West Notes: Mrazek, Nieto, Meyers
While Chicago was forced to convert Dylan Wells’ minor league agreement to an NHL deal earlier today, it seems like he won’t be around for long. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that Petr Mrazek might be a week away from returning to the lineup and it’s a light rest of the week for the Blackhawks. He has been dealing with a groin injury for the last couple of weeks but with Alex Stalock and Arvid Soderblom both doing alright, there was no immediate need to try to rush him back and risk a recurrence which has plagued him in the past. However, Mrazek indicated that the injury wasn’t as bad as last season which certainly is a good sign as he looks to re-establish himself after a tough showing with Toronto last year.
More from the West:
- With the Sharks believed to be open to moving just about anyone, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News examines a handful of veterans that could be on the move. One candidate that might fly under the radar is winger Matt Nieto. The soon-to-be 30-year-old has four points in 12 games so far this season while holding his own in a top-six role. He wouldn’t have that role on a contender but a veteran making just $800K that can move up and down the lineup could be intriguing to some cap-strapped teams. Accordingly, Pashelka posits that San Jose could do a little better than the fifth-rounder they received for Andrew Cogliano who was moved at the deadline last season.
- The Avalanche sent Ben Meyers down to the minors a couple of weeks ago to get some playing time after having a very limited role with the big club earlier in the season. However, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays (Twitter link), the 23-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in his second game with the Eagles. He’s hoping to get back on the ice within a week but this certainly isn’t helping his development in his first full professional season.
East Notes: Penguins, Kravtsov, Cassels, Puistola
There should be some good news on the horizon for the Penguins on the injury front. As relayed by the team’s Twitter account, GM Ron Hextall indicated that the hope is that center Teddy Blueger will be ready to be activated from LTIR on Saturday, the first day he’s able to come off. What initially started as a day-to-day injury back in training camp has now cost the 28-year-old the better part of a month of action as he has yet to play this season. His pending return will be a welcome one as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette adds (Twitter link) that middleman Jeff Carter is missing his second straight game tonight due to a lower-body injury; if that issue lingers, Blueger would likely slide right into his spot in the lineup.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Going to the AHL has been a point of contention for Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov in the past. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that he should give some consideration to doing so if New York approaches him about a conditioning stint once he’s cleared to return from his current upper-body injury. This season has seen multiple stops and starts already which is hardly ideal for a young player that’s trying to get reacclimated to playing in North America. A conditioning stint – which can last for up to two weeks and would not require waivers – would give him a chance to ease into a few games which would be preferable for New York but the 22-year-old would have to agree to go down there.
- After inking Cory Conacher to an AHL tryout deal earlier this week, the Senators made another AHL signing today, announcing that they’ve inked forward Cole Cassels to a one-year, minor league contract. The 27-year-old has spent time in Vancouver, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Columbus but has yet to secure an NHL opportunity. Cassels started the season in Sweden’s second division but now will have a chance to play a lot closer to home.
- Hurricanes prospect Patrik Puistola has signed a one-year extension with Jukurit through the 2023-24 season, the Finnish team announced. The 21-year-old was a third-rounder back in 2019 (77th overall) and is off to a nice start to his season with nine points in 17 games. Notably, Carolina only has until June 1st to sign Puistola to an NHL deal and the fact he is already signed in Finland now for next year probably won’t help his chances of landing an entry-level contract.
Five Key Stories: 10/24/22 – 10/30/22
The final full week of October is in the books and we started to see some activity on the trade front while there was some notable injury news as well. Those are among the topics in our key stories of the week.
Not Hanging Them Up Yet: While Carey Price has already been ruled out for the season with a particularly grim outlook on his ability to return, he indicated that he hasn’t given up hope of eventually returning. The veteran is dealing with considerable knee pain and is hesitant to undergo surgery, one that only carries a 50/50 chance of success and could lead to some long-term problems if it doesn’t go well. Instead, he’s holding out hope that rest and rehab will eventually give him a chance to return to the ice. Price is signed through 2025-26 with a $10.5MM AAV and will be on LTIR for Montreal for that entire stretch unless he’s able to return.
More Flyers Injuries: The Flyers entered today in first place in the Metropolitan Division despite missing several regulars due to injuries. That list grew as winger James van Riemsdyk underwent finger surgery that will force him to miss four-to-six weeks, hardly an ideal situation for someone in a contract year. On top of that, while they were hoping that Sean Couturier would be back sooner than later, he stopped skating and it was revealed that he’ll be out for three to four months as he works his way back from a back injury. Veterans Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis have yet to play for Philadelphia this season as well with the latter likely to miss the entire season.
Back Early: The Bruins were expected to be without Brad Marchand until late November after undergoing double hip surgery back in May. Players sometimes come back a bit earlier than expected but rarely do they beat the expected timeline by a month. However, that’s exactly what Marchand did as he returned with a bang, picking up three points in his season debut. He won’t play in back-to-backs for now as he eases his way back into the lineup but Boston has to be thrilled that one of their top performers is back as they look to maintain their hot start that has seen them lose just once this season. Veteran Mike Reilly was sent to the minors to create the cap space to activate Marchand.
Making Moves: The trade market is typically slow this time of year but that didn’t stop Vancouver from making a couple of swaps. First, they acquired forward Jack Studnicka from Boston in exchange for goaltender Michael DiPietro and prospect defenseman Jonathan Myrenberg. Studnicka was a productive player in junior but it hasn’t translated to much success in the pros so the Canucks will try to coax that production out of him. Meanwhile, they made a move to shore up an injury-depleted back end, picking up Ethan Bear and AHL forward Lane Pederson from Carolina in exchange for a fifth-round pick with the Hurricanes retaining $400K of Bear’s $2.2MM salary. It wasn’t that long ago that Bear was viewed as a possible long-term part of Edmonton’s back end and with the injuries they have, he’ll have a chance to step in and play an impact role right away.
Losing A Key Center: Expectations are high in Ottawa this season as their young players are expected to take a step forward while they added several key veterans. Joshua Norris is one of the youngsters they had high expectations for as their top center but he’ll be out for the next three to five months due to a shoulder injury. While head coach D.J. Smith is holding out hope that the 23-year-old will be able to return this season, he acknowledged that he’s not overly confident of that which suggests the longer end of that recovery timeline is the likeliest one.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Nashville Predators
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 for the 2022-23 season and beyond. 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.
Nashville Predators
Current Cap Hit: $80,873,601 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
D Mark Borowiecki ($900K, UFA)
D Alexandre Carrier ($733K, RFA)
D Dante Fabbro ($2.4MM, RFA)
F Cody Glass ($874K, RFA)
F Tanner Jeannot ($800K, RFA)
G Kevin Lankinen ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Michael McCarron ($750K, UFA)
F Zach Sanford ($850K, UFA)
F Kiefer Sherwood ($750K, UFA)
F Cole Smith ($750K, UFA)
It feels like Glass is in a make-or-break year. After spending most of last season in the minors, he broke camp with Nashville and has been a regular early on. Young centers with size get long leashes and simply holding down a regular role will earn him another opportunity, albeit at one that isn’t much higher priced than this. But if he can’t do that, they could look to move on. That won’t be the case for Jeannot who became an impact power forward last season and is off to a strong start this year. If he tops the 20-goal mark again, comparable contracts elsewhere could push him past the $5MM mark, especially with arbitration eligibility.
As for the pending UFAs, Sanford didn’t have a particularly strong market this summer and quickly settled for this contract with the hopes of rebuilding his value. With limited minutes early on, that’s unlikely to happen and accordingly, his next deal should come in close to this one. Smith has held a regular role early but with limited NHL experience prior to this season, he’d be hard-pressed to pass the $1MM mark unless he picks things up offensively. McCarron and Sherwood have bounced between the NHL and the minors in recent years and are likely heading for contracts at or near the minimum again.
Fabbro was once viewed as a future top-four piece but his average ice time is down considerably this season and is fifth among Nashville defenders. A $2.4MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights is a bit on the high side for a fifth blueliner and if he doesn’t recover from his slow start, he could be a candidate for a change of scenery. If he rebounds and gets back to the 19-minute ATOI mark, a small raise to the $3MM range could be doable. Borowiecki is best utilized as a seventh defender at this point of his career and players like that aren’t likely to surpass $1MM on their contracts. If he sticks around next year, it’ll be at a similar price point. Carrier has worked his way into a regular role and logged nearly 21 minutes a game last season. With one year of RFA eligibility remaining, the Preds will likely want to work out a multi-year deal that could push his cost into the $3MM range.
Lankinen is another free agent signing that is looking to rebuild his value after a tough year in Chicago. A bounce-back year could make him one of the more intriguing UFAs next summer as he’ll only be 28. A strong showing might be enough to push him closer to the $2.5MM AAV range on a multi-year deal.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Nino Niederreiter ($4MM, UFA)
F Eeli Tolvanen ($1.45MM, RFA)
F Yakov Trenin ($1.7MM, UFA)
Niederreiter’s first trip through unrestricted free agency wasn’t as successful as he likely hoped as he had to settle for a pay cut. The market for secondary wingers isn’t as strong as it was a few years ago but in 2024, there should be a higher jump in the salary cap which could give him a chance to get closer to the $5MM mark if he’s productive with the Preds. Trenin only has had one full season under his belt but had 17 goals in that year which gave him a bit of leverage this summer. This is basically another bridge deal to see if he can repeat that type of production. If so, he could add another million in free agency but if not, he’s likely looking at a small dip. Tolvanen has shown flashes of upside over the last couple of seasons but hasn’t been able to put together a consistently productive season yet. If he can get to the 20-goal mark and cement himself as part of Nashville’s future core, he could more than double this contract. If not, his last RFA year should be closer to $2MM.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Mikael Granlund ($5MM, UFA)
F Ryan Johansen ($8MM, UFA)
G Juuse Saros ($5MM, UFA)
Johansen had some tough seasons but last year was arguably his best, at least in his time with the Predators. He still didn’t put up top-line production but he played a big role in Nashville having two strong scoring lines. He’ll be 33 when this deal is up and at this point, it still seems safe to forecast a dip in his salary, even if he remains around the 60-point mark. Granlund had by far his best season with Nashville last year and is off to a similar start this year. He doesn’t score very often anymore but as an all-situations veteran that is spending more time at center than he used to, he’s filling an important role. He’ll also be 33 when this contract is up and if he’s still logging 20 minutes a night, he could get a little more at that time as long as his production doesn’t go back to what it was a couple of years ago.
Saros has certainly established himself as a quality starter after playing more than 40 games for the first time last season. He’s undersized which scares a lot of teams off but if he has three more seasons like last year (one that saw him finish third in Vezina Trophy voting), he should have a strong market that could push his AAV past the $7MM mark.
West Notes: Golden Knights, Boeser, Blackhawks
It has been an eventful first few seasons in the NHL for the Golden Knights. Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year but they haven’t made it back since while the team has made several shakeup trades plus a pair of coaching changes. Despite the heavy turnover, owner Bill Foley told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun that he has full confidence in the management team of GM Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee:
We’re a team. I’m 100% in with them and with Bruce. I didn’t get involved in this team to just be another team that goes along like a typical expansion team, winning 24 games in their first season, then win 30 the next season, make the playoffs in six or seven years.
We’ve been all-in from Day 1. I know a lot of fans are saying, “Gee, you’ve made so many changes.” It was all done with the design to win. That’s what we’re doing. George and Kelly are right there with me. I believe we’ve put together a solid group of solid core players.
With Robin Lehner being out for the season, expectations were a little lower heading into this year. However, the tandem of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill has fared quite well so far with the Golden Knights allowing the fewest goals in the league heading into today’s action. That has them in first in the Pacific in the early going but with only $16 in LTIR space left, they’ll be hard-pressed to add to their roster.
Elsewhere in the West:
- On top of potentially getting Quinn Hughes back soon, the Canucks could also get some help up front as Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province relays (Twitter link) that winger Brock Boeser is expected to meet with team doctors on Monday in the hopes of being cleared to return. The 25-year-old has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury and was placed on IR on Wednesday. He has to miss seven days and it doesn’t appear as if the placement was backdated so Tuesday’s game might not be doable for Boeser but it looks like his absence will be a short one.
- Blackhawks defenseman Ian Mitchell was initially ruled out for six weeks with a hand injury that occurred nearly six weeks ago. However, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes (Twitter link) that the 23-year-old has just resumed stickhandling and is nowhere near a return. Mitchell is in the final year of his entry-level deal and after spending most of last season with AHL Rockford, a longer-than-expected absence isn’t exactly the start to the year he was hoping for. Meanwhile, goaltender Petr Mrazek has resumed skating but the team will be cautious and inch him along for the time being.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild
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 for the 2022-23 season and beyond. 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.
Minnesota Wild
Current Cap Hit: $79,231,774 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Calen Addison (one year, $795K)
F Matt Boldy (one year, $880.8K)
F Marco Rossi (three years, $863K)
Potential Bonuses
Addison: $82.5K
Boldy: $600K
Rossi: $850K
Boldy didn’t play a full season last year but if he had, he might have had a shot at the Calder Trophy. He has very quickly established himself as a legitimate top-six forward and has been on the front line for good chunks of this season early on. He’s the type of player that GM Bill Guerin would love to sign long-term but fitting that in could be difficult. If Boldy produces at a similar pace as last year over a full season, a bridge deal for him could be in the $4MM range. Rossi is just getting his NHL career started but is being eased in slowly so it’s unlikely that he’ll hit any of his ‘A’ bonuses this season.
Addison has shown some upside in limited NHL action and is off to a nice start this year as he looks to establish himself as a full-time regular. If he can do that, he’ll have a good chance of hitting most of his games played bonuses but with a limited track record and Minnesota’s cap situation next summer, he’s almost certainly heading for a bridge deal. A decent season offensively could have that contract in the $2MM range.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Brandon Duhaime ($750K, RFA)
D Matt Dumba ($6MM, UFA)
F Frederick Gaudreau ($1.2MM, UFA)
G Filip Gustavsson ($787.5K, RFA)
F Tyson Jost ($2MM, RFA)
F Sam Steel ($825K, RFA)
Expectations for Jost have been high since he was drafted 10th overall back in 2016 but he hasn’t been able to live up to them. Last season, Colorado decided to move on from him but Jost hasn’t been much better with the Wild. Owed a $2.25MM qualifying offer, Jost will need to come close to his career high in points (26) if he wants a shot at being tendered. Gaudreau has been a nice example of perseverance paying off as he became a full-fledged regular for the first time last season at 28. He is coming off a career year offensively and even if he comes up a little short of the 44 points he had, he’s in a position to potentially double his price tag next summer. Steel had a pretty soft market this summer after being non-tendered by Anaheim but is still controllable for two more years through arbitration. It’s possible that he could be viewed as a replacement for Jost if he’s willing to stay around this price point. Duhaime provided some depth scoring with plenty of hits last season which is a combo that typically looks good in arbitration. Doubling his AAV is achievable if he puts up around 20 points this season.
Dumba’s future with Minnesota has been in question for several years now. First, there was speculation that he wouldn’t be able to reach a new contract but he did. Then, he was supposed to go to Seattle in expansion but the Wild found a way to protect him. Now, the question is can they afford to keep him? He’ll be 29 next season and hasn’t been able to come close to the 50 points he put up in 2017-18. The lower point total I think actually works in Minnesota’s favor if they want to try to re-sign him; between that and his age, his next contract shouldn’t check in too much higher than this one. Knowing the cap is going to go up in the not-too-distant future, there’s a path to extending this partnership if both sides are interested.
Gustavsson came over in an offseason trade from Ottawa and has yet to establish himself as a full-time backup. He’ll get that chance this season but chances are that his playing time will be limited enough that a multi-year agreement will be hard to come by. If he does well, a one-year deal in the $1.5MM range that buys both sides more time to evaluate would be a reasonable outcome.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Connor Dewar ($800K, RFA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Marcus Foligno ($3.1MM, UFA)
D Alex Goligoski ($2MM, UFA)
F Ryan Hartman ($1.7MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($6MM, UFA)
Zuccarello had a career year last season and is off to an even better start this year as he is starting to make his cap hit look like a bargain. However, he’ll be 37 when this contract is up which won’t help his market value. If he stays around the 60-point mark, he could land a couple of years around this price tag but a big increase isn’t likely. Foligno has put up a particularly high shooting percentage in the last two years but even factoring in some regression, he can be counted on for third-line production, strong defensive play, and lots of physicality. He’ll be 33 when his next contract starts and a three-year deal could push him past the $4MM mark if he can hang around the 30-point plateau.
One player that appears to be well on his way toward a significant raise is Hartman. After bouncing around early in his career, he has secured a full-time role in the top six with the Wild and is doing so as a center which only helps his value. The market for second-line centers is well over $6MM and if Hartman has a couple more seasons like last year, that could certainly be attainable for him. As for Dewar, he’s trying to establish himself as a regular but if he continues with a limited role, he’s someone that shouldn’t get a whole lot more than his qualifying offer which checks in just below $900K.
Goligoski took a high-priced one-year deal to return home last season and then accepted this much cheaper two-year contract to stay there. He is more of a depth defender at this point and considering he’ll be 39 just days after this agreement expires, there’s a good chance that this is his last deal.
There were some questions about whether or not Fleury would want to stick around with the Wild after joining them late last season but then accepted this deal, one that gives Minnesota a veteran starter for the price of a high-end backup. He’ll be 39 when this contract is up and it’s difficult to see him signing another one after this.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Jordan Greenway ($3MM, UFA)
D Jon Merrill ($1.2MM, UFA)
D Jacob Middleton ($2.45MM, UFA)
Greenway has shown some signs of blossoming into an impact power forward but has struggled with consistency and staying healthy. If he’s able to turn that around and become a 20-goal player, he could see his price tag jump past the $5MM mark in 2025. Even if he hovers around the 30-point mark, a raise is almost certain with how sought-after physical wingers that can provide some secondary scoring are.
Middleton was brought in to help strengthen the depth of the back end after a breakout season last year that saw him become a regular for the first time at 26. That limited track record allowed Guerin to work out an extension that gave Middleton some stability while still being at a below-market rate for someone playing in the top four. Three more seasons with a similar performance to last year will make his market a lot stronger next time around when he could add more than a million to his current cost. Merrill didn’t generate much interest in his last two trips through free agency so he understandably jumped at a three-year extension offer last January. For a depth defender, it’s a fair cost but it’s unlikely he’ll land much more than that three years from now.
Snapshots: Sharks, Domi, Bruins
It appears that the Sharks have determined their list of untouchables and it’s a pretty small one. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that San Jose’s list of players that they’re not open to considering trading starts and ends with Tomas Hertl who is just beginning an eight-year, $65.1MM contract. GM Mike Grier made one notable shakeup trade last summer with the move of Brent Burns to Carolina and will certainly be looking to continue to reshape his roster. As we start to see a bit of trade activity around the league, the Sharks could be a team to watch for over the next little while on that front.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- While Max Domi joined the Blackhawks early in free agency on a one-year deal, it appears as if that wasn’t his original preference. In his latest column for the Toronto Star, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports that Domi’s camp had approached the Maple Leafs to gauge their interest in a one-year deal at a significantly lower price than the $3MM he received from Chicago. Obviously, Toronto opted to go in a different direction, adding Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the opening day of free agency and Calle Jarnkrok two days later as forwards signing for more than the minimum.
- Bruins GM Don Sweeney met with the media (video link) on Thursday following their trade with Vancouver. Sweeney acknowledged that discussions with winger David Pastrnak about a contract extension continue on a regular basis but that they have not yet “found the endpoint”. The 26-year-old is off to a hot start with 15 points in eight games to start the season and is set to land a significant raise on his current $6.667MM AAV, one that could push his cap hit near or past the $10MM mark.
- Sweeney also indicated that they’ve not yet worked out where they will send goaltender Michael DiPietro who was acquired in yesterday’s swap. They have two netminders with AHL Providence already – Keith Kinkaid and Kyle Keyser – while they have Brandon Bussi at the ECHL level as well. As DiPietro is past his entry-level contract, he has the ability to block an assignment to the ECHL. Speculatively, if DiPietro wants to stay in the AHL, a short-term loan to another AHL squad could be a possible outcome with Sweeney suggesting they have a couple of options in the works for their new goalie at the moment.
Devan Dubnyk Retires
After trying his hand on the television side of things in the playoffs, veteran goaltender Devan Dubnyk has decided that it’s time to commit to that role. The 36-year-old confirmed to Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press that he has hung up his skates and has joined the NHL Network where he made his regular season debut with them on Thursday night.
Dubnyk was selected 14th overall back in 2004 by Edmonton with the hopes that he’d be their goaltender of the future. However, after some promising seasons early on (with a save percentage between .914 and .920 in his first three full years), things went off the rails in 2013-14, a year in which he wound up being traded twice and finishing up the season in the minor leagues.
But to his credit, Dubnyk bounced back the following year, starting strong with Arizona before being flipped to Minnesota where he spent parts of six seasons with the Wild, several of which as their starter. He last played in the NHL in 2020-21 with San Jose and Colorado and got into a handful of games with AHL Charlotte last season.
Dubnyk hangs up his skates with a 253-206-54 record in 542 appearances over parts of a dozen seasons with a 2.61 GAA, a .914 SV%, and 33 shutouts. His wins and games played total are second only to Pekka Rinne from that draft class. In the end, while it took him a while to make his mark, it was a pretty successful on-ice career for Dubnyk who now transitions to his off-ice career in hockey.
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 for the 2022-23 season and beyond. 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: $82,358,333 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Ty Dellandrea (one year, $863K)
F Wyatt Johnston (three years, $894K)
D Nils Lundkvist (two years, $925K)
F Jacob Peterson (one year, $842.5K)
Potential Bonuses
Dellandrea: $537.5K
Lundkvist: $850K
Peterson: $82.5K
Total: $1.47MM
Johnston cracked the opening roster out of training camp and a decision on whether or not to burn the first year of his contract is fast approaching. So far, he has played well enough to stick around so his deal should stay on the books into next week when he passes the nine-game mark. Dellandrea is in a regular role this year after spending all of last season in the minors. He’s still a likely candidate to land a bridge deal and unless his production increases, he’s unlikely to hit his ‘A’ bonuses. Peterson, meanwhile, was a regular for most of last year but has hardly played this season which puts him in short-term bridge territory as well. His bonuses are games played-based and it’s unlikely he’ll max out on those.
Dallas paid a high price to land Lundkvist, sending a first-rounder in 2023 along with a 2025 conditional selection to land him from the Rangers. If he can lock down a regular role and be productive, he’s someone that could bypass a bridge deal while hitting some of his ‘A’ bonuses this season. That said, with some of the big-ticket contracts on the horizon, the Stars might have to go the bridge route with Lundkvist as well.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Luke Glendening ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Denis Gurianov ($2.9MM, RFA)
D Joel Hanley ($750K, UFA)
F Roope Hintz ($3.15MM, RFA)
G Anton Khudobin ($3.33MM, UFA)
F Joel Kiviranta ($1.05MM, UFA)
F Joe Pavelski ($5.5MM, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Pavelski: $500K
Pavelski surprisingly had a career year last season at the age of 37, allowing him to extend his stay with the Stars. He maxes out on the games played bonuses at 50 but adding those achievable incentives gives Dallas some flexibility to roll those over to next year if needed. As long as he continues to produce on their top line, he should have a strong market next July if he decides to test the open market. Hintz is one of the big-ticket contracts on the horizon. This is the final year of his bridge deal and he’ll be a year away from UFA eligibility at that time. Another 70-point performance should push that asking price past the $7MM mark if not higher.
Gurianov has been hit or miss throughout his career to the point where it looked like it would be questionable for him to be qualified at $2.9MM. They found a way to make it work this year but if he has another season like the last few, he’s a luxury they likely won’t be able to afford. He has already been scratched once this year which isn’t a good sign. Glendening continues to be an elite player at the faceoff dot which will once again generate some strong interest on the market. It won’t be at the highest of salaries – something in the $1.5MM range might be his ceiling – but he should have several suitors to choose from if he doesn’t re-sign. Kiviranta hasn’t been able to find his scoring form from the bubble that landed him this deal although he’s at least holding down a regular spot in the lineup. That could help land him a small raise next summer but nothing substantial.
Hanley has been an ideal seventh defender for Dallas in recent years, someone that can cover minutes where necessary even after long stretches in the press box and is willing to play for the minimum. They’ll need a seventh defender at that price tag moving forward and it very well could be him.
Khudobin is in the minors but still is on the books directly for more than $2.2MM. At this point, they’re hoping for an injury to pop up somewhere where they can offload most of the deal. Meanwhile, he’ll be 37 next season. A one-year deal around the $1MM range is about where his value would be right now.
Signed Through 2023-24
D Jani Hakanpaa ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Colin Miller ($1.85MM, UFA)
G Scott Wedgewood ($1MM, UFA)
Miller struggled the last four seasons but his two before that showed some legitimate offensive upside which helped him land this contract. But if he struggles to produce on his deal, he’s going to have a hard time landing more than this on his next deal; if anything, his value probably would go down in that situation. Hakanpaa has shown that he’s capable of logging a regular role while being one of the most prolific hitters in this league. He didn’t have much of a track record when he hit free agency in 2021 but he will this time around. If he keeps up this type of performance, he could add a million on his next deal in a contract that would be similar to Radko Gudas.
Wedgewood opted to not test free agency to get some long-desired stability. He has bounced around in recent years, often spending time as a third-stringer. If he can hold his own as a full-time backup, he could have a chance to double this price tag in 2024.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Jamie Benn ($9.5MM, UFA)
F Radek Faksa ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Esa Lindell ($5.8MM, UFA)
G Jake Oettinger ($4MM, RFA)
D Ryan Suter ($3.65MM, UFA)
Benn’s contract has been a negative-value one from the moment it was signed. He’s still a capable NHL player but he’s better off being on the third line in an ideal situation. The typical going rate for that role is about a third of this cost. A few years ago, Faksa looked to be on his way to being a quality two-way center but over the last couple of seasons, his scoring has fallen off completely. If he can get back to the 30-point mark routinely over the next few years, he could get another deal around this price point. Otherwise, his price tag will be coming down.
Lindell has been a fixture on the top pairing for several years now although his usage is down in the early going this season. That stretch aside, he’ll be 31 when this contract is up and if he gets back to being a 22-minute or more player that can chip in with some secondary scoring, he could land a small raise on a long-term (six or seven-year) deal. Suter surprised some by getting four years from the Stars last summer and while he’s logging 23 minutes a night now, that will drop by the end of the contract. If he decides to stick around after this pact, it’ll almost certainly be a one-year agreement.
Oettinger’s contract was one of the more intriguing RFA ones that were signed this summer. With barely one season’s worth of games under his belt and no arbitration rights, his contract was going to be somewhat of a market-setter. This bridge contract was the obvious outcome (especially with their cap situation) and it’s one that sets up Oettinger nicely. He’ll be owed a $4.8MM qualifying offer and will have arbitration rights at that time. If he remains the starter for this time (a very likely scenario) and the salary cap is starting to go up by then (also a very likely scenario), Oettinger should be in a position to command at least $7MM on a max-term agreement for his next contract.
Injury Updates: Jets, Kravtsov, Subban
After sustaining an injury when blocking a shot against St. Louis on Monday, Jets defenseman Logan Stanley did not participate in practice today, notes Joshua Frey-Sam of the Winnipeg Free Press. However, he is accompanying the team on their three-game road trip which bodes well for his availability at some point over that three-game stretch.
Meanwhile, Frey-Sam adds that blueliner Dylan Samberg was a full participant in practice as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. The 23-year-old has suited up just once this season as he looks to lock down a full-time spot in the lineup over returning to the minors. With Stanley’s availability in question for tomorrow against Los Angeles, Samberg could have a chance to get back into Winnipeg’s lineup for at least a game.
Other injury news from around the hockey world:
- When the Rangers recalled winger Julien Gauthier earlier today, it was expected that he’d take the place of either Mika Zibanejad or Vitali Kravtsov who were banged up last night against Colorado. It turns out that he’s taking the case of the latter as Larry Brooks of the New York Post relays (Twitter link) that the winger has been listed as day-to-day with what’s believed to be an upper-body injury. Kravtsov has had a very quiet return to the NHL so far having only played in three games while logging just under eight minutes per game. He’s waiver-eligible now so they will likely be patient with him to give him a chance to play himself into a regular role once he’s cleared to return.
- Sabres goaltender Malcolm Subban has had some rough injury luck lately. After suffering a season-ending wrist injury back in January, he re-signed in Buffalo only to suffer an injury in his first preseason game with AHL Rochester earlier this month. However, the 28-year-old is a couple of weeks away from being cleared to return, mentions Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Buffalo’s preference is to have prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen play heavy minutes in the minors so Subban’s eventual return will give them some insurance on that front as he’d be the one to be called up if one of Craig Anderson or Eric Comrie gets injured.