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Pacific Notes: Oilers, Benson, Wright

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The presence of Dylan Holloway is what ultimately might be the final push for the Oilers to part ways with Jesse Puljujarvi, suggests Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link).  However, when that happens remains to be seen.  Nugent-Bowman notes that Edmonton isn’t interested in a futures-based return for Puljujarvi which doesn’t help an already-thin trade market since a lot of teams can’t take on his $3MM AAV.  However, while moving Puljujarvi would free up some needed cap space, they’d be taking a risk with promoting Holloway into a prominent role considering he has basically half a pro season under his belt with their AHL affiliate.  Long-term, they should take comfort that Holloway could fill Puljujarvi’s spot but it might be a case of later rather than sooner that the youngster pushes Puljujarvi out.

More from the Pacific:

  • Still with the Oilers, they’ll be without winger Tyler Benson for a little while with the team not sure how much time he’ll miss, notes Daily Faceoff’s Jason Gregor (Twitter link). On its own, a player on the fringes of the roster missing time isn’t typically notable in itself but as PuckPedia points out (Twitter link), Benson was on Edmonton’s roster long enough last season to have his cap hit count in full instead of being prorated through season-opening IR.  With cap space at a premium for Edmonton, having Benson count in full to start the year if he’s only going to miss a couple of weeks certainly won’t help things.
  • While it’s not set in stone just yet, Kraken GM Ron Francis told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that he believes Shane Wright will spend the full season in the NHL. Seattle took the center fourth overall back in July which came as a surprise to many as he was viewed as the projected top selection for most of the season.  With Matthew Beniers, Yanni Gourde, and Jared McCann all ahead of him down the middle on the depth chart, Wright might not get a lot of playing time early on but that will also allow him to be eased in from a development perspective which, in the long run, might be ideal for the 18-year-old.

2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Sixteenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science, and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

The results of our redraft so far are as follows with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2nd Overall: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (2)
3rd Overall: Roman Josi, Atlanta Thrashers (38)
4th Overall: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4)
5th Overall: Erik Karlsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (15)
6th Overall: John Carlson, Columbus Blue Jackets (27)
7th Overall: Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators (31)
8th Overall: Braden Holtby, Phoenix Coyotes (93)
9th Overall: Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders (22)
10th Overall: Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver Canucks (156)
11th Overall: Cam Atkinson, Chicago Blackhawks (157)
12th Overall: T.J. Brodie, Buffalo Sabres (114)
13th Overall: Josh Bailey, Los Angeles Kings (9)
14th Overall: Adam Henrique, Carolina Hurricanes (82)
15th Overall: Tyler Myers, Ottawa Senators (12)

The drop wound up being a small one for Myers who only goes three spots later than his original draft position.  While he has been maligned at times due to some contracts that paid him above market value, he has turned in a solid career thus far.

Throughout his junior days, Myers wasn’t known for his point-producing abilities with his career-high in points checking in at 42 in his final season with Kelowna.  Not bad, but players who top out at that level don’t typically become highly-productive players in the pros.

Myers put that theory to the test in his rookie season as he had more goals (11), assists (37), and points (48) than in any of his major junior campaigns.  That made him the runaway winner of the Calder Trophy and all of a sudden, it looked like Buffalo had their two-way star defender of the future.

Unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned.  While Myers’ numbers in his sophomore year were still pretty good (the second-best of his career thus far), he eventually became more of a stay-at-home defender.  Eventually, the Sabres decided to shake things up, moving him to Winnipeg in 2015 as part of the Evander Kane trade.

With the Jets, Myers was a capable, albeit pricey blueliner for parts of five seasons.  Since then, he has spent three years in Vancouver as a capable, albeit pricey defenseman.

That said, it’s worth looking at some of Myers’ numbers in context.  In his 13-year NHL career, he has averaged over 20 minutes a night in every one of them.  He’s eighth in all-time games played from this draft class and with a couple of years left on his contract, he’ll have a good chance of staying in the top ten when all is said and done.  No, Myers didn’t quite live up to the promise of his rookie year but he has had a very solid career so far.

Now, we move on to the 16th selection which was held by Boston.  They opted to take a longer-term project, selecting Joe Colborne out of the AJHL.  However, after two very strong college seasons, the Bruins turned him pro in 2019 but he never played a game for them.  Instead, they moved him, a first-round pick, and a second-rounder to Toronto to rent Tomas Kaberle at the 2011 trade deadline.  (If you’re curious, that first-rounder turned into Rickard Rakell.)

Colborne spent parts of three seasons with Toronto but again, didn’t play much.  He was flipped to Calgary in 2013 for a fourth-round pick that eventually was used on Ville Husso.

Colborne saw regular action with Calgary for three years and spent most of another year in Colorado but hung up his skates in 2018 after a seven-year NHL career that spanned 295 games.  In the grand scheme of things, Boston could have done much worse with this pick but it’s safe to say in hindsight, there were better options available.

So, who should they have picked with that benefit of hindsight?  With the 16th pick in the 2008 redraft, who do they take?  Make your choice by voting in the poll below.

App users, click here to vote.

Central Notes: Khudobin, Reichel, Knak

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Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin has been given a clean bill of health, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News.  He underwent hip surgery in the spring and Dallas was very careful with how they used him in the preseason.  With a trade market unlikely to materialize, it’s likely that the veteran will be on waivers in the coming days, allowing them to free up $1.125MM of his $3.33MM cap hit.  Notably, the return to health takes away any chance of them placing Khudobin on LTIR to start the season which might have aided in terms of freeing up cap flexibility to re-sign Jason Robertson.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Chicago’s decision to cut top prospect Lukas Reichel raised some eyebrows as the 20-year-old showed plenty of offensive skill in training camp. However, head coach Luke Richardson told reporters, including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, that they felt that his defensive game needed considerable improvement and it’s much easier for that development to happen in the minors than in the NHL.  Richardson hinted that Reichel would have been battling for a spot on the fourth line had the youngster stayed on the roster and he’ll get considerably more ice time with the IceHogs than being in that role with the Blackhawks.
  • The Predators will be waiting a while to sign prospect Simon Knak as HC Davos of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed the winger to a three-year extension that runs through the 2025-26 season. Nashville selected the 20-year-old in the sixth round in 2021 (179th overall) on the heels of a season split between Davos and Portland of the WHL.  Knak is off to a solid start this season with four points in his first seven games but he’ll be staying in Switzerland for the foreseeable future.

Five Key Stories: 9/26/22 – 10/2/22

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The calendar has flipped to October and the regular season is now on the horizon.  This is the time when there is often a lot of activity on the signing front and this week was no exception as a few signings are featured in our key stories.

Staying In Montreal: The Canadiens are once again expected to be near the bottom of the league this season and accordingly, it’s expected that several veterans on expiring deals will be moved at some point.  That list no longer will include goaltender Jake Allen as the 32-year-old inked a two-year, $7.MM extension to stay with Montreal through the 2024-25 season.  The deal contains limited no-trade protection in each season.  With Carey Price’s playing future in doubt, Allen projects to be the starter for the foreseeable future and this deal, which represents a little more than a $1MM raise in terms of his AAV, cements that status.

Injury News: The Canucks will be without Brock Boeser when the season gets underway after the winger underwent hand surgery that will keep him out for three-to-four weeks.  The 25-year-old is coming off his second straight 23-goal season and is fresh off signing a three-year contract but he’ll have to wait a little bit before making his debut on that deal.  Meanwhile, Maple Leafs center John Tavares is also unlikely to be available for the start of the season due to an oblique strain.  Toronto’s captain has averaged just shy of a point per game in his time with the team and is coming off a season that saw him win over 60% of his faceoffs for the first time in his career.  It wasn’t all bad news on the injury front, however, as the Flyers learned that top center Sean Couturier won’t need surgery on his back after suffering a setback.  He missed most of last season with that issue and remains listed as week-to-week but they’ve avoided the worst-case scenario for now at least.

Bridge For Knight: Starting in 2023-24, Florida’s goalie tandem is going to be considerably more expensive after the team signed Spencer Knight to a three-year, $13.5MM extension that begins in 2023-24.  The 21-year-old has just 36 career regular season appearances under his belt but has been viewed as the Panthers’ goalie of the future from the moment he was drafted 13th overall in 2019.  In those three seasons, their netminding tandem will cost $14.5MM once you add in Sergei Bobrovsky’s contract which directly goes against the more recent trend of trying to shave costs between the pipes.  Notably, Knight’s deal is uniformly-distributed which means he’ll be owed a $4.5MM qualifying offer in the 2026 offseason.  They’ll certainly be counting on the expected cap increase in 2024-25 to help offset those costs.

And Then There Were Three: The list of remaining restricted free agents has dropped to three as the Maple Leafs and defenseman Rasmus Sandin reached an agreement on a two-year, $2.8MM contract.  The contract matches the one given to Timothy Liljegren which was what his camp was trying to beat in negotiations.  Instead, he’ll settle for a higher 2023-24 salary which means his qualifying offer will check in at $1.6MM.  Sandin should have an opportunity to earn a spot in Toronto’s opening night lineup with the team dealing with several injuries on the back end at the moment.

Three For Peake: Andrew Peeke had a strong first full NHL campaign last season with Columbus, becoming a key stay-at-home defender.  The Blue Jackets believe there’s more to come from him as they signed the 24-year-old to a three-year, $8.25MM contract extension that runs through 2025-26.  Peeke led them in blocks last season with 169 and led all Columbus defenders in hits with 191 while averaging over 21 minutes a game before putting forth a strong showing for Team USA at the World Championship.  This deal buys up one year of UFA eligibility while Peeke is poised to hit the open market at 28.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Jagr, Sharks Injuries, Oilers

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While Jaromir Jagr last played in the NHL back in 2017-18 with Calgary, he continued to play through last season when he suited up for the team he owns in Kladno in the Czech Extraliga.  Notably, the 50-year-old hasn’t suited up for his squad this season and he told Denik Sport’s Miroslav Horak that he “lacks the desire and motivation” to play this year.  While he acknowledged he’d have to try to get back into playing shape for a Winter Classic game (not an NHL one) that he had been a part of trying to put together, that doesn’t seem likely to happen so perhaps the future Hall of Famer has played his last game.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Sharks will be without winger Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Markus Nutivaara for the first two games of the regular season, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The pair did not accompany the team on their trip to Czechia against Nashville.  The two have been listed as day-to-day for the last week and they’ll have nearly two more weeks to recover with their first game back in North America not until the 14th.  San Jose is carrying the maximum of 27 players on the trip.
  • The Oilers are not believed to be among the teams that are involved in trade talks with Arizona regarding defenseman Jakob Chychrun, reports Sportsnet’s Mark Spector (Twitter link). He notes that top prospects Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg are off the table in discussions which would certainly limit the top young assets that the Coyotes will be seeking.  As a team with very limited cap space, Edmonton would also likely need to send salary out that matches or exceeds Chychrun’s $4.6MM AAV which also wouldn’t be appealing to Arizona.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  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 see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2022-23 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 CapFriendly.

Philadelphia Flyers

Current Cap Hit: $84,273,107 (over the $82.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Ronnie Attard (one year, $884K)
F Bobby Brink (two years, $925K)
F Noah Cates (one year, $925K)
D Cam York (two years, $881K)

Potential Bonuses
Attard: $850K
Brink: $212.5K
Cates: $450K
York: $725K
Total: $2.2375MM

Brink did well in a late-season call-up last season but it’ll be a while before he sees the ice in 2022-23 as he’ll be out until late 2022 or early 2023 after undergoing hip surgery.  He’ll be on season-opening injured reserve which will carry a reduced AAV at the ratio of the number of NHL days divided by total days in the season.  As far as his next contract goes, how he fares upon returning will go a long way towards dictating that.  Cates was also quite impressive late last season and should have a chance at a full-time role this year.  However, even if he locks down a regular spot, his limited experience last season pushes him towards a likely bridge deal.

York got into 30 games in his rookie year with some up-and-down results.  As a strong point producer at the lower levels, he’s the type of player that could break out and earn a big second contract but that doesn’t look likely just yet.  Attard signed back in March and acquitted himself relatively well on the third pairing the rest of the way.  As is the case with Cates, the limited NHL action overall will make a long-term deal unlikely.  He, like the other three in this section, is probably heading for a bridge contract.

Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level

D Justin Braun ($1MM, UFA)
F Patrick Brown ($750K, UFA)
F Morgan Frost ($800K, RFA)
F Zack MacEwen ($925K, RFA)
D Travis Sanheim ($4.625MM, UFA)
F James van Riemsdyk ($7MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Braun: $750K

While the contract has rightfully been criticized, it’s at least worth mentioning that van Riemsdyk held the team lead in goals at the end of last season with 24 while finishing fourth in points with 38.  However, that’s not worth $7MM in this marketplace.  He’ll be 34 next season and while he should still draw a reasonable amount of interest on the open market, it should be for around half of what he’s getting now.  MacEwen filled an enforcer-type role a year ago but with another player in that role now, he’s someone that could be non-tendered if the Flyers don’t want to push his salary past the $1MM mark next summer.  Frost took a ‘show-me’ deal after an up-and-down season.  Now waiver-eligible, he’ll be a full-timer on the roster and even a reasonable showing could give him a chance at doubling his AAV with arbitration rights.  If he can earn a top-six role, he could head towards the $3MM range.  Brown has been a depth player in recent years and his next deal should be at or close to the minimum.

Discussions on a new deal have already started with Sanheim who, for now at least, is set to hit the open market at 27.  He’s coming off a career year which complicates things a little bit but at this point, a long-term deal will probably push him past the $6MM mark.  A similar performance to last season in 2022-23 could push it closer to the $7MM threshold with impact defenders his age not coming available too often.  Braun is a capable third-pairing veteran who took a lower base salary but his bonuses are tied to games played and bonuses so it’s quite possible that most, if not all of those, are reached.  At this stage of his career, these are the types of contracts he’s likely to be signing moving forward.

Signed Through 2023-24

D Anthony DeAngelo ($5MM, UFA)
G Carter Hart ($3.979MM, RFA)
G Felix Sandstrom ($775K, UFA)
D Nick Seeler ($775K, UFA)
F Owen Tippett ($1.5MM, RFA)

Tippett was a logical candidate to receive a bridge contract after a bit of an up-and-down showing last season.  He’ll get more of a consistent opportunity with the Flyers and there’s a pretty good chance he’ll outperform this contract.  He’s owed a $1.75MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2024 and should be able to get a fair bit more than that if he locks down a top-six role.

DeAngelo was Philadelphia’s big summer acquisition on the heels of a career year with the Hurricanes.  He has put up 50 points in his last two full NHL seasons and that type of output is hard to find.  With how things transpired from his departure from the Rangers, there are off-ice factors that certainly influenced his market (Carolina gave him permission to talk to teams before the trade this summer) but the 26-year-old could be a bargain if his production continues at that level.  Seeler is a veteran depth defender that could go back and forth to the minors if he clears waivers and his next deal should be in the area of the league minimum again.

Hart has had a bit of an up-and-down start to his career.  His first two seasons were strong, making it look like he was their starter of the future.  His third season was rocky, to put it lightly, resulting in a bridge deal instead of a long-term pact.  Last year was a little better but still not at the level from a couple of years before.  If he wants a shot at getting starter-type money in the $5.5MM to $6MM range, his next two seasons will need to be like his first two.  Sandstrom, for now, is the presumptive backup after plans to bring Ivan Fedotov over for this season fell through.  If he can establish himself as a capable second-stringer, he could double his current AAV two years from now.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Cam Atkinson ($5.875MM, UFA)
F Travis Konecny ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Ivan Provorov ($6.75MM, UFA)

Atkinson had a bit of a bounce-back season last year, finishing second to Konecny in scoring.  He isn’t a pure top-line scorer as he was a few years ago but he should still provide some value for a couple more years at least.  His next deal will be in his age-36 season, however, and he could be going year-to-year from there at a lower rate than this.  Konecny hasn’t been able to become a consistent top-liner but he has settled in on the second line as a secondary scorer.  He’s not a bargain at this price point but it’s not a considerable overpayment either.  With the Upper Limit expected to be higher by 2025, he could land a contract similar to this one at that time.

Provorov is someone who hasn’t quite lived up to the extremely high expectations but has still become a high-end part of their back end.  He very quietly has averaged over 24 minutes per game for each of the last five seasons; he’s only six years into his career for context.  That’s consistent number one usage.  However, he also hasn’t been able to get back to the level of production from his sophomore year.  At 25, there’s still room for improvement on that front and if that happens, his next contract could be in the $9MM range, especially with the expected increase to the cap by then.  This is one of the contracts that the team will need to keep in mind when it comes to their future plans.

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Training Camp Cuts: 10/1/22

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Even after nearly 150 players were cut yesterday, many teams will be paring down their training camp rosters further today.  We’ll keep track of today’s cuts here.

Anaheim Ducks (via team release)

F Bryce Kindopp (to San Diego, AHL)
F Ben King (to San Diego, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes (via Twitter)

G Ivan Prosvetov (to Tucson, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team release)

F Brandon Biro (to Rochester, AHL)
F Filip Cederqvist (to Rochester, AHL)
F Mason Jobst (released from PTO)
F Aleksandr Kosakov (to Rochester, AHL)
F Tyson Kozak (to Rochester, AHL)
F Jiri Kulich (to Rochester, AHL)
F Michael Mersch (released from PTO)
F Brett Murray (to Rochester, AHL)
F Kohen Olischefski (released from PTO)
F Josh Passolt (released from PTO)
F Isak Rosen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Lukas Rousek (to Rochester, AHL)
F Matt Savoie (to Portland, WHL)
F Brendan Warren (released from PTO)
F Linus Weissbach (to Rochester, AHL)
D Zach Berzolla (released from PTO)
D Mitch Eliot (released from PTO)
D Oskari Laaksonen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Ethan Prow (released from PTO)
D Peter Tischke (released from PTO)
G Michael Houser (released from PTO)
G Beck Warm (released from PTO)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release)

D Nolan Allen (to Prince Albert, WHL)
D Ethan del Mastro (to Mississauga, OHL)
G Jaxson Stauber (to Rockford, AHL)
D Adam Clendening (released from PTO)
G Dylan Wells (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (via team release)

F Riley Barber (to Texas, AHL)
D Joseph Cecconi (to Texas, AHL)
F Rhett Gardner (to Texas, AHL)
D Ben Gleason (to Texas, AHL)
F Tanner Kero (to Texas, AHL)
D Jerad Rosburg (to Texas, AHL)

New York Rangers (via team release)

F Will Cuylle (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ty Emberson (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tim Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
F Lauri Pajuniemi (to Hartford, AHL)
D Andy Welinski (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (via team release)

F Angus Crookshank (to Belleville, AHL)
F Philippe Daoust (to Belleville, AHL)
F Roby Jarventie (to Belleville, AHL)
F Egor Sokolov (to Belleville, AHL)
F Cole Reinhardt (to Belleville, AHL)
D Maxence Guenette (to Belleville, AHL)
D Kristians Rubins (to Belleville, AHL)
D Lassi Thomson (to Belleville, AHL)
D Jorian Donovan (to Hamilton, OHL)
G Kevin Mandolese (to Belleville, AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle (released from PTO)

St. Louis Blues (via team release)

F Andrei Bakanov (to Springfield, AHL)
F Brayden Guy (to Springfield, AHL)
F Mathias Laferriere (to Springfield, AHL)
D Griffin Luce (to Springfield, AHL)
D Brady Lyle (to Springfield, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dylan McLaughlin (to Springfield, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release)

F Jack Finley (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Felix Robert (to Syracusa, AHL)
F Grant Mismash (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Gage Goncalves (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Lucas Edmonds (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Bennett MacArthur (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jaydon Dureau (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Ilya Usau (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Simon Ryfors (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Daniel Walcott (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Jack Thompson (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Declan Carlile (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Darren Raddysh (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Dmitry Semykin (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Hugo Alnefelt (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Maxime Lagace (to Syracuse, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release)

D Layton Ahac (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jakub Brabanec (to Charlottetown, QMJHL)
F Brendan Brisson (to Henderson, AHL)
D Lukas Cormier (to Henderson, AHL)
D Daniil Chayka (to Henderson, AHL)
F Zach Dean (to Gatineau, QMJHL)
F Pavel Dorofeyev (to Henderson, AHL)
F Byron Froese (to Henderson, AHL)*
D Zack Hayes (to Henderson, AHL)
G Michael Hutchinson (to Henderson, AHL)*
F Sakari Manninen (to Henderson, AHL)
F Maxim Marushev (to Henderson, AHL)
F Ivan Morozov (to Henderson, AHL)
D Brayden Pachal (to Henderson, AHL)*
G Jiri Patera (to Henderson, AHL)
F Gage Quinney (to Henderson, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Henderson, AHL)*

Winnipeg Jets (via team release)

D Tyrel Bauer (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Wyatt Bongiovanni (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Declan Chisholm (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Michael Eyssimont (to Manitoba, AHL)*
D Leon Gawanke (to Manitoba, AHL)*
F Nick Jones (released from PTO)
F Alex Limoges (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Chaz Lucius (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Simon Lundmark (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Jeff Malott (to Manitoba, AHL)*
F Cole Meier (released from PTO)
F Henri Nikkanen (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Evan Polei (released from PTO)
G Oskari Salminen (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Ashton Sautner (to Manitoba, AHL)*
F Daniel Torgersson (to Manitoba, AHL)

*-pending waivers

This post will be updated throughout the day.

East Notes: Maple Leafs, Rangers, Penguins Injuries, Stevenson

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When Toronto lost of a pair of depth defensemen to injuries earlier this week (one of them a long-term injury), the team started calling around the league to inquire about of some of the veterans currently on PTOs, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports in the latest Insider Trading segment.  The Maple Leafs could sign one of those players on a tryout elsewhere as teams rarely stand in the way of someone getting a guaranteed contract but their search for extra depth could also have them monitoring the waiver wire over the next couple of weeks.  The re-signing of Rasmus Sandin will help but with Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren already out on top of Wednesday’s two injuries, Toronto could certainly still use some depth on the back end.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • It is believed that the Rangers have reached out to the representatives for winger Alexis Lafreniere and defenseman K’Andre Miller in the hopes of beginning discussions on contract extensions, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Both players will be finishing their entry-level deals this season and with New York’s cap situation, they may have to work out short-term bridge agreements with both of them.  Lafreniere had 19 goals and 31 points in 79 games last season while Miller had 20 points in 2021-22 while logging over 20 minutes a night for the second straight year.
  • The Penguins are listing centers Jeff Carter and Teddy Blueger as day-to-day, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Carter suffered an upper-body injury in an intrasquad scrimmage last weekend while Blueger was injured in a scrimmage on Tuesday.  Meanwhile, prospect forward John Gruden and veteran blueliner Taylor Fedun are also listed as day-to-day with undisclosed ailments.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Clay Stevenson underwent surgery to repair an injury on his right hand. The procedure carries a recovery time of four-to-six weeks.  The 23-year-old will begin his professional career this season after spending the 2021-22 campaign with Dartmouth where he posted a .922 SV% in 23 games.

Ducks Sign Nathan Beaulieu

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Another defenseman has turned a PTO into a full contract as the Ducks announced that they’ve inked Nathan Beaulieu to a one-year contract.  Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Beaulieu receives a one-way deal worth $850K.

The 29-year-old spent last season in a limited role with Winnipeg where he played in 24 games, recording four assists while logging just 10:46 per game, well below his career average of 16:26 per contest.  Pittsburgh acquired him at the trade deadline to give them extra depth for the playoffs once he recovered from his lower-body injury but he never suited up for the Penguins.

Beaulieu has played in 419 NHL contests spanning a 10-year career between Montreal, Buffalo, and Winnipeg, picking up 12 goals and 82 assists.  With Urho Vaakanainen being injured in yesterday’s game against San Jose, it certainly looks as if he’ll be out for a little while at least so Beaulieu will have a shot at landing a full-time spot on the roster on what is a new-look back end with John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov being added earlier this offseason.

PHR Mailbag: Kings, Chychrun, Flyers, Dumba, Predictions

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Topics in this edition of the mailbag include what the Kings should be doing next, Matt Dumba’s future with Minnesota, plenty of predictions and projections, and more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.

bigalval: The Kings look to build on their surprise season last year, A full season of Doughty and Walker should help along with the kids having a season under their belts. I know they’re against the cap but what about trading Iafallo or Peterson for some cap space and going after Jakob Chychrun? They have plenty of kids to help get it done. Your thoughts on this or any other moves they can make to get better? Good news is cap help is coming with Quick (1 year left) and Kopitar (2 years left) on their deals.

The problem with trading someone like Cal Petersen for cap space is that you then have a 36-year-old Jonathan Quick as your starter on an expiring contract.  That’s quite risky.  Many teams have wingers that they wouldn’t mind moving to free up cap space so there wouldn’t be much of a market for Alex Iafallo to the point of making it worth trading him.  Honestly, both of them are young enough that the Coyotes might be okay with taking them back in a hypothetical return for Chychrun if they had to.

Now, is this the right time to make the move that pushes in more future capital for Chychrun?  I don’t think it is.  Generally speaking, my philosophy is that those moves get made when it’s one that will make you a contender.  I don’t think Los Angeles is much more than a bubble team this season and while Chychrun would undoubtedly make them better, I don’t think he’d make them a contender, especially if they have to move Petersen as a salary offset.

What can they do to be better?  Right now, doing nothing is the right move.  They’re pretty tight to the cap right now and they need to leave themselves enough wiggle room to navigate some short-term injuries that inevitably will creep up during the year.  If they manage to stay relatively healthy, they might be able to bank enough cap space to add some depth at the trade deadline but for now, what they have is what they’re going to go with.

Johnny Z: Do you perceive the Blues being interested in Chychrun now that Scandella is out?

In last weekend’s column, I talked about St. Louis likely wanting to wait until closer to the trade deadline to spend their LTIR money with Marco Scandella out long-term.  In theory, the asking price for Chychrun should be a little cheaper in March than it is now so if he’s still in Arizona by then, I could see them kicking the tires at least.

That said, they already have $67.5MM committed for next season to just 13 players.  With the cap projected to be $83.5MM, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room, especially when you consider that Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko have to be re-signed or replaced.  Even on a team-friendly $4.6MM for two more years after this one, is there really room for St. Louis to fit Chychrun in?

Arizona is known to be looking for future assets and young players and probably isn’t going to be interested in taking on multiple years of a salary offset.  GM Doug Armstrong will kick the tires, I’m sure, but I think a trade would be hard to make, especially since there won’t be many teams capable of taking on a salary offset to facilitate a Chychrun trade.  I’d be surprised if they wind up with him as a result.

DarkSide830: Are the Flyers cursed?

This question comes on the heels of the playing future of Ryan Ellis coming into significant question and what’s perceived to be a long-term injury to Sean Couturier who officially has been listed as out week-to-week.  For a team that has stated publicly that their intention is to get back into playoff contention, that’s not ideal so you could say that they’re cursed.

On the flip side, if you’re like me and have some skepticism about their ability to get there, this could be viewed as a blessing in disguise.  Without two of their top veterans, perhaps this could push management towards at least some sort of rebuild if things don’t go well early on.  In the long-term picture, that’s probably more beneficial for them in the long run.  It’s a different way of looking at it but this might not be all bad for Philadelphia.

Zakis: What is Matt Dumba’s future? Extension with the Wild – terms? – or a trade?

Last week, Michael Russo of The Athletic reported (subscription link) that there haven’t been any discussions on an extension yet and GM Bill Guerin’s comments intimated that they won’t be starting anytime soon.  That isn’t to say they won’t happen – both sides have expressed a desire to get something worked out – but they’re okay with letting things play out for now.

My prediction is that an extension eventually gets done.  Yes, he has seemingly been on the verge of being traded for a while now (looking back through our archives, it has been about five years of posts where his future was seemingly in question) but every time, they find a way to get it done.  To be honest, this isn’t a high-end defensive group where they could afford to lose someone that logs over 23 minutes a game on the right side of the back end.  Calen Addison is in the system but is he going to be able to step in and fill that void?  Probably not.

The other factor that works in favor of a deal getting done is that Dumba isn’t going to be in a position to command a significant raise on this next contract.  His 50-point season is the outlier with his point-per-game averages in other seasons having in the 30-35-point range.  I have a hard time thinking he can command more than Jared Spurgeon’s $7.575MM AAV; his next deal is probably coming in lower than that.  Let’s say it’s $7.5MM for simplicity.  That’s only $1.5MM more than what he’s making now and the increase to the salary cap covers two-thirds of that.  Yes, the buyout costs are a bit higher next year and Matt Boldy will have to get a bridge deal but I expect they’ll find a way to make it work to keep Dumba around.

W H Twittle: It is most probable that the Habs finish last in the East. Several teams that finished close to the bottom last year like the Sens, Devils and Sabres will increase their point totals as other teams in the East like the Panthers, Bruins, Capitals, and Bolts finish the year with fewer points.

But what about the West? How many teams will finish lower than the Habs? And which teams are most likely to significantly improve their points total? Kings, Oilers, Wild?

I think the only two that I could safely peg as being below Montreal would be Arizona and Chicago.  I could see San Jose having a rough year but the Canadiens would have to exceed my expectations for the Sharks to be below them.

As for who will significantly improve their point total, I’m not sure any of the three you named will.  Edmonton has a bit more goaltending stability so they might go up a bit but a big jump would make them a Presidents’ Trophy contender and I don’t see that happening.  Los Angeles is still a Wild Card team and I could see Minnesota taking a step back, not improving.

I’m going to go off the board a little bit and say Winnipeg.  Sure, the core is still the same but there will be a lot better of a defensive structure under Rick Bowness.  I think that will bring out the best in Connor Hellebuyck and as we’ve seen in the past, when he’s at the top of his game, the Jets can be dangerous.  Anaheim could also have a bit of a jump although perhaps not to the point of contending for a playoff spot.  Their young core will take a step forward which should get them a few more victories at least.

pawtucket: Overachievers and underachiever predictions for the WEST and EAST. Two each. Also, include one example of alliteration using a player name.

I’ve basically covered part of the West already with Winnipeg and Anaheim being teams that could take a step forward so that covers the overachiever portion.

As for underachievers, St. Louis comes to mind and not just because I can make the oddly-specific prediction that Vladimir Tarasenko tickles the twine thirty-two times.  Jordan Binnington hasn’t been great the last couple of years and with Ville Husso gone, there’s no in-house safety net.  If he plays to a .901 SV% again, they’re in some trouble, especially with Thomas Greiss not exactly inspiring much confidence behind him.  I’ll use the Wild as the other underachiever.  Not having Kevin Fiala hurts and I’m not sold on Marc-Andre Fleury being an undisputed starter at this stage of his career.  Again, like St. Louis, they’ve lost their safety net (Cam Talbot).  Filip Gustavsson could be an NHL-caliber goalie but we don’t know for certain.  If he struggles, they’ll find out the hard way.

For overachievers, it all depends on the definition.  If it’s an increase in points compared to last season, it’s Ottawa.  But I think a lot of people are expecting that so if they succeed, are they really overachieving?  Let’s leave them out as a result.  I’ll say Detroit as one team.  They’ve made some incremental upgrades just about everywhere.  That along with some younger players developing in what could be a better offensive environment under Derek Lalonde could make them more dangerous than some might think.  New Jersey would be my other team in this category.  I think Vitek Vanecek really helps.  He’s got great but they now have two goalies capable of being league average which is a good improvement.  They have some youngsters that should take a step forward and Ondrej Palat will help deepen their attack.  The Metropolitan Division is going to be really close and it wouldn’t shock me if the Devils are in the Wild Card mix.

Onto the underachievers.  Florida is an easy pick as realistically, it’d be hard for them to overachieve after the year they’ve had.  They’ll be playing a new system under Paul Maurice and their back end has taken some hits.  They’re still good enough to be a playoff team but this feels like more of a reshaping year than a contending one.  I’ll pick Washington as the other one here.  They have some injuries to contend with early on and their roster is getting old in a hurry.  Their hold on a playoff spot last year was somewhat precarious to begin with and a step back is definitely a possibility.  If that happens, they won’t have a playoff spot to hold onto.

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