Latest on Keith Yandle, Bryan Bickell and Jeff Skinner in part two of today’s NHL rumor mill.
Can the Rangers re-sign Keith Yandle?
Can the NY Rangers afford to re-sign Keith Yandle?
NHL.COM: In a recent mailbag segment, Dan Rosen believes there’s a 50-50 chance the New York Rangers can re-sign defenseman Keith Yandle, who is eligible next summer for unrestricted free agency. He believes a lot will depend upon where the Rangers are in the standings by the Feb. 29 trade deadline, the maturation of promising Brady Skjei and their cap space. Skjei could become Yandle’s replacement, unless the Rangers try to shed salary by trading Marc Staal or Dan Girardi.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Yandle’s a goner by next summer. Unless there’s a dramatic shift in their thinking, I don’t see the Rangers trade Staal or Girardi to accommodate an expensive new deal for Yandle, who could command $7 million annually next summer on the open market. Rosen also touched on Jarred Tinordi’s future with the Montreal Canadiens and the Travis Zajac trade rumors, but I’ve already addressed them in Part One of today’s rumor mill.
Blackhawks still shopping Bryan Bickell.
CBS SPORTS: Chris Peters cites a reports from Sportsnet’s Mark Spector claiming the Chicago Blackhawks are still trying to move left wing Bryan Bickell and his $4 million cap hit. Spector claims they spoke with the Edmonton Oilers regarding defenseman Nikita Nikitin but no deal. The Blackhawks have reportedly been shopping Bickell for months, but his contract, weak production and recent vertigo issues have hurt his trade value. Speaking of Nikitin, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples observes Spector claims the Oilers are trying to move Nikitin or Andrew Ference in hopes of freeing up a roster spot for young blueliner Griffin Reinhart.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I get why the Blackhawks tried to swap Bickell for Nikitin. Both teams have players they wish to move, Nikitin only has a year remaining on his contract compared to two for Bickell and the cap hit is pretty much the same (Nikitin earns $4.5 million this season, Bickell $4 million). It’s obvious, however, the Oilers aren’t interested in adding a struggling player with health issues who still has term on his contract beyond this coming season. Unless Bickell’s performance improves this season, or the Blackhawks agree to pick up part of his cap hit, the ‘Hawks are likely stuck with him. As for Nikitin, moving him or Ference could be a tough sell because of their respective contracts.
Is this Jeff Skinner’s last season with the Hurricanes?
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Luke DeCock reports pending UFAs Eric Staal and Cam Ward aren’t the only members of the Carolina Hurricanes facing uncertain futures entering this season. Forward Jeff Skinner has failed to deliver on his initial promise, leading DeCock to suggest the 23-year-old could become a trade candidate if he doesn’t improve in 2015-16. He also suggests Jordan Staal could become one as well, provided he wants to move and the Hurricanes can find a taker for his huge contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Skinner’s concussion injuries have hampered his development, but there’s no question he’s struggled to meet the expectations that came with his Calder Trophy-winning performance in 2010-11. A healthy season should result in a strong performance for Skinner, but another concussion not only hurts his trade value but also puts his playing career in jeopardy. As for Jordan Staal, good luck moving his $6 million per season annual salary through 2022-23.
Yandle – As much as I have respect for him, the best decision the Rangers made this off-season was to remove Glen Sather from the GM chair. Yandle is a decent Top 4 blueliner but to give up Anthony Duclair and a 1st to get him? Maloney is still smiling about that trade. Now the interesting thing is of all the rumour blogs I have read, everyone has suggested that in order for the Rangers to re-sign Yandle they would have to trade one of Staal or Girardi. Has anyone even noticed that a 39 year old Dan Boyle is a UFA this year? he makes a cool $4.25 million which should be just enough to squeeze Yandle under the cap.
Now the question becomes, is Yandle worth it? On the one hand, he isn’t the best defenseman on this roster so letting him go would not hurt the Rangers, but on the other hand, they traded away their best prospect and a 1st to get him. Does Gorton not feel a sense of obligation to keep him solely on the price they paid to get him? In the end, I wouldn’t sign Yandle to more than a 4 year deal. His average annual cap hit will be dictated by what others sign. If Seabrook makes just under $7 million over 8 years, then Yandle shouldn’t be worth more than a 4 year $20 million dollar contract. Anything higher, Gorton can tell him to go take a hike.
Bickell – He is interesting predicament for the Blackhawks. At the end of the day, every team needs reliable secondary offense and Bickell delivers on that. The problem is the cap hit, Chicago overpaid to keep him around and now its come back to bite them. As it stands, I think the Blackhawks should be ok to start the season with what they have. Hold off on trading Bickell if they can help it because they will need a good balance of experience and youth to get them back to the finals this year.
Nikitin and Ference – I feel bad for Ference; I wouldn’t clal myself a huge fan of him, but he is a hard working defenseman and deserves to still play. it’s unfortunate that there is so much uncertainty about him going into this season. I feel that until Edmonton has solidified their blueline, Ference gives them options and experience. He is worth keeping around to help mentor the next generation.
As for Nikitin, he didn’t have as great of an impact as I thought he would. If I were Peter Chiarelli, I would eat 50% of his salary to move him. He only this year left on his deal and in all honesty, are the Oilers playoff bound? They may not be basement dwellers this year, but there’s no way this team is ready to compete with the uber competitive Western Conference. Eat the salary so that way you can keep Ference around and give Reinhart the beneficial playing time he deserves. Let a team have Nikitin for almost nothing.
Skinner – Ok, I understand Skinner hasn’t been able to duplicate his rookie season yet but he is 23 years old. Look at how long St. Louis held on to David Perron for before finally letting him go, and even then they got a decent return for him. In my opinion, Carolina needs to rebuild and they finally need to depart with Eric Staal and Cam Ward. That being said, Skinner still has value and they will need someone to lead the way on the Top 6. Keep Skinner, let him grow and see if he can rebound from his injuries. He is worth the risk.
I disagree on your take of the Yandle deal. NY gave up a very good prospect, but still a prospect. A prospect that was not even in NY’s top 5 to start last seasons camp. Basically, a guy that also couldn’t crack the lineup full time last year. Yandle by far was the best player in this deal. On most teams, he is a #1-2 guy. One of the best offensive d-men in the league. Ny gave up a “maybe” and a lottery protected 1st rounder for a proven commodity. They also got him at less than $3 per season, letting Arizona swallow the other half of his salary / cap hit.
I also have to disagree on the price tag you put on Yandle. I wouldn’t compare him to Seabrooks contract.$5 million per? He currently makes more than that today. Why is he worth less now? Take a look at comparable d-men with his point production. How is he worth less than Mike Greene, Steit, etc?
All fair points but I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. I’ve always been a believer in not giving up the farm for short term help, and with Nash not getting any younger, Duclair could have been a beneficial part of the Rangers Top 6. Now I’m not saying Dulcair and Nash are the same pedigree of player, but should the Rangers have to part ways with Nash, wouldn’t it be better to have a Plan B close by?
As far as his contract goes, it was a guesstimation at best. Not claiming that’s what he’ll get but that’s what New York should look to sign him at. Obviously they’ll have meet in the middle but I don’t thin Yandle should make more than Seabrook. Yandle is a good offensive blueliner, I see him as more of a 3-4 guy than a 1-2, but defensively he is a liability and at the end of the day he is a defenseman first. The Flyers greatly overpaid for Streit and out of desperation. Mike Green makes more than Yandle at the moment, but he is only on a 3 year deal thus the justification for a higher cap hit (in fact Green’s contract is the comparable Gorton should use in negotiations).
Without a doubt its a tough call, especially in the salary cap era. Again, my opinion is my opinion and nothing more.
Yandle is a bit of a defensive liability, but isn’t that pretty much the nature of all offensive minded d-men? Letang is absolutely brutal defensively and is a higher hit / salary than Seabrook. But in NY he could and should be paired with some guys that can cover some of his hiccups. Playing him with Boyle isn’t the answer. I think Klein would be a better fit. I agree that Green is more of a comparable contract than Seabrook.
yandle is just a fourth forward on the ice he is terrible in his own end but put him with a responsible partner and he is a good dman
Seabrook was the first home town discount I’ve seen in years. I was very surprised by the low cap hit of $6.875M. He is a $1.5-2M better D-man than Phaneuf and that man signed for $7M/y. (No point in comparing to Keith’s cap circumventing contract. People who did that were idiots) Green got $6M and Streit $5.25M. No way Yandle would sign for $5M. Contract negotiations probably starts at $6M and upwards. I would guess he’ll land at $6.5M a year on a 6-7 year deal.
“Look at how long St. Louis held on to David Perron for before finally letting him go, and even then they got a decent return for him.”
Robert, they got Paajarvi and a 2014 2nd round pick who turned out to be Ivan Barbachev of the Moncton Wildcats. Paajarvi was just simply released after doing nothing and Barbachev is still an unknown in terms of the NHL. If you regard that as a decent return then I guess that’s what Carolina can expect to get for Skinner.
Robert, I think your assessment of the Yandle trade is on the money. What Sather gave up for St. Louis and Yandle was criminal. He gave up their best prospect in Duclair, 3 first rounders and a second rounder. All for a guy that was out of hockey in a year and a half and a guy that plays on the 3rd pairing.
NYR4LIFE, it doesn’t matter where Duclair was rated before camp. At the time of the trade he was your best prospect and he didn’t make the team because he was only 19 years old. It doesn’t matter if Yandle is a top 4 on other teams. He is not a top 4 on the Rangers and that is the team that acquired him. Every Ranger fan I know that has been following the team for over 30 years HATED the trade from day 1. There is just no way to rationalize that trade. Sather leaving is the best thing that could have happened to the Rangers but it happened about 3 years too late.
Duclair needs to play in the top 6 and the Rangers top 6 is stocked for a few more years. If Yandle had 2 more years on his current contract the deal would be harder to criticize. and NY was not the only team sending offers for Yandle.
With that, any Ranger follower knows they have needed a powerplay QB since Leetch. If Yandle meets his potential this season Gordon needs to do whatever he can to resign him. Boyle comes off the books and Klein is commodity any team could use. Regardless of Staal and Girardi contracts
And yes as much as MSL was the catalyst getting the team in the SC…
1 pick and Callahan should of been enough… MSL only wanted to play in NYC. Rangers should of been the ones making the line on that one
I agree that NY didn’t really need Yandle. But that’s about all I agree on. I don’t think most NY fans were crazy about the trade, but then again they might have been putting too much value on an unproven prospect as many fans do. As far as Nash’s replacement, I think Kreider is a much better guy for the job than Duclair. I also think Miller, Hayes are more top 6 material on NY (today) than Duclair at the moment. So I still think even if Duclair made the team this year, that would put him on the 3rd or 4th line which is as much of a waste as having Yandle on the 3rd pairing isn’t it? I think by the end of this year, Yandles minutes will be a lot higher than an average 3rd pairing guy. I’m sure his PP time will make up a lot of minutes. Again, what gets lost in this conversation is the best player in the deal is / was Yandle. I think everyone here knows I’m not a big fan of offensive d-men, but there is no denying the better player in that deal was Yandle.
Glad Skinner is not in the frame for Toronto, certainly don’t need a young Lupul redux.
Bryan Bickell just hit the waivers, will anybody do the Hawks a favor.
The trend in the league this year seems to be to just play kids in place of 3rd and 4th line vets and Bickell, while still an NHL-quality player IMO, is going to be a victim of that due to his contract – $4m cap for two more seasons and more in actual dollars for a grinder. With Nonis no longer managing the Leafs, there’s just no buyer for that.
Naw, if Nonis was still with the leafs I`d be more worried if Bickell was a free agent. Does 7 yrs 49 mill ring a bell. The big question is what will Chicago do if (when) he clears. Send him down, it only clears 950,000 for Chicago every penny matters.