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Archives for July 2018

Steve Smith Resigns From Assistant Coach Role In Carolina

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The Carolina Hurricanes continue to see turnover in the front office and behind the bench, as today the team announced that Steve Smith has resigned as assistant coach. Smith had been with the team for four seasons as their defense and penalty kill coach. Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer points out that new head coach Rod Brind’Amour had seemed “excited” to keep Smith on the bench when he took over earlier this offseason, but something must have changed for either the Hurricanes or Smith.

Smith, 55, started his coaching career way back in 1997 when he joined the Calgary Flames staff for a year before returning to the ice as a player. That connection to the Flames and their new head coach Bill Peters—under whom Smith served in Carolina—would be a logical landing spot for him next season if they hadn’t already hired Geoff Ward and Ryan Huska this summer. It’s not clear if Smith has another destination in mind.

For the Hurricanes, they’ll begin a search for a replacement right away as they try to find a new identity next season. After sending Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to the Flames, they’ll be building around a new core consisting of Sebastian Aho and second-overall pick Andrei Svechnikov. Dougie Hamilton, who was the returning prize in the big trade, won’t get the chance to work with Smith next season.

Ross Johnston To Sign Four-Year Contract With New York Islanders

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The New York Islanders have come to terms with Ross Johnston on a four-year contract, which explains why the big forward didn’t file for arbitration when the deadline passed earlier this month. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the deal will carry a $1MM average annual value.

Johnston, 24, is the latest in a series of moves that has added depth to the Islanders forward group. Leo Komarov, Valtteri Filppula, Tom Kuhnhackl and Matt Martin were already added in the first few days of free agency, and Jan Kovar was signed earlier today out of the KHL. That group will be tasked with giving the team a more balanced attack this season, and perhaps being more responsible defensively after allowing 293 goals last season. Johnston doesn’t come with a tremendous amount of experience, but gives the team another big body to fill out the bottom six.

Undrafted, the 6’5″ 235-lbs Johnston has been in the Islanders system since signing his entry-level contract in 2015. The big bruising winger scored 11 points in 33 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL last season, but was also given an opportunity in the second half with New York. Scoring six points in 24 games including his first three NHL goals, Johnston actually looked more comfortable than many would have believed given his pedestrian numbers in the minor leagues. Where he fits into the roster going forward isn’t clear, but the team apparently felt strongly enough about his play to give him a multi-year contract.

It’s not just Johnston’s spot that isn’t clear in New York. The team now has 14 NHL forwards under contract for next season and an arbitration case pending with Brock Nelson, and still young players like Joshua Ho-Sang ready to make an impact. There are obviously some tough decisions coming this summer and in training camp, though injuries could obviously solve any depth problem before the season begins.

Morning Notes: Richardson, Wiercioch, Bourque

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The Montreal Canadiens have hired Luke Richardson as an assistant coach, bringing him over from the New York Islanders where he worked under Doug Weight last season. With Barry Trotz coming in for that team it wasn’t clear where Richardson would end up, but his impressive coaching record has landed him a new role right away. Richardson retired less than a decade ago, and already has four years as an AHL head coach, four years as an NHL assistant and several appearances with Team Canada’s staff at the international level.

Richardson also had a very long and successful playing career that spanned 1,417 regular season games. Never much of an offensive threat, he was nevertheless a reliable defenseman who could log big minutes and play the penalty kill. He’ll try to help the Canadiens defense corps deal with another injury to Shea Weber which is expected to keep the star defenseman out until December. The blue line struggled without Weber last season, and will have to find a way to keep the Canadiens in the hunt through the first half of the season if Montreal expects to challenge for a playoff spot.

  • Patrick Wiercioch, who played last season with the Utica Comets of the AHL, has signed with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. Wiercioch played 57 games for the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17, but couldn’t find an NHL role this past season. He’ll try to build up his value in Russia, where he should receive regular minutes and a good opportunity. The 27-year old could try to make a return to the NHL at some point down the road, but for now is off the North American radar.
  • The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have signed several veteran minor league names, including Chris Bourque the league’s active points leader. Bourque, son of NHL legend Ray Bourque, has won nearly every award possible in the AHL including the Calder Cup three times. He’s coming to Bridgeport to play alongside his brother Ryan Bourque, who spent last season with the team and has re-signed on an AHL deal. Chris Bourque played for the US Olympic team this past spring, notching two points in five games during what was likely his only chance to suit up in the tournament.

Jan Kovar Signs With New York Islanders

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After garnering interest from several clubs around the league, Jan Kovar has decided on where he’ll start his NHL career. The New York Islanders today announced a one-year contract with the European free agent, ending a five-year stint in the KHL with Magnitogorsk. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the deal is worth $2MM, as Kovar is old enough to not be held to the entry-level system.

Kovar, 28, may look like a no-brainer when it comes to bringing offense to the Islanders in the wake of John Tavares signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Czech forward has 286 points in 285 career KHL games, and was one of the better scoring threats in his home country’s leagues before that. Some though question those KHL numbers due to the fact that he played with two of the league’s best players in Danis Zaripov and Sergei Mozyakin for almost every shift. Last season, when Zaripov left the team Kovar’s numbers dropped significantly to just seven goals and 35 points in 54 games. That was despite still getting more than 20 minutes a night, something Kovar has enjoyed since entering the KHL in 2013.

Nevertheless the Islanders will try to squeeze some of that production out of Kovar this season and see if he can find his offensive touch with some of the other talented players on the roster. The center position battle will be one to watch, as Kovar, Casey Cizikas and Valtteri Filppula are all natural centers that will need minutes, while Mathew Barzal is expected to replace Tavares as the top line pivot going forward. Brock Nelson is the likely front runner to take the second-line job, but Kovar’s acquisition does complicate that somewhat.

Nelson filed for arbitration earlier this month and still hasn’t been able to post positive faceoff numbers in his career. Add that to poor possession statistics and a step backwards offensively, and he may get moved down the lineup by new head coach Barry Trotz. One thing is for sure, the front office is trying to give Trotz as much center depth as possible, something he enjoyed during his time in Washington.

Rasmus Dahlin Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed the first overall pick, inking Rasmus Dahlin to his three-year entry-level contract. Dahlin’s deal will almost certainly include the maximum bonuses for an ELC. Dahlin is expected to start in the NHL right away, not allowing the contract to slide at all and seeing it expire after the 2020-21 season.

After finishing in last place once again, the Sabres finally won a draft lottery and were given the chance to select a franchise-altering talent in Dahlin. The young defenseman has repeatedly shown off his skills at every level of hockey, including seeing a regular shift in the SHL and even being selected for the Swedish Olympic team. The 18-year old possesses elite puck skills and elusiveness while also embracing the physical side of the game. Though he’ll likely put on more weight and strength as he matures, Dahlin is already at a level that could make him an impact player for the Sabres this season. He’ll obviously have tough competition for the Calder Trophy, but should help Buffalo find some consistency in their own end for the first time in several years.

Even with Sam Reinhart still to sign, the Sabres have plenty of cap room to cover any Schedule B bonuses that Dahlin should accumulate. Top picks can earn up to $2.85MM in these specific bonuses for league-wide accomplishments, and though they can be carried over to the next year’s cap Buffalo looks like they should be able to pay them out this season. Of course, Dahlin would have to be among the league’s best in some category like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid have been in previous seasons. That may be a tougher level to reach for a defenseman, though the Sabres may be quite reliant on Dahlin before long.

Heading into the season, the Sabres have players like Marco Scandella, Nathan Beaulieu, Matt Hunwick and Brendan Guhle among their left-handed options on the blue line. Even at a young age Dahlin should be able to make a bigger impact than several of those names, and could find himself at the very top of the depth chart in short order. That’s a tough task for an 18-year old stepping right into the NHL, but the Sabres should be improved after making several other additions including goaltender Carter Hutton. A roster that struggled with a lack of depth over the last few seasons lost one of their top options in Ryan O’Reilly, but added several NHL-caliber forwards to make up for him. Casey Mittelstadt and other young players should also play a big role, on what it finally a team heading in the right direction.

St. Louis Blues Expected To Sign Patrick Maroon

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Monday: Despite a source telling Rutherford that Maroon would sign in St. Louis, several teams remain in the mix for the power winger. His agent, Ben Hankinson, told Rutherford last night that the Blues are a “strong option” while Andy Strickland of Fox Sports reports that the Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey Devils had shown interest. Lou Korac of NHL.com though has heard that a one-year deal worth $1.7MM with the Blues has been agreed to, and the two sides will negotiate an extension in January.

Sunday: Just two days ago, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reported that the St. Louis Blues were interested in local product and one of the top unsigned free agents, Patrick Maroon. Now, Rutherford has confirmed his speculation, writing that the big winger will indeed return home to St. Louis and sign with the Blues. Rutherford hears from a source that this is a done deal that could be announced as early as this afternoon, but no details on the salary or term agreed upon have been revealed as of yet.

Maroon, 30, is coming off a career year in which he recorded a career-high 43 points in 74 games split between the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. In 2016-17, he also recorded a career-high 27 goals and was one of the team’s top scorers in the postseason. If Rick Nash is indeed set on retirement, or at least taking time off from hockey, Maroon was the top available player on PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents list at No. 12.

Despite rumors that Maroon was interested in a return to either Edmonton or New Jersey, the St. Louis native emerged early as a target of the Blues. However, St. Louis has been busy this off-season, signing David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Chad Johnson, not to mention several of their own restricted free agents, and then trading for Ryan O’Reilly. Accounting for their official moves to date, the Blues have little more than $5MM in cap space and still need to sign RFA defensemen Joel Edmundson and Jordan Schmaltz to new contracts. As such, many felt that the pairing of Maroon and St. Louis was no longer feasible. Yet, Rutherford reports that the Blues put the “full-court press” on Maroon in recent days, including meeting with him in person and having several members of the team call and convince him to join. It seems that GM Doug Armstrong and the Blues’ front office have a plan for working around St. Louis’ cap crunch.

Maroon is currently rehabbing from off-season back surgery, but is expected to be at full strength for the start of the season. A healthy Maroon is a major boost for St. Louis, even after adding several other impact pieces up front. The 6’3″, 225-lb. forward plays a physical game and is strong on the puck, something that the Blues lacked at times last year. He also adds significantly to their depth at left wing and has a finishing ability that should pair well with many play-makers on the Blues’ offense. While the salary terms will further clarify just how good of a signing this is, it stands to reason that Maroon – who made only $2MM per year on his last contract – is not earning so much as to make the Blues’ salary cap situation irreparable, meaning that he could be a great value for the team moving forward.

Vitali Kravtsov Signs In KHL

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The New York Rangers took a calculated risk in the first round of the most recent NHL Entry Draft, when they selected big Russian winger Vitali Kravtsov ninth overall. The Rangers avoided several other top rated prospects, betting on the high-end potential that Kravtsov brings. With any Russian player though, there is always the threat of them staying in the KHL for several years and failing to join their NHL organization. For at least one season, that will be the plan for Kravtsov who today re-signed with Traktor Chelyabinsk. The deal is for just one year, at which point the Rangers will attempt again to bring their young forward over and add him to the organization. There was a very small chance that Kravtsov would play in the NHL this year, leaving the KHL as likely the best destination for his development path.

Kravtsov was always expected to stay in the KHL for this season, but some had hoped that given his new status as a top-10 pick there would be a impetus to get him into the Rangers organization right away. Instead his camp has negotiated an improved contract for the 2018-19 season with Traktor, where he’ll continue on his steep development path. The Rangers can re-visit contract negotiations in the spring after his KHL year ends, and potentially get him into minor league action before the end of the season.

The 18-year old winger played just over nine minutes a night last season with Traktor, but saw that bumped up quite a bit in the playoffs where he went on a tear offensively. Kravtsov scored 11 points in 16 games and shot up the NHL draft rankings, with teams drooling over his skilled power forward frame and excellent skating ability. If he does eventually come over—which is assumed at this point—he’s a good bet to be a versatile top-six forward who the Rangers should feel comfortable playing in nearly any situation. If he reaches his absolute ceiling, there could be a dominating offensive presence in New York for years to come.

Five Key Stories: 7/2/18 – 7/8/18

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The first full week of free agency didn’t yield as many surprises and headlines as July 1st did but there was still plenty of news around the league.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

San Jose Extensions: After not being able to sign John Tavares, the Sharks quickly turned their focus towards bringing back one of their own unrestricted free agents in Joe Thornton as they signed him to a one-year, $5MM contract.  The 39-year-old last played in January before suffering a knee injury that required surgery but when he played last season, he was fairly productive with 36 points in 47 games.  Meanwhile, winger Tomas Hertl agreed to a four-year, $22.5MM deal to stick around.  The 24-year-old set a new career high in goals last season with 22 while tying his best point output with 46.

Karlsson Saga: As expected, the Senators offered defenseman Erik Karlsson a contract extension as soon as they were eligible.  Not surprisingly, the offer was rejected and the team has now turned their focus towards trading him.  Early on, Dallas emerged as a potential frontrunner but later in the week, Tampa Bay became the leading candidate for his services.  However, given their salary cap situation, they need a third team to help facilitate a deal.  While there was some early speculation that the Rangers and even the Devils could be candidates to do so, talks appear to have stalled for the time being.  Given everything that has transpired over the past week though, this isn’t going to be the last we hear of trade talk involving Karlsson this summer.

Arbitration Filings: Thursday marked the deadline for player-elected salary arbitration and there were quite a few more takers than usual.  After 30 filed last year, 44 filed this time around.  (No teams opted to take their players to arbitration during the window that expired on Friday.)  Headliners on that list include Golden Knights center William Karlsson, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck plus defenseman Jacob Trouba, as well as Senators winger Mark Stone.  Of the 44, five have already agreed to new deals and many more will so in advance of the hearings which are scheduled to run from July 20th through August 4th.

Weber Out Long-Term: It hasn’t been a great summer for Montreal in terms of bolstering their NHL team and they got some more bad news when it comes to top defenseman Shea Weber.  A scheduled cleanup of his knee wound up resulting in surgery to repair his torn meniscus, one that carries a five-to-six month recovery timeline.  That means that their back end, which struggled mightily without him last season, will be asked to shoulder the load for the first couple of months next season.  Weber joins wingers Andrew Shaw (knee) and Paul Byron (shoulder) as regulars that are not expected to be available when the regular season kicks off in October.

Hurricanes Add Defense: Carolina’s back end has been a strength for them in recent years but it’s undergoing a notable transformation.  After adding Dougie Hamilton at the draft as part of a deal that saw Noah Hanifin go to Calgary, they then added UFA Calvin de Haan on a four-year, $18.2MM contract.  He should slide in well on their second pairing and take Hanifin’s old role.  There’s a decent chance that the transformation isn’t complete either as Justin Faulk continues to be involved in trade speculation.  With Brett Pesce and Hamilton both ahead of him on the depth chart, Faulk and his $4.83MM cap hit may be deemed too pricey for the third pairing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Winnipeg’s Silver Lining From Not Re-Signing Paul Stastny

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While Winnipeg fans are certainly disappointed that they weren’t able to bring back center Paul Stastny (even after freeing up extra room by dealing goalie Steve Mason and winger Joel Armia to Montreal), it’s not necessarily the worst outcome.

As things currently stand, the Jets have a little under $27MM in cap space to work with, per CapFriendly.  However, they have quite a few restricted free agents to re-sign in goalie Connor Hellebuyck, defensemen Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, and Tucker Poolman, plus forwards Adam Lowry, Marko Dano, and Brandon Tanev.  (They also have a handful of AHL-bound players to re-up.)

By the time that group gets new deals, their cap space will be down to somewhere around $5MM (not quite enough for the $6.5MM AAV Stastny got from Vegas).  There isn’t much left in free agency to spend that money on but looking long-term, that’s not a bad thing.

For starters, staying well below the cap means that they will have that much more room to work with when it comes to their long list of players in need for new deals next summer (including wingers Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, and Blake Wheeler).  Locking those three up alone will cost a lot more than what the Upper Limit may go up by next year; it wouldn’t be shocking to see those three come close to tripling their current combined base salary ($7.45MM) next offseason.  Keeping a few million in the bank by not adding any more multi-year deals this season will certainly make it a little easier to keep the core intact.

That’s not the only benefit of keeping extra cap space this year provides, however.  Laine, Connor, plus youngster Jack Roslovic combine for just over $3.7MM in potential performance bonuses.  Laine and Connor each have a good chance of hitting big chunks of those while Roslovic could hit his as well depending on whether or not he slides into Stastny’s spot on a full-time basis.

It’s going to be to Winnipeg’s benefit to account for those in 2018-19 instead of using the bonus cushion to defer them until 2019-20 when their flexibility is going to basically be non-existent.  To do so, they need to stay well under the cap throughout the year, something that wouldn’t have even been an option had Stastny been brought back (with no other regulars being jettisoned).

Of course, the other benefit the Jets staying $5MM or more under the cap is simply the added flexibility to make an in-season addition (preferably someone on an expiring contract) to try to add that last piece of the puzzle.  This was a team that was already in contention last year before adding Stastny from St. Louis at the trade deadline and given that several of their core players are still developing, it’s reasonable to assume that they should be in contention again come the deadline in 2019.  That extra cap room (plus a deep prospect pool) will give them a lot of options to try to add with; most contenders won’t have that type of flexibility come February.

It’s never easy to see a key member of a team go elsewhere, especially when they get nothing of tangible value in return.  However, if there is a team out there that could sustain the loss of Stastny and not miss much of a beat, it’s Winnipeg.  Right now, his departure may sting but given what’s on the horizon and how the extra cap room can absorb the bonuses without rolling over into next year, it may wind up almost being a blessing in disguise one year from now.

Offseason Keys: Vegas Golden Knights

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The offseason is now in full swing with the draft complete and free agency now underway.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in the weeks to come?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Vegas Golden Knights.

After the Expansion Draft, many expected that Vegas would be near the basement of the NHL.  They had a collection of decent players but not many impact ones…or so it seemed.  Instead of floundering, the Golden Knights flourished, winning the tough Pacific Division and making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.  What will they have in store for an encore?  If they have plans on going deep once again, here’s what they will need to do this summer.

Add An Impact Defenseman

While Vegas picked up quite a few defenders through expansion, they didn’t have a prototypical top pairing player on their roster.  They have hopes that Shea Theodore (picked up in an Expansion Draft deal) could become one but he’s not quite at that level just yet.  They received quality performances from Nate Schmidt, Brayden McNabb, and Deryk Engelland as well but they’re all better utilized as role players and newcomer Nick Holden is best served on the third pairing as well.

That’s part of the reason why Vegas was actively in trade talks for Senators blueliner Erik Karlsson in the moments leading up to the trade deadline.  Adding him would have allowed the Golden Knights to shift their players into roles that they were better suited for (not to mention adding a significant offensive weapon to their back end).  This offseason, the two teams have explored a move once again.

With no help of note coming via free agency, this is a hole that GM George McPhee will need to fill via the trade market.  One thing that will certainly help them is their salary cap situation – they should be able to take on unwanted contracts if it helps to get a deal done.

New Deal For Karlsson

What a year it was for center William Karlsson.  After working out a deal with Columbus where Karlsson would be their selection (instead of winger Josh Anderson or goalie Joonas Korpisalo), it was expected that Karlsson would be a bottom-six forward.  It was certainly reasonable to think so as well as he had put just 15 goals over the previous two seasons combined while playing third line minutes.

While some would have predicted a bit of an uptick in his production with potentially more playing time, no one saw 43 goals and 78 points coming.  Karlsson blossomed into their go-to center, leading the team in scoring during the regular season while finishing third in postseason production.  He even took home the Lady Byng Trophy in the end-of-season awards earlier this month.

All of this presents what is set to be a fascinating restricted free agency case, one that could be headed for arbitration as well after he filed back on Thursday.  40-goal players don’t typically go to hearings so it’s going to be very interesting to see what Vegas looks to offer and what he’s seeking from the team.  He’s two years away from UFA eligibility so while a one-year, higher salaried ‘prove it’ contract makes some practical sense, there would certainly be some risk involved as well.  Of course, handing a long-term, big money deal to someone who had a great year but no track record of previous success also carries some risk.

One way or the other, a deal will get done to keep their leading scorer in the fold.  How they get to that point will make for a very intriguing situation to follow.

Fleury Extension Talks

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was another of the real bright spots for the Golden Knights in their inaugural year.  While he had some challenges staying healthy, he posted his best career regular season numbers and then duplicated that performance in the postseason.  After being viewed as someone potentially on the downswing, he wound up being one of the better goalies in the league last season.

The 33-year-old is now entering the final year of his contract and has already made it known that he would like to finish his career with Vegas.  Considering the Golden Knights don’t have much in the way of high-end goalie prospects in the pipeline, it’s a feeling that should be mutual.

Having said that, this shouldn’t necessarily be interpreted as a notion that a deal has to get done.  As things currently stand, next year’s goaltending market projects to be extremely deep with several other starters entering the final season of their respective contracts.  If McPhee wants to slow play this, he could conceivably wait to see if other goalies sign and if not, use the other options as leverage to get a more team-friendly deal.  In theory, that may seem like a wise way to go but doing so also runs the risk of alienating one of their top players.  Realistically, it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides work on getting an extension done over the summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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