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Archives for July 2019

Philadelphia Flyers Might Have To Move A Defenseman

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The Philadelphia Flyers still are trying to sign several restricted free agents, including Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, but with the two sides being far apart so far in negotiations, there is quite a bit of concern when it comes to Provorov. While it’s likely that the two sides will eventually come to an agreement, especially since Provorov’s camp is waiting for Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski to sign first to provide some new comparables, the team could find themselves with too much depth on defense.

The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) writes that if Provorov signs, the team will have eight NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster and unless the team is willing to roll with just 13 forwards next season, the Flyers will have to make a move to get to seven. Some forwards are obviously going no where. The team has two top-four defenseman already in Shayne Gosthisbehere and Provorov, while the team traded for Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun to add veteran leadership to their defense. The team is also really high on youngsters Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, which leaves the team just two potential candidates to move.

The most obvious choice would be to send down Samuel Morin. He has potential, but has struggled to make an impact with Philadelphia so far. The problem is that the Flyers would be required to put him on waivers this season and risk losing the 24-year-old for nothing if another team puts a claim on him. While he only has eight games of NHL experience on his resume, there are some teams that would be quite interested in a 6-foot-6 defenseman who might be ready to become an NHL regular.

The only other option for the Flyers would be Robert Hagg, who already has two years of NHL experience and put up 20 points last season. While the team likes him, the team acquired a very similar player in Braun, who is more experienced and better defensively. Many have already wondered if the acquisition of Braun was meant as a sign that the team intends to move on from Hagg. However, Hagg is also no longer waiver-exempt and would almost assuredly would get claimed if Philadelphia put him on waivers, suggesting the team’s only option would be to trade him.

Regardless, no matter what, if the team doesn’t end up in a holdout situation with Provorov, which could be what the Flyers are waiting to find out before making a decision, the team must make a move at some point.

Ryan Murphy Signs In KHL

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After spending seven years trying to break his way into an NHL lineup, Ryan Murphy, has decided to leave North America. The defenseman has decided to head over to the KHL as Igor Eronko of NHL.com reports that the 26-year-old has agreed to a one-year pact with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

Murphy, who was the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, has never managed to earn himself a full-time NHL role. Murphy has only played in 175 NHL contests in his seven years in the league, the most being with Carolina, where he was a part-time player, but always spent a large chunk of his seasons in the AHL. However, he had a rough season this past year after signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Minnesota Wild. Murphy started his season with the Iowa Wild in the AHL and did make two appearances with Minnesota, but was traded after the all-star break to New Jersey. Minnesota, who was desperately looking for defensive depth at this point in the year, didn’t think that Murphy was part of their solution and went out and acquired a number of depth defensemen, including Brad Hunt and Anthony Bitetto, prompting the team to ship out Murphy. He didn’t fare much better in New Jersey. He played just one game for the Devils before sent back to the AHL where he played 23 games for Binghamton, He finished the season there with 10 assists there and a career-worst minus-16 plus-minus rating.

In the KHL, he will join former Iowa Wild teammate Zack Mitchell, who signed with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk earlier this summer, and will hope to play regular minutes for a team that missed out on the playoffs last season.

 

Atlantic Notes: Panthers, Schmaltz, Point

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The Florida Panthers are making a big push to become a winning team now and hope that after the acquisition of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky as well as Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari will be enough to get there. One reason the team wants to win now is that the Panthers have only reached the playoffs five times in their 25 year history and its time for that to change.

However, The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that another reason that the team has pushed up its intensity towards fielding the best team possible is that it still has many core players who are under reasonable contracts, but that could change in the next three years. Aleksander Barkov has just three years remaining at a team-friendly $5.9MM and then will likely see his salary skyrocket. Vincent Trocheck also has three years remaining at a reasonable $4.75MM and Jonathan Huberdeau is currently the longest tenured forward at four years at $5.9MM. Already next season, the franchise will have to make some costly decisions on Mike Hoffman, who has one year remaining at $5.19MM, and Evgenii Dadonov makes $4MM for one more year. Both are expected to score big raises, especially if they can keep their offense going this season.

With the potential of eventually losing a number of their top forwards, the Panthers are making it clear that they want to win with this group now rather than hope their young prospects can quickly replace those that will eventually leave.

  • After acquiring defenseman Jordan Schmaltz Thursday from the St. Louis Blues, it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ main reasoning might have been to get a solid replacement for recently traded Calle Rosen. The Maple Leafs had high hopes for Rosen, but because he was left-handed, there was concern how he might fit into the lineup. The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons writes that the team liked Schmaltz because he was right-handed and was an impressive skater, something that Andreas Borgman isn’t. While he doesn’t necessarily have Rosen’s upside, Schmaltz at least should be able to provide better depth for the team on that side.
  • Diana Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Tampa Bay Lightning fans that are constantly worried about the fact that restricted free agent Brayden Point hasn’t signed a contract yet, need to stop worrying. The scribe writes that there is plenty of cap space, up to $11.4MM, once they place Ryan Callahan on LTIR and the fact that Montreal showed interest in having Point sign an offer sheet even before they signed Sebastian Aho to one and he refused is a sign that he has every intention of staying in Tampa Bay.

Snapshots: De Haan, Engelland, Capitals

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While defenseman Calvin de Haan was deemed as likely to miss the start of next season after undergoing shoulder surgery back in May, he told reporters, including Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link) that he’s hopeful to be ready to go when the puck drops in October.  The initial timeline for recovery was four-to-six months so if he does get the green light to play to start the season, he’ll be pretty close to the best-case scenario.  The Blackhawks acquired the 28-year-old earlier this summer from Carolina and with them starting the season in the Czech Republic, it’s certainly possible that they could hold him out of their opener and give him nearly an extra week to further recover.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • While many expected that veteran defenseman Deryk Engelland would end up staying with the Golden Knights, he told Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he still received one-year offers from other teams this summer. However, he ultimately waited for Vegas to clear out David Clarkson’s contract before signing a one-year, bonus-laden deal to stick around.  While he’ll be 38 by the end of next season, Engelland admitted that he’s not viewing the upcoming campaign as his final year and that he anticipates playing another season beyond this one, preferably in Vegas.
  • Although the Capitals need to clear up a bit of salary cap space over the next couple of months, that’s not going to be their only priority the rest of this offseason. Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic notes (subscription required) that GM Brian MacLellan plans to sit down with center Nicklas Backstrom and goaltender Braden Holtby next month to begin the process of discussing their futures with the team beyond 2019-20.  Both players are slated to become unrestricted free agents next summer and will be looking for raises on their current deals ($6.7MM for Backstrom, $6.1MM for Holtby).  With Washington’s tight salary cap situation, they may not be able to afford to give both the pay increases they may be seeking.

Marcus Pettersson Doesn’t Intend To Re-Sign With Pittsburgh Until They Clear Cap Room

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With the Penguins re-signing center Zach Aston-Reese earlier this week, they’re down to just one remaining restricted free agent in defenseman Marcus Pettersson.  However, it doesn’t appear as if a contract will be getting done for him anytime soon.  His agent, Peter Wallen, told Dave Molinari of DK Pittsburgh Sports that they are waiting for the team to make a move to free up salary cap space before agreeing to a new deal.

As things stand, Pittsburgh is basically right against the $81.5MM Upper Limit depending on who fills the final few spots on their roster.  GM Jim Rutherford has indicated that he doesn’t believe he needs to make a move to add cap room and that they’re content running with a roster size below the maximum of 23 in order to make that happen.

However, it’s hard to argue that Pettersson doesn’t deserve a raise on his base salary of $832.5K from last season.  After being acquired from Anaheim, the 23-year-old played a regular role for them, logging nearly 18 minutes a night in 57 games while chipping in with a respectable 19 points as well.  While he didn’t have salary arbitration eligibility, he has done well enough to surpass the $1MM mark on his next deal, a price tag that the team probably can’t afford at this moment.

While Wallen indicated that Pettersson wants to be signed well before training camp gets underway in order to get a work visa in place so that he doesn’t miss any time, he also stated that the blueliner is willing to be patient:

There’s no rush.  We have good conversations with management. We’re not in a fight or anything. The communication is good. We know where they are. We know what they want to do.

As teams have made their final settlements with their arbitration-eligible players, there are a few teams around the league that are going to be dealing with a cap crunch.  Pittsburgh appears to be one of those squads as they look to get Pettersson signed in the weeks to come.

Free Agent Profile: Ben Lovejoy

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Veteran defenseman Ben Lovejoy is someone who was in demand at the trade deadline and has typically been viewed as a capable option on the third pairing.  Despite that, he finds himself still on the lookout for a new contract more than three weeks into free agency.

Last season, the 35-year-old was largely a regular defender for the Devils before they became sellers at the trade deadline.  Several teams showed interest but he was ultimately dealt to Dallas as the Stars wanted to add depth for their push to the postseason.

While Lovejoy’s ice time dipped down the stretch to a little under 16 minutes per night, that changed in the postseason as he jumped back up over the 18-minute mark, right in line with his career averages that span over 500 regular season games.  That ranked fifth on the team and he was pretty close to Roman Polak who wound up with top-four minutes in the postseason.

Lovejoy is a very limited player at this stage of his career which certainly isn’t helping his value now.  He doesn’t bring much in the way of offense to the table nor is he a strong skater or puck mover.  He’s an old school stay-at-home blueliner that can be counted on to help kill penalties and provide a shot-blocking presence; the only time in the last six years that he hasn’t passed the 100 block mark was 2017-18 when injuries limited him to just 57 games.  Those aren’t elements that are typically in high demand at this point of the summer but as the season progresses and injuries take their toll, players of this type of ilk become a lot more appealing to some teams.

Potential Suitors

While it’s quite possible that Lovejoy ultimately winds up with a contender by the February 24th trade deadline, there’s a good chance he won’t wind up starting with one.  At this point, his market is largely limited to teams that could view him as an upgrade on their third pairing, as injury insurance, or as veteran leadership for a younger team.

That said, one contending team that could make some sense is Tampa Bay.  Of their four right-shot defenders that project to make a push for a roster, spot, three of them were in the minors for points of last season and the one that wasn’t is better off being deployed as a right winger at this point (Luke Witkowski).  If Lovejoy is willing to sign for close to the league minimum (a requirement given their salary cap situation), he could be an end-of-roster upgrade.

As for some other fits in the West, Anaheim’s defensive depth isn’t what it once was.  While they could certainly give some of their prospects a look (something that would make some sense with Dallas Eakins now behind the bench), adding a veteran like Lovejoy could also be useful.  Chicago only has Brent Seabrook and Connor Murphy as proven fits on the right side while youngster Adam Boqvist may not be quite ready for NHL action yet so there could be a spot for Lovejoy there.  A return to Dallas isn’t entirely implausible either, especially if they wind up dealing away youngster Julius Honka as many expect to see happen in the weeks to come.

Projected Contract

Lovejoy ranked 40th on our Top 50 UFA list with a projected contract of one year and $1MM plus an additional $900K in performance bonuses.  He’s eligible to have those as long as he signs a one-year deal.  If the summer progresses without much progress being made on a new contract, signing a bonus-laden pact may open up a few more options for Lovejoy closer to training camp.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Overseas Notes: Rychel, Enstrom, KHL

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After years of trying to find his place in the NHL, former top prospect turned journeyman Kerby Rychel has decided to take his talents to Sweden. Orebro HK of the SHL announced today that Rychel has signed a one-year contract with the club. Rychel brings with him nearly 300 games worth of AHL experience, as well as 43 NHL games. The 19th overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013, Rychel entered the pro level with high expectations as both the son of respected former player and OHL executive Warren Rychel and as a player who had done serious damage on the score sheet at the junior level. Rychel looked to be on his way to becoming an established NHL player when he suited up for 32 games with Columbus in his second pro season, but a trade to Toronto – in exchange for current Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington – altered his trajectory. Rychel never played a single game for the Maple Leafs, spending close to two full seasons with the AHL’s Marlies. He was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens at the tail end of the 2017-18 season as part of the package for rental Tomas Plekanec. Despite performing well in a brief showing with the Habs, Rychel was traded again last summer to the Calgary Flames for Hunter Shinkaruk. Even as he was enjoying the best per-game production of his AHL career with the Stockton Heat, Rychel earned just two appearances with the Flames and the team did not make him a qualifying offer earlier this summer. Putting a tumultuous NHL career behind him, Rychel will now try his hand at the SHL. Orebro struggled last season, finishing tenth out of 14 teams and will be glad to add an experienced talent like Rychel. Between he, fellow new addition Ryan Stoa, and returning top liner Shane Harper, Orebro should pack some more offensive punch next season.

  • Given the lackluster NHL free agent market this summer, it’s no surprise that few veterans who had previously made the jump to Europe have been able to find a fit back in North America. Count defenseman Tobias Enstrom among that group. The 34-year-old has re-signed with his hometown team, MODO of the Swedish minor league Allsvenkan, the club announced. It is a new one-year deal for the captain, who returned to Sweden last off-season. A career member of the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise, Enstrom found himself without a home for the first time in 11 years last summer as a free agent without a market. He held out hope, waiting for an offer until late August, before opting to head home. In returning to MODO, the team he grew up playing for – albeit in the SHL at that time – Enstrom took on a leadership and also saw a spike in his production. MODO hopes that the strong play continues from their veteran ace, as the team looks to contend for promotion back to the SHL in the upcoming season.
  • The quiet NHL free agent market has had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the European leagues, as few players left their respective clubs while talent continues to come over from North America. While Sweden has had a strong off-season in the import business, the winner thus far in terms of NHL additions is unsurprisingly the KHL, considered to be the best of the European leagues. Among the players who have signed in the KHL this off-season are forwards Sven Andrighetto, Ty Rattie, Nikita Soshnikov, Jori Lehtera, Peter Holland, and Lukas Sedlak, defensemen Andrej Sustr, Igor Ozhiganov, Bogdan Kiselevich, and Jakub Jerabek, and goaltender Harri Sateri. It’s a valuable influx of talent for a league that is seeking better competitive balance.

Michael McCarron Re-Signs With Montreal

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The last of the Montreal Canadiens’ restricted free agents is signed, as Michael McCarron has come to terms on a new deal with his team. The Canadiens reported a one-year, two-way extension with the forward. The deal carries a minimum $700K salary at the NHL level and a $125K salary at the AHL level, with $150K guaranteed. McCarron will be an RFA with arbitration rights again next summer, though he opted to not exercise those rights this offseason.

McCarron, 24, has had somewhat of a backwards pro career thus far. A 2013 first-round pick, McCarron was a rare prospect who had spent considerable time with both the U.S. National Team Development Program and at the Canadian major junior level, excelling in both places by using his massive 6’6″, 220-lb. frame at both ends of the ice. McCarron turned pro in 2015 and played in 20 games with Montreal as a rookie. He then played in 31 more with the Habs as a sophomore. However, while the team had given him more than a fair shake, the production had not matched the opportunity. By the end of 2017-18, a season spent mostly in the minors, McCarron had just eight points to show for 69 NHL games. As a result, he spent the entirety of this past season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Montreal hopes that McCarron’s size and the scoring ability he has flashed in the minors will eventually come together into an effective NHL contributor. However, until that happens consistently in the AHL, McCarron is unlikely to be back with the Canadiens on a regular basis. CapFriendly currently projects the big right winger to be in the minors this season. He won’t be alone though; Montreal currently has 25 players listed on their NHL roster via CapFriendly, a number that will have to be thinned in training camp. It’s also fair to speculate that, with all of their RFA’s signed and cap space remaining despite the overloaded roster, that the Canadiens could go back on the hunt this off-season for yet another NHL piece, after a swing and a miss on their Sebastian Aho offer sheet.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign David Rittich

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After a hot start to salary arbitration season with three hearings, things have cooled off of late with a slew of contract resolutions. Add another to the list, as the Calgary Flames and goaltender David Rittich have come to terms on an extension. The team announced that the 26-year-old net minder has signed on for two years at an AAV of $2.75MM. Rittich will be an unrestricted free agent when the deal expires after the 2020-21 season.

The Flames now have their 1A goalie back under contract, as Rittich outplayed veteran Mike Smith last season, earning 42 starts to Smith’s 40. Rittich posted career-high numbers in his second season as a Calgary regular, recording a .911 save percentage and 2.61 GAA. Not only were these numbers a personal best and substantially better than Smith’s, they were also top-20 marks among goalies with appearances in at least half of their team’s games, showing that Rittich could hold his own as the Flames’ top option. Given his age and level of play, albeit in limited appearances, it still seems like Calgary got a good value on this $5.5MM pact.

Still just 26 and without a lot of tread on the tires as timeshare goalie in the Czech pro ranks for many years, Rittich has the potential to continue improving as well. He will certainly be pushed in the upcoming season, as Smith has been replaced by the younger and arguably more talented Cam Talbot. Talbot signed a one-year deal this off-season with a $2.75 AAV that matches Rittich’s. The salaries would suggest an even split in net, but the incumbent Rittich has the advantage in familiarity and longer-term investment and should get the preference early on. If he can again prove that he is the superior option to a respected veteran, Rittich could see even more appearances in 2019-20 than he did last year, and perhaps another career performance as well.

The Rittich deal, although more than fair, does add more pressure to the Flames’ salary cap conundrum. CapFriendly currently projects the team to have $4.67MM in cap space. With Matthew Tkachuk still unsigned, as well as Andrew Mangiapane, that simply won’t be enough. Since Rittich had filed for arbitration, the Flames’ second case after their recent resolution with Sam Bennett, the team will be afforded a second buyout window, a 48-hour opportunity to rid themselves of a large contract that could help them sort out their financials. However, there is no obvious candidate for such a move and the team could instead continue shopping defensemen Travis Hamonic and T.J. Brodie and forward Michael Frolik in hopes of opening up more space.

Capitals Re-Sign Chandler Stephenson

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7/27: Washington has confirmed the terms of the contract, highlighting his strong play in the postseason this year in their press release. This could be to build up excitement for a player the team feels still has room to grow into a regular contributor or, as some have speculated, could be a sales tactic for a player who may be on the chopping block for the cap-strapped Capitals.

7/26: The Capitals have avoided salary arbitration with winger Chandler Stephenson.  CapFriendly reports that Washington has signed him to a one-year, $1.05MM contract.  He was previously scheduled to go for his hearing on August 1st.

The 25-year-old was once again in Washington’s rotation of fourth line players last season.  He played in 64 games, recording five goals and six assists while averaging 12:07 per night.  Stephenson was a fixture on their penalty kill when he was in the lineup, logging 1:46 per game, good for the fourth-most among Capital forwards.  He also suited up in six of their seven postseason contests where he was held off the scoresheet.

With the Caps losing a bit of depth over the summer, Stephenson should have a chance to compete for a full-time roster spot in training camp which would go a long way towards boosting his value for next summer where he will once again be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights.

Washington now has some work to do when it comes to the salary cap.  They presently sit roughly $1.3MM over the Upper Limit (per CapFriendly) though they could cut into that deficit by carrying a roster size less than the maximum of 23.  As Stephenson was their final arbitration case, they’ll have a 48-hour buyout window open up on Monday although with the minimum salary requirement for a buyout being $3.45MM, it’s quite unlikely that they’ll be going that route.  Instead, GM Brian MacLellan will likely look to try to make a small trade to free up some cap room over the next couple of months.

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