Kucherov, 25, is coming off a career year in which he finished third in the NHL with 100 points, compiling 39 goals and 61 assists.
He's on the last year of his bridge deal and was set to become a restricted free agent after next season, so roughly $4.7 million will remain his cap hit for the upcoming campaign. The $76-million extension will take effect in 2019-20.
Kucherov is now the team's highest-paid player, surpassing Steven Stamkos' $8.5-million cap hit.
With those two high-priced deals, Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman could soon find himself in quite a bind. The Bolts project to have just over $13 million in cap room next season, per Cap Friendly, but many notable players will need to be re-signed, including unrestricted free agents Yanni Gourde and Anton Stralman, and restricted free agent Brayden Point.
However, this signing apparently does not take them out of the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes.
Extending Nikita Kucherov does not take #TBLightning out of the Erik Karlsson trade talks. Quite the opposite; it gives them more certainty about their future.
Word is they continue to engage outside teams on a potential three-way deal with OTT.
DeMelo was previously non-tendered by the Sharks, which granted him unrestricted status and freed him to sign with any team.
The 25-year-old suited up for 63 games with the Sharks this past season, collecting 20 assists while failing to score a goal. He'll likely compete for ice time with Tim Heed on the team's third defensive pairing.
The Golden Knights locked up a key member of their core Saturday.
Vegas signed defenseman Colin Miller to a four-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3.875 million, the team announced.
The contract includes a modified no-trade clause in the final two years, according to Cap Friendly.
Miller was a restricted free agent and had filed for salary arbitration before signing the new deal.
The 25-year-old was one of many Golden Knights to flourish with an expanded role this past season, scoring 10 goals and collecting 41 points - both of which led the team's blue line.
Miller spent the previous two years of his career with the Boston Bruins, who were overloaded on the right side of their blue line with Brandon Carlo, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, and now Charlie McAvoy. With the Bruins, he totaled just 29 points in 103 games with an average time on ice of 15:48.
Nieto was a restricted free agent and was one of 44 players to file for arbitration Thursday, but that will obviously no longer be necessary as he and the Avs were able to work out a deal.
The 25-year-old left-winger scored a career-high 15 goals with Colorado last season, good for sixth on the team.
Pure hockey trades rarely happen in today's NHL, but if Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff sat down and talked shop, they just might be able to pull off a blockbuster deal that could help both teams next season.
Here's the proposal:
Jets receive
Leafs receive
D Jake Gardiner
D Tyler Myers
Myers and Gardiner were chosen five picks apart in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft, both are 28 years old, and both are heading into the final year of their contracts. Myers' cap hit is $5.5 million, while Gardiner's is $4.05 million.
Why it makes sense for Jets
The Jets have the luxury of having three stellar right-handed shooting defensemen, but they only have one legitimate left-handed blue-liner in Josh Morrissey. In their projected depth chart, either Ben Chiarot or Dmitry Kulikov would be forced to play in the top four and regularly see tough opposing matchups:
LD
RD
Josh Morrissey
Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot
Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov
Tyler Myers
Adding Gardiner, a left-handed rearguard, would allow head coach Paul Maurice to stack one of the league's most enviable top four:
LD
RD
Josh Morrissey
Jacob Trouba
Jake Gardiner
Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov
Ben Chiarot
This would force either Kulikov or Chiarot (both left-handed), to play on their off side on the third pairing, but that tandem would play sheltered minutes anyway.
While the current output gives the Jets nice balance and depth, the bottom four aren't exactly the quickest bunch. While those weren't the pairings the Jets deployed in the playoffs (Toby Enstrom left in free agency), their lack of quickness on the back end was exposed by the speed of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. Gardiner, one of the league's smoothest skaters, would help solve that problem.
Why it makes sense for Leafs
The Maple Leafs only have one right-handed defenseman on their roster primed to get in the lineup on a regular basis next season: Nikita Zaitsev. Connor Carrick is also right-handed, but is probably better suited for a seventh D role. Though left-handed, veteran Ron Hainsey can also play the right side.
As of now, the Leafs' blue line projects to go as follows:
LD
RD
Morgan Rielly
Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner
Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott
Connor Carrick
However, if they added Myers into the picture, it could look something like this:
LD
RD
Morgan Rielly
Tyler Myers
Travis Dermott
Ron Hainsey
???
Nikita Zaitsev
The Leafs still have plenty of cap space for this coming season, so they could go out and sign one of the many available veteran left-handed blue-liners on a one-year deal - such as Dan Hamhuis, Luca Sbisa, or Brooks Orpik - to shore up their bottom pairing.
Myers would bring some much-needed size and strength to Toronto's back end. Pushing Hainsey and Zaitsev down the lineup would serve each player well, while Dermott seems to be ready for an expanded role, which is currently tough to do with both Rielly and Gardiner in the fold.
Would a 1-for-1 swap be fair?
It's already been identified that each player would fit nicely in their new surroundings. However, since Myers and Gardiner are the same age and have virtually the same contractual situation, it needs to be determined which player is better in order to know if it would actually be a fair trade or not.
Offensively, Gardiner has the edge.
Stat
Gardiner
Myers
GP
82
82
G
5
6
A
47
30
P
52
36
There's obviously more than just standard points, though. Since Gardiner averaged over a full minute more of ice time per game, the following stats were calculated on a per 60-minute basis.
Stat
Gardiner
Myers
GF/60
2.88
2.75
CF/60
59.95
57.41
SCF/60
31.81
25.82
HDCF/60
12.24
9.83
The Leafs generated more goals (GF), shot attempts (CF), scoring chances (SCF), and high-danger scoring chances (HDCF) at even strength while Gardiner was on the ice, compared to the Jets while Myers was on the ice.
Offense is only half the game, though, and for a defenseman, protecting your own net is the No. 1 priority. The following graph shows the same stats, but reversed:
Stat
Gardiner
Myers
GA/60
2.44
2.49
CA/60
58.31
57.37
SCA/60
26.86
26.08
HDCA/60
12.24
11.32
As you can see, Myers has the edge in shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger scoring chances while they're being calculated against the player's team, rather than for the player's team like in the previous graph.
Considering both players graded equally in Corsica's quality of competition and quality of teammate statistics, it's fair to say the numbers suggest that Gardiner is the superior offensive defenseman, but Myers is better defensively, which was already quite obvious.
The question is, which player is better overall?
Corsica has established a player-rating system to quantify the quality of a player based on one single statistic - almost like Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for baseball. Gardiner and Myers rated very similar.
Stat
Gardiner
Myers
Player rating
76.21
76.01
Rank among D
37
42
Obviously, executives in NHL front offices have access to stats that we don't. They also have their own system for evaluating players, which obviously isn't made public. However, if their evaluations of Gardiner and Myers match up with those laid out in this article, a one-for-one swap could truly help both Stanley Cup-caliber teams.
(Stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick, Corsica) (Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
Matthews and Marner will be restricted free agents next offseason, while Nylander is an RFA right now in need of a new deal. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that the trio could make roughly $25 million to $30 million combined annually. Factoring in Tavares' contract, that could be close to half the salary cap for four players.
Despite the difficulties that lay ahead, Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is confident he'll be able to keep all three of Matthews, Marner, and Nylander.
If Dubas can lock all three up to long-term contracts, the Leafs will have four of the most skilled forwards in the NHL for years to come.
However, to remain a successful team despite four potentially massive contracts, the Leafs will need to continue to draft players who can be competent NHLers on affordable salaries in order to fill out their roster.
Below are the top 200 skaters and goalies ranked in descending order based on their value in "banger leagues." A typical banger league consists of the following categories:
Skaters
Goalies
Goals
Wins
Assists
Goals-against average
Plus/minus
Save percentage
Penalty minutes
Shutouts
Power-play points
Shots on goal
Hits
Blocked shots
The key difference between a banger league and a standard league is the addition of hits and blocked shots. Though it may seem like a minor difference, the inclusion of those categories can greatly affect the value of players.
Ryan O'Reilly has no regrets about how his end-of-season locker room clean out interview went.
After another losing season with the Buffalo Sabres, O'Reilly said the following when asked if the team was mentally strong enough, according to The Athletic's Joe Yerdon.
Yeah, I think our mindset is ... we're stuck in this mindset of just being okay with losing. I feel too I think it's really crept in with myself and over the course of the year, I lost myself a lot and where you just kind of get through and being the guy and being okay with making a mistake and that's just not winning hockey at all and it's crept into all of our games. It's disappointing, it's sad. I feel throughout the year I've lost the love of the game multiple times. I need to get back to it; it's eaten myself up and you can see other guys, too. It's eaten myself up. It's tough.
O'Reilly, who was traded to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, stood by those candid comments during a conference call Monday.
Those comments may have come from the heart at the time they were said, but now, O'Reilly seems energized to be heading to the Gateway to the West.
"I couldn't be happier going to St. Louis. I'm absolutely thrilled," he said. "I feel like I have a spark in me now. It's something different."
This shouldn't come as that much of a surprise, as the Sabres finished dead-last in the NHL a season ago. While the Blues also missed the playoffs, they could very well return next year, and O'Reilly may get a chance to play alongside star winger Vladimir Tarasenko.
Regardless, O'Reilly had nothing but good things to say about the Sabres and the city of Buffalo.
"I love that city and love those guys on that team," he told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. "I think they're a team that's very close too. It will be interesting to see what will happen with them ... they're in good hands and there's great things to come there.
John Tavares could be in for some of the best seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs after signing with them Sunday, and his fantasy value has skyrocketed because of it.
When Tavares steps onto the ice with the Leafs, he'll be surrounded by the best supporting cast of his career. Here's how Mike Babcock envisions the Leafs' top two lines, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston:
LW
C
RW
Patrick Marleau
Auston Matthews
William Nylander
Zach Hyman
John Tavares
Mitch Marner
Between a dynamic playmaker like Mitch Marner and a workhose in Zach Hyman, 45 goals and 90 points for Tavares are realistic possibilities, and both would represent career highs.
Tavares and Marner, two of the smartest players in the game, would seemingly form quite a dynamic duo. Tavares instantly makes everyone around him better, and his presence could result in a breakout, 80-point season from Marner.
Of course, there's no guarantee Tavares and Marner will last all season, but a teammate he definitely won't be on the ice with stands to significantly affect his fantasy value as well. Having Auston Matthews on a separate line will force opposing coaches to choose which trio to deploy their top checkers and best defense pairings against. Some teams may consider Matthews the bigger threat, while others may think it's Tavares. This bodes well for Matthews' fantasy value too.
In standard leagues, Tavares and Matthews should be surefire first-round picks. Sneaking into the top five isn't outside the realm of possibility, either. Though there's no wrong answer, Matthews should be ranked slightly ahead of Tavares, since his ceiling is higher.
In banger leagues (leagues with hits and blocks), Matthews and Tavares should be valued as high second-round picks, since neither player fills the additional categories.
As for the rest of the Leafs, just about everyone's fantasy value could see at least a slight uptick. Having one of the game's best players on your team leads to more production all around, even from defensemen like Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. In goal, Frederik Andersen should pile up a few more wins than previously expected.
The only Maple Leaf whose fantasy value doesn't get a boost is Nazem Kadri. He'll get slightly less ice time, and probably fewer chances to play alongside Marner, but Tavares' old London Knights teammate is likely still a 25-goal, 50-point player.
What about the Isles?
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The Islanders are now officially a fantasy wasteland after being one of the league's highest-scoring teams last season.
Mathew Barzal becomes the team's No. 1 center, and while he'll play more minutes, opposing coaches will game plan around shutting him down. A slight sophomore slump could be in order, but he's still talented enough to get 70 points.
Stay far away from Anders Lee and Josh Bailey in fantasy drafts, however. Both players are coming off career years, but will be hurt dramatically by the loss of their superstar center.
