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Flames Re-Sign Goaltender Jon Gillies

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Tuesday: The Flames have officially announced the contract, confirming the financial details reported by Lavoie.

Monday: The Calgary Flames may have hinted at who they feel their goalie of the future is with a contract inked this evening. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Flames have signed 24-year-old Jon Gillies to a two-year contract extension worth $750K against the cap in each season. The first year of contract is of a two-way nature, while the second is a one-way deal, according to Lavoie.

Gillies made a career-high 11 NHL appearances last year in his third pro season, but his .896 save percentage, 2.88 GAA, and five losses were not overly impressive. However, Gillies enjoyed a second straight strong season with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, posting a .917 save percentage and 2.53 GAA in 39 games. Yet, fellow up-and-coming keeper David Rittich outplayed Gillies in the NHL and saw more action, even though he struggled in the AHL. Based on last season alone, many would have assumed that Rittich had the upper hand heading into training camp this fall, where the two are expected to battle for the backup spot behind Mike Smith. 

Yet, Gillies’ extension may prove otherwise. A one-way contract in 2019-20 could indicate that the Flames fully expect Gillies to be a full-time NHLer in two years. If he isn’t, then Calgary risks losing him on waivers at that time. Flames beat writer Ryan Pike also points out that Gillies needs 16 appearances – five more than last year – or he will otherwise become a Group 6 free agent at the end of the contract. If the Flames want to protect Gillies long-term, they need to get him into some games. Of course, this whole status quo all change with the arbitration decision in Rittich’s case, but it certainly seems as if the organization may be leaning toward Gillies as their goalie of the future.

San Jose Sharks Place Noah Rod On Unconditional Waivers

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It sounds like the end of the line for Noah Rod in a San Jose Sharks uniform, as the team has placed him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. Rod only signed his entry-level contract in March of 2017, but will likely return to Switzerland after playing just 11 games for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate. Selected in the second round in 2014, Rod is only 22 years old.

It’s a tough end to the relationship for a young prospect and team, given that there wasn’t much of an evaluation period. Rod made it clear that he only wanted to play for the Sharks, not the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, and returned to Switzerland quickly after failing to make the NHL. Though he wasn’t playing against the very top competition in the AHL or NLA, he did go up against some of the best in the world at the most recent World Championships where Switzerland took home a silver medal. He was held scoreless in the tournament, which isn’t very surprising given his relatively low point totals throughout his professional career.

Rod is a ball of energy on the ice, banging and crashing in all three zones. It’s that limited offensive ceiling that makes this loss easier to swallow for the Sharks, who while sinking some expensive draft capital into the player couldn’t have expected a top-six player at this point. There is a chance he catches on with another NHL team at some point, but if he remains unwilling to go to the minor leagues first there may not be a spot for him. Instead, the winger will likely continue to suit up in the NLA and for his country internationally, trying to develop his game further.

Damir Sharipzyanov Placed On Unconditional Waivers

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Largely unnoticed earlier today was the placement of Damir Sharipzyanov on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a mutual contract termination. The 22-year old defenseman actually spent last season in the KHL on loan, but will now have his NHL rights relinquished by the Los Angeles Kings. Tomorrow after his contract is terminated he could technically sign with another NHL team, but it seems likely that he will return to the KHL.

Sharipzyanov, 22, signed an entry-level contract in 2015 after going undrafted for the second time and returned to the Owen Sound Attack for a final season and won a silver medal for Russia at the World Juniors. His point totals were solid if unspectacular, and he had the size to potentially find success at the professional level. After a season spent bouncing between the ECHL and AHL, he decided to go to the KHL where he would have a better opportunity. In this interview with Alessandro Seren Rosso for The Hockey Writers, Sharipzyanov did seem to indicate that he would want to come back to North America eventually.

I had a chance to get back home. To be loaned [to the KHL]. And then to get back to North America. I simply want to play. I didn’t have this option [in North America] at this moment. That’s why I and my agent decided to give the KHL a chance.

It seems unlikely that the Kings would give up his rights if he intended on playing in North America this season, meaning we’ll likely have to wait to see if there is a return down the road. If his first season in the KHL was any indication—where he recorded 16 points in 54 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a night—there could be plenty of teams after him in a few years.

Wild To Buy Out Tyler Ennis

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The final day of the first buyout window has claimed a second casualty as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Wild have placed forward Tyler Ennis on unconditional waivers to buy out the final year of his contract.  He had one year remaining on his deal with a $4.6MM cap hit.  That means Minnesota will instead carry a cap hit of $2.167MM in 2018-19 and $1.217MM in 2019-20.

The Wild acquired the 28-year-old last offseason from the Sabres as part of the trade that saw defenseman Marco Scandella and winger Jason Pominville head to Buffalo with winger Marcus Foligno also heading to Minnesota.

While they were certainly hoping that a change of scenery would get him going, that didn’t wind up happening.  While he did improve on his numbers with Buffalo, Ennis still posted just 22 points (8-14-22) in 73 games, hardly the type of production that justifies the type of contract he had.

New GM Paul Fenton had made it clear that they were looking to get out of the final year of his contract as he had been trying to attach Ennis in trade talks regarding wingers Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, and Nino Niederreiter.  However, since they weren’t able to find a taker, they’ll now go down this path and free up nearly $2.2MM in additional cap space to work with this offseason.

Canadiens To Buy Out Steve Mason

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Steve Mason’s time with the Canadiens lasted all of a few hours.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that the team will place the goaltender on unconditional waivers for the purposes of buying out his contract.  He had one year and $4.1MM remaining on his contract.  That means that Montreal will carry a cap hit of $1.367MM in each of the next two seasons.

The 30-year-old had been acquired earlier in the day as part of a salary cap dump from Winnipeg that also saw the Canadiens acquire winger Joel Armia.  This isn’t a surprising outcome as Montreal already has veteran Antti Niemi under contract to be their second-string netminder while youngster Charlie Lindgren is also on a one-way deal but will likely start in the minors once again.

Mason spent 2017-18 with Winnipeg after signing a two-year, $8.2MM contract last summer.  He struggled to stay healthy as he dealt with multiple concussions and he didn’t fare particularly well when he was in the lineup, posting a below average 3.24 GAA and a .906 SV% in 13 games (12 starts).  Assuming he clears waivers as expected on Sunday, he will hit the open market for the second straight summer in search of a new team.

Korbinian Holzer Clears Waivers

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Tuesday: Holzer has cleared waivers.

Monday: The Anaheim Ducks have placed Korbinian Holzer on waivers according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, but not for the purpose of a buyout or contract termination. Instead, the Ducks are likely hoping another team will claim him and take the $900K off their books, or at least gain some leverage on Holzer in any extension negotiations. This transaction is often seen right before an arbitration hearing with a restricted free agent, but Holzer is still under contract for one season and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.

Anaheim has plenty of options on the blue line for next season, and could likely go without Holzer all year if another team was willing to claim him. He played in only 16 games for them last season, and hasn’t ever really been a full-time NHL player. He does offer some right-handed depth, but isn’t dynamic enough to warrant a roster spot. If the Ducks can’t find a taker, he may be destined for the San Diego Gulls next season.

The Ducks do have some work to do this summer to shore up their defense, as Brandon Montour is a restricted free agent and will be looking for a substantial raise. The team already has Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson locked into their top-four, while several young players like Jacob Larsson, Marcus Pettersson and Josh Mahura should be challenging for playing time. In what has become a defenseman factory, the Ducks don’t need Holzer any longer for a depth option with the big club.

Alex Burrows Placed On Unconditional Waivers, Buyout Expected

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The Ottawa Senators have admitted their mistake and today placed Alex Burrows on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Burrows was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in 2017 and immediately signed to a two-year contract extension. That extension though came after Burrows’ 35th birthday, meaning the buyout will have no effect on his 2018-19 cap hit. The Senators will still carry his $2.5MM contract on their books, but will be required to pay only two thirds of that amount, spread over the next two seasons.

The Canucks received budding prospect Jonathan Dahlen in the deal, while the Senators were hoping that Burrows experience and feisty on-ice play would help them in a season they felt they could contend for the Stanley Cup. While Burrows did play well down the stretch and the team came within one goal of reaching the Finals, he took a huge step backwards in 2017-18 and registered just 14 points in 71 games. He obviously didn’t have much more to give, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him file retirement papers after the buyout is completed.

It’s a tough move for the Senators to make, but if you forget about the price they paid for him it is one they had to do. The team has several younger players ready to spend some time in the NHL, and Ottawa is desperate to not finish at the bottom of the standings. As much as some believe there is nothing they can do to stop that from happening, GM Pierre Dorion is trying his best to put together a roster that is competitive. They don’t have the benefit of picking early should they finish out of the playoffs, since their first-round selection belongs to the Colorado Avalanche, meaning their goal is development and competitiveness this season. Burrows wasn’t playing a positive impact on either of those things, meaning he needed to be shipped out somehow.

The cap hit won’t really hurt the Senators, as the team has nearly $20MM in room and aren’t expected to come anywhere close to the ceiling this season. Operating on an internal budget, it seems likely that they’ll be closer to the cap floor than its ceiling by the end of the summer.

Brooks Orpik Placed On Waivers, Buyout Expected

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Sunday: CapFriendly reports that Orpik has cleared waivers and his contract will be bought out.

Saturday: The Colorado Avalanche were clear about it when they made the deal, Brooks Orpik wouldn’t be playing for them this season. The team has placed the 37-year old defenseman on waivers and are expected to buy out the final year of his contract. Orpik was acquired yesterday along with Philipp Grubauer in exchange for a second-round draft pick. Colorado will have to face a $2.5MM cap hit next season, and a $1.5MM cap hit in 2019-20.

Orpik’s $5.5MM cap hit was just too much for the Washington Capitals to handle any longer, and needed to be moved out in order for them to re-sign John Carlson. Avalanche GM Joe Sakic admitted immediately that Orpik wasn’t a target for them, and he’d give him the chance to find a job elsewhere. Obviously there wasn’t anyone who would trade for him knowing the team would eventually buy him out, but this definitely brings up some interesting possibilities for Orpik.

The Capitals could theoretically bring Orpik back on a cheaper contract, but other teams should also have interest in the Stanley Cup champion. Orpik has plenty of experience and actually played perhaps his best hockey of the season as the playoffs went on for Washington. Though he is by no means fleet of foot, he can still provide a physical presence on the blue line and help log some tough minutes.

Xavier Ouellet Expected To Be Bought Out

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Earlier this month we heard that the Detroit Red Wings were actively shopping defenseman Xavier Ouellet, but now as we close in on free agency it seems they’ve come to a different decision. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Red Wings will place Ouellet on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Ouellet has one year remaining on his contract and carries a $1.25MM cap hit. Since he’s still just 24 though, a buyout would only pay him 1/3rd of his remaining salary, meaning the Red Wings would incur the following cap charges:

  • 2018-19: $166,667
  • 2019-29: $216,667

They would also save over $860K in real salary, while burying Ouellet in the minor leagues would leave them with a $225K cap charge this season and force them to pay all $1.3MM in salary. Though it was clear that the Red Wings didn’t see a future for Ouellet in Detroit, buyouts for players this young are fairly rare. The 2011 second-round pick hasn’t found a full-time role with the team and with several even younger prospects ready to push for jobs this season there is no longer any room.

The Red Wings had an outstanding weekend, snatching up Filip Zadina after he fell a few spots and collecting Joe Veleno at the end of the first round. Those two were paired with a few other excellent prospects at the start of the second, making quite an impressive haul for the team in this year’s draft. Detroit is in the middle of a rebuild as they try to get out from under some of the bad contracts given out during their playoff run, and are building quite the prospect pipeline in a short amount of time. Defensemen like Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek will be competing for roles in the NHL before long, while Zadina could jump into the league right away.

For Ouellet, it’s unclear where his market will land after this buyout. Not many 24-year old defensemen get an opportunity at free agency, but there obviously wasn’t a huge trade market or the Red Wings would have used that instead of resorting to a buyout. He may have to accept a two-way contract and prove himself in training camp, or else try to fight back up from the minor leagues at some point. Regardless, this is hardly the end of his professional career.

Sharks To Buy Out Paul Martin

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The Sharks announced that they have placed defenseman Paul Martin on waivers for the purposes of buying out the remainder of his contract.  GM Doug Wilson issued the following statement regarding the move:

“Paul Martin has been the utmost professional on and off the ice during his three years in San Jose. His leadership, character and on-ice contributions have been essential to our success and in reaching the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. The impact he has had on our organization, his teammates and many of our younger players will be felt for many years to come.”

The 37-year-old has spent the past three seasons in San Jose and played an important role in their trip to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2015-16.  However, his effectiveness and role were reduced in recent years to the point where he cleared waivers this past season and played in more games in the minors (18) during the regular season than he did in the NHL (14).  Martin was brought back up late in the season and while he played a sparing role on the third pairing, he did get into seven postseason contests but even with that, being bought out was still the expected outcome.

Martin had one year left on his deal with a $4.85MM cap hit and a $4.25MM salary.  Assuming he clears waivers on Saturday, the Sharks will instead carry a $2.017MM cap charge in 2018-19 and a $1.417MM hit in 2019-20.  The roughly $2.8MM in savings will give San Jose nearly $19MM in cap room to play with this summer which will make them a team to watch for in free agency which kicks off next Sunday.

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