Snapshots: Lucic, Possible Retirees, Gretzky
Milan Lucic may have only been a member of the Los Angeles Kings for one season, but at least one teammate is sad to see him go. Right-winger Tyler Toffoli lamented the loss of “a great player, a great guy to have in the room”. Toffoli scored a career-best 58 points last season on a line with Lucic and center Jeff Carter, who posted 62 points to tie his third best career output, and best since 2011.
Lucic, of course, signed a seven-year contract worth $42MM with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, citing a team on the rise and some rookie named Connor McDavid as his main reasons for heading north. OilersNation’s Jonathan Willis broke down how Oilers fans can expect Lucic to age over the course of his contract, and ultimately concluded Lucic will be very effective in his first three seasons, has a two-thirds chance at being effective in the next two seasons, and has a 50-70 per cent chance at posting below 30 points in his final two seasons. However, Lucic told Steve Ewen of The Province that he plans “on playing them out to the best of my ability and, hopefully, I can add another year or two once this contract is done”.
Here are some other news and notes from around the NHL:
- Speaking of players who could retire, Jared Clinton of The Hockey News explored a few big names who could be entering their final season in the NHL. We could be seeing the last of several former superstars, including Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan, Andrei Markov, and Mark Streit. Iginla has seen his point totals fall by 13 over the last three seasons. Doan has an understanding with GM John Chayka which allows him to take his time on deciding about returning or retiring, and its clear he has no interest in chasing Stanley as a rental. The KHL is a possibility for Markov, who will no longer have the speedy P.K. Subban to cover for his aging speed. Similarly, Streit has previously played in his native Switzerland, and could return next summer. Clinton also mentions the legendary Jaromir Jagr, but seeing as Jagr insists on playing until he’s 60, it’s hard to think he’ll willingly retire unless his production drops off or he suffers a serious injury.
- Finally, today marks 28 years since “The Trade”. On August 9, 1988, the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky, Mike Krushelnyski, and Marty McSorley to Los Angeles for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first round picks over six years, and most notable (or infamously) $15 million cash. Edmonton fans reacted as expected, burning the team’s owner in effigy and threatening to cancel season tickets; a Member of Parliament even suggested the federal government block the trade. The blockbuster popularized and legitimized hockey in non-traditional markets and lead to a popular comment around the trade deadline “well, if Wayne Gretzky can be traded…”
The Richest Contracts In NHL History
Friday was a very busy day for Jamie Benn. First, he underwent surgery to repair an injured core muscle that leaves his availability for Team Canada at the World Cup in question. Then the good news for him came in the form of an eight year, $76MM extension that makes him the highest paid player in team history. It’s one of the richest deals in league history but falls just short of the top-10 of all time, at least in part. Here’s a closer look at the priciest NHL deals ever.
1) Alex Ovechkin (13 years, $124MM) – Following his entry-level deal, Ovechkin essentially signed a two-pronged extension, one for six years at $9MM per season and then another at seven years and $10MM per year. While you can’t call his contract a bargain, he has been one of the NHL’s top players for many years and is expected to continue to do so for a long time to come.
2) Shea Weber (14 years, $110MM) – Offer sheets have been few and far between in recent years but Weber was the most prominent to receive one as the Flyers inked him to a heavily frontloaded one in the summer of 2012. Interestingly enough, offer sheets cannot contain any trade restrictions which likely played a role in Weber’s trade to the Canadiens last month.
3) Sidney Crosby (12 years, $104.4MM) – Prior to the current CBA which set a term limit of eight years on any contract, Crosby inked a highly frontloaded deal to stay with the Penguins until he’s 38. The extra money up front was enough to keep Crosby at an $8.7MM cap hit, matching his sweater number.
4) Ilya Kovalchuk (15 years, $100MM) – New Jersey’s second attempt at a Kovalchuk deal in the summer in 2010 was enough to avoid another cap circumvention penalty. That’s really the only good news that came from it as just three years later, Kovalchuk ‘retired’ to return to play in the KHL. The Devils are dealing with a salary cap recapture penalty of $250K until 2024-25.
5) Alexei Yashin (10 years, $87.5MM) – This was an outright disaster for the Islanders, who inked Yashin to this deal back in 2001. He failed to come close to expectations and wound up being bought out with four years left on the deal at a cost of over $17.6MM. On top of that, the Isles traded Zdeno Chara and the draft pick that yielded Jason Spezza as part of the package to land Yashin.
6) Vincent Lecavalier (11 years, $85MM) – Tampa Bay was hoping they had a fair deal with their franchise player at the time when they signed him to this deal back in 2009. However, like Yashin, he struggled under the weight of the new deal while injuries took a toll as well. The Lightning bought him out in 2013 and are in the midst of paying him over $32.6MM not to play for them through 2026-27. Lecavalier retired earlier this offseason.
7/8) Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (8 years, $84MM) – Chicago inked their two superstars to identical contracts two years ago, a year before each were eligible for unrestricted free agency. The Blackhawks continue to find ways to stay under the cap for now but that could become more of a challenge if the salary cap continues to stay close to where it is now as the years progress.
9) Anze Kopitar (8 years, $80MM) – Back in January, the Kings reached this deal with their new captain to avoid the risk of losing him to free agency this summer. Kopitar has been Los Angeles’ most consistent forward for many years now and should remain their franchise forward for many years to come.
10) Jaromir Jagr (7 years, $77MM) – Washington signed Jagr back in 2001 to what was the richest deal in league history at that time. However, the lockout in 2004-05 introduced a 24% rollback just two years into the contract which cost Jagr over $21.5MM in salary. Jagr, now 44, is still going strong in the NHL and signed a one year, $4MM guaranteed deal with Florida in May. He could also earn another $1.515M in games played and award bonuses.
If you take Jagr’s deal off because of the subsequent rollback, Benn’s new $76MM contract as well as Evgeni Malkin’s current identical pact with the Penguins become tenth on the all-time list.
NHL Award Recipients
The NHL Awards were given out tonight in Las Vegas, with a little bit extra fanfare due to the upcoming expansion team. Here is the full list of winners, with the top two runners-up in each category:
Calder Trophy (top rookie)
Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player as voted by the players)
General Manager of the Year
- Jim Rutherford
- Brian McClellen
- Jim Nill
Masterton Trophy (perseverance and dedication to hockey)
- Jaromir Jagr
- Mats Zucarello
- Pascal Dupuis
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award
Norris Trophy (top defenceman)
Selke Trophy (forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game)
Jack Adams Award (top head coach)
- Barry Trotz
- Gerard Gallant
- Lindy Ruff
Lady Byng Trophy (player best combining sportsmanship and ability)
Vezina Trophy (top goaltender)
Hart Trophy (most valuable player to his team)
Congratulations to all the winners, and the teams who employ them.
Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers saw drastic improvement in 2015-16, winning the Atlantic Division with a 47-26-9 record. They made the playoffs for just the second time this century, but lost in six games to the New York Islanders. The team was well-rounded, with young forwards Sasha Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, and Jonathan Huberdeau learning under legend Jaromir Jagr up front and franchise defenceman Aaron Ekblad developing nicely on the back-end. Veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo turned in an All-Star performance.
Despite winning their first ever division title on the backs of their young talent, the Panthers fired their head scout in May. Scott Luce had been with the team since 2003. The team also promoted GM Dale Tallon to President of Hockey Operations and replaced him Tom Rowe, the associate GM. The team also made a pair of intriguing trades, sending tough D Erik Gudbranson to Vancouver for picks and getting rid of the contract of Marc Savard.
Projected Cap Space: $20.8MM, 18 players under contract
Key Restricted Free Agent: Vincent Trochek enjoyed a tremendous break-out season with 53 points in 76 games. His 25 goals were tied with Reilly Smith for second most on the Panthers. The two-way centre missed the end of the regular season with a fractured fibula. He returned for game 5 of the post-season, posting a single assist in two losses.
The undersized Trochek will likely be looking for a similar, if not bigger, contract to the one Riley Sheahan signed today.
Other RFAs: Quinton Howden, Greg McKegg
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Defenceman Brian Campbell is no longer the top-pairing offensive dynamo he once was. But he’s still a dependable second or third pairing option to mentor the Panthers young defence core. He’s also in line for a significant pay cut from the $7.142MM annual salary he’s made since 2008.
Other pending UFA Jaromir Jagr has already been extended for another season.
Other Unrestricted Free Agents: Captain Willie Mitchell (retiring), rental wingers Teddy Purcell and Jiri Hudler, and backup goaltender Al Montoya.
The team will be looking for a taker for underperforming centre Dave Bolland, who scored just 5 points in 25 games last season but is making $5.5MM per season until 2019. Any trade involving Bolland would require a big sweetener, so a buyout is more likely. His health is also a potential roadblock in either case.
As well, the Panthers will be looking to acquire another goaltender. The 37-year-old Luongo has played 129 games in the last two seasons, so a solid young goaltender who can play 30 games would ease the workload and allow Luongo to be fresher for the playoffs.
Last year’s 11th overall pick, young power forward Lawson Crouse is expected to be given a long, hard look in training camp, but the team may also choose to acquire a winger to replace trade deadline rentals Purcell and Hudler.
The Panthers have plenty of cap space and new management looking to make a splash. However, new GM Tom Rowe must be wary of cap space heading into next off-season, with 11 players coming off the books including Ekblad, Smith, Huberdeau, Jagr, Dmitry Kulikov, and Alex Petrovic.