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Archives for August 2021

Jack Eichel Won’t Be Ready For Start Of Regular Season

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No matter what team he’s on, superstar center Jack Eichel won’t be lacing up his skates for another couple of months, at least. The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta reports today that considering Eichel’s recovery timeline for any potential surgery, time’s run out on the possibility of him being ready for the start of the regular season on October 12th.

What remains to be seen is how long it takes before the price Buffalo will be able to ask for begins to drop in earnest. It’s obvious that the Sabres and Eichel won’t come to a resolution on his health anytime soon, as Eichel and his agents remain adamant that he receives artificial disc replacement, a procedure that the Sabres won’t permit him to undergo. With Pagnotta reporting that there are multiple teams around the league that would let him undergo that surgery, though, it seems like there’s at least light at the end of the tunnel for Eichel’s health and neck issues.

But are teams going to be willing to pay full price for a player who needs to proceed with a surgery that some deem as risky? It’s a question that’s been thrown around ever since trade talks began. As days continue to pass by without a deal, it seems like that a slightly decreased return may be the case, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The usual suspects — Anaheim, Vegas, Minnesota, the Rangers, and others — reportedly remain in on Eichel, but it’s hard to get a true read on the situation considering discussions appear to be in a holding pattern for now.

The future remains extremely uncertain for Buffalo and Eichel, but it’s a reality that he won’t be suiting up at the beginning of 2021-22.

Poll: Where Will The Arizona Coyotes Play In 2022-23?

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Thursday’s report that the Arizona Coyotes will see their lease at Gila River Arena terminated by the City of Glendale has cast a dark shadow over the organization. It’s yet another blow to a team that’s yet to have much solid ground under them since arriving in the desert in 1996. Today, Arizona Coyotes reporter Craig Morgan took a very deep dive into what the Coyotes’ options are moving forward if they are to stay in Arizona. There’s no real clear path forward for the team moving past next season, but options are abundant, varying from the outlandish to the near-probable. It’s widely believed that any situation that keeps them in Arizona involves a short-term stay in a temporary arena starting in 2022-23. That’s because of plans announced last month for a new, privately funded arena in Tempe, a more central location to their season ticket holder base. But with under 11 months until their year-to-year lease in Glendale runs out, Coyotes ownership needs to move quickly to find a temporary solution if they’re to stay in the Phoenix area.

One option, named by Morgan as the most realistic, is a temporary move to the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It would immediately become one of the smallest and oldest venues in the NHL, seating just 13,730 spectators. While it doesn’t seem like a great option in the least bit, there are a few reasons for optimism if Arizona is to create a temporary home here. You can make the argument that it’s been done before, and with great success – the New York Islanders’ recent second stint at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale certainly didn’t inhibit the team’s success on the ice. Throw in a much more preferable location to Glendale, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a temporary move here is a reliable short-term solution for the rebuilding franchise.

But there’s another downtown location that could be a much more creative solution – Chase Field, home of the MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Morgan emphasizes that little is known about how hockey would work in the roofed venue, but harkens back to the success of the Thunderdome for the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning. The reality remains that extensive renovations would need to be made in order to make the arena NHL-compatible, even more so than the Memorial Coliseum. It’s a long shot, but a fun idea.

Then there’s always the looming possibility of relocation, murmurings that have persisted for much of Arizona’s history in the desert. If a reliable short-term solution can’t be found, or their longer-term plans to build an arena in Tempe don’t pan out, there’s a more-than-zero chance that the Coyotes will have to find a new home entirely.

So, PHR readers, we turn to you to ask about the future of this Western Conference squad. Do the Coyotes find some stability in Arizona, or is it the end of an era in the Southwest?

[Mobile users, click here to vote!]

Free Agent Profile: James Neal

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Things have fallen sharply for veteran forward James Neal since his storybook season with the inaugural Vegas Golden Knights. After scoring 25 goals and 44 points in 2017-18 to mark his 10th consecutive season of scoring 20 or more goals, Neal signed a now-infamous five-year, $28.75MM deal with the Calgary Flames on the second day of free agency in 2018. He only lasted one season in Calgary on that contract, however, scoring just seven goals and 19 points, sometimes serving as a healthy scratch.

But many thought redemption was in order for Neal when a swap with the Edmonton Oilers sent him to Northern Alberta in exchange for Milan Lucic. With the chance for Neal to play with one or both of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, 20 goals or more was again the expectation for the consistently gifted scorer. Neal didn’t quite hit the mark, but would’ve if the season hadn’t been cut short due to COVID-19 – his bounce-back season in Edmonton saw him score 19 goals and 31 points in 55 games, numbers reminiscent of his time in Vegas.

However, Neal’s decline accelerated this season, and his numbers once again plummeted to unacceptable depths for his $5.75MM cap hit. He’s now a free agent after being bought out by the Oilers on July 27th, a buyout that’ll see Neal cost them $1.917MM against the cap for the next four seasons. 2020-21 was Neal’s roughest season yet, actually, spending almost half of the 56-game season sitting in the press box. His shooting percentage and time on ice fell sharply as Neal’s lack of strong play-driving cost him a significant role at even strength.

Neal still carries veteran leadership and name recognition. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s played in 11 straight playoffs, totaling 58 points in 110 games over that timeframe. It remains to be seen whether teams will value that experience enough to extend Neal a contract offer.

Stats

2020-21: 29 GP, 5-5-10, -2 rating, 11 PIMS, 51 shots, 49.3% CF, 12:06 ATOI
Career: 850 GP, 294-261-555, +8 rating, 581 PIMS, 2,483 shots, 53.2% CF, 17:22 ATOI

Potential Suitors

The good news here for James Neal is that there are still plenty of teams looking to add affordable, experienced depth, especially on the wings. There are still a few options that make sense for the 33-year-old Ontario-born winger.

The Carolina Hurricanes come to mind immediately as a team that’s still looking to fill out their forward group, especially their depth in the bottom-six. Neal fits well in this role for them, especially considering the limited scoring upside of some current options in Jordan Martinook, Steven Lorentz, and Stefan Noesen. If paired with a strong play-driver and playmaker like Jordan Staal, Neal’s scoring touch could give a boost to Carolina’s third line.

If Neal wants to chase a Stanley Cup, and if the interest is mutual, the Colorado Avalanche also make a decent amount of sense. For a team that lost both Brandon Saad and Joonas Donskoi this offseason, his double-digit scoring upside is more palatable than that of someone like Darren Helm’s or Stefan Matteau’s. The New Jersey Devils also come to mind as a squad who could still use some additional veteran presence to help propel a potential playoff push this season.

Projected Contract

Neal was not included on our Top 50 UFA list, as he hadn’t been bought out at the time of publishing. But it’s still hard to imagine Neal receiving anything more than the $1MM range on a one-year contract, considering he hasn’t been inked to a deal already. Neal finds himself in a similar situation to that of Jason Spezza a few years back — a once consistent talent who’d seen his numbers drop in recent seasons. Spezza took a league-minimum $700,000 (at the time) contract to stay in the league, and it’s a strong possibility Neal will have to do the same.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

More Moves Forthcoming For The Philadelphia Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers find themselves at the top of the news cycle today after signing defenseman Travis Sanheim to a new deal prior to arbitration. It’s an important deal for the team, as they’ve assured one of their best young players is under contract for the next two seasons.

But with his $4.675MM cap hit come some financial consequences for the Eastern Conference squad. The signing puts them roughly $650,000 over the salary cap Upper Limit of $81.5MM. While perfectly legal during the offseason, Philadelphia won’t be able to carry a full 23-man roster into the season as it stands. The good news is that the team and general manager Chuck Fletcher have two main options to become cap-compliant, but each of those carries some consequences of its own.

The easiest option would be to purely not carry the full 23-man roster with three healthy scratches. Philadelphia has three fringe players, all forwards, currently listed on the 23-man roster who aren’t waiver-eligible: Tanner Laczynski, Jackson Cates, and Morgan Frost. It’s easy enough to send one or two of these younger players down to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, creating a cap-compliant opening night roster for Philadelphia. But there’s a certain risk that comes with the convenience of the situation, most notably demonstrated last season by a similar salary cap dance performed by the Vegas Golden Knights. Since having a 22-man roster with just one of these players sent down still only leaves them with $200,000 to $300,000 in cap space, a barrage of short-term injuries could easily force Philadelphia to ice a shorthanded game roster of fewer than 18 skaters. However, if Fletcher feels as though it’s a risk he’s willing to take in order to maintain the strength of his current healthy roster, it’s still a very viable course of action for the Flyers.

The more complex and unlikely option is an additional trade. The Flyers already made one large cap-clearing transaction this summer, dealing Jakub Voracek to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Cam Atkinson. But as additional relief is needed after Sanheim’s contract, both James van Riemsdyk and/or Travis Konecny could find their way back onto the trade block. Konecny was rumored heavily to be on the move over the past few seasons after falling out of favor at times with head coach Alain Vigneault. His younger age and lower cap hit as compared to van Riemsdyk would likely make him the more attractive option in a trade for teams looking to deal. van Riemsdyk carries significant upside of his own, though, despite his age. He’s still an extremely competent scorer, potting 43 points in 56 games this season. His $7MM cap hit could be tough to swallow for some teams, though, unless it’s more of a true hockey trade like the Voracek deal.

What’s for certain is that Philadelphia will need to make a few changes before they’re ready to go for opening night. While the scale of these are unknown, Philadelphia will look to enter the 2021-22 season with a much-needed refresh to the team’s roster.

All salary cap figures come from CapFriendly.com.

Flyers Agree To Terms With Travis Sanheim

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There won’t be an arbitration hearing this year after all.  Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim was the last arbitration-bound player without a contract but that has changed as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner has agreed to a two-year deal with a $4.675MM AAV. PuckPedia reports that the structure of the deal is as follows:

2021-22: $4MM salary
2022-23: $5.35MM salary

The 25-year-old inked a two-year bridge contract two summers ago coming off a career-best 35-point season and at the time, it was expected that he’d continue his ascent and ideally become a top-pairing-caliber blueliner for Philadelphia.  That didn’t exactly happen, however.  In particular, Sanheim struggled last season, notching just 15 points in 55 games despite logging 21:53 per game (also a career-high) with some struggles in his own end.  There is no doubt that Sanheim is still a big part of their future but the exact role isn’t as certain as it appeared to be.

That’s where this deal comes in.  The two-year term basically amounts to a second bridge deal, allowing both the Flyers and Sanheim more time to assess his long-term value and role.  Notably, it also walks him to unrestricted free agency in 2023.  That’s hardly an ideal scenario for Philadelphia but when they elected to take him to arbitration earlier this month, it created the situation for this to happen as Sanheim simply could have elected the two-year term and taken his chances with the arbitrator.  They get to avoid the hearing with this contract but he’ll still be able to hit the open market in his first eligible year.

Sanheim should remain behind Ivan Provorov on the left side of a new-look Philadelphia back end that now features Ryan Ellis who was brought in from Nashville plus veteran Keith Yandle to replace the offense that Shayne Gostisbehere provided as he was moved in a cap-clearing move to Arizona.

There won’t be any more shakeups coming for the Flyers, however, at least not without matching money.  This move basically eats up all of their remaining cap space and will likely see them carrying less than the maximum of 23 skaters to start the season.  But with the changes on the back end and the addition of Cam Atkinson up front, GM Chuck Fletcher got the core shakeup he wanted and with Sanheim signing, has his full roster under contract.  Will it be enough to get back to the playoffs in what projects to be a tight Metropolitan Division?  We’ll find out soon enough once the season gets underway.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Chara, Malkin, DeBrusk

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While the Blues are believed to have shown interest in Zdeno Chara, it doesn’t appear to be mutual.  Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland notes (Twitter link) that if the 44-year-old decides to play next season, his intention is to stay in the Eastern Conference to be closer to his family.  Chara still logged more than 18 minutes a game with Washington last season and led the team in shorthanded ice time so he can still contribute in a limited role.  But at this stage of his career and knowing he’s going to be signing for the minimum salary or close to it (plus possible bonuses) for cap purposes, Chara can afford to be selective about where he wants to go and if the right fit doesn’t materialize, he can simply call it a career.

More from the East:

  • While teams have often wanted to front-load contracts to players signing their final contracts at the end of their career to try to keep the AAV down, Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now suggests the Penguins may want to try a different approach when it comes to center Evgeni Malkin. Instead, with the 35-plus penalties not applying to contracts for players that age that have the same salary throughout, a deal like that could potentially allow Pittsburgh to tack an extra year on in return for a lower AAV while giving Malkin the opportunity to retire or go to the KHL without any risk of cap penalties that most 35-plus deals carry.
  • A pair of Western Canadian teams still have varying degrees of interest in Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk, reports Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (subscription link). The scribe notes the Oilers and Flames as teams interested, though Calgary is to a lesser degree.  DeBrusk is coming off a tough season that saw him post just 14 points in 41 games, hardly worth the $3.675MM AAV (that also carries a $4.85MM salary).  However, he scored at least 16 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons so there is a track record of some success.  Shinzawa suggests that a swap for a center would be Boston’s preference but neither of those teams have a center that could plausibly be had around that particular price tag.

Minor Transactions: 08/21/21

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While the signings on the NHL front continue to dry up, the same can’t be said for other leagues as AHL teams and international squads look to add to their rosters.  We’ll keep tabs on some of those moves of note here.

  • The Senators’ farm team in Belleville announced the signings of defenseman Xavier Bernard, defenseman Mitchell Hoelscher, and goalie Tyler Parks to one-year contracts. Bernard was a fourth-round pick of New Jersey back in 2018 but wasn’t signed so he finished up his QMJHL career last season.  Hoelscher, who was picked two rounds later than Bernard in 2018 by New Jersey but wasn’t signed, played in seven games with Belleville in 2020-21.  As for Parks, the 29-year-old spent last season in Slovakia, posting a 1.71 GAA with a .940 SV% in 24 games with HC Slovan Bratislava.
  • Mikael Hakkarainen wasted little time finding his new home. After his deal was terminated by Vegas earlier this week, the 23-year-old signed a one-year deal with TPS Turku in Finland, per a team release.  Hakkarainen was the return in the Marc-Andre Fleury deal which amounted to Chicago basically just freeing up a contract slot to absorb the veteran netminder into.
  • Rangers UFA winger Patrick Newell is off to Norway as Stjernen announced the signing of the 25-year-old to a one-year contract. Newell signed with New York in 2019 as a college free agent but was quiet in two full seasons with AHL Hartford, notching 13 points in each campaign which led to him being non-tendered earlier this summer.
  • Defenseman Maxim Chudinov was released by Avangard Omsk of the KHL today, per a team release. The 31-year-old was drafted by the Bruins back in 2010 and since there is no transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia’s hockey federation, they still hold Chudinov’s rights.

West Notes: Patrick, Connolly, O’Connor

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After a tough season with the Flyers, it seemed a trade was all but inevitable for Nolan Patrick and one eventually came to fruition as he was flipped to Vegas as part of the three-team deal that saw Cody Glass head to Nashville in return.  Speaking with Justin Emerson of the Las Vegas Sun, the 22-year-old acknowledged that a fresh start was probably the best thing for him.  Last season, the 2017 second-overall pick returned from missing an entire year due to migraines but managed just four goals and five assists in 52 games.  The Golden Knights still need to sign Patrick who is a restricted free agent but it’s hard to see him getting much more than his qualifying offer of just under $918K.  He should get an opportunity to play a regular role in their bottom six next season and a more consistent performance will be needed for him to have a shot at being an impact player.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • While he’s only two seasons removed from a 46-point campaign, Brett Connolly has seen his stock dip sharply since then to the point where Florida paid the Blackhawks to take on his contract. Now, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times observes, the 29-year-old appears to be the odd one out in terms of making Chicago’s opening roster as things currently stand.  With two years left on his contract at $3.5MM, he’s a lock to go through waivers unclaimed and an assignment to the minors would only free up $1.125MM in cap space.  That said, if he’s only going to be a reserve player, going that route and bringing someone up making close to the minimum would likely be worthwhile from a cap perspective.
  • Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor missed more than two months with a lower-body injury last season with the team never revealing the nature of it. O’Connor clarified to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that he had undergone sports hernia and groin surgery to fix an issue that had crept up early in the season.  The 25-year-old was able to return for the final two games of the playoffs and will have a chance for a bigger role in 2021-22 with the departures of Brandon Saad (free agency) and Joonas Donskoi (expansion).  He’s in the final year of his contract, one that carries an AAV that’s actually $25K below the league minimum.

Free Agent Profile: Eric Staal

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Less than a year ago, Eric Staal was coming off another season of being Minnesota’s number one center with Buffalo moving to acquire him in the hopes of boosting their second line.  That didn’t happen and the veteran’s value took a steep hit as a result when it came time for the Sabres to trade him.  Considering he remains unsigned, Staal’s value appears to have taken another hit now.

Things did not go well at all for the 36-year-old with Buffalo although, to be fair, that can be said for basically everyone last season.  He struggled to produce at a top-nine level let alone the top-line one he had been at with the Wild.  The hope was a trade to a playoff team in Montreal might revitalize him but outside of an early overtime winner, there’s a case to be made that he was even worse with the Canadiens than he was with the Sabres.

What might help Staal’s case was his playoff performance.  He centered their fourth line throughout the postseason and was a bit more impactful on a line that primarily slowed the play to a crawl and focused on cycling and board battles.  He was able to keep up despite playing through an injury and contributed a bit more on the scoresheet as Montreal surprisingly advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

At this point, the question is whether or not teams think last season was a one-off in declining production (perhaps in part due to injury) or a sign of things to come.  The former means he can still contribute while the latter is someone that may have a hard time staying in the lineup.

Stats

2020-21: 53 GP, 5-8-13, -30 rating, 10 PIMS, 82 shots, 50.8 CF%, 14:43 ATOI
Career: 1,293 GP, 441-593-1,034, -78 rating, 828 PIMS, 3,935 shots, 52.4 CF%, 19:23 ATOI

Potential Suitors

Similar to Derick Brassard, Staal’s suitors are likely to be teams looking to add veteran depth knowing they have some unproven options or ones that would like a prospect to spend more time in the minors and would use Staal as a filler in the short term.

The Staal brothers have spoken in the past about a desire to play together but that doesn’t appear to be a viable option.  Detroit has already added Pius Suter and Mitchell Stephens this summer and has Joseph Veleno pushing for a spot; the recent buyout of Frans Nielsen doesn’t really create an opening for Staal either.  Meanwhile, Carolina brought in Derek Stepan to supplement their top three centers and don’t really have a spot for Staal.

Among the teams looking for depth, his old team in Minnesota makes some sense on paper based on the current composition of their roster.  But GM Bill Guerin saw fit to trade him 11 months ago for a winger who was coming off a tough year at a time where they needed centers so that may not be a realistic fit.  Montreal GM Marc Bergevin didn’t close the door on re-signing Staal earlier this summer and their projected top three centers have limited NHL experience.  Vegas has added some younger centers to push for playing time but if Staal was willing to sign for the minimum, he could be an insurance policy.  The same goes for Winnipeg who is quite capped out but lost a lot of veteran depth this summer.

As for the teams that could want Staal as a short-term stopgap to allow someone to develop, the usual teams come to mind.  Columbus doesn’t have much proven depth down the middle while Ottawa has had Chris Tierney available for a while and could use Staal as a replacement.

Projected Contract

Staal narrowly made it onto our Top 50 UFA list, ranking 48th with a projected one-year, $2MM contract.  That may be a bit optimistic at this point with many teams basically having their rosters finalized or close to it.  Something closer to half of that may be more palatable at this point although it’s worth noting that Staal is eligible for performance incentives that could be tacked onto a lower base salary to give the signing team a little more salary cap flexibility next season.  Either way, it’ll be a steep drop from the $3.25MM AAV he had for the past two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Zadorov, Yamamoto, Beniers

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While the Flames and defenseman Nikita Zadorov were only able to agree on a one-year, $3.75MM contract to avoid arbitration, GM Brad Treliving told reporters, including Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, that he remains hopeful that a longer-term agreement can be reached by the time he hits unrestricted free agency next summer.  Treliving noted that longer-term deals that would have bought out some UFA years were discussed but they just weren’t able to agree on the money.  Calgary has several other expiring contracts next summer including restricted free agents Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane plus pending UFA Johnny Gaudreau and it stands to reason that they may want to take care of those new contracts to see what they could possibly commit to Zadorov on his next contract.

More from the Pacific:

  • With Edmonton’s cap situation being fairly tight already even with LTIR-bound Oscar Klefbom taken into consideration, there’s a case to be made that a one-year contract for RFA winger Kailer Yamamoto would make the most sense. However, Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal suggests that a two-year deal would be better to serve as a hedge for Jesse Puljujarvi’s contract next summer even though the AAV on a two-year pact would undoubtedly be higher.  Yamamoto has 52 points in 102 career NHL games and since he has basically only been a regular for the last year and a half with the Oilers, his bridge deal may come in a little lower than some of the other ones that will be handed out to players coming off their entry-level deals this summer.
  • While Matty Beniers will be heading back to Michigan for his sophomore year, GM Ron Francis told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he isn’t ruling out the possibility of the second-overall pick suiting up for the Kraken at some point this season. The NCAA Frozen Four tournament (should Michigan make it that far) will end well before the NHL’s regular season ends (April 29), allowing for the possibility for Beniers to sign and suit up for a few games down the stretch.  The nine-game threshold for burning the first year of his contract would still apply as Beniers would still only be 19 at the time of signing the deal.

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