Updates on the Wild, Senators and Devils, plus another NHL UFA ranking.
Latest on the Wild.
STARTRIBUNE.COM: Michael Russo offered up his “to-do list” for Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Re-signing UFA goaltender Devan Dubnyk and RFA center Mikael Granlund tops the list, followed by trading or buying out aging, oft-injured goalie Niklas Backstrom and determining which of the Wild’s other UFAs (Chris Stewart, Kyle Brodziak, Jordan Leopold, Nate Prosser, Sean Bergenheim and Ryan Carter) to re-sign.
Chip Scoggins believes the Wild must either find a reliable elite player via trade or free agency or hope one of their promising forwards (Jason Zucker, Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter,Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin) can become one.
Could the Minnesota Wild pursue Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri?
Russo notes nothing will happen until the Wild determine the cost of re-signing Dubnyk. Assuming they buy out Backstrom, they’ll have $11 million in cap space. They have a handful of veterans (Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Mikko Koivu) locked into expensive contract which could prove immovable and promising young players Fletcher may be unwilling to part with. He could try to acquire younger talent like Edmonton’s Nail Yakupov or Toronto’s Nazem Kadri. Russo also suggests it wouldn’t be surprising if backup Darcy Kuemper was shopped.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The best course of action for Fletcher, once he re-signs Dubnyk and Granlund, could be to remain patient heading into next season and see if any of his promising youngsters have breakout performances. With limited cap space, he doesn’t need to saddle himself with another expensive deal taking up too much payroll. Among the free agents, perhaps Brodziak could be re-signed. I doubt the rest will be retained. As for Yakupov and Kadri, I doubt they’re available. If they are, however, the Oilers and Leafs will want one of the Wild’s good young players in return, so such a move really won’t resolve much.
Highlights from Elliotte Friedman’s latest “30 Thoughts”.
SPORTSNET: It was assumed the New Jersey Devils might shop a defenseman like Eric Gelinas to bolster their offense. Friedman wonders if that’s changed under new GM Ray Shero, who said one way the Devils can improve their scoring is for the defense to be more assertive on the attack…Friedman guesses Devan Dubnyk might accept between $4 – $4.5 million to re-sign with the Wild, but wonders if the netminder might push for $5 million. He also suggests the Wild offer up a long-term deal with a lower average cap hit…The Ottawa Senators must decide what to do with defenseman Jared Cowen. Friedman recommends retaining Cowen rather than risk him shining with another club…It’s believed the Buffalo Sabres have interest in Senators starting goalie Craig Anderson but Friedman wonders if the Sens would move him to a division rival.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Even if the Devils defense becomes more offensively assertive, it won’t address the fact the club lacks scoring punch at forward. So I daresay Shero will shop a defenseman for a top-six forward…It’ll be interesting to see how things play out between Dubnyk and the Wild. Perhaps they offer him a two-year deal worth up to $5 million per season? It’s expensive but doesn’t put them on the hook for too long if Dubnyk turns into a one-year wonder…Senators GM Bryan Murray is reluctant to move Cowen, so it appears the struggling blueliner remains part of their plans going forward…I’ll be very surprised if the Senators trade Anderson to the Sabres. All the Senators goalie rumors suggest Robin Lehner is the odd man out.
Latest NHL UFA ranking.
USA TODAY: Kevin Allen recently listed his ranking of this year’s top NHL unrestricted free agents. Topping the list is Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green. He’s followed by Winnipeg Jets winger Drew Stafford, Boston Bruins center Carl Soderberg, Chicago Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette, Nashville Predators center Mike Ribeiro, Anaheim Ducks left wing Matt Beleskey, Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry and Capitals center Eric Fehr.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: No matter how one ranks them, there’s no one who’s a genuine star in their playing prime who can dramatically shift the fortunes of a team. Green used to be that type of player before injuries hampered him. He’s still a very effective defenseman but not that dazzling puck-moving star who was a former finalist for the Norris Trophy. Those days are well behind him now.
The current state of the annual UFA list is what one journalist predicted several years back – I believe it was Simmons. All those perceived to be top stars – whether RFAs or UFAs at the time – were signed to long-term deals and now just about every team finds themselves both fortunate – to have the services of those who panned out that way and will either continue to contribute to that team or be bona-fide trade bait to make cap room for upcoming young players – and unfortunate in suddenly realizing they have an albatross contract with a lot of term left that they can’t give away.
Toronto moving Nazem Kadri – why? He’s already their best center and is a solid 2C. The Leafs need to be thinking about drafting a 1C/2C (Dylan Strome) to solidify that position not weaken it further. Holland is potentially a decent 3C, meaning Bozak would be the odd man out if anyone.
I agree. If the Leafs were going to move Kadri I think they would have already. I would like to see Holland get more playing time. The more he gets the better he is, and for the most part has been delivering while playing with 3rd and 4th line players.You have to remember kadri played for Mark Hunter in London with the Knights. Nobody who played for him who is current;y in the Leafs org will get booted out easily or without a fight from him. If the Leafs select Mitch Marner with the 4th overall pick, I would not be surprised.
I agree. If the Leafs were going to move Kadri I think they would have already. I would like to see Holland get more playing time. The more he gets the better he is, and for the most part has been delivering while playing with 3rd and 4th line players.You have to remember kadri played for Mark Hunter in London with the Knights. Nobody who played for him who is current;y in the Leafs org will get booted out easily or without a fight from him. If the Leafs select Mitch Marner with the 4th overall pick, I would not be surprised.
Assuming McD, Eichel and Hannifin all go where they are supposed to, I could see the Leafs potentially taking Marner.
However, if the Leafs take Marner, they need Kadri PLUS another C – so that makes him less expendable.
McDavid and Eichel go 1 and 2. Whoever picks 3rd takes Hannafin or Strome. I am happy with Leafs taking Strome or Hannafin. We already have small players with skill, Kadri, Nylander. Leafs need skilled players with size.
I wouldn’t re-sign Dubnyk. One good streak in his career and that’s it. At best he is worth a one year $3M contract.
If you look at Dubnyk’s stats, the last year he was with the Oilers was an anomaly. The previous two years his numbers are similar to what they are this year.
Completely agree. If I’m the Wild, I’d actually be comfortable signing Dubnyk for longer term if it means lower cap hit. I think his career stats are pretty indicative he’s not a one-year wonder (even if he never quite matches this year’s run again).
So what should Minni do if they don’t sign Dubnyk?
Lots of serviceable goalies available or would be made available if there was a bid. It’s almost a position now where there is an overabundance of guys who are average and only a small handful of true game-changers like Price, Rinne, Rask, Lundquist.
@Jeff,
Maybe they could sign one of the future hall of famers they keep spitting out in Ottawa?
Maybe, which one you thinking of. I know of none.
Look, I’m highly suspicious of Dubnyk but I find myself defending him here. Your proposal isn’t marketable. The money is too little and the 1 year term is also unrealistic.
What would be most realistic is firstly that Dubnyk gets his money. Players have earned their money IMHO. A big part of new contracts is they are a lot about symbolic ‘backpay’ and less about projection. That’s just the nature/psychology of it. In Dubnyks case, $4-4.5M would be marketable.
However, the term would better be equivalent to Ben Bishops contract in Tampa, which was 2 years. Bishop and Dubnyk were both in the same situations, I believe. Both had contracts coming up with Vezina nominations and small sample sizes. Yzerman weighed risk/reward and came up with a shorter 2y contract solution that absorbed some risk. Fletcher should do the same.
Finalky some sense.
I instantly liked Coyle the first time I saw him play. He is big , has that wide skating style, goes hard to the net unfortunately flashes of brilliance are far and few between. He lacks consistent touch around the net. I would say of all the Wild forwards listed he has the potential to become a top forward. His problem may be the adjustment from playing center to becoming power forward on the wing, which is where I could see him as a best fit.
Re: Cowan ….not sure how much longer Murray should be patient. Wiercoch, Gryba, Ceci and Borowiecki all surpassed him on the depth chart this year. He is most effective when he plays a physical game but he not consistent and is slow. He often gets burned on the outside. A 3.1 cap hit it is too expensive to keep him as a player who may not be an everyday player. Wiercoch proved down the stretch that he should stay, Cowan is expendable. Give Claesson a shot as the 7th dman.
Murray and his staff obviously believe in Cowens potential. They are obviously willingly to give him more time as he has had injuries in the past which delayed his developoment. I saw an interview with Murray where he stated he doesn’t want to move Cowen. I wonder sometimes if that is just posturing to drive up the cost but I believe Murray.
Like Wiercioch who you mentioned. A player who was rumoured to be on the trading block all year a healthy scratch numerous times finds him self a regular. Cowen could very well do the same.
Looking at his past record he appears to be “a player who may not be an everyday player” but looking at this potential he is still very likely to be a top 4.
Education takes time. I’d give him the next year to figure it out.
From the beginning I was a fraud of the reaction time Cowen was showing but I thought he’d adapt. The problem with him is he doesn’t seem to have the hockey IQ that’s needed to be successful in the NHL. I absolutely loved the physicality he could bring but if it doesn’t translate to being able to read the plays effectively on a nightly basis then he will be a liability on a constant basis.
At this point you really only would want him playing on the third pairing so to see if he can put it all together but he’s had the chance to do that and hasn’t truth be known he was probably a big man playing Ina boys game in junior and took advantage of that. I’d love to be wrong here and keep him but it is true that he might lose out any value by next year. I say of the right deal comes along where you can make him a good piece Ina package for a great top 6 player or an effective top 4 you do it. Anderson and Cowen to St. Louis for jay Bo makes sense to me and maybe to them too since Elliott and jake can’t get the job done.
good points on the hockey IQ and reaction time.
The issue I have is his injuries. Are they going to be a thing of the past or will they continue into the future. This past season he did start out poorly. But any chance he had to kinda recover and “develop” was gone with the sports hernia which i believe he is having surgery for now. Hence why I say his development is being stalled. It has and is.
Cowen has been in the league for 4 years. That would be 328 games total. He has played 212 of them. 64.6% or just over two seasons. So you take away 2 seasons of playing time and you add in the fact once you back an playing how long it takes you to get to form. His development and confidence has taking a hit.
Add to that the fact that he seems to be the Senator fans new whipping boy. Now that Spezza is gone every one of his mistakes seems to be over analyzed due to his contract and expectations. Perhaps moving him on is best for him and the Sens as he may excel out from under the Sens Fan/pundit microscope, but I say one more year as he has the attributes to be a pretty good D man and I’d hate to give him up early only to watch him excel as an Oiler or something.
@Jeff , I don’t like to see anyone fail but I dont think he has even come close to living up to expectations regardless of injuries. I don’t think he is top 4 skill wise. Let’s park this discussion for now and revisit mid next year. He may benefit from a change of scenery.
The top 4 on the Sens D next season will be Karlsson, Methot, Ceci and Wiercioch. Borowiecki is # 5. The # 6 man will come from Cowen or Gryba and whichever one is seen as expendable will be traded. Economically, the one to go should be Cowen simply because of his $3.1 mil cap hit with 2 years to go. However, if Murray dips into the UFA market and bring in, say, Martin, then both Gryba and Cowen could be dealt. Phillips seems determined to come back for his final year and if he does, and is healthy, he’ll be the 7th swing man.Coming up the pipe are two prospects they think very highly of, both currently in Sweden Andreas Englund 6’3″ 190 and Mikael Wikstrand 6’1″ 185.
Joel Ward’s first contract was with Minnesota. The Wild should revisit Ward, a player who has no issue going to the net and staying there. I do not see the Caps having enough money to resign Ward, specially if they plan on resigning Green.
Beleskey is an interesting UFA – a guy who got hot at the right time, kinda like Dubnyk.
ward should be lupuls replacement in Toronto
That observation clearly matches your nickname. First the Leafs have to get RID of Lupul – no easy task unless they buy him out – and that will be costly for several years to come in terms of the cap.
I took some flak yesterday over my statement that OConnor chose Ottawa over the other three teams due to their proven record of goalie developement.
Some posters with limited Hockwy knowledge tried to claims because Ottwaw has developed the next Martin Brodeur that they haven’t developed a goaltender. The tenders I listed yesterday are all NHL calibre goalies who have spent some time the past thirteen years on the BabySens, many have become NHL goaltenders and that speaks for itself the others are still developing.
Yet these posters with their great hockey knowledge thought they know something I don’t. Well here is a quote directly from OConnor himself speaking directly about development,
“As a goalie, you need time to develop your pro game and I would definitely picture myself in Binghamton,” O’Connor said. “I’m not one to come into an organization and demand games or expect promises because the bottom line is, it’s about stopping the puck. Made after he signed with Ottawa.
“I think in my development path I can develop a lot in the (AHL) and that’s a big opportunity for me to develop my game and go when I’m ready. As a goalie, you want to go when your ready and you want the organization to have you play when your ready. I definitely would expect to start in Binghamton next year.”
Just wanted to say I told you so,
it still doesn’t explain how you name these average goalies that Ottawa has developed there really hasn’t been any stud goalies to come out of Ottawa? you said bishop but Ottawa didn’t develop him he wasn’t even drafted by them and spent limited time with the sens
Never once did I claim the Sens developed studs aka Patrick wall. Quick, Lundquisf. Sometimes teams get lucky and guys like that come with naural ability that can be taugh. What I am saying is he Sens have taking people with lesser ability and helped them become NHL goalie and regardless of what you and NYR4Life short sighted opions are if a person becomes good enough to play in the NHL hen they have become NHL goalies and Rick Wamsly has been doing a fantastic job in Ottawa by gphelping these Tenders develope and with out a doubt his is why he chose Ottawa.
I need not explain why I named average goalies, you need to explain to me why I can’t name them.
jeff… yesterday you made it sound like ott was a goalie factory that’s why I questioned the guys you named what your saying is oconnor chose ott because they produce average goalies?? you are very short sighted
I think it has been said that Wamsley is highly regarded. Hammond credited quite a lot of his recent development to the tutalage of Rick. For a goalie trying to find his way into the league and paying attention to a similar goalie trying to crack the league and having that much success. That kind of quote can’t have fallen deaf ears.
Jeff,
You are hilarious. Face it, Ottawa hasn’t developed any goaltender worth talking about. PLEASE! So save your “I told ya so’s” for a time you may actually be correct. You also “told us” Brodeur wasn’t washed up before the ink was dry on his St. Louis contract, a 4 game win streak = Edmonton is completely turned around, McDavid & Hall are the next Perry / Getzlaf….on and on. Talk about lack of hockey knowledge? I’ve never seen someone be so wrong so often, and still pat himself on the back! How do you not break your arm doing it so often?
and let me guess…you are never wrong.
True the Sens have never developed a star goalie, but if Emery could have kept his personal life in check you never know how he could have turned out and Elliott has been a solid starting goalie. Also so far Lehner looks like he could be a solid starter soon and Hammond looks promising.
It seems like you just judge peoples hockey knowledge on their teams on ice performance. Jeff was by far from the only one who thought Brodeur was far from finished, also who says the Hall and McDavid can’t be the next Perry and Getzlaf? If the Oilers get the right coach in anything is posable.
Thanks Kevjam, I was wrong with Brodeur, I was also wrong with Pageau on Ottawa, I didn’t think he’d find a home on the team not because he was a decent player I was concerned he wouldn’t score and the Sens had many other players like him so he get pushed out but he has brought many other things, mainly a surprising physical game and a spark of energy.
Yet the difference in me predicting what I think might happen like will Brodeur career continue, will Pageau become a mainstay, will MacDavid and Hall become Perry and Getslafish is hpjust at predictions. I could very be wrong and I don’t state they will do all this. I say I think they will. Sometimes I am wrong,
As for the OConnor thing. I knew why he picked Ottawa I said I knew why, I did not say I think they will. I was not predicting the future but stating facts that have occurred.
What Nyr4life did was make assumptions, I simply went and found a quote of an enterview to prove I was right and he was just blowing air.
But yes any of my predictions can be wrong. Yet any thing that is now history I am likely right on as I saw it happen.
Did I ever say I wasn’t wrong? Settle down Francis! “You never know what could have been”?….That’s stretching a little isn’t it? His original statement was…………… “He signed in Ottawa due to Ottawa’s proven ability to develop Goaltenders along with their proven fairness in there treatment. “….Proven ability does not mean 1-2 medicare goaltenders over the last decade +
NYR’s have “developed” Chad Johnson, Jason Labarbera, Dan Cloutier, John Vanbiesbrouck, Hirsch, Holmqvist, Talbot, Richter, Montoya, Lundqvist……….But I wouldn’t say NYR’s have a “Proven ability” to draft goaltenders. It is a completely ridiculous statement. And to boot, coming back to say “I told ya so” over comments O’Connor made even makes it a little more ridiculous. He reminds me of a guy that pokes at the bear in his cage and wonders why his arm got ripped off.
You are correct with NYR ability to develop goalies and perhaps OConnor had them a close second but OConnor is directly talking about wanting to be developed properly. Edmonton bringing in guys to fast, Vancouver trading away their goalies and New York having Lundquist may have been this he thought would hinder his over al, development as he is trying to become a starter. Therefore perhaps this went into his reasoning and why he chose Ottawa as his best option for development.
Fact remains the very guy talked of it, it isn’t here say,
Told you so.
back tracking…every team in the league has goalies in the system, some better than others, the talk of developing goalies like Emery (decent backup) Elliot (decent backup Lehner (still young but decent backup) could litterally be said for the whole league Jeff, all goalies get drafted. Bishop spent around 40 games over parts of 3 years in Ottawa, he spent mearly6 seasons and close to 200 games in the Blues org…who developed Bishop? Ridiculous that you would claim that he is a product of the Sens, almost as ridiculous as the assumption of a team being some kind of goalie factory because there are a couple in backups kicking around the league who once played for the Sens. Anderson came from Colarado was decent there too is he a product of the goalie factor? what about Lalime, Gerber Pruesek, Bertheaume Hume Fountain Laforest…its a pile of crap Jeff.
Looking at this goaltending discussion from a completely different angle, the Detroit Red Wings are a classic example of the theory that you don’t need a Lundqvist or Roy or Price to have a solid competitive team. They’ve made the playoffs for what? – 25 straight years and the last true “star” goalies they had on a regular basis were Sawchuk and Glenn Hall – way before that time. Over the past 25 years they have relied on names like Cheveldae, Legace, Osgood and Howard – none of whom I expect will ever be in the Hall of Fame.
George I believe if you look the last time the wings won the Stanley cup it was with Hasek in nets
just sayin
Oh I hadn’t forgotten about Hasek Matt. He did play well for Detroit in his late 30s and in between two stints there he might have helped Ottawa win a cup in 2007 if he hadn’t been sidelined with the groin pull. I was just thinking about the overall Red Wings success over the past 25 years, and they did win two cups with Osgood leading the way – certainly no Hasek. He also played more games than Hasek (43 to 41) in 2007-08.
Where in any of those statements does he say Ottawa gives him the best chance to develop in to a star goalie like Patrick Lalime?
*Sarcasm*
You are reaching here, Ottawa doesn’t have a track record of developing great goalies like say Montreal does.
You type this in on a computer Jeff use google and do research ….
*eagerly awaits the third novel in Jeffs trilogy of “Great Explanations”*
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA … Comment of the day!
He do tend to drone on, don’t he? In the old days in the government we termed that “bafflegab.”
LOL. Next time I’ll ask for the readers digest condensed version.
Jeff, I think you might have overextended a bit on this issue. I’ll give you Elliot, Emery. Those were/are fine NHL goalies, with NHL resumes spanning years. Also Ben Bishop had his best developmental years in Ottawa before being the odd man out. To lesser extent Lehner has shown good growth, but obviously has some distance to go. Senators seems to have good developmental, but let’s not get overboard here.
I don’t understand how you all got confused. I am not over ecpxtending. By bringing a young tender up through the pros and giving him the best chance of achieving a spot in the NHL and the. He achieves it is development, they are all not going to be Brodeur, none so far are near.
I think a lot of what you wrote were good but it came of as singing the praises of Ottawa Senators goalie developmental a little too much IMO. I’m with you, it’s hard to find the next Brodeur. People need to have realistic expectations. I believe O’Connor chose the right club. It will be fine there. If he plays it right, he might be no1 in 2 years. Andersons contract will be very tradeable then and won’t pose a problem.
yo you guys are jumping on miscommunication = words
no ottawa has not developed star stanley cup caliber goalie (yet ..what the fk you thing theyre trying to do. when they do get one then they will commit salary/player and contend) but yes they have had lots of goalies over the last 10 years that had some very good rememberable stretches (this year duh!!!) even more spectacular than price lunquist rusk…while on very bad ottawat teams. But the other side of the arguement holds true also…once traded they tend to have failed and faded.
Jeff Noel on May 11, 2015 at 6:01 pm
I took some flak yesterday over my statement that OConnor chose Ottawa over the other three teams due to their proven record of goalie developement.
The key words there are provven record of goalie development….the have no more a “proven record” than anyone else Reimer, Gustavsson and Scrivens are backups and Bernier like Bishop spent more of his career somehere else…the Leafs are one of the last teams Id say has a “proven record of goalie development”…there is no miscommunication. All 30 teams have goalies just because a few move on and play backup somwhere else is hardly a proven record of goalie development.
Did you just compare what Hammond did this year (24 games) to what Lundqvist has been doing for 10 years and Price has been doing for 8? Aye aye aye!!!!
no i said stretches. i mean reg season 10 game winning streaks on bad teams…and i was exaggerating .
I am not dillusional lol
Nobody develops goalies they are either good or their not. Goaltenders get on streaks and play great than often not so much. Only a few play well all the time.
You guys think when I say develop a goalie I mean create an all star.
New Jersey developed Brodeur, they did not develope Schneider they traded for him and never played him in the minors. That is what I mean. Ottawa drafts goalies and developed them. They only goalie who was develop by them in their system over the last decade is Anderson. The rest were developed in there system and achieved various levels of success
LOL. 6-7 people tell you that you’re wrong, but you will still keep going on and on and on and on and …….I don’t think there has EVER been a subject here that Jello, George, Shticky, Dino and myself have EVER all agreed on…..until now.
I’m totally with you on the hot streak/cold streak thingy. There’s quite few goalies that are elite, but many that are NHL standard.
However I think you underestimate how technical todays goaltending is. Analytics have broken each part down to a science. It takes years to master every kind of read on the ice and what statistical countermeasure fit that situation. For example, that’s one of the reasons I doubt Hammond. There are obvious technical flaws to his game and he is no Hasek to cover them up. These weaknesses will be exposed over time. It’s also the reason a huge goalie with competitive nature like Lehner can’t seem to go over the hump. It takes years to master the technical aspects of mastering all situations on the ice. The best goalies also have high hockey-IQ. Some have it (Price, Lundqvist) but most do not. To be elite you have to have some sort of natural talent/feel for the game also.
yes totally agree and I would like to add that more importantly…5 players to prevent shots (defense) something all great goalies need. No penalties (see above). Very reliable system/defense/players to lower chaos factor.
I personally think your goalie should be captain, coach and GM (like they say…build from goalie out..might as well let him dictate the game ala Patrick Roy / Martain Brodeur