Snapshots: Stamkos And Subban
The Steven Stamkos bidding war was ended very quickly by the player re-signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos was pitched by just three teams (Montreal, Buffalo, Toronto) before ending the process. That may be because of the Maple Leafs’ pitch, according to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun.
While teams bringing in big names to woo players isn’t uncommon (Oilers legends Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky were famously involved in the Oilers acquiring Justin Schultz), the Maple Leafs may have gone overboard. Back in June, Simmons reported team president Brendan Shanahan, GM Lou Lamoriello, Toronto mayor John Tory, and Canadian Tire CEO Michael B. Medine all met with Stamkos to sell the Maple Leafs, Toronto, and potential endorsement opportunities. Simmons reported Sunday that after the meeting, Stamkos told his agent that he didn’t want any more meetings and he wanted to speak with Lightning GM Steve Yzerman. He was officially re-signed two days after his meeting in Toronto.
Other notes from around the league:
- It was reported shortly after the P.K. Subban/ Shea Weber trade on June 29 that Nashville Predators would not honor Subban’s no-trade clause (NTC). Vice Sports columnist Sean McIndoe explored the bizarre rule that allowed the Predators to nix the clause one day before it was supposed to come into effect. Essentially, the CBA rules state that those clauses are binding to the acquiring team, unless the clause hasn’t come into effect yet. An NTC is often a hard-fought-for part of a contract, with players sometimes taking concessions on salary or term in order to get it. However, its doubtful that Subban made any concessions to get one, considering he will make $9MM per year until 2022. And while its also unlikely that the Predators will trade their new superstar, Subban would have no say if they decided to move him out before the end of his contract. Our Mike Furlano has previously explained no-trade and no-move clauses in more depth.
- Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told NHL.com that he has stayed away from reading media reports about the Subban trade, saying fans and media are guessing at what goes on behind the scenes. The Canadiens GM says he wants to “unplug” after a tough season. Bergevin also spoke about comparisons between the Patrick Roy trade and the Subban one, saying Roy won “two Stanley Cups … I’ve always believed that winning a Stanley Cup changes everything”.
Free Agent Profile: Kyle Quincey
One of the best remaining defensive options available on the open market, Kyle Quincey is somewhat of a tragic tale. After being selected in the fourth round by Detroit, he slowly crawled towards the NHL but could never establish himself on the Red Wings’ blueline. It took a waiver claim by Los Angeles – then a bottom-feeder of the NHL – to give him his chance, and he ran with it.
Playing in 72 games for the Kings that year, Quincey put up what would turn out to be a career-high 38 points, including a whopping 25 assists on the powerplay. Though he wasn’t considered an excellent offensive defenseman, the Kings just didn’t have many other options then – a 19-year old Drew Doughty was still learning the game, and Jack Johnson was injured for much of the season.
In July of that year, still rehabbing a herniated disc that cut short his season, Quincey was the centerpiece in a deal with the Avalanche for Ryan Smyth, a key member in the turnaround the Kings experienced a year later. In joining Colorado, Quincey – still just 24 – was on his third team already in his young career.
Colorado wouldn’t keep him around very long either, as they dealt the young blueliner back to his original Detroit Red Wings mid-season in 2011-12 (via Tampa Bay, who received a first-round pick in the transaction). He was back with the team who wouldn’t give him a chance in the first place, and immediately saw his numbers plummet again. He’d see the ice 36 times in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, but only logged three points all season.
Still, the Red Wings thought of him enough to hand him a two-year, $8.5MM deal on July 1st of 2014, even though he qualified as an unrestricted free agent and could have chosen anywhere else (that would have him).
Now, with that deal expired, the Red Wings have shown no interest in keeping Quincey around, and have moved on to other options. He now represents one of the best options left available, if you believe his early career success can be replicated in any way.
Potential Suitors
Before free agency started, we had Quincey on our Top 50 UFA list going to the Minnesota Wild, and it still seems to be a fit, though there has been no discussion about the 30-year old thus far in the media. Having given deals to both Eric Staal and Chris Stewart as they try to rebuild there value, it’s clear the team is willing to try and re-energize former stars on short-term deals.
Another possibility would be that of the Edmonton Oilers, despite already bringing in Adam Larsson and Mark Fraser. Though they look to have too many (luke-warm) bodies already, expect a few of them to be shipped out by the start of the season. If the team is committed to rebuilding a blueline that was horrible last year, Quincey could be a nice option on a bottom pairing to help some of the youngsters (Darnell Nurse, Jordan Oesterle or Brandon Davidson) develop into legitimate NHL defensemen.
Expected Contract
Needing to rebuild his value, Quincey will probably take a fairly low number on a short-term deal to prove that he’s still an effective NHL blueliner. With advanced metrics disliking his play the last few seasons, he looks to be in the same boat as fellow unsigned free agent Kris Russell, in that teams are moving towards possession-based metrics, especially for their defense.
The thing that Quincey has going for him, is that he was once regarded positively in this manner, and with a change of scenery and correct role he could be again. Only 30 years old, he’ll try to secure as much as Roman Polak did for the Leafs (one year, $2.25MM), but – amazingly – might not even get that.
Ducks Acquire Bernier From Maple Leafs
Reported by several sources, the Toronto Maple Leafs have dealt goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional 2017 draft pick.
The Maple Leafs and Ducks both announced the trade on their respective websites. The 27-year-old netminder was the odd man out once the Leafs acquired Frederik Andersen from the Ducks in June due to his cap hit. In Toronto last season, Bernier recorded 12 wins and posted a .908 save percentage. Helene Elliott tweets that the cap hit for Bernier is $4.1MM, while $2.1MM is the base salary due to signing bonuses that were paid by the Leafs last Friday.
CapFriendly reports that the Leafs now have just over $5.2MM in cap space after dealing Bernier. The Ducks have $9.1MM of cap space after adding Bernier.
Now in Anaheim, Bernier is reunited with former coach Randy Carlyle and will presumably back up John Gibson.
Snapshots: Matthews; Tavares; Senators
Number one draft pick Auston Matthews remains unsigned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite the rigidity of an entry level contract. As reported by Toronto Star writer Kevin McGran, and touched on by us earlier, the signing delay may stem from Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello’s aversion to contract bonuses. Entry level contracts are fairly straightforward, with base salary capped at $925,000. The wiggle room comes in the form of performance bonuses.
The CBA allows for two types of ELC bonuses, creatively called Individual “A” and “B” bonuses. “A” Bonuses are capped at an aggregate total of $850K, and “B” bonuses are capped at an aggregate total of $2MM. Thus, a player could theoretically earn up to $3.77MM in base salary and bonuses.
For reference, the last two number one picks—Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad—received the max base salary and bonuses available. Patrik Laine, the number two pick this year, received a full base salary and $2.65MM in potential bonuses while the third pick Pierre-Luc Dubois received a full base salary and $2.5MM in potential bonuses.
Other notes around the league:
- The New York Islanders hope to sign John Tavares to an extension next summer, according to GM Garth Snow. The Islanders captain has two more years left on his deal that pays him $5.5MM a year. GM Snow would want to avoid the controversy and uncertainty that surrounded Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer. Unless Tavares’s play declines significantly, the centerman is in line for a hefty raise.
- Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion spoke to the media today regarding signing Chris Kelly and other future transactions. Dorion is confident that the Sens will get a deal done with RFAs Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman. Hoffman elected for salary arbitration—his second time in two years—while Ceci is not yet eligible. Dorion also intimated that the Senators will not pursue any more free agents, which corroborates the popular conception that the team operates under a restrictive internal budget.
Best Of The Rest: Defense
We’ve already seen over half a billion dollars given out to free agents since July 1st, and many of the top names are off the board. 34 of our Top 50 Free Agents have already signed with teams, many of them to long-term deals. With the summer months still looming ahead of us, we’ll take a look at who is left on the market. Here are the best of the rest for defensemen on the open market:
(number in parentheses indicates ranking on PHR’s Top 50)
- Kris Russell (12) – There were many reports of Russell allegedly turning down a $17MM offer from the Maple Leafs this weekend, but agent Allain Roy made it clear that they were false. While he’s clearly been affected by the analytical approach many teams are employing, he’ll still likely get a large contract as teams miss out on other blueline opportunities.
- Luke Schenn (30) – How far has Schenn fallen, from being a top-5 pick in the draft, to being traded straight up for James van Riemsdyk. Now it’s hard to see him demand much more than $3MM a season to fill a bottom pair role. His age does help him however, as at just 26 he’s one of the youngest available free agent defenseman.
- Kyle Quincey (44) – Quincey was once an integral part of the Red Wings’ blueline, but after seasons plagued with injury and ineffectiveness he’s now looking to rebuild value on a one-year deal. Quincey is a pretty good bet as a bounce-back candidate on a bottom pair, and will probably be on the market again in 2017.
- Justin Schultz (NR) – Schultz wasn’t given a qualifying offer from the Penguins last month, and became an unrestricted free agent for the second time before his 26th birthday (which happens to be today). The former University of Wisconsin Badger signed with Edmonton after college but still hasn’t found his footing in the NHL. Still with huge upside, teams may look at him similarly to Michael Del Zotto from a few years ago.
- James Wisniewski (NR) – After a knee injury destroyed his entire 2015-16 season, Wisniewski was bought out by the Hurricanes last week. While he’s now 32-years old, the “Wiz” was once heralded as a borderline top pairing defenseman, and might still have some relevant hockey left in him. As the prices steadily increase for right-handed shots, Wisniewski might be a reasonable option for a team on a budget.
Maple Leafs Sign Roman Polak
July 3: General Fanager has confirmation on the financials; Polak will recieve $2.25MM from the Maple Leafs on his one-year deal.
July 2: The Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back a familiar face in D Roman Polak as the team announced Saturday that they have signed him to a one year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Polak spent most of last season with Toronto before being dealt to San Jose in the days leading up to the trade deadline. Between the Leafs and Sharks, he played in 79 games last year, scoring a goal and 15 assists, while playing an average of 19:09 per game. Polak also played in 24 postseason games with San Jose, being held pointless while seeing his average ice time drop to 15:46.
In his career, Polak has played in 559 games with St. Louis, Toronto, and San Jose. He has 19 goals and 85 assists in that span, with 439 PIMS.
Polak will bring some physicality to Toronto’s bottom defense pairing next season. Last season, he had a career high 303 hits and 146 blocks. He was rated 36th on PHR’s Top 50 UFA list.
Snapshots: Russell, Vesey, Forsling
After rumors swirled the past two days indicating that the Maple Leafs had offered a contract to free agent defenseman Kris Russell, agent Allain Roy took to Twitter to set the record straight: “Reports of Kris Russell turning down any offer from the Maple Leafs are false. Simply rumors…” The former member of the Dallas Stars is still available as of Sunday evening, and ranked 12th on our Top 50 UFA list last month. Here is some more news from around the league:
- As our own Brett Barrett outlined this morning, Harvard grad Jimmy Vesey is set to wait until August 15th when he will become an unrestricted free agent. Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe opines that both Pittsburgh and Chicago will also make offers to the 23-year old should he make it that far. He has stated that he wants to stay in his native north east region.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic tells us that Blackhawks’ prospect Gustav Forsling is headed back to Sweden for the 2016-17 season if he doesn’t make the NHL club out of camp. After signing an ELC in March, Forsling was thought to have a decent shot at making the team this year, but with recent signings Brian Campbell and Michal Rozsival coming into the fold (or, in Rozsival’s case back into), it seems much less probable.
Vesey Remains Committed To Free Agency
Jimmy Vesey will wait a little longer before deciding his future.
The Harvard grad says he’s committed to becoming an unrestricted free agent, but that won’t happen until August 15. The end-of-summer signing period won’t prevent him from being heavily sought-after. While Vesey has never publicly revealed his shortlist, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe reports Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, both New York teams, New Jersey, and “potentially” St. Louis and Philadelphia having potentially having major interest.
Vesey was drafted 66th overall in 2012 by the Nashville Predators. He played 4 seasons post-draft at Harvard, posting 144 points in 128 games. But when it came time to sign his entry-level contract with the Predators, Vesey declined to put pen to paper, despite allegedly saying he would. Not wanting to lose a good prospect for nothing, the Predators traded Vesey to Buffalo for the 70th pick in this year’s entry draft, recouping the draft pick they spent on Vesey but not the four years of development.
According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the Sabres plan on making their pitch to Vesey sometime this week, with hopes of convincing him to sign and play with his good friend, Jack Eichel. Vesey and Eichel have been playing together on a summer league team for years now, and Eichel has already given Vesey the talk about Buffalo. However, Vesey’s agent confirmed that free agency is still the plan.
Despite being done school, Vesey will spend his summer doing homework on where he wants to sign. He has family connections in Toronto, with his dad working with the Maple Leafs and his brother being drafted by them. He’s spent four seasons playing in Massachusetts. His good friend plays with Buffalo.
All of the above-listed teams have room for Vesey in their top 6 forwards, and will be getting a highly-motivated player.
Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Red Wings
Though Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski was initially surprised by David Backes signing in Boston, further review made it understandable. Backes adds another physical, goal scoring center to a team that already includes David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. Wyshynski does warn that Backes arrives with a lot of miles and although he’s only missed 16 games since 2008, his style of play makes the five-year deal somewhat risky near the end of the contract. Regardless, the Bruins beefed up down the middle and have a more favorable look against the best teams in the division–and conference.
Other notes from the Atlantic:
- Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman continues his mastery of signing the team’s high end talent and Tampa Times writer Joe Smith reports that Nikita Kucherov should be the next name for Yzerman to cross off his list. Smith writes that Yzerman is optimistic a deal will get done and predicts that Kucherov could expect Filip Forsberg numbers in the range of a six-year, $36MM deal. But if there’s anything to be seen with Yzerman, it’s that he’s become a master of negotiations. Between Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman taking what was considered significantly less money to stay in Tampa, it should be expected that Kucherov will possibly take less to stay with a team that Yzerman continues to build into an Eastern Conference force.
- The Maple Leafs were very quiet with the exception of signing Matt Martin to a four-year, $10MM deal Friday. TSN’s Kristen Shilton writes that Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello felt that Martin filled a need for the rebuilding organization. The move was also precipitated by bench boss Mike Babcock wanting more toughness on the roster. The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornsby writes that while the team didn’t come out and say it, Martin’s role will be that of a bodyguard for #1 overall pick Auston Matthews, and other Leaf youngsters. Lamoriello did admit that the signing was one to make his younger players feel “freer” on the ice.
- While the Red Wings inked Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott, their moves weren’t applauded by everyone. The Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa wonders if general manager Ken Holland’s magic touch is beginning to wear off, and writes that the Wings’ top man shouldn’t be finished with his offseason moves quite yet. Colleague Bob Wojnowski agrees, adding that the Wings are a team “scrambling to find their way” and along with Krupa, opines that that the fanbase is growing restless with Holland’s loyalty to players like Darren Helm, who notched a five-year, $19.5MM deal before free agency opened. Craig Hagerman goes even further, writing that the Wings were one of three teams that actually got worse following Friday’s free agent frenzy. While he lauds the Nielsen signing, he questions the re-signing of Helm (registering a 30 point season twice in his career), Ott (no goals last season), and Vanek (bought out for underachieving).
Maple Leafs Sign Matt Martin To Four-Year Deal
According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made their first signing of free agency, inking forward Matt Martin to a four-year deal worth $10MM. After losing out on the chance to sign Markham native Steven Stamkos, the Leafs went after his former Sarnia Sting linemate in Martin – the two played together in 2007-08.
Martin was apparently a hot commodity this season despite never scoring 20 points in a single season. While he doesn’t offer much in the offensive end, he does carry his own in his own end and plays with an extremely physical style. Martin has recorded over 350 hits in three straight seasons, leading the league each time.
With Toronto expected to have a number of young players in the lineup next season, including 5’11” (if that) 164 pound (soaking wet) London Knight uber-prospect Mitch Marner, Martin will be expected to keep the peace on the ice and ensure those players can use their skill and speed to play in the offensive end.
While this seems somewhat backwards in today’s NHL, Martin isn’t a lumbering enforcer and can keep up with the play even with his 6’3″ frame. While he probably won’t play much more than the 11 minutes a night he received in New York, he’ll be a welcome addition to the Maple Leafs as they continue to rebuild.