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Carl Dahlstrom

Winnipeg Jets Acquire Paul Stastny

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Friday: The deal is now official, Stastny is a Jet. Vegas will receive defenseman Carl Dahlstrom along with Winnipeg’s fourth-round pick in 2022. The draft pick is conditional on Stastny playing five games with the Jets, according to Craig Custance of The Athletic. This is likely just a safeguard against the possibility of a canceled 2020-21 season.

Thursday: The Winnipeg Jets are working to bring back a familiar face, as Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press and several others are reporting that the team is closing in on a deal for Vegas Golden Knights center Paul Stastny. If the deal is completed, Murat Ates of The Athletic tweets that it will include draft picks headed in both directions.

Winnipeg has long been looking for a second-line center to play behind Mark Scheifele, and for a few games in 2018 they found one. When Stastny was winding down his last contract with the St. Louis Blues, they sent him to Winnipeg in exchange for a first-round pick and prospect Erik Foley, despite being in a playoff run. The veteran forward immediately found success with the Jets on a line between Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, scoring 13 points in the 19 games down the stretch. In the playoffs, Stastny was exactly what the Jets had hoped for and trailed only Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Dustin Byfuglien in postseason scoring.

That offseason, the Jets made an attempt to keep him, even moving Steve Mason’s contract out to make cap room. It didn’t work, as Stastny took a three-year deal with the Golden Knights that carried a whopping $6.5MM AAV and was asked to replace some of the production the team was losing from free agents James Neal and David Perron.

Now, two years into that deal and hours before free agency opens, the Golden Knights obviously feel there are better things they can use that cap space on.

The 34-year-old Stastny was still effective this season, but he did take a substantial step backward in offensive statistics. In fact, his 38 points in 71 games was easily the worst per-game production of his career, though that did still include 17 goals.

More than anything, the Jets may be trying to find a way to recapture that magic the team showed in 2018 when they went all the way to the Western Conference Finals with Stastny in the middle of the ice. Or even perhaps motivate an enigmatic Laine who has expressed his frustration in the past at weaker linemates but did enjoy his time with the veteran pivot. Of course, Laine’s name has also been in the rumor mill quite a bit this summer, and taking on Stastny’s $6.5MM cap hit doesn’t leave a ton of room for upgrades to the rest of the roster.

For the Golden Knights, if they’re able to rid themselves of the entire Stastny cap hit they will not only be cap-compliant again, but a lot closer to taking a swing at one of the high profile free agents. The team has been linked to Alex Pietrangelo, though nothing is certain on that front as the Blues re-engaged their captain recently. They have also been trying to move Marc-Andre Fleury’s deal, which would give them ample space to add on the free agent market. Nate Schmidt and Jonathan Marchessault have also been mentioned as potential trade candidates.

Currently, the Golden Knights project to be nearly $3MM over the salary cap of $81.5MM for next season. While you can operate up to 10% over that ceiling in the offseason, clearing Stastny’s contract off the books would give them a lot more flexibility in the coming days.

Snapshots: Tanev, Dahlstrom, Draft Rankings

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The Vancouver Canucks are within striking distance of first place in the Pacific Division as we head into the last part of the season, meaning the team likely won’t be considered sellers this year. With that in mind, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic (subscription required) spoke to several agents that represent the team’s pending unrestricted free agents. Chris Tanev’s agent Wade Arnott told Dhaliwal that the veteran defenseman’s “priority is to re-sign in Vancouver.”

Tanev is in the final season of a five-year, $22.25MM contract signed in 2015, but is finally having a relatively healthy campaign. After averaging just 54 games played in each of the first four years, Tanev has already suited up 47 times in 2019-20 and is averaging nearly 20 minutes a night for the Canucks. The defensive defenseman is also on track to set a career-high in points, and leads the club in short-handed ice time. That’s a big piece of the team to let walk if the Canucks decide not to re-sign the 30-year old, though it is obvious he wants to stay.

  • In Winnipeg, two more Jets’ defensemen have been placed on injured reserve. Carl Dahlstrom and Tucker Poolman find themselves with the designation today, with the former facing a six-week absence due to a broken bone in his hand. Poolman isn’t expected to be out as long, but suffering defensemen seems to be a trend in Winnipeg this year. The team will get Dmitry Kulikov back on the top pairing beside Josh Morrissey, but are still putting together a patchwork blue line.
  • Craig Button of TSN has released his latest rankings for the 2020 entry draft, and it is no longer Quinton Byfield trying to chase down Alexis Lafreniere at the top. Tim Stuetzle, the top-ranked international skater by NHL Central Scouting, has climbed to the second spot on Button’s list, while Austrian-born Marco Rossi of the Ottawa 67’s is now in fifth. Rossi would tie Thomas Vanek as the highest  drafted Austrian ever in the NHL if he were to go in that spot this June.

League Notes: Waiver Priority, Power Play, AHL Trades

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November 1st marks an important day on the NHL calendar, but one many may not be aware of. Fortunately, CapFriendly is here for the reminder. This day marks the official change over to the waiver priority by current NHL standings. In the first month of the season, as the sample size is too small to truly judge the weak from the strong in many cases, the league uses the reverse order of the prior year’s regular season standings as the waiver priority for all of October. Up until now, the Ottawa Senators have had the first chance at available players on waivers, followed by the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, and all the way to the Tampa Bay Lighting. But as of today, the top priority goes to… well, the Kings, who move up just one spot. The Senators slide back to third, with the Minnesota Wild occupying the second position. As of right now, it is the Boston Bruins who have the very last opportunity to claim a player on waivers. Waiver priority will now change constantly based on the reverse order of the league standings by points percentage.

However, at the current rate, waiver priority won’t matter too much this season. The Winnipeg Jets, who have occupied the 22nd waiver priority spot until today, have claimed defensemen Carl Dahlstrom and Luca Sbisa, and the Arizona Coyotes, who previously held spot No. 14, claimed goaltender Eric Comrie. Those have been the only claims thus far in 2019-20, an unusually low count even this early in the season.

  • The mark of success so far this season? Power play efficiency. As John Dietz of the Chicago Daily Herald points out, there is no stronger correlation between wins and losses this year than how a team performs man-up. The top six teams in power play percentage are all also among the top nine in points percentage. This includes the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres at No. 1 and 2 in both statistics. Down at the bottom, five of the six worst power play teams are among the bottom the eight teams in points percentage. The only outlier appears to be the Anaheim Ducks, who have managed to overcome a 29th-ranked power play thus far to get off to an 8-6-0 start. As the skill level in the NHL improves each year and the game becomes more about using space to create offense, it only makes sense that man-up efficiency will matter more and more, with the start to this season as the perfect example.
  • A strange occurrence early on this season has also been not one, but two AHL trades. AHL trades are extremely rare, as the NHL teams that manage their farm team rosters often lack any incentive to make such a deal. In general, the only motivation to make a deal that solely impacts an AHL squad is to improve depth at a certain position, either to avoid the overexposure of prospects or, later in the year, to give the team a push toward securing a playoff spot. However, even then AHL GM’s tend to eye other players on two-way NHL contracts to swap rather than players on minor league pacts. Not so far this year, though. On Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Griffins acquired forward Marcus Vela from San Jose Barracuda for defenseman Marcus Crawford in a move that wasn’t even about addressing depth, as Vela was immediately reassigned to the ECHL. Just two days later, the San Diego Gulls acquired veteran defenseman Ryan Johnston, a player who had been a healthy scratch for every game so far this season, from the Toronto Marlies for future considerations. Perhaps this is a new trend in organizational roster management or perhaps it is simply a coincidence, but either way it is an intriguing attachment to this young season.

Eric Comrie, Carl Dahlstrom Claimed Off Waivers

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A huge number of talented players were on waivers yesterday, but it appears that just two have been claimed. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Arizona Coyotes have claimed goaltender Eric Comrie from the Winnipeg Jets, while Winnipeg themselves have picked up defenseman Carl Dahlstrom from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Comrie, 24, wasn’t the most accomplished goaltender on waivers yesterday, but does perhaps offer the most upside. Originally selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, the former WHL star has steadily improved his game in the minor leagues and posted a .917 save percentage in 47 games with the Manitoba Moose last season. The World Junior gold medalist can help the Coyotes deal with their early goaltending injuries, but it will be interesting to see if he lasts in the NHL long-term on a team that already has Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper locked into the top two spots. Because of that, Winnipeg may get a chance to reclaim him at some point.

Dahlstrom meanwhile may be in a much different situation. The Jets have lost a huge chunk of their defense corps this summer through trade (Jacob Trouba), free agency (Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot) and potential retirement (Dustin Byfuglien), leaving Josh Morrissey and a relatively new cast of characters. Dahlstrom will offer another young option to try out after he played 38 games for the Blackhawks last season. The second-round pick stands 6’4″ 231-lbs, size that many of the Jets’ current defensemen are lacking.

With just the two claims, it means that players like Daniel Sprong, Casey DeSmith, Joshua Ho-Sang, Thomas Hickey and Sven Baertschi can all be assigned to the minor leagues. A setback for all of them as they try to continue their NHL careers.

Waivers: 09/30/19

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Today is the last day to use waivers in order to get a roster cap compliant for the start of the regular season, so we will see a lot of players available for selection.

Anaheim Ducks

F Daniel Sprong
F Sam Carrick

Boston Bruins

F Peter Cehlarik

Buffalo Sabres

F Remi Elie
F Curtis Lazar
F Scott Wilson
D Casey Nelson

Calgary Flames

F Alan Quine

Carolina Hurricanes

F Clark Bishop
D Gustav Forsling
G Anton Forsberg

Chicago Blackhawks

D Carl Dahlstrom

Colorado Avalanche

F Jayson Megna

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Marko Dano

Edmonton Oilers

F Sam Gagner
D Brandon Manning

Minnesota Wild

F J.T. Brown

Nashville Predators

F Miikka Salomaki
D Steven Santini

New Jersey Devils

D Matt Tennyson

New York Islanders

F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Tanner Fritz
D Thomas Hickey

New York Rangers

F Boo Nieves

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Casey DeSmith

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Luke Schenn

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Kenny Agostino
F Nic Petan
F Garrett Wilson
D Kevin Gravel

Vancouver Canucks

F Sven Baertschi
F Nikolay Goldobin
D Alex Biega

Winnipeg Jets

F J.C. Lipon
D Nelson Nogier
G Eric Comrie

Washington Capitals

F Liam O’Brien
F Michael Sgarbossa
D Christian Djoos

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.

Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Olli Maatta To Chicago

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Dominik Kahun and a 2019 fifth-round pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

With a surplus of defensemen on their roster, the Penguins were going to have to make a move and unload one of their defensemen as the team already had Kris Letang, Justin Schultz, Brian Dumoulin, Erik Gudbranson, Jack Johnson, Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson on the NHL roster. Maatta was a prime candidate to be moved after a so-so season in which the 24-year-old went from a seven-goal, 29-point season in 2017-18 to a one-goal, 14-point season this past year. Injuries have also plagued Maatta as he missed six weeks with an upper-body injury late in the season.

It looks like Pittsburgh got good value in return for Maatta, however, as they team picks up Kahun, who had an impressive rookie season for Chicago. The 23-year-old signed a two-year entry-level deal out of Germany and immediately proved his worth by making the Blackhawks’ squad out of training camp and showed off his versatility by being able to play any forward position. He contributed 13 goals and 37 points, but with the number of NHL forwards that Chicago has on its roster, the team had the luxury of trading one away to bolster its defensive core. Kahun should bolster the team’s middle-six, providing offense on whatever line the team needs. Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford spoke highly of the new addition:

He is a speedy, versatile player capable of playing all three forward positions. He also saw time on Chicago’s power-play and penalty killing units. We are very excited for him to join our team.

While adding Kahun, perhaps the biggest plus to the trade was freeing up some cap space. By moving his three years and $4.08MM contract and acquiring the cheaper Kahun ($925K), the Penguins have added $3.16MM in cap space this season. The Penguins also add a coveted draft pick for this year, even if it’s in the fifth round. Pittsburgh had already traded away its second, third, fourth and sixth-round picks for this draft, so adding a second fifth-rounder helps make up for those lost picks.

For Chicago, with $19MM in projected cap space this offseason, adding Maatta’s contract wasn’t a problem and the team still is expected to have more than $17MM in cap space to make more moves this offseason. The team needed to add some experienced depth to its team and it likely was going to do it via trade. The fact that Maatta is left-handed, however, will have him battling with a group of left-handers for playing time, including Duncan Keith, Erik Gustafsson, Slater Koekkoek and Carl Dahlstrom.

 

Carl Dahlstrom Signs Two-Year Extension

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The Chicago Blackhawks have locked up another young defenseman, signing Carl Dahlstrom to a two-year extension. Dahlstrom was set to become a restricted free agent this summer and would have been arbitration eligible. The deal will carry an $850K average annual value, and keep him under contract through the 2020-21 season.

Dahlstrom, 24, was originally selected by the Blackhawks in the second round of the 2013 draft but didn’t make his NHL debut until last season. The 6’4″ 231-lbs defenseman has just six points this season through 35 games, but has shown enough ability to be a contender for a more full-time role next season. Part of that decision will come down to new head coach Jeremy Colliton, who had Dahlstrom in the AHL previously and has thrust him into some tough minutes at the NHL level this season. It will also depend on where the other young Chicago defensemen land on the depth chart after what will be a fascinating training camp.

Chicago has a wave of young blue liners coming with names like Henri Jokiharju, Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin and the recently signed Chad Krys, but it is Dahlstrom that will now have a guaranteed role in the organization for the next two seasons. Whether that is as a reliable defensive option with the NHL club, or another year bouncing back and forth isn’t clear, but he’ll at least not have to worry about the financial side of the game for the time being. Dahlstrom will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the extension.

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