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Pacific Notes: Goldobin, Gaudreau, Pirri, Garrison

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The Vancouver Canucks haven’t had a whole lot of luck with some of their most recent overseas players as in the past six months as the team has lost Anton Rodin and Nikita Tryamkin, who each have decided to leave the NHL. However, that doesn’t look to be the case with Nikolay Goldobin, the former San Jose Sharks 2014 first-rounder, who currently sits in the AHL with the Utica Comets.

In fact, News 1130’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that he talked to Goldobin’s agent, Igor Larianov, who states that they are preaching patience and that Goldobin won’t bolt like Rodin and Tryamkin.

The 22-year-old winger has taken his game to a new level after several years of struggles that had him traded to Vancouver back in March. He has put up six goals and 11 assists in 16 games this year, but still hasn’t been recalled by Vancouver, who have instead chosen to bring up older players with more experience to fill in for injuries. Regardless, Larionov states he believes that Goldobin will be just fine.

  • Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun writes that count veterean Jaromir Jagr as a player who sees a bright future for Calgary Flames center Johnny Gaudreau. The 45-year-old veteran has been talking to him, trying to provide the 24-year-old star winger with the confidence he needs. Jagr, like many people, sees Gaudreau as a perennial contender for the Art Ross Trophy and has told him so. “It’s pretty special when someone says something like that to you. Because it’s not every day that someone as good as him says something about a player that has only been in the league four years,” said Gaudreau. He showed some of that potential in the 2015-16 season when he put up 30 goals and 48 assists in just his second full season. He then saw his numbers drop to just 18 goals and 61 points last year. He already has 10 goal so far this year.
  • Emily Polglaze of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the Vegas Golden Knights have two quality and potential call-ups, if needed, in winger Brandon Pirri and defenseman Jason Garrison, who are thriving with the AHL Chicago Wolves. Pirri, who has been in the AHL since the 2013-14 season, has taken off since returning from a month-long injury on Nov. 8. He has six points in his last seven games and five goals and five assists in 10 games this year. Garrison, who was put on waivers on Oct. 28 has fared well in the AHL also in his comeback bid. He had not made an appearance in the AHL since the 2009-10 season. He has a goal and two assists in eight games.

Shea Theodore Officially Recalled By Vegas Golden Knights

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The wait is over for Shea Theodore, who has finally been recalled by the Vegas Golden Knights. After both Jason Garrison and Griffin Reinhart have cleared waivers in recent days, the team now has enough roster flexibility to call up Theodore, who was expected to be one of the key members of the expansion team this year.

Shea TheodoreAcquired from the Anaheim Ducks during the expansion process in exchange for taking Clayton Stoner and his contract off their hands, Theodore was considered the prize of the draft. The blue-chip defense prospect had spent 53 games in the NHL to that point and looked ready to become a top contributor in the league. Still, even with his high-end potential the team sent him to the AHL to start the year because of his status as waiver-exempt.

As the team kept winning—Vegas is now 8-1 to start the year—it was harder to justify removing anyone from the roster, and there just wasn’t room for the defenseman to make his mark. Patiently he waited in the AHL playing for the Chicago Wolves, where he dominated to the tune of 11 points in eight games. It was clear his time was coming, just as soon as GM George McPhee felt comfortable trying to sneak Reinhart through waivers.

With Stoner on injured reserve, and now Reinhart and Garrison in the minor leagues the Golden Knights are down to just eight defensemen on the roster, a number that is far less unusual than when they were carrying ten earlier in the year. Even though he’s the newest member, Theodore will likely go straight into the lineup and could even start logging important minutes right away. Though he’s not as polished as some of the other options the Golden Knights have, his dynamic offensive skill and excellent skating ability should make him one of the most exciting players in Vegas right from the start.

For a team that was expected to struggle this season, it’s an awfully good start to the year. They’ll now insert another good young player into a lineup that has shown it’s more than just cast-offs and wash-ups. The Golden Knights will take on the New York Islanders tonight in the first game of a grueling six-game road trip.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vegas Expected To Promote Shea Theodore

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One positive of all the recent Vegas Golden Knights waiver moves is likely to come out of everything. And that’s TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s report that with veteran defenseman Jason Garrison having cleared waivers today and the team placing defenseman Griffin Reinhart on waivers today, the Golden Knights are expected to recall top prospect defenseman Shea Theodore from Chicago of the AHL today and have him join the team for Monday’s game against the New York Islanders.

Theodore is the 22-year-old prize of Vegas’ expansion draft this summer when they got the 2013 first-round pick from Anaheim in an expansion draft trade in exchange for selecting Clayton Stoner and his pricey contract. Theodore was a key contributor for the Anaheim Ducks last year, especially during their playoff run, putting up nine points in 34 regular season games, but also eight points in 14 playoff games.

While he was one of the team’s top defenders in training camp, the Golden Knights sent Theodore, who is waiver eligible, to the Wolves, while the team sorted out its roster. The blueliner didn’t disappoint while waiting in Chicago, dominating in the AHL. He put up five goals and six assists in eight games and looks ready to take a major role on the Golden Knights 8-1 team.

As for Garrison, who cleared waivers today, the 32-year-old defender has been assigned to Chicago and is expected to play for the Wolves on Monday, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp.

 

West Notes: Sikura, Garrison, Husso, Jagr

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The Blackhawks are expected to offer prospect winger Dylan Sikura a spot in their lineup as soon as his college season ends, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required).  Sikura, who was recently named to Canada’s entry at the upcoming Karjala Cup, a tournament that they’re using as an evaluation for the Olympics in February.  He currently sits second in NCAA scoring with six goals and eight assists through six games.

Chicago is no stranger to offering the chance to play right away and burn the first year of an entry-level deal; they most recently went that route last year with John Hayden.  This is the one real bargaining chip that they have to play as if Sikura (a sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014) were to wait until August 15th and then become an unrestricted free agent, he’d have no shortage of interest around the league.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • Golden Knights defenseman Jason Garrison has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link). That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise with his $4.6MM cap hit.  It will be interesting to see if there is any trade interest in him where Vegas could retain part of his contract to facilitate a move or take a notable contract back in return.  It’s worth noting that the first-year team has already used one of its three retention slots from their trade of Alexei Emelin back in July.  In the meantime, they have assigned him to Chicago of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions page.
  • The Blues announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Ville Husso from San Antonio of the AHL. The move isn’t as a result of injury but rather a contingency plan if backup Carter Hutton is unavailable for tonight’s game against Columbus with his wife expecting to give birth shortly.  Husso, a fourth-rounder of St. Louis back in 2014, has yet to play in the NHL but is off to a good start in the minors this season with a .927 save percentage in his first three starts.
  • Flames winger Jaromir Jagr is expected to be activated off injured reserve on Sunday, reports Postmedia’s Eric Francis. The 45-year-old suffered a lower-body injury last weekend and if he is activated for tomorrow, he will wind up only missing the minimum one week.  It’s likely that center Mark Jankowski, their lone waiver-exempt forward that is also AHL eligible, will be sent back down to open up a roster spot for Jagr.

Las Vegas Places Jason Garrison On Waivers

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The Golden Knights have finally done what many expected weeks ago, and placed some of their defensemen on waivers. Jason Garrison is the odd-man out according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, after only dressing for four games this season,

It seems as though George McPhee has finally accepted that a trade isn’t going to be possible for some of his assets, and has resigned to trying to squeeze them through waivers. Garrison is an unlikely claim, as he comes with a $4.6MM cap hit for this year (though he earns only $2.5MM in actual salary and is an unrestricted free agent next summer). The 32-year old defenseman was once one of the most frightening weapons in the league with the man advantage, scoring 16 goals with Florida in 2011-12. While his shot is still powerful, the rest of his game has deteriorated while powerplays are moving further and further away from relying on defensive shots from the point.

Garrison has made quite the career for himself after going undrafted and attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 534 career games, he’s recorded 159 points and earned himself a six-year contract worth $27.6MM. While this seems like it may be the end of his NHL career this season, there may be renewed interest in him on the open market next summer, albeit with a greatly reduced price tag.

Vegas, to the ire of many of their fans, have been using the minor leagues to house some of their more interesting players. Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch and Vadim Shipachyov have all spent time in the minors, while the NHL squad carried nine or ten defensemen on the active roster. The waiver-exempt status all three hold has been an important asset to McPhee and the Golden Knights, but now as they get healthy they will need to make decisions on other players. Remember, there is a chance that Garrison is not assigned to the AHL after clearing waivers, as the team could instead make a different decision. Sometimes, players are waived to help their trade value, though in this case it still seems unlikely.

*This article previously linked to a erroneous report of Griffin Reinhart also being placed on waivers. He has instead been sent to the Chicago Wolves on a conditioning stint, but remains on the Vegas roster.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vegas Golden Knights

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. 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 2017-18 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.

Vegas Golden Knights

Current Cap Hit: $69,375,832 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Alex Tuch (Two years remaining, $925K)
D Shea Theodore (One year remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Tuch: $425K

While the brand-new franchise is focused on building up a powerhouse team over the next five years, which means draft picks and more draft picks, which will create a revolving door at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, there should be at least one constant who is already locked in for the future in Theodore. The just-turned 22-year-old is considered to be a long-term piece and despite the team’s overwhelming defensive logjam, the hope is Theodore is on the team’s opening day roster. Theodore shined last year during Anaheim’s playoff run when he along with several other defenseman had to step in for injured players and fared well. Theodore, a offensive defenseman, was a first-round pick of the Ducks in 2013 and despite having just nine points in 39 regular season games last year, he put up eight goals in 14 playoff games.

Tuch, a talented forward acquired near the expansion draft in a side deal with the Minnesota Wild, has a chance to immediately make the team out of training camp. The 21-year-old wing was a first-round pick in 2014 and scored 18 goals for the AHL’s Iowa Wild last year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F James Neal ($5MM, UFA)
F Mikhail Grabovski ($5MM, UFA)
D Jason Garrison ($4.6MM, UFA)
F David Perron ($3.75MM, UFA)
D Luca Sbisa ($3.6MM, UFA)
D Clayton Stoner ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Brayden McNabb ($1.7MM, UFA)
D Jonathon Merrill ($1.14MM, RFA)
F William Karlsson ($1MM, RFA)
D Colin Miller ($1MM, RFA)
D Deryk Engelland ($1MM, UFA)
G Calvin Pickard ($1MM, RFA)
F Jon Marchessault ($750K, UFA)
F Teemu Pulkkinen ($700K, RFA)

The Golden Knights will be looking to move as many of their players at the trade deadline as they can. Neal should be their biggest trade bait as many teams wouldn’t mind adding a goal-scorer right in time for the playoffs. The 30-year-old wing is coming off a 23-goal season in Nashville and has scored 165 goals in the last six seasons combined. The team hopes that playing on a top line should keep his scoring numbers up high so that his price increases at the perfect time, but a recent report that a wrist injury suffered during the playoffs last year is still affecting Neal and he will miss two to four weeks is concerning. The team also has high hopes it can move Perron. After putting up a career-high 28 goals in 2013-14, he has struggled with injuries but rebounded last year with an 18 goal season. If he can stay healthy and produce similar numbers, he might be worth a mid to late pick.

One key decision the team will have to make is what to do with Marchessault, who is coming off a 30-goal season a year ago in Florida. At $750K, he is a bargain for the next year, but if he can duplicate his numbers from last year, he would be in line for a big payday. Complicating the situation is that Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant is a big fan of the 26-year-old and was the head coach in Florida wlast year when Marchessault started his breakout season.

The team also has a number of restricted free agents who they will likely hold onto. While Pickard’s name is rarely mentioned in Vegas as he is the current backup, don’t be surprised if Pickard is penciled in as the goaltender of the future. The 25-year-old struggled with Colorado last year (although he did have one of the worst teams around him), but was a promising prospect before that. Miller is another who should be retained. The 24-year-old was a promising defender in Boston who was just beginning to get full-time work. He got into 61 games last year and showed quite a bit of promise. Karlsson should get a bottom line spot in the lineup. The 24-year-old is coming off a 25-point season and the team hopes he takes his game up a notch.

While Grabovski likely won’t see the ice ever in Las Vegas (freeing the team of his $5MM cap hit), Garrison is a defender who may prove to have some value if he can produce on one of the team’s top defensive lines. The 32-year-old struggled at times in Tampa Bay and his offensive numbers have declined in the past couple of years. McNabb is considered to be an excellent defender and should provide solid defense for Vegas. He missed a lot of time due to a broken collarbone injury he suffered last October, forcing the 26-year-old in and out of the lineup all season and he eventually lost his starting job at the end of the year, but should get regular minutes with the Golden Knights. Sbisa is another player who should get playing time in hopes the team can move him later this year. The 27-year-old blueliner was a solid defenseman, but few teams were interested in his $3.6MM pricetag.

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Vegas Not Worried About Having Too Much Defense

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To some observers, the Vegas Golden Knights have some problems. The team has 13 defensemen on their roster, 11 with NHL experience. Yet, general manager George McPhee is not worried about the glut of defenders on his roster. While the coaches get a say, it will be McPhee who will make the final decision on who plays.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen writes that the team will likely keep eight defenders on their 23-man roster, so that should give defenseman a bit of comfort room. He also writes that it looks like nine players will compete for those eight spots. Three veterans will undoubtedly make the roster in Jason Garrison, Deryk Engelland and Luca Sbisa. Expect Brayden McNabb, the physical defender from the Los Angeles Kings to get a spot on the defensive roster as well as Nate Schmidt, who just signed a new two-year deal for $4.45MM. That’s five. Colin Miller, who led the Boston Bruins in Corsi For and Goals For percentage last season, should also be in the top six.

That leaves a still a number of defensemen who will be fighting for those last two spots.

“Our defensemen can count. They know there are a lot of D here right now,” McPhee said. “We’ll just have to see how camp goes and how we proceed. To be fair, you’d like to say it’s going to be the best six guys, but we’ll see. Sometimes you have to think short term and long term in this job and do what’s best for the organization from that standpoint.”

That quote might suggest that former Anaheim Ducks’ Shea Theodore, who the team picked up in an expansion deal, might be forced to start the season for the AHL Chicago Wolves as he still has waiver options remaining. Theodore, who had a major impact for the Ducks’ defense in the playoffs last year is still just 22 years old and only has 53 games of NHL experience so far, not including the playoffs. He put up just nine points in 34 games last year, but put up eight points in 14 playoff games in an expanded role. Others who will have to fight for spot include Jon Merrill, Clayton Stoner, Griffin Reinhart and Brad Hunt.

Schoen speculates that Merrill is likely to stay with the team, which could leave Stoner out. The team picked up Stoner with Theodore in part of an expansion trade deal. The Anaheim Ducks wanted to rid themselves of Stoner’s $3.25MM contract, but the 32-year-old injury plagued defender has not played since early last season and played in just 14 games last year.

Of course, none of this speculation makes any difference if the team can make a deal. The Golden Knights, who have already traded off several defensemen since the expansion draft, could be waiting for training camps to start. They may be hoping that an injury or a lack of depth could prompt a team to trade for one of their glut of defensemen. However, for now, McPhee continues to state that he is happy to have so much depth on their blueline.

“The neat thing about this process, and I’ve tried to explain this to a number of people, it’s still a blank canvas,” McPhee said. “We’re completely open minded about what might develop. I’m open for some unknown surprises. It’s wide open, and it should be.”

Vegas Golden Knights & Trade Deadline Capital

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As we look back at the recent NHL Expansion Draft, it seems as though the Vegas Golden Knights had a very clear plan. Three tenets seem to influence most if not all of their selections. Vegas Golden Knights

  1. Leverage your opportunity to gain draft picks and young players in exchange for taking a bad contract.
  2. If unwilling to deal, take players with some value and only one or two years remaining on their contract.
  3. If no players like that exist, take a pending free agent to avoid burdening your cap.

Though some may look at this and see an obvious strategy, it is amazing how closely the Golden Knights followed it. A quick look at their CapFriendly page and you can immediately see that they avoided players who were under contract long-term in the draft, as they currently have 16 players that will be unrestricted free agents either next summer or the year after that. Their only long-term contracts are Reilly Smith, David Clarkson and Erik Haula—players they acquired in trade (the Wild gave them the chance to sign Haula)—and Cody Eakin, who is under contract for a third season.

That cap flexibility is paramount to the Golden Knights, as it was never about building through the expansion draft. Almost none of the assets gained through a direct selection should play much of an impact on the team long term, and because of it GM George McPhee will be holding court on another transaction season next year. The trade deadline should be hugely influenced by the Golden Knights, with a large number of assets on the market.

James Neal, David Perron and Jon Marchessault, arguably the three most prolific offensive weapons the Golden Knights selected in the draft are all UFAs next summer, and would each command a hefty price on the open market. Established goal scorers are moved each spring for big packages, and each of these three are no different.

Brayden McNabb and Luca Sbisa headline the pending UFAs on defense and could each fetch a solid return at the deadline, especially if given increased roles for Vegas. Even Jason Garrison could be of some interest if the team is willing to retain a portion of his already (at that point) prorated salary. Garrison will probably get some powerplay time with the Golden Knights to boost his value come the deadline.

Past the UFAs, the team also has several pending RFAs already in their mid-twenties. Colin Miller for example will turn 25 just after the season begins, and is three years away from unrestricted free agency. It’s unlikely that the team competes for a Stanley Cup while Miller remains a cheap option, meaning moving him in the next year could fetch the biggest return. As a puck-moving defensemen he should get plenty of opportunity to show off his offensive upside.

Though some players will be moved out before the season starts because of the simple fact they currently have too many, it’s not unlikely that the Golden Knights will be holding all the cards come February once again. They could easily have half a dozen players on any trade bait list, and add to the impressive number of draft picks they already own.

Odd Defenseman Out In Vegas

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Although some of this might be attributed to wishful thinking, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples openly wonders whether Griffin Reinhart could find his way back to Edmonton. This comes only a day after Reinhart was signed to a reasonable $800,000 deal for two-years in Vegas. Staples wonders whether the excess of defense on the left side will force Vegas to place Reinhart on waivers in an attempt to send him to the AHL. He surmises, probably correctly, that GM Peter Chiarelli would take another gamble on the player if it were to get that far. It seems incredibly unlikely he would make it to Edmonton’s position in the waiver wire, however, as many worse franchises would likely place a claim. It’s even less likely that Vegas management would risk losing that sort of asset for nothing in the first place.

Reinhart is unlikely to make an Edmonton return, but it’s not totally inconceivable that he’d be the odd man out in Vegas. The team went heavy on defense in the expansion draft, and odds are that they will eventually lose someone to the waiver wire if they can’t maneuver more moves. Once Nate Schmidt is signed, they’ll have 11 defensemen on the NHL roster, and that’s if Erik Brannstrom doesn’t make the big squad. Even assuming the Golden Knights can trade two more players, they’re not likely to carry more than 8 defensemen. Someone will be sacrificed to waivers unless GM George McPhee can pull some magic before the start of the season.

The most aged players include Jason Garrison (32), who has a no-trade clause, Deryk Engelland (35), Luca Sbisa (27), and Clayton Stoner (32). Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Schmidt, and Shea Theodore will likely constitute the team’s future defense, and it might be difficult for Reinhart to crack that group. Brad Hunt and Jon Merrill are the least likely to attract any major attention if they were to be waived, so there is no necessity to start floundering yet. Hunt in particular would pass with almost no difficulty, as the 5’9, 28-year old defender hasn’t been overly impressive in his 33 career NHL games. Still, depending on who else is moved and whether Reinhart makes an impact at training camp, he could be seen as a non-core piece. McPhee will need to make a determination as to who will be getting major playing time, considering that at this moment things are far too crowded for the younger players to shine.

McNabb, Schmidt, and Miller seem the safest for the moment, but anything can happen. The right side has to be a concern, as only Engelland and Miller naturally play that position. As for now, we’ll have to wait and see who gets unloaded for picks and future assets, and whether they will be much difficulty in doing so. It seems unlikely that Vegas would move Reinhart, a young piece who they just re-signed, considering that if nothing else he can fill a 7th or 8th defensive position. Sbisa and Stoner seem to be the most likely to move out to a team starved for defensive depth, especially considering their contracts are each only good for one more season.

Vegas Still Has To Deal Multiple Defensemen

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The Vegas Golden Knights still have a lot of work left for them as the offseason continues. The team was heavily commended for focusing on drafting defense in the expansion draft several weeks ago and from there flipping those players for picks as Golden Knights general manager George McPhee has stated numerous times that they are building for the next five years. The team has stockpiled a large number of draft picks since then and still have a number of players to trade, whether that will be now or at the trade deadline next season.

However, they seem to have one issue that they must address before the season starts. Despite trading a bunch of defenseman for picks, the team still has a surplus of defensemen on its roster and the market is beginning to dry up. The team has already traded Trevor van Riemsdyk to Carolina, David Schlemko to Montreal and Marc Methot to Dallas for picks. Just last week, the team moved Alexei Emelin to Nashville, but they had to retain $1.1MM of his salary in order to make the deal work.

The team currently has 11 defensemen with NHL experience on its roster, which is about four or five defensemen too many. The team has made it clear that it doesn’t want to trade its young defensemen, so it’s the veterans they want to trade. The last thing the Golden Knights want to do is be forced to play veterans like Jason Garrison, Clayton Stoner and Luca Sbisa over their younger, but more than ready defensemen. The problem is that Garrison, Stoner and Sbisi are struggling players on expensive contracts. While all three players have only one year on their contracts remaining, Garrison will get $4.6MM, Stoner receives $3.25MM and Sbisi will make $3.6MM next season.

Garrison, 32, has lost a step and found himself being demoted to the bottom of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s depth chart. His salary forced Tampa Bay to offer Vegas two draft picks and Russian prospect Nikita Gusev to take him in the expansion draft. Stoner has dealt with numerous injuries in the last few years and Anaheim had to offer Shea Theodore to make Vegas take Stoner, but after playing just 14 games for the Ducks last year and a declining game, who would want him and that salary? Sbisi is just 27, but he struggled with Vancouver and with his salary may not have much trade value either, but he might be their best hope to make a deal.

The point, of course, is that Vegas will want to play their young defensemen like Theodore, Nate Schmidt, Colin Miller, Brayden McNabb, Jonathon Merrill and maybe even Griffin Reinhart. So, the team must do something to avoid the logjam. There are other options as well. Like Emelin, they could retain some of these players’ salaries in hopes a team would take some of them off their hands. They could wait till training camp and watch for teams that still have holes or suffer injuries that need filling. Another option would be to buy them out or even just sit them in favor of their younger players. However, one would hope Vegas has a plan in place.

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