Even though arbitration-bound cases have all been settled, there were still some signings of note around the NHL over the past seven days which are highlighted in the key stories of the week.
Hayes Passes Away: Unfortunately, the week got off to a tragic start with former NHL winger Jimmy Hayes passing away at the age of 31. The cause of death is still unknown after an autopsy was performed later in the week. Hayes spent parts of seven years in the NHL, suiting up in 334 games between Chicago, Florida, Boston, and New Jersey; he last suited up in the NHL during the 2017-18 season. PHR extends its condolences to Hayes’ family.
Eichel Changes Agents: It hasn’t been a fun summer for Jack Eichel. It’s more than clear at this point that he wants out of Buffalo and the ability to have the procedure that he wants done to repair his neck injury than the one the team wants. Public pressure from his agents last month didn’t help facilitate a trade so Eichel is trying a new tactic as he has switched agents. Pat Brisson of CAA Sports will now take over from Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli of Global Hockey Consultants. Brisson has the richest portfolio of existing player contracts at over $1 billion, per PuckPedia, and will now be tasked with helping to find a way for Eichel to be moved and get the surgery he’s looking for.
Svechnikov Signs: One of the more prominent restricted free agents is now under contract as the Hurricanes and winger Andrei Svechnikov agreed on an eight-year, $62MM contract. The deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause in the final four years of the deal, the only ones that are allowed to have any form of trade protection. Svechnikov, the second-overall pick in 2018, has quickly become a capable top winger for Carolina and this type of commitment from the team – it’s the largest contract in terms of total money spent in franchise history – certainly demonstrates that they envision him being a long-term cornerstone and that they think he has another level he can still reach.
Offer Sheet For Kotkaniemi: With Svechnikov signed, Carolina had a more concrete idea of how much they had left to spend. They decided to try to either add some extra depth down the middle or to exact some revenge on Montreal for their offer sheet of Sebastian Aho two years ago as they tendered RFA center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year offer sheet worth just over $6.1MM. The 21-year-old was the third-overall pick in 2018 but hasn’t made as quick of an impact as some others from his draft class have and is coming off a season that saw him notch just 20 points in 56 games. He’s clearly not yet worth that high of a price tag so the Canadiens now need to decide to pay the above-market contract or accept first and third-round picks in 2022 as compensation.
Signing Centers: The Flyers were busy in terms of some activity down the middle. First, they inked veteran Derick Brassard to a one-year, $825K deal, giving them a veteran center on a low-cost deal. The bigger news came just hours after Svechnikov signed his deal as Philadelphia revealed that center Sean Couturier signed for the same money the Carolina winger did, inking an eight-year, $62MM extension that keeps him under contract through 2029-30. The deal also contains a full no-move clause in the first seven seasons. It took a few years for Couturier to find his offensive footing but in recent years, he has been a strong offensive producer while continuing to be one of the stronger defensive pivots in the league. With the deal, the Flyers now have a franchise cornerstone locked up long term.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Can I get a Habs fans scouting report on Kokteneimi? Statistically he doesn’t match the salary.
So, has he shown FLASHES of brilliance that would justify this much of an overpay?
KK is a kid that was drafted high based on positional need (C). Montreal rushed him to the NHL too soon as a raw 18 year old, who played a lot of wing in Finland and tried to shoehorn him into a centre role at a young age. He started out strong, but has regressed since. There’s a ton of talent there and he’s got youth on his side (still only 21). He’s not a $6M player, but Carolina did this for a few reasons:
1) It’s a 1-year deal and Montreal has to move out salary to match
2) Even if Montreal matches, they’ll probably feel forced to qualify him after 2021-2022
3) Carolina most likely has negotiated an extension of some sort, where he’ll have a decrease in salary (i.e. 5 years x 3.6M; which would put the total contract at 6y $24.1M)
KK would probably only get about $2-2.5M for 2021-22 and depending on production similar contracts from there out without a significant production increase. Given his usage in Montreal, that was highly unlikely and he probably wanted ANUSTART
Generally correct, the fact is he’s not worth anywhere near the $6.1 million, and your point 3 is simply conjecture. More conjecture is this offer originated from Carolina ownership, not the hockey side. It’s high risk and likely to come back and bite them in the behind. Bergevin will undoubtedly take the picks and go shoppping.
Of course it’s conjecture, but most things in sports are as only limited information is available to the public. Carolina has nothing to be gained by leaking information that they’ve discussed a possible extension. It makes sense when you use logic, though. Sure, a lot of teams will trade a 1st and a 3rd for a rental player, but when you look at the players being acquired in the majority of those situations they’re either finished products or close to finished products. Those teams are paying the price for the known commodity to help push them over the top. I don’t think that’s what’s happening here, as Carolina has clearly made attempts to trade for Kotk, who is a very raw player and needs to grow and develop his game. I don’t think that they’d just throw assets at a player that they don’t intend to keep around for longer term when he’s nowhere near a finished product.
Agreed on it being a risk, but one that they’re willing to take at an attempt to add what they view as a long-term asset to their org. Also agreed that Bergevin should/will take the picks and acquire a more developed player who will be a better fit.
Wow, the Eichel fire keeps burning. Clearly his agent was the issue. What next, he’ll replace his parents?
Aaron Rodgers supports this!