While activity across the NHL has certainly slowed down compared to a few weeks ago, there was still some notable news around the league over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.
Four For Colton: Avalanche forward Ross Colton currently has just under $3MM in career earnings, per CapFriendly. That will be going up in a hurry as the two sides agreed to a four-year contract to avoid salary arbitration with the deal carrying a cap hit of $4MM per season. The 26-year-old was acquired from Tampa Bay before the draft for a second-round pick that was part of the package they picked up when they moved Alex Newhook to Montreal. Colton saw his numbers dip slightly last season but he still managed 16 goals and 16 assists in 81 games during the regular season despite averaging just over 12 minutes a night while recording 188 hits and winning over 56% of his faceoffs. Colorado has shaken up their bottom six group with Colton being the centerpiece acquisition on that front and he should get a bigger opportunity to produce than he did with the Lightning.
Hakstol Extended: Last season was a successful one for the Kraken as they locked down their first-ever playoff berth in their sophomore year. On top of that, they knocked out the defending Cup champs in the first round before falling to Dallas in seven in a hard-fought second round. That performance certainly reflected well on head coach Dave Hakstol who was rewarded for his efforts with a two-year contract extension that gets him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign; financial terms were not disclosed. Hakstol will be entering his seventh year as an NHL head coach next season (he also spent four years in Philadelphia) and is now one of ten coaches known to be signed through 2026.
Four For Dunn: The biggest settlement of the arbitration process thus far was done by Seattle and defenseman Vince Dunn. The two sides worked out a four-year, $29.4MM front-loaded contract, buying out his final year of arbitration eligibility while giving the Kraken three extra years of club control. The deal, which makes Dunn their highest-paid player, also carries some form of trade protection in the final three seasons. The 26-year-old had a breakout showing last season, notching 14 goals and 50 assists in 81 games while logging nearly 24 minutes a night. That performance put him tenth in the NHL in scoring by a blueliner while helping him finish 11th in Norris Trophy voting.
Arbitration Awards: While most players that filed for arbitration so far have settled, two made it to a hearing. First, Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev was awarded a two-year, $4.5MM contract with Chicago electing for a two-year award instead of the one-year agreement Kurashev requested. The 23-year-old set new benchmarks last season, notching nine goals along with 16 assists and should have a chance to improve on those numbers in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov received a one-year, $3.55MM award, nearly doubling his salary from 2022-23. The 26-year-old had by far his best NHL season, posting a 2.33 GAA with a .919 SV% in 42 games but was only eligible for a one-year award since it was his final season of UFA eligibility. Toronto now has nearly $96MM in commitments on the books per CapFriendly against an $83.5MM salary and will be deep into LTIR with Jake Muzzin for next season while some have suggested that buyout candidate Matt Murray could also land on there. Even with those two on there, some roster trimming would still need to occur.
More Settlements: There were two other contracts of some note that were done to avoid salary arbitration. The Golden Knights settled with forward Brett Howden on a two-year, $3.8MM contract after the 25-year-old took a step back offensively last season, recording just six goals and seven assists in 54 regular season games. Notably, the deal will walk Howden straight to UFA eligibility in 2025. Winnipeg also got in on the settlement fun, reaching a two-year, $6.875MM agreement with forward Gabriel Vilardi. Arguably the centerpiece of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, the 23-year-old had his best showing in 2022-23, collecting 23 goals and 18 assists in 63 games with the Kings last season. Vilardi will still have one more RFA year remaining in 2025.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ross Colton is one of those sneaky great GM moves that wins Cups and makes the departed team spend years trying to replace him.
Recently its been Tampa getting those players, ironically.
Yep. Not really an Avs or Lightning fan, but Colton was great last year and still seemed on the verge of leveling up. Colorado seems like a better team for him to grow with as well. Looking forward to watching that this season.