Brassard is Gone

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Derek
Brassy! Derick Brassard celebrates his overtime winner with Rick Nash. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II/Getty Images
Finally, Rick Nash celebrates his first goal of the series with teammate Derick Brassard. Game 7 is Wednesday at MSG. AP Photo by Alex Brandon/Getty Images

Derick Brassard is gone. The Rangers traded him to the Senators in exchange for Mika Zibanejad and a second round pick.

Funny enough, I suggested trading Brassard this summer. He’s a quality offensive play-making center who was a good Ranger. He came over from the Blue Jackets in the deal for Marian Gaborik on Apr. 3, 2013.The trade also netted Derek Dorsett and John Moore.

Brassard always raised his level in the playoffs. After putting up 12 points in 2013, he went 6-6-12 during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Centering a cohesive third line flanked by Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot, Brassard scored and set up big goals. The trio were terrific on the forecheck the entire 2014 postseason.

With the departure of Pouliot to Edmonton, Brassard was asked to play a bigger role. Signed to a five-year deal with an average cap hit of $5 million, he continued to improve putting up a career high 60 points (19-41-60) in ’14-15. He paced the Rangers with nine goals and 16 points in a postseason that saw the team get within a period of a second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. That included a hat trick in Game 6 versus the Lightning.

His final season with the Blueshirts was very good offensively. He set a new career high with a team-leading 27 goals to go with 31 assists and 58 points. However, Brassard’s defensive game leveled off. Never the best defensive center, he fell into lazy habits refusing to backcheck at crucial moments. He and Zuccarello had to be separated by coach Alain Vigneault due to their lack of attention to detail. They didn’t have the same chemistry offensively as the previous year.

In a five-game first round series loss to the Penguins, Brassard tied with Rick Nash for the team lead in scoring with four points. However, his play in Game 5 was awful. He gave up on one goal after a costly turnover. Brassard didn’t compete in what turned out to be the final game of his Rangers career. A blowout loss to the Pens.

By trading him to Ottawa for the younger Zibanejad, who is signed through 2017 at an AAV of $2.625 million, the Rangers freed up salary. They’re saving approximately $2.375 million.

Zibanejad is 23. Like Brassard, he’s a former first round pick. Taken sixth overall by the Senators in the 2011 NHL Draft, the Swedish center is at a similar point in his career as Brassard was when he came here. Ironically, both players went sixth overall in their drafts and were given up at the same point.

Zibanejad has put up back-to-back 20-goal seasons. He followed up 20-26-46 with a career high 21 goals, 30 assists and 51 points this past season. The highest amount of points Brassard ever put up before he joined the Rangers was 47. It’s worth pointing out that his career high 27 markers were the first time he eclipsed the 20-goal mark. So, the team traded him at his high point.

Maybe it’s another smart deal that works out. By moving Brassard, it puts more trust in Kevin Hayes to take over the second line center. A role he should be up to. Given his size and skill set, getting increased minutes should benefit the pass-oriented Hayes. If he’s not up to it, Zibanejad can center the second line.

While some of the reaction has been predictably negative asking what they traded Brassard for, Zibanejad has plenty of skill. He also has some sweet moves in the shootout. Not that I love shootouts. He still has room to grow as a player.

Credit GM Jeff Gorton for making a move that was outside the box. He realized they needed to cut salary. He’s taking a chance on a younger player with similar talent to Brassard. If it works out, nobody will complain. It sets up the Rangers better for the future.

Derek Stepan is the team’s number one center. He’ll obviously need to be more consistent in terms of production. But that also means Chris Kreider better get his act together. Assuming they commit long-term to him, he will directly impact Stepan. The future is likely built around both along with recently re-signed J.T. Miller.

Nash doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. If he isn’t, he’ll have to find chemistry with someone else. Whether it’s with Stepan or likely Hayes given the puck possession and skating he possesses, Nash should be fine. Zuccarello seemed to mesh well with Stepan when tried together.

As for Brassard, thank you for four good years. You helped the team reach higher. Good luck in Ottawa.

 

Posted in Battle News, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rangers re-sign McIlrath, Hughes and sign Josh Jooris

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Derek
Dylan McIlrath, Matt Beleskey

New York Rangers’ Dylan McIlrath (6) and Boston Bruins’ Matt Beleskey (39) fight during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Two days after re-signing J.T. Miller, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton stayed busy by re-signing two more players and adding another depth forward. He re-signed restricted free agents Dylan McIlrath and Tommy Hughes to one-year contracts while adding unrestricted forward Josh Jooris also for one year.

The terms for McIlrath are $800,000 for ’16-17. The former 2010 first round pick got into 34 games during his rookie season scoring two goals and adding two assists while racking up 64 penalty minutes as a seventh defenseman. Despite having solid chemistry with ex-Ranger Keith Yandle, he didn’t play consistently due to untrustworthy coach Alain Vigneault.

The big physical defenseman became a fan favorite. The toughest D the Blueshirts have had since Mike Sauer, McIlrath delivered crunching hits while playing with snarl clearing the front of the net. He also took on all comers. That included Wayne Simmonds in response to the Flyers’ power forward concussing Ryan McDonagh.

McIlrath showed improved skating and was solid in his end. New assistant Jeff Beukeboom gets credit for helping McIlrath and Brady Skjei develop in Hartford. It should be interesting to see what strides they make in the upcoming season.

Hughes, 24, is a three-year pro with the Wolf Pack. He’s totaled five goals and 20 assists in 173 games with Hartford.

Jooris is a 26-year old gritty forward who spent his first two seasons in the NHL with the Flames. Originally signed by Calgary in the summer of 2013, the former four-year player out of Union College spent a full year in the AHL before earning a spot with the Flames the past two seasons.

Playing a supporting role, he tallied 12 goals and 12 assists in 60 contests as a rookie in ’14-15. That included four power play goals and four game-winners, helping the Flames reach the postseason. Year 2 wasn’t as successful. In 59 games, he totaled four goals and nine helpers. As a team, Calgary struggled missing the playoffs.

A solid energy guy who can play penalty kill due to his speed and defensive instincts, Jooris is a good addition. Similar to Nathan Gerbe and Michael Grabner, he should help bolster the fourth line. All three forwards Gorton added have speed and play hard.

With off-season surgery keeping Oscar Lindberg out to start the season, the Rangers have at least addressed their fourth line. Even with not much space due to still needing to re-sign key RFA’s Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider, they’ve improved their depth both at forward and on the back end. Gorton traded for Nick Holden and signed Adam Clendening to provide more defensive depth.

With approximately nine million left, Gorton will turn his attention to Hayes and Kreider. Hayes should be easier due to completing a rookie deal. Figure a bridge deal in the neighborhood of $5 million ($2.5 AAV).

Kreider is the harder decision. Do they commit long-term to the 25-year old power forward who’s two seasons away from unrestricted free agency? That largely depends on the organization and if they believe Kreider is worth locking up. Stay tuned.

Posted in Battle News, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rangers, Miller agree to bridge deal

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Derek
J.T. Miller

J.T. Miller signed a bridge deal with the Rangers worth an average of $2.625 million per season. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Earlier on Wednesday, the Rangers took care of business with one of four restricted free agents. They reached agreement with J.T. Miller on a bridge deal worth a reported $2.625 million per year.

The versatile center/wing posted career bests in goals (22), assists (21) and points (43) over a full 82 games in ’15-16 while adding three assists in a first round loss to the Penguins. The 43 points tied him with restricted free agent Chris Kreider for fifth in team scoring. A first round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Miller also tied for first with teammates Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan with five game-winners. His 174 hits ranked third behind Kreider (177) and team leader Tanner Glass (224).

A gritty player who is effective on the forecheck, Miller became one of the team’s most consistent players. As the season went on, he gained coach Alain Vigneault’s trust. Miller was used on multiple lines to help provide a lift. Whether it was with American ‘mates Stepan and Kreider or with Brassard and Rick Nash, Miller fit in well. His willingness to get the dirty jersey and go to the hard areas made him a fan favorite. Passed over for the Steven McDonald Award which went to popular Norwegian and leading scorer Mats Zuccarello, the East Palestine, Ohio native showed rapid improvement.

Still only 23, Miller should only get better and play more of a role. He averaged slightly over 15 minutes a night. Figure that to increase along with added responsibility. Though at times he did make puzzling puck decisions, for the most part he was a solid overall player who should get a look on the penalty kill. He earned a spot on the second power play unit. There’s always room for strong skaters who aren’t afraid to go to the net.

The one question I have is why couldn’t Rangers’ brass try to skip the traditional bridge contract for more of a long-term. Of course, the answer is all to predictable. Handcuffed by the contracts of Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, the organization simply doesn’t have enough room to go higher on a player who shows the most potential. What a shame. Assuming Miller continues to excel, in two years he’ll only cost more than he would’ve for say a five-year contract.

It’s the same approach they always take. It cost them with Stepan, who wound up earning even more than what he’s probably worth. That $6.5 million cap hit is more than Nathan MacKinnon, who just re-upped with the Avalanche for the next seven seasons. The waiting to the last minute approach isn’t working. It’s only costing the Rangers more over the long haul. What if Kreider only signs for a year and then breaks out? They’ll wind up paying exponentially more than the market value which was set by Kyle Palmieri.

Of course, that’s the price of doing business the way this team operates. No wonder they never have any cap room. Granted. Kreider is a little more tricky. He’s yet to develop consistently. He put up an identical amount of goals (21) and three fewer points (43) than his second year. A couple of years away from unrestricted status, it’ll be interesting to see what GM Jeff Gorton does with Kreider. Does he ante up for say five years at $5 million per year? Or does he make the 25-year old power forward earn it?

The same can be echoed of Kevin Hayes, who had a disappointing sophomore year. He will undoubtedly take whatever raise he gets. Dylan McIlrath also remains unsigned. So does Marek Hrivik, who probably will be back competing for a spot in training camp.

Posted in Battle News, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why the NHL made a mistake with this round of Expansion

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Pan Karalis

In a long anticipated move, the NHL awarded their 31st franchise to Las Vegas almost exactly a year to the day after formally opening the expansion process in June of 2015, to begin play in the 2017-18 season. After 16 groups reportedly received applications last summer from the NHL, only Bill Foley’s Las Vegas group and Quebecor’s Quebec City group returned the applications (with a $1 million fee) to be considered for this round of expansion. Although it initially seemed both groups would be awarded expansion teams, with both cities either having built or building state-of-the-art facilities to house potential teams, the league’s owners decided to proceed only with Las Vegas’ bid, choosing to defer Quebecor’s application. While not officially closing the door on expansion in the somewhat-near future for Quebec City, the NHL made mistakes in both omitting Quebec City and with proceeding with expanding to Las Vegas.

LV4

Bill Foley and Gary Bettman at the announcement of Las Vegas as the 31st NHL franshise

 

There are a few obvious factors that contributed to the NHL’s eventual expansion to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is the biggest market in both the United States and Canada that currently does not host a major professional sports franchise, it had the support of the deep-pocketed ownership group of Bill Foley which promised to build a suitable arena for their team to play in, and a Las Vegas team would play in the Western Conference, furthering the NHL’s goal of geographic balance. It was clear from last June that any serious attempt by the Bill Foley group would land Las Vegas a team, and a few weeks ago, their vision became reality with the anticipated announcement coming just before the NHL’s annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

 

While Las Vegas currently does not have any major professional sports options, its metropolitan population of less than two million residents does not exactly jump off the page. And despite having seen tremendous growth from 2000-2010, and despite continuing assertions from Las Vegas supporters that it is a growing region, that trend has stopped. In fact, Las Vegas has seen a decline in their population since 2013. It is roughly the size of Columbus, Ohio (21st largest metro in the NHL), a city that has been struggling for the better part of two decades to fill Nationwide Arena when the Blue Jackets are in town; and Columbus has a few clear advantages over Las Vegas in terms of supporting hockey at the NHL level.

 

LV

 

 

Ohio, while maybe not considered a hockey hot-bed, is certainly not a non-traditional hockey market. The first Ohioan to appear in the NHL, Cecil Dillon, was born in 1908. If some of you Rangers fans float that name to the old-timers in your family, they just might recognize it. He broke into the NHL with the Rangers in 1930 for whom he famously didn’t miss a single game over nine seasons, broke an NHL record with 8 post-season goals during the Rangers 1933 Stanley Cup run, and finished his NHL career after one season with the Red Wings in 1940. 23 other players native to Ohio have appeared in the NHL. Yes, Las Vegas’ own Jason Zucker is a prime example of hockey’s reach, and plenty of big time players have begun to emerge from non-traditional areas, but the fact remains hockey is a fringe sport even in some areas to which it is native. Success is few and far between off of the ice for most NHL teams in non-traditional markets, and it seems unlikely Las Vegas will reverse that trend.

 

Columbus, a consistent bottom 5 team in terms of attendance, also does not have to deal with the element of a transient-majority population that Las Vegas will have to contend with. Nevada has by far the lowest percentage of native-born residents in the country at 24%. Many residents of the relatively lightly populated Las Vegas are loyal to the sports teams of their native regions. Like many others have observed, Las Vegas’ NHL team will be relying on gate revenue from away-fans at far higher rates than any other NHL market, including Florida. While Vegas may be putting people in the seats, at least during the first couple of seasons, I find it difficult to trust that they will build a healthy and thriving fan base of their own. Even a piece from an article from the Las Vegas Sun summarizes how the transient nature of Las Vegas affects the city’s civic development: “The state’s high transience means newcomers may not see a need to build community and sometimes make “decisions that reflect the lack of attachments,” she said. People might not care about nurturing institutions, like public schools or nonprofit groups, or support diversifying the economy, a process that can take years to pay off.” (http://lasvegassun.com/news/2011/nov/29/native-nevadans-remain-small-minority-among-reside/). This Las Vegas NHL franchise is certainly an institution that will require nurturing from a population that may be unwilling to do so.

 

As much as I hope hockey can one day appeal to a diverse audience, the fact remains the vast majority of those who consume the NHL product are white people. Las Vegas has a huge Hispanic population, and while I’d love to see the NHL, USA Hockey, and Hockey Canada make the effort to engage Hispanic and black populations, dropping a team into an area with a large Hispanic presence isn’t the answer to that issue, as Phoenix and Dallas have illustrated. So, unless the NHL can reverse generations of cultural trends in 15 months, Las Vegas is looking at struggling to engage over 30% of its population.

 

 

LV2

A rendering of Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena

 

You may look at all of these factors individually and find other markets that deal with similar issues that have off-ice success and think these are issues that Las Vegas will be able to overcome. And maybe you would be right. However, no other market has succeeded under so many negative conditions. Yes, Buffalo is also a small market, in fact even smaller than Las Vegas, but Buffalo is a hockey-mad city, and the Sabres, even sharing the tiny market with the wildly popular Bills, are inseparably woven into the civic fabric of Buffalo and Western New York. Yes, Washington, D.C is a major transient region, but their population is triple that of Las Vegas. Yes, Los Angeles is a warm weather place, but Los Angeles is the second largest market in the United States. Warm weather teams disproportionately make up the bottom third of league attendance most seasons and the bottom third of team value and operating profit. The one advantage Las Vegas seems to have is that there are no other major professional sports franchises, but let’s backtrack to Columbus; another city that doesn’t share its market with another major professional sports franchise. The Blue Jackets are by themselves and again, struggle to get people into the building. And unlike Columbus, Las Vegas residents have plenty of other outlets to spend their entertainment dollars.

 

On the other side of this conversation is Quebec City, the applicant city that has been deferred by the NHL with no timeline for its potential reexamination. Quebec City has successfully hosted NHL in the past, only losing its team along with Winnipeg due to an unfortunate economic climate during the 1990’s in Canada. Winnipeg has since seen NHL hockey return with the relocation of the struggling Atlanta Thrashers in 2011, and they have succeeded tremendously. Quebec City’s metro is larger than Winnipeg’s, its stadium is newer and significantly larger than Winnipeg’s, its local economy is healthier than Winnipeg’s, and hockey is equally popular in Quebec City as it is in Winnipeg. Winnipeg isn’t an indication that Quebec would succeed, it is a bar Quebec City would easily vault. It would make more on gate revenue and would likely make more on their media deal, as they would play in a larger media market. The numbers are simply on Quebec’s side.

 

LV3

The last Nordiques team

 

The reasoning behind the NHL’s exclusion of Quebec are borderline silly in some regards. The primary reason given for proceeding without Quebec seems to be the geographic balance of the NHL, and I find the exclusion of a market from a multi-billion dollar industry based on geography to be nothing short of absurd. The league should not be awarding franchises based on its geographic structure, it should be structuring around the 30, 31, 32 markets best suited for the NHL. Simple as that. Sure, it would be nice if there was an easy solution to geographic balance, but we shouldn’t be sacrificing great hockey markets because the logistics are inconvenient.

 

One argument that superficially seems like a good reason to have left Quebec out is the struggling Canadian dollar. Today, $1CA is trading to $.77US. The primary effect this has on teams operating in Canada is essentially a 23% premium on paying their players. All players, regardless of which side of the border they play on, are paid in $US (preventing the negative side effects of such fluctuations common with the Canadian dollar, i.e a contract being worth say 30% less today than what it was worth when it was signed in 2011), but most revenue received by the seven Canadian teams is of course in $CA. This also affects the league’s collective overall revenue.

 

LV7

The Centre Videotron in Quebec City

 

The inherent instability of the Canadian dollar is something the NHL will always have to deal with. It is the price of doing business in Canada. The NHL can’t go into its shell in terms of its business dealings in Canada every time their currency dips. Canada is a rentier economy, and that is unfortunately the nature of a currency tied to that kind economy. Seven other NHL teams deal with this currency fluctuation and current relative low value and manage it just fine, and Quebec wouldn’t have any other hurdle other Canadian teams have been dealing with for their entire existence. The only real-money effect the devalued currency would have on an expansion process would be the expansion fee the NHL was to charge to any group that was to come into the league through expansion. The $500 million figure would come somewhere into the ballpark of CA$615,000,000; a major difference, sure, but I would bet that Quebec’s ownership group, multibillion dollar multimedia giant Quebecor, would not mind spending the extra money.

 

The bottom line is, regardless of what currency a Quebec City franchise would use, it would turn a profit.

 

There are other economic and factors that suggest Quebec would be a more successful franchise than Las Vegas. First, take a look at the overall economic climate in Canada. Yes, the declining price of oil has hurt the country, especially out west, but Canada is a country with a low poverty rate that provides its citizens with social safety nets and a nationalized health care system. The average Canadian has far more disposable income than the average American, and Quebec City’s economy is especially strong. Quebec boasts a diverse economy and an unemployment rate of only 4.5%, the lowest of any major Canadian city (compared to Las Vegas’ 7.3%).

 

Quebec City is a true hockey town that has been begging for a return of their beloved Nordiques since they left in 1996. And that’s no surprise to anyone familiar with the NHL, as the grassroots organization Nordiques Nation has spent the last half decade making sure every hockey fan knows where the NHL unquestionably should have expanded next. You don’t need to build a fan base in Quebec, you have one in waiting. You don’t need to hope hockey will work there, you know it has, does, and will. Putting numbers aside (I know a phrase not used by the NHL Board of Governors when making decisions like this), hockey belongs in Quebec City. I want to see a league of the best hockey cities on the continent. I want the NHL to be a true reflection of the game of hockey. And it’s not that I don’t want the sport to grow to non-traditional markets, but I think before we try to build interest in Miami and Phoenix and Las Vegas, we should be serving the hockey hot beds and allowing those who have loved the game their entire lives to consume it at the top level. The numbers work for Quebec City, and the passion is palpable. They’ve shown up all over the US and Canada to NHL stadiums from coast to coast in an attempt to get their Nordiques back, and the NHL chose Las Vegas, a town in which they hope to cultivate a group of fans circumstantially.

 

LV6

A show of support for the Nordiques in Quebec City

 

I think there are two major factors that went into choosing Las Vegas and omitting Quebec City. First, I think the NHL chose Las Vegas as a prestige project. The NHL wanted to make a splash, and they wanted to be the first major professional league to pull the trigger on the Las Vegas experiment. The same way Bruce Ratner dragged the Nets to Brooklyn, and the same way North Korea builds massive infrastructure projects they never intend to use, the NHL is trying to score some exposure and pound their own chests over trailblazing this desert town.

 

On the other side, I think Quebec City’s predominant Franco culture might have played a bigger role than one might expect in deciding not to head to Quebec just yet. The NHL is a different, more connected league than it was the last time the Nordiques took the ice. I think there would be some disagreements over the handling of the language issue, and I think the logistics would be far more complicated than dealing with bilingual cities like Montreal and Ottawa, and far more complicated than they were 20 years ago. I think fans of the Nordiques would be rightfully upset if the NHL applied bilingual policies to their franchise (because Quebec City is absolutely not a bilingual city and shouldn’t be treated as such), but I doubt the NHL wants to have a franchise that operates primarily in a language a vast majority of NHL fans don’t speak. It would be much more difficult for casual fans and fans of other teams to stay connected to what was going on with the Quebec City franchise, and I’m sure their popularity with the casual fan would suffer, and as a result, so would their ratings for national broadcasts both in the US and in Canada. I doubt many non-Francophone players would be thrilled to have to relocate to Quebec City, and landing top free agents that hail from non-French speaking regions (so, most of them) would be far more difficult for the Nordiques than most franchises. I’m not trying to stoke any conspiracy fire, but it certainly could have been a factor that few if any people (at least outside of Quebec) have considered.

 

Las Vegas probably won’t be an immediate failure. Novelty will propel them for the first handful of years and probably keep a pro-Vegas crowd in the stadium. However, before too long, I imagine local interest will wain to levels you’d expect in a small desert city. The crowds most nights will have huge proportions of away-fans, and the Vegas crowd will probably be outnumbered on many occasions. I’m sure casino goers will be receiving tickets as comped prizes, and you’ll have high rollers coming in with 5 minutes left in the first period and leaving before the second intermission. I think that within 5 years, Las Vegas will have the worst atmosphere in the NHL. I think it will be another black eye on the NHL, and one they will refuse let mercifully die as they do with other failed non-traditional market experiments.

 

I do not have any bias against Las Vegas. Nevada is a beautiful and unique state, and it would be nice to see a major professional sports team thrive there; unfortunately, I feel I can say with some confidence, I don’t think it’s going to be this team. Thankfully for Vegas, the NFL is also knocking on its door, I’m sure the NBA will be there within a few years as well, and I think both of those projects will be somewhat successful. But as for the NHL franchise, if it goes as poorly as I think it will, Quebec might not have to have its expansion application revisited.

Posted in Battle News | 7 Comments

Devils re-sign Palmieri for five years, $23.5 million

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Derek
Kyle Palmieri

Kyle Palmieri celebrates his second period goal in a Devils win over the Hawks. AP Photo by Nam Y. Huh/Getty Images

Earlier today, the Devils and restricted free agent Kyle Palmieri reached agreement on a new five-year contract worth a reported $23.5 million. His average cap hit comes out to $4.65 million per year. The payout is as follows:

’16-17 $4.5 million

’17-18 $4.5 million

’18-19 $5 million

’19-20 $5 million

’20-21 $4.25 million

Acquired from the Ducks at last year’s NHL Draft for a 2015 second round pick and a 2016 third round pick, the 25-year old from Smithtown, New York broke out in his first year with New Jersey establishing career bests in goals (30), assists (27), points (57) while playing all 82 games.

The 30 goals tied with Adam Henrique for the team lead while the 57 points led the Devils in scoring. Palmieri was one of four Devils to play every game. Only captain Andy Greene remains while Adam Larsson was traded for Taylor Hall and Stephen Gionta won’t return.

With GM Ray Shero referring to Palmieri as “a foundation building block who will only help the Devils get better,” they are on the right track this summer.

The blockbuster acquisition of Hall from the Oilers for Larsson has Jersey fans excited about the team’s prospects. Adding a proven scorer should bolster an anemic offense that ranked dead last in ’15-16 averaging a paltry 2.22 goals/game. Had they been in the middle of the pack with Cory Schneider’s goaltending, they would’ve made the playoffs. The Devils finished with 84 points. Twelve behind the wildcard Flyers and nine back of the wildcard Red Wings.

Shero has also added former Pen defenseman Ben Lovejoy to replace the departure of David Schlemko to San Jose. Free agent center Vernon Fiddler was brought in as a fourth line upgrade for Gionta. Former Pen Beau Bennett was acquired in the 2016 Draft for a third round pick (Connor Hall). Devante Smith-Pelly was re-signed to a two-year deal worth $2.6 million.

With still plenty of cap space to re-sign restricted free agent Reid Boucher along with first-year pros Steven Santini, Miles Wood, John Quenneville signed and top prospect Pavel Zacha likely a year away, things look bright in Newark.

The Devils are also waiting on Patrik Elias to recover and see if he wants to return for one final year. His decision might not come until training camp. The all-time franchise leader in goals (408), assists (617) and points (1025) turned 40 in April. It would be nice to see him go out on his own terms. Last year, injuries limited him to eight points (2-6-8) in 16 games.

Posted in Battle News, Devils | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Islanders look to experience and prospects in future

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Derek
Frans Nielsen, P.A. Parenteau, Zenon Konopka, Rick DiPietro

P.A. Parenteau has returned to the Islanders. They’re counting on him, Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera to offset the losses of Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and Matt Martin.

There was little question that the Islanders were going to have a different look. Once July 1 rolled around, Matt Martin, Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo became former players moving on to different teams. Martin landing in Toronto for four years, $10 million to protect Auston Matthews. Nielsen opting for Detroit’s $31.5 million over six years, and Okposo headed upstate to Buffalo for seven years, $42 million.

Islanders Team President and GM Garth Snow went for more experience and leadership bringing in Andrew Ladd on a seven-year deal worth $38.5 million. While the long-term risk could come back to haunt them, Ladd is the kind of character player who should help captain John Tavares lead both on and off the ice. A veteran who’s won two Stanley Cups, Ladd knows what it takes to win.

Aside from going at least two years too long on Ladd, Snow was able to find a couple of dependable players in the bargain basement. First, he added former Cap Jason Chimera for only two years, $4.5 million. While it’s true he’s 37, Chimera has continued to perform well. A solid two-way player who can be used on the third or fourth line while being an effective penalty killer, the speedy forward never takes a shift off. His work ethic and hustle should impress Islander fans.

Still needing another scorer, Snow dug into the past and brought back the proven P.A. Parenteau on a low risk one year, $1.25 million deal. The 33-year old scored 20 goals and added 21 assists for 41 points in 77 games for the Maple Leafs a year after a disappointing injury riddled campaign in Montreal.

Before leaving for Colorado, Parenteau was part of a couple of Islander teams where he played some of his best hockey in ’10-11 and ’11-12. He totaled 38 goals and 82 helpers for 130 points over 161 games while playing mostly with Tavares. He’s always been a solid power play option. Of his 268 total points, 107 have come on the man-advantage including 33 power play goals and 74 power play assists. The Islanders ranked 17th on the power play going 18.3 percent this past season.

The big question with these additions is how much can they offset the losses of Martin, Nielsen and Okposo? Let’s face it. All three were key parts of the Islanders who helped them finally reach the second round. Of course, it doesn’t happen without a heroic effort from Tavares, whose tying and winning goals in Game 6 against the Panthers had the Barclays Center celebrating in downtown Brooklyn.

Okposo had superb chemistry with Tavares taking his game to a different level. Now, he’ll look to do the same thing in Buffalo with either Jack Eichel or Ryan O’Reilly. Nielsen was always that perfect second-line pivot who could be trusted in any situation including power play and penalty kill. With the Isles’ offense struggling, coach Jack Capuano didn’t hesitate to move him up to Tavares’ line with Okposo.

Martin was the meat and potatoes for the club. Along with Cal Clutterbuck, he played a physical style that made him a fan favorite. Delivering crunching hits and becoming an effective forechecker on the Isles’ grind line centered by Casey Cizikas, the popular Martin was always willing to do the dirty work for the good of the team. That’ll be left to Clutterbuck, who has been a great fit since coming over from the Wild for former first round pick Nino Niederreiter. He has one year left before hitting the market next summer.

What the Isles are doing is trying to transform a team that played physical to more of a skating club. By adding the more skilled Chimera, they’re going away from what Martin brought. They also bumped up Cizikas’ salary to $3.35 million. That probably means they want him to take on a different role.

While it’s true they did lose more scoring, maybe it’s time for some of their young core to step to the forefront. We’re speaking of Brock Nelson and Anders Lee, who is still recovering from a broken left fibula that kept him out of the playoffs. Nelson was a disappointment with just a goal and four assists in the two rounds. They need more consistency from him. He put up 26 markers in ’15-16. Nelson is fully capable of supplanting Nielsen as the team’s second line center. Lee came on down the stretch before a costly injury. Both will be keys to their success.

One thing about the Isles’ roster is they have plenty of versatility. Both Nelson and Lee can play the pivot as can Josh Bailey, who is one of the club’s top penalty killers along with Clutterbuck. Ryan Strome is another young player they’re counting on to be better than last season. He took a giant step back finishing with eight goals and 20 assists. His skill level certainly should produce much better. Strome still needs work defensively.

If there are two players the club haven’t gotten enough from, that would be oft-injured center Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. For the money they make (combined $9.18 million AAV) neither has been consistent. Unfortunately, Grabovski has dealt with concussions which have really limited him. He’s played 109 games the first two years with the Isles totaling 18 goals and 26 assists. He missed the postseason. In fact, he’s only gotten into three playoff games the past two years. Kulemin is more complementary and can be used in a secondary role. Certainly, either could be a buyout candidate or left unprotected for next year’s expansion. Not that I could realistically see Las Vegas actually picking either up.

With Snow re-signing Shane Prince for two years at an average of $850,000, he has just over six million left on the cap. Only restricted free agents Strome and Jean-Francois Berube are left to re-sign. Neither of who should cost too much.

The Islanders will be taking long looks at recent top picks Michael Dal Colle, Matthew Barzal and Joshua Ho-Sang, who turns pro this year. Dal Colle has the highest upside. If he impresses enough, he could get into some games before being sent back to junior. Ho-Sang has the most to prove following last year’s awful camp which prompted Snow to send him home.

Even with the roster changing, the Isles should still be heard from in the future.

Posted in Battle News, NY Islanders | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sabres acquire Anders Nilsson

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Derek

Anders Nilsson

In a move to address backup goalie, the Sabres acquired Anders Nilsson from the Blues for a 2017 fifth round pick. They immediately signed the 26-year old Swede to a one-year deal worth a reported $1 million.

Originally an Islanders’ third round pick in ’09, he’s since bounced around the league. Nilsson went from the Blackhawks to the Oilers following a good season with Kazan AK-Bars where he won 20 games and posted a .936 save percentage in the KHL. He started out well in ’15-16 even putting Cam Talbot on the bench during the first half.

But Nilsson couldn’t maintain his level- falling to 10-12-2 with a 3.14 goals-against-average and a .901 save percentage. Eventually, Talbot regained the starting role with Edmonton. Eventually, the Oilers moved Nilsson to St. Louis on Feb. 27. He only appeared in three games allowing four goals on 44 shots.

Now, he is with his fifth NHL organization and third in a year. Nilsson will be the favorite to be the Sabres’ backup behind starter Robin Lehner. He should get stiff competition from Linus Ullmark, who won 10 games with a 2.60 GAA and .913 save percentage in his rookie year.

Somewhat astonishingly, all three Buffalo netminders are Swedish. Each are two years apart in age with Nilsson the elder statesman at 26. That’s followed by Lehner (24) and Ullmark (22).

Posted in Battle News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Okposo believes Sabres can win Stanley Cup

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Derek
Kyle Okposo

Kyle Okposo (center) with John Tavares (right) was a great duo with the Islanders. Now, he’ll either team with Jack Eichel or Ryan O’Reilly in Buffalo with the belief they can win a Stanley Cup.

On Canada Day, NHL teams made plenty of moves in hope of improving. For the Buffalo Sabres, that meant successfully recruiting Kyle Okposo by signing him to a seven-year $42 million contract. As TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger reported, $25 million of the $42 million will be paid in signing bonus.

The 28-year old former Islander forward has topped 50 points in each of his last three seasons. He had 64 (22-42-64) in his final season with the Islanders while helping them reach the second round for the first time since ’93. In 11 postseason games, Okposo tallied two goals and six assists for eight points.

A three-time 20-plus goalscorer who also can set up teammates as his 42 assists demonstrate in two of the past three seasons, the versatile right wing from Saint Paul, Minnesota decided the rebuilding Sabres give him the opportunity to win a Stanley Cup. Featuring Jack Eichel and Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo gives Okposo the chance to play on the right wing with either center.

“He knows that Jack’s a great young player and he raved about Ryan and how hard he was to play against and [how] he was a complete 200-foot player and all the different adjectives that you use about a player like Ryan,” Sabres’ general manager Tim Murray said Friday in a feature that appeared on the team’s website.

The Sabres also boast other young talent including Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe and troubled forward Evander Kane. Kane is being investigated for harassment complaints against him stemming from a bar incident on June 24 involving two women.

According to his attorney, no charges have been filed. Murray was adamant about Kane needing to change his behavior. He is a controversial player the Sabres are invested in. Signed thru 2018, he’ll earn $12 million the next two years. Part of a deal that sent Tyler Myers to Winnipeg which also brought back Zach Bogosian, Kane scored 20 goals and 15 assists with 91 penalty minutes in his first season with Buffalo.

With Murray already re-signing McCabe to a new three-year deal worth an average of $1.6 million, he still must get Ristolainen re-signed. The Sabres’ top scoring defenseman broke out with nine goals and 32 assists with his 41 points ranking fourth in team scoring over a full 82 games this past season. If the recent extensions for Aaron Ekblad ($7.5 million AAV) and Victor Hedman ($7.875 million AAV) are any indication, the 21-year old Finn could be a rich man. The number probably won’t be as high but figure it to be between $5-6.5 million.

One move Murray also made this off-season was acquiring defenseman Dmitry Kulikov from the Panthers with a second round pick (Rasmus Asplund) at the Draft held in Buffalo for Mark Pysyk, a second round pick (Adam Mascherin) and third round pick (Linus Nassen). The 25-year old Kulikov is a solid skating left D who has one year left on a deal that pays him $4.5 million in ’16-17 before becoming unrestricted. Essentially, it was a swap of former first round picks with Kulikov more advanced than Pysyk, who would only turn restricted next summer. A risk Murray is willing to take.

As for the newest Sabre, Okposo believes they’re moving in a similar direction as his former team. After benefiting from working with John Tavares, he’ll get to play with either the super talented Eichel or the play-making O’Reilly. Either should be a good fit. Impressed with Buffalo’s skill level following a overtime loss late in the season, he hopes he can help bring a championship to Western New York.

“I hope I can provide a veteran presence,” he said. “I think we can get there quicker than I did with the Islanders. I just want to try to help the team in that aspect and try to help the team win a Cup.”

Only time shall tell if he’s proven right.
Posted in Battle News, July 1 Frenzy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rangers sign Clendening and Paliotta, Rookie Camp ends

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Derek
Adam Clendening

The Rangers signed Adam Clendening and Michael Paliotta to one-year two-way deals adding defensive depth. Rookie camp wrapped up with some nice surprises. Jeff Beukeboom is the new assistant coach. 

After making a couple of decent additions to the fourth line bringing in forwards Michael Grabner and Nathan Gerbe on the cheap, the Rangers added some defensive depth by inking a pair of 23-year old defensemen to one-year two-way deals.

First, they signed Adam Clendening from the Oilers. He wasn’t qualified by Edmonton making him unrestricted. A former 2011 second round pick of the Blackhawks, Clendening split this past season with the Pens and Oilers totaling one goal and six assists in 29 games. That included a goal and five helpers in 20 games with Edmonton. Interestingly, he was part of the Carl Hagelin trade that sent the ex-Ranger to Pittsburgh for David Perron. Now with Perron returning to St. Louis and Clendening being claimed by Edmonton and signed by the Rangers, Anaheim wound up with nothing from a deal that saw Hagelin help the Pittsburgh win a Stanley Cup. Great asset management.

The second blue liner the Rangers inked was Westport, Connecticut native Michael Paliotta. Another former 2011 Chicago third round pick, he spent four years at the University of Vermont before debuting with an assist in one game for the Blackhawks in ’14-15. Part of last year’s blockbuster that sent Brandon Saad to Columbus for Artem Anisimov, ex-Hawk Marko Dano (traded to Winnipeg to rent Andrew Ladd), Corey Tropp, Jeremy Morin and a 2016 fourth round pick (Anatoly Golyshev), who was selected by Islanders in a pick swap with Chicago (Lucas Carlsson) and a 2017 sixth round pick, Paliotta spent most of ’15-16 with Lake Erie of the AHL tallying eight goals and 15 helpers for 23 points in 68 contests. He got into one game for the Blue Jackets with four penalty minutes.

Neither signing looks substantial. On paper, both Clendening and Paliotta should be part of Hartford. With the trade for former Avalanche Nick Holden, the Blueshirts current top six looks like Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Klein, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Brady Skjei and Holden with Dylan McIlrath still blocked. With general manager Jeff Gorton unable to find takers for either Girardi or Staal, it’s a good bet both will be back. What that means is they’re counting on the two blood and guts vets to be much better. A dicey situation.

McIlrath is restricted like forwards Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller. Given what he showed in his rookie season, McIlrath needs a coach who’s willing to play him consistent minutes. I don’t have much faith in Alain Vigneault.

In a move that took longer than it should have, Jeff Beukeboom was hired as the new assistant coach replacing Ulf Samuelsson. Beukeboom worked with both McIlrath and Skjei down in Hartford. It should’ve been a no brainer. Instead, it’s painfully obvious he wasn’t Vigneault’s first choice. God forbid they have someone who can coach up the D and alter the strategy.

As for the rest of the summer, it’s gonna be focused on re-signing Hayes, Kreider, Miller and McIlrath with the latter taking a cheap deal. Hayes should probably be around $2-2.5 million. Miller could get higher based on his career year. I wish they could lock him up. As for Kreider, it’s anyone’s guess. He earned $2.6 million this past year and had basically identical numbers with the same amount of goals (21), three less assists (22), three less points (43) and 30 fewer penalty minutes (58) in 79 games. He finished strong and had two goals in the five-game first round loss to the Pens. If I were to estimate, I’d say the next deal is between $4.5-5 million on average. But for how long?

The Rangers have approximately $11 million left to spend. We know where most of it is going. Can they bring in a center to replace Dominic Moore? Or is the plan to have Oscar Lindberg anchor the fourth line with Hayes remaining the team’s third line pivot despite his lack of face off acumen and defensive deficiency? That one is hard to figure.

Considering that they subtracted Viktor Stalberg and added Grabner and Gerbe, figure those two speedsters to be part of the fourth line. If only Jesper Fast wasn’t asked to be a third line right wing. He is a tireless worker cut from the same path as Hagelin. But isn’t nearly as dangerous and struggled killing penalties.

If Gorton is unable to change the roster, then it’s pretty much the same group they had. What does that mean? Basically, the lines would be similar with a couple of new guys sprinkled in. Here’s what the potential 12 forwards could look like:

Kreider-Stepan-Miller

Nash-Brassard-Zuccarello

Buchnevich-Hayes-Fast

Grabner-Lindberg-Gerbe

Extra: Glass

The fourth line would at least be faster. Speed is something they lacked. Obviously, with Tanner Glass not the fleetest of foot and Moore slowing down. However, Glass gave a solid effort. So, take nothing away from him. If he’s an extra and used sparingly for games where a little toughness is called for, that’s fine.

Consider that Pavel Buchnevich isn’t a lock for the Opening Night roster. From reading Leslie Treff’s rookie camp review on New York Sports Day, he didn’t distinguish himself from some of the other young prospects who were more noticeable.

At times yesterday and today, [Robin] Kovacs played on a line with Pavel Buchnevich, who was clearly the most hyped player in development camp. It did not seem like there was any chemistry between them though.

A dilemma may be coming this fall with Buchnevich, who has excellent offensive skills. The Rangers need him to play in New York, however, he was far from dominant this week and made quite a few defensive and offensive mistakes. Buchnevich speaks little to no English and needs to adjust, but it was far from clear that he will be NHL-ready this fall. He gave a small presser earlier in the week and indicated that he will be working out most of the summer in New York, and that he believes that he is ready to play at the NHL level, but he may need some adjustment time in Hartford.

Buchnevich believes he’s ready. Time will tell. It is positive to know that other players such as Robin Kovacs, free agent addition Malte Stromwall, Adam Tambellini and 2016 seventh round pick Ty Ronning stood out. Goalie Brandon Halverson and defenseman Ryan Graves also made good impressions as did 2015 second round pick Ryan Gropp.

At the very least, the club can feel good about its future. With Halverson turning pro this year, Igor Shestyerkin overseas, Adam Huska and Tyler Wall all in the system as goalies, there appears to be a bright spot should Henrik Lundqvist ever get traded. A lot would have to happen for that to change. He’s got five years left and signed thru 2021.

Of course, with almost everyone improving, the Rangers don’t have much maneuverability to upgrade the roster. We’ll see if there are any surprises.

Posted in Battle News, July 1 Frenzy, NYRangers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shero stays busy signing five players on UFA day

Posted on July 1, 2016 by hasan4978

20678455-mmmain

While signing a depth defenseman and a fourth-line forward doesn’t sound like much activity amidst all the frenzy of July 1, it was nonetheless part of an important day for the Devils as they signed five players to contracts and going a long way toward putting their 2016-17 roster into focus.  Yes it was expected that Shero would re-up with wingers Beau Bennett and Devante Smith-Pelly as well as defenseman Jon Merrill even after not giving them a qualifying offer, but still crucial as all three look to craft out bigger roles next season.  Merrill and Smith-Pelly both agreed to two-year deals ($1.3 million per for DSP, $1.175 million per for Merrill), while Bennett signed a one-year deal at $725k, interestingly enough saving money on the QO they declined to extend.  Though all could have gone to UFA, all chose to remain with the Devils.

In addition to retaining those three, the Devils also made a couple of outside signings today – the biggest one being the signing of ex-Penguin blueliner Ben Lovejoy (above) to a three year, $8 million deal (AAV: $2.67 million).  Lovejoy adds snarl and a bit of a stabilizing stay-at-home presence the Devils needed after dealing off Adam Larsson in the Taylor Hall acquisition.  Perhaps just as importantly, the 32-year old Lovejoy gives a still young defense a second veteran presence to lean on in addition to captain Andy Greene and provides a stopgap at RHD until prospects Steve Santini and Joshua Jacobs develop and the Devils one day see what these kids can become.

https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/748964591984455681

Signing Lovejoy also balances out the defensive pairings giving them a third RHD to go along with Damon Severson and Santini (assuming he makes the team) while their leading three LHD are Greene, Merrill and John Moore.  With last season’s revelation David Schlemko moving onto San Jose after signing a four-year deal, I don’t expect any more UFA signings unless it’s a depth/seventh defense type.

Showing he wasn’t done adding to the team, Shero also inked veteran center Vernon Fiddler to a one-year deal worth $1.25 million.  The 36-year old Fiddler improves the team’s depth, giving them a true fourth line center (ATOI last year: 11:38) and one that can actually win some faceoffs and put up a few points.  Last season Fiddler put up twelve goals and twenty two points playing all eighty-two games for a high-powered Stars team.  Fiddler’s addition signals change in a bottom six that was frequently lacking in 2015-16.  Retaining Smith-Pelly and adding Bennett along with Fiddler starts to round out the starting twelve forwards.  My projected lines as of this afternoon:

Hall-Henrique-Bennett,  Cammalleri-Zajac-Palmieri, Boucher-Zacha/Elias/Quenneville-Smith-Pelly, Josefson-Fiddler-Kalinin

One of the kids could also win a spot and bump former first-rounder Jacob Josefson or last year’s overseas signing Dmitry Kalinin out of the lineup, such as Blake Pietella who didn’t look out of place late last year.  With both Josefson and Dmitry Kalinin still under contract they currently have the first crack at being the wings on an improved fourth line though, since the team is not expected to retain free agents Stephen Gionta, Jordin Tootoo or Tyler Kennedy.  If any return hopefully it’s in a depth role only (re: 13th and 14th forwards).  We already know Lee Stempniak will not be returning after signing a two-year $5 million deal in Carolina, making it the tenth team for the well-traveled Stemp, who was a revelation last season as a camp tryout signing but ultimately not a long-term part of the rebuild Shero’s engineering.

Looking at that lineup currently the biggest question is top six wing (which on paper looks to be a battle between Bennett and Smith-Pelly) and third-line center.  2015 first-rounder Pavel Zacha will be given every chance to make the team and with the construction of the roster you would think it would be at center.  There is also the possibility that 2014 first-rounder Joel Quenneville could emerge and steal a spot after a strong WHL season, though you would think the team would like to get him some time in the AHL first.  Of course there’s also the specter of franchise icon Patrik Elias who could also be a factor if he recovers from his knee surgery and shows he can still play.  Elias has already said he doesn’t want to play anywhere else so if he doesn’t return, that’ll be it for the Czech legend and hopefully future HOF’er.

While I do expect other tweaks before September I’d say the major work is over barring a trade to perhaps improve at center or LHD.  And right now I’m fairly content that this team is a lot better than it was a week ago, even without the expensive, flashy UFA signings many teams opted for this afternoon.

Posted in Devils, July 1 Frenzy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment