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Several Teams Spoke With Buffalo About Jack Eichel

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When a franchise struggles for a long period of time and changes their general manager, installing someone with little front office experience, you can assume that the rest of the league takes flight like vultures to try and pick the roster clean of any talent. That’s exactly what seems to have happened in Buffalo when the Sabres made the move to fire Jason Botterill and hire Kevyn Adams as GM.

Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that several teams including the New York Rangers called on the availability of Jack Eichel, though none of those conversations resulted in “trade traction” with Adams and the Sabres. McKenzie also makes sure to point out that neither the Sabres or Eichel himself have expressed any desire to part ways, in fact just the opposite appears to be true at the moment.

Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston tweets that he was told the Bruins were also one of the teams speaking with the Sabres regarding Eichel, though again these talks don’t seem to have gone anywhere.

It’s easy to imagine why other general managers will continue to poke at the Sabres on the status of Eichel. Not only is the 23-year-old center one of the best players in the NHL coming off an incredible 36-goal, 78-point campaign, but he’s also a $10MM ticket on a team that hasn’t played a postseason game since 2011 and is reportedly looking at working under a drastically reduced internal salary cap due to recent financial restrictions.

If Buffalo is going to turn things around, it’s hard to imagine it would be without Eichel leading the charge. The young forward is a true franchise talent that now has 337 points in 354 career games, despite often playing with an underwhelming roster. Even at that $10MM cap hit he likely represents excess value for the team, unlike some of his high-priced teammates (Jeff Skinner, who carries a $9MM cap hit through 2026-27, scored just 23 points this season).

All that said, Eichel has been quite clear in the past about his desire to win. His agent Peter Fish even re-upped that stance with McKenzie today, explaining that the star center doesn’t want out but is frustrated with the team’s results so far. If the Sabres can’t turn things around, this won’t be the last time that teams are calling about his availability or his name pops up in trade rumors.

Alexis Lafreniere Will Not Report To QMJHL, Will Not Play In Europe

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Alexis Lafreniere is confident he’ll be playing in New York next season. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the consensus first-overall pick has decided that he will not report to training camp for the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL or go overseas to play in Europe for the next few months. Instead, he intends on training individually and preparing for the NHL season.

The 18-year old Lafreniere was always expected to go straight to the NHL after his draft, but the uncertainty of when that 2020-21 season actually will begin created some confusion at how he would handle things. McKenzie did note that if the NHL season doesn’t begin in December or January as expected, he will then review his options.

It is interesting to note that the IIHF is still hoping to hold the 2021 World Junior Championship, scheduled to begin on December 26th in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta. If the NHL season still hasn’t begun by then, perhaps Lafreniere—who will still only be 19 and eligible—could represent Canada one last time at the tournament. He was named MVP of the event this year, scoring 10 points and leading Canada to a gold medal.

In any case, you won’t be seeing Lafreniere in Rimouski this fall as he ends his CHL career with two consecutive Player of the Year awards.

Snapshots: Ratification, Murray, Evason

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The NHL’s Board of Governors has a conference call scheduled for this evening to vote on the proposed CBA extension and return to play agreement. That vote is expected to go smoothly according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, who points out that it is “virtually unheard of” for the governors to go against something put forward by commissioner Gary Bettman. The NHLPA however, which also needs to ratify the agreement for it to come into effect, has been voting since Wednesday evening and will complete the process tonight.

Though there is plenty of positivity around the player vote, McKenzie does point out that this is likely an all-or-nothing situation when it comes to the 2019-20 season. The veteran scribe does not see a way the two sides could immediately go back to the negotiating table or find a way to finish the 2019-20 season if the players were to reject this package. A rejected proposal would also have far-reaching effects on the league, with some sources even indicating to him a substantial drop in the salary cap ceiling for next season without the CBA extension. McKenzie also mentions the dreaded “lockout” term in his explanation of the importance of this vote, something no hockey fan wants to hear at this point. News of the ratification could come as early as tonight.

  • Michael Russo of The Athletic has a few notes about the Minnesota Wild’s front office and coaching structure, including a suggestion that Mike Murray could be joining the organization soon. While Murray has only said he left the AHL to “accept a position with an NHL club” in October, Russo tweets that fans shouldn’t be surprised if that’s Minnesota given his familiarity with Wild GM Bill Guerin. Murray served as the AHL’s vice president of hockey operations.
  • While Murray’s connection seems speculative at this point, Russo goes into far more depth on interim head coach Dean Evason and his future with the organization. In his latest piece for The Athletic, Russo lists Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, Tim Army, Scott Sandelin, Mike Hastings, and Tony Granato as other potential candidates, but notes that Evanson has “elevated himself” into consideration. The Wild are scheduled to face the Vancouver Canucks in their qualifying round, giving Evason even more opportunity to show what he can do behind the bench.

Notes On The CBA

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Changes made to the newly-extended CBA are trickling in by the day as we await the results of the player vote. The latest update is a change to the performance overage policy. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, those teams who incur a Performance Bonus overage will be able to distribute the penalty evenly across each of the next two seasons. It’s a small consolation for a frozen salary cap line, but it’s a helpful option nonetheless that will enable teams to make a more cohesive plan to get through the next couple of seasons with a salary cap of $81.5MM. More from the CBA…

  • There were a couple of tweaks to arbitration rules, notes The Athletic’s Craig Custance. For starters, once an arbitration hearing begins, a settlement will no longer be allowed. This might push teams and players even harder to reach accords before settling in arbitration. Once there, the play-in rounds for this year’s 24-team playoff will technically count as playoff stats, not part of the regular season. This makes sense since not all teams are taking part.
  • As things currently stand, those unsigned players looking to make the leap to North America – Alexander Romanov, Ilya Sorokin, Kirill Kaprizov, and others – aren’t eligible to participate in 2019-2020 season. They are able to sign, however, and burn one year of their ELC, something the Wild are willing to consider with Kaprizov just to get him playing with his North American teammates, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The key is this: It’s still possible these players would be allowed to participate in Phase 3 training camp, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The Wild, for instance, would burn a year of Kaprizov’s ELC to get him comfortable with his new teammates, but it’s hard to see the value otherwise.

Details On The Daily Scheduling Of Postseason Games

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With training camps set to open shortly, the idea of live hockey is beginning to seem like more of a reality. While the players still must officially vote to approve the return to play plans, the NHL is all but ready to start the action on August 1st. With details of the qualifying round rules, round robin games for top seeds, and the subsequent playoff structure all hammered out, there are very few questions remaining. Thanks to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, one of those unanswered questions is also no more: how so many games will be played in so short a time in just two locations.

According to McKenzie, the plan is to play three games a day at each of the hub locations, Toronto and Edmonton, for a total of six game. This will include both qualifying round games and round robin seeding games. These games will be held at the same times – 12pm, 4pm, and 8pm – but offset by the two-hour time difference local time. On the east coast, this means games will be on at noon, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, and 10pm, while on the west coast things will get started a little earlier with games at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm. As McKenzie points out, the possibility of extended overtimes in the qualifying round games could complicate this scheduling, but the league hopes to mitigate these risks by playing round robin games, which have regular season OT rules, during the 4pm slots to counteract early games that ran late and ensure prime time games start on time (or at least close to it).

At first glance, the amount of hockey that could be on display later this summer is exciting for fans who have been without the game for close to four months now. There will certainly be logistical issues with the scheduling of games and extended overtimes, but fans should be flexible with their schedules given the affect that COVID-19 has had on typical summer plans. This should also extend to days games, with many people around North America still working from home and able to watch games that typically they might find themselves in the office during. While the Pacific time zone definitely received the worst deal in terms of the daily schedules, it is worth noting that only the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights call that time zone home among 2020 playoff teams, while 75% of the field resides in the Eastern or Central time zones.

Hypothetically, this scheduling plan through the qualifying round and round robin games, a minimum of 44 games and maximum of 68 games, should mean that those series are over and the standard playoff structure is set in no more than 12 days. It may not be pretty cramming so much action into such a short time frame, but if the league sticks to six games a day they will be able to commence with the standard postseason by August 13. This should allow them to complete the postseason, award the Stanley Cup, and even host the 2020 NHL Draft before November 1, which has been proposed as the opening of free agency for the 2020-21 season.

NHL, NHLPA Reach CBA Extension

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The NHL and NHLPA have a tentative agreement in place for the memorandum of understanding on the CBA, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The NHL and NHLPA have both announced the deal.

The owners and the players must ratify the agreement with a vote, but this is definitely trending in a positive direction. Ratification could happen as soon as the end of this week, but there is no set deadline, per McKenzie. Per the agreement, Phase 3 will begin as planned on July 13, followed by travel to hub cities on July 26 and the beginning of play on August 1.

The full press release from the NHLPA reads as follows: “The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) have reached a tentative agreement on a Return to Play Plan and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that adds an additional four years to the term of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and includes transition rules and a new critical dates calendar. As part of the tentative agreement, the following dates have been established: July 13  start of formal training camps; July 26  Clubs travel to hub cities; August 1  start of Qualifying Round. The tentative agreement is now subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors, as well as the NHLPA’s Executive Board followed by the full NHLPA membership. The respective review and approval processes will take place over the next few days and there will be no further comment until those processes are completed.”

Given the troubled history between these two sides, that they could come to an agreement without a work stoppage under these rushed and dynamic conditions speaks volumes. The extended CBA will now expire on September 15, 2026, per NHL.com.  There are still plenty of hurdles ahead before August 1, but for now, it appears that the NHL will return in less than a month’s time.

NHL, NHLPA Hoping To Finalize CBA, Return To Play Agreement Saturday

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The NHL and NHLPA are hoping that they will finalize a six-year CBA agreement today along with a tentative agreement on Phase 3/4 protocols as well as a critical calendar, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Assuming it’s both finalized and ratified, it should provide the league some long-term economic stability with all the issues that have surrounded the league since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Assuming the new CBA is agreed on today, it would need to be ratified by the Board of Governors and the full membership of the NHLPA, where the players would get 72 hours, starting Monday.

While some details were leaked yesterday, TSN’s Frank Severalli notes a few more additions to return-to-play discussions as well as other CBA changes:

  • Dates for Phase 3/4 will be finalized with trainings camps scheduled to open on July 13. Teams will then be expected to report to their hub cities in either Toronto or Edmonton by July 26 and games expected to begin on Aug. 1. Assuming there are no setbacks, the Stanley Cup should be awarded in the first week of October. The second phase of the draft lottery is expected to be held on Aug. 10 immediately after the play-in series is over. The NHL draft is expected to be in mid-October, with free agency starting on Nov. 1.
  • Players can opt out of the 24-team tournament for any reason without penalty and will receive a playoff share regardless. Bonus pool money has also doubled with players who lose in the play-in round receiving $20K, while the Stanley Cup winners would receive $240K.
  • As reported earlier, Olympic participation for NHL players will be included for the 2022 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2026 Milan Olympics, pending negotiations with the IOC and IIHF.
  • There will be no changes to signing bonuses. It was believed the NHL was trying to limit signing bonuses in the next CBA to no more than 50 percent of the total contract, but this will not take place.
  • Players will now also be allowed to rehab from long-term injuries from any where they want, unless the team can prove it’s not possible from that location.
  • Teams will also no longer have to place players playing in Europe on waivers when they wish to return to the NHL. That was an issue back in 2013 for Ryan O’Reilly, who opted to play in the KHL while holding out for a new deal while with the Colorado Avalanche. The Calgary Flames signed him to an offer sheet. However, had Colorado opted not to match the offer, the Flames would have been forced to place him on waivers since he was playing overseas before he returned and likely would have lost him.

 

Blackhawks Notes: Mitchell, Dach, De Haan, Crawford

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Sooner or later, Ian Mitchell will join the Chicago Blackhawks. Whether he’ll suit up for the Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Edmonton Oilers remains to be seen. Until coronavirus ended the college season, Mitchell had banked 32 points in his junior year with the University of Denver, and his availability for the tail end of the NHL season was largely going to be dictated by how far of a run Denver could make in their own playoffs. Though the details of the proposed return-to-play plan between the NHL and NHLPA aren’t finalized, it’s assumed that players in Mitchell’s situation – those who have signed their entry-level deals but haven’t debuted – won’t be allowed to join their clubs for the playoff, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Regardless, Mitchell isn’t likely to join the defensive rotation this season, not with Duncan Keith and Adam Boqvist, Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy, and Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek likely making up the top three line pairings, writes The Athletic’s Scott Powers If Mitchell isn’t able to sign with the Blackhawks this season, that probably suits Chicago just fine, as they could gain an extra year of cost control for Mitchell. If he is allowed to sign, not only might Chicago burn a year of Mitchell’s entry-level deal, but it’d also align his first year of restricted free agency with Boqvist and Kirby Dach. The Hawks know all too well how difficult it can be to build a contender when a team’s best young players become expensive at the same time.

  • Speaking of Dach, the Blackhawks’ rookie center isn’t quite as gung-ho to return to the ice as NHL players are “supposed” to be, but that shouldn’t be a knock on the young center’s character, writes The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. On the contrary, Dach displayed remarkable self-awareness and maturity in his comments about returning to play: “As a young guy in my first year, I feel like I’ve got a lot of potential to grow and learn in this league, and to become the player I want to be. I know I’m a few steps away from that. At the same time, this could be a health risk for many young guys’ careers. We’re high-intensity athletes, where our hearts and lungs are pumping extremely fast, and (COVID-19) could be damaging to us, even past our careers. That’s something you’ve got to take into consideration when you go back.” Dach, 19, showed enough in his first season to excite the Chicago faithful, scoring 23 points in 14:16 ATOI. Despite his concerns, Dach plans on joining his teammates for their Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Edmonton Oilers, which, if nothing else, will provide Dach an early brush with playoff-adjacent hockey. 
  • Calvin de Haan, meanwhile, is back on the ice as of today, per Carter Baum of NHL.com. In his first season with the Blackhawks, the former Islanders and Hurricanes blueliner appeared in 29 games before right shoulder surgery knocked him out for the year – or so we thought. When healthy, de Haan was a penalty killer for Chicago, and he’ll likely slot back into the second pair or defenseman with Connor Murphy if he’s fully back up to speed. Baum provides this quote from Coach Jeremy Colliton: “Obviously we’ve got to get him on the ice and go through camp and hopefully everything continues to progress as far as his health.” 
  • The Blackhawks have an uphill climb ahead of them if they hope to survive the Stanley Cup Qualifier. Taking on the star-studded Edmonton Oilers on their home ice (without fans) presents a challenge for the Hawks, but it’s still a better deal than they were likely to get had the season finished on time. Chicago wasn’t likely to scratch their way back into the playoff hunt, but now youngsters like Dach, Boqvist, and Alex DeBrincat can garner some experience playing games of consequence against some of the best players in the game. The Blackhawks have the experience to upset Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers, but to do so will likely require goaltender Corey Crawford to quickly get on top of his game, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com. After trading Robin Lehner to the Golden Knights, Chicago has no viable Plan B should the 35-year-old Crawford struggle to hit his stride. Not to pile on in the stakes department, but Crawford is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Snapshots: Amnesty, Lucic, Game Audio, Hajek

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Despite the hopes and dreams of fans around the NHL, the agreed-upon return-to-play conditions and extended CBA is not likely to include any kind of amnesty clause, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The assumption that the salary cap will hold at $81.5MM for the next two seasons gave rise to some speculation that the stagnant cap would be augmented by an amnesty provision, but it appears teams will be stuck with the contracts they’ve got on the books. For the Calgary Flames, that means Milan Lucic, writes Todd Cordell of Hockey Buzz. Lucic has three more years on his deal worth $5.25MM per season. The 32-year-old Lucic hardly set the world on fire in his first season in Calgary, notching just 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) across 68 games. The Flames acquired Lucic and a conditional 3rd round pick for winger James Neal after one disappointing season in Calgary produced just seven goals. The money owed Lucic isn’t exorbitant, but it’s not an ideal price tag for an aging winger entering his mid-thirties. Lucic still played a role on the Flames’ third line, but his days as a 40-60 point scorer appear behind him. Additionally, it’s unclear right now if the Flames will actually receive the third-round pick. To get the pick in this year’s draft, Neal had to score at least 21 goals and record 10 more goals than Lucic. The second condition was qualified, but Neal scored just 19 goals – in a shortened season. Common sense would look at those numbers and say Neal was going to qualify both conditions, but it’s not entirely clear.

  • When the NHL returns to television, the game may look the same – except for the leagues of empty seats in the background – but the audio experience may provide an even more jarring change, per Kevin McGran of The Star. Without access to players, the play-by-play commentators are likely to call games from a studio instead of the arena, and in terms of sideline reporting, well, there won’t be any. Studios are still working on the best way to pump in ambient sound, whether that’s highlighting sounds from the ice or using some kind of fan track. The most entertaining option would almost certainly be to mic the players, but that would require players to curb their vulgarity, which, in the heat of the moment, might be too great an ask.
  • Libor Hajek of the New York Rangers has hired Octagon as his representation, tweets agent Allan Walsh. The young blueliner appeared in 28 games for the Rangers this season, recording five assists but no goals. Walsh also represents NHL players like Marc-Andre Fleury and Brock Boeser.

Next Steps To Finalizing Toronto and Edmonton As Hub Cities

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It’s been a long and arduous journey, and there’s plenty more road left to clear, but it appears as if the NHL and NHLPA have a framework in place to settle all their outstanding issues, writes TSN’s Frank Seravalli. The deal has yet to be finalized, but when it is, it’s expected to include an extension of the current CBA, some of which we went over here, as well as the final details of the return-to-play initiative. Plus, of course, there’s the final announcement about the hub cities.

Multiple sources at the Athletic, however, confirm Bob McKenzie of TSN’s initial report that marked Toronto and Edmonton as the NHL’s chosen locations for hub play, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The 12 participating teams from the Western Conference would play in Edmonton, with the 12 Eastern Conference clubs headed to Toronto. Of course, that means that both the Maple Leafs and Oilers will have the “advantage” of playing in their home city. The NHL doesn’t view this as much of an advantage, however, given that fans won’t be in attendance. Besides, there’s at least a chance that neither the Oilers nor the Maple Leafs would advance past the Qualifier round.

Not to mention, there remain obstacles to finalizing the plan as currently constituted. Seravalli kindly laid out the next steps: “Once a deal is finalized, it will require ratification votes from both the NHLPA’s full membership and the NHL’s Board of Governors, which could come as soon as this weekend. A simple majority vote is needed from the NHLPA; a two-thirds vote is required from the BOG.”

Still, after hemming and hawing for weeks to finalize these details, it does appear as if the NHL and NHLPA are close to pulling off the monumental task of coming to an accord in just a manner of days.

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