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Snapshots: Keith, Petruzzelli, Power

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Information is flowing fast after today’s reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are looking for trade options for longtime defender Duncan Keith. A veteran of almost 1,200 NHL games, all with the Blackhawks, he’s entered a steep decline since finishing fourth in Norris voting in 2016-17. Keith’s still been forced to play upwards of 23 minutes a night due to Chicago’s lack of defensive depth, and it’s hurt both his offensive and defensive numbers significantly. He posted a career-low 15 points this season along with some of the worst possession metrics of his career. With two more seasons left at $5.5MM, Chicago is antsy to get out of the deal as soon as they can. With Elliotte Friedman’s reports today that a potential destination is likely in the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada, combined with the fact that Keith has a residence in Penticton, British Columbia, many pointed to the Vancouver Canucks as a suitor for the 37-year-old. The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal is now reporting, however, that the Canucks haven’t shown interest in Keith and won’t make any efforts to acquire him. Taking on more salary is understandably tough for Vancouver right now, who still have Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes to sign to new contracts this offseason.

  • Despite the Detroit Red Wings being one of the more up-and-coming teams in the league, one of their prospects is deciding to leave the organization. Mark Divver of The New England Hockey Journal reports that goaltender Keith Petruzzelli doesn’t intend to sign his entry-level contract with the Wings and will hit free agency in August. A promising young netminder with a big 6′ 5″ frame, Petruzzelli was drafted in the third round (88th overall) by Detroit at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft after a solid season with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. Petruzzelli has since spent his hockey career playing four seasons for Quinnipiac University, with his record and save percentage climbing every season. Capping off his senior year with a .926 save percentage and 17-8-4 record, Petruzzelli will undoubtedly receive NHL and AHL offers this August to join another organization.
  • A report today by NHL.com’s Mike Morreale says that the Buffalo Sabres still have not interviewed defender Owen Power, the expected first-overall selection in this year’s draft. Power is quoted in the piece as saying that he’s already spoken with 10 to 15 teams, additionally, he doesn’t know when a potential interview with the Sabres could happen. Power, a gigantic 6′ 5″ left-shot defender, has seen himself rise to the top of rankings due to his impressive two-way play and skating. It’s hard to remember the last time the consensus top prospect wasn’t taken with the first-overall pick, but with the minuscule talent gap between the top few prospects, it’s possible that Buffalo could indeed select someone else. It could be that they just don’t see left defense as a weakness, considering the presence of Rasmus Dahlin. It could also be that they just view someone else as the best player available. But with less than a month until draft day, all eyes will be on Buffalo’s scouts and an extremely important draft pick.

All contract information via CapFriendly.

Tom Dundon Becomes Sole Owner Of Carolina Hurricanes

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The NHL’s Board of Governors has unanimously approved Tom Dundon as sole owner of the Carolina Hurricanes after he purchased all remaining minority shares. That includes those owned by the previous majority shareholder Peter Karmanos, and as the press release indicates, makes this the first time that Karmanos has not owned a piece of the franchise since 1994.

Quite simply, Dundon reiterated his desire to see the Stanley Cup return to Raleigh:

We are fortunate to have a passionate fan base that supports what we believe is a team that can compete every year for the Stanley Cup. That is the only option.

Dundon purchased a majority of the team in 2018 and restructured both the business and hockey operations departments. In the time since, the team has reached the playoffs three times, even making it as far as the Eastern Conference Final in 2018-19. The group of players currently on the roster has made an impactful connection with a rejuvenated fan base, while franchise icon Rod Brind’Amour quickly became one of the most beloved head coaches in team history.

Once again, Dundon will be asked to make a financial commitment to the team this summer as they currently have just 12 players under contract for next season. Young star Andrei Svechnikov is a restricted free agent for the first time, while veteran leaders like Jordan Martinook, Dougie Hamilton, and Petr Mrazek are all unrestricted free agents. Though it is unlikely all of those names will be returning, the Hurricanes are in a strong position to take advantage of the free agent market and add some support to their strong foundational pieces.

Chicago Blackhawks Working On Potential Duncan Keith Trade

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The Chicago Blackhawks are working on a potential trade for Duncan Keith, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team and player are working together, Friedman tweets, to send the veteran defenseman somewhere he wants to go in the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada.

Keith, 37, was born in Winnipeg but grew up in Penticton, British Columbia, where he played junior hockey before going to Michigan State. He has spent his entire NHL career to this point in Chicago, and has two years left on his current deal which carries a cap hit of $5.54MM. Notably, though the cap hit is hefty, he’s only actually owed $3.6MM in salary over the final two years. As Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch tweets, there had been reports in the past that Keith would only waive his no-trade clause to end up in Western Canada or “out in that direction.”

Of course, there is a new NHL team just about to start play in that area of the continent. The Seattle Kraken are arriving in the NHL next season and happen to be just about a six-hour drive from Penticton, though Friedman does not specifically state which teams are interested in the veteran defenseman.

If it is the end of the line for Keith in Chicago, it has been quite a run. Selected 54th overall in 2002, he had to work his way through college, the WHL, the AHL and a lockout before eventually making his debut in the 2005-06 season. He immediately became a regular for the Blackhawks and would quickly become a core piece for a franchise that would go on to win three Stanley Cup championships. He won the Norris Trophy twice as the league’s best defenseman, took home the Conn Smythe in 2015 as playoff MVP (after scoring the Cup-clinching goal) and won two Olympic gold medals for Team Canada.

There’s almost nothing left to accomplish in Chicago and with the Blackhawks transitioning to a younger group, his cap space could be used elsewhere. That’s not to say he’s irrelevant, however, as Keith still averaged over 23 minutes a night and could be a valuable addition, even if his best days are behind him. That kind of experience could be especially helpful for an expansion team like Seattle, who will be trying to get their feet wet with a group collected from around the league.

For the Blackhawks, who have been linked to Jack Eichel among other high-end targets this offseason, moving Keith would not only open up some cap space, but also minutes for their young defense corps. Players like Ian Mitchell, Adam Boqvist, and Nicolas Beaudin will all be vying for more playing time moving forward and without Keith there eating up 23 minutes a night, there will be plenty to go around. The other big benefit from moving him off the roster before the expansion draft is freeing up a protection slot, as currently the Blackhawks would be required to protect him because of his no-movement clause.

That doesn’t mean the team improves with him gone, but there was going to have to be a parting of ways at some point in the future–if Keith is on board, it might as well be now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Expansion Primer: Florida Panthers

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

One of the mistakes that is brought up most often in regards to the Vegas expansion draft was the one made in Florida, when the Panthers sent Reilly Smith to the Golden Knights to make sure they picked Jonathan Marchessault. That’s right, the Panthers traded away one top-six player just to ensure that they would lose another and provided the Golden Knights with two-thirds of a first line in the process. The idea was to protect players like Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk, certainly not a decision that is looked back on kindly. This time, new GM Bill Zito surely won’t make the same mistake.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau (NMC), Patric Hornqvist, Frank Vatrano, Noel Acciari, Carter Verhaeghe, Mason Marchment, Ryan Lomberg, Patrick Bajkov, Aleksi Saarela, Anthony Duclair, Juho Lammikko, Brad Morrison, Lucas Wallmark, Sam Bennett

Defense:

Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle (NMC), Anton Stralman, MacKenzie Weegar, Markus Nutivaara, Radko Gudas, Kevin Connauton, Noah Juulsen, Gustav Forsling, Lucas Carlsson

Goalies:

Sergei Bobrovsky (NMC), Sam Montembeault

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Alexander Wennberg, D Brandon Montour, G Chris Driedger

Notable Exemptions

F Anton Lundell, F Grigori Denisenko, F Eetu Luostarinen, F Owen Tippett, F Nikita Gusev (UFA), G Spencer Knight

Key Decisions

Interestingly, the Panthers once again are faced with the decision on whether or not to use the standard seven forwards/three defenseman protection strategy. This time, it’s hard to justify going the eight-skater route, even if Yandle’s no-movement clause is going to force them to expose a valuable player from the blueline. There is just too much talent up front, and there’s no way they risk losing another Marchessault.

Things kick off as expected, with Huberdeau and Barkov leading the way. One has a no-move, but there’s no way either one would ever be exposed to Seattle. Beyond that though, things get a little more complicated. Verhaeghe broke out this season for 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games and will almost certainly earn protection, while trade-deadline acquisition Bennett seemed revitalized after bringing his talents to Sunrise. That’s four spots used up already, with the group of Hornqvist, Vatrano, Marchment, Acciari, and Duclair still to come. At least two of those players are going to be left unprotected, and it’s not at all clear which ones.

Hornqvist is the sort of in-your-face player that the Panthers targeted last summer, trying to add a little more bite to the lineup to compete in the playoffs. He had a good season too, scoring 32 points in 44 games, but is now 34 and costs $5.3MM in each of the next two seasons. He’s exactly the type of situation where a team might not want to lose him, yet wouldn’t be crushed if he were taken, meaning he may well be left unprotected by the Panthers.

Vatrano would have been an easy choice a few seasons ago, but recent acquisitions have dropped him further and further down the lineup. He averaged fewer than 12 minutes a night in the playoffs this season and may be deemed expendable despite scoring 18 goals in the regular season.

Marchment and Acciari are both still depth players, but the former showed an ability to move up and down the lineup while the latter is just a year removed from scoring 20 goals as a depth center. There’s a case for either one, including the fact that Marchment will cost just $800K this season and had a pair of goals in the team’s first-round exit.

Then there is Duclair, who has shown an ability to line up beside star players in the past and has excellent offensive upside. The problem is that he doesn’t have a contract yet as a restricted free agent, and could even be a non-tender candidate if the team doesn’t want to deal with a potential arbitration award. The 25-year-old Duclair also saw his role drop dramatically by the playoffs, where he failed to register a single point while averaging just over 12 minutes a night.

While there is a case to be made for several forwards, the defensive group seems much more straightforward, if only because of Yandle’s no-movement clause. Unless he agrees to waive it, the team will have to protect Ekblad and Weegar as the two integral cogs of their back end. The 27-year-old Weegar may still not be getting the recognition he deserves from some hockey fans, but there’s a reason why he ended up finishing eighth in Norris Trophy voting after an outstanding season. That means the Panthers will be exposing players like Gudas and Nutivaara, while not being able to protect restricted free agent Forsling either, who leapfrogged those veterans this season.

In goal, the Panthers will be forced to protect Bobrovsky, even if they probably would rather just re-sign Driedger and roll him out alongside Knight next season. There’s still five years and $50MM left on Bobrovsky’s deal, which would actually likely scare off Seattle anyway, but there’s really no need to ask him to waive the no-movement clause at this point.

Projected Protection List

F Aleksander Barkov
F Jonathan Huberdeau
F Patric Hornqvist
F Carter Verhaeghe
F Sam Bennett
F Frank Vatrano
F Anthony Duclair

D Aaron Ekblad
D Keith Yandle
D MacKenzie Weegar

G Sergei Bobrovsky

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Noel Acciari, Mason Marchment, Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen (3): Anton Stralman, Markus Nutivaara, Radko Gudas

The Panthers have more flexibility than most when it comes to the exposure requirements, with so many players under contract for next season. Even if Acciari or Marchment are protected, names like Hornqvist or Vatrano would also meet the requirements upfront. On the back end, even if they can convince Yandle to waive his no-move, the last protection slot would likely be used on Forsling, who doesn’t qualify for the requirement anyway. Basically, these shouldn’t be an issue for Florida no matter what they decide to do.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Sylvain Lefebvre Hired By Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially hired Sylvain Lefebvre as an assistant coach, signing him to a three-year contract that will add him to Brad Larsen’s staff through 2023-24. Lefebvre spent the last three seasons with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, but does have experience on an NHL bench in the past. Larsen, who was only named head coach earlier this month, released a statement on his newest assistant:

Sylvain was an honest, hard-working defenseman who was undrafted out of junior, but turned himself into a player with over 1,000 NHL regular season and playoff games and a leader on a Stanley Cup championship team. He brings that same dedication and work ethic to coaching and will be a great asset for our players and our coaching staff.

The championship team that Larsen is referring to is the 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche, with which Lefebvre served as an alternate captain. The former defenseman suited up more than 1,000 times in the NHL, and even won a Swiss title just before retiring in 2004. Now 53, he served as an assistant with the Avalanche in the past and was the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs, St. John’s IceCaps, and Laval Rocket in the AHL.

Now in Columbus, he joins a relatively inexperienced coaching staff with Larsen in the lead. The Blue Jackets bench boss has only two years of head coaching experience under his belt, coming several years ago with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. Columbus also recently hired Pascal Vincent as associate coach, who has only been part of one other professional organization, serving as an assistant with the Winnipeg Jets and head coach of their AHL affiliate. Still, these three are all well-respected assistants or minor league coaches and could very well form quite the impressive trio for the Blue Jackets. In a year that is looking more and more like a rebuilding season for Columbus, they’ll be tasked with developing the young talent still in the organization and setting it up for success down the line.

Detroit Red Wings Hire Alex Tanguay

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The Detroit Red Wings have a new assistant coach, as GM Steve Yzerman announced the hiring of Alex Tanguay today. The Stanley Cup champion has spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Iowa Wild of the AHL and will now get his first chance behind an NHL bench.

Tanguay, 41, retired from a long playing career in 2016 after more than 1,000 games at the NHL level. Most of that time was spent with the Colorado Avalanche, though there were also stops with the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes. A gifted playmaker, he recorded a career-high 81 points in the 2006-07 season and finished with 580 career assists. In 2001, he scored the Cup-clinching goal with the Avalanche but would lose to the Yzerman-led Red Wings in the Western Conference Final the following year.

Now behind the bench instead of on it, Tanguay is an up-and-coming coaching prospect that will quickly make the leap to the NHL. He’ll join head coach Jeff Blashill’s staff for the 2021-22 season, replacing the outgoing Dan Bylsma, who left the club earlier this year. Blashill was clear that in the search for a replacement the team would be looking for someone that can help the powerplay, which Tanguay is obviously qualified to do. In his career, he registered 244 points with the man-advantage, picking apart defenses with quick puck movement and precision passing.

He certainly can’t make it much worse, as the Red Wings had the league’s second-worst powerplay in 2020-21. At just 11.4% effectiveness, it sagged well behind everyone except the Anaheim Ducks. Even raising it to the league average of 19.8% would have resulted in 12 more goals in the shortened season.

2021 CHL Import Draft Results

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The CHL held its annual import draft today, where teams from across the Canadian junior leagues get to select the rights of players around the world. Often these are recently drafted prospects, or those seen to have a good chance at next year’s draft. Being selected has no guarantee that the player will actually ever suit up for the team, as Filip Chytil proved in 2017. Chytil was selected seventh overall by the North Bay Battalion but ended up spending the year with the New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack after impressing in his first training camp.

There are clear benefits from picking at the top of the draft though, as the Sudbury Wolves found out in 2018-19. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the third-overall selection and ended up winning the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player. Because things in the hockey world were so unclear last season, only 66 players ended up being picked in the 2020 draft. Even selections as high as tenth overall were forfeited. This time around things will be a little different as the CHL prepares for a return to a normal schedule in 2021-22.

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Boston Bruins To Name Maine Mariners As ECHL Affiliate

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June 30: The official announcement has been made. Maine will be the new affiliate of the Boston and Providence Bruins.

June 29: The Boston Bruins are set to bring their ECHL prospect much closer to home. The Portland Press Herald’s Glenn Jordan reports that their city’s ECHL franchise, the Maine Mariners, will soon become the official affiliate of the nearest NHL team, with the Bruins expected to make an announcement on Wednesday. This will mark the end of the Mariners’ relationship with the New York Rangers, Jordan notes, as well the break-up between Boston and the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators.

This is just the latest shake-up in the ever-changing minor affiliation landscape. A relatively stable set of relationships for quite a while during the 2000’s and into the early 2010’s, the last several years have brought a number of changes to the AHL and ECHL and their associations with NHL parent clubs. Maine, a 2018 ECHL Expansion team, did not play this past season due to COVID-19 but are set to return in 2021-22 with an exciting new partnership. Ironically, Atlanta also did not play this season due to the pandemic and the Bruins sent their ECHL prospects to the Jacksonville Ice Men. Even more ironic is that Jordan reports that Jacksonville will now become the new affiliate of the Rangers in place of Maine. This will displace the Winnipeg Jets, who will need a new ECHL affiliate with the Gladiators, Allen Americans, and Norfolk Admirals to choose from. The Jets could also opt not to partner with an ECHL team, as several other NHL teams have.

There is a bit of history to this move as well. The original Maine Mariners were an AHL team from 1977 to 1992, at which time they relocated and became – the Providence Bruins. There is also a long-standing relationship between not only Boston sports teams and Maine but the Boston-Providence-Portland trifecta. The Boston Red Sox for decades housed their AAA affiliate in the Providence suburb of Pawtucket and their AA affiliate in Portland. While the Pawtucket Red Sox relocated to Worcester this year, the Portland Sea Dogs are still standing. The Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics (formerly Red Claws) also play in Portland. The Mariners will have some stiff competition for Maine’s most popular minor league team, but between the multiple iterations of the Mariners sandwiching a long run by the AHL’s Portland Pirates and previous QMJHL teams in the state, Portland has always belonged to hockey and excitement will be at a new high with the Boston affiliation.

Jonathan Toews Skating, Expects To Play In 2021-22

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This season, the Chicago Blackhawks were playing without a captain. Jonathan Toews left the club with a mysterious medical condition, one that was never explained by the organization. Now, several months later, Toews has released a video telling fans exactly why he was gone and how excited he is to get back on the ice.

So what they are calling it was Cronic Immune Response Syndrome, where I just couldn’t quite recover and my immune system was reacting to everything I did. Any kind of stress, anything I would do throughout the day, had a stress response. So I took some time. That was the frustrating part, not knowing how or when we were going to get over the hump. 

Toews is back on the ice in Chicago preparing for the 2021-22 season.

Without him, the Blackhawks finished the season with a 24-25-7 record and missed the postseason once again. It has been six years since Chicago last won a playoff round (not counting last year’s bubble qualifications), though that 2015 run ended in the Stanley Cup. The team has undergone quite a bit of transformation in that time, but the trio of Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith remain on the roster trying to reach their previous heights.

Like in Montreal, where GM Marc Bergevin explained previously that he wanted to retool in time for Shea Weber and Carey Price to still be relevant instead of complete a full rebuild, the Blackhawks seem poised to try and compete for the playoffs again in 2021-22, not tear it down. A return to form from Toews would be integral to any success, especially considering how good he has been in recent years. During the 2018-19 season he recorded a career-high 35 goals and 81 points, and in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign he added 60 points in 70 games.

Even if you hate the Blackhawks, it was hard to see Toews on the sideline and wonder what kind of medical issue he was dealing with. Hopefully, this can be put behind him or at least managed well enough to see him back on the ice next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Negotiation Notes: Larsson, Andersen, Makar, Canucks

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After locking up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to a long-term deal earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers will next turn their attention to reaching a new deal with defenseman Adam Larsson. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger in the latest edition of “Insider Trading“, that is more of a “when” than an “if” at the is point. Dreger states that the two sides are already close to a new deal and “in the final stretch” of negotiations. He expects that an extension will be reached soon. For Expansion Draft purposes, soon may not be until later next month, but a handshake agreement will do in the meantime. Larsson, 28, is one of the more stable defensemen in the NHL. If the defensive-minded right-shooter hit the open market, he would draw plenty of attention, but like Nugent-Hopkins, Larsson appears willing to settle on a deal to keep him in Edmonton with reigning Hart Trophy winners Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. So really, with RNH signed and Larsson not far behind, the Oilers may actually be focusing on external negotiations already, as Dreger notes they must add a goalie and complementary scoring forwards this summer.

  • It may come as a surprise following a career-worst season, but there is mutual interest in an extension between the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Frederik Andersen. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that agent Claude Lemieux recently met with the Maple Leafs’ brass and both sides expressed interest in a new deal, perhaps to the surprise of both. Andersen is likely not keen to enter the open market after a down year (and really many years of slow decline) when he could instead stay in familiar territory in Toronto. The Leafs also need a netminder this off-season and may be content to stick with Andersen, despite his struggles, given the play of Jack Campbell this season. LeBrun does point out that Toronto has told Andersen’s camp that he would be sharing the net with Campbell, potentially even starting out at less than 50% of starts, but Andersen is reportedly open to that arrangement.
  • Every year there is the threat of offer sheets and every year it never happens, but LeBrun notes that rumblings around the league are that Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar could be the prime candidate this summer. With the Avalanche needing to extend the First Team All-Star as well as captain Gabriel Landeskog, starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer, and top-six forward Brandon Saad, all while saving room to extend superstar Nathan MacKinnon and replace several impending UFA’s next summer, cap space is tight in Denver. If another team swooped in with an offer that Makar couldn’t refuse, it might just be too much of a handicap for the Avs. Doubtful, but possible. Colorado can eliminate the risk of an offer sheet to their young phenom if they can lock Makar up before the market opens on July 28.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are already hard at work on extension for arguably their two most important players, defenseman Quinn Hughes and center Elias Pettersson. The pair of restricted free agents are centerpiece players for the Canucks and the team will whatever it takes to keep them around as long as possible. Dreger notes that GM Jim Benning and company are meeting again this week with agents from CAA Sports, who represent both young stars. A number of possibilities are on the table for both players, including a three-year bridge deal for Pettersson in the same vein as the recent contracts of Mathew Barzal and Brayden Point. However, it seems like long-term is the ideal goal. Pettersson is reportedly open to a long-term deal like that of Mikko Rantanen, while Hughes has explored contracts with terms between four and six years.

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