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Minnesota Wild Acquire Nick Bjugstad

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8:00pm CT: The terms of this trade have now been revealed by Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and certainly seem to tilt the favor even more toward Minnesota. First, the Penguins will retain half of Bjugstad’s salary this year, the final season of a six-year, $24.6MM deal. As a result, Pittsburgh will only dump $2.05MM in cap salary while the Wild get a full year of Bjugstad at a bargain price. Second, the Penguins will only receive the conditional seventh-round pick if Bjugstad plays in at least 70 games or scores at least 35 points this season. Otherwise, the team does not receive any return. If this trade is indication, shedding salary this off-season is going to be easier said than done.

7:00pm CT: Nick Bjugstad, one of the most well-regarded prospects to come out of the Minnesota high school ranks this century, is headed home. The Minnesota Wild announced that they have acquired the 28-year-old center from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In what is all but a salary cap dump, the Penguins only received a conditional 2021 seventh-round draft pick.

Bjugstad is a polarizing player, but certainly one worth risking a late pick and one year of term on. Named Mr. Hockey in 2010 as the best player in Minnesota high school, Bjugstad went on to be drafted in the first round by the Florida Panthers later that year. After starring for the of Minnesota for three years, Bjugstad joined Florida and  immediately became a contributor. He recorded 38 points as a rookie, even garnering Calder Trophy votes, and totaled 191 points in 394 games with the Panthers over parts of seven seasons. While these were solid numbers, they weren’t exactly what Florida was hoping for from one of their core players. In 2018-19, Bjugtad was traded alongside Jared McCann to the Penguins for Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan, and three draft picks. His time in Pittsburgh has been forgettable, marred by injury and inconsistency that left him with just 16 points in 45 games to show for a season and a half.

Yet, Bjugstad is healed and expected to be fully healthy for the start of the 2020-21 season for Minnesota. No one will blame Pittsburgh for dumping Bjugstad’s $4.1MM cap hit (and $5.25MM salary) as they face a stiff cap crunch, but the Wild could easily wind up with the better side of this deal if Bjugstad can return to form back at home in the Twin Cities and produce 40-50 points as he has several times before. As the Wild look to replace the experience and two-way ability of Mikko Koivu down the middle this season – and quite possibly Eric Staal next season – Bjugstad is a prime candidate. At 6’6″ and 215 lbs., Bjugstad is a menacing presence on the ice and has the proven ability to take the puck with both brute force and finesse. After a pair of down seasons, Bjugstad may not be the most exciting name, but he could be primed for a major comeback this year with the Wild and could potentially earn himself a long-term extension with his hometown team in the process.

 

Snapshots: King Clancy Trophy, Kucherov, Bishop, Holzapfel

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Now that the NHL has reached the conference championship phase of the playoffs, so too can the NHL awards, which are expected to be handed out day-by-day over the next couple of weeks. First up is expected to be the King Clancy Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. The trophy will be awarded this evening before the start of Game 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. The three finalists for the awards are Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba, New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist and New Jersey Devils’ P.K. Subban.

Dumba has been committed to racial and social justice and the Hockey is for Everyone initiative and helped form the Hockey Diversity Alliance with seven current and former NHL players. Lundqvist supports several different initiatives, including aid for children’s health, education, underprivileged youth, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Make a Wish Foundation. Subban also supports several groups, including initiatives for underprivileged youth, medical support and promoting racial and social injustice.

  • Despite the bad news that the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to go through the Eastern Conference Finals without Steven Stamkos, the team did get some good news, however, on the injury front. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that first-line forward Nikita Kucherov is expected to be available Monday for the Lightning’s first game against the New York Islanders. Kucherov was forced to leave Game 5 against the Boston Bruins with an undisclosed injury, but has had almost a week to recover. The 27-year-old has been quite effective in the playoffs so far with four goals and 16 points in 13 games.
  • The Dallas Stars will be without starting goaltender Ben Bishop once again as The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that Bishop and defenseman Taylor Fedun remain “unfit to play.” Both skated today, but neither appear ready to play. The scribe did add that forwards Andrew Cogliano and Mattias Janmark are both expected to be game-time decisions today. Bishop has appeared in just three games during the playoffs and hasn’t made an appearance since Aug. 31 against Colorado when he allowed four goals in 13 minutes before being replaced. The team will rely on Anton Khudobin once again, who is 8-5 with a .909 save percentage in 14 games during the playoffs.
  • Former AHL forward Riley Holzapfel announced his retirement after spending his four years with the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian League. Holzapfel was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006 and five season in the AHL before opting to play overseas in 2013, playing three seasons in the SHL before joining Vienna in 2016. He was never able to break into the NHL, however. The 32-year-old was still productive with Vienna, scoring 18 goals and 46 assists in 48 games.

Snapshots: Dubnyk, Ritchie, Wagner, Rakell

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The Minnesota Wild have an interesting offseason approaching with little cap room and little roster space. While general manager Bill Guerin is expected to make changes to the roster, there is the question of whether the team will consider buying out a player or two.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that one player who is a candidate for a buyout is goaltender Devan Dubnyk. The scribe adds that if Minnesota opts to buyout Dubnyk, it likely would be to open up a roster space as opposed to saving on cap space. Dubnyk was the starting goaltender at the beginning of the year, but struggled immensely this season in 30 appearances with an 3.35 GAA and a .890 save percentage. Granted, the veteran still has one more year at $4.3MM. However, more importantly, the team may want to move on from Dubnyk with Alex Stalock taking over the starting role. They also have AHL Goaltender of the Year in Kaapo Kahkonen ready as well as the potential to go out and get a goaltender such as Braden Holtby or trade for Matt Murray.

  • The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that the Department of Player Safety took a look at the hit from Boston Bruins forward Nick Ritchie on Tampa Bay’s Yanni Gourde during Game 3 Saturday. There will be no suspension as the hit was timed at .6 seconds from the time the puck was released. Gourde was clearing a puck during the second period when he was hit from behind by Ritchie in a shoulder-to-back hit, sending Gourde flying forward into the boards where he hit his head. However, the league rarely suspends players for hits at .6 seconds, especially ones that don’t include head contact.
  • The Bruins won’t have it easy as they face elimination on Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, down 3-1. The Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno reports that fourth-line forward Chris Wagner won’t be available for Game 5 due to an undisclosed injury. Wagner missed Sunday’s practice along with Ritchie, while Sean Kuraly did skate with the team after missing two games. Both Ritchie and Kuraly are day-to-day, but Wagner is definitely out, according to Bruins’ coach Bruce Cassidy. Wagner played quite well in the round-robin series scoring two goals, but has not tallied a point in the Tampa Bay series and boasts a minus-five plus-minus.
  • The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (subscription required) took a look at players destined to stay with the Anaheim Ducks and those who could find themselves elsewhere next year. One interesting observation is the inclusion of 27-year-old forward Rickard Rakell, a two-time 30-goal scorer. Of course, Rakell’s last two seasons have been quite disappointing with just 33 goals in his last 134 games and he could find himself being the scapegoat for the past two years of losing. On top of that, Rakell would be quite an attractive trade chip for playoff teams that could offer him more talent up front to work with.

Brennan Menell Signs In KHL

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The Minnesota Wild have lost a promising young prospect, at least for the time being. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Brennan Menell has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. In a follow-up tweet, Russo explained that Russo is “likely gone for good” even though the Wild can retain his rights temporarily by issuing him a qualifying offer. Menell is scheduled to become a restricted free agent when his three-year entry-level contract expires later this fall.

The 23-year old was an undrafted free agent signing in 2017 and quickly became one of the most dynamic defensemen in the AHL. Menell recorded 47 points in 57 games for the Iowa Wild this season and even made his NHL debut, suiting up five times for Minnesota. Named to the First All-Star Team in the AHL this season, it looked like the young defenseman was on a path directly to the NHL at some point in the future.

Now, he’ll head to the KHL where he could very well find even more success. You can bet you’ll hear his name again in the future as a potential signing, but cross him off the list of potential roster players for Minnesota in 2020-21. Even with Menell’s situation resolved, Wild GM Bill Guerin has a long list of restricted free agents to deal with this summer, including Luke Kunin, Jordan Greenway and AHL Goaltender of the Year Kaapo Kahkonen. We recently examined the upcoming offseason and the biggest needs that Guerin faces.

Morning Notes: Maple Leafs, Minnesota, McDonagh

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The Toronto Maple Leafs cleared some cap room yesterday when they moved Kasperi Kapanen to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they aren’t done yet. James Mirtle of The Athletic reports that several other Maple Leafs players are “being dangled to varying degrees” including starting goaltender Frederik Andersen. Andersen would apparently only cost a single “low-cost” asset, as the cap room would be the big addition for a Toronto team looking to improve in other areas. The 30-year old Andersen is only signed through 2020-21 and carries a $5MM cap hit, but just experienced his worst season in the NHL.

Alexander Kerfoot, Andreas Johnsson and Pierre Engvall are the other names mentioned, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the forward core the Maple Leafs still employ. If the top-four names—Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander—aren’t going anywhere, the team will have to move on from those second-tier players if they are to shed any more salary.

  • The Minnesota Wild have added Frederic Chabot and Brett McLean to their coaching staff, while extending the contracts of Darby Hendrickson, Bob Woods and Jonas Plumb. Chabot will take over duties as the team’s goaltender coach, while McLean will join the club as an assistant, the same role he filled for the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The pair join Dean Evason’s team after the interim tag was removed from him last month. Evason signed a two-year contract after taking over from Bruce Boudreau midseason.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning still won’t have Ryan McDonagh in the lineup tonight as they take on the Boston Bruins in the second half of a back-to-back.  The veteran defenseman has already been ruled out, meaning the rest of the Lightning defense corps will need to carry a little more responsibility this evening. McDonagh played just 15 minutes in a game one loss and missed yesterday’s thrilling overtime victory.

Offseason Keys: Minnesota Wild

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As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return, we shift our focus to the ones that have been ousted.  Next up is a look at Minnesota.

This season was another one that could be classified as same old, same old for the Wild.  They weren’t bad enough to be in the lottery nor were they good enough to be in the playoffs under the normal format.  They ended their regular season on a better note following the coaching change from Bruce Boudreau to Dean Evason but it didn’t translate to much success in the play-in against Vancouver.  GM Bill Guerin certainly has some work to do over the coming months which will include these key items.

Add An Impact Center

This one has been at the top of their to-do list for a while now and unfortunately for Minnesota, this isn’t the best year to try to get one.  The UFA market is bereft of top pivots and trading for a top liner is probably something they’re not going to be able to do either.

But even at this point, a capable second liner would be an improvement on their current situation.  Mikko Koivu has seen better days and is a pending unrestricted free agent.  Even if he returns, he’s better suited for a bottom-six role.  Alex Galchenyuk, who has spent a lot of time on the wing and was included as salary ballast in a trade in February, is one of the better centers in this UFA class which says everything you need to know about that group of free agents.  He had some good moments after joining the Wild and it’s possible that he could return.  But given how his last couple of years have gone, that can’t be the only move they make at that position.

On top of that, Eric Staal is only a year away from UFA eligibility.  He’ll be 37 early in the 2021-22 campaign so he’s not going to be in the picture for long, even if he’s brought back.

This will be an interesting situation to follow.  The Wild simply have to make a move (or two) to shore up this position.  Their hand is being forced by their free agent situation and realistically, their only option is to trade for one and other general managers won’t be lining up to throw Guerin a lifeline.  But one way or the other, they need to add at least one notable center in the coming months.

Determine Brodin’s Future

Jonas Brodin has been a key cog on Minnesota’s back end for his entire eight-year NHL career.  However, he has frequently been involved in trade speculation for the last few years.  Minnesota has been looking to shake things up for a while now and an impact defenseman would certainly do that although any move would definitely leave a hole on their back end as well.

The 27-year-old has one year left on his contract which has opened the window for contract extension talks.  Although his offensive numbers typically aren’t the highest (though he had 28 points this season, a new career best), his defensive play and ability to log heavy minutes will have him in line to earn a nice raise on his $4.167MM AAV.

However, the Wild have three blueliners locked up on long-term deals already with Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter both making a little over $7.5MM while Mathew Dumba checks in at $6MM.  Can they afford to add a fourth defender at or around that price point?

If the answer is no or they at least can’t agree to terms on a new deal, the time may be right to move Brodin after all.  His below-market deal will be appealing to teams that are looking to make a splash but have limited cap room to work with.  An in-season trade would be harder to pull off with many teams likely to be capped out by then so if there’s no momentum on an extension, a move may be in his future.  That would be one way to try to fill their void down the middle.

Add Goalie Help

A year ago, it seemed unlikely that this would be on Minnesota’s needs list at this time.  Devan Dubnyk was coming off of a solid season and Alex Stalock’s three-year deal was set to kick in.  How quickly things can change.  Dubnyk’s campaign was nothing short of a disaster to the point where a buyout or a trade with considerable salary retention (the maximum is 50%) both have to be on the table.  Stalock did well as a backup but when he was put into the number one role, he faltered a bit.  He’s fine as the second option but bringing Dubnyk back would be risky.

The Wild have Kaapo Kahkonen in the system who is coming off of an outstanding season with AHL Iowa.  However, even though he’s already 24, he only has a couple of years in North America under his belt and is still exempt from waivers.  Another year in the minors to give him some extra development time certainly wouldn’t hurt while handing him the starting role in Minnesota would also be quite risky.

Whether it’s a platoon goalie off the free agent market or someone via trade, it’s hard to envision Minnesota trying to contend next season while returning their same goalie tandem from this season.  Dubnyk’s deal only has one more year left on it anyway so this was something that was going to have to be addressed in the near future.  That time has come a year earlier than expected.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Announces 2020 King Clancy Finalists

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The NHL has announced the finalists for the 2020 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Jason Zucker, then of the Minnesota Wild.

This year’s finalists are Matt Dumba of the Wild, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and P.K. Subban of the New Jersey Devils.

The selection committee, led by Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, consider the following criteria:

  • Clear and measurable positive impact on the community
  • Investment of time and resources
  • Commitment to a particular cause or community
  • Commitment to the League’s community initiatives
  • Creativity of programming
  • Use of influence; engagement of others

Pittsburgh Penguins Keeping 2020 Pick

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Thursday: The Penguins have now officially announced the decision, keeping their 2020 first-round pick.

Wednesday: When the Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated from postseason contention in the qualification round and the NHL held Phase 2 of the draft lottery, GM Jim Rutherford had a decision to make. They could give the Minnesota Wild their 2020 first-round pick, which will be the 15th selection in this fall’s draft, to complete the Jason Zucker trade from earlier this season, or hand over their 2021 first-round pick instead. They had seven days to make that decision, but today Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the Penguins will in fact keep the 2020 pick and give up their 2021 selection instead.

This decision does not come without risk. The 2021 selection is not protected in any way, meaning even if the pick is first-overall by way of winning the 2021 draft lottery, the Wild would still receive it. That would require the Penguins to miss the playoffs again, something that Rutherford obviously doesn’t count on doing.

It’s not the first time a team made a decision like this. The Ottawa Senators famously decided to hold onto their fourth-overall selection in 2018 and select Brady Tkachuk, giving up their 2019 pick to the Colorado Avalanche in the process. As it turned out, that pick ended up being fourth as well, which the Avalanche used to select Bowen Byram.

Obviously, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way, the Penguins feel as though they should be contenders for the Stanley Cup every year, let alone the playoffs. That confidence is held for good reason—the Penguins had made it to the playoffs every year since 2007, Malkin’s first season.

Another interesting thing to keep an eye on might be what Rutherford does with the 2020 pick, now that he has it. 15th would be the highest selection the Penguins have made since 2012 when they picked Derrick Pouliot. If Rutherford believes he can win in 2020-21, there’s nothing stopping him from dealing this pick for some help before the October draft.

Quotable: Wild GM Bill Guerin On The Upcoming Offseason

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With Minnesota getting eliminated in the Qualifying Round by Vancouver, the offseason has arrived.  GM Bill Guerin spoke with reporters, including Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press, on a call and spoke about several topics beyond the change to their coaching staff that was revealed earlier today.  Here are some of the highlights.

On Goaltending:

I was disappointed in the goaltending.  It needs to be better, that’s just the way it is, and if I said anything different, I’d be lying because it was not a strong point for us.

It was a tough year for Devan Dubnyk.  After being their undisputed starter for the last four years, the veteran struggled mightily, putting up a 3.35 GAA with a .890 SV%.  The last time he had numbers like that was 2013-14, a year in which finished the season as a fourth-stringer in Montreal’s system.  Alex Stalock wound up as their defacto starter as a result and while he had his best numbers since his rookie season, those numbers were still below the level of an NHL number one.  Accordingly, Guerin left the door open to shopping for help between the pipes this summer:

If I have an opportunity to make it better, I will.  I’m also confident if those guys come back that they’re gonna be battling for a spot, and we’ve got Kaapo Kahkonen pushing them. It just has to be better, flat-out. I can’t promise anybody a spot.

Kakhonen is coming off of a stellar season with AHL Iowa, one that saw him take home Goalie of the Year honors.  He’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility which gives him a bit of leverage.  That should be enough to land him a one-way deal but he is still waiver-exempt and with just two seasons in North America under his belt, more time in the minors would be ideal from a development perspective.

On Contract Talks:

There’s definitely a lot of moving parts right now.  It’s a little trickier not knowing the landscape of what the market is going to be, so It could take a little more time than usual.

While the list of pending free agents isn’t the largest, several quality veterans are now eligible to sign contract extensions, headlined by winger Kevin Fiala and defenseman Jonas Brodin.  While teams at least know what the cap for next season will be, there are still questions as to what the financial picture will look like beyond that time.  That certainly has the potential to delay the extension market (especially for players that will be unrestricted free agents in 2021 with Seattle’s expansion draft on the horizon) so as much as Guerin would like to get deals done – something he acknowledged on the call – he’s likely right in the suggestion that it may take longer than usual for that market to open up.

On Seeking Centre Help:

Teams don’t trade number one centers. They just don’t. Usually, it’s got to be done in the free agent market or through the draft. It’s a position that I think this organization has needed for quite some time. We are going to try to address it.

While Guerin may prefer to address this through free agency, it’s a very weak market down the middle.  One of the more intriguing options is midseason acquisition Alex Galchenyuk who was moved back to his natural position after the swap and acquitted himself relatively well.  Keeping the pending UFA on a short-term deal could provide them with a little bit of upside but not the type of top-end impact they’re looking for.

With roughly $65MM in commitments to 17 players already for next year, Minnesota may be able to leverage their cap space to their advantage.  While teams may not want to trade top centers to clear cap space, it’s not impossible that a second liner or two get moved.  Even that would represent a nice upgrade for the Wild and would help boost their middle of the pack attack.

On Buyouts:

I guess we would use it if we had to.  It’s definitely a last resort. To pay somebody to go play somewhere else is not something that I would love to do. Like I said, if we have to do it, we will do it.

The trade that saw Victor Rask come to the Wild in exchange for Nino Niederreiter worked out great for Carolina and was a disaster for Minnesota.  Rask has been in and out of the lineup and found himself scratched against Vancouver.  During the regular season, he has managed just seven goals and nine assists since being acquired.  That’s not the type of production they were expecting from someone that carries a $4MM cap hit.  They could plausibly buy him out and replace his production with someone making a lot less while freeing up some money to fill a spot elsewhere.  Doing so would cost $1.333MM against the cap for four years.

Dubnyk could also be considered for one if the opportunity to add another starter presents itself.  With only one year left on his deal, there isn’t much in the way of long-term repercussions.  However, the front-loaded nature of the contract means that there would still be a $2.667MM cap charge for 2020-21 which means they’d only free up $1.667MM for next season by doing so.  From their point of view, a trade with max retention may be more ideal, even if it still involves paying somebody to go play somewhere else.

Poll: Who Do You Want To Win The Draft Lottery?

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Seven teams in the NHL didn’t get a chance to return to play this summer. Their regular seasons were so disastrous that they didn’t qualify for a tournament which saw 24-teams take part. But none of them will be rewarded with the first-overall pick in 2020. Instead, that selection will go to one of the eight teams eliminated over the past week, after the first part of the draft lottery ended with a TBA club taking home the top spot.

The qualification round provided some incredible storylines. It also provided some eye-popping upsets. Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, respective 12-seeds going into the return to play format, defeated Stanley Cup contenders with all-world talents leading the way. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and their teams are out before even seeing the first round but now have a chance to land a consolation prize of sorts.

The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild all have a 12.5% chance of being awarded that first-overall pick, and the chance to select two-time CHL Player of the Year Alexis Lafreniere.

That may seem ridiculous, given the regular season performances from those clubs, but remember it required a previous lottery to get to this point. There was only a 24.5% chance of a qualification-round team earning the pick in the first place. That ended up happening, with the Los Angeles Kings also moving up to second place. The Detroit Red Wings, who had the highest chance of winning any of the three lottery spots ended up the big losers of the event, dropping all the way down to fourth despite winning just 17 games this season.

The league will announce the lottery winner this evening, with hockey fans all over the world tuning in to see where Lafreniere will go. The format of the lottery has drawn massive criticism given how things played out, but that won’t stop it from being a must-see event for the entire NHL.

Where do you want to see the phenom go? Which of the eliminated teams deserves the pick? Which would you hate to see win? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain your choice in the comments!

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