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Evening Notes: Zadorov, Vlasic, Poehling

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Elliotte Friedman reported today that Vancouver Canucks recent trade acquisition Nikita Zadorov never received a formal contract extension offer from the Calgary Flames. Friedman went on to add that Calgary and Zadorov had different opinions on the length of a potential extension as the Flames wanted to be cautious while Zadorov was looking for long-term security.

It’s an understandable position from both sides given the circumstance they both find themselves in. Calgary has several undesirable long-term contracts on the books and was likely hesitant to add another one, while Zadorov has never had more than two years of security on a contract (outside of his ELD). The differences were too much for both sides to overcome which led to the Flames dealing the pending unrestricted free agent to Vancouver.

In other evening notes:

  • Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News is reporting that San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic is unlikely to be traded anytime soon. While that news isn’t surprising, the timing is interesting given that Vlasic was re-inserted into the Sharks lineup two nights ago after being a healthy scratch for a stretch. It seems that for the right price any contract in the NHL can be moved, however, there hasn’t been a contract situation quite like Vlasic’s. The 36-year-old has no points in 15 games this season and is playing under a $7MM cap hit for this season, and two more years after that. He has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams in which he would accept a trade. The other wrinkle in a potential trade is that if the Sharks were to retain salary, it would represent the final time they can do that until one of the current retained contracts expires.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced tonight that center Ryan Poehling would miss their game against the Arizona Coyotes due to an illness. No word yet on whether Poehling is expected to be out of Flyers lineup for any length of time. Poehling has already missed three games this season as a healthy scratch as the 24-year-old has struggled during his first season in Philadelphia. Poehling has had a far more advantageous deployment in Philadelphia than he did in Pittsburgh last year, but his analytics and defensive metrics aren’t what they were despite being given more offensive opportunities.

Speculation Swirling Around Logan Couture

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Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News wrote an article speculating on the future of San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture. In the article, Richardson wonders if the Sharks will look to move the Guelph, Ontario native once he is back in the lineup. The Sharks have made moves in recent years to shed their high-priced veterans, and at 34 years of age, Couture would fit that description. He is entering the fifth year of an eight-year $64MM contract that carries an annual cap hit of $8MM.

Richardson is not the first pundit to suggest that the Sharks will move on from the center. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said earlier this week that he believed that Couture was a prime trade candidate, and even added that he could see the Sharks using their final retained salary slot to facilitate a move. It would make sense for the Sharks to move on as they are unlikely to be contenders in the remaining years of Couture’s contract. The team has moved on from Brent Burns, Timo Meier, and Erik Karlsson and has little reason to keep Couture other than to be a mentor for some of their younger players.

Couture is coming off a very productive season in which he scored 27 goals and 40 assists in 82 games. His 67 points last year weren’t far off his career high of 70 points that he registered in 2018-19. While he was part of a power play that was led by Norris Trophy winner Karlsson, he only recorded 20 points with the man advantage, a number that isn’t above his average production. And while San Jose has little urgency to trade him, Couture’s trade value is probably the highest it will be for the remainder of his contract.

For Couture’s part, he has talked about his predicament before. On an August episode of the San Jose Hockey Now podcast, Couture said that he would love to end his career in San Jose, but he wanted to play more meaningful games. Something that isn’t likely to happen in San Jose for at least a few seasons. While some might view Couture’s statement as neutral, his words do show that he has a desire to play for a winning team.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Stone, Bear, Murray

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It was a short week in the NHL, as the regular season came to a close, but there were still some fantastic performances around the league. The NHL announced its Three Stars for the week and Jason Robertson was atop the list as the league’s First Star of the final week of the regular season. The Dallas Stars winger played three games, scoring one goal and five assists for six points. This helped the 23 year old finish the season with 46 goals and 109 points.

In second and third place last week were Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit. Burns scored goals in all three of the Hurricanes games last week as they held off the New Jersey Devils for first place in the Metropolitan Division. He added a second goal against the Florida Panthers to give him four goals in three contests last week. Brossoit suited up for two games between the pipes for the Golden Knights and allowed just one goal in each game, winning them both while stopping 50 of the 52 shots he faced during the week.

  • Per a team release, Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned Mark Stone has been cleared for contact. This is a step in the right direction for the star two-way winger as he tries to return from an injury that has kept him out of the lineup since January 12. Stone has been dealing with back issues for three months, but his status was changed to day-to-day today as he is now able to join his teammates for practice as a full participant. The Golden Knights begin their first round series with the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
  • Ethan Bear of the Vancouver Canucks was on Canucks Central radio show with Dan Riccio and Satiar Shah and spoke confidently about returning to the Canucks next season. Bear was acquired early in the season from the Carolina Hurricanes and will be a restricted free agent this offseason. He is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent if he is not given a qualifying offer of one year at $2.2MM but it sounds like Bear will be signing an extension without much drama involved. He openly stated he will be back and anyone worrying about the situation can relax. After being cast aside by the Hurricanes essentially as a cap dump, Bear played well for the Canucks and has deserved an extension to stay.
  • Chris Johnston of TSN reports Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray has begun skating in recent days. Murray is recovering from a concussion suffered in an accidental collision on April 2. Murray has battled injuries most of the season, only suiting up for 26 games for the Maple Leafs. Even if he is healthy in time for Game 1 of the first round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Murray will likely serve as the backup to Ilya Samsonov who has been more consistent and reliable for the Leafs this season.

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Brent Burns

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11:55am: The deal is now complete, according to LeBrun. The Hurricanes will receive Burns and Lane Pederson in exchange for Steven Lorentz, Eetu Makiniemi, and a conditional 2023 third-round pick. The Sharks will retain one-third of Burns’ remaining contract.

10:30am: While Carolina moved a notable defenseman at the draft when they sent Anthony DeAngelo to Philadelphia, it appears they’ve found his replacement.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Hurricanes are close to acquiring Brent Burns from San Jose.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that Carolina isn’t on Burns’ three-team trade list but it appears he’ll be willing to waive his trade protection to facilitate a move.  LeBrun adds (via Twitter) that multiple players are involved in the swap.

Burns has been a staple on the back end for the Sharks for more than a decade as an all-situations defender that logs heavy minutes.  A three-time Norris finalist (and one-time winner), the 37-year-old is coming off a pretty strong season as he led all San Jose defenders in scoring with 10 goals and 44 assists in 82 games in 2021-22 while logging a career-high 26:09 per game.

The reason that San Jose is moving him is his contract.  Burns still has three years left on his contract with a cap hit of $8MM and with the Sharks not having a lot of financial flexibility, it was expected that they’d try to move one of their three pricey veterans on the back end.  With both Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic coming off tough seasons that have them on negative-value contracts, Burns was the logical one to try to move.

With Carolina, Burns shouldn’t be counted on to log anywhere near the type of minutes he did in San Jose with the Hurricanes and he could fit in nicely on their second pairing behind Brett Pesce.  He would certainly help replace the minutes that DeAngelo logged last season while being able to help cover the offensive gap left behind as well.

More to follow.

Teams “Kicking Tires” On Brent Burns

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After new San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier explained yesterday that he’ll let Brent Burns “lead the way” on his future, speculation has drummed up around the league. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweeted earlier today that the Carolina Hurricanes are kicking tires on Burns (and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry) as they look to replace the offense that left with Tony DeAngelo, while Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia notes that the Ottawa Senators have done the same.

The team most often linked is the Dallas Stars, who are losing John Klingberg this offseason and have some clear connections to Burns through head coach Peter DeBoer and veteran forward Joe Pavelski.

While Grier might be letting Burns take the lead, getting out from his contract certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Sharks, as they try to move forward in a different direction. The 37-year-old defensemen has three years left on his deal and carries an $8MM cap hit, though the actual salary owed is much less. Burns will earn just $16.5MM over the last three seasons of the eight-year, $64MM contract, and $3.5MM of that was in the form of a signing bonus already paid this summer.

Though his is not a full no-trade clause, Burns does have almost full control of the situation. He submits a list of just three teams that he can be traded to on July 1 of every year.

The part that makes Burns’ future so interesting is that despite his age, he is still an effective player. He recorded 54 points last season while still averaging more than 26 minutes a night and actually saw his deployment skew more defensive than in years past. In a more sheltered, offensive role, perhaps he could be even more effective for a contending team.

While the focus now is on free agency that starts in under 24 hours, there will be a number of trades also going down over the next few weeks. Whether Burns stays in San Jose appears to be completely up in the air at the moment.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Burns, Gaudreau, Lemieux, PHF, Struble

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As the San Jose Sharks look to turn a corner with the franchise, not necessarily declaring a rebuild, rumors surrounding superstar defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson have turned up in recent months, with some speculating the Sharks could try to deal one of them. That speculation didn’t seem too off-base, but with the Sharks without a GM for the first time in nearly 20 years and still searching, it was unclear if the team would want to make that sort of franchise-altering trade before making the hire, and if the new hire would want to do such a thing as well.

Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News had a chance to speak to the new man in charge in that of Sharks GM Mike Grier, who touched on Burns’ future in San Jose. Grier said that he would speak with Burns soon and let him lead the way on whether or not he wanted to be dealt, understanding if the former Norris winner wanted to win now, but adding that he had been a “great Shark.” Burns, who has a modified no-trade clause, does in effect lead the way already in this situation, but Grier’s comments show that San Jose is ready to proceed in either direction with the 37-year-old, depending on how their conversation turns out. The defenseman has three more years at $8MM per season left on his contract.

  • If and when superstar free agent Johnny Gaudreau hits the free agent market on Wednesday, he will be one of the most sought-after players to ever go to free agency, with no shortage of suitors. One of those suitors, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports, will be the New York Islanders, who he believes will “competitively” pursue the winger. It’s no secret that the Islanders have been looking for offense and a dynamic winger to play with Mathew Barzal, especially after missing the playoffs following back-to-back trips to the Conference Finals. Bringing in a player like Gaudreau would solve many of those problems of course, but having just under $11.2MM in salary cap space while needing to sign RFA defensemen Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov, a Gaudreau signing would necessitate another move to shed salary on the Island.
  • Although he was non-tendered by the Los Angeles Kings, forward Brendan Lemieux may still re-sign with the team after all is said and done, reports TSN’s Chris Johnston, with contract talks still ongoing. This news isn’t too shocking, as the gritty winger has played well for the Kings since being acquired from the New York Rangers during the 2020-21 season, but coming with a qualifying offer of $1.65MM, Los Angeles may have opted to try and re-sign Lemieux at a lower rate, not taking the chance of him accepting a salary they may view as too high.
  • Erin Brown of The Hockey News reports that the PHF will announce its 2022-23 expansion plans on Tuesday morning. One of the premier women’s hockey leagues in North America, the PHF currently consists of five teams, including the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, Connecticut Whale, and Minnesota Whitecaps.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that defense prospect Jayden Struble suffered a lower-body injury today and would miss the remainder of development camp. The Canadiens’ second-round pick, 46th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, just finished his third season at Northeastern University, where he put up three goals and 11 assists in 34 games from the backend. The defenseman has just one more year before he will become a UFA if he does not sign with Montreal.

Latest On Sharks’ Offseason Plans

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The San Jose Sharks announced a pair of extensions today, locking up Alexander Barabanov and Jaycob Megna for the next two years. Those deals were necessary for two players who have found a home in San Jose but certainly not the headline-making news that fans are hoping for, now that the team is going to be under new management.

Long-time general manager Doug Wilson has stepped down, leaving the Sharks with Joe Will as interim manager until a more permanent solution is found. When that new solution is found, however, there will be some huge questions to be answered in terms of the direction of the team. After an almost unprecedented era of regular season success, that saw the Sharks qualify for the postseason in 19 of 21 seasons, they’ve missed the playoffs in each of the last three and now face some difficult decisions.

The biggest among those: what to do with an aging, expensive defense corps?

The Sharks have $26.5MM in cap hits tied up in three defensemen that will all be at least 32 at the end of this month. Erik Karlsson, the youngest of the three, carries an $11.5MM cap hit through 2026-27. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, 35, is signed at a $7MM cap hit through 2025-26. And then there is franchise legend Brent Burns, who despite turning 37 a few months ago, is still carrying an $8MM cap hit through 2024-25.

It is Burns’ future that is perhaps the most intriguing. Karlsson and Vlasic each have full no-movement clauses, blocking any potential trade unless they approve it but Burns will have to submit a new list on July 1, one which would allow the Sharks to trade him to three teams without getting his approval again. While that obviously doesn’t give them much wiggle room, Burns’ front-loaded contract, shorter term, and still strong play have at least sparked some speculation. On today’s 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet explained:

I believe they had some trade talks with a couple of teams on Karlsson this year. However, I don’t think that has gone anywhere, and I’m told it’s not that likely, because it’s just a big contract. Burns has three years left, the contract in terms of actual salary goes down, and he’s still a heck of a player. 

I just think that everybody recognizes here that there is the possibility this might be one of the ways that the Sharks try to break up their logjam, as long as they get what they want. I was told specifically by one of the teams that they are not giving Burns away. That is just not happening. There is a package they want and they are going to demand it. 

Though the contract carries an average annual value of $8MM, Burns is owed just $16.5MM over the last three years of the deal, $3.5MM of which will be due in signing bonuses next season.

Despite his age, Burns has continued to be a huge factor for the Sharks on the ice. He averaged more than 26 minutes a night this season, played in all 82 games, and racked up another 54 points. Though some may think of the veteran defenseman as an offense-only player, he actually logged nearly three minutes a night on the penalty kill this year, while recording a career-high 150 blocked shots. That level of play is obviously still valuable, but there is so much risk in having nearly a third of the salary cap tied up in those three aging defensemen.

One can see exactly why by dissecting the play of Vlasic, who has taken several steps back in recent years. Once one of the most feared shutdown defenders in the entire league, his playing time was slashed dramatically this season, to the point where he was averaging just over 15 minutes a night when he was in the lineup. A buyout is one way out for the Sharks but if they went that direction this offseason, they’d be carrying a substantial cap hit through 2029-30. Friedman and co-host Jeff Marek both agree that while a buyout did seem like a possibility, Will spoke as though Vlasic would be coming back at the team’s end-of-year media availability.

An interesting wrinkle in all of this is the situation surrounding Mario Ferraro, arguably the team’s most valuable defenseman behind Burns. The 23-year-old is a restricted free agent this offseason and could be in line for a hefty raise, if the team wanted to sign him long-term. As it stands that doesn’t really even seem possible with so much money tied up elsewhere, meaning the team could have to go short-term and try again later; Ferraro does not have arbitration rights this offseason and would theoretically have to sign his qualifying offer if the team wanted to squeeze him (or an offer sheet elsewhere).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Scheifele, Sharks, Kuzmenko

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Despite some ominous comments earlier in the week, it turns out that Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele did not request a trade in his exit interview with GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Schiefele had expressed concern over the direction of the team after the Jets missed the playoffs this season, which raised some eyebrows in the media and across the league. Scheifele is signed through the next two seasons, so if he was unhappy enough with the situation, he would have had to request a trade, which likely would have occurred during his exit interview this week. Instead, the situation remains status quo in Winnipeg, at least for now. If the Jets, who have a lot of money tied up in long-term contracts, cannot find a way to improve the roster within their salary cap restrictions early this offseason, Scheifele’s position could change. The 29-year-old center has the ability and the contract to draw immense interest if he does hit the trade block this summer.

  • Friedman notes that another team who could be in the star trading business this offseason are the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks reportedly held preliminary trade discussions with multiple teams this season regarding Erik Karlsson, and those talks could continue over the summer. The Sharks need to first name a new general manager, for which a search is ongoing, but the expectation is that whoever the team hires will be directed to retool rather than rebuild. In order to get more competitive sooner rather than later, the Sharks need to add more high-end depth to their lineup and need more cap space to do so. Moving all or even part of Karlsson’s five remaining years at $11.5MM would help immensely and the trade return wouldn’t hurt either. However, is it realistic to expect the Sharks to find a team both willing and able to add Karlsson? Friedman suggests that Brent Burns, who has three years remaining at $8MM, might be easier to move and would still accomplish the task of redistributing a mass amount of cap space from the right side of the blue line to be used elsewhere in the lineup. The Sharks are also expected to evaluate their options with Marc-Edouard Vlasic this offseason, whose remaining four years at $7MM could prove impossible to move but could be bought out instead.
  • While the Jets and the Sharks will be looking for outside-the-box ways to improve this summer, neither team appears to be in the race for KHL free agent Andrei Kuzmenko. Friedman lists the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, and Vegas Golden Knights as the finalists for the Russian winger’s services. Kuzmenko, 26, initially drew interest from at least 20 NHL teams, but now that his KHL contract has expired as of May 1 and he has begun actual negotiations, the list has been trimmed considerably. Kuzmenko is coming off of a career year in the KHL, recording 20 goals and 53 points in 45 games for SKA St. Petersburg, plus another 14 points in 16 playoff games. While he would be brand new to the NHL and his international experience is somewhat limited as well, Kuzmenko could be an affordable impact forward right away next season.

Adin Hill Enters COVID Protocol; Brent Burns Exits

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For the San Jose Sharks, things are set to resume tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes. They are expected to have Brent Burns back in the lineup for that game, keeping his games played streak intact after he exited the COVID protocol today. It wasn’t all good news though, as Adin Hill has been added to the protocol, forcing the club to recall Zachary Sawchenko to serve as the backup goaltender. Nicholas Merkley has also been recalled to the taxi squad.

Hill joins Jonathan Dahlen and Tomas Hertl, who remain in the protocol for the time being but should be eligible to return soon. They both entered on December 21 and have been experiencing only mild symptoms.

Burns’ return is an important one, given his role on the team, but Hill’s absence is going to put even more pressure on James Reimer. The veteran netminder is having a career year with a .936 save percentage through 16 appearances but hasn’t logged more than 36 in a single season since 2017-18. Even then, Reimer has never really been a workhorse, never playing more than 43 games in a single year. Hill won’t be able to give him a break anytime soon, and Sawchenko certainly doesn’t appear ready for NHL action.

The 23-year-old undrafted netminder has an .859 save percentage in nine appearances for the San Jose Barracuda this season. Alexei Melnichuk would likely be the preferred recall, but he is also currently in the protocol along with several other Barracuda players.

Brent Burns Placed In COVID Protocol

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Dec 21: Burns has been joined by Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Dahlen, both added to the protocol today. An additional Sharks staff member has also been added.

Dec 20: When the San Jose Sharks experienced their COVID outbreak earlier in the season, one of the key names that went unaffected and helped carry them through was Brent Burns. The veteran defenseman has played in all 30 of the team’s games so far this season, but that could be about to change. Burns has been added to the COVID protocol, though his placement there is apparently retroactive to December 17. That means he would be technically eligible to return for the Sharks’ next game, currently scheduled for December 27, should he pass all of the medical testing.

Burns, 36, has averaged nearly 26 minutes a night this season for the Sharks and is once again racking up points at a strong pace. The roving defender has 17 points in 30 games, good for 23rd in the league among defensemen. Should he have to miss any games after the holiday break, it would be a huge blow to San Jose’s chances.

Given that no other players have entered in the past few days for the Sharks, the hope is that this is a contained case. If that proves incorrect and other players enter the protocol in the coming days, they wouldn’t be available when the season resumes. For a team just barely hanging on in the Pacific Division playoff race, losing any more bodies could have a dire impact.

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