Archives for September 2017

Josh Anderson Requests Trade From Columbus Blue Jackets

September 28, 2017 at 9:42 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Josh Anderson saga has come to a head. The unsigned restricted free agent has requested a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a big swing in what had thought to have been a regular negotiation up to this point. Though the two sides had been firm in where they stood, requesting a trade likely signals that they don’t see a deal being completed anytime soon. That said, both Pierre LeBrun and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic report that GM Jarmo Kekalainen has not received a trade request as of yet.

Anderson, 23, is coming off his entry-level contract at the perfect time in his career. The big-bodied forward scored 17 goals last season, and provides a versatile style that can move up and down the lineup. He’s made it clear that he would be willing to play in Europe for a year and suit up in the Olympics if he wasn’t offered a fair deal, but with cap space available this year and next, it always seemed as though something would get done.

The Blue Jackets for their part have made it clear that they could move on without him. Head coach John Tortorella hinted that Anderson would have to fight for his job when he returned from his holdout, and the team has refused to give in to any contract demands above what they deem reasonable.

All of this is not to say that a trade will be consummated. Last year, we saw Jacob Trouba go through a similar negotiation, requesting a trade out of Winnipeg because of the role he was expected to play. Eventually, Trouba would sign during the season for two years and move into a prominent role. He’ll be up for another contract after this season, but is now a key part of the Jets going forward.

Anderson on the other hand doesn’t seem to be asking for a bigger role, just respect on a bigger contract. Connor Brown, a similarly-aged player coming off his entry-level deal was given three years and $6.3MM from the Maple Leafs, but that was perhaps a bit of a hometown discount. Brown scored 20 goals in his rookie season, but isn’t as physical as Anderson. Sam Bennett received just two years at $1.95MM, even with more experience and draft pedigree than either Anderson or Brown. Bennett is also a center, but had a disappointing season in 2016-17 with only 13 goals.

If the Blue Jackets did examine trading Anderson, it’s likely they would find takers from all around the league. Teams are always looking for young depth forwards with upside, which is exactly what he brings. Though he may not be a perennial 20-goal scorer, he could fit into several contending lineups as a relatively inexpensive option on the wing. Columbus, who went out of their way at the expansion draft to protect him from the Vegas Golden Knights, would need to get back substantial value even if he’s continuing to hold out. The player has little leverage at this point, unless he wants to play the rest of his career overseas.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Oilers Notes: Defense, Yamamoto, Stanton

September 27, 2017 at 8:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Oilers are coming off of their highest point total since 1986-87 and certainly look like they’re a team on the rise. Anchored by Connor McDavid and a strong supporting cast up front, GM Peter Chiarelli told Sportsnet 590 (audio link) that he’s not concerned about their offense heading into the season but that the team is still looking to add to their defense:

“Right now, the scoring, I’m not really that concerned with. We lost Sekera and he won’t be back for a while, so that’s an area that we’re working on and we feel is an area that – I’m somewhat satisfied where we are, personnel-wise, but it can always be improved.”

Edmonton was dealt a big blow back in mid-May when it was announced that Andrej Sekera would miss six-to-nine months with a torn ACL which will keep one of their top-two defenders out for the first few months of 2017-18. While they’ve added some help in recent years in Adam Larsson, Kris Russell, and Matt Benning, they still don’t have the deepest group of blueliners to work with.

Finding the right addition may prove to be somewhat of a challenge for Chiarelli. It’s likely that he has set his sights on a top-four replacement for Sekera and those types of players are rarely available at this time of year. It’s also understandable that the GM would prefer to add a rental player as while they currently have more than $8MM in cap space for this season per CapFriendly, McDavid’s new eight-year, $100MM contract is set to kick in a year from now.

Other news out of Edmonton:

The Oilers are facing a tough decision with 2017 first rounder Kailer Yamamoto, writes Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski. While the soon-to-be 19-year-old has made a very strong case for a roster spot so far this preseason, he is on the smallish side at just 5’8 and around 155 pounds while from a longer-term perspective, having his cheap entry-level contract begin as McDavid’s massive extension does would be more beneficial on the salary cap. If they do put him in the lineup to start the season, their attack will be even deeper with Yamamoto finishing fifth overall in the WHL in points per game last season at 1.52.
The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Ryan Stanton suffered a crack in his foot and will be out for a while. The 28-year-old has 120 career NHL games under his belt but has spent most of the last two seasons at the minor league level.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes

September 27, 2017 at 7:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. 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 2017-18 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.

Arizona Coyotes

Current Cap Hit: $57,514,547 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Jakob Chychrun (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Lawson Crouse (Two years remaining, $894K)
F Max Domi (One year remaining, $863K)
F Christian Dvorak (Two years remaining, $839K)
F Clayton Keller (Three years remaining, $886K)
F Brendan Perlini (Two years remaining, $863K)
F Dylan Strome (Three years remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Chychrun: $425K
Crouse: $708K (AAV over the contract; amounts vary by year)
Domi: $500K
Dvorak: $268K (AAV over the contract; amounts vary by year)
Keller: $788K (AAV over the contract; amounts vary by year)
Perlini: $500K
Strome: $2.475MM

Total: $5.664MM

The Coyotes lead the league by a considerable margin when it comes to players on entry-level contracts which is why they find themselves so far under the Upper Limit. Domi was banged up last season but quietly played at a 50+ point pace once again. Repeating that would give himself a very good chance to skip the bridge contract and sign something long-term.

The other forwards aren’t quite in that spot (at least yet). Crouse was a regular last season but in more of a depth role and if that is the case again this season, he’s a candidate for a bridge deal in 2019. Dvorak had a strong rookie season and if he can build on that, he could conceivably get a long-term deal. Keller and Strome are just starting the first year of their contracts and while Keller projects to make an impact fairly quickly, that may not be the case for Strome. Lastly, Perlini was up and down at times in his rookie campaign. He should play more of a regular role this season but it’s still too early to tell whether or not he’ll be a regular top-six a couple of years from now.

As for Chychrun, he had a very strong rookie season which had him trending towards being a candidate for a long-term second contract. However, knee surgery has set him back somewhat as he’s still a long way away from being ready to play in 2017-18. If he picks up right where he left off, not only will he be likely to get a big second deal but it wouldn’t be surprising if Arizona were to try to extend him a year early. If he has some difficulties though, the early extension will certainly be off the table and it will be his play in 2018-19 that ultimately dictates which way his post-ELC goes.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Adam Clendening ($650K, RFA)
D Kevin Connauton ($1MM, UFA)
G Louis Domingue ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Anthony Duclair ($1.2MM, RFA)
G Antti Raanta ($1MM, UFA)
F Brad Richardson ($2.083MM, UFA)
F Tobias Rieder ($2.25MM, RFA)
D Luke Schenn ($1.25MM, UFA)

Rieder’s contract talks last offseason dragged out and his 2016-17 campaign was a lot like the previous year. If that happens again, he’s going to have a hard time getting a long-term deal. If there was ever a prototypical candidate for a bridge contract, Duclair was it. Two years ago, he was a legitimate top-six forward while last season, he struggled to produce in both the NHL and AHL. A big year from him would go a long way towards getting him some contract security. As for Richardson, he did well in limited action but spent most of the year on injured reserve due to a broken leg. He’s likely to have a minor role this season with the youngsters expected to get most ice time so he will probably have to settle for a lesser contract next summer.

Schenn is a typical depth/third pairing player who is best used in a sheltered role. He had to wait for several weeks last year in free agency to land this contract and there’s a good chance he’ll be holding out hope to simply land one at a similar rate next summer. Connauton battled injuries last season while playing a minimal role when he was in the lineup. A two-way contract at a lesser NHL salary is where he’s heading towards unless he can hold down a regular spot in 2017-18. Similarly, Clendening was mostly a spare part last year and wound up taking the league minimum early in free agency. He landed a one-way deal this time around but if he winds up being in and out again, he also could be a two-way candidate.

Raanta enters this season with a lot to prove. He is getting his first chance to be a legitimate starting goaltender and if he can build on his time with the Rangers and maintain that with a number one workload, he’ll position himself to potentially be the top goaltender on the open market a year from now. With that, a major pay raise and job security would be in order. On the flip side, if he scuffles, he may slot in at a rate more comparable to the top backups which this summer checked in around $2.5MM. Domingue looked like he might be a goalie of the future for Arizona but his first full season as an NHL backup didn’t go well. He isn’t under the microscope as much as Raanta will be but his performance will determine whether he’s still part of their future plans or whether they may be better suited looking elsewhere for a backup.

Two Years Remaining

F Dave Bolland ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Nick Cousins ($1MM, RFA)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Niklas Hjalmarsson ($4.1MM, UFA)
F Jordan Martinook ($1.8MM, UFA)

Bolland technically remains on the books (and the Coyotes won’t need to put him on LTIR this year) but isn’t at all in their plans and won’t be back with them or anyone else in all likelihood. Martinook has emerged as a quality third line forward over the past couple of seasons. With several entry-level guys expiring around that same time, it’s possible that one of them takes his place at that time but if not, it’s plausible that he could return with a cap hit in the $2MM range if he continues at this pace. Cousins was brought in this summer and should slot into a bottom-six role. Barring a big uptick in his production, his next contract shouldn’t be too much higher.

While there aren’t really forwards of note in this situation, that certainly can’t be said for the defense. Ekman-Larsson is their undisputed top player and is quietly one of the more prominent blueliners in the league. He will still be in his late 20s when he hits the open market and a max-term contract is certainly a possibility along with a sizable raise from his current $5.5MM. Hjalmarsson was brought in this summer to play with Ekman-Larsson and is a quality top-four option. He’ll be 32 in free agency and it will be his last chance to get a long-term deal but his next deal could be one where the longer the duration, the lower the cap hit will be.

Three Years Remaining

None (aside from Keller and Strome who were covered earlier)

Four Or More Years Remaining

D Jason Demers ($3.938MM through 2020-21)*
D Alex Goligoski ($5.475MM through 2020-21)
F Derek Stepan ($6.5MM through 2020-21)

* – Florida is retaining $563K of Demers’ contract

Stepan was the other part of the big offseason trade with the Rangers and he will slot in as their top line center right away while allowing prospects like Strome to develop without having to be rushed. He hasn’t typically been a high-end point producer but his all-around game is good enough to make him a good fit for a team that’s still loading up now. If for whatever reason it doesn’t work out, they would have no difficulty moving him down the road either.

Demers was acquired earlier this month and gives the Coyotes a quality second pairing player on a pretty reasonable deal with the Panthers footing part of the bill. He’s more of a number four blueliner but that’s the type of money those players are getting on the open market. Goligoski has quietly been a consistently effective point getter over the past several years and that was the case in his first year with Arizona. His playing time may take a dip with Hjalmarsson being added but he’s still a player who can handle top pairing minutes when called upon at a contract that’s below what most top pairing players receive.

Buyouts

F Mike Ribeiro ($1.944MM through 2019-20)
F Antoine Vermette ($1.25MM in 2017-18)

Retained Salary Transactions

G Mike Smith ($1.417MM through 2018-19)

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Raanta
Worst Value: Bolland

Looking Ahead

Considering the Coyotes are a low spending team, it sounds funny to have to mention that their cap situation now is way better than last year where they had no space remaining and were well into LTIR. Because of all of their young players on rookie contracts, they have plenty of flexibility for a while yet.

If they are going to want to keep this core together though, their payroll budget is going to have to go up pretty quickly though. Not only will their youngsters need bigger second contracts but they’ll either have to extend or replace Raanta next summer with Ekman-Larsson in particular looking at a big jump the year after that. That said, they should still be under the cap when this all happens so the bigger question moving forward for them won’t be the cap but whether they get the financial flexibility from ownership to make it all happen.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Thornton, Gionta, Gelinas, Red Wings

September 27, 2017 at 6:52 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

While the Maple Leafs landed one long-time San Jose Shark in winger Patrick Marleau over the summer, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Toronto was among the teams that were pursuing center Joe Thornton and at one time were looking to bring the veteran duo in as a package deal. Thornton’s preference was to remain in San Jose and he wound up agreeing on a one-year, $8MM deal while Marleau wound up receiving both more money and term from Toronto than what the Sharks were offering him. Given where Toronto is with regards to the salary cap, it’s hard to imagine how the duo would have fit in money-wise but the fact that they pursued both of them together suggests GM Lou Lamoriello had something ready if both would have signed.

Other notes from around the league:

Unrestricted free agent winger Brian Gionta is considering signing an AHL-only deal with Rochester, the minor league affiliate of the Sabres, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. While it’s believed he has NHL offers on the table, he’d like to stay close to his family which this would allow him to do while also maintaining his eligibility to suit up in the upcoming Olympics.
The Canadiens have yet to initiate any sort of contracts with PTO defenseman Eric Gelinas, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. Gelinas is looking to land a spot on Montreal’s back end after turning down multiple offers overseas during the summer. He split last season between Colorado and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio.
The Red Wings are expecting a trio of veterans to return from injuries, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Niklas Kronwall is expected to make his preseason debut on Thursday after missing time with back spasms while Justin Abdelkader is hopeful to play then as well; he has missed the last ten days with a groin issue. Meanwhile, captain Henrik Zetterberg is slated to play on Friday for the first time as his neck soreness is improving.

West Notes: Stars, Eaves, Neal, Sharp

September 27, 2017 at 5:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Stars are a team to watch for in the coming days when it comes to defensemen. The team currently has nine players vying for spots and only one (Julius Honka) is waiver exempt. While GM Jim Nill has preferred to carry eight in recent years and have had the last few rotate in and out of the lineup, head coach Ken Hitchcock told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News that his preference is to have their top-six well-defined with the scratches waiting for an opportunity to get back in. If that’s the case, they may want to just carry seven which could potentially result in someone like Greg Pateryn being placed on waivers in the coming days.

Elsewhere in the West:

Ducks winger Patrick Eaves is currently dealing with a lower-body injury and his availability for Anaheim’s remaining preseason games is in question, reports Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. The issue is unrelated to the ankle injury that took him out of the lineup in the second round of the postseason. Eaves has yet to play at all during the exhibition schedule but it seems like he should be ready to go when the regular season gets underway next week.
Golden Knights winger James Neal skated with the team for the first time on Tuesday as he continues to recover from surgery on his hand, notes Steve Carp and David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Head coach Gerard Gallant acknowledged that there is no firm timeframe for when the 30-year-old will get the green light to get into a game. As Neal heads into the final year of his contract and Vegas expected to struggle in their first season, he will likely be one of the more sought after rental players on the trade market.
Despite undergoing hip surgery late last season, Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp had plenty of offers in free agency this offseason, notes Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. However, Sharp called returning to Chicago “the No. 1 choice by far”. Sharp, of course, had the most success of his career in his first stint with the team, one that saw him record 511 points in 679 games as well as three Stanley Cup championships in a Chicago uniform. The veteran likely left money on the table to rejoin the Blackhawks as he signed for just $800K with an additional $200K if he plays in ten games this season.

2017-18 Primer: Edmonton Oilers

September 27, 2017 at 4:59 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

With the NHL season now just a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Edmonton Oilers.

Last Season: 47-26-9 record (103 points), second in Pacific Division (lost to Anaheim in second round)

Remaining Cap Space: $8.33MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: F Ryan Strome (trade, New York), F Jussi Jokinen (free agency, Florida),

Key Departures: F Jordan Eberle (trade, New York), F Benoit Pouliot (buyout), F Matt Hendricks (free agency, Winnipeg), F Tyler Pitlick (free agency, Dallas), F David Desharnais (free agency, New York), D Griffin Reinhart (expansion, Vegas)

Player To Watch: F Jesse Puljujarvi – While most of the eyes will still be focused on Connor McDavid no matter where the Oilers are playing, Puljujarvi should command some attention as well. The fourth-overall pick from 2016 won’t turn 20 until next May, and seems to be in a dogfight to even make the roster out of camp. Kailer Yamamoto, the team’s top pick from the most recent draft is giving Puljujarvi all he can handle as he tries to prove that he’s ready to take the next step in the NHL.

That next step is an important one, as Puljujarvi had an up-and-down season a year ago. Starting the year with the Oilers, he rarely saw enough minutes to really make an impact and was eventually sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Once there, he slowly found his game before going on a tear to prove that he could dominate in the minor leagues. The 18-year old scored 28 points for the Condors, which actually ranked fifth among forwards despite playing in only 39 games.

The training wheels are off now though, and if Puljujarvi is to make this team he’ll have to perform. While there is no chance of him being labelled a bust this early in his career, a breakout would go a long way to helping the Stanley Cup contending Oilers reach that next level.

Key Storyline: When the Oilers committed $168MM to two players this offseason, they locked themselves into the same yearly salary cap struggles the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks have endured. While obviously both franchises have experienced immense success, they each took home their first Stanley Cup while at least one of their “Big Two” was still on a more reasonable contract. That’s this year and this year only for the Oilers, as McDavid’s record-setting $12.5MM cap hit kicks in next summer.

It’s not to say that the team won’t be able to compete once it does—Pittsburgh and Chicago have both won subsequent Cups while paying big prices—it’s that this theoretically should be one of the best chances they’ll ever have. While McDavid is sure to be among the handful of top players for the next decade, he’s already there and earning only $925K (plus bonuses) in salary. The question will be have the Oilers done enough to build a team around him for this season in order to take advantage of that.

The Oilers have $66.7MM committed to this season, and just over $60.7MM on the books for next. The difference is that this year that’s projected out from 24 roster players, while next there are only 13 under contract. The $8.33MM in cap space this year is one of their greatest assets, and no one should be shocked if they’re aggressive in-season going after rentals. While they can’t take on money for the future, they should be as close to the cap as their budget allows this year when it’s all said and done.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Robby Fabbri To Miss Entire 2017-18 Season

September 27, 2017 at 4:02 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 7 Comments

In an incredibly disappointing turn of events, the St. Louis Blues announced today that Robby Fabbri will miss the entire season after re-injuring his surgically repaired left knee. Fabbri, who was profiled as our “Player to Watch” for the Blues this year, was originally thought to have just a minor aggravation, but clearly there was structural damage once again.

Fabbri played just 51 games last season after tearing his ACL in early February. At that point, he had 29 points and was well on his way to setting several career-highs. The 21st-overall pick in 2014, Fabbri is a dynamic offensive player who was a pick by many to break out in the next few years. That will obviously have to wait, and ruling him out so early does throw into question what kind of a comeback he’ll eventually have. Knee surgeries can be tough to come back from, especially for players who are known for their quickness and lateral movement.

The Blues have been ravished by injury early on, losing Zachary Sanford for five to six months and seeing Alex Steen and Jay Bouwmeester go down to broken bones. The latter two will be re-evaluated at the end of camp, but neither is expected to return very soon. It was going to be tough to replace those players already, but Fabbri’s injury will just put even more stress on a team that has struggled to progress in the playoffs. While there are young talented players coming like Klim Kostin and Jordan Kyrou, it will likely be a while before either can make a real impact. Kostin remains in training camp, but Kyrou was sent back to junior today.

NHL Officially Approves Rule Change For Offside Challenge

September 27, 2017 at 2:22 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

The NHL’s Board of Governors officially approved the rule change to asses a minor penalty to any team who challenges an offside unsuccessfully. The coach will no longer require his timeout to make the challenge, but risks putting his team down a man for two minutes should he be incorrect. The offside challenge still must occur only after a goal has been scored.

While this will certainly reduce the number of challenges this season—something that fans and coaches alike can get behind—there were countless instances last year where it wasn’t obviously clear whether the player was onside or not. Those close calls will be tough to challenge as a coach, as you could both allow a goal and put your team at a disadvantage directly afterwards. Hopefully this will make only the most egregious mistakes stop the game for the referees to confirm or overturn the call.

One may worry though, that since linesmen seemed to blow fewer plays dead last year for offside knowing that they could always go back and check, it could result in goals that shouldn’t have been allowed under normal circumstances but are still too close to risk challenging. Remember, if it is blown offside but in fact shouldn’t have been, there is no way to challenge anyway.

Other than the minutia of whether or not a play is blown dead, this likely will accomplish the goal for the league of reducing the amount of lengthy delays during an NHL game. Several times last year reviews took close to ten minutes, completely changing the flow of the game and allowing viewers at home to click off to other programming. As baseball has instituted recently with the manager’s clock, review mechanics only work if they’re done in a timely fashion; otherwise, the benefit of “getting the call right” is far outweighed by the frustration of waiting for a decision to be made.

A.J. Greer Out Indefinitely With Concussion

September 27, 2017 at 1:46 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Colorado Avalanche were dealt an injury blow today when the team announced to reporters that A.J. Greer suffered a concussion and will be out indefinitely. Adrian Dater of BSN Denver had noticed Greer wasn’t at practice, and filled us in afterwards with the news. It’s not Greer’s first injury this training camp, as he’d previously dealt with a hand injury and lacerated lip.

While there is no timetable as of yet, it’s a tough way for Greer to start what was expected to be a big season for him. The 20-year old was penciled into the lineup after impressing at the minor league level and in a short call-up last year, and has all the talent to contribute right away. His size and nose for the net allowed him to score 15 goals last year as an AHL rookie, after leaving Boston University early the year prior.

The Avalanche aren’t expected to compete for the Stanley Cup this year, but players like Greer, J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen have things headed in the right direction. The youth of the team up front is impressive, and they could easily climb out of the very bottom of the standings should someone break out. We’ll keep an eye on whether Greer is able to bounce back from this concussion quickly, or whether it lingers and holds him out of the lineup long-term.

R.J. Umberger Released From PTO

September 27, 2017 at 12:33 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Though it was a good story while it lasted, the Dallas Stars have officially cut R.J. Umberger, releasing him from his professional tryout. After a year away from the game, the former Flyers and Blue Jackets forward was given a chance by Ken Hitchcock, a former coach, but couldn’t show enough to earn an NHL deal.

It was unlikely Umberger was really ever in contention for a spot, though as the season inched closer some believed he could earn at least an AHL contract. Instead, he’ll have to look elsewhere if he wants to return to the professional hockey ranks.

In 779 career games, Umberger scored 392 points including registering at least 20 goals in five different seasons. Once one of the most consistent power forwards in the game, his play fell off a cliff upon a return to Philadelphia in 2014 and he was bought out in the summer of 2016. He’ll earn $1.5MM from the Flyers this season to complete the buyout payments.

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