Central Snapshots: Staal, Roslovic, Perron
The Wild are hoping that Eric Staal, their biggest free agent acquisition on Friday, can buck the recent trend of offensive players struggling upon arriving in Minnesota, writes Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune. Russo notes that GM Chuck Fletcher hasn’t been shy in adding big name players since he took over in 2009 but there have been more misses than hits out of that group.
While Fletcher hopes that Staal will be able to give the offense a boost, he acknowledges that young players such as Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle will need to take another step forward in order to help take the Wild to the next level.
Fletcher also noted that the trade market is also quite active, telling Russo that “I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to more managers more often than I have the past few weeks.”
More from the Central Division:
- Still with the Wild, pending RFA Jordan Schroeder is expected to file for arbitration by Tuesday’s deadline, Russo tweets. Schroeder had two goals and two assists in 24 games with Minnesota last season.
- Winnipeg prospect Jack Roslovic intends to return to college for his sophomore season, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Roslovic’s junior rights were traded to OHL London a couple of weeks ago at the draft, fueling speculation that he would forego his college eligibility to join the Knights instead. Roslovic was a first round pick of the Jets (25th overall) in 2015.
- Last season, the Blues considered trading for David Perron before he wound up being dealt to Anaheim, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Perron’s success with the Ducks only added to the Blues’ interest in bringing back their former first rounder and they were quickly able to come to terms on Friday on a two year deal. While there was concern when St. Louis traded Perron away three years ago that he couldn’t fit in Ken Hitchcock’s system, the veteran bench boss played a key role in getting a deal done as he encouraged GM Doug Armstrong to bring him back to the fold.
Snapshots: Russell, Vesey, Forsling
After rumors swirled the past two days indicating that the Maple Leafs had offered a contract to free agent defenseman Kris Russell, agent Allain Roy took to Twitter to set the record straight: “Reports of Kris Russell turning down any offer from the Maple Leafs are false. Simply rumors…” The former member of the Dallas Stars is still available as of Sunday evening, and ranked 12th on our Top 50 UFA list last month. Here is some more news from around the league:
- As our own Brett Barrett outlined this morning, Harvard grad Jimmy Vesey is set to wait until August 15th when he will become an unrestricted free agent. Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe opines that both Pittsburgh and Chicago will also make offers to the 23-year old should he make it that far. He has stated that he wants to stay in his native north east region.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic tells us that Blackhawks’ prospect Gustav Forsling is headed back to Sweden for the 2016-17 season if he doesn’t make the NHL club out of camp. After signing an ELC in March, Forsling was thought to have a decent shot at making the team this year, but with recent signings Brian Campbell and Michal Rozsival coming into the fold (or, in Rozsival’s case back into), it seems much less probable.
Metropolitan Notes: Hall, Cullen, Islanders
While Taylor Hall will be joining a new team in a new conference as a result of his trade to New Jersey on Wednesday, he will at least be reunited with a familiar face in Adam Henrique, writes Chris Ryan of NJ.com. The two played together, often on the same line with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires from 2007-2010. Hall and Henrique will likely get to play together again with the Devils on a new look top line next season.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- The Penguins are still waiting to hear back whether or not C Matt Cullen will be re-signing them, according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh hasn’t given him a deadline to make his decision. Cullen is ranked 38th on our Top 50 UFA list.
- Ownership of the New York Islanders officially changed hands yesterday as Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky took over from Charles Wang, who retains a minority ownership in the team. Despite the change in team control, the team will not be making any changes behind the bench or in management, writes Arthur Staple of Newsday. The new owners aren’t wasting any time either as Malkin spoke to Andrew Ladd during his visit on Thursday in the free agent interview period. Ladd quickly signed with the Isles on Friday, inking a seven year, $38.5MM deal.
Free Agency Snapshots: Best Remaining Players
As of 11:30pm, Jason Demers signed a five-year deal with Florida. This article was written prior to that contract being signed.
A variety of analysts weighed in on who they thought the best remaining free agents were on the unrestricted free agent market. USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes that defensemen Jason Demers, Kyle Quincey, Kris Russell, James Wisniewski and Justin Schultz are all names that should find a new (or possibly the same) home. Allen still believes that Demers was the best free agent defenseman on the market, but that his reported $5MM pricetag may be scaring teams away. Allen also lists forwards Jiri Hudler, Sam Gagner, P.A. Parenteau, and Matt Cullen as other intriguing options. Allen believes that although Hudler has shown a goal scoring knack, his age (32) may be a factor in his inability to land a deal.
- NHL.com listed their best of the rest, with many mirroring Allen’s list. However, they listed Patrik Elias, Tomas Fleischmann, Roman Polak, Brad Richards, Luke Schenn, Alex Tanguay, and Radim Vrbata as other options. Most intriguing was the inclusion of Elias, who at 40 years of age, is still looking to play. Though they listed Coyotes captain Shane Doan, it was speculated yesterday that he would be returning to the desert, and that a contract was close.
- Sportsnet’s Luke Fox also had a similar list to the aforementioned, though he added Brandon Pirri, and Dennis Seidenberg as two additional options. On Pirri, Fox believes that his 29 points along with his young age (25) makes him a smart addition. Fox calls Seidenberg a dependable stay at home defenseman, but one that won’t “wow” any potential suitors.
- Finally, Greg Wyshynski writes that any team who signs Russell is making a puzzling acquisition. Wyshynski wonders if Russell could get $5MM for blocking shots–and not much more. Last season, Russell had 19 points (4-15) in 62 games with Calgary and Dallas.
Snapshots: Ladd, Blues, Brouwer, Lucic, Staal, Eriksson, Avalanche, Vanek
Thursday is the final day of the free agent interview period before the craziness begins on Friday. The Islanders have brought left winger Andrew Ladd in for a visit, reports Newsday’s Arthur Staple. Ladd picked up 25 goals last season split between Winnipeg and Chicago and will be one of the most sought after forwards to hit the market on Friday.
Other free agent news and notes:
- The Blues will likely look to add a couple of forwards and a backup goaltender in free agency, suggests Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland. Louis has a pair of key forwards heading to market in David Backes and Troy Brouwer that will need to be replaced if they don’t re-sign. The team expects Vladimir Sobotka back, but he is more likely to be a bottom six piece while the other two are top six forwards.
- Speaking of Brouwer, he met with the Flames earlier this week and is building an offseason home there, reports ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun. In that same piece Brouwer notes that he has also been in talks about returning to the Blues.
- Milan Lucic met with representatives from Dallas, including owner Tom Gaglardi, on Wednesday, reports TSN’s Frank Seravelli.
- Eric Staal has received interest from the Predators, writes Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Vingan adds that Nashville has reached out to Ladd as well as Loui Eriksson.
- The odds of Eriksson and Boston getting a deal done by Friday unless things change drastically, writes WEEI’s D.J. Bean. Eight teams have reportedly shown interest in the 30 year old, including the Canadiens.
- James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail suggests Colorado “has something big brewing”. No further specifics are known at this time.
- Michael Russo of The Star Tribune reports that Los Angeles, Arizona, Chicago, and Vancouver are among the teams that have reached out to the recently bought out Thomas Vanek.
Snapshots: Cullen, Brown, Panthers
Pittsburgh forward and 20-year veteran Matt Cullen announced that he will be back for another season. Elliotte Friedman tweeted that the Penguins hope to keep him. Dave Molinari reports that the Penguins do indeed want to re-sign him and that Cullen, who made $800,000 last season, shouldn’t expect a raise if he returned to Pittsburgh. because of the lack of cap room. Cullen had 32 points (16-16) during the regular season and 6 points (4-2) in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.
- The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed forward Patrick Brown to a one-year, $650,000 contract. The 24-year-old Brown is the son of former NHL player Doug Brown. Brown spent time between the big club and AHL affiliate Charlotte in 2015-16. With the Checkers, Brown had 25 points (13-12) and was fifth in team scoring. During the 14 games with Carolina, Brown had 2 points (1-1).
- The Florida Panthers have announced the hiring of Leo Luongo as the goalies coach for AHL affiliate Springfield. The 31-year-old was the goaltending coach of HC Lugano in the Swiss League for the past three seasons. He is also the younger brother of current Panthers netminder Roberto Luongo.
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Lightning, Vanek, Higgins
The Blackhawks may no longer be in salary cap hell, but they are certainly thinner up front writes the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus. With Andrew Shaw being dealt to Montreal, both Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen off to Carolina, and Andrew Ladd hitting free agency, the Hawks have a number of open spots to shore up. While Chicago can now collectively breathe under the repressive Cap that has had them selling off parts since the summer of 2010, the casualties have come in the way of losing skill players. Lazerus has the Blackhawks possibly bringing back Brian Campbell, who could carry a $2MM/yr cap hit. Meanwhile, the bottom six forwards would look very different than the pedigree most Hawks fans are accustomed to. Lazerus lists Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann as potential candidates to return, while naming P.A. Parenteau or Sam Gagner as possible options to add in free agency.
In other league news:
- The Lightning have tendered qualifying offers to Yanni Gourde, Kristers Gudlevskis, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Tye McGinn, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Nikita Nesterov tweets Erik Eriendsson. In the meantime, general manager Steve Yzerman has a number of decisions to make as the free agency window opens on Friday. Steven Stamkos is still the top priority as teams are lining up to make their pitch. But the equally intriguing angle is what to do with goaltender Ben Bishop. Entering the final year of a contract with a $5.95MM cap hit, Bishop was reportedly working on contract specifics after the Flames were given permission to do so. That was scrapped as soon as the Flames acquired Brian Elliott from the Blues.
- Jason Brough reports that both the Canucks and Rangers may have interest in free agent Thomas Vanek. Though Vanek would be a backup plan to the higher tier free agents, namely Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson, he could be a decent pickup at a reasonable price for both teams seeking scoring help. Vanek had 41 points (18-23) and will see a much lower offer than the three-year/$19.5MM offer he received from Minnesota, who bought him out last week.
- Elliotte Friedman tweets that Canucks winger Chris Higgins was placed on waivers for the purposes of being bought out. According to CapFriendly, the cap hit would be $833,333 through the 2017-18 season. CBS Sports listed Higgins as one of their buyout candidates, and the Vancouver Sun reported the Canucks actively shopping Higgins back in January. Higgins had 4 points (3-1) in 33 games last season.
Snapshots: Kane, Shattenkirk, Sharks
In some startling news, WCVB news reports that Boston Bruins’ legendary defenceman Ray Bourque was arrested on Friday night on driving while intoxicated charges after a collision occurred in the Andover area. No one was seriously injured, and Bourque was released on bail. Here are some more stories from around the league:
- Another player no stranger to legal trouble, Evander Kane‘s name was in the headlines again in Buffalo following an alleged incident involving the physical harassment of two women at a downtown bar. The Associated Press was told that Kane “grabbed the woman by the arm or shoulder early Friday morning.” For Kane, this is the second incident this year involving the police, after a three-month investigation into an alleged sexual assault concluded in March without any charges been filed. The Buffalo News spoke to GM Tim Murray on Saturday about it and he seemed frustrated with the situation: “If it’s true, then we have to deal with it the way we have to deal with it. If it’s false again, then I guess we have to come up with a different plan of attack on how to make sure that these accusations that may not be true, how we stop them.”
- In other news, St. Louis Blues’ defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk was shocked to leave Buffalo without having been traded. Craig Custance of ESPN spoke to Shattenkirk’s agent Jordan Neumann about the 27-year old’s future: “Based on the conversations we had leading into this weekend with St. Louis, we did expect Kevin to have been traded this weekend. We are a bit surprised to be leaving here without having a deal done.” The veteran blueliner has one year left on his deal at $4.25MM and is widely expected to be traded soon.
- In conversation with Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson, Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News was told that he expects their in-season acquisitions to reach free agency on July 1st. The Sharks brought in pending UFAs James Reimer, Nick Spaling, Roman Polak and Dainius Zubrus during the season, and now don’t look like they’ll be able to retain any of them. To replace the outgoing players, Wilson thinks it’ll be an internal competition: “We have a lot of guys internally that will be knocking on the door”.
Draft Snapshots: Draft Pick Trades, Matthews
The Devils and Senators swapped picks in the first round. The Devils dealt the 11th overall pick to Ottawa for their 12th overall pick and 80th overall pick. Ottawa selected C Logan Brown, whose father coaches Ottawa’s OHL team and has family in Ottawa. The Devils used the pick to draft C Michael McLeod.
Other Draft notes:
- The Flyers traded for the Jets 22nd and 36th overall picks while giving up their 18th and 79th overall picks.
- The Capitals dealt their 26th overall pick to St. Louis for their 28th overall pick and 87th overall pick.
- #1 overall pick Auston Matthews was thrilled to be selected by the Maple Leafs, no matter the long road they still have to competing for a Stanley Cup. Matt Larkin from The Hockey News writes that Matthews was “euphoric” on being a Maple Leaf after the Arizona native seemed less than excited following the revelation that the Leafs would pick first. Matthews is the first American to be drafted first overall since Patrick Kane in 2007.
Snapshots: Shattenkirk, Nugent-Hopkins, Bobrovsky
As we inch closer to the 2016 NHL Draft, trade speculation continues. Here’s a quick look at what’s being said around the league.
- Michael Russo tweets that the Wild and Oilers might pair up on a deal. Russo speculates that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the likely target for the Wild. David Staples writes that he’s not the biggest fan of this move. While it would yield Mathew Dumba or Jonas Brodin (or possibly both), Staples doesn’t believe it benefits the Oilers in terms of obtaining the puck moving defenseman they need.
- Jimmy Murphy tweets that Kevin Shattenkirk remains a very high priority for several teams. Murphy indicated that the Bruins first round selection (14th overall) might just do the trick. Murphy includes the Red Wings, Rangers, Canadiens, and Coyotes as other possibilities. Joe Haggerty believes the Bruins will ultimately end up with Shattenkirk.
- Kevin Allen writes more about Cam Fowler moving to another team. Allen lists the Red Wings, Canadiens, Bruins, and Sabres as possible landing points. Allen also reports that the Blue Jackets will listen to offers for their 3rd overall pick. Kevin McGran tweeted this as well, adding that Columbus is looking for a proven center.
- Aaron Portzline reports that the Blue Jackets may want to look at offloading goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The $7.425MM cap hit would be tough to unload on another team without either a weaker return or a willingness to take on some of the salary. Portzline also listed the four goalies who are being shopped: Bobrovsky, Jimmy Howard, Ben Bishop, and Marc-Andre Fleury.