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Archives for July 2019

Snapshots: Sabres, Gardiner, Tkachyov

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Few have criticized the Sabres’ side of the recent Henri Jokiharju–Alexander Nylander trade, but it’s a fact that Buffalo is overflowing with defenders after acquiring the young right-hander from the Chicago Blackhawks. As Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News’ points out, the Sabres still have needs to fill up front and they could use their defensive depth to do so. Lysowski writes that Buffalo has ample cap space to make an addition at forward, but there are few ideal candidates left on the free agent market and the team may as well use their surplus of blue liners to swing a deal. Jokiharju is safe, as are fellow recent additions Brandon Montour and Colin Miller and 2017 No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin. RFA Jake McCabe is not likely to be dealt, but a potential candidate and injury-prone Zach Bogosian and overpaid veteran Matt Hunwick might be hard to move. That would seemingly leave Rasmus Ristolainen, a fixture on the rumor mill, Marco Scandella, and Casey Nelson as the most likely names to be dealt and it would not be a surprise if more than one ends up elsewhere. The Sabres are certainly not done making moves this summer.

  • Of course, this makes Buffalo just one of a surprising number of teams not biting on Jake Gardiner this summer. PHR’s top-ranked UFA defenseman, Gardiner remains unsigned more than a week after the market opened. NBC Sports’ Scott Billeck reports that Gardiner is seeking $7MM annually in his next year, which is likely pricing himself out of the range that many D-needy teams are looking for. It’s hard to argue that Gardiner was not the best available defenseman when free agency opened, but he’s also not a top-pair defenseman by most metrics and teams aren’t willing to shell out right now simply due to a weak market. Billeck names the Winnipeg Jets as a team that could use Gardiner, but can’t afford him at his current asking price. The Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and his own Toronto Maple Leafs also fit that description. Billeck feels the New Jersey Devils could be the leading candidate to land Gardiner right now, but there really aren’t many clear fits for the defender at this time unless he changes his expectations.
  • Despite flirting with a jump to the NHL for several years, Vladimir Tkachyov has decided to re-sign in the KHL once again. SKA St. Petersburg has announced an extension with the young scorer. Tkachyov, 23, has been a solid offensive contributor for the past several years but the best may still be yet to come. The winger was acquired by SKA last month from Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the rights to Nikita Soshnikov, who has since signed in Ufa, and Tkachyov could be set for some career-highs with the perennial contenders in St. Petersburg. It is a two-year contract with SKA, so Tkachyov has a couple more years to further prove he is a formidable forward, and could very well drawn NHL attention once again in 2021.

Minor Transactions: 07/10/19

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Like always, as teams prepare their organizational depth charts for the upcoming season we’ll be right here tracking all the minor moves:

  • The Stockton Heat have signed three players to AHL contracts, bringing in Zac Leslie, Alex Gallant and Jeremy McKenna. While the first two already have plenty of AHL experience, McKenna will be getting his first taste of professional hockey after scoring 45 goals and 97 points for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats last season. The 20-year old appeared at both Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames development camp recently and earned himself a deal.
  • The Belleville Senators have signed Jack Dougherty to a one-year AHL contract, bringing in the former top prospect to fight for playing time in the minor leagues. Dougherty was originally selected in the second round in 2014, but failed to receive a qualifying offer last month from the Buffalo Sabres and became an unrestricted free agent.

Alex Iafallo Re-Signs With Los Angeles Kings

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The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed restricted free agent Alex Iafallo to a two-year, $4.85MM contract. Iafallo had filed for salary arbitration and was set to have a hearing on July 20th, but will instead play the next two seasons at a $2.425MM cap hit and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021.

A free agent signing out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2017, Iafallo quickly established himself as a full-time player for the Kings. The undrafted winger played in 75 NHL games in his first professional season and recorded 25 points, only to improve that the following year. Part of that production is due to the fact that the Kings have been desperate for youth and skill on the wing, but make no mistake Iafallo has worked hard to deserve his playing time. The 25-year old scored 13 even-strength goals last season, ranking behind only Anze Kopitar’s 19 for the team lead.

As the Kings try to rebuild their group to contend in the future, there will be plenty of opportunity for Iafallo to establish himself as a core piece. If he can, the team will have the chance to sign him to a longer-term deal down the road, and if not he could be auctioned off as a complementary piece for a contending team.

Los Angeles still has several restricted free agents left to sign, including Adrian Kempe whose brother was recently brought into the organization. The team has just over $9.4MM in cap space to do it, meaning they’ll likely have plenty of wiggle room to operate with this season.

John Hovan was first to report the contract details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vancouver Canucks Sign Micheal Ferland

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed another free agent forward, inking Micheal Ferland to a four-year, $14MM deal. The contract carries a $3.5MM cap hit, and will have a no-movement clause in the first two years before transitioning to a partial no-trade clause. Canucks GM Jim Benning released a short statement on his new forward:

Micheal is an energetic player that drives the play and can contribute in all three zones. He’ll make our team harder to play against on a nightly basis and we’re excited that he’ll call Vancouver home.

Ferland, 27, was the highest forward remaining on our Top 50 UFA list, coming in at number 11 just ahead of Ryan Dzingel. His versatility and effectiveness over thel ast two seasons made him an attractive target for many teams, though it does seem as though his market was shrunk somewhat given how long it took for him to sign. A deal with Vancouver represents a return to the Pacific Division where he started his career with the Calgary Flames, and a reward for a ton of hard work to this point.

Originally a fifth-round pick of the Flames in 2010, Ferland didn’t catch on as a full-time NHL player until 2015 when he used his physical play to establish himself in Calgary’s bottom-six. Within a few years he was playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for long stretches on the top line, scoring 21 goals and 41 points in the 2017-18 season. That summer he was flipped to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the bigger Elias Lindholm–Dougie Hamilton deal, bringing a new dimension to their attack.

In Carolina he got off to a blistering start and was setting himself up for a huge payday this summer. Through his first 54 games he had 17 goals and looked like he was well on his way to a career-high. Unfortunately, Ferland didn’t score a single goal in the 17 games after the trade deadline and was held to just a single assist in seven postseason contests. Dealing with various injuries, he finished the year with 40 points but is still a potential top-six add to a club like Vancouver.

After showing that he could keep up with top players in Calgary, there’s good reason to believe he might get the same opportunity with Vancouver. The team has Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson anchoring their top two lines, and Ferland could slide in on one of their wings to give them a little more physicality. The interesting thing will be where he fits in with relation to J.T. Miller, who is another big-bodied forward that can play either wing and add a little punch.

The addition of Ferland though raises more questions with how the Vancouver roster will shake out after training camp. The team already had 13 forwards on one-way contracts plus Pettersson and Adam Gaudette on their entry-level deals. That’s not even including restricted free agents Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin, at least the former of which will be assured a spot on opening day. There may be more moves coming for Vancouver, who have been looking for a landing spot for Loui Eriksson for some time and are set to pay him a hefty bonus on July 15 according to David Alter.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report a deal was close.

Matt Cullen Announces Retirement

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After 21 seasons in the NHL, Matt Cullen is finally calling it quits. The 42-year old forward has announced his retirement through a video essay posted on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Twitter account. In it, Cullen examines all of the “lasts” he experienced in his career, including the final season with the Penguins in 2018-19.

Beloved by nearly everyone he came in contact to throughout his career, Cullen will actually go down as one of the most successful American-born players in history. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, Cullen trails only Chris Chelios in games played by Americans and ranks 19th overall with 1,516 regular season contests. He added another 132 playoff contests including those long title runs with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

While he was never a top offensive player, Cullen still made quite an impact on the game. A defensively responsible center, he still contributed at least 30 points in 14 of his seasons with a career-high of 49 in 2005-06. He finishes his career with 731 regular season points.

It’s been a long time coming for Cullen, who has flirted with retirement for the last several years. After a season that saw him record just 20 points and be limited to just fourth-line minutes, it was time to hang up the skates and move on to the next phase in his career.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Justin Scott

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed minor league forward Justin Scott to a one-year, two-way contract. Scott was a restricted free agent and eligible for salary arbitration, but did not file and instead worked out the short-term deal.

Scott, 23, has played three seasons in the Blue Jackets organization since signing out of the OHL in 2016. Undrafted, he has become a solid depth piece for the team that can contribute some offense when required and serve as a defensively responsible forward. In fact, he tied for the team lead with three empty net goals this season, on the ice for many of the team’s last-second defensive efforts.

The former Barrie Colts forward scored just 24 points last season for the Monsters and has no NHL experience, meaning he’s likely ticketed for Cleveland once again. This season he will not be waiver-exempt however, meaning he’ll be available to the rest of the league should the team try to send him down.

Washington Capitals Sign Aliaksei Protas

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The Washington Capitals have signed another prospect, this time inking Aliaksei Protas to a three-year entry-level contract. Protas was selected 91st overall in last month’s draft.

Protas, 18, came over from Belarus to play for the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL last season but took a while to get acclimated to the North American game. Scoring just 11 goals and 40 points in 61 regular season games, he also helped his country to a silver medal at the D1A World Juniors (those countries that do not qualify for the top tournament) before taking off in the WHL playoffs. The 6’5″ forward recorded 12 goals and 22 points in 23 games to help the Raiders to a WHL title and Memorial Cup berth.

His low point totals in the regular season can be somewhat explained by the tremendous depth that Prince Albert had as one of the very best teams in the CHL. The fact that by the time the playoffs rolled around Protas was a key part of that team—along with fellow Washington draft pick Brett Leason—can only be seen as a positive, and something that should have Capitals fans excited for his future. Even with his new NHL contract it is much more likely that Protas returns to the WHL next season and continues his development, meaning the deal will slide forward at least one year.

New York Islanders Sign Jared Coreau

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According to CapFriendly, the New York Islanders have signed goaltender Jared Coreau to a one-year two-way contract, giving them some additional depth at the position. Coreau will earn $700K at the NHL level and be an unrestricted free agent again next summer.

Coreau, 27, has been a top AHL goaltender for years, but struggled last season with the San Diego Gulls and San Antonio Rampage. In his first year outside of the Detroit Red Wings organization he posted just an .889 save percentage and allowed the third most goals of any AHL netminder. He now heads to the Islanders to try and prove he can still be a valuable addition to any depth chart, though there won’t be much opportunity at the NHL level.

The former Northern Michigan University star has played just 21 games in the NHL, all of them coming with the Red Wings. With Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Greiss ahead of him that number isn’t expected to increase, though he might be the next option if someone is injured. The only other goaltender with any NHL experience in the organization is Christopher Gibson, who has just ten starts at that level.

Boston Bruins Sign Danton Heinen

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Late last night, the Boston Bruins came to terms with one of their restricted free agents, signing Danton Heinen to a two-year contract through the 2020-21 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $2.8MM and will keep Heinen an RFA at its expiration.

The Bruins have several other restricted free agents to sign including Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, but Heinen was the only one who was eligible and had filed for salary arbitration. This deal avoids that sometimes messy situation and gives the 24-year old forward a nice bridge contract. In parts of three seasons Heinen has recorded 81 points in 162 games, a pace that actually declined last season when he was able to register just 11 goals and 34 points. In the playoffs the young forward has all but disappeared, scoring just nine points in 33 games.

Still, there is a lot to like in his offensive profile and to get any production out of a fourth-round pick is a win for the Bruins. Though originally selected as a potential center, Heinen has played almost exclusively on the wing in the NHL and projects to stay there for the time being. The former University of Denver standout can be extremely elusive at times in the offensive zone and surprise defenders with his puck skills, but too rarely uses these talents to create and can rely on his linemates. If he can find a little more consistency while playing on this new contract, Heinen can set himself up for a big payday in 2021 when he has just a single year of restricted free agency left.

For the Bruins, even though they knew it was coming this deal does complicate things somewhat. The team now has just $7.4MM in cap space and two huge negotiations with McAvoy and Carlo to come. Since that cap number is assuming a 23-man roster there is some more wiggle room from the players that will be sent down to make room for the pair of young defensemen, but even so the Bruins will be extremely tight to the cap after inking the new deals. That is of course unless they find a way to move David Backes’ $6MM hit, though the market for such a contract is obviously not a huge one.

Snapshots: Appleby, Skinner, Knights

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Goaltender Ken Appleby will have to settle for an AHL contract again this season. The 24-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, affiliate of the Nashville Predators, the team announced. Appleby spent much of last season on a minor league contract with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, but was signed to an NHL deal at the trade deadline to serve as a depth option for the Winnipeg Jets. Appleby will hope that his play earns him another NHL contract, during this season or next summer.

Appleby continues to be a tough keeper to nail down. A standout with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, Appleby earned a three-year entry level contract with the New Jersey Devils as an undrafted prospect. In his first pro season in 2015-16, Appleby largely played in the ECHL, but put up good numbers and performed well in limited AHL action. The next year, he again dominated in ECHL to begin the year but quickly was called up to play a key role in the AHL and put up good albeit unspectacular numbers. In the final year of his ELC, Appleby’s AHL performance slipped somewhat, but he made three NHL appearances and was stellar, posting a .945 save percentage and 1.45 GAA. Yet, Appleby inexplicably failed to garner NHL attention last summer and, after signing with Manitoba, struggled greatly in the AHL and ended up back down in the ECHL. It’s unclear what to expect from the roller coaster goaltender, but at the very least the Admirals add an experienced netminder who has shown flashes of brilliance.

  • New York Rangers prospect Hunter Skinner is shifting his development plan. A fourth-round pick out of the USHL last month, Skinner was expected to play one more year of junior before heading to Western Michigan University. That all changed today when Skinner signed with the OHL’s London Knights, effectively ruling out the NCAA route. London used a fifth-round pick on Skinner in the 2017 OHL Draft and have made good on that gamble by convincing Skinner to change lanes and play major junior. However, it comes as a bit of a surprise that the Michigan native backed out of his WMU commitment. A big right-handed defenseman who is ahead of the game physically but still raw in his skill and IQ, the Rangers reached for Skinner in the fourth round. It’s not a stretch to think that they used that leverage to influence this decision, perhaps preferring to see Skinner play against stronger competition sooner rather than later to start developing those abilities. The Broncos are definitely disappointed to lose a promising prospect, but Skinner is in good hands in London, a premiere NHL feeder program led by Dale and Mark Hunter.
  • Speaking of which, former London Knight Will Lochead has signed his first pro contract with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Lochead actually began classes at the University of Western Ontario last year and had intended to continue there, but after a breakout season opted to pursue the pro route. The aggressive defenseman recorded a career-high 17 points in 54 games for the Knights and continued to show that he is not afraid to throw his body around and play a fast-tempo game. The Thunderbirds are taking a chance on a young, undrafted player without much production to show for in his junior career, but who brings room for growth and an exciting style.

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