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Cale Makar Wins 2025 Norris Trophy

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Avalanche star Cale Makar has been voted the NHL’s top defenseman and will take home the 2025 James Norris Memorial Trophy, the league announced Wednesday.

It’s the second time taking home the Norris for Makar, who became the first defenseman in Avalanche franchise history to win it when he was crowned the league’s best rearguard following the 2021-22 season. He was the clear favorite for the award, becoming the first D-man to hit 30 goals and 90 points in the same season since Paul Coffey in 1988-89 while finishing the year with a 10-point lead in scoring among defenseman ahead of the Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski, although the two tied with 54 even-strength points.

Among defensemen, Makar also ranked 11th in plus-minus (+28), first in points per game (1.15), second in shots on goal (246), and third in average time on ice (25:43). He also recorded 128 blocks, the second-highest mark of his six-year career. Makar’s possession impacts once again flourished after an unusually subpar defensive showing in 2023-24, controlling 56.6% of shot attempts and a career-high 59.4% of expected goals at even strength.

The 6’0″ righty finished ahead of Werenski and Canucks lefty Quinn Hughes for the award. Makar received 176 first-place votes and 1,861 total points, while Werenski was the runner-up with 13 first-place votes and 1,266 points. The full voting breakdown is as follows, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic:

  1. Makar – 1,861 points (176-13-2-0-0)
  2. Werenski – 1,266 points (13-132-38-7-1)
  3. Hughes – 918 points (2-39-110-21-12)
  4. Josh Morrissey, Jets – 280 (0-5-18-41-32)
  5. Victor Hedman, Lightning – 265 (0-1-11-55-38)
  6. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres – 120 (0-0-4-26-22)
  7. Thomas Harley, Stars – 60 (0-1-1-7-27)
  8. Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes – 60 (0-0-2-13-11)
  9. Lane Hutson, Canadiens – 42 (0-0-1-5-22)
  10. Jake Sanderson, Senators – 33 (0-0-0-9-6)
  11. Evan Bouchard, Oilers – 29 (0-0-2-4-7)
  12. Adam Fox, Rangers – 9 (0-0-1-0-4)
  13. Gustav Forsling, Panthers – 8 (0-0-1-0-3)
  14. Ryan McDonagh, Lightning – 5 (0-0-0-1-2)
  15. Devon Toews, Avalanche – 4 (0-0-0-1-1)
  16. John Carlson, Capitals – 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
  17. Jakob Chychrun, Capitals – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    Brock Faber, Wild – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    Shea Theodore, Golden Knights – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)

Makar’s run of dominance to begin his career is putting him on a fast track to Hall-of-Fame status. He’s now the sixth player to win at least two Norrises in the first six seasons of his NHL career, and he’s been a finalist for the award in every year since his rookie season. He still finished in the top 10 in voting while winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year in 2019-20.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Eetu Mäkiniemi Signs One-Year Deal With Liiga’s TPS

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Finnish goaltender Eetu Mäkiniemi is headed home on a one-year deal with TPS of the first-tier Liiga, per a club announcement. The Flyers’ fifth-stringer this season was a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent.

Mäkiniemi, 26, once had legitimate NHL upside but has been derailed by injuries in the past few years. That continued in 2024-25. He reported to AHL Lehigh Valley after being cut from training camp and, after posting a 3.03 GAA, .899 SV%, and a 3-0-2 record in five games, sustained a sports hernia in mid-November and never returned after undergoing surgery.

A fourth-round pick by the Hurricanes in 2017, Mäkiniemi signed his entry-level deal with Carolina and came to North America for the 2021-22 campaign. He impressed in limited action with AHL Chicago, posting a .922 SV% and 2.06 GAA in 14 appearances along with an 11-2-1 record. Buried among a bevy of strong netminding prospects in the Canes’ system, though, he was deemed expendable and traded to the Sharks the following summer in the deal that sent Brent Burns from San Jose to Carolina.

Mäkiniemi made his NHL debut the following season, posting a 1-0-1 record with a .906 SV% and 2.13 GAA in one start and one relief appearance for the lowly Sharks in a pair of contests in December 2022. He never made it back to the top level, though. After being demoted to ECHL Wichita for a time the following year, he reached Group VI UFA status for the first time and opted instead to latch on with the Flyers on a two-way deal last summer in hopes of climbing up their depth chart. While he had a decent AHL start and strong training camp, his injury derailed any chance of that.

He’ll now return to Liiga to rediscover some consistency and hopefully stay healthy. The 6’2″, 183-lb netminder last played in the top flight with Ilves in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, recording a 2.43 GAA, .911 SV%, two shutouts, and a 15-14-11 record in 41 appearances. He’ll presumably be TPS’ starter ahead of 20-year-old World Juniors silver medalist Noa Vali, who struggled in his first full-time Liiga season in 2024-25 with a .887 SV% in 26 showings. A strong year for Mäkiniemi, particularly since he only signed a one-year deal, could land him another NHL contract in the summer of 2026.

Offseason Checklist: Colorado Avalanche

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The offseason has arrived for all but two teams now with the playoffs nearing an end.  Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming weeks with free agency fast approaching.  Next up is a look at Colorado.

The Avalanche set a franchise record with three straight 100-point regular seasons in 2023-24 and extended that streak in 2024-25, although their .622 points percentage was still their worst in six years. That record was influenced by one of the biggest in-season resets in recent memory, carried out by general manager Chris MacFarland, who managed to give his club a new goaltending tandem and swap out a large portion of their forward group between opening night and the postseason. While the team had an excellent record down the stretch, winning 16 of their last 23 games, they lost a seven-game heartbreaker to the Stars in the first round. With a brand-new support staff for Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in tow, Colorado has a few items to tend to this summer to extend their championship contention window.

Solidify Nečas’ Future

Star winger Mikko Rantanen was a pending unrestricted free agent last summer; extension talks for him were an item on their 2024 offseason checklist. They now enter the same situation with Martin Nečas, the centerpiece of their return when they sent Rantanen to the Hurricanes in January following unproductive contract negotiations. He’ll become a pending UFA on July 1 as he enters the back half of the two-year, $13MM bridge deal he signed with Carolina as a restricted free agent in 2024.

Nečas’ trade value had never been higher than when Carolina dealt him. The Czech forward was on pace to break the point-per-game mark for the first time in his career with a 16-39–55 line in 49 games at the time of the trade. Even though 55 points was his career average per 82 games entering the season, the Avs hoped that might be sustainable if they plopped Nečas in Rantanen’s spot next to MacKinnon, a higher-caliber center than he had in Raleigh-Durham.

Instead, things went about as expected for Nečas in Colorado. He saw his minutes increase, skating over 20 minutes per game after averaging 17-18 during his time in Carolina, but his production tapered off slightly from his early-season tear. He still managed 11 goals and 28 points in 30 games to end the year, which still would have been a career-high 0.93 points per game pace over a full season on their own, but predictably didn’t click at the well above a point per game rate Rantanen had over the last five years in Denver.

Nečas will still be one of the Avalanche’s better-value contracts last season at a $6.5MM cap hit if he can play a full season, something he’s had no trouble doing, and remain around that 75-80 point pace. However, unlike waiting until after the season started to have aggressive extension talks with Rantanen, they’ll look to kick Nečas’ discussions off earlier to avoid a repeat and force another in-season blockbuster to avoid losing him for nothing next summer. Yet with a rising cap, he’s due a considerable raise. AFP Analytics projects a Nečas extension with a $9.9MM cap hit for seven seasons, considering the salary cap’s projected jump to $104MM for the 2026-27 campaign. MacFarland needs to begin weighing if that’s a price he’s willing to pay with Makar becoming extension-eligible in the summer of 2026.

Create Cap Flexibility

Outside of Nečas, the Avs don’t have much in the way of major contract business to attend to. They’ve had a busy past few weeks, keeping new second-line center Brock Nelson in the fold on a three-year extension with a $7.5MM cap hit. They also got their new starting goaltender, Mackenzie Blackwood, signed to a five-year extension shortly after acquiring him from the Sharks in December.

The good news is they already have 19 of 23 roster spots locked in for next season as a result. The bad news is that they have just $1.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, only enough to sign one league-minimum player and carry a roster with no healthy extras. At present, they stand no chance of re-signing their two top UFAs, winger Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Even one cap-dump trade likely won’t be enough to bring back one of them, but it would at least allow them to add more cheap pickups (or re-sign a few of their own) while having in-season flexibility in case short-term injuries arise.

The few inefficient contracts on Colorado’s books will be under scrutiny as a result. They sent Casey Mittelstadt to the Bruins at the trade deadline to acquire veteran Charlie Coyle to serve as their new third-line center, but he carries a $5.25MM price tag. With MacKinnon and Nelson, their top two centers, now making a combined $20.1MM against the cap, that’s not an affordable number for a No. 3 – even if he ended the year strong with 13 points in 19 games. With only one year left on his deal and one year removed from a career-high 60 points with Boston, they wouldn’t have much trouble moving him at first glance. However, they’d need to convince Coyle to waive his no-movement clause, something he may not be eager to do again after waiving it to join a championship contender in Colorado.

There’s also Ross Colton, whose $4MM cap hit is fine value in a vacuum but, again, a tad pricey for a third-line winger. Moving Coyle and saving an additional $1.25MM in space would be far preferable, but it would be easier to move Colton, who only has a modified no-trade clause and had a 16-13–29 scoring line in 61 games last season. Injury-prone depth winger Miles Wood, who’s less expensive at $2.5MM per season, could also be someone Colorado looks to ship out, but that could also prove semi-challenging with four years left on his contract. He also has a six-team no-trade list.

That might mean Colorado turns to their defense, where their depth is far weaker, as a necessity to free up space. They wouldn’t be looking to deal either of their major trade candidates, second-pairing fixtures Samuel Girard and Josh Manson, purely as a cap dump as a result, particularly without many suitable options to replace them in free agency. They’d be looking to attach an asset to them to gain a more cost-efficient roster player back, even if they’re getting a worse overall player, to be able to spread the wealth a little more behind their elite top pairing of Makar and Devon Toews. Girard has two years left on his contract at $5MM per season with a nine-team no-trade list, while Manson has one year left at $4.5MM with a 12-team no-trade list.

Find A New Power Play Coach

While the Avalanche continued to boast a top-10 power play in the regular season as they have for many years, they converted at just a 13.6% clip against Dallas in the first round. That was 14th out of 16 playoff teams and enough of a margin of error to cost assistant coach Ray Bennett, who had been responsible for the man-advantage unit under head coach Jared Bednar for the last eight seasons, his job.

Bennett has since landed with the Isles, but the Avalanche, who only operate with two assistants (not including a goalie coach) under Bednar instead of the standard three anyway, have yet to name his replacement. That means Nolan Pratt currently serves as Bednar’s lone assistant. This arrangement obviously won’t stretch into the regular season, but for a team with scoring talent of Colorado’s caliber, they need to find their desired option as Bennett’s successor quickly amid other teams filling their AC vacancies.

One name to speculatively watch out for is former Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft. He was a finalist for a few head coach vacancies this offseason but was passed over for all of them. There’s now a potential new opportunity for him in Dallas after the Stars fired Pete DeBoer, but if he’s not considered for the gig, he has experience managing a wealth of high-end scoring talent in Edmonton with good results and could be a natural fit.

Add Defensive Depth

As alluded to earlier, the Avs simply need more behind Makar and Toews on the blue line. This item is a bit of a TBD based on how they handle any potential Girard or Manson trade.

Assuming they manage to open up a bit of flexibility somehow, they still need some third-pairing upgrades even if Girard and Manson remain on next year’s roster. Big lefty Keaton Middleton is a fine press-box option at his peak but not a legitimate everyday third-pairing option on a contender. Righty Sam Malinski played 76 games this season and, while a pending RFA, should be cheap to re-sign and would be a good value piece as Colorado’s 3RD if so. They need a more competent two-way partner for him than Middleton at the very least, though.

That will presumably be the focus of their likely minimal activity in free agency. While not particularly inspiring, there are affordable pending UFAs like Marc Del Gaizo, Joel Hanley, and Jonathon Merrill who can comfortably average more than the paltry 11:29 per game of deployment Middleton received in his 41 games this season. If they manage to clear up more considerable cap space, they could begin to consider some higher-caliber lefties like Brian Dumoulin, Matt Grzelcyk, or Nate Schmidt to play sheltered minutes behind Toews and Girard on the left side, or potentially even bring back Lindgren.

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

Mac Hollowell Signs In Russia

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June 11: Yaroslavl made Hollowell’s addition official today, announcing a one-year deal for the defender on their Telegram channel.

May 29: Pending Group VI unrestricted free agent defenseman Mac Hollowell “is in the final stages of negotiations” to join Russia’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League, Andrey Pchelintsev of Sovsport.ru relays.

Hollowell, 26, hasn’t played in the NHL since receiving a six-game trial with the Maple Leafs in the 2022-23 campaign. He spent this season on a two-way deal with the Penguins after also becoming a Group VI UFA last summer, but he cleared waivers during training camp and went the entire year without a call-up.

The 5’10’, 176-lb righty thus played out his sixth minor-league season with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leading their defensemen in scoring with 31 points (1 G, 30 A) in 56 games along with a minus-three rating. Pittsburgh was his third NHL organization. He was initially drafted by current Penguins GM Kyle Dubas in 2018 in the fourth round when he was at the helm in Toronto, playing four years in their system before being non-tendered in 2023. He signed a two-way deal with the Rangers that summer but was stashed with their AHL affiliate in Hartford for the entirety of the campaign before inking his most recent two-way agreement with Pittsburgh.

Without a clear pathway to NHL minutes, the Ontario native will look for an expanded role in one of the top leagues in the world. Lokomotiv is fresh off its first Gagarin Cup championship in franchise history. However, they’ve already lost a piece of their back end to the NHL in the form of 2023 No. 6 overall pick Dmitri Simashev, who signed his entry-level contract with the Mammoth yesterday. Hollowell, an adept puck-mover with a career 0.56 points per game rate in 244 AHL games, would be an impact pickup for a club with just three defenders under contract for next season at the time of writing.

Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders

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Free agency is now under 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 also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Islanders.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Noah Dobson – Dobson’s second trip through restricted free agency should be interesting. After scoring 10 goals and 70 points in 79 games during the 2023-24 season, Dobson could only muster 10 goals and 39 points in 71 games this past season, being severely limited by injuries. Dobson’s name had popped up in a few trade rumors during the regular season, and those were exacerbated when he changed his representation in mid-February. Given the new regime change in the Islanders’ front office, it’s hard to speculate if they’ll give Dobson a short-term deal, lock him up long-term as the team’s top defenseman, or gauge his value on the trade market.

F Simon Holmström – Holmström continues to grow as a quality scorer for the Islanders. He increased his pace this past season, going from 15 goals and 25 points in 2023-24 to 20 goals and 45 points in 2024-25. Those numbers were good for fourth on the team in scoring, and the Islanders hope that Holmström can continue his upward trajectory and get into the 25 to 30-goal range in 2025-26. Depending on the new front office’s aggression this offseason, Holmström could be a sneaky winger to retain on a long-term contract for a lower price point than many of his peers on Long Island.

D Alexander Romanov – Assuming the Islanders re-sign Dobson for next season, they’ll already have six defensemen on the active roster without Romanov. Like Dobson, Romanov’s 2024-25 campaign was limited by injuries, managing fewer than 70 games for the first time since his rookie campaign. He maintained a quality scoring pace, but his defensive metrics declined significantly this past season, which could make Romanov a trade piece this summer. The Islanders shouldn’t expect to get a top-15 selection in return (like they gave up to acquire him), but it could provide them an avenue to re-stock the prospect cupboard.

Other RFAs: F Maxim Tsyplakov, F Marc Gatcomb, D Scott Perunovich, F Liam Foudy, F Ruslan Iskhakov, F Adam Beckman, D Samuel Bolduc, D Travis Mitchell, D Aidan Fulp

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Tony DeAngelo – Unlike the situation regarding their restricted free agents, the Islanders don’t have much to worry about regarding their pending unrestricted free agents. DeAngelo is the only one of note after he was brought in mid-season to help the Islanders defensive core recover from a slew of injuries. The offensive-minded defenseman stayed true to form for the Islanders, posting four goals and 19 points in 35 games, eating more than 23 minutes of ice time per game, and posting some of the worst defensive metrics on the team. Given his apparent shortcomings in the defensive zone, it’s unlikely the Islanders pursue an extended relationship with DeAngelo.

Other UFAs: F Hudson Fasching, F Matt Martin, D Mike Reilly, F Julien Gauthier, F Fredrik Karlström, F Tyce Thompson, D Grant Hutton, G Jakub Skarek

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately, the Islanders will only have approximately $21MM to spend this offseason, which should get used to retain their crop of restricted free agents. It would behoove Mathieu Darche and his new administration to trade Jean-Gabriel Pageau and his $5MM salary this summer, opening up more financial flexibility for other additions. The Islanders have the benefit of making the first-overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, so they’ll get a top player regardless, but this team has more holes to fill than one player can fix.

Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

Red Wings Sign Michal Postava To Entry-Level Contract

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According to a team announcement, the Detroit Red Wings have signed netminder Michal Postava to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will run through the 2026-27 NHL season, when Postava will become a restricted free agent.

Based on their transaction history for the last year, Detroit is attempting to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks regarding their goaltending situation. The team brought in veterans Cam Talbot and Jack Campbell last summer and acquired Petr Mrázek from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline.

Furthermore, Detroit has two of the higher-end goaltending prospects in the NHL, Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine, although the latter has yet to debut at the professional level. Given his age and relatively brief professional history in Czechia, Postava should be considered a prospect rather than immediate help.

He doesn’t project as high as other netminders in his age group, but Postava is coming off a quality season with HC Kometa Brno in Czechia’s highest league. The 23-year-old goalie managed a 23-18-0 record in 42 games with a .921 SV% and 2.39 GAA, including three shutouts.

He provided even better numbers in the postseason. In 17 playoff contests, Postava earned 10 wins with a .940 SV% and 1.97 GAA, backstopping Kometa Brno to their third league championship.

It’s unlikely that Postava will challenge for a spot on the active roster during training camp, meaning the expectation is that he’ll start the year with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. There, Postava will be paired with Cossa as the Griffins look to build on their competitive 2024-25 season.

Oilers’ Jake Walman Fined Twice For Game 3 Incidents

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It was almost a guarantee that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety (DoPS) would have work to do after a hectic Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. Earlier today, the DoPS shared that they had fined Oilers defenseman Jake Walman a total of $10K, the maximum allowable under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Walman earned a pair of fines from last night’s events. Walman received two minor penalties for the first incident, along with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for roughing Matthew Tkachuk. Meanwhile, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad also received two minor penalties for roughing while defending his teammate.

The second incident took place outside the area of play. As he was exiting the ice, Walman had his glove taken and subsequently thrown into Florida’s bench by Panthers forward A.J. Greer. In response, Walman took one of the Oilers’ water bottles and began spraying it toward the Panthers’ bench, which earned an automatic fine.

Surprisingly, the DoPS only bestowed additional punishment to Walman from last night’s contest, and doesn’t seem likely to issue more. There were 35 penalties called in Game 3, of various forms, with 26 of them coming in the third period. Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse led the way with 19 PIMs, while Florida forward Jonah Gadjovich led the opposition with 15.

Atlantic Notes: Marchand, Peterka, Giroux

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Much has already been made of Brad Marchand’s upcoming trip through unrestricted free agency, with recent reports indicating he could earn as much as $8MM a year given his durability and impressive postseason performance with the Florida Panthers. Piggybacking off that report, TSN’s Chris Johnston shared today on TSN 1050 that Marchand will prioritize earning maximization on his next contract, rather than term.

According to Johnston, Marchand isn’t limiting his desire to salary, adding that a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs could make up with off-ice endorsements for what they lack in available dollars to spend. If that is the case, it would likely broaden Marchand’s market to include other large-market teams, such as the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Rangers, especially since these teams may not have as much financial flexibility as they approach the summer months.

Still, it wouldn’t be difficult for Marchand to find a new employer on the open market. He remains a capable top-six winger heading into his age-38 season, and his nearly point-per-game scoring average in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs should make him a priority for teams with a legitimate chance at the Stanley Cup next season.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • After already being named the top player on his trade board, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff lists Buffalo Sabre JJ Peterka as one of the likeliest candidates for an offer sheet this summer. It’s an interesting proposition to consider, as Seravalli lists Peterka’s potential offer sheet at the higher end of the fifth tier for compensation, which would require the signing team to send Buffalo their 2026 first, second, and third-round pick. Still, Buffalo has the financial flexibility to match nearly any offer sheet signed by Peterka, meaning they’ll have to weigh the hypothetical compensation against Peterka’s current value.
  • The Ottawa Senators and veteran Claude Giroux have reportedly been negotiating a new contract for a few weeks, and Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen shares that those contract talks have reached a pivotal stage. The two sides met last week during the NHL Combine in Buffalo, and they continue to work toward an agreeable deal. Giroux recently completed a three-year, $19.5MM contract with the Senators in which he scored 71 goals and 193 points in 245 games.

Flames Sign Adam Klapka To Two-Year Contract

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According to a team announcement, the Calgary Flames have signed forward Adam Klapka to a two-year contract extension. The pending restricted free agent will earn an AAV of $1.25MM on his new deal.

Klapka will earn nearly double his salary from this past season, playing on a one-year, $775K contract through the 2024-25 season. The undrafted forward will remain a restricted free agent upon the expiry of this contract, though he will have earned his arbitration rights.

Fortunately for Klapka, the fully guaranteed contract likely means he’ll be on the Flames roster for much of the 2025-26 season. The Praha, Czechia native split his time during the 2024-25 campaign, registering 31 games with the Flames, and 33 games with their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

Each team knows exactly what Klapka brings to the table. He’s more of a point-producer at the AHL level, scoring 48 goals and 97 points in 158 games with AHL Calgary, and another six goals and 11 points in 16 postseason contests.

Still, he should have more to offer in the NHL now that he’s gotten his rookie season out of the way. Klapka finished 2024-25 with six goals and 10 points, while averaging 9:39 of ice time per game.

His main value comes through his physicality. Despite finishing last year tied for 21st on the team in games played, Klapka finished eighth in hits and should compete for the most on the team next season, should he play a full year.

Blue Jackets Expected To Pursue Mitch Marner

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With more than $40MM to spend and only a few notable holes to fill on the roster, the Columbus Blue Jackets will have difficulty being outspent on players this summer. Keeping that in mind, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic expects General Manager Don Waddell to be very involved in Mitch Marner’s market.

Unfortunately, the Blue Jackets’ ability to spend won’t alienate all of their competition this offseason, as a report from yesterday indicated the Anaheim Ducks are contemplating a record-breaking offer for Marner’s services. Still, Columbus has even more financial flexibility than Anaheim, making their pitch the most worthwhile part.

In his article, Portzline hinted at the fact that the Blue Jackets have pursued Marner before. After the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, when the Blue Jackets eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round, the team’s top two talents, Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, departed via free agency.

Columbus’s General Manager at the time, Jarmo Kekäläinen, immediately contacted the Toronto Maple Leafs when Marner’s entry-level contract expired that same summer. Portzline doesn’t believe the Blue Jackets’ trade interest got to the point of exchanging names, as Marner signed a six-year, $65.41MM contract closer to training camp.

If Columbus ultimately signs Marner, they’ll have two of the most defensively responsible wingers in the league. Marner has finished in the top 10 of Selke Trophy voting in three out of the past five years, while Kirill Marchenko finished with a higher CorsiFor% and on-ice save percentage compared to Marner this season at even strength.

Bringing in Marner would also allow the Blue Jackets to bring in another star talent since the tragic death of Johnny Gaudreau on August 29th of last summer. Columbus embarked on a remarkably competitive season in honor of their late teammate, and adding a player of Marner’s talent would certainly boost the team’s morale level.

Unlike some of the other teams with an abundance of cap space this summer, the Blue Jackets would allow Marner to stay on a competitive roster, while also having a much smaller media presence compared to Toronto.

Ultimately, only time will tell what crest Marner will wear on his jersey next season. He won’t have a shortage of suitors, as several teams outside of Anaheim and Columbus have the available capital to make a run at his services.

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