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John Tavares

Final Group Of Six Will Wait For Decision From John Tavares

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The free agent interview period is supposed to drum up intrigue around dozens of names that will undoubtedly change teams on July 1st, but all eyes this year have been on pitch meetings taking place at the CAA headquarters in Los Angeles. Those meetings are meant to woo John Tavares, who would arguably be the best free agent to ever hit the market in the salary cap era. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tavares’ current team the New York Islanders presented on Monday, with the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks meeting with the superstar center and his representatives on Tuesday. Wednesday is blocked off for the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, after which, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, Tavares will shut down all communication with other teams. There were previous reports that some teams, namely the Vegas Golden Knights and Nashville Predators, were in the running through phone conversations, but that doesn’t appear to be the case any longer.

So six teams—New York, Toronto, Boston, San Jose, Dallas and Tampa Bay—will wait patiently tonight after Tavares hears the final pitches, and await word of whether he’ll be leaving for a new address this summer. The Islanders of course are the only team that can offer Tavares an eight-year deal, and the other teams are not currently allowed to discuss contract details, only express interest. If Tavares reaches Sunday without a contract, the Islanders lose their advantage and become like any other team able to sign him to seven years. Should that happen, it seems unlikely that he’d be heading back to the Islanders, meaning the countdown is on for New York.

Of course there are different strengths and weaknesses from each market, and TSN has released a calculator to show off the differences surrounding state (or provincial) taxes. The Lightning and Stars have a huge advantage in this way, though it is obviously not the only determining factor. Even with a no-movement clause, there is no guarantee that a player spends his whole career in a certain state, meaning there likely won’t be any discounts for the teams which have the best tax rates.

Free Agent Rumor Round-Up: Maroon, Grabner, De Haan, Rieder

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Teams are free to speak with impending free agents prior to the official opening of free agency on Sunday, July 1st. As usual, that has produced a flurry of rumors regarding which teams and how many teams are talking to each of the biggest names. Here is an update on some of those rumors:

  • Unsurprisingly, winger Patrick Maroon has been linked to his hometown St. Louis Blues. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirms that the Blues have reached out to Maroon’s camp in hopes of bringing him back to where his hockey aspirations first began. Maroon is coming off a career-high 43-point season and especially looked strong after a Trade Deadline deal from the Edmonton Oilers to the New Jersey Devils. Blues beat reporter Andy Strickland adds that Maroon has not closed the door on a return to either Edmonton or New Jersey, but that the Blues are one of at least six other teams who are pursuing the power forward.
  • The Boston Bruins were busy making their pitch to John Tavares today, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t also thinking a few steps ahead. Mark Divver of the Providence Journal says that the Bruins have “checked in” on two-way speedster Michael Grabner, another Devils deadline acquisition. Not only do the Bruins need another veteran right-shot forward and want to continue to add quickness to the roster, but it also might not be a coincidence that Grabner spent years playing alongside Tavares with the New York Islanders.
  • In a shallow class of top-four defenseman, Calvin de Haan is drawing a lot of interest despite missing most of the season with the New York Islanders due to injury. The 27-year-old former first-round pick is one of the more reliable and younger options among defenders on the market and is set to cash in as a result. Kings beat writer Dennis Bernstein reports that Los Angeles is the latest team to show interest in de Haan, bringing the speculated total number of teams interested in the blue liner into the double-digits.
  • When the Kings declined to offer Tobias Rieder a qualifying offer yesterday, it was only a matter of time before teams came calling on the new UFA. Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal states that the Vancouver Canucks are one of those interested teams, but that four or five other suitors have already emerged. The two-way winger is one of the youngest and most versatile options available on the market.

More Than Five Teams Still In The Mix For John Tavares

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Though we’d heard reports about several teams that were expected to get meetings with superstar free agent John Tavares, the entire situation wasn’t clear. Now, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and Darren Dreger of TSN report at nearly the same moment that the Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning all have sit down meetings scheduled over the next few days, while two or three other teams will have discussions over the phone. LeBrun notes that those phone conversations could turn into face-to-face meetings, while the Islanders obviously remain in the mix for their captain.

Interestingly, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that the Montreal Canadiens attempted to get a meeting with Tavares, but were refused. The Canadiens are not part of the current discussions.

Tavares would arguably be the best unrestricted free agent to hit the market in the salary cap era if he remains unsigned on July 1st, but it’s not like that is a guarantee at this point. In fact, it may still be incredibly unlikely for the 27-year old center to leave the Islanders but after waiting this long it made sense to at least listen to the other offers. We saw this same song and dance two years ago with Steven Stamkos, before the Tampa Bay Lightning—or perhaps an overt-the-top pitch from another team—eventually convinced their captain to stay put.

We’ve already seen John Carlson, the consensus second-best pending free agent re-sign with the Washington Capitals for huge money, and Tavares could be next. If he does end up staying in New York, it would mean only good things for Paul Stastny who would likely become the next best option by default. Tyler Bozak, Derek Ryan and others are also available at center, but Stastny would be the only real prize left down the middle. If the rest of the NHL is closely watching the meetings in Los Angeles, Stastny may be camped outside the CAA offices waiting for his big opportunity.

Snapshots: Karlsson, Thornton, Talbot, Brodziak

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While the free agent market is slimming more and more after John Carlson opted to re-sign with the Washington Capitals, the trade market has barely gotten active as teams wait to see how the free agent market shakes out. Regardless that could change in the next few days. While there were a few trades this weekend during the draft, one name that stayed put is Ottawa Senators’ defenseman Erik Karlsson.

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, general manager Pierre Dorion was fielding phone calls all the way up to the Senators picked at No. 4, but still hasn’t found the right deal as he’s looking for a big haul of players and picks considering that Karlsson is a franchise player.

As expected, Garrioch writes that the Vegas Golden Knights were at the forefront in trying to make a deal and Vegas was prepared to take the contract of Bobby Ryan, who still has four years at $7.25MM AAV remaining on his contract, but other teams are also trying to get into the Karlsson sweepstakes, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks and the Washington Capitals. No word on whether the other teams are willing to take on Ryan’s contract. While the Capitals are likely out of the running now that they’ve signed Carlson, the Carlson signing may force other teams to press harder to acquire Karlsson.

  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there is mutual interest between Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks to return to the team, regardless of whether the team signs John Tavares or not. Thornton, who suffered a season-ending torn MCL in January, would have to come back at a lower salary than the $8MM he made last year, but at 38 years old, he can still be a productive player even if he is forced to play on a lower line. Thornton put up 13 goals and 23 assists in 47 games, but “Jumbo Joe” is well past the days of putting up 82 points in 2015-16.
  • Pagnotta also commented on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot as he says both the Oilers and Talbot have agreed to hold off on extension talks until the start of the new season. The 30-year-old Talbot had been a major piece to the team’s success up until this past year. After posting 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage two years ago, he struggled this season, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .908 save percentage. The team likely wants to ensure that Talbot bounces back to form before offering him an extension.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that the St. Louis Blues and center Kyle Brodziak both have interest in an extension. The 34-year-old center put up his best season since 2011-12 as a fourth-line center. He tallied 10 goals and 33 points last season. While the Blues have bigger concerns at the moment, Rutherford points out that neither party is in a big rush.

Tavares Notes: Toronto, San Jose, Boston

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While reports suggest that John Tavares and his representation are speaking to five teams in Los Angeles, there is some confusion of which teams Tavares’ camp is speaking to. It was reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars are three teams that are definitely meeting with him, while other teams such as Vegas and Tampa Bay have been suggested as possibilities.

The Maple Leafs have been interested in signing Tavares for a long time, years in fact. However, with the state of their salary cap in the coming years with contracts of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander on the books, there are a lot of questions whether the Maple Leafs are really true candidates to bring Tavares on board, especially after the team splurged a season ago when they pried Patrick Marleau away from San Jose.

The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) writes that trying to add a contract that at the moment is linked at $11MM per year for Tavares (possibly $12MM) might be challenging, but not totally impossible. Unlike two years ago, when they tried to sign Steven Stamkos when they were a struggling franchise, things are much different. For one, Tavares gets to come home, he can immediate play for a top team which has a legitimate chance to win a Stanley Cup, and lots of cap space in the first year of a contract, which is where the discussion ends.

Mirtle suggests one rumor that has been going around for week is to offer Tavares a one-year max deal, which would be worth $15.9MM. Then the team could attempt to lock him up to an eight-year deal after that. However, that could also be construed as cap circumvention as well as dangerous if Tavares gets injured in that first year. Another offer Toronto could add to the package is the captaincy, but that would also be an issue considering that Matthews has been in line for that role.

  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period confirms that the San Jose Sharks were the second team to speak with Tavares and his representatives. He writes that the Sharks are all-in on Tavares and the entire organization is on board to bring Tavares in. With more than $18MM in cap space, the Sharks have the money even after locking up winger Evander Kane to a seven-year, $49MM extension last month. With their defense and goaltending, alongside Tavares, Kane, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski as well as a bunch of talented younger players that are ready to break out, the Sharks would look like a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that while there is no word yet, the scribe gets the sense that the Boston Bruins haven’t been told yet whether they are one of the five teams that Tavares will meet with, but Boston definitely wants a meeting with the center. Boston has almost $12MM of cap space available and a team that is full of both veterans and young stars in which the addition of Tavares could take them to that Stanley Cup level as well.

Free Agency Notes: De Haan, Bernier, Stastny, Vanek

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While early reports that quite a bit of interest has been directed towards John Tavares, another New York Islanders’ unrestricted free agent has garnered attention too. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports defenseman Calvin de Haan has received significant interest from upwards of 10 teams so far.

While Lou Lamoriello has made it clear that it is his mission to convince Tavares to stay with the Islanders, the team has two key defensive free agents to worry about as well, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey. De Haan, however, is an interesting situation as the blueliner has shown a lot of promise over the years since being drafted in the first round back in 2009, which includes some flashes of brilliance at times, but he’s never been able to put it all together in a full season for the Islanders. He did put up career highs in 2016-17 with five goals and 25 points and may well have been on his way to break that this year, but went down with a season-ending injury on Dec. 16. He posted one goal and 11 assists in 33 games.

Many teams feel that a change of scenery and the fact that the free agent is still just 27, would make him an ideal player who could become a quality top-four defenseman.

  • The Athletic’s Craig Custance reports that unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier has indicated that he likes Colorado and would like to return to the Avalanche. However, after the team traded for Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer Friday and the fact they still have Semyon Varlamov listed as their starter, that would cause an unusual logjam at the goaltending position. If Colorado would rather have a combination of Grubauer and Bernier, general manager Joe Sakic would have to make another roster move to rid himself of Varlamov, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019. There would almost undoubtedly be a market for Varlamov if Sakic made him available. Bernier had moments of brilliance last season, but finished the year with a 2.85 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 37 games.
  • Fox Sports Andy Strickland reports that their is mutual interest for veteran center Paul Stastny to return to the Winnipeg Jets. Stastny thrived in Winnipeg’s offense alongside Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, but the expected cost of retaining Stastny, who is the No. 2 center on the unrestricted free agent market, is not in the team’s financial plans. Custance writes the Jets are looking for a way to keep Stastny, which would require them to move out a contract to make a deal like that work. The 32-year-old put up 16 goals and 53 points between St. Louis and Winnipeg last year.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that while former Vancouver Canucks forward Thomas Vanek has received some early interest from teams, the Canucks are not one of them. There had been some early talk that the team wanted to bring back the 34-year-old winger after they traded the veteran to Columbus at the trade deadline. The team liked the way he mentored the younger players. His 17 goals for Vancouver (24 total for the season) suggest he still has the ability to put the puck in the net.

Trade Interest In Carolina’s Skinner Remains Strong

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After being the centerpiece of biggest trade of the NHL Entry Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t done yet. Not even close, according to News & Observer’s Luke Decock. The team still needs a goalie and still have the assets to move some key players, including defenseman Justin Faulk and most especially winger Jeff Skinner, who has been one of the most talked about players available via trade. And while a deal did not take place this weekend, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to be moved.

In fact, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that trade interest in Skinner is still strong. However, most teams are waiting to see where superstar unrestricted free agent John Tavares lands first before looking to pull the trigger on a Skinner trade. It looks like Skinner might be the consolation prize to the Tavares sweepstakes. Therefore, expect Carolina to wait for the free agent market to shake out before dangling Skinner (and Faulk) for the biggest gains.

“It gives us some options as we sit here today to look at anything,” general manager Don Waddell said. “We came into this weekend talking if we could do something to make our hockey club better we would look at it. We weren’t worried as much about the position as gaining the assets. We have a lot of other possible pieces to move around.”

Skinner had a down year last season when he scored just 24 goals and 49 points, but that is compared to his 37-goal season in 2016-17 and at age 26, he has already had three 30-goal seasons, making him one of the most marketable players in the NHL who can inject immediate offense into any lineup. He has one more year at a reasonable $5.725MM. If a team can get Skinner to sign an extension along with the trade, then the price for the winger might increase even more.

 

Metropolitan Notes: Tavares, Hamilton, Rask, Rangers

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In a follow-up story about New York Islanders and John Tavares upcoming free agency, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello left the draft to fly to Los Angeles to be nearby while Tavares meets with the teams that he and his representatives have invited to speak with him. Lamoriello will meet with Tavares last in hopes of keeping the superstar in the fold.

As reported earlier, it is believed that he will meet with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars and possibly the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadiens, although that isn’t too clear so far. However, Staples writes that an earlier rumor today that the Islanders made an eight-year, $88MM deal may not be accurate. He believes in the end, whether offered by the Islanders or another team, that Tavares will be making $12MM per year, which Lamoriello has said that ownership has said that money is no object.

  • Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that the Carolina Hurricanes intend to keep defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who the team acquired in the five-player trade earlier today. The scribe said the team had no intention of flipping the blueliner for more assets. Hamilton should provide the team with a No. 1 defenseman to go with their core of young blueliners. The six-year veteran is only just 25 years old and put up 17 goals and 44 points last season.
  • Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Carolina Hurricanes were supposedly close on sending winger Victor Rask to the Montreal Canadiens, but the asking price of two second-round picks in this draft (including the No. 35 pick) was too much for the Canadiens. The 25-year-old winger still has four years at $4MM AAV and seems to have regressed somewhat since a 21 goal season back in 2015-16.
  • The New York Rangers had three first-round picks in this latest draft with much speculation wondering if general manager Jeff Gorton would use those picks as assets to either acquire a pro-ready player or even to move up in the draft. Instead, the Rangers used all three picks (albeit, they traded up late in the first-round). NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Gorton said he was never close to making a deal this weekend. Gorton said he was ready to change his draft strategy if he got a trade offer he liked, but never got one. “I would say there was probably less conversations than I anticipated,” Gorton said.

John Tavares Will Meet Other Teams During Interview Period

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As the second day of the NHL Entry Draft moves along, we finally get an update on John Tavares and his upcoming free agency. Tavares is allowed to start meeting with other teams around the league as early as Sunday, and he apparently will take advantage of the opportunity just as Steven Stamkos did two summers ago. Stamkos ended up re-signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the only team he’d ever known, something New York Islanders fans will hope repeats this summer after Tavares gets a chance to see what else is out there.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period both have heard that Tavares will meet with five teams this week, though the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues are apparently not among them. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic also reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets will not meet with Tavares. Who those teams are is not clear at this point, though there has been plenty of speculation about clubs like the San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Tavares, 27, would arguably be the best free agent to hit the market during the salary cap era, and could potentially become the league’s highest-paid player. That distinction currently belongs to Connor McDavid, but his eight-year $100MM contract could be eclipsed should a bidding war start on Tavares. That rules out many teams around the league, but still even those with a small amount of cap space may be interested in meeting and seeing how they could work things out. The Los Angeles Kings for instance were looking at basically every offensive player available, but with the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk today likely don’t have the room to fit in a player like Tavares.

Arthur Staple of The Athletic, who is one of the closest people in media to the situation in New York, believes that Toronto, San Jose and Dallas will “almost certainly” be among the teams afforded a meeting. He mentions Tampa Bay and Vegas—a team Pagnotta also mentions—as well, though no one will really know until Tavares reveals the teams himself, or someone stakes out the meeting spot. Staple adds though that despite taking the meetings “just about everyone” still expects Tavares to re-sign in New York.

Top Contenders For Paul Stastny Emerging

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If and when John Tavares re-signs with the New York Islanders this off-season, there will be a lot of teams left in need of a center with few options to turn to. The trade route is an option, although a costly one when searching for a top-six pivot. Not many teams are openly shopping their top centers either. The draft is no help in a class largely devoid of pro-ready talent down the middle. The restricted free agent offer sheet has all but gone extinct. For those teams in need of center help, this leaves the free agent market as the most realistic choice and, behind Tavares, pickings are slim. Tyler Bozak, Riley Nash, and Derek Ryan are all top-five scorers among free agent centers despite all being two-way focused forwards best suited for third-line roles. Joe Thornton, Valtteri Filppula, and Tomas Plekanec are all well past their primes and their recent production proves it. There are simply very few good options.

For these reasons, it is no surprise that teams are already lining up for the services of Paul Stastny. Easily the top UFA center behind Tavares, Stastny is coming off a 53-point season with St. Louis and Winnipeg. Add in a dominant 15-point postseason with the Jets, and Stastny has greatly improved his stock heading into the open market. Both an offensive threat and a defensively responsible player, Stastny is a complete, two-way player. He is also a twelve-year veteran who dismissed talks of being past his prime this season and seems capable of high-end play over the course of another long-term contract.

In fact, the 2017-18 season was Stastny’s best offensively since his early days with the Colorado Avalanche. Ironically, the Avs reportedly would like to see if he still has that 70-point potential he showed as a younger player in Denver. Both Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland and BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater believe that Colorado is the leader in the chase for Stastny. As a team with which he has chemistry, as well as a young, exciting roster in need of a leader, it would be easy to see why a return to the Avalanche could be appealing to Stastny. Strickland also names the Winnipeg Jets as a top suitor. After acquiring Stastny at the deadline and seeing him fit in so well down the stretch and in the playoffs, it is no wonder that they would like to retain him. However, the Jets are inundated with valuable restricted free agents in need of extensions and may run out of the cap flexibility needed to compete for one of the market’s biggest names. Dater hears that the Montreal Canadiens, one of the more desperate center-needy teams in the league, is also in the hunt for Stastny. The Canadiens would be able to keep up with any bid the Avalanche could make and it would likely come down to which team Stastny feels is the best fit.

While these three teams are surely not the exclusive list of contenders, they are three teams that are logical fits for Stastny. Two teams that whose absences are noteworthy though are the St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes. Yes, the Blues traded away Stastny and when they had him it wasn’t enough to be a true Stanley Cup contender. However, a healthy St. Louis team would have been much more competitive this season and one of the holes they now need to fill to return to that place is at center. Bringing back Stastny is an idea that no one would dismiss, yet Strickland – a Blues beat writer – makes no mention of them. The Hurricanes, like the Canadiens, are simply a team in drastic need of a top center. While Stastny may not put them over the top, he would be yet another piece to a roster that has the potential to turn things around next year. Carolina also has near limitless cap space to contend for the rising price of Stastny’s services. At the end of the day, Strickland states that Stastny just wants to go somewhere where he will have a “chance to win”. Winnipeg and Colorado fit the bill, while Montreal, St. Louis, and Carolina may not. Others are sure to enter the fray too in a free agency market that may end up being defined by the choice made by Paul Stastny.

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