Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Lightning Rumors

Snapshots: Blashill, Pilut, Canadiens

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings season has come to an end following the announcement of the return to play format, meaning they’ll go down as one of the worst teams in history (at least in terms of points percentage). The club finished 17-49-5 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, leading many to question the future of Jeff Blashill.

Steve Yzerman, Detroit GM, is not one of those questioning his head coach. On a conference call with reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Yzerman explained that he has “no plans on making a coaching change at this time.” Blashill signed a two-year contract extension in 2019 that carries him through the 2020-21 season but now has a 153-194-52 record as head coach of the Red Wings.

  • A report out of Russia has Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut heading to the KHL next season, though it has not been confirmed at this point. Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that the Sabres are inquiring with Pilut to see if he has indeed signed or agreed to terms with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Pilut is scheduled to become a restricted free agent later this summer, but with the Sabres already eliminated from play he could be looking for a new opportunity already. The 24-year old Pilut ended up playing just 46 games over two seasons for Buffalo, despite being excellent in the minor leagues and showing he could handle NHL duty. Should he decide to pursue a contract overseas, the Sabres could temporarily retain his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer.
  • With just a few days left to sign them, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin explained to reporters including Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports that they will not be issuing contract offers to a few prospects. Allan McShane, Cole Fonstad and Samuel Houde–all players that will see their draft rights expire on June 1st–will not receive contracts from the Canadiens.

Playoff Notes: Player Concerns, Round Robin, Tampa Bay

at CDT | by 6 Comments

It certainly seems like an NHL postseason is on the way, as the NHLPA approved continued talks of a 24-team playoff format on Friday. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun echoed the sentiment of the NHLPA’s statement when he reported that there are still concerns among the players. This initial vote was merely to continue making progress on the rough format of a 24-team structure, but there are details that still need to be hammered out. Specifically, LeBrun states that the players would prefer re-seeding after each round rather than the proposed bracket format. Further, the players were told that there is still indecision over whether that initial round of teams 5-12 in each conference would be a best-of-five or a best-of-seven series. The NHLPA will need to re-evaluate a final proposal before the league can make any official announcement.

  • The idea of re-seeding does seem to be a more balanced and fair system for implementing this playoff structure. As currently proposed, the top seed in each conference would play the No. 8 or No. 9 team in the second round, while any of the other three bye seeds could wind up with an easier match-up following a bye in the first round. Especially if the first round is a best-of-five series, which would be more prone to upsets, the bracket format creates equity concerns. As Sportsnet’s Luke Fox describes, it also de-values the proposed round robin games between the top-four bye teams in each conference. This format is also still to be finalized, but the proposal was that the results of this round robin tournament would determine the seeding of those four bye teams. As Fox notes, if there is no real advantage to having the top seed in the bracket structure then there is not much to fight for in the round robin.
  • One of the two teams who voted against the proposed 24-team playoff format was the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alex Killorn, the team’s NHLPA rep, spoke with The Athletic’s Joe Smith about the reasons why the team did not support the decision. Killorn stated that his team did not feel that it was fair for teams that likely would not have made the playoffs under the normal circumstances to not only have a shot in this expanded field, but also to have a better chance of moving on with a limited five-game series. Tampa also took issue with the preparedness of the teams who had earned byes, a point that would be emphasized further if – as LeBrun and Fox warn – the bracket system leads to a round robin for the first-round bye teams that lacks real meaning. These are fair points made by Killorn and the Lightning, but it seems that without the details of the playoff structure formalized yet, these concerns could be quelled by seven-game series in the first-round and re-seeding after the round rather than a bracket structure.

Potential Compliance Buyout Candidates: Part III

at CDT | by 23 Comments

As the current Coronavirus crisis wears on, it seems more and more likely that the NHL will not be able to complete the full remaining regular season schedule and talk of an expanded playoff field might indicate that there will be no return to the regular season at all. That lost revenue is expected to impact the 2020-21 salary cap, likely keeping the current $81.5MM upper limit in place. Given that teams expected an increase, initially projected to be between $84-88.2MM, this stagnation could have a harsh impact on a number of clubs’ cap situations. As such, many expect that compliance buyouts will return in some form or fashion to ease that pain. These buyouts, which do not count against the salary cap, would allow for teams to open up space that they otherwise expected from a cap increase.

After taking a look at teams 1-10, then 11-20, here is a breakdown of the names that the final 11 clubs could use a compliance buyout on, if they opt to use one at all:

Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan

While the oncoming cap crunch caused by COVID-19 will not impact the Senators, who have sat at or near the bottom of the league’s salary ranks in recent years, owner Eugene Melnyk is not one to miss out on an opportunity to save money. In the case of Ryan, that would mean casting off a player who has overcome the adversity of addiction to resume his career, but don’t expect that to stop the Senators from moving on. Ryan’s remaining two years and $15MM in actual salary represents a large chunk of what Ottawa owes its current roster. Ryan has not played at a level becoming of a $7.25MM player at any point over the course of his time with the Senators, but especially over the past four years in which he has failed to crack 50 points in any season. At 33 years old, Ryan’s best days are behind him and Ottawa won’t hesitate to but him out and face the potential public relations backlash.

Philadelphia Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere

The Flyers are right up against the salary cap and will have to create some space if the upper limit does not move this off-season as had been expected. The team has been trying to trade Gostisbehere in the midst of a down year, but to no avail. It may seem counter-intuitive for a contender to give away a 27-year-old regular defenseman for free via buyout, but Gostisbehere is trending in the wrong direction and has three years at $4.5MM AAV remaining on his deal. If Philly cannot find a trade, which obviously would be the more ideal solution, they may not have a better alternative to clear space without buying out a more impactful player. Some may point to last summer’s Kevin Hayes mega-contract as a worse deal to consider moving, but it seems highly unlikely that the team would move on from Hayes this soon after signing him, especially since his production this season has been on par with his career numbers.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Jack Johnson

It was pretty obvious right from the start that Johnson was not going to be a value player for the Penguins. Many were skeptical of his 2018 signing right from the start and he has done little to prove those critics wrong. A minus player whose offensive ceiling now sits in the mid-teens, Johnson is 33 and his best days are well behind him. The Penguins are another team that needs as much cap space as they can create to keep their roster together. Can they really afford to pay Johnson $9.75MM against the cap over the next three years to be a bottom pair defenseman who is more often a liability than an asset? Pittsburgh has the depth on defense to make up for the loss and could desperately use the cap flexibility elsewhere.

San Jose Sharks: Martin Jones

Entering an off-season with a deep goalie market, which could grow even deeper with compliance buyouts, few teams would be happier to have a get-out-of-jail-free card than the Sharks. Goaltending, and their starter Jones in particular, has been at the heart of San Jose’s struggles over the past two years. Once seen as a safe bet to be a solid long-term starter, Jones has been unable to produce even passable numbers in the past couple of seasons. However, with four years and $23MM remaining on Jones’ deal – a $5.75MM AAV, it seemed hopeless for the team improve in net without either an expensive buyout, a painful trade, or a very overpriced backup. This scenario would be exactly what the team needed and there is little doubt that they would move on swiftly from Jones, re-focusing his cap space on improving the roster, most important of which would be finding his replacement(s).

St. Louis Blues: Alex Steen

Steen may be a respected veteran coming off of a championship season, but he is also one of the Blues’ few reasonable candidates for a buyout. St. Louis does not have many long-term contracts and has arguably no bad long-term contracts. Steen, 36, is also one of only three players over 31 signed through this season. Without many bad deals or regressing veterans to compete with, Steen’s final year at $5.75MM looks ugly, especially since his production has dropped off immensely in each of the past two seasons to just 17 points this year. Perhaps the only other buyout option for St. Louis would be backup goaltender Jake Allen if the determine that Steen’s experience and versatility is of greater value. However, Allen is younger and cheaper and coming off a bounce-back season in which he was one of the best backups in the NHL. Steen seems like the more reasonable selection.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson

Tampa Bay was always going to have to blow up its core to accommodate its young players. However, a flat cap not only ensures that this time has come this off-season, it also makes the situation much worse. In order to sign a number of key restricted free agents, the Bolts must move out a considerable amount of salary this summer. Normally, players like Johnson, Yanni Gourde, and Ondrej Palat would have enough value to garner a nice trade return rather than needing a buyout. However, in an off-season where most teams could be up against the cap, acquiring a $5MM+ player will be easier said than done. Making it even harder is that all three hold No-Trade clauses and may not be willing to accept a deal to the types of team that can afford to acquire them. Of this trio, the Lightning are most likely to keep Palat; although he is the most expensive, he is also the most valuable. Gourde is slightly more expensive than Johnson’s $5MM AAV, but is also slightly younger and has largely outplayed Johnson over the past few years. Gourde is a more valuable asset than Johnson, which could mean he is easier to trade or it could mean that Tampa tries to find a way to keep him. Johnson seems like the odd man out. An undersized forward whose numbers fell off considerably this season to just 31 points and who is signed for four more years, Johnson is a trade risk, especially in a cap-strapped market. The odds are that some team would find a way to take him via trade – if he agrees – but if the Lightning get desperate they may have to buy him out. He’s their most reasonable candidate if it comes to that.

Toronto Maple Leafs: None

The Toronto Maple Leafs really don’t have any need for a compliance buyout at this point in time. The team is very young, many players have been extended recently, and arguably none have fallen so short of expectations that they warrant a buyout. Unless the Leafs trade for a bad contract simply to use their compliance buyout, it would be a surprise to see the club get in on the action this off-season.

Vancouver Canucks: Loui Eriksson

The Canucks have wanted to get rid of Eriksson for some time and with a compliance buyout they would be free to do so. The veteran forward has been one of Vancouver’s highest paid players since he joined the club in 2016, yet he has never recorded more than 30 points in a year through four seasons with the Canucks. At odds with coaches and severely underperforming relative to his $6MM AAV, Eriksson has worn out his welcome in Vancouver. However, he still has two years remaining on his contract. The team would be quick to erase that from the books. This buyout is a no-brainer; what is more interesting is whether Eriksson can return to his status as a valuable two-way forward with another team.

Vegas Golden Knights: None

Like the Maple Leafs, the Golden Knights simply don’t have any obvious candidate for a buyout. They have done well with their long-term contracts and have a roster constructed of players who they want in the lineup, including several who they have recently re-signed. That includes Nick Holden, who may be the only player who could have been considered an odd man out but recently took a pay cut to re-sign for two more years with Vegas. No one else jumps out as a player that the club would entertain giving up for free.

Washington Capitals: Nick Jensen

As good as the Capitals are and have been, this one is a toss-up because there are a number of players who could go. T.J. Oshie was brought in to win a Stanley Cup and has accomplished that task. He is still producing at a high level, but could the team cut ties with the 33-year-old while they have the chance rather than face the remaining five years and $28.75MM left on his contract? Lars Eller and Carl Hagelin, both on the wrong side of 30 and both signed for three more years, are in a similar boat. Their scoring is fine relative to their cap hit, but will it continue to be through the length of their contracts? Depending on how much room the Capitals may need to clear, any of these three could be a candidate for a buyout. However, Washington can impact their performance and their locker room far less by opting for Jensen instead. In his first full season with the team, Jensen has not been bad, but he has drawn his fair share of criticism. Jensen’s offense, though not typically a hallmark of his game, has been non-existent and he has been prone to turnovers and blown assignments. If the Capitals need to use a compliance buyout, they can likely find a better use for $7.5MM over the next three years.

Winnipeg Jets: Mathieu Perreault

The Jets have great depth at forward an nearly everyone carries the weight of their contracts. Perreault is an exception. The 32-year-old’s point totals have fallen in each of the past three seasons to just 15 points in 49 games this year. At a cap hit of $4.125, Perreault is not doing enough. He’s not the answer at second-line center and he’s overpaid to play in the bottom-six. There’s no place for Perreault and the team would likely be willing to move on a year early. While Bryan Little has also shown signs of slowing down and his signed for far longer and for more than Perreault, his lack of impact in 2019-20 is tied to injury. Even if injury issues persist, Little’s cap hit does not cause a problem when he is not active, so Perreault still makes more sense a buyout candidate.

Mark Stone Healthy, Will Return If Season Resumes

at CDT | by 3 Comments

While no one in hockey is happy about the current pause on the league season, a few teams may get lucky if a delayed postseason occurs, as it allows players who were injured back in March to be not only healthy but fully recovered by the time play resumes. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steven Stamkos and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jake Guentzel are among that group and now another star forward joins the list. The Vegas Golden Knights’ Mark Stone tells beat writer Gary Lawless that he is “healing up” and “excited to be getting healthy and feeling at a 100 percent.”

Stone initially suffered the lower-body injury back on March 1 and had missed six games for the Knights prior to the season being put on hold. At the time of the league’s suspension on March 12, Stone speculates that he still had about four weeks left of recovery, which would have cut into the beginning of the playoffs. Even if he had rushed back in time for the start of the postseason, Stone would not have been at full strength through at least the first round, if not longer had Vegas advanced. Now ten weeks later, he expects to be totally ready for a possible return.

As Lawless points out, there is no player whose absence hurts the Golden Knights more than Stone. In the first season of an eight-year extension signed with Vegas following his trade from the Ottawa Senators last year, Stone had a team-leading 63 points in 65 games prior to his injury. Stone still leads the team in assists by a wide margin even after missing a number of games. Knowing that Stone will be back for a potential NHL return has to boost the chances of the Knights, who hold the top spot in the Pacific Division and are looking to avenge a first-round exit last season.

No Contract Talks Yet Between Lightning And Mikhail Sergachev

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is set to be one of the more intriguing restricted free agents this offseason.  He had set a new career high in goals with 10 just before the suspension of the season while he had a chance at reaching the 40-point mark for the second time in his career.  That will have him in line for a sizable raise on his next deal but as he told reporters, including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, there have been no discussions regarding his next contract.

Sergachev cited the uncertainty surrounding next year’s salary cap as a big factor as to why talks haven’t started yet.  Tampa Bay’s salary cap situation is particularly interesting as they have more than $76MM committed to just 15 players for next season already and a levelled off cap won’t be enough to re-sign Sergachev and their other restricted free agents and fill out the rest of their roster.  Accordingly, it appears the Lightning will have to move some players out before next season and they may want to wait until the offseason to make those decisions.

Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Dmitry Semykin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning have convinced another prospect to join the organization, signing Dmitry Semykin to a three-year entry-level contract. Semykin has spent the last three seasons in Russia’s MHL with the SKA St. Petersburg organization.

Semykin, 20, was nabbed by the Lightning at the end of the third round of the 2018 draft, but was actually ranked as the 25th-best international skater by NHL Central Scouting. While he never did make it all the way up to the KHL, the Lightning have obviously seen enough development to reward him with an NHL contract.

The 6’2″ defenseman had 24 points in 44 MHL games this season and brings a history of physicality and toughness to the organization as well. You can bet he’ll start in the minor leagues and try to continue to develop, but there are few organizations with as strong of a track record in the middle or late rounds.

NHL Releases Memo About Potential June Draft

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The NHL released a memo Friday evening to all 31 teams stating its position on holding the NHL Entry Draft in June, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. While nothing is set in stone, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote that broadcast networks are on board with the plan that is rumored to set a June 5 draft date, giving the league a month to prepare.

One major issue would be the draft lottery. Considering the remainder of the regular season hasn’t been played out or cancelled, the NHL is suggesting using points percentage as the means to determine the order of the draft. The memo also outlined that the lottery format would be adjusted for this season only. There would be only one winner of the lottery with teams only being allowed to move up a maximum of four spots.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston notes that would mean that the Detroit Red Wings, who have the best chance to win the lottery, would receive nothing lower than the second-overall pick, while the Ottawa Senators would pick no lower than the third and fourth overall picks (they currently have San Jose’s lottery pick as well via the Erik Karlsson trade in 2018).

That could cause some ire from general managers who are all hoping to get their hands on QMJHL winger Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 overall pick. Despite having a greater advantage, Friedman notes that Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman stated on a Fox News Detroit Facebook Live chat on Thursday that he’s opposed to the idea.

My thought is: Why would you do that? Why would you need to do that?” Yzerman said. “There’s a lot of things that are affected, obviously. The draft position hasn’t been established; we don’t know who’s in the playoffs, who’s out of the playoffs, in some cases … But at this time, my own opinion is, I haven’t heard a good reason why we should do it prior to the end of the season, if we do conclude the season over the course of the summer.”

The league is also suggesting that teams would get seven days to deal with conditional trades that might involve draft picks in order that both teams reach a fair agreement. Many have sited the James Neal – Milan Lucic trade, which had Calgary receiving a conditional pick based on Neal scoring 21 goals and at least 10 more than Lucic. Teams would have a chance to renegotiate those deals so both teams are happy with the outcome.

However, the league is making it clear in the memo that they want to move on with the draft despite the uncertainty of the rest of the 2019-20 season. If the league is persuaded against using this format by teams, then the league would have to push it back much later with the best-case scenario being that the Stanley Cup awarded at some point in September with the 2020-21 season beginning in December and the draft being hastily dropped in between.

The fact of the matter is that whenever we hold the 2020 Draft — in early June or ‘shoehorned’ into a short window in October or November — (it) is not going to be a typical NHL Draft,” said Daly. “It is not going to look the same; it is not going to feel the same; and it is not going to be the same. While we may know more about next year’s landscape in terms of CBA, Salary Cap, Escrow, etc., in November than we will in June, we are still not going to know everything, and there is still going to be a multitude of questions that have no answers. So, any comparison of the 2020 NHL Draft to a typical year’s Draft is not — and cannot be — an ‘apples to apples’ comparison.”

Of course teams have to consent to this proposal, but the NHL is making it clear that this is the direction they would like to go, especially with the league’s financial security at stake. The NFL had a successful draft recently that gave a lot of attention to the league (including a 37 percent increase in viewership on the first night). With the NHL on suspension for more than a month, the league could use some of that attention headed its way until the league feels it can resume the NHL season later in the summer, at the earliest.

 

Mathias Brome Expected To Sign With Detroit Red Wings

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have lost a free agent battle with the Detroit Red Wings, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Mathias Brome is expected to sign in Motown. Brome had been deciding between the two clubs after another outstanding season in the SHL.

Now 25, the undrafted forward is coming to North America for the first time in his hockey career, one that has been marked by drastic year-over-year improvement. Brome has become a star at every level of hockey in Sweden, and is coming off a 43-point performance with Orebro HK in the 2019-20 season. That was good enough for sixth in the SHL scoring race, obviously drawing some interest from across the pond.

It’s hard to blame an unproven free agent like Brome for picking Detroit, given how many opportunities will be available next season. The Red Wings are still just at the beginning of their rebuild and will need bodies to fill in a roster that will likely look considerably different next season. For Detroit GM Steve Yzerman, signing a player like Brome could not only give his team a boost on the ice, but perhaps an extra trade chip come deadline day.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Stamkos, Romanov

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With plenty of cap room and a major need in the net, many feel that the Detroit Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman might make a splash into the free-agent market this offseason. Longtime goaltender Jimmy Howard is 36 years old, coming off his worst season and is an unrestricted free agent, meaning that a return is extremely unlikely. Throw in the fact that there are several big names that could become available at the time, including Braden Holtby and Robin Lehner, and it’s very likely the Red Wings will be exploring that market.

However, the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes neither Holtby or Lehner are likely candidates to come to Detroit next season. Holtby might not be too interested in joining a rebuilding team and the scribe believes that both players’ price tags are likely to be too rich for what the Red Wings are going to be interested to pay. Holtby is currently making $6.1MM per season, while Lehner is currently on a one-year deal at $5MM. Neither is likely to be willing to take much of a pay cut.

James suggests the team is likely going to look for a player to join Jonathan Bernier in more of a tandem role on a short-term deal, including players like Cam Talbot, Anton Khudobin and Jaroslav Halak.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered a major loss back in early March when it was announced that captain Steven Stamkos would miss six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury. The recovery time would likely have forced him to miss at least the first-round of the playoffs. However, the suspension of play due to COVID-19 has allowed Stamkos the time he needed to get healthy and recently told Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required), that he’ll be ready to go when play resumes. “With the timing of all this, it was devastating at the beginning because I thought I would possibly be missing some playoff games,” Stamkos said. “And the stoppage happened, and we didn’t know how long it was gonna be. So the silver lining in that was I’ll be ready when we resume. So I’ve been able to still use this time to rehab. I’ve been going to the rink … about three times a week to skate and just start feeling normal again.”
  • Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that while Montreal Canadiens fans are waiting for top prospect Alex Romanov to sign on the dotted line in the next few days, that might have to wait. Despite that fact that his KHL contract will expire on April 30, Romanov doesn’t intend to sign a contract until he knows what is happening in regards to the NHL’s 2019-20 season. He does intend to sign once play is expected to resume, but the 20-year-old wants to make sure he doesn’t sit for a lengthy amount of time. The defenseman has already played two full seasons in the KHL and many hope that Romanov is ready to step into Montreal’s lineup as soon as next season.

Florida Panthers Expected To Sign KHL’s Artyom Sergeyev

at CDT | by 9 Comments

The Florida Panthers might get a chance to boost their play on the blueline as Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that KHL defenseman Artyom Sergeyev has informed his team, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, that he intends to sign with the Panthers when his KHL contract expires on May 1.

The 27-year-old defensive defenseman has played in the KHL for the past five years. He has played the last two years for Salaat Yulaev Ufa, where he has scored eight goals and 21 points in 110 games. He’s also no stranger to North America as he played three years in the QMJHL with the Val-d’Or Foreurs and then played two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch in the Tampa Bay Lightning system from 2013-15. Unfortunately, Sergeyev never got a chance at the NHL while there and was even sent to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL at one point in 2015, before opting to return to Russia.

The Panthers struggled defensively last season as they were tied for third in the league with the most goals allowed per game, 3.25, while allowing the 10th most shots in the league at 32.3. That didn’t help newly signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who struggled in his first season after signing a seven-year, $70MM contract. He finished the season with a career worst 3.23 GAA and a .900 save percentage. The hope is that Sergeyev can take some of the pressure off Bobrovsky.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top