Snapshots: Okposo, Langhamer, Olympics
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
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
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.
Snapshots: Dzingel, Langhamer, Tavares
The two-year, $3.6MM deal that the Senators gave to winger Ryan Dzingel on Friday came together rather quickly. Speaking with Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen, GM Pierre Dorion noted that the contract came together in a little under an hour. The compromise was struck when Dzingel lowered his request for the salary in the first year while the Sens moved off their hard-line number in the second season. The way the contract is structured ($1.5MM in 2017-18 and $2.1MM in 2018-19) sets up Dzingel for a $2.1MM qualifying offer in the summer of 2019.
More from around the league:
- After inking winger Jordan Martinook to a two-year, $3.6MM contract and officially re-signing Tyler Gaudet to a one-year pact earlier today, the Coyotes have two remaining restricted free agents in winger Anthony Duclair and goalie Marek Langhamer. While there’s still some work to be done in getting Duclair’s deal (expected to be a short-term bridge contract) done, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link) that the team is close to inking Langhamer. The 23-year-old spent most of the season at the minor league level, getting into 32 games between Arizona’s AHL and ECHL affiliates but made one NHL appearance this past season.
- While the Islanders have yet to sign captain John Tavares to a long-term extension, Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post cautions that there’s little cause for concern yet. It’s believed that Tavares is looking to see what the roster looks like closer to the start of the season (if not later) as well as their arena situation before committing to a new deal and Tavares is being kept in the loop on all offseason decisions. It’s worth noting that GM Garth Snow still has all of the draft picks from the Travis Hamonic trade at his disposal which could be used to make another impact addition up front which could make re-signing that much more appealing for Tavares.
Snapshots: Gaudreau, Wingels, AHL Signings
Johnny Gaudreau was on Philadelphia CBS radio this morning, and gave a quote that partially stopped the hearts of many Calgary Flames fans listening in.
I’ve got a ton of family here, all my friends…all my friends come back here, all my good friends and kids that I’ve played with my whole life are from South Jersey. It would be sweet to play here some day. You never know in sports, but there’s a lot of support back here in South Jersey and the Philly area.
This can probably be put up there with Drew Doughty‘s comments on playing in Toronto from earlier this offseason, as something said just to appease the listeners of the radio program Gaudreau was on at the time. After all, he did sign a long-term deal with the Flames last summer and said at the time that he’d like to play his whole career with Sean Monahan in Calgary if he could. Still, it’s something to remember for the summer of 2022 when a 28-year old Gaudreau is destined to be an unrestricted free agent.
- The Blackhawks got some bad news today, as Tommy Wingels suffered a broken foot during his offseason training and will miss 6-8 weeks of the offseason. He is still expected to be ready for training camp, though missing two months of his offseason is never a good thing. Wingels was brought in on a one-year deal by the Blackhawks this summer to help fill out their bottom six with affordable veterans, after a season in which he produced just 12 points. It’s been a steep fall from his career-high of 38 in 2013-14, and he is best suited to a fourth line role at this point.
- The Toronto Marlies added a player from development camp earlier today, and also re-signed Alex Gudbranson to a two-way minor league deal. Gudbranson spent a few games with the Marlies at the end of last season on loan from the Minnesota organization, but will join Toronto full-time next year.
- Darryl Sutter won’t be in the Los Angeles Kings organization next season, but his son will. Brett Sutter, the former Calgary Flames prospect has re-signed with the Ontario Reign on an AHL contract. He scored 36 points with the Reign last year, after coming over from the Iowa Wild in 2016.
Snapshots: Tatar, McNeil, Umberger, Tuulola
Tomas Tatar‘s arbitration hearing took place this morning, at the conclusion of which the arbitrator was given 48 hours to reach a decision on his salary for next season. Tatar cannot be awarded a two-year contract through arbitration since he will reach unrestricted free agency next year, but as Craig Custance of The Athletic points out could still work out a long-term deal with the Red Wings before the decision come in. We saw a similar situation play out in 2014 with P.K. Subban, who had his hearing with the Montreal Canadiens before signing an eight-year contract a day later.
Last week it was reported the two sides were still quite a bit away in terms of an agreement, with Tatar turning down a five-year $25MM contract. While they may have worked closer to a deal, a one-year decision through arbitration would likely spell the forward’s end in Detroit. Tatar would immediately hit the trade block if he hadn’t already, with many teams likely after him as a rental piece as the season went on. If Ken Holland and the Red Wings didn’t think they could get a deal done, they would have to look long and hard at any proposals for Tatar that would improve the club long-term.
- The Syracuse Crunch have signed Reid McNeill to an AHL contract, taking him away from the St. Louis organization where he spent 2016-17 and adding him to the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate. McNeill was a sixth-round pick of the Penguins in 2010, but has never been able to turn his size and defensive ability into a tryout at the NHL level. In 61 games last year split between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Chicago Wolves, he registered ten points.
- Dallas Stars beat writer Mike Heika of SportsDay held a Q&A with readers and answered all sorts of questions regarding the Stars and their big offseason moves. One of them revolved around R.J. Umberger, who has signed a professional tryout with the team after a full year away from the game. Heika believes the invitation to camp is more of a friendly opportunity handed out by Umberger’s former coach in Ken Hitchcock than a real tryout for the Stars this season. If Umberger can show he’s healthy and rejuvenated, a successful camp under a familiar system could look good around the league. Now 35, Umberger could potentially sign a one-year contract with performance bonuses, though those kinds of deals come with risks as well.
- The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed Yannick Veilleux on a two-way minor league deal. The contract will pay different amounts depending on whether Veilleux plays in the AHL or ECHL this season. Veilleux spent last year in the Montreal system bouncing between the two leagues, finding some success with St. John’s. Selected in the fourth round by the St. Louis Blues once upon a time, he’s still waiting for his first chance at the NHL level.
- The Calgary Flames will watch Eetu Tuulola return to Finland for the upcoming season, leaving the Everett Silvertips where he had played in 2016-17. Tuulola was a sixth-round pick of the Flames in 2016 and tried his hand in the Canadian junior ranks with 31 points in 62 games. He’ll play for HPK in Finland’s Liiga next year, a professional team that can offer a bit more development opportunity than Everett.
Snapshots: Shattenkirk, Fortin, Klee
While it had been rumored for quite some time before Kevin Shattenkirk signed with the New York Rangers that the free agent defensemen only wanted to play in the Northeast because of the proximity to his home, he mentioned two other things when discussing his decision at a press conference today. One, the potential for the Rangers to really compete right away in the Metropolitan division, and two the chance to play with Ryan McDonagh.
As Matt Calamia writes for NHL.com, Shattenkirk and McDonagh have played together at various tournaments for many years, and the newest member of the Rangers is excited to get started. It doesn’t hurt that legendary New York defenseman Brian Leetch was his favorite player growing up, someone many Rangers fans hope he emulates for the next four years.
- Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alexandre Fortin is three weeks removed from sports hernia surgery according to Scott Powers of The Athletic, but is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in September. Fortin was invited to the Hawks’ development camp last summer and earned himself an entry-level contract despite having been passed over in multiple drafts. Now 20, Fortin has an outside chance at even making the Chicago roster out of camp if he shows up and impresses as much as he did last year. More likely he’ll head to the AHL and keep developing, waiting for a chance with the NHL roster.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have hired Ken Klee as an assistant coach for their AHL squad this season, his first coaching job in men’s professional hockey. Klee had been the head coach for the US Women’s National Team for several years coaching them to gold at both the 2015 and 2016 World Championships. In 934 NHL games, Klee registered 195 points and 880 penalty minutes.
Snapshots: Yakupov, Olympics, Meier
When Nail Yakupov didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the St. Louis Blues this spring, many people around the league believed it may take a move overseas to find new life in his career. We even wrote on the subject here on PHR, saying that a move back to the KHL seemed like his best option. Yakupov was clear that wasn’t his goal, and instead he secured a one-year, $875K contract from the Colorado Avalanche who may prove to be an even better fit.
Andi Duroux of BSN Denver takes an incredibly thorough—and extremely insightful—look into the career of the 2012 first-overall pick, and how that career can get back on track with last year’s last place team. Yakupov should have every opportunity in Colorado to show he can still produce offensively, but will need to show he can play in both ends of the rink to take advantage of his immense potential. If he does, he could be in for a big raise next summer.
- While rumors of the NHL having a backup plan to still possibly go to the 2018 Olympics seem far-fetched, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet does bring us some news on that front. It looks like players that are on AHL-only contracts will be allowed to represent their country in the games, but not those on two-way deals currently playing in the AHL. It will be interesting to see if a player who has signed his entry-level contract but is playing in the junior ranks would be included in this, but either way that leaves some interesting names for the potential squad. While Team USA may be made up of many collegiate players, other more veteran options with international experience like Peter Mueller, who was playing on an AHL deal with the Providence Bruins last year could be considered. For Team Canada, recent CHL free agents like Darren Raddysh and Stefan LeBlanc could join the veterans playing internationally.
- A question that has come up several times in our Live Chats is that of a potential replacement for Patrick Marleau in San Jose. After the long-time Shark signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency, fans of the team were looking around hoping someone would be brought in to replace his spot in the top six. Kevin Kurz of CSN was asked a similar question about how the lines will shake out, and he projected Timo Meier to take the left wing spot beside Logan Couture on the second line. That would be a big responsibility for the 20-year old Meier, after making his NHL debut this season with just six points in 34 games. The ninth-overall selection in 2015, he has all the makings of a top-line power forward but has yet to put it all together and find any consistency in his game.
Snapshots: Vegas, Hajt, Zalewski
If you hadn’t heard yet, the Vegas Golden Knights are doing just fine financially. Owner Bill Foley made that abundantly clear in a recent interview with Mark Ewing of Forbes, saying that the team has already sold 13,500 season tickets for this season, plus all the luxury suites and most of the opera boxes. Foley claimed that the Golden Knights are ahead of teams like the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins in terms of ticket revenue at this point, ranking number “five, six or seven” in the entire league.
Obviously, a brand new product in a city that has been waiting for professional sports for some time is going to be a hot ticket. How the Golden Knights perform in the first five years will make a huge impact on how the fan base grows organically, but they have at least one thing going for them when Foley said clearly: “There is no budget.”
- The Buffalo Sabres announced the coaching staff that will join Phil Housley behind the bench next season, bringing back Tom Ward and hiring Chris Hajt as assistant coaches. Hajt has been working with the Manchester Monarchs and Ontario Reign of the AHL the past few seasons, but has strong ties to Housley and the team. Hajt’s father Bill played for the Sabres with Housley, and was even his defense partner for a time.
- After the Vancouver Canucks decided not to issue a qualifying offer to Michael Zalewski this summer, the 24-year old has taken his talents to Europe and signed with the Straubing Tigers of the German DEL. Zalewski got into one game with the Canucks this year, but hasn’t been able to make an impact at the NHL level. The undrafted forward will play with his brother, former New Jersey Devils pick Steven Zalewski in Germany for the upcoming season.
Snapshots: Umberger, O’Brien, McLean
After a full year away from the NHL, R.J. Umberger has signed a professional tryout with the Dallas Stars for camp this fall. Umberger was bought out of the last year of his deal in 2016, but according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch will be brought in with former coach Ken Hitchcock to training camp.
It would be quite a story to see Umberger get back on the ice, as he at one point was one of the more consistent scoring wingers in the league. In the four seasons stretching from 2008-2012, Umberger scored 94 goals and 198 points and was a shining star in Columbus. His career quickly fell apart after heading to Philadelphia, before a buyout would push him out of the league entirely. Now 35, he’ll try to show that he has a bit left in the tank.
- The Washington Capitals have signed their last remaining restricted free agent, inking Liam O’Brien to a one-year two-way contract. O’Brien will earn $650K at the NHL level, but that would be a big jump for the undrafted forward. O’Brien has just 14 NHL games to his name, and just a single one over the past two seasons. It’s hard to see him making enough of an impact to get a bigger role for the Capitals this season.
- The Iowa Wild have hired Brett McLean as an assistant coach for this season, giving him his first crack behind the bench. McLean just finished his playing career after a couple of seasons in Austria, the last stop on a long winding road. Drafted by Dallas in 1997, McLean never played for the Stars but did suit up for 385 NHL games. An incredibly talented offensive player, he was undersized before it was common in the league, and would eventually take his talents to Europe and be a big part of the developing Swiss NLA. He’ll come in and help the Minnesota Wild’s AHL franchise now, trying to pass on a little of that offensive knowledge to their young players.