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Archives for July 2019

Dallas Stars Sign Andrej Sekera

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The Dallas Stars will add a pair of veteran forwards when free agency opens in just over an hour, and are now expected to bring in some experience on defense as well. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that the Stars will sign Andrej Sekera to a one-year contract later today. Sekera was recently bought out by the Edmonton Oilers and will be earning $1.5MM from them in each of the next four seasons. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the deal will be $1.5MM in salary with an additional $500K in potential performance bonuses. Though Sekera isn’t 35 yet, he spent enough time injured last season to be eligible for bonuses.

Sekera, 33, has played just 60 games for the Oilers over the last two seasons but looked like his game was starting to turn around at the end of the year. If he can recover any of the ability that made him a 44-point defenseman in 2013-14 for the Carolina Hurricanes the Stars will have a bargain on their hands, but that is far from certain. Dallas already has most of their defense corps set but were a little thin at the fringes.

The question now will be what happens to young Julius Honka, who needs a new contract but hasn’t been able to find a fit with the Stars since being selected 14th overall in 2014. Through 87 games in the NHL Honka has just 13 points, and may not have much of an opportunity in Dallas if Stephen Johns is able to return from injury this season.

Avalanche Sign Joonas Donskoi

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The Avalanche have added some winger depth on the open market, signing Joonas Donskoi to a four-year contract worth a total of $15.6MM. That means the former San Jose Sharks forward will carry a cap hit of $3.9MM in Colorado, putting a little more pressure on him to perform in a bigger role.

Donskoi is coming off of an up-and-down season with San Jose.  He started off quite well, scoring 14 goals in the first 46 games of the season, providing the Sharks with some quality secondary scoring.  However, he faltered considerably down the stretch as he was held goalless over the final 34 games of the regular season while he scored just once in a dozen postseason contests.

The 27-year-old represents an intriguing option for Colorado.  If he can revert to his early season form, he could be a capable secondary piece for the Avalanche who also added Andre Burakovsky earlier this offseason.  However, if it turns out that his offensive outburst wasn’t a sign of things to come, this deal could be a tough one for the Avalanche down the road.

Stars Re-Sign Landon Bow

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The Stars have retained some goaltending depth, announcing the re-signing of Landon Bow to a one-year, two-way contract.  CapFriendly reports that the contract will be worth $700K at the NHL and contains $110K in guaranteed money.

Bow spent last season as the third-string netminder in Dallas and that’s as high on the depth chart as he’ll be able to get next year with Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin both returning.  He played in 46 games with AHL Texas, posting a 2.89 GAA with a .893 SV%.  The 23-year-old also made his NHL debut, getting into a pair of games with the Stars.

Bow could very well serve in a lesser role for 2019-20.  2017 first-round pick Jake Oettinger turned pro at the end of last season and got into six games with Texas soon after.  It’s likely that Dallas will want to give him the bulk of the starts to aid in his development which could force Bow into a reserve role.  Even so, it’s possible that he could be the first one recalled in the event that Bishop or Khudobin get injured rather than have Oettinger come up and sit on the bench most nights.

Blue Jackets Re-Sign Joonas Korpisalo

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The Blue Jackets have locked up part of their goaltending tandem for next season, announcing the re-signing of Joonas Korpisalo to a one-year contract.  CapFriendly reports the deal is worth $1.15MM.

With Sergei Bobrovsky expected to depart in free agency, Korpisalo is expected to have an opportunity to lock down the number one role next season, something that GM Jarmo Kekalainen alluded to in a statement:

The 2019-20 season will provide Joonas Korpisalo with a great opportunity to prove himself in the National Hockey League and I am confident that he is ready for that challenge.  He has played sparingly over the past three seasons and that can be difficult, especially for a young goaltender, but he has all the tools – size, quickness, athleticism and a passion to win – that it takes to be a very successful goaltender in this league.

Korpisalo played in 27 games with Columbus last season, posting a 2.95 GAA with a .897 SV%, a number that matched his career low.  Over parts of four NHL seasons, he has yet to really emerge as a potential starter of the future despite that being the hope for him for several years now.  But with Bobrovsky gone and prospect Elvis Merzlikins expected to be their other goalie, Korpisalo now has a chance to really solidify himself.

Accordingly, the one-year term should come as minimal surprise.  The 25-year-old will still be a restricted free agent next offseason with arbitration eligibility so if he can secure the starting role, a long-term deal at that time makes more sense.  If not, the team should easily be able to change direction between the pipes at that time.

UFA Notes: Hathaway, Lindberg, Gibbons, Lehner, Tanev, Chiarot

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Garnet Hathaway appears to be on his way out of Calgary.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the winger is looking at a few options in the East.  The 27-year-old is coming off a career year with the Flames that saw him go from a depth option to an important piece of their fourth line.  He chipped in with 19 points (11-8-19) in 78 games along with a team-high 200 hits.  That should be enough to land Hathaway a multi-year deal this summer at a nice raise over the $850K he made last season.

Other UFA notes this morning:

  • The Senators aren’t expected to re-sign center Oscar Lindberg and winger Brian Gibbons, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Both players were brought in near the trade deadline and Gibbons in particular finished up quite strong with 14 points in 20 games with Ottawa.  Meanwhile, Lindberg didn’t fare so well but as a 27-year-old pivot with a few decent years under his belt, he should have quite a few suitors on the open market.
  • Goaltender Robin Lehner declined a two-year, $10MM offer from the Islanders, reports Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest (Twitter link). The netminder had a career season which makes him one of the top goalies available but his struggles in his time with Buffalo are likely playing a role in him only receiving a short-term offer from New York.
  • The Jets won’t likely be able to retain defenseman Ben Chiarot or winger Brandon Tanev, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe (Twitter link). He notes that both players are likely to earn significant raises on what they made last season ($1.4MM AAV for Chiarot, $1.15MM for Tanev) which will price them out of what Winnipeg can afford.  The 28-year-old Chiarot logged 18:37 per night last season and is one of the more underrated blueliners in free agency while Tanev, 27, had a career season offensively with 29 points (14-15-29) while being among the league leaders in hits with 278.

Oilers Expected To Sign Markus Granlund

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The Oilers are poised to add some depth up front.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton is set to sign forward Markus Granlund to a one-year contract.  Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest reports (via Twitter) that the deal is worth $1.3MM.

Granlund was slated to become a restricted free agent this summer but Vancouver declined to tender him a $1.475MM qualifying offer.  The 26-year-old rebounded a bit offensively in 2018-19, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists in 78 games with the Canucks while averaging a little over 15 minutes per game of ice time.  However, he still came up short of his production from 2016-17 when he posted 32 points in 69 contests.

Granlund has spent time at all three forward positions and that type of versatility will certainly help Edmonton who has a variety of holes up front to fill and not a large amount of cap space to work with, even with yesterday’s buyout of Andrej Sekera.  It’s likely that Granlund will shuffle around the Oilers lineup in a variety of roles and a good showing with them could certainly bolster his market for next summer when he will once again be eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Maple Leafs Agree To Terms With Cody Ceci

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It hasn’t taken long for the Maple Leafs to work out a contract for new acquisition Cody Ceci.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that defenseman has verbally agreed to a one-year, $4.5MM contract with Toronto.

Ceci was officially acquired earlier today as part of a six-player swap that sent blueliner Nikita Zaitsev and winger Connor Brown to the Senators as the other notable players in the trade.  Interestingly enough, this contract matches what Zaitsev’s AAV is, meaning that the cap savings from the trade basically amounts to the different between Brown’s contract and that of Ben Harpur’s (a difference of $1.375MM).  Of course, Zaitsev has four years left on his deal after 2019-20 while Ceci will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at that time.

Ceci earns a small $200K raise on his contract from last season and will hope that a new team will bolster his market value.  He was miscast as a top-pairing option with the Senators due to their limited defensive depth and he was exposed in that role.  With the Maple Leafs, he shouldn’t be counted on to log as much ice time which could make him a better fit for them.

Next season will serve as an audition for the 25-year-old.  A good showing with Toronto could help him earn a long-term contract with them or really bolster his case on the open market.  However, if he struggles again, his value is going to take a dip as he’ll no longer have arbitration eligibility to help inflate his contract (where ice time is a large consideration).  Needless to say, 2019-20 will be a critical season for Ceci.

Senators Expected To Sign Ron Hainsey And Tyler Ennis

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A pair of former Maple Leafs appear to be on their way to Ottawa.  The Senators are closing in on signing forward Tyler Ennis to a one-year contract, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).  TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds (Twitter link) that defenseman Ron Hainsey is also expected to sign with the Sens.  Financial terms of the contract for Ennis aren’t yet known while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Hainsey’s deal will carry a $3.5MM AAV.

Ennis spent last season with Toronto after being bought out by Minnesota in June of 2018.  He fared relatively well in a limited role, managing to collect 18 points in 51 games despite averaging less than ten minutes a night of playing time, predominantly in a fourth line role.

It’s likely that Ennis will get a larger opportunity with Ottawa as he joins a roster that’s not as deep as Toronto’s.  It could be a good fit for both sides as the 29-year-old looks to prove that he can still be more of an offensive contributor while the Sens could conceivably flip him in a trade later next season to a team looking for more depth for the stretch run.  Ennis slotted in 41st on our Top 50 UFA Rankings.

Meanwhile, Hainsey wound up playing a big role with Toronto last season, averaging over 20 minutes a night on their back end for the second straight year.  While they had hoped to limit his ice time considering his age (38), he wound up spending most of the year in their top four, something that’s likely to be the case with Ottawa.  He’s expected to be a mentor on what’s a very young back end and, like Ennis, he immediately becomes a potential midseason trade candidate.  Hainsey earned the 29th spot in our UFA Rankings.

Curtis McElhinney Linked To Tampa Bay

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While the Lightning don’t have an obvious vacancy to fill between the pipes, they appear to be the front-runner to sign goaltender Curtis McElhinney, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link).  A deal is not believed to be finalized just yet.

The 36-year-old is coming off of a strong season with Carolina, who claimed him off waivers from Toronto at the end of training camp.  While he was originally intended to serve as a stopgap option with Scott Darling not being fully healthy to start the season, he quickly became a key part of their tandem alongside Petr Mrazek with Darling eventually being sent to the minors.

Overall, McElhinney set a new career high in wins (20) while posting a 2.58 GAA and a .912 SV% in 33 starts with Carolina last season.  He also got into five postseason games when Mrazek was injured, compiling a 2.01 GAA with a .930 SV%.  That performance has vaulted him from being a run of the mill backup to someone who entered the market as one of the more intriguing options available.

If Tampa Bay does indeed sign him, it calls into question the future of current backup Louis Domingue, who had a decent performance in 2018-19.  An injury to Andrei Vasilevskiy forced him to play more than expected as he wound up playing in 26 games, compiling a 2.88 GAA with a .908 SV%.   The 27-year-old is signed for one more season at $1.15MM, almost all of which would come off their books if he was sent to the minors.  Alternatively, he could become a trade option depending on how the rest of the goaltending market shakes out.

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