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Blues, Alex Pietrangelo Discussing New Deal

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While word emerged last month that the Blues had advised their captain Alex Pietrangelo to test the open market, the two sides have re-engaged in conversations in the hours leading up to the opening of the market, reports Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription link).  They have already lost the ability to offer him an eight-year deal, however, and are now capped at offering seven like any other team.

Rutherford cautions that no real progress has been made in talks at this point but it appears that St. Louis is willing to be more flexible in the structuring of their offer.  The team does not offer signing bonuses or no-move clauses but perhaps there is some wiggle room in that area now as they look to make a last-ditch effort to keep Pietrangelo.

With roughly $5MM in cap space to work with, St. Louis would need to clear out some salary to be able to afford to keep the 30-year-old around.  Rutherford reports that it’s believed teams are willing to take on the final year of Tyler Bozak’s $5MM deal but that the Blues would need to provide an incentive to clear out the center.  Justin Faulk’s $6.5MM pact for seven seasons could also be in play but again would require a sweetener to move.  Those options will only likely be considered if St. Louis can keep their top defender in the fold by getting Pietrangelo to sign on the dotted line.

St. Louis Blues Issue Qualifying Offers

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The St. Louis Blues have announced that Vince Dunn, Austin Poganski, Mitch Reinke and Jake Walman have all received qualifying offers, keeping them in the organization. That means Derrick Pouliot and Jake Dotchin, who did not receive offers, will become unrestricted free agents on Friday.

The decision to let Pouliot and Dotchin walk doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as both players would have been arbitration-eligible and obviously do not figure into the Blues plans at this point. Each was once an up-and-coming young defenseman with plenty of potential, but both have flamed out over the last few seasons.

Pouliot, 26, was the eighth overall pick in 2012 and quickly became one of the top defensive prospects in the entire league. An incredible final year of junior hockey that saw him score 102 points in 79 games made Pittsburgh Penguins fans salivate at his potential, but after arriving in the NHL the next season obvious warts began to show in his defensive game. Pouliot ended up spending time bouncing between the minor leagues and NHL for years and now six years into his professional career has just 202 games played at the highest level. In 2019-20 he spent almost the entire season in the minor leagues with the San Antonio Rampage, suiting up just twice with the Blues.

Dotchin meanwhile wasn’t a high draft pick like Pouliot, but still quickly found himself playing next to Victor Hedman0 after arriving in the NHL. The sixth-round pick in 2012 debuted with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016-17 and played 83 games with the team over two seasons, but saw his contract terminated in 2018 after showing up to training camp out of shape. Since then, Dotchin has played in 20 games with the Anaheim Ducks but spent the entire 2019-20 season at the minor league level with the Rampage.

Both players could land new deals elsewhere, but a qualifying offer and arbitration award was never going to make sense for the Blues.

St. Louis Blues Sign Nolan Stevens To One-Year, Two-Way Deal

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The St. Louis Blues have taken care of one of their restricted free agents, as the team announced they have signed forward Nolan Stevens to a one-year, two-way deal. The deal is worth the league minimum ($700K) at the NHL level and $80K at the AHL level.

While Stevens has yet to make an NHL appearance, he’s not far off. The Northeastern University star who scored 57 goals in four years there, showed quite a bit of improvement in his second AHL season. He tallied nine goals and 18 points in his first pro season, but while his goal-scoring remained the same at nine, he finished the season with 31 points in 50 games. At 6-foot-3, the forward is a solid depth option down the road for a Blues team that has dealt with quite a few injuries over the years and could use someone of Stevens’ skills.

With Stevens signed, the Blues now have six restricted free agents remaining, including defenseman Vince Dunn, but also still are trying to work out a last minute deal to bring back defenseman Alex Pietrangelo with just $5.15MM in available cap space.

New York Rangers Buy Out Henrik Lundqvist

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Sep 30: The Rangers have officially announced the buyout. Because of his no-movement clause, there was no need for unconditional waivers. In the press release, Rangers president John Davidson outlined some of the reasons Lundqvist meant so much to the city of New York:

We would like to thank Henrik for his immeasurable contributions to the New York Rangers. From the time I met Henrik when he first came to New York in 2005, he has been the consummate professional. His tireless work ethic, passion for the game, and love of the Rangers and New York City enabled him to become one of the greatest goaltenders in hockey and one of the best players in the history of our franchise. We all wish Henrik and his family the best going forward.

Sep 29: The end of an era is upon us. After 15 years of brilliant play in the New York net, the Rangers and decorated goaltender Henrik Lundqvist are set to part ways. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Rangers will buy out the final year of Lundqvist’s contract, with an announcement expected on Wednesday. At 38, Lundqvist will be an unrestricted free agent for the very first time.

As Dreger explains, this was not an easy decision for New York. Few players have meant as much to a team in NHL history as Lundqvist has to the Rangers since 2005. The potential future Hall of Famer was a Vezina Trophy winner, a First-Team All-Star, and a wins leader, among many other honors in his long career. Lundqvist leads all active goaltenders in career games played, saves, shutouts, and goals saved above average, acting as a workhorse starter for the Blueshirts for much of his career. While he still has a chance to build on this reputation, it won’t be in New York. The team explored all options, but must move forward with young upstart keepers Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev, leaving no room on the roster for Lundqvist, especially at his high cap hit.

With just one year remaining on the seven-year, $59.5MM contract that Lundqvist signed back in 2013, the buyout will only impose penalties against the salary cap for two seasons. CapFriendly projects that Lundqvist’s $4.5MM base salary and $1MM signing bonus in this final year will count toward the salary cap in full for a total hit of $5.5MM in 2020-21. In 2021-22, the penalty will be just $1.5MM. The $3MMM in savings this season for the Rangers will give the team even more flexibility to re-sign their pending restricted free agents while also exploring the free agent market for additional help.

Lundqvist meanwhile will hit a free agent market that is already chock full of goalies, most of whom are not coming off the worst season of their careers. Quickly approaching 40 and in steep decline over the past four or five years, it is hard to imagine Lundqvist getting any more than a small, one-year contract to serve as a backup. However, the decorated netminder already has plenty of money and accolades. All he wants at this point in his career is to sign with a team that give him the one thing he doesn’t have: a Stanley Cup.

Alexei Toropchenko Assigned To HC Kunlun Red Star

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The St. Louis Blues have sent another one of their prospects overseas, loaning Alexei Toropchenko to HC Kunlun Red Star in the KHL. The young forward will be available to return when training camps open for the 2020-21 season.

Toropchenko, 21, is coming off his first season of professional hockey, playing 59 games for the San Antonio Rampage. The 6’3″ winger scored just nine points during those games but is still an interesting prospect to keep an eye on given his mix of size and skill. Toropchenko did record 30 goals in 86 games during his final season of junior hockey but hasn’t yet been able to bring that level of offense to the next level.

If you wanted to learn from someone with offensive skill, it’s hard to find a better place than Kunlun. The team is coached by former NHL star Alexei Kovalev, one of the most skilled forwards to ever play the game.

West Notes: Golden Knights, Stars’ Injuries, Coyotes’ Changes, Samberg

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The Vegas Golden Knights seem to be a team that is being mentioned in multiple rumors for many pending unrestricted free agents despite having little to no cap room to speak of. The most recent one has the Golden Knights ready to pounce on St. Louis Blues star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who currently isn’t expected to re-sign with St. Louis.

David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirms that the Golden Knights are ready to go after the right-shot defenseman, who finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting this year, assuming he reaches free agency on Oct. 9 and the team will deal with the salary cap juggling after that. Much of the reasoning comes from owner Bill Foley’s will to win and spend to the cap ceiling, while other teams are trying to refrain from that.

Of course, if Pietrangelo does opt to return to St. Louis or chooses another destination, the scribe notes there are other options for the team to upgrade on defense in free agency, including a pair of blueliners who spent time playing for head coach Peter DeBoer in San Jose, Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo.

  • ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that the five Dallas Stars’ players who were “unfit to play” for Game 5 are still unfit as of Sunday. Ben Bishop, Roope Hintz, Radek Faksa, Stephen Johns and Blake Comeau are all expected to miss Game 6 on Monday. A new player to monitor, however, will be defenseman Andrej Sekera, who is considered to be a game-time decision, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. Sekera missed half of the first period and all of the second period after blocking a shot during Game 5 Saturday. He did return for the third period, but forced himself to play through the pain.
  • Coyotes beat reporter Craig Morgan reports that the scouting cleanout in Arizona is continuing. The team, who recently fired scouting director Lindsay Hofford and assistant to the GM Jake Goldberg, has removed two more names in the front office. Phil McRae, director of North American Amateur Scouting and Mat Milbury, an amateur scout, are both no longer with the team.
  • Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Winnipeg Jets defensive prospect Dylan Samberg’s ability to make the NHL squad out of training camp next season could be critical to the team’s playoff chances. Samberg, the 6-foot-4 defenseman out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is believed to be close to NHL ready, but might need more seasoning in the AHL. However, with just four defenseman under contract and little cap room to maneuver with, the scribe believes that the quicker that Samberg can get acclimated to the NHL pace could be critical for the team. While there is little worry about this defensive game, there are questions on how well his offense will translate over.

Blues Will Likely Seek A Veteran Goalie As Husso Insurance

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  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posits that the Blues will likely add a veteran goaltender in free agency. While the team has high hopes for Ville Husso, he has yet to play at the NHL level and they’re counting on him to be a capable backup for Jordan Binnington.  Adding a veteran third-string option that could start out at the AHL level but be brought up if Husso struggles or injuries arise would be a wise move although getting someone that may be willing to leave some NHL money on the table in favor of a higher two-way deal (or a fully guaranteed one-way contract) will be important with their salary cap situation.

Free Agent Focus: St. Louis Blues

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While St. Louis doesn’t have much to do up front, there is certainly some work that needs to be done on their back end.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Vince Dunn – The 23-year-old was a popular pick to take another step forward offensively this season after putting up 35 points in 78 games in his sophomore year.  That didn’t happen.  Instead, while Dunn was their only blueliner to play in all 71 of their regular season games, his production dipped to just nine goals and 14 assists.  Those numbers are still pretty good for a defenseman but it’s also telling that his playing time was also cut to just 16:16 per night which was fifth on the team.

On the surface, a short-term deal would seem like the likely way to go.  They don’t have a lot of cap room and there is a more prominent defenseman that they want to keep around.  However, if that doesn’t happen, Dunn should be in line for a bigger role on the power play and with that, a boost in points would almost certainly follow which would inevitably drive up the price tag down the road when he’ll have arbitration eligibility.  With that in mind, the time may be right to pursue a long-term deal although that would have to wait until free agency starts and more is known about the fate of their captain.

D Derrick Pouliot – While he spent most of this season in the minors, the 26-year-old had been a full-time NHL blueliner for the two previous years in Vancouver.  Pouliot was one of the higher-scoring defensemen in the AHL this year with 39 points in just 58 games and the limited NHL action this season negates his arbitration eligibility.  After being non-tendered in two straight years, it’s certainly possible that Pouliot is brought back as insurance.

Other RFAs: D Jake Dotchin, F Austin Poganski, D Mitch Reinke, F Nolan Stevens, D Jake Walman

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Alex Pietrangelo – It’s very rare that a defenseman of his caliber hits the open market but as things stand, it appears that where Pietrangelo is headed after word leaked that he had been advised to test free agency by the team when contract talks weren’t producing any progress.  The 30-year-old is a number one defenseman and has played in all situations for St. Louis for the last decade.  It’s not a matter of the Blues not wanting him back either but rather a reality of their cap situation; they just can’t afford to pay him top dollar at this time.

While the flattened salary cap will certainly have a substantial impact on the free agent marketplace, that shouldn’t extend to Pietrangelo.  Top players are still going to get paid top dollar and he’s certainly a top player.  He has had at least 48 points in each of the last four seasons while logging at least 24 minutes a night.  There should be many teams salivating at the chance to have that on their back end, even if they can’t afford it on their salary cap right away.  Pietrangelo should have a chance at commanding top-five money for players at his position which would put him at an AAV of $8.25MM at a minimum (it should check in a bit higher than that).  The only way he could get an eighth year on his deal is if he signs before the market opens up, either by re-signing or doing a sign-and-trade.  Accordingly, there should be more news on his fate before too long.

F Troy Brouwer – The Blues signed him in late November to provide them with some veteran depth but while he was up with them for most of the time after that, he didn’t get much playing time as he played in just 13 regular season games.  However, he got into four postseason contests and scored on his only shot.  At this point, his upside is as a 13th or 14th forward that can be trusted to play eight minutes a night so his market should be limited until closer to training camp where he may have to settle for a PTO.

Other UFAs: D Andreas Borgman, F Nick Lappin, D/F Joey LaLeggia, F Jordan Nolan, F Mike Vecchione

Projected Cap Space

While they already have 22 players under contract, St. Louis also has over $76MM in commitments for next season, per CapFriendly.  With the Upper Limit of the salary cap remaining at $81.5MM, that’s enough to re-sign Dunn but nowhere near enough to keep (or replace) Pietrangelo.  Accordingly, GM Doug Armstrong will be among the many teams that will be looking to free up some cap room in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Morning Notes: Trade Bait, Pietrangelo, Draft Takes

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In a normal year, the NHL Entry Draft is usually a hotbed for trading action. The event normally takes place at least a week before free agency opens and brings the front offices of every team in the league into one room at the same time. This year might be different, but thanks to a flat cap and poor financial situations for several teams, the next two weeks may actually have even more trade action. With that in mind, Frank Seravalli of TSN released his latest Trade Bait board, which includes a snippet of each team’s current situation. Matt Murray remains on top of the list, with Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford essentially guaranteeing a move before the season begins.

Still, it’s the rest of the board that may draw interest. Nikolaj Ehlers has disappeared from it, for one thing, while Matt Dumba has climbed to the second spot. Stars like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Patrik Laine and Kris Letang all fall in the top-ten, suggesting that it could be more than just depth moves coming around the corner.

  • Interestingly, the negotiating rights for Alex Pietrangelo also found a home on the board, just two weeks before the star defenseman hits unrestricted free agency. Perhaps that’s because of Pierre LeBrun’s latest for The Athletic, where he details the possibility of a sign-and-trade of the St. Louis Blues captain. Of course, these sign-and-trade moves basically never happen in the NHL, even if it could be a beneficial situation for all parties. As LeBrun notes, adding an eighth year onto Pietrangelo’s next contract (which only the Blues can do) would likely serve to reduce the cap hit for a new team. St. Louis could also get an asset out of the deal, but it still seems like a long-shot plan given the rarity of these moves in the hockey world.
  • Of course, in many of the trades made over the next few weeks, there will be a draft pick component as rebuilding squads try to accumulate talent on October 6. Corey Pronman of The Athletic writes about the prospects currently causing the biggest divide among scouts, with quotes from either end of the spectrum. For a player like Kaiden Guhle for instance, who is expected to go in the first round, one scout believes he can play 22 minutes a night in the NHL and the other believes he’s nothing more than a third-pairing defender. Guhle was ranked eighth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting after his breakout season with the Prince Albert Raiders.

Offseason Keys: St. Louis Blues

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As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the official first round.  Next up is a look at St. Louis.

During the regular season, it looked like the Blues were in good shape to repeat their Stanley Cup title as they were first in the Western Conference (second in the whole league) before the pandemic hit.  However, they scuffled during the seeding games and wound up facing off against Vancouver who upset them in seven games with Jordan Binnington having a rough showing in the postseason.  Most of their team is already signed for next season but there are still a few things that GM Doug Armstrong needs to accomplish.

Clear Out Contracts

St. Louis was a team that was hit hard by the pandemic causing the salary cap to flatten out.  All of a sudden, instead of either trying to add to their roster or at least keep it intact, they’ve already had to move out one veteran on the cheap after sending Jake Allen to Montreal for a relatively low return of a third-round pick.  In doing so, they’ve handed the keys between the pipes to Binnington and will quite likely have a rookie as his backup in Ville Husso who is 25 and has yet to play in an NHL game.  That was the easy move as Allen did well enough this season to at least have some positive value.  The other cost-cutting moves may be a bit more challenging.

At the top of this list has to be Alex Steen.  He has been with the team for 12 years and has been productive for about 10 of those.  The last two are the ones where he hasn’t been.  Instead, his role has diminished considerably and for a $5.75MM price tag, that’s not good.  It’s difficult to part with someone that has been around that long and is as well-respected as he is (and optically, paying him to not play via a buyout or trading an incentive to get out of the contract stings) but it’s a move they’re going to have to make if they want some flexibility this offseason.

Tyler Bozak is another pricey player on an expiring contract that isn’t providing full value.  He’s still capable of winning faceoffs and providing some offense and with the center market being limited in free agency, they should have some interest in him but it will still likely require an inducement of sorts to get out of his $5MM price tag.  Until they find a taker for him or Steen, they’re going to be quite limited in what they can try to do in the coming months.

Re-Sign Pietrangelo

I know things aren’t looking good on this front right now.  When reports surface that talks have broken off and the team has advised him to hit the open market, it’s hard to be optimistic about a deal getting done.  But finding a way to get a contract in place with their captain still has to be their top priority and is the key to having a successful offseason or not.

They don’t have enough cap space to do so at the moment (more than $76MM in commitments already) so some work needs to be done (such as moving out another contract) but they do have the ability to go over the cap by 10% during the summer so there are ways they can get this done.

Beyond the AAV of the contract, the structure will play a big role in whether or not something can get done.  While the team has shown a willingness to frontload deals, they have avoided handing out signing bonuses in any pact that they’ve made with a player.  That’s a big carrot for players and an unwillingness to offer that to Pietrangelo won’t help their chances of signing him.

Yes, the free agent market is likely to be deflated with the salary cap flattening out at $81.5MM.  Many teams are like the Blues in that they need to free up some money but in spite of that, there will be enough teams with cap room (or the willingness to go over to get Pietrangelo and figure it out after) that it shouldn’t drastically affect what he’ll get.

Pietrangelo has worked his way into being a capable number one defenseman in a league that isn’t exactly loaded with them.  To lose a player like that for nothing would be a huge blow even though they have Justin Faulk that is capable of taking on a bigger role than he had with St. Louis this past season.  Somehow, someway, Armstrong needs to find a way to get something done.

Re-Sign Dunn

While Pietrangelo gets all of the attention, there is another defenseman that needs to be re-signed and that’s Vince Dunn.  After a strong sophomore year offensively, his numbers took a step back as he dipped from 35 points in 78 games to just 23 in 71 while his ice time was the lowest of any of his three NHL seasons.  That doesn’t give him the best case to work with while he’s not eligible for arbitration either.

However, he still has himself in line for a decent raise on his $775K salary from this season.  Even with the lowered offensive numbers, he could triple that amount without too much difficulty.  But as things stand, he’d be looking at a short-term contract to help keep the AAV down.  That could change depending on what happens with Pietrangelo.  If they don’t re-sign him and are able to clear out at least one of their bigger deals, then it may make sense to try to lock Dunn up on a longer-term deal, one that may be a little high in the early going but provide some value on the back end.

Given the dominoes that have to fall one way or the other – Pietrangelo’s fate has to be determined first as well as seeing what other money Armstrong can free up – this is something that shouldn’t be on the front burner.  Without arbitration, this is a contract that should be able to be pushed aside until later this fall but it is something that they will need to accomplish before 2020-21 begins, likely at some point in December.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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