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J.T. Miller

Ryan McDonagh Signs Seven-Year Extension With Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have done it again, extending one of their players for a reasonable cap hit. This time it is Ryan McDonagh, who has signed a seven-year extension that carries an average annual value of $6.75MM. The deal will kick in for the 2019-20 season, after the final year of his current contract.

The move allows Tampa Bay to keep their new defensive core. The team acquired McDonagh in a giant trade from the New York Rangers right at the trade deadline this year. The Rangers traded McDonagh, a dominant top-four shutdown defenseman along with J.T. Miller (who already signed an extension) for Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, a 2018 first-round pick and a conditional second-round pick in 2019. While he was coming off an injury when he was traded, he came exactly as advertised, leading the defense’s second unit, while Victor Hedman manned the first.

The seven-year deal should run until McDonagh reaches 36 years of age. However, to get the veteraen defenseman at $6.75MM is a reasonable cost and much lower than some of the other defenseman who have recently signed such as Drew Doughty and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. McDonagh, who is solid two-way defenseman, didn’t post his best offensive numbers between both teams as he combined for four goals and 29 points, but a healthy full season in Tampa Bay should get him back to his regular numbers.

Tampa Bay still has to lock up superstar Nikita Kucherov, who is in the final year of his contract, although he will only become a restricted free agent next season if he gets there, although the general belief is that the Lightning fully expect to sign him to an extension in the next few months.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign J.T. Miller To Five-Year Deal

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have decided that J.T. Miller is a good long-term fit for the team, signing the RFA forward to a five-year, $26.25MM contract. Miller will carry a $5.25MM cap hit for the next half decade, after fitting in tremendously following a midseason trade from the New York Rangers. The deal contains no signing bonuses, and is broken down as follows:

  • 2018-19: $5.25MM
  • 2019-20: $6.0MM
  • 2020-21: $4.5MM
  • 2021-22: $6.0MM
  • 2022-23: $4.5MM

Miller, 25, came over from the Rangers in a package that also included Ryan McDonagh, and ended up being a huge part of the Tampa Bay success down the stretch. With 18 points in 19 regular season games, he took to his role beside Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov with aplomb. Ten goals including five on the powerplay in those 19 games gave him 23 on the season, a new career high and his third consecutive season above 20. Unfortunately, that goal scoring dried up in the playoffs when Miller was able to record just two tallies in 17 games. That postseason performance will have to improve as he heads into the prime of his career if this contract is going to be worth it, as the Lightning aren’t waiting around for their next chance at a Stanley Cup.

Amazingly, the Lightning are one of the teams scheduled to sit down with pending free agent center John Tavares this week, despite having just over $5MM in cap space after re-signing Miller. The team already has expensive long-term contracts with five forwards, and that doesn’t include the mega extension that Nikita Kucherov is eligible to sign on July 1st. Kucherov has just one season remaining on his current contract at a criminally low cap hit of just under $4.8MM. Kucherov should become one of the highest paid wingers in the league on his next contract, after breaking 100 points this season and leading the Lightning in scoring for the third consecutive season.

With Miller now under contract for several seasons, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman can turn his attention to issues like re-signing Kucherov, McDonagh, Brayden Point and Anton Stralman, all who see their deals expire next summer. The wizard-like GM has convinced franchise players to stay for less than market value before, and will need to work some more magic to fit everyone in. Miller’s $5.25MM cap hit certainly isn’t unreasonable for a 50-60 point player, but it’s also not a huge bargain for the team. If he’s destined to stay on the wing in Tampa Bay—which is far from guaranteed—he’ll have to really keep producing offensively to reward the team for making such a big investment in his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Green, Sabres, Canadiens, Miller

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On top of being one of the teams that have shown interest in signing free agent winger Ilya Kovalchuk, the Red Wings also are interested in signing winger Thomas Vanek this summer, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan.  Vanek spent most of the 2016-17 season with Detroit and fared quite well, recording 15 goals and 23 assists in 48 games before being shipped as a rental to Florida at the trade deadline.  Vanek’s nomadic journey continued this past season and he could once again be in line for a one-year deal in free agency.

Khan adds that the Red Wings has their eyes set on a pair of goalies that are soon set to hit the open market in Carter Hutton (St. Louis) and Anton Khudobin (Boston).  Both netminders have shown that they are capable of handling more than the typical workload for a backup goalie which will come in handy given incumbent Jimmy Howard’s up-and-down performance over the last few years.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • In the same column, Khan provides the details for the contract offers that Detroit has on the table for pending UFA defenseman Mike Green. The Red Wings have pitched a one-year, $6MM offer which matches what he made in each of the past three years as well as a two-year, $10MM proposal.  Green is slated to be one of the more prominent defenders on the open market this summer and is expected to be fully recovered from the cervical spine surgery he had back in April.
  • Although there have been reports that the Sabres were expected to buy out winger Matt Moulson, Sabres GM Jason Botterill told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that the team does not have any interest in buying anyone out at the moment. Moulson has one year remaining on his contract with a $5MM cap hit and spent most of 2017-18 in the minors on loan to the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario.  While a buyout would save Buffalo some cap room this season compared to putting him in the minors, it would also create a cap charge of nearly $667K on their books for 2019-20.  The Sabres have a lot of cap room at the moment so they may feel that they’re better off absorbing the higher cost for 2018-19 to get him off the books entirely instead of taking on the extra hit the following year.
  • Speaking with reporters to discuss Friday’s trade, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin stated (via Arpon Basu of The Athletic on Twitter) that they currently have no plans to buy anyone out. Montreal had several veterans that underachieved in 2017-18 but most are signed for at least the next two years which would make a buyout somewhat prohibitive long-term.
  • Tampa Bay has yet to begin contract talks with pending RFA forward J.T. Miller, reports Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). Instead, it appears that discussions between the two sides will pick up at the draft.  The 25-year-old has wrapped up his bridge contract, is coming off of a career season offensively, and has arbitration rights which put him in line for a sizable raise from the Lightning on the $2.75MM he made in each of the last two years.

Poll: Which Conference Finals Team Benefitted The Most At Trade Deadline?

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With a lot of attention that has gone towards the success of trade acquisition Paul Stastny in the playoffs this season, the Winnipeg Jets and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff look to have scored at the trade deadline this offseason. The GM was able to pick up Stastny’s expiring contract (50 percent of which was retained) as the team traded away Providence College prospect Erik Foley as well as their 2018 first-rounder and a conditional 2020 fourth-rounder (if Foley doesn’t sign with the Blues before he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019). While losing a prospect and a first-rounder, the Jets have defintely benefitted by Stastny’s play, especially in the playoffs. The 32-year-old center, alongside youngsters Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine has put up six goals and nine assists in 13 games during the playoffs and has helped vault Winnipeg into a one-game lead in the Western Conference finals.

Of the other three teams that remain in the playoffs, the trade deadline also seems to have benefitted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their acquisition of defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers at the deadline also brought some stability to the Lightning from both players. McDonagh added a stable presence on the defense’s second line, while Miller has excelled playing next to Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. McDonagh has aided the team’s offense with five assists in 11 games, while Miller has had two goals and five asissts in 11 games as well. In exchange for those two, the Lightning were able to avoid trading off any elite prospects to the Rangers, but still gave up a lot of pieces, including Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, their 2018 first-rounder and another potential first-round pick in 2019 if Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup in either of the next two years.

The Washington Capitals, with little cap room to work with at the trade deadline, still were able to pull off a couple of small trades, although the addition of Michal Kempny has had a major affect on the Capitals’ defense. With a number of young, inexperienced blueliners and little money to add a high-profile player, the team traded the Toronto Maple Leafs’ third-round pick in 2018 for Kempny. While the former Blackhawks’ defenseman had never played a full season in the NHL, he is 27 and had quite a bit of experience in the KHL and Czech Republic.

Finally, the Golden Knights did make one big trade at the deadline, sending a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick to acquire Tomas Tatar. While the addition of Tatar is not a rental like many of the others (he has three years left at $5.3MM AAV after this year), the team gave up a lot for a player who has made little impact in Vegas. The 27-year-old has been a healthy scratch for much of the playoffs, having only played in four games with no points.

So, which team has benefiited the most from this year’s trade deadline?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Playoff Notes: Tortorella, Miller, Devils

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The Washington Capitals, who have tortured their fans with crushing playoff losses in the past, are a game away from digging out of a 2-0 hole and advancing to the second round. After beating Columbus 4-3 in overtime this afternoon, Washington has a chance to wrap the series up Monday night in Columbus. But it won’t be that easy, writes the Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs, who quotes Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella as saying there will be another game in D.C.:

“We will be back here for Game 7,” he said, before doubling down after another question about how he would prepare his team for the next game. “I won’t have to say a damn word to them. We’ll be back here for Game 7.”

As Stubbs points out, this isn’t the first person to guarantee victory, as the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin vowed that his team would rally from the two game deficit. Last season, Mike Babcock guaranteed a seventh game against the Capitals, but as Stubbs notes, that guarantee “rang hollow.” The Jackets’ bench boss is most likely trying to deflect the pressure that builds after squandering a two game series lead, or as Caps coach Barry Trotz said after hearing of Tortorella’s guarantee: “He wants to get it out there he believes in his team, just as I believe in my team.”

  • J.T. Miller is thriving with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the former Ranger has been a key part in Tampa’s first round success writes Newsday’s Colin Stephenson. With four points in five games, Stephenson reports that being on a line with Steven Stamkos certainly helps his performance, but it’s Miller’s grit and tenacity that has made him so valuable on a team loaded with skill. Whether it’s his work on the ice leading to goals, like his screen of Cory Schneider during Nikita Kucherov’s goal, or his knack to win crucial faceoffs (currently 56% through five games), he’s a guy, according to Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper, who “can make plays.”
  • Emily Kaplan of ESPN (Insider Subscription needed) offers a post-mortem of the Devils season and writes that the team has to add some defensive depth as it was a glaring need during the five game loss to the Lightning. She writes that both Sami Vatanen and Will Butcher are great building blocks for a strong defensive corps, but “reinforcements” are needed to get the Devils back into the playoffs and beyond. She also touches on predictions for next season, and what the Devils should do concerning Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner.

New York Rangers Fire Coach Alain Vigneault

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Hours after putting up an egg in their 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the New York Rangers fired their head coach Alain Vigneault after five years. After four playoff appearances, the Rangers struggled, finishing 34-39-9 on the season. In all, however, Vigneault had quite a bit of success in his time in New York, which included taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013-14, his first season with the team. He led the team to a 226-147-37 record over the five years.

The firing also came after Vigneault himself stated in his post-game press conference that he deserved to stay and defended his record, according to Newsday’s Colin Stephenson.

“Yes, yes. Without a doubt,’’ he said when asked if he thought he would hold on to his job despite the Rangers’ 34-39-9 record, which caused them to miss the playoffs for only the second time since the NHL lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season. “I think my staff is the right staff for this job. I think — and this is just my opinion — but I think one of the strongest assets of this organization is its coaching staff and their experience.’’

Some of Vigneault’s struggles were not his doing as the Rangers decided to rebuild on the fly, sending out a letter on Feb. 7, telling fans about their decision to rebuild the team. The Rangers followed that by selling off several veterans including Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, Nick Holden, J.T. Miller and captain Ryan McDonah.

However, Stephenson also points out several issues that came up this season that forced the Rangers to head in that direction. After re-designing its defense with the acquisitions of star free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signing Brendan Smith, the team was hoping to possess one of the best defenses in the league. Instead, the team started slowly at 1-6-2 in its first nine games and was 3-7-2 after 12 in which Vigneault almost lost his job. The team was able to right the ship after that, but only because of the impressive play of both the team’s goaltenders in Henrik Lundqvist and Ondrej Pavelec. Neither goalie was able to sustain their great play.

Injuries also played a part. Shattenkirk was playing hurt, while Smith came into camp out of shape and never returned to form before eventually being sent down to the AHL. Winger Chris Kreider missed 24 games due to a blood clot that led to surgery on his ribs. Center Mika Zibanejad missed nine games with a concussion, while Shattenkirk had knee surgery in January and never came back.

The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello writes (subscription required) that there were other reasons as well that stand out when it came to Vigneault. The coach’s lack of success at the blueline have been issues for years as his system had failed repeatedly. Vigneault had undergone three different defensive assistant coaches in three years, including Ulf Samuelsson, Jeff Beukeboom and Lindy Ruff and replaced most of the defense and still failed to get them going. His tough love was also an issue as he butted heads with many players, especially Miller and Pavel Buchnevich. However, the most telling numbers is the team’s record from Jan. 7 to Feb. 25, when Vigneault led the team to just a 5-16-1 record.

Vigneault has a 648-435-98 overall record throughout his career with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers. He won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2007.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the news.

Post-Trade Notes: McDonagh, Kane, Tatar

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The biggest deadline deal of the day was Tampa Bay’s acquisition of Ryan McDonagh that gave the Lightning a huge upgrade on the blue line while solving some later financial issues in unloading Vladislav Namestnikov to the Rangers. The deal again shows the wizardry of general manager Steve Yzerman, who had been linked to Mike Green, and Erik Karlsson, and yet still came away with the best defenseman that the market had to bear after Green and Karlsson were never moved. Not to be lost in the deal was the acquisition of J.T. Miller and suddenly, the Bolts got the jolt they needed as they head into the playoffs in just over a month. The Sporting News’ Jim Cerny awarded the Lightning an “A” in the deal, stating that Yzerman so badly wanted to fortify his defense corps and that he did. Cerny handed a B+ to the Rangers who are clearly back in rebuild mode.

  • Evander Kane is excited to be in San Jose but the Sporting News didn’t have great things to say about the deal for the Sabres. Awarding the Sabres an F, the first round pick that is contingent upon the Sharks either winning the Cup or re-signing Kane doesn’t bode well for a Sabres’ squad desperately trying to escape a rebuild-hell that seems to drag on every year. Kane was the best bargaining chip Buffalo had and a mini-slump mixed with a buyers market certainly complicated matters for first-year general manager Jason Botterill.  The Buffalo News’ John Vogl isn’t as harsh, writing that the rookie GM didn’t have a lot of options to choose from and it appears, according to Botterill himself, it was only one. Evander KaneColleague Mike Harrington, however, isn’t so kind. Calling it a “dud,” Harrington indicates that Botterill’s short honeymoon in Buffalo is now officially over, and the pressure to turn the Sabres around certainly ratcheted up after swinging and missing at the deadline. Writing that the roster is a “disaster,” Harrington retells a recent incident where Botterill was furious after a tepid Sabres showing against Los Angeles. Though the fire and indignation over a poor roster is there, Harrington wonders if Botterill can turn around a team that is as low as it can get.
  • Detroit Red Wings general manager called the trade of Tomas Tatar a move for “the future,” but it doesn’t solve any major issues right away.  The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James indicates that according to Holland, the move opened up door for Tyler Bertuzzi and prospects Evgeny Svechnikov and Michael Rasmussen to get a chance in Detroit. It’s a philosophical shift for Holland who in the past deferred to his veterans and would let prospects “overripen” in the minors. The trade for Tatar is a beginning, but hardly the end of the work that Holland, or possibly his replacement, will need to accomplish with a slew of veterans locked into expensive, long-term deals. Holland is still without a contract extension and though THN’s Ken Campbell believes Holland may have saved his job with the trade (despite never thinking it was in trouble),  much of the Red Wings’ issues are a result of Holland’s missteps with contracts, drafting, and an inability to use the trade market to improve the team.

Trade Deadline Recap: Eastern Conference

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After a month of lead up, a sprinkling of trades over the last week or so, and a wild deadline day today, NHL teams are done with transactions for the 2017-18 NHL season. Here are the deals that improved contenders in the Eastern Conference:

Deadline Day

Tampa Bay Lightning receive:
D Ryan McDonagh
F J.T. Miller

New York Rangers receive:
F Vladislav Namestnikov
F Brett Howden
D Libor Hajek
2018 first-round pick
Conditional 2019 second-round pick

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
F Thomas Vanek

Vancouver Canucks receive:
F Tyler Motte
F Jussi Jokinen

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
D Ian Cole

Ottawa Senators receive:
F Nick Moutrey
2020 third-round pick

 

New Jersey Devils receive:
F Patrick Maroon

Edmonton Oilers receive:
F J.D. Dudek
2019 third-round pick

 

New York Islanders receive:
F Chris Wagner

Anaheim Ducks receive:
F Jason Chimera

 

Boston Bruins receive:
F Tommy Wingels

Chicago Blackhawks receive:
Conditional 2019 fifth-round pick

 

Pittsburgh Penguins receive:
F Josh Jooris

Carolina Hurricanes receive:
F Greg McKegg

Read more

Metropolitan Notes: Miller, Zuccarello, Calvert, Devils, Capitals

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The Rangers are receiving plenty of interest in center J.T. Miller and winger Mats Zuccarello, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).  However, he adds that the offers haven’t been enough to suggest a trade is likely.  New York is in full selloff mode and have already dealt their top pending unrestricted free agents so now the focus shifts to players under team control beyond this season.  Miller is set to be a restricted free agent this summer with a $2.75MM qualifying offer while Zuccarello is making $4.5MM through 2018-19.  The two players lead the Rangers in scoring this season with Zuccarello recording 43 points and Miller 40.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • The Blue Jackets have yet to engage in extension talks with pending UFA winger Matt Calvert, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). The 28-year-old is the longest-tenured player with the team after they drafted him back in the fifth round back in 2008.  Calvert has spent most of this season in a bottom-six role and has seven goals with ten assists in 50 games in 2017-18 while logging 13:50 per night in ice time and is making $2.2MM this season.
  • After picking up Michael Grabner last week, Andrew Gross of The Record suggests that the Devils are likely to be quiet today as GM Ray Shero may be hesitant to part with more future assets. However, that could change if they could find a way to add to their back end.
  • Another team likely to be inactive before the deadline is the Capitals, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. The Caps have already made a pair of depth moves to shore up the depth on their back end with the acquisitions of Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek last week and while they have some flexibility when it comes to waiver-exempt players that could be sent down to free up cap space, they do not appear interested in moving anyone off their current roster which will limit what they’re able to do.

Snapshots: Lecavalier, Miller, Rodrigues

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will retire the second number in their franchise history this season, when they raise Vincent Lecavalier’s #4 to the rafters on February 10th. Lecavalier, who last played in 2015-16, is the franchise leader in goals and was once the NHL’s youngest ever captain (since broken by multiple players) when he was given the “C” at just 19.

In 1,037 games with the Lightning, the 1998 first-overall pick scored 874 points and led them to a Stanley Cup in 2004. Twice he was nominated for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, including 2006-07 when he led the league in goals with 52. A prototypical number-one center, Lecavalier played an exceptional all around game that combined speed, power and skill. He finished his career with 949 points in 1,212 games.

  • Despite spending time in the middle during the preseason, J.T. Miller will be back in his familiar wing position when the season starts, Alain Vigneault confirmed today to a group of reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Vigneault has been impressed with the play of 2017 first-round draft picks Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, as well as former University of Michigan standout Boo Nieves. While it has been expected for a while that just one of the young players would make the roster with David Desharnais taking the other center role, there is a growing suspicion that both Andersson and Chytil could start the year with the Rangers. That would be quite the turnaround for a team that hadn’t even drafted in the first round for several years.
  • Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues was injured this weekend in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when Andreas Borgman crumpled him into the boards, and will be held out for the time being with a hand injury. Head coach Phil Housley was non-committal when asked if it would linger into the regular season, similar to the way he spoke about Jake McCabe’s upper-body injury. Both players were expected to be in the lineup for opening night, which now could open spots for some others to start the year in Buffalo instead of Rochester.

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