NHL Sunday Morning Hits: June 29th Edition, Ehrhoff Bought Out

Now that the NHL Draft is officailly over the next phase of the off-season is nearly upon us; costless agency. Costless Agency gets underway July 1, and with the recent announcement that the salary cap will be $69M, a number much lower than expected, some teams will find themselves priced out of the costless agent market and may need to look to improve the roster through trade instead.

The big names in costless agency are obvious, but what about the second tier guys, the guys who are not going to light up the world, but rather help provide depth and quality throughout the lineup. These guys make good teams great because they take some of the pressure off of the top players on the team, and give the coach confidence throughout his entire lineup.

With a lower overall quality in this year's costless agent group, expect big numbers and you need look no further than the $4.9M the Oilers are paying Nikita Nikitin as a perfect example. Is Nikitin a top 4 defender? He sure wasn't in Columbus this past season, and doesn't seem to have been for a number of seasons. The Oilers are desperate to improve their defence though, and Scott Howson who works closely with Mactavish is the former GM of the Blue Jackets, so he had a huge influence in this signing.

A guy like Anton Stralman, who is maybe the best top 4 option in costless agency, will have plenty of suitors and as a result will see his price skyrocket. Stralman is a decent player, and was one of the best defenders for the Rangers in their Stanley Cup run in 2013-14, but he is not a true top defender. He doesn't bring the offensive component to his game that would make him a true top pair defender. 

Kulemin and Pittsburgh?

Reports are circling that Nikolai Kulemin, a costless agent depth forward who has scored 20 goals in the past, may be leaning towards joining his good friend Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. This would be a very solid signing for Pittsburgh who have struggled with offensive depth for the past couple seasons.

Bollig to Calgary

The Blackhawks traded Brandon Bollig to the Calgary Flames in exchange for the 83rd pick in the NHL draft. Bollig is a big bodied player with not a lot of skill. He plays as an enforcer type, but he has good enough hands that he is not a a true enforcer. He fits the Brian Burke model, and is a decent pick up for Calgary.

Canadiens Shopping Josh Gorges?

According to Bob Mckenzie of TSN the Canadiens are shopping Gorges and with a lack of options in costless agency, the Canadiens should be able to find a decent return. Gorges was paired with P.K. Subban throughout most of the Playoffs and was a good compliment to the high flying Subban. Gorges is a shutdown type, and has shown the ability to play top 4 minutes effectively.

Leafs Trade Gunnarsson

The Toronto Maple Leafs made an interesting deal this weekend when they sent Carl Gunnarsson to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Roman Polack. The move brings the Maple Leafs a right handed defender in exchange for a left handed one, and addresses an area of need on that right hand side. Polack is a bruising defender who plays a physical game. Acquiring him opens the door in the lineup for Reilly and Gardiner to take on more responsibility. 

"If you look at how our [defense] was put together, we had a lot of the same, particularly down the left side with Gunnar, [Jake] Gardiner, [Morgan] Reilly … so we felt we could use a different look, a right shot, a guy that plays a little harder, more difficult to play against without giving up anything because we still have those other players," Nonis said. "We had an abundance of one thing and we were definitely lacking in the other." (nhl.com)

The Maple Leafs are hopeful that by adding Polack to their mix, the team will be tougher to play against.

"He's a tough guy to play against," Nonis said. "You look at the minutes he plays, he plays against team's top players. He is very physical, very strong. I think there's a perception that because he's very big, he's not mobile. I don't think that's true at all. We think that one of his strengths is his skating ability. He's going to provide a little bit of edge, a tough guy to play against, a decent penalty killer and down the right side that's something we didn't have." (nhl.com)

Spezza Nixes Nashville

The Ottawa Senators had a deal in place to send Jason Spezza to the Nashville predators but Spezza used his NTC to nix the deal. 

"David (Poile) talked to me and we couldn't go there," Murray said. "I told (Spezza's agent) Rick Curran that today, I had a deal sitting there if I wanted to do it, but he was on the list of no-go's." (tsn.ca)

The Senators must be feeling some annoyance with the Spezza situation, but it is important to remember that with a weak costless agent class, the offers for Spezza will only continue to improve this summer as teams look for a highly offensive centre to add to their lineup.

Nashville Get's Plan B in Neal

The Nashville Predators didn't let the Spezza decline stop them from adding an offensive option though, shortly after Spezza said no, Nashville made a deal to send Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling to the Penguins for James Neal. Neal is an offensive powerhouse of a left winger, and has scored 40 goals previously in his career. This was a big price to pay for Nashville, but with two years absent from the Playoffs they were looking to add some firepower to the lineup.

Neal brings a lot more offense, but the numbers that Hornqvist was putting up in Nashville are very impressive. His 53 points in 76 games was done without any semblence of an elite offensive linemate, and it will be very interesting to see how much his offense jumps playing with the likes of Malkin or Crosby. This was a very good move by both teams, but Neal doesn't feel like a player that drives the bus, and as a result you can expect Nashville to be active in signing some more offensive options during costless agency.

Christian Erhoff Bought Out

The Buffalo Sabres have reportedly decided to use a compliance buy out on Christian Ehrhoff. Ehrhoff is a very good defender but with the Sabres undergoing a rebuild, this move makes more sense for them. Unable to move Ehrhoff at the draft led to this decision in Buffalo. The numbers on Ehrhoff are incredible when you consider the team he was playing on. He instantly jumps to the top of the costless agent list, and will get paid. You can expect him to make more than Boyle and Stralman, and could receive upwards of $6M in costless agency. He is a decent top pairing option, and plays both the power play and penalty kill.

Wrap Up

It's the start of the silly season, and with options limited in costless agency we could see alot of moves on the trade front. Teams are going to be forced to navigate the low salary cap, which could mean some quality players shake loose. There are lots of second tier options in the costless agent pool so teams whoa re on the cusp would be wise to take advantage and add depth to their lineups. With the draft behind them, teams and players have already begun to shift focus, and you can expect NHL GMs to be lacking sleep for the next couple week. It's Christmas Eve Eve for lots of players and teams, and the added excitement of some potential big name trades, this should be a great week.