Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings
Free agency is now less than two weeks 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 have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Kings.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Quinton Byfield – The Kings were hoping that the 2020 second-overall pick would take a big step forward and become a key top-six threat for them in 2023-24. Mission accomplished on that front. After being more of a role player in his first couple of years, he was regularly in the top six while taking a regular turn on the power play. Byfield also did so while playing primarily on the wing which isn’t his natural position. That could change moving forward now with Pierre-Luc Dubois in Washington, opening up a path for Byfield to move back down the middle. A bridge contract might be the safer route here, checking in somewhere around the $4MM mark but if GM Rob Blake thinks that Byfield has another level to get to, he could try to pursue a long-term agreement, one that would likely push past $7MM per season.
F Arthur Kaliyev – In his first two seasons, Kaliyev was a decent secondary scorer, albeit an inconsistent one. However, he struggled considerably in 2023-24 and following the midseason coaching change that saw Jim Hiller take over, the 22-year-old hardly played after that. With a qualifying offer of just $874K, he shouldn’t be a non-tender risk but it’s more than evident at this point that a change of scenery would be a good idea for both sides.
F Blake Lizotte – After a breakout showing in 2022-23, Lizotte saw his output drop this season, tallying just 15 points in 62 games. He’s a regular on the penalty kill and plays with some jam despite his smaller stature but he’s owed a $1.675MM qualifying offer, one that also carries arbitration rights. With a 34-point effort the year before, it’s probable that the award would check in over $2MM. For the limited role he fills, is that the best use of their money or would a non-tender make more sense while they look to fill that role with someone cheaper?
D Jordan Spence – The 23-year-old was basically a full-time NHLer for the first time this season, getting into 71 games. He was predominantly limited to playing on the third pairing with a bit of power play time but he still managed a respectable 24 points which will definitely help his case in negotiations. Given the limited role, it doesn’t make much sense for a long-term agreement to be worked out but a short-term bridge deal worth a little over $2MM might be the right fit.
Other RFAs: F Samuel Fagemo, F Carl Grundstrom, G Jacob Ingham, F Tyler Madden, G Erik Portillo, F Alex Turcotte
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Viktor Arvidsson – Suffice it to say, this was not the ideal walk year for the 31-year-old. Arvidsson missed the first 50 games of the season after undergoing back surgery, then landed back on LTIR just four games after returning. He did come back to finish off the year and played in the playoffs but suited up just 21 times combined. Still, Arvidsson has a track record of being a quality top-six piece with five 20-goal seasons under his belt while being a strong possession player which helps. But with the injuries, it’s hard to see teams offering up a long-term deal. Instead, the offers might be more of the three-year variety while he’s a candidate to opt for a one-year pillow contract in the hopes of showing he’s fully healthy, thereby bolstering his value for the 2025 open market.
F Trevor Lewis – A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Lewis has been an effective fourth liner for quite some time. His production has dropped compared to his first stint with the Kings when he was more in his prime but he’s still worth signing to fill the role he has the last few years. That will be a contract at or close to the league minimum salary but he should get another deal to give him a shot at reaching 1,000 career regular season games, a number he’s 26 shy of at the moment.
D Matt Roy – Roy has been one of the more under-the-radar blueliners over the past few years. He’s a stable second-pairing player who can move up when needed while also helping to anchor the penalty kill. On top of that, he’s a right-hand shot, the side that’s always in high demand. Los Angeles would undoubtedly love to bring him back but the 29-year-old is well-positioned to cash in and this is his best shot at a big long-term deal. After making $3.15MM the last three seasons, he could come close to doubling that on the open market.
G Cam Talbot – The veteran wound up settling for a low-cost contract that ultimately paid him $2MM with bonuses; $1MM of that will be on the Kings’ books in 2024-25. Still, the move worked out well for both sides as the 36-year-old made 52 starts, posting a 2.50 GAA with a .913 SV%, more than respectable numbers for someone at that price point. With their acquisition of Darcy Kuemper, it’s likely that Talbot moves on but as one of the more proven netminders on the market, he should be able to land another one-year deal, perhaps with a bit more guaranteed money this time around.
Other UFAs: D Kevin Connauton, G Pheonix Copley, G Aaron Dell, F Hayden Hodgson, F Mikhail Maltsev, D Steven Santini, F T.J. Tynan
Projected Cap Space
After being rather limited spending-wise last summer, the Kings have $23.45MM in flexibility for next season. Granted, they have as many as ten players to sign with that money with a fair-sized chunk of that being earmarked for Byfield’s contract and the re-signing or replacing of Arvidsson and potentially Roy. Nonetheless, Blake has a chance to make another splash this summer, one he’ll be hoping works out a lot better than the one he made around this time a year ago.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.
PHR Mailbag: Blackhawks, Draft, Zegras, CapFriendly, Panthers, Player Safety
Topics in this edition of our mailbag include several draft questions, where Trevor Zegras might be playing next year, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in our mailbag from last weekend. There will be one more that runs on Monday.
UncleMike1526: Who should be the one player, be it trade, UFA signing, or RFA signing the Blackhawks should target this offseason?
I’ll go with Jake Guentzel here. Not only is he one of the top free agents available but he doesn’t cost anything but cap space to bring in. (Unless Chicago were to trade for his negotiating rights, then it’d be a mid-round pick which isn’t a big deal for them.) They’re at the point now where they need to start adding pieces and while he alone won’t turn around their fortunes for next season, getting a quality scorer for free (or close to it) would be great.
I also put some value in the success he had with Sidney Crosby. It’s not as easy as some think to keep up with elite players so finding someone that could ride shotgun with Connor Bedard isn’t as easy as it seems. Getting someone who has spent the majority of the last several years in that type of role would be the perfect fit to work with Bedard. It might not be an easy sell considering there will be plenty of playoff-contending teams that will have interest but that would be a great outcome for them.
You mention an RFA signing in your question but an offer sheet would not be advisable for them. If they’re signing someone of consequence, it’s going to cost them at least one first-round pick. Those picks are unprotected and considering that one player alone isn’t going to make a big difference, I’m not sure they should be running the risk of losing what could be a fairly high lottery pick a year from now.
jminn: If Chicago takes Artyom Levshunov second overall, who do you think the Ducks will take? They’ve said they need both a right-handed defenseman and a right-handed wing. Do they attempt to get that at number three or take the guy they think is the best available player even though they’re loaded with left-handed defenders?
If it’s me in charge, I’d go with Ivan Demidov. There is a bit of risk considering he was playing at a lower level but he might be the most skilled player left on the board. Anaheim is still at a point where they should be looking to add firepower to their quickly improving forward group and getting a possible front-line winger to go with their young centers would be great.
But it’s not me in charge, it’s Pat Verbeek. He has certainly put an emphasis on size and grit and Anton Silayev could be that type of unicorn defender that rarely comes around. Even though he doesn’t have the offensive upside that several other blueliners do, players with his profile that can play at a high level don’t come around too often.
Yes, the Ducks have ample left-side depth on the back end. But they don’t have anyone like Silayev. He’s someone who could be that key shutdown defender who kills penalties and plays in late-game defensive situations, basically being the perfect complementary piece to Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger on the left side. Watching these playoffs, Silayev could be a significant difference-maker and that’s why I think they’ll view him as the BPA and add him to their already-deep prospect pool.
GBear: Draft question!
Assuming the Preds are looking for a forward who is a drive-the-play type player, who would you be looking at as likely available at the #22 spot at the draft? I’m leaning towards Sacha Boisvert, fwiw.
This is probably a good time for my annual reminder that I’m not a scout by any stretch of the imagination so I’m relying solely on second-hand info as a result. Boisvert seems like a good fit in that range. I wonder about Igor Chernyshov falling into that range as well. He has that power forward-type of profile but we’ve seen some Russian-born players slip in recent years and if he does, he could fall into Nashville’s laps.
I don’t know if he necessarily fits the profile you’re hoping for but the other player that comes to mind for them if they’re going for a forward is Andrew Basha. He is a bit smaller but is a strong puck carrier who could drive the play while being an all-situations player. He’s the type of complementary player that I could see GM Barry Trotz showing some interest in him and that’s in the range that some think Basha will land in.
jminn: Do you think Carter Yakemchuk is NHL-ready or does he need AHL seasoning?
Offensively, I think Yakemchuk could hold his own in the NHL next season and that’s a compliment. His shot is a considerable weapon and he doesn’t hesitate to get involved in the rush; that’s something teams could work with. Physically, he has a frame where he might be able to stick as well. But on the whole, no, I don’t think he’s ready to play at the top level just yet.
One of the big knocks on him is his skating. That’s something that pro teams will exploit pretty quickly. In general, his defensive game needs some work. Part of that can be fixed with skating improvements but he needs reps against easier competition to start developing some better habits on that end. I think he’d be overwhelmed if exposed to NHL-level players on an extended basis. Most blueliners would; there’s a reason why there are very few 18-year-old defenders in the NHL.
I’ll also clarify that Yakemchuk isn’t eligible to play in the AHL next season. As a CHL-based player, it’s NHL or bust for him. He’s not eligible to play in the minors on a full-time basis until 2026-27. Unless his defensive game and skating improve considerably over the next couple of years, he could certainly benefit from time in that level as well to shore up that side of his game before getting regular NHL minutes. That’s a pretty standard development curve for most rearguards and I think it’s probably the best one for him as well.
@SamToo22: Where does Trevor Zegras end up?
One of the challenges of finding the right fit for Zegras (if he’s moved at all) is trying to figure out what it is they want. I expect they’ll be active in free agency again this summer as they look to add veteran pieces to help position themselves toward moving past their rebuild. But having said that, it would surprise me if they were interested in moving Zegras for that veteran type of piece; I think they’ll want someone (or something) with considerable club control. That takes some potential suitors off the table.
On the flip side, having been rebuilding for basically six years now, a strictly futures-based return probably isn’t going to fly either. Sure, a high draft pick could be part of a package but there needs to be someone that isn’t years away from being an impact NHL player. This element might not reduce any suitors but it puts more limitations on the types of offers that could be made.
Montreal has been suggested as a possible fit. They’ve moved younger players and draft picks at the last couple of drafts for more win-now help and they have a fairly deep prospect pool and some young roster players that could be appealing. If he went there, it wouldn’t surprise me.
But my pick is Utah. It’s the same general idea as Montreal in that they have a draft pick surplus, a strong group of prospects, and some younger roster pieces that can help Anaheim in the near future. Like many, I expect Utah to take a swing or two this summer and go after someone like Zegras who is young enough that he can be a part of the younger core group they already have. They certainly could use some help down the middle and an influx of offensive talent so if Zegras winds up moving, Utah is my guess at a landing spot.
Gmm8811: So let’s talk about CapFriendly… where are we gonna go now to find that kind of information? Maybe your site will expand its content? Also, any updates on what is going on with the players involved in the Hockey Canada mess?
jminn: Why didn’t the NHL buy CF? Daly and his chimp sleeping at the wheel.
Losing cap sites is something I’ve been accustomed to over the years. I remember about 20 years ago when there weren’t any sites but rather a mailing list with an Excel spreadsheet (which took quite a while to get onto, might I add) that had contract info but not cap tracking. Teams have taken over cap sites before and we’ve been fortunate enough to have new ones pop up quickly. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for a new one this time as PuckPedia has been up and running for several years now. Meanwhile, as Josh Erickson noted in a reply to this question in the callout, we are looking into some options as well but obviously there’s nothing to report on that front.
As to why the NHL didn’t take over the site, they are steadfastly against salary disclosure. I remember Gary Bettman saying in the past that he didn’t think there was much demand for this information; it came a day or two after the cap site at the time crashed due to too many visitors putting too much strain on the site’s server. We’ve learned since Washington’s purchase was announced that the league wasn’t too thrilled about the existence and popularity of CapFriendly so the last thing they were going to do was amplify it by folding it into their own site. If anything, I suspect there were some cheers from the league office when it came out that a team was buying it and getting CapFriendly out of the public domain.
Meanwhile, regarding the Hockey Canada situation, TSN’s Rick Westhead relayed last week (Twitter link) that a trial date won’t be set until mid-August while the earliest a trial could happen would probably be April 2025 and that the proceedings could take at least two months. Accordingly, there isn’t going to be much news on that front for a while yet.
Offseason Checklist: Vancouver Canucks
The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs. For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Vancouver.
The Canucks were one of the surprises of the season, going from a non-playoff team to winning the Pacific Division and getting deep into the second round despite being without their starting goalie. GM Patrik Allvin has already checked one significant item off his summer to-do list with the recent re-signing of Filip Hronek to a long-term extension but he still has some items to check off in the coming weeks and months.
Reload The Back End
Even with Hronek under contract, Vancouver has just three full-time blueliners signed for next season – Hronek, Quinn Hughes, and Carson Soucy. Noah Juulsen is also under contract, but he profiles as a sixth option at best and preferably a seventh who comes in when injuries arise. That leaves three spots to fill, either by re-signing or replacing their pending unrestricted free agents.
The most notable of the trio is Nikita Zadorov. The 29-year-old did well after being acquired early in the season from Calgary and then was a difference-maker for them in the playoffs. He has struggled to get a long-term deal so far in his career, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around, with some suggesting that he could get six years and $6MM per season. There’s mutual interest in having Zadorov stick around, but with how well-positioned he is to cash in, it’d be hard to pass up testing the market.
Tyler Myers had a contract that made him a target from the moment it was signed. Miscast in a top role, the 34-year-old had arguably his best season in five years with Vancouver in 2023-24 as he was moved down the lineup. He won’t get $6MM this time around, but there’s believed to be mutual interest in him coming back at the right price. Meanwhile, that isn’t expected to be the case for Ian Cole, with the 35-year-old being set to possibly land with his sixth organization since 2020.
With nearly $17MM in cap space per CapFriendly, there’s room to potentially have one contract of significance as they re-sign or replace these veterans, although if they want to add up front – more on that shortly – then they’ll need some more cost-effective options as well. Notably, Myers and Cole logged the most minutes shorthanded, so as they look to fill those spots, it’s likely that they will be looking to bring in some players with a track record of success on the penalty kill.
Boeser Extension Talks
As it stands, the Canucks won’t have nearly as much roster turnover via free agency in 2025 as they will this year, at least among their star players. They do have one big fish to get extended before next summer, though.
Brock Boeser finally hit his potential in earnest in 2023-24. After posting middling stat lines the past two seasons while dealing with a variety of personal struggles, which he opened up about to The Province’s Ben Kuzma last year, he erupted for a career-best 40 goals and 73 points in 81 regular-season contests. Averaging 18:36 per game and flourishing under head coach Rick Tocchet, he’s made himself an irreplaceable part of their core group of forwards and has set himself up well heading into a contract year.
As of today, he’d earn a significant raise on his current $6.65MM cap hit. Evolving Hockey projects a max-term eight-year deal in the $8MM AAV range as the most likely scenario if Boeser were to be extended shortly after becoming eligible to sign one on July 1. But with their aforementioned large plate of free agents to deal with this summer, extension talks with Boeser will likely take a while to get going.
Injuries were a concern early on in his career, but he has flashed the potential to consistently produce in the 70-point range in the past. His 0.90 points per game this season was a career-high, but he did get close on multiple other occasions (0.89 in 2017-18, 0.81 in 2018-19, 0.88 in 2020-21).
Add Impact Forward
A quick glance at the Canucks’ depth chart next season reveals a painstakingly clear need for a top-six winger (or two) to help complement J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Boeser has one spot locked down, and Conor Garland should likely find himself further up in the lineup after a strong 2023-24 campaign, but Ilya Mikheyev is currently slated for a second-line role alongside Pettersson. He’s not expected back next season anyway, and assuming they can clear the entirety of his $4.75MM cap hit, that’s more money for their front office braintrust of Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford to play with.
Their top target is clear. They were linked to former Penguins forward Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, and while they lost a bidding war to the Hurricanes, he’s available again this summer, with Carolina dangling his signing rights before he reaches UFA status. As expected, they’re checking in on him again.
He’d be the most expensive option available to meet the ‘impact forward’ moniker, likely save for Panthers winger Sam Reinhart. Guentzel is likely to cost a team around or more than $9MM per season, and Vancouver would need to pounce quickly. Can they get certainty in the coming days that they’ll be able to accommodate such a deal under the salary cap? That’ll be a story to follow as next week’s draft nears.
Other cheaper options to complement Miller or Pettersson on the wing include Jonathan Marchessault, Teuvo Teräväinen, or a reunion with Tyler Toffoli. All would be significant short-term upgrades over Mikheyev or other oft-used options higher up in the lineup, like youngster Nils Höglander.
Clear Poolman’s Contract
We’re all but certain that defenseman Tucker Poolman won’t play again due to migraine issues. He hasn’t skated in an NHL game since October 2022 and spent all of the 2023-24 campaign on long-term injured reserve.
While some criticized the four-year, $2.5MM AAV deal Poolman received from the Canucks in free agency, few thought it would yield just 43 games of service from Poolman in a Vancouver sweater. Regardless, the 31-year-old Iowa native now has just one year left on his deal, and it’s gumming up the offseason salary cap works. Could a team desperately in need of salary cap relief, such as the Golden Knights or Lightning, acquire Poolman’s $2.5MM cap hit next season and place it on LTIR for some much-needed in-season relief? It would be a win-win situation.
PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Colorado Avalanche
The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs. For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Colorado.
Expectations were high once again for the Avalanche heading into 2023-24. The team made some moves to shore up their forward group over the offseason, leading them to be a speculative favorite to come out of the Central Division. However, they came up a bit short, falling to Dallas in the division final. Now, GM Chris MacFarland will look to add to his group again, a task that will be harder this time around. Here’s what should be on his checklist in the coming weeks.
Create Cap Flexibility
Captain Gabriel Landeskog missed the entire season, allowing Colorado to go well into LTIR last summer as they knew in advance he wouldn’t be available to play. There is still some uncertainty as to whether he’ll be ready to play next season but the winger has made it known he intends to try. That effectively encumbers $7MM as they need to have that free in case he’s able to return from his knee cartilage transplant.
Then there’s Valeri Nichushkin. He’ll miss the first few weeks of the season while being in Stage Three of the Player Assistance Program and will be cap-exempt during that time. However, whenever he is cleared to return, his full $6.125MM cap charge will come onto the books. They have to assume he’ll be cleared to come back so that money will be tied up as well.
While the Avs have over $16MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, they have quite a few roster spots to fill with that money; a big chunk of which will go to a pending RFA which will be highlighted shortly. With the volume of spots (as many as eight) to fill, they’ll be hard-pressed to spend big on an unrestricted free agent which will make it difficult to re-sign Jonathan Drouin.
Finding a way to move all or at least some of Josh Manson’s $4.5MM AAV would be one way to accomplish this although it’s usually not easy to free up that much cap space for a couple of years. Ross Colton ($4MM for three years) might be another option to move although doing so would create another hole down the middle to fill. There aren’t many ways to do it but if MacFarland can open up some more wiggle room, they’ll have plenty more viable options to build their roster.
Rantanen Extension Talks
While this is something that could easily stay on the back burner this summer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Colorado take a real run at an extension for winger Mikko Rantanen. Once July 1st hits, he’ll officially be in the final year of his contract, making him eligible to sign a new deal at any time.
The 27-year-old has been playing on a contract that pays $9.25MM per season since 2019. It’s hard for that pricey of a contract to be construed as a team-friendly one but that is the case here. Rantanen has become an impactful and consistent producer, averaging at least 1.23 points per game in each of the last four seasons. He has been even more productive in the playoffs, averaging a minimum of 1.25 points per game over the last four postseason, tallying 62 points in 48 games over that span.
As a result, Rantanen is well-positioned to earn a considerable raise along with a max-term agreement of eight years if he wants to sign for that long. Earlier this month, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post outlined some possible comparables for what Rantanen’s next deal could look like. At this point, it’s fair to suggest that there’s a chance that Rantanen could sign the richest contract for a winger in NHL history (in terms of cap hit), surpassing Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM. That still would slot him a bit behind Nathan MacKinnon who checks in at $12.6MM.
This isn’t something that MacFarland has to get done this summer as Rantanen is signed through next June. However, it would be worthwhile to at least get an understanding of the asking price (if not get a deal done altogether) to aid in their spending plans now as some of the players they’ll be pursuing shortly will undoubtedly be seeking multi-year deals. Having a better sense of what the 2025-26 books will look like makes navigating those other discussions a little easier.
Re-Sign Mittelstadt
Now, let’s get back to that pending RFA of note, center Casey Mittelstadt. The Avs pulled off arguably the most surprising trade back at the deadline, acquiring the 25-year-old from Buffalo in exchange for promising young defenseman Bowen Byram. In doing so, they shored up their second line, something they’d been looking to do since losing Nazem Kadri to Calgary in free agency.
Mittelstadt followed up a breakout 2022-23 performance that saw him put up 59 points with a similar showing between the two teams this season, tallying 57 points in 80 games. However, that doesn’t quite tell the full picture as he was limited to 10 points in 18 appearances following the swap, a point-per-game drop of 0.2 compared to his output with the Sabres. However, Mittelstadt was more impactful in the playoffs, collecting nine points in 11 games which will help his case this summer.
Mittelstadt is coming off a three-year bridge agreement that carried a $2.5MM AAV and has a required qualifying offer of $2.6MM. He’s also arbitration-eligible for the first and only time as he can reach unrestricted free agency next summer. That last note effectively rules out another short-term contract that would only buy a year or two of team control.
Given their cap constraints, it’s hard to envision the Avs working out a max-term agreement as the cost of it in terms of a higher AAV would make things a bit harder for them in the summer. Accordingly, a medium-term deal (four to six years) feels like the sweet spot to try to aim for. If that winds up being where the two sides land, he’s likely to at least double his qualifying offer and could push for $6MM. Getting him locked up would certainly give them some stability down the middle with MacKinnon not going anywhere either.
Load Up On Depth
Last summer, Colorado needed to sign several players to low-cost one-year deals to round out their roster. Up front, they added Drouin, Chris Wagner, and Joel Kiviranta while re-signing Andrew Cogliano all for $825K or less and also brought in Frederik Karlsson for the minimum from Dallas. On the back end, they brought back Jack Johnson for the minimum and later acquired Caleb Jones who was also making the minimum salary. They didn’t hit on every addition but most of them turned out pretty well while Drouin wound up being a key part of their forward group. However, all but Wagner are free agents next month.
That’s a lot of roster spots to try to fill and depending on what happens with Mittelstadt’s deal and potentially trying to bring Drouin back, they’re going to be looking at trying to fill the rest either internally or with low-cost free agent pickups. With their internal options, Nikolai Kovalenko and recent free agent pickup Jere Innala figure to be the likeliest to grab spots although both of them also check in at price tags higher than last summer’s group of depth additions.
With that in mind, MacFarland will likely be targeting four to six players for the league minimum or very close to it to try to backfill their forward group and round out the defense corps. Additionally, he will likely be trying to add some potential in-season recalls on two-way deals worth the minimum in the NHL. There will be a lot of these types of contracts signed in the first few days of free agency; expect Colorado to be among the leaders in them.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacific Notes: Marchessault, Mantha, Vladar, Wouters
The Golden Knights are continuing their discussions with Jonathan Marchessault’s camp in advance of his pending unrestricted free agency, relays The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta (Twitter link). The 33-year-old had a career-best 42 goals in 2023-24 on the heels of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in their Stanley Cup title in 2023. That has him well-positioned to earn a fair-sized raise on the $5MM he made in each of the last six years but that increase will be tough for Vegas to fit on their books with less than $1.2MM in regular cap space, per CapFriendly. Yes, Robin Lehner and his $5MM should land on LTIR again but they also need to re-sign Pavel Dorofeyev and shore up their depth in the coming weeks.
More from the Pacific:
- Speaking of Golden Knights pending unrestricted free agents, Anthony Mantha told RDS that the team has told him he will not be offered a deal for next season. The winger was acquired just before the trade deadline from Washington after putting up 20 goals with the Caps but he struggled with his new team, eventually being scratched in their first-round exit to Dallas.
- Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar is expected to be ready for training camp after undergoing hip surgery back in March, relays team reporter Ryan Dittrick. The 26-year-old struggled this season, posting a 3.62 GAA with a save percentage of just .882 in 20 appearances. However, he’s now the veteran netminder on Calgary’s roster as it’s expected that he’ll team up with top prospect Dustin Wolf as their tandem for next season following the trade that saw Jacob Markstrom go to New Jersey today.
- Vancouver’s farm team in Abbotsford announced that they’ve signed captain Chase Wouters to a two-year contract extension. The 24-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Canucks’ affiliate and posted nine goals and 14 assists in 66 games in 2023-24. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal pays the forward $225K per season.
East Notes: Ullmark, Flyers/Senators Talks, Potulny
With Jacob Markstrom now in New Jersey, the Senators have stepped up their efforts to acquire Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Ullmark saw his numbers drop this year compared to his Vezina-winning 2022-23 campaign but he still posted a solid 2.57 GAA with a .915 SV% in 40 games. Those numbers would represent a significant improvement on the 3.30 and .888 that Ottawa put up as a team in 2023-24. Ullmark has one year left on his contract with a $5MM price tag and it’s worth noting that he has a 16-team no-trade clause so he does have some say in where he could ultimately be moved.
Meanwhile, Garrioch adds that the Bruins don’t have interest in taking back the final four years of Joonas Korpisalo’s contract as expected. However, with Anton Forsberg ($2.75MM) set to enter the final year of his deal next season, Boston could be amenable to taking him back, allowing the Senators to reduce the additional salary they’re taking on. That said, Garrioch notes that there is still work to be done before this possible swap has a chance of reaching the finish line.
Elsewhere in the East:
- We’ve had three trades announced today and it appears progress was made on another one. TSN’s Travis Yost suggests (Twitter link) that the Senators and Flyers have the framework of a deal in place although it might not be announced until closer to the trade. No specifics as to who was involved were provided but those teams could be worth keeping an eye on in the coming days.
- It appears that the Rangers are closing in on finding their next head coach at AHL Hartford. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Grant Potulny is expected to become the Wolf Pack’s next head coach. Potulny spent the last seven seasons at Northern Michigan before resigning recently, citing a desire to pursue a position in professional hockey. Kris Knoblauch started the season in Hartford before being hired away by Edmonton while Steve Smith served as the interim bench boss for the rest of the season.
Lias Andersson Signs With NL’s Biel-Bienne
June 19: Andersson will indeed be heading to Switzerland, inking a two-year deal with Biel-Bienne that was made official Wednesday. Notably, a two-year deal means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent if he attempts to return to the NHL in 2026, so the Habs issuing him a qualifying offer means nothing unless he opts out of his contract with Biel-Bienne after one season.
June 1: Forward Lias Andersson was once a highly touted prospect after being the seventh overall pick back in 2017. However, his stock has fallen considerably since then to the point where he didn’t see any NHL action this season. Now, it appears that he’s opting for a new opportunity as Blick’s Gregory Beaud relays that Andersson is linked to Biel-Bienne in Switzerland for next season.
Beaud adds that some have suggested a deal with the 25-year-old is already in place although GM Martin Steinegger indicated that’s not the case but revealed that he is interested in bringing Andersson to his club for next season.
After spending all but one game in the minors in 2022-23, the Kings elected not to tender Andersson a qualifying offer, resulting in him becoming an unrestricted free agent. He quickly landed with the Canadiens, inking a one-year, two-way deal with the hope that he’d push for a roster spot with Montreal in training camp.
That didn’t happen. Instead, he cleared waivers in training camp and was sent down to AHL Laval where he stayed for the entire season. Andersson had a productive showing for the Rocket, collecting 21 goals and 24 assists in 53 games while missing considerable time due to a lower-body injury. Despite being one of Laval’s top forwards, Montreal elected not to bring him up at any point of the season.
If a deal with Biel-Bienne ultimately gets done, the Canadiens will still have the option to tender Andersson a qualifying offer which would keep him under club control. Meanwhile, if Andersson has determined that a regular spot in the NHL isn’t coming his way based on how things have gone in the NHL, perhaps a strong showing overseas could ultimately boost his stock down the road.
Five Key Stories: 6/10/24 – 6/16/24
The playoffs will last a little longer now with Edmonton staying alive on Saturday night. Even so, offseason activity round the league is starting to pick up, including Arizona’s relocation to Utah being made official. Here’s a rundown of the most notable news from the week that was.
Warsofsky Gets Promoted: After a long coaching search, the Sharks decided that the best option to take over behind the bench is someone who was already there. The team announced that they’ve promoted assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky to the top role. Warsofsky was considered for the top job a couple of years ago but was passed over for David Quinn. San Jose struggled as expected over the past two seasons in the midst of a full-scale rebuild and they’ll be hoping to fare better under their rookie head coach. While this is Warsofsky’s first time running an NHL team, he has previous experience running a bench having been a head coach at both the AHL and ECHL levels.
Steen To Become A GM: Long-time NHL forward Alex Steen hasn’t been retired for long but he is about to take on a big front office job. The Blues have announced that Steen will become their new GM starting in the 2026-27 season. Current GM Doug Armstrong, who was under contract for the next two years, inked a three-year extension through 2028-29 as their president of hockey operations, a title he has held since 2013. Steen was a consultant for St. Louis this season and will now have the next two years to get ready to take over the top job. Armstrong, meanwhile, has been the GM for the Blues for the past 14 seasons with St. Louis making ten playoff appearances including their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019.
Laine In Play: While there will be several big-name wingers available in free agency in a couple of weeks, it appears as if one notable winger is in play on the trade front as the Blue Jackets and Patrik Laine are in agreement that a change of scenery would be beneficial. The 26-year-old was limited to just 18 games this season between injuries and spending time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program where he has been since January. When he’s at his best, Laine is one of the more dangerous scoring threats in the NHL but he has played in just 129 games over the past three seasons combined. Laine has two years left on his contract with an $8.7MM AAV, a price tag that will be tricky for a lot of teams to fit in, even with the $4.5MM increase in the salary cap.
Kakko Signs Early: After a tough season, Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko was going to have a hard time making a case for a raise. With that in mind, the two sides settled on a one-year, $2.4MM agreement, the exact amount of what his qualifying offer would have been. The 23-year-old notched just 13 goals and six assists in 61 games in 2023-24, his point total dropping by a little more than half from the year before. The early contract gives both sides some certainty moving forward while if there are teams interested in acquiring the 2019 second-overall selection, the fact they know what his next contract will likely help in those trade discussions.
Carolina Defensive Deals: The Hurricanes have several pending unrestricted free agents but they were able to cut down that list by one, reaching a three-year, $9MM extension with defenseman Jalen Chatfield. The 28-year-old has become a full-time option on Carolina’s third pairing over the last couple of years and had a career-best eight goals and 14 assists in 72 games this season. Chatfield had played on a league minimum contract the last two seasons so this is certainly a significant raise for him. With four other rearguards set to hit the open market next month, Chatfield should be in line for a bigger role next season.
Meanwhile, while he’s not eligible to sign an extension until the calendar turns to July, it appears a tentative agreement is in place between Jaccob Slavin and the Hurricanes. Terms of the reported deal have not been disclosed. The 30-year-old has been one of the anchors on Carolina’s back end for the past nine years, logging over 20 minutes a night in all of those while being one of the top defensive defenders. He has one year left on his current contract which carries a $5.3MM price tag and it’s fair to suggest he’ll be getting a considerable increase when he puts pen to paper on this deal next month.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Boston Bruins
The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs. For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Boston.
There were some question marks surrounding the Bruins heading into the season after they lost both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. However, they nearly won the Atlantic Division once again to bring their playoff streak to eight straight years. Boston got past Toronto in the opening round before falling to Florida in the second round. Armed with cap and roster flexibility for the first time in a while, GM Don Sweeney has a chance to reshape the roster or to keep the bulk of the core together. Here’s what should be on their to-do list in the coming weeks.
Add Impact Center
After losing their top two middlemen from the year before, the Bruins didn’t do a whole lot to replace them. Morgan Geekie came over after being non-tendered by Seattle while John Beecher and Matthew Poitras came up from the minors and the OHL respectively to largely fill the other vacancy. In the meantime, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha covered the tough minutes. All things considered, they cobbled together a solution relatively well given their cap constraints.
Now they don’t have those constraints; they have over $21MM in cap room, per CapFriendly. They now have an opportunity – and a need – to try to address that. While their internal options fared well, they’re not a group of middlemen that a contender typically has.
There aren’t any true number one options on the open market this summer but there are some proven second options that can at least give them some more impactful depth. They were speculatively linked to Elias Lindholm last summer and it stands to reason they’ll have interest in someone who can cover the hard two-way minutes like Bergeron used to.
Among the secondary options are Chandler Stephenson, Sean Monahan, and Matt Duchene. All three have had success on the second line recently and have some upside at the offensive end. They might not produce more than the 60 and 59 points that Coyle and Zacha put up but a third middleman in that range would lengthen their offense and hedge against some injuries.
In theory, they could try to trade for a center but given the dearth of trade assets they have (a byproduct of going for it regularly), it’s hard to see them putting together a package that could land a top-six piece so turning to free agency should be the way they go.
Goalie Decisions
For the last couple of years, the Bruins have had a high-end goalie tandem between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, allowing them to have starting-level goaltending on a nightly basis. However, it’s about to become a luxury that’s too expensive for them to afford.
Swayman and the Bruins couldn’t agree on a contract last season, resulting in the two sides going to arbitration where he was awarded $3.475MM. Now, with another strong campaign under his belt, Swayman’s camp has a much better case this time around and will be heading for another big raise. Another one-year deal would push past the $5MM mark but it’s evident that both sides will want to get a longer-term agreement done this time around. A deal that buys multiple years of club control should cost at least $6MM while a max-term agreement probably pushes past $7MM, doubling his price from this season.
With that type of commitment to Swayman, Ullmark becomes a very expensive second option with one year and $5MM left on his deal. While they have enough cap room to carry both, that’s not necessarily the best use of their cap space with the other spots they’ll be looking to fill on their roster. That means they’ll be turning to the trade market as they had looked to back at the trade deadline when Ullmark is believed to have nixed a trade with his partial protection.
Ullmark will still have the ability to block a trade to nearly half the league this summer so it’s not a given that something will get done with Boston’s preferred option. It’s unfortunate for them that Ullmark will be in the market at a time where he’s not likely to be viewed as the number one option available and, in general, goalies don’t typically yield high-end returns too frequently. But they should find the best offer they can get in the next couple of weeks to get this taken care of before free agency opens up as they’ll then know if they were able to fill a need with the swap or, if it’s a futures-based package, if they’ll have other assets to trade to fill one of those needs.
Sweeney will also have to decide if they’ll go with rookie Brandon Bussi as the second-string option behind Swayman next season or if they want to bring in a more experienced veteran. If they don’t get a veteran to serve as the backup in the NHL, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go after a veteran third-stringer to partner with Michael DiPietro in the minors.
Re-Sign Or Replace DeBrusk
Jake DeBrusk’s future with the Bruins has been murky for several years, going back to his trade request, extension, and the eventual rescinding of that request. But even after that time, his name was floated out as potential salary-matching ballast in hypothetical scenarios where Boston was landing a more impactful winger or help down the middle.
One way or the other, the uncertainty is coming to an end over the next couple of weeks. DeBrusk is now a pending unrestricted free agent and is one of the younger players to hit the open market next month. Accordingly, the time has come for the Bruins to decide if he’s part of their future plans which would require a long-term commitment and remove him from any trade speculation. Alternatively, he’ll be parting ways in early July and Sweeney will be on the lookout for a replacement.
The 27-year-old has reached the 40-point mark five times in his seven-year career but has only hit the 50-point plateau once back in 2022-23. Still, he’s in line for a sizable raise from the $4MM he made over the past two seasons. A long-term agreement could conceivably push past $6MM if the open market is as strong as some are making it out to be. Boston has the money to pay that if they want or they could take that offer and look at some other options on the open market.
There are a few wingers who should check in around that price point in free agency. Tyler Toffoli, Vladimir Tarasenko, and David Perron are shorter-term options if they don’t want to make a long-term commitment at that spot while Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi (someone who has some familiarity with the team already) could command longer-term agreements. Viktor Arvidsson could be a good fit as well but coming off an injury-prone year, he might want just a one-year deal to bolster his market value for 2025-26. Either way, whether it’s re-signing or replacing DeBrusk, the Bruins have a big contract to hand out on the wing.
Add Depth
Last summer, the Bruins had several roster spots to fill for cheap, resulting in a lot of short-term contracts for role players. Included among those were James van Riemsdyk, Danton Heinen, Milan Lucic, and Kevin Shattenkirk, all of whom are set to return to the open market this summer so Sweeney will likely be looking to follow a similar script this time around.
Up front, they have at least two and arguably as many as four spots to fill as Pat Maroon is also a pending UFA. They won’t necessarily be as limited in terms of having to shop for players who will accept close to the league minimum although if they are able to land an impact center and either keep or replace DeBrusk, they will have to go bargain-hunting at some point. The good news for them is that there will be plenty of players that will be in that price range. They may not all sign quickly but Sweeney should be able to fill those spots.
On the back end, with Mason Lohrei showing that he’s ready for full-time NHL duty, the acquisition of Andrew Peeke at the trade deadline, and Parker Wotherspoon holding his own, they really only have to fill one spot even with Shattenkirk, Matt Grzelcyk, and Derek Forbort all heading for the open market. As a result, they could target someone a little higher in price that could play in a fourth or fifth role. It also wouldn’t be shocking to see an extra depth defender added to battle for the seventh spot. Again, there are a lot of blueliners who fit into these buckets so they should be able to take care of this one fairly easily.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Senators Expected To Trade Egor Sokolov This Summer
Over the past few years, Egor Sokolov has been one of Ottawa’s top-performing AHL players but it hasn’t resulted in much of an opportunity to play at the top level. As a result, while he is expected to receive a qualifying offer later this month, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the expectation is that the Senators will move the winger at some point this summer.
The 24-year-old went undrafted in his first two years of eligibility before a breakout year with QMJHL Cape Breton in 2019-20 boosted his stock to the point where he was picked in the second round in 2020, going 60th overall. He signed his entry-level contract soon after and has played in Ottawa’s system since then.
This past season, Sokolov played in 71 games with AHL Belleville, recording 21 goals and 25 assists. However, it was the first time since his rookie year (which was shortened by the pandemic) that he failed to reach the 50-point mark. As a result, he wasn’t recalled at all during the season after clearing waivers during training camp.
Despite that, Sokolov still has 13 career NHL appearances under his belt having spent time with the big club in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. Overall, he has a goal and an assist in those games while logging a little more than nine minutes a night on average.
Sokolov will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this summer although with the limited NHL action, it’s unlikely he’d be able to command much more than the minimum salary. But as a 6’4 winger with a reasonable track record of success in the minors, there should be a team or two interested in taking a longer look at him in a move that would likely amount to a swap of AHL players in need of a change of scenery.