The NHL is gearing up for the notoriously slow and quiet month of August, and many teams are going out and getting things done before July ends.
More From Cardiac Cane – Evaluating the Brandon Sutter Trade
The Carolina Hurricanes have remained quiet, but the Penguins traded center Brandon Sutter to Vancouver and signed forward Eric Fehr, Jordan Leopold may be forced to retire, and the Philadelphia Flyers signed young center Sean Couturier to a contract extension.
Let’s look at today’s news.
Penguins Wheel and Deal
Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes, was busy on Tuesday as he made some big moves for the future of his club.
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The day started with him moving centerman Brandon Sutter and a 2016 3rd round draft pick to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Nick Bonino, defenseman Adam Clendening, and a 2016 2nd round pick.
The move took many by surprise for several reasons. As I discussed yesterday in depth, it appears that Pittsburgh got the much better end of the deal, even though they lost their third-line center and top-line penalty killer.
The way I look at it, the Penguins got the better offensive player, the better draft pick, and then a young, up and coming defenseman in Adam Clendening. The Pens also get Bonino for under $2 million on the cap for 2 more years and got rid of Sutter, a $3.3 million cap hit player entering the final year of his contract.
Sutter, 26, is the better two-way player when compared to Bonino, 27, but what Bonino lacks in all-around game he makes up for in very good possession numbers and offensive capabilities.
Bonino scored more and made a bigger impact in a smaller role in Vancouver than Sutter, and that fits much better with the Pens, a team that is focused on a strong possession game as they showed last season. Brandon Sutter’s HERO chart also doesn’t suggest that he is a very important even strength asset.
Adam Clendening, 22, split the year between the NHL and AHL with two different organizations – the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks. He played decently well in 21 games in the NHL last season, tallying 4 points and posting a +2 rating.
Clendening is more of an offensive threat on the blue line opposed to a solid shut down guy, so he may not fit in right away with guys like Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Derrick Pouliot, and others. He will certainly have a chance though, considering the Penguins are pretty light on defense currently.
Ian Cole and Derrick Pouliot are probably going to occupy the second pairing entering the season, which isn’t too fantastic. After that, guys like Rob Scuderi, Ben Lovejoy, Tim Erixon, Brian Dumoulin, and Adam Clendening will compete for the final two spots.
So, the Penguins appear to have won the trade, and then they went out and upgraded from Brandon Sutter with the signing of forward Eric Fehr in free agency.
Fehr, 29, signed a three-year deal with an AAV of $2 million. This was a steal for such a solid, versatile shutdown forward like Eric Fehr. He will fill a middle of the lineup role perfectly for the Penguins. This deal also sets the bar for remaining free agent forwards.
Don’t expect anymore UFA forwards to get much more than Fehr got on Tuesday. He was the best remaining player in his position.
Jordan Leopold to Retire?
A 695-game NHL career is not an easy feat to accomplish, but that is what 34-year-old veteran Jordan Leopold has done, but it looks like it may be coming to an end.
According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, the UFA defenseman said that things are going pretty slow for him in the realm of contract offers and general interest in free agency.
Leopold suited up for three separate teams last season – the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Minnesota Wild – but he only played in 43 games with those teams. The veteran has turned into more of a 7th defenseman, which is something that teams apparently aren’t too interested in right now.
Leopold had this to say about his current situation:
"“We’ll see what ends up happening,” he said. “I don’t think things will pick up again until maybe August. As a player, you want to know what’s going on. But you just have to wait and see what happens.”"
It sounds like Leopold is at peace with whatever happens. He will probably get some looks later in the offseason and into training camp for a tryout, but it looks like he won’t get more than a low-money, one-year deal at this point.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Carolina Hurricanes gave a guy like Jordan Leopold a tryout just to see what he has left. He could be a decent choice as a 7th defenseman and leader amongst a young group of players entering this season. Slotting Leopold in anything other than a 6th or 7th defenseman role would be a big mistake by any team.
Flyers Ink Sean Couturier
The Philadelphia Flyers also made headlines on Tuesday as they signed 22-year-old center Sean Couturier to a five-year contract extension worth $26 million, an AAV of $4.33 million.
Couturier is coming off of a career-high 15 goals and 37 points last season in the orange and black. He was set to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2016.
The former 8th overall draft pick proved himself as the lead penalty killing forward in Philly. He led all forwards on the team with 2:19 of penalty kill time per game, and for a player as young as he is, he has a lot of playing experience in the NHL with 287 regular season games and 18 playoff games under his belt.
Sean Couturier is a flexible player that can play in a lot of situations, and if his offense continues to develop, he can be even more worth the money he is getting.
"“I’m really looking forward to come in camp and try to take another step forward,” Couturier said. “I’m not going to change as a player, as a person. I’m going to be the same type of player, just definitely try to produce a little bit more offensively.”"
The Flyers will now switch focus to Jakub Voracek, who is coming off of a big breakout season, in which he tallied 81 points in 82 games. His 59 assists ranked 2nd in the entire league, and he ranked 4th in total points.
Voracek, 25, will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and he could demand upwards of $8-9 million per year on a long-term deal if he comes out this season and puts up the same numbers that he did in 2014-2015. He will get $4.25 million this season.