Jets Re-Sign Andrew Copp To Two Year Deal
- The Jets have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with restricted free agent forward Andrew Copp, TSN’s Aaron Ward reports (Twitter link). CapFriendly tweets that the deal will pay him $900K in 2017-18 and $1.11MM in 2018-19. Copp spent the majority of 2016-17 with Winnipeg, collecting 17 points (9-8-7) while averaging 12:21 per night. He also added five assists in eight games with their AHL affiliate in Manitoba.
Winnipeg Inks Brandon Tanev To A One-Year Deal
The Winnipeg Jets have announced the re-signing of left wing Brandon Tanev to a one-year, $700K deal. Tanev spent 51 games with the Jets last season.
The 25-year-old split time between the Jets and AHL affiliate Manitoba, potting four points (2-2) in the NHL while posting nine points (2-7) in 23 games with the Moose. An undrafted free agent, Tanev averaged close to eleven minutes per game (10:41) while in Winnipeg.
Tanev found himself called up near the end of the year after already contributing in 43 games prior to that call up. A two-way forward, Tanev should compete for bottom six minutes this season, and seeing an uptick in ice time with his responsible play in his own end of the ice.
Jets Will Soon Be Facing Cap Crunch
- While the Jets made a couple of signings in free agency (notably goaltender Steve Mason and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov), they were moves that signalled the team isn’t ready to go all in, suggests Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press. He argues that their time to go for it is now considering the fact that several core players will need new contracts next summer. Among those are defenseman Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey, winger Nikolaj Ehlers (all restricted free agents) as well as center Bryan Little, who’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent. Keeping all of those players in the fold will create quite the cap crunch next summer and as a result, this may be Winnipeg’s deepest roster for the next little while.
Snapshots: Franson, Cheveldayoff, Marleau
We’re still all quiet on the Cody Franson front, which has many analysts stumped. Franson is a decent possession player when you look at career Corsi and Fenwick. He’s the youngest “big name” defenseman left un-signed in unrestricted free agency. He played 68 games for the Buffalo Sabres, who were admittedly porous defensively, but finished with a minus 5 on a team where no one broke a plus 3. What’s most intriguing is his ability to skate combined with his overall size – 6’5 and 224 pounds. Franson also has a right-handed shot from the point, something many teams are lacking and actively seeking. He’s the prototype for a #4 defenseman in today’s NHL, and at only 30, has more hockey left in him. There’s been nearly no smoke around this player as we finish the third day of free agency, and that alone is befuddling.
- Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff believes his Jets “are a cap team now”, and he’s willing to spend accordingly per Postmedia’s Ken Weibe. Cheveldayoff has been infamous league-wide for his reluctance to make too many roster moves – it took him the better part of three seasons to even make a trade. That said, he seems to be embracing a more proactive role in management. On July 1st he signed defensemen Dimitri Kulikov and goaltender Steve Mason to expensive contracts, and moved on from veterans Chris Thorburn and Mark Stuart. With his core players entering their primes, the time to compete is apparently now.
- Patrick Marleau had a quality radio interview with TSN 1050 Toronto earlier this evening. There were a few good quotes that resulted, but nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps the most humorous moment in the segment was when Marleau insisted that he’s still “full of (pee) and vinegar…just like these kids”. Marleau apparently mulled over the decision for more than a week, weighing the pros and cons of the decision to move on from San Jose, the only franchise he’s ever played for. Ultimately, he cited his confidence in the management team, the exciting younger players in Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and the aggressiveness of the team to compete right away as reasons which tilted the scales in favor of the Leafs. The third year on the contract offer, which will take him to age 40, probably provided him lots of incentive, as well.
The Prettiest And Ugliest Contracts Of July 1
Although hindsight is usually the only way to be certain as to when a deal flops, it seems reasonable to make an immediate assessment as to what deals will backfire or pay dividends. Today was a far more reserved July 1st than the league has accustomed itself to, but there are still a few contracts that stick out – for better or for worse.
Pretty: Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks – $800,000, 1 year.
This doesn’t seem fair. Chicago has been trapped in cap jail, and suddenly, here arrives a productive asset at nearly no cost. Sharp, coming off an injury-filled season, is coming back to the Windy City at a dirt-cheap rate. If he can even find half of the production he had during his last outing, this is a monumental steal. There’s no risk here, and a ton of upside. He still has the hands and hockey IQ to contribute.
Ugly: Steve Mason – Winnipeg Jets – $4,1 MM per, 2 years
Winnipeg was seemingly the last team standing when the music stopped playing. With a goaltending market that inspired no one, the Jets decided today to place their faith in Steve Mason. Coming off a .908 save percentage year, it’s hard to see him doing much worse. But behind the Winnipeg defense, it’s hard to see him doing much better. The pricetag is what really seals this as poor value relative to play. Luckily, if things don’t pan out, it’s only for two seasons. Connor Hellebuyck better prepare himself just in case. Taken in tandem with the highly questionable Dmitry Kulikov contract, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff maybe should have taken the day off.
Pretty: Radim Vrbata – Florida Panthers – $2.5 MM per, 1 year
Vrbata is absolutely a top-six winger, and he was signed for bottom-six money. He can assist a powerplay, and slot up and down a lineup as needed. Florida desperately needed to re-coup some scoring on the cheap after letting so many of their top point-getters walk or be lost to Vegas. With bonuses added in, this becomes a good prove-it deal for Vrbata as well. Solid value was found here for both parties and for a 20 goal, 55 point player, Florida will happily run away from this one.
Ugly: Trevor Daley – Detroit – $3.18MM per, 3 years
Daley was bereft of ice time in these playoffs, and he was competing with some really underperforming defensemen. It’s not like he had a good regular season either – his Corsi For % fell off a proverbial cliff (53.7 to 46.1), and the eye test certainly agreed. He put up decent points, 5 goals and 14 assists through 56 contests, and he can still skate well enough. But long are the days where he can make a difference on special teams or drive an offense with confidence. His turnover rate and inconsistency are not what Detroit needed to stabilize the back-end, and Daley will be 36 at the conclusion of the deal. The last time Daley cut a lucrative free agent deal, Chicago had to offload him due to poor play.
Pretty: Kevin Shattenkirk – New York Rangers – $6.65MM per, 4 years
The money could end up being a slight overpayment, but at the moment it is solid value. Shattenkirk finished 4th in points among defensemen last season and St. Louis never looked the same after he left. He could instantly and single-handedly transform the Rangers’ defense from the jumbled mess they were last season. He will reliably feed the puck to the forward group, and be the quarterback of the Ranger powerplay. What makes this a beautiful deal, however, is the term. If Shattenkirk has a bad year or doesn’t fit the system, New York is not on the hook for eternity. One of the biggest pitfalls in free agency with the bigger names is offering far too many years on contracts. Time and time again, it burns teams who were looking to attract a big fish. GM Jeff Gorton deserves credit here for not going insane with the length, although he was helped by Shattenkirk’s strong desire to return home.
Ugly: Dan Girardi – Tampa Bay – $3 MM per, 2 years
Nothing about this deal makes sense. Girardi earned his buyout from New York through brutal play and horrible possession numbers. Of all the NHL defensemen who played more than 40 games, only Rasmus Ristolainen of Buffalo and Luke Schenn of Arizona had worse Corsi Against per 60 minutes – Girardi finished with 65.11 (versus a 51.67 CF60). By no metric other than shot blocks was he an effective player. He might be worth a flier in hopes of regaining form, but he’s not worth much more. This agreement is made even worse by the fact that Girardi will be stealing valuable playing time from a solid young defenseman like Slater Koekkoek or Jake Dotchin. Combined with the Chris Kunitz signing, this is a team that didn’t get any younger, or any better.
Winnipeg Jets Sign Steve Mason
The Winnipeg Jets’ hunt for stability in net has brought in former Calder Trophy-winner Steve Mason. Mason, the former Philadelphia Flyers’ starter, was thought to be in line for a backup job after a down season. However, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that Mason’s contract is for two years and $8.2MM; a $4.1MM AAV. Mason will thus be looked upon to take over the starter role and hold off young Connor Hellebuyck.
Mason, at 29, was coming off a disappointing season for the Flyers, finishing this year with a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage. His career has been somewhat of a roller coaster, however, starting with his rookie season in 2008-09 when he came out of nowhere, posting a 2.29 GAA in 61 games and leading the Columbus Blue Jackets to their first-ever playoff series and winning the Calder Trophy. He then followed his impressive rookie campaign, tallying a 3.05 GAA in 58 games and a .901 save percentage and was never able keep his goals against under three until the Blue Jackets traded him to the Flyers in 2013. Mason regained his form, but never to the point of that initial season.
Mason’s new contract is exactly the same contract he has had over the past three years when he inked a 3-year, $12.3MM contract back in 2014 with the Flyers. However, in Winnipeg, he has a chance to take control of the starting gig there as Hellebuyck struggled as a full-time starter. The team still hopes the 24-year-old can become their everyday starter, but the general belief is they need a veteran to hold down the pipes for a couple of years until the youngster is ready.
Dmitri Kulikov Signs With Winnipeg Jets
According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Winnipeg Jets are closing in on a deal with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. The deal is a three-year pact worth $4.33MM per season.
Kulikov is coming off a horrendous season in Buffalo, but has years of previously solid performance with the Florida Panthers in his career. He was expected to move into a top four role in Buffalo, but won’t be required to do the same in Winnipeg. Though the Jets did recently buy out Mark Stuart, Toby Enstrom is set to return and Josh Morrissey is ready for an even larger role.
By going after Kulikov, the Jets have bought a huge bounce-back candidate that could help their defense once again be among the deepest groups in the league. With the right-side depth of Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba they have three pairs that can play against nearly anyone in the league. That depth could come in handy if they want to get into the trade market, though their forward group also remains a deep group. In net, they’ve been linked heavily to Steve Mason, who should be able to form at least an average tandem with Connor Hellebuyck.
Free Agency Rumor Round-Up
Free agency is set to open in mere hours, but there are already plenty of rumors out there about deals that will become official at noon ET. Here are all of the deals expected to be made official this afternoon with the link to the original PHR article or recent report:
Anaheim Ducks expected to sign G Ryan Miller (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Boston Bruins expected to sign LW Kenny Agostino
Buffalo Sabres expected to sign G Chad Johnson
Chicago Blackhawks expected to sign RW Patrick Sharp
Colorado Avalanche expected to sign G Jonathan Bernier
Dallas Stars expected to sign C Martin Hanzal (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Detroit Red Wings expected to sign D Trevor Daley
Florida Panthers expected to sign RW Evgeni Dadonov
Florida Panthers expected to sign C Micheal Haley
Montreal Canadiens expected to sign D Karl Alzner
New York Rangers expected to sign G Ondrej Pavelec
Philadelphia Flyers expected to sign G Brian Elliott
Tampa Bay Lightning expected to sign D Dan Girardi
Vancouver Canucks expected to sign D Michael Del Zotto
Vancouver Canucks expected to sign G Anders Nilsson
Vancouver Canucks expected to sign C Sam Gagner (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Winnipeg Jets expected to sign G Steve Mason (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Jets Showing Interest In Steve Mason
With Connor Hellebuyck not quite ready to assume the starting goalie role in Winnipeg, the Jets are on the lookout for help between the pipes. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that the team has checked in with soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Steve Mason; TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds (Twitter link) that their level of interest is significant.
Mason’s agent Anton Thun had the following to say to Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press about the Jets:
“Yes we are considering the Jets, but we are considering every open No. 1 goaltending spot as we should be until those spots get filled.”
The 29 year old is coming off a down season with the Flyers, one where he posted a 2.66 GAA and a .908 SV% in 58 appearances. That said, those numbers would still represent upgrades on what Winnipeg’s goaltenders compiled in 2016-17, a 2.97 GAA and a .904 SV%. However, Mason has made at least 50 appearances in seven of his nine NHL seasons (one of the ones he didn’t was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign) which would certainly be appealing to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff as a bridge until Hellebuyck is ready to take on the number one role on a more full-time basis.
At the end of the season, Mason voiced his criticism of the goalie platoon that was utilized between himself and Michal Neuvirth with the Flyers. That would make it at least somewhat interesting that he’d consider joining the Jets who would likely operate in a similar manner with him and Hellebuyck (and that doesn’t even factor in incumbent backup Michael Hutchinson who has another year left on his deal).
Mason, who ranks 25th on our Top-50 UFA List, earned $4.1MM in each of the last three seasons and will almost assuredly be taking a pay cut wherever he signs.
Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2017 Inductees
The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced their 2017 class, that includes both players and builders. Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi and Danielle Goyette form the player class, while Clare Drake and Jeremy Jacobs are heading in as builders.
Selanne was on the ballot for the first time, and was an absolute lock for induction. With 1,457 points in 1,451 games, Selanne ranks 15th all-time in scoring and is arguably the greatest Finnish-born player ever to play in the NHL. Right from the start, with his record-setting 76 goal rookie campaign the “Finnish Flash” was a dominant presence in the league able to out-skate and out-shoot almost anyone in the league. Even at age 36 he was a dominant player, scoring 48 goals and 94 points and leading the league in game-winning goals. One of only 19 men to score more than 600 goals in the NHL, Selanne lit the lamp 684 times and sits just outside the top-10. Always considered just as good of a person off the ice as he was a player on it, his impact along with Kariya on the Anaheim Ducks (of both the plain and Mighty variety) has been immeasurable. 
In a perfect touch, Kariya will go in alongside his long-time friend and teammate. The two put the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on the map in the 90s, and later signed to play together in Colorado. Though his career was affected by concussion issues and ended when he was 35, Kariya goes down as one of the most determined skaters of all-time. Blessed with incredible skill, Kariya never stopped working and would create chances out of nothing just with his tenacity. While he’s waited for some time to see his name in the Hall of Fame, it is well deserved. With 989 career points (in 989 games), he ranks 87th all-time but is one of a very select group to record a point-per-game (h/t James Mirtle of The Athletic) since he entered the league.
Andreychuk is another that has had to wait quite some time, but will ride his 640 career goals and 1,338 points right into the Hall. An incredible net presence, capable of finding pucks and immediately depositing them behind goalies, Andreychuk scored more than 40 goals four times in his career and ranks 14th all-time. A captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning to finish his career, Andreychuk would finally win the Stanley Cup at age 40. His legacy is remembered fondly in several different cities, but perhaps best in Buffalo where he formed one of the greatest lines in NHL history with Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny for a brief time.
Recchi has a similar story, lasting into his forties and logging some of the greatest offensive numbers of all-time. With 1,533 points, Recchi ranks 12th on the career list and won three Stanley Cups with three different teams. Though he did have some incredible years at the beginning of his career, Recchi is a testament to consistency and adaptability. Able to fill several different roles throughout his career, he was always among his team leaders in points and logged huge minutes in a two-way role. One of the greatest fourth-round picks of all time, Recchi had an impact in many different cities around the league including both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Two different stints in both cities are sure to create some arguments over which franchise he belongs two, while Montreal and Boston each have their own claims.
Goyette is the latest from the outstanding Canadian women’s group that was so dominant on the international stage for so long. The sniping winger took home three Olympic golds, an Olympic silver and eight World Championship golds during her illustrious career with Team Canada, and has been the head coach at the University of Calgary—where amazingly she coached former teammate Haley Wickenheiser—for the past decade. Her influence on Canadian women’s hockey is almost unmatched.