The NHL holiday trade freeze is now in effect (until Dec. 27), but that hasn’t stopped the trade rumors. Check out your Sunday roundup.
Updates on Stamkos and Kopitar.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning captain Steven Stamkos addressed the rising tide of speculation about his future, stating he wants to remain with the Lightning. Eligible for unrestricted free agency in July, Stamkos said he believes an extension can be worked out, claimed his agents and Lightning management have been discussing a new deal and dismissed speculation of a rift with head coach Jon Cooper. “Not even close. That’s why people say, ‘I’ve got a feeling. I think, speculate, there’s so much information out there that’s probably false. Like the ones about my parents moving to Tampa (which Stamkos said is not true). That just comes with the territory”, said Stamkos.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stamkos speculation reached a fever pitch last week during the Lightning’s visit to face the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Until then, he seemed willing to ignore it, but the blizzard of “Stamkos could bolt the Lightning” stories out of Toronto likely prompted him to finally speak out. Yes, it’s possible he could depart via free agency, but it’s also possible he could re-sign with them. Remember, free agency isn’t until July. There’s a long way to go before then.
Kings getting closer to re-signing Anze Kopitar.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the Los Angeles Kings are getting closer to a new contract with center Anze Kopitar. One of the hangups was over a no-trade or no-movement clause, but it’s now believed that’s been resolved.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun claims it’s an eight-year deal worth around $9.75 million per season. Sounds like it could be announced in early-January, if not sooner.
Highlights from Garrioch’s “Insider Trading.”
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Pittsburgh Penguins have been listening to offers for winger Chris Kunitz. He also notes winger David Perron is a UFA next summer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kunitz is 36, earning over $3.8 million annually through 2016-17 and his production’s been in steady decline. Perron’s younger (27) and more affordable as his contract expires at season’s end, but his output this season also leaves much to be desired.
Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving and Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic were busy shopping for help earlier this season. In the wake of their respective club’s recent improvement, however, they’ve backed off. Treliving is still believed seeking goaltending help but the options are limited.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames were linked to Maple Leafs netminder Jonathan Bernier. However, he’s carrying a $4.15 million cap hit through next season and the Flames have a lot of key players to re-sign. Not sure if he’s a fit there.
Once the LA Kings re-sign Anze Kopitar, it’s expected they’ll focus on re-signing left wing Milan Lucic.
The Winnipeg Jets still aren’t close to re-signing free agents Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba and no one is happy that their salary demands got leaked to the press last week.
The Jets and Minnesota Wild are among the clubs believed “kicking the tires” on Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen. The Jackets aren’t shopping Johansen but they are listening to offers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Johansen’s affordable ($4 million annually) for now, but his actual salary for next season is $6 million, which is also what it’ll cost to qualify his rights in 2017, plus he’s bound to seek a raise over that. Given the Jets are a budget club, I doubt they’re too seriously interested in him.
It’s believed forward Patrick Marleau will finish this season with the San Jose Sharks and could be playing for them next season as well. His no-movement clause and expensive contract makes him difficult to trade.
Johansen to the Predators?
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman notes the Nashville Predators have been linked to Columbus center Ryan Johansen. Predators want to add a piece up front this season but they don’t want to part with one of their top-three defensemen.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jim Matheson wonders if a Johansen to Nashville for young blueliner Seth Jones might work.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Michael Arace warns trading Johansen could have negative consequences for the Blue Jackets, pointing out how the Boston Bruins dealing away Joe Thornton and Tyler Seguin backfired on that club. While acknowledging Johansen needs to take responsibility for his poor play, he also blames his teammates and a lack of leadership in the dressing room for not motivating the young center to elevate his game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If the Preds aren’t willing to part with Jones, Shea Weber or Roman Josi, Johansen won’t be going to Nashville.
Sorry. But Kopitar just is not worth that kind of money.
$9.75MM for 8 years for a Two Way Centerman that has won 2 cups so far with the Kings, Sorry but yes he’s worth it.
That was the past, he’s already back a step so far this year. I don’t know why GMs keep rewarding the past and seem to ignore the future. 8 years at almost $10M per year? Not for a player his age, that contract will become a big weight on the King in a couple years.
Apparently you didn`t watch last nights game, looked slow, -4 for the night. Not good for someone looking to make 9.5 mill a year for 8 yrs.
Kopitar is worth the contract as it stands now…not sure if that will be case down the road but if the nonsense about Stamkos being a 10 mill dollar player is true then I would suggest (no one has a crystal ball but…) that today Kopitar is almost a steal at 9.75 in big games I take Kopitar 7 days a week over Stamkos and ots not even close. Funny someone mentioned how Kopitar looked last night against the Leafs…..did they watch Stamkos this week against the Leafs? It wasnt any better.
Eric Staal is getting $9.75MM and hasn’t done a damn thing since 2006!
All the more reason to tread carefully when doling out long-term hefty NM/NT contracts. You make a mistake and you’re stuck with it for the duration!
He would easily get 10M+ on the open market. Unfortunately, if that’s the going rate, then that’s what he’s worth.
I could almost see Weber if the Jackets had more room…Johansen and other pieces? Hmmm. Josi’ contract and performance I think makes him a much higher value than a guy with some qiestions left to answer who will need a contract next year….I understand Torts is maybe overly critical of you ger players but this isnt the frist time Johansen has been in the lime light for this type of thing
When was the last time Johanson was in the lime light regarding something like this?
I do t quite recall, before last season he was a budding prospect. Last year he had a coming out party. No he is under the lime light as he became a star.
I was ranting a lot about Weber in yesterdays posts. You’re welcome to read, hehe. 🙂
Nashville would benefit from a Weber trade long term.
OMG, no friggin way Poile trades Weber for Johansen … he doesn’t want to trade Jones for him let alone Weber … get real
Nashville can’t trade Weber due to the eventual cap recapture penalty. I don’t know why people talk about trading him without realizing that reality.
Both ordinary-course and compliance buyouts supersede cap benefit recapture. Any team willing to buy out Weber in the last years would nullify any re-capture penalty as I understand it. So any trade would probably be a gentleman’s agreement that a late buyout could take place. That would probably also mean the receiving team better have money to spend, to not bother about that bit. This limits the suitors, but doesn’t make a trade impossible at all.
Also, there’s a loophole in the CBA. As Weber doesn’t have no-move clause, he could be demoted to AHL at any time. If demoted to AHL and not reporting, the NHL club has grounds for contract termination. There’s precedent for this (LeClair, there are others I cannot remember). That’s an easy out in Webers case. Just a gentlemans agreement would make it happen. Both Semin and Sykora had their contracts terminated quite easy. It doesn’t seem that impossible to navigate around current rules.
There’s also a chance any team could put Weber on LTIR like Pronger in the last years, if anything happens.
Denne +1, not that I think the Preds would trade Weber (yet), just that I think a number of factors make Josi about the least likely to be moved…especially for a guy that the GM kinda questioned his work ethic a year ago and now has found himself a healthy scratch…not sure how many are paying attention to Nashville the past few years or Josi in particular but it aint happening hes 25 making 4 million bucks putting up Weber like numbers offensively…if a team is “desperate” for offence Im not sure they are trading away a very solid 2 way D man who is on pace to put up 50 plus points.
you have to remember who josi plays with! it makes it a lot easier to go for a skate when you d partner is shea weber! if josi did get traded he might take a little step back
Looking at the buyout calculator, if buying out Weber at age 38, the team receives a buyout cap hit of $7.2M for two years. I wonder if that calculation really covers all scenarios. I haven’t thought of his situation in depth or seen discussion about it. HMM.
My best bet would be contract termination in his case. At age 37, he would just have a remaining $3M in total unpaid on his contract. He could “afford” to terminate his contract by then. No re-capture penalty or buyout cap hit for any team he then plays on…
The recapture penalty is a joke ask the Kings Leaf Flyers Bruins…there are so many ways to get out of contracts that have the potential to be messy. Richards Robidas Clarkson Pronger Savard recapture is fine if a player retires, but realistically who is going to retire when they are still owed millions of dollars? To borrow a phrase that someone else has used here the recapture penalty is a dog that wont hunt.
I felt Johansen was done in Columbus after the public contract dispute. Management publicly quested his value, not a good thing to do with the face of your franchise and your future number one center. Then you bring Torts in to brow beat him 24 hours a day. Jackets better hope they can come close to getting face value for this guy.
I agree. Seems his relationship with Kekalainen is infected. I’m very surprised if Johansen stays long term in Columbus. Probably a trade could go down in the off season, or in conjunction with the draft, if Kekalainen prefers that.
Both he and Davidson – if you have an issue with a player or agent, keep it at the negotiating table.
Yeah trading Thornton backfired all they did with the money left over is built a team that competed each and every night and won Lord Stanley. Tell me what have the Sharks ever won? One player doesn’t make a team.
I agree. And all that talk last year about wanting to move Thornton and Marleau has really died down in SJ once it became clear they had no intention of waiving their NT/NM clauses. Nor do I suspect they will draw much interest after their current deals expire after next season (Thornton at $6,750,000 and Marleau at $6,666,667 cap hits per) as they both will be 38. At least Marleau has remained consistent in his output, scoring an average of 27 goals and 32 assists over his first 12 seasons and maintaining that over the past 5. Thornton, on the other hand, since joining SJ has seen his average of 24 goals and 74 assists over the first 6 seasons, dip to 13 goals and 46 assists over the past 5. So far this year, Marleau seems headed for his average while Joe will be lucky to score 13.
Same thought here. One cup two finals since trading big joe.
Don’t like the Seguin trade should have got a better return.
At least a first round pick.
Here is how Larry Brooks ended his most recent article on the Rangers:
Finally, a reminder that pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos has a no-move clause, which means that Tampa Bay probably only will be able to get three first-rounders from the Rangers in exchange for No. 91 at the deadline when he says he only will go to New York.
You mean like Martin St Louis who had family ties to the region and Stamkos doesn’t. Stamkos parents just recently moved to the Tampa Bay Area I seriously doubt that the Rangers will win a bidding war on Stamkos. But I your sarcasm any ways.
Gary, I just read an article 2 days ago, I think it was on NHL.com, where Stamkos addresses a bunch of rumors and he said his parents DID NOT move to Tampa.
Steve Simmons strikes again…it was pointed out he was wrong (once again) shortly after he reported it…seriously not sire how this guy has a job.
I agree its like myrtle both just throw stuff out there with no merit
Now now. Simmons operates on the 50-50 philosophy – figuring if he’s right half the time he can always point to those when someone points out his gaffes.
I would be very surprised if Poile traded Weber or Jones but much will depend on Jones salary demands. If Poile can work his magic & get Jones to sign at a discount as he has done with numerous players specifically Josi & Ellis as it relates to Nashville’s D. Their respective contracts are ridiculously cheap by NHL standards & both aren’t any wherte near fully developed yet & are essentially just kids Josi having just turned 25 in June & Ellis turning 25 in January.
If I’m a GM I’m doing everything I can to secure Ellis from Nashville & Spurgeon from Minnesota. These 2 players offensive upside if every given the opportunity to be 1st line PP Dman is very high. The make solid offensive contributions now in supporting roles & although both are small the play a solid positional & transitional game that translates well in the win loss column.
Ellis, Jarnkrok & some other asset; a 1st, or assets; another prospect like Arviddson, for Johansen would be a good deal for both teams.
Some people have Ellis way undervalued. Im not saying he’s Bobby Orr but he is impressive and has the potential to be like you say a good 1st PP guy.
I also agree it would take more then Ellis straight up for Johansen.
I think you’re giving away a lot for RJ as there are nights Jarnkrok is one of Nashvilles better players.
Ellis and reluctanlty Jarnkrok to start for Johansen. If it makes the deal Arvidsson but I wont offer any more. If it isnt enough time to move along as these 3 should bring back a decent return.
I like that trade for both. That would give Nashville three good young centers in Johansen, Fiala, Forsberg. That’s good center depth and talent as well, all of a sudden. Nashville would benefit to slowly move away from crazy-guy Ribiero.
Agreed. I didn’t say Nashville should give up all those assets get Johansen. After Ellis & Jarnkrok I was essentially adding variables. It was more to show others that Nashville could potentially secure Johansen with out moving Weber, Josi or Jones. If it were Ellis who has a fabulous cap hit & Jarnkrok to me that’s almost fair but might require an additional asset which could potentially force Columbus to add to the mix as well.
OK I did read it differently ( my bad ) and wondered but didn’t think you were on the level of those who spout off with no knowledge.
have you guys ever watched ellis? he is very weak defensively you are way over valuing him
I said yesterday the Preds would be fine, and there is no need to trade away a top 3 d man for offence. My posts were trolled by someone who ” desperately” thinks the Preds need to move one of these guys NOW.
Preds are middle of the pack in scoring ( 17th overall ) ahead of such teams as Pittsburgh, Detroit and LA. Do you hear knowledgeable fans screaming that the Kings ” desperately ” need to trade Doughty ?
The issue with the Preds is guys like Wilson ( 1 goal , 20 last year ) and Smith ( 11 points so far ) These guys need to step it up. Smith at 4.25 mil a year and Wilson at 3.9 just arent getting the job done. Once these guys and Fisher start producing a bit more the Preds will be fine.
Yes David Poile wants to add a forward, most teams do as scoring is down overall in the league. But to give up what those unrealistic hockey fans think they should is insane.
Johansen is a .62 ppg center over 300 games Josi is a .53 ppg player over 285 games not sure there is going to be some great offesive boost there considering the difference of losing a top pairing D man will make…I agree with ya, and thats not even getting in to contracts.
you don’t think nsh would improve with johansen at centre? you put him with neal or Forsberg compared to what he has to play with in clb?? cmon actually watch some nsh games before you come on here acting like you have knowledge
Thanks for the advice. You maybe should practice what you preach. In the mean time, us in the know will just have to ignore your wannabe attempts at being a person with knowledge.
Lol from what you talk about you are far from in the know!!
Teams are crazy to sign guys for more than 5 years. I would only sign Kopitar to an 8 year deal if he was willing to take a substantial salary hit per year. You can’t have term and dollars maxed – you will never get your $$$ worth. I would love Stamkos to sign in Toronto but will a 34 year old Stamkos score 40 goals? Maybe by then 8 – 10 mill a year will be a bargin but I don’t see it – the cap seems to be leveling off. Maybe the league should send a memo reminding teams that The Wanger in Brooklyn (almost put NYI) just was able to take Yashin off the books last year – 8 years after he last played for them…
Kopitar making 9.75 per is roughly 13.5% of LA’s cap. LA as a team scored 220 goals last year. Realistically – that would mean to get their money’s worth – Kopitar would need to score 30 goals a year for the 8 years of the contract… Is he gonna score 30 goals a year from the time he’s 35 to 38 – that’s how old he will be for the last 3 years… Not likely – he’s only scored 30 twice in his career so far…
Thumbs up for the 5 year contract limit. GMs would like it also. 🙂
As for Kopitar signing for 13.5% of the cap – Kane and Toewes signed for 14% of the cap. Brad Richards signed for 16% of the cap. Ovechkin signed for 15% of the cap. It’s right in the ballpark what other franchise players have gotten. It’s really more a choice of whether to commit or not.
ryan johanson and a first round pick to Pitt for Malkin
Pass, no way, if Malkin is not worth the player, top prospect, #1 old faithful then no one is. And I think the prospect that will be thrown in is Brandan Saad.
All Sharks fans want for Christmas is A NEW GM! Somebody that actually has the GRAPEFRUITS to make some bold trades.
I don’t like long term contracts but Kopitar is 28 in his prime and a 8 year deal takes him to 36. I think if you could get him to accept less in the last two years to lower the cap I would do it.
Can’t believe nobody have the courage to talk about Sidney Crosby. He is so obviously unhappy with his team’s management.
It’s a joke to pretend everything goes well in Pittsburgh.
I would even compare his situation with Patrick Roy 20 years ago!
The best player of the last 10 years will be traded soon and yet nobody have the courage to start a rumour.