HARD HITS: Tkachuk blockbuster trade involving Huberdeau a rarity, the uncomfortable direction the NHL is headed

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Derek

Once the first domino fell when Johnny Gaudreau left Calgary for Columbus by taking less money to uproot his family back to the States, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Matthew Tkachuk would not remain a Calgary Flame.

The former 2016 first round pick selected number six by Calgary became a power forward in his six seasons spent at the Saddledome. A imposing player who combines strong skating with the right amount of snarl in front of the net, the 24-year old Tkachuk informed the Flames that he didn’t plan on signing an extension.

Once that happened, Calgary decided to take him to salary arbitration. It sped up the process of moving him. By making Tkachuk available, they wanted a king’s ransom for the budding star who had a career season. His 42 goals, 62 assists, 104 points and plus-57 rating were gaudy numbers produced while playing on a great scoring line that included Gaudreau (40-75-115) and Elias Lindholm (42-40-82).

After seeing the popular Gaudreau leave for nothing, the Flames couldn’t afford a repeat with Tkachuk. The way sports is going these days, teams are now at the mercy of star athletes. It’s beginning to happen in the NHL.

Pierre-Luc Dubois accepted his qualifier from the Jets for one year, $6 million. Most sources reported that he doesn’t want to re-sign in Winnipeg next year. That means he’ll wind up on his third team soon. It’ll be by trade. If it is indeed Montreal, that’ll be another win for a player.

So much for loyalty. There isn’t much now. Unless it’s a Mika Zibanejad signing an extension last year before the start of ’21-22 which turned out great for the Rangers, you don’t see enough players who want to stay. There are exceptions like the Lightning trio of Erik Cernak, Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev, who all got extensions to stay put.

If you have a good player who wants to leave, then it puts the organization in a tough spot. The Flames made the right decision in moving on from Tkachuk, who got a brand new eight-year contract worth $9.5 million on average from the Panthers last night. He got paid. Younger brother Brady Tkachuk was pretty excited.

The way the news broke was shocking. I’d just returned to see it revealed by the official Florida Panthers account on Twitter. At first, I thought it couldn’t be real. I had to do a double take.

Vi’s reaction was similar to mine. The Panthers parted with star forward Jonathan Huberdeau and good defenseman MacKenzie Weegar along with prospect Cole Schwindt plus a lottery protected first round pick in 2025. It’s a steep price to pay along with the bag 💰 Tkachuk got to get younger.

I thought Huberdeau deserved to be included for the Hart Trophy. His career season where he had 30 goals with a league-leading 85 assists for 115 points and a plus-35 rating were outstanding. His previous bests came in ’18-19 when he produced 30 goals, 62 assists and 92 points. He also was over a point-per-game in ’19-20 and ’20-21 totaling 43-96-139 over 124 games. On a better team, he put it altogether at age 28.

Prior to ’21-22, Tkachuk had never been a point-per-game player. But he did have 77 points (34-43-77) in 80 games at age 21. That also came during ’18-19. He followed it up by going 39-65-104 over 125 games the next two seasons. Playing for a contract along with Gaudreau, Tkachuk also went off by scoring 40 goals for the first time in his career with 62 assists and 104 points. He definitely benefited from who he played with. But could form a dynamic duo in Florida with Aleksander Barkov.

It’s an interesting trade. A rare blockbuster that involved two 100-point scorers. Something that hasn’t happened in over 30 years. It actually involved John Cullen going to the Whalers in a six player blockbuster deal that sent Ron Francis to the Penguins. The key players were Ulf Samuelsson and Zarley Zalapski. As it turned out, the move helped the Pens win the first of two consecutive Cups. Unfortunately for the Whalers, it didn’t turn out so good. They never recovered.

On the level, the current trade involving Huberdeau and Tkachuk could work out for both teams. However, both the 29-year old Huberdeau and 28-year old Weegar are entering the final seasons of their deals. Huberdeau is a bargain at an AAV of $5.9 million while Weegar is at $3.25 million for ’22-23.

The short-term value of the trade looks better for Calgary. They added a top line scoring playmaker to replace Gaudreau, and got a reliable top four defenseman who can play key minutes. A blue line that also includes Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev and key RFA Oliver Kylington should be steady under coach Darryl Sutter.

Huberdeau would pencil in on the top line with Lindholm and possibly Andrew Mangiapane, who wants to stay in Calgary. He’s currently a restricted free agent coming off a career high 35-goal season. He previously made $2.425 million. Expect that to be doubled at around $5 million per year.

That would comprise a good scoring line even with the departures of Johnny Columbus and Tkachuk. The question is secondary help. Aside from Mangiapane rifling in 35 goals, there wasn’t much behind the big line last season. That hurt them in a disappointing second round loss to bitter Alberta rival Edmonton.

If you look at the current Flames roster, they are fine at center. Right behind Lindholm is pesky Mikael Backlund. Then it gets interesting. Is Sean Monahan still part of their plans? His contract that is worth $6.375 million expires next year. It depends on the health. Without him, there’s still Dillon Dube and they signed former Ranger Kevin Rooney. A solid get for the fourth line.

There aren’t many finishers. Tyler Toffoli is a good two-way player who can get 20 to 25 goals in a defined role. Blake Coleman is a 15-20 goal player who kills penalties well and hits. Milan Lucic is playing out the final year of a contract that pays him $6 million. It’s listed as $5.25 million AAV on puckpedia.com. At this point, the proud former Stanley Cup winner is a bit piece who adds grit and physicality.

In the system, the Flames have three young forward prospects with potential. Former first round pick Matt Coronato has good upside after pacing Harvard University in scoring as a freshman with 36 points (18-18-36). No doubt he won’t be rushed. But another strong year and maybe he is signed.

Jakob Pelletier was a good player for Team Canada at the U20 World Junior Championships in 2021. The former ’19 first round pick posted three goals and four assists for seven points. He was almost a point-per-game in his first pro year for Stockton of the AHL where he tallied 62 points (27-35-62) in 66 games. Pelletier might be ready.

The third prospect is another former first rounder Connor Zary. The 20-year old needs more time in the AHL to grow. He was selected 24th in 2020. Zary had two assists for Canada at the ’21 WJC.

While the Panthers have Tkachuk locked up for the foreseeable future, Calgary will have most of the upcoming ’22-23 season to figure out what to do with Huberdeau and Weegar. Depending on how it goes, that could determine the path they take. They still boast an elite goalie in Jacob Markstrom, who was the runner-up to Igor Shestyorkin for the Vezina. Plus a solid D.

Huberdeau can decide his future. Does he want to stay in Calgary on the one big payday he’ll get? Flames legend Theo Fleury gave his view on what it was like playing for the franchise. Then added a key point.

Of course, there are other factors involved now including the very strict Covid policy that’s been enforced in Canada. It isn’t exactly fun for players and citizens. Fleury has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. That’s my only comment in regards to the polarizing issue of politics.

There’s also income taxes to consider. For Tkachuk, he went to Florida. That means he gets tax breaks on his spanking new $76 million contract over the next eight years. That helps. It has allowed some teams to acquire and keep players they otherwise might not be able to. See Tampa. Although they did have to cut costs by dealing Ryan McDonagh over to Nashville to create room. They also lost Ondrej Palat to the Devils.

In theory, Fleury is right. Most of the time, it’s about the money. Even with the Flames offering Gaudreau a reported $10 million, it wasn’t enough to convince him to stay. He wanted to move his family closer to home. Although he didn’t choose New Jersey, going to Columbus affords him the opportunity with his wife who’s pregnant with their first baby, the chance to have a nice family life closer to home. Something that he said was important in his decision.

When it comes to unrestricted free agents, there’s nothing wrong with them choosing to go to another city. That’s their decision to make along with the family. You can’t fault a player for that. It’s been that way for a long time.

In a salary cap system, a select number of teams can bid on players. It all depends on their salary structure. The Flyers never even were able to offer Gaudreau a contract due to the way they’ve been run by GM Chuck Fletcher. It would’ve required multiple salary dumps.

Ditto for the Islanders, who remain the only team not to sign a single free agent since July 13th. That’s Lou Lamoriello for you. Over-committed to veteran forwards who are on the downside of their careers except Mat Barzal, Brock Nelson and Oliver Wahlstrom.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Flames flip Huberdeau at next year’s trade deadline for younger assets. I also wouldn’t be shocked if the Rangers are involved. That largely depends on Kaapo Kakko, Vitaly Kravtsov and possibly Brennan Othmann. We know Team President and GM Chris Drury isn’t shy about working the phones if he sees a chance to upgrade the roster.

On the flip side, the Panthers get a younger player on the rise. Tkachuk brings that unique combination of skill, speed and grit to a team that got exposed by the Lightning in a very disappointing second round sweep to their bitter interstate rivals.

Did GM Bill Zito overpay? It sure looks that way. But he knew he was going to potentially lose both Huberdeau and Weegar with the latter having been linked to Ottawa. So, he went all in on a player whose best years should be ahead.

While they did pay a premium for Tkachuk, the Cats kept the key young core pieces. That includes promising center Anton Lundell, Gregori Denisenko, Mackie Samoskevich and Michael Benning. That’s positive because they don’t have a first round pick in the NHL Draft until 2026.

A very high scoring team, the Panthers should still be able to fill it up. Led by Barkov and Tkachuk, they boast plenty of scoring depth. That includes Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Anthony Duclair, Lundell, Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour. They subtracted Huberdeau, Weegar and lost Mason Marchment to Dallas.

The loss of Weegar is interesting. He provided a good skating right defenseman who could contribute. They are counting on Ekblad to stay healthy. Radko Gudas remains the physical force on the blue line. After that, it becomes iffy. They added proven vet Marc Staal to play third pair with Lucas Carlsson. How will that go?

With Sergei Bobrovsky the starter in net with Spencer Knight his understudy, goaltending shouldn’t be an issue. But if they don’t improve their defensive structure under new coach Paul Maurice, they’ll again be asked to do too much. They brought in the experienced Maurice with that in mind. It’ll be interesting to see how their system changes compared to Andrew Brunette, who is now the top assistant with the Devils.

On paper, it looks like the Panthers weakened themselves for ’22-23. However, they also invited Eric Staal on a pro tryout. If he makes the roster, he can play a secondary role similar to Joe Thornton. Jumbo Joe hasn’t decided on his future. Florida also added Colin White and Nick Cousins for depth on the cheap.

Currently, they’re over the projected salary cap at $86,533,334. That’s over $4,000 they must subtract to be cap compliant. They might not have Duclair right away. He had surgery to repair a torn Achilles last month. If he’s on LTIR, that’s $3 million that is freed up to start the season.

In a division that still boasts the powerhouse Lightning, always entertaining Maple Leafs, the ultra competitive Bruins and improved Senators, the competition should be stiff. Also expect the Red Wings to be a little better. The Sabres will compete, but remain destined for the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes. The Canadiens can’t be any worse than last year under Marty St. Louis. However, they also should be in the Bedard Lottery.

So, how should we judge the Tkachuk for Huberdeau/Weegar deal that includes a protected first? It could look very different by March 2023 and beyond.

In terms of where the league is headed, it’s not a good thing. When you have players beginning to dictate the terms, that means the NHL could start to look similar to the other major sports. While it thankfully should never become as bad as the NBA that’s full of egotistical, self-serving superstars who force trades and opt out of huge contracts, hopefully we won’t see hockey players only choosing certain markets to play in. Something that’s unhealthy for a league and commissioner who emphasizes competitive balance.

In news that got overlooked due to the huge blockbuster trade between the Flames and Panthers on Friday, the Blue Jackets re-signed RFA Patrik Laine to a four-year deal worth $34.8 million. That’s $8.7 million AAV that’ll take him through 2026. So, he stays put to form a potential great scoring combo with Gaudreau.

With Laine signed, the Blue Jackets gave away right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for third and fourth round picks in 2023. A fan favorite who was a good player for Columbus, he had 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points in 80 contests last season.

The 27-year old Bjorkstrand has four years left on a contract that averages $5.4 million per season on the cap. Credit Seattle for taking advantage of the situation in Columbus to add a quality top six forward to a roster that will now include free agent addition Andre Burakovsky along with young centers Matty Beniers and Shane Wright.

With vets Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz, Brandon Tanev, Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann, they should be able to score more goals next season. The real excitement surrounds a full year of Beniers with Wright having fallen to number four. You know he’ll want to prove the Canadiens wrong for passing on him at number one.

As far as big free agent Nazem Kadri, it’s all quiet for now. Maybe he’s hoping the Avalanche can free up space to re-sign him. Would he take a discount to stay? He sure silenced the critics in Toronto. It seems almost impossible for him to remain in Colorado. We’ll see what happens.

The Bruins are of course in wait and see mode with Patrice Bergeron. You know if he returns, it’ll be in black and gold. The only team he’s ever played for. A future Hall Of Famer, arguably the greatest two-way center ever is also probably waiting for Boston to make room for him. It would be only fitting for the classy Bergeron to finish his brilliant career in Beantown. Pick 45 of a memorable 2003 Draft is the best of that class.

David Quinn was officially hired as the new coach of the San Jose Sharks. The former Rangers bench boss who helped develop some of the players Gerard Gallant guided to the Conference Finals, gets another chance with the teal. You’ll have Quinn teaming with new GM Mike Grier. Both formerly with the Rangers. A good franchise that’s been very successful over 30 years with 21 playoff appearances, five Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final reached, they are in decline. It’ll be interesting to follow how Grier and Quinn fare. Best of luck to both.

Finally, with even more rumors circulating about Team Canada at the World Juniors dating back to 2003, why is it that nobody can remember anything about the serious allegations surrounding former players? Sexual assault is very serious. That there is growing evidence from well respected reporter Rick Westhead on both the ’03 and ’18 WJC teams is very mind-numbing.

If it’s proven true, shouldn’t Hockey Canada be disciplined? There’s the rescheduled 2022 WJC coming up in August. Nothing against the players who could participate. But why should Russia only face punishment while Canada doesn’t?

There’s a big difference too. You can’t compare the actions of a deranged lunatic by punishing kids and then turn the other way when there are serious issues where players were involved in improper behavior with females. There should be accountability.

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Devils improve defense by acquiring Marino from Pens for Ty Smith and third round pick

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Derek

The Devils upgraded their defense today by adding a proven veteran in a smart deal. In a move that should improve their blue line, they acquired John Marino from the Pens in exchange for Ty Smith and a 2023 third round pick.

Update: Hasan beat me to it. Here’s what he had to say on the Devils adding Marino from the Penguins. You can read the rest of my thoughts below.

As usual, hockey insider Kevin Weekes had the breaking news from a random location. Weekes has become a trusted source. He has plenty of contacts in the league. I’d imagine a little birdie named Martin Brodeur told him about the trade.

Even if you’re a fan of the team who isn’t happy that Johnny Gaudreau passed up coming home for his sudden love of Columbus, GM Tom Fitzgerald has quietly improved the roster. He still added proven top six forward Ondrej Palat and toughened up the D with veteran Brendan Smith.

In being able to snatch up Marino from Pittsburgh, who decided he was expendable due to later adding Jeff Petry from the Habs for Mike Matheson, Fitzgerald took advantage. The 25-year old Marino is a solid puck moving defenseman who has good possession statistics. Signed for another five years at a fair cap hit of $4.4 million, he’s a quality get.

This past season, Marino had a goal and a career high 24 assists for 25 points over 81 contests with the Pens. He averaged 20:38 of ice time and was a plus-eight with 43 takeaways and 35 giveaways. He also blocked 88 shots and had 73 hits.

Compared to P.K. Subban, who was up and down in three seasons after coming over from Nashville, Marino is a younger and better player. This should solidify a defense that wasn’t exactly a team strength.

In adding Marino to a blue line that features Dougie Hamilton, Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, Jonas Siegenthaler and Smith, they suddenly have better balance. After signing 2022 number two pick Simon Nemec to an entry-level contract, it’s possible that he could be part of their defense in ’22-23. If that’s the case, then they have Brendan Smith as the extra. A marked improvement from what they had.

Ty Smith was once a highly thought of young defenseman in the Devils organization. Selected 17th in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft, the 22-year old really struggled defensively in his second season.

Perhaps that was enough for Fitzgerald to decide to move on from a young player with potential who probably needs a scenery change. He’ll get it in Pittsburgh.

After posting two goals and 21 assists for 23 points in 48 games during the shortened season of ’20-21, Smith registered five goals with 15 assists for 20 points in 66 games in ’21-22. However, he finished a minus-26 with 40 giveaways compared to only 13 takeaways.

As Hasan noted during the season, Smith made some costly gaffes that led to goals against. Although they never sent him down, he was a healthy scratch in some games due to the inconsistency. Maybe they should’ve had Smith play in the AHL.

There is potential. I guess it’ll all depend on how he’s handled by Pens coach Mike Sullivan. He turned Matheson around. Now, he will play in Montreal after they moved Petry to Pittsburgh in another deal to makeover their blue line.

It’s interesting that the Devils and Pens did business. The last such trade between the old Patrick Division rivals was when the Penguins sent Beau Bennett to the Devs for a third round pick (Connor Hall) on June 25, 2016. Bennett lasted a season going 8-11-19 in 65 games. He only played five more NHL games for St. Louis.

Are the Devils a better team now? Having added Vitek Vanecek to compete in net with Mackenzie Blackwood for the number one job, I’d say unequivocally yes.

They still must re-sign Jesper Bratt to a big contract. With still $12.26 million left on the cap, they’re in good shape. That includes RFA’s Miles Wood, Jesper Boqvist and Fabian Zetterlund.

Both Severson and Graves enter the final years of their contracts. With Kevin Bahl also a possibility on the roster, it’s possible Fitzgerald isn’t done dealing. I’m sure Hasan will have more on their situation as the off-season continues.

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Devils continue improving with trade for Marino

Posted on July 16, 2022 by hasan4978

Well when I last signed off here, I had gone from disillusioned over the Johnny Gaudreau mess to appeased (for lack of a better word) by a fortuitous late-night signing of Ondrej Palat, and now pleasantly surprised today by Fitz’s latest move to improve the blueline – trading Ty Smith and a third-rounder for 25-year old RHD John Marino. If you knew nothing about Marino before the trade, that makes two of us but apparently he’s a very solid defensive defenseman who can chip in the occasional point here and there – and is also signed for the next five years at a reasonable $4.4 million cap hit.

It was surprising mainly from the standpoint of this trade happening between two division teams – not to mention Marino being dealt one year into a six-year contract, although more of Pittsburgh’s intent became clearer later on in the day when they traded for Jeff Petry from Montreal, both getting him and saving some money by shedding the contracts of Marino and Mike Matheson (dealt to Montreal for Petry) as a result of taking back Smith – the one-time first-round pick of the Devils. It wasn’t totally surprising that Fitz made a move like this to improve the D though, especially if you listened to his post-FA interview where when asked what else he’d like to do this offseason, Fitzy volunteered that he was looking to address the D.

Given the fact the Devils already had six D under contract for next year – including recent signing Brendan Smith – and some other younger guys possibly pushing for a spot on the back pairing, it seemed more obvious after Fitz’s words that at least one of the signed D was going to be on the move. So far the answer to that is Smith, who after a promising rookie season had a clear sophomore slump last year. He certainly has talent offensively but with their highest-paid player (Dougie Hamilton) and their best prospect (Luke Hughes) both fully capable of adding offense to the D, it seemed less likely that Smith would be a long-term part of the solution after last season.

I’m not sure Fitz is done yet with his D makeover, since both Damon Severson and Ryan Graves are on the last year of their contracts, they would be the most likely candidates to be moved next – either in the offseason or at the deadline. Given that Marino – a RHD – is signed for a decent chunk of change at term, along with Hamilton and recent #2 overall pick Simon Nemec being RHD’s, it also makes it less likely Severson is going to be around past this year. While I’ve had my issues with Severson as a player, he’s always been a good Devil under some trying circumstances and if we’re coming to a crossroads here I wish him (as well as Ty) luck in their future endeavors.

I owe Fitzy a mea culpa though, or at least a nod of approval…I wanted him to be more proactive a few days ago, he certainly has been that over the last week plus – both in terms of players acquired as well as players we’ve been willing to move on from as this franchise hopefully starts to make a turn back toward the light next year.

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Day One of the Free Agent Frenzy: As predicted, Trocheck signs with the Rangers, Halak the new backup, Copp heads home and Strome out West, Gaudreau turns down Devils for Blue Jackets, The best contracts of July 13th

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Derek

Day One of free agency didn’t disappoint. The July 13th FA Frenzy featured almost every big name. There were so many signings that it may as well have been a carnival.

Even with the late news that Evander Kane stayed put in Edmonton for less money and Kevin Weekes breaking the news that Jack Campbell would become the Oilers new starter, the biggest story entering Wednesday was the status of Johnny Gaudreau.

The biggest star on the board had informed Calgary late Tuesday night that he wouldn’t be returning. With hockey insider Frank Seravelli noting that it wasn’t about money for Gaudreau, it sure hinted at a potential homecoming. However, his preferred choice of the Flyers were out due to Chuck Fletcher’s ridiculous spending.

That left the Devils and Islanders as likely candidates for Johnny Hockey. Both rivals made good offers. Based on what I followed on Twitter, the Devils came in higher for the Salem, New Jersey native. But as Hasan documented in his post last night, Gaudreau surprised everyone by signing with the Blue Jackets. A true shocker. He took less money (if you can call it that) to move his family to Columbus by agreeing to a seven-year contract worth an average cap hit of $9.75 million.

Even though the news came later than expected, you knew something was up when he delayed his decision. If it were me, I’d have chosen to play in New Jersey. He could’ve formed a potent duo with Jack Hughes. Instead, the 28-year old star forward chose the Blue Jackets, who likely will have to move restricted free agent Patrik Laine. Unless they can create space to keep him for the next year.

While that remains the most puzzling news from Day One, the Rangers didn’t surprise me at all by signing free agent center Vincent Trocheck. In fact, I accurately called it in my fun-filled Free Agent Predictions post before noon yesterday. I don’t often take a bow as it’s not in my nature. But I’ll give myself credit for this one. Here was my contract detail:

Vincent Trocheck Rangers 6 for $5.75 million AAV

Close. But no cigar. I almost nailed it. The Rangers wound up giving Trocheck seven years for an AAV of $5.625 million. While the term is long for a player who just shared a birthday with Ryan Strome on July 11, I’m not concerned with years six and seven. It’s the first four to five that matter. That’s the Rangers’ window to win a Stanley Cup. Especially the next three years with every key player under contract. It’s about WINNING!

The sense I got the night before in a chat with close Buffalo Sabres contributor Brian Sanborn was that the Rangers would bring Trocheck to the Big Apple. Based on everything I heard about Andrew Copp and Strome likely moving elsewhere, it felt like Trocheck made a lot of sense.

The former Hurricane is a bit different stylistically than Strome or Copp. Although to be honest, he’s replacing Strome who wound up going out West to Anaheim for five years at a team friendly AAV of $5 million per season. No matter what anyone says, he was a good Ranger who had excellent chemistry with Artemi Panarin. They worked well together.

Before I close the book on Strome, who I’ll miss, there are clueless people who bashed him at every turn. Despite solid production and playing through a pelvis injury that limited him against the Lightning, he was always a target due to missing open nets.

Do these fools realize Jeff Gorton turned Ryan Spooner into Strome as part of his best ever deal that sent Rick Nash to Boston for Ryan Lindgren and a first round pick that became K’Andre Miller? You have to be out of your mind to not appreciate what Strome did here. Best of luck to him with the Ducks.

Back to the newest Rangers second line center Trocheck. Unlike Strome, he’s a two-way player who wins face-offs and finishes checks. Not big in stature, he more than makes up for it with how he plays. A strong player on the forecheck who goes to the net and isn’t shy about shooting, the 29-year old looks like a good fit for what the team needs.

Even better, he’s familiar with Gerard Gallant, who coached him in Florida earlier in his career. His best year came  during ’17-18 under Bob Boughner when he posted 31 goals with 44 assists for 75 points, 13 power play goals and three shorthanded goals in ’17-18.

After struggling with consistency, he was eventually acquired by Carolina. His play improved under Rod Brind’Amour. That included posting 43 points (17-26-43) in 47 games during ’20-21.

This past season was his best since age 24. In 81 contests, Trocheck had 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points with 78 penalty minutes and a career high plus-21 rating. That included 15 even strength goals and 24 even strength assists for a total of 39 points at even strength. He added 12 power play points (6-6-12) while averaging 17:52 of ice time.

He also went 54.6 percent on face-offs. An area that should help the Rangers. Over his nine-year career, Trocheck is 52.1 percent on draws. Considering how effective he was in the second round series, don’t doubt Gallant and Chris Drury noticed. He was one of the most consistent Hurricanes in that round won by the Rangers.

Trocheck also posted a career best 185 hits. He’s not shy about finishing checks I the corners. A good quality Turk prefers. A 200-foot player who is solid defensively, he was a plus-eight with 50 takeaways compared to 42 giveaways. A good quality to have for playing with Panarin.

I really love the signing. He’s the player I wanted. As much as I would’ve loved to keep Strome or Copp, I understand that it’s a business. I’ll miss both. Especially Strome, who really became a good player and key leader in the locker room. I wish him well in Disney.

As for Copp, I also was proven right about where he’d wind up. He’s from Ann Arbor, Michigan. So, I put two and two together and figured he’d sign with the hometown Red Wings.

When asked on NHL Network about it, the good Copp admitted that he rooted for the Wings as a kid growing up. He feels they’re on a similar path to our team. He enjoyed his time in NYC. Now, he’ll play on the second line and help out close friend Dylan Larkin. He agreed to a five-year deal worth the identical $5.625 million cap hit Vinny T got here. Except it’s for two fewer years. A great move by Steve Yzerman.

So, it turned out that Copp was a rental. The same for Frank Vatrano (also signed by Anaheim), Justin Braun (returned to Flyers) and Tyler Motte, who Drury admitted they didn’t have enough room for. That’s too bad. I really wanted to keep him. Wherever he goes, he’ll help out whoever he signs with.

They all played key roles in helping the Rangers get to their first Eastern Conference Final in seven years. I’m thankful to all four for what they gave. Without them, there’s no big run. Good luck to all four.

It’s kind of ironic that both Strome and Vatrano will play together in Anaheim. Maybe this time, they’ll wind up on the same line. Considering that Trevor Zegras will likely team with leading goal scorer Troy Terry on the top line, it’s a good bet Vatrano could be on Strome’s right side. Frankie V got three years and $3.65 million on average to become a Mighty Duck.

Close friend of the blog Sean McCaffrey was really pushing for Nazem Kadri, who actually remains unsigned. I understand why he wanted him. Kadri is better than any of the players mentioned. He proved what he could do in helping the Avalanche get over the finish line to win their first Cup in 21 years. However, he’s gonna be 32 entering ’22-23 and will cost more money. It would’ve been too rich for the Rangers to afford him.

Especially when they entered yesterday with less than $10 million left until Drury predictably sent Patrik Nemeth out to the desert with a conditional second round pick for defenseman Ty Emberson. A 22-year old former Coyotes third round pick in 2018. He spent last season in the AHL. I don’t know anything else about him other than he played three years at Wisconsin.

The bottom line here is Drury was able to offload $2.5 million to free up a bit more space. A necessity to re-sign Group II free agent Kaapo Kakko. The Team President and GM also found a cheaper replacement for Alex Georgiev by signing former Islander Jaro Halak for a year at $1.5 million.

Now 37, the veteran netminder is best known as being a Ranger killer. This was especially true when he played for the Islanders. He owned them at MSG and at Barclay’s Center. In fact, Halak is 24-9-1 with a 2.33 GAA, .927 save percentage and five shutouts versus the Rangers for his career.

That’s absurd. But it proves how dominant he was against our team. Now, he’ll join them and play the backup role getting between 15 to 20 starts behind Russian ace Igor Shestyorkin. Even though I would’ve preferred Thomas Greiss, who also had Islander ties, Halak was my second choice. He’s a proven and experienced goalie who should get the job done.

In a twist of irony considering the role he played against them in a very tough first round, the Rangers went out and added goalie depth by agreeing with former Penguin Louis Domingue on a two-year deal worth a total of $1.55 million.

A likable vet who’s now 30, he will likely be ticketed for Hartford. They let go of Adam Huska and the also personable Keith Kinkaid, who signed with the Bruins for a year at $750,000. So, they needed an experienced netminder who could fill the void with the Wolf Pack and be an emergency call-up if needed.

Domingue is best known for his funny remark following the marathon Game One won by the Pens 4-3 in triple overtime over the Rangers. When he replaced Casey DeSmith, he got the job done and then told reporters he had spicy pork between periods. Domingue is already on the lookout for his favorite cuisine.

These depth goalies have great personalities. You love to see it. Domingue also played well in the series the Rangers needed seven games to win. Although he gave up a bad goal to Chris Kreider late in Game Six, he did a good job before Pittsburgh went back to Tristan Jarry for Game Seven.

Welcome aboard. After a successful Day One, Drury turned his attention to adding some depth by signing veteran center Ryan Carpenter. Best known for his checking role under Gallant in Vegas, the 31-year old veteran will replace recently departed Kevin Rooney (signed by Calgary) on the fourth line. He is a solid penalty killer who can take draws and hit.

While Rooney went to the Flames for two years at $1.3 million AAV, Carpenter signed for $750,000. All about saving money. That’s how it is in a cap crunch. Good luck to Rooney and former Ranger Greg McKegg. The Keg Man wound up in Edmonton for two years at $762,500. He’ll most likely play in the minors and be a call-up when needed. Similar to the role he played here.

It’s even those types of gritty, hardworking players who you admire. Look how many games McKegg got into in ’21-22. He played 43 games and was a solid role player under Gallant. All you can ask for.

It can’t be easy going from city to city with his family. He once was a Hurricane before coming to NYC the first time in ’19-20. Then spent time in Boston mostly on the taxi squad before one more stint between New York and Hartford. A lot of mileage on those trips back and forth.

McKegg has been part of seven organizations. First the Leafs. Then the Panthers, Lightning, Penguins, Hurricanes, Bruins and Rangers twice. He moves out West to the frigid cold in Alberta. Tough sledding for the 30-year old journeyman.

So, where does that leave the Rangers? If you’re keeping track, they currently have 20 players signed at $78,466,468 per puckpedia.com. That leaves them with just over four million to work with. Here’s how it looks:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere

Panarin-Trocheck-Kakko

Blais-Chytil-Kravtsov

Hunt-Goodrow-Reaves

Extra F: Carpenter, Gauthier, Brodzinski

Lindgren-Fox

Miller-Trouba

Jones/Robertson-Schneider

Extra D: Lundkvist, Hajek

Shestyorkin

Halak

At the moment, it’s important to note that Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist, Matthew Robertson, Jonny Brodzinski and Vitaly Kravtsov are not counted as roster players against the cap. Ditto for top prospect Brennan Othmann and former second round pick Will Cuylle. Libor Hajek is.

Much will be determined at training camp, which believe it or not is two months away. There will be some good healthy competition for spots up front and on the blue line.

As much as last year was about the key additions of Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Reaves and Sammy Blais before he went down due to P.K. Subban, the upcoming season will be more about the kids. Alexis Lafreniere is penciled in on the top line. Kakko is expected to be in the top six. If not, that could be either Blais or Kravtsov, who for now is a Ranger with something to prove.

Filip Chytil should be counted on to play a bigger role. Even with the addition of Trocheck, it’s time for Chytil to perform consistently and stay healthy. He showed what he’s capable of in the playoffs. There’ll be more pressure on him, Kakko and Lafreniere next season.

That could also be the case for Braden Schneider, Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist and Matthew Robertson. Schneider is the third right defenseman without a partner. There’ll be an open competition that for now includes Hajek with the aforementioned other three young prospects.

Unlees something changes, the defense will be younger. Could Drury still have a move up his sleeve? Sure. But with former Blueshirt Marc Staal moving from Detroit to Florida for $750,000, he’ll have to look elsewhere if he wants to bring in another vet.

How much will Kakko get? Even though he played better in the postseason, the former 2019 second pick only had two goals and three assists. It’s still mind-boggling that Gallant healthy scratched him in favor of Dryden Hunt for Game Six at Tampa.

I’d like nothing better than to see Othmann make enough of an impression to get into a few games as a 19-year old. He can’t be reassigned to Hartford. Cuylle is now eligible due to being 20. If he doesn’t make the roster, he’ll get valuable experience in the AHL.

When you evaluate the organization, they still boast considerable depth on the blue line. Unless he can prove capable of playing the left side, it’s hard to see much of a future for Lundkvist in Manhattan. He could still wind up traded this Fall. So could Kravtsov if he fails to impress the coaching staff.

We know that Dylan Garand is a name to remember. The goalie prospect developed well with Kamloops of the WHL where he posted superb numbers both in the regular season and playoffs. The former 2020 fourth round pick is ready to play for the Wolf Pack.

It’ll likely be with Domingue providing the necessary experience and leadership he can lean on. If that’s the goalies at Hartford, that would leave Olof Lindbom to start in the ECHL.

We are still waiting to see where Motte winds up. Would he consider Detroit to join close friend Copp? He’s also from the area. The Red Wings have plenty of space for a gritty checking forward who plays fourth line and kills penalties.

So far, nothing new to report on Kadri. Maybe he really wants to return to Colorado. It doesn’t seem likely. They made three key signings on Wednesday. All are good moves.

In my opinion, the first two are the best contracts so far. The first one was re-signing defenseman Josh Manson for four years at $4.5 million per season. After helping them win the Cup, he wanted to stay. He took less money and got a modified no-trade clause.

The second move was signing RFA Artturi Lehkonen to a brand new five-year deal worth the same exact cap hit of $4.5 million. After coming over from Montreal, the former Canadien was such a good fit that he had a good postseason highlighted by scoring the Cup clincher in Game Six. He also received a modified NTC.

The Avalanche also kept key checking center Darren Helm. Like Andrew Cogliano, he re-signed for an identical $1.25 million over a year. They have Logan O’Connor too for the next three seasons making a shade over a million. A younger player they signed out of college in 2019.

Even without Kadri, they’re loaded again for another run. They’re the favorites to repeat. Led by Gabriel Landeskog, Nathaniel MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Erik Johnson and a deep core, I wouldn’t bet against it. It’ll be interesting to see how Alex Georgiev and Pavel Francouz perform in net. They are part of a great team.

In regards to the FA frenzy yesterday, there was plenty of other action. Let’s go through a few highlights.

Darcy Kuemper found a new home in the nation’s capital. The former Avalanche Stanley Cup hero is now the new Washington starter after agreeing to a five-year deal worth $5.25 million per season. His backup will be Charlie Lindgren. They gave the older brother of Ryan Lindgren $3.3 million over three years. So, it averages out to $1.1 million per season.

The Caps also acquired Connor Brown from Ottawa for a ’24 second round pick. The Senators were busy bringing Claude Giroux home for the next three years. He’ll make $6.5 million on average through 2025 with a full no-move clause. The 34-year old had no interest in returning to the Flyers. He and his son Gavin had quite the big day yesterday.

In a wise move, the Hurricanes took advantage of the Golden Knights by acquiring Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan for basically nothing. That’s due to how mismanaged the Knights are. They had to dump the salary of their best finisher and even included a good young defenseman that can help Ottawa.

Yeah. I’d say that Jack Eichel trade is really going well so far. At least they re-signed Reilly Smith. He gets three more years at the same $5 million rate in Vegas to stay.

One of the oddest moves also involved the Hurricanes. They acquired veteran defenseman Brent Burns from the Sharks witn Lane Pederson in exchange for Steven Lorentz, Eetu Makiniemi and a conditional third round pick in 2023.

The 37-year old Burns isn’t what he once was. But he still provides offense as his 15 goals and 54 points attest the past season. So, the Hurricanes go from Dougie Hamilton to Tony DeAngelo to now the older Burns, who’ll pair up with Jaccob Slavin. In adding Burns and Pacioretty, they’re thinking offense. Coghlan can also provide that on the second power play.

Ondrej Kase was also added as a solid depth forward to help offset the loss of Nino Niederreiter. He’s likely to go elsewhere. They still must re-sign restricted free agent Marty Necas. Is he moving to center? Expect Jesperi Kotkaniemi to have a bigger role.

Mason Marchment got a nice contract from the Stars. He received an average cap hit of $4.5 million over four years. The ex-Panther cashed in on a career season that saw him set career bests in goals (18), assists (29) and points (47). He only earned $800,000. We’ll see if he can add that same gritty physical game in Dallas. They paid a premium for a player I felt would be an Islander target.

The Devils might’ve swung and missed on Gaudreau. But that doesn’t mean they had a bad day. Able to acquire center Erik Haula from the Bruins for Pavel Zacha to improve their center depth, they also added veteran defenseman Btendan Smith. He signed for two years at $1.1 million AAV.

Like I told Hasan, I have a soft spot for Smith due to his honest hardworking game. He really picked himself up after struggling due to a big contract here. Although he wasn’t worth what he made, Smith had a great attitude and worked hard to play both as an extra defenseman and fourth line forward. He also helped K’Andre Miller adjust and was a positive influence on Kakko.

Along with a physical style, it’s that no-nonsense approach that should provide some leadership in the Devils room. When Hasan had originally finished his story last night, he expressed frustration over not getting Gaudreau. But right after that, Ondrej Palat signed for five years at the projected $6 million figure I had.

Palat is a player I like. A former seventh round pick who made good for the Lightning, he’s got great wheels and good hockey sense. If it weren’t for his clutch goals in the Eastern Conference Final, the Rangers would’ve advanced to play the Avalanche for the Cup.

Had they not gotten a 2C or had enough room with Trocheck to add a proven winner who seems to always raise his level in the postseason, I was interested in seeing the Rangers go after Palat. That’s how highly I think of him. The combination of skating, skill, grit and intelligence make him better than his statistics.

Palat can play in any situation. He excels on the penalty kill due to his speed and instincts. He moves well without the puck and is good on the forecheck. It’s a good move by GM Tom Fitzgerald. Palat should improve the Devils, who still have plenty of room if they want to add another piece. They did sign second pick Simon Nemec to an entry-level contract on Thursday.

Just checking the Puck Pedia site now, I see that the Senators gave RFA Josh Norris a huge eight-year contract worth $63.6 million. Whoa. I thought he’d come in at around $7.5 million on average. That’s nearly $8 million. He’s a very good young player who finishes.

Norris scored 35 goals and added 20 helpers for 55 points in 66 games. Only 23, that’s quite the long-term investment for Ottawa. To think they got him in that Erik Karlsson trade with the Sharks. Tim Stutzle also became the first round pick they took in 2020. Wow. That’s a trade that up the Sens. They will be in wildcard contention next year.

Having added Alex DeBrincat, Giroux and acquiring Cam Talbot from the Wild for Filip Gustavsson yesterday to partner up with Anton Forsberg, they could compete with the Maple Leafs and Bruins for the wildcard. They have over $10 million left to re-sign RFA’s Mathieu Joseph, Alex Formenton and Erik Brannstrom.

The Lightning might’ve lost Palat. But that didn’t stop Julien BriseBois from handing out eight-year contracts to Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5 million AAV), Erik Cernak ($5.2 million AAV) and Anthony Cirelli ($6.25 million AAV). Somehow, they manage to make it work. Most of their corr from the two Cups and recent Stanley Cup Final remain.

The Bolts filled some holes by signing Ian Cole ($3 million) and Vladislav Namestnikov ($2.5 million) for a year. Namestnikov returns to where his career began. He was part of the regrettable package the Rangers got for Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller. I’m not going to rehash it for the umpteenth time.

As for Cole, you have to wonder what he’s thinking. A solid third pair defenseman who has won the Cup, he recently was outed by the former fiancé of Hurricanes reporter Abby Labar. She had an affair with Cole, who’s been married to Jordan Rockwell for seven years.

Yikes. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. Labar was supposed to tie the knot last Saturday. But the wedding was called off. I can’t imagine she’ll stay in Raleigh after this scandal which also is alleged to involve another key member of the Hurricanes.

Moving on… after they dealt for Matt Murray, the Leafs decided to sign former Capital Ilya Samsonov for a one-year contract worth $1.8 million. A former first round pick who never was consistent, he gets another chance in Toronto. Could he take the reigns from Murray? Leaf fans aren’t too happy with Kyle Dubas. I don’t blame them.

The Blues gave Robert Thomas an eight-year extension for $65 million. He had a career year. Here’s the thing. That’s north of $8 million starting in 2023-24. Last Fall, the Rangers signed Mika Zibanejad to an extension worth $8.5 million on average. Who’s better? The more you look at it, what a steal Zibanejad is.

St. Louis also signed Greiss to backup Jordan Binnington. He will earn $1.25 million. Nick Leddy stayed put by agreeing to a four-year deal for $16 million. The Blues have a good roster. But there are a lot of veterans including Ryan O’Reilly, who’s up at the end of next year.

They also must decide if they’re trading Vladimir Tarasenko, who still has a trade request after proving he still has it. Might the Islanders be interested? Or do they think they can sign Kadri?

The best free agents remaining are Kadri, Patrice Bergeron, Niederreiter, John Klingberg, Paul Stastny and Phil Kessel. I figure Bergeron has a handshake agreement to return to Boston once they free up necessary space. Klingberg was trying to negotiate with the Stars to return. Kessel only scorer eight goals last year. Who wants him? Stastny can be a solid third center at this stage.

The other big name who signed was Andre Burakovsky. As predicted, he went to Seattle for big money, getting an AAV of $5.5 million from the Kraken over five years. It made sense. They needed a scorer and Burakovsky wanted to cash in.

As for Dylan Strome, the Capitals gave him one year at $3.5 million. That could work out for them. He should get to play with good players. Though it shouldn’t be Ovechkin, who’ll team with Evgeny Kuznetsov on the top line. But Strome could find himself with either T.J. Oshie or Tom Wilson.

It’s too bad about Nicklas Backstrom. One of the game’s great players, he’ll never be the same due to a serious hip injury. I’ve always admired his game. A great playmaker who is a top notch passer with an underrated shot, Backstrom was lethal at running the power play that still features John Carlson, Ovechkin, Oshie and Kuznetsov.

Now 34, Backstrom could be forced to retire. That would suck. His big salary will go on LTIR. The future Hall Of Famer has three years remaining on a contract that pays $9.5 million per season.

If he never played another game, he finishes with 264 goals and 747 assists for 1,011 points in 1,058 games with a career plus/minus of 111. He has totaled 114 points (38-76-114) over 139 postseason games. He will forever be linked with Ovechkin for winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 2018.

There were other signings. Just not many too significant as what I covered. With the news much slower today, we’ll see what happens with Kadri. I’ll have an update whenever he signs.

I can be followed on Twitter at BattleOfHudson. See you soon.

Derek

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Devils’ UFA day starts with promise and ends with frustration – or maybe not?

Posted on July 13, 2022 by hasan4978

Predictably after a UFA day for the Devils that saw their biggest acquisitions be a third-line center (Erik Haula) and a seventh defenseman (Brendan Smith), there was no end-of-the day presser from GM Tom Fitzgerald about what can only be termed as a letdown, if not a total disappointment yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the organization finally shed the dead weight that is Pavel Zacha, I’d prefer a short-term patch in Haula over the likely third-round pick that we would have gotten – at best – if we were just looking for the best future asset possible. Smith was a fine add as a depth/back-pairing defenseman and hiring Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette as an assistant coach is arguably the best assistant hire the Devils have had since Larry Robinson’s twentieth or so tenure here.

So maybe it’s not 100% accurate to say the Devils got nothing out of today, but man it sure felt like it after going through the ringer with the Johnny Gaudreau nonsense. If you had told me before today that A) the Flyers would be no factor at all in the bidding, B) the Devils would reportedly have the highest bid and C) the best winger on the market would sign for under $10 million AAV, I would have found a FanDuel or whatever to put money on the Devils signing him at that point, and I’m not a betting man. Nor am I an optimist when it comes to this franchise. Right now I’m even less prepared to be an optimist than I was a few hours ago after every Devils fan – or at least the ones who aren’t so in love with the ‘process’ or afraid of the cap that they’re afraid to spend money at all – got phantom-punched Ali style by Columbus apparently swooping in the last hour or so and swiping Johnny Hockey from under everyone’s noses.

Honestly before today I wasn’t exactly counting on signing Gaudreau, if only cause I – like most of the dopey media – was convinced he would find a way to get to his boyhood team in Philly a la John Tavares with the Leafs. And maybe he would have if dopey GM Chuck Fletcher hadn’t needlessly capped himself out signing and trading for so much junk the last couple years. Fletcher is sort of like the anti-Devils in that he’s stupidly aggressive while we’re ridiculously passive, always waiting for the perfect move to fall into our laps. Too often, aside from the Taylor Hall trade and the Dougie Hamilton signing (where we had no real competition) we get left holding the bag.

Yes there may be valid excuses for this although I’m quite frankly tired of it. Whether it’s Kevin Fiala only signing with the Kings, Alex DeBrincat not signing an extension at all or whatever the heck happened in this case. Gaudreau publicly said goodbye to Calgary and their reported 8 year, $80 plus million offer citing ‘family reasons’. Which most everyone took to mean that he wanted to go home. Perhaps his first choice wasn’t available but it was presumed that the Devils and Islanders were the main competitors for his services, at least until a wild rumor surfaced that the Blue Jackets of all teams were offering a 7 year, $84 million deal:

An agent making it up to drive up other team’s prices, or an actual crazy GM? Either was plausible to me and we’d find out the answer in short order, but in any case I didn’t think Columbus would be his first choice ‘unless’ the crazy offer rumor was true. Even then it would have been hard to square him leaving Calgary over family concerns to signing for a random outpost of a team, unless he just got an insane contract. So imagine my surprise when I found out that not only did Gaudreau in fact, sign with Columbus but that he did so for $9.75 million a year!

I’m not sure we’ll ever really know what happened unless the player gives some kind of honest explanation in his first presser as a Blue Jacket, which is probably unlikely but who knows. The way this all played out makes my head spin. From assuming he’d be a Flyer to thinking it was a two-horse race between us and the Islanders with most of the ‘experts’ thinking we had the better offer to the wild Columbus rumor that turned out to only be half-wild. You don’t often see ‘mystery teams’ sign big-name players in hockey like will sometimes happen in MLB, but this one was a doozy.

What makes this whole thing even more bizarre is the Devils are in the middle of having prospect development camp this week, including pretty much all of this year’s draft picks, as well as other guys who’ve already seen NHL action without even being part of a development camp yet (another pandemic consequence of the last two years) like Nico Daws and Alexander Holtz.

In fact if tonight wasn’t the crucible of UFA day, I’d probably have gone to watch the 3-on-3 prospect tournament and autograph session afterward. I just couldn’t see myself going and paying any sort of attention to it at all with my attention focused on the Gaudreau saga. I wonder how the reaction went through the crowd when the news broke at some point – I know how I felt and it wasn’t peachy aw shucks, we’ll get it next time! I still don’t even know what to believe over how much we supposedly offered since all the actual rumors about this mess proved to be wrong. Some people like Todd Cordell swear our offer was in the $10.2 range, others like Pierre LeBrun only say our offer was north of $9 million. Whatever the case, the fact remains someone the Devils were clearly in on not only didn’t come here, but went to a division rival on top of it. There’s no way of spinning that, even if you didn’t necessarily believe Gaudreau was the total perfect fit here.

So, where does that leave the Devils now as we close day one of UFA? For now, in limbo. They’ve been rumored to be in on UFA forward Ondrej Palat, but who the heck knows anything anymore? I still think it’ll probably be the Islanders to sign him, and not just cause it would fit the whole Metro division bulking up theme that’s kicked us in the teeth over and over the last few years. We all know Lou likes his older players, and guys with championship experience – watch him give out insane term to Palat. Which would leave us fighting for the secondary options like Nino Niederreiter or hoping for a trade to fall into our laps, with limited assets to trade. At least among assets you would want to trade. I’m not sure I’d be trading our 2023 1st right now unless it’s lottery-protected maybe…why would I when it looks like everyone else in the division is getting better, or at least will still be better than us?

It’s easy for me to say Fitz needs to do more this offseason than Vanecek, Haula, Smith and (hopefully) signing Jesper Bratt long-term, I can’t say I rightly know what the heck Fitz should do now but I ain’t the one on the hot seat, or the one responsible for ending a nearly decade long spell of losing. Puck’s in your end Fitzy, let’s see something happen here.

And literally JUST as I’m finishing this article, a Weekesbomb if you will…Palat to NJ on a five-year deal – well what a twist in the tale this is!

I was actually worried it would wind up being a six-year term. Five seems fine…I almost don’t care about the cap hit at this point, considering it’s been hard to actually find stuff to spend it on. Fact is this team needed another top six winger, and a guy with experience in the playoffs and found both with Palat. So maybe a bit of a happy ending after all.

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Free Agent Predictions

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Derek

For fun, I decided to make some free agent predictions for the July 13th class. The NHL FA Frenzy period officially kicks off at 12 noon.

Before I get to guessing where players will land, Evander Kane is staying put in Edmonton. The 30-year old power forward opted to take less money to stick with the Oilers where he can continue to benefit from playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. A wise decision on his part.

Kevin Weekes broke another story. In classic Weekes fashion, he revealed from the elevator at almost 2:30 in the morning that Jack Campbell was also headed to Edmonton. As expected, the former Maple Leaf goalie will sign with the Oilers for five years at five million per season.

You gotta love Weekes. He’ll break big hockey news from anywhere. It’s hilarious. He definitely is one of the best insiders outside of the main Canadian guys. Kudos to him.

One of the players both Brian and myself were predicting was Andrew Copp to the Red Wings. It looks like that indeed is happening later today. Darren Dreger broke it a while ago.

If it’s for five years at around $5.5 million on average, that’s good. Copp certainly boosted his value with how he performed with the Rangers. He’s from Ann Arbor and attended the University of Michigan.

It makes sense. The Red Wings have a ton of room and need a second center behind Dylan Larkin. Best of luck to the good Copp.

Let’s cross off those players.

Evgeni Malkin re-signed by Pens 4 years, $24.4 million.

Evander Kane re-signed with Oilers 4 years, $20.5 million.

Jack Campbell expected to sign with Oilers 5 for $5 million AAV.

Andrew Copp expected to sign with Red Wings terms not official yet.

Here are some educated guesses on a list of key free agents who are available:

Josh Manson Senators 6 for $5.5 million AAV

Johnny Gaudreau Devils 7 for $9.5 million AAV

John Klingberg Hurricanes 5 for $6 million AAV

Darcy Kuemper Capitals 5 for $5.5 million AAV

Vincent Trocheck Rangers 6 for $5.75 million AAV

Reilly Smith re-signed by Golden Knights 3 for $5 million AAV

Nazem Kadri Hurricanes 7 for $8.5 million AAV

Mason Marchment Islanders 6 for $3.5 million AAV

Ondej Palat Senators 5 for $6 million AAV

Ryan Strome Avalanche 6 years for 5.5 million AAV

Tyler Motte Rangers 4 years for $2.3 million AAV

Thomas Greiss Rangers 2 years for $1.25 million AAV

P.K. Subban Sabres 2 years for $4 million AAV

Dylan Strome Ducks 4 for $4.5 million AAV

Patrice Bergeron Bruins 2 for $5.5 million AAV

Nino Niederreiter Flames 5 for $5.5 million AAV

Nikita Zadorov Stars 4 for $4.5 million AAV

Claude Giroux Capitals 3 for $6 million AAV

David Perron Maple Leafs 4 for $4 million

Ben Chiarot Oilers 4 for $5 million AAV

Ilya Mikheyev Sabres 3 for $3.5 million AAV

Frank Vatrano Red Wings 4 for $4 million AAV

Andre Burakovsky Kraken 5 for $5.25 million

Nick Leddy Blue Jackets 3 for $5 million AAV

Posted in July 1 Frenzy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The excitement of free agent frenzy begins Wednesday, Avalanche lock up Nichushkin, Malkin stays, Gaudreau leaving, Rangers likely to lose Copp and Strome, qualify Kakko

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Derek

As we draw closer to midnight before July 13th, there will continue to be many discussions on potential available players who could hit the market on Wednesday.

The free agent frenzy officially begins tomorrow afternoon. With that in mind, it’s time to take a glimpse into the biggest names of the 2022 FA Class. That could also include some players who could be on the move.

We’ve already seen some early activity. The Flyers acquiring defenseman Tony DeAngelo from the Hurricanes and then immediately signing him to a two-year contract worth $5 million per season. He joins the circus in Philadelphia with Kevin Hayes and John Tortorella. That should be interesting to follow.

After moving on from Stanley Cup winning goalie Darcy Kuemper by dealing for and signing Alex Georgiev to a three-year deal worth an average of $3.4 million, they re-signed Valeri Nichushkin to an eight-year contract for a $6.125 million AAV on Monday.

A good player who broke out with 25 goals, 27 assists and 52 points in 62 games, the former Stars first round pick also had a terrific postseason. He posted nine goals with six assists for 15 points to help Colorado win its third Cup.

Previously, Nichushkin never had over 13 goals or 27 points. Both recorded in ’19-20. A max contract worth north of six million is a risk. We’ll see if he’s worth it. When they broke the story yesterday, I guessed it was around $5.75 million. I was in the ballpark.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1546614800087744512?t=KpHF75bkJnuE5G4lY1ywTA&s=19

In addressing goalie by adding former Rangers backup Georgiev, who had a nice thank you post on his Instagram, and then getting the 27-year old Nichushkin done, the Avalanche still have $14.95 million in cap space left.

What that means is they’re unlikely to keep big free agent center Nazem Kadri. A vital player to their success, the former Maple Leaf achieved career bests in assists (59 assists) and points (87). He then produced in the postseason going 7-8-15. That included his huge goal in overtime of Game Four to put the Avs up three games to one on the Lightning.

All that production came in a contract year. This is a very good player who was a bargain at $4.5 million. At 31, his salary should more than double. He will break the bank when he hits the open market. It’ll likely be in the price range between $9.5 to 10 million.

This is the last big payday for Kadri. He will command dollars and term. By the start of ’22-23, he’ll be 32. How many teams are willing to invest long-term for a player who likely has three more good years left? If he wants seven years and gets it to take a little less money, it’s a big risk for whoever signs him.

If you believe the reliable Elliotte Friedman, the Rangers supposedly have interest along with the Islanders. The issue is they only have over $9.4 million to work with. That must change if they’re going to be in on Kadri or have any shot of adding a proven second center.

According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, it looks like they’re out on re-signing Andrew Copp. A valuable player who was instrumental in the Rangers’ run to the Final Four.

If he doesn’t return and winds up going to the highest bidder, he’ll be strictly a rental. The Jets used the first round pick they received to select Finnish prospect Brad Lambert. A player who dropped despite his potential.

If Copp leaves along with Ryan Strome, that leaves a gaping hole that the Rangers must fill. In this business, it is what it is. They did the right thing going for it. The additions of Copp, Frank Vatrano and Tyler Motte made a big difference. Ditto for veteran defenseman Justin Braun. All will be unrestricted tomorrow.

Of the four, the versatile Copp could attract the most interest. He is likely to have a cost between $5.5 to 6 million. He’s a bit more proven than Nichushkin, who got paid. It helps that he can slide in at center and take face-offs. He plays power play and kills penalties. A good player for whoever gets him.

In a trade that just happened, the Senators have acquired Cam Talbot from the Wild in exchange for Filip Gustavsson. This comes on the heels of sending Matt Murray over to bitter rival Toronto yesterday to clear cap space.

I like it better for Ottawa. They were able to add Talbot, who can form a solid tandem with Anton Forsberg. It looks like they upgraded. Especially given the injury history of Murray. He has struggled to stay healthy since winning back-to-back Cups in Pittsburgh. Consistency hasn’t been there either. We’ll see if going to the Leafs can revitalize him.

While the Leafs only have over $5.5 million in space to work with, the Senators boast over $21 million. Having already added proven finisher Alex DeBrincat to the fold and now saving some money in net even though they’re picking up part of the tab on Murray, they could be players on Wednesday.

The Sens have been linked to MacKenzie Weegar. The right defenseman on the Panthers. However, they could be in on a stronger free agent blue liner like Josh Manson. A player who was a key contributor during Colorado’s run to the Cup. After making a base salary of $4.45 million, he is set to cash in.

There’s also the status of Evgeni Malkin. A free agent for the first time in his career, the 35-year old future Hall Of Famer couldn’t quite reach agreement on a new deal that would’ve kept him in Pittsburgh.

A great player who’s battled injuries in recent years, Malkin still managed to score 20 goals and tally 42 points over half a season for the Penguins. Having felt slighted by GM Ron Hextall, who took care of Kris Letang and re-signed Rickard Rakell on Monday for six years at an AAV of $5 million, the popular superstar could actually leave the Steel City.

It would be a pity if he didn’t remain a Penguin for life. However, these things sometimes happen. See Jaromir Jagr. Who would’ve ever predicted that he’d basically play for every old Patrick Division team? Under new management, Mario Lemieux doesn’t have as much of a say. He wanted to keep Malkin after what happened with Jagr.

For a skilled player who’s lost some of his skating, Malkin probably shouldn’t get more than a three-year contract. Anything over would be very risky. Especially given his health. Whatever happens, he should be highly motivated. If not in Pittsburgh, what about Carolina, who is likely to lose Vincent Trocheck?

Buffalo Sabres contributor Brian Sanborn believes the Avalanche could be a likely destination for Malkin. He’ll definitely be cheaper than Kadri. Imagine a 1-2 punch of Nathan MacKinnon and Geno. It largely depends on what else the Avs do. They should focus on re-signing restricted free agent Artturi Lehkonen, who came up clutch with the Cup winner to dethrone the Lightning.

UPDATE: Malkin stays! He wanted that extra year and got it. Interestingly, he took a bit less to get it done. Good job by both the Geno and the Pens. It would’ve been a shame to see him leave.

What about Trocheck as a possibility? He’s definitely a good 2C. Interestingly, he just celebrated a birthday yesterday. So did Ryan Strome. Both turned 29. How’s that for irony. Each are good players who should command around $5.5 to 6 million on average. Term is the biggest issue for Strome.

Trocheck is a bit different from Strome. He’s better in the face-off circle. He won over 54 percent this past season. He also takes the body more and is solid overall. The thing is that despite an affordable cap hit of $4.75 million compared to Strome’s $4.5 million, he earned $6.25 million during the final season of the contract. So, he won’t be cheap.

Strome made exactly $5 million in ’21-22. Despite being a little down in the playoffs due to a pelvic injury he played through, he still had a career high 21 goals with 33 helpers for 54 points over 74 contests.

He was the center who Artemi Panarin preferred. They had good chemistry together. Strome also was a key player on the top unit. If he is gone, expect that role to be filled by Alexis Lafreniere, who’s ready for a significant role that could include top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

If you’re looking at valuable two-way forwards who are available, few are better than the clutch Ondrej Palat. A fan favorite of Lightning fans, the former seventh round pick (208th in 2011) has been a key player for the Bolts.

Affectionately known as Pally by fans, all he’s done is score game-winning goals in the postseason. The pair he got against the Rangers doomed them in the Eastern Conference Final. It was a hard fought series. We’ll never know what might’ve happened had Palat not scored late in Games 3 and 5.

Now 31 and coming off a great playoffs where he might have been the Lightning’s best player scoring 11 goals with 10 assists for 21 points, Palat made $5.3 million on a long-term contract that expired following the Stanley Cup. As much as they want to bring him back after keeping Nick Paul and moving Ryan McDonagh to Nashville to free up salary, the Lightning might not be able to afford Palat.

If he is gone, that could leave several interested teams. The Senators might have interest if you buy the rumors. Of course, that must be taken with a grain of salt. I only trust reliable sources. Friedman, Darren Dreger, Frank Seravelli, Bob McKenzie, Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan come to mind.

I have always liked Palat. He’s a superb skater who can create off the rush and on the forecheck. His speed and compete level lead to strong possession statistics. He is a shorthanded threat who can play in any situation. Most of his production comes at even strength. A lot to like. How many years does he want?

That’s always the concern when you sign a player over 30. The skating is top notch. That makes me believe he should have some good years left. The cost will be over $6 million. Unless Tampa works some magic and they find a way to keep him.

As far as free agent goalies go, Kuemper tops the list. After proving he can win in Colorado behind a great team, the 32-year old veteran will likely seek a contract that pays him upwards of $6 million.

A good netminder who won 37 games with a 2.54 GAA, .921 save percentage and five shutouts, Kuemper went 10-4 in the playoffs with a 2.57 GAA and .902 save percentage. Considering that after they traded Vitek Vanecek to New Jersey, they didn’t qualify Ilya Samsonov, the Capitals are the favorites to sign Kuemper.

The other potential suitor would be the Oilers. They are expected to be without veteran Mike Smith, who will be on LTIR (long-term injured reserve) at the start of next season. They still need a legit number one goalie. Might they be interested in trading for John Gibson of the Ducks? If not, then look for soon to be former Leaf Jack Campbell to wind up in Edmonton.

The Oilers have over $14 million to spend. They must also decide if Evander Kane is worth keeping. On the ice, he performed well. Playing mostly with Connor McDavid, he scored 22 goals in 43 games. The power forward then led all scorers with 13 goals in the postseason.

Kane is the most polarizing player in the game. Having been released by the Sharks for violating Covid protocol, he has a lawsuit filed against them. If the arbitrator rules in favor of him, Kane would return to San Jose where he signed a seven-year, $49 million dollar contract. That original deal has three years remaining on it through 2025.

What about what former wife Anna Kane posted on her Instagram? It’s well documented that they had an ugly split. She accused Kane of assault with some disturbing videos last summer. He was also investigated by the NHL for gambling debts. A serious problem. Yet they are now linked up with Draft Kings and other sports books like many other professional leagues.

https://twitter.com/_rantanen_/status/1546168131336343553?t=CyO8xeheYagFaoKTUXxzvQ&s=19

Regarding what Anna Kane posted on social media, it looks bad for both her and Evander Kane. Neither person comes off good. Such serious accusations should be taken seriously by the league and any team considering signing him. However, it should be presumed innocent over guilty. Something that often is ignored by judgmental people. It’s the world we live in.

The sad aspect is she’s using their daughter Kensington in a custody battle with her estranged husband. I’ve watched some of the videos. She verbally harassed him with the poor baby on the floor, using expletives. It’s not a healthy environment for any child to grow up in.

Will this stop teams from offering Kane big money? Probably not. The Oilers and Flames are possible suitors. For Calgary, it depends on top free agent Johnny Gaudreau. Johnny Hockey put it altogether in ’21-22 by setting personal bests in goals (40), assists (75), points (115) and plus/minus (64).

After his last contract expired in which he earned $6.75 million, the 28-year old Jersey native is looking to make a splash. His next contract could hit at least $10 million on average. Something Seravelli believes. He just broke some huge news on the Gaudreau front.

I doubted him in the earlier tweet. Most of the time, it usually is about money. But once again, Seravelli was accurate. If it’s indeed true that Gaudreau has decided to leave Calgary, what a big blow that is. They had such a great year. But fell short against McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers.

So, where will Gaudreau wind up? Would he actually consider coming home to play for the Devils? They’re still not there yet. But imagine if they landed him.

Everyone is expecting the Flyers to figure out a way to get Johnny Hockey. They have less than five million on their current cap while the Devils have north of $25 million. Jesper Bratt is due a significant raise. Miles Wood is headed to arbitration. Jesper Boqvist is an RFA along with Pavel Zacha, who’s expected to get moved.

As Hasan noted in his recent post, their track record isn’t too good. They aren’t usually aggressive when it comes to signing big names. But they did pay Dougie Hamilton last year. Maybe they’ll surprise fans by being in on Gaudreau.

There are other free agents that can be had. One of those is veteran David Perron. He’s always played better in St. Louis. At 34, he’s still a productive player who does well on the power play due to his shot. If he departs the Blues, where will he go?

Patrice Bergeron has been my favorite player for a while. I’ve always loved his game. A classic two-way center who has been a fixture in Boston, the affable 36-year old is considered the game’s greatest defensive forward. All while producing for the Bruins and winning face-offs. He made $6.875 million.

The definition of a clutch player, Bergeron is a winner. He centered Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Known as The Perfection Line, they terrorized opponents due to their unique combination of skill, speed, grit and intelligence. I can’t see Bergeron anywhere but Boston, who also could be bringing back David Krejci.

Claude Giroux is the other savvy vet that’s available. Rented by the Panthers, he did well after the Flyers traded their revered captain. He went 3-5-8 in the playoffs which ended in a disappointing second round sweep at the hands of bitter rival Tampa Bay. More of a playmaker than scorer, he could wind up back home in Ottawa.

Other players to consider are Dylan Strome, Nino Niederreiter, Mason Marchment, Reilly Smith, Andre Burakovsky, John Klingberg and Ilya Mikheyev.

Of the players I listed, Dylan Strome is a player I have interest in. He had 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points on the Blackhawks. He also did well on draws going 52.3 percent. By far his best. Only 25, he’s younger and will be more affordable than his older brother or Copp/Trocheck.

It wouldn’t be the worst idea for the Rangers to sign the younger Strome and slot him in between Panarin and either Kaapo Kakko, who was qualified, or Vitaly Kravtsov. He played with DeBrincat and Patrick Kane.

With the Chicago in Blackhawk Down mode for Connor Bedard next year by not qualifying either Strome or Dominik Kubalik, there are a few fans in favor of seeing Drury kick the tires on Patrick Kane. I get why. He and Panarin were great together when the Bread Man entered the league.

Kane is the greatest American player in NHL history. No disrespect to Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios or Mike Modano. There’s never ever been a better player than Showtime.

On the Hawks, he had 26 goals and 66 assists for 92 points. Fifth on the all-time scoring list for American players with 1180 points (430-750-1180), the 33-year old from Buffalo has done it all. He’s won three Cups, an Art Ross, a Hart Trophy and Conn Smythe.

A remarkable skater with blazing speed, Kane is one of the game’s best passers. Although he’s not scoring as much lately, he has a lethal shot from the circle. He can snipe. A phenomenal scorer who can dominate at five-on-five or on the power play, he’s must see.

With Chitown now the next Arizona as a dumping ground, why would he or Jonathan Toews want to stick around? Both are entering the final year of long-term deals that pay them an AAV of $10.5 million. Kane has a lot more left.

If they passed on adding a center and found a taker for Patrik Nemeth ($2.5 million), the Rangers could be a player for Kane. That’s without even the likelihood that the Hawks would pick-up half the tab ($5.25 million) so they could get more young players and draft picks back.

As tempting as it is to bring Kane to Broadway, I’d pass. I’m not interested in seeing Chris Drury part with a combo of Chytil, Kakko, Brennan Othmann, Zac Jones and future firsts. It doesn’t make sense.

The Rangers don’t have a small window. They should be competing for the Cup over the next five years. They’ll have Igor Shestyorkin for a while. They will not lose him to free agency. There’s plenty of time to develop Dylan Garand.

What I would like to see is Drury find a taker for Nemeth’s contract even if that means attaching Nils Lundkvist and a pick to it. Lundkvist is blocked anyway by the strong right side of Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba and Braden Schneider. He will likely be dealt. There’s no room for him.

Given the surplus of D prospects they have which include Jones and Matthew Robertson, it makes sense to deal from a position of strength. I’m hoping Nemeth winds up on Arizona. Sign either Thomas Greiss or Jaro Halak for the backup. Oddly enough former Isles who would be good fits for that role behind Igor.

Before concluding this extended post on free agency, I also wanted to address J.T. Miller. As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of our former 2011 first round pick who had a remarkable season with Vancouver.

At 29, it was indeed Miller Time for the Canucks. He was unbelievable. In ’21-22, Miller set new personal bests across the board in goals (32), assists (67), points (99), even strength goals (24), even strength points (59), power play points (8-30-38) and shots on goal (206). He also won 54.1 percent of face-offs.

He’s become a great player. Kudos to him on sticking with it. The interesting dilemma for the Canucks is they have a tough decision to make. Miller is signed only through next year. He has a team friendly cap hit of $5.25 million.

Either they can try to sign Miller to a contract extension, or decide to shop him. It’s the same situation they were in at the trade deadline. They chose to keep him. Miller nearly willed the Canucks into the playoffs along with Thatcher Demko. Had Bo Horvat not gotten hurt, they probably squeak in.

The interesting part is they’re a good team. Why even consider trading their best player now? Bruce Boudreau did a great job after taking over. He’s back. They have a good supporting cast that includes Elias Pettersson, recently re-signed Brock Boeser, Horvat, Demko, Quinn Hughes, Tyler Myers, Conor Garland and youngsters Vasily Podkolzin, Nils Hoglander plus KHL import Andrei Kuzmenko.

With a nucleus like that, they should be thinking playoffs. If I were them, I keep Miller for now. See how it plays out. That division isn’t that good. There’s a good chance the Canucks can make the playoffs. Once you’re in, anything can happen. Look no further than the Rangers.

If things don’t go well, then they can always deal Miller next year at the deadline. It would send the wrong message to the fans to unload him now.

If I’m the Rangers, I wait. By that, I mean they can always take care of what needs to be done for now. Then fill any holes next March. That’s logical. Why part with good young players for a potential one-year rental? That also applies to Kane.

Let’s assume both Copp and Strome are gone. They still have some choices. If they can’t find the right center, you can always find out about Chytil. After how well he played in the postseason, why not. But then instead add a proven top six forward like Palat or Smith. Or that unique combo of grit and skill such as Marchment. Teams should be interested.

In a perfect world, they’d bring back Copp and Motte. Then plug backup goalie and extra D. It isn’t that way in the salary cap era. It’s wait and see now.

At high noon Wednesday, NHL Network will air their July FA Frenzy special. Get ready for some fireworks 🎆 🎇🧨.

I hope you enjoyed this detail oriented post. They take longer, but are fun to do. Best of luck to Tyler Wall. He wasn’t qualified due to better goalies in the system. I hope he catches on elsewhere.

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Devils add goaltending with Vanecek, conclude draft weekend with seven more picks on Friday

Posted on July 10, 2022 by hasan4978

With free agency beginning in just a few days there was still a question mark as to how the Devils were going to deal with their goaltending situation, especially given the ominous non-update of Jonathan Bernier after hip surgery ended his 2021-22 season early, and the admission from GM Tom Fitzgerald that they were looking to add another goaltender this offseason. It never seemed likely Mackenzie Blackwood would be traded (even if you buy the rumors of him being unhappy here, or us being unhappy with him), especially with his value no doubt being deflated by his last two seasons and his cost still low payroll-wise. As such, adding another goalie always seemed to be the natural next step and Fitz did that Friday just before the second round of the draft by trading for Vitek Vanecek of the Capitals.

Essentially the Devils dropped back nine spots in the second round and gave up a third-rounder for the 26-year old Vanecek, who’s split time with Ilya Samsonov the last two years in Washington. Vanecek’s actually been the better of the duo with a career 42-23-10 record, 2.71 GAA and .907 save percentage but with the Caps presumably looking to upgrade in free agency by going after someone like Darcy Kuemper or Jack Campbell, they were willing to move one of their goalies. Truthfully it’s a deal that makes sense for both teams, the Devils aren’t in position to throw a major contract at an older goalie so Vanecek’s a calculated gamble. At worst he’s better than what we were playing most of last year in net, and healthier than the two guys we had. At best, he could be this year’s Jonas Siegenthaler (a guy we pluck from the Caps with modest success there who takes a step up here).

After that trade, Fitz publicly stated that he was content with our goaltending. Even as someone who had to watch our dumpster fire goaltending last year, I’m a bit puzzled by all the pushback Fitz is getting over those remarks.

First of all, what else is he supposed to say at the moment? If you say you’re still looking for upgrades after acquiring Vanecek, then that’s a blaring red light that Blackwood is not long for this world. Good luck getting anything for a malcontent goalie that’s struggled with both performance and injury the last couple of seasons at the lowest point of his value. Second of all, what meaningful upgrade is even out there? Backups and 1B goalies with similar career numbers also got traded this offseason – the Rangers got two third rounders for Alexander Georgiev while the Blues got one for Ville Husso and I’m not sure there’s even more of those types of guys available at the moment.

Fitz can’t get in a bidding war with total win-now teams like Washington and Toronto over the only two realistic options in free agency – Kuemper and Campbell. We did need an upgrade, but we aren’t good enough everywhere else to get in a bidding war with Cup hopefuls for older guys, so this was always going to be the only realistic type of option for this offseason. Plus there’s a chance you get more out of Blackwood or Vanecek, to where one of them becomes a long-term starting option anyway. If not, then hopefully the goalie market is better next offseason or you just get another patch veteran and Nico Daws can ideally be a #2 at the NHL level by then. For a raw rookie that was supposed to be at least a year and a half away, he did actually show some NHL capability last year. Besides, unless you have a no-doubt solution like Igor Shesterkin or Andrei Vasilevsky, you’re better off not throwing a lot of money at marginal upgrades in goal – just ask Colorado who was willing to move off their starter in back-to-back offseasons for other, cheaper options.

As for the rest of draft weekend, there isn’t really much to say at this point other than the Devils seemingly had a goal to add to their depth at RHD with not only Simon Nemec in the first round, but also a pair of Americans (Seamus Casey in the second round, and Charles Leddy in the fourth) as well as Russian Artem Barabosha in the seventh round. Also, the Devils drafted a Russian LHD in the fourth round picking Danill Orlov and further supplementing their goalie depth with Canadian Tyler Brennan as their first pick among their three fourth-rounders. Forward seemingly wasn’t a high priority this year with only wingers Petr Hauser (5th round, Czech Republic) and Josh Filmon (6th round, Canada) being selected, but you never know if one of these guys will become the next Yegor Sharangovich or Jesper Bratt – selected in the 5th and 6th round themselves. If you know more about these guys than I do, you really don’t need any recap from me. If you know less about them than I do, then a short post-draft interview with chief scout Mark Dennehy would at least provide a nice initial primer.

At least some of these guys – including Nemec – will be at Devils Development Camp next week, so if you’re in the area you can get a look at some of our most recent prospects there.

With free agency starting next week the question isn’t whether the Devils can do something substantial, the question is whether they will. Other than Dougie Hamilton last offseason, this organization’s been too content to save its cap space for a rainy day. While there aren’t a lot of obvious needs to chase, decisions have to be made on defense with both Ryan Graves and Damon Severson set to be UFA after next offseason, and PK Subban not likely to be retained this offseason. Sure Nemec and Luke Hughes could be two very valuable pieces in the long-term future along with Hamilton and Siegenthaler, but in the near-term neither one is going to be part of the 2022-23 Devils. Do you just keep Graves and/or Severson as placeholders till the younger defensemen are ready, or flip them now and sign some short-term patches?

Up front, clearly top six center isn’t an issue with both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier signed long-term, a reality crystalized by the Devils passing on Shane Wright for Nemec. Perhaps a better third-line center than Jesper Boqvist would be nice – but he did show some signs of actually being an NHL player in the second half, and there’s always Dawson Mercer available to play in the middle if Boqvist flops. Wing stands out as our major issue right now, even assuming Jesper Bratt gets signed at some point you’re looking at Bratt, Sharangovich and a whole lot of question marks around the aforementioned centers. Ideally Alex Holtz takes one of the two other top six wing positions and runs with it this year although you can’t bank on it, and even if he does you still need another guy there.

And no I’m not convinced it’s Mercer, especially since he did better early in the season as a center than he did later on as a winger, though some of that was no doubt an 18-year old hitting the rookie wall. Figuring out where you’re slotting in Mercer enables you to proceed in FA and the trade market accordingly. If he’s a center, then you definitely need another wing. If he’s a wing, you still can’t just hand both him and Holtz top six slots without any kind of a net. Local boy Johnny Gaudreau would be a fantasy solution up front but he seems ticketed for either re-signing in Calgary or going to Philly (assuming they figure out another way to blow up their roster to squeeze out enough cap space to sign him). Plus even if you want to assume that Holtz and Mercer both have the stuff to be in a top six or nine next year, the Devils still need to figure out a way to get a bigger power forward at some point, and as much as Gaudreau would improve the team’s scoring, he isn’t that.

Long story short, I’m not necessarily expecting anything big but something creative would be nice. You can’t sell me on a forty-point improvement between last year and this team making the playoffs now just off marginally better goaltending, a healthy Hamilton and some growth from the younger players. Maybe it actually happens that way, but after several years of being in seventh or eighth place you can’t sell me on that preemptively. Especially when it involves almost 100% of everything going right, and as we’ve seen (especially the last couple years), it pretty much never works out that way.

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A chaotic first round, Rangers trade Georgiev to Avalanche, add six players at NHL Draft including Adam Sykora, will face Lightning on Opening Night, schedule criticism and a suggestion

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Derek

Three Months Away: On October 11th, the Rangers and Lightning will face off again in the season opener. The 2022-23 NHL schedule was released on Wednesday.

The last three days have breezed by. It certainly was busy for all 32 teams. The league released the schedule for 2022-23 on Wednesday. Then held the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday and Friday.

As Hasan already covered in his Devils post on them going for Slovak defenseman Simon Nemec at number two last night, the first round didn’t disappoint.

Expected top pick Shane Wright fell to the Kraken at number four while the Canadiens surprised their confused fans by making history by taking Slovakian Juraj Slafkovsky number one overall.

The boos were a bit much. I felt bad for the kid who became the highest Slovak player ever going at the top spot. Give credit to ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan. She broke the news about the Habs meeting with Slafkovsky for 20 minutes. It was obvious he was going number one. A scoring wing who adds size, we’ll see what he can bring.

Once that happened, I knew that the dominoes would fall. Already boasting Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier at center, the Devils weren’t taking Wright. I wonder if they tried to trade down with Arizona. We’ll never know. They predictably grabbed Nemec at two where he and Luke Hughes will anchor their blue line for the rest of the decade.

As soon as Nemec went, you knew the Coyotes had a great choice between Wright and top rated American Logan Cooley. They liked Cooley more and made him the third pick. He was thrilled.

That left Wright for the Kraken to select at four. He said he’ll have a chip on his shoulder. You know it’ll be a motivator. A 1-2 punch of Matty Beniers and Shane Wright sounds good for Seattle.

The Flyers took American scoring forward Cutter Gauthier fifth. The Blue Jackets then made it official by grabbing Czech defenseman David Jiricek sixth where he’ll team up with Zach Werenski to anchor the blue line.

The biggest surprise was the hometown Canadiens making a three team deal with the Islanders and Blackhawks. First, they dealt defenseman Alex Romanov and a fourth round pick to the Islanders for their first round pick. Then, they moved that pick with a third round pick to Chicago in exchange for Kirby Dach.

A former third pick in 2019, the 21-year old Dach will now call Montreal his new home. He had been rumored to be traded. It finally happened. It looks like the Habs plan to have Dach center the second line with possibly Slafkovsky joining him. They have Nick Suzuki as their number one pivot playing with Cole Caufield.

The Islanders got stronger by adding the physical Romanov, who hits everything and blocks shots. It was surprising that the Canadiens dealt him. He should help the Isles, who got younger and tougher on the back end.

As for the Blackhawks, their plan is obvious. After they traded Alex DeBrincat to Ottawa for a first, second and third round pick in what many felt was not a good return for the two-time 40-goal scorer, they moved on from Dach to take centers Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar.

The Hawks also traded for Leafs backup goalie Petr Mrazek. That allowed them to add a third first round pick due to absorbing his contract. He has a cap hit of $3.8 million through 2024. They only coughed up a second for the veteran.

Once they trade restricted free agent center Dylan Strome, who the Rangers should be trying for, they’ll be as bad as possible. What must Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews be thinking?

The Blackhawks are in full tank mode for consensus 2023 top pick Connor Bedard. A franchise player. Matvei Michkov is also in that draft. If it works, they will be set up well for the future.

There were other deals made over the last 24 hours. But none were bigger than what the Canadiens and Blackhawks did. It’ll be interesting to follow both Original Six clubs. Obviously, Montreal got better. Chicago didn’t. Who knows if Kane will get moved. Time will tell. Ditto for Toews. The remaining pieces of their three Stanley Cups.

Before the chaos, the Rangers made it official. They finally moved on from Alex Georgiev. Chris Drury was able to move the 26-year old goalie to the Avalanche for a third round, fifth round and third round pick next year. It was a good return for a player who had wanted out for a while.

Obviously, it gives Georgiev a great opportunity. He goes from being a little used backup behind Igor Shestyorkin to possibly becoming the new starter for the defending champs. That’s a home run for him. He’ll have competition from veteran backup Pavel Francouz. A popular goalie with Colorado fans.

A restricted free agent, Georgiev will be signed by GM Joe Sakic. In a revealing interview with Emily Kaplan, he said that he liked having both Georgiev and Francouz. That spells the end for Darcy Kuemper, who did deliver for the Avalanche as the winning goalie on a great Stanley Cup championship team. He will now be available for other teams like Edmonton to chase.

Georgiev was a pleasant surprise for the Rangers. After going undrafted, the Bulgarian developed well under the expert tutelage of Benoit Allaire.

His best work came in 2018-19 and ’19-20. He won 14 games with a 2.91 GAA and .914 save percentage in ’18-19. Then posted a career best 17 victories with a 3.04 GAA and .910 save percentage in ’19-20.

The turning point actually came during that same Covid interrupted season. That’s when the Rangers discovered what they had in Shestyorkin. An injury prevented him from starting the first two games of the Qualifying Round against Carolina.

Rather than turn to Georgiev, who had a better season, David Quinn went with Henrik Lundqvist instead. That really upset Georgiev. He didn’t play the third game with Shestyorkin back for what turned into a three-game humiliation against the Hurricanes.

The second turning point was after giving up a goal in an overtime loss to the Pens on the road, he got into it with Tony DeAngelo. Not taking kindly to DeAngelo’s words on not stopping the puck following a miscommunication, he punched the polarizing defenseman.

That incident led to the dismissal of DeAngelo. A better player than Georgiev. Due to how that was butchered by Jeff Gorton and John Davidson, they got nothing for him. He was instead bought out last year. By that point, Gorton and JD were gone along with Quinn.

It was Drury who handled the buyout. There was no way to repair the relationship between the team and the player. Even if they hired a new Team President and GM along with Gerard Gallant as head coach, it didn’t matter. They cut their losses.

DeAngelo caught on with the Hurricanes where he again had a good offensive season. Similar to ’19-20, he was very productive while partnering with Jaccob Slavin on the top pair. But after making only a million on a one-year deal, he priced himself out. Carolina traded the signing rights to DeAngelo to the Flyers for picks. Yes. He is going to be watched closely by John Tortorella. Yikes.

As for Georgiev, he never recovered from that mishap. He wasn’t as consistent in net the remainder of ’20-21 and ’21-22. The numbers were worse this past year. He posted a 2.92 GAA and career low .898 save percentage in 33 games.

He still won 15 games highlighted by a 44 save shutout over Carolina on 3/20. Arguably the best game of his five-year career. When he plays more, he is a better goalie. That was proven when Shestyorkin went down for a mini-stretch. Obviously, starts were few and far between.

Even though we knew this day was coming, I’d like to thank Georgiev. Despite some of the ridiculous criticism from irrational fans who are an embarrassment to the Rangers, he was a professional. He handled this past season well. Never complained.

Even though you could see the frustration after allowing bad goals during tough starts, Georgiev still stayed focused. It’s games like the one in Raleigh and his mastery at Toronto and against the Islanders that I’ll remember.

Best of luck to Georgie in Colorado. I hope he proves himself and takes the job and runs with it. Just imagine. Picture it’s mid-June next year. On one end is Georgiev for the Avalanche. On the other, it’s Igor. It’s Game Seven. All for the Cup. That’s a dream scenario as long as the Rangers win.

Aside from Georgiev relocating from the bright lights and big city to the Rocky Mountains, nothing major happened. It’s status quo for the Rangers, who made six selections today.

Adam Sykora was the first player chosen by the Rangers in the second round today. AP Photo via Getty Images

The one that stands out is second round pick Adam Sykora. He was the first player they selected with the 63rd pick. A forward who was ranked higher on some boards, the 17-year old Sykora is supposed to be a hard-working player who forechecks and defends well.

Some experts even thought he could’ve gone late in the first round. One of the youngest players in the draft, he was a week away from being eligible for 2023. A left shot who can find seams, Sykora had some success at the Worlds this year for Slovakia.

Not the biggest in stature, he has good speed and isn’t shy about driving the net. He was listed as one of the best draft values. Sounds promising.

You can read a lot more about Sykora here. Plenty to like. Even though I kidded our Devils buddy Robert Kraze Davis, no relation to Petr Sykora. But his Dad Roman did play professionally in Slovakia.

A round later, they took Bryce McConnell-Barker at number 97. A left center, the 18-year old from London, Ontario played for the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL. He led all Hounds rookies with 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points in 68 games. He added a goal and four helpers in 10 postseason contests.

McConnell-Barker sounds like a good player with a high IQ who has the capability to produce more. Based off this old writeup a few months ago, he could be a two-way player with good hockey sense. He fell to the third round due to inconsistency.

In Round Four, the Rangers went with Noah Laba at pick 111. The USHL product has spent the last two seasons with the Lincoln Stars. In 50 games during ’21-22, he tallied 39 points (15-24-39) and racked up 115 penalty minutes. Laba scored a goal in seven playoff games for the Stars.

He will attend Colorado College this Fall. A good school that’s developed players. He did move up the ranks this past year. He definitely sounds tough. There isn’t a lot to go on. Let’s leave it at that.

In the fifth round, the Rangers took two players two picks apart. At 159, they grabbed 20-year old overager Victor Mancini. Often referred to as Vittorio Mancini, he once played for Frolunda on the second pair. The only defenseman they selected, he sounds like a defensive D who can use his 6-3, 216 pound frame.

Mancini just completed his freshman year at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In 38 contests, he had five assists. Maybe they think he’s a late riser. We’ll see.

Two picks later, they took left wing Maxim Barbashev. If the name sounds familiar, it should be. Older brother Ivan Barbashev has turned into a good scoring forward for the Blues. At number 161, it’s never a bad idea to draft a younger brother of a good NHL player.

Barbashev totaled 21 goals and 31 assists for 52 points in 69 games for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. He added 78 penalty minutes. If you go off what this LA Kings blog had to say about him, he sounds like a sleeper who could one day make it. At the very least, I like this pick.

The final selection of Day Two was overager Zakary Karpa. A 20-year old center who spent time in the USHL before going 6-6-12 in his first year with Harvard in the ECAC, he was ranked 199 among North American skaters in Central Scouting.

Before I conclude the draft part, I wanted to note the very nice tributes they had prior to the start of the NHL Draft. Even though he was booed per usual, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the league held a moment of silence for Bryan Marchment.

He was a tough hard-nosed physical defenseman who you loved if he was on your side. Seeing new San Jose GM Mike Grier pay tribute by eulogizing his former teammate who worked in the Sharks organization, was the highlight of the first round for me. Congrats to Grier on making history as the first ever black NHL GM.

RIP Bryan Marchment (1969-2022). 😢 🙏🏿 💜😢Condolences go out to the Marchment family.

Bettman also had the son of Guy Lafleur up on stage joined by the daughter of Mike Bossy. Excellent tributes by both on their father’s legacies. This was a nice touch. Class personified by the league.

Finally, the NHL released the official schedule for the upcoming season. The Rangers start at MSG when they play host to the Lightning in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Final on October 11th. That will be part of a doubleheader to kick-off 2022-23.

They will then travel to face the Wild on Oct. 13 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I like the fact our team begins the season with two litmus tests right away. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Rangers will play their first three games over four days. That includes the first of 16 back-to-backs at Minnesota and Winnipeg on Oct. 14. They will play 26 weekend games including nine at home.

They will see Ryan McDonagh in Nashville on November 12. That’s a Saturday night. It’ll be strange to see Mac in a Preds jersey. He visits MSG on March 19.

From the MSG press release, the longest homestand is five games between 3/14-21 with games against the Caps, Pens (twice), Predators and Hurricanes.

Most interesting, they’ll see the Penguins three times over a seven-day period. That’ll start in Pittsburgh March 12. Then there’ll be two straight home games on 3/16 and 3/18 at The Garden. The schedule makers also have a home-and-home with Carolina 3/21 at MSG and 3/23 in Raleigh.

While I like this part of the schedule, it remains puzzling that the Rangers only face the Islanders three times. All early in the first two months. They are October 26th at Elmont, Nov. 8 at MSG and December 22 at home.

I concur with Larry Brooks on the ridiculous nature of the schedule that doesn’t emphasize divisional play enough. Something Hasan also alluded to. What’s the point of having a divisional playoff format if you’re only seeing your closest rivals 3-4 times a year?

My solution to this is to increase divisional play and minimize the other divisions and Conference.

Play your own division six times. That’s seven teams. That would total 42 games. That leaves 40 for the rest. Play the other division in your conference twice. Home/Road. That’s eight opponents totaling 16 games.

That would leave 24 games for the opposite Conference. You can still play at least half the competition twice. The remaining eight once. Split it up. Home and road.

It would work. Of course, the biggest problem with scheduling is what each arena has booked in advance. MSG is always busy. Between the Knicks, Billy Joel and other concerts, that makes it tough. It’s the same for two sport venues like Staples Center.

If they continue to emphasize divisional playoff format the first two rounds, then the number of games between close rivals has to increase. It makes no sense.

That’ll wrap it up. I hope you enjoyed this longer breakdown. I’ll be doing more of them to cover what happens this summer.

Now, it’s onto July 13th. That’s still five days away. Hopefully as we hit the weekend, we’ll learn a lot more about where potential free agents are moving. That includes Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome.

Follow me at our official Twitter account BattleOfHudson. Peace.

Derek

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Devils pick Nemec at #2 overall in a hectic first round

Posted on July 7, 2022 by hasan4978

Before I even get to what the Devils did, first a mea culpa. I gotta eat it, I was a cynic about how all these reporters were forecasting a hundred different things that would never happen, and the hype of unpredictability at the top of the draft – but it turns out for once they were right. Even if nobody actually had one-time #1 overall pick Shane Wright dropping all the way to Seattle at #4. Maybe it was karmic justice for Seattle not drafting #1 overall last year. I’m not sure anyone had Alex DeBrincat going to Ottawa for ‘only’ pick #7, a 2nd and a 3rd rounder, or being dealt without a contract extension. Chicago also supplemented its teardown by cashing out on Kirby Dach. Perhaps the only predictable thing was the Islanders making another win-now move, dealing their first-rounder for defenseman Alexander Romanov and a third-rounder. Gotta love Lou, tripling down on being win-now with a rookie head coach.

Not like we don’t have our own problems though. It would have been nice to get in on DeBrincat but clearly we prioritized #2 higher than Ottawa did #7, plus the fact DeBrincat wouldn’t sign an extension pretty much should have taken #2 off the table to begin with. Would the Devils have made that trade if they didn’t win the lottery and stayed at #5? Tough to answer, although I do admit at the time we won the lottery I wasn’t 100% ecstatic about it – mostly cause I figured it was more likely for us to trade the pick for immediate help at #5 than at #2, where we would have been compelled to just draft – and that’s what happened.

Before I even comment on the Devils pick singularly, a note of congratulations to Slovakia and current Slovak Ice Hockey Federation president Miroslav Satan for developing the top two picks of this year’s draft – both the highest draft picks in Slovakian history – ahead of some guy named Marian Gaborik who was picked at #3 overall way back when. Although I wasn’t really believing the Juraj Slafkovsky at #1 overall hype until today, it started picking up more steam when I was spending too much of my off day obsessing over the rumors. Clearly the betting lines knew something was up when the smart money started shifting to the Slovak winger as the choice for #1 though although I don’t think the betting lines ever had us taking his teammate at #2 overall.

I guess credit – or blame depending on your point of view – for the secrecy around #1 overall should be given to neophyte Canadiens GM Kent Hughes. Credit in the sense of it certainly kept up the suspense but also blame in the sense that you had this draft at Montreal, with the fans in attendance still mostly believing you were gonna pick the Canadian kid (Wright) who was long thought to be the #1 pick. Instead of maybe spending a couple of weeks gradually smoothing over the ground and leaking your interest in Slafkovsky, giving the fans time to process it and fall in love with the guy who’s actually going to be picked, you basically pulled the rug out from under everyone in attendance. Did you really expect the poor kid not to get booed when you pick him over the local kid in something of a surprise?

I can’t promise our fans wouldn’t have reacted the same way if the draft was in Newark once they saw we also passed on Wright for defenseman Simon Nemec, but unlike the Canadiens we didn’t have total control over who we picked either. Although I was surprised we passed on Wright, I wasn’t mad when I saw the pick. If anything I was more annoyed after, when I heard Fitz emphasize twice during his post-draft interview on ESPN that (paraphrasing) ‘Nemec was a right handed shot and that’s valuable to us’ as if we were drafting for need rather than just going straight BPA. I get organizational need can be used as a tiebreaker between two similarly ranked guys or in the later rounds but I’m sorry, you can’t look to draft an eighteen year old at #2 overall for need.

Not to mention it seems like our entire defense other than Jonas Siegenthaler is going to be finesse, puck-moving defensemen – which plays well with analytical numbers but not as well in actuality on the ice when you actually need your defensemen to play defense. That’s not to say this kid can’t be good, maybe he will be, I’m not going to waste angst pretending I know. It’s not that huge of a reach considering he was thought of as a top five pick all along and supposedly Seattle wanted him at #4 (not knowing Wright would fall to them though), but I can’t say I have a lot of confidence in this management team to get it right either, with our mixed bag in terms of non-slam dunk picks and total ineptness when it comes to actually putting a good product on the ice.

Hopefully there’ll be more to comment on after free agency, but I suspect it’ll just be another offseason of rationalizations and excuses for why we didn’t do anything. I can’t really think anything else when I see franchises who shouldn’t even be considering themselves win-now (Ottawa, the Flyers, etc), at least trying to make win-now moves while we’re all good, nothing to see here in year #10 of the neverending rebuild.

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