Archives for February 2025

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Florida Panthers

February 17, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR is looking at every NHL team and giving a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up is the Canadiens.

Florida Panthers

Current Cap Hit: $87,250,999 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Mackie Samoskevich (one year, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
None

This is Samoskevich’s first full NHL season (aside from a brief cap-related stint in the minors). He’s holding down a regular spot in the bottom six but players in that role can’t command a long-term second contract. A two-year bridge deal in the $1.5MM to $1.75MM range feels like the right fit for him.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

F Sam Bennett ($4.425MM, UFA)
F Jesper Boqvist ($775K, RFA)
D Aaron Ekblad ($7.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Nosek ($775K, UFA)
D Nate Schmidt ($800K, UFA)

Bennett is arguably Florida’s biggest decision to make when it comes to their upcoming free agents. He’s on pace for a career year offensively which certainly doesn’t hurt his cause but that’s only a part of his game. After splitting time at center and the wing in Calgary, he has become a full-time middleman with the Panthers. And, of course, his physicality makes him stand out at a position that doesn’t have a lot of power forwards. Bennett will hit the open market at 29 so a long-term deal will carry some risk but that’s unlikely to act as a deterrent for a lot of teams. If he signs elsewhere, a max-term seven-year agreement isn’t out of the question while adding at least $2MM to his current price tag.

Boqvist has rebounded nicely after a tough year in Boston that saw him get non-tendered. He already has set a new benchmark in goals and is close to matching his career high in points. That could allow him to double his current price tag with arbitration rights but that eligibility could work against him if the Panthers need to keep their end-of-roster spots at or near the league minimum. Nosek has largely stayed healthy this year which helps but he’s not as impactful at the faceoff dot as he used to be while his production is quite limited. A small raise could happen but if Florida wants to keep him, it wouldn’t be shocking if they tried to bring him back at the minimum.

Ekblad is the other free agent of significance that GM Bill Zito will need to try to re-sign. The 29-year-old has been an anchor on their back end for 11 years already after being the top pick in 2014. He hasn’t been able to get back to the top offensive level of a few years ago but he’s still a top-pairing, right-shot blueliner. A big raise might not be likely as the contract will have some of his declining years but a near max-term deal around this price point could be doable. Schmidt quickly caught on with the Panthers after Winnipeg bought him out and he has held down a spot on the third pairing. If a team still views him as a second-pairing piece, he could get back into the $2.5MM range or so but if he’s valued in a fifth or sixth role, his market value might be closer to $2MM.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Uvis Balinskis ($850K, UFA)
G Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM, UFA)
F Jonah Gadjovich ($775K, UFA)
F A.J. Greer ($850K, UFA)
G Spencer Knight ($4.5MM, RFA)
D Niko Mikkola ($2.5MM, UFA)

Greer has become a capable fourth line energy winger in recent years but doesn’t provide much offense to go along with that which limits his market to a point. Still, now that he’s a bit more proven in that role, he could make a case to push past $1MM on his next deal. Gadjovich has had to take a minor league deal before and with the limited role he has, he’s quite likely to stay at the minimum moving forward.

Mikkola has been counted on more since joining Florida, playing regularly in their top four while playing more of a throwback shutdown role. While he’s not much of a point producer, his defensive play and physicality should give him a much stronger market in 2026 which could push his cost past $4MM per season. Balinskis is Florida’s sixth defender and has even played up front a bit. His limited playing time will likely keep him viewed as a sixth or seventh blueliner which will probably keep him at least close to this price tag.

Bobrovsky has been hit or miss throughout his tenure in Florida with last season being one of the high points. But he’s the highest-paid active netminder in the league (until next season) and that type of volatility isn’t the most ideal. Notably, Bobrovsky will be entering his age-38-year on his next deal. If he’s still a full-fledged starter then, he could land around $6MM or so but a lot could change between now and then. Knight, meanwhile, is back up after spending last year in the minors, hardly great value for his price tag. He’s done well so far and is starting to make a push for more playing time. Florida’s hope will be that he can be their starter of the future and the limited action the last two years might keep the cost a little lower. Still, he’ll be owed a $4.5MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights so if the Panthers want to keep him around, it will likely cost $5MM to do so, more if he’s the full-fledged starter by then.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Eetu Luostarinen ($3MM, UFA)
F Evan Rodrigues ($3MM, UFA)

After his run through free agency in 2022 didn’t go as planned, Rodrigues jumped at the stability of a four-year offer from Florida the following summer, one that looked pretty team-friendly then and that hasn’t changed. A versatile player who can play up and down the lineup for this price is a good deal. Rodrigues should be able to command more on the open market next time out but there was a case for that to happen on his last two trips on the open market too. Luostarinen has worked his way up the depth chart which helped secure this extension last season. If he can get back to being a 40-point player as he was a couple of years back, he could add another million or so on his next deal. If not, the raise could be a bit smaller for him.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Aleksander Barkov ($10MM through 2029-30)
D Gustav Forsling ($5.75MM through 2031-32)
D Dmitry Kulikov ($1.15MM through 2027-28)
F Anton Lundell ($5MM through 2029-30)
F Sam Reinhart ($8.625MM through 2031-32)
F Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
F Carter Verhaeghe ($4.167MM in 2024-25, $7MM from 2025-26 through 2032-33)

For years, Barkov was viewed as arguably the most underrated top center in the NHL while being one of the more underpaid number one middlemen as well. Both of those have since changed as Barkov is now much more recognized for his contributions while his salary is now in the upper echelon league-wide which better reflects what he brings to the table. He very quietly is averaging over a point per game for the fifth straight season and that, coupled with his strong defensive play (he’s the reigning Selke Trophy winner) makes him the total package for a top center. It’s hard to say that a $10MM price tag is a bargain but if nothing else, the Panthers are getting a strong return on their investment thus far.

The Panthers made a big commitment to Tkachuk after trading two core players (Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar), one that carried some risk. But it has worked out quite well for them as he had a career year in his first season and has still been over a point per game since then. He’s one of the top wingers in the league locked up at a reasonable price tag for several more years. Reinhart had a breakout year last season which earned him the long-term security he had been coveting going back to his days with Buffalo. While repeating 57 goals was unlikely, if he can be a consistent 40-goal scorer even, they’ll do just fine with this contract. He’s on his way to hitting that mark this season.

Verhaeghe has gone from being a castaway with a couple of organizations to a legitimate top-six winger in Florida, capped with back-to-back years of more than 70 points before this season. That helped him earn this early-season extension, a fair price tag for someone who has become one of their better scorers. In the meantime, he’s getting high-end third-line money (or low-end second-line) on his current deal, one of the better bargains they’ve had. Lundell’s offense hasn’t come around as much as Florida might have hoped by now but he’s on pace for a career year this season and remains one of their stronger defensive players. In the new cap environment that’s coming, this is higher-end third-line money and Lundell is already at that level with the belief there’s another gear for him to find. This contract should age quite well.

Forsling has been one of the top NHL waiver claims in recent memory, going from largely being an afterthought to a top-pairing defender. He’s not a high-end point producer which limited his negotiating power to an extent last year when this contract was signed but any time you can get a top-pairing piece locked up for less than $6MM, they’ll happily take it. Kulikov opted for long-term stability, signing this four-year deal at 33. In doing so, he signed for the rate of a depth defender, giving the Panthers some good value on the cap, even as his role likely decreases as the deal goes on.

Buyouts

D Keith Yandle ($1.242MM in 2024-25)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Verhaeghe (this season)
Worst Value: Bobrovsky

Looking Ahead

The Panthers are carrying close to a minimum-sized roster, allowing them to bank a bit of cap room; they can spend around $3.5MM at the deadline in full-season salary as things stand. That’s enough to add a depth option or two but they’ll have to get creative to add an impact piece. Still, that’s more flexibility than a few other contenders have.

The $7.5MM jump in the cap next season gives Florida a chance to keep both Bennett and Ekblad or give them enough flexibility to sign a replacement. Keeping the full core or close to it intact is a great sign for them. Then in the 2026 summer, they currently project to have more than $50MM in cap room and while that will go down with new deals for Bennett and/or Ekblad, they’ll still have a lot of wiggle room to potentially add to that core group. For as tight as they’ve been to the Upper Limit lately, the Panthers are in solid shape on the cap front moving forward.

Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Ullmark, Milano, Utah

February 17, 2025 at 7:22 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

While Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark was supposed to get the start in tonight’s 4 Nations Face-Off finale for Sweden, that’s no longer the case. Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson first reported that the netminder is sick and won’t suit up versus Team USA. With Filip Gustavsson leaving Saturday’s game early with an illness as well, it will be Samuel Ersson who gets the nod. Ullmark was widely expected to be Sweden’s starter for this event but will wind up playing in just two periods overall, taking the overtime loss versus Finland. The outcome of this game will have no bearing on Thursday’s final as that will be a matchup of Canada and Team USA after Canada won their game in regulation this afternoon over Finland.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relays that while Capitals winger Sonny Milano was skating in a non-contact jersey before the 4 Nations break, he’s still a ways away from returning to the lineup. The 28-year-old suffered an upper-body injury in his third game of the season and hasn’t played since. Assuming he’ll see some time with AHL Hershey on a conditioning assignment, it’s possible that Milano won’t be back until after the trade deadline when roster maximum sizes are no longer in effect.
In an interview with Craig Morgan on Utah HC’s team site, GM Bill Armstrong indicated that there’s a chance that they could have all their injured players back coming out of the break. Center Logan Cooley suffered a lower-body injury at the end of January while blueliner Sean Durzi (shoulder) has been out since mid-October; getting both of them back would be a big boost for their attack. Meanwhile, defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) has missed more than a month while goalie Connor Ingram left the final game before the break with an upper-body issue so it appears they’re close to returning as well.
From that same interview, Armstrong suggested that Utah has already done most of its team building already from the summer and early-season trade activity so the team is “already built to some degree”. They have six games left before the trade deadline and are six points out of the final Wild Card spot so being buyers would be a bit of a surprise. With that in mind, instead of team building, they could be doing some trimming with centers Alexander Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad, blueliners Ian Cole and Olli Maatta, and goaltender Karel Vejmelka among the long list of pending unrestricted free agents this summer.

Assessing Brayden Schenn As A Trade Candidate For The Colorado Avalanche

February 17, 2025 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 8 Comments

In a recent edition of his mailbag, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette assessed Brayden Schenn’s potential fit with the Colorado Avalanche. It’s hard to imagine the St. Louis Blues sending a top-six center to a division rival, but Schenn might be exactly what the Avalanche need.

There’s no question Colorado has high-end talent. Even after trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in late January, the Avalanche still have annual MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon and James Norris candidate Cale Makar on the roster. Still, Colorado has failed to find a consistent answer at the second-line center position since Nazem Kadri left as an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Kadri’s immediate replacements were Alex Newhook and J.T. Compher during the 2022-23 season but later departed the organization. The Avalanche took their biggest swing at last year’s deadline, sending emerging top-four defenseman Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for Casey Mittelstadt. The Eden Prairie, MN native performed admirably down the stretch, scoring four goals and 10 points in 18 regular season contests with another three goals and nine points in 11 games during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

This season hasn’t been as fruitful. Mittelstadt is fifth in scoring on the team with nine goals and 32 points in 57 games. However, his -13 rating ranks last in Colorado and his 41.8% faceoff rate is the second-worst of his eight-year career. Mittelstadt’s disappointing production has led to some reporting that the Avalanche have already engaged in trade talks regarding the center they recently signed to a three-year, $17.25MM contract.

Rawal correctly points out that Schenn and Mittelstadt’s points-per-60 are remarkably similar at 1.55 and 1.52 respectively. Still, Schenn’s track record as a physical player willing to sacrifice his body on both sides of the puck can’t be understated, and his 50.1% success rate in the faceoff dot will help Colorado pull themselves out of 30th place in the category. Additionally, it’s known that Schenn and MacKinnon have become close friends over the years which would help his transition to the Avalanche’s locker room.

Still, there would be some concerns regarding Schenn’s acquisition, especially if Colorado considers sending Mittelstadt the other way in a potential swap. For one, Schenn is signed through the 2027-28 season for $6.5MM taking him to his age 36 season. Mittelstadt is dissimilarly on the ’right side’ of 30 so the Avalanche wouldn’t be acquiring a player enthralled in his prime years of production. As a counterpoint, Schenn has never relied on his speed or quickness to create offense so he may age more gracefully than most.

Colorado has the cap space to make it work, assuming Mittelstadt is a part of the return package. There’s no indication the two Central Division rivals will link up for a trade of this magnitude but Schenn may become a top-trade candidate for the Avalanche leading up to the deadline.

Will The Toronto Maple Leafs Make A Splash At The Trade Deadline?

February 17, 2025 at 12:33 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 17 Comments

In an article today in The Athletic (Subscription Required), Jonas Siegel offered four arguments on why the time is nigh for the Toronto Maple Leafs to make a big splash at the trade deadline. The Maple Leafs have a pair of holes to fill in their lineup but the Eastern Conference seems more wide-open than in years past.

Siegel outlines Toronto’s lineup needs clearly. The team needs a legitimate option at the third-line center position and a right-handed shooting top-four defenseman. The Maple Leafs already have right-handed shot defensemen such as Chris Tanev, Jani Hakanpää (injured), Conor Timmins, and Philippe Myers. Still, Tanev is arguably the only one of the quartet that should command top-four minutes.

Siegel argues that Toronto should target a defenseman like Colton Parayko rather than short-term options like Luke Schenn or David Savard. An acquisition of Parayko would have plenty of challenges to overcome largely due to the full no-trade clause in his contract. Still, given that he’s averaging over 24 minutes a night with the St. Louis Blues, has already scored 12 goals in 55 games, and is known for his shot-blocking and physicality, Parayko is an ideal trade candidate for the Maple Leafs.

Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators was the only player mentioned as a potential candidate to take over third-line duties. He’s on a remarkably affordable $4.5MM salary through the 2026-27 season without trade protection and already has familiarity with the Maple Leafs organization. Whether it’s O’Reilly or another center, Toronto must improve upon Pontus Holmberg, who went scoreless in the Maple Leafs’ opening-round loss against the Boston Bruins in last year’s playoffs, as their third-line center.

As much as a big splash may satisfy Toronto’s needs, a lot rests on how much they’re willing to part with at the deadline. In the last five years alone the Maple Leafs have traded a first-round pick to offload the contract of Patrick Marleau, Trevor Moore in a package for Jack Campbell, Mason Marchment for Denis Malgin, a first-round pick for Stefan Noesen, a first-round pick to offload the contract of Petr Mrázek, a first-round pick for O’Reilly, and another first-round pick for Jake McCabe.

Some of those trades worked out better than others but Toronto has only managed to move beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs once over that stretch. All those moves were made during the last administration guided by Kyle Dubas, and current general manager Brad Treliving took a different approach last year. The highest-valued asset that Treliving moved at last year’s deadline was the New York Islanders’ 2024 third-round pick in a package for defenseman Joel Edmundson.

Siegel points out that the only way the Maple Leafs will manage to make any splashes is if they’re willing to move prospects such as Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, or Ben Danford, and their 2026 first-round pick. Toronto has not indicated an eagerness to include any of the previously mentioned assets but it’s difficult to disagree with Siegel’s thinking.

4 Nations Notes: Tkachuk, Makar, Armia, Teräväinen

February 17, 2025 at 11:00 am CDT | by Brennan McClain 11 Comments

One of the more unfortunate substories during Team USA’s victory over Team Canada on Saturday night was the lower-body injury forward Matthew Tkachuk suffered in the third period. He won’t play against Team Sweden tonight, as Dan Rosen of the NHL reported that Tkachuk didn’t practice with the team this morning.

Since they are the only team in the tournament with two regulation wins, there’s not much on the line for Team USA this evening. However, it seems the United States is confident Tkachuk will return for the championship game on Thursday. Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe shared a note from Matthew’s brother, Brady Tkachuk, saying Matthew will be ’good to go’ for Thursday’s matchup.

It’ll be important for the United States to get Matthew back in the lineup for the championship contest. He scored two goals and one assist in their victory against Team Finland last week and got the all-important matchup against Canada started with a fight against Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff. Much like they are for their respective NHL clubs, the Tkachuk brothers have quickly become Teams USA’s emotional lifeblood.

Other notes from the 4 Nations Face-Off:

Another important substory from Saturday night’s rivalry matchup between Canada and the United States was the lack of the former’s top defenseman, Cale Makar. The former James Norris, Calder, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner was dealing with an illness that prohibited him from participating. Unfortunately for Team Canada, there’s no guarantee he’ll return against Team Finland. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shared that Makar has again been listed as a game-time decision for today’s matchup, meaning a firmer decision will be made closer to puck drop.
Speaking of Team Finland, the team’s forward grouping will look slightly different. Dan Rosen reported that Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia is replacing Chicago Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teräväinen in this afternoon’s lineup. Teräväinen has gone scoreless throughout the tournament averaging approximately 8:30 of ice time per game.

Trade Deadline Primer: Ottawa Senators

February 17, 2025 at 9:28 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Ottawa Senators.

The Ottawa Senators limped into the 4 Nations Face-Off break on a three-game losing streak but remain positioned to buy at the NHL Trade Deadline as they currently occupy the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators haven’t made the playoffs since 2017 and will likely opt to be a buyer at the deadline as they try to break their playoff drought. The team will also look to show their core that they are serious about winning after years of negative headlines surrounding the franchise. Ottawa isn’t a lock to make the playoffs with four teams within four points of them. However, a few solid moves could propel them to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.

Record

29-23-4, 4th in the Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$880K on deadline day, 1/3 retention spots used, 47/50 contract spots used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: OTT 1st*, OTT 2nd, FLA 3rd, OTT 5th, OTT 6th, OTT 7th
2026: OTT 1st*, OTT 3rd, FLA 3rd, WASH 3rd, OTT 5th, OTT 6th, COL 6th

*Ottawa must forfeit their first-round pick in either 2025 or 2026 for the Evgenii Dadonov penalty.

Trade Chips

As surprising as this may be, the Ottawa Senators may not get too many runs at the playoffs with their current core due to poor drafting and asset management. Ottawa has one of the worst prospect rankings in the NHL (27th in the NHL as per The Athletic) and will be without a first-round pick in one of the next two drafts due to Dadonov penalty. The positive for Ottawa is that they have their young core locked into long-term deals, and with new management in place, they can still rebuild the farm system. What this all means for the Senators is that they don’t have a ton of desirable trade assets if they want to hunt for an impact player at this year’s deadline, and they also lack cap space, which will limit their ability to make moves.

The Senators benefitted immensely from the Erik Karlsson trade with San Jose back in 2018, acquiring the third overall pick in 2020 that became Tim Stützle as well as center Josh Norris (and several other pieces, including Dylan DeMelo). While Stützle has become a star, Norris has carved out a solid career as well when he is healthy. Norris has averaged 31 goals per 82 games. However, he has only played more than 60 games once in his career (66 games in 2021-22) and missed a combined 106 games between 2022 and 2024. The 25-year-old Norris has had his name pop up in trade rumors earlier in the season, and given his contract and injury history, it could make sense for Ottawa to try and move on from his $7.95MM cap hit. Ottawa also has Shane Pinto, who could slide into Norris’s spot if the Senators feel that he is ready.

Another chip the Senators could dangle is backup goaltender Anton Forsberg. Forsberg is an expensive luxury at this point and has been considerably outplayed by youngster Leevi Merilainen this season. The 32-year-old is in the final season of a three-year contract and is counting $2.75MM against the salary cap. In 21 games this year, Forsberg has posted an 8-10-1 record with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. While on the surface, those numbers look pedestrian, the NHL is a league starved for goaltending, and Forsberg has registered a goals saved above expected of 1 this season (as per Money Puck). Ottawa could look to flip out Forsberg for a small asset and then use the cap savings to fill out a hole in their roster and call up Merilainen for the remainder of the season.

Ottawa could opt to move on from other veterans who have underperformed, such as David Perron or Michael Amadio, but given the tight salary cap situation for most teams this year, it would be wise to wait until the summer for such a move.

If the Senators decided to move out draft picks or prospects, there would certainly be interest in a first-round pick, but that would leave Ottawa without a first-round pick in back-to-back drafts. Ottawa does hold three third-round picks next season and could move out one of those for a depth piece at the deadline. If Ottawa wanted to trade a prospect, Carter Yakemchuk would have a ton of trade value but would leave the Senators without their top prospect in an already-thin pool. Mads Søgaard is another name Ottawa could move on from, but at 24, he holds almost no trade value and would be viewed as a long shot by most teams.

With a shallow pool of prospects, limited roster pieces to move, and questions around their more desirable draft picks, Ottawa doesn’t have a ton of assets with much trade value, which will limit their ability to improve the team this season.

Team Needs

1) Depth Defensemen: Ottawa has been a good defensive team this season (10th in the NHL), but that doesn’t mean they don’t have holes in their defense core. One listen to any Ottawa-based radio program or podcast and you will hear a plethora of fans calling for the Senators to find a third pairing defenseman, preferably of the right shot variety. Veteran Travis Hamonic has played considerably better this year than last, but he still struggles on the possession front and probably plays too much for what he is at this point in his career. Ottawa has also used Tyler Kleven on the third pairing, and while the 23-year-old looks to have potential, his numbers have mirrored Hamonic’s.

The Senators don’t need to break the bank to acquire a defenseman, and there should be plenty available heading into the deadline. Rasmus Ristolainen is a name that has been kicked around in trade rumors (not involving the Senators), but Ottawa would be wise to steer clear of him and his $5.1MM cap hit. Another name is Carson Soucy out of Vancouver, but he too is expensive and has been among the worst defensemen in the NHL this season, as per Evolving-Hockey’s all-in-one goals above replacement stat (subscription required). A name that could make sense for Ottawa, if they can clear cap space, is Connor Murphy of the Chicago Blackhawks. Murphy was once considered a top-four defender but has been saddled with tough minutes on the rebuilding Blackhawks. Murphy carries a $4.4MM cap hit for this year and next season but would likely flourish in a depth role with the Senators.

2) Depth Forward: Ottawa has had to use several players in the top six this season who would benefit from playing in the bottom six. Some of them have posted elevated numbers (Adam Gaudette), but for the most part, there have been struggles. Ottawa appears to be conscious of this, as they have already been linked to Ryan Donato of Chicago, which makes sense for them, given his low cap hit for the rest of this season and his on-ice impact. Donato has 19 goals and 18 assists in 53 games this season and is also a physical presence, registering 89 hits. With some shuffling, Ottawa could fit his modest $2MM cap hit into their lineup. The issue that Ottawa might face with Donato is that his offensive production benefits greatly from playing in an elevated role with Connor Bedard on a less talented Blackhawks team.

The Senators have also been linked to Brandon Tanev of the Seattle Kraken, who would inject some energy and physicality into the bottom-six forward group but wouldn’t offer much more than depth offense. The 33-year-old has nine goals and eight assists in 55 games this season and has topped 30 points just once in his career. Tanev is the kind of player who could thrive in a physical playoff series, as evidenced by his 170 hits in 46 career NHL playoff games.

Ottawa will have some options for forward depth leading into the trade deadline, but it will all come down to whether or not they can free up cap space to add to their current lineup.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Five Key Stories: 2/10/25 – 2/16/25

February 16, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The 4 Nations Face-Off has hit the halfway mark and with there being no NHL games on the slate, it was a relatively quiet week around the hockey world aside from the four tournament games. Nonetheless, there was still some news of note which is recapped in our key stories.

More International Hockey: We saw the return of best-on-best hockey (at least for four countries) with the 4 Nations tournament and there will be another event next year with the Olympics. Another tournament has been added to the calendar as the World Cup of Hockey will make its return in 2028. The last time this was played was back in 2016 with Canada taking the best-of-three series over Team Europe to win the title. As is the case with the 4 Nations Face-Off, this event will not fall under the IIHF’s umbrella while it remains to be seen if Russia, who has been excluded from international events in recent years, will be allowed to participate in this one.

Extension For Steel: While transaction activity has been extremely limited over the past week, the Stars took care of one of their pending unrestricted free agents, signing center Sam Steel to a two-year, $4.2MM extension. The 27-year-old is in his second season in Dallas, returning despite being non-tendered last summer. Steel hasn’t been able to come close to replicating the type of offensive success that he had at the junior level but he has turned into a reliable checker; he leads all Stars forwards in ATOI shorthanded. The deal represents a nice raise for the 27-year-old as he will go from making $1.2MM this season to an AAV of $2.1MM for next year.

Theodore Exits 4 Nations: Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore was pegged to play a significant role for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, his tournament lasted only a handful of shifts as he suffered an upper-body injury in the opener and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the event. Subsequently, Vegas announced that the blueliner is expected to be out on a week-to-week basis. The 29-year-old sits fourth among all NHL rearguards in scoring with 48 points in 55 games while averaging over 22 minutes. His exit comes on the heels of Vegas teammate Alex Pietrangelo withdrawing from the tournament to nurse a nagging injury as the Golden Knights will be dealing with a banged-up back end when the season resumes this coming weekend. Theodore’s absence resulted in Dallas defender Thomas Harley being put on standby to join the team, something that has since happened with Cale Makar battling an illness.

Calling It A Career: Long-time NHL winger Loui Eriksson has called it a career, announcing his retirement at the age of 39. Eriksson played in 16 seasons at the top level with four different organizations, spanning 1,050 games altogether. He picked up 253 goals and 360 assists over that time with his best years coming between 2009-10 and 2011-12 with Dallas where he notched at least 71 points in each of those three seasons. Eriksson also finished in the top five in Lady Byng Trophy voting three times. After his final NHL campaign in 2021-22, he wrapped up his playing career with Frolunda in the SHL, returning to the program he came up with in his junior days.

Dobson Changes Agents: Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson has been talked about a lot lately. There was recent trade speculation which was quickly refuted but not long after that, he changed agencies, moving to Wasserman. Speculatively, the change likely doesn’t relate to the trade speculation but rather to the fact he has a contract negotiation on the horizon. The 25-year-old had a breakout year last season, tallying 70 points in 79 games while logging 24:31 per night. He hasn’t been producing at quite the same pace this year though but either way, he’s in for a substantial raise from the $4MM he’s receiving this season. With arbitration rights, Dobson is in line to more than double that on his next deal, one that will have a new agent working on it.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

East Notes: Byram, Grzelcyk, Lafreniere

February 16, 2025 at 7:26 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 8 Comments

Between the pending jump in the salary cap over the next few seasons and the fact the Sabres are paying Owen Power $8.35MM, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News believes that blueliner Bowen Byram’s next contract could run past the $9MM range. The 23-year-old has already matched his career high in points, notching 29 through Buffalo’s first 54 games. He’s also averaging more than 23 minutes a night of playing time, a number that would also be a career-best if that holds up down the stretch. Giving Byram that much would have the Sabres spending close to $30MM on their top three defenders but it would also give them plenty of upside at that position for a while. Byram is a pending restricted free agent with salary arbitration eligibility this summer and will be owed a $4.62MM qualifying offer in late June.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

Earlier this month, the Penguins moved one of their pending unrestricted free agents on the back end when Marcus Pettersson was dealt to Vancouver. They still have another pending UFA blueliner in Matt Grzelcyk. However, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if the fact that Pettersson is gone and that Grzelcyk has had a bounce-back year could mean that Pittsburgh could consider keeping him around beyond this season if they don’t get a compelling offer for him by the trade deadline. The 31-year-old has 28 points in 57 games and is averaging over 20 minutes a night for the first time which is pretty good value on a one-year, $2.75MM contract signed last summer.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests (subscription link) that the Rangers might want to consider trading winger Alexis Lafreniere, suggesting Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras as a possible target in a swap that wouldn’t be just one-for-one. Lafreniere got off to a solid start this season, earning himself a seven-year, $52.15MM extension in late October. However, since the contract, he has just 25 points in 48 games, numbers that are decent while he’s still on his entry-level deal but expectations will be higher moving forward. Brooks questions if the 23-year-old will be able to play to his full potential in New York, wondering if a swap of highly touted but underachieving young forwards might be the better way to go.

Trade Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

February 16, 2025 at 3:59 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 12 Comments

This Trade Deadline may not mean more for one team than for the New York Rangers. They’ve been among the most active teams this season, dealing away Jacob Trouba, Filip Chytil, and Victor Mancini in deals that landed them J.T. Miller and Urho Vaakanainen. Their early returns have proven more promising than many expected, but it hasn’t been enough to pull the Rangers up from their slide down the standings. They enter mid-February in firm competition for the Eastern Conference wild cards with four other teams. The Rangers have scored the second-most and allowed the 10th-most goals in the league since the start of January and could be poised to lean into their inconsistent year with an overhaul at the deadline.