Latest On Patrik Laine, Mikko Rantanen
When the Mitch Marner saga came to an end, some believed that it would move along some of the other restricted free agent negotiations around the league. That may not be the case for two Finnish forwards, who are currently training overseas. Mikko Rantanen and Patrik Laine are both practicing with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA, and don’t appear close to new deals with the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets respectively. In fact, their agent Mike Liut joined Sportsnet radio this morning and talked about the negotiations, bluntly stating that they’re “not close” on either player. Liut went on to draw comparisons for one of his clients to Marner:
I think that Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen are probably the two closest comparables in terms of how they play the game. Where you have wingers that are adept at creating offense for those that they’re playing with. They do it maybe a little bit differently. Mikko’s 225 (lbs) and Mitch is not, but Mitch is a carrier and a great player. The Leafs have really looked into the future. You’re going to have a salary cap at $81.5MM, there’s no growth factor, one half of one percent. History has shown what the league does on a year-over-year basis, it’s going to 2.5% revenue growth.
Your top line, your top three players whether they’re defensemen or forwards are going to be in that range that the Leafs have created.
Liut also discussed how teams are going to have to roll through players on a more constant basis in order to keep their top players paid. Laine and Rantanen both certainly want to be compensated like top players, and it’s easy to see why. Laine has scored 110 goals in his three-year career, one of the highest rates in the league thanks to his incredible shot and ability to float away from traffic at the right time. Though his overall point totals declined sharply last season, goal-scorers are rewarded handsomely in the NHL and Laine should be no different.
Rantanen meanwhile has become one of the most impressive offensive players in the league, recording 171 points over the last two seasons. While some of that is because of his time with Nathan MacKinnon, there’s no doubting Rantanen’s talent. The tenth overall pick from 2015, Rantanen stands 6’4″ but has the puck skills and playmaking ability often associated with much smaller players. Even in the playoffs where young players often struggle, the Colorado forward led his club with 14 points in 12 games and was a force on the ice on almost every shift. If his camp truly sees a direct comparison to Marner, they must be looking for a pretty big raise. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward recently signed a six-year deal worth more than $65MM, putting him among the top handful of salaries ($10.893MM AAV) in the NHL.
While both are practicing overseas at the moment, Liut downplayed the idea that either one would sign with a European club even if the contract included an NHL-out clause. That should settle some nerves in Colorado and Winnipeg, but if contracts aren’t close at this point there should be real concern that the Finns will miss a good chunk of training camp or perhaps even the start of the regular season.
Dustin Byfuglien Contemplating NHL Future
When the Winnipeg Jets announced recently that Dustin Byfuglien was taking a leave of absence from the team but it was not due to injury, eyebrows raised all around the league. Support poured out for whatever Byfuglien was dealing with, hoping that it would not affect his playing status for this year. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, it might. McKenzie reports that the Winnipeg Jets defender is “using the time to ponder his NHL future” and explained there is no timetable for a decision.
Byfuglien is currently on the fourth of a five-year contract and is set to earn $8MM this season and $6MM next, all in salary. Retirement would forfeit all of that and remove one of the Jets’ most consistent defensemen from the team right before they are expected to contend for the Stanley Cup again. Winnipeg has already seen Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot leave through various methods this summer, meaning a loss of Byfuglien would sting even more.
Of course, there is also a potential silver lining for the Jets, who are still without Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor as they negotiate new contracts. The team doesn’t have a ton of cap space to fit the pair in if they wanted to go for long-term contracts, a problem that would be alleviated if Byfuglien retired. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic also suggests that the team could then pursue either Rasmus Ristolainin or Justin Faulk in trade to try and replace some of what Byfuglien brings, though that is just speculation at this point.
Central Notes: Spurgeon, Koivu, Thomas, Avalanche, Copp
The Minnesota Wild announced earlier today they signed Jared Spurgeon to a seven-year, $53MM extension that will kick in during the 2020-21 season. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that Spurgeon’s deal has a no movement clause this year as well as the first four years of the first contract. After that, Spurgeon has a 10-team modified no-trade clause for the final three years, which will kick in during the 2024-25 season.
- Sticking with the Wild, Minnesota got some good news about injured forward Mikko Koivu, who had surgery to repair a torn ACL back in February. The 36-year-old, who was expected to be eased back into practices and scrimmages in training camp, told coach Bruce Boudreau that he’s ready and is expected to participate in scrimmages on Monday, according to StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan. Koivu was cleared for practice on Thursday, but now looks like he’s ready for full play. He scored eight goals and 29 points in 47 games last season before going down with the knee injury.
- NHL.com’s Lou Korac reports that the St. Louis Blues have been without forward Robert Thomas for a second straight day as he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a tendon in his left wrist. He and Jordan Kyrou, out with a knee injury, are expected to be brought back slowly from their injuries. “We’ve got them in that third group right now,” Blues head coach Craig Berube said. “We’ve got to be a little cautious with them right now.”
- BSN Denver’s A.J. Haefele writes that Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar had quite a few positive to point out after Day 2 of training camp. Bednar pointed out quite a bit of improvement in the play of winger Andre Burakovsky and the standout play of A.J. Greer and the impressive leaderships skills of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. He also said that he believes that the next step for defenseman Samuel Girard is his offensive game. The 21-year-old scored four goals and 27 points last season. While both were career highs, Bednar would like to see those numbers rise this season.
- The Athletic’s Ken Wiebe reports that the Winnipeg Jets are without a few player at the moment. The team has been without forward Andrew Copp due to a minor groin injury, while Kristian Vesalainen and Sami Niku were stiff Saturday after being in a fender-bender on Friday. They should return soon.
Patrik Laine To Skate With SC Bern
Jets winger Patrik Laine will soon be beginning his training camp but it won’t be in Winnipeg. Vili Pesu of Ilta-Sanomat in Finland reports that Laine will soon begin skating with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA; head coach Kari Jalonen indicated that it would be on a week-to-week basis. Laine is coming off an intriguing season; while he had 18 goals in the month of November alone, he also only had a dozen tallies the rest of the season. As a result, a short-term bridge deal has been the expectation for a while but it appears that there is still a ways to go to get an agreement in place. While Laine will be practicing with Bern, he will not be participating in any games while he’s with them.
Minor Transactions: 09/13/19
Training camp is upon us and initial practices are underway for all players under contract. Yet, many NHL clubs still have work to do, with prominent restricted and unrestricted free agents still without deals for the 2019-20 season. Minor league affiliates, European teams, and college programs are also still making moves to finalize their plans for the coming season. Keep track of those minor transactions right here:
- Emile Poirier has signed a professional tryout with the Winnipeg Jets, looking to find a contract with the team once again. Poirier was originally selected 22nd overall by the Calgary Flames in 2013 but has just a handful of NHL games under his belt. In 24 contests last season for the Manitoba Moose he scored eight points, and at this point should be considered a long-shot to ever become an impact player.
- Brett Neumann will be attending training camp with the New York Islanders this season as he tries to prove that his size shouldn’t stop a team from taking a chance on him. The 5’9″ forward scored 45 goals and 79 points in the OHL last season between the Kingston Frontenacs and Oshawa Generals and is an undrafted free agent. Neumann will likely be heading back to the OHL, but could be a name to keep in mind down the road.
- The Vegas Golden Knights announced a pair of training camp cuts, returning goalie Jordan Kooy to London of the OHL and netminder Jiri Patera to Brandon of the WHL. Both players are unsigned draft picks with Kooy needing to sign an entry-level deal by June 2020 or else Vegas would lose his rights.
Training Camp Notes: Byfuglien, Dach, Perry
The Winnipeg Jets today announced that Dustin Byfuglien has been granted a leave of absence from the team and will not be participating at the start of training camp. Head coach Paul Maurice and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff both explained that it is not injury related and that it is “nothing sinister.” There is no timetable for his return, but hopefully he can get whatever it is sorted out quickly.
More notes from around training camp:
- The Chicago Blackhawks have given an update on the status of top prospect Kirby Dach after he was removed from a game during the prospect tournament recently. Dach is in the concussion protocol and will not be in the Blackhawks lineup when they start their exhibition schedule. Philipp Kurashev, who left the same game (along with two others), will not practice today with left knee and shoulder contusions. Calvin de Haan, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery, also now has a groin strain and is expected to be out for another two to three weeks.
- The Buffalo Sabres have officially announced that Zach Bogosian, Matt Hunwick, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Lawrence Pilut will not take part in training camp due to injury. These had been previously reported, but it is still disappointing for a player like Pilut who has a chance to make a big impact on the NHL club this season.
- Nolan Patrick wasn’t on the ice when the Philadelphia Flyers opened camp, sidelined with an upper-body injury according to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. After missing much of his draft season with various injuries, Patrick has battled minor ailments through each of his first two NHL seasons but still managed to play in 145 games. Still waiting for his breakout, missing camp would be a frustrating outcome for the 20-year old forward.
- Though all the questions were about Julis Honka’s trade request, the Dallas Stars also announced that Corey Perry has a small fracture in his foot and will be reevaluated in two weeks according to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic. That isn’t a good start for Perry in Dallas where he’s trying to revitalize his career following a buyout from the Anaheim Ducks.
Snapshots: Red Wings, Blues, RFAs
The Detroit Red Wings will operate without a captain once again this season, despite the expectation that Dylan Larkin will one day assume the role. Head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters including Ansar Khan of MLive that they will instead start with four alternates: Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening. Blashill and Steve Yzerman agreed to wait until the GM got to know the entire team better after taking over this offseason.
Larkin, 23, has become the face of the Red Wings franchise after putting up a career-high 32 goals and 73 points last season. As the old guard including Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and recently Niklas Kronwall have moved on from their roles on the Red Wings, Larkin and other young players have taken on more and more responsibility. As the team transitions from rebuilding to contending over the next few years it seems likely that someone will eventually wear the “C” for Blashill and Yzerman, just not yet.
- The St. Louis Blues are finalizing extensions for Steve Ott and David Alexander according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The pair of assistant coaches will be given extensions that match the length of head coach Craig Berube, who was given a three-year deal earlier this summer. The coaching staff under Berube completed a miracle turnaround this season with the Blues, taking them from last place in the NHL to Stanley Cup champions in just a few months.
- Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest has heard a few things on restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Mikko Rantanen, including about a recent short-term offer from the Winnipeg Jets to the former. The deal presented to Laine was in the “$5MM per year range” though Strickland notes that even on that short-term deal the Jets will “need to come up on money.” For Rantanen, Strickland reports that the free agent forward is not far away in terms of salary with the Colorado Avalanche and that the team’s last offer “blew past Nathan MacKinnon‘s $6.3MM AAV.”
Winnipeg Jets Extend Josh Morrissey
The Winnipeg Jets have two restricted free agents to sign, but have inked one of their other young players a year before his deal even expires. The team announced an eight-year extension for Josh Morrissey, a contract that will carry an average annual value of $6.25MM. Morrissey will earn $3.15MM this season on his current deal. The full breakdown is as follows:
- 2020-21: $8.0MM
- 2021-22: $8.0MM
- 2022-23: $5.2MM
- 2023-24: $8.0MM
- 2024-25: $4.8MM
- 2025-26: $4.8MM
- 2026-27: $4.8MM
- 2027-28: $4.8MM
According to Ken Wiebe of The Athletic the deal will also include a full no-movement clause in years 3-5 and a limited no-trade clause in the final three. That kind of length and security is surprising in this market where other young players are instead looking to maximize their earning potential by taking short deals. Morrissey will be giving up six seasons of unrestricted free agency at a very reasonable price, considering his growth the last few years.
Selected 13th overall in 2013 it took a few years for Morrissey to put it all together, but when he did there was no looking back. Suiting up in all 82 games for the 2016-17 season as a rookie, he was seeing more than 20 minutes a night on a regular basis by the end of the year. That ice time has only increased since to the point where the left-handed defenseman averaged more than 22 minutes for the Jets last season. A true shutdown option for the team, his offensive game also exploded to the tune of 31 points in 59 games. That low game total was due to a shoulder injury and is disappointing, but if he can stay healthy there’s little doubt he won’t outproduce this contract and quickly.
Getting this contract locked in should only help the Jets in the negotiations with Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor, Knowing exactly what Morrissey will cost is an important piece of information for the team to have when setting a limit for how high they will reach. Laine and Connor will surely eat up the $15MM the team has available this season, but will also make next offseason a tightrope walk for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Winnipeg Jets
Current Cap Hit: $66,049,164 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Sami Niku (one year, $775K)
F Jack Roslovic (one year, $894K)
F Kristian Vesalainen (three years, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Niku: $60K
Roslovic: $212.5K
Roslovic has been a highly sought after trade commodity but thus far, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t shown any interest in moving him. However, the Jets haven’t given him a lot of ice time at the NHL level as he logged less than ten minutes a night last season despite being a regular. That’s going to really hurt his bargaining power next summer so a one-year deal is likely in the offing. Vesalainen split last season between KHL Jokerit and the minors with only five games with the Jets. There should be more of an opportunity to get into NHL action this season and it’s worth noting that he can no longer trigger an assignment overseas.
Niku actually got into more game action with Winnipeg than AHL Manitoba last season though his impact with the Jets was relatively limited as he was deployed in a limited role. With several departures on the back end though, he’ll be counted on to play a much bigger role this season which should bode well for his next contract. Like Roslovic though, he won’t have enough of a track record to command a long-term pact.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Nathan Beaulieu ($1MM, UFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($1.225MM, UFA)
D Dmitry Kulikov ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Josh Morrissey ($3.15MM, RFA)
Kulikov’s contract has been one that looked bad from the outset and has lived up to that initial interpretation. They’ve been trying to move him for more than a year now to the point where it may have been a bit of a surprise that they didn’t buy him out this summer. His next deal, if there is a next one, is going to be in the $1MM range. Morrissey, on the other hand, will be looking at a big raise. With Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot all gone and no one really brought in to replace them, Morrissey is going to be in line for a much bigger role. If his offensive play continues to improve, he can easily double his current AAV. Beaulieu took a big pay cut to stay with Winnipeg after being non-tendered but the move made some sense. He’ll have a shot to play a regular role on a good team which should give him an opportunity to rebuild some value.
Brossoit had quite the bounce-back season in 2018-19 as he went from being a minor leaguer to one of the better backups in the league. However, given his limited track record (and desire to keep some funds freed up for his RFAs), Cheveldayoff only extended him for one year. A repeat performance could bring Brossoit towards that higher tier of backups in the $2.5MM range which would probably price him out of Winnipeg.
Two Years Remaining
D Dustin Byfuglien ($7.6MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($2.28MM, RFA)
F Adam Lowry ($2.916MM, UFA)
F Mathieu Perreault ($4.125MM, UFA)
D Neal Pionk ($3MM, RFA)
Perreault has been a nice depth option for the Jets, even if he is on the expensive side. He can play all three forward positions and has produced when given opportunities in the top six. However, he hasn’t spent a lot of time there and as a result, is coming off his lowest output since the lockout-shortened season. It’s hard to imagine him getting a raise on his next deal although there should be considerable interest nonetheless. Lowry has quietly become one of the more reliable centers at the faceoff dot while chipping in with plenty of hits and a reasonable amount of offense. Players like this can still get paid a sizable sum and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get closer to $3.5MM on his next deal. Copp received this deal through arbitration and narrowly misses out on being a UFA at its expiration by a week. He has shuffled between the third and fourth line in his career but will need to spend more time on the third trio moving forward if he wants to be in line for a raise in his final trip through arbitration.
Byfuglien dealt with injury issues for the second year in a row which makes this contract a bit tougher to stomach. He’s still capable of logging heavy minutes and contributing offensively and with the departures they’ve had, it’s quite possible they’ll lean on him even more than they have been. If he can stay healthy, they can still get a decent return on this deal in 2019-20 but he will have a hard time getting this much when he’s 36 and on the open market. Pionk is coming off an up-and-down season with the Rangers who included him as part of the Trouba trade. He’ll be asked to lock down a top-four spot with the Jets and if he can do that, he’ll be well-positioned for a raise two years from now.
Three Years Remaining
None
Four Or More Years Remaining
F Nikolaj Ehlers ($6MM through 2024-25)
G Connor Hellebuyck ($6.167MM through 2023-24)
F Bryan Little $5.292MM through 2023-24)
F Mark Scheifele ($6.125MM through 2023-24)
F Blake Wheeler ($8.25MM through 2023-24)
Wheeler has flown somewhat under the radar considering he’s fifth in the league in scoring over the past five seasons combined. That earned him a jump in pay from his last deal and while there will be some concerns about his effectiveness at the end of the deal considering he’ll be 38 by then, he’ll still provide good value for a few more years. Scheifele is now one of the better bargains in the league as a legitimate front line center that makes less than what some second liners are getting. It will cost considerably more to sign him on his next deal. Ehlers is coming off of a tough season that has had him in trade speculation at times. After two straight seasons of 60 or more points, he should be given a chance to turn things around but if his offensive struggles continue, he could become a potential cap casualty. Little has failed to reach 50 points for four straight seasons and Winnipeg has traded for rental upgrades at his spot on the second line for the last two years. Between that and a no-move clause, he could become difficult to move if that trend continues.
Hellebuyck signed his deal following a career year back in 2017-18, one that saw him finish second in Vezina Trophy voting. At the time, it looked like a potential bargain with the going rate for high-end starters only going up. However, he wound up posting the highest GAA of his career (2.90) while his save percentage dipped by 11 points down to .913. Instead of being one of the better starters in the league, he was on the lower end of that scale last season. One down season isn’t going to change the outlook of his contract entirely but a repeat of that performance could have his deal trending towards being a negative for the Jets instead of a positive.
Buyouts
None
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
Laine had a fantastic month of November where he took the league by storm and scored 18 goals in just a dozen games. He looked to be well on his way to another 40-plus goal season and a huge second contract. However, he only had a dozen goals the rest of the season which has complicated things. Not many players have the goal-scoring ability that he does but given the unpredictability based on last season, a bridge contract may be the more palatable option for both sides.
The same can’t be said for Connor, whose second full NHL season was an improvement on his rookie year while he established himself as a capable top-line winger. We took a closer look at his situation last month and his next deal is likely to be around $7MM based on some of the comparable contracts around the league.
Best Value: Scheifele
Worst Value: Kulikov
Looking Ahead
There’s a glass half full and a glass half empty side to Winnipeg’s cap situation. On the plus side, even if both Laine and Connor sign long-term deals, the Jets are fairly well-positioned to absorb both contracts without too much concern. On the negative side, it took them losing half their back end from last season in order to be able to do so. Either way, they should be in okay shape for the upcoming season.
Looking beyond 2020, they’re not in too bad of shape. Morrissey’s next deal is going to be big but Kulikov’s money will be coming off the books and can shift to him instead. Most of their core is locked up long-term (and even more could be depending on the deals Connor and Laine sign) so while they won’t be big spenders on the open market any time soon, their days of having to cut contracts should be finished as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Colorado’s Defense, Little, Kiviranta
After impressive performances on the ice at their rookie tournament over the past two days, the Colorado Avalanche dream of a dominant group of franchise defensemen are much closer than they had initially imagined. The team already has two established cornerstones on defense in Samuel Girard and Cale Makar, but the play of 2019 first-round pick Bowen Byram and 2017 second-rounder Conor Timmins suggest they might be closer to join the other two sooner rather than later, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.
Both will be with the team on Friday when training camp begins. Byram will have to prove that he’s ready for the challenges of the NHL already as a recently-turned 18-year-old. He broke out in a big way in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, scoring 26 goals and 71 points, but he either must make the Avalanche or be returned to Vancouver. Timmins is a different story. The 20-year-old missed the entire 2018-19 season last year after dealing with concussion-like symptoms and likely will begin the season in the AHL until he gets some game experience, but could be recalled at any time if Colorado needs him.
- One story that has been an issue for years in Winnipeg has been the Jets’ need to establish a No. 2 center. The team has gone with veteran Bryan Little over the years only to acquire a second-line center at the trade deadline the previous two years in Paul Stastny back in 2018 and Kevin Hayes in 2019. Unfortunately, due to cap issues, the Jets were unable to retain either player and are once again on the lookout for someone internally to step up into that role. For Little, the job remains his to lose. The 31-year-old’s numbers continue to decline little by little, scoring 15 goals and 41 points (his least productive season since 2009-10), but he remains the top option, according to Winnipeg Free Press’ Mike McIntyre. The only other options look to be Andrew Copp and Jack Roslovic, both of which seem like longshots to claim that role.
- The Dallas Stars have a number of young prospects who might have a chance to make their opening day roster, including prospects Ty Dellandrea, Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov and Riley Tufte amongst many. However, the Stars might have another player who could step up after Joel Kiviranta scored a hat trick against the New York Rangers squad Saturday, suggesting that the recently signed forward out of Finland could make an immediate impact for Dallas, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. The 23-year-old Kiviranta is still adjusting to the smaller North American ice, but has a lot of experience playing amongst men in Finland after five years there. He has tallied 35 goals over the past two years there.