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Evening Snapshots: Babcock, Matthews, Bridge Deals

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Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock praised the performance of Auston Matthews, but believes there’s always room for improvement writes NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. Matthews, who registered 40 goals and 69 points en route to a playoff appearance and Calder Award, will be expected to build on his performance last season as the Leafs look to take the next step in their rebuild. Babcock says that he isn’t one to “measure by points” but instead looks at how they “play” and “compete.” The young Leafs took a huge step forward, pushing the “painful rebuild” that Babcock once called it into a quicker ascent. But in true Babcockian form, he sprinkles praise while expecting more:

Obviously we have good young players,” Babcock said. “We have a lot of them. It’s kind of a group that’s growing up together. But it’s one year and one year doesn’t make a career. You have to do it again and again and again. We’re excited about our opportunities.

  • Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert writes about how Ryan Johansen’s deal certainly challenges the old guard way of thinking when it comes to bridge contracts. Rewarding Johansen with an eight-year deal instead of a one-two year contract.  Lambert points out that going with the longer deal instead of a bridge and then the long deal seems like the better bet. The logic here would be getting the player through his prime instead of playing a “wait and see” game and then locking him up long after his prime has expired. There are a litany of examples of this in the NHL, but in an age of cost certainty and public outcry at what’s deemed a bad deal, general managers are often in a tight spot when it comes to choosing a bridge deal or a long-term contract.

Snapshots: Pastrnak, Walker, Coyotes

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David Pastrnak remains one of the top unsigned restricted free agents in the league, and looks like he’s due for a huge raise from the Boston Bruins when a contract is finally hammered out. That doesn’t seem any closer today than it has been, as GM Don Sweeney told Ty Anderson of WEEI the negotiations are in a “holding pattern” but that there is plenty of time to get something done. Pastrnak scored 34 goals and 70 points last season, and though he’s still ineligible for arbitration is set to command quite the price on a long-term deal.

Despite only turning 21 a few months ago, Pastrnak has already completed three seasons in the NHL and is on track to become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 25. That means any deal longer than four seasons will be buying out UFA years at a premium, pushing any cap hit up and up as the length increases. Obviously, the Bruins would like to keep him around as long as possible but they’ll have to make a decision on whether to lock him into a seven or eight year deal right away, or offer him a bridge contract and revisit the negotiations in a few years. With just over $10.1MM in cap space, the team could go either route to keep their star winger in town.

  • According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, Jack Walker has signed an AHL deal with the Minnesota Wild organization after impressing in development camp. Walker was actually a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs as recently as 2016, but was not extended a “Bona Fide Offer” by the team and became an unrestricted free agent. That likely had to do with the combination of Walker being too old to return to junior and the Maple Leafs not having enough contract slots left—the team is currently at 49/50 with Connor Brown still to sign. Walker was a solid scoring threat in the WHL, and will try to improve his all-around game in the minor leagues.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have announced a one-year affiliation with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, replacing the Rapid City Rush who have moved on to partner with the Wild. The Komets operated independently last season after ending a partnership with the Colorado Avalanche a year early, but will now house the lower Arizona prospects. Even without a parent organization the Komets reached the postseason for the fourth straight year, and will try to get back there this season. Interestingly, Brett Perlini, the older brother of Coyotes’ forward Brendan Perlini was traded to the Komets mid-season last year, where he scored 26 points in 33 games.

Snapshots: Malgin, Sheary, Walker

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The Florida Panthers are a team looking for a reboot after a disappointing campaign. GM Dale Tallon seems to have adopted a total shift in philosophy after buying out Jussi Jokinen and passing on re-signing Jaromir Jagr. The team is opting for a more total youth movement, particularly on offense. In an article with NHL.com’s Alain Poupart, the undersized Denis Malgin spoke about his hopes for the 2017-18 campaign.

Malgin only scored 6 goals and 4 assists in his 47 contest in the NHL last season, but undoubtedly has skill. The former Zurich SC (Swiss A) prospect is known for his craftiness with the puck and his vision for making plays. As any 5’9 player will attest, physicality will be a huge hurdle for him going forward. Still, he only needs to look to recently-ex Panther Jonathan Marchessault to realize that solid offensive instincts can trump a small stature. Malgin, a center, will look to make a more permanent home in Florida this season, although training camp will determine where he begins the year. At only 20 years old, he has plenty of time to improve and bulk up physically.

  • The Conor Sheary contract announced earlier today could turn out to be quite the bargain for the Penguins. The miniature winger’s chemistry with captain Sidney Crosby is undeniable, and he exploded with offensive production alongside him. With 53 points in only 61 games, if Sheary can maintain that sort of productive pace, he will be one of the more cost-effective wingers over the course of his contract. Speaking with the Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, Sheary said he hoped to prove that this past season wasn’t merely a “one-time thing”. If he can put 3 more campaigns anywhere near as successful as 2016-17, he’s assured to be paid quite a bit more on his next contract. Durability is a concern, but he did appear to absorb harder impacts less regularly as the year progressed.
  • Nathan Walker of the Washington Capitals re-signed with the organization at the beginning of the month, after playing the past two seasons in Hershey. As the Capitals are in a bit of a cap crunch, they will be relying on younger, cheaper players like Walker to fill holes, especially on the third and fourth lines. Walker, like the other two players in these snapshots, needs to prove that he can overcome his short height. At only 5’8, Walker plays a game well above his size. He can handle physicality and his energy can jump-start a shift in a pinch. He also has some level of offensive capability – he’s netted 64 points through 131 AHL contests in the last two seasons. Walker is particularly interesting to trivia buffs, because were he to make an NHL appearance (as seems likely), he would be the first Australian-born player to do so, as noted by Adam Gretz of NBC Sports. Walker’s competition in camp, as of now, isn’t too intimidating. Assuming Jakub Vrana makes the lineup, Walker will only need to beat out the likes of Travis Boyd, Wayne Simpson, Riley Barber and a host of AHL journeymen and minor prospects to cement his playing time.

Snapshots: Lee, Jagr, Culkin

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One of the more intriguing defensemen still available on the open market is Chris Lee.  The 36-year-old has yet to play in the NHL but is coming off a strong season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL (where he led all defensemen in scoring with 65 points in 60 games) while also making a strong impression with Team Canada at the World Championships back in May.

Accordingly, his agent Peter Cooney told Ken Campbell of The Hockey News that five or six NHL teams have kicked the tires with regards to Lee’s asking price.  The holdup seems to be that no team is offering a one-way deal as of yet and Cooney noted that if the best offer that’s received is a two-way one, he’ll stay overseas where suiting up in the Olympics would be a distinct possibility.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • While some have wondered if free agent winger Jaromir Jagr could potentially go back to Pittsburgh to end his career, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that GM Jim Rutherford has no interest in bringing Jagr in. The 45-year-old played spent 11 seasons with the Penguins from 1990-91 through 2000-01, collecting 1,079 points in just 806 games.  While he’s undoubtedly past his prime, Jagr did put up 46 points in 82 games with Florida last season, showing he can still produce at the NHL level.
  • Unrestricted free agent defenseman Ryan Culkin, who wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer by Calgary last month, has inked a one year deal with AHL Tucson (affiliate of the Coyotes), the minor league team announced. Culkin split the season between the AHL and ECHL levels and while he was productive in the latter (12 points in 16 games), he didn’t have much success in the AHL as he was held off the scoresheet in a career-low 19 contests.

Snapshots: Niederreiter, Granlund, Schultz, Barr

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The Minnesota Wild still have three very important restricted free agents to sign, and while Marcus Foligno didn’t file for arbitration and can slowly work on a deal the deadlines for Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund are fast approaching. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reports that the team is still trying to get both of them under contract for three to five years, but have only 10 days to do it. The pair go to arbitration on August 3rd and 4th respectively, with an arbitrator’s ruling coming down 48 hours after the hearing is completed.

You can still work out a deal after going through the hearing process, like Tomas Tatar and Viktor Arvidsson have already this year. That wouldn’t be ideal, but the Wild could get deals done as late as next weekend. Niederreiter has turned into an elite two-way player, while Granlund broke out and led Minnesota with 69 points last season, showing off his offensive chops after a move to the wing. The team has $15.8MM in cap space to work with for the trio of RFAs, and they’ll need most if not all of it depending on how many years of free agency they can buy out.

  • The San Diego Gulls have signed NHL veteran Jeff Schultz to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him back for another year. Schultz, 31, was once a key part of the Washington Capitals’ defense corps, but has spent the majority of the last several years in the minor leagues. In 65 games for the Gulls last year, Schultz recorded 15 points but was a big part of their 43-20 record and has taken on a sort of mentor role for many of the Anaheim Ducks young defensemen.
  • The San Jose Sharks have added an assistant coach to the mix for next season, hiring Dave Barr to be their “eye-in-the-sky.” Barr was with the Florida Panthers last season but, like Scott Allen who was just hired in Arizona, was let go at the end of the year when the Panthers cleaned house. The 58-year old coach has bounced around the NHL since 2008-09, prior to which he served as the head coach of the Guelph Storm (OHL) for four years, taking his squad to the playoff in each season. Steve Spott and Rob Zettler will be behind the bench with head coach Peter DeBoer next season.

Snapshots: Fisher, Team Canada, Larkin

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Mike Fisher is still considering a return to Nashville next season, and GM David Poile told Adam Vignan of the Tennessean that they’ll know more next week. Fisher has been open about his pending decision between playing one more season for Nashville or retiring, and it seems the team would be happy to have him. After scoring 18 goals and 42 points he would likely be returning in a lesser role now that the club has brought in Nick Bonino to solidify their center depth.

With Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok returning, the position could quickly turn from a weakness into a considerable strength for the Stanley Cup finalists, with Fisher grading out as one of the best fourth line players in the league. He should come back at a reasonable price, but the Predators still have to get Johansen under contract and make sure they don’t put themselves in too tight a position heading into the season.

  • Team Canada has announced their management and coaching staff for the upcoming Olympic preparation, naming Sean Burke and Martin Brodeur as general manager and “management group member” respectively. The coaching staff will be led by former Vancouver Canucks’ head coach Willie Desjardins along with Dave King, Scott Walker and Craig Woodcroft. Interestingly, the team will play in at least seven tournaments prior to the Olympics, in a sort of season that national programs used to do before NHL participation in the Winter Games. Players on AHL contracts will be considered for the team, along with those playing overseas or in the college and junior ranks.
  • There was a new Larkin in town for the Detroit Red Wings’ development camp, and as Dana Wakiji of NHL.com writes he’ll try to make a return visit in the future. Adam Larkin, the cousin of Red Wings’ star Dylan Larkin, will be a senior at Yale this season and has steadily improved his game since going undrafted out of the USHL. He’ll work even harder this year to try and impress Red Wings scouts and those from other organizations that he’s deserved of a professional contract next spring when he becomes a free agent. Detroit would surely have the inside track, but Larkin will need a big senior season to show that he is ready for the next level.

Evening Notes: Hurricanes’ Ownership, Oduya, Dumoulin

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For anyone trying to pay attention the Hurricanes’ ownership struggles, another chapter has been added to the ongoing saga. The team, currently owned by a group headed by Peter Karmanos, Jr., has been rumored to be up for sale for some time. The financial situation of the team is difficult, as attendance issues over the past few years have brought monetary losses and concern from other owners around the league. Still, it seems that Carolina is nowhere near the dire situation of the Arizona Coyotes, whose decade-plus-long fiasco has bewildered onlookers and hockey fans for quite some time.

Not long ago, a potential buyer for the Hurricanes, one Chuck Greenberg, supposedly offered $500 MM to acquire the franchise. This was reported by Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg and The Denver Post, and confirmed by others. Afterwards, the Karmanos group responded by saying the reports were essentially misleading, and then were called “fake news” in an article published by Forbes. Technically, it was a non-binding letter of intent and not an official offer, but that shouldn’t discount the strong possibility of an impending team sale.

Today we learned that Greenberg showed up at the team’s practice facility, thanks to some wonderful reporting by The News & Observer’s Chip Alexander. Greenberg stopped by the Raleigh Center Ice location, and essentially conducted a “fact-finding trip”. The whole situation is confusing largely because the franchise’s estimated value has plummeted and the offer is exceptionally fair. Additionally, the Karmanos group has been looking to sell the Canes for years to a team that will keep them local. This was reported yet again this January by NBC’s Adam Gretz, and it’s no secret there is desire from the fanbase for a change in direction. Greenberg seems to be a perfect solution to the situation, as he has local investors involved and stated no plans for relocation. As of now, there seems to be a lot going on behind the scenes, and many moving parts. Still, a change in ownership seems more likely today than it did yesterday.

  • After today’s earlier announcement of the Brian Dumoulin 6-year, $4.1 MM AAV signing, it has been revealed that the Penguins’ shutdown force played with a broken hand. The Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey reported that Dumoulin kept re-breaking the fracture before it could heal, during the course of normal play. He broke it after blocking a slapshot in the fifth game of the first round against Columbus, The dependable stay-at-home defender played incredibly well, often matching up against top opponents and maintaining solid body position boxing out attackers in front of his goaltenders. He even tallied two goals throughout the Stanley Cup run, so the nature of the injury does come as a little surprising. He and the Penguins medical staff considered the possibility of Dumoulin undergoing surgery this off-season to repair the damage, but it no longer seems necessary. Dumoulin believes the injury has healed well enough on its own and that he should be ready for action come season opener.
  • Johnny Oduya shocked many by signing a deal so soon for $1 MM and bonuses, as Ottawa had apparently been courting him since “July 2nd”. As I reported yesterday, interest for the player never really openly surfaced among the insiders of the league. Oduya comes at great value for the Senators, and GM Pierre Dorion expressed his glee at a press conference you can find partially transcribed by Craig Megdalia here. Essentially, Dorion felt the move was absolutely necessary considering the loss of veteran Marc Methot to expansion (before being shipped to Dallas), and although he has confidence in his younger players, he couldn’t miss the opportunity to bring in “a true pro”. By the sound of it, Dorion expects coach Guy Boucher to likely place Oduya in a prominent role, which could push out a younger player such as Thomas Chabot.

Snapshots: Okposo, Langhamer, Olympics

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Kyle Okposo’s season ended abruptly last year after a March 27th game, with the Buffalo Sabres’ prized offseason acquisition ending up in a hospital ICU just a few days later. It was a scary time for Buffalo fans and teammates alike, but Okposo is on the road to recovery and played in a game for Da Beauty League last week—his first game action in almost four months.

Now Okposo wants to explain exactly what happened and thank his fans for the outpouring of support that came his way. Okposo pens a letter for NHL.com outlining the negative reaction he had to medicine meant to help him sleep, and a drastic weight loss that followed—he was down under 200 lbs for the first time since he was 17. He says he’s healthy now and will be back playing for the Sabres next season, excited to get started under new GM Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley.

  • The Arizona Coyotes have signed Marek Langhamer to a one-year two-way contract according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. Langhamer made his NHL debut last season in relief of Mike Smith after the Arizona starter had to come out of the game following the league’s new concussion protocol. He made seven of eight saves at the end of the game but is still a long way away from making an NHL impact. The Coyotes, with Antti Raanta set to take over as the lead goaltender and Louis Domingue coming back in a secondary role, will see what they have with that duo before making a decision long-term on where their future in net lies. With Langhamer signed, only Anthony Duclair remains as a restricted free agent for the Coyotes.
  • According to Arpon Basu of NHL.com, Hockey Canada has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow to announce “its plan for the 2017-18 Canada National Men’s Team.” That would presumably be an announcement of how it will select the roster for the upcoming Olympics, which will not feature NHL players for the first time since 1994. In that tournament a Peter Forsberg-led Swedish team took home gold (on one of the most famous shootout dekes of all-time), just before the young star would enter the league. That tournament would also introduce the world to Paul Kariya, who had starred at the University of Maine, but used a season with the Canadian National Team as a springboard for his hall of fame NHL career.

Snapshots: Vegas Defensemen, Howard, Severson

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Although it would appear that the Golden Knights have too many defensemen on their roster at the moment, it doesn’t appear that GM George McPhee thinks that’s the case.  Speaking with Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, McPhee noted that he’s happy with the quantity of blueliners they currently have:

“We’re at a manageable number right now.  We’re pretty close to where we want to be and we’re comfortable with the roster we have.”

At the moment, Vegas has ten defenders that figure to be in their plans for next season plus Brad Hunt who is on a one-way contract but could be AHL-bound.  Even if they only carried the minimum 12 forwards, they would still only be able to have nine rearguards on their opening roster so while McPhee believes their number is currently manageable, that’s likely to change once training camp rolls around.

More from around the NHL:

  • The Red Wings are hoping to cap Jimmy Howard’s workload somewhere between 50-55 games next season, goalie coach Jeff Salajko told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. That falls in line with the recent trend around the league that most teams are starting to follow that sees the starter rest a bit more often in the hopes of keeping them fresher down the stretch.  Detroit is fortunate enough to have Petr Mrazek, who has handled a large workload himself at times over the past couple of seasons, still in the mix while Salajko noted that they’re comfortable with Jared Coreau, who got into 14 games with the Wings this past season, as a second or third option as well.
  • Defenseman Damon Severson is the most prominent of the nine remaining restricted free agents that the Devils have. Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice looks at some comparable players on both long-and-short-term contracts and projects that New Jersey will ultimately opt for a bridge deal.  From a financial standpoint, the team has the flexibility to go long-term if they so desire as they sit more than $19MM under the salary cap as things stand per CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Schmidt, Saad, Hossa

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The Vegas Golden Knights have had a busy off-season in the lead-up to their first NHL season, and Gary Lawless laid out some of what still lies ahead for the fledgling franchise. Most notably, the team has to sign RFA Nate Schmidt, the former Washington defenseman who showed great promise as a productive player. PHR’s Gavin Lee touched on the reportedly productive manner of the talks a few days back, but he is one of the more intriguing names left on the arbitration docket. Schmidt will likely be a pivotal piece of their defense for years, as the team resisted trading him away to teams desperate for defensive help, opting instead to move older names.

Schmidt shouldn’t be too expensive in arbitration, as he only has 43 points through 200 career games. Still, Vegas seems intent to lock him up on a longer deal, and considering that they’ve cleared their focus of other distractions, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a deal get done soon. If the parties come to an agreement, it would likely be above the $3 MM mark.

  • Sports Illustrated ran an interesting piece highlighting the Blackhawks’ strategy of re-acquiring old players. Brandon Saad in particular sounds thrilled to be back in Chicago with Coach Joel Quenneville. Saad had two 53-point seasons in Columbus, but at only 24, he still has room to improve. It sounds like the plan is to re-unite him with captain Jonathan Toews, to try to spark the captain with a familiar linemate. Toews ended the season with a respectable 21 goals and 58 points, but struggled mightily to score for long stretches of time before a stellar home stretch. Saad will have big shoes to fill to replace the incredibly dynamic Artemi Panarin, however, and Patrick Kane’s line will likely see a huge hit in production in order to achieve greater balance in the lineup.
  • After the announcement that Marian Hossa is indefinitely sidelined due to a degenerate skin disorder, Blackhawks players unsurprisingly see the situation as “heartbreaking”. Hossa will not skate in 2017-18 due his medical need to discontinue NHL play. Hossa has a solid case for the Hall of Fame when he decides to retire, and being an important part of three Cup-winning teams, his loss is hard to calculate prior to the start of the season. Saad’s return may help fill some of that void, especially with Toews, but his production still will be near impossible to replace internally. More than that, however, he was arguably Blackhawks’ best defensive forward, backchecking consistently and with purpose. It will be interesting to see how the stretched-thin defense, minus Niklas Hjalmarsson, copes with one less Selke-caliber forward assisting their efforts.

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