Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Oilers, Canucks
After two years of heavy turnover and maneuvering to get their franchise off to a hot start, it looks like the Vegas Golden Knights will be taking a back seat when free agency opens on July 1. While most people weren’t expecting Vegas to be active this offseason, with their cap room already used up, Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas writes that President of Hockey Operations George McPhee admitted the team will be inactive:
Well we’re in pretty good shape with our core group. We have basically everyone signed up and we are close on some other things. So I don’t imagine we’re going to be out looking at free agents this summer. We like the team the way it is and we like the young guys that we have coming along.
What McPhee meant when he said the team was close on some other things could be very interesting, although it could range anywhere from a potential long-term deal with restricted free agent William Karlsson, to potential deals for fellow RFA’s Nikita Gusev, Tomas Nosek, Jimmy Schuldt or veteran UFA Deryk Engelland, or even a trade to free up cap space to sign any of them.
- The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis (subscription required) looks at the potential compatibility between the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets, wondering if the two teams might be a perfect match for solving each of their problems. The scribe suggests the Jets could use Edmonton to help unload some of their less-significant contracts, such as Mathieu Perreault or Dmitry Kulikov, or if the Jets are more motivated, they could consider sending winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who is coming off a disappointing season, to Edmonton for a package that could include a defenseman such as Darnell Nurse or Andrej Sekera and some of Edmonton’s youth that could help bolster the team’s depth.
- Allan Mitchell of the Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Oilers are in need of an inexpensive third-line center option, one that can kill penalties, suggesting the team look via the trade market to find that player. He writes that the Oilers should consider trying to pry Montreal Canadiens’ center Phillip Danault, as well as look at Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry, Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Detroit’s Luke Glendening, or Dallas’ Radek Faksa. The scribe adds that the most likely candidate that Edmonton would be able to steal away could be Pageau.
- The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that the Vancouver Canucks should seriously consider trying to convince Toronto Maple Leafs unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner to sign with them this offseason. While there have been rumors that Toronto wants to unload other contracts in hopes of keeping Gardiner in the fold, Johnston writes that Gardiner would be the perfect puck-carrying defenseman that the team hasn’t had since Alexander Edler was in his prime. However, he wonders whether the U.S.-born blue liner might prefer to avoid playing in Canada after a taking a lot of heat from Toronto fans over the years.
Canucks Had Interest In Marcus Johansson Before The Trade Deadline
- The Canucks showed some interest in winger Marcus Johansson back at the trade deadline, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic mentioned in an appearance on TSN 1040 (audio link). While Vancouver wasn’t going to go from missing the playoffs to making them with him, they were hopeful that bringing him in could give them a leg up on trying to sign him this summer when he hits unrestricted free agency next month. Johansson was instead dealt to Boston and has certainly helped his value with a strong showing in the postseason, posting 11 points in 19 games heading into play on Thursday night.
Snapshots: Capuano, Roslovic, Tryamkin
New Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith was given full control over hiring his staff, has yet to make any additions. However, a familiar name could be on the way. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that former New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano is in talks to join the team. Capuano spent seven years as the Isles’ head coach and was an assistant for the Florida Panthers over the past two years. However, he became a free agent when new Panthers’ hire Joel Quenneville decided not to retain his services. A former AHL head coach as well, Capuano brings experience, but also a familiarity with working with young players, of which the Senators have plenty. Garrioch adds that GM Pierre Dorion stated today that the team hopes to have some assistants in place before the upcoming NHL Draft, meaning Capuano’s official addition could be imminent.
- The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Winnipeg Jets forward Jack Roslovic has fired long-time agent Ken Robinson. Roslovic was a first-round pick of the Jets in 2015, but has been buried on the team’s organization depth chart and unable to break out. Roslovic has reportedly requested a trade out of Winnipeg several times and he remains unhappy with his current role, despite finally playing a full NHL season last year. With a number of difficult decisions to make this off-season up against the salary cap, the Jets may not be eager to move an affordable piece like Roslovic. Unfortunately, the young forward’s move to a new agent likely implies he wants someone to put more pressure on them to make a move than his last agent did. If Roslovic hits the trade market, expect his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets to be interested.
- The Vancouver Canucks may have lost prospect defenseman Nikita Tryamkin to the KHL two years ago, but they remain interested in bringing him back. The Province’s Patrick Johnston reports that GM Jim Benning is keeping tabs on the big blue liner and looks forward to hopefully having him back with the team down the road. Tryamkin has one year remaining on his contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, so the reunion won’t be coming this off-season. However, talks have already begun with agent Todd Diamond about a future deal. Tryamkin initially left the team over frustration with role in the season-and-a-half he spent in North America. However, the 2014 third-round pick has improved his play in Russia and has also developed into a locker room leader for Avtomobilist. He would likely play a much larger role for the Canucks in his second time around.
Latest On Jason Zucker’s Trade Market
The Minnesota Wild have tried to trade Jason Zucker multiple times. At the trade deadline this year, the Wild had a deal fall through with the Calgary Flames at the last minute while just last month they tried and failed to get a deal done with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Phil Kessel. It should come as no surprise then that Zucker comes in near the top of The Athletic’s new trade board (subscription required) or that he was the topic of discussion on TSN 1040 radio today. Host Mike Halford —who also works at The Athletic—reported that a source told him the Vancouver Canucks are interested in the Wild forward and that there are several trade proposals already on the table.
Zucker, 27, is one of the last bastions of the Minnesota forward core that former GM Chuck Fletcher built during his time there. Since taking over, new GM Paul Fenton has jettisoned Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle, bringing in some different faces to try and change their playoff outcome. Unfortunately, the Wild didn’t even make the playoffs this season and now face an uphill climb back to contention. If Fenton is trying for a long-term approach to that problem it would make sense to move Zucker’s remaining four years at a $5.5MM cap hit for future assets—though Kessel would have not been that kind of acquisition.
The Canucks however do have plenty of good young players to target, if Minnesota is interested in sending him that direction. The interest from Vancouver is obvious, given how well their young forwards performed this year and the huge amount of cap space they currently enjoy. Even though he didn’t replicate his outstanding 2017-18 season, Zucker still produced 21 goals and 42 points last year for the Wild, and is one of the fastest skaters in the league. His deal only takes him through until he turns 31, and the Canucks have a need on the left side of their top-six beside either Bo Horvat or Elias Pettersson.
Still, because of Zucker’s value the Canucks won’t be the only ones interested. That same Athletic trade board has several quotes from executives around the league wondering why the Wild would even be interested in moving him, meaning Vancouver would likely need to pay a premium to win the bidding.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Trade Bait, Free Agency, Canucks
Despite the Stanley Cup Final still being at least two games from completion, trade news has exploded in recent days around the hockey world. Players like Jacob Trouba, Nikita Zaitsev and Phil Kessel are all expected to be moved at some point this summer, and Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the rest of the trade market is expected to be quite active. Custance breaks down his top-20 players who could be on the move, and includes Trouba right at the top after speaking with executives and scouts around the league.
There are other interesting notes in the list though, including the fact that the San Jose Sharks showed interest in New York Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov at the trade deadline before acquiring Gustav Nyquist. Namestnikov hasn’t quite found his touch with the Rangers since being part of the deal that sent Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay, and is heading into the final year before unrestricted free agency. The 26-year old has shown flashes of immense offensive potential in the past, but scored just 31 points in 78 games last season for the Rangers.
- The Winnipeg Jets have re-opened talks with pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Myers according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. In his latest Free Agent Frenzy column, the scribe notes that with an understanding of the trade market for Trouba, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has circled back to Myers to see what it would take to bring him back to Winnipeg. The 28-year old defenseman still ranks seventh on the TSN free agent list, but could disappear entirely if the Jets are able to re-sign him before the interview process starts on June 23.
- The same could be said about both Luke Schenn and Alexander Edler, who continue to discuss new contracts with the Vancouver Canucks according to GM Jim Benning on a Sportsnet radio appearance today. Benning also shot down any rumors that the team and RFA Brock Boeser are far apart on contract talks, noting that contract negotiations have “gone in the right direction.” The Canucks GM could not comment directly on the recent Zaitsev report, but is having lots of trade conversations to see if there is a way to improve the team.
Canucks Will Not Move 10th Overall Pick
If Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning was looking for some final answers on his draft board at the NHL Scouting Combine, he found them. Benning tells The Province’s Ben Kuzma that he will stand pat with his first-round pick as the NHL Entry Draft approaches, neither trading the pick away nor moving up or down the draft order:
Coming out of the combine, I felt even better and excited about the player we’re going to get at No. 10. The kids were excellent in the interviews because they can get into a room with adults and sell themselves on what they can do and what they can get better at. I’m super excited about the pick.
Heading into the NHL Draft Lottery in April, there was hope that the Canucks would finally have some luck with the ping pong balls. There was particular excitement over the possibility that Vancouver could land the No. 1 pick and pair Jack Hughes with brother Quinn Hughes. However, the team again missed out on a top pick, sliding back to the No. 10 slot. This prompted some speculation that perhaps Benning and company would look to move the pick, either in a trade for an established player or as part of a package to move up to try and add a difference-maker earlier in the first round.
As it turns out, Benning feels he doesn’t need to move the pick to land that “exciting” player. At No. 10, the Canucks will certainly miss out on the likes of Hughes, Kaapo Kakko, and Bowen Byram and will likely be unable to grab a player like Alex Turcotte, Dylan Cozens, Kirby Dach, and Cole Caufield. However, in such a deep draft class, that still leaves a number of really promising players with a chance to fall into Vancouver’s lap. USNTDP standout forwards Trevor Zegras and Matthew Boldy, WHL product Peyton Krebs, and Swedish blue liner Philip Broberg should all be available, among others with top-ten talent.
One player who is unlikely to be a target of the Canucks? Russian forward Vasili Podkolzin. Not only was Podkolzin not in attendance at the combine, thus unable to sway Benning’s opinion, but Vancouver is also looking to take a step forward sooner rather than later and the dynamic winger is at least two years out contractually from making his presence felt in the NHL. Fortunately, the team will have plenty of other options at that spot and the GM is content to stay put and take what he can get.
Vancouver Canucks “Checked In” On Nikita Zaitsev
The Vancouver Canucks were recently linked to pending free agent defensemen Tyler Myers and Jake Gardiner, but have also been rumored to be interested in a trade to address their blue line. That idea popped up again today when Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweeted the Canucks are “busy working [the] phones” on the trade market. Dhaliwal specifically notes that the team has inquired on Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who is apparently generating plenty of interest.
Zaitsev recently requested a trade from the Maple Leafs for personal reasons, something the GM Kyle Dubas is trying to facilitate. The 27-year old defenseman has five years left on his current deal however, which has made some speculate that Toronto may have to sweeten any deal to get him out of town. Zaitsev’s contract carries a $4.5MM cap hit, an amount that the Maple Leafs could certainly do without as they try to re-sign restricted free agents Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, or even find some way to fit Gardiner back into the fold.
For the Canucks though, the cap situation is in a very different place. Vancouver currently projects to have more than $30MM in cap space (via CapFriendly), with twenty players already on the roster. That’s an incredible amount of room for the team even if some of it is about to be snapped up by a new Brock Boeser contract, among other restricted free agents. Spending $4.5MM on Zaitsev would hardly make a dent, even though he would immediately become their highest-paid defender—pending a new deal for Alexander Edler, who is a free agent and even though there has been positive talks between the two sides, nothing is done yet.
It would also provide some stability on the right side for the Canucks, who may find themselves in a situation where they need to trade Chris Tanev this season. The veteran defenseman is on the final year of his deal and has been unable to stay healthy throughout his career. While he is an excellent shutdown option when on the ice, the team just hasn’t been able to rely on him to that point. If Tanev doesn’t get an extension, he would become an excellent trade deadline asset for the Canucks if he was healthy at that point in the season. Behind Tanev and the younger Troy Stecher, there isn’t a ton of proven right-handed options in Vancouver.
Still, checking in on a player certainly doesn’t mean something is going to get done. Zaitsev’s deal comes with plenty of risk, and the Canucks may feel like they can address their defensive issues in other ways. What it does signal is that they aren’t going to be waiting around this summer, and are willing to make a deal to improve the club for this season. With a young core led by Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, it certainly makes sense to push a little harder to improve the squad this offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks
Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Vancouver has one of the better forwards in the RFA class and one of the better defenders among the unrestricted free agents. Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Brock Boeser – The 22-year-old had a nearly identical sophomore season compared to his rookie year. While some stagnation can be cause for concern, that’s not the case with Boeser. He has already established himself as a legitimate top line winger and will be looking to be paid accordingly this summer. Unlike the players at the top of the RFA class though, Boeser doesn’t have quite as much of a track record. The first year of his contract was burned with just nine games and between that and injuries, he doesn’t have two full NHL seasons of games under his belt. While that could make a short-term deal more palatable from Boeser’s perspective, it’s still expected that a long-term contract will get done.
D Ben Hutton – A year ago, it looked rather unlikely that Hutton would still be in Vancouver and even less likely that they’d be entertaining the idea of tendering him a $2.8MM qualifying offer. However, he had a much-improved 2018-19 season, working his way from being in and out of the lineup a fixture in Vancouver’s top four. While the presence of Quinn Hughes could ultimately cut into Hutton’s ice time next season, he should still be an important part of their back end for next season. The 26-year-old is a year away from UFA eligibility and is eligible for salary arbitration.
Other RFAs: F Reid Boucher, F Brendan Gaunce, F Nikolay Goldobin, F Markus Granlund, F Yan-Pavel Laplante, F Josh Leivo, F Tyler Motte, D Derrick Pouliot, D Brogan Rafferty, D Josh Teves
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Alex Edler – Edler is near the top of the list in terms of left-shot defensemen available. Normally, this would bode well for his market value but by all accounts, he’d rather not make it to July 1st and would simply rather remain with the only NHL organization he’s ever known after being a third-rounder of the Canucks back in 2004. However, at this point, it appears that the hold-up is at least in part due to his preference to receive a no-move clause in his contract. While that may not seem like a big deal on the surface, we are just a couple of years away from the Seattle expansion draft and if he’s not interested in leaving Vancouver now, he likely wouldn’t be open to waiving no-move protection down the road.
D Luke Schenn – His acquisition in mid-January was largely for salary-matching purposes but Schenn wound up filling a useful role for Vancouver down the stretch after his recall from AHL Utica. He logged just shy of 15 minutes per night over 18 games with the Canucks and there is already talk that the team is interested in bringing him back for next season. Schenn made $800K in 2018-19 and it’s unlikely that it would cost much more than that to keep him in the fold considering he played in more AHL than NHL games this past season.
Other UFAs: F Derek Dorsett (already retired), F Tanner Kero, G Michael Leighton, D Evan McEneny, F Tom Pyatt
Projected Cap Space: Vancouver currently has just shy of $52.5MM committed for next season, per CapFriendly. While re-signing Boeser and Edler won’t be cheap, they’ll have some room to shop at the top of the free agent market if they so desire. However, knowing that Hughes and Elias Pettersson are two years away from what will likely be very pricey second contracts, expect GM Jim Benning to be somewhat tempered in his spending and will likely prefer to add some shorter-term deals this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: CBA, Johansson, Canucks
In September, both the NHL and NHLPA hold opt out clauses for the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which could eventually lead to another work stoppage in 2020. A stoppage would be a nightmare for fans, but apparently is also not what either side is hoping for this time around. John Shannon of Sportsnet was on 630 CHED in Edmonton today discussing the upcoming negotiations, and told host Bob Stauffer that he is confident a deal will get done:
There will be no work stoppage. There will be no strike. There will be no lockout. Both sides have done too well with this last CBA. What we’re talking about now is tweaks, we’re talking about improving the plight of both sides—and I’m being a little facetious when I say “plight.” This is one where the owners would be thrilled to continue to have this CBA, but they realize that in order to get some harmony with the players they’re going to have to give up a little bit, and in turn the players are going to have to give up something.
Shannon goes on to explain that there will be no compliance buyouts in the next agreement, given that there will be no work stoppage this time. He also suggests the length of contracts may be limited even further, perhaps down to even a five-year cap. While none of this is certain at this point, we’ve been hearing for months that there has been good progress made towards a new agreement.
- Marcus Johansson has rebuilt his free agent value according to a new piece by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) which examines the potential market for the Boston Bruins trade deadline addition. LeBrun notes that the Bruins have “begun to discuss the merits of bringing him back” and speaks to both Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom and New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero, who both explain that they love the person as much as the player. Johansson has played just 87 regular season games over the last two seasons thanks to injury, but has been a real contributor to the Bruins playoff success and is set to hit the open market at just 28 years old.
- The Vancouver Canucks have been rumored to be in the market for a defenseman this offseason, and now Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweets out a few potential options. The reporter has heard that the team will go after Jake Gardiner or Tyler Myers, obviously depending on what happens with the two over the next month. Gardiner and Myers are two of the top options available on the free agent market this season, but provide different skill sets. Myers is a huge right-handed blue liner who recorded his best offensive season—48 points—a decade ago and hasn’t come close since, while Gardiner is just one year removed from a 52 point season from the left side.
Trade Rumors: Trade Bait, Panarin, Condon
For everyone but the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues, the off-season is already in full swing and with the NHL Draft less than three weeks away, the rumor mill is starting to heat back up. TSN’s Frank Seravalli has updated his Trade Bait list and it features a whopping ten new names out of 25 total players. Leading the way among the newcomers is talented, young Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. Gostisbehere has emerged as a candidate to move if the Flyers can land a top-six forward in exchange, as they look to be aggressive this off-season. Also new to the list are names included in the overturned Phil Kessel-to-Minnesota trade, Jack Johnson and Victor Rask, with Jason Zucker and Kessel now long-time fixtures. Another player tied to recent rumors making his trade bait debut is the Vancouver Canucks’ Loui Eriksson, who has been linked to former teammate Milan Lucic, also on the list, and the Edmonton Oilers, but could move in any number of possible deals. As the Florida Panthers look to shake up their roster in free agency, James Reimer and Mike Hoffman have made the list as possible cap space casualties. So too have Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Nazem Kadri and Mitch Marner, even though Seravalli himself agrees that a Marner trade is a long shot. With plenty of talent filling the early off-season trade bait board, it could be a busy summer for high-profile trades, some of which could begin even before the draft kicks off on June 21st.
- A seemingly curious continued presence on the trade bait list is that of Artemi Panarin. It was one thing for Panarin to be atop the list as the trade deadline approached and the Columbus Blue Jackets were unsure whether or not they would sell the all-world forward. However, after keeping Panarin, an impending unrestricted free agent, it may seem that his trade value has now disappeared, since he is weeks away from hitting the open market. However, as a 27-year-old premiere free agent, both Panarin and his suitors will be interested in that eighth year of contract term that is only available to the incumbent team. As such, the Blue Jackets could look to squeeze the very last drops of value out of Panarin by trading his rights before the league year ends, allowing a new team to sign him to an eight-year extension rather than a seven-year free agent contract. While possible, and often valuable, acquiring UFA signing rights is not as frequent a move as one might expect. The last team to do so was the Florida Panthers in 2016, adding an expiring Keith Yandle for a a sixth-round pick and conditional fourth-round pick. That same year, the Arizona Coyotes did the same, bringing in Alex Goligoski on the tail end of his contract with the Dallas Stars for a fifth-round pick. Not since Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011 has a player’s UFA rights drawn more than a fourth-round pick at best, but Panarin is a unique player and Columbus could land a third-round pick or more in exchange for the opportunity to sign him to that one extra year – and to keep him from testing the market.
- Unsurprisingly, the extension of goaltender Anders Nilsson in Ottawa has prompted speculation that the Senators will try to move overpaid third-string option Mike Condon. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that Condon’s “days are numbered” with the team, as there’s no room for him in Ottawa behind Nilsson and Craig Anderson and he’s not wanted in Belleville with Filip Gustavsson, Joey Daccord, and possibly Marcus Hogberg in the mix. Cap space is not a problem for the Senators, but Garrioch still believes they would prefer to trade Condon and all or part of his $2.4MM salary next season rather than buy him out at the cost of $400K next year and $1MM the year after. Garrioch can only make a case that perhaps some team with weak goalie depth would be interested in Condon as a strong AHL option next season, as the 29-year-old is unlikely to be considered a regular NHL option. Perhaps after the free agent goalie market shakes out in early July, the Senators will be able to find a partner who missed out on their targets and could use Condon’s services. Otherwise, a buyout does seem to be the more likely route.