Raman Hrabarenka Signs In KHL
Former New Jersey Devils prospect Raman Hrabarenka has become the latest player to put his NHL dreams on hold and head overseas. The 24-year-old defenseman signed on with Dynamo Minsk of the KHL today, affording him the opportunity to play in the capital city of his home country of Belarus.
An undrafted free agent in 2012, Hrabarenka went unnoticed by NHL teams looking for defensive depth and ended up signing a minor league deal with the AHL’s Albany Devils. His apparent transparency was not unfounded; Hrabarenka played just two seasons of major junior hockey and didn’t begin to pick up his play until the second half of year two. Hrabarenka joined the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles for the 2010-11 season, but by the midway point of the 2011-12 league year, he had contributed just 15 points in 80 games. At about 6’3″, 220 lbs., Hrabarenka is more of a physical, stay-at-home defenseman, but in a league fueled by offense like the QMJHL, players with little offensive upside don’t last long. The Eagles traded Hrabarenka to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, only to watch him hit his stride after a change of scenery. Hrabarenka recorded 14 points, and also played the best defensive hockey of his junior career, in 27 games with Drummondville. The Albany Devils must have noticed the improvement, as they were able to snag the big man in free agency that spring.
Able to settle into a more comfortable role as a shutdown defender in the AHL, Hrabarenka impressed many in his first pro season. Although he had just five points, he was a plus player that occasionally showed flashes of puck-moving ability. Not wanting another team to steal him away from their affiliate, the New Jersey Devils signed Hrabarenka to his first NHL deal in the summer of 2013, a three-year two-way deal worth $2.78MM. Hrabarenka looked like a strong investment over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, with his points jumping up to 21 and 27 respectively and his defensive reliability remaining consistent. He even made his NHL debut in a late-season game in 2015. However, Hrabarenka was unable to win a spot in camp last season and over the course of the AHL season regressed back into a one-dimensional checking defenseman. Unable to find a guaranteed contract this summer, Hrabarenka joined the Toronto Maple Leafs on a professional tryout agreement, but was one of the final cuts from camp just days before the start of the new season.
Disappointed with the lack of interest in North America, Hrabarenka is now headed home to Belarus. Much like the QMJHL, the KHL is an offense-driven league that is often hard on defensive defenseman. If Hrabarenka is able to maintain his physical dominance and defensive instincts against the speed and skill in that league, especially the division rival SKA St. Petersberg squad, he’ll be on NHL radars next summer and may get the opportunity to pursue the dream yet again.
Leafs Trade Peter Holland To Arizona
3:10pm: Sarah McLellan of AZ Central Sports reports via Twitter that the Coyotes will send a sixth-round choice to Toronto should the team re-sign Holland or trade the six-year veteran pivot. Essentially this serves as a four month tryout with Holland given the chance to prove to Coyotes management he can be a useful contributor at the NHL level. Should the team decide to go in a different direction and assuming they are unable to move trade him, the Coyotes apparently will be out nothing but a minimal prorated payroll commitment, an amount around $800K.
1:27pm: The Maple Leafs have cleared up their situation with Peter Holland as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they are dealing him to Arizona in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Craig Morgan of AZ Sports confirmed (Twitter link) the trade with Coyotes GM John Chayka although the draft pick details are still unknown.
Holland has been away from the team since being told to stay home from Toronto’s road trip in late November. He has played in just eight games so far this season, recording one assist while averaging 10:43 per game.
The 25 year old has been on the outs with the Leafs dating back to the offseason, where they placed him on waivers in advance of his salary arbitration hearing. He wound up clearing and settled shortly thereafter on a one year, $1.3MM contract. He will be a restricted free agent once again this offseason.
Holland was a first round pick of the Ducks (15th overall) back in 2009 but never really made a mark in Anaheim, playing in just 29 games over two seasons with the team before being dealt to Toronto. In his career, he has played in 203 NHL games between Anaheim and the Maple Leafs, scoring 30 goals while adding 40 assists.
Holland should fill a bottom six role with the Coyotes and will likely take the place of Brad Richardson, who is out long-term with a broken tibia and fibula in his leg.
[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]
Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Pacioretty, Panthers
Although Toronto’s play on the ice has been an improvement over last season, it hasn’t resulted in any sort of improvement when it comes to the standings. They sit in last place in the Eastern Conference and as a result, some are beginning to wonder if the Leafs should think of themselves as sellers this season. As GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters, including Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, it’s too early to tell which way the team will be leaning on the trade market:
“To think about that, it’s too far away to even have in your mindset. That’s a far-fetched thing at this point. Right now, we’re building. Determining who the players are that will be part of the future, and who are buying into what it takes to have the success you want to have.”
The Leafs are set to enter a tough stretch where they will play five games in eight nights which could potentially influence their direction. A few victories will keep them close to the final Wild Card spot – they’re currently eight points out of that position currently – but if they lose most of their games, the gap could become too big to close. Needless to say, this next week could go a long way towards influencing the remainder of their season.
Other notes from the Atlantic:
- Canadiens left winger Max Pacioretty played through most of November with a fracture in his foot, he told Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Pacioretty, who has scored 30 or more goals in each of the last three seasons, had just three tallies last month and struggled considerably. He added that the fracture is now completely healed which should come as great news to Montreal, who have been hit hard by the injury bug lately with centres Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais as well as defensemen Greg Pateryn all out until late January at the earliest.
- The removal of Gerard Gallant as Florida’s head coach has yet to pay off as the team has lost four straight games. As Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes, there is a small silver lining in that last year’s Panthers team was only two points ahead of where this edition is through 28 games and that squad went on to win the division. Interim coach Tom Rowe admitted they’re using last year’s success as a motivator to try to get the team out of its funk but so far, that has yet to come to fruition. They won’t be getting help from the infirmary soon either as left winger Jonathan Huberdeau remains several weeks away from returning from his Achilles injury.
Minor Moves: Witkowski, Kulak, Wotherspoon
Thursday night in the NHL and there are 10 games on the docket tonight. With so many teams playing, there are sure to be a handful of minor moves to fill out rosters and cover injuries. We’ll keep you up to date right here.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a solid 14-11-2 start to the season, but have been struggling lately, losing five of their last six games. With three days off to regroup since their game on Sunday, the team has called up Luke Witkowski to give them a bit of a defensive boost. The Syracuse Crunch captain, Witkowski has played six games for the Lightning this year and offers a big physical presence on the back end. The 26-year old was a sixth-round pick of the Lightning back in 2008 and was a standout at Western Michigan University before joining the Crunch.
- Going in the opposite direction, the Calgary Flames are on a four-game winning streak but will make a move to give some more icetime to a young player. Brett Kulak has been sent down to the AHL to play more, as he’d sat out the last five games. Kulak is a 22-year old defender that the Flames think can be an NHL player for a long time, and they’d like him to develop just a bit more before installing him on their blueline. To replace him, the team has called up Tyler Wotherspoon from the Stockton Heat. A former second-round pick, Wotherspoon is a bit more polished and can offer a more physical game. Though Wotherspoon only has 26 NHL games under his belt, this will be his fourth season spending time with the Flames. No word on whether he’ll get into the lineup right away, or just take Kulak’s spot in the press box.
- The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Andrey Pedan from the AHL. Pedan has played 18 games for the Utica Comets this season, scoring just three points while racking up thirty penalty minutes. The former third-round pick played thirteen games for the Canucks last season, but hasn’t been able to crack the NHL lineup this year.
- After not playing in last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Teemu Pulkkinen has been sent down to the AHL. Just like his entire career to this point, Pulkkinen has been an outstanding scoring threat at the lower level but is unable to replicate it in the NHL. With 15 points in 16 games for the Iowa Wild, but just a single goal in 8 contests for Minnesota, the enigma persists.
- Brad Hunt, the AHL’s leading scorer, has been recalled by the St. Louis Blues. Amazingly, the defenseman has 29 points in 23 games playing for the Chicago Wolves. Always a big point producer at the lower level, Hunt has suited up in 21 NHL contests over the years.
Toronto Wins Jared Cowen Arbitration Case
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won their arbitration case with defenseman Jared Cowen, according to multiple hockey insiders including Elliotte Friedman and Bob McKenzie.
Cowen will remain an unrestricted free agent, as Toronto’s buyout of his contract was deemed legal. Back in January, Frank Seravalli of TSN reported that a buyout of Cowen’s contract would give a team a $650K cap credit for 2016-17, and count for $750K against the cap in 2017-18.
Shortly thereafter, the Maple Leafs acquired Cowen in the Dion Phaneuf trade. Cowen did not play a single game for Toronto as GM Lou Lamorellio sent him home to home await a buyout in March; Cowen’s agent was given permission to speak with other teams about signing as a UFA. Cowen was sent home because the CBA stipulates that an injured player cannot be bought out, so the Maple Leafs did not want to risk him re-injuring his hip and being unable to be bought out. However, Cowen and his agent grieved the eventual buyout for that exact reason: they believed he was hurt and therefore ineligible to be bought out.
The two sides met with the arbitrator on October 19, and ultimately the arbitrator ruled that there was no evidence that Cowen was unfit to play when the Maple Leafs bought him out in July.
Prior to this decision, Cowen was a free agent in the eyes of the NHL. He remains free to sign with any team, and the Maple Leafs remain at 48 contracts with the cap credit for this season.
Friedman’s Latest: Cap, Islanders, Purcell, Cowen
In the latest edition of his wonderful 30 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman touched on a wide variety of topics of interest to hockey fans, including where the salary cap is expected to land for the 2017-18 season.
- At this month’s GM meetings, managers are expecting to receive a preliminary number for the salary cap. Friedman reported that a couple GMs are “hoping for $75MM.”
That would be an increase of $2MM over the current $73MM ceiling. Last summer, the cap went up by just $1.6MM, which was a smaller increase than what most teams were expecting, and also one of the smaller increases in cap history. The cap has risen by more than $3MM six times since it was implemented in 2005-06. - After discussing the New York Islanders management situation, Friedman joked that “one day I’m going to ply GM Garth Snow with enough truth serum to find out how hard he planned to go after Steven Stamkos, what he was going to offer, and how that affected his July 1, 2016 decisions.”
The off-season did not go as planned for the Islanders, who lost Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to free agency and replaced them with Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera. Ladd has just three goals and six points this season, and is signed for seven years. He’s a prominent member of Pro Hockey Rumors’ 2016 UFA All-Bust Team. - As we speculated when he was placed on waivers, the Los Angeles Kings had tried to trade Teddy Purcell before placing him on waivers. However, they were not willing to take a contract back, as we suggested most teams would offer. Friedman suggested Ottawa could have interest, as Purcell previously played for Senators head coach Guy Boucher when the pair were in Tampa Bay, but it doesn’t work at the moment for budget reasons. Friedman says he “wouldn’t be surprised if someone takes a chance” later in the season
- Finally, with Jared Cowen‘s arbitration result due to come later today, Friedman pointed out that a Cowen win would “wreak havoc” on next year’s cap for the Maple Leafs because of rookie bonus overages. Currently Cowen’s buyout is a $650K cap credit for Toronto, but that could change to a $3.1MM cap hit depending on whether or not the arbitrator deems Cowen was healthy enough to buy-out in the summer (numbers via Cap Friendly).
Jhonas Enroth Clears Waivers, Toronto Signs Karri Ramo To AHL Tryout
December 6: Enroth has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). He will be sent down to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies; Antoine Bibeau has been recalled to take his place.
Unrestricted free agent goalie Karri Ramo, who has been skating with the Leafs over the last month as he recovers from ACL surgery, has inked a tryout deal with the Marlies, TSN’s Kristen Shilton adds (via Twitter). This will only further fuel the speculation that Ramo’s eventual destination will be with the Maple Leafs as the new backup to Frederik Andersen once he’s back in playing shape.
December 5: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Jhonas Enroth on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Enroth has not won this year, with an 0-3-1 record in four starts and two relief appearances. He was expected to be a dependable backup who could play 20 games with good numbers. He’s signed for this season at $750K.
Enroth’s career numbers before this season were respectable for a backup, with a 0.911 SV% and a 2.80 GAA in seven years in the NHL. In his six appearances this season, he has a 0.872 SV% and goals-against average of just under four.
Coach Mike Babcock said Enroth “wasn’t playing well enough,” according to Mark Masters.
James Mirtle, Editor-in-chief of The Athletic Toronto, tweeted that the Maple Leafs only gave Enroth four starts, which Mirtle called “rough.” He expects the Leafs to go after Karri Ramo, who practiced with the team last month. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported Ramo is nearing medical clearance from his knee injury. Ramo’s career numbers in his current NHL stint are extremely similar to Enroth’s: they have the same SV% and a nearly identical GAAs.
In our ranking of the Top 50 UFAs last summer, Pro Hockey Rumors ranked Enroth 50th. We called him one of the best backup goalies in the NHL. Enroth signed with the Maple Leafs in late August.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Yzerman, Beleskey, Bjugstad, Bibeau
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the 2016-17 campaign as a popular pick to emerge from the Eastern Conference to compete for the Stanley Cup championship. While it’s still relatively early, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is concerned with the team’s inconsistent play, though as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes, that concern is tempered by calm.
Entering tonight’s home contest against Washington, the Lightning boast a record of just 13 – 11 – 1 through their first 25 games and currently reside in fourth place in the Atlantic, seven points behind first place Montreal. If the postseason was to start today, Tampa would be on the outside looking in, one point behind the Capitals for the final wild card spot though Washington has played three fewer games. Despite their standing and the fact the team has lost four in a row, Yzerman is not interested in making a move simply to “shake things up.”
“If there’s an opportunity to make us a better team, I’m certainly willing to explore it. But I like our team. I like the character of our players. We’re very careful of the type of person we bring in and which players we move out. That isn’t going to change.”
The trouble of late, according to Yzerman, has been the team’s lackluster play in their own zone. As Smith notes, Tampa Bay has given up 19 goals over the last four games; a figure which could have been higher if not for the quality play of the team’s net minders.
It’s easy to understand Yzerman’s hesitation to try to solve the team’s problems via the trade market. At this point so few teams have the available salary cap space necessary to make more than minor deals.
If they do decide a deal is in order either at or near the trade deadline, the Lightning do have an appealing asset to market in goaltender Ben Bishop. Bishop, who has been a Vezina Trophy finalist twice in the last three seasons, is in the final year of his contract. With Andrei Vasilevskiy inking a three-year contract extension over the summer and presumably the team’s future starter, the Lightning could move Bishop to address other areas of need.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Matt Beleskey of the Boston Bruins was knocked out of this afternoon’s game against Buffalo after absorbing a heavy hit from Sabres blue liner Taylor Fedun, writes Joe Haggerty of CSNNE. Beleskey suffered the lower-body injury late in the first period and his return was ruled out by the team soon thereafter. The gritty forward was a big-ticket free agent signing in the summer of 2015, inking a five-year, $19MM pact with Boston. This season he has struggled, scoring just two goals in 23 games for the Bruins.
- Struggling to find their way on the ice and having already relieved head coach Gerard Gallant of his duties, the Florida Panthers, under new bench boss Tom Rowe continue to tinker with the lineup in an effort to find some consistency. With Nick Bjugstad returning recently from injury, the team tried lining him up on the right side, instead of at his customary pivot position, to try to ease him back into the lineup. But after five games – and zero points for the 6-foot-6 center – Bjugstad is moving back to the middle, where Rowe feels he will be “more comfortable,” as Harvey Fialkov writes. Currently two points behind Washington for the second wild card slot in the East, Florida needs to improve their play if they want to qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive campaign and a return to normal production from Bjugstad would be a big help in that regard.
- Finally, with starting net minder Frederik Andersen battling an undisclosed illness and unable to practice yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Antoine Bibeau from the AHL on an emergency basis, according to Mike Augello (Twitter link). Elliotte Friedman adds that while Andersen is still expected to play, the team wanted certainty just in case, and with the Leafs in Vancouver to play the Canucks tonight, Toronto acted early as a precaution. Bibeau has yet to make his NHL debut and it appears unlikely he will do so tonight. While he has no big league experience, the 22-year-old goalie has appeared in 87 contests over the last three seasons with the Marlies.
Forbes’ 2016-17 NHL Team Valuations
If you’re looking to buy an NHL franchise, here is your market value. For those who do not know of the world-famous company, Forbes is a leading American business magazine, named for its editor-in-chief, Steve Forbes. The company focuses on financial and business stories in a multitude of industries, including technology, sciences, art, law and, of course, the professional sports industry. Each year, Forbes runs a valuation of sports franchises around the globe, from NFL football in the United States to UEFA “football” in Europe. Today, Forbes released its valuations and rankings of all thirty current NHL teams – with the Vegas Golden Knights not quite ready to be analyzed just yet.
Unsurprisingly, the most successful team in North America’s biggest city reigns supreme over the rest of the league. With deep playoff runs in back-to-back years and a hot start to 2016-17, the New York Rangers are considered to be the NHL’s most valuable franchise with a $1.25B valuation. The Rangers top the chart for the second year in a row, after being denied the top spot for more than a decade prior, and see a 4% bump in their value from last year. Success coupled with some heavy renovations to Madison Square Garden and nearly a nightly sellout rate brings New York the big bucks, as they took in about $219MM in revenue last year, $17MM more than the next in line.
Second and third overall are Original Six Canadian power houses: the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. Both hold on to their respective places from last year. However, the Maple Leafs held the top spot for an astonishing ten-year stretch from 2005 to 2014, before being bumped down to #3 last year. Having made the playoffs just once in the last decade, as well as seeing a 13-year sellout streak snapped in 2014-15, there is no doubt that the team has lost some value. A $1.1B valuation for a team that has struggled as much as Toronto has is not too shabby though, and is a testament to the city and its fans. Meanwhile, Montreal joins the Rangers as the only team to bring in over $200MM in revenue in 2015-16. The annual leader in attendance among the seven Canadian NHL teams, Montreal is a titan of industry in Canadian pro sports with a $1.12B valuation. Although both the Canadiens and Maple Leafs lost value this past year (5% and 4% respectively), this is most likely due to the weakness of the Canadian dollar. Both teams continue to excel fiscally, worth much more than any other Canadian NHL team or the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors, or likely the entire Canadian Football League combined.
Dougie Hamilton Rumors “Completely False”
In what almost seemed like a coordinated attack, the Calgary Flames front office took the national spotlight caused by hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight to explain that Dougie Hamilton is firmly not on the trade block.
When speaking to media prior to the morning skate, GM Brad Treliving said (via Pat Steinberg) the rumors are “completely false”. Brian Burke, team president, was on Leafs Lunch in Toronto to tell the world that the price for Hamilton is “20 first round picks”. He gave some other choice quotes (via Mike Augello):
As soon as one of the teams that’s in the mix for the leaks is the Maple Leafs, it’s an army of leakers. An army of people that have no god damn idea of what they’re talking about.
He’s 6’5″, he weighs 237 lbs, he’s a right shot, skates like a deer. Yeah. Let’s move him.
Burke believes it all stems from one team who made an “insulting” offer for Hamilton and that he’s almost to the point where he’d name the team publicly. It seems clear that the team is not looking to deal the young defender, however as Mark Spector of Sportsnet points out, teams are still sending their scouts to watch him play.
This would all back up what Darren Dreger said yesterday, that there had been some interest but the team had never had substantial conversations with the Maple Leafs or anyone else about Hamilton. It seems as though the struggling young blueliner will have to find his game in Calgary, because he’s not headed anywhere anytime soon.