With the draft and free agency almost upon us, activity around the league has started to pick up with an expectation of plenty more to come, including resolutions to trades that are reportedly in the works. Here’s a rundown of the top stories from the past seven days.
Middlemen Off The Market: This isn’t the greatest free agent crop for centers and the crop got considerably thinner over the past week with four players coming off the market. First, Montreal re-signed Sean Monahan to a one-year contract that’s worth $2MM if he meets his games played bonus, giving the veteran a chance to prove he has recovered from his injuries this past season. Then it was Buffalo’s turn as they inked long-time Sabre Zemgus Girgensons to a one-year, $2.5MM deal to keep him as a fixture in their bottom six. Erik Haula made it known that he wanted to remain with New Jersey and he got his wish, signing a three-year contract that carries a $3.15MM AAV. Then, following reports that contract talks were stalling out, Carolina and Jordan Staal were able to reach a new four-year contract, one that carries an AAV of $2.9MM and has a full no-move clause for the first three seasons.
Coyotes Make Moves: In recent years, the Coyotes have willingly taken on unwanted contracts in exchange for future assets with those players either staying on the roster or landing on injured reserve. Now, the team is changing course as they’ve parted ways with a pair of those unwanted deals, buying out defenseman Patrik Nemeth and winger Zack Kassian. The moves result in $1.833MM in dead cap for next season and $1.983MM in 2024-25. Then, Arizona opted to trade away one of their surplus selections, sending Montreal’s 2024 second-round pick to Los Angeles to acquire defenseman Sean Durzi. The 24-year-old had 38 points in his sophomore year for the Kings and could be part of the back end for the Coyotes for several years. After that, they re-upped goaltender Connor Ingram to a new three-year deal with a cap hit of $1.95MM. In 17 appearances in 2023, the 26-year-old put up a .922 SV% and if he can stay even close to that level, it could wind up being a club-friendly deal.
Johansen To Colorado: The Avalanche decided to get a head start on their center shopping as they acquired Ryan Johansen from Nashville in exchange for the rights to pending UFA forward Alex Galchenyuk. As part of the move, the Predators are retaining half of Johansen’s $8MM for the final two seasons of his contract. The 30-year-old is coming off a down season that saw him put up just 28 points in 55 games before missing the last couple of months after undergoing emergency leg surgery. However, he’s just a year removed from a 63-point campaign so Colorado is hoping that a change of scenery could give him a spark. In a move that basically amounts to acquiring him for future considerations, it’s certainly a worthwhile chance to take for them while Nashville settles for simply clearing half of his contract off their books.
Hall Of Famers: Away from the rink, the next group of Hockey Hall of Famers was announced. A total of seven people will enter the Hall next season, including builders Ken Hitchcock and Pierre Lacroix (posthumously), goaltenders Mike Vernon, Tom Barrasso, and Henrik Lundqvist, plus forwards Pierre Turgeon and Caroline Ouellette. Of the seven inductees, only Lundqvist was named in his first year of eligibility. Meanwhile, it’s the second Hall of Fame honor of the year for Ouellette who was also named to the IIHF Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Departures In Calgary? Last week, there was a belief that defenseman Noah Hanifin would be on the way out in Calgary. He might not be the only one. First, reports emerged that center Elias Lindholm hasn’t accepted a long-term extension offer from the Flames while fellow middleman Mikael Backlund may also be leaning toward leaving the team. Then, another report suggested that Tyler Toffoli isn’t likely to re-sign either. All four players are eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer but if they’re not willing to stick around, GM Craig Conroy could be busy in the coming days and weeks by sending those players to teams that they might be willing to ink new deals with.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Perplexed that Staal signed for that low of an AVV. Guess he wants to Retire as Hurricane.
Exactly right
Don’t women have there own hall of fame?
Relax Wilf. No one is going to force you to look at the HOF displays of the icky girls.
Yup. And the US has it’s own hockey hall of fame too. I don’t know about other states, but Illinois has it’s own Hockey Hall of Fame also. They have induction ceremonies and everything. It’s pretty cool. You should go if you can. The fact that those exist does not seem to dilute the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in any way.