Svechnikov, Couture, Among Others Sign, JvR Back To Philly… But Nothing On Tavares (Yet)

Happy Canada Day and Free Agency Day!

Don’t forget to check Dobber Hockey for the fantasy impact of signings as they appear. Once the various hockey insiders announce the signings on Twitter, Dobber, Mike Clifford, and myself will be typing away like crazy. So between your free agency programming, barbecues, and fireworks, you’ll want to check Dobber Hockey for the latest on how players will be affected fantasy-wise.

In the meantime, the Ramblings is a great place to discuss the other hockey news of the day, including players re-signing with teams that already hold their rights. Will John Tavares fall into that category? Islanders fans can only cross their fingers.

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The only surprise with this signing is how quickly it got done. The Hurricanes have signed 2018 second-overall pick Andrei Svechnikov to a three-year entry-level contract. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, his contract is in line with the previous two number 2 picks, Patrik Laine and Nolan Patrick.

Also mentioned in the same article: 2017 first-round pick Martin Necas was “easily the most impressive player in [Hurricanes prospect development] camp.” As much as Svechnikov seems ready to make the jump to the NHL, he’s not the only Canes’ prospect to keep an eye on this season. Necas is listed at number 10 in the June edition of the Top 200 Fantasy Prospect Forward rankings.

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According to Sportsnet, Logan Couture is on the verge of receiving an eight-year extension from the Sharks worth $64 million. Couture is on the final year of a contract with a cap hit of $6 million, so the new contract will be a $2 million per season raise starting in 2018-19. According to Pierre LeBrun, the signing won’t affect the Sharks’ chances of signing Tavares.

Last season Couture was the runaway Sharks’ leader in goals with 34, mainly playing on a line with Tomas Hertl. Not that Hertl is a terrible player by any means, but could Couture’s fantasy value improve if Tavares signs with the Sharks and becomes Couture’s linemate? Something for us to think about if we write a “Tavares Signs With Sharks” fantasy take article. We all have Tavares on the brain right now.

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Early Saturday morning (at least for me on the West Coast), the Jets traded Steve Mason, Joel Armia, a seventh-round pick in 2019 and a fourth-round pick in 2020 to the Canadiens for Simon Bourque. I broke down the trade from a fantasy perspective. Some additional thoughts:

With Mason now out of the picture, the Jets’ backup goalie situation will be one to watch. According to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun, UFA Michael Hutchinson is “expected to move on, since he attracted interest from multiple teams during the interview period.” Promoting Eric Comrie is a possibility, as he had a fairly strong AHL season (34 GP, 2.58 GAA, .916 SV%), but he has struggled in brief NHL duty (4 GP, 4.00 GAA, .880 SV%). According to Wiebe, Comrie “isn’t likely ready for full-time duty,” so I’d probably put my money on the Jets bringing in an experienced backup one way or another. There should be plenty of those for the Jets to choose from.

Yes, the Armia trade may also ensure that Jack Roslovic receives a full-time NHL job. Potentially there are a quite a few Jets forwards outside the top 6 that could be positively impacted by Armia’s departure. We’ll probably have to wait to find out whether Paul Stastny is re-signed to determine the full effect of Winnipeg’s forward lines from top to bottom in 2018-19.

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Mike Green has reportedly agreed to signing a two-year contract to remain in Detroit, with an AAV of $5.375 million (Bob McKenzie). Expect his role to remain exactly the same in Detroit as the lead power-play blueline option. His numbers should be relatively easy to project, as he has scored between 33 and 35 points in each of his three seasons in Detroit while missing between 8 and 16 games in each of those seasons.  

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Ryan Reaves has reportedly agreed to sign a two-year contract to stay in Vegas (NHL.com). Reaves isn’t much for scoring (10 points in 79 games), but he can provide help to your fantasy team in two peripheral categories in particular. Reaves was ninth in the NHL in both penalty minutes (94) and hits (236). I guess if you play in a deep enough roto league and you need to do some catchup in either category, then you could consider Reaves. Regardless, the gritty type of player Reaves is seems to be a dying breed.

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Defensive specialist Niklas Hjalmarsson has agreed to a two-year extension with the Arizona Coyotes (NHL.com).

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Now, onto news items that have come across the wire as I type this:

Frank Seravalli of TSN has stated that James van Riemsdyk has decided to return to the Philadelphia Flyers. The signing will be officially announced when the free agency period begins.
 

All indications are that James van Riemsdyk is going back to the Philadelphia #Flyers on a deal to be announced Sunday. #TSN

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2018

The fantasy take on how this will affect both the Flyers and the Leafs will be up on this website on Sunday, once the deal is officially announced.

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The midnight ET deadline appears to have come and gone on John Tavares signing a maximum eight-year contract with the Islanders. Now, this doesn’t mean that he won’t sign with the Islanders, but it means that the Isles appear to have lost their advantage of adding an extra year to their offer. So I’d say that although the door hasn’t closed on Tavares re-signing with the Isles, I don’t think it’s as likely to happen as it was before. The Tavares Watch continues as the hockey world holds its breath.

Sarcasm on the internet and trolling of Islanders’ fans at the same time:
 

Man, if there's this much drama for a John Tavares free agency, imagine how much there'll be for a truly great player like Barzal …

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 30, 2018

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Sorry to cut this off short tonight, but I have to get an early start on tomorrow (writing this on Saturday night). You’ll have plenty to read about then. Should be an action-packed day.

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For more fantasy hockey information, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.