Carolina re-signs Sutter: one year, $600k

By Mike HalfordJun 25, 2013, 3:16 PM EDT
1 Comment

The Hurricanes have re-upped with UFA forward Brett Sutter on a one-year deal worth $600,000 at the NHL level, the club announced on Tuesday.

Sutter, the son of Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter, was acquired by Carolina from Calgary in 2011 as part of the Ian White-Anton Babchuk/Tom Kostopoulos trade.

He’s since appeared in 19 games for the ‘Canes, registering three assists.

A productive contributor for AHL Charlotte (where he’s guaranteed to earn $250,000 next year), Sutter should have a shot of cracking the Carolina roster to start the 2013-14 season.

The club has yet to re-up with veteran forwards Chad LaRose and Tim Brent and, with Sutter now signed, only has 11 forwards under contract.

Devils GM’s goal: sign major free agents before July 5

By James O'BrienMay 29, 2013, 7:30 PM EDT
18 Comments

One look at the New Jersey Devils’ salary structure and it becomes clear that GM Lou Lamoriello has a lot to work to do this summer. The long-time executive told the Bergen Record that the goal is to lock up a bevy of players before the free agent period kicks in on July 5.

“In my opinion, they have to be done before that,” Lamoriello said.

The Devils’ list of free agents is staggering. Here are some of the most noteworthy names:

Unrestricted

Patrik Elias
Dainius Zubrus
David Clarkson
Marek Zidlicky
Peter Harrold
Steve Sullivan
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Tom Kostopoulos

Restricted

Matt D’Agostini
Jacob Josefson
Adam Henrique
Andrei Loktionov

Lamoriello said that D’Agostini isn’t likely to be re-signed and the same is true for Sullivan (who is reportedly “mulling over” retirement). Ponikarovsky seems to be a lower priority consideration while he claims that all RFAs other than D’Agostini will be locked up.

It could be a bumpy offseason for the Devils, especially if they decide to make other decisions about their future. (Both of their aging goalies only have one more year left on their contracts, for instance.)

As far as the draft is concerned, Lamoriello said he’d prefer to land a scoring forward.

Video: Islanders’ Martin knocks out Devils’ Kostopoulos

By Cam TuckerApr 2, 2013, 1:03 AM EDT
12 Comments

New York Islanders forward Matt Martin and New Jersey Devils forward Tom Kostopoulos came together in a short, one-sided fight Monday evening.

Martin dropped Kostopoulos to the ice with a hard right punch, then motioned to the benches for the training staff as he realized the immediate condition Kostopoulos was in.

 

List: 30 remaining unrestricted free agents

By Jason BroughJul 31, 2012, 3:20 PM EDT
18 Comments

For your afternoon perusal, NHL.com has put together a good list of 30 unrestricted free agents that are still available.

Not surprisingly, Shane Doan tops the list, but some other intriguing options remain. For example…

Petr Sykora: Played for peanuts last year in his return to the NHL following a season in Europe. The 35-year-old Devils winger proved he can still put the puck in the net, scoring 21 goals during the regular season. However, he struggled to produce during the playoffs, spending time in the press box as a healthy scratch. Sykora has said he wants to return to New Jersey, but so far hasn’t been able to reach a deal.

Kristian Huselius: The 33-year-old winger missed all but two games in 2011-12 – the first 25 he was recovering from pectoral surgery, the last 55 he sat out with a groin tear. Obviously his health is a considerable concern (groin injuries can be especially tough to heal), but Huselius is a six-time 20-goal scorer that could presumably be had for cheap. If he can pass a physical, it might be worth rolling the dice.

Tom Kostopoulos: Another 33-year-old, though a very different player than Huselius. Kostopolous is a tough bottom-six forward that played 81 games for the Flames last season, scoring four times and dishing out 124 hits. He’s not too bad with his fists either. Just ask Kevin Bieksa.

Report: Flames won’t spend to the cap ceiling next season

By James O'BrienJun 4, 2012, 8:33 PM EDT
3 Comments

The Calgary Flames haven’t been that far from the playoffs despite missing the postseason for three straight years, but that’s little solace to fans – especially since management is paying them like an elite club. Roger Millions passes along an intriguing detail, though: it sounds like the Flames’ days of spending to the cap are over.

To be more specific, Millions expects the Flames’ budget to be around $55 million, which would be about $15 million less than the expected cap ceiling if the CBA doesn’t alter the cap. Either way, it sounds like the Flames’ spending will be reined in quite a bit.

Get rid of Kipper, Iggy or Bouwmeester?

According to Capgeek, the Flames currently have about $50.3 million committed to the cap next season, with 16 players covered. Millions and Kent Wilson believe that one or more of big-money players Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff and Jay Bouwmeester might need to go to make things work.

Perhaps to little surprise, Millions tabbed Bouwmeester as the odd man out, although one could argue that the Flames would be wiser to move Iginla because he might draw a better deal – particularly for a Flames team that still seems to be in “rebuild denial.” Bouwmeester’s disappointing offensive numbers and $6.68 million cap hit probably won’t attract half the attention as Iginla; Bouwmeester (28) is also considerably younger than Iginla (34).

Iginla has one more year left with a $7 million cap hit while Bouwmeester and Kiprusoff’s ($5.8M cap hit) deals run out after the 2013-14 season.

The rest of the moves

Either way, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room for GM Jay Feaster. The team can call up some minor league players/prospects to fill some roster spots cheaply, yet that’s not likely to jive well with their stated plans. Here’s a quick list of their pending free agents:

Unrestricted

Olli Jokinen
Lee Stempniak
David Moss
Tom Kostopoulos
Cory Sarich
Scott Hannan

Restricted

Blake Comeau
Mikael Backlund
Akim Aliu
Blair Jones

***

If you were in Feaster’s shoes, would you trade one (or more) of the bigger name players on the team? Would you instead try to get rid of a bigger salary eyesore like, say, Matt Stajan? Or would you blow the whole thing up?

Share your armchair management plan in the comments if you feel the need.

(H/T to Arik Knapp.)