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Kris Versteeg

Kris Versteeg’s Complicated Swiss Exit

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Earlier this week it was reported that Kris Versteeg—who split last season between Carolina and Los Angeles—was terminating his contract with Swiss Team SC Bern because he could not obtain proper medical insurance. The reports insinuated that Versteeg faced difficulty in obtaining insurance because of a history of hip injuries.

Now a report from a Swiss newspaper (link in German) reports that it was SC Bern who withdrew from the contract after Versteeg failed medical tests. The team earlier announced that they did not know of any lingering medical issue (link in German).

This could be seen as two sides of the same coin. Versteeg may have had trouble obtaining insurance—but because he was not medically fit to play. The failed venture, however, may not dampen Versteeg’s NHL opportunities. Vancouver’s News 1130 Sports reports that the flashy forward has received at least one PTO offer, and after scoring 15G and 23A last season, he’d be a welcome addition on many teams. Teams might be wary of Versteeg’s medical issues, however, and hold out for a PTO to evaluate his fitness.

Versteeg’s Deal With SC Bern Hits Snag

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In an unexpected twist, Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted that due to complications regarding insurance, Kris Versteeg is returning to North America and will again be available as a free agent. Dreger followed up on his original tweet suggesting that  hip surgery four years ago may have “prevented full coverage in Switzerland,” though the player is currently healthy. Versteeg had previously agreed to a one-year pact with SC Bern in the NLA league roughly six weeks ago. Now it appears his job search will have to continue.

Versteeg began the 2015-16 campaign with the Carolina Hurricanes where he netted 33 points in 63 contests before a trade deadline move sent the veteran forward west to Los Angeles in exchange for prospect Valentin Zykov and a fifth-round choice in the 2016 draft. He would tally four goals and five points for the Kings down the stretch before contributing a goal and an assist during the team’s first-round playoff loss to San Jose.

The nine-year NHL vet has won two cups with Chicago – 2009-10 and 2014-15 – and has appeared in games for six different clubs during his career. Versteeg has scored 131 goals and 313 points in 550 NHL contests.

It isn’t clear if the issues that have apparently derailed his deal with HC Bern – at least temporarily – are insurmountable or if the two sides will have an opportunity to work things out. However, if he can’t come to a resolution with the Swiss club, Versteeg would then immediately become the top free agent forward available for teams on the lookout for scoring depth. Versteeg has never recorded less than 0.4 points-per-game in a full season in the NHL and is versatile enough to contribute anywhere up-and-down a team’s lineup.

 

The Swiss Exodus

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Professional hockey in Switzerland received an all-time high in global attention last season when presumptive top NHL Draft pick, Auston Matthews, decided to play professionally overseas a year before he was eligible to be selected into the National Hockey League. Playing for the ZSC Lions in the largest city in Switzerland, Zurich, Matthews drew quite a bit of attention to the Swiss National League A (NLA). However, he was not the only elite player in the league, nor will his transition to the NHL be much of a loss to the league. A closer look shows that the NLA is chock full of former NHL veterans and this off-season has shown that the flow of talent shows no signs of stopping.

The general consensus in hockey is that the NHL is the best league in the world, followed by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The KHL spans all of Russia, stretches into Belarus, Croatia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Slovakia, and now China, and has plans to continue to grow. While there is certainly a lot of talent in the expansive KHL, the small country of Switzerland and the NLA seem to be giving them a run for their money as the second best pro hockey league in the world. Last year, Matthews was joined by former NHL stars Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who led the NLA in points, and Cory Conacher, who recently returned to North America, in the top ten in league scoring. The list does not stop there though; forwards Derek Roy, Matt D’Agostini, James Sheppard, Maxim Lapierre, defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, goalie Cristobal Huet, and of course Swiss native Damien Brunner are just some of the former impact NHLers who played in Switzerland last season.

Even more impressive than that list may just be the list of names who have signed on to play in the NLA next season, led by Kris Versteeg. Versteeg was ranked 25th in our Top 50 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents list, but rather than wait out a slow NHL market, Versteeg signed with SC Bern of the NLA to play in the Swiss capital next season. Versteeg is coming off a 38-point NHL campaign in which he was one of the better players on the Carolina Hurricanes and was enough of a commodity that the Los Angeles Kings gave up a pick and a prospect to get him at the Trade Deadline. In fact, Versteeg has four 20-goal seasons on his resume and has never had less than 30 points in a full NHL season in his career, yet at 30 years old he is taking his talents to Switzerland. Joining him are more capable NHL veterans like Mike Santorelli, Mark Arcobello, Swiss-born goalie Jonas Hiller, and according to reports, Nick Spaling. All of those players could have contributed to any number of NHL teams in 2016-17, but instead chose the Swiss route over a quiet NHL off-season market. American Hockey League players are flocking to Switzerland as well, as the likes of Rob Schremp, Dustin Jeffrey, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Brendan Shinnimin are among many who have abandoned the North American grind for a pro contract in the NLA.

The growing trend appears to be that players who feel like an NHL contract may not be coming are choosing Switzerland and the NLA over the KHL (the non-Russians anyway). The list of incoming and current NLA players with NHL experience is impressive, whereas the KHL has imported only a few players who contributed at the NHL level last season over the course of this summer. Despite the KHL’s best efforts at growth and expansion, the Swiss NLA is making a strong push to be the best alternative to the NHL for the world’s best hockey players and is even challenging the great NHL for free agents. The NLA is on it’s way.

Kris Versteeg Signs in Switzerland

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Left winger Kris Versteeg has officially signed in the NLA, inking a one year deal with SC Bern on Monday, the Swiss team announced.  (Link in German.)  TSN’s Darren Dreger reported earlier this month that a deal with Bern was close.  Bern wasn’t the only Swiss team that was interested in signing Versteeg as HC Biel was also reported to have been in contact with him early in free agency.

Last season, he played in 77 regular season games split between Carolina and Los Angeles (after being added as a trade deadline acquisition), collecting 15 goals and 23 assists while averaging 15:23 per contest.  As a result, it’s somewhat surprising that Versteeg wasn’t able to secure an NHL contract as 38 points is lower end second line production and with teams always looking to add offensive help, it was expected that he’d have had NHL suitors.  We him ranked 34th on our Top 50 UFA list.

Versteeg has played in 550 games for six different teams over his NHL career.  In that span, he has 131 goals and 182 assists.  At just 30 years of age, it’s not inconceivable to think that he could return to the NHL for 2017-18 if he has a productive year in the Swiss league.

Snapshots: Versteeg, Senators, Red Wings

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Darren Dreger tweets that unrestricted free agent Kris Versteeg may be leaving the NHL for the Swiss League. Versteeg is rumored to be heading to Bern and it could happen sometime this weekend. PHR listed Versteeg at #25 out of the top 50 free agents.  Last season, Versteeg had 33 points (11-22) in 63 games with Carolina. While with Los Angeles after a late February trade, he had 5 points (4-1) in 14 games. In the playoffs, Versteeg registered 2 points (1-1) in five games.

In other news:

  • NHL.com featured the Ottawa Senators as a team to watch in the Eastern Conference. Arpon Basu writes that with new coach Guy Boucher in the fold, the Sens look to return to the playoffs after missing out last season. Boucher’s first order, Basu writes, is to improve a team that hemorrhaged goals. Despite a younger team, general manager Pierre Dorion feels the Sens are poised to take the next step. Dorion recently added Derick Brassard in a trade with New York and believes that the Senators are “going to surprise some people.”
  • MLive’s Brendan Savage writes about recently acquired forward Dylan Sadowy, and his ascent through the OHL. Sadowy was acquired by the Red Wings from the Sharks for a 2017 third round draft pick after the Sharks realized they were not going to come to terms with Sadowy. The young forward turned some heads in prospect camp when he notched a hat trick during a scrimmage. But it’s the impressive numbers he put up as a member of the Barrie Colts and Saginaw Spirit that caught the Wings attention. Between both teams last season, Sadowy recorded 70 points (45-25) in 64 games.  Despite the scoring prowess, Sadowy indicates that he wants to be a two-way player. While a number of forwards are in his way,  Savage writes that Sadowy still intends to do whatever it takes to make the Red Wings roster. Even though it would be a tall order with a number of forwards already penciled in, Sadowy will work hard to make his NHL dream a reality.

Top-Line Options Remaining In Free Agency

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For many teams, free agency is a place to find a player or two to slot into your top two lines, to supplement the core you already have in place.  Edmonton went out and got Milan Lucic, to add some veteran toughness while replacing the outgoing offensive contribution of Taylor Hall. Vancouver added Loui Eriksson in a questionable move for a team who hasn’t quite decided what direction they’re headed in, and Buffalo brought on Kyle Okposo to ride shotgun with their young talent up front.

Now that the madness has died down, the market for these top-six players is extremely thin, with only a few names having established themselves there in the past.  With Shane Doan surely re-signing with the Coyotes, and Patrik Elias looking as though it’s either Devils or retirement, two of the most well known names among this group aren’t going anywhere.  Here are the other possibilities for a team to add to their top-six:

(number in parentheses represents ranking on our Top 50 UFAs)

  1. Jiri Hudler (18) – Though Hudler is now 32-years old and took a significant step back last season, he still represents one of the better second-line options available. His 46 points in 2015-16 split between the Flames and Panthers were a disappointing total for a player coming off a 31-goal, 76 point season but still ranked him right alongside players like Andrew Ladd (46 points, $38.5MM) and David Backes (45 points, $30MM).
  2. Kris Versteeg (25) – While Versteeg is probably better suited as a third-liner on a good team, he has shown the ability to move up in the lineup consistently in the past.  A three-time twenty goal scorer, Versteeg has scored at least 34 points in each of his seven healthy seasons.  He can play either wing, and brings a level of physicality to his game as well.
  3. Radim Vrbata (27) – Vrbata is clearly on the downswing of his career, having put up just 27 points and a whopping -30 mark last season.  Now 35, he’ll look to sign a cheap deal and could be a nice value signing for a team pressed against the cap. Remember, this is a guy who has over 250 career NHL goals, and is just one season removed from the second 30-goal season of his career.
  4. Alex Tanguay (33) – Though he’s now 37, Tanguay continues to produce like a second-line center, putting up another 35 point campaign despite having a much reduced role after a trade to Arizona.  For a team looking to shelter their young forwards, a veteran like Tanguay can provide some offensive punch on a cheap, short-term deal. He’ll likely break 900 points in what has been an excellent career for the former Avalanche stalwart.
  5. Brandon Pirri (NR) – Despite Pirri’s reputation as a bottom-six forward, some teams might see the former Panther as a second-line option, due to his previous goal scoring ability.  Pirri has potted 36 goals over the past two seasons, including 22 in 2014-15. The problem is that he’s racked up just 17 assists over the same time.  He was an outstanding scorer in his AHL career, and is still just 25-years old, meaning that taking a shot on him might not be the worst gamble among the remaining options.

Free Agent Profile: Kris Versteeg

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While he has bounced around a lot in recent years, Kris Versteeg has been a productive forward wherever he has been.  Despite that, he hasn’t received a whole lot of attention in free agency so far.  Here is a closer look at his situation.

Versteeg has been a hockey nomad lately, having played for six different teams since 2010.  Part of the reason for that has been his contract; he’s coming off a deal that paid him an average of $4.4MM per season, which, at the time the deal was signed, was higher end second line money.  Also Versteeg has long been viewed as an extra complementary piece and not part of a core that a team can build around.  Those players tend to bounce from team to team over the years.

Despite being on a different squad almost annually, Versteeg has been pretty steady when it comes to production.  Injuries and the lockout cost him most of 2012-13 but aside from that, he has put up at least 34 points every year since 2008-09.  Last season, he played in 77 games split between Carolina and Los Angeles, collecting 15 goals and 23 assists while averaging 15:23 per game.  Basically, lower end second line production.

So why hasn’t the 30 year old garnered much interest so far?  At just 5’11, he’s on the smaller side which can scare off teams and has slowed down a bit in recent years.  He’s also only a year removed from being scratched for nearly half of Chicago’s Stanley Cup run.  The fact he’s coming off a pricey contract doesn’t help either; while a pay cut was to be expected (he made $4.7MM in salary in 2015-16), how much of one was he willing to take in the early going?  Evidently, not enough to pique the interest of GM’s.

Potential Suitors

So far, there hasn’t been much in the way of publicized interest.  There are Swiss League teams that would like to sign him (HC Biel in particular has been linked to him) but Versteeg is prioritizing an NHL deal.  We predicted he would sign with Nashville and they remain a potential fit in a higher end third line role.  Boston and Anaheim still have openings up front as do the Hurricanes, where Versteeg spent most of last season.  Chicago has a bit of cap space to potentially play with if he wants to return there although he’d have to take a below-market deal like Brian Campbell did for that to happen.

Projected Contract

Versteeg ranked 34th on our Top 50 UFA list and had a projected contract of two years and $6.4MM before free agency opened up.  While that would still represent a sizable pay cut, it seems likely at this point that he will need to take more of one to get something done.  A one year contract that would allow him to take another run at the market next season may be the best way to go and a deal like that should come in closer to the $2MM – $2.5MM range.

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