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Evander Kane To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Edmonton Oilers already need to reverse-sweep the Colorado Avalanche in order to keep their season alive, and they now might have to accomplish that feat without one of their best wingers. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Evander Kane, the mid-season signing who has fit so well in Edmonton since his arrival, will have a hearing regarding his hit on Nazem Kadri, a boarding penalty that has knocked out Kadri for the rest of the Western Conference Final and perhaps even longer.

The hit in question happened only a minute into last night’s game. Kadri was chasing a loose puck into the Edmonton corner, and Kane was pursuing him. As Kadri began to stop to retrieve the puck which had bounced to his left, Kane shoved Kadri and Kadri went tumbling into the boards. A nearby official immediately called for a penalty, and Kane was assessed a five-minute major for boarding.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar referred to the play as “the most dangerous play in hockey,” and Kadri’s agent, Darren Ferris, took his comments a step further, calling on the league to “address the targeted hit” on his client, one that he deemed “serious and dangerously callous.” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski highlighted a different line of thinking regarding the hit, relaying a sentiment from league sources that the hit was “reckless and unfortunate but not intentional.”

Kane has a prior disciplinary history, racking up fines for elbowing and kneeing in the past as well as suspensions for things such as elbowing, cross-checking, and abuse of officials. Kane has also previously criticized the Department of Player Safety for its decisions, and it remains to be seen the effect Kane’s prior actions will have on this upcoming decision.

If Kane is suspended, the Oilers will find the prospect of scoring goals on Colorado to be even harder than it has been for the past two games. The typically lethal Oilers offense has been limited to just two goals in that time frame. Without Kane, who has been nearly goal-per-game in these playoffs with 13 in 15 games, getting back on track should be even harder.

Should the Oilers lose on Monday, this hit and likely suspension could cast a shadow on Kane’s upcoming unrestricted free agency. As mentioned, Kane has been extremely productive in these playoffs and was nearly a point-per-game player in the regular season. Interested teams will have to balance Kane’s undeniable offensive talent with his controversial off-ice reputation when considering pursuing him as a free agent. This hit and a potential upcoming suspension could end Kane’s season on a decidedly sour note before a very important summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Update On Ottawa Senators Goalies

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The Ottawa Senators enter next season with the intention of competing for a playoff spot. Pierre Dorion referred to this past season as a “big step in the right direction” during his end-of-season media availability, and is reportedly even considering dealing the seventh-overall pick for more immediate help.

But perhaps the biggest reason the Senators can be optimistic about their playoff odds for next season is the emergence of goaltender Anton Forsberg as a legitimate number-one option. Forsberg, 29, played in 46 games last season, going 22-17-4 with a .917 save percentage and 2.82 goals-against average. Forsberg had been a third goalie and backup for most of his career to that point and had been claimed off of waivers three times en route to his Ottawa breakout. The Senators rewarded Forsberg for his strong play, signing him to a three-year $2.75MM AAV contract.

The emergence of Forsberg as the Senators’ starting goaltender could not have come at a better time given the decline of the previous starter, Matt Murray. Murray has had a nightmarish time as a Senator since signing a four-year, $25MM extension. He has gotten into only 47 games and has posted a combined .899 save percentage and 3.46 goals-against average over two seasons in Ottawa. Murray also cleared waivers with the Senators, indicating how far his value has fallen since he won back-to-back Stanley Cups as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But despite Forsberg clearly displacing Murray as the Senators’ starter, the Senators’ goaltending situation does not figure to be a simple one going into next season. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that there is a “strong possibility” that the Senators will take the unorthodox route of carrying three goaltenders on their active roster next season. The three goaltenders would presumably be Forsberg, Murray, and the young Filip Gustavsson, who is still only 23 years old but is set to be waiver-eligible next season.

While carrying three goalies on their roster is by no means illegal or against any rules for the Senators to do, it is unconventional. It is generally believed to be an arrangement that most goaltenders find uncomfortable, and since goaltenders develop best when they see consistent game action, one has to wonder if fighting two other goalies for starts is the best developmental environment for Gustavsson.

Those concerns won’t be nearly as loud, though, if the Senators can find a way to deliver on the team’s promise of returning to contention. Winning can be the ultimate cure for awkward roster situations, so with that in mind, the Senators have to hope that Forsberg repeats last season’s performance and Murray can repeat his early 2022 form that saw him post a .924 save percentage in January and a .943 in February.

Looking at it optimistically, if the Senators do indeed carry three goalies and the trio can manage to play well, perhaps the arrangement can help keep each goalie rested and consistent throughout the 82-game grind that is the regular season. Regardless of what the Senators choose to do with their goalies at the start of the season, though, the deciding factor on whether the team will carry three goalies for a full 82-game slate will be the performances of the goalies themselves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Chicago Blackhawks Offseason

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been clear about the direction of their franchise under GM Kyle Davidson, both through words and actions. Davidson himself has not been shy about using the term “rebuild” to describe the state of the organization, and it became completely clear that the team was in fact rebuilding when they traded Brandon Hagel, a young, cheap, productive player to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a package of picks and young players.

Hagel, who doesn’t turn 24 until late August, is the sort of player most tend to believe that a rebuilding club should be building around, rather than trading. But by trading him, it became obvious that the Blackhawks were taking an extremely long-term approach to maximizing their eventual window of contention. The team’s front office seems to be operating with the intention of stockpiling as many draft picks and high-upside young players as possible, and they enter the offseason with a clean slate of possibilities to help them further that goal.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, there could be even more Hagel-type trades this summer. Friedman states that Davidson and the Blackhawks are “testing the value” of any and all of their players “other than Seth Jones, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews,” the three players on the team with full no-move clauses. Per his report, the Blackhawks will listen to offers for any player that other teams want to inquire about, and  the possibility of making a trade comes down to whether another team can “make an offer that makes [the Blackhawks] want to seriously think about it.”

While it remains to be seen if the Blackhawks’ testing the trade market for most of their players actually ends up materializing in any trades, it’s clear from this report that the Blackhawks will continue to fully embrace the rebuild without any major reservation. Notable names including star winger Alex DeBrincat, former third overall pick Kirby Dach, and reliable defenseman Connor Murphy were not mentioned along with Toews, Kane, and Jones as being off the table, highlighting just how deep the team’s apparent commitment to a rebuild could be.

For contending teams, having such high-quality names available for trade is a unique opportunity. For any team willing to pay the significant asset cost it will likely take to acquire any of these names, they could get a player in return that they would not typically have the chance to acquire. Teams like the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils, owners of the seventh and second picks, respectively, at next month’s entry draft have flirted with the possibility of dealing their number-one picks for a difference-making star player, so could they be in hot pursuit of a player like DeBrincat, who scored 41 goals and is only 24 years old? Moreover, are the Blackhawks more motivated to add one of those picks due to the fact that their 2022 first-rounder belongs to the Blue Jackets as part of last summer’s Jones trade?

Those are all questions that could be answered by the Blackhawks this summer. It’s possible that the Blackhawks may not ultimately receive the”Hagel-like” offers on their players that would lead them to finalizing a deal, but it’s also possible that they might receive transformational offers with the potential to considerably speed up their rebuilding process. While we don’t at this moment know what will end up happening with the Blackhawks and their crop of on-the-market veteran players, we do know that the status of the team and those players will be one of the top storylines to follow this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nazem Kadri Leaves Game With Injury, Out Rest Of Series

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June 5th: After last night’s 4-2 Colorado Avalanche win, coach Jared Bednar announced that Nazem Kadri would be “out the rest of the series” against the Oilers and “possibly longer” in case the Avalanche advance to the Stanley Cup final. Kadri reportedly left Rogers Place with his arm in a cast, as well. While we are awaiting full confirmation on the exact nature of Kadri’s injury, it’s clear this will be a significant one for Kadri and the Avalanche, and a play that Evander Kane may need to answer to the Department of Player Safety for. Kadri’s agent, Darren Ferris, relayed extreme unhappiness about his client’s injury to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh, stating:

I think it’s incumbent on the league to address this targeted hit on Nazem with an appropriate suspension. If they don’t address such a serious and dangerously callus hit, shame on them.

It’s unclear at this time whether Kane will face discipline for the hit, but we should get more information on that relatively soon. The Avalanche now have a commanding 3-0 series lead and are on the cusp of capturing the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and heading to the Stanley Cup Final. Any discipline handed down to Kane may not end up making a major difference in the series and the Avalanche’s season, but Kadri’s absence likely will. He’s been one of the team’s most important players and is someone they have to hope will be ready for Game One of the Stanley Cup Final, should the Avalanche manage to qualify.

June 4th: Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri was forced to leave Game Three of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers just a minute into the action after taking a hit from Edmonton’s Evander Kane into the boards. Kane was assessed a five minute major for boarding on the play, but was not ejected from the game. Kadri remained on the ice next to the end boards for several minutes before being helped off the ice.

After the play, referees Wes McCauley and Eric Furlatt conferred to discuss the call, initially ruling it a major penalty before reviewing the play, ultimately confirming their call. Losing Kadri for any stretch of time is a massive blow to the Avalanche, who are now without one of their premier offensive and defensive forwards and their second line center. On top of losing one of their most important players, Colorado will also have to play without a forward for nearly the entire game, unless Kadri should return. Though teams regularly play with 11 forwards in the lineup, they do so with seven defensemen dressed. On the same note, Edmonton came into the game dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen, so the decision not to eject Kane from the game is a major relief for the Oilers.

The 2021-22 season has been nothing short of spectacular for Kadri, who amassed 87 points in just 71 games in the regular season, not missing a beat in the playoffs, putting up 14 points in 12 games coming into tonight. Colorado currently holds a 2-0 lead over Edmonton in the Western Conference Finals, giving them some room to breathe, however the team has not been this far in the playoffs in two decades and still must close out the series before winning another if they would like to clinch a Stanley Cup, and Kadri’s presence in the lineup could be imperative to doing so.

Jim Nill Discusses Robertson And Oettinger’s Next Contracts

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Recently, Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill discussed with the media the upcoming negotiations he has on the table with impending RFAs Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger (link):

“We’ll have to see what they’re looking for. The cap’s been a flat cap. They might look at it, their representatives might look at it different that the cap’s going to go up. Is it going to jump another 6, 7, 8% over the next four or five years? Are they better to go short term? Those are things that we’re going to have to walk through to see what works.”

Nill’s comments appear to suggest that on one hand, if the players’ representatives see the current flat salary cap as something that won’t go up reliably, they could take a safe approach, resulting in a long-term contract. On the other hand, if either player sees the salary cap rising significantly or reliably coming out of the flat cap, then a bridge-deal leaving them with UFA status as the cap begins to expand could be another smart option.

A long-term deal at a reasonably higher AAV could be an option either way, as it would guarantee something both sides want regardless of the cap situation. If that were the case, it could put Dallas in a tricky cap situation during the flat-cap years, but could be a favorable deal thereafter, and regardless, it locks up a franchise cornerstone player for the long haul. For the player, if the salary cap did expand, they would still have the benefit of a guaranteed long-term contract which could pay them, based on the result of the negotiation, more than they may have made during their RFA seasons.

To state the obvious, Robertson and Oettinger are not everyday RFAs for Dallas. A first-round pick in 2017, Oettinger made an immediate impact for Dallas in his debut for the Stars last season, following it up with another standout performance in 2021-22. The 2022 playoffs were Oettinger’s true introduction to the NHL though, as he almost single-handedly eliminated the Calgary Flames in the first round, playing to an incredible 1.81 goals-against average and .954 save-percentage in seven games. The start to Oettinger’s career sounds remarkably similar to that of Matt Murray, who had a strong, but quiet debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015-16 before bursting onto the scene in the 2016 playoffs, dominating for the Penguins en route to a Stanley Cup. Murray would follow it up with a strong showing in his first full season in the 2016-17 regular season and playoffs before signing a three-year, $11.25MM contract with Pittsburgh. If Oettinger were to take a bridge deal while waiting out the flat cap, one could expect it to look similar to this. Best yet for Oettinger is after Murray failed to replicate his early success during the life of that contract, he still was able to sign a four-year, $25MM deal after being dealt to the Ottawa Senators, signing before the 2020-21 season.

Impressive as Oettinger’s breakout was, Jason Robertson arguably stole the show. Dallas’ second-round pick in 2017, Robertson debuted for three games in 2019-20 before a strong rookie season in 2020-21, where he tallied 17 goals and 28 assists in 51 games. Already established as a key piece for Dallas, Robertson became a superstar in 2021-22, scoring 41 goals to go with 38 assists in just 74 games, adding another four points in seven playoff contests before hitting the RFA market. Like Oettinger, Robertson has put himself in a strong position going forward, but must decide how to approach the negotiations, considering the state of the salary cap.

As the above-mentioned article suggests, Robertson could go for the shorter bridge deal, potentially leading to a cap hit of $7MM, but could find himself with a cap hit as high as $9MM should he agree to a long-term deal. New York Islanders’ forward Mat Barzal signed a three-year bridge deal worth $7MM prior to the 2020-21 season. Though Robertson’s 2021-22 season was stronger than Barzal’s 2019-20, Barzal did have three years of success, including an 85-point rookie season, as well as significant playoff experience, as compared to Robertson’s two full seasons of overall similar quality to Barzal.

Looking at a long-term contract, there isn’t much precedent for a contract in the $9MM AAV range for players coming off of their entry-level contract. Kyle Connor signed a seven-year contract with an AAV just shy of $7.15MM after back-to-back 57 and 66 point seasons and Nick Suzuki signed an eight-year contract with an AAV of $7.875MM after 41 points in 71 games in his rookie season and another 41 points in a lesser 56 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Notably, Suzuki also produced an outstanding 23 points in 32 playoff games over those two seasons. Going the other way, Mitch Marner signed for six-years at just over $10.9MM per season after 94 points in 82 games the season prior; this season, Robertson was on pace for 87 points over 82 games. Unlike Robertson, Marner began his career with 61 and 69 point seasons. With no perfect comparison to Robertson, taking the history of these three comparable players shows that a long-term deal for Robertson in the $9MM AAV range is certainly within reason.

After an impressive playoff performance, Nill will have plenty on his plate this offseason to help a Stars organization complete with a mix of veteran and young talent take the next step and ultimately transition it from the veteran core to the young core. The first of these steps will be a big one, necessitated by these two big RFA contracts.

Larry Hillman Passes Away At 85

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Former NHL defenseman and Stanley Cup Champion Larry Hillman has passed away, confirm the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hillman was 85 years old. The Maple Leafs released the following statement following his passing:

“We are deeply saddened to learn the passing of Larry Hillman. Larry played in the National Hockey League between 1955 and 1973 and had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup six times, including four with the Maple Leafs in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. An active member of our alumni, Larry was a gentleman with a warm and generous smile. He was a proud husband, father and family man. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.”

Not the household name of some of his Stanley Cup teammates, Hillman made a long career for himself, spanning 22 seasons, as a reliable, shutdown defenseman for his teams. The defenseman began his career in 1954-55 with the Detroit Red Wings as a teenager, a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup. After parts of three seasons with Detroit, Hillman was claimed on waivers by the Boston Bruins, where he would play parts of three more seasons before again being claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hillman would spend the next eight seasons in Toronto, helping the team to four Stanley Cups.

After leaving Toronto, Hillman would bounce around for five seasons, spending time with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and Buffalo Sabres. Prior to the 1973-74 season, a 36-year-old Hillman would depart the NHL for the rival WHA, where he spent three seasons, the first two with the Cleveland Crusaders, and finally with the Winnipeg Jets, then of the WHA. All told, Hillman played 789 games in the NHL over 19 seasons, tallying 36 goals and 196 assists along with 565 penalty minutes. Hillman also had a brief coaching career, spending two seasons as the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, compiling a record of 78 wins, 55 losses and eight ties in two seasons behind the bench for the Jets, still of the WHA.

Everyone at PHR sends their condolences to Hillman’s loved ones.

Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

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Free agency is now less than six weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Let’s begin with a look at the Jets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Pierre-Luc Dubois: After a bit of an underwhelming first year with Winnipeg, Dubois was much more impactful this past season, sliding in nicely into the center spot on the second line for a good chunk of the campaign while also playing up when Mark Scheifele was injured.  The end result was numbers that were comparable to his sophomore season with Columbus as he put up 28 goals (a career high) and 32 assists in 81 games.  The 23-year-old is only two years away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency since he started in the NHL at 18 and is owed a $6MM qualifying offer next month.  Dubois is poised to land more than that if he gets to an arbitration hearing on a one-year award while a long-term contract that buys out his prime UFA years could push him closer to the $7.5MM mark.

F Mason Appleton: After a strong showing in 2020-21, Appleton was a widely-expected choice for Seattle in expansion but things didn’t go as well with the Kraken.  That resulted in him being moved back to Winnipeg at the trade deadline but he still scuffled offensively.  In the end, a platform season of 21 points in 68 games isn’t great but it should still be more than enough to push for a small increase on his qualifying offer of $945K, especially since this is his last year of RFA eligibility.  A long-term contract isn’t likely but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Winnipeg try to sign a multi-year pact and gain another year or two of team control in the process.

F Evgeny Svechnikov: The 25-year-old finally got a full NHL season under his belt and held his own in limited minutes, collecting 19 points in 72 games.  That’s not why he’s mentioned here, however.  As teams look to keep costs down on their end-of-roster players (something the Jets have done the last few years), Svechnikov’s arbitration eligibility looms large.  It’s not that an award would be over-the-top expensive (likely around the $1MM range) but depending on what happens with Dubois, Winnipeg is likely to have to get quite thrifty with their last few roster spots and an extra few hundred thousand may be more than they can afford which makes him a potential non-tender candidate.

Other RFAs: G Philippe Desrosiers, D Leon Gawanke, F David Gustafsson, F Jansen Harkins, D Johnathan Kovacevic, F Jeff Malott, D Markus Phillips

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Eric Comrie: Last summer, Winnipeg’s cap situation forced them to have to go with a backup making the minimum salary so Comrie got the nod and had his first full NHL season as a result, albeit with limited minutes.  He made the most of his playing time though, posting a SV% (.920) that was ten points higher than Connor Hellebuyck and a GAA (2.58) that was 39 points better than Hellebuyck.  While no one is going to argue that Comrie should be making the $6.166MM that Hellebuyck is getting, he has positioned himself to command much more than the minimum on the open market.  His limited track record will keep him out of the range of the top backups (around $4MM) but half of that could certainly be attainable.

F Paul Stastny: The 36-year-old was largely under the radar this season but he had a solid year, chipping in with 21 goals and 24 assists in 71 games which is solid second-line production.  Between that and being consistently above average at the faceoff dot, there should be a fairly strong market for Stastny if he makes it to free agency.  He took a pay cut to stay with the Jets last summer, dropping down to $3.75MM and it wouldn’t be surprising to see teams offer more than that on a one-year deal.  However, it’s possible that Stastny decides to take less to go to a contender as well as some veterans do.  He’s eligible for incentives in his contract as long as it’s a one-year deal which could be an option to keep the 2022-23 charge down which would help those contending teams.  Once Dubois signs his new contract, it will be difficult for the Jets to afford to keep him in the fold.

F Zach Sanford: He underwhelmed after joining Winnipeg at the trade deadline but there will be a decent market for the 27-year-old.  While he’s not enough of a reliable offensive threat to play in the top six, he chips in at a reasonable enough clip for a depth player while providing plenty of physicality.  That’s something plenty of teams will have interest in although Sanford may be hard-pressed to make more than the $2MM he received this season coming off a bit of a down season.

Other UFAs: F Adam Brooks, F Luke Johnson, F Austin Poganski, F C.J. Suess

Projected Cap Space

At the moment, Winnipeg has a little over $18MM in wiggle room under the salary cap although they have to re-sign half of a forward group, a backup goalie, and a depth defenseman with those funds.  There’s a good chance over 40% of that will go to Dubois which doesn’t leave GM Kevin Cheveldayoff a lot of room to try to add another impact piece to their roster.  If they largely stick with their current core and don’t make a trade or two to shake things up, they’ll be relying on their new head coach to help take this team back to playoff contention.

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

Central Notes: Dach, Beaudin, Borgstrom, Merrill

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It wasn’t a particularly good season for Blackhawks center Kirby Dach as he had just 26 points in 70 games, hardly what they were expecting from the third-overall pick in 2019 in his third NHL season.  However, as Scott Powers of The Athletic points out (subscription link), Chicago will at least benefit from some internal cap flexibility as his next contract will check in lower than the $5MM or so they were believed to be internally estimating.  Now, the 21-year-old is a prime candidate for a two-year bridge deal, one that will allow both sides more time to see if Dach can live up to his potential.  While his draft status will boost the price tag a little bit, that contract should be closer to the $3MM range, giving GM Kyle Davidson a bit more wiggle room this summer than he was anticipating at this time a year ago.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Still with Chicago, the Blackhawks could look to move a pair of youngsters in forward Henrik Borgstrom and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin, suggests Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Borgstrom underachieved in his first season back in the NHL, notching just seven points in 52 games while being a frequent scratch which will limit his value to a strict change of scenery swap for another underachiever.  Beaudin, however, is a bit more notable as it wasn’t long ago that he was viewed as a piece of Chicago’s future back end.  But he struggled considerably with AHL Rockford this season, notching just 16 points in 66 games (hardly ideal for someone that was an offensive blueliner in the QMJHL) while being scratched for all but one of their playoff games.  Both players have one year left on their contracts with Borgstrom making $1MM on a one-way deal and Beaudin $863K on his entry-level pact.
  • While Minnesota has provided injury updates on some of their players, they haven’t done so yet for defenseman Jon Merrill who has undergone surgery for an upper-body injury sustained during his first game (and shift) at the Worlds. However, Michael Russo of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the blueliner is expected to be out longer than the six-week period given for winger Mats Zuccarello and defender Jared Spurgeon for their surgeries.  Merrill had a good first year for the Wild in a depth role, picking up 20 points in 69 games, earning himself a three-year extension midseason as a reward.

Oilers Expected To Terminate Ilya Konovalov’s Contract

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Oilers prospect Ilya Konovalov hasn’t had a great first season in North America and it appears he won’t be getting a second one as Dynamo Moscow’s GM Alexei Sopin told Championat’s Sergei Yemelanov that an agreement is in place to bring the netminder back to the KHL next season.  The move is pending a contract termination from Edmonton which is expected to come once their playoff run comes to an end.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of Edmonton back in 2019, going 85th overall.  He remained with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL for two seasons after being picked before opting to come to North America for this season.  However, Konovalov was limited to just 17 games with AHL Bakersfield this season, posting a 2.73 GAA with a save percentage of just .893.  He was briefly up with Edmonton on their taxi squad but didn’t get into any NHL action.

This move has been in the works for a while as last month, Dynamo Moscow traded for Konovalov’s rights at the beginning of the KHL’s transactions window.  Assuming the termination goes through as planned which should come sometime later this month, Edmonton will lose Konovalov’s NHL rights but free up a contract slot.  They’d also clear out the logjam in the AHL crease with both Olivier Rodrigue and recent college signing Ryan Fanti already under contract for next season.

Hurricanes Notes: Staal, Necas, Bear

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Once the 2022-23 NHL calendar year opens up at the start of free agency, many players on expiring contracts will be hoping to work out early extensions to stay with their current team.  However, Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal told NHL.com’s Kurt Dusterberg that he won’t be among those looking to get an extension done:

I’m going to ride out this contract. Eleven years is a long time here, and it’s been special. I’m going to ride it out next year and hopefully finish with a bang and go from there.

The 33-year-old will play his eleventh season with the Hurricanes next season and has seen his production start to drop a bit in recent years although he still managed to put up 17 goals and 19 assists in 78 contests in 2021-22.  One thing to consider is that Staal is unlikely to command the $6MM AAV that he’s making on his current deal which also lessens the need to get a deal done right away.  He’ll enter next season in a similar role to the one he had this year as a two-way center and faceoff specialist.

More from Carolina:

  • Martin Necas has been viewed as one of the building blocks for Carolina but Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer suggests that the team should look into trading the forward and bring in a winger with a more proven track record of production to replace him. Necas had 40 points in 78 games this season which was a step back from the 41 he had in just 53 contests in 2020-21; his point per game rate was the lowest of his three full professional campaigns.  That said, the 23-year-old pending restricted free agent can play down the middle so if GM Don Waddell decides to put Necas in play, there should be considerable interest in him on the trade front.
  • Defenseman Ethan Bear underwent minor foot surgery following their playoff elimination, notes Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes’ team website. While the 24-year-old was officially termed as a healthy scratch in the postseason, the fact he had a procedure immediately after suggests that wasn’t the case.  It was a tough first year in Carolina for Bear who had just 14 points in 58 games while averaging barely 16 minutes a night, nearly three minutes below his career average.  Between that, a $2.4MM qualifying offer, and salary arbitration eligibility, Bear should be considered as a non-tender candidate when offers are due early next month.

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