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Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Guillaume Brisebois

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The Vancouver Canucks are steadily working through their remaining restricted free agents, this time signing one of their minor league defensemen. Guillaume Brisebois has signed a new one-year, two-way contract with the Canucks, though the financial details have not yet been released. Brisebois was not eligible for salary arbitration this offseason.

Brisebois, 23, was a third-round selection of the Canucks back in 2015 but has played just eight games at the NHL level to this point. Instead, the 6’3″ defenseman has spent the last three seasons almost exclusively in the minor leagues with the Utica Comets, where his offensive game never really did develop. Though he’s still valuable depth, it doesn’t look like he’ll ever become a full-time NHL roster player at this point.

The contract for Brisebois leaves just two restricted free agents remaining for GM Jim Benning; Justin Bailey and Jalen Chatfield. Both were actually eligible to file for salary arbitration but decided against it.

Oscar Fantenberg Signs In KHL

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A free agent defenseman has decided to take his talents overseas. Oscar Fantenberg, who spent the 2019-20 season with the Vancouver Canucks, has signed a one-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. The deal carries him through the end of April 2021.

Fantenberg, 29, has actually played in the KHL before, suiting up 44 times for Sochi HC in 2016-17. That’s the season which landed him an NHL contract, signing a one-year entry-level deal with the Los Angeles Kings almost immediately after it ended. Since then, the two-way defenseman has played in 147 NHL games, split between the Kings, Canucks, and Calgary Flames.

Perhaps his most impressive hockey came just this summer for the Canucks, where he played 16 postseason contests. While he’ll never be a top-four option in the NHL, it did appear as though he could be a useful depth piece for the next several years.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if his name pops up again after the KHL season ends, given that the NHL schedule will likely not be finished by the beginning of May. He’ll also be a candidate to return for the 2021-22 campaign, if he decides to try his hand in North America once again.

Vasili Podkolzin Sent To VHL

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  • Canucks prospect Vasili Podkolzin’s sophomore KHL season hasn’t gone particularly well. He has just a goal and three assists in 18 games and had been a healthy scratch in the past two games which led to a demotion to the VHL today.  The GM of SKA St. Petersburg, Roman Rotenberg, told Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040 and The Athletic (Twitter link) that the move is to try to get him ready for the World Juniors and have him have some success against players in his age group.

Trevor Daley Retires, Joins Pittsburgh Penguins Front Office

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After the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they had relieved AGM Jason Karmanos earlier today, they now have brought in a new (though familiar) face to the front office. Trevor Daley, who won the Stanley Cup with the team in both 2016 and 2017, has decided to retire and join the organization as a hockey operations advisor. Daley had played the last three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, but will now hang up his skates and put on a suit. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford released a statement on the hire:

First, I would like to congratulate Trevor on an incredibly successful 16-year career. In addition to being a Stanley Cup Champion with us, he left us with a great impression due to his professional demeanor and quiet leadership qualities. Those traits, along with his desire to want to learn about the business side of the NHL, made him a great candidate to join our staff.

Daley, 37, played more than 1,100 games in the NHL, suiting up for the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Penguins, and Red Wings. A smooth-skating defenseman that could contribute at both ends of the rink, he racked up 309 points in 1,058 regular season contests including a career-high 38 in the 2014-15 season. After winning his second title with Pittsburgh in 2017 he signed a three-year, $9.5MM contract with the Red Wings, but dealt with several injuries and ended up playing in just 164 games with the team.

With the Penguins, Daley will assist with player evaluations and serve as an “eye in the sky” for the coaching staff during games. While this is just the beginning of his post-playing career, it does provide the Penguins with another set of hands in what had recently become quite a thin front office.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Fire Jason Karmanos

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired assistant general manager Jason Karmanos, who had been with the team since 2014. While the team searches for a replacement, Sam Ventura, the team’s director of hockey research, will assume the AGM duties. Erik Heasley, manager of hockey operations, has been named interim GM of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which Karmanos had also been in charge of.

Penguins GM Jim Rutherford released this statement:

We would like to thank Jason Karmanos for his contributions to the organization over the past six years. I have been evaluating our hockey operations department and this is the first part of the process to re-organize our group. 

While assistant general managers are let go all the time in the NHL, this move is especially surprising because of the long history between Rutherford and Karmanos. Not only did they come to the Penguins together in 2014, but they also were together for more than a decade in the Carolina Hurricanes front office. Karmanos’ father was the owner of the Hurricanes at the time and has worked closely with Rutherford since the 80’s in various organizations.

The relieving of Karmanos from this post should not be taken lightly in Pittsburgh, though it will immediately bring up additional speculation about former AGM Jason Botterill. The former Buffalo Sabres GM cut his teeth in Pittsburgh under Rutherford and has been rumored to be a candidate to return to the Penguins since the Sabres let him go earlier this year.

Rutherford has actually been open about his desire to add to the front office this offseason, but with Karmanos gone it leaves a very thin group in terms of managerial experience. The GM was clear he was extremely disappointed by the team’s postseason performance and has already made sweeping changes to the front office, coaching staff and roster.

Pacific Notes: Sutter, Leivo, Archibald

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One thing of note Saturday was when the Vancouver Canucks passed on a second potential buyout window. A buyout would only have applied to players making more than a $4MM AAV, which meant the only player that it likely would have applied to was center Brandon Sutter. However, the Canucks opted not to make a move to buy him out, according to Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma.

Sutter, who is entering the final season of a five-year, $21.9MM contract that he signed back in 2015, hasn’t been particularly effective the last two years as injuries have kept him to just 70 games over the two seasons, although he did manage to appear in all 17 playoff games during the most recent playoffs. He finished the 2019-20 season with eight goals and 17 points in 44 games. However, at $4.38MM AAV, the team could have benefitted from a buyout with the team’s cap situation extremely tight. A buyout would have saved the team $2.33MM in cap space this season. However, the team wouldn’t have benefitted much, especially considering they would have to replace Sutter in the lineup somehow. On top of that, the team lost a significant amount of leadership after Chris Tanev and Jacob Markstrom left via free agency. Having Sutter in the locker room is worth something as well.

“We have to be careful that we take everything into consideration before we start buying people out,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning. “He kills penalties and plays a match-up role and losing him would be a big void in the room.”

  • Sticking with the Canucks, Kuzma reports that the team and Benning did offer Josh Leivo, who signed with the Calgary Flames on Saturday, a similar deal. The 27-year-old who played parts of the last two seasons for the Canucks decided against staying. He was acquired midseason in 2018 from the Toronto Maple Leafs and missed the second half of this past season after he suffered a fractured knee cap. He had seven goals and 19 points in 36 games. Leivo signed a one-year deal at $875K with Calgary.
  • Much credit went to Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland who signed unqualified forward Josh Archibald last offseason and saw him thrive. Despite being a perfect candidate for the fourth-line right wing position, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that with so many right wings on the roster, he wouldn’t be surprised if the team asked Archibald to move to his off wing and take up a spot on the team’s third line alongside newly signed Kyle Turris and Jesse Puljujarvi. Archibald has showed a knack for offense with 24 goals over the past two seasons and could provide that line with some much needed grit.

Free Agent Profile: Erik Haula

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Despite the excitement of  the free-agent flurry that started off the 2020 offseason, things have calmed down now quite a bit and yet there remain a number of free agents out there for teams to pick up. Yet with little cap room remaining for most the playoff hopefuls, teams are being extra cautious about paying out too much to free agents. especially if they are coming off a down season. That perfectly explains the situation for free-agent center Erik Haula, who has now found himself looking for a fourth team in just two-plus seasons and is coming off a 12-goal campaign last year.

The 29-year-old will be hitting 30 during the 2020-21 season and has dealt with numerous injuries, including a gruesome leg injury that held him to just 15 games in 2018-19. However, that hasn’t stopped teams from showing interest in the center, one of the few potential impact centers remaining on the free-agent market, who was ranked 16th in our PHR Top-50 Free Agents. If healthy, he has the potential to fill a second-line center role or be a top third-line option in the middle. He has the potential to put up goals, scoring 29 goals in Vegas’ inaugural season in 2017-18.

Despite Vegas’ love for Haula, the team even had cap issues after their second season and were forced to send Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes to free up some cap room. Haula signed a three-year, $8.25MM contract ($2.75MM AAV) with Vegas as part of a deal for the Golden Knights to select him in the expansion draft from Minnesota and looked like a significant find after the first year. The injury held up that outlook for the next season and Carolina was hoping to recapture some of that offensive magic last season. Instead, he struggled through more knee injuries on and off and only appeared in 41 games with 12 goals before the Hurricanes packaged him to Florida for Vincent Trocheck. Haula scored no goals in seven games for the Panthers before the team’s season ended.

However in the right system and with plenty of extra time to allow his knee to fully mend, Haula could fill a significant hole in a team’s middle and if everything goes right, could thrive there.

Potential Suitors

Not surprisingly, Haula has received significant interest from at least 10-12 teams, yet no deal has been struck. The forward is likely looking for a potential long-term deal, deals that aren’t really offered to players right now as several free agents have had to ink one-year deals in hopes that the 2021 offseason may prove to be more lucrative and hopes that COVID-19 may settle down in a year.

Perhaps one of the most obvious suitors would be returning to the one team where he had the most success. The Golden Knights might be a perfect fit for Haula as the team was forced to send off center Paul Stastny to Winnipeg to save cap room and with Cody Glass’ rookie season having also been interrupted by injury, there is a clear opening for a No. 2 center in the system. Of course, the team is so tight against the cap that the team doesn’t even have the money for a minimum-salaried deal without clearing more cap room, which will be difficult. The team has already made it clear they will not be moving now back-up goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, which means they will be spending $12MM on their goalies this coming year.

Rumors that the Pittsburgh Penguins could be looking for a third-line center to fill in some depth for another Stanley Cup run with their veteran squad. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a clear-cut third or fourth-line center, so Haula would be a big addition to a team that needs to get more scoring from their bottom-six. Of course, the team must look at their cap issues as well. Other teams such as the New Jersey Devils and the Vancouver Canucks have come up although there are likely many others, but only the Devils have the cap room to easily bring him in.

Projected Contract

PHR initially projected Haula to receive a three-year, $11.25MM deal, although that number now looks quite high considering some of the contracts that other players have received in the last week or so. Players ranked much higher, such as Evgenii Dadonov and Tyler Toffoli each had to settle for less than they were hoping for. Dadonov received three years and $15MM from Ottawa, while Toffoli signed a four-year deal at $17MM with the Montreal Canadiens.

Considering that Haula is coming off two injury-plagued and disappointing offensive seasons, it doesn’t seem likely that he can easily pry a long-term deal away from any team and may have to sign a one-year “prove it deal,” except for the fact that his services as a center could give him slightly more leverage than most free agents remaining on the market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Calgary Flames Sign Josh Leivo

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Calgary is certainly stoking the flames of rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks this off-season. The Canucks reiterated all season long that re-signing starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom and defensive mainstay Chris Tanev were two of their biggest priorities this off-season. Instead, both players signed with none other than the division rival Flames. Now you can add another name to that list. After it was reported on Thursday that Vancouver was still actively pursuing a new contract with forward Josh Leivo, the Flames have come out today and signed him, as first reported by Nick Kypreos of Line Movement. It is a one-year, $875K deal, as confirmed by the team’s press release.

Leivo, 27, has not played since before Christmas after suffering a fractured kneecap in December. Had he not been sidelined by that injury, Leivo likely would have had a career year and would have had much more free agent attention resulting in a larger contract, rather than settling for a one-year deal and salary decrease. In 36 games to open the season, the skilled winger recorded 19 points. This put him just five points back of his career best but in 40 fewer games. A player who usually opted for shots over passes still managed to showcase some newfound playmaking ability, setting a career high with 12 assists prior to his injury. The Canucks suited up for 69 games before the NHL was put on pause. Had Leivo been healthy through the whole season, he would have finished with 36 points on the year. This would have placed him sixth among free agent forwards in points.

The Flames hope that this move is more than just a shot at the Canucks. If Leivo can return to the level of play he displayed prior to his injury, they could be paying less than $1MM for a player with 40-point upside. However, even if Leivo’s recovery is not complete by the time the season begins or if he doesn’t quite work his way back to full strength this season, Calgary is still getting a talented bottom-six forward who can chip in on offense. It’s hard to see this contract being anything less than a worthwhile gamble for a team who needed to add another offensive asset to their forward corps.

Canucks Interested In Bringing Back Josh Leivo

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Although the Canucks already have 15 forwards on one-way deals for next season (plus Elias Pettersson who is already a front-line fixture on an entry-level pact), they’re still interested in bringing back winger Josh Leivo, reports Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old got off to a strong start last season, picking up 19 points (7-12-19) in 36 games and appeared to be well on his way to setting new career highs in goals and points (he had already done so for assists).  Logging just over 15 minutes a game, there was some stability in a middle-six role that he had been craving going back to his time as a depth player in Toronto.

However, a fractured kneecap in mid-December ended his season prematurely and he was not part of Vancouver’s playoff roster either.  As a result, instead of entering the open market with a bit of momentum, Leivo reached unrestricted free agency with some uncertainty and question marks.

At this stage, it seems unlikely that Leivo will be able to land the $1.5MM he made last season but on a one-year deal to prove that he’s healthy, he’s an intriguing buy-low bounce-back candidate.  The Canucks appear to be aware of that although they’ll have some work to do to find a spot for him on their roster and fit him in on the salary cap as by the time they waive some veterans to get back under the Upper Limit, they likely won’t have enough money to bring anyone else in up front.  They’ll soon have a small second buyout window at their disposal following Jake Virtanen’s deal from earlier today but it seems unlikely that they’ll use it given the lack of viable options (as Loui Eriksson’s deal is virtually buyout-proof) so GM Jim Benning will have his work cut out for him if he wants to keep Leivo around.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Jake Virtanen

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The Vancouver Canucks have avoided arbitration with Jake Virtanen, signing the restricted free agent forward to a two-year contract worth a total of $5.1MM ($2.55MM AAV). Virtanen had an arbitration hearing scheduled for October 28 that will no longer be required.  PuckPedia reports that the deal pays $1.7MM next season and $3.4MM in 2021-22 ($3MM salary, $400K signing bonus) which means his qualifying offer in 2022 will be $3MM.

While the other arbitration cases that have settled in recent days may not have a chain reaction across the rest of the roster, Virtanen’s new deal has the potential for one. The contract moves the Canucks over the salary cap ceiling of $81.5MM (to about $83MM with a 23-man roster) while also opening a 24-hour buyout window for them (starting two days from now). As always, Loui Eriksson’s name will be brought up in regards to a buyout, given he is still the highest-paid forward on the team.

The problem, as it always has been, with an Eriksson buyout is that it only reduces his 2020-21 cap hit by $333,333. While the team will save a pretty penny a year from now, it wouldn’t be the answer for their current roster.

Instead, the team seems more likely to complete a trade or go with a smaller roster for the beginning of the season. Virtanen himself has been involved in trade speculation over the summer and with a new contract perhaps that smoke will begin to rise out of Vancouver once again. Teams rarely want to acquire a player with an arbitration hearing scheduled, since they would have to take it over without a ton of time to prepare.

If he stays in Vancouver, a $2.55MM cap hit is certainly not prohibitive given Virtanen did score 18 goals for the team this year. After that improvement in the regular season they expected a lot from the powerful forward in the playoffs, where it seemed his game should be well suited. Instead, he disappointed GM Jim Benning with just two goals and three points in 16 games.

Selected sixth overall in 2014, it’s not the first time that Virtanen has disappointed. Even his post-draft year in 2014-15 was sort of a flop, with the Calgary Hitmen star producing only 26 goals in 64 WHL games. For a player drafted that high (and one that had scored 45 the year before), it wasn’t quite the production expected. Still, Virtanen jumped straight into the NHL the following season and played 55 games, scoring seven goals and holding his own. When that next step was expected, he once again faltered and ended up playing in the AHL for most of 2016-17.

It’s frustrating, given the obvious raw skill, speed and power that Virtanen possesses. In 295 career NHL games he has scored 52 goals and 98 points, a far cry from some of the forwards picked just a few selections after him. At 24 there is still time for him to mature into an impact NHL option, but it will be interesting to see if it happens in Vancouver.

Virtanen will still be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights when the contract expires.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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