With training camps inching closer, there is still some work to do in terms of roster building with several players in need of new contracts. A couple of those files were closed off over the past seven days and are among the key stories of the week.
Olofsson To Avalanche: It took longer than expected but winger Victor Olofsson has found his next team after signing a one-year, $1.575MM contract with Colorado. The 30-year-old is only two years removed from a career-best 28 goals but has seen his production drop since then. Last year, Olofsson notched 15 goals and 14 assists in 56 games in Vegas despite not seeing a lot of playing time in their top six. That should be particularly appealing to an Avalanche roster that has had some challenges getting production from their bottom six forward group. The deal eats up a little more than half of the cap space they had and with Logan O’Connor out to start the season, this could be it for them beyond potentially adding a player at the minimum salary around training camp.
Comeback Attempt: Veteran winger Milan Lucic is hoping to return to the NHL this season after inking a tryout deal with St. Louis. He last played in the NHL back in October 2023 but while on injured reserve, he was charged with assault and battery for a domestic incident though those charges were later dropped. However, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program but has now been cleared. In his prime, the 37-year-old was a feared power forward with 30-goal offensive production but over his last few seasons of action, he was more of a fourth liner. Now nearly two years removed from playing, it’s fair to suggest that he’ll be playing a similar role if he’s able to secure a full-season contract from the Blues.
Seven For Nazar: Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar has just 56 career NHL games under his belt after spending the first two months of last season in the minors. However, Chicago has seen enough to make a long-term commitment to him as the two sides worked out a seven-year, $46.13MM extension that will begin in the 2026-27 campaign. Drafted in the first round in 2022 with the pick acquired for Kirby Dach, Nazar spent two years at the University of Michigan before turning pro at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Last season, he notched 24 points in 21 games with AHL Rockford before putting up 12 goals and 14 assists in 53 games with the Blackhawks. They clearly feel he has another level or two to get to offensively and if he does, this could become a team-friendly deal before too long.
Surgery For Tkachuk: While Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk had hoped to avoid needing surgery, that isn’t the case as he underwent surgery to repair the adductor injury that he sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Despite playing through the injury in the playoffs, he was quite productive with 23 points in as many games to help them win their second straight Stanley Cup. Tkachuk, who is now LTIR-eligible, could be out until January. Florida will place him on LTIR, ending any short-term speculation about them needing to clear salary in the process. The Panthers wasted little time filling his spot on the roster in the short term, signing veteran forward Luke Kunin to a one-year, $775K contract. Kunin won’t be able to replace Tkachuk’s production but he’ll add further grit to a lineup that already has a lot of it.
Rossi Gets A Bridge Deal: For months, the word was that center Marco Rossi wanted a long-term contract but the Wild wanted a bridge deal. In the end, the team got their way as the two sides worked out a three-year, $15MM contract. The agreement is notably backloaded, securing Rossi a $6MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2028, his final year of RFA eligibility. Rossi’s second full NHL season was a strong one as he noted 24 goals and 36 assists in 82 games while logging over 18 minutes a night as a full-time top-six forward. However, his usage was dropped to barely 11 minutes per contest in their first-round loss to Vegas, fueling speculation about his future. But after all sorts of trade scenarios and even talk of an offer sheet, Rossi will stick around with the team that drafted him in the first round back in 2020.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.