Max Domi Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets have already reached an agreement with their newest acquisition, signing Max Domi to a two-year contract worth a total of $10.6MM. The contract comes almost immediately after Domi arrived in a trade that cost the Blue Jackets Josh Anderson. The 25-year-old forward will earn $4.6MM in 2020-21 and $6.0MM in 2021-22.
It’s important to note here that a two-year deal takes Domi directly to unrestricted free agency, getting him there as quickly as possible. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll leave the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2022, but it does give him a chance to hit the open market at an early age and really cash in.
Not only that, but a $5.3MM cap hit also puts pressure on Domi to really fill that second-line center role for the Blue Jackets the next two seasons. The team has reportedly considered buying out Alexander Wennberg before the deadline and needs someone to step up and take control of that second group behind Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Until they do buy out Wennberg or trade one of their young goaltenders, the Blue Jackets don’t have a ton of room left after the Domi extension. Vladislav Gavrikov and several other RFAs still need new contracts, but the team does have plenty of depth on the back-end to deal from. Brandon Dubinsky‘s contract will also be placed on long-term injured reserve as he deals with a chronic wrist issue that has likely ended his career.
Columbus, Montreal Swap Josh Anderson, Max Domi
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens have found some common ground, swapping restricted free agent forwards Josh Anderson and Max Domi. The Blue Jackets will also receive a 2020 third-round selection in the trade. Both players are represented by agent Darren Ferris and will need new contracts for 2020-21.
Both Anderson and Domi have had huge success in the past for their respective teams, but needed a change of scenery after some recent struggles.
In Anderson’s case, the relationship with the Blue Jackets has been strained for some time, going back to a contract negotiation in 2017 that saw him miss all of training camp. That was followed by two successful seasons, but the 26-year-old forward managed to score just a single goal in 26 games in 2019-20 while struggling with injury.
The Canadiens are obviously betting that Anderson can rebound and get back to the player who scored 27 goals in 2018-19 and looked like one of the best power forwards in the entire league. A fourth-round pick in 2012, Anderson brings size (6’3″ 220-lbs) and goal scoring to a Montreal team that lacked both this season. He’s also coming off a contract that carried a cap hit of just $1.85MM and requires just a $2.1MM qualifying offer (though is arbitration-eligible).
For Domi, this trade comes just a year after he scored 72 points for the Canadiens, the franchise’s third-highest total in the cap era. That incredible year was followed by a frustrating, 44-point season in 2019-20 however, which saw Domi dropped to the fourth line at times and just never seem to find his true footing in the Montreal lineup.
He also, quite importantly, is coming off a contract that carried a $3.15MM cap hit and will require a $2.9MM qualifying offer. Domi is expected to be looking for a substantial raise on that number, something that the Canadiens may not have felt comfortable with as they start to transition to other young centers.
Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are the future in Montreal, meaning Domi either would have had to play in the bottom-six or move to the wing. That isn’t the case in Columbus, where he can slide in as the team’s second-line center behind Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Perhaps the most interesting part in the deal is the draft pick, which seems like an asset that the Canadiens shouldn’t have had to include in a swap of these two players. Montreal certainly had plenty of capital to spend given they still have ten picks in tonight’s draft, but it is striking to see Anderson actually hold more value than Domi even after losing basically his entire season to injury.
Atlantic Notes: Stamkos, Domi, Debrusk
There seems to be plenty of questions surrounding Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who has yet to make his playoff debut after undergoing core muscle surgery in early March and now has been listed as “unfit to play” with a lower-body injury. Now it looks like that if he will play in the playoffs it will have to be in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Lightning and head coach Jon Cooper announced that Stamkos will miss the entire Eastern Conference Finals due to his undisclosed injuries, adding that he will update that status if anything changes. There was plenty of hope that Stamkos might be ready to return to the team and supplement the offensive powerhouse Lightning against the stingy defense of the Islanders. However, that won’t happen here and the team will have to win the series without him if they have any hopes of him returning for the playoffs.
If or when he returns, however, The Athletic’s Joe Smith believes that Stamkos will likely begin on the team’s second line and center both Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli as they likely won’t want to breakup the impressive play of the first-round combo of Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov.
- With plenty of rumors swirling around Montreal Canadiens forward Max Domi after a disappointing second season with the team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night that Domi’s agent, Darren Ferris, and Canadiens’ general manager Marc Bergevin met to discuss Domi’s future. Friedman notes that Domi is not requesting a trade out of Montreal. “The news got out that Max Domi has a new agent — he’s now represented by Darren Ferris,” Friedman said. “He met with Marc Bergevin, he didn’t really want to say too much about the meeting, but the one thing he was willing to say was that Max Domi has not asked for a trade from the Montreal Canadiens. I don’t know where this is going to go, but Domi has not asked to be traded.” Domi saw a 11-goal and 28-point decline in his statistics last year, something the team wasn’t thrilled about as Domi saw his playing time in the playoffs drop significantly to 14:21 of ATOI.
- The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes the Boston Bruins are likely going to have a challenging time finding a new contract with restricted free agent Jake Debrusk. The forward is averaging 1.09 goals per 60 minutes of play on the team, the fourth-highest number on the team, besides the team’s top-line players. However, his inconsistency has showed at times as he has also been put on the team’s third line at times. However, with impressive numbers, he is in line for a contract similar to that of Travis Konecny (six years, $33MM) and Brock Boeser (three years, $17.63MM). However, with the flat salary cap, Debrusk may have to accept less in a short-term deal.
Montreal’s Max Domi To Wait 7-10 Days Before Deciding On Return
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Max Domi has decided to wait 7-10 days before making a decision on whether he intends to return to the team for Phase 3. Domi and the Canadiens are basing that decision on the fact that he has Type-1 Diabetes and Celiac disease, which could put him more at risk of COVID-19. The team released a statement:
Considering Max’s health condition (Type 1 diabetes), both parties have agreed to take this responsible approach and to take this time to evaluate the ongoing situation, in order to make the best decision for Max’s health at the end of this period.
Domi’s decision will likely be based on the success of the Return to Play directive and the hope that the league can prevent any major breakouts or mini pandemics within each hub’s bubble. If the league can prove that their health plan is successful, then it’s likely Domi will agree to join his teammates before the 24-team tournament even begins.
While it’s clear the team is putting Domi’s health as its top priority, it isn’t going to help the team in its quest to pull off an upset in the upcoming 24-team tournament if the 25-year-old ends up opting out. The team has until Monday afternoon to submit their 31-man roster and this announcement would suggest that Domi will be on the list. If Domi opts out, the Canadiens will end up being a player short.
Domi has been a top-six forward since acquired in a trade with Arizona in 2018. He had a breakout season in 2018-19 with 28 goals and 72 points in his first year with the team. He did see a decrease in performance this past year with 17 goals and 44 points in 71 games, but regardless is a key player at the center position for the franchise.
Playoff Notes: Drouin, Domi, Robertson
Not only did the Montreal Canadiens luck out by even making the NHL’s expanded playoff field, but they already may be winning the injury battle with their play-in opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins. While the Penguins announced today that forward Nick Bjugstad suffered a setback in his recovery from a herniated disc and required season-ending surgery, the Habs got the opposite news. GM Marc Bergevin revealed today that core forward Jonathan Drouin will be healthy and active for the team’s playoff series. Drouin only saw 27 games this season due to a litany of injuries, so the team will receive a major boost that they did not enjoy for most of the year. In a healthy 2018-19 season with Montreal, Drouin recorded 53 points and in his last playoff experience with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he was a force with 14 points in 17 games. The Canadiens need Drouin to be at his best if they hope to beat the Penguins, but have to be excited at the mere idea that he could be 100% and ready to contribute to their unlikely postseason run.
- Of course, the Habs also have a serious question to face in the availability of Max Domi. Bergevin spoke to media and noted that the team will put health above all else. What that means is that Domi, a diabetic, may not be able to play if team doctors determine it is unsafe for him to do so. Coronavirus in those with diabetes can cause complications, with WebMD estimating that diabetics are 25% more likely to require hospitalization. Domi has had no prior issues with his Type 1 diabetes during his NHL career, but Montreal will not risk his health regardless. They will need their medical staff to ensure that all necessary measures are being met to make to keep Domi and his teammates safe from infection.
- An Atlantic Division rival of the Canadiens is anticipating an exciting addition to their lineup. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas announced today that 2019 top pick Nick Robertson will join the team for their playoff run. Dubas had previously stated that he was excited for Robertson to fight for a spot next season, but that timeline has moved up with the talented prospect earning his way onto the team’s expanded postseason roster. Robertson, 18, is coming off a season in which he recorded 86 points in 46 games for the OHL’s Peterborough Petes and also starred for Team USA at the World Juniors. Whether or not Robertson actually plays for Toronto in the playoffs, his inclusion on the roster will be an interesting glimpse into the future for the Leafs.
East Notes: Domi, Columbus Injuries, Bracco
Canadiens forward Max Domi is Montreal’s most notable restricted free agent case this offseason. After having a breakout year in his first season with the team that saw him record 72 points, his output has dropped considerably this year with just 44 points in 71 games. He also has spent time on the wing after playing exclusively at center a year ago. On the surface, another bridge contract could make sense but as he’s just two years away from unrestricted free agency, doing so would carry some risk.
Speaking with reporters on a conference call, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, the 25-year-old indicated that there hasn’t been much in the way of substantive contract talks. While some teams are hesitant to talk about extensions due to the salary cap situation, the Canadiens aren’t a team that should be as concerned by that as they have been well under the cap over the last few seasons. However, it appears they’ll wait until the season ends before getting those talks underway.
More from the East:
- Some teams will greatly benefit from this pause in the schedule if games eventually resume and one of those is the Blue Jackets. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch provides an update on their long list of injuries, noting that defensemen Seth Jones and Dean Kukan as well as wingers Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alexandre Texier, Cam Atkinson, and Nathan Gerbe are all ready to return. Winger Josh Anderson is also a possibility depending on when games were to actually take place; he was listed as out four-to-six months following shoulder surgery just after the trade deadline. The earliest he could play is July if he’s on the quicker end of that timetable. Meanwhile, center Brandon Dubinsky (wrist) remains out long-term and isn’t expected to play if the season returns.
- It has been a tough year for Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco. The 23-year-old was second in the AHL in scoring last season but has yet to get an NHL opportunity with Toronto. His output dipped this year to just 34 points in 44 games and the team was not able to find a new home for him after his midseason trade request. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox notes that an exit interview was conducted with him following the cancellation of the AHL season which means he will not be among Toronto’s ‘Black Aces’ for the stretch run and playoffs. Bracco is slated to be a restricted free agent this summer and it seems as if a change of scenery could very well be in the cards given how he has dropped on the depth chart.
Montreal Canadiens’ Jonathan Drouin Returns To Lineup
He hasn’t skated in a game since Nov. 15, but now that it’s been almost three months, the Montreal Canadiens are getting forward Jonathan Drouin back tonight. The 24-year-old underwent wrist surgery on Nov. 19 and was originally expected to miss eight weeks, but needed closer to 11. The winger was a game-time decision and went through warm-ups and now is expected to play. CapFriendly reports that the team has activated him as well.
It’s a key return for Drouin, who has had an up-and-down career so far in three years with Montreal. Drouin established himself as a top young winger after scoring 21 goals and 53 points in his third year with the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, Tampa Bay opted to send him to Montreal in a package for Mikhail Sergachev, where he immediately struggled in his first year, scoring just 13 goals. He was able to rectify that last year, scoring 18 goals and 53 points. This year, it looked early on like he was going to break out, scoring seven goals and 15 points in 17 games, close to a point-a-game player. However, the injury put an end to a potential big season.
Drouin’s return (and hopefully fully healthy) is critical to the success of the Canadiens. Montreal brought him in to be a key piece to their top line. The team has been quite successful with Drouin in the lineup. The team is 11-5-3 record with him in the lineup, while the team is just 15-18-4 without him. Drouin will slide onto the third line alongside Max Domi and Artturi Lehkonen.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens.
What are the Canadiens most thankful for?
Plenty of depth scoring.
While the team may not be an elite scoring team, they do get quite a bit of offense from their team with multiple players producing for the Canadiens. The team has six players with 20 points or more and four players with 10 or more goal and another four that have seven or more goals. Tomas Tatar leads the squad with 13 goals and 30 points, while Brendan Gallagher is right behind him 15 goals and 28 points. Phillip Danault has eight goals and 27 points, while Max Domi isn’t far behind with eight goals and 24 points. Joel Armia has 12 goals and even rookie Nick Suzuki has potted seven goals this season.
Who are the Canadiens most thankful for?
Anyone who thinks that at age 34, Shea Weber‘s career might begin to decline haven’t seen how well he’s played this year. In 58 games last season, he put up a respectable 14 goals and 39 points even though he was returning from a major injury. However, now fully healthy, he’s shown that little can stop him as he has produced almost a point-per-game pace with 11 goals and 29 points in 33 games this season and is on pace for a potential career-high in goals and points.
Of course, Weber still has six more years remaining on his mega-deal that is worth an AAV of $7.86MM per season, but with the way he’s playing at his age, that contract has been a better value than many thought it might be.
What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?
The team still has a number of players underproducing and could use a solid second-half of the season.
While Carey Price hasn’t been a disappointment by any measure, his numbers also lack that dominance that has made him one of the best goalies in the league. Through 29 appearances, the 32-year-old has a very pedestrian 2.89 GAA and a .905 save percentage. With the Canadiens battling in quite a tight Atlantic Division, a dominant Price could vault the team even higher in the standings.
On the other hand, a pair of forwards continue to struggle. Jonathan Drouin still hasn’t figured it out. Brought in to be the new dominant face of the franchise back in 2017, Drouin hasn’t been that player and now has been derailed with a wrist injury, but if the team can get Drouin to become the star they had envisioned when he returns at some point in January, the team might be able to take that next step as well.
What should be on the Canadiens’ Holiday Wish List?
A star.
The Montreal Canadiens were rumored to be deep in trade negotiations in hopes of prying star forward Taylor Hall to the team, but failed in the end to land the former Hart Trophy winner. Regardless, the team that should have some cap money to spend this coming summer has made it clear it would like to bring in a big name to headline the team. Unfortunately, with Hall of the table, the options for landing a big name have dwindled as the next biggest star available to the team might be Chris Kreider, who likely doesn’t qualify as a franchise player.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Montreal Canadiens, Max Domi In Extension Talks
The frozen restricted free agent market this summer likely has some general managers around the league thinking about how to avoid a similar situation in the future. We’ve already seen the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche hand out long-term extensions to Clayton Keller and Samuel Girard respectively, and now there may be another name to add to that group. Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports that the team has started extension talks with Max Domi, who is entering the final season of his two-year bridge deal signed last summer.
Domi, 24, signed that two-year $6.3MM deal with the Canadiens just a day after the team acquired him from the Coyotes in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk. At the time it was a nice bridge deal for both sides, rewarding a player that had obvious talent but experienced massive inconsistency during his second and third years in the league. In fact, Domi had only scored nine goals in 82 games during the 2017-18 campaign and there were real concerns about his ability to put the puck in the net. Those concerns have completely disappeared after one season in Montreal, as Domi not only scored 28 goals but became the team’s first-line center and most dangerous offensive player.
His 72-point season in Montreal completely changes how the bridge deal looks today, as a $3.15MM cap hit makes Domi one of the most valuable assets in the league—save for those on entry-level deals of course. That also means that he’ll be getting a huge raise on his next contract, especially if it buys out several unrestricted free agent seasons. Domi will be two years from UFA status when this contract ends.
After finishing 15th among all forwards in the league in even-strength assists with 37, there’s good reason to believe that Domi will soon become the Canadiens’ highest-paid forward. That honor currently goes to Jonathan Drouin with his $5.5MM cap hit, who also looks like something of a bargain as RFA contracts continue to rise. In fact, Montreal has set themselves up with quite a bit of cap room even while carrying Shea Weber and Carey Price‘s huge contracts, and should have more than enough room to compensate Domi fairly.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Poll: Toughest First-Round Opponent For Tampa Bay Lightning?
It’s been months since any team in the East other than the Tampa Bay Lightning was considered to have any real chance at the top seed in the conference. The Lightning have been one of the most dominant regular season teams in recent memory, locking up the President’s Trophy more than two weeks ago and joining the 60-win club earlier this week.
What has also been clear for some time is that Tampa would be destined to face the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the playoffs, as their two divisional rivals have been near the top of the league standings for much of the year and always on a collision course to play each other in round one due to the NHL’s current playoff format. Yet, it’s easy to forget that the Lightning too have to win in the first round. Many have taken it as a foregone conclusion that Tampa would advance, but upsets occur in sports and the Lighting are as susceptible to a collapse as any heavy favorites that have fallen in the past.
So who has the best chance to knock off the regular season champs? Well, the defending Stanley Cup winners would have been an ideal match-up, but the Washington Capitals pulled out of range of a wild card finish earlier this week and clinched the top seed in the Metropolitan Division with a win on Thursday. The New York Islanders, with their suffocating defensive style and stellar goaltending, also would have been an intriguing opponent, but they have also assured themselves of a non-wildcard spot. Finally, the star-studded Pittsburgh Penguins would have made for a difficult and highly entertaining series with the Bolts, but a win on Thursday night guaranteed that they cannot finish any lower than seventh in the conference.
That leaves three potential opponents for Tampa Bay in round one: the Carolina Hurricanes, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Montreal Canadiens. Two of these three teams will make the playoffs – Carolina has clinched a playoff berth with a Thursday night victory – but only one will be lucky enough to land the second wild card spot and go up against the Lightning. Of these three, which one could pull off the eight seed upset?
The Hurricanes are on pace to finish seventh in the East and avoid Tampa and they cannot be caught by the Canadiens. However, if the the Blue Jackets pass by Carolina, the team would have to celebrate their first postseason in ten years by playing the Bolts. The ‘Canes could give the Lightning problems with their ability to suppress shots, as they are the only team in the conference that allows less than 29 shots per game on average. A defense corps that is among the deepest and most talented in the league makes offense a struggle for the opposition and the added bonus of consistent play in net explains why Carolina is eighth-best in the league in goals against per game. Despite the franchise’s lack of postseason experience of late, Justin Williams and Jordan Staal are also major assets when it comes to playing smart, tough playoff hockey. The main concern for the Hurricanes though is that they have not been as successful offensively as they have been defensively. Despite leading the league in shots per game, the team is 16th in goals for per game and 20th on the power play and they’ve lacked game-breaking scoring talent this season outside of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. It’s impossible to expect to shutout Tampa Bay, so if Carolina can’t find some secondary scoring they could struggle against the Bolts.
As of now, Columbus looks like the favorite to finish eighth and play Tampa. That might not be what GM Jarmo Kekalainen expected when he added Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, and Adam McQuaid at the trade deadline, but those moves will certainly help anyway. The Blue Jackets franchise has never won a playoff series and doing so against this Lightning team would be a tall task. However, they have both considerable talent and a chip on their shoulder. Like Carolina, Columbus does not allow many shots nor many goals and additionally have the best penalty kill in the conference. Unlike Carolina, they also have a star goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky. The Jackets would need Bobrovksy to shake off past struggles in the postseason, but if he does the Vezina Trophy-winner could be a game-changer. Offensively, Columbus has had an up-and-down year but are currently 12th in goals for per game. Duchene and Dzingel are major additions to a forward unit that already included elite talent like Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson. Unfortunately, all of this ability up front has still not led to consistent offense nor has it cured a miserable power play. Failure to capitalize on opportunities could be the Achilles heel of this team.
Then there’s Montreal, who need some help to make the playoffs, but could make waves if they do. The Canadiens can only end up in the eighth seed, so it’s Tampa or bust. Montreal can never quite be counted out with Carey Price in net and Shea Weber on the blue line, but the question is whether the other pieces are there to pull off not one but four wins against the Bolts. To their credit, the Habs have been a very balanced, consistent team this season that is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to goals and shots for as well as goals and shots against. Their power play is dead last in the NHL, which is obviously not typical of a playoff team, but it’s hard to find many other holes in their game. The problem is that nothing jumps out as being good enough for a massive upset, either. If Max Domi and Tomas Tatar stay hot and Price stands on his head as usual, anything is possible, but the Canadiens have simply been a good team and anyone who beats the Lightning will need to be great. Can they step up?
What do you think? The standings might say Columbus is the most likely opponent for Tampa Bay at this point, but who would be the toughest match-up for the President’s Trophy winners?