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Archives for September 2018

Minor Transactions: 9/17/18

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Even with training camps open, preseason games underway, and even cuts beginning, additions continue to be made to camp rosters at the NHL and AHL level and more. Here are some of the latest moves:

  • The New York Islanders, the last team to formally release their training camp roster, had a number of tryout additions on the ice when camp opened, including previously confirmed pro invites like Stephen Gionta, Luca Sbisa, and Dennis Seidenberg, as well as several amateurs. However, one PTO that was unknown until the roster came out is forward Pius Suter. Suter, 22, is an undersized, but very skilled forward hailing from Switzerland. Although Suter played two seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm, including a 72-point campaign in his second year of NHL Draft eligibility, Suter was never selected or signed by an NHL team. He returned to Switzerland and has been a force for the ZSC Lions of the NLA for the past three seasons. Yet, he continues to press for a job in the NHL. Suter joined the Ottawa Senators on a PTO last year, but was an early cut from camp. Now he returns with the Islanders, eager to show that he can play at the highest level. The Isles are not the deepest team in the league, so Suter could be a name to keep an eye out for this preseason in case he does earn a contract for the coming season.
  • One player received a major surprise in the form of an unexpected camp invite. Goaltender Derek Dun, a 24-year-old British Columbia native who has never appeared in more than 16 games in a season since his BCHL days, has been temporarily added to the Boston Bruins camp roster, the team announced. Why? The journeyman goalie has been playing as a backup in China for members of the VHL, a Russian-based minor league, for the past two years. The Bruins contingent currently traveling though China wanted another goalie behind Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak for the remainder of their trip and found a willing participant in the former Northern Michigan University keeper. Dunn called it “a surreal moment” when he stepped on the ice for his first practice with the Bruins.
  • First-year pro Kyle Rhodes has finally found a landing spot for his first season, signing with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. The physical defenseman was not much of a point producer in his four years in the OHL, but was applauded for his work ethic and leadership ability. After being traded to the Sudbury Wolves prior to last season, Rhodes embraced his veteran role and was named captain, before going on to set a career-high of ten goals and 24 points, both more than his three prior seasons combined. He then impressed in a short tryout stint in the ECHL at the tail end of the season. The Rampage may have found a player who is just beginning to reach his potential, but will take a solid defensive player and strong character presence at the very least.
  • Garrett Ladd has fought his way through the NAHL, Division III of the NCAA, six different ECHL teams, and even a brief stint in England, but he continues to take small steps toward the NHL. The AHL’s Chicago Wolves have awarded Ladd, who is signed to their ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets, with an AHL camp tryout, Justin A. Cohn of the Journal Gazette explains. The 28-year-old forward likely won’t ever reach the NHL, but seems primed to get his first AHL action at some point this season.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/17/18

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Training camp cuts will start fast and furious over the next few weeks, and we’ll keep track of them right here:

Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights Not Close On Contract

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Though Darnell Nurse and Josh Morrissey have both ended their contract negotiations the last few days and signed with their respective organizations, John Shannon of Sportsnet cautions any optimism that Shea Theodore could follow suit. Shannon reports that the Vegas Golden Knights and Theodore are not close to a deal currently, though obviously that could change at a moment’s notice.

Theodore, 23, is in a slightly different situation than his contemporaries, given that he has just 114 NHL games under his belt through three seasons. Even in 2017-18 he began the year in the minor leagues due to Vegas roster constraints, and ended up playing in just 61 games with the club. That obviously changed in the playoffs, where Theodore was a core piece of the blue line led all Golden Knights defensemen with 10 points in 20 games, but the team can still point to a relative lack of experience in negotiations in order to keep his cap hit down.

It’s not clear what exactly Theodore is looking for, but with the Golden Knights already without Nate Schmidt for a quarter of the season due to suspension the young defenseman does hold a fair bit leverage even in a situation where the free agent is normally at a disadvantage. Without Schmidt or Theodore in the lineup the Golden Knights really lack a puck-moving option on the left side, and could struggle to get it quickly out of their end and up to the talented forwards. Nick Holden could potentially fill part of that role, but has a ton of experience playing on the right side despite his left handedness.

Unlike Morrissey and Nurse, the Golden Knights do have the financial situation to extend Theodore long-term if they choose. While the Oilers are pushed right up to the cap already, and the Jets will be a year from now when they have to re-sign Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba, the Golden Knights have plenty of cap room to work with going forward even after the recent Max Pacioretty extension. If the team wanted to buy out unrestricted free agent years—something that is by no means certain—they could afford the extra bump in cap space in the short term.

Still, Theodore may have cause to prefer a bridge deal himself. After putting up 29 points in those 61 regular season games last season, and knowing that Schmidt will be out for the first part of the season, there is reason to believe that Theodore could easily come close to or even eclipse a 50-point season given ample powerplay usage. That kind of output would set him up for a much bigger deal down the road after he’s proven he can stay healthy and productive for a full season, an opportunity he may not want to give up by signing long-term right now.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Senators

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If you were heading into the season believing that Jonathan Drouin will be the first-line center for the Montreal Canadiens, you may have to rethink that position. GM Marc Bergevin was on TSN radio today and told Tony Marinaro that he currently projects Max Domi, Phillip Danault, Tomas Plekanec and Matthew Peca as the four centers for the Canadiens to start the year. Drouin obviously still could end up at the position at some point given Domi’s lack of experience there, but it sounds like he’ll be starting on the wing.

The Canadiens have been searching for center help for quite some time, and though there is help on the way with prospects Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki—though the latter has played quite a bit of wing as well during his junior career—2018-19 doesn’t look like it will necessarily be any different. For Drouin at least the move might be beneficial, given that he struggled to score last season down the middle with just 13 goals in 77 games.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs meanwhile aren’t handing out roster spots at all to their young players, instead expecting them to earn a role in training camp. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes that Mike Babcock expects both Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson, who are expected to play big roles on the Maple Leafs going forward, to prove that they deserve spots instead of just acting like they’ve “arrived now.” Many Toronto fans are hoping that Dermott will be part of the solution to their perceived defensive woes this season, but he’ll have to convince his head coach that he’s ready before being handed a full-time job.
  • Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion was on CBC radio with Robyn Bresnahan today, speaking about the dilemma he faced with the recent Erik Karlsson situation. Dorion admitted that he knew he couldn’t “get nothing” for Karlsson by watching him walk away in free agency next offseason. Contract negotiations quickly broke down between the two sides this offseason, meaning Dorion felt he “owed it to our fans to tell them what the plan was and before the season started.” The team is quite openly in rebuild mode, and are expected to give plenty of opportunities to young players this season.

Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Darnell Nurse

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After a lengthy negotiation that has led to several missed days of training camp, the Edmonton Oilers and Darnell Nurse have reached a conclusion. The two sides have reached an agreement on a two-year, $6.4MM contract. Nurse will earn just slightly more than fellow restricted free agent defenseman Josh Morrissey, who signed a two-year deal worth $6.3MM just yesterday.

Nurse, 23, is one of the most important players on the Oilers this season given their struggles on defense last year. With Andrej Sekera already dealing with a long-term injury, other options like Jakub Jerabek and Kevin Gravel not inspiring much confidence, starting the season without Nurse in the lineup could have been devastating. As it turns out, he’ll miss just a few days of training camp and be able to get into form before the season begins.

The Oilers meanwhile were almost forced into signing a bridge deal with Nurse, whether they wanted to or not. The team had approximately $3.9MM in cap space for the upcoming season, meaning they’re now down to under $1MM as we approach the year. Though there is some flexibility to be gained by moving Sekera to long-term injured reserve if they choose, signing a longer deal with Nurse would have put them in a much more difficult situation. The young defenseman broke out last season with 26 points in a full 82 game schedule, and likely would have demanded a healthy raise if he was going to sign away any of his unrestricted free agent years.

For Nurse too though, a long-term deal didn’t really make sense. Just skimming the surface of his potential as a top-four defenseman, he has the potential over the next two seasons to prove that he deserves a huge raise during the next negotiation. Just like Morrissey in Winnipeg and the still unsigned Shea Theodore in Vegas, there just isn’t a long enough track record to really demand a cap hit of $5MM or more on a long-term deal. That will certainly be possible in the summer of 2020 though, when he is a 25-year old that could potentially be the best defenseman on the Edmonton roster. When this contract ends, Nurse will have just two years of restricted free agency remaining and will have arbitration rights, something he lacked this time around.

That step towards becoming a top-pairing defenseman is what Nurse is working towards, but it’s also what Edmonton desperately needs over the length of this deal. With Connor McDavid currently one of the very best players in the world, the Oilers can’t afford to throw away seasons of his prime without an appearance in the playoffs. That’s what happened last season even while McDavid led the league in scoring, and could happen again this year without a significant bounce back from the blue line. Edmonton’s roster is much the same as it was a year ago, save for some fringe changes up front and a new backup goaltender. If the team is going to get into the playoffs, it will be on the back of an improved effort from players like Nurse.

This contract leaves just five restricted free agents left unsigned, with Theodore in Vegas already mentioned above. William Nylander (TOR), Miles Wood (NJD), Nick Ritchie (ANA) and Sam Reinhart (BUF) are the others, and will need a contract before suiting up with their respective teams this preseason. Morrissey and Nurse getting deals done might push along Theodore’s negotiations, but we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for the others to end their holdouts.

John Shannon and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet were first to report the contract details.

Columbus Blue Jackets Hire Jared Boll, Fedor Tyutin

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have brought back some familiar faces, hiring Jared Boll and Fedor Tyutin. Boll will serve as an assistant development coach for the club, while Tyutin joins the team’s scouting staff. Both players have long histories with the Blue Jackets, though ended their careers in the Western Conference with the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche respectively. Amazingly, Tyutin is actually still on the Blue Jackets payroll as a player, earning nearly $1.5MM this season and next as part of the buyout he was given in 2016.

The Blue Jackets have invested a lot of resources into their management and coaching teams this summer, signing several people to contract extensions and bringing in some new faces. Boll is actually only barely removed from a playing career that saw him suit up for 10 games with the Ducks last season, while Tyutin was relatively effective for the Avalanche in 2016-17. The two played a combined 17 seasons with the Blue Jackets, and will now try to help the franchise take the next step towards a Stanley Cup.

Ottawa Senators Hire Peter MacTavish As Assistant General Manager

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The Ottawa Senators have found a replacement for Assistant General Manager Randy Lee, who split with the team following his pending legal issues. The team has hired Peter MacTavish as his replacement, starting October 1st. MacTavish has a legal background and has worked at length with CAA Hockey, the agency led by Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry.

The Senators have had a difficult offseason to say the least, with personal problems percolating in the dressing room, legal troubles in the front office and the dark cloud of an Erik Karlsson trade that only just released its weather in the last few days. Lee’s resignation was only a small part of a summer that could potentially set the franchise back, but MacTavish will his best to right the ship. An expert in contract negotiations and structuring, he’ll be an important piece for a front office that has some big decisions to make over the next few months regarding players like Mark Stone and Matt Duchene who are both scheduled for unrestricted free agency next offseason.

It may look rough in Ottawa right now, but they do have several exciting young players just on the cusp of making an impact at the NHL level and could surprise people with a bounce back season from Craig Anderson. While it looks like they won’t compete for the playoffs in 2018-19, stranger things have happened at the professional level before.

Aleksander Barkov Named Florida Panthers Captain

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Though the Florida Panthers were not one of the teams without a captain as the 2018-19 season draws near, they have still named a new one today. Aleksander Barkov will take over from Derek MacKenzie as Panthers captain, becoming the tenth man to wear a “C” in franchise history.

Barkov, 23, has been on track to become Panthers captain for several years now. Since being selected second overall in the 2013 draft, the big Finnish center has developed extremely quickly and should now be considered one of the very best two-way players in the entire league. After flirting with big point totals in 2015-16 and 2016-17 but being held back by injury, Barkov finally played in more than 71 games in a season and produced his best season to date. With 78 points in 79 games while receiving Selke votes for the fourth consecutive year, Barkov has laid claim to franchise icon status for the Panthers.

Learning under MacKenzie meanwhile will benefit the young forward, as he was allowed to mature and develop without the pressure of captaincy in his first few years. Barkov released a statement about his biggest influences since arriving in Florida, and all three are extremely well-respected NHL veterans:

This is a tremendous honor and I’m excited to take on the responsibility of being captain. I’ve been fortunate to be able to observe and work with quality leaders and captains like Ed Jovanovski, Willie Mitchell and Derek MacKenzie during my career. I love my teammates, we’re a tight group and there are a lot of strong leaders in our room. I was very happy when Bob and Dale told me that I was going to be captain. It’s a dream come true to see the captain’s ’C’ on my jersey.

MacKenzie, 37, is heading into the last part of his career and though he is still a reliable fourth-line player he can’t have the sort of impact Barkov brings every night. Passing the torch at some point was an inevitability, and one that he apparently did with little prompting.

Five Key Stories: 9/10/18 – 9/16/18

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The start of training camps usually makes for a busy week around the NHL and this was certainly no exception.  Here are the top stories from what was a headline-filled seven days around the league.

Pacioretty Dealt To Vegas: The trade rumors had been swirling around winger Max Pacioretty for quite some time and it had been reported previously that Montreal had no intention of re-signing him which made a trade a foregone conclusion.  That came to fruition as he was moved to the Golden Knights in exchange for winger Tomas Tatar, 2017 first-round pick Nick Suzuki, and a 2019 second-round pick.  Shortly after the swap was announced, he inked a four-year, $28MM extension.  His $7MM AAV is significantly higher than his current $4.5MM cap hit.

End Of The Road For Zetterberg: While it had been speculated for a while that it was unlikely that Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg would play in 2018-19, the team took it one step further, announcing that his playing days are over.  The 37-year-old played through considerable back pain last season and had been unable to train at all this summer.  He wraps up his NHL career with 960 points in 1,082 games, all with Detroit.  Zetterberg still has three years remaining on his contract with a $6.083MM cap hit (but salaries of just $3.35MM and two years at $1MM) so instead of retiring, he will instead spend the next three seasons on LTIR.

Extension For Seguin: Stars center Tyler Seguin had expressed disappointment recently regarding the last of progress made on contract talks but that seemed to get the ball rolling on them.  He’ll be sticking around for the long haul now after signing an eight-year, $78.8MM extension.  The $9.85MM cap hit makes him the seventh highest-paid forward league-wide for 2019-20 and beyond.  Dallas had one of the more exciting lines in the league last season when they put their big three (which also features Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov) together and they now have that trio locked up through 2021-22 at a combined cap hit of $25.6MM.

Karlsson To San Jose: Defenseman Erik Karlsson had been in trade speculation for a while with Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Vegas the presumptive favorites to land him.  In the end, it was the Sharks that landed the Swedish star, acquiring him for a lengthy list of players and picks.  Among the notables going the other way to Ottawa are center Chris Tierney, prospect center Josh Norris, and one guaranteed first-round pick plus two others with plenty of conditions on them.  There is no extension in place for Karlsson at the moment but with a little more than $20MM in expiring contracts on the books, San Jose should have the ability to re-sign him if they’re willing to spend that much on their back end.  Meanwhile, this further cements the idea that the Senators are in a rebuilding process which should be great news for Colorado as they hold Ottawa’s unprotected first-round pick in 2019.

Yzerman Resigns: In a move that caught the hockey world by surprise, Steve Yzerman resigned as GM of Tampa Bay after holding the position for a little over eight years.  He cited family reasons as the reason for his decision as they remain in Detroit.  The 53-year-old will remain with the club as an advisor to new GM Julien BriseBois for the final year of his contract and has yet to decide on his future after that.  Speculation has already run rampant that he could be in line to take the GM job with the Red Wings once his deal with the Lightning expires but nothing is set in stone just yet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PHR Originals: 9/10/18 – 9/16/18

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Here’s a rundown of the original content at PHR from over the past week.

Our 2018-19 primer series continues as I looked at back at the offseason movement for the Flyers, Penguins, and Sharks as well as the key storylines and questions heading into their respective seasons.

We’re now up to the number 11 pick in the 2006 redraft after Erik Johnson went ninth to Minnesota while Derick Brassard landed in the tenth slot to Florida.  The Kings are up next and you can vote for who they should select here.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday chat and with the big news of the week, there was plenty to talk about.  Topics included Marc-Andre Fleury’s longevity, projecting the top scorers in the league, the Erik Karlsson trade, Morgan Frost’s expectations, predictions for some remaining RFAs, and much more.

Our tour around the Central Division continues with Holger’s deep dive into the salary cap situations in Minnesota and St. Louis.  The whole series of articles can be found here.

Topics in our first mailbag of the month included the Adam McQuaid trade, candidates for the Calder Trophy, Artemi Panarin’s situation in Columbus, a look at some prospects looking to make a mark in Chicago, the new-look Golden Knights, and the very strange situation surrounding Jake Dotchin and the Lightning.

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