Snapshots: Brodzinski, Blackhawks, Gallagher, Golden Knights

Over the past few years, forward Jonny Brodzinski has worked his way from being an AHL recall to a regular on the roster for the Rangers.  However, it appears his time with the franchise is coming to an end.  The 32-year-old is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and The Athletic’s Peter Baugh relays (subscription link) that the expectation is that Brodzinski will sign elsewhere this summer.  Brodzinski has spent the last six years in New York, moving from a productive minor leaguer to a capable bottom-six piece who has put up 54 points in 163 games over the past three seasons.  But with the Rangers likely wanting to give some of their younger players a look in the lineup, it would make sense for Brodzinski’s roster spot to go to one of those.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

• The buyout window is a week away so teams are starting to make their plans on that front. It appears that the Blackhawks won’t be among the teams executing one as GM Kyle Davidson told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that he doesn’t plan to use one.  Veteran winger Andre Burakovsky seemed like a potentially viable candidate with one year left at $5.5MM and only managed one goal and three assists in the final 37 games of the season.  Instead, he’ll either be moved as salary ballast over the offseason or be back with Chicago in the fall.
• In an appearance on Donnie and Dhali (video link), Gerry Johansson, the agent for Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher, confirmed he had spoken with the Canucks about being a landing spot for his client. He acknowledged that Vancouver does have interest in the 34-year-old but also noted that there are a lot of moving parts.  Gallagher, who indicated last week that he expects to be moved this offseason, has one year left on his contract with a $6.5MM AAV.  Speculatively, the moving parts could be the team trying to move out some money either as part of the swap or in a separate move.  While they have ample cap space for next season, their status as a rebuilding team will likely see them operating with a budget well below the Upper Limit of the salary cap, making Gallagher’s price tag a little harder to fit in.
• The Golden Knights were without a pair of defensemen at practice today. com’s Dan Rosen noted that Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb didn’t take part in today’s skate.  McNabb’s absence is certainly understandable given that he’s only a few days removed from being taken to the hospital after taking a shot to the face but Hanifin’s absence is a little less certain, though likely for maintenance.  At this point, there’s no reason to think that either player won’t be an option for Tuesday’s fourth game of the Stanley Cup Final.