The Blackhawks are linked to Columbus UFA Sam Gagner, by way of a report from The Athletic’s Scott Powers. The parties have reached out to one another and expressed “mutual interest”. Gagner could be a good fit in Chicago, as he could jump-start an oddly sluggish powerplay, which finished 24th in the league last season. As always, an issue with signing in the Windy City is available cap dollars. Even after parting with Scott Darling, Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson, the team is $2.99 MM over the cap ceiling, Luckily the team doesn’t have any free agents that absolutely need to be re-signed, so they are free to prune a few forwards from the roster to get within acceptable range. Adding another mid-tier contract could complicate matters. The team has already been rumored to move on from center Marcus Kruger, who only makes $3.083 MM himself. Gagner will be looking for a figure around there after his career season, so his acquisition would mean more shuffling from GM Stan Bowman.
Judging by the fan reaction to the Panarin and Hjalmarsson moves, further shuffling might only serve to further shake confidence in the team’s direction. This isn’t even taking into account the Marian Hossa Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) drama, which alone should make for an interesting summer. For what it’s worth, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector believes Gagner will not return to Edmonton, so that eliminates a potential landing spot. Still, there are few available centers with his skill-set and offensive output, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see Chicago out-bid on this particular player.
- The Flyers are not comfortable with an Anthony Stolarz and Michael Neuvirth tandem heading into 2017-18, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Carchidi goes through the entire UFA selection, including former Flyer Steve Mason, Brian Elliott, Jonathan Bernier, Ryan Miller, and even Keith Kinkaid. Bernier could be a fit, but with his inconsistency I don’t see it being a good one. Mason endured a good deal of fan blame this season, and while a short-term deal is not impossible, it’s a fair assumption he searches for a role in another town. If the Flyers wanted to run a tandem, Neuvirth with Condon could work quite well. The author doesn’t believe that Condon is much of an upgrade over Stolarz, but at 23 and with 2 career wins, Stolarz is simply not at the same level. It’s rare to see a goalie that young be able to take a 40 game (or more) NHL workload with total success. Considering the Flyers’ developing defense, it might be a wise decision on GM Ron Hextall’s part to shelter him in the AHL for another season. Stolarz is definitely their future, and they will look to find a one to two year agreement with whatever stopgap they decide on.
- A fascinating piece from Newsday’s Arthur Staple details what can only be described as an odd non-deal. The Islanders apparently offered Travis Hamonic and a 1st round pick to Colorado for Matt Duchene, which was subsequently declined by GM Joe Sakic. Isles GM Garth Snow proceeded to move Hamonic for picks while acquiring Jordan Eberle in a separate transaction. Duchene remains in Denver, and apparently his agent Pat Brisson is not happy with the turn of events. Duchene has been linked to trade rumors since nearly the start of the season, which saw his Avalanche finish with an abysmal 48 point dead-last league finish. Sakic was rumored to have a heavy asking price, and this apparent rejection only solidifies those rumblings. Hamonic himself ended up fetching a 1st and two 2nds from Calgary, which is a sizable haul for the Isles. Islanders faithful can’t be too disappointed by the alternative route Snow traversed.
Duchene is worth more than that, surprisingly Salic didn’t screw it up and take the first offer he had on a hot commodity.
Finding quality DMan is hard.. They shoulda taken that if it was a 2018 1Rd pick
Matt Duchesne for Olli Maatta and other pieces is the rumor around Pittsburgh
It’s going to take a lot more than Olli Maata to get Duchene. Maata did not look that good in the Stanley Cup Finals. I know several Pens fans who wanted him benched. I wonder how the Pens would make Duchene’s contract into their cap. Yes, they have over $18 million in cap space at the moment, but they only have 4 d-men under contract (it would be 3 if Maata is traded) & may have to sign a backup goalie if the want Jarry to continue to play a lot. The Pens already have Malkin’s $9.5 million cap hit & Crosby’s $8.7 million cap hit. Then, you add Kessel’s $6.8 million cap hit, Letang’s $7.25 million cap hit & Hornqvist’s $4.25 hit to the total. Also, Hagelin has a $4 million cap hit. Duchene’s $6 million cap hit doesn’t really fit. Yes, they could move some salary out, but as the Blackhawks have found out, having a lot of big contracts gets you into cap trouble. To acquire Duchene, they’d almost have to move both Hagelin & Hornqvist in other deals to make it work.
Stolarz is rehabbing from major knee surgery. He may not be ready for training camp or the start of the season. As for Mason, it isn’t just the fans he rubbed the wrong way. He rubbed teammates the wrong way because he never took his share of the blame. It was always his defense’s fault or someone else’s fault. He also did not have a very good exit interview
I don’t know if I would say Stolarz is their future, Carter Hart is.
Stolarz is the short-term future for the Flyers, not the long-term. He doesn’t need to be sheltered in the AHL for another season. He’s proven himself there & is good enough to play in the NHL if he’s healthy & that’s the question. He had knee surgery and that could effect his mobility. Long-term, the Flyers have lot of good young goalies. They have the highly touted Carter Hart. They have Alex Lyon who had a very good year in the AHL this past season. They also have Swedish goalie Felix Sandstrom in the system & drafted Russian goalie Kirill Ustimenko in the 3rd round of this year’s draft.