Snapshots: Off-Season, College Free Agents, Bratislava
Three weeks into free agency, it’s fair to begin analyzing how teams have improved this off-season, even though there are still several notable UFA’s who remain unsigned. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn did just that, using his predictive model to look at which team has done the most this summer. Topping the list, unsurprisingly, are the New York Rangers, who have added Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Adam Fox among others. Although some have been critical of their contract details, the Florida Panthers come in a close second after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. The Vancouver Canucks (Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland), Chicago Blackhawks (Robin Lehner, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta), and Washington Capitals (Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway) round out the top five off-season performers, per Luszczyszyn. His bottom team, very obviously, is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who faced an almost-impossible task of improving with Panarin, Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all hitting the open market. The addition of Gustav Nyquist is a nice move, but not enough to keep them from being the team that was hurt the most this summer. Even the nearest team, the San Jose Sharks, are not that close in terms of projected wins lost, and they have added no new players of note this summer. Fortunately, for Columbus and several other teams who have failed to improve but have the cap space to do so, there are a number of good players still available in free agency and salary cap crunches and restricted free agent dilemmas across the league will likely force substantial talent onto the trade block before the new season gets underway.
- Another way that teams may be able to improve this summer is by adding some soon-to-be-available college free agents next month. While it’s not the most talented class and lacks any star standouts like years past, the August NCAA group could provide some minor league depth a potential NHL upside to a number of teams. Expect Quinnipiac offensive blue liner Chase Priskie to be the most sought-after target. The following are the players set to become free agents on August 15th, along with the team that drafted them:
F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (ANA)
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (ANA)
F Christopher Brown, Boston University (BUF) – signed to AHL deal with WBS
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (BUF)
F Max Willman, Boston University (BUF)
F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (CHI)
G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DET)
D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (EDM) – signed to AHL deal with Bakersfield
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (EDM)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (EDM)
F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (FLA)
D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (MTL)
F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (NSH) – signed to AHL deal with Milwaukee
D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (OTT) – signed to AHL deal with Belleville
F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (PHI) – signed to ECHL deal with Indy
F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (SJS)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (SJS)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (SJS)
D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (WSH)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (WSH)
- HC Slovan Bratislava is enjoying an active off-season, signing eight players, but it’s still unclear where they’ll be playing next season. Bratislava announced in May that it would be leaving the KHL and re-joining the Slovakina Extraliga. However, Slovakian news source Sport.SK says that it’s not that simple. The club owes a total debt of $3MM to 60 players who were not fully compensated when Bratislava last played for their national league. Until that debt is square, the league could block their re-entry. As of now, Bratislava has offered to pay 30% of the debt up front and then negotiate payment schedules with the former players to cover the rest of the outstanding debt. The league has until August 7th to make a decision about the team’s future, either granting them a license to participate or not, but in the meantime they have officially signed eight players with the expectation of playing this season and Sport.SK reports that at least seven more are waiting to sign on. One such player waiting to see how things play out is former NHL defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who captained the team over the past three years in the KHL. One would expect the most well-known pro team in Slovakia to gain entrance back into the top native league, but unpaid player salaries is a sensitive issue in Europe and there could be more hoops to jump through before anything becomes official.
Lucic-Neal Notes: Conditions, Buyouts, Vancouver
The Flames and Oilers may have become pioneers in the ways of NHL trades today, completing the Milan Lucic–James Neal trade with an extraordinary condition on the draft pick included by Edmonton. In addition to sending Lucic to Calgary, the Oilers also retained part of his salary and added a conditional 2020 third-round pick to the deal. It took some time, even after the formal announcement, to reveal what those conditions were. The first, which is very specific but not unheard of, is that Neal must score 21 goals next season. The second is somewhat more convoluted: Neal must also score 10+ more goals than Lucic next season as well. By all accounts, a conditional pick transfer based on two players’ performances relative to one another has never before been attempted in the NHL. Yet, it has immediately turned some heads and has many asking whether this is the future of trading. Will we begin to see other general mangers hedging their bets by sending conditional picks based on whether or not the trade works out as expected? If both teams agree to the deal, wagering on whether one player will outperform the other, then there does not seem to be a problem. It can be added insurance for the team adding the player who would be expected to be better on paper, while being a nice scenario for the other, who either get a draft pick or an unexpectedly strong performance out of their new acquisition. It seems to be a classic win-win-win, wherein both teams win and we the viewers win by having another story line to follow throughout the year. The Flames and Oilers may have opened the door to a new line of through when it comes to conditional draft picks.
- Now that Lucic and Neal are on new teams, the question becomes how long will they stay in these new locales if their play does not improve. Many thought the Oilers would never be able to trade Lucic’s contract, so it’s hard to imagine that the Flames would be able to if his struggles continue next season. However, a buyout remains an unsavory idea next off-season as well. The move would cost Calgary $4.8MM/$3.5MM/$4.8MM in the first three years, which is hardly a savings from his now-adjusted $5.25MM cap hit. Neal is another matter on both both points though. Even if Neal has another bad season, one would imagine that his trade value would not be totally gone give the astonishing consistency he played with for most of his career until landing with the Flames. An Oilers team that could very well miss the playoffs again next season may not be a fair metric either as to whether or not Neal is truly done. However, if a trade market does not develop, a Neal buyout is somewhat palatable for Edmonton. Next summer, a buyout would cost $1.92MM each year for six years. It’s not an ideal scenario, but for a cap-strapped team looking to open their championship window, a penalty of less than $2MM for six years may not hurt as badly as $5.75MM for three years.
- Now that this trade is final, the rumors of a Lucic-Loui Eriksson swap can finally be put to rest. One of the most popular rumors this off-season, the disgruntled Eriksson wanted out of Vancouver and Lucic was open to the idea of a return to his hometown, prompting many to suggest the former Boston Bruins stars could be exchanged for one another. Yet, Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal asked Lucic today if at any point he had been approached about waiving his No-Movement Clause for a move to the Canucks. His response: “No never. There was never a trade to Vancouver as far as I’m concerned.” It seems that a deal, including Eriksson or anyone else, never actually came together to bring the native power forward home. Lucic is in Calgary now, but Eriksson and the Canucks are both still hoping to find a new home for the veteran forward before next season.
Eastern Notes: Leddy, Ristolainen, Carcone, Shalagin
The New York Islanders have made quite a few moves this offseason, re-signing Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson as well as adding goaltender Semyon Varlamov to their franchise, but the team may not be done yet.
Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post mentions that the team may seriously consider trading defenseman Nick Leddy later this offseason. The 28-year-old Leddy has three years on his contract at $5.5MM per season and with several teams in need of help for a top-four blueliner, the team might be willing to unload him if they can add more offensive talent, especially with prospects Noah Dobson and Bode Wilde not far from arriving in New York.
- In a roundtable discussion on what the chances are that the Tampa Bay Lightning might acquire Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) writes that while the Lightning has had interest in him in the past, the only way the team would be interested in acquiring him now would be if it were an upgrade and with no obvious trade candidates on their defense, a deal between Buffalo and Tampa Bay seems unlikely. Throw in the fact the team still has to sign restricted free agent Brayden Point to and the chances of acquiring Risolainen seems unlikely.
- There were many moving parts two week ago when the Ottawa Senators acquired Nikita Zaitsev from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Cody Ceci. The Senators acquired forward Connor Brown, but also picked up forward Michael Carcone as part of the deal, a 23-year-old restricted free agent who has battled his way through three AHL seasons and might be ready for a bottom-line role with the Senators now that the team acquired him. The Athletic’s Chris Stevenson reports that he hears that the Senators and Carcone are close to a new deal and could be a name to watch at training camp this fall. The Vancouver Canucks were received quite a bit of interest from Carcone at the trade deadline by both Toronto and Ottawa. He ended up going to Toronto in the Josh Leivo trade, but has since been traded again.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be bringing one of their 2019 draftees over to North America sooner than they had expected as a Russian website, spartak.ru (translation required), reports that Mikhail Shalagin, the team’s 2019 seventh-round pick, is expected to play in the Tampa Bay’s system, presumably with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, although nothing has come from the Lightning yet and it’s unknown whether the team will offer him an entry-level deal right away or offer him an AHL deal. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound forward scored 48 goals in the MHL and was the MVP of the league last year.
Pacific Notes: Eriksson, Ritchie, Smith, Dillon
With so many forwards now on their roster, the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff should have their hands full when training camp begins. The team now has 14 forwards under contract with two restricted free agents still to sign in Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin. That’s a lot of players for just 12 spots in the lineup.
One player who should find himself highly scrutinized is Loui Eriksson, who has made it clear he wouldn’t mind a change of scenery as he has stated he isn’t a big fan of Travis Green and his coaching staff. Unfortunately, a trade might be challenging as Eriksson still has three years remaining at $6MM AAV. When Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnson asked general manager Jim Benning about the possibility of sending Eriksson to the Utica Comets of the AHL, Benning was slow to answer.
“I don’t have a direct answer for that right now,” he admitted.
Eriksson’s agent said he doesn’t expect his client to be waived or re-assigned to Utica. Not sure if Benning feels the same way.
- With a large number of young wingers and recent two-way acquisitions this summer, the writing could be on the wall for winger Nick Ritchie, who still has two years remaining at a very reasonable $1.49MM. The 23-year-old hasn’t developed into the scoring power forward the team hoped for when they drafted him 10th overall in 2014 and he might be a perfect trade candidate, according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription required). Ritchie will have to fight for one of the left wing openings or he could find himself on a new team shortly.
- Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that while many people are questioning the Oilers decision-making in signing veteran goaltender Mike Smith after a disappointing campaign last year in Calgary, the numbers may tell a different story. While the 37-year-old goaltender finished with less than stellar numbers: 42 games, 2.72 GAA and a .898 save percentage, he did finish strong at the end of the season. In his seven of his last 10 regular-season games, Smith finished with a .923 save percentage or higher. He also did the same in three of the five playoff games he appeared in. He could bounce back in a big way.
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) looks at the Sharks salary cap situtation in 2020. The team should have $10.3MM in available salary cap space, but that doesn’t include an expected long-term deal for Kevin Labanc. However, the scribe notes that no matter what, the team will probably have to let defenseman Brenden Dillon go despite his value to the team’s blueline. However, if Radim Simek continues to get top-four minutes, Dillon would be only a third-pairing defenseman and wouldn’t be worth the $3.27MM he currently makes anyway, especially if he’s looking for a raise.
Latest On Brock Boeser’s Contract Talks
It appears that the Canucks and Brock Boeser are still a sizable distance apart in contract discussions. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston reports that Vancouver has tabled a six-year, $36MM offer to the winger while Boeser’s camp is looking for a shorter-term around $7MM per year.
Unlike most of the prominent restricted free agents out there, Boeser isn’t eligible for an offer sheet nor was he eligible for salary arbitration so he doesn’t have a lot of leverage at his disposal. He also doesn’t have as lengthy of a track record as some of the others in this RFA class with only 140 career games under his belt.
Nonetheless, the 22-year-old has established himself as being a capable top line player already. Those players tend to get paid more than $6MM per year in this market so Vancouver’s offer seems a little low on the surface but again, Boeser has even less leverage than most RFAs coming off their entry-level deals so that’s likely part of the equation.
Earlier this offseason, Boeser indicated that he’s open to all types of offers, ranging from a one-year deal to a max-term eight-year pact. However, with a notable shift towards eschewing long-term contracts in an effort to get to unrestricted free agency sooner, it’s not surprising that Boeser appears to prefer a shorter deal at this time.
Vancouver also has to be mindful of their salary cap situation. As a result of their offseason additions, they will likely have to clear out some payroll room to sign Boeser to the deal they offered let alone what the winger’s asking price is. Earlier this week, GM Jim Benning indicated that they’re comfortable using LTIR to start the season and then they’d make room when winger Antoine Roussel is ready to return but freeing up space now would be an easier route to take. Accordingly, they may look to try to accomplish that before finalizing a new contract with Boeser which means it could be a while before this deal gets done.
Benning: Canucks Are Open To Starting Season Using LTIR For Roussel
While the Canucks appear to be in a position where they need to shed salary with roughly $5MM-$6MM in cap room (per CapFriendly) and wingers Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin in need of new deals, GM Jim Benning told NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce that they are comfortable starting the season over the cap by using LTIR for Antoine Roussel and delaying getting back into compliance until Roussel returns. While that would certainly buy them more time, doing so has its risks as it’s easier for teams to clear cap room now while rosters are still being put together than it is in-season when their hands could be forced. Benning did state that they have multiple plans in place regarding their salary cap situation so they’ve likely explored by now what it would take in order to clear a contract or two off the books.
Early Notes: Hurricanes, Eriksson, Contracts
The Carolina Hurricanes have made some changes in their scouting department, promoting Robert Kron and Mike Dawson while hiring Cody Nickolet, Eric Fink and Oleg Smirnov. Kron will now serve as Director of European Scouting, while Dawson is now the Head North American Scout.
While adding top names from the WHL in Nickolet and Fink is important, Smirnov may actually be the most interesting hiring after working as an agent and for the players’ union in Russia for the past decade. The Hurricanes have just a single Russian on the NHL roster in Andrei Svechnikov, and he was selected second-overall after playing two years in North America. Perhaps adding another scout there will help the Hurricanes find even more hidden talent in the later rounds.
- After signing Micheal Ferland to a long-term deal yesterday, immediate speculation erupted about how the Vancouver Canucks were going to find playing time and cap space for their glut of forwards. The idea that came to everyone’s mind was a potential Loui Eriksson trade, a possibility that his agent admitted to on TSN radio. J.P. Barry explained that it “has gone past any kind of request” at this point and said that everyone—meaning Eriksson’s camp and GM Jim Benning—is looking for a solution. David Alter reported yesterday that Eriksson’s $4MM signing bonus is actually due on July 15th, meaning he becomes much less expensive ($9MM remaining over three years) after that date.
- Something to keep in mind over the next few weeks as the remaining unrestricted free agents wait for their next opportunity is that teams are only allowed to have 50 players under contract at anytime. Some teams are already quite close to that limit, including the Edmonton Oilers (48) and Dallas Stars (47). There is a little flexibility here because several young prospects will be heading back to their junior organizations and come off the books—Philip Broberg and Olivier Rodrigue in particular for Edmonton—but it is still a necessary consideration when speculating on where players will end up. Being too close to the limit could force a team to miss an opportunity at the end of training camp when teams place talented players on waivers.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Micheal Ferland
The Vancouver Canucks have signed another free agent forward, inking Micheal Ferland to a four-year, $14MM deal. The contract carries a $3.5MM cap hit, and will have a no-movement clause in the first two years before transitioning to a partial no-trade clause. Canucks GM Jim Benning released a short statement on his new forward:
Micheal is an energetic player that drives the play and can contribute in all three zones. He’ll make our team harder to play against on a nightly basis and we’re excited that he’ll call Vancouver home.
Ferland, 27, was the highest forward remaining on our Top 50 UFA list, coming in at number 11 just ahead of Ryan Dzingel. His versatility and effectiveness over thel ast two seasons made him an attractive target for many teams, though it does seem as though his market was shrunk somewhat given how long it took for him to sign. A deal with Vancouver represents a return to the Pacific Division where he started his career with the Calgary Flames, and a reward for a ton of hard work to this point.
Originally a fifth-round pick of the Flames in 2010, Ferland didn’t catch on as a full-time NHL player until 2015 when he used his physical play to establish himself in Calgary’s bottom-six. Within a few years he was playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for long stretches on the top line, scoring 21 goals and 41 points in the 2017-18 season. That summer he was flipped to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the bigger Elias Lindholm–Dougie Hamilton deal, bringing a new dimension to their attack.
In Carolina he got off to a blistering start and was setting himself up for a huge payday this summer. Through his first 54 games he had 17 goals and looked like he was well on his way to a career-high. Unfortunately, Ferland didn’t score a single goal in the 17 games after the trade deadline and was held to just a single assist in seven postseason contests. Dealing with various injuries, he finished the year with 40 points but is still a potential top-six add to a club like Vancouver.
After showing that he could keep up with top players in Calgary, there’s good reason to believe he might get the same opportunity with Vancouver. The team has Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson anchoring their top two lines, and Ferland could slide in on one of their wings to give them a little more physicality. The interesting thing will be where he fits in with relation to J.T. Miller, who is another big-bodied forward that can play either wing and add a little punch.
The addition of Ferland though raises more questions with how the Vancouver roster will shake out after training camp. The team already had 13 forwards on one-way contracts plus Pettersson and Adam Gaudette on their entry-level deals. That’s not even including restricted free agents Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin, at least the former of which will be assured a spot on opening day. There may be more moves coming for Vancouver, who have been looking for a landing spot for Loui Eriksson for some time and are set to pay him a hefty bonus on July 15 according to David Alter.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report a deal was close.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Three Players
The Vancouver Canucks have signed three of their restricted free agents, inking Reid Boucher, Brogan Rafferty and Josh Teves to two-way contracts. Boucher’s deal is just for one season, while Rafferty and Teves have each re-upped for two. That leaves the team with just Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin still to sign among RFAs.
News came out this morning that Boucher was close to a deal with the Canucks, and now the 25-year old has indeed re-signed to bring a level of minor league offense to the club. He registered 62 points last season in just 56 AHL contests and should help the Utica Comets tremendously once again if he can’t crack the NHL lineup out of camp. Boucher has 133 NHL games under his belt, meaning he very well could be the first call-up in case of injury concerns.
Rafferty, 24, signed out of Quinnipiac just a few months ago and got into two games with the Canucks down the stretch. Coming off his short-entry-level contract the undrafted defenseman was unlikely to get a big deal, but the Canucks have done well to at least secure two years of his services. Still a complete unknown at the NHL level, Rafferty will be competing in camp for a spot on the right side but has some tough competition now that the team has added Tyler Myers and Oscar Fantenberg. He’ll more likely start in the AHL given his waiver-exempt status.
So too will Teves in all likelihood, who was also signed out of the NCAA recently. The undrafted 24-year old defenseman played four years at Princeton before making the jump to the NHL for one game down the stretch. Another player who will battle for a job in camp, the left side is just as crowded in Vancouver with Quinn Hughes likely staking a claim and Jordie Benn coming in on a two-year deal.
Reid Boucher Close To Deal With Vancouver Canucks
While Vancouver Canucks fans wait for any crumb of information on Brock Boeser‘s new contract, they’ll at least get some good news soon on a different restricted free agent forward. Gerry Johansson, agent for Reid Boucher, was on Sportsnet radio today with Rick Dhaliwal and explained that they are close to a deal with the Canucks. Boucher filed for arbitration last week, but apparently will avoid the process with a new deal.
The 25-year old Boucher may have played only one game for the Canucks last season, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a big part of their organization. The former New Jersey Devils prospect was one of the most effective offensive players in the entire AHL, scoring 31 goals and 62 points in just 56 games. That marked his second consecutive season scoring better than a point-per-game for the Utica Comets, while also serving as important injury insurance for the Canucks.
It is unlikely that Boucher will play a huge role in the NHL next season, but re-signing him gives the team some strong minor league depth up front. In 133 career NHL games he has recorded 42 points.