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Archives for July 2019

Artemi Panarin Signs With New York Rangers

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After the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche all made huge pitches to try and convince Artemi Panarin to join their squads, it ends up being the New York Rangers who will acquire his services moving forward. The Rangers have agreed to terms on a seven-year, $81.5MM deal with Panarin.

Panarin, 27, was the consensus No. 1 in our Top 50 UFAs this season, and will immediately become the highest-paid winger in the entire NHL. His cap hit is will be more than $1MM higher than Patrick Kane’s $10.5MM from several years ago and well ahead of the recent market set by Nikita Kucherov and Mark Stone at $9.5MM. Part of that is the fact that he actually got to unrestricted free agency, but there is good reason to think he will be able to perform at a high level for quite some time.

In the four years he has played in North America, the originally undrafted Panarin has only gotten better. Setting a career-high with 87 points last season in just 79 games, he proved that he could create offense with any type of linemate and established himself as a legitimate superstar in the NHL. That’s exactly what the Rangers were waiting for and have now had quite the summer. They had already traded for both Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba to improve their blue line, and drafted Kaapo Kakko second overall. Panarin’s contract is extremely expensive, but also puts the Rangers in line to compete for the playoffs as soon as next season.

This is a team that just over a year ago sent a letter to fans explaining that they were going to have to trade some “familiar faces, guys we all care about and respect” but were committed to building a Stanley Cup contending team. In such a short time the team has dealt away Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Jimmy Vesey, Rick Nash, Nick Holden, Adam McQuaid, Mats Zuccarello, Neal Pionk, Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner in order to set themselves up with an almost unmatched prospect pipeline and a great chance of success in the future.

Now, after finishing near the bottom of the league and picking second overall, the rebuild is finished in New York. Panarin’s deal ushers in the next phase that will include competing for the playoffs. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re finished trading though, as Chris Kreider and Vladislav Namestnikov remain just a year away from unrestricted free agency and may not be considered key parts moving forward.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Oscar Fantenberg

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Oscar Fantenberg to a contract, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. NHL.com’s Brennan Klak reports the deal is a one-year deal for $850K.

The 27-year-old blueliner signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2017 out of the KHL. While just playing 27 games that season, he played in 46 games with the Kings before they shipped him off to Calgary for a 2020 fourth-round pick at the trade deadline. With the Flames, Fantenberg played 15 games, putting up just one assist and was scoreless in three playoff games.

In Vancouver, he should add some much needed depth to the team’s blueline. The team has reportedly signed both Tyler Myers and Jordie Benn to play more significant roles for next season, but even with a full season of Quinn Hughes, the Canucks still needed more depth to fill out their blueline.

Boston Bruins Extend Connor Clifton

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The Bruins have expressed their appreciation for the development of young defender Connor Clifton, as they will sign him to a long-term extension today, the earliest date in which they could make the move. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that it is a three-year, $3MM deal for Clifton, who still has one season remaining at $725K. The 24-year-old appears to be locked in as blue line depth piece for years to come.

At the start of the season, Clifton was a longshot to make any impact on the Bruins squad, but the 24-year-old blueliner was recalled on two separate occasions to fill in for several injured Boston players. He played 19 games for the Bruins, posting just an assist, but it was in the playoffs where Clifton broke out. With multiple injuries still ravaging their blueline, Clifton became a regular for the team during the playoffs and started to show off some of his offensive skill as well, scoring two goals and finishing with five points in the playoffs, while maintaining his high-energy levels throughout.

The addition likely guarantees him a permanent spot on Boston’s blueline as he will serve as a depth defenseman and fight for playing time with John Moore, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller.

Panthers Expected To Sign Noel Acciari

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Florida’s rapid reshaping of their roster continues.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Panthers have agreed to a three-year deal with center Noel Acciari.  The contract is believed to be worth around $5MM in total, a considerable raise on his $725K AAV over the past two seasons.

The 27-year-old was a fixture on Boston’s fourth line last season.  In 72 games, he had a career-high 14 points (6-8-14) while chipping in with 221 hits, also a career mark.  Acciari also picked up four points (2-2-4) in 19 postseason contests.

Florida is certainly also encouraged by the progress that Acciari made at the faceoff dot last season, upping his success rate to 49.6% after being well below that in his first three years.  This contract suggests that they’re comfortable penciling him in as their new fourth-line center behind returnees Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, and youngster Henrik Borgstrom.  RFA Denis Malgin also figures to be in the mix as well.

Keith Kinkaid To Sign With Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens will bring in some competition to battle Charlie Lindgren for the right to back up Carey Price next season, as Bob McKenzie of TSN confirms Keith Kinkaid will sign a one-year contract with the team.

Kinkaid, 29, ended up playing in 41 games for the New Jersey Devils last season before a deadline deal took him to the Columbus Blue Jackets as an insurance goaltender. At one point during 2017-18 it looked like he was ready to steal the job from Cory Schneider and establish himself as a full-time starter in the NHL, but that idea is now in the past after his struggles in 2018-19.

Those numbers were definitely disappointing. While equaling the 41 games played from his previous year, Kinkaid finished with a 15-18-6 record, while allowing an extra 23 goals in almost the same amount of minutes. He finished with a 3.36 GAA and .891 save percentage and now must prove that he can beat out Charlie Lindgren next year or end up as the team’s third goaltending option.

Red Wings Sign Patrik Nemeth

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Detroit has added some defensive depth on day one of free agency. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Red Wings will sign defenseman Patrik Nemeth to a two-year contract.  The deal will carry a $3MM average annual value, giving Nemeth a nice little raise on the $2.5MM he earned in 2018-19.

Nemeth is coming off of a bit of a down season with Colorado.  After being a top-four defender in 2017-18, he saw his average ice time drop by more than three minutes a game to 16:29 per night as he was more of a fixture on their third pairing.

The 27-year-old won’t provide Detroit with a lot of offense – he has just four goals in 250 career games – but he’ll give them some help in the shot-blocking department.  Over his two years with the Avalanche, Nemeth averaged more than two shot blocks per game and added some physicality last season, averaging 1.85 hits per contest.  With Niklas Kronwall’s future with the Red Wings being uncertain, Nemeth will serve as an insurance policy heading into next season.

Ducks Expected To Sign Andrew Poturalski

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The Ducks are on the verge of landing one of the top performers in the AHL this past season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Anaheim is set to sign winger Andrew Poturalski, formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

Poturalski, 25, was named the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs this year after recording a league-high 23 points in 18 playoff games en route to a championship for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Poturalski was also one of the top regular season scorers, netting 70 points in 72 games.

Yet, the University of New Hampshire product did not see any NHL time with the Hurricanes this season and was expected to depart in search of better opportunity. Anaheim is a team collecting affordable depth options up front and Poturalski could emerge as a regular player for the team.

Dallas Add John Stevens To Coaching Staff

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July 1: With Stevens’ contract expiring with the Kings, the Stars have officially added him to their staff.

June 11: The Dallas Stars and head coach Jim Montgomery are making a major addition, and free agency hasn’t even started. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Dallas is set to hire former Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Stevens as an assistant on Montgomery’s staff. Stevens was considered one of the top available coaches this off-season and will be a major addition for the Stars.

It should not come as much of a surprise that Montgomery and Stevens are back together. As Friedman notes, the pair have a considerable shared history. Both Montgomery and Stevens played together on the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms in the late 90’s during what would be the final years of Stevens’ playing career due to a career-ending injury. Stevens would then become an assistant coach during Montgomery’s final year with the team. As Montgomery himself later transitioned into coaching, he led the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints as head coach and general manager for several years, during which time he would recruit and coach John Stevens Jr., who currently plays for the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Of course, the two friends also coached against each other early this past season as well, as Montgomery’s Stars defeated Stevens’ Kings 4-2 in late October in one of Stevens’ final games at the helm.

Stevens’ stint as the head coach in L.A. was arguably cut short too early. In his first full season of duty in 2017-18, the Kings went 45-29-8 and made the playoffs, before a disappointing sweep by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. The team then started last season off 4-8-1, after which Stevens was fired and replaced with Willie Desjardins, who himself has now been replaced by Todd McLellan. Stevens still maintained a winning record as head coach of the Kings and holds the same distinction as an NHL head coach overall, despite finishing just below .500 in aggregate over parts of four seasons as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from 2006 to 2010. Stevens has a strong grasp on defense and has often led teams that play a safe, conservative game, even if that doesn’t always lead to the offense needed to win games. Combined with Mongtomery’s eye for offense and the Stars’ substantial talent, Stevens has the chance to be a major difference-maker in Dallas and it is not a stretch to say he could be an NHL head coach again someday if things go well in this next stop.

Panthers Expected To Sign Anton Stralman

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The Panthers are set to make a splash on the back end.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that they are set to sign defenseman Anton Stralman to a three-year, $16.5MM contract.

The 32-year-old missed 29 games due to injuries last season but it doesn’t appear to have affected his market any.  When he was in the lineup, he was able to chip in with 17 points (2-15-17) while averaging over 20 minutes per game during the regular season.  However, an injury kept him out of the lineup in their first-round postseason exit.

The fact that Stralman plays the right side and can log heavy minutes certainly bolstered his market.  While he may not be the second or third defender that he was in the prime of his career, he can still hold down a spot in Florida’s top four behind Aaron Ekblad.  Stralman ranked 19th on our Top 50 UFA list with the Panthers being our projection for a landing spot.

Buffalo Sabres Acquire Jimmy Vesey

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The Buffalo Sabres have acquired Jimmy Vesey (again), this time sending a 2021 third-round pick to the New York Rangers. Buffalo had previously traded for Vesey’s negotiating rights in 2016 from the Nashville Predators—coincidentally sending a third-round pick that time too—but he decided not to sign with them and became a free agent after his college career. Vesey currently has just one year remaining on his current contract which carries a $2.275MM cap hit and is scheduled to become a UFA once again in the summer of 2020.

While obviously this will immediately spark more speculation about the Rangers’ pursuit of Artemi Panarin, Buffalo has been chasing Vesey for some time. The Rangers already had enough cap space to fit in the top free agent if they wanted, meaning this is likely just cashing in on an expiring asset. New York have several young forwards ready to step into bigger roles and Vesey was obviously not part of the long-term plan.

Now 26, Vesey hasn’t had quite the impact many hoped he would coming out of Harvard University but is still a solid offensive contributor. Scoring at least 16 (and at most 17) goals in each of his three seasons, he should add a bit of depth scoring to the Sabres as they try to push for a playoff spot this season. Buffalo is now missing their third-round picks for each of the next two seasons, but after adding some more young talent at the draft this year they are ready to start competing instead of rebuilding.

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