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Nino Niederreiter

Evening Notes: Van Riemsdyk, Leonard, Marchand, Motte

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According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Philadelphia Flyers intend to move pending unrestricted free agent James van Riemsdyk. On today’s TSN Insider Trading, Johnston reported that two interested teams appear to be the Vegas Golden Knights and the Winnipeg Jets. Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon has been busy the last few days, swinging a trade today for goaltender Jonathan Quick and yesterday acquiring center Teddy Blueger. Cap space could be an issue as Vegas has just $3MM left and van Riemsdyk is currently playing under a $7MM cap hit. Winnipeg, on the other hand, have been very quiet since acquiring winger Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has over $4.5MM in cap space for the deadline, so he could easily fit van Riemsdyk under budget, should the Flyers be willing to retain 50% to facilitate a move.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Nashville Predators have been one of the busier sellers in recent days, having shipped out Mattias Ekholm, Mikael Granlund, and Tanner Jeannot with an eye toward building for the future. With all the pieces moving out, the Predators have begun the process of calling up some of their younger players. Luke Evangelista received the first call-up of his career earlier this week, and now Nashville has announced that John Leonard has been recalled to the big club. Leonard,24, is a former 2018 sixth-round pick who is currently tied for third in scoring on Milwaukee this season with 32 points. Leonard does have NHL experience on his resume, having dressed in 58 games with the San Jose Sharks, where he tallied 15 points.
  • Brad Marchand left tonight’s Boston Bruins contest against the Buffalo Sabres with an apparent lower-body injury. Marchand was hit awkwardly into the boards from behind and the Bruins announced that he would not return. Losing Marchand for any length of time would be a big blow to a Bruins team that has Stanley Cup aspirations. Marchand is having another fine season with 53 points in 52 games and has heated up recently after going pointless in five straight games. Boston is nearly a lock to win the President’s Trophy, so they likely won’t rush Marchand back, but should his injury keep him out long-term, it could become problematic.
  • NHL.com’s Dan Rosen has reported that New York Rangers forward Tyler Motte would not be returning to tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Motte was just dealt by the Senators to the Rangers on February 19th and was injured after taking a headshot from former teammate Austin Watson. Watson was assessed a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. Motte was beginning his second run with the Rangers after being dealt there last trade deadline from Vancouver. He has dealt with concussion issues in the past, having missed 31 games in 2020-21 while with the Canucks. Hopefully, Motte can make a speedy recovery after the very scary injury tonight.

Snapshots: Greenway, Jonsson-Fjallby, Avalanche

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The San Jose Sharks are one of the most active teams on the market right now, and it’s not only because of Timo Meier. The team is expected to make several other moves, targeting young, cost-controlled NHL assets if possible. They’ve been linked heavily to Dante Fabbro of the Nashville Predators, and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period also believes they are interested in Jordan Greenway of the Minnesota Wild.

The 26-year-old Greenway is signed through 2024-25 and carries a $3MM cap hit, but his offense has completely dried up this season. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also referenced Greenway’s availability in a recent 32 Thoughts column, as the Wild try to position themselves for success this season with an eye on some hefty cap penalties coming down the pipe. With just two goals on the season, perhaps the 6’6″ forward doesn’t fit the team’s plan anymore.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Axel Jonsson Fjallby once again, as Nino Niederreiter is now designated as a non-roster player as he deals with immigration issues. The newest Jet is expected to join the club early this week, though this move throws some uncertainty on when exactly that will be. Niederreiter was acquired from the Predators in exchange for a second-round pick yesterday.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent Brad Hunt and Justus Annunen back to the minor leagues, as they await their game tomorrow night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite having Gabriel Landeskog on LTIR, the Avalanche have set their cap up to accrue extra space in the meantime. A goaltender will be recalled tomorrow at the very least, though it could be Jonas Johansson if it’s just as a backup.

Winnipeg Jets Acquire Nino Niederreiter

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The Winnipeg Jets have added to their forward group, acquiring Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2024 second-round draft pick. Winnipeg then sent Axel Jonsson-Fjallby to the AHL to open the roster spot.

The 30-year-old has been a reliable secondary scorer for the majority of his career and continued that trend in his first season with Nashville.  This season, Niederreiter has 18 goals and 10 assists in 56 games, good for second on the Preds in goals (just one behind Filip Forsberg).  He has reached the 20-goal mark in six of the last eight seasons and should certainly bolster Winnipeg’s scoring depth, especially with Cole Perfetti likely out for the remainder of the regular season and potentially into the first round.

Notably, Niederreiter isn’t a rental acquisition for Winnipeg as he still has one year remaining on his deal after this season with a $4MM cap hit.  They already had more than $66.5MM in commitments for next season to just 13 players per CapFriendly, a total that will jump to over $70.5MM.  Notably, that figure does not include an expected new deal for RFA center Pierre-Luc Dubois who is heading for a sizable raise on his current $6MM salary.  With that in mind, it’s quite possible that from here on out, the Jets will be focusing on rental players.

As for Nashville, this year hasn’t gone as planned for the Preds.  After being 12th in goals scored in 2021-22, they’ve struggled offensively this season, sitting 26th in that department even with the addition of Niederreiter who was supposed to help bolster their attack.  The end result is that they find themselves fifth in the Central Division and seven points out of a Wild Card spot heading into today’s action.  It appears that GM David Poile has settled on his course of action after previously suggesting he wasn’t entirely sure if he’d be a buyer or seller.

While the Preds don’t have a strong list of pending UFAs – it’s basically backup goaltender Kevin Lankinen and injured blueliner Mark Borowiecki – they do have some other players that are signed or under team control beyond this season that could be of interest.  Pending RFA defenseman Dante Fabbro has been in recent speculation while veteran rearguard Mattias Ekholm has previously been suggested as someone that could move if they look to undergo a longer-term retooling process.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news (Twitter link) that Niederreiter was headed to Winnipeg. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nashville Predators Sign Nino Niederreiter

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The Nashville Predators have landed one of the top free agents remaining, signing Nino Niederreiter to a two-year, $8MM contract. The $4MM average annual value comes in quite a bit below the $5.25MM cap hit he had carried for the last five years, and the two-year term will leave him as a UFA again at the age of 31.

There is a lot to like about this deal for the Predators, who now have the opportunity to reunite Niederreiter with former linemate Mikael Granlund if they choose. Getting a 24-goal scorer for such a reasonable contract perhaps shows how tight the market has become in the days since free agency opened, as this move presents very little risk for Nashville general manager David Poile.

With Filip Forsberg taken care of, the Predators had nearly $8.5MM in cap space to add to the current roster, with only Yakov Trenin left to re-sign. Putting Niederreiter in the mix gives them another versatile, physical winger to move up and down the lineup, one that comes with a strong history of goal-scoring.

Over a career that spans parts of 11 seasons and 732 games, Niederreiter has scored at almost exactly a 20-goal pace and most of his damage comes at even-strength. On last year’s Carolina Hurricanes team, for instance, his 20 even-strength goals trailed only Sebastian Aho (23) and Andrei Svechnikov (21) for the team lead.

Adding that kind of player–who also comes with 1,115 career hits–will help to lengthen out a Predators offensive group that suddenly looks rather imposing. After Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen’s incredible bounce-back performances in 2021-22, the emergence of Tanner Jeannot and Philip Tomasino, and now Niederreiter’s addition, the team should be able to ice three lines that can produce offensively. Add in Ryan McDonagh on the back end and the Predators are setting up to be a real contender in the Central Division.

For the player, this is a rather stunning contract, given how similarly productive wingers like Rickard Rakell had landed much longer and more lucrative contracts. Still, Niederreiter has set himself up to hit the market again in two years when the cap will be starting to increase and at a young enough age to land another long-term deal. For the next two, he should provide solid value for the Predators as they continue to chase their first Stanley Cup.

Metropolitan Notes: Fedotov, Niederreiter, Rangers

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Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov has been arrested in Russia, reports Sport-Express’ Alexey Shevchenko.  The issue appears to pertain to the netminder’s mandatory military service which has not been fulfilled.  Fedotov left his contract with CSKA Moscow to sign a one-year deal with Philadelphia back in May.  That team is owned by the Russian army (the A in CSKA stands for Army) with its players being considered military personnel so his departure could be classified as a breach of contract.  On the surface, that could put his NHL plans on hold for next season which could have the Flyers back on the hunt for a backup goaltender as the 25-year-old was widely expected to be Carter Hart’s backup next season after being a finalist for the KHL’s top goaltender in 2021-22.  GM Chuck Fletcher released the following statement on the matter to Oliver Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link):

We’re aware of the reports and are investigating the situation. We have no further comment at this time.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Hurricanes winger Nino Niederreiter will test the open market when it opens up on July 13th, his agent Andre Rufener told Pierre LeBrun in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link). Rufener didn’t rule out the possibility of Carolina re-signing him but the 29-year-old will see what’s out there first.  Niederreiter is coming off his second straight season of at least 20 goals which should have his market somewhere close to the $5.25MM he had on his set-to-expire contract.
  • As the Rangers look to find their second-line center for next season, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that they have shifted their focus to the trade market. He notes that the team was unable to meet the asking price of Ryan Strome, their second-line pivot for the past four seasons, or Andrew Copp, their prominent trade deadline acquisition.  New York has been linked to Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois although, with just $11MM in cap space per CapFriendly with several roster spots to be filled, it would be difficult for them to afford Dubois’ next contract – he’s a pending restricted free agent – onto their books as it will undoubtedly come in higher than what Strome and Copp receive.

Looking At Nino Niederreiter’s Impending Free Agency

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With a strong group of free agent forwards including the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Evgeni Malkin, Filip Forsberg, Claude Giroux, Phil Kessel, Ondrej Palat, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky amongst others, teams that are looking to add some production up front don’t have to look too far for a worthy candidate. One name that seemingly hasn’t been at the forefront thus far is Nino Niederreiter of the Carolina Hurricanes. Once a blue-chip prospect and fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, Niederreiter’s career fell on hard-times rather quickly. The forward was fine in his NHL debut in 2010-11, recording two points in nine games, but struggled to an abysmal one goal and zero assists in 55 games as a rookie in 2011-12. He would spend all of 2012-13 in the AHL before being traded to the Minnesota Wild ahead of the 2013-14 season.

After being traded to the Wild, Niederreiter began to show why the Islanders made him the fifth-overall selection, establishing himself as a power-forward and a reliable goal scorer at that. Since then, Niederreiter has played parts of nine seasons split between the Wild and the Hurricanes, hitting the 20-goal mark six times in that span. In 2021-22, his age-29 season, Niederreiter had one of his best seasons for the Metropolitan Division winning Hurricanes, putting up 24 goals and 20 assists in 75 games. Now almost 30-years-old, Niederreiter finds himself set to be an UFA for the first time in his career at the conclusion of a five-year, $26.25MM contract.

For his next contract, Niederreiter probably won’t hit the max term of seven years (eight if he remains with Carolina or whomever acquires his rights, if applicable), and his AAV would more likely than not sit somewhere between $4MM and $6MM, just as it was the previous five seasons. In terms of comparable players for his next contract, Niederreiter has a few intriguing options, the first of which is St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad, who signed a five-year, $22.5MM contract last offseason as an UFA, which carries a $4.5MM cap hit. Looking at points-per-game (to account for COVID-19 schedule differences), in Saad’s three years prior to his free agency, he recorded 0.59, 0.57, and most recently, 0.55 points-per-game. Coming off a six-year, $36MM contract, Saad found his AAV regress, but still secured a long-term contract.

Jordan Eberle, another former Islander, signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract after the 2018-19 season, carrying a $5.5MM AAV. That contract, like Saad’s, came on the heels of a six-year, $36MM deal. Eberle began his career with the Edmonton Oilers as a star forward, recording as many as 76 points in a season, but eventually had that production drop off. Leading up to his current contract, Eberle averaged 0.62, 0.73, and finally 0.47 points-per-game, a sharp drop in production in the final year. One last comparison is Patric Hornqvist, who carries a $5.3MM cap hit on the five-year, $26.5MM contract he signed before the 2018-19 season. Leading up to Hornqvist’s free agency, he recorded 0.62, 0.63, and 0.70 points-per-game, featuring a 29-goal platform season.

Comparing Saad, Eberle, and Hornqvist to Niederreiter’s previous three seasons of 0.43, 0.61, and 0.59 points-per-game leading up to his free agency shows the free-agent-to-be in the middle of these three. One thing that is particularly clear is that Niederreiter will be able to find term if he wants it, all three of these similar players signing five-year contracts. A key difference between the four players is their year-to-year consistency. Eberle had a fantastic 2017-18 season before a tough 2018-19 heading into free agency, while Hornqvist gradually improved. Saad was fairly consistent year to year, with Niederreiter improving and settling in in the two years prior to free agency.

In the flat salary cap era presently affecting all 32 NHL teams, cap usage is a primary concern for clubs, which could serve to limit the cap hits of free agents. In addition to that, there is a relatively deep market of offensive-minded wingers like Niederreiter. The veteran could use these concerns however, to his advantage, perhaps allowing teams to sign their first option, and being available at a cost to those who miss out. Salary aside, Niederreiter has shown through his play, and his comparable players, that he is deserving of a long-term deal, even if it isn’t at the maximum term.

As far as retaining Niederreiter, the Hurricanes have just under $20MM in cap space, but do have several other UFAs including Vincent Trocheck and Max Domi, and have to give new deals to pending RFAs Martin Necas, Ethan Bear, and Anthony DeAngelo. If the destination is not Carolina, the forward could, as mentioned, posit himself as the backup for a team that missed out on their first or even second target in the free agent or trade market. He can also market himself towards teams who seek to add some grit and bite while also adding a point-producing middle-six forward, something the market isn’t necessarily deep in.

NHL Upholds Nino Niederreiter Suspension

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has upheld the one-game suspension assessed to Nino Niederreiter after the Carolina Hurricanes forward filed an appeal. The suspension was handed out more than a week ago and Niederreiter has already missed a game and then returned to the lineup, meaning this appeal was simply to try and clear his record and recoup the forfeited salary.

Niederreiter was suspended for slashing Axel Jonsson Fjallby while the Washington Capitals forward was still on the bench. At the time, the Department of Player safety called the incident a “controlled, and purposeful stick swing directed toward an opponent on the bench” and worthy of a suspension, even with a relative lack of force.

In the two-page decision, Bettman explains:

Mr. Niederreiter has no history of supplemental discipline in his ten (10) year NHL career, and his demeanor during the hearing was remorseful and respectful. However, I cannot discount the intentional, retaliatory, and potentially dangerous nature of his action. I accept that this was not a forceful act; however, the onus is on Mr. Niederreiter as a Player on the ice not to engage with Players on the bench, even if the Players on the bench engaged with him and especially when contact is with a Player who is unsuspecting and not involved. Moreover, even while I accept Mr. Niederreiter’s statement that his slash was not forceful, any intentional use of a stick to make contact with a Player’s neck or head is unacceptable, and certainly with a Player on the bench. While Mr. Jonsson-Fjallby was not injured in this instance, a matter of centimeters could have led to a dramatically different result.

Niederreiter forfeited just over $26K for the incident and will have it added to his supplementary discipline history. It will be considered in any future rulings. Tonight, meanwhile, he’ll be back on the ice against the Capitals.

Nino Niederreiter Receives One-Game Suspension

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The Department of Player Safety has made a quick decision regarding Carolina’s Nino Niederreiter.  They announced (video link) that the Hurricanes winger has been suspended for one game for his hit on Washington winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.

The incident occurred at 13:50 of the first period during Carolina’s 4-3 shootout loss on Friday.  He was assessed a minor penalty for slashing at the time.  Niederreiter was checked into Washington’s bench, losing his helmet along the way.  Once he had freed himself, he slashed the Capitals winger in the helmet.

In their video, it was noted that the minimal force that Niederreiter used to hit Jonsson-Fjallby is the sole reason why the suspension isn’t for longer than the one game.  Niederreiter will miss Sunday’s game against the Rangers and will be eligible to return to Carolina’s lineup on Tuesday against the Lightning.  He will forfeit $26.25K as a result of the suspension with the money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Nino Niederreiter To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The NHL Department of Player Safety announced this morning that Carolina Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter will have a hearing today for slashing Washington Capitals forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby during last night’s game.

The Hurricanes would go on to lose 4-3 in a shootout to Washington at home.

It’s important to note that this would be Niederreiter’s first career suspension. He’s really only come close to getting suspended once before in his lengthy career, but the league opted not to suspend him for this hit on Olli Maatta while he was a member of the Wild in 2015.

As Jordan Martinook sits out with an undisclosed injury, Carolina would need to recall a forward from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves if Niederreiter is suspended. They currently have no healthy extras at all on the active roster.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Leivo, Place Niederreiter On IR

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The Carolina Hurricanes have moved Nino Niederreiter to injured reserve, recalling Josh Leivo to take his place on the roster.

Niederreiter is dealing with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss another little while as he recovers. The veteran forward last played on October 29, leaving that game against the Chicago Blackhawks early. He still isn’t practicing with the team, though it’s not clear exactly how long he’ll be out. His placement on injured reserve can be retroactive to his last game, so he will be eligible to return whenever he’s healthy enough to do so.

Leivo meanwhile had been playing at the AHL level for the first time since 2016-17 this season, suiting up for three contests with the Chicago Wolves. Though never a full-time NHL option, he has played more than 200 games to this point including 38 last season with the Calgary Flames. Armed with an impressive shot and some offensive upside, the 6’2″ forward could be used in a variety of ways by the Hurricanes if inserted into the lineup.

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