Training camps are getting ever-closer, now that we are nearing the middle of September and the Minnesota Wild tying up one of their last loose ends of the Summer, signing Nino Niederreiter to a new 3-year deal, reportedly worth $8 million.
The signing now leaves goaltender Darcy Kuemper as the last signing to come down for Minnesota, but that does sound like it could be a ways off, since the Wild are already going forward with two goalies in camp, despite the coaching staff saying that Kuemper has a shot at the number one job, if he shows.
Niederreiter, on the other hand, is now signed to his bridge deal after his entry-level deal expired in the Summer. It was Niederreiter's first year with the Wild in 2014, where he played in 81 games, scoring 14 goals and 36 points. It was the first real solid taste of the NHL in his career, as his cup of coffee with the New York Islanders didn't last quite as long as he may have wanted.There is very little question that this kid has some offensive talent to go with his blistering skating speed, but with a team-first mentality in Minnesota, it might be hard for Niederreiter to spread his wings exactly, rather he'll have to capitalize on the chances that he is afforded for his numbers.
I have his projections improving somewhat, not too certain he'll break out this year.
The cap number for Niederreiter is quite reasonable and the Wild did well to keep it from going out of control. Over the next three seasons, the young Swiss forward will have a cap hit of $2.667 million, which is more than manageable and definitely going to push the kid into some bigger numbers and longer-term, more lucrative deal. The Wild now have six camp spots open on their projected roster and still have over $12 million in cap space. Management of the Wild must be pleased with themselves after this Summer.
It's the end of another era in the NHL, as Saku Koivu announced on Wednesday that he was retiring after 18 NHL seasons. Koivu spent his entire career between Montreal and Anaheim, where he played in over 1,100 games and amassed a shade over 830 points in his career, not to mention his triumphant return from a battle with cancer, which lifted his status beyond compare to a lot of NHL players.
In hockey pool terms, Koivu was never an upper-echelon kind of player, never really considered to be a top end pick, his peak position in pool scoring came in the 2003 season, where he finished 42nd overall, thanks to a 71-point campaign in 82 games with the Canadiens.
The Arizona Coyotes were busy on Tuesday, inviting three unrestricted free agents to their training camp, which gets started in a couple of weeks. The most intriguing and most notable, defenseman Jamie McBain, who spent last season with the Buffalo Sabres, scoring 6 goals and 17 points in 69 games for the underachieving club. The year before that, he was in Carolina, playing for another poor team, scoring 1 goal and 8 points in 40 games for the Hurricanes. With the Coyotes still being somewhat short-staffed on the blueline, I think McBain has a real shot at making the push up into a contract.
36-year old Czech defenseman Tomas Kaberle is going to try and reboot his career and the New Jersey Devils are going to help facilitate that comeback with an invite to their training camp. If Kaberle is looking for a place to play, the Devils are certainly a good option for him, as they only have five defenders on their projected roster and there is still some question marks about how Adam Larsson is going to fit into the system in 2015, so there may just be more than enough room to move in. Kaberle last played in the shortened 2013 season, playing in only 10 games for the Montreal Canadiens, picking up 3 assists. If Kaberle is healthy enough to play, there is a decent chance that he'll be good enough to be pool worthy, so keep him on your radar for a late-round pick.
Over the past few seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning have loaded up on goaltending, to which almost any combination of the four they have signed on to major league contracts to make for a reasonably successful NHL tandem, anywhere in the league. They have decided to make things a little more interesting, adding former Calgary Flames prospect Leland Irving to the mix, inviting him to camp. Irving also last played in the shortened season, winning a couple of games and adding an assist for 5 points, but the depth of the Lightning may only fetch him a minor-league deal, at best right now.
On Friday morning, the Boston Bruins announced that they have invited two more unrestricted free agents to training camp, as their salary cap crunch wouldn't likely allow them to sign anyone to a new deal. Finnish forward Ville Leino was confirmed as one of the new invites, while Canadian defenseman Steve Eminger was the other, adding a little bit more NHL experience to their training camp roster. Today, I would say that Leino has a reasonable shot at making the roster, despite not exactly being a Bruins-like player, but he could sign for a reasonable amount, especially if they can't get Reilly Smith under contract. Eminger, on the other hand, has a lot of depth to wade through, but he did sign a minor-league deal with the Bruins, so he will at least have a job at the end of camp.
A potentially popular defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Olli Maatta, has given an update on his off-season shoulder surgery, where he has been working out in the off-season, with little discomfort, but as of the beginning of September, he still hasn't been cleared for any contact on the ice. The update did not necessarily provide a yay or nay as to whether or not he will be ready for training camp, but he still has a couple more weeks to go, as physicals and camps should open around the 18th, 19th and 20th.
As it was mentioned a couple of days ago on my RFA post, Barrie had a whale of a 2014 season, finishing 28th among all defensemen in scoring with 13 goals and 38 points in 64 games in Colorado and the sky seems to be the limit for this kid.
Oh, September... training camp season. Time to get back into the proper swing of hockey pool studying, which includes taking note of all the professional tryouts that are happening around the league. Teams are inviting unrestricted free agents to camp, trying to see if they could fit in a gap left on their roster or outplay someone they already have signed. These players don't have deals now, so there is a good chance that they could play for less on a 1-year deal, just to make every party happy. Who has agreed so far?
The Flames fascination with bigger, slower defensemen is mind-boggling. Calgary has six defensemen on their projected roster and they have a couple of youngsters in the fold to likely tryout for the seventh spot, but they have still decided to invite Sheldon Brookbank to camp on a tryout. Brookbank played in 48 games with the Blackhawks, giving them some adequate depth, scoring 2 goals and 7 points in the process, but a move to Calgary doesn't make him into a pool-worthy defenseman, even if he does sign.
The Florida Panthers have a couple of spots open on their blueline, which are likely penciled in for Aaron Ekblad and Dylan Olsen, but those two will have some competition with tryout defender Shane O'Brien. O'Brien spent last season with the Flames, picking up 3 assists in 45 games, which makes him far from a pool-worthy defenseman on his own merits and by looking at the depth in Florida that is already there, he wouldn't see a great deal of ice-time anyways. There is no sleeper possibility here.
Goaltending in Los Angeles was a strong point for the Kings in 2014, so much so, they cashed in on one of their back-ups in a trade. The team is going to offer more competition to Martin Jones in training camp this time around, inviting Jeff Deslauriers to camp on a tryout. I would imagine that Deslauriers has a big hill to climb, if he wants to make it back to the NHL, especially in Los Angeles, but a good camp may give him an opportunity somewhere. The last time Deslauriers was relevent to the pool was the 2010 season, where he won 16 games for 41 points with Edmonton, ranking 29th among all goalies.
The Montreal Canadiens are going to take a flyer on former Carolina Hurricanes forward Drayson Bowman, someone who just couldn't quite make the cut down South. Bowman slowly climbed his way into a semi-everyday position with the Hurricanes, but his development never really reached what his potential was pegged at. Last season, Bowman did play in 70 games for Carolina, scoring 4 goals and 12 points, but maybe a change of scenery will help his cause. The Habs don't have many spots open on their front end, plus they have a number of players vying for those limited spots, so it will definitely be a tough slog for Bowman in camp.
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they signed agitating forward Dan Carcillo to a tryout, expecting him to be in camp in a couple weeks. Carcillo will provide some competition for a guy like Steve Downie, who is signed on for the year, but could be on some shaky ground, given his history with injuries and other assorted issues. Carcillo topped out in the last few years at 22 points, so he isn't really a pool-worthy forward, but he could knock out Downie, who still has some low-level potential for a late round pick, if he found some top six time at some point.
The breakout season for Columbus' Ryan Johansen has really put some sting in the discussions between player and team on a new deal this Summer. There have been a number of reports in the last few days in August, which were suggesting that the two camps were miles apart in their negotiations and that there is a pretty solid chance that Johansen won't be at Blue Jackets camp, when it opens in a couple weeks. It is really disappointing, because this kid has all kinds of potential and can certainly improve upon the 33-goal & 63-point year he had in 2014. I have boosted his numbers, but they are dependent on whether or not he'll be ready to go.
Another youngster with a tremendous amount of offensive upside that is unsigned is St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz. On the plus side, the 25-goal man from last season has had positive reports out of the off-season reports, as they draw closer and closer to a deal, leading up to camp. Given the Blues' overall team-oriented offense, I don't think the sky is quite the limit for Schwartz, because the system doesn't necessarily allow him to spread his wings, but he does have the talent to make the most of the opportunities given to him. Once the pens hit paper, he could be a decent 3rd round pick or a great 4th round pick.
Boy, did the Boston Bruins ever hit a home run with the acquisition of Reilly Smith from the Dallas Stars, which saw Tyler Seguin head the other way. Sure, Smith isn't the Seguin type and probably won't be, but he is the Bruins' type and that works out, likely even better, for the team than Seguin may have. With that home run swing though, it came with a kid that only had one year left on his entry-level deal and now the Bruins have to figure out how much he's worth to their system. 20 goals and 51 points last season would suggest he has some value, but with limited salary cap resources, the Bruins will have trouble giving him his market value and that could be troubling. Tread carefully, if you wanted to sneak him onto your pool team unsigned.
With how the last few seasons have gone in the draft pool, defensemen have been clutch and key components to a winning team. The Colorado Avalanche have a future dynamo in the making in Tyson Barrie, but his 2015 season may be hiccuped by salary talks of his own. Barrie finished 28th among all blueliners in scoring and the Avalanche are a team that will thrive on his offense, as well as the tools he can use in the offensive zone to generate assists. There doesn't seem to be a lot of optimism that Barrie will be locked in right away, but there is still time and that seems to be the consensus. No time to panic yet, but I would imagine that the Avs want him in as much as us poolies do.
Quietly going about his business in the Big D, forward Cody Eakin may emerge as a decent late round forward pick in this year's draft, assuming that he is signed on as well. Eakin was good for 35 points last year and with the improvements in the Stars' line-up, he is a kid that could see some jumps in production. The latest reports out on the interwebs suggest that Eakin and teammate Brenden Dillon, are not terribly far off getting some deals done, which would be a certain plus for both players and team, but the team isn't playing with a great deal of cap space, which may hurt negotiations in the end. This is one of those situations where a team would certainly appreciate their youth helping out with some possible hometown discounts.
Much like Barrie above, there should be a lot of hockey pool love for Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, but that love indeed translates into dollars, which takes up cap space, something that Boston just doesn't have in this off-season. Krug was better than Barrie in 2014 scoring, but the upside for Barrie is better and now that Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz has a deal in the $3.7 million range, the Bruins will struggle to keep Krug under their roof... or another player or two to make room for both him and Smith. If the numbers don't add up in Boston, it will remain to be one of the more interesting stories in training camp.
Now out of his entry-level deal and a year into his tenure with the Minnesota Wild, it will be time for Nino Niederreiter to finally bust out of his shell, relatively speaking. Niederreiter showed some offensive flashes in his first three NHL seasons, but those flashes were just that. Yes, the kid has all kinds of speed to burn, but he is also learning how to play a more responsible game. Year number four could be good for that, but where the negotiations land is anyone's guess. This is a guy that needs a bridge deal, because he hasn't earned anything for the long-term, nor has he put up numbers for big money. Why this deal isn't done yet is beyond me. I am looking for him to improve his numbers, based solely on physical maturity, but I still don't see them being big numbers.
It may have taken some time, but Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis joins an ever-growing list of blueline prospects that have made good on their potential or better. Okay, Ellis hasn't quite done that yet, but he has overcome the questions about his size in the NHL and he managed to play in 80 games last year, picking up a 27-point season. Now out of his entry-level deal, Ellis is poised to re-join a fairly potent blueline corps, which already boasts some excellent young talent. If Ellis can get a new deal done, which shouldn't be too difficult, given the Preds' cap space, I think he could emerge as a quality hockey pool option in 2015.
There is definitely some wiggle room for defenseman Eric Gelinas to push through in the Devils blueline depth chart, especially if he can put up the numbers he did in 2014, 29 points in 60 games, for 80+ games in 2015. The 23-year old had a hard time staying in the line-up, but when he did jump in, he made up what he lacked in the physicality department with some offense. You may not have heard too much about him last season, but if he can generate a full year in Jersey, I think he has some real potential to be a bargain player in the later rounds.
In Detroit, there is one last piece that the organization is concerned about going into camp and that is defenseman Dan DeKeyser, their NCAA-signing from a couple seasons ago. DeKeyser has shown the team that he is capable of being an everyday defenseman in the NHL and with 23 points in 65 games last season, he has shown a bit of an offensive upside, which some people were saying was a long ways away in his game, depending more on his defensive prowess. The Red Wings have cap space for him, but with the injury problems they had last year, they may need all the cap space they can get, which may hurt DeKeyser's chance of a long-term deal.