Flyers Dump Richards, Carter To Sign Bryzgalov

To say the Philadelphia Flyers went through a massive overhaul on Thursday would be an understatement. General manager Paul Holmgren was certainly busy just one day ahead of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, dealing away two of his franchise's key players while signing their long-awaited savior in net to a long-term, high money contract.

Former 40-goal scorer Jeff Carter was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for winger Jakub Voracek, a first round draft pick (8th overall) and a third rounder. The Flyers followed this move up by dealing captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for forwards Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, as well as the Kings' second round selection. With the money saved by dealing those two, Holmgren was able to sign Ilya Bryzgalov - whose rights were acquired by Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago from Phoenix in exchange for a third round pick, Matt Clackson and future considerations - to a whopping nine-year, $51 million contract that will see him donning the black and orange into his 40s.



There are certainly two schools of thought to this for Philadelphia. On the one hand, they were able to develop enough cap space to sign a top-level talent at the position that has been their downfall for numerous seasons. And in dumping salary, they were also able to acquire a good deal of young talent that could surely help the Flyers down the line. On the other hand, the Flyers just dealt away a combined 59 goals and 132 points from last season - not to mention Richards' strong leadership and two-play, as well as Carter's legitimate 40-goal ability.

The big issue at hand for Philadelpia was to gain enough flexibility under the salary cap to sign Bryzgalov. He was reportedly seeking a long-term deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $6-7 million a year. And even with cap going up to around $64 million for the upcoming 2011-12 season, that would still require Holmgren to shed some salary off the team's $59,626,551 payroll. While it was assumed Richards and Carter were made available based upon their contracts - Richards entering the fourth year of a 12-season deal at a $5.75 million annual cap hit and Carter about to start his 11-year extension that would provide a $5,272,727 cap hit annually, it was never figured that Holmgren would actually deal both of his team's 2003 first round draft picks.

Kings Move Past Kovalchuk And Frolov, Ink Ponikarovsky To One Year Deal

 

Exhausted by the process of losing out on Ilya Kovalchuk and having just watched Alexander Frolov move on to the New York Rangers, the Los Angeles Kings were in dire need of adding some offensive punch to their roster to render this offseason just short of a complete failure. With plenty of money to spend and the available talent really starting to dwindle, the Kings made a move to bring aboard a top six forward that can actually make the team better at a cheaper rate than Kovalchuk and with a little bit more conviction to his game than Frolov. TSN’s Darren Dreger broke the news Tuesday that Alexei Ponikarovsky was signed by LA to a one year contract at $3 million with a $200,000 signing bonus for a full cap hit of $3.2 million.

Ponikarovsky is coming off a rather subpar finish to last season, in which he was dealt by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade deadline deal. After netting 19 goals and 41 points in 61 contests with the team that selected him in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the 30-year old Ukrainian netted just two goals and seven assists in 16 games with the Penguins. In 11 postseason games, he added just a single goal and four assists.

But Ponikarovsky is looking to rebound and has plenty to prove in Los Angeles on a one year deal. He has a consistent annual goal output of about 20 per season and, unlike Kovalchuk and Frolov, has a physical element to his game that renders him willing to hit hard and play good two-way hockey. He definitely wasn’t anybody’s first choice when it came to acquiring an offensively productive winger. But he’s far from an utter disappointment.

The Kings still have plenty of cap space left over to concentrate on re-signing their own to contract extensions and possibly re-entering the Kovalchuk race if the grievance filed on his part by the NHLPA over the rejected 17-year deal with New Jersey goes awry. The Kings’ payroll currently sits at $49,363,333 with $12,876,666 remaining in cap flexibility, according to CapGeek.

Rangers Add Offensive Boost With Alexander Frolov

 

The New York Rangers entered this offseason with limited funds and far too many of its own players in need of new deals to worry about becoming major players on the free agent market. To date, the team’s biggest pickups have been backup goaltender Martin Biron and the newest overpaid enforcer Derek Boogaard.

Even with just about $4.4 million in cap space remaining and Marc Staal’s restricted free agency still looming over the organization, the Rangers had a hole to fill in the scoring department. On Tuesday, General Manager Glen Sather finalized an agreement that will inject some more offense into the team with Alexander Frolov being brought into the fold on a one year deal at $3 million.

The 28-year old Moscow native instantly steps in as the Rangers second biggest scoring threat behind only Marian Gaborik. Frolov, who has has twice netted over 30 goals in his seven-year tenure with the Los Angeles Kings, represents a big addition to the Rangers’ top two lines and power play units.

Frolov is, however, also a fairly inconsistent player that has seen his numbers, playing time and overall responsibility hit a decline over the past three seasons with the Kings. The 19 goals he posted last year marks the lowest output since his rookie campaign in 2002-03 when he had 14. His 51 points were the lowest since his sophomore season. And his five power play scores marked a sharp 58.5 percent decrease from his previous year’s total of 12.

Frolov was once one of the Kings’ most dynamic offensive threats. But over time, he became a lesser contributor that lost out on first line duties, played fewer power play minutes and received constant benchings from head coach Terry Murray.

In Frolov’s mind, that was simply a matter of the Kings mishandling him. His agent, Sergei Isakov, told Russian newspaper Sovietsky Sport that the Kings deliberately spoiled his season last year in order to pay him less this year.

More realistically, there is something to be said for a player that comes and goes as he pleases on the score sheet and wishes to take little accountability for that. Frolov in a streaky player that will test head coach John Tortorella’s patience. Tortorella is a big fan of consistency and accountability amongst his players. Frolov will need to do a complete 180 from his previous years in order to accommodate that and remain on Tortorella’s good side.

Whether he can do that remains to be seen. Frolov still possesses 30-goal and near 70-point potential with all the talent and skill to be at least afforded to opportunity to get there. Perhaps a change of scenery could do him some good.

This move is a low-risk one for the Rangers that is financially responsible. On a one year deal, the Rangers can easily part ways with him at the end of the season if they deem him a failure. At $3 million, he is a bit of an investment and takes a good chunk of money out of what could be used to re-sign Staal. But $3 million for a much needed offensive boost is not unreasonable and comes at discount from the $4 million he earned last season and the $5 million per year he was reportedly offered in a four-year deal from the KHL, according to Arthur Staple. This signing leaves the Rangers with approximately $1.44 million in remaining cap space.

If he can have a bounce back year in New York and play up to the standards he set for himself earlier on in his career, Frolov should have little problem earning a bigger, more long-term payday with the Rangers or some other NHL next summer. If he continues to regress, however, a move back over to Russia is probably in order. It's all on his shoulders now to prove the disappointment of last season really was on the Kings and not him.

19-Day Free Agency Marathon Comes To An End: Kovalchuk Remains a New Jersey Devil

 

UPDATE: TSN has reported salary figures in line with what Michael Russo previously laid out. Kovalchuk's $102 million deal over the next 17 years will pay him $6 million in Years 1 and 2, $11.5 million in Years 3-7, $10.5 million in Year 8, $8.5 million in Year 9, $6.5 million in Year 10, $3.5 million in Year 11, $750,000 in Year 12 and $550,000 in Years 13-17.

ORIGINAL: It took him 19 days to make his decision and he didn’t need a flashy one-hour primetime special to let the world know about it. On Monday afternoon, it was announced that Ilya Kovalchuk will remain with the team he finished out last season with and return to the New Jersey Devils on a lifetime contract. No official terms have been disclosed, but it has been widely reported that the agreement is for 17 years and will pay out a total of $102 million. This is just the latest contract intended to circumvent the current collective bargaining agreement by utilizing a greater number of years to stretch out the overall salary for the purposes of lowering the annual cap hit, while still paying the player the amount of money he wishes to accumulate during his playing tenure. Kovalchuk, who was believed to be seeking an annual salary in the $8-10 million range, will now represent a $6 million annual cap hit to New Jersey.

“This was a long arduous process that has taken frankly a little longer than I thought,” agent Jay Grossman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “But you know what, nothing is worth anything unless you work for it. I can tell you he is very happy to be with the New Jersey Devils.”

As is the case for most contracts of this nature, it is safe to assume that Kovalchuk will be paid on a frontloaded basis to accommodate the years he will actually be playing. Then the financial terms will take a sharp decline when he is expected to be retired. Since he will not be 35 years old by June 30 of the upcoming season, Kovalchuk will cease to be paid and his cap hit will be erased from the Devils’ books should he retire before the completion of the deal. Kovalchuk, now 27, will be 44 years old when the contract expires in 2027, making it unlikely he will honor it in its entirety.

With no official terms announced and the Devils planning to re-introduce Kovalchuk to their fans in a press conference tomorrow at 1 p.m., there still has yet to be firm indication into how this contract breaks down on a year-by-year basis. Two unconfirmed figures have been reported, however.

Flyers Bring Zherdev Back From Russia

 

The last time Nikolai Zherdev was in the National Hockey League, it was two seasons ago for the New York Rangers. The Rangers acquired the former fourth overall selection from the Columbus Blue Jackets, who deemed him a disappointment within their organization. The Rangers would soon learn why Columbus was more than eager to dump Zherdev on them for a steady stay-at-home presence in Fedor Tytutin that had contrarily developed so well within the Rangers organization. For as capable a goal scorer as he is, Zherdev is as inconsistent as they come and never showed a true passion or committment to the game in the NHL.

That's why it came as a shock a few days ago when Puck Daddy's Dmitry Chesnokov reported that the Philadelphia Flyers signed Zherdev (which was initially disputed.) It was even more shocking when that report turned into an official agreement on Friday. General Manager Paul Holmgren inked the 25-year old to a one-year deal for $2 million.

Kovalchuk Nearing Deal With The Devils?

When we last check in on Ilya Kovalchuk, three teams were at the forefront of his free agency status. The Los Angeles Kings were perceived as out of the mix per comments by General Manager Dean Lombardi. The New York Islanders were preparing to fork over a $100 million, 10-year offer. And the New Jersey Devils were, somehow, still in the running.

That somehow part was given a bit of clarity today by The New York Post. At first, Mark Everson reported that Kovalchuk was expected to sign with the Devils on a seven-year pact worth $60 million. Everson's tune changed shortly thereafter, simply stating that Kovalchuk was expected to make a decision today and the Devils remained the favorites with their $8.57 million per season offer.

Unsure of what the Kings' last offer to Kovalchuk was, this seems like surprising news considering Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman reported that Lombardi just could not get Kovalchuk to get under his request of a $100 million contract (Source 1/2). If that's the reason he dropped out, then why is Kovalchuk accepting a lower bid from New Jersey?

The Market For Ilya Kovalchuk: Islanders Prepared To Offer $100M, Devils Still In Mix, Kings Out?

 

A flurry of activity was expected to surround Ilya Kovalchuk when the free agent market opened for business on Thursday. Not only was he leaps and bounds better than any other available player, but the 27-year old Russian sniper also possesses a unique ability to dramatically change the face of any NHL franchise. It therefore came as a bit of a surprise that there was little to report on his situation as Day 1 came to a close.

The Los Angeles Kings were at the forefront of negotiations with Kovalchuk, which was to be expected considering their interest dating back to the trade deadline. New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello believed his team was very much in the mix despite having added at least $8.625 million against the cap with previous signings throughout the day. And any number of unconfirmed teams were also posturing for the left wing’s services.

One of those other teams was revealed late in the day on July 2. TSN’s Darren Dreger pondered the idea of the New York Islanders going after Kovalchuk and indicated a source informed him of the team’s possible intentions to offer a $100-million, 10-year contract. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun followed up with a text confirmation from Isles’ GM Garth Snow that they were in the mix.

A situation that had little movement in the first day of free agency suddenly transformed into the high-priced bidding process anticipated for Kovalchuk. Even in light of the Islanders' potential offer, the Kings were still believed to be the favorite to land Kovalchuk, with the Devils not too far behind pending Lamoriello’s ability to work around the less-than $5 million in cap space still left on the payroll. But with a proposed offer of $10 million annually for the next decade, the Islanders instantly emerged as a contender for Kovalchuk.