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New York Islanders Sign Steve Bernier To Two-Way Contract

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Former top-prospect Steve Bernier has re-upped with the New York Islanders, signing a two-year two-way deal with the team. The financials have not been released yet, but it’s unlikely that the deal would be worth much more than the minimum of $650K at the NHL level. Bernier would have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. Steve Bernier

Bernier, now 32, scored 26 points in 33 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL last season and ranked third on their team in goals despite playing less than half the year. The incredible talent that made him a 16th-overall pick in 2003 is still there, but at this point the chance of an NHL comeback is slim. Bernier once was one of the top prospects in all of hockey, and made an immediate impact with the San Jose Sharks in his rookie season after the team had traded up to get him at the draft. Scoring 27 points in 39 games for the Sharks, he was deemed the next star power forward but conditioning issues that had followed him since junior crept up again and he could never duplicate that 2005-06 run.

After 633 NHL games spread between the Sharks, Sabres, Canucks, Panthers, Devils and Islanders, the 6’3″ 220-lbs Bernier has collected just 230 points. He does though provide some depth for the Islanders should they get into injury trouble, but more likely will play out the year at the AHL level and try to help Bridgeport win a Calder Cup.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Florida Panthers Remain In Talks With Jaromir Jagr

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Though there wasn’t much doubt, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that the Florida Panthers are still talking to Jaromir Jagr about a potential return. The 45-year old remains interested in playing, and the team has been a good fit for him as he closes out his historic career. Jagr is coming off a contract which paid him $4MM in base salary, with up to $1.52MM in performance bonuses.

Jagr has previously stated that he wants to play to 50 (even joking about 60 at one point), and after another effective season in which he put up 46 points he has a chance to do it. Amazingly, his puck-protection style has been able to transcend eras and lockouts and still makes him an excellent possession player, even if his foot speed and straight power game have started to diminish.

The Panthers, looking to bounce back from a disappointing season, will hopefully welcome Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau back for full seasons and with it Jagr’s re-signing could make sense. The Cats don’t have a ton of cap-space to work with, but should be able to fit in a performance-laden contract once again. Since Jagr is (well) over 35, he’s eligible for performance bonuses and should expect them to be a big part of any deal he signs around the league.

As LeBrun points out, any deal with Jagr will have to wait until after the expansion draft as they wouldn’t want to waste a protection slot on the NHL’s second-all-time point leader. At 1,914 points, he doesn’t have anyone left to catch—unless he does play until 60, in which case he’d have an outside shot at catching Wayne Gretzky and his 2,857—but could continue to put himself out of reach of other players in the future. With another full season, he would become the all-time leader in games played; he currently sits at 1,711 just 56 behind Gordie Howe for the record.

Jim Montgomery Staying At University Of Denver

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After being courted by the Florida Panthers recently, Jim Montgomery has decided to stay in the NCAA coaching ranks according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The former NHL forward has coached at the University of Denver for the past four seasons, winning a National Championship last season by beating the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 3-2 in the final game of the Frozen Four. As referenced in our live chat yesterday, Florida had moved on to other candidates and will continue to wait on Phil Housley to finish his Stanley Cup run with the Nashville Predators.

Montgomery is considered one of the top coaching prospects outside of professional hockey, and according to Chambers received two interviews with Florida and was also in contact with the Los Angeles Kings before they decided to go with John Stevens. Fans of the DU program will now be able to rest easy, expecting players like Henrik Borgstrom—Florida’s first-overall pick in 2016—to honor their commitments to the school and return for the 2017-18 season.

Florida meanwhile will move on to other candidates including Housley. They’ve also been linked in the past to Bob Boughner, Michel Therrien and Todd Reirden, and could branch out the coaching search even further. For several of their candidates they’ll have to fight off the Buffalo Sabres who are also in the midst of a coaching search.

Florida Panthers Eyeing Chris Pronger For Front Office Position

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According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Hall of Fame defenseman and current member of the Department of Player Safety Chris Pronger is in discussions with the Florida Panthers to join their front office in a role under GM Dale Tallon. Pronger’s NHL contract is just expiring with the Arizona Coyotes, though he hasn’t played in the league since 2012.

Regarded by many as one of the smartest players in the game during his prime, Pronger has been looking for the right fit in a front office since he left the game. Earlier this spring he reached out to former rival Steve Yzerman on how he should go about getting into management, and working under Tallon would be a similar path to the earlier executive career of Yzerman under Ken Holland in Detroit. With Tallon re-instated as GM, the Panthers have just two Assistant General Managers currently, Eric Joyce and Steve Werier. Fellow defenseman Bryan McCabe is currently the team’s Director of Player Development.

Whether Pronger takes a role with the Panthers or not, he’s clearly on a path towards a front office somewhere. His 1167 games will help him in that pursuit, as he has seen almost everything there is to see in hockey, including winning a Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks.

Shawn Thornton Hired As Vice President, Business Operations

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  • The Florida Panthers have officially welcomed former player Shawn Thornton into their front office as Vice President, Business Operations. It had previously been reported that Thornton was headed for the business side of the game after retirement, and he’ll now work with President Matthew Caldwell. The veteran of 705 NHL games is known for his charitable work in the community with programs like the Shawn Thornton Foundation and the Pucks and Punches for Parkinson’s golf tournament.

Florida Panthers Sign Henrik Haapala, Maxim Mamin To Two-Year Deals

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The Florida Panthers have signed Henrik Haapala to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal is worth $925K, and also includes $425K in possible Schedule A performance bonuses. The team has also signed Maxim Mamin to a two-year entry-level contract, worth $758K each season. Both players will be restricted free agents following the 2018-19 season.

Haapala was the top scorer in Finland this season, finishing with 60 points in 51 games. The 23-year old is tiny—sometimes listed at just 5’8″ 156-lbs—but the Panthers should know what they’re getting. Aleksander Barkov played with Haapala when they were young, though the former second-overall pick had much earlier success. Haapala nevertheless has developed into the most dangerous scoring threat in the country, using his incredible edge work and elusiveness to create offense. Like other small players, Haapala will be challenged to find room in the quicker North American game. His talent is readily apparent though, and Florida was likely not the only team after him.

Mamin on the other hand was drafted by the Panthers in the sixth-round last season, only to suit up for his hometown CSKA Moscow once again this year. In an increased role Mamin performed well scoring 25 points in 42 games, good for fourth on the club. The 22-year old had been passed over in several previous drafts, but is apparently ready to come to North America and will be under contract for the next two seasons. He’s grown quite a bit since he was first eligible to be drafted, and now stands at 6’2″ 200-lbs.

Finnish newspaper Aamulehti was first to report that Haapala had signed, while CapFriendly provided the financial details on the two deals. 

Florida Panthers To Ask Permission To Interview Phil Housley

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  • Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinal reported yesterday that the Florida Panthers are indeed waiting for Phil Housley to finish his current run with the Nashville Predators before interviewing him for the vacant head coaching job. Panthers’ GM Dale Tallon would need to get permission from the Predators to talk to their assistant head coach, but most organizations don’t stand in the way as long as it is a promotion. Housley has been with the Predators for four years, and is considered a lock for a future head coaching job. The Hall of Fame defenseman put up 1232 points in 1495 games and is one of the greatest American-born players of all-time.

Expansion Primer: Florida Panthers

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Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

After cracking 100 points and winning the Atlantic Division in 2015-16, injuries and overall under-performance sent the Panthers tumbling back to Earth in 2016-17. Florida finished with over 20 points less, at 81, good enough for sixth in the division and a top-ten draft slot. Yet, hopes remain high in Sunrise, FL as the Panthers are still a team built around young stars that has just begun to reach its potential. With Huberdeau, Trochek, Barkov, Bjugstad, Ekblad, and Matheson forming a core group under 25 with top prospects like forwards Henrik Borgstrom and Adam Mascherin and goalie Sam Montembeault still on the way, Florida only has to worry about adding complementary pieces to a talented young group.

Yet, the shadow of the Expansion Draft still looms large over the Panthers. With so many good, young players under contract, the expansion process will not be easy for the Cats. They may be able to protect their best young players, but they are nearly guaranteed to lose a solid complementary veteran.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Reilly Smith, Vincent Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad, Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Colton Sceviour, Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Hodges, Michael Sgarbossa, Graham Black

Defense
Keith Yandle (NMC), Aaron Ekblad, Jason Demers, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, MacKenzie Weegar, Reece Scarlett

Goaltender
Roberto Luongo, James Reimer

Notable Exemptions

Jared McCann, Denis Malgin, Michael Matheson, Ian McCoshen

Key Decisions

The Panthers don’t have an easy decision to make at any position group. They face the risk of losing a prominent forward, defenseman, or goalie if they don’t read the Vegas Golden Knights correctly. Perhaps the biggest name who may be left unprotected in net: potential future Hall of Fame goalie Roberto Luongo. Many were surprised when the Panthers brought back Luongo, and with him the remainder of a 12-year, $64MM contract, in 2014. Even more were surprised when, nonetheless, Florida signed James Reimer to a five-year, $17MM contract on July 1st of last year. That move seems like it has partly been leading up to this point. While Luongo and Reimer each started 39 games in 2016-17 with very similar records, Reimer had the edge on Luongo in performance statistics. While this was their first season sharing the net, it is now the second season in a row in which Reimer has outplayed Luongo. It seems very unlikely that Florida will choose to protect the 38-year-old Luongo, who is under contract at $5.33MM per year until the age of 43, over the 29-year-old Reimer, with a more reasonable $3.4MM cap hit over that same span of time. Luongo will thus likely be one of the biggest names under contract and available to Vegas, but don’t expect a new team to take on that contract. Should they expose Reimer instead, the chances are much higher that the Knights will select a Panther goalie, but chances are both keepers are back in Florida next year regardless.

Among the forward corps, there is a lot to sort out. To get the easy ones out of the way, young scorers Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov, and Nick Bjugstad are almost surely safe. Assuming the Panthers go with the 7/3 scheme, that leaves them with three forwards left to protect. If they do go 8-skaters, then those four would represent all the protected forwards. After a breakout campaign in which he led the Panthers with 30 goals, 26-year-old Jonathan Marchessault is also highly likely to be protected. This leaves just two spots left for four valuable veteran forwards: Reilly Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Colton Sceviour, and captain Derek MacKenzie. Luckily for the Panthers, all four meet the qualifications (having played 70 games over the last two seasons or 40 games last season and be under contract) to meet the two-forward quota, so whoever the GM Dale Tallon wants he can have without having to consider other expansion criteria. With the free agent status of Jaromir Jagr up in the air, the leadership value of Jokinen and MacKenzie must be considered by a young Florida team. However, MacKenzie has not scored more than 20 points in a season since 2010-11 and is likely not of interest to Vegas and can be left unprotected. So who of Jokinen, Smith, and Sceviour will join him in the Draft? The 25-year-old Smith has the best chance to be the best producer for the longest amount of time in Florida. This also could be a way for the Panthers to dump the five-year, $25MM extension they signed him to last summer before it even begins. As he did with the Boston Bruins, Smith had a great first season with Florida in 2015-16, but just as he did in Boston, Smith fell off significantly in year two. The Panthers will have to re-sign Bjugstad and Marchessault and give non-entry level deals to Denis Malgin, Jared McCann, and others before that contract expires. Can they afford the weight of a $5MM annual cap hit for an average player? If Smith has scared them off, expect them to expose him and hope Vegas takes the risk. If not, it comes down to Jokinen and Sceviour. Again, the 33-year-old Jokinen has the leadership and experience and is just one year removed from a 60-point season. Sceviour can’t boast that kind of career production, but at $950K to Jokinen’s $4MM and Smith’s $5MM, he gets the Panthers more bang for their buck.

Defense is the real nightmare for Florida. Keith Yandle’s No-Movement Clause makes him automatically protected, though he would be protected regardless after signing a seven-year deal last year that began with a nice 41-point season. Aaron Ekblad is also as close to a sure thing as their is in the Expansion Draft as far as protection. The 2015 Calder Trophy-winner struggled a bit last season, but is still a top pair defenseman at just 21 years old. That leaves defensive spot left in the 7/3 scheme and three stalwart defeseman to choose from: Jason Demers, Alex Petrovic, and Mark Pysyk. Unfortunately, unless circumstance change, Demers is out of the equation. With Yandle and Ekblad protected and Petrovic and Pysyk as restricted free agents, Demers is the only defenseman on the roster who can meet the 70-40 quota. It is possible for Florida to re-sign and expose Petrovic, Pysyk, or impending unrestricted free agent Jakub Kindl and then protect Demers, but their hesitation to do so yet seems to imply that they won’t be. Thus, Demers will be exposed and stands a very high chance of playing in Vegas next season. As for Petrovic verus Pysyk, both are similar in age and have great ability, but little to show for it on the score sheet early in their careers. The Panthers brass know best which 25-year-old fits best on the team, and likely both will remain in Florida, but don’t be surprised if they give the homegrown talent Petrovic the nod.

Projected Protection List

Scheme: 7F/3D/1G

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau
Vincent Trocheck
Aleksander Barkov
Nick Bjugstad
Jonathan Marchessault
Jussi Jokinen
Colton Sceviour

Defensemen

Keith Yandle (NMC)
Aaron Ekblad
Alex Petrovic

Goalie

James Reimer

Every team has a few risks that they must take in the Expansion Draft. As extraordinarily unlikely as it is, losing Luongo would be a blow and would cause the Panthers to have to change their off-season priorities to focus on helping Reimer in net. Smith being selected could come back to bite them if his $25MM deal pays off in Vegas. Being stripped of their captain would be rough on the locker room and they will likely hold out hope that there is no interest in MacKenzie. Having Pysyk taken from them after he was the centerpiece of last summer’s Dmitry Kulikov trade would feel like a waste.

So what sets Florida apart? Exposing Demers barely qualifies as a risk. The 28-year-old was one of the prizes of free agency last summer and just finished the first season of a relatively affordable five-year, $22.5MM deal. He scored 28 points this season, the second best campaign of his career and a level of production closer to that of his time back with the San Jose Sharks. He also has seen a steady climb in shooting percentage as the years have gone on and could easily break double digits next season, regardless of where he plays. However, the best thing about Demers for the Golden Knights is that he is a safe pick. He can lead their defense, can easily play 20+ minutes per night, can hit and block shots, and is signed long-term, meaning he can become a franchise player and potentially the team’s first captain. Unless the Panthers go 8-skaters or extend a current qualifying defenseman to then protect Demers, they face a real risk of losing a very solid player for nothing after just one year.

Mike Kelly To Join Golden Knights’ Coaching Staff

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Former Florida Panthers Assistant Coach Mike Kelly will be joining Gerard Gallant behind the bench in Las Vegas this fall.

This news comes from TSN insider Darren Dreger, who says an official announcement regarding Kelly and other assistant coaches is a few weeks away.

Read more: Gerard Gallant Named Vegas’ Head Coach

Kelly has previously served alongside Gallant when the pair were in Florida from 2014 to 2016. Both men were fired last November after the Panthers won 11 of their first 22 games.

Prior to his time in Florida, Kelly spent four years with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, spending two years as the Director of Hockey Operations and Associate Head Coach before being promoted to Head Coach and General Manager. The Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup in 2011. Kelly has also been a head coach or assistant in the AHL, OHL, WHL, Canadian University hockey, and both the U-18 and U-20 Team Canada teams.

Florida Panthers To Interview Bob Boughner For Head Coaching Position

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The Florida Panthers will interview Bob Boughner for their vacant head coaching position according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN. The team was given permission to talk to Boughner weeks ago, but will hold the interview at some point this week. The Panthers have been linked to Michel Therrien and Jim Montgomery in the past as well as assistants who may be still working in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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