Could the Ducks trade a goaltender? How will Jon Cooper’s signing affect Steven Stamkos’ contract talks? Read on for the latest in your NHL rumor mill.
Could the Ducks trade Andersen or Khudobin?
Could the Ducks trade Frederik Andersen?
TSN: On Thursday, Darren Dreger speculated Anaheim Ducks goaltenders Frederik Andersen or Anton Khudobin could be available. He believes it’ll depend upon the play of promising John Gibson. Dreger suggests the Montreal Canadiens or Calgary Flames could have some interest. He also expects the asking price for Andersen will be high.
ESPN.COM: Craig Custance also doesn’t rule out an Andersen trade, citing Gibson’s play and the fact contract talks have been quiet between Andersen (a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer) and Ducks management.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Ducks GM Bob Murray decides to move a goalie, I think it’ll be Khudobin instead of Andersen. Yes, Gibson has put up superb numbers thus far, but he’s only played six games this season. However, if Gibson looks comfortable as the Ducks’ starter by the New Year, then I can see Murray gauging Andersen’s trade value.
Will Cooper’s new contract affect Stamkos talks?
TORONTO SUN: Mike Zeisberger wonders if a new contract for Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper will affect contract talks between the club and pending UFA Steven Stamkos. Because Cooper shifted Stamkos to the wing during last spring’s playoffs, there’s speculation the duo have a difference of opinion. Stamkos downplayed that talk in September. Throughout this season, Cooper has his captain playing at center.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The ultimate factor isn’t Stamkos’ relationship with Cooper, but how much the Lightning are willing to invest in their captain and for how long.
Ultimately, I doubt Stevie Y sees Tyler Johnson as Stamkos replacement. Johnson has taken a HUGE step backwards this season. I still think they’ll move Bishop, Coburn, Filppula etc. before letting him walk or trading him.
Think Coburn is ufa after this year , it would be Carle or Garrison. Along with Bishop….not sure that gms will be looking to do him favors tho I dont think those are easy or the combinations of a starting goalie and a good D is a wise move…tough to say but it seems like Tampa will have stripping down its roster to accomidate some of the raises they are going to need to put up, 8 rfas next year with Stamkos the year following Pallat and Johnson.
Johnson has had some nagging injuries as have many of the Tampa forwards. They were missing 5 forwards against the Rangers. I don’t think we have seen their best hockey yet.
I’m not just talking about the Ranger game. I’m talking about all year, and where he will finish this year. I watch more Tampa games than Ranger games. It looks like he will finish with about 30+ points than he did last year. Going by projections.
I ran the salary cap #’s here a few days ago for TB. TB has 22 plus million available to spend next season at todays cap hit of 71.4. You have to assume the cap will be in the 73 to 75 range providing another 2 to 4 million. The only RFA seeing a significant raise will be Kucherov; & he may have to accept a bridge contract not to metion he’s picked a bad time not to produce, & the only other RFA with any leverage is Killorn. He & all remaining RFA’s will essentially have to take their qualifying offers or nominal raises.
Even at 10 million TB can probably squeeze everyone in under the cap next season allowing Coburn to walk as a UFA. Failing that I think Bishop is the contract dump. The real cap issue is the following season as Johnson, Palat & Drouin are RFA’s & Hedman a UFA. Yzerman is probably hoping as am I that expansion teams enter the league in the 2017-18 season. If so problem solved.
Sorry should read Even signing Stamkos at 10 million
I don’t know about your theory friend, simply because one has to make sure you have calculated the lower Canadian dollar into the equation which is going to affect the cap level as 1/3 of the revenues are from Canada.
Gary. Assuming the cap only moves to 73 to 75 million that accounts for the Canadian dollar. If a regular reader you would have read numerous posts from me about just such & Lyle has touched on it repeatedly.
Not a regular just assuming that the revenue from Canada affects where the cap will be set and if the dollar is lower I assumed the cap would not rise much.
My apologies.
Gary.
No needs to apologize. The cap won’t rise much but it will rise. Similar to lat years gain but only if the NHLPA agree’s to the 5% escalator.
Tampa certainly has the room, the question is does ownership intend to spend to the cap.
Good point, but knowing unions I do not see them agreeing to it.
Stamkos=10 mill
Kilorn=4.5
Kucherov=4
Namstnikov=3
Poof there goes 21.5 mill
That gies them 10 forwards 5 D and 2 goaliies signed for j6st a hair under 70 mill, assuming they can bridge Kilorn and Kucherov which is only postponing the inevitable. Not much wiggle room there and the next year is virtually going to be impossible without a huge jump in revenues.
I believe I qualified that. No way Killorn is getting 4 mil. His qualifying offer has to be 2.7. Nemestnikov’s a %10 raise over his .874. Kucherov is the wild card & may need to be bridged which could potentially come in at 4.
I disagree Kilorn is arb eligible and a top 6 LW/c who is currently second in goals on the team who islikely on his way to another 40 point season (his 3) is getting 4 mill…just based on comparables…Namestnikov is currently 3rd on the team 7n goals and looks like he could possibly put up 20 plus….I think he will get substantially more than his 10% and Kucherov is well Kucherov I agree he could be bridged but not sure its a benefit.
Actually Killorn is tied for 5th in goals with 3 other people & prior to TB being devastated by injuries, Palat, Johnson, etc, wasn’t even getting 2nd line PP time.
You have Stamkos, Johnson, Palat, Filppula, Callahan , Drouin & Kucherov that were & all will get quality icetime ahead of Killorn when all are healthy. He’s the #3 LW now behind Palat & Drouin moving forward.
You are splitting hairs, to support your fantasy pool view. Last I looked hr was second but apperntly someone else scored a goal Stamkos leads the team next highest total is Kucherov at 6 Namestnikov at 5 and Kilorn at 4…now by your own argument 3 of the top 4 guys on the team arenot getting much of a raise? I understand the rules of rfa it doesnt mean tjat its the lae and spplied straight across the league yes they dont need to give Nsmestnikovmore than 10% butwhrn a guy eho is likelyto putup around 20 early like he is he is likrly to make more than that raise…not like he is a 3rd or4th line rookie….same as Kilorn he has Arb rights look at the comparables, Drouins oce time means nothing if it goes to arbitration….sure you could bridge Kucherov but at what point fo you stop curb stomping the rest ofyour team to keep 1 guy? Whats the effect going down the road? Howbad fo those 3 want to dign long term down the road not to mention the goslie and D you sent packing…Im not sure this isnt lost on Stevie Y. Ifyou give Stamkos 10 mill (at least) its could bethe begining of breaking up a yeam before its won anything.
Drouins icetime is no factor if Killorn goes to arb…and based on comparables he is getting 4 mill…2 russian players who could very well make a tonne more money playing at home and youre going to bridge one and slit 1s throat with a 10% raise? Thats 3 of your top 4 players….Im not so sure I see it. Signing Stamkos for 10 mill, assuming thats all he wants is the start of stripping that roster down.
Wilson Abdelcater Foligno Perron Saad all pretty compareable to Killorn who would be in the top 50 or do LW in the hame so fsr tjis year.
Shticky, have you seen where the ruble is over the past 12-18 months? They aren’t going home to make anything! Russian players are screaming about not even getting paid at all. The ruble is making the Canadian dollar look amazing in comparison!
The Ruble is not really a factor when youre talking a player making under a mill US. As Striker suggest for Namestiknov He would make considerably more in Russia and Im not sure that Kucherov wouldnt as well…there is a difference in American born players accepting deals in tje KHL and Europans returning home. Not saying tjats the ultimate out come but just because tjhe CBA says a guy coming off an entry deal, only needs a 10% raise doesnt mean that the reality of iy is tjats what you are giving one of the better players on your team…lol
The ruble today is .015 to the dollar. Again, many khl’ers are screaming of not getting paid at all! How does $1.00 to .015 on the dollar sound attractive at all?
Don’t get me wrong, I like Killorn. I just don’t see Killorn as a top 6 forward in the current make up in TB barring injury.
You have provided some great comparables but all are some what different in everything but age & only Wilson is truly comparable in offensive production. Foligno had a huge season & was an RFA. Saad has had significantly better production & sooner in his NHL career. Abdelkader plays for Detroit, home grown & is their #1 winger! Why I have no idea but that’s just how Detroit does it. Perron’s deal was signed in the old cap world & he won’t get the money he’s making now from anyone next season.
There is also the golden boy rule in play. Almost every player you mentioned was drafted significantly higher most in the 1st round & all are guaranteed top 6 forwards for their respective teams today. Killorn was drafted late mid in the 3rd round. 77th to be percise. If he demands 4 million he will be the 1st to go & that will be to his benefit as given the top 6 roll he deserves he would be better than he is. He just can’t currently dislodge any of today’s top 6 & when all are healthy his production will be virtually non existent. Again prior to injuries mounting he was getting zero PP time playing on a 3rd line that couldn’t seem to generate any offensive production.
Sorry should read Foligno was a UFA
Why would the cap rise? I would rather assume the cap stays at or close to $71.4M.
Also, Tampa has an internal cap that is lower than the salary cap. I don’t know why no one mentions this. They will have their finances in balance even after Stamkos signs. That will inevitably mean a few trades in the wake of any Stamkos signing.
It’s not all about this year and the next as any Stamkos contract will be for 8 years. If they commit to Stamkos, they are obviously ok with parting with 1-2 other current players on the roster in a 2+ year timeframe.
Tampa knows they have many players on good contracts for the next two years. They will keep everyone for as long as they can and mount serious cup runs. What will be interesting is how will Tampa look in season 2017-18? Stamkos situation will have impact upon that.
Tampa has an internal cap below the nhl cap? Really? .60-.800 million is an internal cap? They are currently at 77 million with about 3 on ltir, and another 3+ on bonus cushion. Where is this internal cap?
Sorry, my bad. I just saw where TB currently sits under the cap. They are just as tightly under the cap nowadays as most every other cap team.
TB has no internal cap limit & have virtually spent to the cap for at least the last 3 seasons & have used their
ELC bonus cushion & LTIR; Ohlund, to stay cap compliant.
They are pushed up against it like many teams in the NHL & not this summer but the summer following may be facing tough choices but that’s a long way off. This summer will be tight & players will be forced to accept their qualifying offers or bridge deals as that’s the cap market today.
If & I stress if expansion happens in the summer prior to the 2017-18 season numerous clubs cap issues will be solved. If not TB will have to make a few hard choices. The easiest may be to simply let Bishop walk as a UFA. By no means am I saying this will happen I’m just expressing that TB can make the dollars work this summer.
The financial landscape has changed significantly in the NHL in a very brief period of time due to oil prices & the Canadian dollar. If you look at the contracts & UFA market in this last off season we saw serious restraint & lower saleries for both RFA’s & UFA’s than expected. Subban, Toews & Kane were all signed before this situation materialized but it’s a whole new cap world & in this market none would have received the money they did.
I follow your argument, but again, how is the cap rising next season by another $2-4M?
The lower tiered players will probably find themselves in a money squeeze as UFAs. For the impact players, the money will always be there, albeit salaries won’t rise because the cap will lie fairly still for a while IMHO.
What is the website again that replaced capgeek?
Here are the three I’ve got bookmarked:
http://www.generalfanager.com/
https://hockeyscap.com/
http://www.capfriendly.com/
http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams?year=2015
https://hockeyscap.com/teams/
http://www.generalfanager.com
http://www.puckmeplease.com/nhl-salaries/
Generalfanager is another decent one.
According to one pundit on Gino Reda’s That’s Hockey yesterday (can’t recall his name), the fact Cooper shifted Stamkos to the wing in last spring’s playoffs didn’t sit well with the captain, but while there was, indeed, some friction between the two over that move, it will not play into his signing status. He’s only played C this year. And even if he does decide to test the UFA waters next spring, that pundit was pretty adamant that he won’t sign with Toronto if winning a cup has anything to do with his ultimate decision because, even with him, Toronto won’t be a contender for the next 4-5 years anyway. If he does go somewhere else it will be to a legitimate contender who will do what it takes to clear the books to make room for his contract. But he then went on to say he doubts even that will happen and that he will sign with Tampa once Yzerman knows for certain what the cap situation will be, because like any afore-mentioned contender, he’ll do what he needs to do to clear space to sign his captain.
I understand the desire to win the cup but realistcally how many teams that would be in that conversation would have the ability to sign that kinda contract.. I think there are only 10 or so teams in the league that would do or could do it with little to no hesitation and of those teams maybe half of em could be considered contenders…maybe.
as I said before stamkos would be stupid to sign in Toronto he is gonna make his money no matter what team he goes too. unless the lightning win the cup this yr stamkos will be going to a contender
Nobody seems to comment on weather or not Stamkos wants to stay in Tampa, Steve can offer all he wants doesn’t mean he will sign. Hamilton wanted out of Boston and it didn’t matter that Boston offered more. If Stamkos does want to go somewhere else then they have to get all they can for him.
There are a few factors that people don’t look at…Tampa dpsent make a tonne of money Owner want to pay 1 player 7 or 8 mill up front every year for the next 8 years in “bonus” money? What if there is a lockout? Im not sure this is as cit and dry as some think
Tampa owner Jeff Vinik can afford to run in the red for another decade.
He (obviously) wouldn’t want to – But, he’s got deep enough pockets (and has exhibited enough commitment (and love) for his team to acknowledge that the only real limitation to his potential generosity in such matters is the salary cap – He’s dropped over $50 mil of his own dough into renovations and improvments to Amalie (which is city-owned) over the past 4-5 years.
He’s already greenlighted Yzerman to “spend what it takes” to keep Stamkos in Tampa.
…And the Bolts haven’t done too badly in attendance, either, since Vinik and Yzerman took over from “the Cowboys”. Amalie Arena has enjoyed a consistent pattern of sell-out crowds (albeit, the tickets are a shade under-priced) since Yzerman started running the team – So much so that one can no longer slot Tampa into the Panthers-Hurricanes-Coyotes-Devils (struggling teams in empty venues) class of franchises. They been drawing as well as the Sabres (if not better, the last couple of seasons) and sit in the top third of the league for attendance.
Tampa Bay has significant attendance, solid sponsorship, & went to the cup final last season bringing in millions of pure profit dollars for the TB lightening; players aren’t paid in the playoffs, & has 1 of the richest owners in the NHL.
Why wouldn’t Stamkos want to leave? Florida has the best income tax’s of any NHL city in either country. The weather is fabulous & TB is a great young hockey team that can potentially challenge for the cup for years. Making 10 million in Florida is like making 14 plus in Montreal!
The Florida Panthers have the same benefit.
Why would Stamkos leave? Well I can quickly tell you that if Stamkos played for Toronto he would earn double his salary amount in local sponsorships (probably more) over the contract length. So in pure money, the tax thingy is not a deal breaker, if money was his sole concern it would be Toronto.
That said, I think Stamkos really likes it in TB and if he likes playing for coach Cooper, he’ll also resign. The salary will probably be comparable anywhere he choose to go.
With all these star names being bandied about by so-called insiders” I’m surprised no one has brought up the name of Erik Karlsson! I mean, here’s a 2-time Norris winner who regularly ends up with 65-75 points and who only costs $6.5 mil on the cap for the next 3 years after this. Ottawa doesn’t make a “ton of money” either and, being a “budget” team as everyone likes to repeat ad nauseum (despite the fact they are only $5,844,166 under the cap as we speak – which to me means Murray has left some decent “wiggle” room as opposed to ham-stringing himself) wouldn’t it be prudent to see what he would bring back from a “contender?” I imagine it would be quite a lot.
Not enough to even making it close to worth considering for the Sens to consider imo….without a doubt one of the best in the game top 3 or 4 imo…but ya I guess with some of the things that have been floated out there this year….its been strange
Yes, Karlsson is the drum to their beat. Much of their offense relies on his transition play, offensive zone play and PP. Senators would be seriously hampered by a Karlsson trade. I can’t dream up the return that would make such a trade palatable. It would have to be seriously significant. Karlsson won’t be moved unless his play is no longer NHL caliber or he’s sentenced for a civil crime or something.
I don’t get your comment George.
Karlsson is the stick that stirs the pot in Ottawa. They have no one else on that roster to replace him and need to up grade at the bottom 4 on D. He drives their offense, plays half the game, is their captain. Contract is not a UFA or RFA. Has never to my knowledge spoken any ill will about playing in Ottawa.
You know why no one mentions Karlsson in regards to trade talks. Cause their is absolutely no basis to do so. Perhaps when he approaches RFA or UFA it will come up.
As for Murray leaving himself some wiggle room. That is not true. He has no room to fit anymore money on the roster. I not sure I believe your number, I think they are lower than that regarding roster payroll, yet perhaps cap and actually dollars spent are where why I differ. I not exactly sure what both are but thought Ottawa was spending less than you state.
If Murray brings in a top 6 guys or another D man he will be moving out salary. If they could of dumped Greening on someone I think perhaps they would of already brought in another player. Murray is Hamstringed in regards to trades needing a dollar for dollar swap or better.
You aren’t sure you believe my numbers? Did you think I just plucked it out of the air? Add it uip yourself:
Bobby Ryan 7,250,000
Erik Karlsson 6,500,000
Marc Methot 4,900,000
Clarke MacArthur 4,650,000
Craig Anderson 4,200,000
Milan Michalek 4,000,000
Kyle Turris 3,500,000
Mark Stone 3,500,000
Jared Cowen 3,100,000
Colin Greening 2,650,000
Mika Zibanejad 2,625,000
Chris Phillips 2,500,000
Mike Hoffman 2,000,000
Patrick Wiercioch 2,000,000
Chris Neil 1,900,000
Zack Smith 1,887,500
Andrew Hammond 1,350,000
Alex Chiasson 1,200,000
Mark Borowiecki 1,100,000
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 900,000
Curtis Lazar 894,167
Cody Ceci 894,167
Shane Prince 700,000
Chris Wideman 600,000
Counting Driedger’s $755,000, that totals a cap hit of $65,555,834 leaving them $5,844,166 “wiggle” room – now $6,599,166 if Dreidger has been sent back to Bingo. Greening’s hit, although also sent back, stays on the books.
As for Karlsson, I only mentioned his name in the context of other star players whose names crop up frequently as possibly trade commodities by the so-called “insiders” and just thought it would be amusing to see the reaction and thoughts as to what he could bring in return given his low cap hit (in comparison with, say, Subban).
… and in case you forgot, how was that any different from some of the “out of left field” thoughts you toss out, e.g.,
Jeff Noel on December 3, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Webber, Jones, Josi, Ellis. You’d have to think Edmonton can pry one of these guys from Nashville
Jeff Noel on December 1, 2015 at 1:08 pm
Can I be the crazy one today and suggest a Malkin/Johansen swap.
Jeff Noel on November 25, 2015 at 2:53 pm
I think Ottawa should offer up Zibanejad and a 1rst round pick for Johanson. Perhaps throw a prospect in.
4th Hanson brother on November 25, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Why in the world would the Jackets want to trade their number one center unless another #1 coming back in the deal? Ryan Johansen is not going anywhere.
Jeff Noel on November 25, 2015 at 7:06 pm
Oh I agree. Same goes for Kopitar and Stamkos. But I can dream, I can dream.
Lol, those numbers seem believable now haha.
Yet Ottawa is still hampered by the dollars on their roster
There is no sense of mentioning Karlsson in any trade.
Oh if you want to know what some would think it would take to get Karlsson.
I would suggest a good first round pick, a top prospect near NHL ready. A defensive prospect. A NHL ready top 4 Defensmen. A top 6 foward leaning towards the top 3 end. The other team would have to retain salary. just for giggles if the other team wins a cup while Karlsson is under contract that team forfeits another 1rst round pick to Ottawa.
Something like that may give Ottawa pause to think about it. It still might not even convince.
Basically if there is a whole perceived to be on the Sens roster the team trading for Karlsson will have to fill it.
“Yet Ottawa is still hampered by the dollars on their roster …”
They have more cap space at $6 mil than most of the other playoff teams right now – which does NOT make them a budget” team but rather one that leaves a door open for a late season acquisition without having to trade dollar for dollar. Quit waffling when your pronouncements are shot full of holes.
If Ottawa at some point in this season picks up a player or two and takes on the added salary to bring them closer to the ceiling then I will say they are not on a budget.
The fact remains they won’t go higher than what they are already playing. If they bring a guy in they will have to move out salary and I would not be surprised if Melnyk wants Murray to find away to lessen the salary already. Which should start generating lots of Hoffman trade speculation this summer.
I think trading Bishop is the move they need to make. Vasilevsky if he can stay healthy is a future star and Bishop is over valued. A deal to free up that money, should be the trick in resigning Stamkos, unless of course Stamkos wants to go home this summer to Toronto.
You’re probably right on where Bishop is concerned. Funny how things play out. For a while there, everyone was dumping on Ottawa for having traded him to Tampa for Corey Conacher and a 4th round pick in 2013, especially given that Conacher was later placed on waivers, went to Buffalo and is now in Switzerland. But that 4th round pick, 102nd overall, turned out to be 6″ 3″ RW Tobias Lindberg of whom Hockey’s Future says “Tobias Lindberg is a big, strong winger with excellent passing skills, and a heavy, accurate shot. He also has the capacity to play in every game situation. As a member of the Oshawa Generals last season, he adapted wonderfully to the team’s smothering 200-foot game and helped to shut down big-time scorers like Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome in the OHL finals. Has the potential to become a second-line winger at best, or a third-line checker that can chip in offensively.”
He has to make it yet, of course, but not too bad considering all the crepe-hangers at the time of the trade. Bishop couldn’t bump Anderson from the # 1 in Ottawa now and likely isn’t even as good as Hammond as a back-up.
The problem is, he has a $5,950,000 cap hit to the end of next season and don’t you think others have seen his short-comings behind a pretty good D overall?
Johnson has had some nagging injuries as have many of the Tampa forwards. They were missing 5 forwards against the Rangers. I don’t think we have seen their best hockey yet.
Injury prone players would be a good place to start when it comes to shedding salary.
Why do you keep bring up the Ranger game? That was 6 games ago and they won. LOL
Cool. Who was there? How did you find out? (No a sarcasm)
I meant to say there was no sarcasm intended in my questions.
Chicago lost 3 games….uh oh, the Sky is FALLING!!!!!! ….Oh wait, that’s only when NY loses 3 games.
Montreal lost 2….one more game in a row, and “The SKY is FALLING!!!!!!
I just want to follow up on my comments about Johnston’s coaching in Pittsburgh. I said the other day I was shocked it took Johnston this long to put Crosby back with Kunitz & Dupuis. Now I can’t speak for Crosby & Dupuis but in the 2 games Kunitz has played on this line he’s had 1 goal & 4 assists!
Just heard after the Habs- hurricanes game , that flyers and Habs are very serious and close of a trade. The names that I hear from philly are simmonds and B schenn. Let’s see what hapenns….