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Marek Langhamer Signs In The Czech Republic; Coyotes Retain His NHL Rights

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With training camps now underway, there should be an uptick of smaller signings in the days to come as those without a contract quickly look to find a place to play.  Here’s a rundown of today’s minor moves.

  • Coyotes RFA goaltender Marek Langhamer has signed a one-year deal with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). This was the expected outcome considering that Arizona is presently at the 50 contract limit and he had already been loaned to them last season.  Langhamer will be a restricted free agent again next summer and a strong showing back home could help his fortunes of landing another NHL contract.
  • Predators UFA netminder Anders Lindback has signed a one-year deal with HC Davos, the Swiss NLA team announced (link in German). The 30-year-old spent all of last season with Nashville’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee last season and led the league in both games played and saves.  Overall, he had a 31-20-5 record with a 2.83 GAA and a .908 SV%.  Lindback last played in the NHL in 2015-16 with the Coyotes and has a total of 130 career NHL appearances over six seasons.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson Named Arizona Coyotes Captain

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Though it had been expected since the day he signed his long-term extension with the team, Oliver Ekman-Larsson will finally have a new letter sewn onto his sweater this season. The Arizona Coyotes have officially named their star defenseman team captain, becoming just the fourth player to hold the honor since the franchise moved from Winnipeg. Keith Tkachuk, Teppo Numminen and Shane Doan now have company in the exclusive group. Coyotes GM John Chayka released a statement about his new captain:

Oliver is a tremendous player and person. On the ice, he leads by example and is one of the game’s premier defensemen. Off the ice, he is greatly admired and respected by his teammates, coaches and training staff and is also one of our most active players in the community. He is loyal, the consummate professional and a fierce competitor and I’m confident that he’ll be an excellent captain for the Coyotes for many years to come.

Ekman-Larsson will move into the role just as the Coyotes start to believe they can compete for a playoff spot, with an exciting young core headlined by star rookie Clayton Keller. Though now 27, the Swedish defenseman will be in Arizona for quite some time after signing an eight-year extension this offseason. That sort of stability is huge for a leadership role of this magnitude, and deserved by a player who has found success even while the team struggled at the bottom of the standings.

Scoring 14 goals in 2017-18 wasn’t a surprise for Ekman-Larsson, who is regularly near the top of the leaderboard in scoring among NHL defensemen and has posted five straight double digit goal seasons. His career high came in 2014-15 when he scored 23, and he already sits just six goals behind Numminen for the franchise lead. The biggest test now for Ekman-Larsson will be getting the Coyotes back to the playoffs, something he hasn’t experienced since his first full season in the league.

West Notes: Schmidt, Theodore, Panik

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When Nate Schmidt was recently suspended for 20 games for violating the league’s Performance Enhancing Substance policy, the Vegas Golden Knights immediately came out in support of their defenseman, stating that they “strongly disagree” with the ruling. Schmidt himself stated that he believes the positive test came about through environmental contamination instead of any substance he ingested, given the minuscule amount that was found and the lack of any evidence in a hair sample.

Today, Vegas GM George McPhee didn’t go so far as blame Schmidt but did defend his organization and the Golden Knights’ training staff, telling reporters including Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas that the substance “didn’t come from us.” While Schmidt claimed that the only supplements he used were from the Golden Knights, McPhee explains that a simple protein shake could cause a positive test and that he has told other players that they “don’t need anything from anywhere else.” Schmidt is practicing in unofficial skates with other players from the team, but will miss the first 20 games of the regular season and is not allowed to play in any preseason contests.

  • McPhee also spoke about the still unsigned Shea Theodore, and told reporters that he hopes a deal will be completed soon. Theodore is one of 11 remaining restricted free agents without a contract, and could potentially miss part of training camp if he doesn’t have a new deal in the next week. The young defenseman is even more important for the Golden Knights now that Schmidt will miss a quarter of the season, and could be asked to log huge minutes in the early part of the year. Coming off his entry-level contract, the Golden Knights have a decision to make between signing him to a bridge deal on a lower cap hit or trying to lock up the 23-year old long-term before he really shows his full potential.
  • Richard Panik was arrested earlier in the offseason for trespassing at an Arizona establishment, and pleaded guilty in court this week. Craig Morgan of The Athletic passes along a statement from the Coyotes, which says they have dealt with the situation internally and won’t comment further. TMZ has released a video of the arrest, but even with the added publicity it seems as though the Coyotes will not hand out any punishment that includes a suspension.

NHL Rookie Tournaments Set For Early September

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8/31: The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders have joined to fray, as their rookie camps will clash in prospects game on September 12th at the Isles’ practice facility, the teams announced. This leaves only the Florida Panthers without a competition for their rookies in the coming weeks.

8/24: Before team training camps open up for veterans, the rookies get some work in each year with various rookie tournaments and exhibition games taking place around the continent. This is where you can catch your favorite team:

  • The most well-known preseason rookie tournament is obviously the Traverse City NHL Prospect Tournament. The annual tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings is in its 20th year of existence. The format consists of two four-team “divisions” who play a round-robin tournament with the winner of each group earning a berth in the championship game. Featured this year are the Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. The games run from September 7th to September 11th.
  • Buffalo is again set to host the Sabres’ Prospect Challenge Tournament. Running from September 7th to 10th, it is a single group round robin tournament with the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and Pittsburgh Penguins joining the Sabres on their home ice. This will be the first game action for top overall pick and preseason Calder Trophy favorite Rasmus Dahlin.
  • Across the border, the three eastern Canadian teams are set to square off in Laval, Quebec, the home of the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. The Habs announced a set of three games featuring themselves, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Ottawa Senators on September 7th, 8th, and 9th.
  • On the other side of the country, a previous rookie tournament has been split in half. The NHL Young Stars Tournament, held in Penticton, British Columbia, will now contain only the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks, as well as a pair of collegiate teams in a three-day series of games from September 7th to 9th. The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames chose not to participate this year and will instead face-off in one singular game in Red Deer, Alberta on September 12th.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights are set to host the first of a revolving tournament among U.S.-based Western Conference teams. Nicknamed the Vegas Rookie Faceoff, Sin City will be the location of this year’s tournament which also features the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. It will be a three-day, nine-game series taking place on September 8th, 9th, and 11th. The tournament is expected to head to Anaheim next year.
  • Finally, the NHL’s southeastern squads will square off in Estero, Florida at the home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. The Prospect Showcase will be four days of games between the Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, taking place from September 8th to 11th.

For all updates on rookie tournament rosters, check in with Roster Resource and their running tracker of roster announcements.

Poll: Who Will Win The Pacific Division In 2018-19?

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We’re just over a month away from the 2018-19 NHL season, and players are hitting the ice with teammates to start forming chemistry. All over the league there are individual workouts underway, and rookie tournament rosters being announced. The excitement for the upcoming season is starting to bubble up to the surface, and even the smallest NHL news has fans in a frenzy.

Recently, Bovada released their over/under numbers for each team’s point totals and there are some interesting results. Though these aren’t to be taken exactly as predictions for the upcoming season—since betting odds also take into account popularity trends and other factors—fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning should still be extremely satisfied to see their club at the very top with an over/under of 107.5 points. The Lightning are expected to be Stanley Cup contenders once again in 2018-19, and have brought back nearly their entire roster.

We ran a poll asking the PHR community to decide who will win the Atlantic Division last week, and the Lightning came out on top with nearly 37% of the vote. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished in second place, but the big surprise was the Detroit Red Wings in third with 15% of all voters. While our readers have more confidence in the Red Wings than the odds makers, we’ve seen stranger things in the past.

The odds though tell an interesting story in the Pacific Division.

The Vegas Golden Knights won the division easily last season with 109 points, finishing at 51-24-7 in their inaugural season. They rode that dominance all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and yet aren’t the clear leader this time around. Vegas is tied with the Anaheim Ducks at a 96.5 point over/under, but actually a point behind the San Jose Sharks who come in at 97.5. Los Angeles, Calgary and Edmonton don’t lag far behind, making this one of the most interesting divisions in hockey to watch this season.

Who do you think will come out on top of the Pacific Division this year? Can Edmonton bounce back from a disastrous 2017-18? Will Marc-Andre Fleury lead the Golden Knights back to the top? Can the Coyotes go from worst to first in one season? Cast your vote below and explain how you think the season will play out in the comments!

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Arizona Coyotes

Current Cap Hit: $69,341,109 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Jakob Chychrun (one year, $925K)
F Lawson Crouse (one year, $894K)
F Christian Dvorak (one year, $839K*)
F Christian Fischer (two years, $822K)
F Clayton Keller (two years, $885K)
F Brendan Perlini (one year, $863K)
F Dylan Strome (two years, $863K)

* – Dvorak has already signed an extension and will be looked at in more detail later on

Potential Bonuses

Chychrun: $425K
Crouse: $850K
Dvorak: $213K
Fischer: $230K
Keller: $850K
Perlini: $500K
Strome: $2.475MM

Total: $5.543MM

Keller has already emerged as Arizona’s top offensive threat and led the team in scoring in his rookie season.  Assuming he stays healthy, he’s a near-lock to reach his full bonuses and will be in line for a significant extension two years from now.  Perlini very quietly finished second on the Coyotes in goals last season and will land a considerable raise for 2019-20.  It will be interesting to see if they look to go with a bridge deal for him as it’s unlikely that this entire group of ELC players will get long-term pacts right away.  Fischer’s first full NHL season was a solid one and a repeat performance should allow him to more than double his current AAV on what likely will also be a bridge deal.

Strome was quite productive in the AHL last year but it didn’t translate to much in the way of NHL success.  The number three pick in 2015 is in a spot where he’s too good for the minors but hasn’t played well enough to lock down a full-time NHL role.  He’ll get another chance to do so in the upcoming season but isn’t a real threat to hit his bonuses.  Crouse was a regular in Arizona two years ago but spent much of last season in the minors.  He’ll push for a regular spot in camp but given what has happened through the first two years of his deal, a short-term pact next summer is all but a guarantee.

Chychrun quickly emerged as one of Arizona’s top defenders and has cemented a top-four spot already.  He missed considerable time last year after undergoing offseason knee surgery and went under the knife once again in April so although he’s a strong candidate to sign a long-term extension, it’s likely that Arizona will want to wait to make sure there are no lingering issues before making that commitment.  Fortunately for them, he appears to be on pace to start the regular season.  Although he’s not much of a point producer just yet, he should still surpass the $4MM per season mark on his next deal and when that happens, the Coyotes will be looking at one of the more expensive defense corps in the league.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Josh Archibald ($675K, RFA)
F Dave Bolland $5.5MM, UFA)
F Nick Cousins ($1MM, RFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($650K, UFA)
F Richard Panik ($2.8MM, UFA)

Panik was brought in via trade from Chicago last year and while he fell short of repeating his 44-point campaign in 2016-17, he still fared relatively well.  Despite that, he may be in tough to land a comparable contract as he is viewed as someone that’s a better fit outside of the top six and offensive players in that situation have been squeezed a few times on the open market in recent years.  Cousins doubled his career high in goals last season despite still playing a fairly limited role which gave Arizona another good value deal.  He should be able to get a small raise on his next contract but because he’s more of a depth player, he won’t be able to get a big increase despite having arbitration rights.  Oesterle and Archibald project to be extras to start the season while Bolland hasn’t played since 2015-16 and won’t suit up in 2018-19.

Two Years Remaining

D Kevin Connauton ($1.375MM, UFA)
F Alex Galchenyuk ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Vinnie Hinostroza ($1.5MM, RFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($1.85MM, UFA)
F Brad Richardson ($1.25MM, UFA)

Galchenyuk was part of one of the more notable trades of the summer that saw him head to the desert in exchange for Max Domi.  He is expected to get a chance to play at center and if he holds his own there, he will significantly boost his value for his next contract even if he continues to hover around the 50-point mark.  Hinostroza was brought in from Chicago as the prize for taking on the rest of Marian Hossa’s contract.  He’ll slide into a middle-six role on the wing and if he can even come close to the 0.50 PPG average he had last year, he could be another bargain on the books.  Richardson was brought back fairly early in free agency to reprise his fourth line role and even received a no-move clause this season as an incentive to stay.  As far as fourth line centers go, he’s a good one to have around.

Kuemper wasn’t as successful in Arizona after being acquired midseason from the Kings but he’s on a contract that’s a fair bit below what the top UFA backups got in free agency this summer.  At the very least, he should give them a bit more stability at the number two position, something they haven’t had a lot of as of late.  Connauton very quietly posted 11 goals from the back end last season but still was only able to garner a small raise on his previous deal.  While his defensive play can be shaky at times, that type of output from a third pairing blueliner is still quite useful.

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Snapshots: Kings, Parent, Galchenyuk

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The Los Angeles Kings struggled to create offense from anywhere but Anze Kopitar’s line in the first half of last season, mostly because of the absence of Jeff Carter as the team’s second line center. Carter played just 27 games for the Kings, but registered 13 goals and 22 points showing that even in his mid-thirties he’s still a very effective offensive player.

This time around they’re hoping for better results, and look healthier coming into training camp. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times reports that Carter, Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis and Jake Muzzin are all expected to be ready for training camp in a few weeks, despite dealing with some injuries this summer. If the Kings can squeeze out some of Ilya Kovalchuk’s previous performance and put a healthy Carter over the boards every few shifts, the team could have a much improved offense this season.

  • The New Jersey Devils have hired Ryan Parent as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate, bringing in the NHL veteran to join Mark Dennehy’s staff. Parent is a veteran of more than 100 NHL contests, and even suited up for 27 playoff contests with the Philadelphia Flyers between 2008-2010. Once a first-round pick by the Nashville Predators, he’ll be able to provide valuable insight to Devils prospects as they come through the system as well as helping to develop the defensemen already in Binghamton.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will have a glut of options for the center position this season, as several newcomers have experience at the position. One of those players, Alex Galchenyuk, wants to prove to his doubters that he can handle the position and according to a conversation with Dave Vest of NHL.com, will be given that chance by head coach Rick Tocchet. Galchenyuk was drafted as a potential first line center by the Montreal Canadiens, but struggled to find much consistency at the position during his time there. After being swapped for Max Domi earlier this offseason, both he and the Coyotes have expressed a desire to see him return to the middle if possible. If he can handle the move back to the middle, the Coyotes find themselves deep at the position with Derek Stepan, Christian Dvorak and Brad Richardson already on the roster and Dylan Strome expected to compete for a full-time role this season.

Tim Bernhardt No Longer Arizona's Director Of Amateur Scouting

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After inking Jakub Jerabek yesterday to a one-year contract, the Oilers don’t appear to be finished shopping for defensive help in free agency.  Postmedia’s Jim Matheson reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton has offered a tryout deal to Brandon Davidson, who is also currently sitting on multiple two-way offers.  At this point, it’s likely that Davidson is still hoping to land a one-way pact before committing to something else.

The 27-year-old has had two separate stints with the Oilers previously.  After dealing him to Montreal in February of 2017, they claimed him off waivers from the Canadiens last December.  Three months later, they flipped him to the Islanders in exchange for a 2019 third-round pick.  Given how he has bounced around though, Davidson may be hard-pressed to get a one-way contract but if he has to go the PTO route, going back to a place where he’s had success in Edmonton would be a good move.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The Canucks are a team that has used PTO deals in training camp in recent years but Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that this will not be the case, at least as things currently stand. Vancouver shored up their depth up front this summer with a trio of bottom-six signings while they have eight returning defensemen so the vacancies just aren’t there.  While some teams will bring in tryouts simply to help fill out the roster through the early goings of the preseason, it doesn’t appear that Vancouver will be among those.
  • The Coyotes have parted ways with director of amateur scouting Tim Bernhardt as well as veteran scout Rob Pulford, GM John Chayka confirmed to Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports. Bernhardt has been at the helm for the last five drafts where the team has landed regulars such as center Christian Dvorak, defenseman Jakob Chychrun, and winger Clayton Keller.  Arizona brought in Lindsay Hofford as an assistant GM earlier this summer, tasking him with reshaping the scouting department as one of his tasks.  Bernhardt told Morgan that working with the new direction was not something he wanted to do.

Golden Knights To Name Fort Wayne Komets As ECHL Affiliate

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August 21: The Golden Knights have officially announced the affiliation.  It is a one-year agreement for the 2018-19 season.

August 8: Another day, another potential ECHL affiliate off the market for those NHL teams still searching. Justin Cohn of The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana reports that the hometown team is just “a signature away” from becoming affiliated with the league’s newest team, the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights. As the organizational depth of the Knights grows even more in the team’s second year, it needs a location for those players who are not getting enough play time at the AHL level. Who better than the Komets, Vegas coach Gerard Gallant’s first head coaching gig, to solve that problem.

The nature of NHL-ECHL partnerships often varies team-by-team. Some NHL programs maintain strong, lasting relationships with their “AA” affiliate and devote multiple players to their ranks, while others use it solely in an emergency to stash a player or two and switch affiliations frequently. It is always to the benefit of an NHL squad to have an ECHL affiliate, but some teams simply cherish the option more than others. Last season, the Komets were affiliates of the Arizona Coyotes and, as Cohn writes, ’Yotes prospects Artur Tyanulin, Trevor Cheek, and Michael Houser were a key part of the team’s run to the Western Conference Finals. However, Arizona unexpectedly dropped Fort Wayne as their affiliate in favor of former AHL franchise the Norfolk Admirals. In search of a new feeder team, Cohn relays that the team had been talking to both Vegas and the Nashville Predators, but Nashville has instead chosen to share the nearby Atlanta Gladiators team with the Boston Bruins. With just one contender remaining, it is now all but official between the Golden Knights and Komets.

There have been several changes in allegiance this off-season, but once this affiliation becomes official – as well as Nashville and Atlanta – there will only be a handful of NHL and ECHL teams left un-aligned. According to the league, the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, and Tampa Bay Lightning remain without an ECHL affiliate, while the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Orlando Solar Bears, and Rapid City Rush do not have NHL affiliates. There is still some time for some of those teams to figure out a deal before the puck drops on the 2018-19 season.

Influx Of Foreign Talent A Trend In 2018 Off-Season

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While the NHL free agent market remains flush with talented veteran players, some now beginning to depart for Europe without any leads around the league, NHL teams have quietly imported a fair amount of foreign talent this off-season. While few of these players are stars or even surefire regulars at the NHL level, the fact remains that those on two-way deals slated for depth roles are nevertheless taking those jobs from the current remnants of the market, who at this point would gladly take an AHL assignment with upside. Teams clearly have felt this off-season that taking a chance on a promising foreign player was a better use of a contract than recycling aging domestic veterans. A total of 36 players who played in Europe last season are now headed to North America, where they will suit up for 24 different organizations – showing the popularity of importing talent this off-season. Here are the foreign free agent signings this summer:

D Ilya Lyubushkin (Arizona Coyotes)
F David Ullstrom (Arizona Coyotes)
F Martin Bakos (Boston Bruins)
D Lawrence Pilut (Buffalo Sabres)
F Yasin Ehliz (Calgary Flames)
D Marcus Hogstrom (Calgary Flames)
F Saku Maenalanen (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Dominik Kahun (Chicago Blackhawks)
G Kevin Lankinen (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Jacob Nilsson (Chicago Blackhawks)
G Pavel Francouz (Colorado Avalanche)
F Valeri Nichushkin (Dallas Stars)*
G Patrik Rybar (Detroit Red Wings)
G Mikko Koskinen (Edmonton Oilers)
D Joel Persson (Edmonton Oilers)
D Bogdan Kiselevich (Florida Panthers)
F Ilya Kovalchuk (Los Angeles Kings)
D Eric Martinsson (Minnesota Wild)
D Michal Moravcik (Montreal Canadiens)
D David Sklenicka (Montreal Canadiens)
F Carl Persson (Nashville Predators)
D Filip Pyrochta (Nashville Predators)
G Miroslav Svoboda (Nashville Predators)
D Egor Yakovlev (New Jersey Devils)
F Jan Kovar (New York Islanders)
D Yannick Rathgeb (New York Islanders)
F Michael Lindqvist (New York Rangers)
F Ville Meskanen (New York Rangers)
D Juuso Riikola (Pittsburgh Penguins)
F Lukas Radil (San Jose Sharks)
F Antti Suomela (San Jose Sharks)
F Par Lindholm (Toronto Maple Leafs)
D Igor Ozhiganov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Brooks Macek (Vegas Golden Knights)
F Juuso Ikonen (Washington Capitals)
F Maximilian Kammerer (Washington Capitals)
F Dennis Everberg (Winnipeg Jets)

While the obvious highlight of this list is the return of Kovalchuk, inking a substantial deal with the L.A. Kings, the rest are far more than just AHL placeholders. Nichushkin, albeit not a true free agent signing since his rights never left the Stars, is back in Dallas and looking to make an impact. Koskinen is set to be the primary backup to Cam Talbot in Edmonton and, while his role was muddied somewhat by the acquisition of Philipp Grubauer, Francouz is sure to see some action in net with Colorado. Kovar was brought in to be a starter in New York, while Ullstrom – a former Islander – will push for a roster spot with Arizona. After a couple of years abroad, Everberg is back in the league and hoping to find a role in Winnipeg. If Simon Despres, on a PTO with the Montreal Canadiens, earns a contract, he could make a difference as well.

Several more of these players could wind up winning spots in training camp battles, while even more will earn call-ups throughout the year. It is an extensive list and each and every name bears watching as they begin or continue their North American pro careers. Both the risk and upside of bringing over fresh, foreign talent versus sticking with experienced yet stagnant veterans is apparent. For some teams these gambles will fail, while others may find a diamond in the rough.

 

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