CarterHud

          The Buffalo Sabres have acquired D Colin Miller from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2021 2nd round pick and a 2022 5th round pick.

          The Sabres were likely going to trade Rasmus Ristolainen, and here is a candidate to replace him. Miller was a healthy scratch sometimes this season, and overall came down to earth from a great first season in Vegas. He is entering his prime, and his $3.875 million cap hit for three more seasons isn\’t bad. He isn\’t a top pairing defenseman, but can play on the second pairing. The Sabres now have five right defenseman. Casey Nelson isn\’t a starter, but Miller, Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian and Brandon Montour are. Bogosian could also be dealt, as he has one more year left at over $5 million. But Ristolainen has been rumored to be on the market since last trade deadline, so he could be the one to go, though he is probably the best of the four mentioned above.

           Miller, 26, scored three goals with 26 assists for 29 points in 65 games for the Golden Knights in 2018-19. In his NHL career for Vegas and the Boston Bruins, Miller has scored 22 goals with 77 assists for 99 points in 250 games.

           The Golden Knights are in cap hell. They are now just under $900k over the salary cap, but they can put David Clarkson and his $5.25 cap hit on LTIR. That means they can go $5.25 million over the cap, but they still need to sign Nikita Gusev and Malcolm Subban. They could still free up more cap space to sign a minor free agent once free agency opens on July 1st.

         

Photo from NBC

           The Colorado Avalanche have acquired F Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals in exchange for F Scott Kosmachuk, a 2020 2nd round pick and a 2020 third round pick.

           The Avalanche have the most cap space of any team, as they are $17.6 million under the cap floor. They can afford to take on some RFAs, as they do here with Burakovsky. Burakovsky is still young, but has plateaued out since a strong age 20 season where he scored 17 goals and 38 points, still career highs. The second rounder is really the only thing they really give up. The third was just acquired this week for Carl Soderberg and Kevin Connauton, and Kosmachuk will be a group 6 UFA.

            Burakovsky, 24, scored 12 goals with 13 assists for 25 points in 76 games for the Capitals this past year. In his NHL career, all in Washington, the 23rd overall pick in 2013 has scored 62 goals with 83 assists for 145 points in 328 games.

            I predicted during the draft that the Caps would trade Burakovsky. The Caps have just over $9.2 million in cap space, and have RFAs Jakub Vrana, Christian Djoos and Chandler Stephenson. They would also love to re-sign Brett Connolly, and maybe Devante Smith-Pelly as well. Keep in mind that they need to sign some AHL players as well. Trading Burakovsky saves cap room for the present and the future, as the Capitals need to sign both Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby, both of which are UFAs after 2019-20, and can be extended on July 1. Kosmachuk is a pending UFA, and now is one of four group 6 UFAs in the Caps organization, a list that includes Nathan Walker, Riley Barber and Michael Sgarbossa. They lack minor league forwards, so Kosmachuk could be signed. He hasn\’t played in the NHL since debuting four seasons ago.

             Kosmachuk, 25, scored three points, all assists, in eight games for the Winnipeg Jets on 2015-16, making up all of his NHL experience. For the AHL\’s Colorado Eagles this past season, Kosmachuk scored 12 goals with 11 assists for 23 points in 54 games.

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal

            The Carolina Hurricanes have acquired F Erik Haula from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for F Nicolas Roy and a conditional 2021 5th round pick. If Haula plays on the Hurricanes past next season, or the Canes trade Haula for a player, multiple draft picks or a pick rounds 1-5, the Knights get the draft pick. If Haula leaves as a free agent after next year, no pick will be given.

            The Hurricanes need a center, and Haula fits that need. He was picked from the Wild in the expansion draft, and scored 29 goals and 55 points in 76 games as the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup final in their first year. He played just 15 games this past season after taking an awful hit from now teammate (at the moment) Patrick Marleau. He had knee surgery, and spent time in a wheelchair before needing physical therapy to help him walk again. Roy and a 5th is a very slim price, though Haula might not return the same, as he hasn\’t played in an NHL game since the injury was sustained in Toronto on November 6th.

            Haula, 28, scored two goals with five assists for seven points in 15 games for the Golden Knights this past season. In his NHL career for the Knights and Minnesota Wild, he has scored 73 goals with 78 assists for 151 points in 357 games.

            The Golden Knights are already over the salary cap, so they need to free up a lot of space. Haula had one year left at $2.75 million, a trade-able salary. In return, the get Roy, who has little NHL experience. He will likely go back to the AHL this year.

             Roy, 22, scored no points in six NHL games this year, and hasn\’t scored in seven career NHL games. In 2018-19 for AHL Charlotte, Roy scored 17 goals with 19 assists for 36 points in 69 games.

         The Arizona Coyotes have acquired F Carl Soderberg from the Colorado Avalanche is exchange for D Kevin Connauton and a third round pick.

         Soderberg is a bottom six center coming off a career year at age 33. He has rebounded well from an awful 2016-17, when he scored just six goals with eight assists and was a -26, as the Avalanche were the worst team in the league. He had a career high in goals this year. He also finished 24th in Selke voting (he got one 4th place vote).

         Soderberg, 33, scored 23 goals with 26 assists for 49 points in 82 games for the Avalanche this year. In his NHL career for the Avs and Boston Bruins, Soderberg has scored 86 goals with 159 assists for 245 points in 482 games.

         The Avalanche already had the most amount of cap space in the league, and now they have more space, about $38.9 million. They have just five forwards under contract, seven RFAs, they only have one goalie under contract for next year, and they have five UFAs (including goalie Semyon Varlamov). One of those RFAs, Mikko Rantanen, could get up to $9 million a year. The Avs are also interested in free agent superstar Artemi Panarin. It might seem like they have a lot of cap space, but they could be out of it once the offseason concludes. Connauton is a decent depth defenseman, and getting him could mean the end of Patrik Nemeth (UFA) in Colorado.

           Connauton, 29, scored one goal with seven assists for eight points in 50 games for the Coyotes this year. In his NHL career for the Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars, Connauton has scored 27 goals with 49 assists for 76 points in 310 games.

            The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Aleksi Saarela from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Gustav Forsling and goalie Anton Forsberg.

             The Blackhawks have been improving, their defensemen, getting Olli Maatta from Pittsburgh, and now de Haan. But with 59 point man Erik Gustafsson and Duncan Keith, the Hawks now have four lefty defenseman. They could move one of those guys to the right side, with Brent Seabrook. Former first rounder Henri Jokijarju could also make the team. If Jokijarju makes the team, then Connor Murphy will probably be traded, or Jokijarju will be sent to the minors. This trade hurts the odds for Slater Koekkoek and Carl Dahlstrom. De Haan is a good second pairing defenseman, and is good defensively. He is under contract for three more years at $4.55 million a year. Saarela is a young forward who debuted this postseason.

              de Haan, 28, scored one goal with 13 assists for 14 points in 74 games for the Hurricanes this year. In his NHL career for the Canes and New York Islanders, de Haan has scored 13 goals with 82 assists for 95 points in 378 games, with 793 blocked shots.

              Saarela, 22, didn\’t score a point in one playoff game this year, his NHL debut. For AHL Charlotte, Saarela scored 30 goals with 24 assists for 54 points in 69 games, helping them win the Calder Cup.

             For the Canes, I don\’t get this trade. My guess is that they are trying to free cap space. They have nearly $25 million in space, but need to sign Sebastian Aho, Brock McGinn, Justin Williams, Michael Ferland, two goalies and now Forsling, who is an RFA. They get their backup goalie in Forsberg, who played in a career high 35 games two years ago, but didn\’t post great numbers. Forsling is a depth defenseman who can compete for a starting role.

             Forsberg, 26, had a 2.97 GAA and a .908 SV% in 35 games for the Blackhawks in 2017-18. He didn\’t play in the NHL this year. In his NHL career for the Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, Forsberg has a .901 SV% and 3.21 GAA. He had a 2.64 GAA and a .919 SV% in 32 games for AHL Rockford this year.

             Forsling, 23, scored three goals with six assists for nine points in 43 games for the Hawks this year. In his NHL career, all for the Blackhawks, Forsling has scored eight goals with 19 assists for 27 points in 122 games.