Confirmed Signing with Link: 2016-17 Prospect Signings Thread

[Riptide]

Don't know about (c) ELCs have fixed pay scale

I think it may be risky, unwise choice because of the benefits of nhl elc like pension, insurance, etc

They do, but that doesn't mean he received offers that maxed it out. Basically he can get anything from ~600k to 925k, and what the player receives is dependent on what his agent and the GM can come to an agreement on.

 

[dotcommunism]

They do, but that doesn't mean he received offers that maxed it out. Basically he can get anything from ~600k to 925k, and what the player receives is dependent on what his agent and the GM can come to an agreement on.

I do think it's likely a matter of the actual offers that were out there. Not so much about NHL salary, but about minor league salary. I think it's plausible at least that he got offered more on an AHL deal than he got offered in terms of minor league compensation in exchange for Florida not being locked into a two-year ELC.

I don't think the Olympics are a consideration here. Would he crack last year's Spengler Cup team?

 

[Riptide]

I do think it's likely a matter of the actual offers that were out there. Not so much about NHL salary, but about minor league salary. I think it's plausible at least that he got offered more on an AHL deal than he got offered in terms of minor league compensation in exchange for Florida not being locked into a two-year ELC.

I don't think the Olympics are a consideration here. Would he crack last year's Spengler Cup team?

Very possible. An ELC fixes his minor league salary at 10% of his NHL pay. But overall then that's still a very short sighted view, as he will still have to sign a 2 yr ELC, and is further away from the potential of that well paying 2nd contract.

The Olympics might not be a realistic consideration... but unless he wasn't getting those 925k ELC offers he was hoping to receive, there's very little benefit from signing an AHL only deal.

Perhaps he signs this deal now, see's how the season goes and whether he has a shot at the Olympics. If things don't go as planned, he signs his NHL deal part way through the season. That would keep his options open, while also burning the first year of his ELC and potentially earning a little more on his AHL deal in the meantime. But I just can't help but think that there's something else going on here then just pure finances.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I mean...there's a part of me that gets Byron wanting to improve his options as best as possible...but he's a fringe prospect. Not wanting to sign a 2-year ELC when he's nowhere near NHL caliber at this point just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Riptide]

I mean...there's a part of me that gets Byron wanting to improve his options as best as possible...but he's a fringe prospect. Not wanting to sign a 2-year ELC when he's nowhere near NHL caliber at this point just rubs me the wrong way.

He has to sign a 2 yr ELC at some point, which means there's something else going on here. Maybe he didn't get the offers he was hoping for, and feels that by playing a few games now and doing well, he could show that he's worth the higher ELC that he wants?

IDK, it just seems so strange to turn down an ELC when it's being offered. Oh well.

 

[Booba]

Here is why Byron opted to sign a AHL contract instead of a ELC.

For Byron, everything came down to mapping out the clearest possible route to the NHL.

He was a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013, but saw an uphill path to the show with them muddied further when they signed NCAA free agent Zach Aston-Reese in March. That helped push him to endure the long wait until Aug. 16, when he became free to sign with anyone he pleased.

The NHL offers Byron received came from teams with a surplus of talent at forward.

His agent, Murray Kuntz of the International Hockey Group, had done a thorough analysis of each organization’s depth from top to bottom. The more they weighed the decision the more Florida’s AHL proposal made sense.

“You could sign a NHL contract, but at the end of the day if you never play in the NHL, what’s that really worth?†said Kuntz.

“It just seemed like they were real interested in me and they liked my style of play and where they could see me playing in the future,†said Byron. “It just felt right. It felt like the best fit. I was just trying to follow my gut feeling. Sometimes you’re taking a little bit of a bet on yourself.â€Â

However, Byron still maintains the ability to sign an entry-level deal at any point this year – albeit with the provision that the Panthers have the right to match within 24 hours.

Full version here
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/blaine-byron-forgoing-nhl-deals-sign-floridas-ahl-affiliate/

 

[Big McLargehuge]

So...because the Pens signed a winger prospect, his route to play center on a team with questionable organizational center depth became more difficult. Huh?

Oh well, I'd take either ZAR or Johnson over Byron quite easily.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

So...because the Pens signed a winger prospect, his route to play center on a team with questionable organizational center depth became more difficult. Huh?

Oh well, I'd take either ZAR or Johnson over Byron quite easily.

Yeah this was my thought as well.

The Pens have a pretty significant opening at center right now. Maybe it gets filled before the season begins, but injuries happen. Guys like Dea, Blueger, Simon and others are probably going to play in the NHL this season. Johnson, too.

 

[Booba]

Sabres now holds his rights until mid-august 2019.

Hurley was drafted 38th overall in 2013.



Since he's still a "bona fide college student" (CBA terms), I believe that Arizona holds his rights until he graduates from the CIS.

Not a 100% sure though...

----------------------------------------
NCAA free agents
Anaheim
Grant Besse |F|Wisconsin|2013|#147

Arizona
Rhett Holland|D|Michigan State|2012|#102 Signed by HC Dynamo Pardubice, Czech Republic
Connor Clifton|D|Quinnipiac|2013|#133 Signed by Providence, AHL
Jedd Soleway|F|Wisconsin|2013|#193

Buffalo
Anthony Florentino|D|Providence|2013|#143 Signed by Rochester, AHL

Calgary
Tim Harrison|F|Colgate|2013|#157

Carolina
Brendan Collier|F|Northeastern|2012|#189
Collin Olson|G|Western Michigan|2012|#159

Chicago
Matt Tomkins|G|Ohio State|2012|#199 Signed by Rockford, AHL
Chris Calnan|F|Boston College|2012|#79 Signed by Binghamton, AHL

Colorado
Will Butcher|D|Denver|2013|#123 Signed by New Jersey, NHL
Ben Storm|D|St. Cloud|2013|#153 PTO Colorado, NHL

Detroit
James De Haas|D|Clarkson|2012|#170 Signed by Lehigh Valley, AHL
Mike McKee|D|Michigan State|2012|#140 PTO St. Louis, NHL

Edmonton
Evan Campbell|F|UMass-Lowell|2013|#128
Zachery Nagelvoort|G|Michigan|2014|#111

Florida
Evan Cowley|G|Denver|2013|#92 Signed by Springfield, AHL
Matt Buckles|F|Cornell|2013|#98 Signed by Springfield, AHL

Minnesota
Nolan De Jong|D|Michigan|2013|#197 PTO Colorado, NHL

Montreal
Colin Sullivan|D|Miami|2011|#198 Signed by Atlanta, ECHL

Nashville
Zach Stepan|F|Minnesota-Mankato|2012|#112 Signed by Kansas City, ECHL
Wade Murphy|F|Arizona|2013|#185 Signed by Worcester, ECHL
Teemu Kivihalme*|D|Colorado College|2013|#140 Signed by Karpat, Finland
Left Colorado after his 3rd year of eligibility

NJ
Alex Kerfoot|F|Harvard|2012|#150 Signed by Colorado, NHL

NYI
Taylor Cammarata|F|Minnesota|2013|#76
Doyle Sommerby|D|Boston University|2012|#125 Signed by Columbus, NHL

Ottawa
Robbie Baillargeon|F|Arizona|2012|#136 Signed by South Carolina, ECHL
Chris Leblanc|F|Merrimack|2013|#161 Signed by Orlando, ECHL

Pittsburgh
Blaine Byron|F|Maine|2013|#179 Signed by Springfield, AHL
Troy Josephs|F|Clarkson|2013|#209 Signed by Wilkes-Barre, AHL

San Jose
Cliff Watson|D|Michigan Tech|2012|#168 PTO Calgary, NHL
Gage Ausmus|D|North Dakota|2013|#151 Signed by Colorado, ECHL

St. Louis
Sam Kurker|F|Northeastern|2012|#56

Toronto
Dominic Toninato|D|Minnesota-Duluth|2012|#126 Signed by Colorado, NHL

 

[caley]

Middleton was a draft pick of the LA Kings who declined to sign him in 2016.

 

[caley]