2017 Free agency thread.

Report: Pastrnak’s agent to ask Bruins about eight-year deal on Friday

The Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy caught up with Bruins exec Cam Neely and David Pastrnak‘s agent J.P. Barry, and there are some awfully interesting updates regarding the rising forward’s negotiations.

Most pressingly, Barry told Conroy that the two sides are set to speak again on Friday, and there will be an argument made from Pastrnak’s side for an eight-year deal.

Barry backed up reports that a six-year, $36 million contract (which included a $6M cap hit) wouldn’t be enough.

Somewhat refreshingly, Neely addressed one of the burning questions head on: how would Leon Draisaitl‘s eight-year deal with an $8.5M cap hit figure in?

“If it looks like an abundance of players and the market has shifted, then you should look at it, but if it’s one player that you’re hanging your hat on then I don’t know if that’s a market shift,” Neely said. “I don’t know if the market has really shifted as much as people think.”

Interestingly, Neely also noted that while there was some early talk about a shorter “bridge” contract for Pastrnak, there hasn’t been much dialog in that regard recently.

All things considered, it might not be easy to talk Pastrnak’s price down that far from the Draisaitl price point. The two players generated similar numbers in 2016-17, although perhaps there could be some argument that a center might be worth more than a winger.

Neely mentioned that the Bruins’ own spending wouldn’t factor in much, yet that could conceivably be a useful talking point.

 

Vanek inked a one-year, $2 million contract with the Canucks on Friday. Hell, I thought he would never get a gig...

 

Head in sand, this didn't happen.

 

Might as well dress Linden.

 

Canucks sign ‘foundational player’ Bo Horvat to six-year, $33 million contract (Updated)

The Vancouver Canucks and restricted free agent Bo Horvat are closing in on a long-term contract extension, per TSN hockey insiders Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun.

According to LeBrun, the deal will be for six years and it’ll come with an annual average value of $5.5 million ($33 million total).

Update: The Canucks made the announcement official via their Twitter account.

“Bo has quickly become a foundational player on our team and we’re thrilled for him to be a part of what we’re building here long term,” GM Jim Benning said in a release. “His commitment and work ethic have helped his game improve each season. He’s already a leader on our team and a young player fans can be excited to watch for years to come.”

Horvat was the only player on the Canucks’ roster to finish the season with 20 goals. The 22-year-old also led the team in scoring, as he accumulated 52 points in 81 games.

The new contract makes Horvat the fourth-highest paid player on the team behind the Sedins ($7 million each) and Loui Eriksson ($6 million).

 

Whore Fat is a very good two way player. Unlike Sutter, who signed for the same and can't dress or when he does not even play like a #2 center. After the Vanek signing, I really didn't think the nyuk nyuks would reach out to an older player...alas Scottie Upshall 33 years young signed to a PTO>

 

I like Vanek. He still produces... unlike Loui Ericsson. Sure, V isn't the player he used to be, but I think the Canucks could've done worse.

 

New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero wrapped up a pretty busy offseason on Monday morning with the report that the team has signed restricted free agent defenseman Damon Severson to a six-year contract.

The contract will pay him a total of $25 million.

Following the trade of Adam Larsson to Edmonton last summer, Severson took on a significantly larger role on the Devils’ blue line this season. He became a 20-minute per night play and basically replaced Larsson’s role and production on defense.

He appeared in 80 games for the Devils, averaging more than 20 minutes of ice-time per game, and scoring three goals to go with 28 assists. He is only 23 years old so he should just now be entering the prime of his career for the Devils. The contract might look like a bit of an overpay in the beginning, but if he continues on his current path and takes another step forward this year it should be a fair long-term deal for both Severson and the team.

With Severson’s deal now completed the Devils can enter training camp this week wrapping up a strong offseason that has seen them add Marcus Johansson, Brian Boyle, Drew Stafford, and the top pick in the draft, Nico Hischier.

Now that Severson is signed the top remaining restricted free agents are David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), Marcus Foligno (Minnesota Wild), Nikita Zadorov (Colorado Avalanche) and Andreas Athanasiou (Detroit Red Wings).

 

Bruins sign David Pastrnak to six-year, $40 million deal

 

Jets ink Bryan Little to six-year, $31.75 million extension

 

is Whore Fat cousins with Wo Fat ?

 

I'm not finding this, at all. Can anyone send me a link, accordingly?

 

It appears to be bogus and for that I apologize. I think I was mis-lead from a twitter report which I should have known better... sorry.

In a Euro TV interview, Jagr said the Flames have expressed interest... and that's about all I can find.

I cant delete the post, but I should have corrected it...

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nhl/florida-panthers/article173013666.html

Jagr is unemployed but has some options out there...

 

It's all good, Will. No worries. Stuff can get difficult to follow, especially this time of year. I was actually just thinking, this morning, who the hell our wingers were going to be. Then when I read that they had signed Jagr, and not having heard about it recently, I got a little suspicious. I may only be a half-season ticket holder (can't drive the two hours to every game), but I figured that's something I would've caught wind of

It's looking like Huby and Barkov will have either Vrbata or Dadonov on the line with them, the other pairing with Trocheck on the second line. I just wonder who the third in that missing group of wings is going to end up being.

 

Wild agree to terms with Foligno on four-year, $11.5M deal...

Minnesota acquired the rugged forward on June 30.

 

Avalanche sign Zadorov for two years, $4.3M

 

Wild extend captain Mikko Koivu’s contract for two years, $11M ...

The $5.5M cap hit kicks in starting in 2018-19, and ends after 2019-20.

 

Report: Jaromir Jagr to Flames is ‘done’ (Update)

Last night, news broke that the Calgary Flames and Jaromir Jagr had been discussing the possibility of joining forces. Well, it seems like talks are heating up between the two sides this morning.

According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, Jagr and the Flames have “more or less” agreed to the terms of a new contract, but a deal hasn’t been struck yet. McKenzie cautions people not to get too excited because “until this is papered and signed, there’s reluctance to say it’s done.”

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic has more details regarding a potential deal between Jagr and Calgary. Per LeBrun, the deal being discussed is for one-year and $1 million, but it also comes with $1 million in potential incentives.

Update: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is now reporting that a deal between Jagr and the Flames is “done”.

 

Eichel extended - 8 years/$10M AAV