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Capitals Sign Lars Eller To A Five-Year Contract Extension

February 10, 2018 at 9:54 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The Capitals have locked up Lars Eller for the long haul as the team announced that they have signed the center to a five-year, $17.5MM contract extension. The $3.5MM cap hit on this new deal matches his AAV on his current contract.

The contract breaks down as follows, courtesy of team writer Mike Vogel:

2018-19: $4MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2019-20: $3MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2020-21: $2.5MM salary
2021-22: $3MM salary
2022-23: $3MM salary

Eller is in his second season with Washington after being acquired from Montreal back at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft for a pair of second-round draft picks. He has been a mainstay as their third line pivot since then and is currently is on pace for a career year. He has 11 goals and 17 assists through 53 games; his career high in points was 30 (set with Montreal in 2012-13).

In his career, the 28-year-old has played in 576 games between St. Louis (who drafted him 13th overall in 2007), Montreal, and Washington, tallying 96 goals and 113 assists. He has been quite consistent over that span, notching at least 25 points in each of the last seven seasons.

As was the case last offseason, Washington appears to be heading towards a summer where they will very little flexibility to work with. This signing now gives them more than $62MM committed to just 14 players for 2017-18, per CapFriendly. Even with the salary cap expected to increase for next season, that won’t give them a lot of room to work with to try to add to their roster.

However, Eller’s extension ensures that the Caps will have their center situation under control for at least the next two seasons as Nicklas Backstrom is signed through 2019-20 while Evgeny Kuznetsov is under contract through 2024-25. It also takes one of the more prominent middle men off the open market for free agency this summer. While Eller didn’t make the top-20 in our midseason Free Agent Power Rankings series, he did receive an honorable mention.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 2/10/18

February 10, 2018 at 9:42 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

It’s another busy Saturday around the NHL with 18 teams slated to be in action. As a result, there should be plenty of roster moves throughout the day. We’ll keep tabs on those here.

The Blue Jackets have flipped backup goalies, announcing that they have recalled Joonas Korpisalo from Cleveland of the AHL while re-assigning Jeff Zatkoff. The move comes as little surprise as Korpisalo had been sent down earlier this week to get into a game at the minor league level. Meanwhile, Zatkoff has played just four times this season, all with Cleveland after being acquired for future considerations last month.

The Rangers have recalled goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from AHL Hartford, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. This comes on the heels of goaltender Ondrej Pavelec leaving Friday’s game with a knee injury. Georgiev is in his first year in North America and has posted a 2.97 GAA with a .908 SV% in 31 minor league appearances so far this season.

Edmonton is perhaps looking to shake things up on the blue line, as they have recalled Keegan Lowe from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old AHL veteran has just two NHL games to his credit, back in 2014-15 with the Carolina Hurricanes, but is currently enjoying the best offensive season of his minor league career. The Oilers already have eight defenseman on the roster right now, making Lowe’s call-up not a necessity, but instead a possible experiment to see how he plays at the next level.

Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Cole, Devils

February 10, 2018 at 8:36 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While the Hurricanes are sitting on the outside looking in at a playoff spot and haven’t made the postseason since 2009, don’t expect GM Ron Francis to be too aggressive in trying to shake up and add to Carolina’s roster over the next couple of weeks. Speaking with Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, Francis indicated that he won’t be deviating from his approach to building the team and has the backing of ownership to stay the course:

“If we feel it makes our team better, we’re going to do it, but we’re not going to give up key pieces or key picks just to try to get into the playoffs. We’re going to try to keep building this thing the right way to build a championship team. That philosophy is going stay the same.”

With the Metropolitan Division being so tight, there’s a good chance Francis will wait until just before the deadline before deciding whether to be a buyer, seller, or to stay put.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

Earlier in the season, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the Penguins would be dealing defenseman Ian Cole but Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that this may not be the case now. Cole has worked his way back into the lineup which lessens Pittsburgh’s desire to move him and they may simply want to hold on to him for depth purposes as well. It still seems that there’s a good chance Cole will leave as a free agent in July, however, as Mackey notes that there is some friction between the blueliner and head coach Mike Sullivan.
With Keith Kinkaid struggling and Cory Schneider (groin) still out of the lineup with no timetable for a return, Andrew Gross of The Record speculates that the Devils may have to consider adding a goaltender before the trade deadline. New Jersey also has veteran Eddie Lack who is currently the backup but he has struggled mightily in his limited NHL action so far this season. While it doesn’t appear as if too many goalies of note will be moved within the next couple of weeks, the asking price for some of the veteran depth options shouldn’t be too high.

West Notes: Blackhawks, Domi, Nilsson, Vanek

February 9, 2018 at 8:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

After years of being active buyers at the trade deadline, it looks like the Blackhawks won’t be doing so this season. They currently sit in last place in the Central Division and are eight points out of a playoff spot. Despite that, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times cautions that Chicago isn’t likely to be overly active on the seller front either.

In terms of their pending free agents, there aren’t prominent ones that would draw considerable interest though blueliners like Jan Rutta and Michal Kempny could be of interest to teams looking for depth. One defender that they would likely want to move is Brent Seabrook who has struggled this season and still has six years left on his contract at $6.875MM. However, even if the Blackhawks could find a trade match, Lazerus reports that there is no way Seabrook would consider waiving his no-move clause to facilitate a deal.

Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers

February 9, 2018 at 7:40 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Edmonton Oilers.

What a difference a year can make. Following a strong regular season that saw them post 103 points plus a solid showing in the playoffs where they lost in the second round, the Oilers were expected to take another step forward in 2017-18 and push for the Stanley Cup. Instead, the opposite has happened and they find themselves in a spot that they’ve become all too familiar with in recent seasons where they’re on the outside looking in.

Record

23-25-4, sixth in Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$37.4MM full-season cap hit, 0/3 retained salary transactions, 48/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2018: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th/5th*, EDM 6th, EDM 7th
2019: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th

*- Edmonton’s fourth-round pick transfers to Montreal if Al Montoya plays in seven or more games with the Oilers with at least 30 minutes played in each. If that happens, Edmonton will instead have their fifth rounder.

Trade Chips

As is always the case with selling teams, the first place to look is the players on expiring contracts. Winger Patrick Maroon highlights that list as a power forward that has certainly held his own in a top-six role with Edmonton. After being practically an afterthought at the trade deadline two years ago, he will be one of the more sought-after players this time around. The Oilers are believed to want to keep him around long-term but with Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV contract kicking in next season, they may not have the cap room to keep him around.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see GM Peter Chiarelli look to try to offload some money off the books for next season and beyond. While winger Milan Lucic may be very tough to move with five years left on his deal, someone like Ryan Strome – a pending RFA with arbitration rights who will see a raise on his current $2.5MM deal and carries a $3MM qualifying offer – could be someone that they look to move to free up a little bit of space for next year. Strome has two years of team control remaining.

Five Players To Watch For: W/C Drake Caggiula, C Mark Letestu, LW Patrick Maroon, LW/RW Anton Slepyshev, RW/C Ryan Strome

Team Needs

1) Defense: This has been at the top of the list in Edmonton for several years now and while they have taken steps to improve it, this is still an area that needs considerable improvement. Andrej Sekera has struggled this season since returning from a torn ACL and while they’re hopeful that a full summer will help get him closer to his usual form, that’s not a guarantee. Kris Russell is best served in a depth role while Oscar Klefbom has taken a few steps backward this year. This group isn’t good enough if they want to contend so more additions will need to be made. They may be able to get a decent prospect for Maroon if they value that over a draft pick but otherwise, this may be a need that gets addressed in the summer.

2) Picks, Cap Flexibility: Edmonton doesn’t have its full complement of draft picks to work with this year nor do they have any extra selections from trades with other teams. That should change over the next few weeks with players like Maroon and Letestu expected to yield something in a trade which will give them a few more selections to work with. For 2018-19, the Oilers have nearly $61MM tied up in just 13 players. That doesn’t give them a lot of room for additions even if the salary cap goes up as expected. At this time of the season, players with term remaining on their contracts don’t often move but expect Chiarelli to try to find a way to free up some more cap room for next season and beyond.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Martin, Islanders, Nyquist

February 9, 2018 at 6:27 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Maple Leafs winger Matt Martin is slated to be a healthy scratch for the eighth straight game on Saturday and unsurprisingly, there are questions as to whether he is part of Toronto’s future plans. Accordingly, Postmedia’s Lance Hornby mentions that there have been rumblings about the Leafs offering Martin to the Islanders, his former team. He adds that they would likely have to retain some of his $2.5MM cap hit to facilitate a trade. It’s worth noting that the 28-year-old has two years remaining on his contract beyond this season and that Toronto already has one of their three retained salary slots tied up through 2021-22 in Phil Kessel. However, with the team having plenty of depth on the wing already and a quickly-diminishing role, it still may be worthwhile for GM Lou Lamoriello to consider holding back some of Martin’s contract to get a deal done.

Senators Sign Pierre Dorion To A Three-Year Contract Extension

February 9, 2018 at 5:13 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The Senators announced that they have signed general manager Pierre Dorion to a three-year contract extension, one that keeps him under contract through the 2021-22 season. Dorion is in his second season at the helm of the Sens after taking over for the late Bryan Murray back in April of 2016 but he has been with the team since 2007 in several different roles, including chief amateur scout and director of player personnel.

While Dorion’s first season as GM went quite well with Ottawa making a run to the Eastern Conference Final, 2017-18 hasn’t been anywhere near as successful. The Senators currently sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with just 47 points and are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline. Owner Eugene Melnyk clearly believes Dorion can bring them back to contention but in the press release, he hinted at some short-term pain to come:

“Today’s announcement reflects a renewed commitment to scouting, drafting and development. It may require changes to our lineup. Rest assured, we will only tolerate pain with an endgame in mind: building an organization that wins – at all levels – year in and year out.”

Additionally, the team announced that team president/CEO Tom Anselmi has left the organization after just one year with the Sens. No reason was given for his departure.

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch was first to report (Twitter link) that an extension for Dorion was to be announced while TSN’s Darren Dreger first reported (via Twitter) that Anselmi would be leaving the team.

Trade Candidate: Michael Grabner

February 9, 2018 at 4:55 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.

The New York Rangers are selling. In not so many words, Glen Sather and Jeff Gorton reached out to their fans and told them that they were going to blow up the core of the team, selling off familiar faces and beloved teammates. Not only might that include franchise leaders like Ryan McDonagh, but expiring assets like Rick Nash and Michael Grabner. While the former may be getting more headlines, Grabner is not one to be overlooked.

Contract

Grabner is in the final season of a two-year, $3.3MM contract—$1.65MM cap hit, $1.65MM salary. He will be a UFA in July, and holds zero trade protection.

2017-18

In September of 2015, Grabner was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for five minor league players, who have combined for a total of 11 NHL games since. Several of them are no longer playing hockey in North America. It was a dump of his $5MM salary, after three consecutive injury-filled seasons for the New York Islanders. For Toronto, nothing went right for Grabner as he scored just nine goals and 18 points in 80 games.

But then, the Rangers came calling and everything changed. Suddenly, Grabner exploded for 27 goals last season, all of them at either even-strength or short-handed. His speed and ability to counter-punch with devastating efficiency was a big part of the Rangers offense. This year has been much of the same.

Amazingly, despite getting essentially zero powerplay time all season Grabner already has 21 goals. That total easily leads the Rangers, and puts him among the elite players in the game in terms of goal production given his limited minutes. His 20 even-strength markers tie him for sixth in the league behind names like Nikita Kucherov, Alex Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, William Karlsson and Sean Couturier. He’s on pace for the second 30-goal season of his career, but only has five assists all year.

Season Stats

53 GP, 21 goals, 5 assists, 26 points, -8 rating, 12 PIM, 116 shots, 14:40 ATOI, 44.1 CF%

Potential Suitors

There are basically no teams in the league who have their eye on the playoffs and couldn’t use a player like Grabner. His ability to penalty kill and versatility to play with scoring or checking units means he can fit in anywhere. He comes with an extremely reasonable cap hit at $1.65MM and got some good playoff experience last season with the Rangers (where he scored four goals in 12 games, again tying for the team lead).

The question will be who wants to pay the most for a player who isn’t as dynamic offensively as other rental wingers like Nash, or Evander Kane. Though he can certainly put the puck in the net, creating offense for his linemates has never been Grabner’s game.

One interesting destination could be Los Angeles, who have been desperate for scoring since Jeff Carter’s injury and could use another injection of speed into the lineup. Another is Tampa Bay, who have room for another winger and could really use some help on the penalty kill. The Lightning lost arguably their best defensive forward in Ondrej Palat for a few more weeks, and could easily slide Grabner into their salary structure.

Likelihood Of A Trade

A trade is all but certain for Grabner, as one of the expiring assets the Rangers will use to kick their rebuild into gear. If someone is going to offer a first-round pick, as some have suggested, he’d likely be on his way out in the next few days. Otherwise, the Rangers might be wise to hold onto him until some of the other shoes have dropped and teams feel like their rivals are getting the better of them.

The eventual return may be far less, depending on where the market sets the price for rentals, but it’s clear that Grabner will have value around the league. If there is a team who feels that he can make a big difference on their team in those key situations, there just could be a small bidding war for his services.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Rangers, Capitals Complete Minor League Trade

February 9, 2018 at 4:16 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Washington Capitals have traded John Albert and Hubert Labrie to the New York Rangers in exchange for Adam Chapie and Joe Whitney. The deal is a minor league swap, with none of the players expected to make an impact in the NHL this season.

Even though the deal doesn’t have much to do with the NHL clubs, it does still carry some interesting tidbits. This is the third straight season that the Hartford Wolf Pack have traded their captain mid-season, as Whitney took over the role this year. Ryan Bourque and Mathew Bodie had been previously moved.

Also, as Patrick Williams of NHL.com points out on Twitter, this alleviates some of the pressure caused by the veteran rule in Hershey. A rule that doesn’t get much press, the AHL forces their teams to make sure a certain portion of the roster is available for “development players.” Twelve players on each roster must have played in fewer than 260 professional games, and a thirteenth must have played in fewer than 320. In this trade, only Chapie qualifies for one of the twelve true development player spots.

Injury Notes: Scheifele, Brouwer, Boychuk

February 9, 2018 at 1:37 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Mark Scheifele will return to the Winnipeg Jets lineup tonight for the first time in 2018, more than six weeks since his last NHL game. During that time, the Jets have continued to win and find themselves tied with the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division with 73 points.

Scheifele’s return will once again make the Jets forward group one of the most fearsome in the league, now armed with the added knowledge that Blake Wheeler can handle center responsibilities and still perform at an elite level. Winnipeg will take on St. Louis in a key divisional matchup that could bring the two teams within two points of each other once again.

Troy Brouwer is week-to-week in Calgary after suffering a facial fracture last night, but isn’t expected to be out long-term. Brouwer actually returned to the game but will have to take a seat for at least a little while, opening another opportunity for some of the young Flames forwards. Brouwer was playing better of late, but still has just 15 points on the season in the second year of his $18MM contract.
The New York Islanders are starved for defensive help, and they’ll get some tonight as the team activated Johnny Boychuk off injured reserve. Boychuk hasn’t played since December 27th, but is expected to be back in the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings. If the Islanders think they can truly reach and then compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they’ll need to greatly improve their defensive play—Boychuk is a good first step.

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