The Opiated Sherpa's Hockey Pool Domain

Friday, June 27, 2014

Blues Core Retains Berglund

On the heels of a new salary cap ceiling number being announced in the next day or two, the St. Louis Blues didn't hesitate to re-sign Swedish forward Patrik Berglund, giving him a new 3-year deal worth $11.1 million.

By his own scoring standards, Berglund did have somewhat of a down year in 2014, finishing 257th overall in pool scoring with 14 goals and 32 points in 78 games. Berglund had previously been fairly consistent, staying in the top 200 of pool scoring, but did see his numbers tail off a bit. Obviously, the Blues are not terribly concerned with his numbers, caring more for his value as a solid teammate and useful cog in their machine.

Berglund was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st, but was kept from any poking or prodding from other teams that may have been able to sign him to an offer sheet.

This now brings up the St. Louis Blues' projected roster up to 17 players and their overall cap hit to be about $51 million. On the plus side, the Blues have their goaltending and defense already sorted out, so no matter how badly the projected salary cap ceiling number gets hit, the Blues have the key parts of their line-up already sewn up. The only two key free agents to look after now are Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Sobotka.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Cup Nets Gaborik Seven Years on the West Coast

The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly got their man and they have locked him up for the long-term.

On Wednesday, the Kings and Marian Gaborik agreed upon a 7-year deal, worth $34.3 million, which gives him an annual cap hit of around $4.9 million. The 32-year old Slovakian was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week, but the Kings rallied around some negotiations to help reel in a big piece of their Stanley Cup winning team.

Gaborik had another sub-par regular season between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Kings, playing in only 41 games, scoring 11 goals and registering a total of 30 points. That was good enough for 277th overall in pool scoring, which is very disappointing from a guy who gets picked in some mid-to-high rounds.

However, it was the playoffs where Gaborik really shone brightest for the Kings, as he led the playoffs in goals scored with 14 and was 4th in points with 22. Thanks to his poor regular season, he didn't even feature on the Playoff Pool selection sheet, which was a damn shame.

It was his playoff performance that easily earned him the new deal and his play would have likely done him some good on the open market, hence the term of his contract. The overall cap hit is very friendly to the Kings, who have established themselves as a team that players would want to play for and in this case, take less money to do so.

Salary Cap

It looks like the Kings only really have to add some talent to their blueline, by re-signing or some clever trades, as they now have 19 players sorted out on their projected roster, including 12 forwards, five defenders and their goaltending tandem. They have about $8 million left to spend on four potential roster spots, which says that depth will be the only thing that they are looking for. Whether or not they add from the inside or not, will only be told by time.

Gaborik has been a favourite player of mine for quite some time, but his tendency to get and/or be injured should be more than enough reason not to give the guy a 7-year deal, you would think. Instead, the Kings have rewarded him with a huge deal and despite the cap-friendly price tag, this still has the potential to backfire a bit. Sure, the Kings could trade that deal away in a year or two, but if things go South for Gaborik, the return won't be there, especially for a 34-year old that has injury concerns.

On the flip side, if Gaborik does stay healthy and plays five out of the seven years in Los Angeles, this deal should be considered a steal.

Nikitin in a Trade & Sign

Late last week, there was a deal in place that saw the negotiating rights for potential unrestricted free agent defenseman Nikita Nikitin move from Columbus to Edmonton for a conditional asset. On Wednesday, the trade was completed, as the Oilers send the Blue Jackets a 5th round draft pick this year and the Oilers turned around and announced that they signed the Russian blueliner to a new 2-year deal, worth $9 million.

Nikitin didn't have a great year with the Blue Jackets in 2014, playing only 66 games, scoring 2 goals and 15 points. The 28-year old dealt with injuries to the head and some other lower-body issues during the year, not to mention a healthy scratch through the year, which all compounded on a rough season.

In the 2012 season, he topped out with 7 goals and 32 points in 61 games, ranking 37th among all defensemen and thus giving the league a taste of what kind of potential he has among the big boys.

This move for the Oilers adds some potential to their blueline, which is still running a bit thin, as we enter the off-season. Nikitin joins Justin Schultz and Andrew Ference as the only three signed defensemen on their projected roster and those three are not exactly appearing as a dominant force on paper. Nikitin and Schultz will be looked towards to carry a lot of the offensive load from the back end in the 2015 season.

Salary Cap

The Oilers are still quite healthy in the cap department, as the 12 players they have signed on to their projected roster is only coming in at $47.2 million, which should give them plenty of play. Edmonton is expected to be a real player in the off-season, as they try to right the ship and find their way into the playoffs in the rough & tumble Western Conference.

One In, One Out in Tampa

The Tampa Bay Lightning didn't waste much time after the NHL Awards to get the party started in this off-season, as they locked up forward Ryan Callahan to a new 6-year deal on Wednesday morning, reportedly worth $34.8 million over the term, which works out to be a $5.8 million cap hit per season. A far cry from the $7 million deal that he was looking for out of the Rangers, which helped facilitate his move to Tampa.

Callahan's rise to the ranks of the $5+ million came with the Rangers, as his work ethic and leadership were undeniable and with the growing confidence came some reasonable scoring numbers. Callahan's pool rankings topped out in 2012, when he finished 97th overall in scoring.

Since then, it was a little rocky between him and his home club and there was a slight drop in his numbers, dropping to 106th in the shortened season and then in 2014, he finished 223rd with 17 goals and 36 points in 65 games. It was definitely a down year for Callahan, but now with a new contract in hand and a new team to help lead, it doesn't seem unreasonable to think that the 2015 season will be a bounce-back year for the American winger.

Also on Wednesday, the Lightning exercised their final compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone, who wasn't likely to return to the club after some run-ins with the law, including drug possession. Malone had one year left on his current deal, which carried a $4.5 million cap hit.

In the 2014 season, Malone was limited to 24 games, scored 6 goals and 8 points.

Salary Cap

To be fair, I didn't expect to see Malone in the Lightning line-up this season, so he wasn't included in the Pool Outlook's cap numbers, which I had posted. His $4.5 million cap hit would likely have been buried, which would have affected the number in the end, but instead, a buyout removes him altogether and we can just add Callahan's numbers and be done with it. With the new signing, I now have the Lightning up to $52.1 million for 14 players on their roster, leaving a projected $19 million remaining.

This cap number doesn't include Jonathan Drouin or a back-up goalie, but those numbers are not very far away from being added, one would think.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Potential Back-Ups Signed

It looks like the Boston Bruins have made their choice for their preferred back-up goaltender, as they have signed Swedish netminder Niklas Svedberg to a new 1-year deal, reportedly worth $600,000. Svedberg had a quick cup of coffee with the Bruins in the 2014 season, picking up a win, but was the 3rd-string goaltender behind Chad Johnson, who had a good year as the back-up. Johnson, a UFA on July 1st, doesn't appear to be coming back for next season.

It's a cap-friendly deal for the Bruins and if you're looking for a cap friendly keeper or you're looking for a depth goalie late in your draft, taking a shot with Svedberg, despite you're likely unfamiliarity with him, shouldn't be a bad idea.

The Columbus Blue Jackets were obviously pleased with what Curtis McElhinney brought to the table in the 2014 season, as they gave him a new deal on Monday. McElhinney signed a 1-year deal, worth $650,000 and will likely be the back-up to Sergei Bobrovsky again in the 2015 season. Last year, McElhinney was good enough for 10 wins and 25 points, a solid outing for a back-up keeper.

The Jackets are not hurting for cap space, like the Bruins are, but the team still managed to keep their back-up goaltending at a reasonable cost, leaving plenty of space for more additions, if they see fit. McElhinney will likely be a deeper option than Svedberg above and likely would be kept as a back-up, even if Bobrovsky was to get hurt, likely giving a shot to one of their young prospects to get some minutes.

Flyers Re-Sign Brayden Schenn

On Monday, not long after the trade that sent Scott Hartnell out of town, the Philadelphia Flyers re-signed 22-year old forward Brayden Schenn to a new 2-year deal, worth $5 million in total.

Schenn has been steady over the last two seasons, ranking in the 160-170 range in overall pool scoring. In 2014, he finished 168th with a 41-point season (20 goals) in all 82 games, scoring at a half a point-per-game pace. There is belief out there that he will break out and be more of an offensive force, but if he continues to have some limited minutes in Philadelphia, it may be tough.

Salary Cap

With a $2.5 million cap hit over the next two seasons, his deal plays nicely into the fold for the Flyers, who are in cap trouble, heading into the 2015 season.

Now with Schenn signed on, the Flyers are sitting with 18 players signed on for their projected roster, now sitting with $66.2 million. This leaves about $4.9 million for the remaining five roster spots. This would suggest that the Flyers are still a move or two away from being done this Summer, especially if the projected cap number takes a cut.

Monday, June 23, 2014

My Mock Entry Draft - 2014 Edition

Something else I haven't done for a few years has been my mock entry draft, the last of them I did was in 2011, where I believe I did an 0-for attempt at the whole thing. I mean, I will do my mock draft the same way and base it on what I believe has to happen for each team, but usually I can get one or two of them right. I think the Oilers still made a mistake in taking Ryan Nugent-Hopkins over Adam Larsson, despite his lack of success in Jersey, but I digress.

Here is what I think should happen in Philadelphia at the Entry Draft, not necessarily what I think is going to happen. If you haven't been reading the blog much, the reasoning behind the picks are in each team's Pool Outlook reviews, which I completed this week.