Tampa Bay Trades Prospect Anthony DeAngelo for the 37th Pick (Libor Hajek)
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded prospect Anthony DeAngelo for Arizona’s 37th Pick. Tampa subsequently used the pick to draft D Libor Hajek.
DeAngelo put up 6G and 43P in 69 games for Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. The 2014 first-rounder was scratched eight times last season for the Cruch. Coach Rob Zettler opined that DeAngelo has excellent offensive ability, but struggled defensively.
The Lightning acquired the Czech defense prospect Libor Hajek with the pick. Hajek scored 3G and 26P with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL last season.
2016 NHL Draft Results
Pro Hockey Rumors will be following and updating every selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. Below are the results of the first round.
Round 1
1. Toronto Maple Leafs: C Auston Matthews (Zurich Lions – SUI)
2. Winnipeg Jets: RW Patrik Laine (Tappara – SM-liiga)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets: LW Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton – QMJHL)
4. Edmonton Oilers: RW Jesse Puljujarvi (Karpat – SM-liiga)
5. Vancouver Canucks: D Olli Juolevi (London – OHL)
6. Calgary Flames: LW Matthew Tkachuk (London – OHL)
7. Arizona Coyotes: C Clayton Keller (USA NTDP – USHL)
8. Buffalo Sabres: F Alexander Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads – OHL)
9. Montreal Canadiens: D Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor – OHL)
10. Colorado Avalanche: C Tyson Jost (Penticton – BCHL)
11. Ottawa Senators (from New Jersey): C Logan Brown (Windsor – OHL)
12. New Jersey Devils (from Ottawa): C Michael McLeod (Mississauga Steelheads – OHL)
13. Carolina Hurricanes: D Jake Bean (Calgary – WHL)
14. Boston Bruins: D Charlie McAvoy (Boston University – NCAA)
15. Minnesota Wild: C Luke Kunin (Wisconsin – NCAA)
16. Arizona Coyotes (From Detroit): D Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia – OHL)
17. Nashville Predators: D Dante Fabbro (Penticton – BCHL)
18. Winnipeg Jets (From Philadelphia): D Logan Stanley (Windsor – OHL)
19. New York Islanders: LW Kieffer Bellows (US NTDP)
20. Detroit Red Wings (from Arizona via New York Rangers): D Dennis Cholowski (Chilliwack (BCHL)
21. Carolina Hurricanes (from LA Kings): RW Julien Gauthier (Val-d’Or Foreurs – QMJHL
22. Philadelphia Flyers (From Winnipeg via Chicago): C German Rubtsov (Team Russia U-18)
23. Florida Panthers: C Henrik Borgstrom (HIFK – SM-liiga Jr)
24. Anaheim Ducks: LW Max Jones (London – OHL)
25. Dallas Stars: LW Riley Tufte (Blaine – USHSW)
26. St. Louis Blues (From Washington): C Tage Thompson (Connecticut – NCAA)
27. Tampa Bay Lightning: C Brett Howden (Moose Jaw – WHL)
28. Washington Capitals (From St. Louis): D Lucas Johansen (Kelowna – WHL)
29. Boston Bruins (from San Jose): C Trent Frederic (USA U-18 NTDP)
30. Anaheim Ducks (from Pittsburgh via Toronto): C Sam Steel (Regina – WHL)
Lightning Re-Sign Brown, Paquette
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been busy leading up to the draft as they announced the signings of forwards J.T. Brown and Cedric Paquette.
Tampa re-signed Brown to a 2-year, $2.5MM contract. The deal will pay him $1.25MM and count against the cap at the same amount for both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. The contract is a one-way deal. The 25-year-old forward finished his third season with the Lightning and had 22 points (8-14) in 78 games. He had 2 points in 9 playoff games.
Paquette agreed to a 2-year/$1.625MM deal. Renaud Lavoie reported the salary as $800,000 in 2016-17, and $825,000 in 2017-18. CapFriendly has it as an $812,500 cap hit. Paquette had 11 points (6-5) in 56 games.
Ryan Callahan Out Five Months
Tampa Bay right winger Ryan Callahan underwent hip surgery today and is expected to miss the next five months, the team announced. That means that it’s unlikely that he will be ready in time to start next season. Callahan will also miss the upcoming World Cup of Hockey for Team USA.
Last year, Callahan played in 73 games with the Lightning, recording 10 goals and 18 assists. His 28 points marked the lowest full-season output of his career. This injury was ailing him for the second half of last season, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Callahan also suited up in 16 of Tampa’s 17 playoff contests, collecting two goals and two assists. He has spent parts of three years with the Bolts, picking up 40 goals and 43 assists in 170 games.
Callahan has four years left on his deal with Tampa Bay with a cap hit of $5.8MM. He is presently the Lightning’s highest paid forward though that would certainly change if they are able to come to terms with pending UFA Steven Stamkos.
Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders
The New York Islanders got back to the postseason in 2015-16, making it two straight years they’ve gotten there. The John Capuano coached team went 45-27-10 in the regular season, and advanced past the Florida Panthers before getting knocked out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. As superstar John Tavares continues to crawl toward his eventual free agency – he has two remaining seasons at $5.5MM – the team has quite a few big names to worry about this offseason. Here’s a look at their upcoming free agents:
Key Restricted Free Agent: C Ryan Strome – The elder Strome brother and former 5th overall pick, Ryan had a somewhat disappointing season for the Isles this year. After putting up 17 goals and 50 points in his sophomore year in 2014-15, Strome only collected 28 this season while seeing less powerplay time and experiencing a drop-off in possession metrics.
Strome will turn 23 in less than a month, and is coming off his entry-level contract; he’ll be looking for a bridge deal like the one Nazem Kadri signed in 2013. While Kadri was coming off a stronger season, he didn’t have as much history in the league as Strome does now. That deal lasted two years at $2.9MM, and while Strome might not hit that mark he’s expected to get over $2MM.
Other RFAs: Alan Quine, Shane Prince, Scott Mayfield, Christopher Gibson, Jean-Francois Berube
Key Unrestricted Free Agent: RW Kyle Okposo – After putting up a huge season, Okposo is in line for a big pay raise. The former seventh overall pick put up 64 points in 79 games, continuing what has been very strong play since 2013-14. He’s racked up 184 points during that time, ranking him 17th overall in PPG over that span among players with at least 50 GP. Coming in ahead of players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews, Okposo is going to get a huge contract this offseason.
As reported earlier today, it looks like the Islanders are set to move on from the winger, with GM Garth Snow wishing him luck in the future. For the team, they’ll be losing their second highest scorer and a player who has been a big part of the turnaround in New York. With the third highest, center Frans Nielsen, also being a UFA this summer the Isles are at risk of losing a substantial part of their offense on July 1st.
Other UFA: Nielsen, Eric Boulton, Matt Martin, Steve Bernier, Brian Strait, Marek Zidlicky
Projected Cap Space: $13MM, 18 players under contract.
While the Islanders seem to have their defense corps set up for next year, their forward group will have to rely on some young talent stepping up if they don’t make any big free agent splashes. 24-year old Brock Nelson put up an impressive 26 goals and will be expected to take on an even bigger role with the departures of Okposo and Nielsen.
The goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss performed admirably this season, but the team may look to move one of them at some point, with Greiss entering his final contract year and Halak only with two remaining. As they both enter their thirties, the team may look to move on as they have a number of solid prospects in the system.
Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning
The 2015-2016 Tampa Bay Lightning lost in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. Their performance followed up a Finals appearance last year where they lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Lightning’s record implies that no drastic moves are necessary, but with star forward Steven Stamkos still unsigned, the team risks losing arguably their best player to free agency.
Cap Space: $18,849,999 (according to CapFriendly)
Key UFAs: F Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is coming off a 36G and 64P season but missed all but one playoff game due to blood clots. While he hasn’t posted more than a point-per-game since 2013-2014, Stamkos remains one of the most dominant young forwards in the game. That being said, the Lightning were within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals without him, so they could seemingly let him walk without suffering much setback.
Other UFAs: D Mattias Ohlund, F Mike Blunden, F Jonathan Marchessault, D Matt Taormina.
Key RFAs: F Alex Killorn and F Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov scored 30G and 66P this year while adding another 19P in the playoffs. He is set for a significant raise after finishing off his entry level contract. Killorn potted 14G and 40P in the regular season before posting 13P in the playoffs. He is coming off of a deal worth $2.55MM AAV and is also looking for a raise. The Lightning will have to decide whether to offer both players bridge contracts or lock them into long-term deals. They will also have to be wary of next year’s RFAs Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Andrei Vasilevskiy seeking significant raises.
Other RFAs: F J.T. Brown, F Vladislav Namestnikov, F Nikita Nesterov.