Tyler Bozak To Sign With St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues have already been linked to David Perron, and will be bringing in another veteran forward to help out their group. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that the Blues will sign Tyler Bozak when free agency opens, while Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports it will be a three-year deal worth $15MM.
Bozak will be an upgrade for the Blues who have now swapped out Bozak for Kyle Brodziak, who is expected to sign with Edmonton. The 32-year-old Bozak finished last season with pedestrian 11 goals and 32 assists with the Maple Leafs as he has progressively seen his playing time decrease over the last five year when he averaged 20:57 ATOI. That average has dropped to just 15:39, but a solid face-off percentage of 53.6 percent helps.
Bozak, who has spent his entire nine-year career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was 22nd all-time in games played with Toronto and tallied 136 goals and 365 points. With the unlikelihood that Toronto would bring him back due to their long-term cap restraints, Bozak was in high demand as the need for centers in the NHL has reached a premium.
Blues To Sign David Perron
Winger David Perron is heading back to St. Louis…again. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Perron has agreed to a four-year, $16MM deal to rejoin the Blues. This will mark his third seperate stint with the team.
Perron is coming off of his best season by far that saw him post 16 goals and 50 assists in just 70 games with the Golden Knights, who acquired Perron via the Expansion Draft. His 66 points ranked him second among players available on the open market behind only John Tavares.
However, his struggles in the postseason may very well have hurt his value. He scored just once in 15 postseason games and was even a healthy scratch at one point. To be fair, he still wound up with nine playoff points (1-8-9) which tied him for eighth on the team.
St. Louis had been on the lookout for a top-six winger to replace Perron all of last season and as it turns out, Perron will effectively fill the spot he initially vacated.
With the signing, the Blues still have a little over $12.6MM in cap space at their disposal, per CapFriendly. However, a good chunk of that will be earmarked for their restricted free agents, headlined by defenseman Joel Edmundson and winger Robby Fabbri.
Snapshots: Van Riemsdyk, Komorov, Lehner, Mrazek, Brodziak
While the free agent market is escalating fast as the window opens tomorrow, the bidding war that surrounds unrestricted free agent center James van Riemsdyk has increased in the last few hours. The Toronto Maple Leafs winger, who tallied a career-high 36 goals last year, is being heavily courted by several teams. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports (Tweet link) that nothing is close yet and the free agent is still deliberating and hasn’t narrowed down his list beyond a handful of teams.
Regardless, optimism is abound as Arizona Sports 98.7 Sports host John Gambadoro (Tweet link) writes that the Arizona Coyotes are aggressively in the mix for van Riemsdyk and could get an answer as soon as tonight as to where the free agent will sign. AZ Sports Craig Morgan (Tweet link) adds that there is optimism that the Coyotes are a serious contender. The Athletic’s James Mirtle writes (Tweet link) that the Buffalo Sabres are also pushing hard for van Riemsdyk and it looks like the veteran sniper could break the bank with his deal.
- The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (Tweet link) writes the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers are both interested in unrestricted free agent Leo Komarov. The former Toronto Maple Leafs’ center had a down year as the 31-year-old scored just seven goals and 19 points in 74 games. The veteran instigator is coming off a four-year, $11.8MM deal that he signed back in 2014.
- With the goaltending market already spinning at high speeds, the Carolina Hurricanes must sort out their goaltending situation quickly, according to Chip Alexander of the News & Observer. With backup Cam Ward expected to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks and the struggles that surrounded starter Scott Darling last year, the team must find someone who can share duties with Darling, especially if he struggles for a second-straight year. Alexander writes the team has shown interest in former starters Robin Lehner and Petr Mrazek, both goalies who were not given qualifying offers earlier this week.
- Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that while there are reports that Blues’ unrestricted free agent Kyle Brodziak is close to signing a deal with the Edmonton Oilers, the Blues are still in the mix to re-sign their veteran center. The 34-year-old center played three years in St. Louis and posted his best numbers yet, tallying 10 goals and 33 points.
Eastern Notes: Tavares, O’Reilly, Ryan, Pickard
With the John Tavares watch about to hit the 11th hour before free agency hits, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reminds people that the superstar center doesn’t have to make a decision today. He can wait to make a decision later. However, the longer he waits, the more telling his decision will be.
If he opts not to agree to a contract tonight, then the New York Islanders are almost guaranteed to be out of the running for Tavares as even the Islanders can’t offer an eighth year after tonight. If all New York can offer is seven years, then it’s highly unlikely he’ll return to New York.
The other implication to not choosing a team today is that many teams are waiting for Tavares to make a decision as well as players. The dominos will begin to fall after Tavares signs, so the longer Tavares waits, the more the market will be held up. For example, Toronto, who has dubbed center Derek Ryan as their consolation prize if the can’t sign Tavares, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required), must force the highly-coveted Ryan to wait. That’s also the case with trade candidates such as Jeff Skinner and likely Ryan O’Reilly as their value is likely to shoot up once Tavares is off the board.
- It looks the O’Reilly sweepstakes are even more muddled than ever as many felt that if the Buffalo Sabres were to trade away their star center, it would be before the Sabres would have to fork over his $7.5MM signing bonus which is due at midnight tonight. If no deal is made within the next few hours, then the situation can go two different ways, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. The most likely scenario would suggest that if they pay him the $7.5MM themselves, the plan would be to keep O’Reilly and hope that he wants to stay with the team. However, Harrington also adds that perhaps Buffalo is willing to eat the $7.5MM to get a greater package in return from a team with the possibility that a trade has already been worked out and they are both waiting for July 1. The scribe adds that the two teams who have most coveted O’Reilly are the Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues. However, the Blues are not offering their top prospect, Robert Thomas, as part of any trade.
- While many teams believe that the holdup of a potential Erik Karlsson trade is being held up because of the $2MM bonus due to forward Bobby Ryan on July 1, that is not correct, according to Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. The scribe writes that Ryan and the four years and $29MM remaining on his contract, which are expected to be included in any Karlsson deal, already received his $2MM bonus on May 15, which means he will only cost a team $5.5MM next season.
- Sean Shapiro of The Athletic writes that many teams are looking for cheap backup goalie options and suggests that Toronto Maple Leafs’ Calvin Pickard could quickly find himself in high demand. Pickard, who was a solid backup for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2016-17 season, found himself in an odd position after being taken in last year’s expansion draft by the Vegas Golden Knights and then traded off to Toronto to share AHL goaltending duties with Garret Sparks. Together they helped clinch the Calder Cup Trophy as he finished with a 2.31 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Backing up Sparks during the AHL playoffs, Pickard got into three games, putting up a 1.00 GAA and a .956 save percentage.
Blues Would Prefer To Wait Until July 2nd To Do A Ryan O'Reilly Trade
The Sabres are currently seeking a first-round pick, a second-rounder, and a good prospect if they are to move center Ryan O’Reilly, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (video link). They were seeking the third-overall selection from Montreal at the draft last week but that was a move that the Canadiens weren’t willing to make and they weren’t able to acquire an additional first-rounder to include instead. Despite not getting a deal done, Montreal remains interested and they are willing to pay his $7.5MM signing bonus that is owed on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Blues also are interested and LeBrun classifies them as the current frontrunner for O’Reilly’s services. However, their preference appears to be to wait until July 2nd passes before making a deal. However, it has been previously reported that Buffalo’s asking price will go up if that is indeed what happens.
Free Agent Rumor Round-Up: Maroon, Grabner, De Haan, Rieder
Teams are free to speak with impending free agents prior to the official opening of free agency on Sunday, July 1st. As usual, that has produced a flurry of rumors regarding which teams and how many teams are talking to each of the biggest names. Here is an update on some of those rumors:
- Unsurprisingly, winger Patrick Maroon has been linked to his hometown St. Louis Blues. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirms that the Blues have reached out to Maroon’s camp in hopes of bringing him back to where his hockey aspirations first began. Maroon is coming off a career-high 43-point season and especially looked strong after a Trade Deadline deal from the Edmonton Oilers to the New Jersey Devils. Blues beat reporter Andy Strickland adds that Maroon has not closed the door on a return to either Edmonton or New Jersey, but that the Blues are one of at least six other teams who are pursuing the power forward.
- The Boston Bruins were busy making their pitch to John Tavares today, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t also thinking a few steps ahead. Mark Divver of the Providence Journal says that the Bruins have “checked in” on two-way speedster Michael Grabner, another Devils deadline acquisition. Not only do the Bruins need another veteran right-shot forward and want to continue to add quickness to the roster, but it also might not be a coincidence that Grabner spent years playing alongside Tavares with the New York Islanders.
- In a shallow class of top-four defenseman, Calvin de Haan is drawing a lot of interest despite missing most of the season with the New York Islanders due to injury. The 27-year-old former first-round pick is one of the more reliable and younger options among defenders on the market and is set to cash in as a result. Kings beat writer Dennis Bernstein reports that Los Angeles is the latest team to show interest in de Haan, bringing the speculated total number of teams interested in the blue liner into the double-digits.
- When the Kings declined to offer Tobias Rieder a qualifying offer yesterday, it was only a matter of time before teams came calling on the new UFA. Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal states that the Vancouver Canucks are one of those interested teams, but that four or five other suitors have already emerged. The two-way winger is one of the youngest and most versatile options available on the market.
List Of Potential Destinations For Carter Hutton Cut To Six
Among this year’s free agent goaltending crop, Carter Hutton stands out as a name that could potentially take over a starting role. The 32-year old is coming off an incredible season with the St. Louis Blues, and had been reportedly in talks with as many as eight teams on the first day of the free agent negotiating period. Now, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that group is down to just six teams.
LeBrun adds that even those six are broken into two tiers, depending on whether or not they’ll give Hutton a chance to fight for the starting role. The teams he’s sure of are the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders. All four are unsurprising contenders, as they all are dealing with uncertain goaltending situations as they head into next season. Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) also links the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings to Hutton, and adds that the Blues expressed interest in retaining him at the end of the year.
Hutton registered a .931 save percentage this season in 32 appearances, and continued to show why he’s considered one of the best backups in the league. His career save percentage is now up to .915, and he carries a 63-39-17 record. It’s hard to imagine a team giving him a big money, long-term contract, but it’s clear that he deserves more than the $1.125MM he’s averaged over the last two seasons.
In Buffalo, Carolina and New York he’d likely be given a chance to be a starting goaltender, as Linus Ullmark, Scott Darling and Thomas Greiss haven’t yet proven they can handle the full load. In Chicago, where Corey Crawford‘s health is still up in the air, they need to find an option they can rely on. Any interest from Boston and Detroit would likely be as a backup for Tuukka Rask or Jimmy Howard, though each have shown some inconsistency in the past. Howard is also on the final year of his current contract, meaning Detroit will need someone to step in should he head to another team next summer.
Snapshots: Karlsson, Thornton, Talbot, Brodziak
While the free agent market is slimming more and more after John Carlson opted to re-sign with the Washington Capitals, the trade market has barely gotten active as teams wait to see how the free agent market shakes out. Regardless that could change in the next few days. While there were a few trades this weekend during the draft, one name that stayed put is Ottawa Senators’ defenseman Erik Karlsson.
According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, general manager Pierre Dorion was fielding phone calls all the way up to the Senators picked at No. 4, but still hasn’t found the right deal as he’s looking for a big haul of players and picks considering that Karlsson is a franchise player.
As expected, Garrioch writes that the Vegas Golden Knights were at the forefront in trying to make a deal and Vegas was prepared to take the contract of Bobby Ryan, who still has four years at $7.25MM AAV remaining on his contract, but other teams are also trying to get into the Karlsson sweepstakes, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks and the Washington Capitals. No word on whether the other teams are willing to take on Ryan’s contract. While the Capitals are likely out of the running now that they’ve signed Carlson, the Carlson signing may force other teams to press harder to acquire Karlsson.
- David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there is mutual interest between Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks to return to the team, regardless of whether the team signs John Tavares or not. Thornton, who suffered a season-ending torn MCL in January, would have to come back at a lower salary than the $8MM he made last year, but at 38 years old, he can still be a productive player even if he is forced to play on a lower line. Thornton put up 13 goals and 23 assists in 47 games, but “Jumbo Joe” is well past the days of putting up 82 points in 2015-16.
- Pagnotta also commented on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot as he says both the Oilers and Talbot have agreed to hold off on extension talks until the start of the new season. The 30-year-old Talbot had been a major piece to the team’s success up until this past year. After posting 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage two years ago, he struggled this season, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .908 save percentage. The team likely wants to ensure that Talbot bounces back to form before offering him an extension.
- Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that the St. Louis Blues and center Kyle Brodziak both have interest in an extension. The 34-year-old center put up his best season since 2011-12 as a fourth-line center. He tallied 10 goals and 33 points last season. While the Blues have bigger concerns at the moment, Rutherford points out that neither party is in a big rush.
Carter Hutton Has Received Interest From Eight Teams
With goaltending at a premium this season as several teams are still in need of starting help, St. Louis Blues unrestricted free agent Carter Hutton has received quite a bit of interest. In fact, he has received close to 10 teams checked in on the 32-year-old netminder, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun adds that Hutton has heard from eight teams and will take the next few days to cut that list down and expand contract discussions.
The Athletic’s Craig Custance writes that the Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins are definitely interested. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti adds that the Islanders would be a good fit as new head coach Barry Trotz knows him well from their days in Nashville. Even NHL.com’s Joe Yerdon suggested that the Buffalo Sabres could be interested in the former UMass-Lowell goalie. Hutton is the top free agent goaltender on the market. The veteran has been an excellent back-up goalie over the past several years and played the most minutes since the 2013-14 season. He posted a 2.09 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 32 appearances.
While the Blues would undoubtedly like to bring Hutton back with the inconsistencies that starter Jake Allen has had over the past two years, the team is not likely to offer the term that Hutton and his representatives would be asking for. Custance adds the team is unlikely willing to offer more than two years. Strickland said that he is likely looking for a three-year deal, possibly a similar deal to the three-year, $10MM deal that Philipp Grubauer inked Saturday with the Colorado Avalanche. The Blues have top goaltending prospect Ville Husso, their goaltender of the future. Husso, who has already played two full seasons in the AHL, is no more than one year away, so signing Hutton to a three-year deal would affect Husso’s development. Allen has three more years remaining on his deal at $4.35MM AAV and would be difficult to move on from at this point in time.
NHL.com’s Lou Korac reports that St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong said they have talked to Hutton, but are fully aware and have a plan in place if Hutton opts to leave the Blues.
Blues Sign One-Year Contract With Nikita Soshnikov
Sunday: Milstein has announced that his client signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Blues, keeping him in St. Louis for the upcoming season.
Friday: While some had speculated that Blues winger Nikita Soshnikov was likely going to sign in the KHL this summer, that doesn’t appear to be the case. His agent, Dan Milstein, told Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link) that the sides are in the process of finalizing a one-year contract to keep him in St. Louis. He is owed a qualifying offer of just over $742K by Monday.
The 24-year-old started last season with Toronto in the minor leagues before getting recalled. After playing in three games with the Maple Leafs, he became waiver-eligible which left him in limbo for a little while. After sitting on injured reserve for a couple of months, he was then flipped to the Blues in exchange for their 2019 fourth-round draft pick.
Soshnikov played a sparing role for St. Louis down the stretch as he got into a dozen games, posting a goal and an assist while logging 11:10 per night in ice time. Assuming the contract does get finalized, he will likely contend for a fourth line role once again in 2018-19.