Archives for June 2023

Connor Hellebuyck Reportedly Unwilling To Sign Extension With Jets

June 10, 2023 at 1:02 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 24 Comments

It’s shaping up to be a summer of potential big change in Winnipeg. With Pierre-Luc Dubois’ camp indicating that the center does not want to come back next season, one move of note could potentially be made sooner than later. Meanwhile, it appears Connor Hellebuyck could also be in play as Pierre LeBrun, Eric Duhatschek, and Michael Russo of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the ship has sailed on the idea of the goaltender signing a new contract with the Jets.

The 30-year-old is entering the final season of a six-year, $37MM contract signed back in 2018, one that has worked out quite nicely for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck has established himself as a premier netminder in the NHL in recent years but finds himself well below the top earners in the NHL – Carey Price ($10.5MM), Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM), and Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5MM). That’s expected to change next summer when he’s set to reach unrestricted free agency for the first time.

Hellebuyck led the NHL in games played this season for the fourth time out of the last six years. Despite the heavy workload, he posted his lowest GAA in five years (2.49) while finishing tied for fourth in SV% (.920). On top of that, this was the first time since 2017-18 that he didn’t lead the NHL in shots faced and saves, finishing third and second respectively in those categories. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, he wasn’t as sharp in the playoffs which helped play a role in their quick elimination at the hands of Vegas.

In his exit meeting with the media back in April, Hellebuyck indicated that his primary goal is to go after a Stanley Cup. Based on this report, the veteran has determined that it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to do so with Winnipeg, especially with the future of several core players in the air. On top of Dubois, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler are also one year away from unrestricted free agency which means the turnover could come quickly.

There are a few routes that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could elect to take here. One is to wait out the summer market and go with Hellebuyck between the pipes to start next season with an eye on moving him closer to the trade deadline. Such an approach isn’t without its risks but if a few teams feel that a goalie of his caliber could be the final piece of the puzzle, there could be a strong bidding war for his services. At that point, Winnipeg might be more willing to retain salary to help facilitate a swap which would only help his value. On the flip side, if they’re in contention, they could opt to keep him although the odds of that happening at this point seem fairly low.

Alternatively, if the Jets opt to move him now, they can either move him strictly as a rental or as part of an extend-and-trade agreement where Winnipeg could presumably resume a slightly better return in exchange for allowing the acquiring team to work a new deal out with him. While there will be some teams interested in both options, there could be others who might prefer Hellebuyck as a strict one-year rental to avoid paying top dollar for a netminder in 2024-25 and beyond. Similarly, other teams might not want to pay the top price in a swap unless it’s not a one-year rental. Either way, the interest is certain to be strong.

If Cheveldayoff does opt for a move this summer, it will need to come fairly soon. While the position player market can sometimes drag out, that typically isn’t the case for goalies as by the time the second day of free agency rolls around, most teams have their goaltenders set while many teams won’t have enough cap room remaining to bring in a pricey contract. If that holds true, that would mean that the window for a Hellebuyck trade is within the next three weeks. With a Dubois swap also seeming likely to take place within that timeframe, the Jets are certainly going to be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Dubois, Stars, Blues Assistants

June 10, 2023 at 11:58 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

The Pierre-Luc Dubois situation in Winnipeg is certainly far from desirable with reports indicating his camp has told the Jets that he has no desire to re-sign with them for his final year of RFA eligibility next season. To that end, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests that the team needs to look inward to determine why a player in the prime of his career with an opportunity for an even bigger role next season (if Mark Scheifele is moved) is so fixated on leaving. It was a rough season for the Jets this season who went from leading the Central Division to barely squeaking into a Wild Card spot before being the first team out of the playoffs, leading to head coach Rick Bowness publicly calling the team out at the end of the series. In essence, moving out Dubois is only one part of the picture while determining and fixing the root causes of the discontent could be the biggest part of the summer for Winnipeg.

Elsewhere in the Central:

When he met with the media earlier this week (video link), Stars GM Jim Nill indicated that he’s hoping to leave himself some more cap flexibility to start next season. Dallas was among the teams that shuffled players to and from the minors to bank a few extra thousand dollars in cap room here and there which didn’t leave them much flexibility to work with at the trade deadline. Acknowledging that free agency isn’t the deepest this summer, Nill feels that a trade is their best chance at making an impact addition which would require them to bank a lot more cap room in-season than they have been. That said, it’s a lofty goal as they have a little over $7MM in space at the moment per CapFriendly with likely five forward spots to fill including RFA Ty Dellandrea.
The Blues are hoping to fill their two assistant coach vacancies by the end of the month, notes Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM Doug Armstrong recently indicated that the process is now in the hands of head coach Craig Berube to pare down the candidates. It’s expected that they will hire a defense coach to take the place of Mike Van Ryn but Armstrong suggested that St. Louis could look to take a different route when trying to fill Craig MacTavish’s open spot and are considering a skills or development coach for that role. Assistant Steve Ott and goalie coach David Alexander remain in their roles from this season.

Offseason Checklist: Boston Bruins

June 10, 2023 at 10:29 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 11 Comments

The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams that still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. It’s time to examine what those eliminated squads will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Boston.

It was an all-in year for the Bruins as they structured some contracts to buy them more flexibility this year at a high cost for next season. That flexibility allowed them to make two significant additions at the trade deadline, setting the Presidents’ Trophy-winning club up for what they thought would be a long playoff run. Instead, they weren’t able to pick up the final victory of their first-round series against Florida, providing an early exit and questions about what comes next. If GM Don Sweeney intends to keep this team in contention, he’ll have some work to do in the coming weeks.

Create Cap Space

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The Bruins are carrying over a significant bonus overage penalty into next season from the bonus-laden deals they handed Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci last summer. David Pastrnak’s AAV jumped up by more than $4.5MM while Pavel Zacha added $1.25MM on his new deal compared to 2022-23.

What’s the end result of this? They have over $78.5MM in commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly, and that’s with at least six roster spots needing to be filled. If all of those players signed for the minimum, they could squeak by from a cap perspective. However, one of their restricted free agents alone could basically gobble up the less than $5MM in space they have left.

As a result, Sweeney is going to have to find ways to clear up space and might need to move multiple players to do so. We’ll look at some of those options throughout this article but if there isn’t a move to be made with some of those players, they’ll have to look at moving other pieces out. They simply don’t have a choice, Boston has to free up money in the next few weeks.

Goaltending Decisions

Lost in the fact that Linus Ullmark had quite the season in goal for Boston was the fact that Jeremy Swayman also had a very strong year as well, improving upon his numbers from 2021-22. Frankly, that might be underselling it as he finished fourth in the NHL in both GAA (2.27) and SV% (.920). That’s a nice way to head into his first trip through restricted free agency. To make matters better for him, the 24-year-old is also eligible for salary arbitration.

The market for second contracts for young goalies without a lot of NHL experience has shot up in recent years. Carter Hart received three years at $3.979MM after just 101 games. Jake Oettinger received three years at $4MM after only 77 regular season games (plus a strong showing in the 2022 playoffs). Spencer Knight received three years with a $4.5MM AAV after only 36 games played. Oettinger and Knight’s contracts were signed within the last year so these are recent comparables to work with. On top of things, it’s also worth pointing out that Swayman’s career numbers are better than what any of these three had at the time they signed their bridge contracts.

Those three contracts should give Sweeney a good idea of what Swayman will cost on his next contract. Basically, all their cap space, give or take a few hundred thousand. Can Boston afford that? Not really as things stand.

As a result, there are some decisions to be made. When determining who to trim from the roster to create cap space for, is it worth doing it to maintain an elite tandem with Ullmark, even though it would cost around $10MM for the two of them? Considering that top goaltending can help overcome some offensive challenges, there’s certainly a case to be made that doing so would be wise.

But if the answer to that question is no, then the question becomes who moves? It’d be hard to move on from Ullmark, the likely Vezina Trophy winner. He’ll turn 30 late last month so is he their goalie of the future? Or should Swayman, who has three years of control left, be the one to keep? Both would command strong interest but losing one of them would certainly hurt their short-term fortunes. The amount of cap space could also be limited since a decent backup would cost at least $2MM, likely more. Considering the goaltending market typically shakes out quickly, the Bruins will need to decide which path they plan to take fairly quickly.

Get Center Help

This season, Boston had strong depth down the middle led by veterans Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who returned to the NHL after spending a season back home. Bergeron finished third in the team in scoring and Krejci fifth, a nice return on a combined base cap hit of $3.5MM. Of course, there were $4.5MM in bonuses, all of which were easily met and with the Bruins spending the season over the cap, that triggered the carryover penalty. Both veterans are set to become unrestricted free agents once again this summer and while there’s little concern that they’ll sign elsewhere, it remains to be seen if one or both are willing to return for another year, 20 for Bergeron and 17 for Krejci.

If both decide to give it another go, they’re likely to sign similarly-structured contracts to the ones they played on, allowing Boston to kick some of the cost over to 2024-25. However, it’d only be kicking the problem down the road as organizationally, they need to add at least one longer-term middleman. Pavel Zacha had a career year this season and could slide back to center but when he was with New Jersey, he struggled to produce so it’s hardly a guarantee he’ll be able to back up his 57-point campaign. Charlie Coyle is a capable secondary center but not a true top-liner at this stage of his career so he shouldn’t be the solution on the top line either.

If the Bruins want to look outside the organization, it will be tricky to land a replacement with their inability to afford a market-value contract. There aren’t any true top options in free agency and if they want to look to the trade market (perhaps to Winnipeg for one of their middlemen), they don’t have much in the way of top picks at their disposal. Their first available first-round pick is in 2025 while their next second-rounder is in 2026. Prospect-wise, their pool isn’t the strongest thanks to moving out several good draft picks to help keep them in contention.

It won’t be easy to acquire one and it will be hard to afford it in their cap structure but there is a definite need down the middle to address this summer whether it’s bringing back their long-term veterans or looking elsewhere. One way or the other, Sweeney is going to have to try to find a way to accomplish this.

Move A Blueliner

One way that Boston can try to create some cap space is to move a defenseman or two. As things stand, they have nearly $31MM committed to seven rearguards for next season. No other team has that much money committed to their back end. By the time you add in Ullmark’s $5MM AAV and Swayman’s likely number near that amount, it looks like the Bruins could have half of next year’s cap committed to non-forwards. That would certainly be a risky proposition.

Beyond Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, it’s plausible that any of their other defensemen could be in play. Mike Reilly is someone they’d certainly want to move after he spent most of the year at AHL Providence although they’ll likely have to incentivize a team to take him or take a similarly-sized contract back which wouldn’t help their cap situation. He has one year left at $3MM. Derek Forbort is another pending UFA who can still hold his own on the third pairing but $3MM for someone in that slot is on the pricey side given their cap situation. Even moving Jakub Zboril, another 2024 UFA, for someone making the league minimum would free up a little over $300K.

As for the other pending UFA out of this group, Matt Grzelcyk is one to watch for. He was a top-four piece not long ago but has dropped into more of a depth role and found himself on the bench at times in the playoffs. He’s still a capable blueliner but again, he’s on the pricey side for the role he was in down the stretch. The expected departure of Dmitry Orlov could put him back on the second pairing but it still wouldn’t be surprising to see Sweeney try to find him a new home.

Brandon Carlo is the other regular that hasn’t been mentioned. With four years left at $4.1MM, his contract is certainly reasonable for a second-pairing defender although he’s not exactly the type of blueliner that’s going to jump in the play and contribute much offensively. In an ideal world, Boston would probably want to keep him but if they find themselves having to trade for a center, Carlo would be one of their more asked-about trade chips in such a scenario so moving him can’t be ruled out either.

For now, the Bruins have the costliest defense in the NHL. It seems unlikely that will still be the case in October when the 2023-24 campaign gets underway.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canadiens Notes: Montembeault, Hart, Monahan, Galipeau

June 10, 2023 at 9:28 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

A year ago, Samuel Montembeault was just getting through his first full NHL season, one that didn’t go all that well with the Canadiens finishing dead last. As a result, he didn’t have much leverage in contract talks, ultimately signing a two-year, $2MM deal, one that takes him straight to UFA eligibility in 2024. Now, following an improved campaign and a strong showing at the World Championship last month, his trajectory is on the upswing. The 26-year-old is eligible to sign a contract extension as of July 1st and speaking with reporters earlier this week (video link), GM Kent Hughes indicated that he’s open to trying to work out a new deal quickly with his netminder. Montembeault posted a 3.42 GAA with a .901 SV% in 40 games this season so his next contract shouldn’t break the bank but he has positioned himself to at least double his $1MM AAV whenever he signs his next deal.

Columbus Blue Jackets Had Interest In Colton Parayko

June 9, 2023 at 8:58 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 5 Comments

In a somewhat stunning series of moves, the Columbus Blue Jackets went out and got two top-four caliber defenders on the trade market this week in Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. Considering how early in the offseason they made these moves, it’s clear that upgrading on defense has been a priority of general manager Jarmo Kekalainen’s for quite some time.

Late Friday night, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported the Blue Jackets had also set their sights on Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues, likely as a backup plan in case one of the two transactions they pulled off fell through.

The imposing 6-foot-6 defender is one of the big trade bait pieces on the board this offseason – along with many other of his Blues teammates on defense. It could be a tough transaction to make for St. Louis, though, as the injury-prone 30-year-old is still locked in at a $6.5MM cap hit for seven (yes, seven) more seasons and carries full trade protection.

It hasn’t dissuaded teams from calling, though, as Pagnotta said Columbus isn’t the only team to have demonstrated interest in Parayko’s services so far this offseason. The right-shot D-man’s prospective spot in the Columbus lineup surely disappeared after acquiring Severson this morning, as the team still needs space in the lineup to ice youngsters Adam Boqvist and David Jiricek on the right side.

If a team is to make a successful trade for Parayko, it would surely involve a third-party team to retain some salary. That’s where concerns surrounding his term come in, though – how many assets would the team trading for Parayko need to pay a broker like the Chicago Blackhawks to be on the hook for seven more seasons of Parayko’s deal, even at a marginal cap hit? Few teams would anticipate not spending close to the cap for that stretch of time.

Los Angeles Kings Appoint Mike Buckley As Goalie Coach

June 9, 2023 at 6:44 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 3 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings announced today that Mike Buckley has been named the team’s NHL goaltending coach. He joins the staff of head coach Todd McLellan, serving alongside assistants Trent Yawney, Jim Hiller, Derik Johnson, and video coach Samson Lee.

Buckley replaces Bill Ranford, who had held the role for nearly two decades since his hire in 2006. The Kings promoted Ranford to a director of goaltending position, giving him more oversight and responsibility for the organization’s usage and development in the position.

The 46-year-old Buckley brings a wealth of experience to the Kings but has spent the last two NHL seasons as a free agent. He did, however, spend eight seasons (2013 to 2021) with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Initially joining them as a goaltending development coach, he was later promoted to the position of head goaltending coach in 2017.

That means Buckley was a central figure in the development of Matt Murray, who helped guide the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2016 and 2017. Murray combined for a 22-10 record, 1.95 goals-against average, .928 save percentage, and four shutouts during the playoff runs.

As the Kings note, Buckley’s track record extends beyond the NHL. He’s been recognized at the minor-league level, where the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins won three Hap Holmes Memorial Awards for the lowest regular-season goals-against average during his time in the organization.

Before his time in Pittsburgh, Buckley gained experience as a collegiate goaltending coach, first spending five seasons (2007 to 2012) with his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, and then three years (some while already working with Pittsburgh) with the University of New Hampshire.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

June 9, 2023 at 5:07 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 4 Comments

Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the San Jose Sharks.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Noah Gregor – As the Sharks continue their rebuilding efforts, Gregor has quietly become a quality bottom-six option for San Jose to use throughout the season. Last year, Gregor had the best year of his career, scoring eight goals and 15 assists in 63 games. Gregor also had twice as many takeaways as giveaways and also managed to throw 118 hits for San Jose. This season, he continued much of the same, scoring 10 goals and seven assists in only 57 games.

Gregor once again made plenty of hits, and completed a good amount of takeaways, continuing to be a strong option for the Sharks given their current forward depth. Still only 24 years old, Gregor does not project to be anything more than what he currently is. There is some growth potential for a 30-point season, but Gregor may top out there offensively. As the Sharks continue their rebuild and find their way back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Gregor has the play style that makes for a perfect deadline acquisition for a contending team in the near future.

Although he typically plays on the wing, San Jose may be able to recoup some assets in the next couple of years for Gregor should they trade him to a contending team. If they do stay course, and retain Gregor for the foreseeable future, he would be a great defensive option for the team once they do return to contention.

F Fabian Zetterlund – Unlike Gregor, Zetterlund does carry some serious offensive upside for the Sharks. Acquired in the trade that sent Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils, Zetterlund was one of the main pieces of San Jose’s return. Before the trade, the former 63rd overall pick scored six goals and 14 assists for the Devils in 45 games played this year.

His offense did not translate as well once he touched down in the Bay Area of California, earning only three assists in the next 22 games for the Sharks. Unfortunately for Zetterlund, in San Jose, he was only able to average just under 14 minutes of ice time per night.

In the next several years, if the Sharks are able to bump Zetterlund’s playing time to over 15 minutes a night on average, Zetterlund’s offensive capabilities should thrive. He has always been known as a player with impressive speed and has always stood out as one of the more engaged players on the forecheck.

Other RFAs: F Jacob Peterson, F Evgeny Svechnikov, F Jonah Gadjovich, F Martin Kaut, G Eetu Makiniemi, G Strauss Mann

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Andreas Johnsson – Also acquired in the deal for Meier, Johnsson was receiving almost completely zero playing time in New Jersey. After two years prior with the Devils, Johnsson had completely fallen out of favor with head coach Lindy Ruff.

Unfortunately, much of the same continued with the Sharks since the trade. In only 11 games played in San Jose, Johnsson had three assists, losing the rest of the season to an injury. For a one-time 40-point scorer with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it has been quite a fall from grace for Johnsson.

Although Johnsson may become a quality roster filler for San Jose during their rebuild, he is unlikely to find himself back in the Bay Area. Losing seemingly an entire season before unrestricted free agency has not typically worked out well in the past, and with a youth movement expected for the Sharks, Johnsson’s roster spot is likely better spent with a younger player.

G James Reimer – During the first year of his contract spent in San Jose, Reimer was actually quite good for the Sharks. In 48 games played during the 2021-22 season, Reimer held a 19-17-10 record, posting a .911 SV% and a 2.90 GAA. With not much of a solution in the net, Reimer held a trajectory of being a great stop-gap for the Sharks as they determined their long-term options.

This year, Reimer’s numbers fell off dramatically, holding a record of 12-21-8, managing a .890 SV% and a 3.48 GAA. Already having goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen in the mix, the Sharks shouldn’t be expected to retain Reimer this offseason. Likely not finding a role as starting goaltender this summer, Reimer could be coveted as a reliable backup option for most teams.

Other UFAs: F Jeffrey Viel, F Kyle Criscuolo, F C.J. Suess, D Derrick Pouliot, G Aaron Dell

Projected Cap Space

With a mostly mild crop of both restricted and unrestricted free agents heading into this offseason, San Jose’s salary cap situation looks more than manageable. Heading into this summer, the Sharks will have around $14.1MM to spend, with little of that being used to retain both Gregor and Zetterlund.

Given the decent amount of cap space, the Sharks should have a decent enough cushion to retain salaries on any potential trades this offseason. Although it would be in their best interest to clear these salaries overall, the likes of Erik Karlsson, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and potentially Logan Couture could all be on the block this summer.

Once a cap-strapped perennial contender every season, the Sharks’ salary cap situation is looking to open up more and more each year. As rookie General Manager Mike Grier continues to cultivate the roster for this team, the Sharks are going to have plenty of options moving forward.

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

East Notes: DeBrincat, Hurricanes, Pesce

June 9, 2023 at 3:41 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 1 Comment

In recent days, the trade market for Ottawa Senators forward Alex DeBrincat has heated up, as many sources have indicated that DeBrincat has given the Senators a list of teams that he would prefer to be traded to. As the Ottawa organization prepares to go through a sale in the next couple of weeks, DeBrincat has seemed to be apathetic towards signing a long-term deal with the Senators given the cloudy ownership situation.

To throw a little bit of cold water on the idea that DeBrincat may be moved by draft day this season, Steve Warne of The Hockey News reports from a source close to the family that DeBrincat is more than happy to continue his career in Canada’s capital. To quote the article, Warne writes, “[T]he 25-year-old winger remains open to staying with the Senators, but he is looking for term and wants to make sure he gets this right“.

Behind the scenes, it isn’t easy to fully ascertain the entire thought process that DeBrincat is putting into this situation, or which way he is leaning up to this point. All news indicates that he has not decided, but the Senators have given the young forward a deadline. By the draft, General Manager Pierre Dorion needs an answer from DeBrincat, as to whether he will sign a long-term deal in Ottawa, or if the team could make a trade to recoup some resources for his services.

Other notes:

With plenty of serviceable goaltenders set to hit the open market this summer, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the Carolina Hurricanes are seeking to have their situation figured out sooner rather than later. Pagnotta did not hint to the point of anything being close, but simply that the Hurricanes are engaged in extension talks with both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. Realistically, Carolina will only keep around one of these netminders, likely having to determine the value proposition the team would receive from each based on their desired salary values. Having already signed Pyotr Kochetkov to a contract extension, the Hurricanes would likely be more than fine moving forward with only retaining one of these netminders.
Continuing on with the Hurricanes, David Pagnotta also reports that defenseman, Brett Pesce, has switched over his agent representation, joining Judd Moldaver of EVP Wasserman Hockey. Next season, Pesce will be entering the final year of a six-year, $24.15MM contract extension signed back in 2017. Over the last several seasons, Pesce’s contract has become one of the more team-friendly contracts in the NHL, and he and his agent will surely be looking for a significant raise next summer.

Discussions Quiet Between Los Angeles Kings, Joonas Korpisalo

June 9, 2023 at 1:49 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

The Los Angeles Kings made a major move to clear up some cap space on Tuesday, shipping out defenseman Sean Walker and netminder Calvin Petersen to Philadelphia. However, they immediately used nearly all their savings to sign defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a two-year extension.

That’s not to say they don’t have any cap space left to play with, and they need to address their biggest inconsistency from the 2022-23 campaign: goaltending. However, according to sources cited by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, there appears to be little ongoing dialogue between the Kings and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who is poised to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after coming over with Gavrikov near the trade deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

As the Kings set their sights on returning to perennial deep playoff runs, goaltending stability remains the organization’s largest question mark. Including Korpisalo’s sparkling .921 save percentage after his acquisition, the team’s save percentage on the season was an abysmal .889, tied for the sixth worst in the league. 31-year-old journeyman Pheonix Copley had some capable moments, posting a .903 in over 30 games, but one can’t expect that to continue from the longtimer AHLer at this stage in his career.

Korpisalo, 29, spent his entire NHL career with Columbus up until the late-season trade. He had the strongest campaign of his eight-year career, managing to post a .911 save percentage in 26 starts on an extremely weak defensive team in Columbus. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, especially in brief postseason action, but long-term inconsistency has kept him from developing into a true starter. While a viable short-term solution for the Kings, it’s that inconsistency that would make some hesitant to hand the crease to Korpisalo.

But with free agency options somewhat limited and no bona fide prospect in the system, he might be their best option. The team is projected at just north of $7.3MM in cap space remaining this offseason, per CapFriendly, but they still have a quartet of restricted free-agent forwards to re-sign in Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Rasmus Kupari, Zack MacEwen, and Gabriel Vilardi. The impending crunch to upgrade their goalie position without any real financial resources to do so makes their decision to retain just over $2MM on Ivan Provorov’s cap hit in Tuesday’s deal puzzling.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Shane Doan

June 9, 2023 at 11:30 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 5 Comments

June 9: Toronto has officially named Doan as a special advisor to Treliving.

June 8: The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to name current Arizona Coyotes executive Shane Doan as an assistant to newly-hired general manager Brad Treliving, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports Thursday afternoon.

Doan replaces the outgoing Jason Spezza, who served as a special assistant to the GM under the previous Kyle Dubas regime. Spezza put in his resignation with the Leafs after they announced they were not re-signing Dubas to a new contract.

It is surprising to see Doan leave Arizona after spending his entire playing career with the Coyotes. However, given that the future of the club is up in the air it makes sense for Doan to move on to a high profile position in which someone he knows is at the helm. Doan becomes one of Treliving’s first hires as he begins to build out the Maple Leafs management hierarchy. The two men do have history together as Treliving served as assistant general manager during Doan’s playing days in Arizona.

Doan has always been a representation of stability through the turmoil within the Coyotes organization. He stuck around through a franchise relocation, threats of relocation, ownership changes, and financial peril. Now he finds himself in perhaps the most stable franchise in hockey with an excellent opportunity to build out his career in management.

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