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Blackhawks Notes: Sharp, Saad, DeBrincat

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The Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus (along with various Chicago media) tweeted quite a bit from the beginning of the Blackhawks Fan Convention as players and personnel were available to the media. It was a reunion of sorts as two former players returned to field questions. Patrick Sharp returns to the place where he saw much success, saying that he had some of his “best years” playing for Joel Quenneville in Chicago. Lazerus tweets that Quenneville could use Sharp with Jonathan Toews, and to expect the veteran winger to see top six minutes, which may not thrill some fans.  Brandon Saad confirmed that he would be on a line with Toews, which was the belief of many after Stan Bowman swung a deal to re-acquire the forward. The Athletic’s Scott Powers tweeted video of different interviews which included Quenneville, Patrick Kane talking about the Panarin trade, and Sharp’s return to Chicago.

  • Several hockey analysts are “tapping the brakes” when declaring Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat as the next big thing. The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton and Chicago SportsNet’s Tracey Myers both covered this, with Clinton adding onto Myers’ analysis.  First, the salary cap limits who the Hawks can add to the roster, and the only player as of now who can shuffle to the AHL without passing through waivers is Nick Schmaltz. Should Marian Hossa go onto the LTIR, more than enough money would be available for many in Rockford to go onto the roster. Second, head coach Joel Quenneville isn’t exactly one to hand out ice time to kids. Clinton notes that DeBrincat is only 19, and the only players under 21 to see significant ice time during Quenneville’s tenure were Kane and Toews. Of course, Clinton notes, Toews was the captain and Kane was a budding superstar. Further, Clinton writes that Schmaltz, considered one of Chicago’s best prospects, struggled to stay in the lineup last season, showing that cracking the NHL lineup and then staying on it is far more difficult than it appears. Realistically, Clinton believes that the Hawks have the luxury to “over-season” players and allow them time to grow into a role–something that DeBrincat may very well do.

Odd Defenseman Out In Vegas

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Although some of this might be attributed to wishful thinking, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples openly wonders whether Griffin Reinhart could find his way back to Edmonton. This comes only a day after Reinhart was signed to a reasonable $800,000 deal for two-years in Vegas. Staples wonders whether the excess of defense on the left side will force Vegas to place Reinhart on waivers in an attempt to send him to the AHL. He surmises, probably correctly, that GM Peter Chiarelli would take another gamble on the player if it were to get that far. It seems incredibly unlikely he would make it to Edmonton’s position in the waiver wire, however, as many worse franchises would likely place a claim. It’s even less likely that Vegas management would risk losing that sort of asset for nothing in the first place.

Reinhart is unlikely to make an Edmonton return, but it’s not totally inconceivable that he’d be the odd man out in Vegas. The team went heavy on defense in the expansion draft, and odds are that they will eventually lose someone to the waiver wire if they can’t maneuver more moves. Once Nate Schmidt is signed, they’ll have 11 defensemen on the NHL roster, and that’s if Erik Brannstrom doesn’t make the big squad. Even assuming the Golden Knights can trade two more players, they’re not likely to carry more than 8 defensemen. Someone will be sacrificed to waivers unless GM George McPhee can pull some magic before the start of the season.

The most aged players include Jason Garrison (32), who has a no-trade clause, Deryk Engelland (35), Luca Sbisa (27), and Clayton Stoner (32). Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Schmidt, and Shea Theodore will likely constitute the team’s future defense, and it might be difficult for Reinhart to crack that group. Brad Hunt and Jon Merrill are the least likely to attract any major attention if they were to be waived, so there is no necessity to start floundering yet. Hunt in particular would pass with almost no difficulty, as the 5’9, 28-year old defender hasn’t been overly impressive in his 33 career NHL games. Still, depending on who else is moved and whether Reinhart makes an impact at training camp, he could be seen as a non-core piece. McPhee will need to make a determination as to who will be getting major playing time, considering that at this moment things are far too crowded for the younger players to shine.

McNabb, Schmidt, and Miller seem the safest for the moment, but anything can happen. The right side has to be a concern, as only Engelland and Miller naturally play that position. As for now, we’ll have to wait and see who gets unloaded for picks and future assets, and whether they will be much difficulty in doing so. It seems unlikely that Vegas would move Reinhart, a young piece who they just re-signed, considering that if nothing else he can fill a 7th or 8th defensive position. Sbisa and Stoner seem to be the most likely to move out to a team starved for defensive depth, especially considering their contracts are each only good for one more season.

Minor Moves: Gravel, Gibson, Gustafsson

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The Los Angeles Kings have come to an agreement with another one of their restricted free agents, signing Kevin Gravel to a one-year two-way contract worth $650K. Interestingly, Gravel had elected arbitration and was scheduled for a hearing on August 2nd, but instead took the league minimum on a one-year deal. The team did not release the guaranteed or AHL salary, likely part of why he settled.

Gravel played 49 games for the Kings last season in his first extended look with the team, registering seven points in just over 14 minutes a night. With the departure of Brayden McNabb to the Vegas Golden Knights, Gravel will likely be asked to play a bigger role and could even find himself in a full-time gig. He is still waivers exempt however, giving the team options if they think someone else is a better option on the bottom pairing.

  • The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Christopher Gibson to a one-year two-way deal, bringing him back to battle with new acquisition Kristers Gudlevskis for an AHL role. In just seven games last season Gibson recorded a .912 save percentage but hasn’t been able to show the potential that made him a second-round pick in 2011. Just 24 he’s still developing as a netminder, but will have to make big strides soon if he wants to make an impact at the NHL level.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed Erik Gustafsson to a one-year deal, a contract that will send him to unrestricted free agency next summer should he not get into 39 games in the NHL this year. After playing 41 contests in 2015-16 with the Blackhawks and recording a solid 14 points, Gustafsson spent the entire season in the AHL in 2016-17. While he again showed off his offensive upside while there, scoring 30 points in 68 games, it was a disappointing year for him to not make it back to the NHL. Now with Niklas Hjalmarsson in Arizona and Brian Campbell still unsigned, there could be an opportunity for him to step up and fill a full-time role. With depth options like Michal Rozsival not being an ideal option on a full-time basis, the Blackhawks could look to newcomer Jan Rutta along with Gustafsson and Ville Pokka as potential options.

Flyers Sign Scott Laughton To Two-Year Extension

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The Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to terms on a new deal with an important albeit under-performing depth piece, inking young forward Scott Laughton to a two-year, one-way extension. According to Flyers beat writer Dave Isaac, the contract pays Laughton $875K for 2017-18 and $1.05MM for 2018-19. That comes out to a cap hit of $962.5 for the length of the deal.

Laughton, 23, has been somewhat of an enigmatic player for the Flyers since being drafted 20th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. Laughton has played in 109 NHL games in his four pro seasons, but skated in just two NHL games last season. Unlike the progression of most young players, Laughton’s role and production increased in the first three years of his career, culminating in a career-best 71 games and 21 points in 2015-16, and then he lost his roster spot entirely last season. Laughton seemed to be developing into a stable bottom six center, but coach Dave Hakstol and the Flyers seemed to quit on him last year. Yet, he has signed a two-year deal that is one-way no less and appears to have his job back.

Even when he was a regular for the Flyers, Laughton was still only given a modest 11 minutes of ice time on average. When sent down to the AHL, Laughton scored at a greater clip, but still nothing overly impressive or anywhere near his junior totals. It’s clear that Laughton is far from the first-round caliber player the Flyers though he was, at least at this point in time. Yet, GM Ron Hextall and company must have a plan for the young center; one that allows him to get NHL ice time and experience while playing in a lineup that has also added well-rounded veteran centers Valtteri Filppula and Jori Lehtera in recent months. Where Laughton thrives is in the two-way checking game and on the penalty kill. If this new contract is going to work out for either side, it seems Laughton will have to embrace his best attributes and dominate as a fourth-line skater and short-hand specialist, or else he could be facing waivers.

Snapshots: Hyman, Mazanec, Faksa, Avalanche

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The Maple Leafs handed out a four-year contract for one of their depth players on Wednesday, inking Zach Hyman to a $9MM deal. While the deal will keep him as one of the lower paid forwards on the team, CapFriendly reports that it also includes a limited no-trade clause in the final two seasons.

Hyman will submit a list of ten teams that the Maple Leafs cannot trade him to, a clause it seems is included in every contract given out this year. The 25-year old winger grew up a Leafs fan in Toronto and has strong ties to the community, and has been clear this is where he wants to play out his career if possible.

  • Marek Mazanec has cleared waivers, giving the Nashville Predators even more leverage in his soon to be scheduled arbitration hearing. The Maple Leafs employed a similar tactic with Peter Holland last season before his arbitration hearing, eventually signing him to a $1.3MM deal that was closer to their submitted $900K offer than his requested $2.1MM. The Minnesota Wild did a similar thing with Jordan Schroeder before getting him to agree to a two-way deal. It had been previously suggested that the Predators were going to move on from Mazanec, but after issuing him a qualifying offer and him filing for arbitration, it’s unclear where the two sides stand.
  • Sean Shapiro of NHL.com speculates that Radek Faksa’s next deal will be of the bridge variety and come in around $2.5MM per season. The young center is coming off his first full season with the Dallas Stars, in which he registered 33 points and became a big part of their forward group. The 23-year old is still not arbitration eligible, and is several years away from unrestricted free agency. A bridge deal of two years would allow both sides to re-evaluate where his career stands at 25, and negotiate a long-term deal that would buy out free agent years. The Stars also don’t have much cap room for anything longer, as they find themselves close to the upper limit after signing Martin Hanzal and Alexander Radulov.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have hired Ray Bennett as an assistant coach, and Jussi Parkkila as the team’s new goaltending coach. Parkkila has been rumored for a while, as he is close with Semyon Varlamov and has worked extensively with him in the past. Bennett on the other hand comes from the St. Louis Blues organization after a decade with the club, and brings a long track record of NHL experience.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Teemu Pulkkinen

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After a season that saw Teemu Pulkkinen put on waivers on several occasions and spend time with three different organizations, he has a new home for 2017-18. Pulkkinen, the Vegas Golden Knights’ selection from the Arizona Coyotes in the expansion draft has signed a one-year deal with the club for $700K. He was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but did not file before yesterday’s deadline. Teemu Pulkkinen

An incredible AHL scorer, Pulkkinen has received very little opportunity in the NHL throughout his career. While he possesses a huge shot and scoring instincts that can create offense all by himself, his skating ability has been critiqued at times along with his defensive responsibility. Last year, he scored 36 points in 47 games with the Iowa Wild after being selected off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings, only to be later traded to Arizona.

In the desert, Pulkkinen played just four games while being a healthy scratch several times. Through 83 NHL games in his career, he has 22 points but certainly will get a chance with the Golden Knights who will likely be desperate for goal scoring of any sort. Many of the forwards they chose have limited offensive upside, but Pulkkinen will surely produce at some rate if given the opportunity.

Vegas now has three restricted free agents remaining in Nate Schmidt (who filed for arbitration), Griffen Reinhart and Brendan Leipsic.

Snapshots: Kane, Mazanec, Dineen

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In one of the latest examples of using analytics to suss out extra information about the NHL’s top players, Travis Yost of TSN tries to determine who the league’s best overall shooter. Combining both volume and shooting percentage, Yost comes to a conclusion of Chicago’s Patrick Kane as the top sniper.

Interestingly, seeing names like Jannik Hansen on the bottom of the list underlines why analytics are such a divisive subject around the hockey world. While some teams may see that as an opportunity for an under-utilized scorer, others may point to his inclusion as evidence that the “eye-test” is more reliable. Whatever you believe, the article is an interesting look into what makes an elite shooting threat in today’s NHL.

  • Marek Mazanec finds himself on waivers today according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, just a day after filing for arbitration with the team. The Predators were expected to part ways with Mazanec after signing Anders Lindback and Matt O’Connor, making his arbitration filing odd in the first place. Though Lavoie did not expand on the transaction, the waivers could precede a release from the organization though why the team extended him a qualifying offer in the first place is still unclear.
  • The Rochester Americans have hired an assistant coach to work with Chris Taylor this season, bringing Gord Dineen in from the Toronto Marlies. Dineen has been in the AHL as an assistant or head coach for the past 15 years, and will join his eighth different club. The Amerks will try to turn things around under new leadership, as recently Randy Sexton was lured from the Pittsburgh Penguins to be the club’s new GM.

Boston Bruins Sign AHL MVP Kenny Agostino

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As noted earlier today and now confirmed by TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Boston Bruins have signed left winger Kenny Agostino to a one-year, one-way contract worth $875K. The former Yale standout will return to New England in hopes of finally getting a long NHL look. The Bruins have been fairly quiet on the first day of free agency, signing only Agostino, Paul Postma, and re-signing Jordan Szwarz. However, of the three signings, Agostino by far has the highest potential to impact the 2017-18 team.

In 2016-17, Agostino was awarded the AHL’s MVP award after registering 24 goals and 59 assists for 83 points in just 65 games with the Chicago Wolves, the former affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. Agostino led the league in scoring by 15 points and was the top assist man by 11. He also played to a +24 and was a point-per-game player in the postseason as well. In the NHL, Agostino also contributed a goal and two assists in seven games. While Agostino has never had any sustained success at the highest level, the 25-year-old has the tools to succeed if given the chance.

In Boston, Agostino should at least be given some opportunity. Many felt that the Bruins needed a top-six left winger, but GM Don Sweeney has indicated that he did not want to block the development of their younger players  like Jake DeBrusk, Peter Cehlarik, and Anders Bjork. Between Matt Beleskey, Frank Vatrano, and now Agostino, the Bruins have multiple player they can try out on the third and fourth line before dipping into the minors. If it doesn’t work out with Agostino, the Bruins also stand a good chance of passing the 25-year-old through waivers if need be. It is a very low-risk, high-upside signing for Sweeney and company.

Several Buyouts Before Deadline

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The deadline to buy out players is today, and several teams have taken advantage of the option before free agency starts. The following players have been placed on waivers for the purposes of a buyout: Mike Cammalleri (NJD), Devante Smith-Pelly (NJD), Mark Stuart (WIN), Lance Bouma (CGY), Ryan Murphy (CGY), Jimmy Hayes (BOS), Jussi Jokinen (FLA). The new cap hits of each player will be as follows:

Cammalleri:

2017-18: $1.67MM
2018-19: $1.67MM
2019-20: $1.67MM
2020-21: $1.67MM

Smith-Pelly:

2017-18: $175K
2018-19: $225K

Stuart:

2017-18: $1.46MM
2018-19: $583K

Bouma:

2017-18: $667K
2018-19: $767K

Murphy:

2017-18: $100K
2018-19: $138K

Hayes:

2017-18: $567K
2018-19: $867K

Jokinen:

2017-18: $1.33MM
2018-19: $1.33MM

Edmonton Oilers Waive Benoit Pouliot, Will Buy Out Contract

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The Edmonton Oilers continue to clear cap space, placing Benoit Pouliot on unconditional waivers today for purposes of a buyout. The forward has two years remaining on his contract at $4MM per season, meaning a buyout cap-hit will be structured as follows.

  • 2017-18: $1.33MM
  • 2018-19: $1.33MM
  • 2019-20: $1.33MM
  • 2020-21: $1.33MM

Pouliot’s career in Edmonton will end on a sour note, scoring just 14 points in 2016-17. He fell completely out of favor with the coaching staff, and at 30 seemed to see his game take a considerable step backwards. The fourth-overall pick from 2005, Pouliot has never been able to keep up with his draft contemporaries. Following Sidney Crosby, Bobby Ryan and Jack Johnson, and selected one spot ahead of Carey Price, Pouliot has bounced around the league and registered a career-high of 36 points (last year and in 2013-14).

Interestingly, Pouliot has long put up solid possession metrics and even recorded a better than average career shooting percentage. Despite that, and the prime ice time he received in Edmonton prior to this year, he never could be relied upon as a top offensive producer.

His career is far from over, as he’ll surely garner attention from several teams around the league now that his price tag has come considerably down. Likely having to settle for a short-term deal on a relatively low salary, teams will be interested in his upside as a third-line winger who could move up if he can find the right fit. It will be interesting to see if he can find a team with it’s eyes on the postseason, or if he’ll rebuild along with a young team.

For the Oilers, saving $2.6MM for the next two years is important as they try to get both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid under contract long term. Recently it was hinted that McDavid might cost as much as $13.25MM per season, and with Draisaitl looking like he might cost as much as $8MM each year, they need all the room they can get. It’s why they moved out Jordan Eberle—though, immediately committed most of that room to Kris Russell—and why they’ll have to look at other cost saving measures in the future. Pouliot was simply not needed on this team, especially as younger players like Drake Caggiula step into bigger roles.

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