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Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Eddie Pasquale

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The Tampa Bay Lightning traded away Peter Budaj earlier this month due to a glut of goaltenders in their organization, and now have brought back one of those from the minor leagues. Eddie Pasquale has re-signed under a one-year two-way contract, bringing back the goaltender they acquired in a midseason trade.

Pasquale, 27, has had quite the minor league career since being drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009. Seeing time with the Chicago Wolves, St. John’s IceCaps, Grand Rapids Griffins and Bakersfield Condors, he played the best hockey of his career after joining the Syracuse Crunch this season. Posting a .938 save percentage down the stretch, he’ll be an excellent goaltender to pair with the young Connor Ingram going forward.

While Louis Domingue is the NHL backup—which is far from guaranteed at this point, as he remains a restricted free agent—Ingram is the next in line to back up Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning hope they can mold their young goaltender into another starting-caliber netminder, and having a veteran backup like Pasquale to rely on will be a big boost for his development.

No Contract Talks Between The Lightning And J.T. Miller

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  • Tampa Bay has yet to begin contract talks with pending RFA forward J.T. Miller, reports Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). Instead, it appears that discussions between the two sides will pick up at the draft.  The 25-year-old has wrapped up his bridge contract, is coming off of a career season offensively, and has arbitration rights which put him in line for a sizable raise from the Lightning on the $2.75MM he made in each of the last two years.

Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers

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Free agency opens less than three weeks from today and teams are well on their way to evaluating both their own impending free agents and those likely to reach the open market. There are quite a few prominent players expected to be available as unrestricted free agents, while many key restricted free agents will be looking to sign new contracts with their current squads.  Here is a breakdown of the Philadelphia Flyers’ free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: G Petr Mrazek – As soon as the Flyers acquired Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Trade Deadline, it was anticipated that there could be some confusion this off-season. The 26-year-old goalie needs a new contract, but the team holding his exclusive negotiating rights doesn’t have a place for him right now. Philadelphia still has their 2017-18 tandem of Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth under contract for another season and that won’t change unless they find a trade partner for one or the other. They also have to deal with the restricted free agency of Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz, both of whom are younger than Mrazek and have gotten more than a taste of the NHL level over the past two seasons. There is also Carter Hart to worry about. The CHL Goaltender of the Year and arguably the best goalie prospect in hockey is already under contract and seems to have proven he is beyond the major junior level already. Hart is likely to turn pro next season and needs starts. That’s five other goalies to consider already, so where does Mrazek fit in to the Flyers’ plans?

Not only does he seemingly not have a place in the organization right now, but Mrazek’s performance over the last two seasons also raises serious questions about his ceiling and long-term role in the NHL. After a hot start to his pro career that included two seasons of AHL domination and strong NHL spot starts, followed by two more seasons of impressive play sharing the net in Detroit with Jimmy Howard, things were looking up for Mrazek. He had essentially won the starting job heading into the 2016-17 despite being just 24 years old and seemed to be the Red Wings’ long-term answer in net. That idea fell apart quickly as Mrazek’s play became sporadic and the more consistent Howard took his job back. Mrazek has now posted two straight seasons of 3.00+ goals against averages and save percentages just narrowly in the .900’s. The 17 appearances that Mrazek made in Philadelphia after the trade were even worse than his games played in Detroit early last season, including one singular, disastrous playoff appearance, negating the thought that he needed a change of scenery.

So what to expect for negotiations with a young goalie, formerly considered a rising star, who has struggled for two years, even more so with his current team, and has no role carved out for him moving forward? In all likelihood, the answer is a trade. The Flyers gave away two conditional mid-round picks to get Mrazek when they were desperate for a goalie down the stretch. They would be lucky to get that back for his RFA rights in an off-season deal. Mrazek may also end up simply not receiving a qualifying offer. If, against the odds, Philadelphia decides they want to extend Mrazek, expect just a cheap, one-year deal- nowhere near his expired $4MM cap hit – and another move or two by the organization to make some space for yet another goalie.

D Robert Hagg – One of a number of young, up-and-coming Flyers defenseman, Hagg skated in 70 games and averaged over 18 minutes a night in his rookie season. While Hagg only registered nine points on the year, he showed good two-way ability and a solid checking game. He was one of only three Philadelphia defensemen with a positive rating and played a clean game despite leading the team in hits by a wide margin with 238. There is a lot to like about the young defender.

However, there is also a lot to take into account when quantifying his next contract. The Flyers already have overpaid bruisers Andrew MacDonald and Radko Gudas signed for two more years as well as Shayne Gostisbehere on a long-term deal. Ivan Provorov will surely land an expensive, long-term deal next summer and Travis Sanheim will need an extension as well. Additionally, the gifted but unproven Samuel Morin is an RFA alongside Hagg this summer. The Flyers need to be careful with how they handle this crowded blue line. As solid as Hagg looked in his rookie year, don’t be surprised to see him sign a shorter bridge deal for only a marginal pay increase while the team waits out some of its veteran contracts.

Other RFAs: F Taylor Leier, F Danick Martel, F Tyrell Goulbourne, D Samuel Morin, D Reece Willcox, G Alex Lyon, G Anthony Stolarz

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Valtteri Filppula – The 34-year-old Filppula is seeking a multi-year deal. There are many who doubt that the Flyers will be the team to give it to him. The veteran center has had a long and successful career as a complementary top-nine player, but the price tag for that support-level production on his last contract was $5MM. Since coming over from the Tampa Bay Lightning two years ago, Filppula’s offense has been in decline. He has still played an important role in Philadelphia, including that of a penalty kill specialist, but with 41 points in 101 regular season games in orange and black, Filppula hasn’t earned the right to command that kind of money again. If he is willing to give up salary in exchange for term, he could still play a key bottom-six role for the Flyers. However, the open market could pull him towards a team in greater need who would be willing to better compensate him.

D Brandon Manning – Like Mrazek, Philadelphia needs to first find a place for Manning before committing to re-signing him. A career Flyer, Manning hit career highs on offense in his sixth season with the team. He also bounced back from a down 2016-17 season mentally with a safer game and more well-thought out approach. Yet, Manning’s numbers on both sides of the puck are still very pedestrian. Although there could be concerns that letting Manning walk and replacing him internally would add more inexperience to a young blue line, there is no doubt that Manning’s minutes could be easily replicated. The 28-year-old only made $975K in each of the last two years, but if he looks for a substantial raise he will likely price himself out of Philadephia’s consideration. Manning will return on a short-term, low money deal or – more likely – he will sign a similar deal for only marginally more elsewhere.

Other UFAs: F Matt Read, F Colin McDonald, D Johnny Oduya, D Will O’Neill, G Dustin Tokarski, G John Muse 

Projected Cap Space: The Flyers are not in any cap trouble right now, but things can change quickly. Currently, they have over $17MM in cap space based on this year’s cap limit of $75MM. That is expected to increase to somewhere between $78-82MM, likely giving Philly somewhere closer to $22MM in space. First things first, they need to figure out their free agency situation this year, which includes new deals for many on the long list of pro-ready RFA’s above and perhaps another one or two of their own UFA’s. This is where GM Ron Hextall will need to be careful. He doesn’t want to use up too much of his space on luxuries like unnecessary extra goalies and defenseman or overpaying an aging forward. He also doesn’t need to give a player like Hagg an expensive extension right now, especially when he is the type of player with a limited ceiling who will likely command a similar amount after a few years on a bridge deal. Next, the team needs to keep in mind that next season they will have to hand pricey extensions to Wayne Simmonds and Provorov and could very likely be on the hunt again for a starting-caliber goalie to pair with Hart moving forward. None of those transactions will come cheap and the team can’t expect another major cap jump. Instead, they will have to account for those moves this off-season. At the end of the day, $22MM or so can only get you so far when you have a complete roster and many long-term contracts. Expect the Flyers to hit the free agent market with a pretty limited budget of no more than $7-8MM, likely in search of an upgrade to Filppula and/or Manning.

Kings Acquire Peter Budaj From Lightning In Exchange For Andy Andreoff

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The Kings are bringing back a familiar face between the pipes as they have acquired goaltender Peter Budaj from the Lightning in exchange for winger Andy Andreoff.

Budaj spent two seasons in Los Angeles before being dealt to the Lightning near the 2017 trade deadline as part of the Ben Bishop trade.  He was expected to serve as the backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy this past season but struggled considerably, posting a 3.76 GAA and a .876 SV% in eight appearances which forced Tampa to go and acquire Louis Domingue in a midseason swap to take his place.

As for Andreoff, he has been in and out of the lineup for the Kings as a depth forward for the past four seasons.  In 2017-18, he played in 45 games, collecting nine points (3-6-9) along with 50 PIMS while averaging 9:23 of ice time.  He will likely battle for a similar role with the Lightning next season.  Andreoff has one year remaining on his contract with a $678K cap hit.

After the Kings dealt Darcy Kuemper to Arizona last season, Jack Campbell took over as the understudy for Jonathan Quick and it appears nothing will change there.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Los Angeles intends to use Budaj with their AHL affiliate in Ontario as a mentor for youngster Cal Petersen.   The 35-year-old has one year remaining on his contract with a $1.025MM cap hit, an amount that can be buried in the minors full with no cap charge hitting the Kings’ books.

Buyout Candidate: Braydon Coburn

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Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn has long had a reputation of being a strong shutdown defender but in recent years, he has shown signs that he is better off as a depth player than a top-four rearguard.  With that in mind, Tampa Bay may very well be considering moving on from the veteran.

Coburn played a regular role in 2017-18 but saw his ice time dip to just 16:01 per game, the lowest of any of his full-time NHL seasons.  That was cut even further in the postseason as he dropped to 14:06 per night although he still played in all 17 of their playoff games.  While he still serves a role, he certainly isn’t living up to the $3.7MM per season he’s getting on his current contract, which will enter the final year in 2018-19.

While Tampa Bay isn’t as tight to the salary cap as they have been in recent seasons, they could still certainly benefit from some extra flexibility this summer.  They have just over $68MM committed to 18 players per CapFriendly but they also have a big ticket contract coming in forward J.T. Miller who is coming off of a 58-point season and has arbitration eligibility.

Buying out the remainder of Coburn’s contract would result in his cap hit dropping from $3.7MM to $1.23MM, a savings of $2.47MM for 2017-18.  With the role that the 33-year-old has filled recently, they could replace him with someone cheaper and reallocate the rest of the savings elsewhere.

However, doing so would also create a $1.23MM cap charge for 2019-20.  That may not seem like much but winger Nikita Kucherov’s contract expires after the upcoming season and he will be in line for a massive raise next summer.  They’re going to need all the payroll room they can get to keep him around so $1.23MM in dead money certainly isn’t appealing.

As a result, there’s a good chance that GM Steve Yzerman will look to trade Coburn with some salary retention (up to 50% can be held back) before really looking at the buyout route.  While that would lessen their savings for 2018-19, he would come off the cap entirely after the season.  It should be noted that Coburn can block a trade to 14 teams but if the options are a trade with his full contract or a buyout, he may be open to a move even if it isn’t to a preferred destination.

The first buyout window this offseason runs from June 15th through the 30th.  While some decisions will likely come quickly, Coburn’s case is likely one that will be delayed until as close to the deadline as possible.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Several Teams Linked To Ilya Kovalchuk

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This weekend a report surfaced that Ilya Kovalchuk was visiting the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. There wasn’t any indication whether those teams would eventually land the Russian sniper, but he was at least willing to speak with them ahead of his signing period that begins on July 1st. Now, in a report from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) the market for Kovalchuk becomes more clear.

LeBrun lists the Kings, Sharks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers as the “top contenders” for the 35-year old sniper, with a second group of interested parties including the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. Darren Dreger of TSN also believes that Detroit is in the mix, while Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) has heard that the Red Wings want to bring him aboard. Custance also lists the Tampa Bay Lightning as a possibility if Kovalchuk is willing to sign a short-term deal.

Interestingly, the New York Islanders were not listed among the interested teams despite Kovalchuk’s obvious connection with GM Lou Lamoriello. Arthur Staple of The Athletic added to that when he tweeted that the Islanders were “not in the main circle of interest” something that doesn’t seem so surprising when they have their own star free agent to get under contract in the coming weeks. While no Lamoriello-run team should ever be counted out of anything because of a lack of information, the Islanders don’t appear to be the best fit for Kovalchuk, who wants to win a Stanley Cup and doesn’t have a lot of years left to do it.

Kovalchuk can agree to terms with anyone in the league right now, but will have to wait until July 1st to actually sign a contract. He’s obviously taking his time to speak with anyone interested, but it seems as though there are plenty of teams willing to take a chance on him. Remember any contract he signs will count against the cap regardless of whether he retires or not, while he can only receive performance bonuses if he agrees to a one-year deal.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Carter Verhaeghe

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have locked up a big part of their AHL team, signing Carter Verhaeghe to a one-year, two-way contract. Verhaeghe was second on the Syracuse Crunch last season with 48 points in just 58 games.

Originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2013 draft, he was eventually shipped to the New York Islanders along with several other struggling prospects in exchange for Michael Grabner. After a couple of seasons bouncing between the ECHL and AHL, he was acquired by the Lightning in exchange for Kristers Gudlevskis last summer and found a home in Syracuse. Despite all the movement already in his career, Verhaeghe is still only 22 and could still have a future in the NHL if things break right.

Obviously the Lightning organization is a tough one to crack given their depth at forward, but after a solid junior career and now good transition to AHL scoring threat there could be at least a part-time role in his future. Verhaeghe has always been complimented on his work ethic and leadership abilities, meaning even if there isn’t a place for him in the NHL there will likely be a job waiting long-term in the minor leagues.

Western Notes: Canucks Defense, Blues, Voynov

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The Vancouver Canucks will have two big holes on offense with the losses of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. Having been with the club since 1999, the Sedins have always been a source of offense and even though their skills had begun to deteriorate over the past few years, the two still combined for 105 points this past year at age 37. However, offense may not be the Canucks’ biggest need this season as the team has its biggest troubles on their blueline and might need to focus on that this offseason, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.

The team has a lot of question marks about the blueline with only Erik Gudbranson locked up for any length of time (three years at $4MM AAV). Top defenseman Alexander Edler is on his last season with the team and is already 32. With the team considering possibly trading veteran Chris Tanev who one of their biggest trade chips, there is little to look forward to on defense.

That isn’t the case on offense. The team might have lost the Sedins, but they have a group of prospects who are ready or close to ready to move into the lineup, including Elias Pettersson, Adam Gaudette, Kole Lind, Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin. However, defensive prospects are few and far between in Vancouver. The team has high hopes that 2015 fifth-overall pick Olli Juolevi might be ready to take on a major role with Vancouver next season. Taken ahead of both Mikhail Sergachev and Charlie McAvoy that year, the team has high expectations for him. The team also has the seventh overall pick in this year’s defensive-heavy draft, which should bring aboard another top defenseman to help the team out, although there is talk of the team moving that pick for a more developed pro-prospect instead, such as the rumors of the team wanting to acquire Carolina’s Noah Hanifin.

One possibility that MacIntyre suggests is instead of Hanifin would be to go out and trade for Colorado’s Tyson Barrie, who could find himself on the trade market with the team’s influx of youth on the blueline.

  • After a recent report in which St. Louis Blues general manager spoke about how the team wants to acquire a top center this offseason, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that offers for John Tavares are likely unrealistic, the free agent pool is few and likely to become too high-priced and prospect Robert Thomas would be better off starting as a third-line center to get his feet wet. Despite that, he writes there are several potential trade options for the team if they really wants a realistic option for a second-line center. He suggests that both Tampa Bay Lightning’s Tyler Johnson and Montreal Canadiens’ Alex Galchenyuk would make for good options, especially the latter as Montreal is in need of defense, which St. Louis has plenty of.
  • Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, who has expressed interest in returning to the NHL after his contract with the Kings was terminated after pleading no contest to a charge stemming from a domestic dispute, supposedly had gained permission to cross the border to the U.S., according to KHL insider Aivis Kalnins, and look for a job in the NHL this offseason. While he is still looking for work in the NHL, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that Voynov received that permission more than a year ago and traveled to the U.S. last summer. No word on whether any team is considering the former King, who played four seasons for them and the past three with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. Eronko adds that July 2 is the first day that Voynov can apply for a U.S. work visa.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Daniel Walcott

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed defenseman Daniel Walcott to a one-year, two-way contract. Walcott is still waiting to make his NHL debut, but has been a big part of the Syracuse Crunch defense corps for the last few seasons. Scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer, he’ll now stick with the organization through the 2018-19 season, after which he likely will qualify for Group VI free agent status.

Walcott, 24, was originally drafted by the New York Rangers but traded for a seventh-round pick in 2015. The Lightning quickly inserted him into their minor league system, where he was given the “A” as an alternate captain for the Crunch this season. Despite his relatively small stature, the 5’11” Walcott isn’t really an offensive player and instead relies on good defensive zone positioning and a crisp first pass out of the zone. He recorded a career-high 16 points this season, while helping the Crunch to their 46-22-8 record.

Since he’ll be 25 at the conclusion of next season, Walcott will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency should he fail to play in 80 games with the Lightning. That is almost an impossibility while part of the Tampa Bay organization, meaning he’s headed for the open market a year from now. Whether he’ll stay in the system or try to find a role on another team won’t be decided for some time, as for now he’s headed back to Syracuse to try and win the Calder Cup in 2018-19.

Snapshots: Kunitz, Cameron, Anderson

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have some tough decisions to make this summer as they try to decide how to improve and get them to the next level, and Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the future of every player on the roster in his latest piece. When it comes to Chris Kunitz, who is one of the team’s few players scheduled for unrestricted free agency, Smith relays some comments from agent Ben Hankinson:

There’s no quit in [Kunitz]. He loved everything about the city, the team, the fans, and the direction they’re going. He’s wired for another run.

Kunitz, 38, registered 29 points for the second regular season in a row, but couldn’t find any of that playoff magic he had in Pittsburgh and Anaheim. Held to just a single assist in 17 postseason contests, it might be time for the Lightning to move on from the veteran winger. Whether they do is unclear at this point, but Smith does believe that Andrej Sustr, the only other roster player scheduled for UFA status, is as good as gone this summer. The towering defenseman played only 44 games in the regular season and was held out of the playoffs for the team.

  • Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that Dave Cameron, former Ottawa Senators head coach and recently a Calgary Flames assistant, has taken a job with the Vienna Capitals in Austria for next season. Cameron was a long time junior and minor league head coach, but will now journey to Europe for the next chapter in his professional career. We’ve seen it work for other NHL coaches in the past, including Marc Crawford who spent four years in Switzerland before returning to the NHL, and Bob Hartley who won a championship in Switzerland and recently had been leading the Latvian national team. Hartley is now headed to the KHL, another option for Cameron down the road if he isn’t given another opportunity in the NHL.
  • Speaking of coaches leaving for other opportunities, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Minnesota Wild assistant coach John Anderson will not have his contract renewed. Anderson had come with the team alongside Bruce Boudreau two years ago, but will have to find another landing spot for the next part of his coaching career. A four-time 30-goal scorer during his playing days, Anderson was a long-time head coach of the Chicago Wolves and secured two Calder Cups for the team during his time in the AHL.

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