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Artem Anisimov

Senators Notes: Goaltending, North Dakota, Trade Deadline

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Senators GM Pierre Dorion spoke on TSN 1200 in Ottawa this morning and addressed many of the most pressing issues facing his team down the stretch this season. And while that won’t include a playoff push, as the Senators hold the NHL’s second-worst record and are well outside of a playoff spot in the North Division, Dorion still stated that he would like to see more consistency out of his roster the rest of the way. The position of greatest concern right now is obviously goaltending. Ottawa is allowing 3.91 goals against per game this season, the worst mark in the league by a wide margin. The Senators’ depth in net appeared to be strong entering the season with newly-acquired starter Matt Murray at the top, promising backup Marcus Hogberg ready for a full-time NHL role, college standout Joey Daccord as next man up, and top prospects Filip Gustavsson and Kevin Mandolese to fall back on as well. Yet, Murray and Hogberg have struggled greatly and the Senators’ goaltending actually improved when the pair were lost to injury, making Daccord the starter by default. However, Daccord is now expected to miss the rest of the season due to an injury of his own. This prompted not only the waiver claim of Anton Forsberg, but also for the team to send a chartered private plane to Winnipeg to pick him up, so as to avoid any quarantine period. Forsberg, who amazingly has not played at any level this season despite being claimed on waivers three times, will start for AHL Belleville on Saturday and is then likely to dress as backup behind Gustavsson on Monday, according to The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. Gustavsson, who made his NHL debut by providing a shutout third period in relief of Daccord on Wednesday, will make his first start on Monday and he and Forsberg appear likely to split starts until Murray and/or Hogberg are healthy enough to return to action. Dorion considers Murray “week-to-week” and hopes Hogberg will be ready for an AHL conditioning stint before the end of the month.

  • Without anything to play for this season, the stretch run could actually be an exciting time for the Senators as they take a look at some other options in action before next season. That could very well include any number of current members of the University of North Dakota, once their NCAA season comes to an end. Ottawa has spent a number of high draft picks on Fighting Hawks commits in recent years and now the No. 1 team in college hockey is seeking a National Championship, fueled by Senators property. For now, Dorion says that he has informed North Dakota forward Shane Pinto and defensemen Jacob Bernard-Docker, Jake Sanderson, and Tyler Kleven to simply focus on their pursuit of a title and worry about their pro futures later. However, once the postseason has ended for North Dakota – as early as next weekend or as late as April 10 – Dorion could sign any of the group and insert them into the Senators lineup right away. He specifically called Pinto, Bernard-Docker, and Sanderson “close” in terms of their pro readiness. Bernard-Docker, a junior, and Pinto, a sophomore, are more likely to sign this year than Sanderson, a freshman, even though he was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Beyond the North Dakota players that Ottawa already owns, their link to the program and the immediate opportunity available could give them a leg up in wooing a pair of the very best college free agents available. Seniors Matt Kiersted and Jordan Kawaguchi are certainly on the Senators’ radar and could be intrigued by joining the Ottawa rebuild. Dorion did not address the immediate pro future of North Dakota transfer Jonny Tychonick, another talented draft pick whose University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks are also hoping to make the NCAA Tournament.
  • As for players that could be leaving the Senators before the end of the season, Dorion opined that this could be a very quiet trade deadline for his team, a sentiment that many other teams have echoed. In a buyer’s market that is influenced by difficult salary cap situations and border restrictions, there is a feeling that there might not be much action before the April 12 deadline. Dorion claims that teams are “checking in” but there apparently hasn’t been much traction on forming actual deals. The Senators are not in a great position to trade this season anyhow. Recently re-acquired winger Ryan Dzingel is their most valuable rental piece, but may not even be available if there is mutual interest in an extension. Dzingel has already re-discovered his scoring touch back in Ottawa, notching four goals in eight games. Expensive and unproductive veterans Artem Anisimov and Erik Gudbranson, depth defensemen Mike Reilly and Braydon Coburn, and grinders Matthew Peca and Micheal Haley are the only other expiring contracts the Senators have and lack much, if any value. It could be a quiet deadline indeed in Ottawa barring a surprise move.

Loui Eriksson, Artem Anisimov Among Those On Waivers

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Feb 11: All three players have cleared waivers. They can now be assigned to the taxi squad or AHL.

Feb 10: The Vancouver Canucks have placed Loui Eriksson on waivers again, after clearing just before the season began. Eriksson has played in just one game, but the team has decided to reset his waiver clock so that they can continue to move him to the taxi squad. He isn’t alone on waivers today. Artem Anisimov of the Ottawa Senators and Taylor Fedun of the Dallas Stars have also both been placed on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Seeing Eriksson there shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Despite carrying a $6MM cap hit, tied for the highest on the team, the 35-year-old forward is basically a practice player at this point in his career. He suited up 49 times last season for the Canucks but recorded just six goals and 13 points. Eriksson received an odd chance to skate beside Bo Horvat on the weekend, but was quickly moved back off that line and scratched the following game. He won’t be claimed, not at that price.

Anisimov’s story isn’t all that different. Now 32, Anisimov hasn’t been a regular in the Senators lineup this season and has just one point in four games. His contract carries a $4.55MM cap hit (though the actual salary remaining is very low) and he is a shell of his former self. There was a time when Anisimov could be relied on for 20 goals and forty points, but that seems to be in the past—at least while he remains in Ottawa.

Fedun is a much different kind of player, still scratching by for any chance he can get in the NHL. The 32-year-old undrafted defenseman has played in just 127 games over the course of his long professional career and none this season with the Stars. He does have some interesting possession statistics over the last two seasons and has recorded 20 points in 81 games, but it seems unlikely that anyone would claim him, given the other names that have slipped through waivers already this season.

 

Potential Compliance Buyout Candidates: Part III

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As the current Coronavirus crisis wears on, it seems more and more likely that the NHL will not be able to complete the full remaining regular season schedule and talk of an expanded playoff field might indicate that there will be no return to the regular season at all. That lost revenue is expected to impact the 2020-21 salary cap, likely keeping the current $81.5MM upper limit in place. Given that teams expected an increase, initially projected to be between $84-88.2MM, this stagnation could have a harsh impact on a number of clubs’ cap situations. As such, many expect that compliance buyouts will return in some form or fashion to ease that pain. These buyouts, which do not count against the salary cap, would allow for teams to open up space that they otherwise expected from a cap increase.

After taking a look at teams 1-10, then 11-20, here is a breakdown of the names that the final 11 clubs could use a compliance buyout on, if they opt to use one at all:

Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan

While the oncoming cap crunch caused by COVID-19 will not impact the Senators, who have sat at or near the bottom of the league’s salary ranks in recent years, owner Eugene Melnyk is not one to miss out on an opportunity to save money. In the case of Ryan, that would mean casting off a player who has overcome the adversity of addiction to resume his career, but don’t expect that to stop the Senators from moving on. Ryan’s remaining two years and $15MM in actual salary represents a large chunk of what Ottawa owes its current roster. Ryan has not played at a level becoming of a $7.25MM player at any point over the course of his time with the Senators, but especially over the past four years in which he has failed to crack 50 points in any season. At 33 years old, Ryan’s best days are behind him and Ottawa won’t hesitate to but him out and face the potential public relations backlash.

Philadelphia Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere

The Flyers are right up against the salary cap and will have to create some space if the upper limit does not move this off-season as had been expected. The team has been trying to trade Gostisbehere in the midst of a down year, but to no avail. It may seem counter-intuitive for a contender to give away a 27-year-old regular defenseman for free via buyout, but Gostisbehere is trending in the wrong direction and has three years at $4.5MM AAV remaining on his deal. If Philly cannot find a trade, which obviously would be the more ideal solution, they may not have a better alternative to clear space without buying out a more impactful player. Some may point to last summer’s Kevin Hayes mega-contract as a worse deal to consider moving, but it seems highly unlikely that the team would move on from Hayes this soon after signing him, especially since his production this season has been on par with his career numbers.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Jack Johnson

It was pretty obvious right from the start that Johnson was not going to be a value player for the Penguins. Many were skeptical of his 2018 signing right from the start and he has done little to prove those critics wrong. A minus player whose offensive ceiling now sits in the mid-teens, Johnson is 33 and his best days are well behind him. The Penguins are another team that needs as much cap space as they can create to keep their roster together. Can they really afford to pay Johnson $9.75MM against the cap over the next three years to be a bottom pair defenseman who is more often a liability than an asset? Pittsburgh has the depth on defense to make up for the loss and could desperately use the cap flexibility elsewhere.

San Jose Sharks: Martin Jones

Entering an off-season with a deep goalie market, which could grow even deeper with compliance buyouts, few teams would be happier to have a get-out-of-jail-free card than the Sharks. Goaltending, and their starter Jones in particular, has been at the heart of San Jose’s struggles over the past two years. Once seen as a safe bet to be a solid long-term starter, Jones has been unable to produce even passable numbers in the past couple of seasons. However, with four years and $23MM remaining on Jones’ deal – a $5.75MM AAV, it seemed hopeless for the team improve in net without either an expensive buyout, a painful trade, or a very overpriced backup. This scenario would be exactly what the team needed and there is little doubt that they would move on swiftly from Jones, re-focusing his cap space on improving the roster, most important of which would be finding his replacement(s).

St. Louis Blues: Alex Steen

Steen may be a respected veteran coming off of a championship season, but he is also one of the Blues’ few reasonable candidates for a buyout. St. Louis does not have many long-term contracts and has arguably no bad long-term contracts. Steen, 36, is also one of only three players over 31 signed through this season. Without many bad deals or regressing veterans to compete with, Steen’s final year at $5.75MM looks ugly, especially since his production has dropped off immensely in each of the past two seasons to just 17 points this year. Perhaps the only other buyout option for St. Louis would be backup goaltender Jake Allen if the determine that Steen’s experience and versatility is of greater value. However, Allen is younger and cheaper and coming off a bounce-back season in which he was one of the best backups in the NHL. Steen seems like the more reasonable selection.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson

Tampa Bay was always going to have to blow up its core to accommodate its young players. However, a flat cap not only ensures that this time has come this off-season, it also makes the situation much worse. In order to sign a number of key restricted free agents, the Bolts must move out a considerable amount of salary this summer. Normally, players like Johnson, Yanni Gourde, and Ondrej Palat would have enough value to garner a nice trade return rather than needing a buyout. However, in an off-season where most teams could be up against the cap, acquiring a $5MM+ player will be easier said than done. Making it even harder is that all three hold No-Trade clauses and may not be willing to accept a deal to the types of team that can afford to acquire them. Of this trio, the Lightning are most likely to keep Palat; although he is the most expensive, he is also the most valuable. Gourde is slightly more expensive than Johnson’s $5MM AAV, but is also slightly younger and has largely outplayed Johnson over the past few years. Gourde is a more valuable asset than Johnson, which could mean he is easier to trade or it could mean that Tampa tries to find a way to keep him. Johnson seems like the odd man out. An undersized forward whose numbers fell off considerably this season to just 31 points and who is signed for four more years, Johnson is a trade risk, especially in a cap-strapped market. The odds are that some team would find a way to take him via trade – if he agrees – but if the Lightning get desperate they may have to buy him out. He’s their most reasonable candidate if it comes to that.

Toronto Maple Leafs: None

The Toronto Maple Leafs really don’t have any need for a compliance buyout at this point in time. The team is very young, many players have been extended recently, and arguably none have fallen so short of expectations that they warrant a buyout. Unless the Leafs trade for a bad contract simply to use their compliance buyout, it would be a surprise to see the club get in on the action this off-season.

Vancouver Canucks: Loui Eriksson

The Canucks have wanted to get rid of Eriksson for some time and with a compliance buyout they would be free to do so. The veteran forward has been one of Vancouver’s highest paid players since he joined the club in 2016, yet he has never recorded more than 30 points in a year through four seasons with the Canucks. At odds with coaches and severely underperforming relative to his $6MM AAV, Eriksson has worn out his welcome in Vancouver. However, he still has two years remaining on his contract. The team would be quick to erase that from the books. This buyout is a no-brainer; what is more interesting is whether Eriksson can return to his status as a valuable two-way forward with another team.

Vegas Golden Knights: None

Like the Maple Leafs, the Golden Knights simply don’t have any obvious candidate for a buyout. They have done well with their long-term contracts and have a roster constructed of players who they want in the lineup, including several who they have recently re-signed. That includes Nick Holden, who may be the only player who could have been considered an odd man out but recently took a pay cut to re-sign for two more years with Vegas. No one else jumps out as a player that the club would entertain giving up for free.

Washington Capitals: Nick Jensen

As good as the Capitals are and have been, this one is a toss-up because there are a number of players who could go. T.J. Oshie was brought in to win a Stanley Cup and has accomplished that task. He is still producing at a high level, but could the team cut ties with the 33-year-old while they have the chance rather than face the remaining five years and $28.75MM left on his contract? Lars Eller and Carl Hagelin, both on the wrong side of 30 and both signed for three more years, are in a similar boat. Their scoring is fine relative to their cap hit, but will it continue to be through the length of their contracts? Depending on how much room the Capitals may need to clear, any of these three could be a candidate for a buyout. However, Washington can impact their performance and their locker room far less by opting for Jensen instead. In his first full season with the team, Jensen has not been bad, but he has drawn his fair share of criticism. Jensen’s offense, though not typically a hallmark of his game, has been non-existent and he has been prone to turnovers and blown assignments. If the Capitals need to use a compliance buyout, they can likely find a better use for $7.5MM over the next three years.

Winnipeg Jets: Mathieu Perreault

The Jets have great depth at forward an nearly everyone carries the weight of their contracts. Perreault is an exception. The 32-year-old’s point totals have fallen in each of the past three seasons to just 15 points in 49 games this year. At a cap hit of $4.125, Perreault is not doing enough. He’s not the answer at second-line center and he’s overpaid to play in the bottom-six. There’s no place for Perreault and the team would likely be willing to move on a year early. While Bryan Little has also shown signs of slowing down and his signed for far longer and for more than Perreault, his lack of impact in 2019-20 is tied to injury. Even if injury issues persist, Little’s cap hit does not cause a problem when he is not active, so Perreault still makes more sense a buyout candidate.

Injury Updates: Murray, Carlo, Anisimov, Hamonic

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Ryan Murray’s injury history is a lengthy one and the Blue Jackets defenseman finds himself on the shelf again.  Columbus head coach John Tortorella told reporters, including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) that Murray is “nicked” and that he doesn’t yet know if it’s going to be a day-to-day issue or something longer.  The 26-year-old just returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing 34 games due to a lower-body injury and certainly made an immediate impact, picking up two assists in two games while logging over 20 minutes in each contest.  Markus Nutivaara will be back in the lineup to replace Murray.

More injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Brandon Carlo will miss tonight’s game against Tampa Bay due to the upper-body injury he sustained on Thursday night against Florida. Head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated that Carlo was at Boston’s practice facility today and was feeling better than he did after the hit but there is no timetable yet for how much more time – if any – he’ll miss.
  • Senators center Artem Anisimov did not accompany the team on their West Coast road trip, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He missed Thursday’s game against the Islanders due to an upper-body injury and there is no timeline for his return.  It has been an up-and-down first season in Ottawa for the veteran who has 15 goals but just five assists in 49 games this season.
  • Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic participated in his first full practice since being injured early last month, reports Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). He still has to get the green light to take contact so he’s still not quite ready to return but the fact he’s now participating in practice means he’s close.  He sits third on the team in ice time per game at over 21 minutes a night and will be a big addition to their back end when he’s cleared to return.

Artem Anisimov Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Ottawa Senators will be without one of their veteran forwards for the next while. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Artem Anisimov has been placed on injured reserve with a groin injury that will keep him out long-term. Anisimov was only recently activated by the Senators after missing several games and scored his second goal of the season last night against the Los Angeles Kings.

Now 31, Anisimov finds himself at something of a crossroad in his NHL career. After playing several seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and finding success with linemates like Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin, the Russian forward was traded for the third time in his career this July. The Blackhawks received just Zack Smith in return, a player who had scored just 14 goals since the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign, while the Senators hoped Anisimov could provide some veteran stability down the middle.

Unfortunately, a long-term injury puts that role into question. The Senators are embracing their core of young talent, scratching high salaried players like Bobby Ryan and Mikkel Boedker recently. If Anisimov misses a good chunk of this season, it certainly puts into question what his future in Ottawa can be.

With one more year on his contract that carries a $4.55MM cap hit, Anisimov could now be considered a bit overpriced for the impact he brings on a nightly basis. The fact that he’ll be owed a $1.5MM signing bonus next summer also makes his future more complicated, as the Senators haven’t been known to pay out money when they don’t have to.

If he can get back on the ice and healthy, perhaps there is another landing spot in Anisimov’s future. For now, he’ll have to just focus on his recovery and try to show he can still be a valuable NHL player.

Injury Notes: Sabourin, Backes, Anisimov, Brown, Zibanejad

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After a brutal hit in which Ottawa Senators Scott Sabourin and David Backes collided into each other which saw Sabourin lose consciousness and fall face first into the ice (video here), Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion said this morning that Sabourin has a fractured nose and is expected to be released from the hospital today, according to Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren.

Sabourin went down hard and laid motionless on the ice for quite some time in Saturday’s game against Boston. However, he gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carted out and then later was reportedly awake and speaking to attending doctors.

Warren also noted that forward Artem Anisimov is expected to join the team in New York on Monday, but whether he will play against the New York Rangers remains to be seen, although head coach D.J. Smith said it’s possible he plays. He is also a better possibility to play Tuesday against the Islanders.

The news on Logan Brown isn’t as good. Warren reports that the young forward will return to Ottawa for tests and will be “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury. He left Saturday’s game after taking a slash to the arm.

On the other side of the ice, Backes stayed with Sabourin while he was being attended to, but also looked shaken up and also went the locker room once play resumed and didn’t return. Head coach Bruce Cassidy reported that Backes came into the facility this morning to get checked out.

“Doing a little better than last night,” said Cassidy (via the Bruins). “He’s doubtful for the next couple of games.”

With Backes out, it looks like the Bruins could get back forward Brett Ritchie, who was seen skating today with John Moore and Kevan Miller. If Ritchie is ready, according to the Bruins, he will go in tomorrow.

  • The New York Rangers could get some good news. Center Mika Zibanejad was skating on his own Sunday, although he did not practice. Head coach David Quinn did not rule him out for being ready for Monday’s game against Ottawa, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Quinn said he will have to consult with the medical staff before a decision can be made. The team’s top center has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, although the team has coincidentally won both games without him.
  • After missing Saturday’s game due to a lower-body injury, Newday’s Andrew Gross reports that defenseman Nick Leddy will remain day-to-day, although he could return as early as Tuesday against the Senators.

Blackhawks Shopping Zack Smith

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Zack Smith’s tenure in Chicago has been rather short thus far as he’s only in his first season with the Blackhawks after being acquired for Artem Anisimov over the summer.  However, it appears that they’ve seen enough from him already as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Chicago is shopping the center around the league.

The 31-year-old has played in just five of Chicago’s eight games so far this season and was scratched for the other three.  When he has played, his role has been rather limited as Smith has averaged just 9:52 per night, well below his career average of 14:56.

Smith is signed through 2020-21 with a cap hit of $3.25MM.  Considering the price tag and term relative to his limited role, it’s hard to imagine that there will be a long list of suitors; it’s worth noting that Smith cleared waivers outright last season.  As a result, it’s likely that Chicago would have to retain on the contract to find a taker, take another not very good contract back, or both in order to facilitate a trade.

Smith joins Brendan Perlini as players that are known to be available from the Blackhawks in the early going of the season.  While neither player has made much of an impact, it seems as if GM Stan Bowman is open to shaking up the bottom end of his roster with the team off to a quiet 2-4-2 start in 2019-20.

Minor Transactions: 10/14/19

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Get ready for a full day of hockey. Monday’s lineup features four games being held at 1:00pm home team local time, as well as 3:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:30pm. Among the story lines to watch are the Wild, Devils, and Blackhawks seeking their first wins of the season, the Avalanche and Oilers looking to stay perfect, and a collision of the league’s two stingiest teams, the Ducks and Bruins. Also to watch for are the roster moves made to open up the third week of the season. Keep up with all of the action here:

  • The Ottawa Senators continue to routinely shuffle their forward group around early this season. After giving youngsters like Drake Batherson, Filip Chlapik, and Vitaly Abramov a chance already, the team has recalled a pair of veterans from AHL Belleville. The team announced that Nick Paul and Jordan Szwarz have been promoted to Ottawa. While Paul is a familiar name to Sens fans, Szwarz is a new free agent addition. The long-time AHL veteran and former Providence Bruins captain has played in 47 NHL games in his career, split between Arizona and Boston. His reliable two-way energy game could be more of the boost that the coaching staff feels they need right now rather than the offensive focus of the team’s top young prospects. This recall would also seem to indicate that there is a chance that Mikkel Boedker and Artem Anisimov are not ready to return to the lineup today as expected.
  • After flipping Kyle Capobianco to the AHL for Ilya Lyubushkin on Saturday, the Coyotes are now flopping. CapFriendly reports that Capobianco has been called back up from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. The move comes on the heels of an injury to Niklas Hjalmarsson on Saturday that will likely push either Capobianco or Lyubushkin into a starting role for the time being.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a somewhat surprising switch. The team announced that 19-year-old rookie defenseman Rasmus Sandin has been sent down to the AHL’s Marlies, while free agent addition and veteran blue liner Kevin Gravel has been recalled in his place. Sandin, considered by many to be Toronto’s top D prospect, had skated in all six games for the team thus far and recorded a pair of assists, strong possession numbers, and an even plus/minus rating. Although, Sandin’s ice time has been limited and his special teams role has been non-existent, so this could be about putting him in a better position to develop in the AHL. However, this may be more about adding Gravel than subtracting Sandin. The Leafs have surrendered at least three goals in four of their six games so far, including a 7-3 drubbing by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They may simply be looking to tighten things up on the back end and stay-at-home specialist Gravel can help. Gravel has recorded 137 blocked shots and 124 hits in 106 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.
  • Steven Oleksy worked his way up from the ECHL ranks early in his career and has been on an NHL contract every year since 2012. However, that streak was snapped this summer when the 33-year-old seemingly could not attract another two-way deal. His bad luck now continues, as the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced that they have released Oleksy from his tryout agreement. The veteran of 73 NHL games and more than 400 AHL games saw his production fall off somewhat last year in a season split between the San Diego Gulls and Toronto Marlies, but is simply looking for the opportunity to show he can still contribute. In all likelihood, Oleksy will land on his feet elsewhere in pro hockey sooner rather than later.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have granted starter Jacob Markstrom  a leave of absence to attend to a family matter. He is expected to re-join the team later this week. In the meantime, Vancouver announced that Zane McIntyre has been recalled to serve as the backup to Thatcher Demko. McIntyre, a free agent addition, has made eight NHL appearances in his career with the Boston Bruins, all back in 2016-17. Ironically, his lone call-up last season was to serve as backup to Jaroslav Halak while Tuukka Rask took a leave of absence himself. McIntyre was a star at the college level and has strong AHL numbers, but at 27 years old he no longer a prospect that the Canucks would be trying to force into play time. Expect them to lean on Demko until Markstrom returns.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. 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 2019-20 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.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current Cap Hit: $78,163,461 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Kirby Dach (three years, $925K)
F Dominik Kubalik (one year, $925K)
F Anton Wedin (one year, $925K)
D Adam Boqvist (three years, $894K)
F Dylan Strome (one year, $863K)
F Alexander Nylander (two years, $863K)
F Alex DeBrincat (one year, $778K)

Potential Bonuses

Dach: $2.5MM
Strome: $2.48MM
Nylander: $850K
Kubalik: $850K
Boqvist: $850K
DeBrincat: $33K

The Blackhawks have done quite a bit of work to bring in a number of top players on entry-level contracts over the past few years in hopes of taking a team that was loaded with high-priced, aging talent and getting them back into playoff contention. They have hit the jackpot with DeBrincat, who immediately stepped onto the ice and has been a phenomenal top-six player for the past two years, scoring 69 goals so far, including a key 41-goal season last year. The diminutive winger was passed up by many teams in the 2016 draft and has proven that his size isn’t an issue on the team. The only problem is that his entry-level deal will be up at the end of the season, meaning the Blackhawks will likely have to pay a high price to lock him up. Strome, in the meantime, has been a solid trade acquisition. The top prospect, who couldn’t seem be able to turn the corner in the pros, broke out once arriving in Chicago, putting up 17 goals and 51 points in 58 games. If he can produce at a similar level, the Blackhawks will have to offer pay up again, giving them two potential significant contracts the team will have to pay out one year from now.

Chicago also is banking on a number of their draft picks to make an impact. Dach, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, could be an option for the team if he can prove he’s ready for NHL action now, but with a number of young forwards pushing for playing time on their roster, he’d have to dominate and prove he might be ready to assume a third-line center position. Boqvist, the team’s eighth-overall pick in 2018, will challenge for playing time as well, but could just as easily spend time in the AHL to get used to playing against adults for part of the season first. Regardless, the team has two core pieces that are close to joining the organization.

General manager Stan Bowman has also made an effort in bringing in talent from outside the organization as the team has brought in a pair of prospects over from Europe in Wedin and Kubalik. The 26-year-old Wedin broke out in his rookie season in the SHL with 14 goals, while Kubalik scored 25 goals and 57 points in 50 games in the NLA. The team also surprised a few people earlier this summer when it traded top defensive prospect Henri Jokiharju to Buffalo for Alexander Nylander. The team hopes to get Nylander going as the eighth-overall pick in 2016 has so far struggled with consistency in three AHL seasons.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Corey Crawford ($6MM, UFA)
G Robin Lehner ($5MM, UFA)
F Drake Caggiula ($1.5MM, RFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($1.2MM, UFA)
D Slater Koekkoek ($925K, RFA)

The team did a phenomenal job of bringing in some goaltending help by stealing away UFA goaltender Lehner with a one-year, $5MM deal. That’s a steal if Lehner can produce anything close to last year’s numbers of a 2.13 GAA and .930 save percentage in 46 games. The 2018-19 Jennings and Masterton Trophy winner last year, Lehner can stabilize the Blackhawks goaltending situation, which has struggled due to concussion issues that Crawford has sustained over the past two years. Without Crawford, the team has struggled in goal. The hope is that both will be healthy this year and can share the workload, but if Crawford has trouble getting on the ice again, Chicago can now turn to Lehner. With both players down to one year remaining before unrestricted free agency, the Blackhawks can look at how both players fare this year and offer a long-term deal to the player they feel can best help them in the future.

The team may have their most challenging decision to make about Gustafsson next season. The rising defenseman put up impressive numbers in a full season last year after looking sharp in the second-half of 2017-18. The 27-year-old scored 17 goals and 60 points and if he can duplicate a season like that could find himself to be one of the most marketable UFA blueliners next year. With the Blackhawks having to hand out big contracts to DeBrincat and Strome, the team may have to move Gustafsson at the trade deadline or let him go at the end of the season for nothing.

Two Years Remaining

F Brandon Saad ($6MM, UFA)
F Zack Smith ($3.25MM, UFA)
F David Kampf ($1MM, RFA)
D Carl Dahlstrom ($850K, RFA)
F Dylan Sikura ($750K, RFA)
F John Quenneville ($750K, RFA)

The team has two contracts that they might want to see gone soon. The team re-acquired Saad back in 2017 in hopes of bringing back a big-time goal scorer. However, Saad hasn’t been nearly as dominant since returning, although he did rebound with a 23-goal campain last season. However at $6MM AAV, Saad could easily be a candidate to move on from when they need to free up some extra cash next offseason. Smith is in a similar situation. The team acquired Smith this summer in a swap of bad contracts as the team managed to unload Artem Anisimov. Smith, however, scored just nine goals last season in Ottawa and could have a hard time locking down a spot in the bottom-six with so many younger players pushing for playing time.

The team can only hope that some of their younger players like Sikura and the newly acquired Quenneville can contribute immediately, but both would have to take their game up a notch to prove themselves at the NHL level. Sikura, signed out of Northeastern University after the 2018 season, fared well in the AHL, but failed to register a goal in 33 games with the Blackhawks. The team also hopes that Kampf and Dahlstrom can prove themselves in their lineup.

Three Years Remaining

D Calvin de Haan ($4.55MM, UFA)
D Olli Maatta ($4.08MM, UFA)
D Connor Murphy ($3.85MM, UFA)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM, UFA)
F Ryan Carpenter ($1MM, UFA)
G Collin Delia ($1MM, UFA)

In hopes of improving its defense, the team went out and acquired a pair of defenders in de Haan and Maatta over the summers. The Blackhawks picked up de Haan from Carolina  and while he’s currently dealing with a shoulder injury and isn’t expected to start the season, he has proven to be a solid defender for years and should upgrade the team’s top-four. The team also moved some of its young forward depth by sending Dominik Kahun to Pittsburgh to get the defensive-minded Maatta. The two veteran blueliners should bolster a defense that had plenty of issues over the past few years. However, both come with significant contracts, especially if either defenseman struggles to succeed in Chicago. The team also has Murphy, who the team acquired two years ago from Arizona, who has three years remaining and has found himself a solid contributor on the team’s blueline.

The team also has acquired Shaw this summer to improve their depth in hopes of getting Chicago back in the playoffs. The former Blackhawk should add a significant presence on their bottom-six and add an element of physicality to the team. Carpenter, signed away from Vegas, should also improve the team’s bottom-six.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Patrick Kane ($10.5MM through 2022-23)
F Jonathan Toews ($10.5MM through 2022-23)
D Brent Seabrook ($6.88MM through 2023-24)
D Duncan Keith ($5.54MM through 2022-23)

Things will likely change next season, but Chicago’s four biggest contracts haven’t changed with all of them, minus Seabrook’s, down to four more years and starting to look more and more manageable. Kane continues to amaze at age 30 as he posted 44 goals and a career-high in points with 110. His contract doesn’t even look like it’s a questionable one. The 31-year-old Toews also had a resurgent season as he tallied a career-high 35 goals and 81 points, showing that as long as he has talented players around him, he is more than capable of justifying his $10.5MM AAV.

Keith is somewhat of a different story. He’s 36 now and will be 40 when his contract ends and while there has been an evident decline, the veteran has still shown that he’s a solid defender, scoring six goals and 40 points last year and is averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time a game still. The question will be how long can Keith keep up those numbers and will his game decline even more over the next couple of years. Seabrook, however, has that extra season on his deal as he is locked up for five more years. At 34-year-old, Seabrook has seen an obvious decline that even saw his minutes drop under 20 minutes a game for the first time in his career, not a good sign when the team has him under contract until 2024. The team can only hope that he can come back and prove that he still has the skills to be a top-four defenseman.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

F  Brendan Perlini

Chicago still has one restricted free agent and must find a number that will make the youngster happy, but considering his inconsistent season, the team may have some trouble figuring out how much to pay him. Perlini, also acquired with Strome in the Nick Schmaltz trade during the season last year, struggled at first in Chicago, but finally broke out in March with eight goals and 10 points in 13 games. A one-year or bridge deal would be the most likely course of action to see whether Perlini’s late success can be duplicated. The former first-round pick from 2014 could be a major asset if Chicago can get the most out of the team.

Best Value: Lehner
Worst Value: Seabrook

Looking Ahead

The Blackhawks have done quite a bit in the last year to improve their team with the hopes of getting their veteran core back in the playoffs once again after a two-year absence. Chicago has added a bunch of veteran players and young and cheap roster additions that should be able to turn their team around. The key, of course, is the team needs their veterans to continue to thrive, while their younger players must continue to improve. On top of that, the Blackhawks must hope that a number of their roster additions can take that next step in their development and prove to be valuable to the team’s overall depth.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Senators, Dahlin, Alzner

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Ottawa Senators are very much a brand new team entering the 2019-20 season. Gone are the likes of Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Cody Ceci, and Zack Smith. New to the team are names like Artem Anisimov, Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey, and Connor Brown, while prospects like Erik Brannstrom, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, and Max Veronneau are set to push for regular roles. On top of all of the roster turnover, the team also has a new head coach in D.J. Smith. Given these considerable changes, Smith’s comments to Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan comes as little surprise. First and foremost, Smith tells Scanlan that the Senators will not name a captain in the coming season. The team did not have a captain last season following the departure of Erik Karlsson and now has even fewer tenured veterans. He did say that there will be veteran members, old and new, who he will rely on to play leadership roles in the locker room, but simply feels that the team must wait for a captain to naturally emerge. It also may not necessarily be one of the established veterans, as Smith notes that he will make a “conscious effort” to share ice time and responsibility evenly between the older players and many young players pushing for an opportunity. More than anything, Smith states that he hopes to change the culture in Ottawa, instilling a sense of belief and confidence in the new additions, young players, and perhaps even some of those long-time Senators who have survived a couple of difficult seasons. Based on Smith’s comments, it seems that the Senators will be a very new team indeed in many ways this coming season.

  • A young leader is developing for one of the Senators’ divisional rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. Phenom Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 and a Calder Trophy finalist last season, is not afraid to speak his mind and knew what he was doing when he made some bold predictions to the Associated Press’ John Wawrow. “We’re going to be a winning team and be in the playoffs,” Dahlin told Wawrow, “I’m putting more pressure on myself… I think everyone is putting more pressure on ourselves now, and we’re ready to go… I feel more prepared. I feel more mature. Like that one year of experience, I know what’s coming this season. I feel more comfortable in my position… we’re going to get something good going on here.” It’s a strong statement from Dahlin and one that will surprise many. The Sabres have not made the playoffs since 2011 and finished 13th in the Eastern Conference this past season after a late-season collapse. The team arguably plays in the toughest division in the game as well, as Atlantic powerhouses Tampa Bay, Boston, and Toronto will almost certainly claim the top three seeds in the division, leaving Buffalo to fight for one of two wild card spots. Yet, the Sabres have to be happy that their 18-year-old centerpiece is bold enough to put those playoff expectations on his shoulders and will look to follow him back to postseason glory this season, no matter how tough the road may be.
  • Montreal Canadiens defenseman Karl Alzner would like to be part of his team’s playoff push next season as well. Unfortunately, Alzner’s poor play left him relegated to the AHL for all but nine games last season. After spending the summer working out with teammates Carey Price and Shea Weber, Alzner tells TVA’s Louis-André Larivière that he feels he is ready to once again be a regular contributor and hopes he is given a fair shot to compete for such a role in the team’s upcoming training camp. While Alzner stated that he does not want to waste years of his career, whether or not he has an NHL role is ultimately up to him. His own play and taxing $4.625MM cap hit are why he spent last season with the Laval Rocket and he must prove that he is worth keeping on the roster. Alzner revealed that he did not formally request a trade last season, but that he will likely do so if he is cut from Canadiens camp this fall. However, there may not be much of a market for his services and likely even less interest in promising him a regular role at the NHL level.

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