The NHL's compliance buyout window officially opens today and closes on June 30th, after the draft.
If the Canucks are going to use their second buyout, I imagine it'll come down in the final hours, once all the action at the draft shakes down. The hiring of the new coach and a possible Ryan Kesler deal should help to shape the look of the club going forward, so I don't expect any drastic moves until after that time.
The last possible day for the AHL's Calder Cup final is still a week away—June 23. Game 4 goes today in St. John's, with Game 5 scheduled for tomorrow. The Texas Stars lead the series 2-1 so with two wins in the next two nights, we could get on with things. Too much to hope for?
The Los Angeles Kings have their Stanley Cup Parade at 1 p.m. today. I wonder how many teams contacted assistant coach John Stevens over the weekend?
I've heard some concern that Stevens isn't available because he's being groomed to take over the head coaching duties with the Kings, but I'm not too worried about this. When asked about his future plans on the ice during the Cup celebration on Friday, Darryl Sutter was quick to state that he has already started making plans for training camp. I don't think Darryl's going anywhere for awhile.
Three other franchises are also looking for coaches: Carolina, Pittsburgh and Florida. We should start to see those vacancies getting filled over the next several days.
One Man's Trash...
Our first compliance buyout domino has fallen, and the name's a familiar one:
DAL puts Aaron Rome on unconditional ($125) waivers for purposes of enacting a buyout. Only player on waivers today.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 16, 2014Rome had one more year remaining on his deal, at $1.6 million.
Many of the other buyout candidates also likely won't be announced until closer to the end of the window, as teams see whether trades can be made.
James Mirtle names a group of high-profile possibilities in this column.
• Ville Leino (BUF) • Brad Richards (NYR) • Martin Havlat (SJ) • Jordin Tootoo (DET) • Ryan Malone (TB) • Erik Cole (DAL) The Stars have a second buyout still available after the Rome announcement. • Anton Volchenkov (NJ)
CBC.ca adds a couple of names that I haven't seen anywhere else: P.A. Parenteau (COL) and R.J. Umberger (CBJ).
Parenteau has two more years at $4 million. He's 31 and had 33 points in 55 games last year for the Avalanche. Umberger has three more years at a cap hit of $4.6 million. He's 32 and had 34 points in 74 games last year.
Who was most successful out of the buyout class of 2013? Mikhail Grabovski got off to a hot start with the Washington Capitals but ended up with 33 points in 58 games, for a price of $3 million. Jeff Schultz was bought out by the Capitals and ended up seeing seven games of playoff action for the Los Angeles Kings with a rock-bottom $700,000 salary. And Ilya Bryzgalov, of course, went from zero to hero as he climbed back into the NHL with Edmonton, then took the Minnesota Wild to the second round of the playoffs—at a cap hit of $2.26 million.
Can the Canucks find a hidden gem in this year's buyout group?
Coyotes Still on the Brink:
A good piece from David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail on the weekend, outlining the NHL's regular-season revenue figures for 2013-14. Click here to read.
It's pretty amazing to think that the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs pull in five times as much money as the last place Phoenix Coyotes, and that the Coyotes are still generating less than $40 million in revenue—nowhere near enough to cover their major-league payroll of $57 million in 2013-14, let alone all their other expenses.
As Shoalts outlines, the plan for the new ownership group was to break even by Year 3, but this season's numbers came in below expectations. I'm not sure changing the name to the Arizona Coyotes is going to be the magic bullet.
I can't say I'm surprised by this news. I attended two Coyotes games a couple of years ago and the instructions from the press box attendant said it all. "Just sit anywhere," he told me—a stark contrast to the tight quarters I'm accustomed to at home at Rogers Arena.
Maybe the NHL's good overall year will even trickle down in to the desert? My hope is that the Coyotes can survive *and* we can get an expansion team in Seattle. If Phoenix does end up moving within five years, Seattle seems like it could be a logical destination.
The arena plan of Seattle's lead investor Chris Hansen is under environmental review, to be complete by the end of the summer. He recently purchased another plot of land in the SoDo neighbourhood and all signs indicate that he's moving forward and will be seeking an NBA and NHL tenant for his new arena when it's built.
Story developing, as they say...
One other interesting financial note from the Mirtle story. He says that the CBA allows for the league to adjust the salary cap based on significant one-time changes in revenue—like the big Canadian TV deal that's set to kick in next year.
A decision on this front hasn’t been made yet, but it could have major implications for the cap. The Rogers deal is so substantial it could mean an increase of a few million dollars, which would result in the NHL’s biggest single-season jump ever.
A decision will need to be made by late June, before free agency begins. Just two years after slamming their wallets shut, the owners might just get a chance to open them up again.