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Otto Somppi, Oskari Laaksonen Loaned To Lahti

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Two more young players will spend the next several months playing overseas, as Otto Somppi of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Oskari Laaksonen of the Buffalo Sabres have been loaned to the Lahti Pelicans in Finland. Both players can be recalled when NHL training camps open.

Somppi, 22, is another one of Tampa Bay’s late-round draft picks that the organization has committed to developing. The 206th overall pick in 2016, Somppi has now been in their minor league system for two seasons, scoring 18 points in 45 games for the Syracuse Crunch this year. A 6’2″ center that exploded with 83 points in his final year of junior for the Halifax Mooseheads, he’ll be a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season when his entry-level deal expires.

Laaksonen meanwhile has no experience on North American ice, having played the last three seasons with Ilves in Finland after his 2017 selection by Buffalo. The 21-year-old defenseman was a third-round pick and competed for Finland at the 2019 World Juniors, winning a gold medal alongside other talented defenders like Henri Jokiharju, Urho Vaakanainen and Ville Heinola.

Unlike Somppi, Laaksonen still has plenty of time under contract with the Sabres after only inking his entry-level deal a few months ago. It would be a lot less surprising to see him spend the entire 2020-21 season overseas, though at some point the Buffalo organization would likely want to see him compete in the AHL. That was likely the plan for this season, though Laaksonen was actually signed to his entry-level deal just a day before the team fired GM Jason Botterill.

East Notes: Stamkos, Zadina, Islanders, Lundqvist

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are now down 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals and, of course, the question of Steven Stamkos’ availability came up in the most recent press conference. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said he doubted that Stamkos would be ready for Game 2, but did speculate further on the possibility that Stamkos could make an appearance for the Lightning at some point in the series, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith.

Cooper said that Stamkos is “inching closer” to a return and it’s “killing him” not to play, but the coach also said he refuses to put him in if he’s not ready. Cooper said the team needs to make sure his conditioning is up and both he and the medical staff are both comfortable with Stamkos on the ice.

  • The Detroit Red Wings sent 2018 first-round pick Filip Zadina to the Czech Republic to continue playing until the 2020-21 begins, but already have felt the danger of loaning out one of their players. HC Ocelari Trinec announced that Zadina will miss the next few weeks with a upper-body injury that he sustained during a game Sunday. While there is no word on how serious the injury is, the diagnosis that he will be out a few weeks likely means it won’t threaten his availability when the NHL begins their 2020-21 season, which likely now won’t be until at least January 2021. Zadina took over a top-six spot late in the season, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 28 games and is a key component to the team’s 2020-21 season.
  • With four pending unrestricted free agents coming up in the offseason, the New York Islanders have quite a few decisions to make about who they intend to keep. While general manager Lou Lamoriello was able to re-sign most of his UFA’s last season, that’s not likely to be the case. Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the team may only keep one of them this time around, suggesting that forward Matt Martin could be the only one to retain. The team isn’t likely to bring back goaltender Thomas Greiss now that Ilya Sorokin is on board, although Gross does add that Lamoriello does have a long-standing relationship with Andy Greene, so the team could potentially bring him back as well.
  • USA Today’s Vince Mercogliano looks at the Rangers goaltending situation, suggesting the Rangers may have no choice but to buyout long-time Rangers icon Henrik Lundqvist when the buyout window opens on Sept. 25. General manager Jeff Gorton said he doesn’t plan to keep three goaltenders on the roster and word is the Rangers have not liked any offers they’ve received for Alexandar Georgiev, suggesting the team could save significant cap space in the future if they let go of Lundqvist, including $3MM next season and quite a bit more in 2021-22. With a trade unlikely for Lundqvist even if the Rangers retain half of his $8.5MM salary, the team could announce a buyout as soon as Friday, although at this point, anything is still possible.

 

Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Tampa Bay’s players are certainly focused on beginning the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday but management is undoubtedly aware of some of the core players in need of new deals soon after.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Anthony Cirelli – Last season was his first in the NHL and while he played well, he still was a little bit under the radar.  That isn’t the case now.  Despite the pandemic, he set a new career best with 44 points in 69 games while establishing himself as one of the top two-way centers in the league.  Writers around the NHL certainly noticed as he finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting.  So far in the playoffs, his production has tapered off a bit but he has logged more than 20 minutes a night while playing in a checking role.  Cirelli isn’t arbitration-eligible but there will be teams that view him as a second liner and if that’s the case, he could be a candidate for an offer sheet (especially with the Lightning’s cap situation).

D Mikhail Sergachev – The 22-year-old hasn’t had that big leap offensively since he picked up 40 points in his rookie season; he hasn’t reached that mark since.  However, he has gone from being a player who had to be sheltered on the third pairing into a capable top-four defender that has shown considerable improvement in his own end.  That will undoubtedly catch the eye of any GM that wants to try an offer sheet and isn’t impressed with the current trade or UFA options.  If one of those doesn’t materialize (which is the likelier scenario), a short-term contract will probably be the outcome since they don’t have much in the way of cap space to work with this offseason.

D Erik Cernak – He won’t blow anyone away offensively by any stretch but Cernak has settled into a strong defensive role and has been an anchor on what has been one of the better penalty kills among teams that have gone relatively deep into the playoffs.  Like Cirelli and Sergachev, he isn’t eligible for salary arbitration which will hurt his earnings upside a bit so a bridge contract is expected.  Even so, he should at least triple his $735K qualifying offer.

Other RFAs: F Ross Colton, F Mathieu Joseph, D Dominik Masin, F Gemel Smith, D Devante Stephens, F Mitchell Stephens, D Ben Thomas, F Carter Verhaeghe, F Alexander Volkov, F Dennis Yan

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Kevin Shattenkirk – While things didn’t work out well for him in New York, Shattenkirk has fared much better with the Lightning.  Instead of being counted on to be an offensive catalyst as he was with the Rangers, he’s in more of a supporting cast role and has made the most of it, picking up 34 points in 70 regular season games and nine more in 19 postseason contests so far.  He has done well to restore some value and while he won’t come anywhere close to the $6.65MM AAV of his contract that was eventually bought out, he should check in higher than $1.75MM he played for this year.  A multi-year pact is certainly a possibility as well.

F Patrick Maroon – Gone are the days where there were teams hoping that he could be part of a top-six forward group but Maroon has shown that he can still contribute in a more limited role.  Anyone looking for grit and leadership in their bottom six should show interest in Maroon, especially if he’s willing to take a deal close to the $900K he made this season.  With many teams being limited in what they can spend this offseason, he should have a longer list of suitors this time around.

D Zach Bogosian – Expectations were quite low after his deal with the Sabres was terminated but he has fit in nicely with the Lightning.  Between the regular season and playoffs, he has averaged around 18 minutes per game and has held his own.  It was risky walking away from more guaranteed money had he reported to Buffalo’s AHL affiliate but had he done that, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have had much interest in free agency.  He should have several suitors now so this decision is one that has certainly worked out for him.

Other UFAs: G Mike Condon, D Cameron Gaunce, G Spencer Martin, D Jan Rutta, D Luke Schenn, D Patrick Sieloff, G Scott Wedgewood

Projected Cap Space

Tampa Bay has nearly $69MM in cap commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly.  That spending only gets them a goalie, two defensemen, and seven forwards.  With an $81.5MM cap, that leaves them less than $13MM to fill out half of their roster while having two of the top young restricted free agents needing new deals.  There’s no sugar coating it – they need to clear out a notable contract or two.  However, of the 10 players signed, only two don’t have trade protection and those two – Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy – aren’t going anywhere.  GM Julien BriseBois will have his work cut out for him when their series against Dallas comes to an end.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Krug, Point, Kulak, Ruggiero

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After falling just short of winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Boston Bruins went home a little earlier than they hoped for this season, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. However, much of the criticism in Boston falls to the team’s lack of physicality against the Lightning’s bigger forwards, who really took advantage of the Bruins, especially against their smaller defenseman, Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk.

The Bruins saw this issue coming and traded for Nick Ritchie at the trade deadline to give the team a little added size, but Ritchie had some issues adjusting to the team immediately after the trade as the league was shutdown shortly thereafter and still didn’t fully adjust in the bubble during the playoffs.

With the need to get bigger and stronger this offseason, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that the Bruins may be already thinking that it might make more sense to let the undersized Krug walk via free agency this year and take the money to invest in a blueliner who can provide more size and physicality rather than invest $7-8MM on bringing Krug back.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point remains an unknown before Game 4 today. Head coach Jon Cooper refused to give an update on Point, saying “You’ll see in a couple hours,” Cooper said (via NHL.com’s Bryan Burns). Point sat out Game 3 with an undisclosed injury, although he has been practicing. Point has picked up 23 points in 15 playoff games so far and would be a big boost for the team if he returns.
  • Assuming the Montreal Canadiens are able to sign defenseman Joel Edmundson after acquiring the blueliner in a trade with Carolina Saturday evening, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that could be bad news for defensemen Brett Kulak and Victor Mete. With Ben Chiarot, rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov and potentially Edmundson playing on the left side, both Kulak and Mete will either have to fight for the seventh spot or the team could move one of the blueliners over to the right side. The scribe notes that Kulak, who was impressive in the playoffs, might be a potential trade candidate. He has averaged more than 17 minutes of ATOI over the past two years with the Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin wasn’t that posiitve on Kulak’s outlook, however, pointing out after the playoffs that while he could be a solid defender if he continues to play like he did, his inconsistency over the regular season has to be kept in mind as well.
  • While the Florida Panthers eventually hired Bill Zito to be their new general manager, it did do an extensive search for candidates, looking at former Islanders GM Garth Snow to NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, also added another former candidate in Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medalist Angela Ruggiero. “During their search, the Panthers contacted four-time U.S. Olympian and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Angela Ruggiero and asked her if she wanted to interview,” Friedman reported during Saturday’s Headlines. Ruggiero, 40, is the current CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab and asked the Panthers for a few days to consider whether she wanted to interview. By the time she got back to Florida, they had already hired Zito. Ruggiero has some experience in the front office with the New York Islanders years ago before going to Harvard for her MBA, but she could be a future candidate for other GM positions.

Alex Killorn Suspended One Game

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The Department of Player Safety has made a ruling and the Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their most experienced playoff performers. Alex Killorn has received a one-game suspension for his hit on New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson last night. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that this is not a case where a sudden or unexpected movement by Nelson just prior to contact, turns a legal hit into an illegal one. From the moment that Nelson initially collects the puck and until contact is made, Killorn sees nothing but his numbers. While we accept Tampa Bay’s assertion that Killorn makes some attempt to deliver this check from the side, this is still a forceful hit from behind on a defenseless player who is no longer in possession of the puck. 

Killorn will effectively miss two full games because of the hit since he was given a game misconduct last night at 5:55 of the first period. Nelson did leave the game for a period of time but returned later.

The league also pointed out that Killorn does not have a significant disciplinary history, having been fined just once in his career. He’ll have to miss game three but can make a return to the Tampa lineup after that.

Alex Killorn To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some work to do today after Alex Killorn was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct last night. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward hit Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders from behind after the puck had already been cleared away. Killorn will have a hearing today to determine any supplementary discipline, with a suspension expected. Nelson did return to the game (only to be hit from behind again later).

The Lightning managed to win even with a shortened bench, but it appears as though they’ll have to navigate at least the next game without Killorn from the very start. The 30-year-old forward has been a difference-maker again for the Lightning, scoring four goals and seven points in 15 postseason games. After settling into his role as a depth scorer in the last few years, Killorn exploded in 2019-20 with 26 goals in just 68 games. He meshes that scoring ability with a physical presence and under-your-skin attitude, making him an effective weapon for the Lightning in tight-checking series.

He’ll have to sit and watch for the time being, though the official announcement of how long the suspension will be won’t come until this evening at the earliest.

Alex Green Signs With Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are still busy trying to win the Stanley Cup, but the front office is working for the future as well. Alex Green has been signed to a two-year, entry-level contract, ending his college career at Cornell University after three seasons. Green’s contract will begin in the 2020-21 season.

Green, 22, could be another late-bloomer for the Lightning after growing into a leadership role at Cornell. Selected 121st overall in 2018, the tall lanky defenseman scored seven goals and 16 points in 29 games this season while earning the ECAC Best Defensive Defenseman award.

That’s not to say he’ll step right into the NHL, but Green should be a regular in the Syracuse Crunch lineup whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway. If he can continue to use his tight gap control and long reach to shut down rushes, the Lightning already have more than enough offensive weapons on the back end. Tampa Bay has been so good at finding mid-round talent and developing it into NHL depth that no one should be surprised to see Green’s name on a scoresheet before his entry-level deal is up.

Finalists Announced For GM Of The Year

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The NHL has released the finalists for the Jim Gregory GM of the Year award, named after the legendary hockey executive that passed last year. Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders, Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, and Julien BriseBois of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been named as the three finalists, with the winner to be announced on Saturday. The award is voted on by a panel of league executives, print and broadcast media at the end of the second round of the playoffs.

It’s easy to point to the hiring of Barry Trotz as Lamoriello’s biggest move as GM of the Islanders, but that’s not all he’s done over the past year to push his team deep into the playoffs. Not only did the legendary executive move to secure more goaltending after letting Robin Lehner walk, but a deadline deal brought over proven playoff performer Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

There’s just something about the postseason that gets Pageau playing his best hockey and he’s proven it once again with a playoff-leading seven even-strength goals already. Pageau is a whopping +11 through 17 postseason games for the Islanders, while also winning more than 56% of his faceoffs. While Lamoriello had to give up a hefty package of draft picks to get him, Pageau won’t be leaving anytime soon; he signed a six-year, $30MM extension with the Islanders.

Nill meanwhile did most of his playoff preparation last summer. The Stars GM brought in Corey Perry and Joe Pavelski to give his club a little more bite and experience. Pavelski especially has been fantastic for Dallas in the postseason, leading the club with eight goals and playing more than any other forward on the team.

While it wasn’t a trade, the patience that has gone into the development of Denis Gurianov is paying huge dividends, with the young forward taking over as a star in this postseason. Gurianov trails only Miro Heiskanen in scoring for the Stars, with 15 points in 18 games.

BriseBois, the youngest and most inexperienced of the three finalists, would be the first to tell you that he inherited an incredible roster. He was part of the team that built it, serving as an assistant GM to Steve Yzerman, but the Lightning were already great when he took over in 2018. Still, BriseBois didn’t sit back and hope that roster would be good enough to make it through the playoffs this season.

Savvy depth adds of Patrick Maroon, Kevin Shattenkirk and Luke Schenn in the offseason are paying off now, while the scrap heap rehab of Zach Bogosian looks like a success. It’s those two deadline deals that have impressed so much though. BriseBois found a way to lengthen out his lineup by adding Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman, anything but household names, and it is paying off. The two have combined for just four goals in the postseason, but Tampa has created a group that seems to be dangerous on every single shift regardless of who is on the ice.

Snapshots: NHL Draft, Suter, Point

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The 2020 NHL Entry Draft will be held a few days earlier than expected, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that it has been moved up to October 6-7. The change is thanks to a playoffs that is moving along briskly, with the first game of both conference finals already in the books.

An earlier draft only makes it even more imperative for teams like the Arizona Coyotes to get a new GM in place over the next few weeks, though it’s already probably too late for a new executive to really make his mark on the draft process. Even though four teams are still working to win the Stanley Cup, the offseason is fast approaching.

  • Pius Suter is headed back to Switzerland for the time being, as expected. The 24-year old Chicago Blackhawks forward has been loaned to GCK Lions of the Swiss second league until training camp starts in North America. Suter signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks a few months ago after winning the MVP in Switzerland’s top league.
  • Brayden Point has become one of the very best players in the entire NHL, and Chris Johnston of Sportsnet examines his early case for the Conn Smythe trophy this year. Point now has 23 points in 14 postseason games and is an obvious leader on the Tampa Bay Lightning roster, but is in just the first year of a contract that carries a $6.75MM cap hit. While he’ll still be a restricted free agent in 2022 when this deal expires, Point will be owed a $9MM qualifying offer and could easily become one of the highest-paid players in the entire league.

Snapshots: King Clancy Trophy, Kucherov, Bishop, Holzapfel

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Now that the NHL has reached the conference championship phase of the playoffs, so too can the NHL awards, which are expected to be handed out day-by-day over the next couple of weeks. First up is expected to be the King Clancy Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. The trophy will be awarded this evening before the start of Game 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. The three finalists for the awards are Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba, New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist and New Jersey Devils’ P.K. Subban.

Dumba has been committed to racial and social justice and the Hockey is for Everyone initiative and helped form the Hockey Diversity Alliance with seven current and former NHL players. Lundqvist supports several different initiatives, including aid for children’s health, education, underprivileged youth, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Make a Wish Foundation. Subban also supports several groups, including initiatives for underprivileged youth, medical support and promoting racial and social injustice.

  • Despite the bad news that the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to go through the Eastern Conference Finals without Steven Stamkos, the team did get some good news, however, on the injury front. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that first-line forward Nikita Kucherov is expected to be available Monday for the Lightning’s first game against the New York Islanders. Kucherov was forced to leave Game 5 against the Boston Bruins with an undisclosed injury, but has had almost a week to recover. The 27-year-old has been quite effective in the playoffs so far with four goals and 16 points in 13 games.
  • The Dallas Stars will be without starting goaltender Ben Bishop once again as The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that Bishop and defenseman Taylor Fedun remain “unfit to play.” Both skated today, but neither appear ready to play. The scribe did add that forwards Andrew Cogliano and Mattias Janmark are both expected to be game-time decisions today. Bishop has appeared in just three games during the playoffs and hasn’t made an appearance since Aug. 31 against Colorado when he allowed four goals in 13 minutes before being replaced. The team will rely on Anton Khudobin once again, who is 8-5 with a .909 save percentage in 14 games during the playoffs.
  • Former AHL forward Riley Holzapfel announced his retirement after spending his four years with the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian League. Holzapfel was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006 and five season in the AHL before opting to play overseas in 2013, playing three seasons in the SHL before joining Vienna in 2016. He was never able to break into the NHL, however. The 32-year-old was still productive with Vienna, scoring 18 goals and 46 assists in 48 games.

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