Latest On Travis Hamonic
It’s been a long time since Travis Hamonic‘s name was in the news, partly because of his own decision and partly because of the complete standstill of the free agent market. The veteran defenseman opted out of the NHL’s return to play this summer citing family reasons but was also injured before the original pause, meaning his last competitive game was way back on February 8 of this year. It’ll be almost a full year before he hits the ice again but at just 30 years old could still be an effective part of any team’s blueline.
While there hasn’t been much to speculate on, Hamonic’s name did come up in conversation today on TSN radio in Vancouver, when Bob Marjanovich explained he had heard that both the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames were interested. Both teams are currently dealing with cap crunches, so would need to move money out before signing Hamonic to a one-year deal, according to Marjanovich.
The idea of a one-year deal for Hamonic seems likely at this point, given how cash-strapped so many teams around the league are, but it does seem difficult for either Vancouver or Calgary to fit him in. The interesting part of the Canucks connection is that he would essentially be there to replace the outgoing Chris Tanev, who took his job as a defensively-minded right-handed defenseman in Calgary this free agency. But Vancouver is already over the cap ceiling and though they may be able to get some relief if Micheal Ferland can be moved to long-term injured reserve, it’s not like they have much money to throw around at free agents.
In Calgary, bringing Hamonic back could make some sense given the familiarity there after three seasons together, but he struggled at times in 2019-20 and again, was replaced by Tanev on the open market. The Flames also have Rasmus Andersson signed and ready to take on more responsibility, not leaving very much chance for Hamonic to really boost his value for a bigger contract next season.
There likely would be better fits for Hamonic elsewhere, including with the Winnipeg Jets, where the Manitoba native played his minor hockey. If any of those family concerns remain, perhaps a Canadian team would be the only place he would consider for the shortened season, given the division realignment and border protocols. The Toronto Maple Leafs were linked to him several years ago but added former teammate T.J. Brodie in free agency and don’t have much money, while the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators don’t really have obvious openings either.
Like the other high profile free agents remaining, Hamonic’s career is at something of a crossroads thanks to the COVID-affected market. He should be a sought-after commodity given his experience—Hamonic has averaged more than 20 minutes a night in each of his ten NHL seasons—but not faces a difficult search for playing time that he can use in the next offseason negotiations.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Tyler Graovac To One-Year Deal
The Vancouver Canucks announced they have brought back unrestricted free agent Tyler Graovac and signed the veteran to a one-year, two-way deal. The 27-year-old bounced between Vancouver and the Utica Comets of the AHL last season and likely will do the same again this year.
Graovac spent most of the season injured last year after suffering a lower-body injury. He did appear in eight games with the Canucks, scoring two goals, while also appearing in 11 games for Utica, posting two goals and three points. He was with the Canucks in the playoff bubble, but did not appear in a game.
The 6-foot-5 forward has appeared in just 70 NHL games over his career with most of those coming in 2016-17 when he played 52 games for the Minnesota Wild. However, he struggled to gain a full-time role after that and was traded to Washington where he spent most of that next season with the Capitals’ AHL team. He signed with the Calgary Flames in the 2018 offseason, but never played a game for them, scoring a career-high 24 goals with the Stockton Heat instead. Graovac signed last offseason with the Canucks then.
Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Jalen Chatfield
The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed defenseman Jalen Chatfield to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2020-21 season. Chatfield was a restricted free agent that was eligible for arbitration but had decided not to file. PuckPedia reports that the deal is worth $700K at the NHL level and $125K in the minor leagues.
Chatfield, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks in 2017 and has spent the last three seasons in the minor leagues with the Utica Comets. He’s been recalled a few times to the NHL but hasn’t actually gotten into a game yet with Vancouver, something that he’s obviously hoping to change this year. The former Windsor Spitfires defenseman has shown basically no offensive ability at the professional level, recording just 18 points in his AHL career, but could still be an injury replacement or taxi squad member this season.
As we discussed earlier today, there remains a group of restricted free agents that aren’t expected to draw huge contracts but still aren’t signed for whatever reason. Like Chatfield, who now at least knows he will be employed in the 2020-21 season, many of those unsigned players can’t know for sure where they will be playing given the uncertainty surrounding the AHL campaign. Several of these short-term two-way deals will likely be signed over the next few weeks, even perhaps for players who have more experience and success than the Canucks defenseman.
Latest On 2020-21 Schedule And Rosters
Nothing is official between the NHL and NHLPA on a format for the 2020-21 season, but progress is being made. As reported earlier today, financial negotiations – including a proposal of compliance buyouts – have been put to rest and the two sides will move forward with the terms agreed upon in the CBA. There is still work to be done on an agreement of numerous other details for the season, but both sides seem optimistic about a January 13 start date and some players, like New Jersey’s Nico Hischier, are already planning their returns to North America in preparation.
As for what comes next in the planning process, TSN’s Frank Seravalli, Darren Dreger, and Pierre LeBrun spoke at length about possible roster changes for the coming year in the latest edition of “Insider Trading”. Given the risks associated with the potential for a Coronavirus breakout in a locker room, as well as the health complications of adding players to the roster via recall, it seems likely that rosters will be expanded and taxi squads may be implemented for this season. Seravalli specifically notes that active rosters could grow to 26 and taxi squads of four could bring the total group of available players for each team to 30. There is also the possibility that the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks could be given an exception for larger taxi squads, as their AHL affiliates play outside of Canada and adding to the roster would be a long and involved process. He mentions that the other Canadian teams do not share this problem, as their AHL teams play in Canada and are expected to have their own division this season. The group did not address the salary cap implications that an expanded roster may have, but expect that taxi squad members will be paid AHL salaries but receive NHL benefits.
Regardless of the safeguards that the league puts in place with rosters as well as travel and gameplay, it seems inevitable that there will be cases of Coronavirus among NHL players and personnel this season. As the NFL season has shown, that can cause quite the confusion when it comes to scheduling. So while many expected the 2020-21 season to be condensed due to the delayed start, TSN’s insiders report that the schedule will actually have numerous off days built in to accommodate make-up games.
For now, each side continues to discuss all options internally – the NHLPA Executive Board met today and the NHL Board of Governors is set to meet later this week – while negotiating with one another. As noted earlier today, the new target date to begin play is January 13 with training camps for all teams likely to begin on January 3 and almost certainly a uniform period of quarantine for all prior to arrival at camp (Dreger believes eight days of isolation will be required). As such, the clock is ticking and the hope is that the two sides can have all the details hammered out sooner rather than later now that their financial debate has been resolved.
Maxim Lapierre Announces Retirement
Maxim Lapierre, who played 614 games over his NHL career for five different teams, has announced his retirement, according to a report from NHL.com.
The 35-year-old forward played 10 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins. He was known as a physical bottom-six player who spent his first five seasons with the Canadiens. His best season was back in 2008-09 when he scored 15 goals. He was a major factor in the playoffs for the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks team. He was acquired at the trade deadline and produced three goals and 66 penalty minutes to help the Canucks come within one game of winning a Stanley Cup Championship. His last NHL season was with the Penguins during the 2014-15 season. In total, Lapierre scored 65 goals and 139 points and 586 penalty minutes.
After his contract in Pittsburgh ran out, Lapierre, a Montreal native, signed a one-year deal to play for Modo in the SHL overseas. He then followed that up playing four years for Lugano of the NLA. Last season, he joined the Berlin Polar Bears in the DEL. He did help Team Canada to the bronze medal in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
Benning: Canucks Attempted To Trade Loui Eriksson This Offseason, Talks Ongoing For Travis Green Extension
Loui Eriksson’s tenure with the Canucks has certainly been a rocky one through the first four seasons. In an interview with Sportsnet 650 (audio link), GM Jim Benning acknowledged that he did try to move the winger this offseason but they weren’t able to find a taker. With two years left on his deal that carries a $6MM cap hit, that’s not too surprising. As things stand, the veteran will enter training camp hoping to land a spot on the fourth line although he is a candidate to be waived and sent to the minors to free up $1.075MM in cap room.
Benning also acknowledged that talks continue with head coach Travis Green about a contract extension. He has been behind the bench for the Canucks since the 2017-18 season and is entering the final year of his contract.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Vancouver Canucks
Current Cap Hit: $83,001,878 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Quinn Hughes (one year, $917K)
F Elias Pettersson (one year, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Hughes: $850K
Pettersson: $2.85MM
Total: $3.7MM
So far in this series, there haven’t been many star players currently on entry-level deals. That isn’t the case here. Pettersson has quickly established himself as a legitimate front-line player and while he spent most of last season on the wing, shifting to the lesser-valuable position isn’t going to hurt his bargaining position one bit. He has back-to-back 66-point seasons under his belt and is in position to command $7MM or more on his next deal, even in this cap climate.
Hughes doesn’t have quite as long of a track record as his lone full NHL season was 2019-20 but it was certainly a good one. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting and immediately jumped into a regular top-four role. There’s still room to grow and if that workload and production increase as expected, he’ll be leading Vancouver blueliners in AAV by this time a year from now.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Sven Baertschi ($3.367MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($2MM, UFA)
G Thatcher Demko ($1.05MM, RFA)
D Alexander Edler ($6MM, UFA)
F Adam Gaudette ($950K, RFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Brandon Sutter ($4.375MM, UFA)
Let’s get the bad contracts out of the way first. Baertschi cleared waivers due to his contract last season and they weren’t able to find a taker for him in a trade this offseason. Barring any surprises, he’s probably heading for a similar fate. He can still be a factor in the NHL and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him sign elsewhere next year but it will be closer to the $1MM mark than his current one. Sutter is another pricey deal for a role player. He can still play on the fourth line and kill penalties but given their cap situation, they could free up $1.075MM by sending him to the AHL as well as there’s no chance he’d be claimed on waivers.
Pearson has rebounded nicely since joining the Canucks and quietly put up a career year offensively last season despite the pandemic shutting things down. In a normal cap environment, a similar showing in 2020-21 would have him in line for a raise but now, even matching his current rate will be difficult. A big drop isn’t likely either but he’s not going to get the contract he normally would in this situation. Gaudette had a good sophomore season but without much leverage (no arbitration rights) and Vancouver’s cap situation, he was basically stuck taking a one-year deal and will hope for better fortunes next time around.
Edler has been a fixture on the back end for the Canucks for parts of 14 seasons and he’s still playing a prominent role. Impact defenders haven’t been hit as hard when it comes to contracts this offseason as some forwards have which should help his cause. However, Edler hasn’t really shown an inclination or desire to test the open market as he has made it clear that he wants to stay in Vancouver. But with Pettersson and Hughes heading for significant raises a year from now, GM Jim Benning is going to need to reallocate a lot of money from their expiring deals to those two. Will they still have enough to keep Edler around? He’ll have to take a big cut for it to happen although it’s worth noting that he will be eligible for performance incentives on a one-year contract next offseason. Benn played a limited role last season and he’s another one that could be shopped to try to clear some money still. Failing that, he’ll play a similar role next year and will be looking at a price tag that’s about half of what he’s getting now next offseason.
Demko could very well be one of the more interesting RFA cases next offseason. Not just in Vancouver but anywhere. Since he was drafted back in 2014, he has been viewed as their goalie of the future and that hasn’t changed, especially since they opted not to hand Jacob Markstrom a long-term contract in October to help pave the way for Demko to ascend to that role. He will almost certainly be their protected goalie in the Seattle expansion draft. And yet he has just 37 career regular season games under his belt (plus a stellar four-game playoff stint from the summer). He’d be lucky to double that number in a shortened season so he’ll still be relatively inexperienced when his deal is up. Could he sign a second bridge deal that’s comparable to Tristan Jarry’s three-year, $10.5MM pact that he recently inked? Sure, but that walks him to UFA eligibility at 28 which isn’t ideal. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot riding on this limited season for Demko.
Two Years Remaining
F Jay Beagle ($3MM, UFA)
F Brock Boeser ($5.875MM, RFA)
F Loui Eriksson ($6MM, UFA)
G Braden Holtby ($4.3MM, UFA)
F Antoine Roussel ($3MM, UFA)
Again, let’s get the bad out of the way first. Eriksson hasn’t come close to living up to his contract and he quite became another addition to the list of ill-fated 2016 UFA deals. He’s another candidate to be buried in the minors if they need to try to free up some cap room. The same can be said for Beagle who can still win faceoffs but is making way too much for someone that’s basically just a specialist on the draw at this stage of his career.
As for Boeser, he has been a capable top-six winger in his three full NHL seasons although staying healthy has been a challenge at times. He’s definitely a part of the core although a $7.5MM qualifying offer is required to retain his RFA rights. That seemed reasonable back at the time but the market being what it is now and the cap flattening out, making room for that deal will be a bit trickier. Roussel could have easily gone in the previous paragraph but he can still play an effective energy role. He’s overpaid in that spot and will be looking at a lot less money two years from now but at least he provides some value.
Holtby was signed to act as a bridge goaltender for Demko to eventually move into the number one slot. He could be appealing in expansion to the Kraken depending on how next season goes but with Demko expected to get the starting role eventually, Holtby may be hard-pressed to find a number one opening two years from now which means his next price tag could be a bit lower.
Three Years Remaining
F Micheal Ferland ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Bo Horvat ($5.5MM, UFA)
F J.T. Miller ($5.25MM, UFA)
Horvat doesn’t put up the offensive numbers that a true number one center does but when you factor everything else in, he’s a capable number one center. He plays a lot of heavy defensive minutes while being the captain. Assuming he hovers around the 60-point mark (he played above that rate last season), he’ll be highly coveted on the open market and should garner a sizable raise. Miller’s acquisition was questioned at the time but he had the best season of his career in 2019-20, tallying over a point per game while logging more than 20 minutes a game for the first time. If he shows this wasn’t just some good luck, he too will be coveted by many teams in free agency which means a raise would be on the horizon for him as well. Ferland’s future is uncertain due to lingering concussion trouble. He’s hoping to return for next season but hasn’t been cleared yet. If he doesn’t get the green light, he’ll be eligible for LTIR which will at least give the Canucks some short-term breathing room on the cap.
Canucks Still Unsure Of Micheal Ferland's Status For Next Season
The future of Canucks winger Micheal Ferland remains uncertain, notes Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma. The veteran has been plagued by concussion-like symptoms and left the postseason bubble when they resurfaced again although he hasn’t given up on giving it another shot. GM Jim Benning indicated that they’re still trying to evaluate if he’ll be cleared to try to participate in camp:
Ferland has three years left on his contract worth $3.5MM and the Canucks are already very tight to the cap ceiling. If he isn’t cleared to play, they would be eligible to put him on LTIR and get some cap relief until he is given the green light (if it happens) which would give them a bit of extra flexibility as they figure out the last few roster spots on what is a relatively deep group of forwards.
Vancouver Canucks Loan Petrus Palmu To Germany
Unlike many players who have bee shipped overseas in recent months while the NHL waits for their season to begin, Petrus Palmu is no stranger to loans. The Vancouver Canucks prospects has spent parts of each of his three pro seasons on loan in his native Finland. As such, it should come as no surprise that he has again been loaned away. Instead, the surprise is that rather than return to the Liiga, Palmu has been loaned to ERC Ingolstadt of Germany’s DEL.
Ingolstadt announced on Monday that they were pleased to have negotiated a loan with the Canucks to land Palmu. As opposed to many recent loan announcements, the team’s release also did not mention any shortened timeline or return for NHL training camp. Instead, it seems possible that this could be a season-long loan for the young forward.
Palmu, 23, is a skilled and speedy forward, as evidenced by a near 100-point season in the OHL and solid production in the Liiga. However, his size continues to be a concern when it comes to his NHL prospects. At 5’6″ and 170 lbs., Palmu is undersized to be competing against elite competition and to this point the Canucks seem hesitant to even place him in the AHL, beyond just a dozen games two years ago. Perhaps another strong season in Europe, this time in a new league, will convince them to give him a shot .
Poll: Who Would Win An All-Canadian Division?
Earlier today, the Toronto Raptors announced that they will begin the upcoming NBA season in Tampa after their request to play at their home arena was denied by the Canadian government. Because of the travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada, it always seemed impossible for the Raptors—the league’s lone Canadian franchise—to be hosting American-based teams in Toronto. A long quarantine is still required when you enter the country, meaning the logistics of holding NBA games was going to be incredibly difficult.
In the NHL, however, there may be a way around those difficulties. The league includes seven Canadian-based teams, meaning they could play each other in a realigned divisional structure to start the regular season. The seven teams are based all across the country, but would theoretically not need to quarantine between cities—though this is certainly not a guarantee, especially given Toronto’s increased restrictions today.
The idea of an All-Canadian division has been speculated about since the beginning of the offseason, with the general consensus being it would be necessary to get through the 2020-21 season. Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver would be battling it out to be “King in the North.”
If that division does happen this season, who does it benefit? Which team would be the ultimate winner, and who would face an even more difficult task?
The Canucks, Oilers, and Flames all already play each other in the normal Pacific Division, but none of them were able to top the Vegas Golden Knights this year for the first seed. Perhaps if they get away from the expansion powerhouse, they would be even more successful.
The Maple Leafs, Senators, and Canadiens are in the same boat, battling in a tough Atlantic Division that also included two of the league’s best teams. The Boston Bruins had the best record in the NHL when the season was put on pause, while the Tampa Bay Lightning won it all in the bubble. Getting away from the Bruins especially might be a blessing for the Maple Leafs as they try to finally get over the first-round hump.
Or perhaps it’s the lone Central Division team in Winnipeg who would get the biggest boost. The Jets have been an excellent squad for the last several years, but are in a powerhouse of a division with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars all finishing ahead of them in the standings this year. Sure, the other Canadian teams may not be pushovers, but all seven Central teams were included in the 24-team postseason bubble, with the last-place Blackhawks even upsetting the Oilers in the qualification round.
Perhaps who gets the biggest boost is too tough to answer, given the changing rosters all around the league. But if an All-Canadian division does happen, who will come out on top? Make your prediction below and jump into the comment section to explain your thoughts!
Who would win an All-Canadian division?
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Toronto Maple Leafs 25% (782)
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Montreal Canadiens 22% (716)
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Vancouver Canucks 15% (488)
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Edmonton Oilers 14% (435)
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Winnipeg Jets 11% (366)
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Calgary Flames 10% (306)
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Ottawa Senators 3% (90)
Total votes: 3,183
[Mobile users click here to vote!]