Updates on the Lightning and Blues, plus the latest on Tyson Barrie and Brian Campbell in your NHL rumor mill.
Lightning at a crossroads.
Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop could be playing elsewhere next season.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Joe Smith examines the roster decisions facing Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman this summer. Topping the list is pending UFA Steven Stamkos. He wants to re-sign and Yzerman wants to keep him but the salary cap could make that difficult, particularly when Yzerman has other key players due for new contract this year (Nikita Kucherov) and next (Victor Hedman, Ben Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin).
Yzerman must also decide if Andrei Vasilevskiy is ready to become a starting goalie. If he is, it could affect Bishop’s future with the Bolts. Re-signing Kucherov and Hedman seem to be no-brainer moves, but they will be expensive.
Smith also reports Jonathan Drouin definitely wants to stay with the Lightning. His strong playoff performance seems to have salvaged the relationship between the two sides. In January, Drouin’s agent revealed he’d made a trade request in November on his client’s behalf. The young winger also spent nearly two months at home in hopes of forcing a trade after he was demoted to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in January.
Martin Fennelly feels like we’ve seen the last of Steven Stamkos in a Lightning jersey. He’s not confident Stamkos and the Lightning can work out a deal after nearly a year of negotiation.
SI.COM: Allan Muir reports if Stamkos departs via free agency, it’ll make it easier for Yzerman to lock down some of his key RFAs such as Kucherov, Johnson and Palat. He speculates the Kucherov camp could seek a deal comparable to the eight-year, $60-million deal of St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko. Other notables to re-sign include Alex Killorn, J.T. Brown, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette. Given Vasilevskiy performance in the Eastern Conference Final, he wonders if Yzerman decides to get the jump on moving Ben Bishop this summer, especially if there’s an expansion draft next year.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stamkos and the Lightning could still get a deal done, but with the start of the UFA period a little over a month away, the odds of Stamkos re-signing grow slimmer. The Bolts having won two playoff rounds this year without Stamkos and that could persuade Yzerman that his club can survive without its franchise player.
As for Bishop, the Bolts could bring him back for one more shot at a Cup run next spring and then let him walk. If Vasilevskiy outplays Bishop next season, they could shop the latter at the trade deadline. Still, it’s possible they could contact teams in need of a starter (Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs) to find out what they’re willing to part with to get Bishop, provide he’s willing to waive his no-movement clause this summer.
Regarding Drouin, I no longer consider him on the trade block. His playoff performance and his willingness to stay changed his status.
Latest on the Blues.
STLTODAY.COM: Jeremy Rutherford speculates Blues coach Ken Hitchcock would love to return for another season but that decision rests with GM Doug Armstrong. While re-signing pending UFA David Backes is the priority, Rutherford doesn’t dismiss the possibility of Troy Brouwer being re-signed instead of Backes, who could test the free-agent waters. While it’s possible the Blues could look at trading Brian Elliott this summer if Jake Allen is truly ready to take over as the starter, he doesn’t rule out both returning next season. Elliott and Allen both have a year left on their contracts, with Elliott eligible next summer for UFA status.
Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk’s struggles in the playoffs could hurt his trade value. With the emergence of Colton Parayko, the Blues could move Shattenkirk, who’s one season away from UFA status. Rutherford also believes the Blues could find it difficult to trade blueliner Jay Bouwmeester and his $5.4 million cap hit for the next three years. As for speculation that the organization was “unhappy” with Vladimir Tarasenko this season, Rutherford believes it could be conditioning-related and working within the structure of the team. He also believes forward Vladimir Sobotka could return with the Blues next season, though it’s also possible they could trade him. Sobotka spent the past two seasons in the KHL and still owes the Blues one season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Backes is willing to accept less than market value to remain with the Blues, they’ll re-sign him. Last year, he rejected a three-year, $5.5 million per season offer. If he still wants more, then they bid Backes adieu and try to re-sign Brouwer. I think they’ll keep their goalie tandem intact to start the season, and if Allen gets most of the starts, they could shop Elliott at the trade deadline.
Shattenkirk’s playoff performance won’t hurt his trade value. There are too many teams in desperate need of a skilled puck-moving defenseman (the notables being the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings) who could pay handsomely to get him. Unless the Blues agree to pick up part of Bouwmeester’s cap hit, he’s not going anywhere. As for the Blues “unhappiness” with Tarasenko, that won’t affect his future with the club. He won’t be traded. Sobotka, on the other hand, could be if Armstrong feels he’s no longer a good fit.
Update on Tyson Barrie.
SPORTSNET 960 (VIA TODAY’S SLAPSHOT): Elliotte Friedman hasn’t heard anything fresh on defenseman Tyson Barrie’s contract talks with the Colorado Avalanche. However, he still believes there’s a good chance Barrie gets moved this summer.
THE DENVER POST: Terry Frei believes we have to take seriously the trade speculation coming from respected Canadian sources such as Friedman regarding Barrie. He thinks coach Patrick Roy really wants a big defenseman and sees Barrie as a fifth defenseman and power-play specialist. There’s also concerns over the cost of re-signing him skewing their salary cap. Mike Chambers has concerns about moving a skilled puck-moving defenseman would be a mistake. Frei believes they’ll keep him. Both agree he’ll head to arbitration. Frei believes Roy will want to pursue a big blueliner via free agency.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It could come down to both Barrie’s trade value, the Avs asking price and how they replace him if he’s dealt. The Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers could be interested in Barrie, but they don’t have a shutdown defenseman that could interest the Avs. Via free agency, San Jose’s Roman Polak and Los Angeles’ Luke Schenn are the notable big, physical blueliners, but will they suitably address that need for the Avalanche? If they can’t find what they seek via trade, Polak and Schenn could be their best options.
Panthers and Campbell could part ways.
NBC SPORTS: cites a report in the Sun-Sentinel claiming the Florida Panthers want to re-sign defenseman Brian Campbell but it appears he’ll test the UFA market. Coming off an eight-year, $57.1 million contract, the 37-year-old could attract interest at a lesser price as teams such as the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers pursue transitional defensemen this summer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Despite his age, Campbell has proven very durable and posted 31 points with the Panthers this season. On a short-term deal for, between $4.5-$5 million annually, he could certainly attract interest this summer.
its funny how an injury to stamkos might have saved drouin to stay with the lightning but the play of drouin and the lightning might say to the management that they don’t need stamkos anymore! lol
What does this even mean?
Little early to be hitting the honey bowl yet isnt it big bear?
lol pretty simple shticky if you weren’t still drunk you would understand stamkos goes down drouin comes in lighting make it to within one game of the cup final without stamkos in the lineup
Thank you, it does my heart good to see bigbear and Shticky back at it. Bigbear, I know exactly what you’re saying; however I wonder if Stevie Y was ever intending on trading Drouin. It does appear from the outside looking in that its now water under the bridge and Drouin value has only risen from what was already considered a high point.
bigbear wanted to get rid of Drouin faster then the verbal diarrhea he spews. He loves Schticky, he has an account at The hockey News with shticky as his log in name !
you could be right caper he might never have intended on trading drouin but I don’t think drouin gets in the lineup if stamkos doesn’t get hurt. and yankee another great hockey comment lol and glad to see you are always thinking about me I have never commented on the hockey news!
lol ok ” shticky”
and another great hockey comment yankee!! lol
and yours is better ? lol
It be interesting if Tampa does resign Stamkos. Drouin wants top 6 minutes. Stamkos doesn’t want to play wing. You’d think something would have to give here regardless of Stamkos’s injury.
it will jeff my opinion is stamkos is a goner with kucherov getting a big payday and drouin playing well in the top 6 like he should be unless stamkos takes under what he should get he will hit FA
It would have essentially played out very similar if Stamkos hadn’t gotten injured. As stated repeatedly Drouin needed to learn to do as requested & get back up to speed after missing significant time to injury & then hold out. The only thing that has held Drouin back was Drouin. He hadn’t earned his opportunity. Now he is & has & the message from both Cooper & Yzerman has been delivered, heard & accepted. Had he buckled down sooner played as requested accepted the line up issues this could have all been avoided. Water under the bridge now. As I said then & you slagged me for Drouin wasn’t going any where unless Yzerman got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
I have also been stating for most of the year, as we have been discussing Yzerman, TB & Stamkos he isn’t really required to their future success as crzy as that sounds. This is 1 of the best young teams in hockey that can challenge for the cup for at least the next 5 seasons with out Stamkos. Why Stamkos would even consider leaving this opportunity is mind boggling to me as he may never see the same opportunity again where he signs.
Stamkos’s injury has had little to nothing to do with it & Drouin would have been playing come playoff time regardless once he accepted returning to Syracuse & getting back up to speed & playing as requested with in Coopers & the teams systems. Part of being successful in hockey pools or even projecting the future is weighing all the factors, reasons, & business dynamics in play to debate it knowledgably.
This is playing out exactly as I assumed it would & stated at the time Drouin staged his hold out. The vast majority of you slagged me for my thoughts & opinions. Again all good, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Wouldn’t be any fun if we agreed as there would be no debate. Just happy to be proven right yet again.
Is this a good time to show a little humble pie & again mention how off I was on Rutherford? Boy did I sh-t the bed on those disparaging remarks. Still hate Rutherford but he has earned my apology for being so far off the mark. Something I never like having to be, humble & in a position apologize. Hahahaha
No Strikers, this is playing out exactly as Drouin wanted. He got what he was after, year off his entry level, top 6 minutes and time off to boot. So don’t be underestimating Drouin he played it well and proved YOU wrong.
Exactly caper!!
Fennelly has always been a Chicken Little “sky is falling” sports columnist whose oscillating opinions (and apparent loyalties) are too often delivered in a tiresome (Dr Suessian) “Green Eggs & Ham”/”Sam, I Am” cadence.
He is a master of the obvious, whose tortured (and wearying) ruminations often expound upon the worst possible case scenario.
Despite the momentum gained, and further driven, by so many (Toronto/Leafs, I’m looking at you) in the mainstream media, and the attendant wildfire perpetuated by myriad armchair GM’s – Stamkos genuinely WANTS to remain in Tampa and wishes to work toward that end. And Yzerman, likewise, WANTS the same and stands little to gain by jettisoning Stamkos while retaining such dub-luminary cap-killers as Matt Carle and Valtteri Filppula (10.5 mil AAV; combined) who have proven themselves (far more readily) expendable.
It’s an inflexible, blinkered perspective to imagine the options as being “either Stamkos, at a Toews/Kane price-tag, or, the retention of the rest of the Bolts’ young core, moving forward.”
BTW: That should read “sub-luminary”, as regards Carle & Filppula.
You just hurt my Brain. I shall call you Rex Murphy. Well said.
this was like reading a comment from dennis miller. Your words are bigger than the risk for catastrophe when ryan o’reilly drives by a dunkin donuts babe.
lol I like the ror comparison chrisms
OH Man, and I can’t even get a post typed with out a spelling error.
Terry Frei is absolutely correct. Barrie is a 5th defenseman, PP specialist. he is Marvelous offensively but poor defensicvely, Av’s fans can deny this all they like, but they are lying to themselves and others. Much Like Edmonton fans who insist that RNH is a 1C.
these are the 2 biggest falsehoods in the NHL today and its about time That Someone admitted it….congrats Terry Frei
if RNH is your #1 center, youre a bottom 5 lottery team with no hope of ever winning. and if Tyson Barrie is your best defender, you better have Carey Price in goal or your a lottery team too
Perhaps, but Barrie drives possession (read: Shooting) numbers – A desirable asset; to be sure.
Furthermore, he is still maturing/a work in progress. Better to find a veteran stay-at-home at a reasonable cost (to do the yeoman’s work) than to allow walk what amounts to a scoring-catalyst.
I’d be ok with RNH as my number 1 center and Turris as my number 2. Or perhaps 1a – 1b. I’d don’t think the Senators would be a bottom 5 team with RNH added. But yes, RNH is likely better classified as an excellent 2nd line centre. Same as Turris. Yet the both are adequate as 1rst line Centre’s if not elite.
This is 1 of the most gifted young offensive Dman in the game. In case you missed the memo. The team that scores the most goals wins. No he’s not a solid stay at home Dman, no he’s not a good 2 way Dman. Hard to be so when your leading & jumping into the rush offensively. The job he’s paid to do & will gladly be paid to do for someone else if Colorado is stupid enough not to pay him for. #5 Dman give your head a shake.
Barrie has a very strong transitional game, top flight offensive skills. Colorado has 1 of the worst defenses in all of hockey. Barrie’s primary partner this season was N. Holden. Even he isn’t a #5 Dman he played as Colorado’s #4 & on 1/2 the teams in the NHL he would be a #7.
Not all Dman can be clumped into 1 category. There is only 1 Duncan Keith in the NHL & all players have warts. A coach can teach anyone to play defense if they are so inclined to learn but for a player like Barrie that would mean at a serious reduction in offensive abilities. You can’t teach what Barrie has. God given talent. He is 1 of the best offensive, goal scoring Dman on the planet & just scratching the surface of his potential having a whopping 264 games of NHL regular season experience 3 full seasons.
There is no way Colorado can win any trade where they move this type of asset. They aren’t as rare as Weber’s, Doughty’s & Keith’s but dam close & the 2nd hardest asset to acquire even before big #1 C’s. Dman that can even play a regular top 6 role in the NHL are in short supply. There simply isn’t enough for all 30 teams to have 6 each. Hell Vancouver didn’t even have 4 this season.
Neither did Boston, Edmonton, Detroit, Arizona, Buffalo, Colorado, Montreal, New Jersey, or Toronto.
I expect Ken Hitchcock to be a free agent and hopefully soon so he can take a shot at the open coaching jobs. He and Burke would be fun to watch in Calgary.
As a World Cup aside, no Phil Kessel for the Americans? Are they blind?
ernest I agree I think Hitchcock will be let go too just for a change in stl he will be picked up not long after he is let go
Who would you remove to fit Kessel in. just out of curiosity.
Van Riemsdyk, Callahan, Dubinsky, pick one of the above. Kessel has played really well in big situations this year, and in others, and most of all, he can score goals. I think he’s earned a spot.
Abdelkader.
Enough character, hard hitting guys with Callahan, Dubinsky, Oshie, & Backes that the US could take a finisher like Kessel over Abdelkader.
I need to seriously check myself as I can’t believe I’m taking a stance in support of Kessel. World’s must be colliding as I hate this player but except his talent.
Hell, I’d take, Kessel, Bobby Ryan and Cory Perry over Abdelkader, Callahan and Dubinsky!
I think the US takes more of a shut down approach, because they don’t want to get involved in a who can score more goals contest with Canada.
Phil the thrill is not that good the guy can skate and shoot but causes more defensive problems and his lack of effort out ways the good.
There is no way Backes should be taking a 1.3 million dollar discount on Kesler’s contract. These are 2 of the best 2 way centers in the league that bring a ton of intangibles to their respective teams & both are the same age. Backes will get 6 million per from someone as a UFA for at least 5 years.
I’m not paying it but someone will.
Being a Bruins fan 1st. I don’t want Shattenkirk. His contract demands with 1 season to UFA status will be extreme & in trade even facing UFA status in 1 year the cost would be high. Yandle can be had for free & the 2 players are virtually clones. Neither are what I would define as solid 2 way Dman they both lean to driving offense.
Yandle can be had for free & I don’t want to say Shattenkirk is injury prone but he missed 10 games this season & 26 the season prior. Yandle hasn’t missed a single regular season game in 8 years & the year he was traded to NYR he actually played 83 games. He’s nominally older 2.5 years but he probably signs for 5 years where as Shattenkirk will be looking at 8.
If you look at average points per season over the last 5 years starting at year 2 Yandle goes 8th, 7th, 4th & 6th for all Dman Shattenkirk goes 17th, 17th, 17th, 11th.
Yandle was 16th this season in points, Shattenkirk 18th & Vigneault hasn’t used Yandle as a #1 PP Dman very often since arriving which is very odd. Where ever Yandle ends up he will be seeing 1st line PP time again & his production will be rising over his last year & a 1/2 in NYR.
That quantity & quality of ice time we keep discussing.
Scott Cullen has Backes and Yandle going to the Bruins in his off season game plan at TSN. While he is just speculating like all of us the Backes move is interesting.
Can’t see how Backes fits in Boston. Krejci, Bergeron, Spooner are the top 3 C’s, although Backes could play RW but if they sign Yandle, Krug gets a significant raise & Marchand gets extended where is all the money coming from moving forward?
That’s what I thought. He has him playing RW but the money is an issue.
He also didn’t have K.Miller on the roster which the bruins announced two hrs after Cullen article. Felt bad for him, just gets his article out and it gets shot down in less then 2 hrs.
I count about 14 million in space.
Would be tight to sign Backes,Yandle and resign Krug.
Chara’s money drops next season so that will go to Marchand.
Might have to move or buyout Siedenberg.
Could also move Hayes.
I would try for Yandle if the price is right but not on Backes.
I want more speed and youth upfront. Also want to manage the cap better.
Agreed. It is a speed game now. Someone should tell team USA that. Cullen didnt have K Miller which is kinda funny. He did have Vesey. Seidenberg is an albatross to deal with. Wonder if they buy him out ?
I’m not a huge Roy fan although accept he was a great goalie but as a coach who was also given the role VP of Hockey operations he has left a ton to be desired & should have been terminated by now. Colorado just signed that very Dman in E. Johnson to a 7 year deal at 6 million per that kicks in next season. He had 1 of the worst seasons of his career following putting pen to paper.
Striker – I am with you on Backes. Backes or Brouwer – both players could help alotta teams in this league.
I would love to have either player if the right cap hit could be found. That’s always the rub in these situations. Backes will get at least 6 from someone for 5 or 6 years & I just don’t want to pay him that much for that long. I would love to see Brouwer on any team but ideally Boston at 4.5 to 4.75 for 3 or 4 years.
Brouwer is your perfect 3rd line center. 5-6 years is too much for Backes,
Brennan mentioned in a recent column that he was surprised Zibanejad wasn’t selected by Sweden. Looking at some of the names on their roster, I think he would have been a better choice, but the snub likely goes back to his entry-level year when the team said “no” in 2012 to his skating one more time with the national junior team as they wanted him to continue his first pro year in Binghamton. They’ve been in a snit since. Here’s an article from back then:
“Swedish coach Roger Ronnberg is livid about the Ottawa Senators’ decision to not make prospect Mika Zibanejad available for the world junior championships in Russia later this month. Ronnberg suggested it was indicative of a overall attitude that NHL teams hold towards top European prospects. “It is sad that Europeans always have to be on our backs for them over there and that they can dictate and decide about these tournaments,” Ronnberg told reporters in Sweden Monday after formally announcing the country’s training camp roster. “They (North Americans) are pretty stubborn. It’s a game of power against Europe, this.” Ronnberg says he won’t get directly involved, but that the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation will look at all its options to possibly overturn the Senators decision.”
They weren’t paying him either.
I say trade Bishop while his stock is high. Especially with the emergence of Vaselevskiy.
perhaps even add Carle to CGY for Weidman and have a good amount of cap room next off season during expansion.