East Notes: Marchand, Hollowell, Norlinder
While Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation is rightfully getting the attention in Boston right now, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News highlights the other contract of note the Bruins will have to work out, which is an extension for Brad Marchand. At the time he signed his team-friendly deal that carries a $6.25MM AAV, the talk was about how their top players left some money on the table to keep the core together. Since then, David Pastrnak ($11.25MM AAV) and Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM AAV) have signed pricey deals with Swayman believed to be looking for $8MM or more as well. While Marchand is nearing the end of his career (he’ll be 37 when his next contract starts), Campbell wonders if he could be inclined to look to maximize his potential earnings this time around. He adds that there have been no discussions about an extension between the two sides so far.
Elsewhere in the East:
- With the Penguins lacking right-shot depth on the back end, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if free agent addition Mac Hollowell could be this year’s version of Ryan Shea. Shea didn’t have any NHL experience heading into last season but wound up playing in 31 games. Hollowell does have six games at the top level under his belt with Toronto in 2022-23 but spent last season with AHL Hartford, notching 44 points in 64 games. Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas is familiar with Hollowell from their time in Toronto which could help his cause this coming season.
- Free agent defenseman Mattias Norlinder has decided to decline the offer the Canadiens made to him over the weekend, relays Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom. Montreal non-tendered the 24-year-old in June after a quiet season with AHL Laval that saw him record just nine points in 50 games. Norlinder’s agent indicated that his client’s preference was to play in an environment that would allow him more freedom offensively which has him wanting to play with MoDo, an organization he spent several years with previously. However, the team lacks the budget to sign him and announced the creation of a crowdfunding campaign to raise $1MM SEK (a little under $100K in USD) to be able to get Norlinder signed.
Five Key Stories: 8/26/24 – 9/1/24
The calendar has turned to September and training camps are now just a couple of weeks away. However, the enthusiasm for the season fast approaching was put on hold following a tragedy in the hockey world which is among the key stories of the week.
Tragedy Strikes: The hockey world is in mourning after Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed after being struck by an accused drunk driver while biking near their New Jersey home. They were 31 and 29 years old respectively. Johnny was a key cog of Calgary’s offense for eight years, capped by a career-best 115-point performance in 2021-22 before inking a seven-year, $68.25MM contract with Columbus that summer. He led the Blue Jackets in scoring in both seasons with them. Matthew, meanwhile, turned pro in 2017 and spent several years in the Islanders system before entering the coaching ranks in the 2021-22 campaign. Everyone at PHR sends our deepest condolences to the Gaudreau family.
Surgery For Brossoit: One of Chicago’s important free agent signings might not be ready to start the season as the team announced that he will be out five to seven weeks after undergoing meniscus surgery. The 31-year-old inked a two-year, $6.6MM contract with the Blackhawks early in free agency, giving them a second veteran netminder to partner with Petr Mrazek. Brossoit returned to Winnipeg last season in free agency and fared quite well, posting a 2.00 GAA and a .927 SV% in 23 games. If he isn’t available to start the season, last year’s backup Arvid Soderblom will likely break camp with Chicago, an outcome that might not be the case for blueliner Kevin Korchinski despite spending all of last season with the big club.
Eight For Jarvis: It took a while but the Hurricanes and Seth Jarvis were able to work out a max-term eight-year, $63.2MM contract. Generally, the cap charge for this deal would be the total value divided by eight but that isn’t the case for this one. Per PuckPedia (Twitter link), $15.67MM of signing bonus money has been deferred to July 1, 2032, the day after the contract expires, making the present value of the deal just over $7.42MM; that amount represents the cap charge for Carolina. Jarvis is coming off a career year that saw him put up 33 goals and 34 assists and the Hurricanes will be banking on the 22-year-old taking another step forward offensively. The deal certainly tightens their salary cap situation but with Jesper Fast undergoing season-ending neck surgery, they’ll have some flexibility if they need to dip into LTIR.
Cousins To Ottawa: We’re at the point of the offseason where guaranteed contracts for veteran players are going to be hard to come by. One of the exceptions is winger Nick Cousins who signed a one-year, $800K contract with the Senators. The 31-year-old spent the last two seasons with Florida and is coming off a 15-point effort in 2023-24 where he picked up a career-high 130 hits and won his first Stanley Cup. This will be the 11th season of his career and already his seventh different team.
Hakanpaa Expected To Remain Free Agent: While the Maple Leafs agreed to terms on a two-year, $3MM deal with Jani Hakanpaa on the opening day of free agency, the contract was never registered due to concerns over his lingering knee injury. Now, it appears they don’t intend to make the contract official, keeping the 32-year-old on the open market. Toronto will now likely redeploy that money up front with RFA winger Nick Robertson still in need of a new deal. However, with the youngster still preferring to be traded, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Maple Leafs look at other options to add some depth on the left wing.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Colorado Avalanche
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 will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into 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 begin with a look at the Central Division; next up is Colorado.
Colorado Avalanche
Current Cap Hit: $85,993,750 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Nikolai Kovalenko (one year, $896K)
Potential Bonuses
Kovalenko: $57.5K
Kovalenko spent most of the first season of his contract in Russia before coming to North America for a brief stint in the minors plus a couple of playoff appearances with the Avs. Projected as a middle-six winger, his waiver exemption could work against him if Colorado is looking to bank early-season space but he should still be able to hit a good chunk of his games-played bonus. Between that and his limited experience thus far, he’s a safe bet for a short-term second contract. If he produces to expectations, that deal could approach the $2MM mark.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Erik Brannstrom ($900K, RFA)
D Calvin de Haan ($800K, UFA)
F Jonathan Drouin ($2.5MM, UFA)
G Alexandar Georgiev ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Logan O’Connor ($1.05MM, UFA)
F Joel Kiviranta ($775K, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($1.05MM, UFA)
D Sam Malinski ($850K, RFA)
F Mikko Rantanen ($9.25MM, UFA)
F Chris Wagner ($775K, UFA)
Rantanen is clearly the headliner on this list. The 27-year-old has become one of the top wingers in the NHL and is coming off his second straight season of more than 100 points. League-wide, only five players have more points than him over the last three seasons; three of those are making at least $2MM more than he is. New York’s Artemi Panarin is currently the winger with the highest AAV in NHL history; it stands to reason that Rantanen will be looking to at least pass that on his next agreement. His linemate (we’ll get to him shortly) probably sits as the benchmark that Colorado won’t want to clear but a max-term agreement around the $12MM mark per season is a definite possibility.
The decision for Drouin to take a cheap one-year deal with the Avs last summer to help rebuild some value worked as he had a career-best 56 points. However, his market was still fairly limited, which resulted in another one-year deal on the opening day of free agency. Perhaps a second strong year will bolster his market next time out. O’Connor was in the middle of a breakout performance last season and had a shot at 40 points. If he produces at a similar rate this season, he could triple his current AAV. Wagner and Kiviranta will battle for spots at the end of the roster and will get them or be beaten out by others at that price point. At this point in their careers, both players will be going year-to-year, likely on two-way deals like they have now.
Kylington didn’t appear to have a strong market in free agency, resulting in a pay cut as he’ll look to do like Drouin and rebuild some value. If he can establish himself as a full-timer after missing as much time as he has, he could at least double this next time out. Brannstrom was non-tendered by Ottawa and had to settle for a low-cost deal as well. He’ll be looking to do like Kylington but Colorado will have the ability to control him for another year, albeit with arbitration rights which could scare the Avs off from a qualifying offer. Malinski has primarily played in the minors but did well in limited action last season and is now waiver-eligible which could help keep him on the NHL roster. As for de Haan, he had a limited role with Tampa Bay last season and is likely going to remain close to the minimum salary moving forward.
Georgiev is one of the more intriguing pending UFA netminders. He has led the league in wins the last two seasons and led the NHL in minutes played in 2023-24. For someone making high-end backup money, that’s a strong return on their investment. However, his numbers were particularly mediocre after a solid performance the year before. That makes his next contract tough to project; if he’s closer to last season’s numbers, he might have a hard time commanding $5MM per season. But if he goes back to his 2022-23 performance, a contract starting with a six could be doable.
Signed Through 2025-26
G Justus Annunen ($837.5K, RFA)
F Parker Kelly ($825K, UFA)
D/F Jacob MacDonald ($775K, UFA)
D Josh Manson ($4.5MM, UFA)
Despite a bounce-back season, the Senators opted to non-tender Kelly to avoid the arbitration risk, sending him to the open market early. Even if he can’t put up 18 points again, if he can add grit to the fourth line and effectively kill penalties, he’ll have a much stronger market in 2026 in a more favorable cap environment.
Manson was able to stay healthy last season which is something that had been a challenge for him in previous years. Even so, he was fifth among Colorado blueliners in ATOI; this price tag for a high-end third-pairing player is on the high side. Unless he stays healthy the next two years and can move into a top-four role, he’ll be hard-pressed to make this on his next contract. MacDonald returns for a second stint in the organization but with the extra blueliners they’ve brought in since then, his best shot to stick might be as a forward.
Annunen split last season between the NHL and AHL and will now get his first full NHL campaign. He performed quite well in limited duty with the Avs last season and if he can push to take over as the starter by the time this deal is up, he will be in line for a significant raise with arbitration eligibility.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Ross Colton ($4MM, UFA)
D Samuel Girard ($5MM, UFA)
F Artturi Lehkonen ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Cale Makar ($9MM, UFA)
F Casey Mittelstadt ($5.75MM, UFA)
Mittelstadt came over at the trade deadline from Buffalo in one of the biggest swaps of the season, one that saw Bowen Byram go the other way. However, it was a bit surprising that Colorado opted for this contract, one that only bought them one more year of club control although it kept the AAV at a more manageable rate. He’ll need to take another step forward offensively and get closer to at least the 65-70-point mark to break into that next salary tier which would start around $7MM.
Lehkonen’s acquisition from Montreal has sparked another offensive level although he has battled injuries the last two seasons. If he can keep producing at a 60-point pace while playing a strong defensive game, he should be able to add a couple million to his next contract. At $4MM, Colton is a bit expensive for a third center but he is coming off a career season offensively so it’s a luxury they’ve decided they can still afford for now. If he holds around the 40-point mark, he could land similar money next time out.
Makar set new personal bests in assists and points last season while being a Norris finalist for the fourth straight year. It’s not very often that a player making $9MM could be viewed as a team-friendly bargain but that is the case here. At this point, there’s little reason to think that he won’t be setting a record-breaking agreement for a defenseman, surpassing Erik Karlsson’s $11.5MM AAV on his next contract. Girard missed time due to injury and a month in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and in between, he found his minutes dropped to the lowest they’ve been since his rookie year. That said, he’s still a legitimate top-four defender. His smaller stature will hurt him but if he can get back to the level he played at in 2021-22 and 2022-23, he could land at least a small raise.
West Notes: Henrique, Silovs, Holloway
While Adam Henrique ultimately decided to stay in Edmonton, he turned down at least one pricier offer to do so. Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins relays that the Jets offered the veteran a two-year, $7MM deal; he ultimately took two years and $6MM to stay with the Oilers. With Edmonton still trying to add to their roster on the trade front, it’s fair to say that extra half-million in flexibility that Henrique left on the table will come in handy. Winnipeg, meanwhile, didn’t fare well in trying to replace Sean Monahan and the fact they made a higher-money offer to Henrique suggests that they’re likely to be keeping an eye on the center market on the trade front in the coming weeks to see if someone becomes available.
Elsewhere out West:
- With Thatcher Demko’s availability for the start of the season in some question, the news that backup Arturs Silovs wouldn’t play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament due to injury drew some extra attention. However, in an interview with Delfi, Latvia’s goalie coach Arturs Irbe noted the injury was sustained from overtraining and while he took time off a couple of times to recover, it was decided that they’d opt to be cautious and hold him out. At this point, it appears that Silovs will be ready to go for training camp for the Canucks.
- In an appearance on the Hockey Sense Show (video link), Blues winger Dylan Holloway acknowledged that his camp knew about the offer sheet coming before any true negotiations with the Oilers were held. Even before it was signed, the 22-year-old hoped to use it as a pressure point to kickstart discussions with Edmonton but those talks never came about. Holloway indicated that his asking price wasn’t particularly high but evidently, the Oilers weren’t interested in working on a deal at the time. He signed a two-year deal with St. Louis that carries a cap hit just above $2.29MM with Edmonton receiving a compensatory third-round pick in return.
Red Wings Have Shown Interest In Max Pacioretty
Earlier this week, it was reported that Toronto was one of the teams showing interest in unrestricted free agent winger Max Pacioretty. Evidently, they’re not the only Atlantic Division squad that has some interest in the veteran as Arthur Staple of The Athletic adds (subscription link) that the Red Wings are believed to be interested in adding the veteran as well.
The 35-year-old spent last season with Washington after inking a one-year, $2MM contract which also carried another $2MM in performance bonuses which were reached once he played in 20 games. While Pacioretty was able to play in that many games, last season was still an injury-riddled campaign as he worked his way back from his second torn Achilles tendon sustained in the 2022-23 season while playing for Carolina.
As a result, Pacioretty was limited to just 47 games last season. A six-time 30-goal scorer, he struggled considerably in that department, scoring just four times although he was able to add 19 assists to stay near the half-point-per-game rate. Nevertheless, that wasn’t the type of performance that gave him some bargaining power heading into free agency.
The Red Wings have already been active up front with their free agent moves this summer. They re-signed wingers Patrick Kane and Christian Fischer, added wingers Vladimir Tarasenko and Tyler Motte, and also inked Austin Watson to a PTO agreement. Considering they still have to re-sign wingers Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren (plus defenseman Moritz Seider), it’s hard to see a viable fit for Pacioretty.
While the veteran is believed to have interest from multiple teams, that shouldn’t be enough leverage to land much more than the league minimum of $775K at this point of free agency so this could be a case of Detroit viewing Pacioretty as a low-cost depth option over someone worthy of a full-time lineup spot. In that scenario, adding him could make some sense. But until they finalize contracts with their three remaining RFAs to get a better sense of what they have to work with financially, it would be a little surprising to see the Red Wings commit any sort of guaranteed contract to Pacioretty or any other free agent.
Bruins Sign Tyler Johnson To PTO
With training camps now less than three weeks away, it’s expected that there will be an uptick in PTO activity over the coming days as players look to catch on somewhere. The Bruins are getting involved in the tryout market as the team announced that they’ve signed veteran forward Tyler Johnson to a tryout agreement.
[Related: 2024 Professional Tryout Tracker]
The 34-year-old spent the last three seasons with Chicago after being acquired from Tampa Bay in a salary cap-clearing move. Staying healthy had been a challenge for Johnson in his time with the Blackhawks which certainly didn’t help his cause on the open market. Nonetheless, he managed to put up 32 points in 56 games in 2022-23 and followed that up with 17 goals and 14 assists in 67 contents last season while logging 15:32 per night.
Before that time, Johnson spent nine seasons with Tampa Bay, being a key secondary scorer for most of his tenure with them. Over his 12-year career, he has 193 goals and 238 assists in 738 games between the Lightning and Blackhawks. With that track record and a decent showing offensively when healthy with Chicago over the last two years, it’s a little surprising that he wasn’t able to secure a guaranteed contract for the upcoming season.
Earlier this month, we took a closer look at Johnson’s free agency and highlighted the Bruins as one of the possible fits. While Johnson has spent more time on the wing than down the middle in recent years, he can still play center and would represent some insurance on Matthew Poitras who missed 38 games last season due to shoulder troubles. If they want Poitras to ease in on the wing to start the season – or even start at AHL Providence – Johnson could serve as some low-cost insurance on that front.
At the moment, the Bruins have around $8.64MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. However, most of that will be earmarked for RFA goaltender Jeremy Swayman; they will need to sign him before they can get a better sense of what they might or might not be able to spend on a contract for Johnson or any other veteran free agents that they might have their eye on. In the meantime, Johnson will at least have a shot at suiting up in the preseason and making a case for a contract either with Boston or elsewhere.
East Notes: Raymond, Berggren, Voronkov, Capitals
The Red Wings still have three restricted free agents to re-sign, defenseman Moritz Seider along with wingers Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren. In a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relayed that while there’s no concern on either side yet, talks don’t appear to be progressing between Detroit and Raymond’s camp. The 22-year-old is coming off his entry-level deal and had a breakout showing last season, recording 31 points and 41 assists in 82 games, leading some to suggest that a long-term agreement between the two sides is likely to push past the $7MM mark per season.
Berggren, meanwhile, was largely a regular for the Red Wings in 2022-23 but spent most of last season with AHL Grand Rapids, tallying 24 goals and 32 assists in 53 games. The 24-year-old also collected six points in 13 games with Detroit. Pagnotta reports that a deal between the two sides is expected before training camp and it’s likely to be a short-term agreement. With a little over $17MM in cap space per PuckPedia, it’s possible that the eventual contracts with Seider and Raymond could dictate how short of a deal Berggren ultimately receives.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Dating back to last season, there was speculation that Blue Jackets winger Dmitri Voronkov might want to return to the KHL. In an interview with Championat’s Dmitry Storozhev, Ak Bars GM Marat Valiullin acknowledged that he spoke with Voronkov after last season, presumably to gauge his interest in returning to the KHL but no discussions have taken place since then. The 23-year-old had a solid rookie season last year, notching 18 goals and 16 assists in 75 games and is someone that Columbus will undoubtedly be looking to keep beyond the upcoming season when his current contract expires.
- While the Capitals have already inked a PTO agreement with Jakub Vrana, don’t expect them to be signing any others. GM Chris Patrick recently told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he doesn’t envision bringing in any more players on tryouts for training camp. Washington has shaken up their roster a fair bit this summer, bringing in Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, and Logan Thompson (and others) so allowing the newcomers to get some early chemistry may be the focal point at camp. If that’s the case, bringing in other players with an outside shot of making the team would run counter to that objective.
Utah Signs Robert Bortuzzo
It has been a busy offseason for Utah as the former Coyotes get set for their first season in their new home. With training camp approaching, they’ve added some extra depth on the back end as the team announced (Twitter link) that they have signed defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to a one-year deal. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that it’s a two-way agreement that pays $775K in the NHL and $450K in the minors.
The 35-year-old is a veteran of 13 NHL seasons, spanning 560 games. Last season, Bortuzzo started the year in St. Louis but had a very limited role and spent considerable time as a healthy scratch. He was then acquired by the Islanders in December with New York dealing with considerable injuries at that time. Bortuzzo played a regular role after being acquired but then was injured himself, missing 28 games due to a lower-body issue. The veteran then returned to his third-pairing role for the stretch run and playoffs.
Between the two teams, Bortuzzo played in 27 regular season games last season. While he was held off the scoresheet entirely, he collected 51 blocked shots and 38 hits while averaging 13:44 per night. For his career, he has 74 points, 711 blocks, and 1,095 his to his credit while spending time with Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and New York.
Bortuzzo is the latest addition to a Utah back end that has undergone significant changes this summer. The team added Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino on the second day of the draft in trades with Tampa Bay and New Jersey and then inked veteran Ian Cole to a one-year, $3.1MM deal in free agency. The four newcomers join holdovers Sean Durzi, Juuso Valimaki, and Michael Kesselring on a much-improved blueline as the franchise looks to take a step forward toward emerging from its long-term rebuild.
Former NHL winger Scottie Upshall was the first to report the signing.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks
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 will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into 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 begin with a look at the Central Division, starting with Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks
Current Cap Hit: $81,322,500 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Connor Bedard (two years, $950K)
D Kevin Korchinski (two years, $918.3K)
F Frank Nazar (two years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Bedard: $3.5MM
Korchinski: $1MM
Nazar: $900K
Total: $5.4MM
Expectations were quite high for Bedard, the 2023 top pick, heading into his rookie year. He was given every opportunity to play a prominent role and be the go-to threat on the power play. He was a bit overmatched at times defensively but acquitted himself quite well, showing that he could be the next generational talent as he has been hyped up to be. At a minimum, he should be able to hit the $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses but he’d need to be among the league’s top scorers to have a shot at the rest of them. When it comes to his next contract, if he lives up to expectations, Connor McDavid’s eight-year, $100MM agreement could very well be the comparable.
Korchinski also had some defensive struggles but logged consistent top-four minutes as a junior-aged blueliner which is something that doesn’t occur very often. On a team that should be at least a bit more competitive this coming season, he should be able to put up some improved offensive numbers, giving him a chance at pushing for his four ‘A’ bonuses as well. If that part of his game comes around, he could be in line for a significant second contract of his own, one that could push past the $6MM mark (potentially more depending on the numbers). Nazar is somewhat of a wild card as he could be deployed in Chicago’s top six or they could opt to start him in the minors and bring him up midseason. If it’s the latter, it’d be unlikely that he’d land a long-term second contract since he already burned the first year of his deal last season.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
F Andreas Athanasiou ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Ryan Donato ($2MM, UFA)
F Taylor Hall ($6MM, UFA)
F Philipp Kurashev ($2.25MM, RFA)
F Pat Maroon ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Alec Martinez ($4MM, UFA)
D Isaak Phillips ($775K, RFA)
F Craig Smith ($1MM, UFA)
Chicago’s big acquisition last summer on the trade front was Hall, a capable top-six forward, to help give Bedard some support. He only played in ten games before undergoing season-ending knee surgery. He’ll need a big bounce-back year if he wants a chance at a contract that’s close to this price point. Athanasiou’s contract seemed pricey at the time he was signed but Chicago was paying an above-market rate to keep a veteran they liked. With several youngsters getting development time in Rockford, Athanasiou may not get another one of those deals and if that winds up being the case, he hasn’t had great success on the open market before so he could be in for a pay cut as well.
Kurashev had a breakout performance last season, more than doubling his previous career high in points, picking up 54 while spending a lot of time on the top line. While that might not be the permanent landing spot for him based on how their prospects develop, he has positioned himself for a sizable raise on his $2.25MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights. Another 50-point performance could push him into $5MM territory. Donato put up similar numbers to his two seasons in Seattle but is another player who hasn’t had great success in free agency before. A similar showing in 2024-25 might not be enough to land a raise with teams trying to spend a bit less in their top six. Maroon and Smith came in this summer to shore up Chicago’s depth; both players will be going year-to-year in all likelihood from here on out on contracts that are likely to stay around their current respective price points.
Martinez was another veteran signing designed to make the team more competitive now and keep some prospects with the IceHogs to help their development. He’s not the core player he was a few years ago and this felt like another short-term overpayment. If he plays in a fourth or fifth role this season, he’ll be hard-pressed to get this much next summer. Phillips is on a two-way deal but is now waiver-eligible. That might be enough to keep him on the roster in a seventh role as there’s no guarantee he’d pass through unclaimed. He’ll need to carve out some regular playing time if he wants to get to a seven-figure one-way salary.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Joey Anderson ($800K, UFA)
D T.J. Brodie ($3.75MM, UFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($3.3MM, UFA)
F Jason Dickinson ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Nick Foligno ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($4.0375MM, UFA)*
G Petr Mrazek ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Connor Murphy ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Lukas Reichel ($1.2MM, RFA)
*-Vancouver is retaining an additional $712.5K on Mikheyev’s deal.
Foligno was also acquired from Boston last summer and quickly signed an above-market one-year deal. Things went well enough that he received an above-market two-year extension which starts in 2024-25. Foligno is miscast as a full-time top-six player but remains an effective veteran. That said, it’s hard to picture recent history repeating itself on his next deal. Dickinson’s contract also feels like an overpayment but he is coming off a 22-goal campaign; if he can stay in that range, they’ll at least get a decent return out of it while the 29-year-old could have a shot at a similar price tag for more term on his next deal.
Mikheyev was acquired as a cap dump from Vancouver after a particularly rough season in 2023-24. When he’s on, he’s an effective second-line winger but if his offensive struggles continue in 2024-25, he becomes a buyout candidate next summer. Reichel quickly opted for a bridge contract back in May. He’ll be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2026 and if he’s able to secure even a full-time middle-six spot, he could have a shot at doubling that or more. Anderson was non-tendered in June to avoid giving him arbitration rights but quickly re-signed this contract, one which gives him a one-way salary for only the second (and third) time of his career. He’s a low-cost depth piece and with Chicago’s youngsters eventually getting more expensive, the Blackhawks will need to keep this roster spot around that price tag whether it’s with Anderson or someone else down the road.
Murphy, when healthy, remains a solid stay-at-home second-pairing blueliner. However, he has missed significant time with injuries in two of the last three seasons. Still, if he can stay healthy and in the same role for two more years, he could land a multi-year deal around this price tag two years from now. Brodie came over as another free agent pickup after a year in Toronto that started off okay but saw him struggle to finish. He won’t be tasked with as much ice time in Chicago which should help but when this contract is up, he’s probably going to have to go year-to-year moving forward.
Mrazek put up a respectable .907 SV% last season on a team that struggled considerably which helped earn him this two-year extension, one that is also above-market. He’ll need to put up better numbers over the next two seasons to have a shot at bettering his price tag two years from now. Brossoit’s decision to return to Winnipeg proved to be wise as he thrived in limited duty, making him one of the better options in free agency this summer. That said, with a still-limited track record, he couldn’t command top dollar. He’ll have a chance over the next two years to show that he can carry a bigger workload which could put him in line for another raise if things go well in Chicago.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
Teravainen had a bounce-back year with Carolina, potting a career-best 25 goals which made him one of the more prominent wingers in free agency. It was a bit surprising to see him land just a three-year agreement but he’ll have a chance to play a prominent role which, if all goes well, could allow him to put up some good numbers, giving him a chance to beat this price three years from now.
Oilers Still Exploring Trade Market
It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Oilers, to put it lightly. They lost Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to St. Louis via offer sheets, moved Cody Ceci and a third-round pick to San Jose for Ty Emberson, and acquired Vasily Podkolzin from Vancouver for a fourth rounder.
With the team largely capped out (they have less than $950K in cap room, per PuckPedia), they’ve been speculatively linked to the PTO market in recent days, particularly on the back end. But it appears that they’re considering more than just that as well.
In an appearance earlier this week on Oilers Now (audio link), Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli relayed that Edmonton is considering some options beyond the PTO market in what would amount to more of a shakeup type of move. He suggested that GM Stan Bowman may be parsing through as many as seven different options at the moment.
Speculatively, it stands to reason that Edmonton’s focus on the trade front is likely on the back end. While Broberg might have been expected to play on the third pairing this season given his limited NHL workload so far, Ceci logged at least 20 minutes per game in each of his three seasons with the Oilers. While Emberson might be able to fill the intended role for Broberg on the third pair, they still need someone capable of playing higher up the lineup. And while free agents like Tyson Barrie, Tony DeAngelo, and Kevin Shattenkirk, have played that high on the depth chart before, they’re not ideal fits to play in the top four at this point of their respective careers.
How Bowman might be looking to shake things up isn’t quite as clear. The team has eight players with some form of trade protection in their contracts and are core pieces that aren’t likely to move. Their four highest-paid players without trade protection are core players who aren’t getting traded (Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard) or just signed with the Oilers (Viktor Arvidsson and Adam Henrique).
At this point, effectively anyone making more than Brett Kulak’s $2.75MM is probably off the table in trade discussions and for that money, it’s going to be tricky to find someone to fit that top-four role. While Evander Kane ($5.125MM) could be moved to LTIR to start the season as he recovers from a hip injury, that’s only a short-term fix as they’d have to get cap-compliant again to activate him. Accordingly, dipping into that this early would be somewhat risky.
Seravalli suggested that this move, should it come to fruition, is likely to come before training camps start so Bowman and the Oilers have a couple more weeks to see if they can find a way to shake things up and add to their back end.