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NHL And NHLPA Agree On Return To Play Protocols

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While the work to finalize a CBA extension remains ongoing, it appears at least part of the final package to be voted on by the players has been completed.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter thread) that the NHL and NHLPA have completed a 40-page document that will constitute the Return to Play protocols for the final two stages – training camp and the play-in round/postseason.  Some of the details are as follows, courtesy of McKenzie unless otherwise noted:

  • Rosters will be limited to 30 skaters for Phase 3 with unlimited goalies.  Only those that are eligible to play this season can be on the roster.  Teams will be permitted to bring a maximum of 52 people to the hub cities, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports on Twitter.  Of that group, there must be at least 31 players and three coaches.
  • Players can opt out without any penalty but must notify his club in writing no later than 4 PM CT on Tuesday.
  • All club personnel will be tested 48 hours before they are permitted to return to club facilities.  Once done, they will be tested every other day for the duration of their team’s games.
  • Players that are determined to be at a substantial risk of developing a serious illness if exposed to the coronavirus will be ruled unfit to play.  However, the player can request a second opinion if they so desire.
  • Clubs will not be permitted to make announcements regarding the positive test of a player or team member without prior approval from the league in conjunction with the NHLPA.
  • Players who leave Stage 4 (the play-in round, round robin for the top four teams in each conference, and the playoffs) without approval will be subject to consequences up to and including removal which would constitute a disqualification for the player, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).  Clubs can also be penalized if this happens in the form of fines and/or forfeiture of draft picks.
  • Players who leave with approval will be forced to quarantine and will need to clear four tests within a four-day period to return, reports TSN’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link).
  • Families will be permitted to join the players once the Conference Finals are reached, Seravalli adds in a separate tweet.
  • There are clauses in the agreement with regards to what would be required to postpone or cancel the remaining phases, termed as circumstances that would “likely create a material risk to Player health and safety and/or jeopardize the integrity of the competition”, Friedman adds in another Twitter thread.

As this will be voted on as a package along with a Memorandum of Understanding for a new CBA, it’s possible that the opt-out date will be extended but as things stand, players won’t have much time to make a decision on whether or not to participate.  That should certainly make for a few interesting days ahead.

Poll: Who Is Most Deserving Of The No. 1 Pick?

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We asked and you voted and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that readers least want to see win the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by means of a second draft lottery. The Penguins were closely followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers and unsurprisingly these are three teams loaded with star power who finished in the top-five among teams in the qualifying round. Yet, the Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the second best record among qualifying round teams, gained just 1% of the vote, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, the worst teams to qualify from each conference, finished fourth and fifth respectively in voting. This begs the question: who do you think is most deserving of the top pick?

Obviously, with the NHL Draft Lottery playing out as it did with each of the league’s bottom seven teams missing out on the top slot, the most deserving teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, or Buffalo Sabres won’t be an option for No. 1 this year. Instead, it will be one of the to-be-determined playoff teams out of the 16 who will play in a “knockout round” to open the expanded 24-team playoff field. All of these teams finished above .500 this season, so a good team will only get better in the form of Alexis Lafreniere, the elite talent at the top of the draft board. All eight losers of the qualifying round will have even odds in a second running of the lottery, but which franchise is most deserving of this boost?

The NHL has no shortage of teams with a history of losing, but the Florida Panthers have a strong argument for the title of unluckiest. Florida, who entered the league in 1993, has just 18 playoff wins in franchise history. A dozen of those wins came in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, in which they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. The remaining six wins have come in just four playoff series over the past 22 season, none of which have been won by the Cats. This series win drought is the longest current streak in the NHL. The team has also struggled with attendance over the years, due both to location and performance. The Panthers finished just 29th in capacity attendance this season and could use a young star player to draw more fans. The current Florida roster is not without talent but is strapped for cap space and set to lose some strong players in free agency. An affordable entry level deal for a top pick would go a long way to keep the Panthers competitive in the Atlantic Division.

The Winnipeg Jets have improved since moving from Atlanta, but the team’s legacy is still one of failure. The Thrashers franchise, which has since become the second iteration of the Jets, entered the league in 1999. In 19 seasons, the club has qualified for the playoffs just four times and has won only 11 games and two series. Like the Panthers, the bulk of those wins came in just one postseason as the Jets won nine games in 2017-18. Unlike Florida, they have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final. The Jets playoff fortunes have increased since leaving Atlanta, where they failed to win a single postseason game in more than a decade. The club may be able to figure out how to get to their first Cup Final without luck, but playing in a remote city with a passionate but small fan base limits the Jets financially and they could definitely use an affordable superstar like Lafreniere, even though the roster already contains a number of strong young players.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have an identical 11-20 playoff record to the Thrashers/Jets and seeing as how they entered the league one year later in 2000, it would seem they have been slightly more successful. Additionally, all of those wins have come within the past six seasons and the team has qualified in each of the past three years. However, the Blue Jackets have the unfortunate distinction of never coming close to a Stanley Cup in a way that no other NHL team can claim. Columbus has won just one playoff series – just last year in fact – in their existence, the fewest in NHL history, and in that season was eliminated ten wins short of a title, the furthest distance that any team can claim is their best. Columbus also lost three of their best players from the team that finally won a series last season. The Blue Jackets may be improving, but their fans have seen less playoff success than any team in the NHL and their roster is not one that seem likely to produce a Stanley Cup any time soon. Lafreniere would be a boost to the franchise the likes of which have never been seen.

The Blue Jackets’ partners in the 2000 Expansion class, the Minnesota Wild presented a return to the State of Hockey for the NHL and have always had the benefit of immense fan support. Yet, the Wild have struggled to give their fans much to truly root for. While their 26 playoff wins since they entered the league is far better than some of their peers, Minnesota has never made it to the Stanley Cup Final and were swept out of their lone Western Conference Final appearance, which came back in 2002-03. Minnesota has largely been a one-and-done team, winning just four playoff series in their existence. Regular season success can only get you so far and it would be good for the team and the league for Minnesota to see some more results in the postseason. The timing could not be better to land Lafreniere either; the Wild snapped a six-season playoff appearance streak last year and their roster is one of the oldest in the league. The team could desperately use a young centerpiece.

The original Winnipeg Jets, who moved to Phoenix and became the Arizona Coyotes in 1996, also deserve inclusion among teams who could use some luck. The Coyotes franchise is the oldest to have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final, dating back to the Jets’ birth in 1979-80. In that time, they have just 41 playoff wins overall have qualified for the postseason just three times in the past 16 years. They have one of the longest active postseason droughts in the NHL, dating back seven years. The team also has the very unfortunate distinction of having the highest cap payroll in the league this season while placing just 28th in capacity percentage attendance. While star players have been a part of the franchise from time to time throughout its history, the current roster is lacking a young superstar, which is exactly what they need to increase fan interest as well as affordably improve their roster. Lafreniere would be the perfect fit.

As for other teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active Stanley Cup drought at 51 years and are second only two Florida with a playoff series win drought of 14 years, so while they have a young, loaded roster, they may still deserve some sympathy. Similarly, while the Montreal Canadiens are the winningest team in NHL history and don’t need any more titles just yet, they are technically the worst team in the qualifying round and could desperately use the boost, as maintaining relevancy in the 21st century has proved difficult for the once-great franchise. The Vancouver Canucks are the oldest team never to have won the Stanley Cup and got painfully close with a Game Seven loss in the 2011 Final and have not won a series ever since. The Nashville Predators have also never won the Stanley Cup, but have gotten close. Like several other teams, sustained success in Nashville would have a beneficial affect on grassroots hockey. Finally, the New York Islanders are a strong team this year and have staying power in the Metropolitan Division, but their glory days of the 80’s are long gone and they have not made a Cup Final appearance in 35 seasons. Lafreniere landing in the New York market could also be great exposure for the game.

What do you think? Which team is most deserving of the No. 1 pick?

[Mobile users vote here]

Pair Of New Jersey Devils Prospects Depart For Europe

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New Jersey Devils forward prospects Nikita Popugaev and Ludvig Larsson will be playing outside of the organization next season. Each has signed a contract in Europe and are unlikely to have a role with the Devils in 2020-21. The immediate impact of their departures will be minimal, as the duo were known more by name than for their accomplishments in the minors this year.

Popugaev, 21, was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2017. However, he was considered a potential first-round pick early in the draft process due to his 6’6” stature and physical and technical gifts. His stock dropped once questions of his hockey IQ and work ethic began to overshadow is ability. Unfortunately, those questions have materialized into real problems for Popugaev early in his pro career. Following his junior career in the WHL, Popugaev returned home to Russia but failed to produce in the KHL. He finished the 2018-19 season with the AHL’s Binghamton Devils and his five points in 17 games were not enough to convince New Jersey that he was worthy of an entry-level contract. Instead, they signed him to an AHL contract, an unusual move for a drafted player. Rather than take this as a sign that he needed to work harder and improve, Popugaev instead spent this entire season in the ECHL and still only produced moderate numbers. With concerns from both team and player on what is in store for his future with the Devils, Popugaev has opted to return to the KHL, as his agent announced that he has signed a try-out deal with Dynamo Moscow. Popugaev is expected to either land an actual contract with Moscow or another KHL club once his try-out has been completed. This does not rule out the potential for a continued relationship between Popugaev and the Devils, but the team has until June 1, 2021 to sign him to an entry-level deal or else surrender his rights.

As for Larsson, his time with New Jersey and quite possibly North America is over. A former college standout who recorded back-to-back 20-point seasons with Merrimack College and Penn State University in his final two years in the NCAA, Larsson looked like he had the chops for the pro game. A versatile player who played forward and defense in college and was an excellent skater, Larsson certainly needed some seasoning in the minors but an NHL future was not impossible. However, perception was not reality for the 24-year-old. Larsson recorded two points in seven games for AHL Binghamton to close out the 2018-19 season on an amateur tryout, but after signing a one-year minor league deal he contributed only two more points this season in 19 games with Binghamton and spent just as much time in the ECHL as the AHL. Larsson has decided to return home to Sweden, as Allsvenskan club Mora IK per a team announcement. Barring an incredible turnaround in which Larsson’s play in the Allsvenskan lands him a contract in the SHL or another elite European league after next season and he continues to produce at a high level there as well, his time in North America is likely over.

Juuso Valimaki Unlikely To Re-Join Flames This Year

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While there is an ever-growing list of players previously deemed to be out for the season that are now appearing likely to be available to their respective teams at some point in the upcoming expanded postseason, don’t expect young Calgary Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki to join the trend. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that Valimaki, who has missed the whole 2019-20 season, is not likely to re-join the Flames in their qualifying round match-up with the Winnipeg Jets or at any point in the playoffs should they advance. The risk, both to the player and team, outweigh the potential gains in this situation and Francis does not believe that Calgary will take the chance.

Health continues to be the major issue at hand when it comes to Valimaki. The 21-year-old defenseman suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during off-season training last summer. He underwent surgery in late August. By all accounts, including that of Flames GM Brad Treliving, recovery and rehab from ACL reconstruction is ten months to a year. While Valimaki has been participating in voluntary skates with his teammates in Calgary, he has yet to be medically cleared by the team’s medical staff. If he is on pace for the latter end of that expected timeline, Valimaki would not be prepared for game action by the time the knockout round is set to begin and would have to prove he is up to the physical requirements of playoff hockey should the Flames advance.

However, the non-medical reason behind not playing Valimaki may be even more compelling. As Francis details, Calgary has more long-term, team building considerations to take into account in the form of the impending 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Assuming the Flames protect seven forwards and three defensemen in the draft, they would eliminate a very difficult decision if Valimaki does not play a game this season. The young blue liner used up his first season of pro competition as a rookie in 2018-19, but will not be credited with a year of service if he does not play this year. This would make him ineligible for draft exposure, as only those with more than two years of pro service may be selected. However, should Valimaki play even one game this year, he would require protection in next summer’s draft or otherwise would be picked off by Seattle. Francise believes that Flames defenders Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson are locks for protection and that Valimaki would be as well if eligible, leaving veteran captain and top defender Mark Giordano exposed and a very likely candidate to be selected.

Playing Valimaki this season is not worth that risk. The young defenseman is very talented but has not played competitive hockey in over a year and it is hard to imagine that his surgically reconstructed knee or even his conditioning would be ready for an immediate jump into postseason play. On top of that, the Flames have Giordano, Hanifin, Andersson, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone to lean on, making Valimaki an expendable piece of this year’s playoff run, especially if it helps to maintain the roster for future title chances.

Blackhawks’ Brent Seabrook Will Try To Play In Qualifying Round, Postseason

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No one thought much about it when veteran Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was declared out for the season in late December. The Blackhawks were not looking like a playoff team at the time and the aged and battered Seabrook was not going to be the difference between a postseason spot or not. Seabrook proceeded to have three separate surgeries – his right shoulder and each hip – and was expected to be ready to begin the 2020-21 season.

However, the extended pause in the league season due to COVID-19 has changed everything for the Blackhawks and Seabrook. Chicago was the final team in the Western Conference to qualify for the league’s expanded postseason and will have a chance to win a playoff spot in a “knockout round” match-up with the Edmonton Oilers later this summer. Meanwhile, Seabrook has had ample down time to rehab his injuries and has now resumed skating, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. Powers rights that the next step would be for Seabrook to be cleared for contact, after which he could potentially join the Blackhawks for training camp, set to begin later this month.

Of course, actually being selected as one of the defensemen to play for Chicago in the qualifying round and beyond is a whole other issue entirely for the 35-year-old Seabrook. The veteran has not looked like himself for several years now and his four points in 32 games and career-low ice time this season implies that cracking the starting lineup may be an uphill battle even if Seabrook is completely healthy. With Calvin de Haan, similarly ruled out for the season but recently cleared to return, joining top-six regulars Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Adam Boqvist, Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek, Chicago’s starting defense may already be set. This also doesn’t include AHL depth options and the possibility that top defense prospect Ian Mitchell could also be in the mix.

Nevertheless, Seabrook will still work toward being cleared for action and could play an important locker room role and serve as valued depth at the very least for Chicago. The team will need all the help they can get to upset Edmonton and a tuned-up and refreshed Seabrook is just as likely as anyone to be that potential surprise x-factor in the qualifying round series, made even more surprising by the previous expectation that his season was over.

East Notes: Capitals Defense, Montreal Offer Sheet, Debrusk

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The Washington Capitals may be considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but they have their work cut out for them. The team struggled in the last two months before play was suspended with a mediocre 8-9-3 over their past 20 games. Much of their struggle is due to the team’s poor defense where head coach Todd Reirden was seen experimenting with different defensive combinations over that stretch, which included removing veteran Radko Gudas from the rotation altogether.

In a panel of writers, The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir (subscription required) writes that a new training camp couldn’t come at the right time for the Capitals who now have a second chance to find the right pairings and fix their leaky blueline. Much will depend on the players and how they perform at training camp, but there is hope that defenseman Michal Kempny might have more confidence now in his surgically repaired hamstring. The team will also hope Gudas can bounce back and push his way back into the lineup. The team might also get a boost from trade deadline acquisition Brenden Dillon, who will get a training camp to adjust to his new team. El-Bashir also notes the team could look to prospect Martin Fehervary, who will also be on the Capitals’ roster.

  • In a recent mailbag column, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription requires) responds to a question about offer sheets and St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn. Basu wonders whether the Montreal Canadiens might be an interesting destination for the 23-year-old blue liner since St. Louis is currently cap-strapped and have to deal with the contract of Alex Pietrangelo as well as the future contracts of Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Binnington. A significant offer sheet at around $4.2MM AAV would be very challenging for the Blues to match and would bring quite a few questions on whether Dunn is worth that much since. especially since he’s not even eligible for arbitration. That offer would only cost the Canadiens a second-round pick in compensation as well. Montreal is also the most recent team to use an offer sheet, having tried to pry away Carolina’s Sebastian Aho last offseason to no avail.
  • The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that head coach Bruce Cassidy is stuck once again with answering the question, ’Who will play alongside David Krejci?’ on the team’s second line. The scribe writes that while Jake Debrusk would seem to be a solid candidate to take that role, training camp could open up the possibilities of moving Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase into those roles where chemistry might not be that big of an issue with time to acclimate with Krejci. That would not be good for Debrusk’s stock as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year and finding himself on the third line wouldn’t help is value.

West Notes: Blues Facilities, Guerin, Juolevi

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As of now, the St. Louis Blues hope to re-open their facilities and allow players to return to the ice on Monday after a report that several Blues’ players tested positive for COVID-19. That report forced the Blues to close their facilities over the weekend. With a similar incident happening to the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 19, forcing the team to close their facilities for five days before re-opening. Regardless, the positive tests isn’t expected to affect the NHL’s plans to start training camps in a week.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly released a statement earlier today (via Fox’s Andy Strickland):

I don’t believe that what we’ve seen to this point is unexpected. We have always anticipated that we were going to encounter positive tests. What we want to avoid is mini-outbreaks. So the focus is taking the necessary precautions to avoid a cluster of positives. We think the enhanced structure and precautions that will be in place once we reach the training camp phase will actually create safer conditions for players and staff. And we think the Hub City Protocol will make it even safer still.

  • In The Athletic’s Michael Russo’s Q&A with Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin (subscription required), the GM made it clear that the team will be fully focused on its series with the Vancouver Canucks and not the potential of landing the No. 1 overall pick, if the team falls in the play-in round next month. All eight teams that lose in the play-in game have a 12.5 percent chance to earn the right to draft super prospect Alexis Lafreniere. “I think everybody thinks about it, but our job is to win hockey games, and not to play for a first overall pick,” said Guerin. “We’re going in to win. You can’t do that. You can’t do that. Like I said, these games are going to come fast and furious. We’ve got to be ready and we’re going in there to win, not play for a pick. You can’t do that. You just don’t do that.”
  • In his mailbag series, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre writes that defensive prospect Olli Juolevi may have to accept being a third-pairing defenseman down the road. The 2016 fifth-overall pick has yet to make his NHL debut and the only player among the top 17 drafted players that year who has not appeared in an NHL game. The 22-year-old has struggled with both injuries and inconsistency, yet remains close to making his NHL debut and is expected to be on the Canucks roster for the playoffs next month. A third-pairing role might be the most reasonable expectations for Juolevi as it likely isn’t going to get easier to crack the Canucks’ roster over the next few years.

NHL Remains Focused On Full 2020-21 Season

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While the 2020-21 season isn’t expected to start until December, possibly even January, the NHL has maintained in the past that it would like to have a full 82-game regular season to bring stability back to fans. Nothing has changed in the minds of the NHL, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, who reports that the NHL remains committed to a full NHL season next year, even if that means squeezing more games into the calendar.

With the regular season calendar scheduled for 186 days last season, even an optimistic Dec. 1 start-up date would have the NHL regular season finishing in early June. Regardless, the NHL will have to push the playoffs into the summer for a second season in a row. That will likely force the NHL to schedule more back-to-back games and force teams to play a record number of games each month in order to accomplish that feat. That could eventually return the NHL to a truly normal schedule for the 2021-22 season.

TSN’s Brennan Klak writes that a condensed schedule could doom the NHL all-star game and the players’ bye week. The all-star game was scheduled to be in Florida in 2021, but might be forced to be cancelled to conserve calendar space. The scribe also notes that with such a condensed schedule, injuries and back-up goaltending could play major roles in teams’ successes. Therefore depth could be the key for teams’ success.

NHL, NHLPA Hoping To Finalize CBA, Return To Play Agreement Saturday

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The NHL and NHLPA are hoping that they will finalize a six-year CBA agreement today along with a tentative agreement on Phase 3/4 protocols as well as a critical calendar, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Assuming it’s both finalized and ratified, it should provide the league some long-term economic stability with all the issues that have surrounded the league since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Assuming the new CBA is agreed on today, it would need to be ratified by the Board of Governors and the full membership of the NHLPA, where the players would get 72 hours, starting Monday.

While some details were leaked yesterday, TSN’s Frank Severalli notes a few more additions to return-to-play discussions as well as other CBA changes:

  • Dates for Phase 3/4 will be finalized with trainings camps scheduled to open on July 13. Teams will then be expected to report to their hub cities in either Toronto or Edmonton by July 26 and games expected to begin on Aug. 1. Assuming there are no setbacks, the Stanley Cup should be awarded in the first week of October. The second phase of the draft lottery is expected to be held on Aug. 10 immediately after the play-in series is over. The NHL draft is expected to be in mid-October, with free agency starting on Nov. 1.
  • Players can opt out of the 24-team tournament for any reason without penalty and will receive a playoff share regardless. Bonus pool money has also doubled with players who lose in the play-in round receiving $20K, while the Stanley Cup winners would receive $240K.
  • As reported earlier, Olympic participation for NHL players will be included for the 2022 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2026 Milan Olympics, pending negotiations with the IOC and IIHF.
  • There will be no changes to signing bonuses. It was believed the NHL was trying to limit signing bonuses in the next CBA to no more than 50 percent of the total contract, but this will not take place.
  • Players will now also be allowed to rehab from long-term injuries from any where they want, unless the team can prove it’s not possible from that location.
  • Teams will also no longer have to place players playing in Europe on waivers when they wish to return to the NHL. That was an issue back in 2013 for Ryan O’Reilly, who opted to play in the KHL while holding out for a new deal while with the Colorado Avalanche. The Calgary Flames signed him to an offer sheet. However, had Colorado opted not to match the offer, the Flames would have been forced to place him on waivers since he was playing overseas before he returned and likely would have lost him.

 

July 1st Retrospective: 2019

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July 1st is typically filled with hundreds of millions committed to contracts signed in the early hours of free agency.  However, this is no ordinary year and as a result, the UFA market is on hold for a while yet with the Stanley Cup on pace to be awarded sometime in October with the official offseason expected to start in November.  So instead of there being plenty of new deals to talk about, let’s take a look back at the free agent frenzy from recent years.  Last up in our series is 2019 with 2017 and 2018 being covered earlier in the week.

The previous two openings of the free agent period featured a lot of prominent re-signings without a big flurry of notable players heading elsewhere; there were a few but only a few.  That changed last summer as several significant players opted to head for new teams.

For the purpose of this exercise, we’re limiting our scope to the deals handed out on July 1st itself which means players like Jake Gardiner and Marcus Johansson who were in the top-15 of our UFA list but signed later are not considered here.

Key Re-Signings

Anders Lee (NYI) – 7 years, $49MM – While not the biggest point producer, Lee had 104 goals to his name over the past three seasons which helped him garner considerable interest around the league but his focus was staying in New York and remaining as their captain.  His numbers this season weren’t terrible but he was at his lowest goal-per-game pace since 2015-16 when the pandemic hit while he was hovering around a 50-point pace as well.  They need more than that from Lee to get good value on this deal.

Sebastian Aho (CAR) – 5 years, $42.27MM – Okay, technically, this wasn’t a re-signing as the Canadiens tendered him an offer sheet to get to this point.  But it may as well have been as the potential compensation to the Hurricanes wasn’t enough to give them any pause to match it.  While being more of a playmaker early in his career, Aho showed his scoring touch more often this season, finishing tied for sixth in the league in that department while averaging nearly a point per game.  He looks like he’ll live up to the deal without any issue but this contract does take him to UFA eligibility while he’s in the prime of his career and by the time he hits the open market, the current salary cap concerns should largely be mitigated.

Timo Meier (SJ) – 4 years, $24MM – This one makes it on here for the structure of the deal.  The fourth and final season of the contract carries a $10MM salary which then represents his required qualifying offer in June of 2023 which, given the new salary cap picture, looks potentially even more worrisome.  Meier’s performance this year was lower than 2018-19 but that’s something that could be said for just about everyone in San Jose.  He should provide some value on his current $6MM AAV but that qualifying offer already looms large.

Top AAV Free Agent Signings

(Players changing teams)

Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 7 years, $81.5MM – Everyone knew Panarin was heading for a big payday and yet this deal still raised some eyebrows as it made him the highest-paid winger in NHL history.  Accordingly, at no point will this be viewed as a bargain contract but he lived up to it this season, finishing tied for third in team scoring with 95 points and was only behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in assists with 63.  That’s pretty good company to be in.

Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA) – 7 years, $70MM – He was handed the richest deal ever given to a goalie on the open market (Carey Price’s contract with Montreal was an early extension, not a free agent deal) and the results were anything but pretty.  Bobrovsky struggled pretty much all season long and posted a GAA of 3.23 and a .900 SV%, numbers that aren’t good for a backup let alone a starter.  His contract means he’ll be afforded plenty of opportunities to turn things around but this could be a real problem down the road.

Matt Duchene (NSH) – 7 years, $56MM – His offensive struggles with Columbus after being acquired from Ottawa wound up being a precursor to this season as things did not go well for him this season.  His 13 goals were the lowest of his career while 42 points in 66 games is not the type of production that an $8MM price tag should yield.  The Predators have done plenty to add to their center depth in recent years with the addition of Duchene, Kyle Turris, and Nick Bonino.  Despite all of the money invested in them, it’s still a weak spot.

Joe Pavelski (DAL) – 3 years, $21MM – It came as a bit of a shock that he was willing to leave San Jose after 14 seasons with the team but getting three guaranteed years just 10 days before turning 35 was pretty good on his end.  Unfortunately, the Stars haven’t got much of a reward for that deal just yet as Pavelski turned in basically the worst offensive season of his career in 2019-20 with just 14 goals and 17 assists in 67 games.  There was a risk that he wouldn’t be a top line player by the time the deal was done but not many expected that to happen within the first few months of the contract.

Ones To Forget

Tyler Myers (VAN) – 5 years, $30MM – For all of the flak he takes, Myers has carved out a solid 11-year career so far.  But $6MM for a player that is best used as a fourth defender or lower isn’t a great deal, nor was the five-year term that takes him into his mid-30s.  His point per game average (0.31) was his lowest since his age-22 season in Buffalo in 2012-13.  It’s an overpay in both money and term and that’s not an ideal combination.

Mats Zuccarello (MIN) – 5 years, $30MM – Over the last four years, Zuccarello had reached the 50-point mark three times and played at a 68-point pace in the one he didn’t get there due to injury.  That made him seem like a relatively safe bet on the open market as someone that could come in and provide Minnesota with some consistent production from the second line.  It didn’t happen this season, however, as he had just 15 goals and 22 assists in 65 games while seeing his ice time drop from nearly 20 minutes a night the year before to not even 16 per game in 2019-20.

Anton Stralman (FLA) – 3 years, $16.5MM – While Stralman was brought in to provide some much-needed stability to Florida’s defense (which he did), this was still a hefty price to pay for a veteran boost on the second pairing.  The Panthers found themselves in cost-cutting mode towards the end of the season and a big part of that was this deal along with Bobrovsky’s.  The shorter term makes this a little more palatable but it’s still a big overpayment in terms of AAV.

Wayne Simmonds (NJ) – 1 year, $5MM – After a tough showing in 2018-19 including a poor performance in Nashville, Simmonds opted for a pillow contract with the hopes of cashing in this coming offseason instead.  It’s safe to say that’s not going to happen.  The veteran struggled mightily on a bad New Jersey team and didn’t look much better in Buffalo either where the Devils had to retain half of the remainder of the contract simply to get a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Bargains

Tyler Ennis (OTT) – 1 year, $800K – After having a minimal role with Toronto the year before, Ennis signed with the Senators in the hopes of getting more of an opportunity to play in an offensive role and he responded with 33 points in 61 games before being moved to Calgary at the trade deadline.  He was relatively productive with the Flames as well.  Overall, getting 16 goals and 21 assists for just over the league minimum in a shortened season is one of the better UFA bargains in recent years.

Joakim Ryan (LA) – 1 year, $725K – After playing a limited role in San Jose, Ryan sought a bigger opportunity when he signed with the Kings.  He certainly got that as his average ice time went up by more than six minutes a game while he wound up being voted as the team’s best defenseman and Unsung Hero.  While that is partially an indictment on how much Los Angeles struggled this season, it’s also a sign that Ryan has taken a step forward in his development.  To get that for barely over the minimum was a nice piece of business by GM Rob Blake even if it went under the radar.

Jason Spezza (TOR) – 1 year, $700K – No, Spezza isn’t the player he was in his prime but his true value on the open market was for more than the minimum salary.  However, he wanted to play in his hometown which the Maple Leafs used to their advantage.  To his credit, while his ice time dipped considerably (from 13:16 per game to 10:50), his point per game average was actually higher than his final two seasons in Dallas while he was once again strong at the faceoff dot.  Playing at a 35-point pace from the fourth line is something a lot of players can’t do, let alone ones at the absolute bottom of the salary scale.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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