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Archives for September 2020

Overseas Loans: Hajek, Tarasov, Almari

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Prospect loans continue all around the league as NHL teams try to find playing time for their young talent. A flurry of moves were announced today, including:

  • While Libor Hajek of the New York Rangers was supposed to be heading to HC Kometa Brno, he’ll now join HC Olomouc of the Czech professional league instead. In an interview with iSport, Hajek confirmed the change and explained that it’s closer to where he is currently living and training. Now 22, Hajek played in 28 games for the Rangers this season, recording five points. The 37th overall pick from 2016, he was part of the Ryan McDonagh trade in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  • Daniil Tarasov, another member of the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltending pipeline, will take his talents to the KHL for this season, joining HC Salavat Yulaev for 2020-21. Tarasov, 21, played in Finland last season on loan from the Blue Jackets and put up an .899 save percentage in 41 matches. The 6’5″ Russian goaltender was a third-round pick in 2017 and is in the second year of his three-year entry-level contract with Columbus.
  • Along with Jesse Ylonen, whose name was brought up yesterday, Niclas Almari will also be loaned to the Lahti Pelicans in Finland. The 22-year-old defenseman was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019 and played 51 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season. While Ylonen is only overseas until an NHL season begins, Almari will be staying with the Pelicans for the entire 2020-21 season according to the team.

Kyle Clifford To Test Free Agency

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Just yesterday we profiled the Toronto Maple Leafs free agent situation, and our Brian La Rose wrote this in regards to pending UFA Kyle Clifford:

There’s mutual interest in a new contract but it’s worth noting that Los Angeles paid down half of his $1.6MM price tag in the move.  If Clifford wants a similar contract – and he should be able to get that even in a depressed market – he will almost certainly price himself out of the range that the Maple Leafs can afford to pay.

The suggestion that Clifford will be a bit too pricey for the Maple Leafs has been confirmed today, as his agent told Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that Clifford will test the open market. Not only will the 29-year-old forward be looking for more than the Maple Leafs can likely pay a fourth-line forward (that is, the league minimum), but his re-signing was also tied to a draft pick condition from his trade in February. Had the Maple Leafs re-signed Clifford, the 2021 third-round pick they surrendered in the trade with the Los Angeles Kings would be upgraded to a 2021 second-round selection.

It’s easy to see Clifford as just a forgettable depth forward after the Maple Leafs used him so sparingly, but it’s also important to remember that he has two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings and actually scored 11 goals in 2018-19 despite averaging just over ten minutes of ice time a night. The physical forward can skate well enough to keep up with today’s game and has actually helped drive strong possession numbers at times.

While he won’t be jumping into any team’s top-six next season, it makes sense that Clifford and his representatives want to test the open market to see what kind of contract he can secure. Coming off a five-year $8MM deal with the Kings, it will be interesting to see if he can land close to that $1.6MM AAV on his next deal.

For the Maple Leafs, letting Clifford reach free agency always seemed like the likely outcome because of the pick condition, but the team also has some other players pushing for roster spots. Top prospect Nicholas Robertson came in and showed off some of his skill in the postseason, while older forwards like Alexander Barabanov, Egor Korshkov, and Adam Brooks will all be in the mix for NHL roster spots. There’s also free agent Jason Spezza, who has indicated his desire to return to the team next season and newcomer Evan Rodrigues who is a restricted free agent but could work out a deal with the team as a bottom-six option.

Adam Werner Loaned To HC Vita Hasten

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While goaltending depth was perhaps eventually the downfall of the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs, you can’t say that they didn’t try to build up the pipeline. The team ended up with Michael Hutchinson starting for them in the postseason but also have some young talent pushing for a larger opportunity. While Hunter Miska needs a new contract this offseason as a restricted free agent, Adam Werner, his minor league partner, will be headed overseas to keep his game sharp.

Werner has been loaned to HC Vita Hasten in the Swedish second league until NHL training camps open for the 2020-21 season. You may remember the 23-year-old goaltender from his two appearances with the Avalanche this season, where he posted a .914 save percentage including what really should have been credited as a shutout in his debut. On November 12, Werner was forced into the game in relief of Pavel Francouz after just 31 seconds and stopped all 40 shots he faced from the Winnipeg Jets.

The young goaltender had a .909 save percentage at the AHL level this season but has been a dominant performer in the SHL before, meaning he could be quite the weapon for his new Allsvenskan team. With no real certainty in the Colorado net past next season, Werner’s development will be an interesting story to watch this year.

Rasmus Asplund Loaned To Vasteras IK

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The Buffalo Sabres have loaned one of their young forwards overseas, sending Rasmus Asplund to Vasteras IK of the Swedish second league. Asplund had been training with the team for months but is now officially allowed to play in games until NHL training camps start.

Asplund, 22, played in 29 games for the Sabres this season, recording his first three NHL points. The 33rd overall pick in 2016, he has 69 points in 108 AHL games over the past two years and is a real candidate to grab a full-time roster spot in Buffalo for 2020-21. Getting some more development time in Sweden will only help that goal, given the uncertainty around the upcoming AHL season.

The young forward is heading into the final year of his entry-level contract, meaning he’ll need a new deal next summer when he becomes a restricted free agent for the first time. You can bet he’d like some more NHL experience to use in those negotiations, though Asplund will not be arbitration-eligible. For now, he’ll play in a league he skipped entirely when he moved from the junior ranks directly to the SHL as a teenager.

Offseason Keys: Calgary Flames

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As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the official first round.  Next up is a look at Calgary.

It has certainly been a disappointing last year and a half for the Flames.  After a quick exit at the hands of Colorado in the 2019 playoffs, GM Brad Treliving didn’t shake things up too much and instead just tweaked a few veteran players.  Things weren’t much better this season.  Bill Peters resigned following reports of abusive behaviour in the past and the team played a bit better when assistant Geoff Ward took over in an interim role (and was promoted to the full-time spot just yesterday).  However, it didn’t yield much in the way of playoff success; although they beat Winnipeg in the Qualifying Round, they were taken out by Dallas soon after.  This time around, bigger changes are expected meaning there is a lot at stake for Calgary this offseason.

Determine The Size Of The Forward Shakeup

When a team bows out quicker than expected once, it’s understandable if a GM decides to give that core group another chance if he believes that they can turn it around.  When it happens a second time in as many years as is the case here, patience isn’t going to be as justifiable.  The decision to give Ward the permanent head coaching position takes one of Treliving’s potential cards out of play which means the changes are going to have to come from their personnel.

Two of their top offensive players in center Sean Monahan and winger Johnny Gaudreau are coming off of quiet regular seasons.  After putting up 99 points a year ago, Gaudreau’s output dropped to just 58 while Monahan went from 82 to 48.  Yes, missing the final dozen games due to the pandemic skews the numbers a little but it was still a big letdown nonetheless.  Things weren’t much better in the playoffs either.  Gaudreau had seven points in 10 games but all but one came with the man advantage.  The ratio was only slightly better for Monahan who had five of his eight points on the power play.  Gaudreau has two years left and Monahan has three.  Treliving will need to decide if he’s willing to shake up the core with one of them potentially being moved or if he’ll dip a little deeper into his roster.

If he opts for the latter, Mark Jankowski is a likely trade candidate following a dreadful seven points in 56 games while Derek Ryan could be expendable in his walk year.  But moving those two players isn’t going to move the needle very much.  How much confidence does Treliving have in his forward group?  We’re going to find out soon enough.

Find A Starting Goalie

With David Rittich coming off of a nice rookie season, the decision to go out and add Cam Talbot in free agency made sense for Calgary.  Talbot was someone that was coming off of a tough year but had shown himself to be capable of playing more than a typical backup.  He’d bring a bit of upside while being an insurance policy for the inexperienced Rittich.

The results were mixed.  Talbot played a bit less than expected but put up his best numbers in several years.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that Rittich took a big step back.  It was telling that Talbot made every postseason start as well.

Talbot now hits the open market as one of the more intriguing goalies out there.  There aren’t going to be many starting opportunities available but he is well-positioned to land at least a stronger platoon role than what he had this year.  Rittich, meanwhile, is signed for another year at $2.75MM before being eligible for unrestricted free agency himself in 2021.

At this point, it’s hard to envision either of the two goalies being considered for the starting spot next season.  These next few weeks figure to feature a lot of movement between the pipes between trades and free agency.  With their prospects not being ready for prime time duty just yet, the Flames need to add a more proven starter ahead of Rittich if they want to head into next season feeling more confident about their chances.

Reshape The Defense

The back end has been a staple of the Flames for a while now but changes are on the horizon.  No fewer than five veteran defenders are set to hit the open market next month in T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Derek Forbort, Erik Gustafsson, and Michael Stone.  With more than $64MM in commitments already for next season to just 14 players, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to bring back more than one of Brodie or Hamonic while Forbort and Gustafsson will likely find bigger roles if they go elsewhere.

As things stand, just three veterans are under contract for next season in Mark Giordano, Noah Hanifin, and Rasmus Andersson (whose six-year extension is set to come into effect).  Juuso Valimaki is also signed and on his entry-level deal but he missed all of this season after tearing his ACL last summer while training.  He’s likely going to be on the team but counting on him to have a big role would be risky considering how much time he missed.  Oliver Kylington is a restricted free agent and should be back as well but he is more of a depth option at this point as is Alexander Yelesin who enters the final year of his deal.  College free agency signing Connor Mackey is worth keeping an eye on but it’s unlikely he’d step into an impact role right away either.

This presents an opportunity for the Flames to reshape things a bit.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to funnel a bit of their previous spending either into adding a more prominent goalie or some more firepower up front.  If they can’t bring back one of Brodie or Hamonic, they’ll likely have to try to add a new rearguard or two.  Depth defenders are available in free agency but if they want a top-four option, they’ll likely have to turn to the trade market and if it’s an impact defenseman that they want to add, it’ll take more than a depth forward or two to get one.  Changes appear to be on the way for Calgary’s defensive group.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canadiens Loan Jesse Ylonen To Finland

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While Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen left his Finnish team late in the season to get a head start on playing in North America, his time playing at home isn’t over yet.  GM Marc Bergevin confirmed to Mathias Brunet of La Presse that Montreal has loaned the winger to Pelicans Lahti of the SM-liiga.

The 20-year-old was a second-round pick (35th) overall back in 2018 and has spent the last two years with Pelicans.  His offensive numbers dipped a little bit in his sophomore campaign but he still managed to finish fourth in team scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 53 games.  He left the team in late February to report to Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval for their stretch run but he was hurt upon arrival and the pandemic arrived soon after so he never got the chance to suit up.

Instead, he’ll play back at home for a few months while awaiting the beginning of NHL training camp which is when he will return to Montreal.  Bergevin confirmed that their other three prospects on loan – defenseman Otto Leskinen, center Lukas Vejdemo, and winger Hayden Verbeek – will also all be recalled from their loans whenever camp gets underway.

Wild Shopping Matt Dumba

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Following a quiet season, Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba’s name was already coming up in trade speculation.  One of him or Jonas Brodin seemed to be candidates to be moved with Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon already locked up long-term.  Brodin’s chances of being dealt dropped considerably today following the announcement of a seven-year, $42MM extension that now puts them in a situation of having four blueliners making at least $6MM for 2021-22.  That’s a lot of defensive spending and it’s not likely a long-term recipe for success.

GM Bill Guerin is certainly aware of this.  Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that Minnesota is receiving plenty of calls on Dumba’s availability but also that the 26-year-old was being actively shopped prior to Brodin’s contract getting done.

Two seasons ago, it looked as if Dumba had turned the corner offensively after putting up 14 goals and 36 assists while playing in every game.  He was on pace to beat those numbers in 2018-19 with 12 goals and 10 helpers in just 32 contests before suffering a ruptured pectoral muscle in a fight which ended his season prematurely.  The good news this season is that Dumba was able to play in all 69 games before the pandemic hit but the bad news is that he managed just six goals and 24 points, numbers that were well below his expectations.

Nevertheless, there should still be a sizable market for the most recent King Clancy Trophy winner.  He is signed through 2022-23 at a $6MM price tag, a rate that is manageable for someone that has logged at least 22:30 per game over each of the last three seasons and his past offensive prowess.  On top of that, the fact that he’s a right-shot player (which is often in high demand and short supply) should help Minnesota receive a strong return for him if he indeed winds up being on the move.

Guerin hasn’t hidden the fact that the Wild are in dire need of an impact player down the middle.  Even with the recent acquisition of Nick Bjugstad, their depth at center is weak.  Veteran Eric Staal is entering the final year of his contract as is checker Joel Eriksson Ek while Victor Rask, a speculative buyout candidate, has two years remaining.  There isn’t much help in free agency so if they plan to make an impact addition at that spot, it will have to come via the trade market.

Dumba seems like an ideal candidate to try to use to fill that spot.  While impact centers are hard to acquire, so too are top-four right-shot defenders with multiple years of control at a reasonable rate so there is bound to be some notable pivots made available to try to secure Dumba’s services.

It’s also worth noting that Dumba is now the only one of Minnesota’s core four on their back end without any sort of active trade protection.  He has a 10-team no-trade clause that is set to kick in for 2021-22 but for now, he can be moved anywhere without his approval.

And, of course, there is also Seattle’s expansion draft to keep in mind.  The most common protection is seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie.  If they followed that scheme, Dumba would unprotected by default as Suter, Spurgeon, and Brodin all have no-move clauses.  While it’s possible to protect more than three blueliners by going to eight skaters and a goalie, that would mean they’d risk losing a better forward to the Kraken.  Moving Dumba now would alleviate that future concern.

During his press call today to discuss the Brodin deal, Guerin indicated that they don’t have to move a defender and that he’s happy with his group as currently constructed.  But even with Dumba coming off of a quieter season by his standards, his trade value should still be quite strong.  With that in mind and today’s Brodin deal, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Dumba on the move in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Toronto Maple Leafs

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Toronto has a few veterans that are likely to move on in free agency while there are a few restricted free agents of note as well.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Travis Dermott – While the 23-year-old hasn’t quite taken off offensively as he or the Maple Leafs had hoped, he has nevertheless secured a regular spot on their back end as a capable puck-mover.  He’s squarely third on the depth chart among left-shot options behind Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.  That, paired up with his quiet offensive numbers and no arbitration rights, has Dermott on track for a short-term bridge contract.

F Ilya Mikheyev – One of the more sought-after players in international free agency in the 2019 offseason, Mikheyev made a strong first impression with Toronto before having his wrist sliced open by the skate blade of Jesper Bratt put a premature end to his rookie campaign.  However, he was able to return for the Qualifying Round against Columbus so he should be good to go moving forward.  He turns 26 next month and is already arbitration-eligible which makes him one of the more interesting cases.  23 points in 39 games is impressive but those are his only NHL numbers which makes finding eligible comparable players quite difficult.  This feels like a situation where Toronto would like to give him a multi-year deal and buy out some UFA eligibility but with their salary cap situation, that will be difficult.  Nevertheless, expect Mikheyev to sign for a fair bit more than his $874K qualifying offer.

F Evan Rodrigues – His stock fell quite a bit this season.  After back-to-back campaigns of 25 points or more, it looked like he had become a regular with Buffalo.  However, he fell out of favor with head coach Ralph Krueger and was dealt to Pittsburgh where playing time was harder to come by; he didn’t even suit up in their early exit to Montreal.  Rodrigues was curiously part of the Kasperi Kapanen trade recently.  While it’s unlikely that Toronto tenders a $2MM qualifier, they may use this time to try to see if he’s willing to take a cheaper deal.

Other RFAs: F Jeremy Bracco, F Frederik Gauthier, F Denis Malgin, F Max Veronneau

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Tyson Barrie – Sometimes, a change of scenery can bring out the best in a player and other times, it doesn’t work out.  Barrie’s case fits in the latter category.  A year removed from a career-best 59 points with Colorado, his inclusion in the Nazem Kadri trade looked to present a big opportunity for a new benchmark in points and a pricey contract on the open market.  Instead, he struggled early and never quite found his footing.  Overall, his 39 points (5-34-39) is still well above average for a defenseman but instead of commanding $7MM or more in free agency, he’ll likely have to accept something closer to the $5.5MM he made on his most recent deal.  On the surface, Barrie feels like a candidate for a one-year pillow deal to try to restore some value and try his hand for a big contract a year from now.

D Cody Ceci – Included as salary ballast in last summer’s Nikita Zaitsev deal with Ottawa, Ceci managed to log more than 20 minutes a night in ice time for the fourth straight season.  He’s a right-shot defender and is only 26; he’s already eligible for unrestricted status due to his seven years of NHL service time.  Typically, players with this profile should have considerable demand but Ceci is one of the more polarizing blueliners in the league.  He has more offensive upside than the eight points he put up this season but he’s prone to some untimely mistakes as well.  His defenders will point to some advanced stats that paint him in a more favorable light, making a case of the eye test versus the numbers.  That might limit his suitors a little bit but he should have no issues finding another team for next season but he’ll have to take a cut in pay from the $4.5MM he made this year.

F Kyle Clifford – The veteran was brought in as part of the Jack Campbell trade to give Toronto some grit for the playoffs and he did fine in that role.  There’s mutual interest in a new contract but it’s worth noting that Los Angeles paid down half of his $1.6MM price tag in the move.  If Clifford wants a similar contract – and he should be able to get that even in a depressed market – he will almost certainly price himself out of the range that the Maple Leafs can afford to pay.

Other UFAs: F David Clarkson, F Tyler Gaudet, D Kevin Gravel, G Kasimir Kaskisuo, F Matt Lorito, F Nathan Horton, F Miikka Salomaki, F Jason Spezza, F Garrett Wilson

Projected Cap Space

Even after clearing Kapanen’s deal off the books, Toronto has about $77.25MM tied up in 20 players for next season, per CapFriendly; that amount assumes that KHL signings Alexander Barabanov and Mikko Lehtonen ultimately make the team.  With the Upper Limit remaining at $81.5MM, that leaves them enough to fill out their roster with some depth players but if they want to add another impact player, they’ll have to either make another move to free up some space or acquire someone with the other team paying down part of the contract.  As a result, their current roster may not look all that much different when the puck drops on the 2020-21 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Florida Panthers Announce Changes To Hockey Operations

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The Florida Panthers have made sweeping changes to their front office and coaching staff as they search for a new direction under GM Bill Zito. The team has named Rick Dudley and Paul Fenton senior advisors to the GM, Gregory Campbell vice president of player personnel and development, Blake Geoffrion the assistant to the general manager and added P.J. Fenton to the team’s scouting staff.

They have also announced that Mike Kitchen will not return as assistant coach, which follows a report earlier today that Kitchen allegedly physically assaulted a player on the bench in January. The team did not comment on the report. AHL assistant coach Doug Janik will not be joining the new affiliation in Charlotte.

Fenton’s name had surfaced in connection with the Panthers previously and he has a history with Zito from their time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The former Minnesota Wild GM was perceived as a strong talent evaluator during his time in Nashville, though the stint in Minnesota obviously didn’t go well.

Dudley meanwhile has been serving as senior vice president of hockey operations with the Carolina Hurricanes and has nearly a half-century of experience in professional hockey.

Campbell, 36, only ended his playing career in 2016 but has served as a development coach since then with the Blue Jackets. His familiarity with Zito obviously led him to this position with the Panthers and given his 803 career NHL games as a depth forward, he should have a unique perspective to add to the development side.

The Panthers made a clear change when they parted ways with legendary executive Dale Tallon earlier this year and installed rookie GM Zito in the position.

Snapshots: Kitchen, Edmundson, Soucy

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The Florida Panthers are expected to part ways with assistant coach Mike Kitchen, according to Frank Seravalli and Darren Dreger of TSN. The decision comes after an alleged physical altercation with a player on the bench that happened in Minnesota on January 20. Kitchen opted out of the return to play postseason with the full support of the organization, saying at the time “it was a difficult decision to say the least, but the right decision for me and my family.”

Kitchen has been an assistant of Joel Quenneville at several stops and joined him in Florida for the 2019-20 season. The 64-year-old coach has three decades of coaching experience in the NHL dating back to the 1989-90 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team has not yet made an official statement about his status with the organization.

  • The Montreal Canadiens acquired the rights to Joel Edmundson over the weekend and now have just a few weeks to convince him to sign with the team before hitting unrestricted free agency. Nick Alberga of Sportsnet tweets that there is a “high chance” that Edmundson signs, with a two-year deal being discussed. The 27-year-old defenseman spent the 2019-20 season with the Carolina Hurricanes where he registered a career-high 20 points in 68 games. His one-year, $3.1MM contract set to expire in October was awarded through arbitration with the St. Louis Blues before a deal took him to Carolina just over a month later.
  • The Minnesota Wild made big news by extending Jonas Brodin earlier today, but could end up signing another defenseman to a new deal before long. Wild GM Bill Guerin told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic that he would like to keep Carson Soucy, though admitted they have had only initial conversations with his representatives. Soucy, 26, actually qualifies for Group VI UFA status despite playing in 55 games for the Wild this season and could hit the open market next month at a relatively young age.

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