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Penguins Part Ways With Associate Coach Todd Reirden

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The Penguins are not bringing back associate coach Todd Reirden next season, the club announced Friday. He was on an expiring contract.

Reirden has served on head coach Mike Sullivan’s staff for the past four seasons, overseeing their power play and defense corps. The Penguins hired the former NHL defenseman in the 2020 offseason after he was let go as head coach of the Capitals, a role he held for two years.

Over Reirden’s tenure, the Penguins have had one of the most consistently underwhelming man-advantage units in the league. Their 19.9% power play success rate over the past four seasons ranks 18th in the NHL, surprisingly low considering the talent level of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin that they’ve had at their disposal nearly the entire time. General manager Kyle Dubas gave Reirden a new toy to play with when he acquired elite offensive blue-liner Erik Karlsson this summer, but it somehow had a worse effect. Pittsburgh’s power play clicked at just 15.3% this season, only ahead of the Blue Jackets (15.1%) and Flyers (12.2%).

The Penguins were middle-of-the-pack defensively, allowing 30.2 shots per game, only 0.4 more than the league median this season. The pairing of Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson had a strong campaign at even strength, controlling 54.7% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck. But free-agent signing Ryan Graves struggled in his top-four role, posting worse results than Pettersson when utilized with both Karlsson and Letang.

Pittsburgh finished just three points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference this season. Even an average power play and slightly improved results from Graves likely would have given them the two additional wins they needed to return to postseason action.

Reirden becomes a free agent, and while he likely won’t be under consideration for any head coaching vacancies, could still land on an NHL bench somewhere next season. Before assuming the head coaching job with Washington in 2018, he’d spent four years there as an associate and assistant coach under Barry Trotz. His first NHL gig came with the Penguins in 2008, serving as the assistant and head coach for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for three years before spending another four as an NHL assistant.

NHL Announces Finalists For 2024 Jack Adams Award

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The Jets’ Rick Bowness, the Predators’ Andrew Brunette and the Canucks’ Rick Tocchet are this year’s finalists for the Jack Adams Award, the league announced Friday. The honor is given to the head coach who “contributed the most to his team’s success.”

We’ll have a first-time winner for the fifth year in a row. Last year’s recipient was Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery, who led Boston to the best regular season in league history (.823 points percentage) since the Canadiens’ 60-8-12 (.825 points percentage) run in 1976-77.

Bowness, 69, is by far the most veteran option among the finalists. A good portion of his 30-plus years behind an NHL bench has been spent as an assistant, but he’s still managed 310 wins and 803 regular-season games coached as a head coach. After guiding Winnipeg to only its second 100-point season in franchise history with a 52-24-6 record, Bowness is the first Jets/Thrashers coach to be nominated for the Jack Adams in franchise history.

Brunette is also gunning for his first Coach of the Year honor despite holding less than two full seasons as a head coach. Both have yielded great results, though, guiding the Panthers to the 2022 Presidents’ Trophy after taking over for John Quenneville early in the season. He was back in a head coaching role this year, taking over behind the Predators’ bench and guiding what many viewed to be a fringe team to a 99-point season, including a franchise-record 18-game point streak from Feb. 17 to March 26. Nashville’s 47-30-5 record placed them in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, returning to postseason play after missing out in 2023.

The 60-year-old Tocchet rightfully gets a nod here in his first full season as head coach of the Canucks. Vancouver was arguably the league’s most surprising team this season, especially considering their level of dominance. They weren’t just a playoff team like some had hoped for at the beginning of the year – they were one of the best in the league for long stretches, finishing with a 50-23-9 record and their first division title in 11 years. The Canucks’ 109 points were their most since hitting 111 in the 2011-12 campaign.

Canadiens, Adam Engström Agree To Entry-Level Deal

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10:51 a.m.: Engström’s ELC does not contain a European assignment clause, Radio-Canada’s Marc Antoine Godin reports. He also does not have a valid contract with an SHL club for next season. If he doesn’t make the Canadiens’ roster out of camp, he’ll spend the season with AHL Laval.

8:28 a.m.: The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract with 2022 third-round pick Adam Engström, per a team announcement. The Swedish defenseman could now see his first North American action next season.

Engström, 20, spent the 2023-24 season with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, where he posted four assists in 15 playoff games in their run to the league championship series as the ninth seed. In the regular season, he took a step forward from last year’s solid rookie showing, posting four goals, 18 assists, 22 points and a -10 rating in 51 games.

The 6’2″ left-shot defender is part of a surplus of young defenders in Montreal. He becomes the tenth U-23 defender under contract with the Canadiens. Of that group, only he, 2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher and 2021 late-round choice William Trudeau didn’t see NHL games this season.

He projects as a more offensively-minded blue liner, lighting up the Swedish junior circuit in his limited action in 2022-23 with 13 points in seven games. Most of that campaign was spent getting his first lengthy stint in the pros, recording 16 points and a -7 rating in 43 games for a strong rookie showing. Engström was also named to Sweden’s roster for the 2024 World Juniors, where he posted a goal and two assists with a +6 rating in seven games.

Engström’s ELC will cover him through the 2026-27 season, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent. With two professional seasons under his belt overseas, he could challenge for an opening-night roster spot next year, but an assignment to AHL Laval is more likely, with many other young defenders on the cusp challenging for roles. A loan back to the SHL is unlikely but not ruled out.

Offseason Checklist: Anaheim Ducks

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus several others who have already been eliminated.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Anaheim.

As expected, this season was a rough one for the Ducks who didn’t exactly improve their fortunes much from 2022-23.  While they finished seventh in the Pacific instead of last, they only had one more point than the year before with a mixed bag of performances from their young core.  GM Pat Verbeek made one big move to shake up that core in-season when he moved Jamie Drysdale to Philadelphia and it’s quite possible that another significant swap could be on the way.  That’s one of the items on their checklist for the coming months.

Add Impact Pieces: Verbeek indicated in his end-of-season press conference that he’s looking to add some impact players this summer, including a top-six forward and a top-four blueliner so let’s start here.  They did this last offseason, signing Alex Killorn to a four-year, $25MM contract and Radko Gudas to a three-year, $12MM deal.  Both players got a bit more money than expected but they felt the overpayment was worth it to get them into the fold.

While they could look to add those types of players again over the summer (bringing in veteran leaders to fill a specific role and overpaying a bit in terms of AAV), it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to aim a little higher this time around.  Instead of culture builders, they could look to add more productive pieces to take some pressure off the young core and then when that core is a bit more ready in a couple of years, they’ll be a deeper team which should line up with when they want to try to get back into contention.

Additionally, Verbeek will likely want to add to Anaheim’s bottom-six group as well.  They tried several younger players with varying levels of success this past season but if they intend to try to be more competitive, bringing in a veteran that can play some heavy checking minutes would help accomplish that.  The days of just being sellers should be over now and they will have more cap room than most other teams.

Examine Zegras Options: Of course, while they’re going to start being buyers more often, it doesn’t mean Verbeek won’t look to sell in the right situation.  One of those could involve Trevor Zegras, a player who, at a minimum, Anaheim would be wise to explore their options with.

Drafted as a center, Zegras may not be there much longer.  The team explored moving him to the wing at times this season.  With Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson in the fold and needing top-six minutes, that made sense over dropping Zegras to the third line.  In a season that saw him battle injuries, it would be difficult to fully assess his ability to handle the switch.

However, ready or not, that switch could be permanent if he stays in Anaheim with Cutter Gauthier now under contract; he’ll likely play down the middle as well before too long until he’s ready for full-time top-six duty when one of him, Carlsson, or McTavish will need to shift to the wing full-time as well.

From a value perspective, is it better for the Ducks to see if Zegras can overcome a down year and thrive with a full-time switch to the wing or cash in on him now as a center, a position always in high demand?  The year he had means he wouldn’t be getting moved at his peak value but he’s a 23-year-old with two 60-plus seasons under his belt, signed at a reasonable $5.75MM price for two more years with two more seasons of club control after that.  That’s still a pretty valuable trade chip if Verbeek wants to make another move to shake things up.  Is the time right to play that chip?  They’ll have to figure out that answer within likely the next couple of months.

Look Into Moving Gibson: The question of when will the Ducks move goaltender John Gibson has been around for several years now.  There has been speculation at times that the team would have liked to move him while other times had some suggesting he’d like to leave.  Each time it looked like something could happen, it didn’t.

This might be the summer when that changes.  There are a handful of teams who either will be looking to move their starter while a couple of others might be looking to simply shake things up between the pipes.  If all of those moves wind up coming to fruition, it could be a situation of musical chairs for veteran starting goalies.  Perhaps that will be able to help spark a move.

Gibson will have three years left on his contract heading into next season at a $6.4MM cap hit.  That’s still on the pricey side; he has the sixth-highest AAV among netminders for 2024-25 and one of the ones he’s behind is Carey Price who is going to be on LTIR until his contract expires.  At a time when a lot of teams are shifting more toward lower-cost platoons, that makes him a little harder to move.

But some teams have potential ‘change of scenery’ candidates with a price tag that’s somewhat close to Gibson’s.  At first glance, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Columbus all have netminders who are being paid like a starter but lost the starting role at some point; all three goalies have an AAV within $1.025MM of Gibson’s and three or more years left on their respective contracts.  Is it possible that one or more of them might be willing to make a change?  (And would Anaheim in that circumstance?)

The idea of getting a high-end return is off the table at this point.  Between the other goaltenders available, Gibson’s struggles (he’s coming off a career-low .888 SV%), and his price tag, the market conditions aren’t there for a big return.  But if the Ducks want to give Gibson a chance to try to win somewhere else and are willing to roll the dice on a new partner for Lukas Dostal, this might be the summer where a move actually happens.

Tender Decisions: It wasn’t that long ago that the Ducks were hoping that forwards Isac Lundestrom and Max Jones were going to be a big part of their future plans.  Now, they need to decide if it’s worth even tendering them qualifying offers next month, an idea that would have seemed crazy just a couple of years ago.

Lundestrom was a first-round pick back in 2018 and profiled as a potential two-way pivot.  After a quality 2021-22 campaign that saw him put up 16 goals and 13 assists, the expectation was that his value would be on the rise.  However, he scored just four times in 61 games in 2022-23 and then tore his Achilles tendon in offseason training, costing him 36 games this past season.  When he returned, Lundestrom notched just five goals and six assists.  One good season followed by two tough ones; is that worth tendering a $1.8MM qualifying offer and giving him arbitration rights?  They have the cap room to give him one more look but, like Max Comtois last year, they could prefer to simply move on.

As for Jones, he was a 2016 first-round selection but hasn’t become the impactful power forward they were hoping for.  Instead, when healthy, he has strictly been a depth player and barely logged 12 minutes a game this season.  Jones has yet to reach the double-digit goal or 20-point marks in his six professional campaigns and is coming off a five-goal, ten-assist showing in 52 games this past season.  He’s owed a $1.5MM qualifying offer with arbitration eligibility that could push that a little higher.  Again, they have the money to afford to give him one more look but could earmark his spot for a different prospect or a free agent signing.

A few years ago, both Lundestrom and Jones were viewed as potential longer-term pieces for the Ducks.  Now, there’s a possibility that neither is with the team two months from now.  Verbeek will need to decide if the time is right to cut bait or to give one or both of them one more opportunity.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Libor Hajek Back On NHL Radar

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Last summer, defenseman Libor Hajek didn’t fare too well in unrestricted free agency.  After being non-tendered by the Rangers, he wasn’t able to secure an NHL contract, eventually settling for an AHL agreement in Pittsburgh before heading back overseas a couple of months later.  However, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that there is now some buzz around the blueliner about potentially returning to the NHL next season.

The 26-year-old was originally drafted in the second round by Tampa Bay in 2016, going 37th overall.  However, he never played for them and was moved to the Rangers less than two years later as part of the return for Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller.  Hajek spent parts of five seasons in New York, playing in 110 games but had predominantly been a healthy scratch towards the end of his time there which helped result in his eventual release.

This season, he played in 11 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before being granted his release to go play at home with Pardubice in his native Czechia.  Hajek fared well in the Extraliga, collecting four goals and five assists in 20 regular season games while adding a trio of helpers in 16 postseason contests.  He’s expected to play for the Czechs at the upcoming World Championship which could help his value if he does indeed look to return to North America.

Considering his lack of interest as recently as the start of this season, Hajek probably won’t be in a position to command much more than the minimum salary of $775K on his next deal.  But if he’s even able to secure a two-way agreement, it would be a big improvement compared how to things went for him last summer while giving him at least a chance of returning to the NHL.

Hurricanes Confirm AHL Affiliation Agreement With Chicago Wolves

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As reported yesterday, the Hurricanes have now officially agreed on a three-year affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to once again become their top minor-league affiliate.

Carolina spent the 2023-24 season without an AHL affiliate after the Wolves’ ownership and management group opted to try operating independently. Results for both clubs this season proved it was a decisively lose-lose choice.

The Wolves, who had gone independent to have full control of their hockey operations department without oversight or influence from the Hurricanes’ staff, struggled without the presence of NHL-affiliated prospects. They only received a select few players on loan from the Hurricanes throughout the season and iced a roster of players solely on minor-league contracts.

As such, they finished second-to-last in the league with a 23-35-7-7 record and 60 points, only one ahead of last-place Bridgeport. It was a disappointing result for a club that won a Calder Cup championship while under an affiliation agreement with Carolina in 2022.

The lack of a full-time affiliate didn’t affect the Hurricanes’ record this season in the slightest, but it did have a marked effect on some of their prospects. 2019 second-round pick Jamieson Rees was coming off a breakout season with Chicago in 2022-23, posting career-highs across the board with 14 goals and 42 points in 65 games. Without an agreement in place with the Wolves, the Hurricanes found a home for the center with Springfield, the primary affiliate of the Blues, where he failed to score a goal and mustered just three assists in 30 games. He’s no longer in the Carolina organization after being traded to the Senators in March.

Returning to a full-time affiliation with the Wolves gives a degree of certainty to many Hurricanes prospects who have recently signed entry-level contracts. 2023 first-round pick Bradly Nadeau, defense prospect Scott Morrow, and 2024 Hobey Baker Award finalist Jackson Blake are all expected to log big minutes in the AHL next season and will do so in a more traditionally controlled environment geared toward prospect development.

In their statement today, the Hurricanes confirmed that they will have oversight over the Wolves’ hockey operations decisions as part of the affiliation agreement.

Jets Notes: Bowness, Monahan, Dillon, Barron

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The Jets’ second-best regular season in franchise history came to an unceremonious end in the postseason, losing in five games to the Avalanche in the first round. That’s led some to wonder if head coach Rick Bowness will be back for his third season with the team next season.

Speaking to reporters today, Bowness confirmed he has a club option for next season on his contract (via The Athletic’s Murat Ates). Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t yet decided whether or not to exercise it, and Bowness said today that he still needs to talk with his family and Jets management about his future.

The 69-year-old was away from the Jets twice this season – once in October after his wife was hospitalized and once near the end of the season after undergoing an undisclosed medical procedure. Associate coach Scott Arniel assumed interim head coaching duties on both occasions.

Under Bowness, the Jets have a 98-57-9 record over the past two seasons and have made the playoffs in consecutive campaigns after missing out in 2022. If he doesn’t return to the club for next season, Winnipeg would become the seventh team with an active vacancy at head coach.

Elsewhere from Winnipeg with their season wrapped up:

  • Pending unrestricted free agent center Sean Monahan is open to re-signing, he said today (via the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck). He told reporters that he “is looking for a place that wants to win,” and his last few months in a Jets uniform evidently satisfied that requirement. Winnipeg picked up the 29-year-old pivot from the Canadiens in early February, parting with their 2024 first-round pick. He gelled well in Manitoba, posting 13 goals and 24 points with a +9 rating in 34 games while locking down the second-line center spot behind Mark Scheifele. Between the Habs and Jets this year, his 59 points in 83 games were his most since his career-best 82-point season with the Flames in 2018-19.
  • Another pending Jets UFA interested in sticking around is defenseman Brenden Dillon, who told reporters today he was frustrated with the lack of extension talks in-season (via Billeck). Dillon, 33, signed a four-year, $15.6MM extension with the Capitals in 2020 but was traded to Winnipeg for a pair of draft picks after one season. He’s been a consistently above-average shutdown defender in that time, accumulating 63 points with a +38 rating and 235 PIMs in 238 games with the Jets. He averaged 18:44 per game this season, fourth among Jets defenders behind Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk.
  • Depth forward Morgan Barron’s previously undisclosed injury, which kept him out of the Avs series, was related to his knee, Bowness said today (via Billeck). He wouldn’t have played had the series extended to seven games. The 25-year-old sustained the knee injury in the team’s penultimate game of the regular season against the Kraken. It was otherwise a strong second season for Barron in Winnipeg, providing solid depth scoring in a fourth-line role with 11 goals and 18 points in 80 games, along with a +10 rating and team-average possession metrics. He has one season left on his contract at a $1.35MM cap hit and will be eligible to sign an extension beginning July 1.

Panthers Recall Spencer Knight

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The Panthers recalled goalie Spencer Knight from AHL Charlotte on Thursday, according to the AHL’s transactions log.

Knight’s minor-league season ended last weekend after Charlotte dropped their best-of-three Atlantic Division first-round series to Hartford in this year’s Calder Cup Playoffs. This is his first recall of the season, although it won’t result in any playing time unless both Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz go down with injuries over the remainder of Florida’s playoff run.

The 23-year-old has not played an NHL game since Feb. 18, 2023. He entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program shortly thereafter, where he remained throughout the Panthers’ run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Knight later told The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell that he participated in the program to seek treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, which he said had gone untreated since he first noticed symptoms during his collegiate career with Boston College in 2019.

With Knight being out of action for so long, the Panthers sent the still-waiver-exempt netminder to Charlotte to begin the season near the end of training camp. As the 2019 first-round pick was beginning the first season of a three-year, $13.5MM extension, few believed the assignment would be permanent.

But the veteran Stolarz, signed to a one-year, $1.1MM deal last summer to replace journeyman Alex Lyon on the depth chart, made it impossible to consider removing him from the backup role. While in limited action behind Bobrovsky (only 24 starts and three relief appearances), the 30-year-old was one of the best netminders in the league, ranking first in the NHL with a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA. His outright 20.1 goals saved above expected ranked third in the league, per MoneyPuck, even totaling higher than Bobrovsky’s 15.6 GSAx in 58 games.

That left Knight in the starting role for Charlotte all season long, where he rebounded well down the stretch from a tough start. He finished the season with a .905 SV% and 2.41 GAA with a 25-14-5 record in 45 appearances but ranked near the top of the league with five shutouts. In his final 10 games of the season, he had a .921 SV%.

Speaking to the Checkers’ Nicholas Niedzielski, Knight said, “I think I have years of my best hockey ahead of me.” He was recently named this year’s recipient of the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award, voted on by AHL coaches, players and media members and given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey.

With Stolarz headed for unrestricted free agency this summer, it’s feasible that Knight starts next season back on Florida’s roster as Bobrovsky’s backup, especially after his strong finish. He still has two seasons left on his contract at a $4.5MM cap hit, making him a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2026.

Latest On Rod Brind’Amour

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May 2: Talks between Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes have advanced since yesterday’s report, Dreger said in a follow-up Thursday. The two sides have had additional contract talks in the last 24 hours while Carolina preps for its second-round series against the Rangers, and signs are “encouraging” that an extension will get across the finish line.

May 1: The Hurricanes have pulled an extension offer previously on the table for head coach Rod Brind’Amour, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Wednesday.

Brind’Amour’s current deal expires after this season. There have been extension talks throughout the year, but they did not discuss the framework of a deal last summer, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN reported in September. Other reporting over the past few months indicated Brind’Amour was waiting until extensions were also in place for assistants Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason before putting pen to paper on his own deal, but it’s unclear whether that’s the reason the offer has been taken off the table.

After eliminating the Islanders last night, the Hurricanes have now won a series in all six years of the 53-year-old’s tenure behind the bench. Brind’Amour is the second head coach in NHL history to have a career-opening six-year playoff series win streak, joining three-time Jack Adams Award winner Pat Burns.

Since replacing Bill Peters behind the Carolina bench ahead of the 2018-19 season, Brind’Amour has accumulated a 278-130-44 record, good enough for a .664 points percentage. He’s already second in wins in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history, trailing Paul Maurice’s 384 in 920 games coached.

The 2021 Jack Adams winner has been a part of the Hurricanes organization for 24 years as both a player and coach. He racked up 473 points in 694 games for the Canes after they picked him up from the Flyers in a blockbuster 2000 trade, with Keith Primeau headed the other way. His Carolina tenure included collecting back-to-back Selke Trophies in 2006 and 2007 and captaining the team to its only Stanley Cup in 2006.

Immediately upon retiring in the 2010 offseason, Brind’Amour joined the Hurricanes’ front office as their director of player development. He was named an assistant coach ahead of the 2011-12 campaign and remained there until his promotion in 2018.

If Brind’Amour and the Canes’ extension talks continue to fall apart, he would immediately become the top coaching candidate available. Six teams – the Blues, Devils, Kings, Kraken Senators and Sharks – do not have a full-time head coach in place for 2024-25. The Sabres were the seventh team on the list after firing Don Granato last month but promptly replaced him with franchise wins leader Lindy Ruff for his second go-around with the club.

Before Dreger’s report Wednesday, Carolina general manager Don Waddell told reporters that Brind’Amour “wants to be a Hurricane for life” and that “there’s going to be a solution here very quickly” (via the team’s Walt Ruff). Whether that solution involves the Canes making a more acceptable offer to Brind’Amour or extending his assistants remains to be seen.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NHL Utah Plans To Add Top-Six Forwards, Top-Four Defenseman

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NHL Utah general manager Bill Armstrong is among those getting a fresh start from Smith Entertainment Group’s purchase of the Coyotes’ hockey operations assets. He’ll have a comparatively endless cash supply this summer, with the ability to spend up to the salary cap and roughly $43.25MM in offseason space, among the most in the league.

Armed with a gigantic supply of second and third-round draft picks over the next few seasons as well, many have speculated that Armstrong will be one of the most aggressive GMs in the coming months. That seems to be the case, with The Fourth Period reporting NHL Utah will scour both the free-agent and trade market for a second-line center, a top-six winger and a top-four defenseman to add to an already promising core of ex-Coyotes talent.

The Coyotes still fell far short of a playoff spot this year, but their 36-41-5 record was their best since the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Their success was mainly influenced by their best depth scoring in years. They ranked 16th in the NHL in scoring with 256 goals after finishing with 207 and 228 in each of the last two campaigns.

Team defense was still an issue, failing to control the majority of shot attempts and scoring chances at 5-on-5. Goaltending took a step forward in the form of Connor Ingram’s strong .907 SV% and six shutouts, but backup Karel Vejmelka’s poor season over his 38 appearances dragged their overall puck-stopping just below league average.

Still, the players who needed to improve did. 19-year-old Logan Cooley had a strong rookie season, finishing the year with 20 goals and 44 points while averaging 15:49 per game after a middling start to the season that saw him demoted to fourth-line usage at times. Offseason trade acquisition Sean Durzi was passable as their number one defenseman, putting up 41 points in 76 games with a 52.2 CF% at even strength to lead Arizona blue-liners.

The roster wasn’t built for playoff contention yet, especially after one-year UFA pickups Mathew Dumba and Jason Zucker both flamed out and were traded for scraps at the deadline. But with another step forward from Cooley and full seasons from youngsters Josh Doan and Dylan Guenther, both of whom put up great per-game numbers in more limited action, they should be expected to stay in the conversation for a longer period of time next season.

And that’s before adding any external pieces into the equation. Adding in a second-line center leaves Nick Bjugstad and Barrett Hayton to more comfortably slot into bottom-six roles down the middle after holding their own in top-six spot duty the past few campaigns. Options on the open market are slim – Elias Lindholm likely leads the way among true centers that are pending UFAs, but he still may cost a bit too much for Utah’s blood with their entire defense core, including RFAs Durzi and J.J. Moser, needing new deals. He’d also likely have options for more dedicated first-line minutes elsewhere after averaging north of 18:30 per game in six straight seasons.

There are some other capable options, like Chandler Stephenson, who will almost definitely go to market with the Golden Knights fresh out of cap space next season. Jonathan Marchessault is an understandably higher priority to re-sign. Max Domi has done well rebuilding his value in Toronto and could reunite with the new incarnation of the Coyotes club that drafted him 12th overall in 2013.

Some spicier and more impactful names exist on the winger market, dominated by Jake Guentzel, Sam Reinhart and Steven Stamkos. It’s hard to imagine them choosing what’s essentially an expansion market over other opportunities, but if Armstrong comes calling with a truckload of cash, the thought of playing an impactful veteran role to supplement Clayton Keller among Utah’s up-and-coming offense could be appealing. Someone like Viktor Arvidsson, Matt Duchene, Vladimir Tarasenko or Teuvo Teräväinen is likely a more attainable target.

And they could end up being a better value proposition than the big names, something that could be important considering a top-four defenseman is their biggest hole to fill. Moser and Durzi are fine as a top pair but not ideal for a contending team – especially with very few proven commodities behind them outside Juuso Välimäki. Adding a right-shot defenseman will likely be the play to slot in with Välimäki behind Durzi. There are multiple true impact options available there, including Brandon Montour, Brett Pesce, Matt Roy and Chris Tanev.

It’s a tad early to know which names will pop up on the trade market, which Armstrong could likely use to plug their declared second-line center vacancy, given the lack of attractive options on the free agent market.

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