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Islanders Sign Mike Sislo And Matt Lorito

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On top of locking up winger Tom Kuhnhackl today, the Islanders also made several additions to their minor league team.  In addition to confirming previously-reported agreements for goalie Christopher Gibson and defenseman Seth Helgeson, they also announced that they have signed winger Mike Sislo to a one-year deal plus winger Matt Lorito on a two-year contract.

Sislo receives a two-way pact and is coming off another strong season at the AHL level.  The 30-year-old spent last season with Arizona’s AHL affiliate and tied for the team lead in goals with 23 while adding 24 assists in 68 games.  He last saw NHL action in 2015-16 and projects to be a key AHL contributor more than a regular for the Isles next season.

Lorito’s deal is structured a little differently.  He also will play on a two-way contract in 2018-19 but it converts to a one-way pact in 2019-20.  The 27-year-old has very limited NHL experience under his belt (two games with Detroit in 2016-17) but has been a consistent producer in the AHL for the last three seasons.  Last season, he picked up 23 goals and 26 assists in 59 games with the Red Wings’ minor league affiliate in Grand Rapids.

The signings bring the Islanders up to 37 committed contracts for next season out of the limit of 50 with five restricted free agents still to re-sign, headlined by center Brock Nelson.

Offseason Keys: Tampa Bay Lightning

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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 Tampa Bay Lightning.

After missing the playoffs in 2016-17, Tampa Bay was looking to get back into Stanley Cup contention.  While they fell short of that, it was still a successful season as they won the Atlantic Division while making it to the Eastern Conference Final before being eliminated by the eventual champions in Washington.  They’ve already taken care of two key items on their summer to-do list with the re-signing of J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh’s extension; here are three other keys to their offseason.

Kucherov Extension Talks

Two summers ago, the Lightning held the cards when it came to then-RFA winger Nikita Kucherov.  He didn’t have arbitration rights, no teams want to sign offer sheets, and the team had limited cap room.  That forced a three-year, $14.3MM bridge deal with the third season being 2018-19 which makes him eligible for a contract extension as of July 1st.

It’s safe to say that the 25-year-old now holds the cards.  Kucherov is coming off a 100-point season and has firmly established himself as a premier winger in the league (if not the premier winger).  He will also be arbitration-eligible next summer and if he wants, he can simply file, go to the hearing, and get a one-year deal that will take him to unrestricted free agency.

That’s certainly not the route that GM Steve Yzerman will want to go.  The question will be how much will it cost to get him on a long-term extension?  While center Steven Stamkos set the bar two years ago when he signed for $8.5MM but it’s quite likely that Kucherov will cost more than that on his next contract.  It’s not impossible to think he could surpass the $10MM mark and more than double his current cap hit.  They may not get a deal done this summer but expect a lot of talks to occur in the weeks and months to come.

Free Up Long-Term Cap Room

Knowing that a new and much more expensive deal for Kucherov is on the horizon, Yzerman is going to have to look to free up some long-term space.  As things stand, the team already has over $56MM on the books for 2019-20 per CapFriendly and that only includes 11 players.  If Kucherov gets more than $10MM on an extension, that could present the Lightning with a situation where they’ll be looking to fill out nearly half their roster with only $13MM or so to spend.  That’s not a palatable situation to work with.  At some point, they’re going to have to move a core player out.

One player who has been speculated as someone that could move is center Tyler Johnson.  However, his full no-trade clause kicked in on July 1st which could affect any deal.  He has a more than manageable $5MM cap hit for six more years and with the center market as dried up as it is, they could get quite the return.  While moving him would take a key piece out of their lineup, Miller can also play down the middle as can Brayden Point (also an RFA next year).

While winger Alex Killorn has been quite consistently productive in a secondary role over the past five years, he could be deemed too pricey at $4.45MM through 2022-23.  However, he already has a full no-trade clause in place that could complicate things.  He wouldn’t bring back as much in a return as Johnson but moving him could allow them to keep their depth down the middle.  Veteran winger Ryan Callahan has a shorter-term deal to work with ($5.8MM through 2019-20) but his injury troubles will make him difficult to move.

At any rate, Tampa Bay is going to have to move out a notable player or two in the somewhat near future.  If they plan to make a splash in free agency this summer, they may have to move someone out now in order to do so.  If not, they can defer acting on this until next offseason but they’ll really be under the gun at that time.

Long-Term Stability On Defense

While the team already has seven defenders signed for next season (plus RFA Slater Koekkoek still to sign), only three are signed beyond the next 12 months in Victor Hedman, McDonagh, and Mikhail Sergachev.  Three others are set to become unrestricted free agents next summer which could result in a fairly significant amount of turnover in a short period of time.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Yzerman seeking younger rearguards in any offseason trade discussions.  While 2017 first-rounder Cal Foote figures to be in the mix a year from now, there isn’t anyone else that’s really on the verge of making an NHL push so they will need to add.  Their back end is pretty well set for 2018-19 and should be in good shape with McDonagh now being there for the full season but this is a group that doesn’t have a lot of stability beyond then which is something that the team should be looking to address.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Karlsson, Voynov, Blidh, Varady

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Although the Senators have offered defenseman Erik Karlsson a contract extension as they promised they would, it doesn’t appear like it was well-received.  Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that Ottawa has given teams interested in acquiring him permission to discuss a contract extension with the 28-year-old.

Brooks adds that Karlsson is seeking the same contract that Kings blueliner Drew Doughty received at eight years and $88MM.  That appears to be too rich for the Senators and accordingly, it appears that the odds of him playing elsewhere next season have gone up.

More from around the league:

  • Slava Voynov’s path back to the NHL took a step forward today as he was granted an expungement of his domestic abuse conviction, reports Curtis Zupke of the LA Times. This paves the way for him to seek a hearing with Commissioner Gary Bettman about being reinstated into the league.  The Kings still hold Voynov’s rights as he sits on the voluntary retired list following his original contract being terminated.  While all signs point to Los Angeles not wanting to bring him back, they would be allowed to trade his rights if and when he is reinstated.
  • The Bruins have re-signed winger Anton Blidh to a one-year, two-way contract, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The deal is worth the league minimum $650K at the NHL level.  The 23-year-old suited up once with Boston last season but spent the majority of the year in the minors where he collected 11 goals and 15 assists in 71 games.
  • The Coyotes have filled their head coaching vacancy at the AHL level. The team announced that they have appointed Jay Varady as the new bench boss of the Tucson Roadrunners.  He spent last season as the head coach of OHL Kingston while he had previously filled that same role with Sioux City of the USHL.  Varady takes the place of Mike Van Ryn, who was named an assistant coach with St. Louis back in May.

Yohann Auvitu Signs In The KHL

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Oilers unrestricted free agent defenseman Yohann Auvitu has signed a two-year contract with HK Sochi, the KHL team announced (link in Russian).  This was an expected outcome after he stated back in May that he was intending to leave the NHL but at that time hadn’t decided which international league he’d be going to.

The 28-year-old had a limited role with Edmonton last season.  He was a frequent healthy scratch and even saw a bit of action on the wing.  Overall, he played in 33 games with the Oilers, collecting three goals and six assists while averaging 13:33 of ice time per night.  He then suited up with France at the World Championships where he played in four games.

Auvitu’s time in North America has wound up being quite brief as he only made his way over in time for the 2016-17 season when he joined the Devils on an entry-level contract.  Considering the limited role he had over two seasons, this is likely the end of his time in the NHL.

Ottawa Offers Erik Karlsson Contract Extension

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The Ottawa Senators kept to their word Sunday as the team offered superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson a contract extension, according to NHL.com’s David Satriano. Terms of the extension offer were not disclosed. Despite the rumors of unhappiness with the ownership and his not willing to accept a “hometown” discount that has led to quite a bit of trade speculation over the past six months, general manager Pierre Dorion said the team had to make one final effort to keep Karlsson in the fold.

“We don’t really want to talk about roster players, contract negotiations, trades, all these things, but I think we owe it to our fans and we made a promise at the town hall that we would make a contract offer to Erik Karlsson and we’ve done so,” Dorion said Sunday.

Karlsson is in the last year of a seven-year, $45.5MM deal that he signed in 2012, which looks like a bargain as his AAV sits at just $6.5MM. However, with the sudden increase in salaries for star defenseman having increased, it’s likely that a new Karlsson deal will break the bank. Several defenseman have cashed in over the past few days, including Drew Doughty (eight years, $88MM, $11MM AAV), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (eight years, $66MM, $8.25MM AAV) and John Carlson (eight years, $64MM, $8MM AAV).

With increased trade rumors over the past week, there still hasn’t been a trade yet. The team has made it clear to teams that they are asking for a big return for their superstar center and have made it even more challenging for teams as they want the team also to take on the contract of Bobby Ryan, which still has four year left at $7.25MM. The Vegas Golden Knights have been the most talked about team since the trade deadline to get a deal done and they still could, but nothing has materialized yet. The Senators still have hope that Karlsson will sign an extension.

“I think Erik wants to be a Senator for life,” Dorion said then. “I don’t want to speak for him, I’ll let him speak for himself. We’ll see what the next few months bring, but if Erik Karlsson is here on July 1, we will be making him a contract offer.”

Islanders Sign Tom Kuhnhackl To One-Year Deal

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The New York Islanders announced they have added another depth player today, signing forward Tom Kuhnhackl to a one-year deal.  Terms have not been announced yet.

The 26-year-old spent the past three seasons with Pittsburgh in a fourth line role.  Last season, he played in a career-high 69 games but his production dropped to a career-low eight points.  He was also held off the scoresheet in a dozen postseason contests.  Despite that, the Penguins had offered him a two-year contract extension prior to the qualifying offer deadline last Monday but after they weren’t able to come to terms, the team opted to non-tender him instead of running the risk of him filing for salary arbitration.

With the Islanders, Kuhnhackl will likely reprise the role he had with Pittsburgh and serve in a penalty killing/checking role.  New York has been active in trying to fill out their roster since receiving the news that John Tavares wouldn’t be returning and since they’ve added some depth now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to take a running at adding another top-six forward in the days to come.

San Jose Sharks Sign Tomas Hertl To Four-Year Extension

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After just locking up veteran Joe Thornton only a few minutes ago, the San Jose Sharks followed that up by announcing they have signed restricted free agent Tomas Hertl to a four-year contract extension. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes the deal is worth $5.625MM per year.

Hertl has been plagued with knee injuries throughout his career, but put together his best season ever last year when he tallied 22 goals and 26 points. They are similar numbers to his 2015-16 campaign, but knee injuries persisted the season after when he was forced to undergo surgery after re-injuring his knee during the Stanley Cup Finals that year, which forced him to miss all but 33 games that year. One reason for his success this season was due to a positional change. The 24-year-old moved from center position to the wing alongside Logan Couture, which made a big difference to the success of the team’s top line.

Hertl, a first-round pick back in 2012, has started to show leadership abilites and that showed in the playoffs when he posted nine points in 10 games and was a steady force against the Golden Knights in the second round of the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Carter Rowney, Brian Gibbons, Ben Street, Luke Schenn

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced the signings of four players to fill out their roster as they signed forwards Carter Rowney, Brian Gibbons and Ben Street, while also adding defenseman Luke Schenn. Rowney inked the longest term of the group, signing a three-year deal worth $3.4MM. Gibbons inked a one-year, one-way deal worth $1MM. Street and Schenn both signed one-year deals.

For the Ducks, adding four solid NHL talents should increase the team’s depth which was sorely lacking last year when they were decimated by injuries throughout the season. Re-loading with third and fourth-line forwards as well as adding Schenn to their defense should boost the team.

“We needed to get faster, so the primary goal was to add some speed up front with some depth signings,” said Anaheim general manager Bob Murray. “We also wanted a veteran defenseman with NHL experience and strong leadership traits.”

Rowney has done a nice job working his way up the NHL ladder after originally signing an AHL tryout and now has achieved a three-year deal years later. An energizing center, the 29-year-old has struggled to put up solid numbers with the Pittsburgh Penguins the past two years and has served as a depth centerman. He appeared in 44 games with the Penguins this season, posting two goals and three assists and even appeared in three playoff games for Pittsburgh this season.

Gibbons finally earned his first one-way deal as the energetic, hard-working forward was finally able to break into the New Jersey Devils lineup last season. In 59 games, he posted solid numbers, putting up 12 goals and 14 assists. He had spent the previous two seasons bouncing around the AHL.

Street adds depth and could be a big addition to the team’s AHL franchise the San Diego Gulls. The 31-year-old center played a full season for the Detroit Red Wings affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting great numbers. He scored 21 goals and 65 points there and added another eight points in five playoff games.

Schenn adds much depth to the blueline. While the team had a very deep defensive core more than a year ago, the team traded away both Shea Theodore and Sami Vatanen last season, leaving them somewhat limited. While their top four features Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson and Brandon Montour, they lacked depth for the last two spots. Schenn should figure into that mix nicely. He played the last two years with the Arizona Coyotes, posting seven points in 64 games and already has 708 games of NHL experience under his belt.

TVA’s Renaud Lavoie was the first to break Gibbons deal. TSN’s Brennan Klak reported the signed of Street.

San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Joe Thornton To One-Year Deal

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The San Jose Sharks have re-signed center Joe Thornton to a one-year deal, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports the deal is for $5MM and carries a no-trade clause. With Thornton now back in the fold, the Sharks still have $13.8MM in projected cap space with just a few restricted free agents left to sign, suggesting the team could still make another move.

The return of the 39-year-old Thornton was never in question, as the team was only waiting to see if they could convince superstar free agent John Tavares to sign with the team. Thornton was already told he would come back regardless of whether the team inked Tavares or not. Kurz adds that he heard from a source that Thornton was willing to take significantly less had the team managed to sign Tavares. He did receive some attention from other teams, but had little interest in leaving the Sharks.

“There were teams calling, but I told my agent-slash-brother, let’s keep it quiet this year,” Thornton said (via Kurz). I want to go back to San Jose.”

However, it so far looks like San Jose had hinged its offseason hopes of Tavares signing with them as the team did not sign any other significant free agents once it learned that Tavares was heading to the Maple Leafs. Although they did extend Evander Kane over a month ago, the team has spent much of its time moving out salary to accommodate a Tavares’ deal. With significant cap room remaining, there could be other moves coming, although the team must still deal with restricted free agents Tomas Hertl and Chris Tierney.

After putting up an 82-point season in the 2015-16 season, Thornton’s numbers have been on the decline, which shouldn’t be a surprise at his age. He put up 50 points in 2016-17 and looked to be ready to improve on that last season, but a knee injury limited the veteran center to just 47 games last year (36 points) and he was forced to miss the playoffs.

 

Avalanche Sign Scott Kosmachuk, Sheldon Dries; Re-Sign Joe Cannata

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The Colorado Avalanche added depth to their team today signing two players when they inked Scott Kosmachuk and Sheldon Dries, according to Denver Post’s Mike Chambers. No terms were announced for the two signings. The scribe also added that the team re-signed goaltender Joe Cannata, who signed a one-year, two-way, $665K deal (via CapFriendly).

Kosmachuk comes over from the New York Rangers organization where he played exclusively for the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL. The 24-year-old winger posted solid numbers there with 15 goals and 42 points. A Winnipeg Jets’ third-rounder in 2012, he has spent most of his career in the AHL, although he did get into nine games for the Jets back in 2015-16.

Dries may have the most upside as the 24-year-old had a solid rookie campaign last year with the AHL’s Texas Stars, on an AHL deal, after a four-year career at Western Michigan. The undrafted free agent scored 19 goals and 30 points, but even more importantly, posted 10 goals in 22 playoff games which took the team to the Calder Cup Finals. Dries’ new NHL deal is a one-year entry-level contract.

Cannata split time between the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles and the AHL San Antonio Rampage, but spent the majority of the season as the starting goaltender for Eagles, who won their second straight Kelly Cup title this year. The 28-year-old played 28 regular season games, posting a .931 save percentage and then followed that up with 22 playoff appearances in which he picked up 16 wins and a .913 save percentage. With the team’s ECHL affiliate now moving to Utah, the team wants to lock down their champion goaltender for another year.

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