Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tomas Tatar Signs Four-Year Deal With Detroit Red Wings

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Even after the arbitration hearing went down yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings and Tomas Tatar have come to an agreement on a long-term contract. The four-year deal will pay Tatar $21.2MM, for an average of $5.3MM per season. With less than 24 hours left before an arbitrator made a decision on a one-year contract, the two sides found common ground that will keep Tatar in Detroit for a few years more. The breakdown is as follows: Tomas Tatar

  • 2017-18: $4.875MM salary + $1.125MM signing bonus
  • 2018-19: $5.5MM salary
  • 2019-20: $5.5MM salary
  • 2020-21: $3.2MM salary + $1MM signing bonus

Craig Custance of the Athletic pointed out this morning that the two sides could still reach an agreement in time, and we’ve seen this before in cases like P.K. Subban who signed an eight-year deal after his arbitration hearing in 2014. Tatar was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and would have been one of the most interesting names at the trade deadline if Detroit hadn’t been in playoff contention this year.

Now, the Red Wings have more work to do. With Tatar signed, the team is now more than $3MM over the salary cap for next season with Andreas Athanasiou still to sign. The team does have Johan Franzen still under contract and heading for long-term injured reserve, but like in Toronto and Chicago the team may not want to use “summer LTIR” because of the restrictions it comes with. Instead, they could look to move out some of the hefty contracts for their declining veterans through trade or a buyout.

Like Ottawa earlier today when they signed Ryan Dzingel, this move will open a second 48-hour buyout window for the Red Wings on Monday that they could use to clear cap space. Buying out Niklas Kronwall or Jonathan Ericsson would give them around $2.6MM in savings each next season, though both seem unlikely candidates to be cast aside from the only teams they’ve ever known. Mike Green, effective but expensive leads the list of trade candidates, as he is on the final year of his current contract and likely doesn’t fit into the Red Wings timeline going forward. Moving his $6.0MM cap hit would provide quite the cap relief, if they could ever find a buyer to give them some real value in return.

Salary cap issues aside, this contract actually comes in with less total money than the five-year $25MM contract that Tatar reportedly turned down. Though it is a slightly higher cap hit, it seems as though holding firm worked out for Ken Holland in the end as he got the player for a reasonable contract. Tatar signs at the same cap hit as Ondrej Palat in Tampa Bay, a player with similar production throughout his career. Even if Detroit does decide to throw in the towel and try a real rebuild, this deal is still palatable enough to move for a solid return.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to break the deal, while Craig Morgan of AZ Sports provided the financial breakdown.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Flames Re-Sign Garnet Hathaway To One-Year Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Flames have come to terms with one of their remaining restricted free agents, announcing that they’ve come to terms with winger Garnet Hathaway on a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hathaway split 2016-17 between Calgary and their AHL affiliate in Stockton, a role he will likely apprise next season.  In 26 games with the Flames, he had a goal and four assists while averaging a little over nine minutes per game of ice time.  In his NHL career, he has eight points (1-7-8) in 40 games, all with the Flames.

At the minor league level, the 25-year old has been more productive.  This past season, he had eight goals and 12 helpers in 31 games with the Heat and has tallied 77 points over the past three years.

With the signing, Calgary now has five remaining restricted free agents.  Of those, only Sam Bennett is a full-time NHL player.  Their other RFAs are goalies David Rittich and Jon Gillies as well as defensemen Brett Kulak and Tyler Wotherspoon.

Colton Parayko Signs Five-Year Deal With St. Louis

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With the arbitration hearing for Colton Parayko about to start, the two sides have agreed upon a five-year, $27.5MM contract. The deal will keep Parayko in St. Louis until he is 29, at which point he will be an unrestricted free agent. While the average annual value will be $5.5MM, the contract breaks down as follows:

  • 2017-18: $6.5MM
  • 2018-19: $6.5MM
  • 2019-20: $5.525MM
  • 2020-21: $3.35MM
  • 2021-22: $5.625MM

Colton Parayko

This is quite the contract for both sides, as the Blues will buy out two UFA years from Parayko in exchange for a strong cap number next season. There are 32 other defensemen who will be paid at least $5.5MM next season, meaning Parayko will need to continue to perform at quite a high level in order to justify the contract. That doesn’t seem to be a problem for the young defenseman, as his first two years have been excellent and he looks ready to take another step forward.

If you were to look at Parayko without knowing anything about him, he might seem to you to be a hulking defender that could be useful on the penalty kill but probably lacks skating ability or offensive upside. His 6’5″ frame and incredibly long reach brings more visions of Hal Gill than Paul Coffey. Nothing could be further from the truth though, as Parayko combines incredible stick handling with a sharp first pass and above average elusiveness to create offensive chances on the regular.

Blues fans will be incredibly pleased with the deal, as it brings in a budding superstar behind captain Alex Pietrangelo in terms of salary, and allows them the flexibility next season to worry about Robby Fabbri’s next deal and finding a replacement for Paul Stastny (unless Brayden Schenn is that already). The team now has six defensemen under contract for next season, a group that would rank among the best in the league in many categories. Parayko came in third among defensemen in ice time last year behind Pietrangelo and veteran Jay Bouwmeester, but without Kevin Shattenkirk in town for the whole year will likely be asked to do even more this season.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to break the deal, giving us the length and total. Craig Morgan of AZ Sports gave us the year-by-year breakdown.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pontus Aberg Signs With Nashville Predators

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After handing out a three-year deal to Frederik Gaudreau yesterday, the Nashville Predators have signed another playoff surprise. The team announced a two-year contract for Pontus Aberg worth $1.3MM total.  Aberg will earn the minimum salary of $650K each year.

Though he played just 15 games for the Predators during the regular season, the team turned to Aberg to provide some offensive jump in the playoffs, inserting him into the lineup for 16 games. Playing just under 13 minutes a night, Aberg provided five points in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup final, and showed flashes of the high potential he’s put on display at the AHL level.

Aberg was selected in the second round five years ago, and has been a goal-scoring master since coming over to North America. In 199 AHL games with Milwaukee, he’s scored 72 goals including 31 in just 56 games this season. That ability to find the back of the net is hard to come by, and the Predators will hope he can deliver at least part of that production in the NHL next year. Aberg is no longer waiver-exempt, meaning he’ll likely stay up with the club this year and try to force himself into a bigger role.

The Predators still have four restricted free agents to sign, including Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen. The pair represent the bulk of the offensive production for Nashville, and are incredibly important to get locked up under workable terms. Arvidsson’s arbitration hearing is set for Saturday, though there is still plenty of time to work out a long-term contract before then.

Frederick Gaudreau Signs Three-Year Deal With Nashville Predators

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After showing he can contribute in the playoffs for the Nashville Predators, Frederick Gaudreau has received some certainty in his hockey future. The 24-year old signed a three-year contract worth $650K the first two seasons, and $700K in 2019-20. The first two seasons are also two-way, meaning he’ll make just $70K at the AHL level.

Gaudreau went undrafted out of the QMJHL as an undersized forward without eye-popping numbers, but has continued to develop in the AHL and this season made his NHL debut. Though his nine games during the season weren’t anything to write home about, he stepped up in the playoffs when the Predators’ center depth blew up and scored three big goals including two game-winners in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Playoff performance aside, Gaudreau doesn’t have much leverage when it came to contract negotiations. Though he was arbitration eligible, he chose not to file and instead agreed to a third year under contract. That will take him to unrestricted free agency, and it will be interesting to see if he can crack the Predators lineup next season. With just one regular season point under his belt it’s no guarantee, though many fans will likely lobby for his inclusion on the final roster.

The Predators now have five restricted free agents left to sign, including Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson. Though Johansen didn’t file for arbitration, Arvidsson’s hearing is set for July 22nd. The Predators have plenty of cap room, but will need to decide how long to lock up each of their young stars.

Ondrej Palat Signs Five-Year Contract

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to lock up their core pieces, signing Ondrej Palat to a five-year contract worth $26.5MM. The contract will have an average annual salary of $5.3MM, but the breakdown of the deal is as follows: Ondrej Palat

  • 2017-18: $5.6MM
  • 2018-19: $6.855MM
  • 2019-20: $5.3MM
  • 2020-21: $3.445MM
  • 2021-22: $5.3MM

This comes on the heels of a seven-year extension for linemate Tyler Johnson, that will see him earn $5MM per season. The fact that Palat comes in a tick ahead of him in terms of salary is a direct result of the length of the contract, as the two have very similar rates of production (though admittedly at different positions).

In the past twelve months (and change), Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has given out long-term deals to Palat, Johnson, Alex Killorn, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos, while also getting Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy under decently priced bridge deals that will keep them restricted free agents after they expire. All that, plus a heck of a lot of work to clear enough room for it all has the Lightning locked in to this group for quite a while, and will allow them to compete together for the Stanley Cup.

Palat, 26, is giving up four unrestricted free agent years in the deal and will do so at a reasonably priced cap hit. His production since joining the team full time has been excellent, with 218 points in 307 games. During that time he’s also received Selke votes as the league’s top defensive forward three times, and has registered excellent possession numbers throughout. With Jonathan Drouin gone to Montreal, the team will rely on Palat even more as a top offensive weapon and will give him ample powerplay time.

One of the best seventh-round picks in recent history, Palat has come a long way since his humble beginnings in the draft. Passed over completely after his first year in the QMJHL, the Czech winger was taken with the third last pick in 2011 even after scoring 96 points for Drummondville. In what has turned into arguably Yzerman’s best draft, Palat joined Vladislav Namestnikov, Kucherov and Nikita Nesterov on the Lightning’s board that day.

Palat was set to have a hearing on July 25th after filing for player-elected salary arbitration, but was always expected to sign a long-term deal beforehand. With all of the key RFAs now dealt with, Tampa Bay has just over $3.2MM left in cap space—an amazing feat considering the trouble they were in just a few months ago.

Craig Morgan of AZ Sports was first to report the deal, and give the salary breakdown.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Jaccob Slavin To Seven-Year Extension

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes have made a huge commitment to one of the best up-and-coming defensemen in the league, inking Jaccob Slavin to a seven-year, $37.1MM contract extension. The deal will kick in for the 2018-19 season, and carries an average annual value of $5.3MM. Hurricanes’ GM Ron Francis released a statement on the deal: Jaccob Slavin

Jaccob is one of the cornerstones of our team moving forward, and it was important to secure him with our organization long term. We believe he is one of the top young defensemen in the NHL today, and are thrilled that he and his wife, Kylie, have made their home in Raleigh.

Slavin, 23, has come a long way since being selected in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. He notably wasn’t even included in the NHL’s Central Scouting rankings that season, but has done nothing but succeed at every level. The prototypical NHL defenseman these days, Slavin can do it all. Skating the puck out of the zone, and contributing once in the offensive end of the rink, he registered 34 points and was nearly unbeatable in his own end.

On the last season of his entry-level deal, getting Slavin under contract long-term was obviously a priority of both sides. While the $5.3MM salary will be quite an increase next season, he seems destined to become one of the most underpaid players should his development continue. He won’t turn 24 until near the end of next season, and is already a top-pairing player. Logging over 23 minutes a night last season he played in all situations for the Hurricanes.

Going forward, Carolina will rely on their deep defense group to try and start competing with the top teams in the Metropolitan division. All of them though (save for Justin Faulk) will need new contracts sooner or later, with Noah Hanifin, Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Klas Dahlbeck all set to become restricted free agents next summer. Carolina obviously won’t need to hand out this kind of extension to all of them, but the group will get expensive quickly and may need to be broken up in the near future.

With several defensive prospects knocking on the door to the NHL, Carolina remains in perfect position to move some of their depth for help up front. Though it is unclear if they’re still involved in discussions for Matt Duchene or other offensive upgrades, they certainly have the pieces to jump back into the fray at any point.

For Slavin, giving away four years of free agency may seem like he’s selling himself short, but getting a deal of this amount after just a season and a half of performance is quite a feat. There is no guarantee his play continues, and even if it does he’ll be hitting free agency still with several years of high level play remaining in his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Moves: Boyd, Aho, Driedger, Payne

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While the league reels from the whopping Connor McDavid extension, that will see the reigning MVP earn a league-high $12.5MM per season, other teams have made some much more minor moves to improve their team. Here are some smaller transactions that took place today:

  • The Washington Capitals have avoided arbitration with one of their restricted free agents, signing Travis Boyd to a one-year two-way contract that will pay him $650K in the NHL. Boyd scored 63 points at the AHL level and could have a chance to make his NHL debut this season. That leaves the Capitals with just Philipp Grubauer as an arbitration eligible RFA.
  • The New York Islanders have signed Sebastian Aho—no not that Sebastian Aho—to a three-year entry-level contract. This 21-year old defenseman was selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft after being passed over several times. Aho broke out in Sweden last season, and will compete for a job at the AHL level this season.
  • Ottawa has signed Chris Driedger to a one-year two-way deal that will pay him $735K in the NHL. Driedger was a restricted free agent, and with the departure of Matt O’Connor (who signed with the Nashville Predators after not receiving a qualifying offer) will likely be joined by Andrew Hammond in the AHL next season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have hired Davis Payne as an associate coach, coming aboard to join Phil Housley on a revamped staff. Payne is the former head coach of the St. Louis Blues and most recently an assistant with the LA Kings. He was let go along with Darryl Sutter and the rest of the Kings’ coaching staff, but will join Housley in trying to turn around the Sabres next season.

Connor McDavid Signs Eight-Year, $100MM Extension

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Number 97 will be in Edmonton for quite some time. The Oilers announced today at a press conference an eight-year, $100MM extension for the reigning Hart Trophy winner, keeping Connor McDavid in Edmonton until the summer of 2026. The extension, which kicks in for the 2018-19 season and carries a $12.5MM cap hit, will make McDavid the highest paid player in the league. $86MM of the deal will be paid out in signing bonuses, making the deal essentially lockout-proof."<strong

While the contract isn’t the biggest in the league in terms of total dollars—that goes to Alex Ovechkin and his 13-year, $124MM deal—it is still a huge number for a player who won’t turn 21 until January of next year. Eight years is the maximum a player is allowed to be signed to under the new CBA, and $15MM would have represented the maximum dollar amount he could have received. Teams are not allowed to have an average annual value (AAV) surpass 20% of that year’s cap ($75MM). Had they waited to sign the contract until next season, any increase in the salary cap would have also changed the maximum a player is allowed to earn.

With a new deal on the books, the Oilers will turn their attention to Leon Draisaitl’s next contract which must be resolved this summer. The second superstar on the club, Draisaitl is coming off a 77-point season and could easily get a contract that pushes their combined cap hit over $20MM. That’s a hefty price to pay, but not all that different than the scenarios in Chicago and Pittsburgh, where Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane earn $21MM per season, while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combine for $18.3MM.

That big number locked up into two players is hard to work with, but not impossible. As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote when the deal was first reported:

You can win with two huge deals. I will bet on McDavid and Draisaitl being the right players. Growth is the key. If the cap rises, Edmonton rises with it.

While a raising cap is not guaranteed by any means, the Oilers couldn’t afford to sign McDavid to anything less or shorter and risk that he’d hit free agency earlier. This deal will buy out four UFA seasons from age 25-28, years which likely would have earned him a max contract if his career continues the way it has so far. In two years, McDavid has recorded 148 points in 127 games, won the Art Ross, Hart, and Ted Lindsay trophies and led the Oilers back to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

With one year left on his entry-level deal, the Oilers are hoping to compete for the Stanley Cup once again before both contracts kick in, but have already started to feel the pinch. They dealt Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders, and bought out Benoit Pouliot to clear some room. That kind of thing will continue, but with McDavid leading the way they’ll always be a dangerous team to play.

This deal will have ramifications across the league, with players like Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel surely taking note of it’s length and salary. Though it’s unlikely any of the other young players in the league will match McDavid’s impact in his first few years, it will certainly be a mark for those who come anywhere close. It’s certainly not inconceivable for Matthews in particular to have more points through his first two years, after McDavid lost half his rookie year to injury.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Colorado Avalanche Sign Nail Yakupov

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Colorado Avalanche are in the perfect position to take a chance on a former top pick, and have done so with a contract for Nail Yakupov. The deal is for one year, and will pay him $875K.  Yakupov was not issued a qualifying offer from the St. Louis Blues, making him an unrestricted free agent. Nail Yakupov

The Avalanche, coming off one of the worst seasons in recent NHL history, are set to try and rebuild the franchise through the draft and young options they already have. Yakupov, still just 23 years old fits into their timeline as a lottery ticket that could pay off in the long run.

The first-overall pick in 2012, Yakupov looked like he was heading for big things when he scored 31 points in the 48-game 2012-13 season. Since then, things have gone downhill considerably. Last year he scored just nine points in 40 games, never fitting in properly in St. Louis.

It’s by no means too late for Yakupov to turn things around and become a quality NHL scorer, but at this point it needed to come in a place like Colorado with openings in their top-six and less pressure to be a playoff team right away. On a one-year deal, he can try to rebuild some value before becoming a restricted free agent again next summer for Colorado.

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reported it was for one year, while Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet gave us the dollar figure.

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

scroll to top