- While some expected the Islanders to move Josh Bailey in order to free up cap space this summer, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the winger was told at the draft that he wouldn’t be getting moved. The 32-year-old managed to record 44 points in 74 games last season but has seen his production taper off over the last few seasons compared to a three-year stretch where he had at least 56 points per season. Bailey has two years left on a contract that carries a $5MM AAV and in this trade market, New York would have been hard-pressed to get top value for his services if they did move him.
Islanders Rumors
Last 10 Restricted Free Agents
And then there were ten. After Cayden Primeau inked his deal yesterday, there are now ten restricted free agents who have not yet signed contracts for next season. These players must be signed by December 1, or they will not be eligible to play in the NHL at all.
Jason Robertson, the young Dallas Stars forward, leads the way as the most impressive name, though many others represent key players for their respective teams.
The Los Angeles Kings, for instance, have two young defensemen on the list who each showed last season that they could be big parts of the future. Michael Anderson and Sean Durzi were each key in the team’s playoff run, with the former averaging more than 20 minutes a night during the regular season.
Arizona’s Barrett Hayton is a bit of a headscratcher, given how much cap space the team has, but his development has been anything but normal to this point, so it fits the pattern. The 22-year-old forward has played in 94 games at the NHL level and just 35 in the minor leagues since he was selected fifth overall in 2018.
The full list is:
Arizona Coyotes
Calgary Flames
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
New York Islanders
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vegas Golden Knights
Several of these players are likely already signed, with teams only waiting to clear additional cap space before officially filing the deals. Others may end up missing part of training camp or even the regular season, as they try to work out the best contract for the present and the future.
Classifying The Remaining Restricted Free Agents
When the calendar flips to September, it’s time to start paying some attention to who’s left unsigned in restricted free agency. Usually at this point, two months have elapsed since the start of free agency (it’s six weeks this summer) which is typically more than enough time to get a deal done.
There are currently 13 remaining RFAs that haven’t signed elsewhere for next season. As is usually the case, those players can be grouped into a few tiers which are as follows.
Star Players
Jason Robertson (Dallas)
Generally speaking, there are usually more players in this group at this time but the 23-year-old is the only star player in need of a new deal. He’s coming off a 41-goal campaign that has the asking price justifiably high – team owner Tom Gaglardi acknowledged it’s in the $7MM range. The Stars would likely prefer to do a long-term deal that buys out some UFA years but that could push the AAV past $9MM and they don’t have the cap space to do that. At this point, what GM Jim Nill does or doesn’t do on the trade front might dictate what ultimately happens with Robertson; if they can free up some money, a long-term agreement becomes palatable but otherwise, it’ll almost certainly be a bridge contract.
Underachieving Former First Rounders
Erik Brannstrom (Ottawa), Kirby Dach (Montreal), Barrett Hayton (Arizona), Rasmus Sandin (Toronto)
Dach and Hayton were both top-five picks in their respective draft classes but have yet to show the type of offensive consistency to put them in the category of core players. Dach was traded to Montreal at the draft after a quiet season that saw him put up nine goals and 26 points, both career-highs. Despite that, it appears that the Canadiens are at least pondering a medium-term agreement that would run for four years but still leave him RFA-eligible at the end. Something a little shorter in the $2.5MM range is also an option. Hayton has just this last season in terms of being a regular under his belt and could fit in a different category than this but his performance relative to draft stock has been concerning. He’s a prime candidate for a bridge contract and with fewer than 100 NHL games under his belt, he simply doesn’t have the leverage to command anything longer. A two-year deal around the $2MM range should be where his deal falls.
As for Brannstrom, he was billed as an offensive defender but has yet to be able to produce with any consistency since joining Ottawa back in 2019. He has just two career goals in 116 career games but that hasn’t stopped his camp from seeking a multi-year agreement in negotiations which are likely playing a role in this delay. Sandin could also fit in a different category but the 2018 first-rounder has exhausted his waiver exemption and doesn’t appear to be a fit in their top six next season. His agent recently bemoaned the lack of progress in negotiations. Teammate Timothy Liljegren’s two-year bridge deal that has a $1.4MM AAV seems like a reasonable comparable but with playing time being a potential concern, might Sandin be looking for more certainty before putting pen to paper on a new deal?
Young Regulars
Michael Anderson (Los Angeles), Alex Formenton (Ottawa), Nicolas Hague (Vegas)
Formenton played his first full NHL season in 2021-22 and it was a good one as the 22-year-old speedster chipped in with 18 goals and 14 assists in 78 games. The Sens have ample cap space this coming season so there are some options beyond the bridge contract. If GM Pierre Dorion thinks that Formenton is part of their long-term core, a longer-term pact that buys out a UFA year or two in the $3.5MM range might be a better way for them to go.
Hague has done well in a limited role on the back end for the Golden Knights over the past two seasons and is coming off a year where he logged close to 19 minutes a night. They’ve already spent most of the LTIR ‘savings’ so Vegas isn’t in a spot to give him a long-term deal. But is Hague better off taking a one-year contract that would be below market value to acquire arbitration eligibility next summer? Such a deal would be in the $1.25MM range with the promise of a better payout later on. Otherwise, a bridge pact that’s closer to $2MM is probably in the cards. Anderson has logged over 20 minutes a night for the Kings for the last two years but doesn’t have the offensive numbers to support a pricey bridge deal. Los Angeles’ cap space is quite limited so, like Hague, a one-year deal in the $1.25MM range might be where they wind up settling.
Not Fully Established
Sean Durzi (Los Angeles), Ryan McLeod (Edmonton)
McLeod figures to be a part of the long-term plans for the Oilers after a promising rookie campaign but doesn’t have much leverage at this point. Edmonton’s issue here is cap space as they’re already in a spot where they need to clear money out. If they can move someone out, a multi-year bridge contract becomes their preferred route but otherwise, he’s a strong candidate for a one-year deal around that $1.25MM threshold as well, perhaps a tad below that.
Durzi quietly put up 27 points in 64 games last season but it’s his only taste of NHL action so the track record isn’t strong enough to command a sizable contract. A two-year bridge deal makes a lot of sense for him as a repeat performance over that stretch would have him well-positioned to seek $4MM or more two summers from now. However, with the cap situation for the Kings, they might be forced to push for the one-year, ‘prove it’ contract that would fall in the same range as Anderson.
What’s The Holdup?
Cayden Primeau (Montreal), Adam Ruzicka (Calgary), Parker Wotherspoon (NY Islanders)
Ruzicka played in 28 games last season for the Flames and did reasonably well with ten points but it’s not as if he’s in a position to command a sizable raise. He’s waiver-eligible but not a guarantee to be claimed if he passes through. The holdup might be along the lines of making next season a one-way or two-way contract with any subsequent season(s) being a one-way agreement. Even so, it’s odd this is taking so long.
Wotherspoon’s presence on here is arguably the most perplexing of the bunch. He opted to not file for salary arbitration which would have gotten him signed weeks ago. He has cleared waivers in each of the last two seasons and has yet to play an NHL game. Haggling over NHL money would be pointless as a result so accordingly, it’s safe to suggest his NHL pay would be $750K. At this point, AHL salary or guaranteed money is the only sticking point. In all likelihood, the gap probably can’t be more than around $25K which is a pretty small one to justify being unsigned this long.
Primeau is coming off a strong showing in the AHL playoffs but struggled mightily in limited NHL action with the Canadiens last season. Even so, he’s viewed as their potential backup of the future as soon as 2023-24 when he becomes waiver-eligible. This is a contract that should be a two-way pact next season and then one-way after that as a result and there are enough of those comparable contracts around the league for young goalies that the general framework should basically have been in place before talks even started. As a result, this is another case that feels like it should have been resolved weeks ago.
There’s still plenty of time to work something out with training camps still a couple of weeks away and several of these players should come off the board by then but there will likely be a handful still unsigned when camps get underway.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New York Islanders Sign Calle Odelius
August 31: A month and a half after it was first reported, the Islanders officially announced the signing. The team also confirmed that Odelius will be loaned back to Djurgardens for the 2022-23 season.
July 15: The New York Islanders’ preferred way of doing business is typically to keep things quiet and only make public announcements when absolutely necessary. This can lead to their fans being in the dark on what they’re up to in the offseason, but thanks to the work of the folks at CapFriendly we have a bit more clarity on what the team is doing.
Earlier this month the work of CapFriendly and PuckPedia uncovered seven Islanders signings, and now we have another Islanders signing that hasn’t been officially announced yet: the team’s top 2022 draft pick, Calle Odelius, has signed his three-year entry-level deal, per CapFriendly.
Odelius, 18, was the Islanders’ top pick due to the team trading their 13th-overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Alexander Romanov.
Odelius was selected 65th overall and has played in Djurgardens IF’s organization for the past three seasons. This past year, Odelius spent most of the season playing for Djurgardens at the junior level, where he scored an impressive 30 points in 43 games. Odelius also got seven games with the main SHL Djurgardens squad, an impressive achievement for a player who turned 18 at the end of May.
Odelius isn’t a big defenseman standing at five-foot-eleven, 185 pounds, but he’s a strong skater and has real two-way ability and puck-moving upside. The Islanders don’t have many prospects with the potential to become a top-four blueliner in their system, a prospect pool that was ranked 31st in the NHL by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler at the beginning of the year. If things go right in Odelius’ development, he can become an impactful two-way transitional defenseman.
By signing him to this entry-level deal, Odelius will likely head to training camp with the team, get into some preseason games, and have a chance to make the Islanders team outright. That’s an unlikely outcome, though, and the most likely scenario is that Odelius is loaned back to Djurgardens where he will help them make a promotion push to get back to the SHL after being relegated to the second-tier Allsvenskan last season.
Brandon Davidson Signs In KHL
After seven NHL seasons and 180 games played, defenseman Brandon Davidson has signed a two-year contract with Kunlun Red Star in the KHL, per the league.
The writing was on the wall for Davidson who, at age 31, spent the entirety of the 2021-22 season in the AHL for the first time since 2013-14. A member of the Buffalo Sabres organization for the past two seasons, Davidson was an alternate captain for the AHL’s Rochester Americans last year and had six points in 23 games. Davidson last played in the NHL on March 16, 2021, in a game against the New Jersey Devils.
A 2010 sixth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Davidson had made a home for himself in the mid-2010s as a stable seventh defenseman for the Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, and New York Islanders. He remained entirely in the NHL from 2015-16 until the 2018-19 season, where he was sent to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs for a brief stint as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He’s yet to play a full NHL season since.
Davidson is still decent minor-league depth and could very well get two-way offers or AHL deals when his KHL contract expires in 2024.
New York Islanders Sign Four Players
As announced by the team this morning, the New York Islanders have signed defensemen Dennis Cholowski and Paul LaDue to two-year, two-way contracts, forward Arnaud Durandeau to a two-year, two-way contract, and forward Hudson Fasching to a one-year, two-way contract.
PuckPedia reports Cholowski’s contract carries a $762.5K cap hit, paying him $750K NHL / $200K AHL / $225K guaranteed in 2022-23 and $775K at all levels in 2023-24.
Cholowski, now 24, hasn’t been able to consistently stay in the NHL after the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 20th overall in 2016. He did show a fair amount of promise in his rookie season, 2018-19, when he scored seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points in 52 games while playing 18:15 per game. Those offensive and games played numbers still remain career-highs for Cholowski, though, who now joins his fourth NHL organization already after splitting the 2021-22 campaign between the Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals. Cholowski does fill a desperate need for the Islanders, though — having more than seven NHL-capable defense options within the organization. Cholowski will fight for a roster spot along with Robin Salo and Sebastian Aho, with both Cholowski and Aho requiring waivers for assignment to the AHL. He had three assists in 11 NHL games last season.
LaDue will head back to the Bridgeport Islanders for a second consecutive season. While he was a regular NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings not too long ago, he’s played just three NHL games combined over the past three seasons and that figure likely won’t change much unless injuries strike New York’s defense again. The 29-year-old North Dakota product had 12 points in 60 games with Bridgeport last season.
Durandeau, 23, was a restricted free agent, leaving just Parker Wotherspoon on the Islanders’ list of unsigned RFAs heading into next season. The Montreal-born left wing is entering his fourth professional season. Durandeau enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year last season in Bridgeport, setting AHL career highs in games played (64), goals (15), assists (22), and points (37).
Fasching, like Cholowski, is brand-new to the Islanders organization. A 27-year-old minor-league veteran, Fasching is a reliable AHL middle-six presence with limited NHL experience. He did suit up for 11 games with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22, his most in a single NHL season, but failed to record a point. He’d spent the past four years in the Coyotes organization, mainly with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Offseason Notes: Islanders, Point, Bellerive
While most teams make headlines in the summer for inking major contracts or completing blockbuster trades, the New York Islanders made headlines this summer for all the things they didn’t do. After being rumored as suitors for top free agents such as Nazem Kadri and Johnny Gaudreau as well as a potential trade destination for big-name scorers, the Islanders’ most significant move this summer, at least to this point, has been the acquisition of defenseman Alexander Romanov.
That lack of activity hasn’t sat well with some in their fanbase, but today Lou Lamoriello, the team’s legendary general manager, explained the rationale behind this offseason strategy. Lamoriello, as relayed by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, said that despite having “many different options” in terms of free agent targets, the price to pay to upgrade at one position would have possibly downgraded the Islanders at another position. The Islanders have recently made back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final, so Lamoriello’s choice to keep his core largely intact is certainly defensible. That being said, if the Islanders have another disappointing year, the front office’s inability to make major waves this summer could be looked at as a major issue.
Now, for some other notes regarding offseason moves across the world of hockey:
- As part of his comments to the media after today’s moves, Lamoriello also shed some light on how he views the Islanders’ defense for this coming season. Per Newsday’s Andrew Gross, veteran defensemen Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara are “not currently considerations” for defensive roles next season. Greene and Chara combined for 141 games played for the Islanders last season, and their not being included in next season’s plan is an indication that the Islanders plan to get younger on their blueline in new coach Lane Lambert’s first season. The team’s top-four defensemen look set to be Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson, and Romanov, and the team will likely carry two of Sebastian Aho, Grant Hutton, and Robin Salo to pair with Scott Mayfield on the team’s third pairing.
- Goaltender Colton Point, once one of the more promising goalie prospects in hockey, signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets today, per a team announcement. Point, 24, had a heroic 2017-18 season for Colgate in the NCAA, going 16-12-5 with six shutouts and a .944 save percentage. Point went pro after that season, but has since struggled to make his mark at the AHL level with the Texas Stars. The 2016 fifth-rounder has a grisly .882 save percentage in 29 career AHL contests, and struggled to find his way in the Stars’ organization. His ECHL career numbers are a bit better, as he has a .901 save percentage in 52 career games, and he heads to Fort Wayne looking to stabilize his professional career.
- Per a team announcement, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms have signed forward Jordy Bellerive to a one-year, one-way (AHL) contract. The 23-year-old Bellerive is an undrafted player who has spent the past three seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins as a full-time player. Before then, Bellerive was a star forward for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL. Bellerive heads to Lehigh Valley with the expectation of playing a bottom-six, penalty-killing role for the team, and he’ll also be counted on to bring the exact “hard to play against” style that the Flyers strive to cultivate throughout their organization.
New York Islanders Sign Noah Dobson, Alex Romanov, Kieffer Bellows
Per a series of team announcements Monday morning, the New York Islanders have finally locked up a trio of restricted free agents in defenseman Noah Dobson (link), defenseman Alexander Romanov (link), and forward Kieffer Bellows (link). Dobson and Romanov have signed three-year deals, while Bellows has signed a one-year deal.
The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports Dobson’s deal carries a $4MM AAV, while TSN’s Chris Johnston reports Romanov’s deal has a $2.5MM cap hit. CapFriendly reports Bellows’ contract carries a $1.2MM cap hit, all in base salary.
Dobson, 22, enjoyed a career season in 2021-22, something that couldn’t be said for much of the team. The team’s 12th overall selection in 2018 displayed his full potential, leading the team’s blueline with 51 points in 80 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night. His defensive game has remained solid throughout his three-year career so far, but it was his offensive vision and confidence that spearheaded his breakout this year. He was never drafted to be a defensive stalwart, but not being a liability in his own end of the ice certainly helps his case to continue developing into a superstar defenseman.
Romanov, however, was drafted to be that defensive stalwart, and he took a real step towards that last season in Montreal despite playing in a porous system. Acquired this offseason in exchange for the 13th overall pick, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello gets a great value signing here with a three-year term on that $2.5MM cap hit. Romanov showed that he can be a dependable defensive presence while playing top-four minutes, a role he’ll undoubtedly continue on the Island this season. A stark upgrade over the play of Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene, Romanov could likely play with Dobson on the team’s second pairing, one that could end up being their best one in a few seasons’ time. He set career-highs in 2021-22 with 79 games played, three goals, 10 assists, 13 points, and an average time on ice of 20:24.
Bellows has struggled to crack the lineup on a nightly basis under former head coach Barry Trotz, and he’s hoping a new face behind the bench will get him some more playing time. His offensive numbers finally showed great promise at the NHL level last season, posting 19 points in 45 games despite playing under 12 minutes a night. He’ll compete with veterans like Matt Martin and Zach Parise for spots in the lineup, as he’ll try to work his way into a consistent bottom-six role (with some power play time, hopefully).
All three players will again be restricted free agents at the end of their contracts.
Latest On New York Islanders Offseason
It was no secret that in order to get better after last season’s disappointment, the New York Islanders needed to find a way to add scoring and get younger on the blueline. They managed to do one of those things, acquiring 22-year-old defenseman Alexander Romanov from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for their 2022 first-round pick. However, the team was unable to, at least so far, address its lackluster offense. The Islanders had been connected to star free agents Johnny Gaudreau, who ultimately signed with the division-rival Columbus Blue Jackets, and Nazem Kadri who recently signed with the Calgary Flames.
Today on NHL Network, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman discussed the Islanders with Bill Pidto, saying that while he believes they were interested in Kadri, they were never able to create the cap space to make it work. Interestingly, the Islanders actually have the fourth most salary cap space available according to CapFriendly, with just under $11.2MM available. However, the team does need to re-sign the recently-acquired Romanov, forward Kieffer Bellows, and breakout defenseman Noah Dobson. Between those three, it could command a large portion of their space. Though it may not take all of it, it would most likely bring them below the $7MM needed to, at the very least, match the offer Kadri accepted in Calgary.
To create that space, Lou Lamoriello could have opted to try to move one, or both of, wingers Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier. Though both are solid contributors on Long Island, moving their $5MM or $4.15MM cap hits, respectively, could have created the space necessary to sign a dynamic player like Kadri. Given the cost for Calgary to trade away Sean Monahan, who had just one year left at $6.375MM, the price for the Islanders to move one of their forwards may have been too steep to make it worthwhile. Another option could have been to move goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who carries a $5MM AAV, but is playing behind star netminder Ilya Sorokin. However, Lamoriello made clear his intention to keep the veteran netminder.
Also of note, Friedman added that he does believe deals with Romanov and Dobson are already done, saying he believes Dobson’s deal “is a big number.” Friedman also believes Romanov’s contract could come somewhere in the $3MM AAV range. Having the deals done, but not announced, is in keeping with Lamoriello’s previous dealings, including last summer’s rather late announcements, most notably of a Kyle Palmieri contract. Although Friedman didn’t mention Bellows as having an agreed-upon deal, it is worth noting the winger was arbitration-eligible, but neither him nor the Islanders filed. This surely doesn’t mean a deal is done, but would be a curious choice if nothing had been agreed upon (or could simply indicate very amicable talks between the two).
Latest On Nazem Kadri
One of the running jokes of free agency every year is that if a player hasn’t signed for a while, they probably have a deal with the New York Islanders and Lou Lamoriello just hasn’t announced it. That’s what has been fueling rumors for Nazem Kadri, one of this summer’s top options who remains unsigned partway through August.
Frank Seravalli updated the situation on The DFO Rundown for Daily Faceoff today:
My understanding is [Kadri’s camp] have continued to engage with other teams. For all the reports that Kadri has something locked up with the Islanders, I think that is premature to say. I do think the Islanders have been one of the teams that have been in conversation with Kadri, I think they have put an offer on the table.
Other teams have told me they believe [the Islanders offer] is in the $7MM x 7 range for Kadri. At this point obviously it is not signed, and the fact that they continue to talk to other teams tells me at least that they haven’t agreed to terms with the Islanders. May he end up there? It is certainly possible, but they also have to move money there to make it work.
The Islanders do have more than $11MM in free cap space at the moment (according to CapFriendly’s projections) but still have Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, and Kieffer Bellows to factor in as restricted free agents. Dobson especially is expected to take up a huge chunk of that open space should he sign a long-term deal after his breakout 2021-22 campaign. The 22-year-old defenseman had 13 goals and 51 points in 80 games for the Islanders, establishing himself as a premier offensive defenseman in the league, while playing more than 21 minutes a night.
That means fitting Kadri will be difficult, and if Seravalli’s sources are right that the free agent’s camp is still talking to other teams, the Islanders don’t have that plan in place just yet.
Kadri, 31, is coming off a career-best 87-point season with the Colorado Avalanche that eventually resulted in his first Stanley Cup championship. The dynamic center can do just about everything on a hockey rink but still would represent plenty of risk on a seven-year deal. Not only will he turn 32 in October just before the season begins but has a history of supplementary discipline that removed him from important series for both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Avalanche.
Locking him into a big-money, long-term deal would be a bold move for the Islanders, who already have several players with rather hefty cap hits for multiple years and important negotiations right around the corner. Ilya Sorokin, for instance, is only signed through 2023-24 before he is scheduled for unrestricted free agency, while Mathew Barzal will be an RFA again next summer.
Still, it’s hard to know who they are really fighting against at this point, given how capped-out so many contenders are this deep into the summer. Only a handful of teams project to have the space available to fit in a $7MM center, and most of them would likely have no interest in adding a player of Kadri’s age. Remember that even Seravalli’s information could be a negotiating tactic from the Kadri camp, as they try to work out the best deal possible in New York.