The Buffalo Sabres and forward Jeff Skinner are closing in on an eight-year contract extension with an expected average annual value of $9 million, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Skinner is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. A $9-million AAV would make him the sixth-highest-paid winger in the league.
Highest-paid wingers
Cap hit
Year signed
Patrick Kane (CHI)
$10.5M
2014
Alex Ovechkin (WSH)
$9.54M
2008
Nikita Kucherov (TB)
$9.5M
2018
Jamie Benn (DAL)
$9.5M
2016
Mark Stone (VGK)
$9.5M
2019
Buffalo traded prospect Cliff Pu, a second-round pick in 2019, a third-round pick in 2020, and a sixth-rounder in 2020 to acquire Skinner from the Carolina Hurricanes last summer. The 27-year-old went on to tally a career-high 40 goals in his first season with the Sabres.
Skinner ranks 10th in the NHL with 129 goals since the start of the 2015-16 season and has reached the 30-goal mark four times in his nine-year career. He and playmaking center Jack Eichel formed a dynamic one-two punch on Buffalo's top line this past season.
An eight-year extension would take the former Calder Trophy winner through his age-34 season.
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) June 7, 2019
No penalty was assessed on the play. Johansson, who has a long history of concussions, stayed in the game.
Barbashev, 23, has played primarily in a fourth-line role for the Blues. After a career-high 14 goals and 26 points during the regular season, the former second-round pick has chipped in three goals and three assists in 24 games during St. Louis' postseason run.
Game 6 will take place Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in St. Louis, where the Blues will have a chance to hoist Stanley Cup for the first time in club history.
If you were planning to attend Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in St. Louis on Sunday, hopefully you saved up.
The contest - which could see the host Blues win their first-ever Stanley Cup against the visiting Boston Bruins - is the most expensive Stanley Cup Final game this decade, on average, and the second-most expensive game among the four major North American sports leagues in the same span, according to prices at Ticket IQ.
Event
Average ticket
Cheapest ticket
2016 World Series Game 7
$5300
$1900
2019 SCF Game 6
$4290
$2019
2018 Super Bowl
$4081
$2550
2012 Super Bowl
$4212
$2325
2017 Super Bowl
$4221
$220
2011 Super Bowl
$3649
$2260
2017 SCF Game 6
$3416
$1488
2011 SCF Game 7
$3411
$1375
* Prices according to Ticket IQ
The Blues have won two straight games, setting themselves up for a chance at history on Sunday night.
Throughout June, theScore will be projecting contracts for the star-studded restricted free-agent class. In this edition, we project Mikko Rantanen's new deal.
The player
Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Rantanen has developed into one of the game's premier wingers after being selected 10th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the stacked 2015 NHL Draft.
Season (Age)
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
2015-16 (19)
9
0
0
0
8:57
2016-17 (20)
75
20
18
38
18:03
2017-18 (21)
81
29
55
84
18:58
2018-19 (22)
74
31
56
87
20:51
Rantanen is a big-bodied playmaking winger and efficient goal-scorer. He's yet to surpass the 200-shot mark in a season but has a career shooting percentage of 15.6, signaling some untapped scoring potential.
The Finn has developed great chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog to form one of the NHL's most lethal lines. However, he's not simply a beneficiary of his surroundings. In the 122 five-on-five minutes Rantanen took the ice without MacKinnon and Landeskog, the Avs scored 83.3 percent of the goals and generated 55.7 percent of the high-danger scoring chances against their opponents.
The team
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
The Avalanche might have the best long-term outlook of any organization in the league. They have premier players on team-friendly deals, young talent coming through the system, no terrible contracts, and ample draft-pick capital.
General manager Joe Sakic has a projected $37 million in cap space to work with. Fellow RFA forwards Alexander Kerfoot and J.T. Compher also need new contracts, but Rantanen should clearly be the top priority.
Given the financial flexibility and Rantanen's status as a core player, an eight-year contract would make sense for both sides. A max-term deal would require a greater cap hit, but the Avs have more than enough available space to make it work.
The comparables
Kevin Sousa / National Hockey League / Getty
Here's a select list of wingers who signed contracts out of restricted free agency in the last few years:
Player
Cap hit
CH%
Length
Year signed
William Nylander (TOR)
$6.9M*
8.67
6 years
2018
Nikita Kucherov (TB)
$9.5M
11.95
8 years
2018
Leon Draisaitl (EDM)
$8.5M
11.3
8 years
2017
David Pastrnak (BOS)
$6.6M
8.89
6 years
2017
Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
$6.75M
9.25
6 years
2016
Vladimir Tarasenko (STL)
$7.5M
10.27
8 years
2015
CH% = Cap hit percentage, based on cap ceiling when the contract was signed
* - Nylander's cap hit in 2018-19 was prorated to $10.2 million because of time missed in negotiations
Draisaitl is listed among the comparable players despite splitting his time between center and wing throughout his career. He tallied 77 points in his contract year, but his deal now looks like a bargain after a 105-point campaign in 2018-19.
The Tampa Bay Lightning got a bargain with Kucherov, the likely Hart Trophy winner. Florida has no state income tax, so Bolts players receive a higher percentage of their salary than someone who plays, for example, in Colorado, which has a 4.63 percent income tax rate. This allows teams like the Lightning to sign their players to a lower cap hit, so it wouldn't be shocking if Rantanen's deal exceeds Kucherov's.
The projection
Michael Martin / National Hockey League / Getty
Rantanen's contract could largely depend on when he signs. If fellow RFA wingers Mitch Marner or Matthew Tkachuk sign first, it'll offer the best comparable for Rantanen's camp to look at in negotiations.
At the very minimum, Rantanen's cap hit will start with a nine if he signs an eight-year deal. It's also quite possible that annual figure enters double digits.
Verdict: 8 years, $80 million ($10 million AAV, 12.05 CH%)
"I’m a fan of the game," Cassidy said, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It’s the National Hockey League getting a black eye with their officiating in these playoffs, and there’s another one that’s going to be talked about."
With less than 10 minutes to play in the third period and St. Louis holding a 1-0 advantage, Tyler Bozak seemingly tripped Bruins forward Noel Acciari in Boston's zone. The play allowed David Perron to pick up the puck and beat netminder Tuukka Rask with a bank shot.
"The no-call on Acciari ... their player is on his way to the box," Cassidy said. "It's right in front of the official. It's a slew foot. Our guy's gone. The spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it's blatant. It had a big effect on the game."
The Bruins bench boss also wasn't happy with a couple of hits that he perceived to be illegal checks to the head.
"Those are the hits they want to get out of the game, correct? That's what I hear a lot about," he said. "Clearly, they missed a couple tonight. It's a fast game. I sat here two days ago or whatever it was and said I believe these officials are at this level because they've earned the right to be here."
Cassidy believes the series took a turn when Blues head coach Craig Berube complained about the officiating after Game 3.
"I mean, the narrative changed after Game 3. There's a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition. It just seems to have changed everything," he said.
Officials have been held under a microscope all postseason after multiple botched calls.
In Game 7 of the opening-round series between the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights, a questionable five-minute major allowed the Sharks to erase a 3-0 deficit and win the game in overtime. The Blues found themselves on the opposite side of a controversial play in Western Conference Final when the Sharks scored the overtime winner in Game 3 courtesy of a hand pass.
With a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington tied the NHL record for wins by a rookie in one playoff year.
Binnington's 15th win matched the previous totals of Cam Ward, Ron Hextall, Patrick Roy, and Matt Murray. Ward, Hextall, and Roy all went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
The 24-year-old has been stellar since posting a shutout in his first career start on Jan. 7. He led all qualified starters with a 1.89 GAA in the regular season and has backstopped the Blues to within one win of the Stanley Cup.
The St. Louis Blues may have gotten away with one in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
With under 10 minutes to play in the third period and St. Louis holding a 1-0 lead, Tyler Bozak seemed to trip Bruins forward Noel Acciari in the Boston zone. The play allowed David Perron to pick up the loose puck and beat netminder Tuukka Rask off an awkward bank shot.
The Blues found themselves on the opposite side of a controversial play in Western Conference Final when the San Jose Sharks scored the overtime winner in Game 3 after a hand pass led directly to the winning goal.
