Free Agent Frenzy 2015

Dobber

2015-07-01

My thoughts on Richards, the HHoG, Jones vs. Stalock, Bettman, Las Vegas, some extensions; and more…

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Some minor signings I’ll list here, rather than a full-blown article. Also some re-signings:

– Flyers with some depth signings – Tim Brent, Davis Drewiske and Chris Conner
– Jason Akeson has signed with Buffalo. That’s an interesting one and worth watching in training camp.
– The Caps signed Aaron Ness and Carter Camper

– The Blue Jackets signed Gregory Campbell to a two-year deal worth $3 million

– The Wild add to their depth, signing Zac Dalpe.
– Anaheim has signed goaltender Matt Hackett, who will back up John Gibson in the AHL. Oh how he’s fallen…
– It’s been announced that Derrick Brassard underwent surgery last week to repair tendon in hand. Six week recovery…
– Rangers acquire goaltending prospect Magnus Hellberg from Nashville. An excellent acquisition. Hellberg escapse the logjam in net in Nashville organization and joins a team with far less competition there.

– Penguins continue to shore up their depth. They signed Steve Oleksy, a defenseman, to a two-way contract.
– Boston re-signed Ryan Spooner to a two year deal worth $1.9 million. A one-way deal so he’s on the team now.
– Nashville has acquired center Max Reinhart from Calgary for a fourth round pick. More depth for a deep team.
– Arizona signs defenseman Dylan Reese to a two-way contract.

– Rangers have signed Brian Gibbons
– Rangers also announce that Glen Sather has stepped down as GM and Jeff Gorton takes over
– Penguins add some great depth in Kevin Porter, a two-way deal. It will be good to call him up when needed, instead of say Jayson Megna.
– Penguins also added depth on defense, signing David Warsofsky to a two-way deal. They are learning from last year that injuries can kill a team, and depth is needed.

BREAKING – The Dallas Stars have given Vladimir Tarasenko an offer sheet for $45 million over six years. Per Andy Strickland. The Blues expected to match. Edit: Fake account.

– Curtis McKenzie signs a two-year extension with Dallas
– Calgary signs Derek Grant to a two-way contract
– Minnesota brings Ruslan Fedotenko back. He signed a two-way contract, so I’d expect that he’ll toil in the minors – because I don’t see him making this team.
– Mike Kostka has signed a two-way deal with the Senators
– Leafs have signed Richard Panik to a one-year extension for $975k

– Kings sign Jhonas Enroth to be their backup goalie, one year $1.25 million
– Montreal signs Greg Pateryn to a one-way contract, two years.
– Arizona signs Zbynek Michalek for two years.
– Nashville signs Barret Jackman for two years at $2 million per.
– Vancouver signs Matt Bartkowski for one year $1.75 million.
– St. Louis re-signed Jori Lehtera for three years.
– Senators signed Zach Stortini. Funny how a deal like that had to be done two hours after FA season opens. Couldn’t wait until tomorrow, I guess.
– Sens also sign Eric O’Dell to a two-way contract.
– New Jersey signs John Moore to a three-year deal worth $4.8 million
– Tampa Bay signs Erik Condra to a three-year deal.

– Arizona signs Brad Richardson to a three-year deal.

– Minnesota re-signs Ryan Carter and Nate Prosser
– Carolina has re-signed Riley Nash
– Arizona has signed Anders Lindback for one year at $875K. This one reminds me of when they took Mike Smith in the first place. And Dubnyk. They go to the scrap heap and always seem to come out looking okay.

– Vancouver re-signs Yannick Weber for one year
– Toronto signs veteran defenseman Matt Hunwick for two years at $1.2 million per
– Chicago has re-signed Artem Anisimov for five years, $22.75 million. And they considered that a savings on Brandon Saad.
– Chicago has also signed KHL free agent Viktor Tikhonov, a former Coyotes prospect.
– Edmonton has signed Mark Letestu to a three-year contract
– St. Louis has re-signed Chris Butler

– Thomas Greiss signed with the Islanders as their backup goalie. Two years, $1.5 per year.
– Adam Pardy re-signed with Winnipeg. One year, $1 million.
– Matt Halischuk re-signed with Winnipeg. A two-way deal for one year.
– Washington signed Taylor Chorney for one year and $700K
– Mikael Granlund re-upped with the Wild for two years.
– Thomas Hickey re-upped with the Islanders for three years at $2.2 million per.

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Welcome to my 10th annual Free Agent Frenzy coverage. I can’t remember if I covered it in 2005 when this site was a mere web page – I think I did, but not sure. So we’ll call it my 10th annual (rather than 11th) because it’s a nice number. As always, I won’t break any news – but I’ll give my best fantasy analysis quickly. So check back in throughout the day.

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Update: Scratch some UFA names off the board after some last minute signings.

Mike Ribeiro has re-upped with Nashville for two years at $3.5 million per.

Karri Ramo has signed an extension with Calgary. For just one year. I’m not sure why he did this, as he was the best and only real good UFA goalie option out there.

Patrick Eaves has re-signed with Dallas for one year at $1.15 million. Great move by him to stay, as he showed chemistry on the big line. May be worth a look, though he’ll miss extended stints due to injury.

Let’s tackle some non-FA stuff first, as a primer as you start your day. Specifically – Mike Richards. From what I’ve read on Twitter from Bob MacKenzie and Pierre McGuire, as well as Eric Macramalla and TMZ (here). From what I understand, the Kings were trying to move Richards and it looked like Calgary and Edmonton were interested. However, at the Draft, the Kings table took a sudden change of emotion midway through. Team brass had just found out about a June 17th incident at the Canadian border involving Richards and oxycodone pills (a painkiller). The Kings let the Oilers and Flames know, and killed the talks. After reflecting for a week – and I can only assume they spoke to Richards at length to get his side – and discussing with lawyers and the NHL, they placed Richards on waivers with the intent to buy him out. But Tuesday, after he had cleared, they must have received the go-ahead from either the league or the lawyers (or both) and they terminated the contract, citing a “material breach”.

The NHLPA is reviewing and will likely dispute the termination, citing the NHL’s drug policy and program. If Richards does indeed have an addiction to painkillers, it would go a long way to explain his drastic decline in play. It would also be quite a long-term issue, since his play started declining several years ago. I could be really jumping the gun on the speculation front here, and possibly skipping quite a few steps in terms of the real story, but I’m just speaking from the perspective of a fantasy owner. If he has an addiction then he needs help. And the NHL, the Kings and possibly the Flyers played no small role in his getting addicted. Because it only makes sense that the painkillers were initially prescribed to combat pain from a hockey injury, right? And if that’s the case, then the Kings would be on the hook for the contract while Richards is in rehab.

Gang – it’s the Hockey Hall of Fame. Not the Hall of Stats. So if Connor McDavid plays one NHL game, gets 11 points, and then retires – then in my books, he goes into my Hall of Fame. I’m so tired of the Andreychuk, Osgood, Gartner debate – they don’t deserve to be in (Gartner is actually in somehow – congrats on staying healthy for like gazillion years). What bothers me is that I don’t mind Oates and Housley getting in. Were they ever a Top 5 player in the world? Ever? Those two getting in don’t bother me as much because they were fairly close. Close enough.

But that’s a problem. The fact that the world has driven my “I don’t give a shit”-o-meter to this point is a problem. So the Hockey Hall of Fame is what it is. It doesn’t celebrate the best players to ever play hockey. It celebrates some of the best players to ever play hockey, as well as some other pretty good players who had long and healthy careers. High fives to all of them and congratulations to Phil Housley, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger and Sergei Fedorov.

The Hockey Hall of Greatness, an imaginary hall that I made up, would have one player per year entered from 1920 through 1971 (52) – five years after the first expansion – and then two players per year from 1972 through today (88). So my HHOG would have 140 players who were at one time considered a top five player on the planet – in any league, any country. There are 263 in the HHOF. Lidstrom, Pronger and Fedorov would get into my pretend HHOG. And so would Eric Lindros and Alex Mogilny.

None of this Joey Mullen or Dino Ciccarelli or Clark Gillies stuff.

I had an interesting conversation on Twitter with a Los Angeles hockey fan who follows the Sharks and Kings closely. She argued that the job in San Jose wouldn’t be Martin Jones‘ – that Alex Stalock shouldn’t be judged based on last season. That both goalies would be weak fantasy owns because the split would be close to 50-50 in the end. She was pretty articulate and actually changed my opinion from a firm, 100% Jones to a “hmmm, maybe”. Just something to chew on. Jones was in a Kings’ system that also made Ben Scrivens a star and we saw what Scrivens did on another team. I think in the case of San Jose, if you can’t own the tandem it may be best to not own either.

Here is a report saying that the Arizona Coyotes are moving to Las Vegas under a new owner. Gary Bettman denies the report, calling it “garbage”.

Here is a report saying that the Atlanta Thrashers are moving to Winnipeg under a new owner. Gary Bettman denies the report, calling it “made up”.

Sam Gagner will not be bought out. And with his contract and skill set (and reputation for being a horrible NHL center), I have ZERO doubt that he will line up on the wing with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. A big upgrade to Raffl to say the least. That being said, he had his chance with Eberle and Hall and it didn’t work well. So nothing is for sure. He could be off that line by the fifth game. But worth keeping/owning now that he’s not hitting the market and likely signing for peanuts somewhere.

Alexander Semin will be bought out. So if you’re the Pittsburgh Penguins, you have to be nervous. So many options – but every single one of them are huge risks. Because whoever you sign to be a Crosby winger is going to have to get at least 20 games on that line. So if it fails, that’s 20 games of failing. And what if you pick the wrong guy? Semin could work (or maybe he’d work better with Malkin). Or maybe he’s a bust. Other options – Brad Boyes (who will also be bought out), Jiri Tlusty, Michal Frolik, Martin St. Louis, Matt Beleskey and PA Parenteau. How do you choose? Balance certainty with upside with contract (so many similarities to the fantasy world, eh?)

Dougie Hamilton signed a six-year deal with Calgary and it surprises me that he’s getting under $6 million. Given the offer sheet scenario, I’d have thought for sure that he’d top $6 and push $6.5. Good on Calgary for that one.

Michael Leighton signed a minor-league deal with the Blackhawks

Brendan Smith signed a two-year extension with the Red Wings. He’s apprenticed long enough, and with a new coach perhaps he finally gets some PP time. With Zidlicky gone, you never know. Not draftable in leagues that rely on points, but I’d have my finger on the trigger when it comes to the waiver wire and I’d act early at any sign.

Brian Flynn signed a two-year extension with Montreal. His big playoff game made that much of an impact and now he’s found a reliable NHL job as a checker with some pop.

Anders Lee signed a whopping four-year extension with the Isles for $15 million. At first blush that seems high, but the team bought a year of his unrestricted free agency. Lee is going to be a fantasy (and reality) stud. The stats progression, ice time and fancy stats all point to this. And in my opinion, of all the wingers tried on the Tavares line, Lee performed the best.

The Las Vegas Coyotes traded Lauri Korpikoski to Edmonton for Boyd Gordon. This is a solid, skilled third-liner and I think the Oilers did well here. Korpikoski is still a 35-point player, maybe 40. But he adds an element that the team lacks and frees up the center spot for Anton Lander. That’s a downgrade in the faceoff circle, but Lander is actually coming along in that department. And Korpikoski is good for 150-200 hits.

Drew Stafford re-signed with Winnipeg for two years, $8.7 million. First of all, the Jets got a steal here. Not that he’s worth more, he’s not. But as a free agent tomorrow with such a horrible crop? He’d rank in the Top 5 for available guys, which would mean $5 million per year and four or five years. Second of all – this is a good fit for Stafford for the coming season as I think he should be back to 50-plus points. The second year of his contract maybe not so good – with all the young Jets prospects coming into their own, he’ll be pushed to the third line and I can see him slipping back to 35 points in 2016-17.

Stephen Weiss is being bought out by the Wings after all. Injuries destroyed his tenure with Detroit. If he’s healthy (yeah right) he’ll make a nice dark horse somewhere. Anywhere. But it all comes down to health.

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