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Archives for July 2021

Golden Knights Sign Derrick Pouliot To AHL Contract

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A few years ago, Derrick Pouliot was basically a regular on Vancouver’s defense corps but his stock has slipped since then.  Now, the 27-year-old has opted to settle for a minor league contract as Henderson, Vegas’ affiliate, announced that they’ve inked him to a one-year deal.

It’s a bit surprising that Pouliot had to settle for a contract that doesn’t have an NHL portion as he was able to secure two-way pacts the last two seasons with a $425K guarantee.  While financial terms of this contract weren’t disclosed, AHL-only contracts don’t typically approach that high of a price tag.

Pouliot spent last season in Philadelphia’s system, playing in 25 games with AHL Lehigh Valley where he recorded three goals and 11 assists, decent numbers for a defenseman.  That helped earn him four separate recalls to the taxi squad during the year but it didn’t materialize into any NHL action, nor did it evidently help him to earn a two-way deal this time around in free agency.

Pouliot, the eighth-overall pick in 2012 to Pittsburgh, has played in 202 career NHL contests between the Penguins, Canucks, and Blues, notching eight goals and 40 assists.  But if he wants to make it back to the top level, he’ll have to have his contract first converted to an NHL deal.  Considering Vegas already has 47 out of 50 contracts on the books with Dylan Coghlan needing a deal as a restricted free agent, they will likely need to move out a player or two first to give themselves some wiggle room on that front.  Accordingly, Pouliot’s stay with the Silver Knights may be a long one while Vegas adds a capable veteran defender on a no-risk contract.

Stars Re-Sign Joel Kiviranta And Ben Gleason

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The Stars reached contract agreements with two of their restricted free agents.  The team announced that winger Joel Kiviranta signed a two-year, $2.1MM deal while defenseman Ben Gleason inked a one-year, two-way deal.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Gleason will make $750K in the NHL and $95K in the minors.

It was a bit of a tough year for Kiviranta.  He started the season on IR and after being activated, he was shuffled to and from the taxi squad on several occasions.  The 25-year-old then missed more than a month due to a lower-body injury.  In the end, he wound up playing in 26 games last season, notching six goals and five assists.  He had just 11 career NHL regular season contests under his belt heading into the season but had gotten himself on the radar with five goals in 14 playoff contests in the bubble in 2020.  Kiviranta was eligible for salary arbitration but instead will bypass that option and will now be eligible for unrestricted free agency two summers from now.

As for Gleason, he made four NHL appearances in his rookie professional season in 2018-19 but has exclusively played with AHL Texas since then.  Last season, he had four goals and 13 assists in 37 minor league games and will now need to pass through waivers in order to return there in 2021-22.

Kiviranta was the last NHL regular on the Stars to need a new deal although they have a trio of minor leaguers that remain as restricted free agents.  They now sit roughly $3MM above the cap ceiling per CapFriendly but with Ben Bishop appearing to be unable to play to start next season, they will be able to place him on LTIR and remain in cap compliance.

New York Rangers Acquire, Extend Ryan Reaves

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July 31: The Rangers have announced the one-year extension for Reaves.  ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that the deal is a true extension for Reaves, bringing him back for the 2022-23 season at the same $1.75MM cap number.

July 30: The Rangers not only acquired Reaves for this season, but are also working on a one-year extension according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Reaves is signed through 2021-22 at a $1.75MM cap hit, and Friedman expects the extension to come in around the same number.

July 29: The New York Rangers are adding some serious grit to their lineup. According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, the team has acquired veteran grinder Ryan Reaves from the Vegas Golden Knights. The return heading to Vegas is a 2022 third-round pick.

The Rangers wanted to get bigger and more physical this off-season and they are certainly doing that. Reaves joins Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, and Jarred Tinordi as recent additions who all play a hard-nosed, aggressive game. As the team battles through the difficult Metropolitan Division, they have added plenty of size and grit to complement their considerable skill.

However, Reaves in particular is pretty limited in what he brings to the team beyond hits, PIMs, and locker room presence. An old-fashioned grinder, Reaves is good for aggression and aggression only. Essentially a match-up player who sees limited ice time, Reaves is an expensive acquisition for the Rangers, both in his $1.75MM cap hit and the third-round pick required to land him.

Oilers Re-Sign Warren Foegele

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After acquiring Warren Foegele earlier this week, the Oilers wasted little time getting him signed, announcing that they’ve inked him to a three-year deal that carries a cap hit of $2.75MM.  He was tendered a $2.25MM qualifying offer at the beginning of the week.

The 25-year-old was acquired from Carolina in exchange for defenseman Ethan Bear, a deal that opened up a spot for Edmonton to turn around and sign Cody Ceci while also giving them some grit on the wing.  Last season, Foegele played in 53 games for the Hurricanes, notching 10 goals and 10 assists while averaging a career-high 14:09 per game.  He was a little quieter in the playoffs, however, scoring just once while adding a single assist in their ten postseason contests.

Foegele had made it known that he was hoping to have a chance at playing a bigger role and he could get that opportunity with Edmonton.  The Oilers have used Zack Kassian in the top six at times to add some grit on their scoring lines and Foegele could conceivably fill that role with a bit more consistency.  If that happens, a $2.75MM price tag could turn into a team-friendly deal fairly quickly.

The contract buys out the remaining two years of RFA eligibility as well as Foegele’s first season of UFA eligibility.  He was eligible to file for arbitration tomorrow but that won’t be needed now.  Meanwhile, Edmonton is down to just one regular player as an RFA in winger Kailer Yamamoto who is not arbitration-eligible.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that the deal was close.

Lightning Re-Sign Boris Katchouk

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The Lightning took care of one of their restricted free agents today, announcing the re-signing of Boris Katchouk to a three-year contract while also confirming the previously-reported three-year deal to Taylor Raddysh.  Both players will have deals with a $758K AAV that is a two-way contract for next season and then converts to a one-way pact for the final two years.  That means the NHL salary in each year of the deal will be the league minimum – $750K in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24.

Katchouk, 23, was a second-round pick of Tampa Bay back in 2016 (44th overall) but he has yet to play in the NHL.  Last season, he posted a career-best 34 points in just 29 games with AHL Syracuse, notable considering that his previous career-high of 32 points came in 60 games back in 2019-20.  That has helped him secure two one-way seasons without even playing an NHL game which doesn’t often happen.

Of course, Tampa Bay’s cap situation plays a role in that.  Katchouk, along with Raddysh and Alex Barre-Boulet whose identically structured deal was announced earlier in the week, figures to be a regular with the Lightning before long as they won’t be able to afford more than players making close to the minimum salary to round out their roster.  To get that low-AAV guarantee for three years means they needed to guarantee an NHL salary for two of them as an incentive to sign now.  As long as Katchouk and the others play reasonably well, it’ll be a low-cost gamble to make.

The Lightning now have just two players left to re-sign in AHL defenseman Sean Day plus center Ross Colton who is arbitration-eligible.  The deadline for filing for a hearing is tomorrow so a decision will need to be made on that front soon.

Minor Transactions: 07/31/21

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As the pace of NHL signings starts to slow down after a hectic start to free agency, there will start to be a higher number of minor signings as players look for AHL contracts or deals overseas.  We’ll keep tabs on today’s moves like that here.

  • Unrestricted free agent Zach Magwood has signed a one-year deal with HC Innsbruck in Austria, per a team announcement. The 23-year-old played in nine games with AHL Belleville last season after being acquired from Nashville but Ottawa declined to tender him a qualifying offer earlier this week.
  • Quinton Howden’s international tour will continue. The 2010 first-round pick left North America in 2017, making stops in Belarus, Russia, and Sweden since then.  Now he’s off to Germany as Kolner Haie of the DEL in Germany announced that they’ve signed the 29-year-old.  He takes the place of former NHLer James Sheppard who requested and was granted his release.
  • The Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario, California announced that they have signed a trio of players to minor-league deals in forwards Brett Kemp and Nikita Pavlychev plus goaltender John Lethemon. Kemp had 31 points in 23 games with WHL Medicine Hat in his overage junior season while Pavlychev made his pro debut last season, splitting time between AHL Syracuse (eight games) and ECHL Orlando (28 games).  As for Lethemon, he was under contract with Ontario last season but didn’t play for them, instead suiting up in 25 games with ECHL Greenville.
  • Turner Elson is returning to Grand Rapids of the AHL but not on an NHL contract this time around as the Griffins announced (Twitter link) that the 28-year-old has signed a minor-league deal. Elson, who had been on NHL two-way deals with Detroit since 2017, had 17 points in 31 games last season.
  • Columbus inked a trio of players to AHL deals per an announcement from their affiliate in Cleveland. Forward Cole Cassels and defenseman Olivier LeBlanc each signed one-year deals while goaltender Jet Greaves inked a two-year pact.  Cassels had 17 points in 31 games with AHL Belleville last season while Leblanc played a dozen contests with Belleville.  As for Greaves, he didn’t play at all last year with the OHL being shut down but played in 60 career games with OHL Barrie, posting a 3.99 GAA with a SV% of .899.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Max Letunov, Alex Lyon

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Saturday: The Hurricanes have officially announced Lyon’s deal at the previously-reported terms.  The deal will carry a guaranteed payout of $250K.  Letunov’s deal was later confirmed as well and carries a $140K guarantee.

Friday: The Carolina Hurricanes just keep signing players. Since the free agent market opened on Wednesday, the ’Canes had already signed ten players. Make that a dozen now, as CapFriendly reports two new additions to Carolina’s list of newcomers. Forward Max Letunov and goaltender Alex Lyon have each signed one-year, two-way contracts worth the minimum $750K. Lyon will make $200K in the AHL, while Letunov will make $100K.

Lyon, 28, is entering a Carolina net situation that is completely new and different. Gone is the trio of Petr Mrazek, James Reimer, and Alex Nedeljkovic and arriving are Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta, and now Lyon as the presumptive No. 3. The former Philadelphia Flyer will have to watch his back though; well-regarded prospects Eetu Makiniemi and Beck Warm are also expected to compete for AHL starts. Lyon brings valuable experience to the depth chart however. In four pro seasons, though never beginning the year on the NHL roster, Lyon played in 22 games with the Flyers, as well as nearly 150 career AHL appearances. Given the age and inconsistency issues of the Hurricanes’ new tandem, Lyon could easily make an NHL appearance for a fifth straight year.

Letunov, 25, is less likely to play a critical depth role for Carolina this season, but is a nice option for the team to call on. A star at the University of Connecticut, Letunov has produced in three AHL seasons as well, but it only earned him three games with the San Jose Sharks. The Russian product was a second-round pick back in 2014 due to his impressive skill, but has yet to show a complete game that will keep him in an NHL lineup. The Hurricanes could do far worse for a short-term top-nine injury replacement though.

Avalanche Signs Jordan Gross

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Colorado has added some depth on the back end, announcing the signing of defenseman Jordan Gross to a one-year contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports (Twitter links) that it’s a two-way agreement that pays $750K at the NHL level.

The 26-year-old was up with the Coyotes for all of last season but spent the majority of his time on the taxi squad before suffering a lower-body injury which cost him the final 14 games.  As a result, he only got into seven games with Arizona where he managed to pick up three assists.  With his age and lack of NHL experience (just nine career appearances), that qualified him for Group Six unrestricted free agency this summer.

Gross had been a productive piece from the back end with AHL Tucson in his first two professional campaigns, notching 25 and 27 points with the Roadrunners and it’s likely that element that drew interest from Colorado.  He’s likely to start the season in the minors but since he does have a little bit of offensive upside, Gross will be a candidate to be recalled whenever injuries arise.

Red Wings Re-Sign Tyler Bertuzzi

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The Red Wings have taken care of one of their top restricted free agents, announcing that they’ve signed winger Tyler Bertuzzi to a two-year contract.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries a $4.75MM AAV and will pay him $4.25MM next season and $5.25MM in 2022-23.

The 26-year-old was limited to just nine games last season due to a back injury that required surgery at the end of April.  Bertuzzi was still productive in his short stint, however, as he still notched five goals and two assists in those contests.  Prior to 2020-21, he had two straight seasons of 21 goals and had established himself as an important part of their top line.

Despite the limited action, Bertuzzi still landed a nice raise on the $3.5MM salary he made last season.  Part of the reason for that is that the contract buys out his first year of UFA eligibility while also covering his final year of arbitration eligibility.  It’s a deal that doesn’t carry much risk for either side as it’s a short-term commitment for Detroit while allowing Bertuzzi a couple of seasons to show he can stay healthy and that the back injury is behind him before entering the UFA market at the age of 28.

GM Steve Yzerman still has plenty of work to do with his restricted free agents as defenseman Filip Hronek plus wingers Adam Erne and Jakub Vrana are still in need of new contracts.  Hronek isn’t arbitration-eligible but has been a consistent point producer over his three NHL seasons, Erne is coming off a career-high in goals with 11, and Vrana made an immediate impact after being acquired at the trade deadline and will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after scoring 68 goals over the past three seasons.

Jack Eichel’s Agents: “The Process Is Not Working”

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For months now, there has been an expectation that the Sabres and Jack Eichel would be parting ways.  The center was shut down in early March due to neck issues with the two sides disagreeing on the best course of action.  Eichel’s camp wanted an artificial disk replacement which is something that hasn’t been done on an NHL player, a request Buffalo’s doctors balked at.  Instead, they recommended a 12-week conservative treatment.  That has come and gone and the issue hasn’t gone away.

There hasn’t been any progress made in terms of a new plan to fix the problem while Eichel remains with the Sabres.  Late Friday, his agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli released the following statement to various reporters and outlets including Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News:

The process is not working. As previously stated, we fully anticipated a trade by the start of the NHL free agency period.  After the agreed upon and prescribed period for conservative rehabilitation lapsed in early June 2021, it was determined by the Sabres medical staff that a surgical procedure was required.  The recommendation by Jack’s independent neurosurgeon, other spine specialists consulted, and the surgery Jack feels most comfortable having in order to correct a herniated disk in his neck is to proceed with artificial disk replacement surgery. A further point of concern is that our camp was initially under the impression that the Sabres specialist was in agreement with the artificial disk replacement surgery until that was no longer the case.

What is being left out of the discussion is that Jack would be able to play in the NHL for the start of the season pending medical clearance if he were allowed to have the surgery he desires even as of this date. Repeated requests have been made to the Sabres since early June to no avail. This process is stopping Jack from playing in the NHL and it is not working.

While this was clearly done to try to expedite the trade process along, the claim that Buffalo’s staff is in agreement that surgery is needed is also noteworthy even if there remains a disagreement on what that procedure needs to be.  While Sabres GM Kevyn Adams is right to put a high price tag on his franchise forward, the fact that surgery is needed should, in theory, help to get a move done as if the process continues to drag out, he could miss time next season which is a scenario that’s not ideal for any side.

For his part, Adams has been firm in his assertion that they’re in any rush to get things done, telling reporters that in a press conference on the opening day of free agency (video link):

I think what’s critically important to make sure is clear is that we’re in control of this process, we have a player under contract, we don’t feel any pressure. If there’s a deal out there that we feel is the right thing for the Buffalo Sabres, that we feel is going to help us improve, whether that’s improve right away or improve down the road – those are all the things we weigh – we’d be open to it.

Eichel has five years remaining on his contract with a $10MM AAV but the perceived pressure point was next summer when his no-move clause kicks in.  However, this disagreement over how to deal with his neck injury has seemingly escalated that timeline.  At this point, it feels like only a matter of when a deal gets done and for Eichel’s agents at least, they believe the wait has already been too long.

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