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Thanksgiving Trade Market: Defensemen

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Many teams view US Thanksgiving – typically around the one-quarter mark of the season – as the benchmark for evaluating their teams and determining what areas need to be addressed.  One area that most teams are always looking to shore up is their defense corps.   Some teams will be after top four blueliners while others will be after depth options.  There isn’t a big list of players available at this time but here’s a closer look at those that have had their names out there in trade talks so far.

Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders) – On top of shopping goalie Jaroslav Halak, the 25 year old blueliner is also believed to be available.  He is a solid stay-at-home second pairing option although he doesn’t bring much offensively to the table.  He has a manageable cap hit of a little under $2MM this season but his qualifying offer in the summer jumps to $2.9MM due to the back-loaded nature of his contract.

Deryk Engelland (Calgary) – The Flames made him available earlier this month but there hasn’t been much interest in the 34 year old.  He’s off to a decent start with Calgary this year, picking up four points in 22 games but he has seen his average ice time jump up over 18 minutes a night, a career high for him.  He has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $2.9MM.  For teams that are looking for more of a physical presence on their third line, he will be an option although his cap hit is high for his role.

Jack Johnson (Columbus) – The Blue Jackets are believed to be looking to clear some salary and Johnson, who has a cap hit of $4.35MM this season and next, is one of the players GM Jarmo Kekalainen is willing to move.  He hasn’t turned in to the top pairing offensive threat that earned saw him drafted third overall by Carolina in 2005 but he has averaged more than 24 minutes per night the last four years.  His minutes are down a bit this year (just under 22 per game) but he is still a top four option in a market largely devoid of them.

Ryan Murphy (Carolina) – The former first round pick (12th overall in 2011) has failed to lock down a full-time role in this, his fourth NHL season.  In an effort to get him some game action, the Hurricanes recently sent Murphy to the AHL on a conditioning stint.  He has had considerable offensive success at the AHL level (66 points in 86 games) but that has yet to translate to much NHL success (36 points in 128 contests).  He has another year past this one remaining on his deal with a cap hit just under $800K and could be a fit for a team looking for some mobility and offense from their back end.  However, it’s believed that GM Ron Francis is looking to package him with other pieces for a defensive upgrade.

Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis) – Back at the draft, it was widely expected that the Blues would deal Shattenkirk but no deal came to fruition.  With the team already having Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester on big money, long-term deals beyond this season, the expectation is that he will be moved at some point during the season.  He’s off to a strong start this year (14 points in 21 games) and will almost assuredly be the most expensive to acquire among potentially available defenders.

Michael Stone (Arizona) – Last week, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal noted (via Twitter) that the pending UFA is on the market.  The Coyotes sit last in the league in the standings so it’s not surprising that they’d be looking to move any pending free agents.  Stone has dealt with two separate injuries this season and has played in just nine games as a result but had 36 points last season while playing over 22 minutes per game.  With a cap hit and salary of $4MM, there should be a lot of suitors for his services.

Garrioch’s Latest: De Haan, Johnson, Sharks Goalies

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Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun posted his latest Insider Trading column over the weekend.  Here are some of the highlights that pertain to trade rumblings from around the NHL:

  • Not only are the Islanders shopping goaltender Jaroslav Halak, they’re also looking to deal defenseman Calvin de Haan. The 25 year old has become a quality second pairing stay-at-home defender for the Isles while logging at least 19 minutes per game over each of the last three seasons.  One potential reason for him hitting the block is his back-loaded contract.  De Haan is in the final year of a three year deal that has a cap hit just under $2MM but a salary of $2.9MM.  As a result, his qualifying offer in June must be $2.9MM which may be more than the team is willing to pay.
  • The Blue Jackets are looking to clear some salary and while they haven’t been able to find a taker for Scott Hartnell, it’s also believed that they would be interested in dealing blueliner Jack Johnson. The 29 year old is in his sixth season with the team after being acquired from Los Angeles as part of the Jeff Carter trade.  While he has put up a 40 point season in Columbus, his scoring has tailed off since then while his ice time is also down this year.  He carries a cap hit of just over $4.35MM for this season and next which could limit his suitors unless the Jackets are willing to take a comparable contract back.
  • The Sharks have been looking around the league for a backup goaltender but have not had any luck so far. San Jose is currently running with 27 year old rookie Aaron Dell but have given him just one start so far this season.  Starting netminder Martin Jones only has 110 career regular season games under his belt so on the surface, a veteran backup would appear to be something that the Sharks could certainly benefit from.  However, they have less than $11K in cap space at the moment so any deal would have to send some salary out the other way.  Garrioch suggests that forwards Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto could both be had.

Seth Jones Out Three Weeks With Broken Foot

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Some terrible news came down from the Columbus Blue Jackets today, as they announced that Seth Jones will miss at least three weeks with a hairline fracture in his foot. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch provides some graphic notes on how the injury occurred in a series of tweets, saying that Patrik Berglund’s skate cut through the laces and tongue of Jones’ boot to fracture his foot.

Jones came over from the Nashville Predators last season and made an immediate impact on their top defensive unit. Paired with uber-rookie Zach Werenski this season, Jones has six points in ten games and is logging over 24 minutes of ice-time a night.

Luckily, the team has other effective defensemen to take his place, though obviously he’ll be missed.  Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson, currently the second pair, will likely be asked to take on a greater responsibility while David Savard probably moves up to Werenski’s right side. Columbus next plays Anaheim on Wednesday night, in the first game at home since the 10-0 shellacking of the Montreal Canadiens.

Compelling RFA Cases For 2017: Wennberg, DeHaan, Zibanejad

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Jacob Trouba, Johnny Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov highlight a strong and deep group of restricted free agents that remain unsigned at the moment. While they will each ultimately cash in and receive substantial contracts for the 2016-17 campaign and likely beyond, their status as restricted free agents has certainly complicated their respective negotiation processes.

Next summer, another quality group of players are set to hit restricted free agency, unless they can agree to terms on a new deal prior to the 2017-18 league year. In a series of posts, Pro Hockey Rumors will profile the top pending 2017 RFAs and examine what kind of contract they could elicit assuming they put up a strong performance during their platform year. Today we continue in the Metro.

Alexander Wennberg (Columbus) – Wennberg was the Blue Jackets first-round pick in 2013, selected 14th overall. He debuted in the NHL during the 2014-15 season and finished with 20 points in 68 contests. He bumped his production up significantly in year two, recording 40 points in 69 games and flashing top-six potential.

Wennberg is more playmaker than goal scorer as his career 4-to-1 assist-to-goal ratio suggests. Washington’s Marcus Johansson posted similar career numbers through the expiration of his ELC with 33 goals and 62 assists in 183 contests; good for a points-per-game rate of 0.52. Johansson would sign a two-year contract worth $4MM total following the 2012-13 campaign.

The career production numbers between the two pivots should look similar given Wennberg tallies 40-plus points in close to a full slate of games in 2016-17 and would therefore be looking at a bridge deal right around the $2MM mark annually. Given Johansson’s second contract will be four years old, inflation could take that figure closer to $2.5MM per year. A longer term would appear unlikely as the Jackets will still have several inflated contracts on the books, including those of Scott Hartnell, Nick Foligno, Jack Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky.

Calvin de Haan (New York Islanders) – Now 25, de Haan is now at the age many defensemen peak in terms of production. Originally the 12th overall selection in the 2009 draft, de Haan has already established himself as one of the Islanders best defenders and will once again fill a spot in the club’s top-four. If he can stay healthy for a full slate of games and perhaps contribute a touch more in the offensive end, de Haan could set himself up for a nice raise on the $1.97MM AAV his current contract calls for.

Teammate Travis Hamonic, drafted by the Islanders in the second-round in 2008, is a bit more prolific offensively but should help us gauge de Haan’s potential value as a top-four defender. Upon the expiration of his ELC, Hamonic signed a seven-year, $27MM deal with an AAV of $3.857MM. By that time, Hamonic was already averaging better than 22 minutes of ice time and 0.33 points-per-game. If the two parties explore a long-term arrangement, it’s likely de Haan can point to Hamonic’s deal as a comparable.

Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) – As part of their overall team commitment to get younger and quicker this summer, the Rangers acquired the 23-year-old pivot from Ottawa in exchange for fellow center, Derick Brassard. Zibanejad, the Senators first-round pick in 2011, sixth overall, has steadily improved his offensive production since debuting as a regular during the strike-shortened 2012-13 campaign. Last season was Zibanejad’s best, with the Swede compiling 21 goals and 51 points in 81 contests.

A player with a similar pedigree, former high first-round choice and relatively consistent point-producer, Nazem Kadri, inked a six-year extension worth $27MM in April and that deal should serve as a reasonable target for Zibanejad. Kadri has averaged 0.59 points-per-game over the three seasons prior to his extension – 134 points in 227 games. Zibanejad, meanwhile, has averaged 0.57 points-per-contest the last three years – 130 points in 230 games.

Zibanejad is entering the final season of the two-year bridge deal he signed with Ottawa, paying the five-year veteran $2.625MM per season. A repeat of his 2015-16 performance this upcoming season should give Zibanejad a good chance to match the level of Kadri’s extension. But, if Kadri takes the next step in his development and makes a push for the 60-point threshold, he could see his value escalate to $5MM and up per season.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Third Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)

Now we move forward to the third pick, which was held by the Carolina Hurricanes.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, Carolina chose defenseman Jack Johnson who has played the fourth most NHL games of any blueliner from this draft class.  He has twice been dealt in his career – most notably as part of the Jeff Carter to Los Angeles trade – and now patrols the back end for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With the third pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Carolina Hurricanes select? Cast your vote below!

For Trade Rumors app users on iOS, click here to vote.

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