Evening Notes: Manson, Johnson, Islanders

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson saw a change in his contract on June 15th, 2024, as his full no-trade clause became a modified 12-team no-trade clause (as per CapFriendly).  Manson is entering the third year of his four-year $18MM contract and can now be traded to 19 NHL teams. The change in contract status doesn’t mean that the Avalanche are interested in trading the 32-year-old, but it does give the team options as they try to navigate multiple complex contract situations, while simultaneously trying to extend Jonathan Drouin and potentially address deficiencies in their roster.

Manson enjoyed a bounce-back season last year after an injury-riddled 2022-23 season, he posted eight goals and 17 assists in 76 games and continued to provide sound work in the defensive zone. He remained a good penalty killer with his long reach and mobility.

In other evening notes:

• Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeted that the Philadelphia Flyers remain in conversation with pending free-agent defenseman Erik Johnson. Kurz believes that the former first-overall pick intends to keep playing next season and is interested in signing with the Flyers. At 36 years of age, Johnson is not the defenseman he once was, but he can still provide physical play and take care of the defensive zone. He won’t score much, but for a team in need of a veteran in the room, re-signing Johnson might make sense for the Flyers.
• Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News believes that pending free agent forward Anthony Duclair would be a great fit with the New York Islanders. Rosner doesn’t cite any direct sources from the Islanders organization to link them to Duclair but believes the 28-year-old’s ability to play up and down the lineup would be a huge asset for the Islanders and his previous relationship with Islanders head coach Patrick Roy could factor into the equation. Roy coached Duclair for two years in his junior hockey days and Duclair speaks glowingly of him, calling Roy a mentor. Duclair posted 24 goals and 18 assists last season in 73 games and should have a lot of interest in free agency given his skillset.