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New York Islanders Agree To Terms With Thomas Hickey

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The New York Islanders looked like they would be supplying the market with two of the top free agent defensemen, but now one has decided to stay home. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the team has an agreement with Thomas Hickey on a four-year contract worth $10MM.

With Calvin de Haan and Hickey as two of the top blueliners on the free agent market and the Islanders being considered to have one of the weakest defenses in the league, re-signing at least one of their defenseman was crucial. Hickey posted five goals and 25 points in 69 games last season for the Islanders and was relied on more than in previous years as he averaged 18:04 of ATOI. The six-year veteran has played for the Islanders his entire career.

The defensive specialist, who can be prone to making mistakes, will re-join veteran Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, who many think will be given a much bigger role with the Islanders next season.

 

Scott Mayfield Signs Five-Year Contract Extension

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Scott Mayfield is finally getting a legitimate shot at the NHL, and he’s not willing to wait around for a payday. The New York Islanders defenseman has signed a five-year extension worth just $7.25MM total according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Mayfield is earning just $675K in the second season of a two-year deal signed in 2016, but will see his average salary jump to $1.45MM for the next half-decade.

Scott MayfieldMayfield has been given extra responsibility recently, as the Islanders deal with injuries to Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan, and has shown he can be an effective two-way option at the highest level. The 25-year old had played just 36 career NHL games coming into this season, but doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon. Still with just 65 games played, had Mayfield not suited up for another 15 contests before the end of the year he could have become a Group VI unrestricted free agent. Either way, he was set to hit restricted free agency, but instead of battling it out in an arbitration hearing settled for the long-term certainty of his new extension.

The contract is certainly palatable for the Islanders, who have locked in a useful—if not exceptional—defenseman at a salary that is almost entirely risk-free. Even if his play falters and he’s buried in the minors, Mayfield will incur a very small cap hit. Instead, it seems more likely that this move is planning for a salary structure that includes a massive contract for John Tavares. If the Islanders do indeed sign Tavares long-term, they’ll need to keep costs low at every other opportunity. With Josh Bailey and de Haan also set to hit unrestricted free agency, money will soon be tight for New York.

Mayfield was a second-round selection by the Islanders in 2011, before going to the University of Denver for two seasons. Despite being an excellent one-on-one defender, he was known mostly for his physicality and willingness to drop the gloves to protect a teammate while in junior and college, and carried that feisty style over to the minor leagues when he eventually turned pro. Lately though, Mayfield has began to toe the line instead of jump right over it, and has turned himself into quite the solid defenseman. He’ll never be a real puck-carrying option, but he finds success playing a simple, mistake free game and could continue to blossom into a sort of shutdown option for the Islanders in the future. The fact that he’s added 10 points in 29 games hasn’t been overlooked, and Mayfield has earned himself more than 20 minutes in four of the Islanders’ last seven matches.

He’s not betting on himself with this contract, but it will likely keep Mayfield in the lineup and manning the blueline for the Islanders for some time. For a player who has had to fight to even get onto the ice on a regular basis, the security may be worth it.

Minor Transactions: 1/12/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s comings and goings with the minor leagues:

  • The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Scott Mayfield from AHL Bridgeport. He will take the place of Travis Hamonic on the active roster, who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th.  Mayfield has played in three games with the Isles this season, picking up a goal and two assists.  He has spent the bulk of the season in the minors where he has three tallies and three helpers in 23 contests.
  • Nashville announced the recall of defenseman Alexandre Carrier from Milwaukee of the AHL. Carrier, a fourth round pick of the Predators back in 2015, has had a strong rookie season in the minor leagues, recording 22 points (4-18-22) in 35 games, earning himself a spot in the AHL All-Star Game.
  • With their bye week set to come to an end, the Coyotes announced that they have recalled center Laurent Dauphin and winger Brendan Perlini from their AHL affiliate in Tucson. Dauphin has spent the bulk of the season with Arizona, recording three points in 21 games while producing at a point-per-game clip in 11 minor league contests.  As for Perlini, he has suited up in 15 NHL games, scoring four goals and an assist while adding 19 points (14-5-19) in 17 games with the Roadrunners.
  • After just three games with AHL Hartford, the Rangers have recalled (Twitter link) winger Pavel Buchnevich.  The Russian rookie made an early impact this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before back spasms took him out of the lineup for nearly two months.  New York had sent Buchnevich down to get back into game shape and evidently they’re pleased with how performed; he had a goal and an assist in his three minor league contests.
  • Pittsburgh has assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).  He did not get into any action with the Penguins after being recalled on January 6th.  Ruhwedel has suited up in five NHL games this season, recording a goal and and an assist.
  • The Ducks announced that they have assigned center Chris Wagner to AHL San Diego.  The 25 year old has three goals in 25 games with Anaheim this season and cleared waivers back in mid-November.  Recently, the team had experimented with playing him on the wing; that type of versatility may come in handy as he pushes to be the next player recalled from the Gulls.

Minor Transactions: 12/13/16

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Here are today’s minor roster moves:

  • With Peter Holland and Josh Jooris being added to the roster in recent days, the Coyotes had to make a roster move to get back to 23 players.  They announced that they have assigned center Laurent Dauphin to Tucson of the AHL.  Dauphin has three points (2-1-3) in 20 games with Arizona this season and has a goal in his lone minor league appearance as well.
  • The Canadiens announced that they have assigned right winger Sven Andrighetto and defenseman Mark Barberio to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s. Both players were recalled last week; Andrighetto had a pair of assists in three games after getting called while Barberio was a healthy scratch.  Montreal is now carrying only 18 skaters on their active roster but are off until Friday so they will save a bit of salary cap space with these moves before bringing them or other players back up later in the week.
  • The Wild have recalled right winger Teemu Pulkkinen from AHL Iowa, per a team release. Minnesota claimed him off waivers from Detroit in October but struggled with just one goals in eight games and eventually cleared waivers to be sent to the minors.  He has fared better at the minor league level with 15 points in 15 games and was the AHL’s Player of the Week two weeks ago.
  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has been sent back to Bridgeport of the AHL, the team announced (Twitter link). The 24 year old has made the most of limited ice time with New York, picking up a goal and two assists in just three games while averaging under 12 minutes per game.  He has that same statline in 14 games with the AHL’s Sound Tigers.

Islanders’ Notes: Halak, Lineups, Injuries

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As the New York Islanders try to right the ship and get their season back on track, they welcome the defending Stanley Cup Champions tonight. The struggling Islanders sit dead last in the Eastern Conference and have been unable to find an answer to their offensive woes.

Tonight, the team will start Jaroslav Halak for his seventh straight game after starting the year with a three-goalie rotation. Halak has done his best with what’s in front of him this year, as even with a .904 save percentage he’s still carrying a 3.09 GAA. Surely he’d like to improve both numbers, but it’ll be tough against Sidney Crosby and Co.

  • The team will look to shake things up tonight, as Shane Prince will get back into the lineup, putting them back to 12 forwards (they’d been playing with 7 defensemen recently). Scott Mayfield will return to the press box after playing just under seven minutes in their last game. Anthony Beauvillier will move back to the middle, while Ryan Strome moves up to the first line on John Tavares’ wing. The team will also reunite the fourth line of Casey Cizikas, Nikolay Kulemin and Cal Clutterbuck, after a failed attempt of Clutterbuck on the top line.
  • Dennis Seidenberg, one of the Islanders’ effective blueliners is skating with the team, but can still barely eat through his broken jaw. He’s still a while off from getting back into game action according to head coach Jack Capuano, who doesn’t expect it “to be any time soon”. The other injured Islander, Ryan Pulock, is getting closer, but isn’t expected to play on the upcoming west coast road trip, when the Islanders will face the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in four nights.

Roster Crunch: Metropolitan Division

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We’ve taken a look at three out of the four divisions now, and the decisions they’ll have to make come training camp. The Pacific’s depth on defense, the changes coming up front in the Central, and the mass of young talent set to break through in the Atlantic. Now, we’ll take a look at the what many considered the best division in hockey last year, with four 100-point teams and both the President’s Trophy winner and Stanley Cup Champions.

Washington Capitals – There is probably no team with fewer uncertainties going into the season than the Washington Capitals. After running away with the regular season points lead, the Capitals couldn’t even make it to the Stanley Cup final, but they’ll head into next season with largely the same group. They brought in Lars Eller, whose possession numbers should help the third line, and allowed Jason Chimera and Mike Richards to walk (though the latter remains unsigned). Basically the only battle in camp will be for a fourth line or 13th forward spot; can Brett Connolly do enough to make the squad over Stanislav Galiev? Exciting stuff.

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Isles Re-Sign Scott Mayfield To Two-Year Contract

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According to this tweet from Arthur Staple of Newsday, the New York Islanders have re-signed RFA defenseman Scott Mayfield to a two-year, one-way deal. The contract comes with a guaranteed AAV of $650K per season.

With Mayfield on board, the Isles would now seem to have a bit of a logjam at the defense position as according to their depth chart on Roster Resource, the club has eight blueliners on their roster. Although it’s likely Mayfield will be used as a depth piece, available to be called up from the AHL in the event of injury to a regular defenseman.

Mayfield saw action in just six NHL games this past season but did notch his first career goal on April 29th against Buffalo. For his career he has appeared in just 11 contests, netting only the one point and adding 18 PIMs, further suggesting the Islanders intend to utilize Mayfield in a depth role and experienced hand for their farm team in Bridgeport.

Securing a one-way, guaranteed deal is a nice piece of work by Mayfield’s representation. It’s also a smart move by the Islanders to add to their organizational depth. Clearly the club is comfortable with Mayfield and as they say, you can never have too many NHL-quality defensemen.

 

 

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