Snapshots: Malkin, Vesey, Columbus, Trade Talk
Surgery will not be necessary for Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Seth Rorabaugh. An MRI revealed that an unspecified injury on March 11 would not require surgery to Malkin’s elbow. Malkin, who has been the subject of trade rumors, played through the injury since March and only missed one postseason game as a result.
In other NHL news:
- CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty reports that despite having his rights traded to Buffalo, Hobey Baker Trophy winner Jimmy Vesey shouldn’t be counted out of signing with Boston. The Massachusetts native was drafted in the third round by Nashville in 2012, but never signed with the Preds. His rights were traded to Buffalo this past week, and although he had Buffalo on his shortlist, many analysts are convinced Vesey will reach free agency on August 15. Haggerty stressed that the Vesey camp has been difficult to predict so anything is possible. But reading between the lines, and listening to his agent, it sounds as if Vesey will take a thanks, but no thanks approach to Buffalo’s overtures.
- Columbus might be looking to move up in the draft writes Craig Hagerman. The Blue Jackets currently own the #3 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, but are interested in jumping to one of the top 2 spots according to Columbus Dispatch writer Aaron Portzline. Portzline points out that the asking price would still be significant should the Jackets climb in the draft, but it wouldn’t be as insane as last year’s attempts when Connor McDavid was the expected (and eventual) #1 pick.
- Pioneer Press writer Chad Graff indicates that with the expansion draft now a reality, trade talk will ramp up during the draft. Due to limitations of the players that can be protected, Graff writes that GMs are trying to offload players they could lose for nothing. Additionally, Graff quotes Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher as saying the Las Vegas team will be more competitive out of the gate than any previous expansion team due to the league’s new financial structure.
Snapshots: Lucic, Campbell, Rasmussen, Red Wings
ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Kings and forward Milan Lucic have broken off negotiations which means the 28-year-old winger is headed to free agency. LeBrun states that the Kings’ lack of salary cap room, and Lucic’s financial expectations were too far apart. Though he wanted to remain in Los Angeles, Lucic now will become a coveted free agent. PHR listed him as the #3 ranked UFA on our Top 50 Free Agent list. Ian McLaren listed his top three spots where Lucic would likely land with Vancouver topping the list.
In other NHL news:
- The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc indicates that former Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Brian Campbell is interested in coming back to the Windy City. The longtime Florida Panther is an unrestricted free agent, and has not re-signed with the Panthers. PHR listed him as the 14th best free agent out of the Top 50 UFAs. Campbell would take a significant pay cut, however, as the Blackhawks still have a number of players to bring back into the fold with Andrew Shaw leading the pack.
- The Blackhawks re-signed forward Dennis Rasmussen tweets CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers. The deal is for one-year and approximately $600,000 according to CapFriendly. The 25-year-old forward had 9 points (4-5) for the Blackhawks in 44 regular season games.
- Pierre LeBrun writes that the Red Wings and Hurricanes have had conversations about Pavel Datsyuk‘s contract. Detroit has been looking for a suitor to take the heavy $7.5MM cap hit off its books after Datsyuk bolted for the KHL. LeBrun indicates that the Wings have been reluctant to move the contract because of the high asking price. LeBrun also states that holding onto the contract doesn’t necessarily eliminate the Wings from going after unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos should he hit the market. Conversely, he points out that dealing the contract away with high draft picks or prospects without knowing if Stamkos hits the market is very risky. Finally, he adds the Red Wings to a list of teams interested in the services of Lucic.
- The Grand Rapids Griffins have signed forward Jack Barre to an AHL contract, according to the team site. The 6’2″ 215 pound winger enjoyed a breakout senior season for the Dartmouth Big Green of the ECAC, tallying 26 points in 29 games – more than he had scored in his first three years combined. Not thought of as an offensive force, perhaps the Connecticut native has found something to build upon in the coming years.
Snapshots: Blues, Trade Targets, Radulov
St. Louis Blues beat writer Norm Sanders analyzed the situation the Blues find themselves in as the draft and free agency approaches. After signing both Scottie Upshall and Dmitrij Jaskin, the Blues still have a number of decisions facing them. Sanders writes that Jaden Schwartz will be signed first as he’s been dubbed a “priority signing” by general manager Doug Armstrong. He also names defensive Kevin Shattenkirk as a candidate to be traded since he’s approaching the final year of his contract. Sanders also makes note that his name has constantly been floated as being moved to another team. As for captain David Backes, Sanders writes that unless an agreement is had, Backes would be a much sought after free agent.
- Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury must feel like he’s either back in high school or in a hockey soap opera. Fleury has been the subject of trade rumors ever since the emergence of Matt Murray during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoff run. Interesting then that his name only comes up as #14 on Frank Seravalli’s TSN Top Trade Bait mentions. Fleury’s name was all over the hockey world as being moved to Calgary until Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford announced that he wasn’t aggresively shopping the former #1 overall pick. Seravalli put the aforementioned Shattenkirk as his #1 target to be dealt while Pavel Datsyuk‘s contract sits at #2. The Edmonton Oilers stand as having the most targets likely to be moved with Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Jordan Eberle, and their 4th overall pick in this year’s draft being tagged.
- NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk’s Ryan Dadoun scouted free agent Alexander Radulov and what it would take to land him. Dadoun writes that Radulov is purportedly looking for a 2-year/$15MM deal but that might not happen for a player who left the NHL for the KHL and was reported to be a locker room liability. Most teams are comfortable with a 1-year deal to see if Radulov’s KHL successes transfer across the ocean. PHR ranked Radulov as the 11th best free agent on the market and predicted that he would land with Capitals for just over $5MM.
Snapshots: Sgarbossa Re-Signs In Anaheim, Panthers Fire Trainer
- According to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, the Anaheim Ducks have re-signed center Michael Sgarbossa to a 1-year extension worth $0.6MM at the NHL level. Sgarbossa was pointless in one game with the Ducks last season, but scored 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 points in 62 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
- The Miami Herald’s George Richards reports the Panthers have fired head athletic trainer Dave Zenobi. Zenobi had been with the team for 10 years and was part of the medical staff that saved Richard Zednik’s life after his neck was cut by Olli Jokinen’s skate in 2008.
Snapshots: Schedule, Shattenkirk, Salary Cap, Coyotes, Red Wings, Malkin, Dallas Defense
The NHL released their 2016-17 schedule on Tuesday. Here are some of the important dates:
Wednesday, October 12: Regular season begins
January 27-30: All-Star Break
Tuesday, February 28: Trade deadline
Sunday, April 9 Final day of the regular season
Elsewhere around the league:
- The market for St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk appears to be heating up, writes Joe Haggerty of CSN New England. Boston, Edmonton, and Philadelphia have already expressed an interested in acquiring Shattenkirk who is one year away from unrestricted free agency with a cap hit of $4.25MM. Haggerty also notes that Shattenkirk is looking to play on the East Coast following this coming season.
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that teams should learn the salary cap figure for next season at some point today. If the NHLPA exercises their 5% inflator, an option given to them each season in the CBA, the cap should be somewhere around $73MM.
- The Coyotes are open to trading up or down from the seventh overall pick in Friday’s NHL Entry draft, writes The Arizona Republic’s Sarah McLellan. GM John Chayka acknowledged he received a “pretty impressive offer” last week with regards to trading down in the draft.
- If Detroit wants to move the cap hit of now-retired Pavel Datsyuk, GM Ken Holland may have to give up a top young prospect. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that other teams are asking for 2015 1st rounder Evgeni Svechnikov or speedster Andreas Athanasiou to be included as a sweetener for them to take on Datsyuk’s $7.5MM cap charge.
- Steve Zipay of Newsday hears that the Blackhawks are “seriously kicking tires” on Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin. Considering Chicago is in a tough spot with their free agents and cap situation, they would have to find a way to clear up a lot of cap space in order to take on Malkin’s $9.5MM contract.
- Dallas GM Jim Nill said Tuesday that he expects free agent defensemen Jason Demers and Kris Russell to test the free agent market, reports ESPN’s Craig Custance. Nill noted that they’re content going with a younger group of defenders.
Snapshots: Stamkos, 3rd Pick, Flames, Hamhuis
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (transcription via Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot) that the Sabres are going “absolutely all in” for Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos should he hit the market. He hears that the speculation is that they may be willing to go upwards of $12MM per season to get a deal done. For comparison, the highest current cap hits in the NHL are Chicago forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Also from Dreger, the Blue Jackets are still listening to offers for the third overall pick in Friday’s NHL Entry Draft. He adds that GM Jarmo Kekalainen would like to attach a sizable contract, such as Scott Hartnell, who has three years left on his contract at $4.75MM per year, to any discussion to free up some cap space.
- The asking price for Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is quite high. Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun reports that Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford is asking for the Flames’ first round pick (sixth overall) in this Friday’s draft, a price that is too steep for Calgary’s liking. Francis suggests that the Flames would amenable to dealing one of their second round picks and a prospect to secure the services of the 31 year old netminder. TSN’s Bob McKenzie suggests Tampa Bay G Ben Bishop could be another target for Calgary.
- Vancouver GM Jim Benning acknowledged that the team is still trying to figure out the situation for pending UFA defenseman Dan Hamhuis, reports Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. The team would open to trading his negotiating rights but have yet to receive an offer for them.
Snapshots: Anisimov, Mrazek, Gaudreau
The NHL released the home openers for many teams on Monday morning – Ben Whyte of The Score compiled a list of those announced. Among the highlights is the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins raising the 2015-16 banner in front of their rival Washington Capitals on October 13th. The league is set to release the full schedules for the 2016-17 season on Tuesday morning. Here is some more news from around the league:
- Cap Friendly reports that Artem Anisimov of the Blackhawks actually has a no-movement clause (NMC) for the next two seasons. Not only does this limit the options Chicago has this offseason, but makes Anisimov an automatic protection in next year’s expansion draft.
- While speaking to Torie Peterson, Flames’ GM Brad Treliving intimated that he’ll eventually get deals done with top RFAs Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. “We’ll continue to bang away at it. We’ve got to get to something that makes sense for them and for us…I have every confidence that we will.”
- TB Times writer Joe Smith says that UFA Jonathan Marchessault “loves the place” and “wants to stay” in Tampa Bay this summer. Marchessault put up 18 points last season and is only 25.
- Matt Brown, producer of Sportsnet’s Hockey Central @ Noon reports that Ken Holland said Petr Mrazek will be the Red Wings’ #1 goaltender coming into camp this season. Mrazek played in 54 games for the Red Wings this past year, but is sure to earn less than Jimmy Howard‘s $5.29MM this season.
Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Lalonde, Backes
With the Entry Draft getting closer and closer, there has been lots of chatter over who will go after Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine go in the top two selections. The expected #3 pick, Jesse Puljujarvi hasn’t exactly helped his stock as Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reported yesterday that the Finnish winger underwent knee surgery after winning gold at the World U-18’s in April. He will be missing all the summer development camps, but should be ready for the regular season. While Columbus wonders what to do with the third overall pick, here’s more from around the league:
- Up-and-coming coaching prospect Derek Lalonde has been hired on as the newest head coach of the Iowa Wild, reports Jeff Cox of ESPN. Lalonde previously coached in both the USHL and ECHL and is considered by many to be a coach on the rise. The Wild, who finished last in the AHL last season were coached by John Torchetti until he moved up to Minnesota after the mid-season firing of Mike Yeo.
- Although they’d be open to a return, it sounds like the St. Louis Blues will not be re-signing captain David Backes. When asked by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch, GM Doug Armstrong related as much: “I think the unrestricted guys will most likely hit the open market. We’d like to have David back…but it has to work for both sides, not just one. We’re willing to invest a little bit of ‘thank you’ money, but it has to make sense.”
Saturday Snapshots: Arizona’s New AHL Squad, Boedker And Nielsen Staying Put?
- Arthur Staple of Newsday reports pending UFA C Frans Nielsen and the Islanders have discussed a long-term deal “in recent days”. Nielsen scored 20 goals and 52 points in 81 games last season, the second highest totals of his career. Nielsen’s last contract was a 4-year pact worth $2.75MM per season.
- Former Coyote Mikkel Boedker says he hasn’t decided against re-signing with Colorado. Boedker put up 12 points in 18 games after being acquired at the trade deadline by the Avalanche, who did not make the playoffs. His agent told ESPN that Boedker “liked everyone from the coaches and the players to the fans in Colorado. It’s definitely a place that’s up there on his list”. This comes just days after Avalanche GM Joe Sakic told media that Boedker would be allowed to test the open market.
- After the success of the AHL’s new Pacific Division last season, the Arizona Coyotes are also moving their farm team closer to home. The Coyotes unveiled the team’s name and logo Saturday: the Tucson Roadrunners.
Snapshots: Okposo, Lucic, Walsh
With the buyout period starting Wednesday, and the entry draft coming closer and closer, teams have started making decisions on upcoming free agents and begun to make calls on available players. Already we have seen a deal for Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen, and just yesterday the Stars traded away the negotiating rights to upcoming UFA Alex Goligoski. Obviously the team felt they were not going to be able to get a deal done before July 1st. Here are some other notes about upcoming free agents:
- It sounds like Kyle Okposo is on his way off the Island, as General Manager Garth Snow recently was quoted saying “We wish him nothing but the best.” Okposo heads into this offseason as one of the top forwards available after scoring 64 points this past year. That tied him with Steven Stamkos for the most from any upcoming UFA.
- In an interesting read from John Hoven around Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi’s latest media call, he reveals that they will be making an offer to Milan Lucic, but that “there’s a number of things we had to work through that we didn’t anticipate.” While it’s not clear exactly what that means, one has to wonder if it’s a medical issue that surfaced after the playoffs. Lucic put up another strong season with 55 points this year, and notched 20 goals for fifth time in his career.
- In Chris Nichols’ latest, he talks to Octagon Hockey agent Allan Walsh about the interview period that beings five days prior to July 1st. In it he voices his concerns over who it benefits: “I would love to get rid of it. it gives teams a tremendous advantage going into July 1, and really doesn’t benefit the players much, if at all.” Walsh would like to get back to a time when July started with a true frenzy for players, stating “Decisions had to be made in five minutes or 10 minutes. Big decisions. For many years of term. And a lot of dollars.” Walsh represents many upcoming UFAs including David Perron and Brian Campbell.