On Friday, the Hurricanes announced that the team had signed forward Ryan Dzingel to a two-year contract for $3.375 million per year.
I will add details to my initial thoughts/comments on Twitter from Friday morning.
Good signing in terms of price vs. value vs. risk
1/? Really good signing by #Canes. Price/risk/caliber of player math is incredibly good for proven middle 6 player. #TakeWarning https://t.co/BlHgo9P1mn
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) July 12, 2019
At the simplest level, the signing is a solid non-flashy signing. In Ryan Dzingel, the Hurricanes added a proven middle 6 forward who is coming off a strong season with 26 goals and 56 points. A bit like Erik Haula, Dzingel is another capable forward who at a minimum is above the third line replacement level offensively. Also like Haula (if he recovers to 100 percent after leg injury), Dzingel is another player who is a perfect fit for Brind’Amour’s style that emphasizes pace, pressure and forechecking. Dzingel can fly and naturally plays and aggressive style of hockey. He naturally slots at left wing but could also play on the right side if needed.
On a financial level, one has to like this deal. He adds another player with two-term and a reasonable $3.4 million that is the going rate for good third-line forwards in today’s NHL. Dzingel offers upside from a third-line salary as evidenced by his 2018-19 offensive production. The two-year term pegs the risk at an absolute minimum. And the lack of any no-trade/no-movement clauses maximizes flexibility going forward.
Another component for building a second scoring line
2/? Ryan Dzingel is another great option to build a 2nd scoring line without breaking the bank or taking on significant risk chasing the premium options. #TakeWarning
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) July 12, 2019
Pretty much the entirety of last summer, I harped on the need to add a player capable of being a driver or offensive catalyst for a second scoring line. I started there again at the beginning of the current off-season. With Jordan Staal’s strength being that of an elite match up center who is light on playmaking and raw offensive ability, the next level for the Hurricanes offensively would require another scoring line. The challenge is that the ideal fix would require obtaining a bona fide first or second line scoring center. Those are incredibly rare and generally only available by venturing into the risky deep end of the free agent pool.
The Hurricanes, smartly in my opinion, passed on the high stakes bidding wars and instead have made smaller step-wise efforts toward bolstering scoring a bit. In their last full seasons (2018-19 for Dzingel and 2017-18 for Haula) have scored enough to slot third and fourth on the 2018-19 Hurricanes behind only Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Exactly where each slots and what he will score in 2019-20 is unknown obviously, but the Hurricanes have added two players capable of filling roles on a capable second scoring line and have done so without breaking the bank or taking on significant contract risk.
Ryan Dzingel’s contract
3/? Simple math…$3.4M for 56 points in 2018-19 for Ryan Dzingel versus $8M (for 7 years) for 70 points (in couple fewer) games for Matt Duchene is incredibly good value for a modest production downgrade.
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) July 12, 2019
I touched on it above, but a key part of liking this signing is the financials. As noted, $3.4 million is basically a baseline salary for a capable and proven third line forward. Dzingel likely did benefit some from playing alongside Matt Duchene in both Ottawa and Columbus, but even if he takes a step down production-wise, he still ends up being fairly priced. So a down year nets a fair return for the salary. Something even close to Dzingel’s 2018-19 production is a discount. That makes for a really nice risk versus reward combination especially given the limited two year term.
An early guess for slotting Dzingel
4/? Will post full article on @NHLCanes signing of Ryan Dzingel either at lunchtime or later tonight at https://t.co/kxB7KLpiqH. #TakeWarning
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) July 12, 2019
5/? Will be interesting to see what Brind'Amour's initial thoughts are for building lines. Chatting with contact who tracks Sens closely suggests Dzingel more likely to play wing. So maybe it is Haula in that 2nd scoring C slot?
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) July 12, 2019
At a basic level, Dzingel could be viewed as a replacement for Micheal Ferland at left wing. Dzingel plays an aggressive style that fits the forecheck but will not replace Ferland’s presence, physical danger and policeman when necessary contributions. But he does bring the same ability to match pace on an uptempo scoring line and finish at a high enough rate to make a scoring line productive.
Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour now has a decent mix of players who are all capable of slotting in the top 9 forwards. My best early guess is that Dzingel will land on the left side of fellow newcomer Erik Haula with the aim of creating a second scoring line. But especially in preseason, I would also see Dzingel getting a look next to Aho to see if he finds chemistry there and looks capable of being a finisher on that line.
By Monday if not sooner, I will follow up with a second level of thoughts/impacts on how the signing of Ryan Dzingel affects the 2019-20 Carolina Hurricanes.
Go Canes!
I like this deal a lot, the player, price and term. The contract comes in very close to Dom Luszczysczyn’s contract value model, unlike Duchene’s contract which came in $12M over value.
The cap situation is murkier if Willy comes back. The ever sillier looking Marlaeu deal creates a cap squeeze for our unsigned RFAs and Willy.
This team is going to be fun to watch no matter what happens from here on out.
Quality signing.
The forward group is beginning to look better, scoring wise, than last year, though we all worry about the step back in grit.
Maybe Saku will be the guy to step up, or some other tough guy from clt, plus RDZ is not exactly a pushover either.
These are the kind of shrude signings that I give DW good credit for (e.g. Martinook), and I think are necessary for a low budget team that doesn’t always go all in for the superstars (granted this year the Canes are edging close to the cap, , and I give credit where credit’s due for that).
I expect Reimer to be shipped out in a deal, possibly along with another player for either one more forward or maybe upgrade at d, or even just picks.
As I said elsewhere , Adam Gold pointed out how loaded the team is at left wing, with most of our wingers being natural LWs, I had never thought about it and wonder if it is a weakness, or if some of our guys are flexible enough to move to RW, we know some of them can also play C which suggests they have some flexibility.
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Turbo and Svech both prefer to play on the right as left shots. Willy is a right shot so if we get him back we should be fine. Maanelanan and other Europeans are generally comfortable playing on their “off side” as well, and it has some advantages.
How did I forget this. Necas is a right shot and played on the right wing in Charlotte, opposite Jurco who is a left shot. If Marty is ready we should be fine.
Well, I have had some things that did not make me happy recently. This move does, as breezy said, quality signing. Haula and Dzingel, scoring is coming back. I really hated loosing Ferland, primarily because of the grit and protection. I do agree Dzingel is no pushover and maanelanan was providing grit. McGinn and Martinook do as well. The brain trust has done well in the past, so I should not be doubting their moves.
Yah, that Marleau buyout is starting to show up. Man I hope TML paid his signing bonus. I know it’s not part of the cap. Just hope we made a good move for that draft pick.
The 1st we got for Marleau is a blank check. The Marleau deal can’t be measured until the amount of the check is completed. For instance, that first plus a prospect could easily be the currency that yields the Grim Reaper himself at the deadline. Transforming the Canes from a solid team for the season to a punishing squad ready for the meat grinder of the playoffs. DW and “the committee” have been on a mission to transform the “team culture”, the fan culture and the perception league wide of “hockey in the south culture” since TD arrived. While it sounds far fetched, the trade might have included a hope Marleau would finish his career here, a move reminiscent of the Gretzky to LA trade. A giant step in transforming the perception of California hockey to the old school pundits. In any case TD threw the dice with a $3 million bet, and the dice are still rolling.
Agreed.
I love this signing and think our offense will be much improved over last season with RDZ and Haula and with the natural growth from of younger players. If you squint you can start to see the beginnings of us developing a defined Canes style of player and are accumulating them at a rapid rate.
GMDW gets a lot of credit for upgrading without giving up much at all. TD gets credit for expanding the payroll.
I question whether we’re done making moves on defense. I hope we’ve done enough to convince Willy to come back for one final season.
(I’m traveling and will return to lengthier comments next week.)
Like others, I think Dzingel is a good add.
Something no one has mentioned is the two-year term. I think both Haula and RDZ are viewed as “best options.” As the Blues demonstrated (and Carolina provided some confirmation), once in the Cup playoffs anything can happen. The Haula and Dzingel additions should help the Canes return. Since Haula is signed for one year and Dzingel for two, they are also expendable when the Cap situation becomes a real issue due to Svechnikov and then Necas needing contracts.
My expectation is that Haula is replaced by an internal player next season as is RDZ in two seasons. So both contracts are best options because they increase competitiveness this season while allowing flexibility for the organization to retain the core (Aho/TT/Svech/Necas) forward group supplemented by whichever current Checker (Kuokkanen/Geekie/Gauthier/Mattheos) or Luostarinen is ready next year and the year after. Adding players still on ELC will control the cap issues. This is a smart way of combining a win-now strategy with a medium term strategy of developing internal talent.
Good Signing, RDZ has a very good shooting percentage. He is a good fighter/physical player. Not at a Ferland level but less injury prone.
Hopefully Jwilly comes back. Signing Williams with bonus or with 2 years can push cap issues into next season. Or as mentioned above trading Reimer. I don’t think they trade him until they have more confidence in Ned-forsberg at the NHL level
I absolutely love this signing. In fact, my jaw dropped when I first saw it. I wouldn’t have thought we had a chance or would pursue him.
I loved reading that he wants to be here, and he wants to “earn it” – and that he has a history of proving people wrong. RBA signed off on him playng the Hurricanes way. There is nothing like a gifted player with a chip on his shoulder playing on a short-term contract.
I had really questioned whether we had improved enough this off-season given how other teams in both the division and conference have improved their roster…but no more.