secured two Calder Cups for the team during his time in the AHL.

Snapshots: Josi, Condors, Kempny

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Roman Josi couldn’t drag the Nashville Predators or Switzerland to victory this year, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. As reported in swisshockeynews.ch today, Josi broke his hand in the IIHF World Championship semi-final game against Canada, but still suited up in the final for nearly 30 minutes of ice time. Apparently the Swiss team needed to get permission from the Predators to have him continue to play, likely meaning it’s not a serious injury for the Nashville captain.

Josi will be expected to log big minutes once again for the Predators next season as he continues to close in on the end of his current contract. The 28-year old defenseman is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020, meaning an extension from GM David Poile and the team just over a year from now seems like almost a sure thing. Josi will carry a cap hit of just $4MM this season and next, another one of the Predators’ mind-boggling bargains on the back end. He, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis combine for just a $10.25MM cap hit and are among the best at their position—broken hand and all.

  • The Bakersfield Condors have hired Dave Manson as an assistant coach for next season, joining the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate and head coach Jay Woodcroft. Manson, former NHL player and father of Anaheim Ducks’ defenseman Josh Manson, had been coaching with the Prince Albert Raiders since his retirement in 2002. The Condors will try to get back to the playoffs next season, after finishing just 31-27-10 in 2017-18.
  • Michal Kempny has been a huge part of the Washington Capitals success since coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks during the season, but even he wasn’t expecting to have such an impact. In fact, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, Kempny was considering returning to Europe at some point as he doubted his future in the NHL. The 27-year old shouldn’t have to worry about that any longer, as he’s done enough to earn a contract offer from the Capitals at very least, and likely many more suitors on the open market should he decide to test unrestricted free agency this summer.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top