Carolina Hurricanes Morning News: Derek Stepan and Colin Wilson Sign, NBC’s NHL TV Schedule, and Arbitration
By Brett Finger
The Carolina Hurricanes continue to work through the 2015 offseason, and even though things remain silent in Raleigh, big signings and news is coming out of other cities in the NHL community.
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Big-name RFAs like Derek Stepan in New York and Colin Wilson and Nashville have signed deals, NBCSN and NBC released their 2015-2016 regular season TV schedule, and arbitration hearings will continue on into this week.
Let’s take a look at today’s news.
Stepan and Wilson Cash in
Derek Stepan stole the headlines throughout the NHL on Monday as he signed a six-year contract with the New York Rangers. The then-restricted free agent will carry an average annual cap hit of $6.5 million throughout his new long term deal.
The two sides got a deal done prior to their scheduled arbitration hearing, which means that hearing will no longer take place.
Stepan, 25, is coming off of his best season in the league in terms of points per game, in which he tallied 55 points in 68 regular season games with the President’s Trophy winning New York Rangers. He was also a +26 player. The young center proved that he is a big part of the current club and is set to be a big factor in the future as well.
Derek Stepan made it clear that he is excited to settle down long term in New York.
"“It’s a great feeling,” Stepan said. “I can’t be more excited to be a part of a team that I absolutely love. I love the city of New York, I’m grateful for the fans, grateful for the management there. Me and my wife are extremely happy to be there for the next six years.”"
Many are skeptical that a guy like Stepan is a great fit on the first line, me included, but now the team has $11.5 million per year put into their top-two centermen – Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard – which is not a bad situation to be in.
In other news on Monday, the Nashville Predators also signed RFA Colin Wilson to a four-year, $15.75 million deal. The deal will cost the Preds $3.9375 million on the cap per season.
Wilson, 25, is coming off of his best year in the league to date, tallying 20 goals and 42 points in 77 games. He also netted 5 goals in 6 playoff games for Nashville.
This was a very good signing for Nashville as they look to come back next season with yet another solid team. They came out of nowhere and stunned the league in the regular season in 2014-2015, but they got knocked out in round one of the playoffs. With one more year of experience under their belts, the young core in Nashville will look to make a bigger impact in post season play this season.
NBC and NBCSN TV Schedule Released
NBC Sports Group released their 2015-2016 NHL TV schedule on Monday, with tons of notable games on the docket.
Opening night, October 7, will feature a double-header on NBCSN with the Rangers and Blackhawks at 8:00 pm (ET), followed by the Sharks and Kings at 10:30 pm (ET). NBC will cover all of the Winter Classic and Stadium Series matchups this season, as they have in years past.
The Carolina Hurricanes are scheduled for just one nationally televised game, and that is slated for January 26 as the Canes welcome the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks into town.
The Chicago Blackhawks will play a staggering 18 games on national TV this season.
Another game that has a lot of hype from NBC is a game on March 1 featuring the Oilers and Sabres. It will mark the first head-to-head matchup between number 1 and 2 overall picks Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel on American soil, assuming both players will be in the lineup.
NBCSN will also bring back its popular Wednesday Night Rivalries every week for the upcoming season.
Click HERE to check out the entire NBC schedule for the 2015-2016 NHL regular season.
Arbitration Hearings
As of now, only four NHL players are scheduled for arbitration hearings this week.
- Erik Haula (Minnesota Wild) – Friday, July 31
- Mike Hoffman (Ottawa Senators) – Thursday, July 30
- Jonathan Bernier (Toronto Maple Leafs) – Friday, July 31
- Marcus Johansson (Washington Capitals) – Wednesday, July 29
All four players are in interesting situations, especially Jonathan Bernier and Marcus Johansson.
Bernier, 26, posted a 21-28-7 record in net last year for a bad team in Toronto, but he did put up a respectable save percentage of .912.
The Toronto Maple Leafs elected to go to arbitration with Bernier, which is something the other 3 players above do not have in common with the goalie. In all the other remaining cases, the player elected to go to arbitration.
Marcus Johansson is coming off of a good season in Washington, and he will likely take up nearly all of Washington’s remaining $4.2 million available in cap space if the two sides need help from a third party arbitrator.
The 24-year-old Swede had 20 goals and 47 points last season with the Capitals and is set for a pay raise. The Caps are rumored to be interested in only a one or two-year deal with him, however.