Snapshots: Lightning, Subban, Patrick, Coyotes
The Bleacher Report’s Adrian Dater answered Twitter questions today, and when asked which team won the off-season, he went with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dater’s reasoning is popular, that GM Steve Yzerman managed to convince his biggest name player, Steven Stamkos, to stay at a price lower than many expected, he was able to re-sign Victor Hedman a year before free agency, and extended Alex Killorn as well, while leaving more than enough cap space to re-sign Nikita Kucherov long-term.
With respect to Dater, and he’s far from alone in saying this, it’s not really as thrilling as the names involved would imply. Yzerman carries a sort of reverence through the hockey world, and will be praised profusely with little effort, despite the fact that his accomplishments this off-season are mostly things contending team GMs do with little problem. Dallas Stars’ forward Jamie Benn also signed a long term contract a year out from free agency, and the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have never really come close to the open market. Stamkos getting as far as speaking to other teams is an anomaly itself. After Yzerman’s messy situation with Stamkos’ mentor Martin St. Louis, his re-upping of a coach who Stamkos reportedly dislikes, and who played him out of position, his offer which was well below what others were willing to pay, and the trade demand by the team’s best young player in Jonathan Drouin, it’s fair to wonder if this was really a wooing by Yzerman, or if he Stamkos signed because he looked around at the other options and couldn’t find a fit. Yzerman has done some great work in Tampa, but Stamkos staying rather than taking more money from his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, or close to home Detroit Red Wings or Buffalo Sabres, is likely the result of the work Yzerman did years ago in making the Lightning a team a player wouldn’t want to leave to begin with. Yzerman’s best move of 2016 may just be not giving into Drouin’s trade demand, understanding the leverage he held, the attractiveness of the Lightning situation, and the fickleness of the typical 21 year old.
More snapshots from around the hockey world:
- NHL.com has some quotes on PK Subban today from around the Predators’ organization. Subban touches on the lack of distraction in Nasvhille, and GM David Poile responds to talk about Subban’s personality saying that while some would prefer a more homogeneous group, the Predators “don’t want that. We can’t win with 20 players that are exactly the same, either skill-wise or personality-wise. I want different types of players, and I want different personalities.”
- James O’Brien at NBC Pro Hockey Talk profiles the Brandon Wheat Kings’ Nolan Patrick today. Patrick, the son of former NHLer Steve Patrick, and newphew of former NHLer James Patrick, is expected to be taken with the first pick in the 2017 NHL entry draft.
- Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports quotes on Twitter Coyotes GM Jonathan Chayka suggesting that today’s signing of former Kings’ defenseman Luke Schenn could open up room for the team to offload an extra defenseman.
Coyotes, Rieder Far Apart In Contract Talks
The Arizona Coyotes and Restricted Free Agent (RFA) winger Tobias Rieder are “not close” in contract talks according to Rieder’s agent, Darren Ferris, in a conversation with Arizona Sports columnist Craig Morgan.
Rieder completed his entry-level contract with career highs across the board, scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 82 games. Ferris told Morgan their camp feels Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri and new Coyotes winger Jamie McGinn are fair comparisons for Rieder; while both scored more points than Rieder last season, Rieder has superior possession stats. Kadri and McGinn have both signed new contracts this summer, worth $4.5MM and $3.33MM respectively.
Coyotes rookie GM John Chayka says talks have not progressed in “a while”, and that the team has made what they think is a fair offer. Rieder is not eligible for arbitration, something Chayka says the team isn’t trying to take advantage of. The contract impasse has lead Ferris to explore European and KHL options, but he says Rieder’s first choice is stay in the NHL.
The Coyotes’ qualifying offer, tendered in late June, expires on July 15. The two sides have until December 1 to negotiate a new contract, at which point Rieder is ineligible to play in the coming season.
Arizona has three other key free agents left to sign, captain Shane Doan is a UFA and defensemen Michael Stone and Connor Murphy are RFAs. The Coyotes have $18.68MM in cap space, according to CapFriendly.
Free Agent Focus: Arizona Coyotes
The 2015-16 Arizona Coyotes were better than many expected them to be, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division. That said, they did have a losing record and feasted on lowly division rivals Edmonton and Calgary, going a combined 8-1-1 against the two Alberta teams. The team is built around superstar defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, with Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Christian Dvorak, and Dylan Strome representing a deep prospect pool up front. Wily veteran and captain Shane Doan scored 28 goals at age 39. Ekman-Larsson lead the team with 21 goals and 55 points (7th among defensemen).
The Coyotes have already made a few waves this summer, hiring a 27-year old rookie GM John Chayka. Chayka has already made his first trade, acquiring the rights to pending UFA defenceman, Alex Goligoski. There have also been rumors that the Coyotes have made a big trade offer to the Maple Leafs so they can draft Scottsdale, AZ native Auston Matthews first overall. Chayka has since denied the rumor, which had the Coyotes’ two first round picks (7th and 20th) going to Toronto with one of Domi or Dvorak for the first selection, calling it “ridiculous speculation”.
Cap space: $38.5MM, 13 players under contract.
Key RFAs: D Connor Murphy, W Tobias Rieder, D Michael Stone – Murphy and Stone have developed nicely into capable NHL defensemen, and will be qualified. Rieder scored 37 points in his sophomore season, and should be a solid middle-6 option up front for the Coyotes.
Other RFAs: D Jarred Tinordi, LW Sergei Plotnikov, D Klas Dahlbeck, D Kevin Connauton, and G Louis Domingue.
Key UFAs: Doan and Goligoski – the team’s captain and longest serving member (he was a member of the original Winnipeg Jets) is expected to re-sign with the team for one season at a time. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reported the recently acquired Goligoski and his wife are visiting Arizona this week to check out the city and meet with team officials.
Other UFAs: W Alex Tanguay, C Boyd Gordon, C Kyle Chipchura, F Viktor Tikhonov, D Nicklas Grossmann, and G Anders Lindback.
Outlook: The Coyotes have just $34.4MM committed to next year’s roster, which is $40MM less than the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, have. According to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, the Coyotes don’t plan on re-signing any pending UFAs other than Doan and Goligoski, so new GM Chayka will have plenty of money to spend rounding out their roster.
As well, big C Martin Hanzal is entering a contract year and will need to be extended or traded. Fox reported Chayka as being open to all options regarding the Czech centre.
Look for them to draft one of the high-end defence prospects at 7th overall, or attempt to move up and snag Scottsdale-native Matthew Tkachuk.