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Antti Niemi

Jori Lehtera, Antti Niemi Sign In KHL

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Pavel Datsyuk won’t be the only former NHL player signing in the KHL today. R-Sport in Russia is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera has signed a one-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg, while Jokerit Helsinki have announced they agreed to terms with Montreal Canadiens goaltender Antti Niemi on a one-year deal. Both players are technically still under NHL contract through the end of the month, but are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

Lehtera, 31, never did work out in Philadelphia after coming over from the St. Louis Blues in 2017, and found himself in the minor leagues this season after clearing waivers. Add that demotion to a drug-related charge in Finland and it’s easy to see why he is leaving the NHL landscape for Russia to continue his career. This won’t be the first time he suits up in the KHL, as Lehtera spent four years dominating the league before ever playing in the NHL. His final season, 2013-14, he registered 44 points in 48 games and will try to get back to that level of offensive production.

Niemi meanwhile struggled last season with the Canadiens and likely wasn’t going to find another NHL backup role. Once a top young goaltender who took the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup victory, the 35-year old’s play has deteriorated to the point where he was bought out by Dallas and played for three different teams in 2017-18. His .887 save percentage in the most recent season wasn’t enough for the Canadiens to retain him, especially when they have Charlie Lindgren ready to compete for an NHL spot behind Carey Price.

Antti Niemi Linked To KHL

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The Montreal Canadiens are likely ready to give Charlie Lindgren a chance at the NHL in 2019-20, given that he will no longer be waiver-exempt. The team would need to expose the young goaltender to the rest of the league in order to send him down to the minors, meaning he very well could serve as Carey Price’s backup. That would mean there isn’t much room for Antti Niemi to re-sign with the team, which is why a report linking him to the KHL today doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Finnish newspaper Satakunnan Kansa is reporting that Niemi will join Jokerit for next season, though he is technically still under contract with the Canadiens until July 1st.

Niemi, 35, played in just 17 games with the Canadiens this season and struggled once again to the tune of an .887 save percentage. That poor performance comes after the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender rejuvenated his career in Montreal in 2017-18, going 7-5-4 with a .929 after failing to catch on with both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers. Niemi is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after his one-year, $950K contract expires.

Atlantic Notes: Moore, Miller, Senators’ COO, Canadiens’ Backup

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With the news that Charlie McAvoy will miss Game One of the Eastern Conference Final, the Boston Bruins know that they will need someone else to step up and fill both his spot in the lineup and his considerable minutes. While the latter responsibility will likely fall to increased roles for Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug, as well as captain Zdeno Chara of course, someone will have to come off the bench and be ready to contribute. Who exactly that will be remains a mystery, but the pool of potential options has increased. Speaking with the media today, Bruins GM Don Sweeney revealed that John Moore will be available on Thursday and that Kevan Miller has not been ruled out either. Moore was injured early in the Bruins’ last series and did not return, while Miller has not played at all in the postseason while rehabbing a lower-body injury. Sweeney did not sound optimistic that Miller would be the choice for Game One, but did promise that the further the team plays into the postseason, the more likely it is that he will return to the lineup. Miller began the season as a top-six regular for Boston, as he has for several years now, but injuries cost him all but 39 regular season games. An especially injury-prone defense corps this season has helped the Bruins give the likes of Moore, Matt Grzelcyk, Steven Kampfer, and Connor Clifton all considerable play time, and head coach Bruce Cassidy has entrusted the youngsters Grzelcyk and Clifton with starting roles moving forward in the playoffs. If Miller is still unable to go on Thursday, the decision would thus come down to Moore versus Kampfer, with the latter providing a right-handed shot and more stable defense, but the former bringing more experience with the team and more puck-moving ability to help with McAvoy’s absence. It will be an interesting decision for Cassidy and his staff and one that could play a major role in the Game One result.

  • Ottawa Senators’ COO Nic Ruszkowski is leaving his post after just one year on the job. As The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes, this is yet another shake-up to a front office that is still searching for a President of Hockey Operations, not to mention a head coach. Garrioch reports that Ruszkowski’s departure has spurred the Senators to restructure their administrative structure, with several executives moving into new roles to take on some of Ruszkowski’s duties. While the team claims that this restructuring will “strengthen our club”, Ruszkowski’s unexpected resignation is yet another stain on a difficult season for the Senators and only adds to the mythos of owner Eugene Melnyk being a difficult individual to work for. The team has a lot of work to do this summer on all fronts and hopefully can get their front office sorted out sooner rather than later.
  • The Montreal Canadiens may be paying Carey Price $10.5MM per year, but that doesn’t mean they expect him to play in every game. Yet, Price started the second-most games in the league this season, making 66 appearances. The poor play of backup Antti Niemi forced head coach Claude Julien’s hand in many cases and the team has already told Niemi, an unrestricted free agent, that he will not be back. Simply promoting Charlie Lindgren likely isn’t a much better option either. Instead, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels writes that the Canadiens will looks for experience and value on the free agent goalie market this summer. Engels warns that Montreal should not overpay for a backup, given the investment in Price to be “the guy” for ideally 60 games or so each year, but also feels they need a trusted veteran who could step in as the starter in case of injury. A cost-effective, proven veteran goalie is not always an easy thing to find, but Engels does throw out the likes of Cam Talbot, should he opt not to re-sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, Brian Elliott, Curtis McElhinney, Anders Nilsson, Keith Kinkaid, and Michael Hutchinson as top options. In all likelihood, it will be one of those names backing up Price come October.

Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Nate Thompson

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The Montreal Canadiens acquired veteran forward Nate Thompson ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline this season to add bottom-six depth for a playoff run that never materialized. They gave up little to acquire him, swapping a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft for Thompson and a fifth-rounder from the Los Angeles Kings. Yet, the Habs have decided to make the most of that minor investment. The team has announced a one-year contract extension with Thompson. It is a one-way deal worth $1MM.

The extension represents a small pay cut for Thompson, who had a $1.65MM AAV on his previous two-year deal, one that was originally signed with the Ottawa Senators but was served with three different teams. Yet, it is a fair downgrade for the 34-year-old forward. While still a dependable two-way player and an asset at the face-off dot, Thompson point totals fell last year and he hasn’t cracked 20 points since 2010-11. Yet, in just 25 games with Montreal, Thompson scored more points than he accumulated with the Kings in more than twice the games earlier in the season. If that level of production continues – a 23-point pace – this deal will be a great bargain for the Canadiens.

With Thompson signed and the Habs already confirming that backup goaltender Antti Niemi won’t be returning, the team has very few unrestricted free agents to worry about. Only forward Jordan Weal, a fellow deadline addition, and defenseman Jordie Benn are set to hit the open market. Like Thompson, Weal played far better in Montreal than in his previous locales during the season, while Benn had a career year in 2018-19. Both are strong candidates to return to the team.

Antti Niemi Will Not Return To Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens will have a new backup goaltender next season, as GM Marc Bergevin told Antti Niemi he won’t be back with the team. The veteran goaltender’s contract is coming to an end and he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

It’s hard to argue with the decision to let Niemi go after the struggles he experienced this season. The 35-year old goaltender saw his numbers decline across the board and finished with an 8-6-2 record and .887 save percentage. That’s where things appeared to be headed when Niemi was bought out by the Dallas Stars in 2017, but he found incredible success with Montreal in the second half of the 2017-18 season.

The Canadiens though have a backup ready and waiting for an opportunity in Charlie Lindgren and a young goaltender in Cayden Primeau that will need playing time in the minor leagues. Lindgren was given the final game of the regular season once the Canadiens had been eliminated from playoff contention, and figures to at least compete for the backup role next season—though he experienced his own struggles this season in the AHL and could potentially be replaced by a more veteran option if Montreal finds one to their liking.

For Niemi, if this is the end it was quite a ride. Undrafted, the Finnish goaltender signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008 and found himself starting in the playoffs by spring of 2010. As a rookie Niemi led the Blackhawks all the way to a Stanley Cup championship on the back of his .910 save percentage through 22 postseason starts. He would start another 43 games in the playoffs for San Jose and Dallas, but failed to capture another title. If he believes he can still compete at the highest level there will surely be people willing to give him a chance, but a guaranteed backup role seems like a stretch for the veteran netminder at this point in his career.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Charlie Lindgren

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The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had a backup goaltender they can rely on lately, as Antti Niemi has struggled mightily in his last few appearances. While Carey Price will obviously carry the load down the stretch, the team today made a move to give them another option in net. Charlie Lindgren was recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket, giving the team three goaltenders for the time being.

Lindgren, 25, has struggled for the Rocket this season to the tune of an .884 save percentage but also has a history of success in the NHL. Through 17 appearances with the Canadiens over the years the undrafted goaltender has recorded a .914 save percentage and two shutouts, though his overall record still sits at 7-8-2. While that may not strike you as a huge upgrade over Niemi, the team needs to find some sort of reliability behind Price should he suffer an injury. In fact, Eric Engels of Sportsnet notes that Price did take a painful shot at practice today. While he didn’t suffer any real injury it highlighted the need for depth at the position, something that Lindgren will try to provide.

The Canadiens are currently sitting outside the playoff bubble after losing their last two, and actually have played one more game than both the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets who occupy the wild card spots. With just a single back-to-back situation remaining on the schedule the team can probably get away with Price playing 12 out of the 13 games, putting him at 64 starts on the year. That’s a big number, but with the uncertainty behind him it might just be what the team requires to secure a spot in the postseason.

Goalie Notes: Price, Bachman, Hill

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The Montreal Canadiens announced today that starting goaltender Carey Price will not travel with the team to Florida as he deals with a lower-body injury, something that immediately set off alarm bells among the fan base. Price has dealt with several lower-body issues over the last few seasons that kept him from playing up to his potential, something that certainly still hasn’t been reached this season. The 31-year old goaltender now carries a .904 save percentage on the season which, while better than last year’s totals, is simply not good enough for the Canadiens to really challenge for a top spot in the Atlantic Division.

In Price’s place, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports speculates that Michael McNiven will be recalled given Charlie Lindgren is dealing with an injury of his own. McNiven has an .884 save percentage in 12 AHL games this year, and still hasn’t made his NHL debut. That leaves Antti Niemi as the goaltender to carry the load until Price can return, whenever that may be.

  • The Vancouver Canucks have some enviable minor league goaltending depth, but Thatcher Demko may have to carry even more weight for the Utica Comets going forward. Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweets that Richard Bachman could be out long-term with an Achilles injury, meaning Dmitri Kulbakov will be the backup tonight. Kulbakov has been bouncing between the ECHL and AHL this year, but could end up sticking with the Comets depending on what Vancouver does to address the injury.
  • Adin Hill has been recalled by the Arizona Coyotes once again, giving them three goaltenders on the current roster. Amazingly Calvin Pickard hasn’t played in a single game for the team since being claimed a month ago, while they continue to give opportunities to the young Hill. He’s done well with those spots, but one has to wonder how long the team will continue to employ three without giving Pickard any work. He very well could find himself on waivers for the third time this season in the near future. Arizona also recalled Michael Bunting and Conor Garland, who had been sent down as a cost saving measure over the holidays.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Dallas Stars

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Dallas Stars

Current Cap Hit: $78,030,832 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Miro Heiskanen (three years, $894K)
D Julius Honka (one year, $863K)
F Roope Hintz (two years, $812K)

Potential Bonuses:

Heiskanen: $2.5MM
Honka: $500K
Hintz: $158K

Total: $3.16MM

The Dallas Stars got a big boost to their defense when they managed to get Heiskanen, the third-overall pick in 2017, to come over to the NHL from Finland. The talented defenseman should be both an offensive and defensive presence for years to come and should be one of the cornerstones of the franchise. The 19-year-old posted 11 goals and 23 points in 30 games in the Liiga last year and has made an immediate impact to the team. And at an entry-level price, should prove to be an even greater impact to the team’s salary cap.

Honka, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, has shown glimpses of being a dominant defenseman as well, but despite his offensive talents, his lack of defense has kept him out of the lineup and has caused him to doubt himself as he is dealing with confidence issues. There was a belief that with new head coach Jim Montgomery around, Honka was starting to develop into that top-four defenseman that the team was hoping for, but he has already been scratched twice, suggesting he’s still not there yet.

A team that lacks offensive depth should be thrilled that Hintz has made the roster. The 21-year-0ld is a 2015 second-round pick and is coming off a 20-goal campaign in his first season of the AHL and could provide some offense from the wing position.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Jason Spezza ($7.5MM, UFA)
D Marc Methot ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Mattias Janmark ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Esa Lindell ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Brett Ritchie ($1.75MM, RFA)
D Roman Polak ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Connor Carrick ($1.3MM, RFA)
F Jason Dickinson ($875K, RFA)
F Gemel Smith ($720K, RFA)

This could be the last season for Spezza, and if not, it will be at a much lower AAV. Spezza is coming off one of the worst seasons in his career when he tallied just eight goals and 26 points last season as the 35-year-old struggled. While more determined to put up better numbers this year, the team likely will have to find top-six offense from someone else down the road. Methot is no different as his almost $5MM in salary could be better used elsewhere with the team’s defensive depth, although like Spezza, they could bring him back on a cheaper deal. The defensive specialist struggled with injuries last year, appearing in just 36 games.

The team may need a lot of that money for Lindell, who has developed into a solid top-four defender in Dallas. His defense has always been solid, but he has improved on offense, posting a career-high of 27 points and needs to be locked up to a long-term deal. The team also might consider locking up Janmark, who has improved each year since joining the team. The 25-year-old put up 15 goals back in the 2016-17 season and followed that up with an 19-goal season last year, suggesting he could be ready to take that next step this year and become that much-needed offensive weapon on their second line.

Two Years Remaining

F Martin Hanzal ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Valeri Nichushkin ($2.95MM, RFA)
G Anton Khudobin ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Devin Shore ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Radek Faksa ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1MM, UFA)

The team still has two years of Hanzal remaining, who signed a three-year deal last offseason, but has struggled with back issues. The 31-year-old appeared in just 38 games last season, posting five goals and 10 points and remains injured at the moment. While he has been skating, there remains no timetable for a return. However, if Dallas can get him back healthy at some point this year, he could provide the Stars with some secondary scoring. Although he’s never been a 20-goal scorer, Hanzal adds a physical presence to the team.

Nichushkin is another player who the team has high hopes for after he agreed to return to the NHL after a two year stint in the KHL. The 2013 first-rounder put up just pedestrian numbers in his two years with CSKA Moscow, but the team believes he should fare well on their second line this season and should produce some offense. Khudobin is another important addition to the team as the team fell apart after the team’s starter went down late in the season at a critical moment. Without a solid backup (Kari Lehtonen), the team struggled and failed to reach the playoffs. Khodobin adds that much needed solid netminder who can fill in for Bishop, who has a history of injury issues.

The team also needs offense from Shore and Faksa. Both have shown the ability to produce, at times, on the bottom-six lines, but both have the potential to take their games up a notch if they can find the right chemistry. Shore has scored just 24 goals in two seasons combined, while Faksa, a defensive center, scored a promising 17 goals last year.

Three Years Remaining

F Blake Comeau ($2.4MM, UFA)
D Stephen Johns ($2.34MM, UFA)

The team has little to worry about in three years as it has just the veteran Comeau locked up and Johns. Comeau was brought on board to add a gritty, veteran presence to the team, while the 6-foot-4 Johns put up solid defensive numbers for the Stars and even provided eight goals.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Jamie Benn ($9.5MM through 2024-25)
F Alexander Radulov ($6.25MM through 2021-22)
F Tyler Seguin ($5.75MM in 2018; $9.85MM through 2026-27)
G Ben Bishop ($4.92MM through 2022-23)
D John Klingberg ($4.25MM through 2021-22)

The team has several of their cornerstone players already locked up, the most significant came this summer when Seguin agreed to an eight-year extension to stay in Dallas long-term. Until he did so, there was plenty of speculation the team might have to move on from him, but with their franchise player locked in, the team can now focus on building the team around him rather than looking for a new franchise player. The 26-year-old posted a career-high 40 goals last year, but many feel that he is ready for a breakout season and might be able break out and take his game to the next level.

Benn is another player who the team counts on quite a bit on that fearsome first line. The 29-year-old is still a major offensive force who posted 36 goals and 79 points last season, bouncing back from a lesser 26-goal season in 2016-17. He continues to be a consistent scoring threat as he has never (strike shortened season excluded) scored less than 22 goals in his entire career. Radulov adds that third element for Seguin and Benn. The 32-year-old winger signed away from Montreal last summer was a perfect linemate on that first line as he tallied 27 goals of his own.

Bishop put up decent numbers last year as he played in 53 games for the Stars and put up a 2.53 GAA with a solid .916 save percentage. However, injuries knocked him out at a critical time and the team needs him to be healthy for a sustained playoff run. Klingberg had a great season for the Stars, despite seeing his goals scored drop to career-low eight. However, his career-high 59 assists suggested that he’s moving to the upper echelon of defenseman in the league and he even garnered some Norris Trophy consideration.

Buyouts

G Antti Niemi ($1.5MM in 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Klingberg
Worst Value: Hanzal

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The key to the Stars plan was getting Seguin to sign on the dotted line and despite some early offseason concerns that it might not happen, the two sides were finally able to come to an agreement before training camp started. That allows the team and general manager Jim Nill to continue working towards adding pieces around a core of Seguin, Benn, Klingberg and Heiskanen by adding much-needed depth. The team looks to be in good shape for the extended future. Now they just have to win some games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Montreal Canadiens

Current Cap Hit: $71,687,975 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (three years, $925K)
F Nikita Scherbak (one year, $863K)
D Noah Juulsen (two years, $863K)
F Artturi Lehkonen (one year, $839K)
D Victor Mete (two years, $748K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kotkaniemi: $2.5MM
Juulsen: $425K
Mete: $183K
Scherbak: $175K

Total: $3.28MM

It’s too early to tell if the Canadiens intend to thrust Kotkaniemi onto an NHL roster. Most people feel that the third-overall pick from this year’s draft still needs another year to get bigger and develop his skills, but Montreal is desperate for help at the center position and could consider the 18-year-old to make the leap. Regardless, whether he comes to the NHL now of in the near future, the team does have a franchise center they can look forward to placing into the top-six soon.

Mete had a turbulent rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp. The 20-year-old was brought in to complement Weber due to his speed and puckhandling skills, but he struggled at times and eventually was moved out of the top four and was almost sent back to juniors. In the end, the youngster played 49 games, but with a year of experience under his belt, he is expected to take on a top-four role this season. Juulsen is another solid prospect who should get some time, although more likely in a third-pairing situation.

Scherbak could be the most interesting player. The 22-year-old was a point-a-game player with the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but when recalled to Montreal, he was immediately injured and wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunity. Scherbak didn’t get the minutes once he returned, scoring four goals in 26 games. However, he might get a chance to gain a regular role this year if he can make a strong impression in camp this year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Max Pacioretty ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Plekanec ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($1.85MM, RFA)
F Paul Byron ($1.17MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Antti Niemi ($950K, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($725K, RFA)
D Xavier Ouellet ($700K, RFA)
F Charles Hudon ($650K, UFA)

Much has been said about Pacioretty over the past few months and even in the past week, but as of now, it looks like the 29-year-old is going to end up back on the first line, barring a trade. The team captain is coming off a disappointing 17-goal season after five straight years of 30-goal campaigns (not including the strike-shortened season in 2012-13). The team will have to determine whether they believe last year’s season was a fluke or whether he’s beginning to decline. The team has already committed to several major contracts and adding another one could be detrimental to a team who should rebuild. If he can prove his value with a bounce back season, the team may look to lock him up.

The 35-year-old Plekanec returns after the team traded him away at the trade deadline. He lacks the offense from the old days, but Plekanec still provides an excellent presence as a bottom-six center who has the experience and solid face-off skills, although his six goals and 20 assists is a career low. Byron is coming off a pair of 20-goal seasons for the Canadiens, but is expected to miss part of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in April. However, the 29-year-old has to prove that he can continue his goal-scoring ways.

The team hopes to get a boost from Armia, who came over when the Canadiens took on Steve Mason’s contract from Winnipeg. The 25-year-old got a full season in with a loaded Jets roster and tallied 12 goals and 29 points. With a bigger role in Montreal, he could become a solid 20-goal scorer. The remainder of players will have to prove their value if they want to come back.

Two Years Remaining

F Max Domi ($3.15MM, RFA)
D David Schlemko ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Matthew Peca ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($950K, UFA)
F Jacob de La Rose ($900, UFA)

The Canadiens gave up a quality player in Alex Galchenyuk in order to acquire Domi. The highly-touted winger has struggled in the NHL over the past couple of years and it probably isn’t a good sign that the Arizona Coyotes gave up on the 23-year-old already, suggesting they didn’t feel that he was going to contribute to their team this year. After a impressive rookie season in which he scored 18 goals and 52 points, he has failed to break double-digits in goals in each of the past two seasons since then. Regardless, Montreal is ready to hand him top-six minutes to prove his value and show that he’s better than Arizona thought he was.

Schlemko provides the team with another depth defenseman, but likely isn’t going to play top-four minutes for the team, while the team has high hopes that Deslauriers can duplicate a 10-goal season on the team’s energy line.

Three Years Remaining

D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($3.08MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($750K, UFA)

While many players had down years, Gallagher was the bright spot for the Canadiens as the 26-year-old broke the 30-goal mark last season for the first time and has established himself as top right wing on the team. It was a big improvement from his injury-riddled 10-goal campaign the previous year. Suddenly, at $3.75MM over the next three years, his contract is likely the best value on the team. The team also gave Danault a solid three-year extension. The 25-year-old only had eight goals and 25 points, but would be a more ideal third-line center. Unfortunately, with a hole at the second-line center, Danault has been thrust into a role he wasn’t ready for. We’ll see if he can handle that same role this season.

The team is paying a lot of money for Petry, who is one of the team’s most experienced defenseman with the injury to Weber, and the veteran should be able to handle the No. 1 duties for the time being. The 30-year-old blueliner showed off some offensive skills last year, posting a career-high 12 goals and 42 points.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Carey Price ($10.5MM through 2025-26)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
D Karl Alzner ($4.63MM through 2021-22)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM through 2021-22)

The timing of Price’s poor season could have been better after the team extended the netminder last offseason. Now after a major drop off in performance after many felt he was the best goaltender in the world, the $10.5MM deal that kicks in this season, suddenly looks quite undesirable. After a season in which he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 62 games, Price struggled with injuries and struggled all year behind Montreal’s weakened blueline. He put up a 3.11 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 49 games. The question is which Price will come back this year? If he can bounce back and perform even close to his 2016-17 statistics, that contract wouldn’t look to be quite as bad.

Unfortunately, Weber’s contract is another story. The 33-year-old blueliner still has eight years left on his contract, only managed to play 26 games last season after he was forced to undergo surgery on a torn tendon in his foot and now is expected to miss a large chunk of the season with the possibility of returning in mid-December. While a dominant defenseman when healthy, one has to wonder whether a major foot injury may alter the impact that Weber makes for the rest of his career, considering his advancing age and the way that speed has taken the league over recently. Whether the team can keep him on the ice for another year or two, let alone eight, will be something to closely monitor.

The team has high expectations will be able to bounce back after his struggles to adapt to the center position. Drouin will continue to play there this season and with a full season of experience and a chance to train there in the preseason, Drouin should be much more comfortable, centering the team’s top line. The third-overall pick from the 2013 draft, Drouin has all the talent to make the adjustment and give the team a top-six center. However, his numbers took a hit with the change in positions as he managed just 13 goals and 46 points on the year. The team also has high expectations that Alzner, the team’s big free-agent signing a year ago, will bounce back as well. The veteran defenseman had trouble getting integrated with his new team as well as having to deal with the expectations that came with the contract he signed. However, with a year of experience, he should be able to settle into top-four role this season.

Buyouts

G Mason ($1.37MM through 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Gallagher
Worst Value: Weber

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The team has all the contracts of a team trying to rebuild with youth. Unfortunately, it also has two contracts that are going to weigh down the franchise for eight more years, which is a long time, especially when some of the young players begin to develop and will need new contracts of their own. While the contract of Price might not seem as bad if the veteran goaltender can rebound, it’s likely that Weber’s deal will be a major albatross and it’s way too early to even consider trading that contract or buying it out. Regardless, the team needs to rebuild despite their strange salary cap situation. The addition of Kotkaniemi, regardless of when he arrives to the team, is a start to the rebuild, even if the team won’t acknowledge that’s what they’re doing.

The Case For A Tristan Jarry Offer Sheet

at CDT | by 14 Comments

The art of the offer sheet is all but dead in the NHL. As The Athletic’s Craig Custance writes, there have only been eight offer sheets in the salary cap era, all but one have been matched, and none have been signed since 2013. It remains a shadowy threat for every GM looking to lock up his young restricted free agents, but at this point is more myth than reality. Custance even conducted a poll of nine GM’s that implied a feeling across the league that no offer sheets are coming this off-season. Even with attractive targets like the cap-strapped Detroit Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin, the Calgary Flames’ newly-acquired Noah Hanifin, and a key piece of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ young core, William Nylander, none of the GM’s could see a realistic spot where making an offer would be worth the effort as the team would always be able to match.

What about thinking outside the box and not looking at the top targets but at the team most unlikely to match? The Pittsburgh Penguins are not getting any sympathy from teams around the league. Winners of two of the last three Stanley Cups, a playoff team every year since 2007, and home to the best player in the league, the Penguins have had a great run and it’s unlikely to end any time soon. While many teams fear the backlash associated with poaching young players through offer sheets, Pittsburgh is perhaps the only team in the league that could come under attack and no one else would mind. The Penguins have also put themselves in a position that makes them easy prey. CapFriendly currently estimates that the team has just $745K in cap space heading into next season. Even if Jimmy Hayes fails to break camp or Zach Aston-Reese is sent down – the only foreseeable options, the Pens are still left with no more than $1.5MM in space and will need room to maneuver during the season.

Pittsburgh has just one restricted free agent left to re-sign: 23-year-old goaltender Tristan Jarry. Jarry has not been considered an offer sheet threat for a couple of reasons. The first is simply that he has yet to prove that he is a true NHL-caliber goalie. Jarry was a star at the junior level with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and was drafted in the second round by the Penguins in 2013. His first two pro seasons were spent entirely in the AHL, expect for one spot start in Pittsburgh, and he made the transition look easy, posting strong numbers through 78 combined games. Last season was a deviation from that smooth upward trajectory. The departure of Marc-Andre Fleury left Jarry as the primary backup to starter Matt Murray and the NHL level proved to be a little more difficult. Jarry had an up-and-down season with streaks of both good and bad play. He also struggled when he was returned to the AHL in favor of Casey DeSmith or briefly Antti Niemi. However, at the end of the season Jarry’s line of a .908 save percentage, 2.77 goals against average, and .609 quality start percentage in 26 NHL appearance was more than respectable for his first year in the bigs. Has he proven without a doubt that he can be an NHL regular or reliable backup? No, but the potential is there.

The other reason that Jarry would seem to be a strange offer sheet target is that he is waiver-exempt. Jarry is too young and inexperienced to have lost his waiver protection. This means that a team could hypothetically offer far above market value and multiple years and the Penguins could simply match it and stash Jarry in the minors without a second thought. The only problem is that Pittsburgh especially could not leave Jarry in the AHL for a whole season, nevertheless multiple. Since Murray became a fixture in net for the Penguins in 2015-16, he has made 111 appearances in three seasons with no more than 49 games in any year. In that same time, the Penguins have used six other goaltenders. Excluding Fleury, who was the starter in Murray’s first season and split time with him the following year, Jarry, DeSmith, Niemi, Mike Condon and Jeff Zatkoff have had to make 59 appearances over the past three years – more than half of Murray’s games played. Pittsburgh’s injury-prone starter clearly needs multiple quality options behind him until he can prove himself over a full season. DeSmith, who admittedly outplayed fellow rookie Jarry last season but in 12 fewer starts, may struggle to even backup Murray this season, nevertheless replace him for short stretches with untested minor league journeyman John Muse – the only other Penguins goalie – as the backup. The Penguins need a third-string goalie who costs as close the minimum against the cap as possible. If Jarry was to sign an offer sheet for even $1.5MM AAV, Pittsburgh would struggle to move that contract back and forth or keep him on the roster all year long. A team with ample cap space and a well-off ownership group could easily improve on that offer as well. Only moving out salary or injured reserve space would conceivably allow the Penguins to keep Jarry at that price or more.

At the end of the day, an offer with just the right amount of salary and term would be hard for the Penguins to match in their current state. Sure, they could simply sign a proven veteran free agent to a minimum deal and move on, but losing a promising young netminder would be a blow. On the other side of the table, it would only cost a team at most a third-round pick – the compensation for any deal with an AAV under $2.03MM – to land a young, high-ceiling goalie who is still waiver-exempt. If Jarry excels at the NHL level, they made a great deal; if he struggles, he can be sent to the AHL risk-free for further development and may still turn out be a great deal. The rest of the league would hardly mind seeing Pittsburgh and wheeler-dealer GM Jim Rutherford baffled by an offer sheet as well. It seems to be a win-win. Will it happen?

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