Offseason Keys: Pittsburgh Penguins
While expansion and the beginning of free agency were the early headlines in what will be a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months to come. Here is a closer look at what still lies ahead for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last offseason, the Penguins were able to keep the bulk of their Stanley Cup winning team together and it paid dividends as they once again took home the title in 2016-17. However, there have already been several changes to the roster as this time the salary cap has necessitated some departures. While some moves have already been made, GM Jim Rutherford still has some work to do. Here are their remaining offseason keys.
Fill Out Their Bottom Six Centers
At first glance, it seems hard to believe that a team that features Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as their top two centers could have a bit of an issue down the middle. However, the depth they have behind those two is lacking.
This past season, Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen were their third and fourth pivots respectively. Bonino, as expected, left in free agency, inking a four year, $16.4MM deal with the Predators. As for Cullen, he remains a free agent and hasn’t decided if he wants to return for another season. If he does decide to play, the Wild are another team that has already shown an interest in his services.
In terms of internal options, rookie standout Jake Guentzel has spent some time down the middle but he’s probably better served on Crosby’s wing. Carter Rowney played as the fourth center at times last season but at the age of 28, he has yet to establish himself as an NHL regular. Rutherford suggested last weekend that he’s more likely to go the trade route to replace Bonino. As for Cullen, they will probably have to wait for him to decide about his future before they can look to fill that spot.
Re-Sign Dumoulin, Sheary
Of the 28 players that have filed for arbitration and have yet to sign new deals, Pittsburgh has a pair of notable ones in defenseman Brian Dumoulin and winger Conor Sheary. Dumoulin is coming off his bridge deal while Sheary has finished his entry-level contract and both players will be in line for sizable raises.
Dumoulin’s case would be an interesting one if it was to go to arbitration. He doesn’t stand out in terms of the traditional statistics that typically come up in a hearing (he has one goal over the last two regular seasons) but he logged over 20 minutes a game and established himself as a top four player. In each of the last two postseasons, he has seen his role increase even more which will be something his representatives certainly bring up in contract talks. He earned just $800K in each of the last two years which made him one of the better bargains on the back end. That won’t be the case when he signs this next contract.
Sheary signed as an undrafted free agent just two years ago but fit in nicely alongside Crosby in the 2016 postseason and for big chunks of 2016-17. He finished fourth in team scoring (behind their big three up front) with 53 points in 61 games; his 0.87 points per game mark ranks him third best among all restricted free agents league-wide. While playing with Crosby undoubtedly contributed to his success, that type of production is bound to earn him a significant raise over the $667K he made the past two seasons.
Add Winger Depth
If Rutherford does make a trade for a center, there’s a good chance that one of their wingers will be on the move and if that happens, they will likely look to replace the one they deal. Even if that isn’t the case, they could still stand to add a bit more veteran depth on either side.
As things currently stand, the Penguins will be counting on quite a few young players in their bottom six. While it’s nice to have some youngsters in the wings, having at least one veteran in there (a winger version of Cullen, for example) that could move up the lineup in a pinch would be beneficial as a lot of their current options fit best on a fourth line.
Fortunately for the Pens, this is an area where supply typically outweighs demand and they certainly have some marketability in terms of having won two straight titles plus the potential to play with Crosby or Malkin at times. As the offseason progresses, there are typically bargains to be had on the wing on one year deals and assuming that they don’t spend all of their remaining cap space filling the first two keys, they should be well positioned to land one of those bargains as we get closer to training camp.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Joseph LaBate
Fresh off of his rookie season, checking forward Joseph LaBate has re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks. The team announced today that the 24-year-old has signed a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum of $650K. The two sides came to terms below the value of LaBate’s qualifying offer, $660K, which was made last week.
Standing 6’5″ and weighing over 200 lbs., LaBate is a noticeable presence on the ice. A two-way forward who can play both center and wing, he is a good fit for a versatile, energy-line job when called upon by Vancouver. While he provides only meager offense – no points in 13 NHL games and just 16 points in 38 AHL games last year – he makes up for it with consistent defensive play. In the team’s press release, GM Jim Benning praised LaBate’s ability to be a physical presence for both the Canucks and AHL’s Utica Comets. Without many big checking forwards on the roster, Vancouver likely hopes that LaBate can carve out a role for himself on their bottom line as a two-way threat and work towards exhibiting some of the offensive touch he showed as a four-year starter at the University of Wisconsin.
While Benning and the Canucks are happy to have one of their young players back under contract, the team still has their work cut out for them with extending restricted free agents, with Bo Horvat, Brendan Gaunce, Reid Boucher, Michael Chaput and Evan McEneny in need of new deals. LaBate is just the beginning of several expected contracts this off-season for Vancouver.
Who’s Playing On Another Team’s Dime?
The most recent CBA introduced retained salary transactions—trades where a team trade a player but agree to pay a percentage of his salary. This is ideal when a team wants a player but will have trouble fitting him in under the cap. The ability to retain salary comes with restrictions, however, so let’s briefly look at how retained salary transactions work before looking at which players are subject to them.
- A team can retain up to 50% of a player’s average salary (including bonuses);
- The retained salary amount is uniform over the full length of the player’s contract;
- A team can retain up to three players’ salary at one time;
- A team cannot have more than 15% of the salary cap devoted to retained salary;
- A team cannot retain salary on a player who is already subject to two current retained salary transactions;
- If a team acquires a player with retained salary, then trades him while also retaining salary, the second retained salary agreement cannot modify the initial retained salary agreement;
- Teams cannot reacquire a player within a year of trading him if it agreed to retain salary in the initial transaction (unless the player’s contract terminated);
- Retained salary obligations apply to any cap advantage recapture amounts; and
- Retained salary obligations still apply if a player is bought out or loaned to an AHL club. The NHL team would pay a portion of the player’s AHL salary (if applicable).
Florida Panthers Sign Alexandre Grenier
Even with the recent signings of Evgeni Dadonov, Radim Vrbata and others the Florida Panthers are still short several forwards. Today, they added a potential name to that group with the signing of Alexandre Grenier to a one-year, two-way deal. The former Vancouver Canucks forward is an excellent AHL scorer but has been held scoreless in his nine career NHL games.
Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Justin Schultz
The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed one of their most important pieces, inking Justin Schultz to a three-year, $16.5MM contract. The deal runs through 2019-20, after which Schultz will become an unrestricted free agent.
Schultz has had his career completely resuscitated since joining the high-flying Penguins last season. Signing as a big-name college free agent, he struggled for parts of four seasons in Edmonton before being shipped for a third-round pick at the 2016 deadline. Schultz went on to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons, and was especially important this last post-season, helping fill the void left by the injury to Kris Letang.
Schultz is known primarily as an offensive defenseman. His isn’t overly physical and generally isn’t played in shutdown situations. However, he was far from sheltered last season in Pittsburgh, playing over 20 minutes a night in the regular season against quality competition, generally being slotted alongside the stay-at-home Ian Cole on the second pairing. Schultz finished the season with 51 points, good for 7th among all NHL defenseman. Notably, he finished within 5 points of household names like Duncan Keith, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Dustin Byfuglien. He was a solid shooting option on the powerplay and truly flourished once May rolled around, adding 4 goals and 9 assists as he utilized a solid first-pass to spring the more threatening Pittsburgh forwards.
His $5.5 MM cap hit is likely more than what GM Jim Rutherford had expected to set aside for him when acquired just over a season ago. Fellow restricted free-agent Brian Dumoulin is also looking to get a payday this summer, so it remains to be seen whether some money may be moving out from the defense corps. A possible target could be Olli Maatta who is coming off a sluggish year, and is earning $4.083 MM for the next 5 seasons. Dumoulin and Schultz have definitively passed Maatta on the depth chart, and this sort of financial commitment will only add fuel to the fire that Maatta is the odd man out.
Minor Transactions: 7/1/17
Some additional signings that happened today:
- The Carolina Hurricanes added Brenden Kichton to a one-year, two-way contract. The Hurricanes announced that the deal is for $700K in the NHL and $235K in the AHL. Kichton played 63 games with the Manitoba Moose last season, recording 23 points (1-22). Dennis Robertson and Jeremy Smith also signed deals with the Hurricanes.
- The Canucks inked Anton Rodin to a one-year, $700K deal according to Sportsnet. Rodin struggled with injury last year, playing only three games for Vancouver.
- The Detroit Red Wings brought Luke Witkowski into the fold for a “toughness” aspect. Witkowski is a Michigan native and was added with a two-year, $1.4MM deal. Interestingly, it appears that he will shuffle between defense and forward for Detroit. Despite a glut of forwards, Detroit may want him to play the role that Steve Ott did last season, especially since it was Witkowski who broke Anthony Mantha‘s finger in a scuffle last season while with Tampa Bay.
- Winnipeg inked Michael Sgarbossa to a one-year, $650K deal. Last season, he was with both the Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old had a combined nine points (2-7) with both teams. The Jets also added Buddy Robinson with a one-year deal worth $650K. It’s a two-way contract.
- Defenseman Seth Helgeson signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Islanders. The former New Jersey Devil played nine games with the big club last season, and spent 48 games with the AHL Albany Devils, scoring two goals and adding seven assists.
- Patrik Nemeth re-upped with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, $945K deal. Nemeth had three points last season with the Stars in 40 games. Brian Flynn also hammered out a deal with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract for $700K. Flynn spent last season with Montreal. Mike McKenna also signed on with the Stars, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract. Dallas also agreed to terms with Brent Regner, who signed a one-year, two-way deal.
- The Sabres signed Matt Tennyson to a two-year deal, with the first year being on a two-way contract while the second is a one-way deal. Tennyson spent last season with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played 45 games. He had six assists. Seth Griffith and Adam Wilcox also inked deals with the Sabres. Griffith agreed to a one-year, $650K deal while Wilcox’s one-year deal is a
- The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver reports that Jordan Szwarz signed a two-way deal with the Boston Bruins. Szwarz spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins, where he had 54 points (22-32) in 65 games.
- Derek Grant is on the move according to Darren Dreger, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for $650K. It’s a one-way contract for Grant, who spent the majority of his time last season with the Buffalo Sabres. He also saw six games with Nashville.
- Montreal and Joe Morrow agreed to a one-year, one-way contract. Formerly with the Bruins, Morrow had one assist with the B’s, but only appeared in 17 games, as opposed to the 33 he saw a season prior.
- Ottawa made a slew of signings, adding Ben Sexton Max Reinhart, Tyler Randell, Erik Burgdoerfer, and Danny Taylor to deals. Reinhart, Taylor and Randell all signed one-year deals, while Burgdoerfer and Sexton agreed to two-year deals.
- Mat Bodie signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bodie appeared in a combined 62 games for Rochester and Hartford of the AHL last season. The Bolts also added Alex Gallant with a one-year deal. Gallant spent last year with the San Jose Barracuda. Finally, Michael Leighton and Jamie McBain both agreed to one-year, two-way deal as well.
- Kyle Rau and Minnesota came to terms on a one-year, $700K deal. Rau’s deal is a two-way deal and brings him back to his home state.
- TSN’s Aaron Ward tweets that Paul Carey agreed to terms with the New York Rangers. Ward reports that the deal is for one-year, and is worth $650K. The Blueshirts also added Cole Schneider to a one-year, two-way contract.
- The Flames brought Marek Hrivik aboard, signing him to a one-year, two-way deal. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets the move is for organizational depth. According to Fox Sports West’s Jon Rosen, the Flames have also signed their 2016 seventh-round pick Stepan Falkovsky to a three-year entry-level contract.
- The Oilers signed Eddie Pasquale to a one-year, two-way deal. Pasquale was allowed to walk away from the Red Wings organization. Another player signed away from the Red Wings organization was Mitch Callahan, who agreed to a two-year, two-way deal. Both were reported by Ryan Rishaug. Keegan Lowe also inked a one-year, two-way deal. The Oilers weren’t done, also adding Ryan Stanton with a $700k deal. The deal is for two years, and is a two-way contract. Edmonton also inked forwards Brian Ferlin, Grayson Downing and Ty Rattie to one-year deals.
- Nashville agreed to terms with Pierre-Cedric Labrie, who came from the Blackhawks organization. Labrie agreed to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $650K.
- The Stanley Cup Champion Penguins added some names today, all on one-year deals. Jarred Tinordi, Zach Trotman and Greg McKegg all agreed to a single-year deal. Chris Summers signed on for a two-year deal. In an additional release, the team has re-signed Tom Sestito, Frank Corrado to one-year two-way deals, and goaltender Casey DeSmith to a two-year two-way deal. All three will earn $650K in the NHL.
- The Sharks and goalie Antoine Bibeau signed off on a one-year, two-way deal. Bibeau was not offered a qualifying deal with his former team in Toronto.
- The Maple Leafs weren’t done, as they announced the signings of Colin Greening to a one-year deal (two-way, $750K), and Chris Mueller (two-way, $650K) and Vincent LoVerde (two-way, $725K) to two-year deals.
- The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Cameron Schilling to a one-year, two-way contract. Schilling was with the Rockford IceHogs and Ontario Reign last season, where he scored 26 points.
- The Colorado Avalanche have signed three more players, inking Andrew Agozzino and David Warsofsky to two-year deals while bringing in Joe Cannata for just one season.
- Arizona has signed Zac Rinaldo, Michael Sislo, Andrew Campbell and Joel Hanley to one-year two-way contracts. It’s a fall for Rinaldo, who was once traded for a third-round pick.
- Chase Balisy, Connor Brickley, Reece Scarlett, Harri Sateri and Curtis Valk have all signed one-year contracts with the Florida Panthers. Interestingly, Brickley was the Vegas Golden Knights’ selection from the Hurricanes during the expansion draft but was a Group VI free agent this summer.
- The Devils have added Brian Strait, Bracken Kearns and Brian Gibbons on one-year two-way deals, bringing in the veterans for $650K at the NHL level.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have signed six players. They have signed forward T.J. Tynan and defenseman Brad Hunt to two-year deals at $650,000 per season. They inked forward Paul Thompson, forward Stefan Matteau, defenseman Chris Casto and goalie Maxime Lagace to one-year contracts at $650,000.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Ryan Miller
As expected, the Anaheim Ducks have signed Ryan Miller to a two-year, $4MM deal. The former Vancouver Canucks goaltender will take his talents to Southern California, where he lives in the offseason with his family.
Miller is ranked 19th in the NHL for most wins for a goaltender with 358 career victories. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2010 with the Sabres, but has spent the past three seasons in Vancouver, where he had some success. However, the Canucks only reached the playoffs once in those three years, his first with the franchise. His $2MM per year will be quite a paycut from the $6MM he was making per year on his last contract when he signed a 3-year, $18MM contract back in 2014.
The soon-to-be 37-year-old goaltender finished this year with a 2.80 GAA in 54 games with a .914 save percentage. At his age, a lighter load for the veteran may be just what Miller needs as he will now backup John Gibson in Anaheim. He replaces Jonathan Bernier, who played 38 games backing up Gibson last year.
2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.
Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.
July 1st:
- Anaheim re-signs Cam Fowler (8 years/$52MM)
- Anaheim signs Ryan Miller (2 years/$4MM)
- Arizona signs Adam Clendening (1 year/$650K)
- Boston signs Paul Postma (1 year/$725K)
- Buffalo signs Benoit Pouliot (1 year/$1.15MM)
- Buffalo signs Chad Johnson (1 year/$2.5MM)
- Carolina signs Justin Williams (2 years/$9MM)
- Chicago signs Patrick Sharp (1 year/$1MM)
- Chicago signs J-F Berube (2 years/$3MM)
- Chicago signs Jordan Oesterle (2 years/$1.3MM)
- Colorado signs Jonathan Bernier (1 year/$2.75MM)
- Dallas signs Martin Hanzal (3 years/$14.25MM)
- Dallas signs Tyler Pitlick (3 years/$3MM)
- Detroit signs Trevor Daley (3 years/$9.534MM)
- Florida signs Radim Vrbata (1 year/$2.5MM)
- Los Angeles signs Mike Cammalleri (1 year)
- Los Angeles signs Cal Petersen ( 2 year ELC)
- Los Angeles signs Christian Folin (1 year/$850K)
- Minnesota signs Ryan Murphy (1 year/$700k)
- Minnesota signs Landon Ferraro (2 years/$1.4MM)
- Minnesota signs Kyle Quincey (1 year/$1.25MM)
- Minnesota signs Cal O’Reilly (2 years/$1.4MM)
- Montreal signs Kyle Alzner (5 years/$22.5MM)
- Montreal signs Byron Froese
- Montreal signs Peter Holland
- Nashville signs Nick Bonino (4 years)
- Nashville signs Scott Hartnell (1 year/$1MM)
- Nashville signs Anders Lindback (1 year/$650K)
- Nashville signs Matt O’Connor (1 year/$650K)
- New Jersey signs Brian Boyle (2 years/$5.1MM)
- NY Rangers sign Ondrej Pavelec (1 year/$1.3MM)
- NY Rangers sign Kevin Shattenkirk (4 year/$26.6MM)
- Ottawa signs Nate Thompson (2 years/$3.3MM)
- Philadelphia re-signs Mike Vecchione (2 years/$1.88MM)
- Pittsburgh signs Antti Niemi (1 year/$700K)
- Pittsburgh signs Matt Hunwick (3 years/$6.75MM
- San Jose re-signs Martin Jones (6 years/$34.5MM)
- San Jose re-signs Marc-Edouard Vlasic (8 years/$56MM)
- San Jose re-signs Joe Thornton
- St. Louis signs Beau Bennett (1 year/$650K)
- St. Louis signs Chris Thorburn (2 years/$1.88MM)
- St. Louis re-signs Oskar Sundqvist (1 year/$650K)
- Tampa Bay signs Dan Girardi (2 years/$6MM)
- Toronto signs Ron Hainsey (2 years/$3.25MM)
- Toronto signs Curtis McElhinney (1 year/$850K)
- Toronto signs Dominic Moore (1 year/$1MM)
- Toronto signs Garret Sparks
- Winnipeg signs Dmitri Kulikov (3 years/$13MM)
- Winnipeg signs Steve Mason (2 years/$8.2MM)
- Vancouver signs Sam Gagner (3 years/$9.45MM)
- Vancouver signs Michael Del Zotto (2 years/$6MM)
- Vancouver signs Anders Nilsson (2 years/$5MM)
Canucks Sign Sam Gagner, Michael Del Zotto, Anders Nilsson
GM Jim Benning and the Vancouver Canucks are off to a hot start to free agency, signing a major name from all three positions: forward Sam Gagner, defenseman Michael Del Zotto, and goalie Anders Nilsson.
Gagner, a play-making center who enjoyed a bounce back season with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016-17, has signed on for three years at $3.15MM per year, via TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. After making just $650K on a one-year “show me” deal with the Jackets, this is a nice reward for Gagner who returned to form with a career-high 50 points after a disastrous 16-point campaign with the Flyers the year before. Yet, other than 2015-16 in Philadelphia, Gagner has been a consistent 40-50 point man and is still only 27 despite having a decade of NHL experience under his belt. Gagner will be happy to make nearly five times his 2016-17 salary, but this still comes off as quite a bargain for the rebuilding Canucks.
Del Zotto, a capable puck-mover who struggled to carve out a role with the Philadelphia Flyers, will get a new opportunity in Vancouver on a two-year, $6MM contract, according to TSN’s Frank Servalli. Not since his third year in the league with the New York Rangers in 2011-12 has Del Zotto truly been relied upon as a starter. In stints in New York and Philadelphia, Del Zotto has shown ample offensive ability, but little defensive reliability. A career -26 player, Del Zotto may never develop into a true all-around NHL defenseman, but at $3MM per year, the Canucks will expect him to strive to be such a player.
As for Nilsson, the former Buffalo Sabres backup has earned himself a nice raise, as LeBrun reports that he has signed a two-year deal worth $2.5MM annually to play 1B to Jacob Markstrom‘s 1A in the Vancouver net. Nilsson was a savior of sorts for the Sabres in 2016-17, posting a career high .923 save percentage and 2.67 GAA in relief of Buffalo starter Robin Lehner. Nilsson outplayed Lehner, but Buffalo still informed Nilsson that they would move forward with Lehner as the starter and rather than play second-fiddle again in the same situation (like Chad Johnson is now doing), Nilsson has moved on to another situation where he may be able to outplay the incumbent and steal starts.
Panthers Notes: Werier, Haley, Jagr, Demers
The Florida Panthers made official this morning the firing of Assistant GM Stever Werier, as Dale Tallon continues to undo moves made by the previous administration, now including the hiring of Werier. TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who first reported the front office change, states that the order may have come down even prior to last week’s Expansion Draft, but is just now being made public. The move corresponds with Tallon’s recent hiring of Chris Pronger and Bryan McCabe to front office positions, as the old guard is being moved out and Tallon is taking the team in a new direction.
- Part of that new direction is adding more toughness to the lineup, which Tallon plans to do today with the expected signing of enforcer Micheal Haley. TSN’s Bob McKenzie confirmed that the Panthers plan to sign Haley, 31, when free agency opens. The veteran forward has only played in 130 NHL games, but skated in a career-high 58 contests with the San Jose Sharks last season, recording 12 points and 128 penalty minutes.
- Another new movement in Florida is a desire to get quicker. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, that means that 45-year-old legend Jaromir Jagr will have to move on to yet another destination if he wishes to continue his career. Dreger’s TSN colleague Pierre LeBrun has stated that Jagr has cut ties with the Panthers and is on the hunt for a new team to give him a chance at extending his hockey playing days.
- One player sticking with the Panthers (for now) is defenseman Jason Demers. The veteran righty, a major 2016 free agency acquisition, has been on the trade block this past week, but Pierre LeBrun reports that he used his No-Trade Clause to nix a deal with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week. Florida seems intent on moving Demers, but he seems reluctant to move. The impending impasse could prove to be an intriguing story this off-season.
- Two players the Panthers do want around are prospects Reece Scarlett and Chase Balisy. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie revealed that the young defenseman and forward have inked new deals with Florida as of this morning. Both one-year and two-way, Scarlett will make $650K at the NHL level, while Balisy will make $675K.