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Archives for June 2024

Canucks Sign Jett Woo To One-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Jett Woo to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will pay him a league minimum $775K at the NHL level and $150K at the AHL level, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link).

Vancouver drafted Woo in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft – among company like Alexander Romanov, Martin Fehervary, and Sean Durzi. But Woo still sits as one of 12 players from that round to not yet make his NHL debut, instead spending the last four seasons with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate. Woo had a slow start to his pro career, scoring just 10 points through his first two seasons, and 70 games, in the AHL. He’s picked up that scoring in the two seasons since, netting 21 points in 68 games last year and 31 points in 62 games this year. Woo has also picked up his intensity, also totaling 189 penalty minutes in the last two years.

The climb towards more high-event hockey earned Woo the first NHL call-ups of his career in February, though he couldn’t slot into Vancouver’s lineup. Still, he’s begun to grab the Canucks’ attention. With the team expected to move on from Nikita Zadorov, Woo could have a chance on this new deal to fight for his NHL debut, and a more confident contract next summer.

Sharks Sign Justin Bailey To One-Year, Two-Way Extension

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The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Justin Bailey to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will carry a salary of $800K at the NHL level and $375K at the AHL level, with $400K guaranteed, per PuckPedia (Twitter link).

Bailey, 28, willed his way into a full-time NHL role this year, after kicking off the AHL season with 11 points in 16 games. He was recalled in late November and potted five points across his first eight games with the Sharks, earning another promotion to the team’s third line, where he’d spent most of the remaining season. Finally ahold of an everyday role, Bailey posted five goals and 14 points in 59 games – NHL career-highs in all three stats.

And while Bailey could be a candidate to work his way back on to the Sharks roster with this deal, the two-way clause likely sets him up for yet another year in the minors. That’s where Bailey has spent much of his career so far, totaling 241 points in 370 AHL games, across tenures with the Rochester Americans, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Utica Comets. He’s proven a capable minor-league scorer, with at least 30 points in each of his last three full years in the league. Re-signing to a one-year deal should give Bailey a chance to prove his worth in the Sharks organization, and earn his way into a confident NHL future.

Nikolai Knyzhov Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Sunday: Knyzhov has cleared waivers, PuckPedia reports.  However, he isn’t being bought out; instead, it’s a mutual termination, meaning that San Jose will have no lingering cap hit.

Saturday: The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov on unconditional waivers for the purposes of a buyout, per Chris Johnston with The Athletic (Twitter link).

Knyzhov has spent parts of the last five seasons with the Sharks roster, joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He showed up strong with the San Jose Barracuda, recording just five points in 33 games but looking well-matched when defending the rush on North American ice. The strong adjustment earned Knyzhov a full-time role with the Sharks in 2020-21. He totaled 10 points and 39 penalty minutes in 56 games as a rookie – posting career-highs across the boards. But injuries derailed Knyzhov’s sophomore year, holding him out for all of the 2021-22 season and most of the 2022-23 season. This year was his first of good health since 2021, and he seemed to make a triumphant return, recording a career-high 14 points in 40 AHL games, though he struggled significantly in 10 NHL games.

But there’s upside to be had with Knyzhov, who will now enter the open market with 81 career games, and 12 career points, under his belt. He’ll offer a cheap defensive-defenseman style, so long as he opts to stay in North America, rather than returning to SKA St. Petersburg in Russia. Knyzhov previously spent three years in SKA’s system, after brief stints with the WHL’s Regina Pats and the NAHL’s Springfield Jr. Blues in the 2015-16 season.

Maple Leafs Sign Max Domi To Four-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly signed forward Max Domi to a four-year, $15MM contract extension, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic (Twitter link). Johnston mentions that the deal will carry an annual cap hit of $3.75MM. These reports come shortly after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman alluded to a deal coming soon (Twitter link). The new deal will carry Domi through 2028, his age-32 season.

Domi, the son of former Leafs second-round pick and era-defining enforcer Tie Domi, found his groove late into the year, posting 16 points in the last 19 games of the regular season and adding four points in seven playoff games. The inspiration for the scoring came while Domi was filling a top-line role next to superstar Auston Matthews. The two were a great pair of grit and talent – a duo that Toronto is likely set on returning next year.

Domi made quick work of what was his first year brandishing his dad’s old logo, having joined Toronto on a one-year, $3MM contract nearly a year ago today. But Domi could still have untapped upside. He’s proven to be a perennial scorer at the top level, recording 20 goals and 56 points in 80 games between the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars in 2022-23; and boasting a career-high of 28 goals and 72 points scored in 2018-19. The roles that led to that scoring often placed Domi in much more of a spotlight role, giving him room to showcase strong puck skills and shooting. But he had to lean into a grittier style with the Leafs, supporting the stars rather than standing next to them. That could begin to change if Domi holds on to a top-line next season. A smash season would quickly earn Domi the price of his extension, and give Toronto the top-end, high-scoring utility winger that they’ve been needing.

Blue Jackets Expected To Buy Out Adam Boqvist

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to place young defender Adam Boqvist on unconditional waivers for the purposes of a buyout later today, shares Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Blue Jackets would only be on the hook for one-third of his contract value should he clear unconditional waivers, as he’s being bought out before the age of 26. That would burden Columbus with a $533K cap hit through the next two seasons, a full $2.7MM in savings from the $3.2MM salary that Boqvist was due next year, though also strapping them with empty cap in 2025-26.

Boqvist is a surprising name to a list of pre-July 1st buyouts that also features Jack Campbell and Nate Schmidt. Unlike those two, Boqvist is closer to the beginning of his career than the end of it, though he’s been no stranger to struggles. Boqvist has been in and out of Columbus’ lineups for much of the last three seasons since they acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks alongside the picks used for David Jiricek, Cole Sillinger, and Aleksi Heimosalmi. In return, Columbus gave up defender Seth Jones and the picks used on Nolan Allan and Dominic Jones.

Boqvist joined the Blue Jackets with 76 NHL games, and 29 points, under his belt. But despite moving to a Columbus team that was, at the time, less competitive than Chicago – Boqvist wasn’t able to work his way up the depth chart. He instead spent much of his first year on the team’s third pairing, posting 22 points, split evenly, in 55 games. That was enough offense to earn him a slight boost in power-play time last season, with Boqvist vindicating the boost with a career-high 24 points in 46 games.

But Boqvist hasn’t been able to avoid the injury bug in any of his five NHL seasons. That came to a point this season, when an upper-body injury ended Boqvist’s season in mid-March, after routinely holding him out of the lineup since December. He was held to just 35 games on the year, tied for the fewest games he’s played in one season, and Boqvist posted a career-low 10 points as a result. Despite clear skill in carrying and managing the puck, a lack of assuredness in making plays and air-headed defense has kept Boqvist from taking off. He was previously due a $2.6MM cap hit this season – a number that could be palatable for teams looking for a spark on waivers. Should he make it to the open market, the young Boqvist will surely have no shortage of suitors.

Jets Buy Out Nate Schmidt

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The Winnipeg Jets have bought out the final season of defenseman Nate Schmidt’s contract, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link). Schmidt will first have to pass through unconditional waivers before the buy out goes into effect. Should he clear, Schmidt’s contract will count towards $2.717MM of Winnipeg’s cap next season – a savings of $3.233MM – and an empty $1.617MM in 2025-26.

This move pushes Schmidt to the open market one year sooner than expected, while ridding Winnipeg of the $5.95MM cap hit he’s carried since 2019-20. Schmidt’s six-year, $35.7MM contract was originally signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, who traded Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason ahead of the 2020-21 season. Schmidt spent the shortened year with the Canucks, before being flipped to the Jets for the 2022 pick used to select Jordan Gustafson.

Schmidt kicked off his tenure in Winnipeg with a strong year, recording 32 points and averaging 20 minutes a night, while still offering the stout defense he’s become known for. But that impact has dwindled in the seasons since, with Schmidt managing just 19 points last year and 14 points this year. He’s fallen from a top pair role to a bottom pair role alongside the low scoring, though he still recorded the best xGA/60 (2.03) of any Jets defenders, per Evolving Hockey.

Schmidt’s decline over the last two seasons has made his hefty price tag hard to bear, especially for a Jets team in the midst of a cap crunch. But there should be no shortage of suitors for Schmidt on the open market – with his veteran presence and stout defense a great replacement for Chris Tanev, who is expected to be taken off of the market after a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Schmidt will be set for a significant pay cut, but at 32, he could still find his way into a deal with term.

Oilers Buy Out Jack Campbell

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The Edmonton Oilers have bought out the final three years of goaltender Jack Campbell’s contract (Twitter link). Campbell will need to clear unconditional waivers before the buy out goes through. If it does, it will save the Oilers $3.9MM in cap hit next season, and a cumulative $9MM over the next three seasons combined, though they will then carry an empty $1.5MM cap hit for three more years.

This move was one of the most anticipated as the buyout window rolled around, bringing a sudden end to the five-year, $25MM contract Campbell signed in Edmonton just two years ago. It was the first high-value contract of his career, earned after he posted 31 wins and a .914 save percentage in 49 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That was Campbell’s first season as a full-time NHL starter, though he entered the year with a .918 save percentage in 86 career games through the previous five seasons – giving the Oilers a bit of solace as they looked to find their next starting goaltender.

That’s the position Campbell earned out of the gates, though he quickly began to show holes. Campbell posted a .876 save percentage through his first 15 games with the club – ultimately struggling enough to lose the starter’s role to rookie backup Stuart Skinner. Skinner held a tight grip on the role through the rest of the year, posting a .913 save percentage in 50 games and ranking second in 2023 Calder Trophy voting behind Matthew Beniers.

Skinner’s rise quickly ousted Campbell from the role he was being paid $5MM to fill. And while the Oilers attempted to remedy by awarding him five games this season, his .873 save percentage forced their hand – and he would go on to spend nearly all year buried in the minor leagues. In the name of silver linings, Campbell did rediscover his groove in the AHL – posting 18 wins and a .918 in 33 games with the Bakersfield Condors. But that’s still far from the role Edmonton was hoping he’d fill, and Campbell will now find himself back on the open market. It will be interesting to see what roles team prescribe to Campbell as he looks to find a new home on the back of a career that’s seen him competently fill both starting and backup roles at every level.

Sharks Sign Luke Kunin To One-Year Extension

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06/30: The San Jose Sharks have made this deal official, signing Kunin to a one-year, $2.75MM extension.

06/28: PuckPedia reports that the San Jose Sharks and forward Luke Kunin are nearing a one-year extension that will pay Kunin $2.75MM. The deal will clock in just shy of Kunin’s qualifying offer which would have been $3MM.

Now just one year away from unrestricted free agency, it was reported a few months ago that Kunin was open to signing a multi-year contract with the Sharks organization. Instead, Kunin and San Jose can punt those conversations down the line as the middle-six forward will suit up for his third season with the Sharks.

While averaging just under 16 minutes of ice time per game, Kunin potted 11 goals and 18 points in 77 games for San Jose this season which was good for seventh on the team in the former category. However, Kunin’s possession metrics took a nose dive this season with a CorsiFor% of 36.5 — a six-point decrease off his career average. With his secondary scoring and physicality, Kunin still holds value as a middle-six option for the Sharks.

Additionally, after a historically bad season for the organization, San Jose may have rewarded Kunin for wanting to stay with the organization in the first place. He now has the opportunity to add to his earning power in unrestricted free agency if he can capitalize on this one-year deal with the Sharks.

Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now was the first to report that Kunin and San Jose were nearing a deal. 

Lightning Acquire Rights To Jake Guentzel

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired the rights to pending free agent Jake Guentzel from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Tampa’s 2025 third-round pick (Twitter link).

Never ones to be subtle, it seems Tampa is taking their cap squeeze into their own hands – ending speculation about all-time Bolt Steven Stamkos, who is expected to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his 16-year NHL career on Monday. In response, Tampa has taken a page from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ book – moving assets to give them a head start in negotiating with one of the market’s top free agents.

This is Guentzel’s second move in the last four months, after joining the Carolina Hurricanes for a king’s ransom at the Trade Deadline. To get Guentzel, the Hurricanes had to give up NHL winger Michael Bunting; prospects Vasili Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, and Cruz Lucius; and the 2024 second-round draft pick used to select Harrison Brunicke. But Carolina certainly got what they paid for – with Guentzel transitioning seamlessly from the role of Sidney Crosby’s sidekick to standalone star beautifully. He recorded eight goals and 25 points in 17 regular season games with the Hurricanes, bringing his season total up to 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games – a 95-point pace across 82 games. What’s more, Guentzel held true to his claim as a fantastic playoff performer, ranking third on the team with nine points in 11 postseason games.

Guentzel scored at the highest pace of his career this season, even despite the midyear change of scenery. And yet, it’s hard to call it a breakout year – with Guentzel having recorded 40 goals in both the 2019 and 2022 seasons, finishing with 76 and 84 points in the respective years. But he did prove he can maintain, and maybe even improve upon, his scoring in colors other than black and gold.

That’s incredibly encouraging for Tampa Bay, who will soon be without the 40 goals and 81 points that a 34-year-old Stamkos managed this year. It was Stamkos’ third-straight season of 80-or-more points – adding 40 goals in two of those years. He’s shown no signs of slowing down, bouncing back well from injury-marred seasons in 2020 and 2021. Stamkos will be entering unprecedented territory when he hits the open market, and while it’s hard to gauge what price, term, or role he could be looking for, there’s no doubting that his new team will be landing one of the league’s perennial goal-scorers.

Meanwhile, the Lightning should have plenty of room to find Guentzel a contract he’s happy with – after moving Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club and Tanner Jeannot to the Los Angeles Kings. That opened up over $11MM in cap space, bringing Tampa’s breathing room up to  $16.5MM. They will have to stay mindful of their spending, though, with star defenseman and probable new captain Victor Hedman becoming eligible for an extension on Monday. He’ll play through the last year of his $7.875MM cap hit this season, and stand for a hefty raise on what will likely be the last contact of his career. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has made sure to mention Hedman’s next contract right alongside the Stamkos speculation – showing how much importance the team is placing on not losing multiple pillars.

Metro Notes: Trouba, Smith, Jarry

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TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the New York Rangers are willing to retain up to $2.5MM per season if it helps them facilitate a trade for defenseman Jacob Trouba. The Rangers captain has two years remaining with a cap hit of $8MM annually and was reportedly shocked to find his name on the trading block and linked to the Detroit Red Wings.

Trouba’s play has fallen off in recent seasons and while he remains a physical presence on New York’s blueline, his lack of discipline and poor defensive work isn’t justifying his large cap hit. Trouba posted just three goals and 19 assists in 69 games last season and was a -4. While he has never been an analytics darling, Trouba’s CF% cratered last season to 47.2% at even strength.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas remains open and willing to trade Reilly Smith but according to sources, the team has been unable to find a dance partner. Smith never settled into Pittsburgh after coming over in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights for a third-round pick but did have a better second half of the season finishing with 13 goals and 27 assists in 76 games. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas told the media on Friday that he hoped to collect draft picks and prospects this summer while maintaining a competitive NHL roster, but if that is the ask for Smith it’s difficult to see a team stepping up with that kind of offer until after free agent options have dried up.
  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic also spoke about Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry saying that Pittsburgh was willing to move the 29-year-old but weren’t able to find any interested parties. Jarry has four years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.375MM and has struggled with consistency throughout his career, fading in the second half of several seasons in a row. A number of goaltenders have moved in recent days, but with Jarry’s spotty record and large financial commitment, it’s hard to imagine a team stepping up unless Pittsburgh is willing to retain a large portion of salary to facilitate a deal.

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