Snapshots: St. Louis, Barrie, Marner
Sixteen years ago today was one to remember for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as on July 31st, 2000 they signed Martin St. Louis after he’d been released by the Calgary Flames. One of the biggest little-men in NHL history, the 5’8″ St. Louis would go on to score 953 points for the Lightning, and helped lead them to their first and only Stanley Cup championship in 2004. Their all-time leading scorer, and a two-time Olympian, St. Louis finished his career with the New York Rangers and is currently #71 on the all-time points list. He’s got a good case for a hall-of-fame induction eventually, and it’s all because Tampa Bay gave the diminutive forward a second-chance in the NHL.
- The only player to have reached salary arbitration this year, Tyson Barrie had his hearing on Friday to determine his cost for the upcoming season. The arbitrator had 48 hours to make her decision, and that window will come to an end at 1:30pm today central time. We profiled Barrie’s case last week, and showed how well he compares to some of the elite offensive defensemen in the league. Now, with only a few hours left (as of this writing) to negotiate a deal, it’s coming down to the wire for the two sides to reconcile their perceived differences.
- Mitch Marner, the sometimes-forgotten uber-prospect in the Maple Leafs system is in an interesting situation this season; the 19-year old is too young for the AHL, and must either crack the NHL roster or go back to junior to play for the OHL’s London Knights. When asked about his possible play at this year’s World Junior Championship, Marner intimated that he’s doing everything he can to stay in the NHL. “It’s not up to me. If I am in the OHL, then I am going to play and look forward to it.” Fellow top-prospect Dylan Strome was much less reserved about his hopes for next year when he was asked the same thing by Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: “I feel like I’m done with junior, and don’t want to be there next year, but if Arizona thinks it’s best for me, I don’t have a choice.” Strome and Marner were picked third and fourth overall in the 2015 draft, following Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, who have both already made an impact at the NHL level.
Maple Leafs Re-Sign Martin Marincin
The Maple Leafs announced that they have agreed to terms with on a two year contract with their last remaining restricted free agent, defenseman Martin Marincin. The deal will pay him $1.2MM in 2016-17 and $1.3MM in 2017-18 for a cap hit of $1.25MM. Marincin was scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing on August 2nd.
Marincin joined Toronto last offseason in a draft day trade with the Oilers. In 2015-16, he suited up in a career high 65 games for the Leafs, picking up a goal and six assists. He also logged 16:46 per game, a career low after averaging nearly 19 minutes a night in two partial seasons with Edmonton. In his career, the 24 year old has played in 150 total NHL games between the Maple Leafs and Oilers, recording two goals and 16 assists while averaging 17:59 per game.
Toronto now has nine defensemen on one-way contracts for next season, including Jared Cowen whose attempted buyout is now heading for arbitration as well as Stephane Robidas who missed all of last season due to injury.
[Related: Updated Maple Leafs Depth Chart]
With all of their arbitration-bound players now signed, the Leafs will have a 48 hour buyout window that will open up on Monday.
With the signing, Toronto has just $435K in cap space according to Cap Friendly. This amount does not factor in any potential LTIR savings, such as Nathan Horton and his $5.3MM cap hit. GM Lou Lamoriello will now likely turn his focus to securing a veteran backup goaltender for newly-acquired Frederik Andersen. The team was linked to Jhonas Enroth over the weekend but a deal has yet to be finalized.
The Latest In The Jimmy Vesey Saga
The story of highly-sought-after pending UFA Jimmy Vesey has taken a few twists and turns in the last few months: Vesey allegedly told the Predators he would sign with them, then didn’t and denied ever saying he would. He was traded to Buffalo, where he would have the chance to play with good friend Jack Eichel. Despite the opportunity in Buffalo, Vesey has remained firm about getting to free agency on August 15.
It’s believed the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Sabres are among the frontrunners to land Vesey; he played in Harvard, his dad and brother are currently in Toronto as a scout and draft pick respectively, and the Sabres have his friend Eichel and paid a third round pick to acquire him. However, Vesey’s agent Peter Donatelli told Powers his camp won’t “pigeonhole” themselves by making a decision before speaking to teams. Now it appears that a new team has entered the sweepstakes: the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks.
Donatelli told The Athletic’s Scott Powers that Chicago “will be a team we want to talk to on August 15”.
On the surface, there appears to be a great fit with Chicago on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. The pairing played with several different players last season after Brandon Saad was traded to Columbus last summer. The Blackhawks can offer him a big chance to play with two of the best players in the game and a chance to win now, whereas the other teams believed to be on the list are all in various states of rebuilding or re-tooling. Vesey would also give the Blackhawks a cheap young talent to help offset the recent losses of Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw.
With the power squarely in Vesey’s hands to choose his destination, Donatelli said it will be up to each team to sell their program to Vesey.
Atlantic Notes: Kane, Ceci, Leafs
After turning himself in for arrest on July 22nd, Evander Kane was charged with four counts of non-criminal harassment and one count of criminal trespass which, according to Kane’s attorney Paul Cambria, he plans to plead not guilty to. Now, police documents acquired by WKBW Buffalo show (via Deadspin) sworn statements from multiple women and the bouncer at the club which the incident occurred.
“He grabbed my hair. He pulled it so hard he pulled my whole head. It hurt a lot.” claims one of the women, who also says Kane tried to force her to kiss his hand. Another woman claims that this is “how he always treats women. Aggressive and disrespectful.”
Immediately after news of the incident broke, trade speculation surrounding the former fourth-overall pick heated up, with many believing that his hometown of Vancouver would be a natural destination as they look to rebuild their club. Canucks’ beat writer Jason Botchford (The Province) fanned the flames today when he told TSN 1040 “there is no doubt about it. The Vancouver Canucks are going to be in on Evander Kane. Ownership loves Kane. Jim Benning really likes Kane. Trevor (Linden) is maybe a little ambivalent, but he can be won over.” Kane has two seasons remaining at $5.25MM, and scored just 35 points last season.
- The Ottawa Senators addressed one problem today when they re-signed RFA Mike Hoffman to a four-year deal, and will now turn their attention to defenseman Cody Ceci. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports what many have thought, that Ceci is amiably working towards a deal with the Sens and will work something out before camp starts. Garrioch goes on to report that the sides are working on a two-year deal at the moment, though obviously anything can change before ink goes to paper. Ceci scored a career-high 10 goals last season and is a big part of the Senators’ top four.
- Martin Marincin represents the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last remaining arbitration case after re-signing Peter Holland and Frankie Corrado on Monday. While Marincin offers some intrigue to Leaf fans because of his improved play last year as Morgan Rielly‘s partner, there is more to his signing than meets the eye. Three days after Marincin signs (or has the arbitration dispute resolved at his August 2nd hearing), the Leafs will be awarded a second buyout window which they could use to free up some more cap space. With Jared Cowen having filed a grievance over the attempted buyout from the first window (he maintains that he’s still rehabbing an injury sustained during the season, which would make him exempt from any buyout), the team may be waiting until it’s resolved in order to use the second buyout to terminate his contract. Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Brooks Laich all remain as other possible options for the second buyout window, should the Maple Leafs choose to use it.
Maple Leafs Sign Trevor Moore To ELC
According to a team release, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed NCAA prospect Trevor Moore to a three-year entry-level contract. Moore played last season at the University of Denver, where he scored 11 goals and 44 points in just 40 games.
Moore had been skating at the Maple Leafs development camp earlier this month and must have impressed the coaching staff enough to deserve this deal. He went undrafted before heading to college in 2013, but immediately made his mark by leading the Pioneers in scoring as a freshman. In 121 games at the UofD, Moore scored 120 points, and led the team to the semi-finals in the most recent Frozen Four.
Moore will add another body to the Maple Leafs stocked prospect cupboard, joining the likes of Kerby Rychel, Andreas Johnson and Tobias Lindberg on the left side. He’ll surely be headed for the AHL Marlies to season his game somewhat before getting a chance at the NHL level.
Breaking Down Team Roster Crunches
In mid-summer, exact roster sizes and cap figures are rarely exactly what they’ll be on opening night. Cuts will be made in training camp, and some teams will still have trades to make. Here’s a run down of some teams that have tough decisions to make.
Team roster sizes are per GeneralFanger:
- Arizona Coyotes (12F, 8D, 2G): Rebuilding team are a trend in oversized roster, as they look to acquire what amount to lottery tickets, with last-chance veterans and any prospect they can get their hands on being invited to show their worth. The current Arizona roster is missing three restricted free agents, Tobias Rieder, Michael Stone, and Connor Murphy, and doesn’t take into account the number of strong prospects the Coyotes may be looking to graduate this year, like Christian Dvorak. The Coyotes will mostly be looking to create space on their backend, and if you consider the recently signed defensemen, or those who’ve played regularly in the NHL for years, to be relative locks, that should leave Murphy, Kevin Connauton, Jarred Tinordi, Jamie McBain, and Klas Dahlbeck fighting for the final couple of spots.
- Detroit Red Wings (18F, 5D, 1G): Once the Red Wings re-sign restricted free agents Danny DeKeyser and Petr Mrazek, they’ll be more or less set outside of the forward group. After that, they’ll have to cut five forwards. Joe Vitale missed almost all of last season, and will likely spend the year on long-term injured reserve, but it gets competitive after that. While it’s impossible to assume the recently signed Steve Ott is a lock for a spot, given how much he played last year, it still looks likely that younger players like Andreas Athanasiou, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Anthony Mantha will have to earn their spots in the lineup, rather than be given them for pre-designed holes.
- Toronto Maple Leafs (14F, 6D, 1G): The Maple Leafs are only at 21 players on the roster, but that number doesn’t count the still unsigned RFA defenseman Martin Marincin, top prospect Mitch Marner, a backup goalie, the recently acquired Kerby Rychel, who wanted out of Columbus due to a lack of opportunity, or players like Nikita Soshnikov, Brendan Leipsic, Josh Leivo, Connor Brown, Rinat Valiev, Zach Hyman, and Connor Carrick, who became contributors in the NHL down the stretch last year, and who many observers assume to be significant parts of Toronto’s future. Unable to carry 31 players on a roster, the Leafs are going to have to make some decisions at camp over which players are forcing their way onto the roster, and which veterans they’re willing to humble with a demotion. The number counts Joffrey Lupul, who GM Lou Lamoriello has said he’s unsure of the future of, and Tobias Lindberg, who it’s hard to imagine playing over several of the aforementioned players. Still, given the sheer quantity of players, this may be the last chance for players like Leivo, Peter Holland, and Byron Froese to demand their long-term roles with the team.
- Winnipeg Jets (17F, 7D, 2G): The Jets’ situation is difficult because they’ve had a pretty good group of skaters stuck in place for a few years, and also have one of the NHL’s best prospect pools. It’s hard to imagine them not using second overall pick Patrick Laine right away, and so with a 26-man roster, and Jacob Trouba still to sign, there are going to be some younger players who feel ready for their shot, and end up disappointed, and even a guy like Quinton Howden, who came to a new organization after a similar glut of talented young players forced him out of Florida, may not be able to lock down a spot. This number doesn’t even count a lot of the Jets best prospects, like Kyle Connor, Nic Petan, or Josh Morrissey, so even veterans on one-way deals, like Brian Strait and Anthony Peluso, should be looking over their shoulders.
Toronto Re-Signs Frank Corrado
The Maple Leafs announced that they have avoided arbitration with restricted free agent defenseman Frank Corrado and have signed him to a one year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports it’s a one-way deal worth $600K. It’s the second time today that they have reached a settlement before arbitration after agreeing to terms on a one year, $1.3MM deal with Peter Holland earlier in the day.
Corrado joined Toronto in early October of last season after they claimed him off of waivers from Vancouver. He seldom played in the early going and was a healthy scratch most nights but worked his way into the lineup towards the back half of the season. Overall, he wound up playing in 39 games for the Leafs, picking up a goal and five assists while averaging 14:27 per game. Corrado also played in seven games with the AHL Marlies on a conditioning stint, recording three assists.
The 23 year old blueliner was originally a fifth round pick of the Canucks (150th overall) in 2011. He made a name for himself early on in his career, playing for Vancouver as a 19 year old in their first round playoff exit. However, he never really gained much traction after that and spent the bulk of the next two seasons in the minor leagues. Overall, he has suited up in 67 career NHL games between the Canucks and Maple Leafs, scoring three goals while adding five assists.
Toronto still has one arbitration-bound player to deal with in fellow defenseman Martin Marincin. His hearing isn’t until Tuesday, August 2nd. The Leafs now have eight blueliners on one-way contracts for next season (soon to be nine with Marincin). Included among those are Stephane Robidas and Jared Cowen, whose health statuses are in the air.
[Related: Toronto’s Depth Chart]
Leafs Re-Sign Peter Holland
The Maple Leafs and center Peter Holland have agreed on a one year, $1.3MM contract according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. As a result, the sides avoid salary arbitration. In their arbitration filings on Saturday, Toronto had submitted a one year offer for $900K while Holland had countered with $2.1MM.
In what looked to be a move to boost their leverage with the arbitrator, the Leafs ran Holland through waivers with him clearing on Saturday. It’s safe to suggest the move helped as the settlement comes in a couple hundred thousand shy of the filing midpoints.
Last season, Holland posted a career high in points with 27 (nine goals and 18 assists, the latter also being a career best). He logged 14:40 of ice time per game, primarily in a third line role.
The former first round pick of the Ducks (15th overall in 2009), the 25 year old Holland has played in 195 career NHL games between Toronto in Anaheim. He has 30 goals and 39 assists in those contests.
It’s likely that Holland will once again be battling for bottom six ice time in 2016-17 and he may have to shift to the wing as he currently sits behind incumbents Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak as well as top pick Auston Matthews on the depth chart.
With the contract, Toronto has a pair of remaining restricted free agents to re-sign in blueliners Frank Corrado and Martin Marincin. The team has roughly $1.7MM in remaining cap space according to Cap Friendly but their actual amount of space in-season should be considerably higher with the health issues for both Nathan Horton and Jared Cowen.
More On The Blackhawks, Jimmy Vesey
Kristi Loucks of Today’s Slapshot writes today on the emerging speculation surrounding Buffalo Sabres’ prospect Jimmy Vesey, who can become an unrestricted free agent on August 15th, when his draft rights expire, and the Chicago Blackhawks. We’ve discussed before the talk surrounding Vesey and the Blackhawks, and the news that Stan Bowman has been going to Foxboro, Massachusetts to watch Vesey play summer games.
Loucks mentions the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Toronto Maple Leafs as other teams that will be in the running for Vesey’s services. In season-long speculation involving Vesey, his ties to Sabres’ forward Jack Eichel are often brought up, as are his having been raised in Boston, and the fact that his father Jim is a scout for the Leafs, and his brother Nolan is a Leafs prospect himself.
Loucks discusses the benefits available in Chicago for Vesey. Obviously they’re a legitimate contender, having won the Stanley Cup three times this decade, but they’re unique for a contender in that they offer a large amount of playing time immediately for a young player. The Blackhawks aren’t particularly deep at left wing, and assuming Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin stays on the second line with Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane, Vesey could find the opportunity to play top minutes with future Hall of Fame linemates in Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
Maple Leafs Reportedly Closing In On Jhonas Enroth
The Toronto Maple Leafs are close to signing goaltender Jhonas Enroth, according to a report from Sweden’s Expressen, an English translation of which can be found at The Leafs Nation. The report describes the talks as “advanced” and that the contract is “all but signed.”
Enroth, 28, began his career with the Buffalo Sabres last season, before being dealt mid-season to the Dallas Stars. He signed with the Los Angeles Kings as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015. While in Los Angeles, he put up a .922 save percentage in 16 games. Enroth’s career save percentage sits at .911, and .922 while playing at even strength.