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Snapshots: Sharks, Trottier, Vitale

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Are the San Jose Sharks done for the summer? In a mailbag for The Athletic, Kevin Kurz addresses the concerns of some fans that the team has not done enough this off-season after missing out on John Tavares. Kurz states that GM Doug Wilson still has the full faith and support of ownership – as he should seeing that the Sharks have the highest average finish in the league during his tenure – and reiterates that Wilson always says that the roster isn’t complete until the trade deadline. Given that San Jose hit a home run with the Evander Kane trade this past spring and fueled their Stanley Cup run in 2016 by adding James Reimer, Nick Spaling, and Roman Polak, that mantra has been proven true. However, is waiting until March going to cut it this season? Kurz points out that between Tavares, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Max Pacioretty, it seems that the Sharks wanted to do more this summer. Pacioretty is still one of several potential trade targets prior to the beginning of the season, but it seems more likely that the Sharks will go into the season as is and let their play in the first few months of the season dictate whether a big move is necessary or not. However, a slow start or a major injury could cause Wilson to reinvigorate his search for scoring depth.

  • The New York Islanders have had a far worse summer than the Sharks and maybe any team in the league, but one of the franchise legends is still confident in the direction of the team. Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier sat down with NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy recently and spoke about the “bright future” of Mathew Barzal and the Islanders, despite the departure of John Tavares. “For him to… have the kind rookie season he had, he’s not disappointing anyone… I see wonderful things for Mathew in the future and for the Islanders”, Trottier stated. Between a legitimate rising star in Barzal and an impressive pipeline featuring the likes of Kieffer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom, Noah Dobson, Bode Wilde, and Robin Salo, Trottier is right that the future is bright, but the Isles will likely have to endure a few brutal years before they reach that point. Yet, Trottier also spoke to the credibility that new GM Lou Lamoriello and new coach Barry Trotz bring to the team and feels that with their leadership and the talent on the roster, the team can still succeed if others step up. This first season without Tavares will be telling as to how the team will fare in the coming years.
  •  One recently retired NHLer is getting back into the game. The Blues have hired St. Louis native Joe Vitale as their new radio analyst for next season, writes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Vitale announced his hiring live on the Blues’ radio affiliate, KMOX, saying:

    “This is my city… I always wanted to be a Blue. I’m so passionate about this team, since I was born from the very get-go with my dad bringing me to games as a kid.”

    Vitale played six seasons in the NHL, mostly with the Pittsburgh Penguins but wrapping up his career with the Arizona Coyotes after head injuries forced him into premature retirement. Now, he’s feeling positive about getting back into the game with his hometown team. Vitale was a high-energy player, a checking line regular and face-off specialist during his career, and will likely bring that same energy to the Blues broadcast.

 

Snapshots: Lafreniere, Belmont, Nylander

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The World Junior Summer Showcase and Hlinka-Gretzky tournaments are now over, and junior aged players will soon be heading back to their respective teams to get the season underway. The summer headlines were dominated by performances by Jack Hughes, but one young talent may have impressed even more. Alexis Lafreniere won’t be eligible for selection in the NHL Entry Draft until 2020, but could already be one of Canada’s top forwards at the upcoming World Junior tournament. Craig Button of TSN believes the 16-year old Lafreniere should be at the selection camp and could easily climb out of a “13th forward” role normally given to underaged players.

Lafreniere already has a full season in the QMJHL under his belt despite not turning 17 until October and he registered 42 goals which ranked sixth in the entire league. There’s no doubt he’s already one of the CHL’s most talented offensive players, which may lead to a starring role at the late December tournament despite his age. Though teams often try to load up on as many 19-year old players as possible for the U20 tournament, the potential first-overall pick in 2020 could shake things up with a good first part of the CHL season.

  • Anyone that might have been worried about the progress of the New York Islanders future home at Belmont Park can rest easy, as Lou Lamoriello today told Brian Compton of NHL.com that the arena plans are still “100 percent” on track for 2021. The new building will give the Islanders a permanent home and a chance to build some organizational consistency moving forward, something they’ve lacked in recent years. With the John Tavares era over, and a bunch of new voices running the show in Lamoriello and head coach Barry Trotz, the Islanders are trying to turn things around and get back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in more than thirty years.
  • William Nylander remains without a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but James Mirtle of The Athletic was on TSN Radio where he explained the two sides may wait until much closer to training camp next month to sign a deal. Mirtle suggests that it would likely be either a two-year or six-year contract, given that a seven or eight-year pact would likely get too pricey for the Maple Leafs. Dylan Larkin’s new $6.1MM cap hit is brought up as a “pressure point” which we’ve noted in the past, and could drive Nylander’s price up even further if the Maple Leafs intend on buying out any unrestricted free agent years. Toronto heads to camp in a month, and would presumably like to have their final restricted free agent under contract and in uniform on the first day.

Islanders Extend Goaltender Christopher Gibson

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The New York Islanders are hoping for good news on a much larger extension in the next 24 hours, but in the meantime they have come to terms on a new contract with minor league goaltender Christopher Gibson. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that it is a two-year, two-way extension for Gibson. The contract will pay him $650K at the NHL level and $225K at the AHL level in the coming season and $700K in the NHL and $250K in the AHL in 2019-20.

Gibson, 25, was set to be an unrestricted free agent this off-season, but the Finnish keeper was unlikely to draw much attention. The 2011 second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings was once a highly-touted prospect. However, after a strong start to his junior career with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL that boosted his draft stock, Gibson stalled in his development over the next two seasons. The Kings chose not to sign him and he became a free agent acquisition of the Toronto Maple Leafs. After finding some success in the AHL with Toronto, Gibson was dealt along with four other prospects to the Islanders in a 2015 trade for Michael Grabner. Since arriving in New York, Gibson has been unable to get back to that same level in the AHL and has struggled greatly in his few call-ups. In twelve NHL appearances, Gibson has three wins, a .902 save percentage, and a 3.58 goals against average.

As it stands, Gibson is second on the depth chart for the Islanders behind Thomas Greiss. However, it is extremely unlikely that Lou Lamoriello and company wish to head into the regular season with either of those goaltenders in their current spots. Gibson has not yet proved that he is anything other than an average AHL goalie and until he does, he is likely to remain just an emergency option in Bridgeport. The two-way nature and minimum salary of his contract reflect this role. Yet, it alleviates any concerns that New York may have had about having to add multiple new goalies on the free agent market this off-season.

Toronto Maple Leafs Make Changes To Scouting, Development Staff

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were bound to go through a transition after turning over the keys to Kyle Dubas as General Manager, and today we got some clarity over all the moves. According to James Mirtle of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs have let Jacques Lemaire, Jacques Caron, Nikolai Ladygin, Evgeny Namestnikov and Tommy Albelin go from their respective positions, while the team has announced promotions for several others. Dave Morrison is now the team’s Director of Player Personnel, Troy Bodie is the Director of Pro Scouting, and Wes Clark is an Assistant Director of Player Personnel.

Clark may be the most interesting name on the list at the moment, as he had been working for the Florida Panthers since leaving the Maple Leafs in 2016 but is known to have a close relationship with John Tavares, among other players. He also has a very good relationship with Dubas from their days together with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and was one of the young GM’s first hires when he was brought in as an Assistant General Manager a few years ago.

Lemaire and Caron are obviously big names as well, but both were special coaching consultants with deep ties to Lou Lamoriello. Whether they’ll move on to the New York Islanders is unclear, but it isn’t surprising that they won’t be with the Maple Leafs going forward.

Free Agency Notes: De Haan, Bernier, Stastny, Vanek

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While early reports that quite a bit of interest has been directed towards John Tavares, another New York Islanders’ unrestricted free agent has garnered attention too. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports defenseman Calvin de Haan has received significant interest from upwards of 10 teams so far.

While Lou Lamoriello has made it clear that it is his mission to convince Tavares to stay with the Islanders, the team has two key defensive free agents to worry about as well, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey. De Haan, however, is an interesting situation as the blueliner has shown a lot of promise over the years since being drafted in the first round back in 2009, which includes some flashes of brilliance at times, but he’s never been able to put it all together in a full season for the Islanders. He did put up career highs in 2016-17 with five goals and 25 points and may well have been on his way to break that this year, but went down with a season-ending injury on Dec. 16. He posted one goal and 11 assists in 33 games.

Many teams feel that a change of scenery and the fact that the free agent is still just 27, would make him an ideal player who could become a quality top-four defenseman.

  • The Athletic’s Craig Custance reports that unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier has indicated that he likes Colorado and would like to return to the Avalanche. However, after the team traded for Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer Friday and the fact they still have Semyon Varlamov listed as their starter, that would cause an unusual logjam at the goaltending position. If Colorado would rather have a combination of Grubauer and Bernier, general manager Joe Sakic would have to make another roster move to rid himself of Varlamov, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019. There would almost undoubtedly be a market for Varlamov if Sakic made him available. Bernier had moments of brilliance last season, but finished the year with a 2.85 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 37 games.
  • Fox Sports Andy Strickland reports that their is mutual interest for veteran center Paul Stastny to return to the Winnipeg Jets. Stastny thrived in Winnipeg’s offense alongside Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, but the expected cost of retaining Stastny, who is the No. 2 center on the unrestricted free agent market, is not in the team’s financial plans. Custance writes the Jets are looking for a way to keep Stastny, which would require them to move out a contract to make a deal like that work. The 32-year-old put up 16 goals and 53 points between St. Louis and Winnipeg last year.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that while former Vancouver Canucks forward Thomas Vanek has received some early interest from teams, the Canucks are not one of them. There had been some early talk that the team wanted to bring back the 34-year-old winger after they traded the veteran to Columbus at the trade deadline. The team liked the way he mentored the younger players. His 17 goals for Vancouver (24 total for the season) suggest he still has the ability to put the puck in the net.

Metropolitan Notes: Tavares, Hamilton, Rask, Rangers

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In a follow-up story about New York Islanders and John Tavares upcoming free agency, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello left the draft to fly to Los Angeles to be nearby while Tavares meets with the teams that he and his representatives have invited to speak with him. Lamoriello will meet with Tavares last in hopes of keeping the superstar in the fold.

As reported earlier, it is believed that he will meet with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars and possibly the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadiens, although that isn’t too clear so far. However, Staples writes that an earlier rumor today that the Islanders made an eight-year, $88MM deal may not be accurate. He believes in the end, whether offered by the Islanders or another team, that Tavares will be making $12MM per year, which Lamoriello has said that ownership has said that money is no object.

  • Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that the Carolina Hurricanes intend to keep defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who the team acquired in the five-player trade earlier today. The scribe said the team had no intention of flipping the blueliner for more assets. Hamilton should provide the team with a No. 1 defenseman to go with their core of young blueliners. The six-year veteran is only just 25 years old and put up 17 goals and 44 points last season.
  • Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Carolina Hurricanes were supposedly close on sending winger Victor Rask to the Montreal Canadiens, but the asking price of two second-round picks in this draft (including the No. 35 pick) was too much for the Canadiens. The 25-year-old winger still has four years at $4MM AAV and seems to have regressed somewhat since a 21 goal season back in 2015-16.
  • The New York Rangers had three first-round picks in this latest draft with much speculation wondering if general manager Jeff Gorton would use those picks as assets to either acquire a pro-ready player or even to move up in the draft. Instead, the Rangers used all three picks (albeit, they traded up late in the first-round). NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Gorton said he was never close to making a deal this weekend. Gorton said he was ready to change his draft strategy if he got a trade offer he liked, but never got one. “I would say there was probably less conversations than I anticipated,” Gorton said.

Morning Notes: Trotz, Predators, Saints

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The future is still cloudy for reigning Stanley Cup Champion head coach Barry Trotz, as no one has a clear read on where he will go next. Trotz resigned from the Washington Capitals after the two sides couldn’t agree on a salary increase, and now there is rampant speculation that he will join the New York Islanders under Lou Lamoriello. Nothing under Lamoriello though is ever certain until a press release is given out—and even those can be misleading at times—which is why Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) can’t say for sure what’s about to happen.

Staple writes that some of his sources around the league believe Trotz has already agreed to come on board with the Islanders for what would likely be a five-year deal worth around $25MM, but knows Lamoriello well enough to not report any guarantees. Staple writes that there was “stony silence” on Wednesday from everyone involved. The Islanders fired head coach Doug Weight quickly after Lamoriello took control of the hockey operations, and are one of only two (including Washington) vacancies around the league.

*Moments after posting this, both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the Islanders and Trotz were closing in on a deal.

  • The Nashville Predators have shuffled around some people in the organization, promoting Tom Nolan to Chief Amateur Scout in the wake of Jeff Kealty being bumped up from that position to Assistant General Manager. The team has also moved Stan Drulia from the coaching side of the Milwaukee Admirals to the scouting division within the Predators front office. All of these moves were caused by long-time AGM Paul Fenton accepting a role in Minnesota, allowing an opportunity to move everyone up a step on the executive ladder. Nolan has been credited with finding a ton of the Predators top players, with the team release naming Ryan Ellis, Kevin Fiala, Colton Sissons, Eeli Tolvanen, Viktor Arvidsson and Juuse Saros as players drafted as a direct result of his work. He’ll try again tomorrow night when the Predators will have to wait until the third round to make a selection.
  • The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL have been purchased by a group of former and current NHL players and coaches. Names like Johnny Gaudreau, Zemgus Girgensons, Dan Bylsma and Peter Luukko have surfaced from the sale, a move that several other former players have done in various junior leagues around the world. Gaudreau played one season for the Saints in 2010-11, scoring 72 points in 60 games and winning the league championship before heading to Boston College.

Snapshots: Trotz, Tavares, Salary Cap, Seattle

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As soon as Barry Trotz announced his resignation from the Washington Capitals, the vast majority of speculation pointed to him joining the Metropolitan Division-rival New York Islanders, now under the control of famed executive Lou Lamoriello. Recent events will only add fuel to that fire. Newsday’s Andrew Gross believes that Lamoriello prefers to have a coach named before the beginning of the NHL Draft in Dallas on Friday. While Gross notes that Lamoriello will not rush if time doesn’t permit him to fully consider his choice, it seems likely that Lamoriello knows who he wants and simply wants to finalize terms ahead of a major roster-building event. Yet there have been no reports of any candidates formally interviewing for the Islanders’ head coach vacancy, though several names have been brought up so far. However, who was spotted at an airport in Newark yesterday but Trotz. As expected, it seems Trotz is likely on his way in to New York to meet with Lamoriello and the Islanders and, if all goes well, Lamoriello will make the call prior to the draft.

  • Another important note for the pace of the Islanders’ head coach hiring is its impact on the John Tavares situation. With each day closer to the opening of free agency, the Isles lose control over their superstar player. If Lamoriello can land Trotz, one of the top coaches in the game, it could help to finalize an extension with Tavares. However, at this point it seems inevitable that Tavares will at least meet with interested teams. In fact, he and agent Pat Brisson have already whittled down the suitors. While no organizations have been specifically named, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that if Tavares entertains other offers, he will likely only meet with up to five other teams. This self-limited market could benefit the Islanders, but it could also indicate to each of the five teams that they have a legitimate chance of signing Tavares and could up the ante. Only time will tell as July 1st fast approaches.
  • As teams get ready to spend this summer, there is still some question as to what limit they will have. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly estimated earlier this month that the salary cap ceiling for 2018-19 would rise to somewhere between $78-82MM from its current $75MM. This would present quite a jump, but still leaves teams with a $4MM window of possibility. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston states that clarification is coming soon. He expects an official announcement in the next day or two, likely prior to the start of the draft on Friday. Johnston estimates a narrower range of possibility, speculating that the cap limit will be somewhere on the lower end to midpoint of the original projection, between $79-80MM.
  • Looking further ahead, Don Muret of the Oak View Group relayed information today from recently named CEO and President of the Seattle expansion team Tod Leiweke. Leiweke, the younger brother of Oak View CEO and part owner in the venture Tim Leiweke, has clarified the timeline of the expansion process somewhat over the next year or so. Leiweke stated that both the NHL Board of Governors and the city of Seattle will have their final vote in early September. Assuming the team is moving forward, they will break ground on a new stadium in October. Leiweke expects that construction will be a two-year project, likely meaning that Seattle’s inaugural season will be 2020-21. Regardless, Leiweke and company expect to reveal a name for the future team in the first quarter of 2019. This process is moving a bit slower than it did with the Vegas Golden Knights, but still seems to be full steam ahead.

Toronto Notes: Keefe, Dubas, Draft, Greening

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While winning a Calder Cup championship historically bodes well for that AHL head coach, so far it doesn’t look like it will help Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe with getting an NHL gig.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that no NHL team has requested permission from the Maple Leafs to speak with Keefe. The 37-year-old highly-touted coach was on many teams list earlier this offseason when there were many coaching lists. He was rumored to have been on the candidate list for job openings in Dallas and the New York Rangers. However, most of the NHL coaching vacancies were already filled before his team finished their playoff run.

Now there are only two current NHL head coaching positions remaining and the Washington Capitals are technically already set as the team is expected to either re-sign Barry Trotz, who is a free agent, or promote assistant coach Todd Reirden. That leaves the New York Islanders, which seems like a good fit with former Maple Leafs Lou Lamoriello now in charge in New York. However, Lamoriello is well-known for keeping things to himself.

Keefe posted a 150-63-15 record in three seasons with the Toronto Marlies with two all-star appearances and two 54-win seasons in that span. Nine NHL coaches currently sport AHL titles, so it’s likely Keefe will get that opportunity at some point, but whether it will be this year might be another question.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said the team has made no definitive decisions on their unrestricted free agents, which include James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov amongst others, according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. The scribe reports that Dubas is still in touch with their agents, but speculates that it sounds like nothing is in the works. Dubas also said that he expects that the success of the Marlies will have an effect on their outlook on free agency as many of those players will be in the mix for next year’s Maple Leafs’ roster.
  • While the perception is that Dubas has a draft history of trading down, the GM said he is more than willing to consider moving up in this draft, especially with all the assets the team has, according to The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel. “I think if there is an opportunity for us to add players that can help our team, we have the capital in draft choices to be able to do so,” Dubas said.
  • TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that Colin Greening has chosen to re-sign with the Toronto Marlies as he has signed a one-year deal with the AHL franchise. The alternate captain of the Calder Cup champions opted to return to the team after posting 16 goals this season as a veteran presence for the team. After playing in 286 NHL games throughout his career, he has accepted his role as a veteran leader for the minor league franchise. He played a critical role in the Marlies’ playoff run, putting up four goals and nine points.

Capitals Have Not Made Contract Offer To Barry Trotz

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The Washington Capitals, defending Stanley Cup champions, would like to bring back the man who led them to the promised land, head coach Barry Trotz. Trotz was in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent along with the players when the new league year begins. It is common sense for Washington to want him back, but has nonetheless been reported by several sources as well. Yet, the Caps have a funny way of showing their loyalty to Trotz; Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that the team has yet to extend a contract offer to their coach.

Trotz, 55, has long been expected to be a free agent this summer. Despite a immensely successful career by a wins standard, Trotz had often been criticized for not being able to get the job done in the postseason. That excuse is out the door now, after the Capitals secured their first Cup title in franchise history last week. As a result, rumors of Trotz’ free agency were also supposed to be thrown away. It seemed like a sure thing that GM Brian MacLellan and the Caps would want to retain his services. However, an offer has yet to be made and Shannon adds that the two sides do not have any meetings schedule to negotiate an extension.

This could simply be the pre-occupied champions dragging their feet or focusing all of their attention to catching up on draft and free agency preparations. Of course, it could be something else entirely. It’s possible that Trotz, now a championship coach, is intrigued with the possibility of other positions. Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders are known to be eyeing Trotz for their current vacancy, while it has also been rumored that at least one team with a head coach has considered hiring Trotz regardless if he was to become available. Trotz has reportedly had some preliminary contract talks with the Capitals already and it could be that the recent title and his improved free agent status has raised the price tag beyond what Washington is comfortable paying. This very real possibility is only supported further by the idea that the team had been grooming assistant Todd Reirden to take over. Anticipating the expiration of Trotz’ contract and, after years of letdowns, not expecting their miraculous Stanley Cup run, the Capitals were reportedly comfortable with handing the job off to Reirden. Of course, the situation has changed greatly, but if the price is too high to retain Trotz, Washington would not panic, but could simply stick with their original plan.

The odds still favor an extension for Trotz. He is fresh off of a title with the Capitals, knows and trusts his players and staff, and understands that his best chance at another Cup is likely to stay in Washington. However, Shannon’s report that – with days remaining on his contract – Trotz does not have an extension offer nor any scheduled meetings to discuss a new deal, raises questions. The lure of more money and a new challenge could be enticing Trotz and his asking price could be scaring off the Capitals. Only time will tell, but suddenly the idea of one of the winningest coaches in NHL history hitting the free agent market is back in the realm of possibility.

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