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Archives for February 2018

Ryan Hartman Traded To Nashville Predators

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The Nashville Predators have indeed acquired Ryan Hartman from the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The Blackhawks will receive a 2018 first-round pick, a 2018 fourth-round pick and prospect Victor Ejdsell. Nashville will also receive a 2018 fifth-round pick along with Hartman.

Ryan HartmanHartman got off to a flying start to his season, collecting six points in his first two games.  However, he has tailed off offensively since then, tallying just 19 since then in 55 contests.  On the season, he has eight goals and 17 assists while averaging 12:48 of ice time per game.

The gritty winger was Chicago’s first-round pick (30th overall) back in 2013 and is in his second full season in the NHL.  He has spent some time at center this year and while the Predators are well-stocked at that position, that type of versatility was certainly attractive to them.

Hartman carries a cap hit of just $863K this season and does not have any bonuses in his entry-level contract.  He will be a restricted free agent in July but will not have arbitration eligibility.

In terms of a return for Chicago, the Blackhawks will be happy with the package received. Though Nashville’s first pick will come late in the round, it’s still a strong asset to play with and help accelerate the Chicago re-tool. It gives the Blackhawks another shot to select a top prospect, or another piece to use in an offseason trade.

Ejdsell though could be the most interesting piece in the deal. After spending quite a bit of time wooing him last summer, the Predators signed the big winger to an entry-level contract but allowed him to stay in Sweden for another year. He made them look like geniuses, as he jumped to the SHL and has recorded 30 points in 47 games. The 6’4″ winger is a strong goal-scoring threat that can contribute in several different ways in the offensive zone, and could jump right to the NHL level next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Metropolitan Notes: Miller, Zuccarello, Calvert, Devils, Capitals

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The Rangers are receiving plenty of interest in center J.T. Miller and winger Mats Zuccarello, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).  However, he adds that the offers haven’t been enough to suggest a trade is likely.  New York is in full selloff mode and have already dealt their top pending unrestricted free agents so now the focus shifts to players under team control beyond this season.  Miller is set to be a restricted free agent this summer with a $2.75MM qualifying offer while Zuccarello is making $4.5MM through 2018-19.  The two players lead the Rangers in scoring this season with Zuccarello recording 43 points and Miller 40.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • The Blue Jackets have yet to engage in extension talks with pending UFA winger Matt Calvert, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). The 28-year-old is the longest-tenured player with the team after they drafted him back in the fifth round back in 2008.  Calvert has spent most of this season in a bottom-six role and has seven goals with ten assists in 50 games in 2017-18 while logging 13:50 per night in ice time and is making $2.2MM this season.
  • After picking up Michael Grabner last week, Andrew Gross of The Record suggests that the Devils are likely to be quiet today as GM Ray Shero may be hesitant to part with more future assets. However, that could change if they could find a way to add to their back end.
  • Another team likely to be inactive before the deadline is the Capitals, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. The Caps have already made a pair of depth moves to shore up the depth on their back end with the acquisitions of Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek last week and while they have some flexibility when it comes to waiver-exempt players that could be sent down to free up cap space, they do not appear interested in moving anyone off their current roster which will limit what they’re able to do.

Mike Fisher Ends Retirement, Officially Signs With Nashville

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2/26: The Predators have officially announced the signing.

2/25: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Predators will announce a one-year, $1MM deal with Fisher tomorrow. The pro-rated deal will only cost Nashville around $225K to bring back their former captain for one last run at the Stanley Cup. Fisher has been working out with the team since the initial report last month and no doubt will be ready to go when he gets his first chance to again take the ice.

1/31: In probably the most surprising turn of the season, Mike Fisher is set to come out of retirement and sign with the Nashville Predators for the remainder of the season.

Mike FisherFisher hung up his skates in August after deliberating for much of the offseason, calling it the “hardest decision” he’d ever had to make. The 37-year old center captained the Predators all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, after a successful regular season which saw him record 18 goals and 42 points. The Predators have brought in both Nick Bonino and Kyle Turris since then to try and fill out their center depth, and adding Fisher now will make them an impressive group.

Just recently, Predators’ GM David Poile admitted to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he would like to make an addition up front, though a big splash didn’t seem likely. With Fisher back in the fold, the Nashville forward group can be matched up with anyone in the league, at least when healthy.

There is no exact timeline yet on when Fisher will be ready for game action, but his contract must be signed and added to the roster before the February 26th deadline in order to be eligible for the playoffs. Depending on how well he’s kept himself in shape since retiring, it could be even sooner than that. No financial details have been released yet, but the contract is expected to only be for the rest of 2017-18.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ducks Interested In Acquiring Jack Johnson

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With their acquisition of Ian Cole, the Blue Jackets have a potential replacement for blueliner Jack Johnson if they decide to move him.  To that end, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Ducks are making a push to acquire the 31-year-old from Columbus.

Johnson’s situation has been well-documented.  With his ice time decreasing, he asked for a trade earlier in the season but in recent weeks, his playing time has increased and for a short time, discussions about a potential extension took place although those have since broken off.  The pending unrestricted free agent has three goals and five assists in 62 games this season, his lowest points-per-game pace since his first full season in the NHL back in 2007-08.

Anaheim has a fully-healthy back end at the moment but rookie Marcus Pettersson has only played a limited role while Francois Beauchemin has been in and out of the lineup as of late.  Johnson would represent an upgrade to their third pairing while giving them some insurance in case one of their top-four defenders goes down with an injury.  The pending UFA carries a cap hit of just over $4.35MM but the Ducks have the ability to add nearly $14MM in full-season salary today.

Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Ian Cole

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired Ian Cole from the Ottawa Senators. The Senators will receive a 2020 third-round pick and prospect Nick Moutrey. No salary is being retained.

Ian ColeOttawa was never expected to keep Cole, who stayed in Pittsburgh after his trade earlier this week. Included in the Derick Brassard deal to help even out the salaries, this can now be added to the first-round pick and goaltending prospect to make it look like a pretty healthy return for the Senators. Cole has had his troubles in Pittsburgh, clashing with the coaching staff at times and finding himself in the press box. That comes along with the experience of two straight Stanley Cup victories though, something Columbus will welcome in their dressing room as they look for the first championship in club history.

Cole is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and his addition could mean that Jack Johnson is on his way out of Columbus. Johnson had previously asked for a trade, but was reportedly in negotiations on an extension recently. With Ryan Murray’s healthy return to the lineup, the Blue Jackets have one of the deepest groups in the entire league and could potentially flip Johnson to either get back some expended future assets, or another forward to join their group.

With Cole off the board, the market for rental defenseman shrinks again. While Erik Karlsson and Ryan McDonagh lead the group with term still left on their contract, Mike Green awaits a decision on his future as the top pending unrestricted free agent defenseman. Though Green carries a significantly higher cap hit, Detroit’s asking price should also be higher because of his powerplay ability and experience as a top-pairing option.

For Ottawa, they’ve now received two picks and two prospects for Brassard, and could be one of the busiest teams in the league today. Karlsson is the big fish, but Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith, Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci have all been mentioned in trade talks at one point or another. If they strip everything away they’ll hold a ton of future assets, but after adding Matt Duchene earlier in the year would be in trouble of sinking to the bottom of the league once again in 2018-19. Cole was never going to be a part of that, and will move on without even setting foot in Ottawa.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among the first reports of the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mike Green Waives Trade Protection For Washington, Tampa Bay

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Though it is still not clear if Mike Green will even be traded today, Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the veteran defenseman has already given his approval to the Detroit Red Wings to send him to Washington or Tampa Bay. The Lightning have long been rumored to be the front runners for Green, though that is a bit more complicated now that players like Erik Karlsson and Ryan McDonagh appear to be on the market.

Green looked like the top defenseman on the market until the other two became available, and could still fetch a reasonable price for the Red Wings. The 32-year old has 29 points on the season and is more effective in his own end than many give him credit for. As a depth addition for a playoff-bound club, Green can immediately become a powerplay quarterback and puck-mover.

For Washington, the deal would be quite complicated as they have very little cap space even at this late stage. It’s unlikely that Detroit would want to take much back as they try to get their finances in order going forward, making a match seem like a long shot at this point.

Tampa remains the wildcard, as they appear poised to make a defensive addition at some point. For a team that is so loaded up front, they rely heavily on Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman to play nearly half the game and could use an experienced defenseman to help take some of the burden off their shoulders.

Minor Transactions: 02/26/18

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It’s trade deadline day in the NHL, but that won’t stop teams from making recalls from the minor leagues. Rosters expand today, meaning teams are allowed to carry as many players as they want for the rest of the season. That doesn’t mean they can just call-up the entire minor league organization though, as teams are allowed just four post-deadline recalls (not counting emergency call-ups). We’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Sonny Milano and Markus Hannikainen, which gives them another two options up front. Mark Letestu was brought in yesterday to join that group, and the Blue Jackets have been connected to several other players on the market. Milano and Hannikainen have both played most of the season with Columbus, suiting up for 35 and 29 games respectively in 2017-18.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Nikita Scherbak from the minor leagues, which means he’ll likely be with them through the end of the season. Since he’ll be with the big club at the deadline, he’s ineligible for the playoffs with the Laval Rocket. Teams often do the opposite, moving players down just on paper to make sure they could play in the playoffs if their NHL squad misses.

Early Notes: Columbus, Hartman, Vermette

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The Columbus Blue Jackets added Mark Letestu yesterday for their playoff run, but had checked in on several other options before making the deal. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Blue Jackets offered a third-round pick for Artem Anisimov, hoping the Blackhawks would also retain some salary.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also believes that the Blue Jackets asked about Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues, but obviously didn’t make a deal. Letestu ended up only costing Columbus a fourth-round pick, which certainly doesn’t take them out of the running today for an additional upgrade.

  • Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are looking for a first-round pick plus another asset for Ryan Hartman, a big ask for a young player with just eight goals this season. Hartman, 23, is a versatile player that could draw interest from many teams, and is a restricted free agent this summer. That could be part of why the Blackhawks are considering moving the forward, as like most years they’ll have some tough decisions to make on their young free agents due to their ongoing cap crunch.
  • Antoine Vermette was held out of the lineup last night for the Anaheim Ducks, and John Shannon of Sportsnet reports on his eight-team approved trade list. Shannon explains that only two of those teams are currently in playoff spots, which could drastically limit any return should the Ducks decide to move him. Vermette is affordable and playoff-tested, but ultimately holds a lot of power in deciding whether he’ll be traded today.

2018 Trade Deadline Day Primer

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Although several prominent players have changed teams in recent days, it should still be a very busy day leading up to the 2:00 PM CST trade deadline.  Here is a closer look at the contract and salary cap situation for every team.  All numbers are courtesy of CapFriendly; salary cap figures listed are full-season cap hits as of this morning and do not factor in expected changes based on players being claimed off of or clearing waivers.

Anaheim: $13.9MM cap space, 47/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Arizona: $76.1MM cap space, 49/50 contracts, 2/3 retained salary transactions
Boston: $1.3MM cap space, 43/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Buffalo: $25.9MM cap space, 46/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Calgary: $8.7MM cap space, 47/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Carolina: $72.7MM cap space, 49/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Chicago: $3.9MM cap space, 46/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Colorado: $37.7MM cap space, 44/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Columbus: $21.0MM cap space, 49/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Dallas: $4.1MM cap space, 41/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Detroit: $1.6MM cap space, 45/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Edmonton: $39.2MM cap space, 47/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Florida: $32.2MM cap space, 42/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Los Angeles: $13.9MM cap space, 44/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Minnesota: $704K cap space, 49/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Montreal: $35.9MM cap space, 43/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Nashville: $15.6MM cap space, 44/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
New Jersey: $35.8MM cap space, 47/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
NY Islanders: $4.4MM cap space, 45/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
NY Rangers: $7.4MM cap space, 48/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Ottawa: $10.0MM cap space, 48/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Philadelphia: $8.2MM cap space, 47/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Pittsburgh: $2.0MM cap space, 46/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
San Jose: $21.8MM cap space, 45/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
St. Louis: $324K cap space, 43/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Tampa Bay: $9.7MM cap space, 45/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Toronto: $3.4MM cap space, 48/50 contracts, 1/3 retained salary transactions
Vancouver: $2.3MM cap space, 46/50 contracts, 2/3 retained salary transactions
Vegas: $34.2MM cap space, 43/50 contracts, 2/3 retained salary transactions
Washington: $694K cap space, 45/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions
Winnipeg: $26.9MM cap space, 43/50 contracts, 0/3 retained salary transactions

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