Atlantic Notes: Kasper, Edvinsson, Canadiens
Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper spent most of last season playing with Rogle in Sweden before making the trek to North America once his campaign over there came to an end. That won’t be the case this season, however, as the forward told Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that he will report to AHL Grand Rapids if he doesn’t earn a spot with Detroit this fall. Kasper was the eighth overall pick last year and had eight goals and 15 assists in 52 games in the SHL before making his NHL debut with Detroit in early April. The Red Wings have brought in several forwards this summer to reshape their group so it’s quite possible that Kasper will have to bide his time in the minors this season.
More from the Atlantic:
- Still with the Red Wings, defenseman Simon Edvinsson will not be ready to participate in training camp as he continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery, relays Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now. However, he should be cleared by the time the regular season starts. The 20-year-old spent most of last season in Grand Rapids, notching five goals and 22 assists in 52 games. The 2021 sixth-overall pick also got into nine games with Detroit where he tallied his first two NHL goals. With Edvinsson not being available for camp, it seems likely that he’ll be ticketed for the Griffins at least to start the season.
- The bulk of the moves that the Canadiens have made in the last couple of years have been moving out veterans and in doing so, cleaning up their cap situation. Despite that, GM Kent Hughes told Pierre LeBrun and Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link) that the impetus for the moves isn’t to try to become a player in free agency soon. Instead, the focus is on creating openings for their young players to get a chance to develop. Last season, Montreal had five rookies play at least 39 games on the back end and with the trades of Rem Pitlick and Mike Hoffman, there are now a couple more openings for their younger forwards to try to fill.
Senators Sign Jake Sanderson To An Eight-Year Extension
The Senators have taken care of another one of their top young talents, announcing that they’ve signed blueliner Jake Sanderson to an eight-year contract extension that kicks in for the 2024-25 campaign. The deal carries an AAV of $8.05MM, paid in equal sums each season. GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement about the signing:
Jake’s transition to the pro game has been flawless. He’s a very mature young man who demonstrates a routine and skillful ability to play important minutes with poise. An effortless skater who holds himself to a high standard, he has the talent to be one of the best all-around defencemen in the NHL for years to come. We’re very pleased to have another significant member of our core group of players under long-term contract.
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported just yesterday that Sanderson had switched agents from Bartlett Hockey to CAA’s Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry. Clearly, it didn’t take too long for his new representatives to work out a new deal.
The 21-year-old is coming off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him put up 32 points and 147 blocks in 77 games. He also ranked second on the Sens in ice time, logging just shy of 22 minutes per game; only Thomas Chabot averaged more. That performance helped Sanderson finish sixth in Calder Trophy voting.
Interestingly, Chabot’s deal almost certainly stood as a comparable in discussions. He checks in at $8MM per season and while Sanderson has less NHL experience (just one season compared to two for Chabot when he signed his contract), the cap has gone up since then. While Sanderson has the higher cap hit, his cap hit percentage (9.62) actually comes in a bit below Chabot’s agreement (9.82%).
Ottawa’s young core is all locked in around a similar price point with this extension. Sanderson, Chabot, Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Joshua Norris are all on long-term agreements ranging from an AAV of $7.95MM (Norris) on the low end to $8.35MM (Stutzle). That gives them a strong foundation for the foreseeable future. They now have nearly $74MM in commitments in place for the 2024-25 campaign to 14 players with Vladimir Tarasenko‘s $5MM contract being the biggest one set to come off the books.
For the upcoming season, Sanderson will still be on the books at his entry-level rate of $925K plus performance bonuses of up to $1.85MM. Cap space is at a premium for 2023-24 as they have less than $900K in room per CapFriendly with Shane Pinto (and prospect Egor Sokolov) still to re-sign. Sanderson is likely to hit most, if not all, of his $850K of ‘A’ bonuses so if the Sens can’t free up ample cap space to fit in Pinto’s new deal, they could be looking at overage penalties which would carry over to 2024-25. That’s an extra pressure point Dorion will need to be mindful of as he crosses a key item off his to-do list with Sanderson’s deal, allowing him to focus on Pinto in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Dallas Stars
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 2023-24 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.
Dallas Stars
Current Cap Hit: $83,817,829 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Thomas Harley (one year, $863K)
F Wyatt Johnston (two years, $894K)
D Nils Lundkvist (one year, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Lundkvist: $850K
Harley: $637.5K
Total: $1.4875MM
Johnston could have gone back to junior last season but it’s safe to say that Dallas made the right call with him as he potted 24 goals in his age-19 campaign. If he can stick in their top six and take a step or two forward offensively, he’s a strong candidate to bypass a bridge deal, especially with a big-ticket one coming off the books at the same time that he needs his second contract.
Dallas paid a high price to get Lundkvist from the Rangers last season but he wound up only playing a limited role. They’re banking on him taking a step forward but even so, he’s a strong candidate for a short-term second contract, one that could check in around the $1.5MM range. At this point, it doesn’t seem too likely that he’ll hit his four ‘A’ bonuses. The Stars are banking on Harley to make the jump full-time this season after being a regular in the playoffs. With some good numbers in the minors, he could reach one or two of his three ‘A’ bonuses but from a contract standpoint, like Lundkvist, he’s likely heading for a bridge deal as well.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
D Gavin Bayreuther ($775K, UFA)
F Ty Dellandrea ($900K, RFA)
F Matt Duchene ($3MM, UFA)
D Jani Hakanpaa ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Joe Pavelski ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Craig Smith ($1MM, UFA)
F Sam Steel ($850K, RFA)
G Scott Wedgewood ($1MM, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Pavelski: $2MM
Duchene was a late entrant to the market which likely didn’t help his cause but he landed in a good spot here. In a more secondary role, he could thrive and in doing so, give the Stars some surplus value while better positioning himself for a longer-term agreement next summer. Smith struggled last season between Boston and Washington, even clearing waivers at one point in December thanks to his contract. He’s an interesting fit in the sense that he’s not a prototypical bottom-six forward but will be in that role here. A bounce-back showing could give him a small bump next summer but not to the level of the $3.25MM he made before.
Pavelski’s fourth season with the Stars was almost as good as his third, one that saw him set career highs in assists and points. He came up a bit shy of the point total but still finished third in scoring in a year that saw him turn 39. Pavelski almost certainly left money on the table to sign what should be a team-friendly extension back in January as let’s face it, the market for a center producing close to a point per game is much higher than his guaranteed salary. The structure of this agreement is notable as the bonuses are very easy to achieve – $1MM at 10 games played and another $1MM at 20. Doing it that way allows Dallas to squeak him in on the books this year with his base salary but it’s safe to say they’re heading for an overage penalty.
Dallas basically had to push Dellandrea to take a one-year deal to make things work cap-wise. He’ll have arbitration rights next summer though and if he progresses as expected, his AAV should shoot past the $2MM mark. Steel has been non-tendered for two straight years now but gives Dallas some extra depth down the middle. However, it’s clear he’ll need to find another gear offensively if he wants a shot at a seven-figure deal as his market value the last two summers hasn’t been strong.
Hakanpaa is the type of physical depth defender many teams covet and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a right-hand shot. Dallas actually used him on the second pairing with some regularity last season and if he’s in that role again, doubling his current price tag won’t be out of the question, especially after seeing Radko Gudas get three years at $4MM per season earlier this summer. Bayruether returns after spending a few years with Columbus and will push for the seventh spot on the depth chart. This is a spot on their salary hierarchy that will need to stay near the minimum moving forward.
Wedgewood had his best season, albeit in a relatively limited role for a backup by current standards as he made just 21 appearances. His track record isn’t strong (or long) enough to command the type of money that top backups on the open market get but another showing like last year could push him closer to the $2MM mark if he looks for top dollar. Staying in Dallas, however, would likely mean needing to leave some money on the table.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Jamie Benn ($9.5MM, UFA)
F Evgenii Dadonov ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Radek Faksa ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Joel Hanley ($787.5K, UFA)
D Esa Lindell ($5.8MM, UFA)
G Jake Oettinger ($4MM, RFA)
D Ryan Suter ($3.65MM, UFA)
After seeing his production drop sharply over the last three years, Benn had a resurgent campaign, finishing second on the team in scoring. It wouldn’t be fair to expect that to happen again – and the deal is still very much above-market – but it’s not quite the anchor it was long ago. Faksa’s offense just hasn’t come around. He’s a strong defensive center that’s above average at the faceoff dot but someone in that type of role should be making about a million less. Gone are the days of the argument of offensive potential so it’s tough to see him beating this contract in 2025. Dadonov did well after coming over in a late-season trade but his struggles with Montreal hurt his value, allowing the Stars to sneak in with a deal that’s more than reasonable for a middle-six option.
Lindell is another player whose scoring didn’t come around quite as much as Dallas would have hoped for. He’s still capable of logging big minutes and anchoring the penalty kill so they’re still getting a reasonable return but they’re probably expecting a bit more from him and he’ll need to produce more if he wants to land a big pay increase two years from now. They also were probably expecting a bit more from Suter, a player who shouldn’t be logging 20 minutes a night at this stage of his career but was pressed into that spot frequently. It’s hard to see him signing another contract at this point – he’ll be 40 when this deal is up – but if he does, it should be for considerably less. Hanley has been a depth defender for the last few years and will continue to hover around the NHL minimum moving forward unless he can establish himself as a full-time third-pairing player.
Oettinger’s bridge contract already looks like a bargain as he was one of the top goalies in the league last season. The backloaded structure guarantees an increase to $4.8MM for his qualifying offer (which also carries arbitration eligibility) but if he has two more years like this, he’ll be well-positioned to become one of the top-paid netminders in the league.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Mason Marchment ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Jason Robertson ($7.75MM, RFA)
Robertson is on the non-traditional bridge contract, a four-year agreement that bought out only RFA years while still having team control when it expires. At that point, it’s going to take a substantial offer to get him on a long-term agreement. Robertson will be owed a $9.3MM qualifying offer (plus arbitration eligibility) but it will take a million or two more if he continues on his current trajectory. Marchment, a late-bloomer, took a step back last season while dealing with injuries once again. There’s a power forward premium in his deal but they’d still like to see him closer to the 40-point mark to get a good return on this deal and set him up for a similar-sized agreement in 2026.
Coyotes Invite Ryan Dzingel And Peter DiLiberatore To Training Camp
With training camps on the horizon, the Coyotes are the latest team to get in on PTO season. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve invited winger Ryan Dzingel and defenseman Peter DiLiberatore to camp when it gets underway later this month.
Dzingel is a player that many will be familiar with, including in Arizona where he spent part of the 2021-22 campaign. The 31-year-old has seen action in 404 games over parts of seven NHL campaigns, the bulk of which came back with Ottawa who drafted him in the seventh round back in 2011. He has had some success offensively at the top level, collecting 87 goals and 101 points but in his last couple of seasons, he has been limited to more of a depth role.
Dzingel didn’t see any NHL action last season. He cleared waivers in training camp back in October when he was with Carolina and suffered a long-term back injury just nine games into his campaign with AHL Chicago. While he was able to return, he was limited to just 22 games in total where he notched a pair of goals along with nine assists.
As for DiLiberatore, the 23-year-old has spent his first three professional seasons at the minor league level. He split last season between the AHL and ECHL affiliates for Pittsburgh and Vegas, combining to pick up two goals and seven assists in 53 games. A sixth-round pick by the Golden Knights in 2018, he was moved to the Penguins as part of the Teddy Blueger deal at the trade deadline but was non-tendered back in June.
Both players will likely be looking for a two-way deal at this point to catch on with Arizona’s AHL affiliate in Tucson. With the Coyotes kicking off the preseason in a little over two weeks with a pair of games in Australia, they’ll get a chance to make an early impression. Once Arizona officially terminates Liam Kirk’s deal tomorrow, they’ll have three open contract slots at their disposal although Jan Jenik remains a restricted free agent and could potentially fill one of those despite his reported trade request.
Five Key Stories: 8/28/23 – 9/3/23
The calendar has turned to September and training camps are now on the horizon. While many teams are enjoying the last bit of their summers, there was some news of note around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
PTO Season: At this point of the summer, there are generally more players landing tryout agreements compared to full contracts. With that in mind, several veterans found PTOs to give them a chance to take part in training camps. Sam Gagner will look to earn a third opportunity with Edmonton and extend his 16-year career. Other forwards of some significance catching on with teams are Joel Kiviranta (Colorado), Zack Kassian (Anaheim), and Max Comtois (Vegas). Meanwhile, on the back end, Jordie Benn is hoping to have a second stint with his brother in Dallas while Pittsburgh is bringing in a pair of blueliners in Libor Hajek and Mark Pysyk. Expect the number of PTO agreements to continue to go up in the coming days.
Fedotov Plays In Russia: The Ivan Fedotov saga has taken another turn. Last month, the IIHF ruled that the contract the Flyers have with the netminder is the valid one, a ruling that the KHL and CSKA Moscow clearly disagree with as in their season opener, Fedotov was between the pipes in direct violation of their ruling. The IIHF has now referred Fedotov to the disciplinary board and fined the Russian Hockey Federation but neither of those actions are likely going to change the situation. Clearly, there is more to come on this particular file.
Hanging Them Up: Veteran winger Carl Hagelin has called it a career at the age of 35 as he announced his retirement. His contract with Washington expired this summer and he wound up missing the entire 2022-23 campaign due to an eye injury along with a hip issue. Hagelin had hoped to come back this season but in his announcement, he indicated that the eye injury is too severe to keep playing. His career spanned 713 regular season games over 11 seasons where his speed and defensive ability made him an effective two-way winger that also chipped in with 296 points. Hagelin also took home a pair of Stanley Cup titles with Pittsburgh in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, his first two years with them.
Extension For Keefe: While Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving didn’t hire head coach Sheldon Keefe, he decided that he likes what he’s seen from him as Toronto handed their bench boss a two-year extension. Keefe was set to enter the final year of his contract so this move takes any possibility of his contractual situation being a distraction. The Leafs have had plenty of regular season success with Keefe behind the bench, posting a 166-71-30 regular-season record in 267 games. However, they’ve only won one playoff series in that stretch, that coming this past postseason in a six-game victory over Tampa Bay.
Kessel Not Worried About Ironman Streak: When Keith Yandle was nearing the end of his career, there was some pressure from teammates to keep him in the lineup to continue his ironman streak, one that eventually came to an end. Phil Kessel is in a similar situation; while he played all 82 games last season to bring the streak to 1,064, he was a frequent scratch in the playoffs. At this point, his best spot might be as a part-timer. To that end, Kessel indicated that he’s not concerned about extending the streak in the hopes that doing so will increase his chances of landing a guaranteed deal for the upcoming season. The 35-year-old was still relatively productive last year, picking up 36 points despite logging less than 13 minutes a night and is one of the more notable veterans still unsigned.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Colorado Avalanche
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 2023-24 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.
Colorado Avalanche
Current Cap Hit: $88,475,000 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None projected to make the opening roster
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Andrew Cogliano ($825K, UFA)
F Jonathan Drouin ($825K, UFA)
G Pavel Francouz ($2MM, UFA)
D/F Kurtis MacDermid ($987.5K, UFA)
F Ben Meyers ($775K, RFA)
F Fredrik Olofsson ($775K, UFA)
D Devon Toews ($4.1MM, UFA)
With cap space at a premium, the Avs had to shop for some bargains in free agency this summer. Drouin comes over from Montreal coming off a year that saw him score just twice although he added 27 assists. If he can lock down a role in the middle six, it won’t take much for them to get surplus value on this deal while he’d be positioned for a better contract a year from now. Cogliano returns after being one of the few consistently effective bottom-six forwards for Colorado last season. At 36, he’ll be going year-to-year from now on in all likelihood.
Meyers struggled in half a season with the Avalanche in 2022-23 but should get another look while Olofsson will push for a spot as well after being acquired from Dallas. Those spots on the depth chart will need to stay at or close to the league minimum moving forward. MacDermid can play both the wing and on the back end but while the versatility is nice, his playing time is limited in either role. That makes him more of an end of the roster candidate which will keep his next cap hit around this price point.
The same certainly can’t be said about Toews. Since being acquired from the Islanders as a salary cap casualty three years ago, he has blossomed into a legitimate top-pairing defender. In each of the last two seasons, he has recorded at least 50 points and logged more than 25 minutes a night. Only four other blueliners in the league are in that category: Roman Josi, Quinn Hughes, Rasmus Dahlin, and Cale Makar. Not a bad group to be in. Josi, Hughes, and Makar are already on pricey long-term deals and Dahlin is a year away from doing so. Meanwhile, Toews is on the books at second-pairing money for another ten months. He’ll be doubling it and then some soon enough.
Francouz, when healthy, has been quite an effective goalie for Colorado, posting a career save percentage of .919. However, over four seasons, he has only played in 73 games so it’s still a pretty small sample size. That is definitely limiting his earnings upside as he needs to show he can stay healthy for a full year and maintain that strong level of play. If he can do that, his AAV could push up toward the $4MM range if he looks to test the open market.
Signed Through 2024-25
D Bowen Byram ($3.85MM, RFA)
G Alexandar Georgiev ($3.2MM, UFA)
F Ryan Johansen ($4MM, UFA)*
F Logan O’Connor ($1.05MM, UFA)
F Mikko Rantanen ($9.25MM, UFA)
*-Nashville is retaining an additional $4MM on Johansen’s contract
Rantanen has flown under the radar to an extent but he’s undoubtedly a premier winger in his own right and is coming off a career year that saw him score 55 goals. If he’s able to stay near that rate over the next two years, he’ll have a strong chance of beating Artemi Panarin ($11.643MM) for the most expensive contract given to a winger in NHL history. Johansen hasn’t lived up to his contract but with the Preds eating half of it, Johansen should provide some value assuming he locks up the second center position. If he hovers around the 40-point mark, his next deal should check in around what Colorado will be paying him for the next two years. O’Connor has worked his way from being a depth piece to a reliable third liner at a below-market rate. Even if he stays in the mid-20-point range, he could add another million to his next deal.
Byram’s acceptance of a bridge contract this summer came as little surprise. When healthy, he has become an impactful blueliner but with Colorado’s cap situation and his concussion history, it would have been difficult to find a long-term agreement that worked for both sides. Notably, the deal is significantly backloaded, pushing the qualifying offer to $4.62MM. That said, if Byram can stay healthy these next two seasons, there’s a very good chance he’d be getting considerably more than that on a long-term pact at that time.
Georgiev was somewhat of a risky acquisition by then-GM Joe Sakic. He was coming off a down year and hadn’t yet played 35 games in an NHL season. Fast forward to one year later and he put up career-best numbers across the board in 62 appearances. Now, he is a legitimate starter for them making platoon money. Two more years like this would push his price tag into the range of the goalie he replaced (Darcy Kuemper who received five years at $5.25MM from Washington).
Signed Through 2025-26
D Josh Manson ($4.5MM, UFA)
Manson’s first full season with Colorado didn’t go well as he was limited to just 27 games due to multiple lower-body injuries. And when he was in the lineup, his deployment was that of a fifth defender most nights. This price tag for that role is on the high side and it has now been four straight years that Manson has missed significant time due to injury. At this point, it seems like it will be difficult for the Avs to get a good return on this contract.
West Notes: Killorn, Krutil, Kings
Ducks winger Alex Killorn was one of the top wingers available in free agency this summer on the heels of a career year that saw him put up 27 goals and 37 assists with Tampa Bay. That helped him earn a four-year, $25MM deal with Anaheim, the priciest deal given to a forward on the open market. Speaking on a recent episode of the Raw Knuckles podcast (video link), he indicated that while the Canadiens weren’t among the teams to show interest in him two months ago, he would like to spend a season with Montreal to end his career. Killorn played his minor hockey in Quebec before going the collegiate route. His new contract runs through the 2026-27 campaign and if he was to play beyond that, he’d be entering his age-38 season where he’d almost certainly be playing on a one-year deal at that time.
More from the Western Conference:
- Blackhawks prospect Michael Krutil has been loaned out for a month from Sparta Praha to Ceske Budejovice, per an announcement from Sparta. The move was made to give Krutil some extra playing time. The blueliner was a fourth-round pick by Chicago back in 2020 (110th overall) and split last season between the two top levels in Czechia, getting into 39 games combined. This is the final year that the Blackhawks will hold Krutil’s rights so he’ll need a big year if he wants a shot at earning an entry-level contract.
- Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider highlights the significant change in direction the Kings have taken between the pipes. After spending more than $12MM on the position on opening day last season, they have three netminders on one-way contracts totaling just $3.375MM – holdover Pheonix Copley plus newcomers Cam Talbot and David Rittich. As a result, they’re just one of two teams – Buffalo is the other – pegged to spend more than 60% of the cap on their forwards and over 30% on the back end.
Atlantic Notes: Pinto, Keefe, Thompson
With training camps now less than two weeks away from beginning, Senators center Shane Pinto is one of the nine remaining restricted free agents across the league. However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that while the sides are hopeful that a deal can be reached by the start of camp, they are not particularly close to an agreement. The 22-year-old is coming off his first full NHL campaign and it was a productive one as he posted 20 goals and 15 assists in 82 games while logging nearly 16 minutes a night in ice time. It’s worth noting that Ottawa’s cap situation is particularly tight as CapFriendly puts them with less than $900K in room. Even on a one-year agreement to keep the AAV as low as possible, Pinto should be earning a fair bit more than that. Once a deal eventually gets reached, GM Pierre Dorion will have some work to do to open up some cap space.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- While a two-year extension for a head coach is usually a vote of confidence, Daily Faceoff’s Mike McKenna argues that isn’t really the case for the Maple Leafs and Sheldon Keefe. Instead, he feels the move was made primarily to avoid the possible distraction of having Keefe behind the bench in the final year of his contract. Toronto has played to a 166-71-30 record during the regular season under Keefe but just a 13-17 postseason record. Keefe will coach on the final year of his previous two-year extension this season with the new deal kicking in for the 2024-25 campaign.
- Just over a year ago, the Sabres inked Tage Thompson to a seven-year, $50MM extension. The move came on the heels of a breakout campaign that saw him score 38 goals after having just 35 points in 145 career games heading into that year. There was some risk involved with the short track record but Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News examines some of the contracts signed since then, providing a barometer of how much more it would have cost to sign him this summer had they waited. The 25-year-old had 47 goals and 47 assists last season, making his new $7.143MM AAV look like a bargain already if he can even produce close to that rate moving forward.
2009 NHL Draft Take Two: Ninth Overall Pick
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 2009 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: Victor Hedman, New York Islanders (2)
2nd Overall: John Tavares, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
3rd Overall: Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche (33)
4th Overall: Matt Duchene, Atlanta Thrashers (3)
5th Overall: Chris Kreider, Los Angeles Kings (19)
6th Overall: Nazem Kadri, Phoenix Coyotes (7)
7th Overall: Mattias Ekholm, Toronto Maple Leafs (102)
8th Overall: Evander Kane, Dallas Stars (4)
With Dallas originally taking Scott Glennie at the eighth spot, this selection certainly represents a significant improvement in outcomes for the Stars with 31.5% of the votes from our readers going to the power forward. That was twice as many votes as the next-highest player.
Kane was originally drafted fourth overall by Atlanta after a dominant showing with WHL Vancouver and they moved him right to the NHL. While it took him some to adjust to playing at the top level, his third season was a breakout campaign as he picked up 57 points in the franchise’s first season with Winnipeg. To date, that is his career-best in a single season.
However, Kane wasn’t without controversy during his time with the Jets and he later admitted that he requested a trade basically every offseason. Eventually, that request was granted – while he was on the injured list, no less – as Winnipeg moved him to Buffalo in February of 2015 in what some would call a blockbuster move at the time. Zach Bogosian also went to the Sabres as part of the swap with Tyler Myers, Joel Armia, Drew Stafford, Brendan Lemieux, and a first-round pick all coming to Winnipeg.
Things weren’t much better for Kane in Buffalo. The injury struggles continued while he produced at close to the same level as he did with the Jets. With his contract coming to an end in 2018 and the Sabres out of contention, he was moved to San Jose at the trade deadline.
This time, the change of scenery helped as Kane played well enough down the stretch and in the playoffs to earn a seven-year, $49MM contract. In his first two full seasons with the team, he had 56 goals and it looked like he had found a long-term home.
However, he didn’t make it past the halfway point of the deal. The relationship between Kane and the Sharks soured amid off-ice allegations that were investigated by the league and found to be unsubstantiated. Then, Kane submitted a fake vaccination card in 2020, resulting in a 21-game suspension and an immediate assignment to the AHL upon its conclusion. Two months later, they terminated the contract, citing a breach of contract and failure to adhere to COVID protocols. Kane and the NHLPA filed a grievance which was settled last September.
In the meantime, Kane caught on with Edmonton in 2022 and was quite productive down the stretch with 39 points in 43 games, earning himself a new four-year deal that still has three years remaining. Injuries limited him to just 41 regular season games in 2022-23 but he was still an important part of their top six and projects to be in that role for the foreseeable future.
Now, we move on to the ninth selection, which was held by the Ottawa Senators. They initially took Jared Cowen out of WHL Spokane but he was only able to hold on to a depth role for a handful of years before calling it a career in 2016. Clearly, he isn’t the best option available in our redraft. Who is? Make your selection for the Sens below.
If you can’t access the poll above, click here to vote.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Flyers Close To Re-Signing Morgan Frost
Flyers forward Morgan Frost is one of just nine remaining restricted free agents across the NHL with training camps set to open up over the next couple of weeks. However, it appears as if he won’t be unsigned for much longer as team president Keith Jones told Chuck Basuman of Philly Hockey Now that while a deal isn’t done yet, the two sides are close to an agreement.
The 24-year-old was a first-round pick by Philadelphia back in 2017 (27th overall) and has had a more gradual development curve than many other first-rounders in his draft class. Last season was his fourth year of seeing NHL action but it was his first full campaign at the top level. Frost certainly made the most of it, notching 19 goals and 27 assists in 81 games, good for fourth on the team in scoring.
However, those numbers account for the bulk of Frost’s production as he had just 23 points in 77 games heading into last season. Accordingly, his track record lends itself toward a short-term bridge contract and not a long-term agreement that buys the Flyers some extra years of club control. Such an agreement could check in around the $2.5MM range.
Going that approach would also fit in with Philadelphia’s salary cap structure. At the moment, they have a little under $3MM in base cap room per CapFriendly. Yes, they have the ability to go into LTIR with Ryan Ellis’ contract but if they can stay below the cap and bank cap space in-season, that would be preferable, especially if some of their prospects with performance bonuses play their way onto the roster.
With the Flyers entering a true rebuild under new GM Daniel Briere, they’ll be turning things over more to their young core. Frost is certainly a big part of that and if Jones’ statement holds true, Frost should be signed before much longer, allowing him to be a full participant from day one in camp.