Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers
With the offseason in full swing, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Panthers.
In some ways, it was a year of success for Florida. They overcame an early-season coaching change with Andrew Brunette helping to lead the Panthers to the Presidents’ Trophy. However, they were then swept by Tampa Bay in the second round, resulting in GM Bill Zito making another coaching change, bringing in former Jets bench boss Paul Maurice. With that change done, his focus can shift to the roster which will need some work despite finishing first in the regular season.
Add Defensive Help
Back at the trade deadline, Zito opted to prioritize bolstering his back end before getting in on the Claude Giroux sweepstakes. Beyond Aaron Ekblad, most of Florida’s defenders are players that have largely gone under the radar with players like MacKenzie Weegar, Brandon Montour, and Gustav Forsling rounding out their top four. The offensive production they provided was certainly top-notch but Zito wanted a defensive focus.
That led to them paying a fairly high price tag to pick up Ben Chiarot a few days before the trade deadline with an eye on giving them some more grit and a shutdown presence. Then, when Ekblad went down, freeing up some LTIR room which opened up the ability to add Robert Hagg, another physical blueliner.
But both of those players aren’t expected back this summer as they’re likely to move on in free agency unless something changes with their salary cap situation. As a result, the deficiencies that Zito identified still exist. As a result, he will likely be looking to add in at least a shutdown defender that can kill penalties and take some of the defensive pressure off Ekblad.
In an ideal world, that player will also come with some team control. Weegar and Radko Gudas are entering the final year of their contracts with Forsling and Montour up a year later. With a prospect pool that has taken some hits and is missing several high draft picks in the years to come, a bit of longer-term stability defensively would certainly be beneficial.
Huberdeau Extension Talks
As far as picking the ideal timing for a career year, winger Jonathan Huberdeau certainly did just that. The 29-year-old led the NHL in assists this past season with 85 while finishing tied with Johnny Gaudreau for second in the league in points with 115. On July 13th when the new league year starts, Huberdeau will be eligible for a contract extension and he certainly made a strong case for a very pricey one.
Internally, it stands to reason that Zito will try to cap Huberdeau’s price tag at or slightly below the $10MM given to Aleksander Barkov, whose eight-year, $80MM extension signed last year will begin next season. Even in a flat cap environment, two players with an AAV in that range can be manageable.
Meanwhile, Huberdeau’s camp will certainly be keeping an eye on what happens with Gaudreau later this month. The Calgary winger will hit the open market this summer and is only two months older than Gaudreau. Whatever contract he winds up with will serve as a strong comparable, especially if an extension is worked out this summer.
With one year left on his deal, Florida doesn’t have to do an extension as soon as he’s eligible; Barkov’s extension came just before the start of the regular season. From a roster planning standpoint, the sooner a contract gets done, the better which is why Zito will likely push to try to get something done as close to the 13th as possible but this is something that could just as easily drag out into next season as well.
Find A Taker For Bobrovsky
While teams can find a way to make the cap work with two players making $10MM, it’s a lot harder with three. Sergei Bobrovsky also carries a $10MM AAV and if Huberdeau does wind up signing for that amount on his next contract, Florida’s cap situation becomes a whole lot harder to manage. It’s a simple process of elimination as to which one goes. It’s certainly not going to be Barkov and if they re-sign Huberdeau, it’s not to turn around and move him. That leaves Bobrovsky.
The 33-year-old had a bit of a bounce-back year in 2021-22, posting a .913 SV% and a 2.67 GAA in 54 games. Those numbers aren’t elite by any stretch but they were a sizable improvement compared to his first two seasons. Unfortunately for the Panthers, that type of performance isn’t worth $10MM, not even close.
Between this, their cap space situation, and the fact that Spencer Knight is clearly Florida’s goalie of the future, it’s clear that Zito is going to have to retain a sizable chunk of Bobrovsky’s cap hit or take a fairly hefty contract back in order to facilitate a move. They’re also going to have to work with the veteran to find a suitable home as Bobrovsky, who still has four years left on his deal, also has a no-move clause.
It’s possible that Florida can afford to bring Bobrovsky back for next season but it will come at the expense of adding to the back end or a veteran up front. Knight will need to start playing more so while Bobrovsky is someone they could keep around, it doesn’t mean they should. His name is likely to be in trade speculation as a result.
Free Up Cap Space
This one certainly involves Bobrovsky but he won’t be the only trade candidate. As things stand, the Panthers have around $4MM in cap space for four or five players thanks to the new contracts for Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe and a $3MM increase in dead cap on Keith Yandle’s buyout. That’s doable but it would just be depth additions, not impact ones. If they want to add an impact piece or have a shot at re-signing someone like winger Mason Marchment (or Giroux, who will cost considerably more), they need to clear some salary.
Florida will get some short-term cap relief with Anthony Duclair starting the year on LTIR. However, since the winger is expected to return from his Achilles tear, they’ll need to have cap space to activate him midseason. That means they can utilize his LTIR to call up a player or two from the minors and carry a full roster but they won’t be able to spend that on a more prominent replacement.
Winger Patric Hornqvist ($5.3MM) and Gudas ($2.5MM) each have one year left on their contracts and have roles that can be filled by cheaper players so at least one of those two could be on the move to free up some cap flexibility. Hornqvist has an eight-team no-trade clause while Gudas doesn’t have any form of trade protection. Both players have played useful roles for the Panthers but the value of some extra cap space may very well outweigh the benefits of keeping one or both of them in the lineup for next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Canucks Re-Sign Three Players
The Canucks have reached a contract agreement with three of their pending free agents as they announced deals for defenseman Jack Rathbone (one-way), blueliner Noah Juulsen (two-way), and winger Will Lockwood (two-way). While the financial terms of the contracts weren’t disclosed, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Rathbone’s two-year deal will carry an $850K AAV while PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that Lockwood’s is worth $750K in the NHL and $125K in the minors. Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports that Juulsen’s pact is worth $750K in the NHL and $250K in the minors.
Rathbone, 23, was on an expiring contract but technically didn’t qualify for restricted free agency so he had 10.2(c) status which made him ineligible to receive an offer sheet. He had an impressive season with AHL Abbotsford, picking up 10 goals and 30 assists in just 39 games. However, his production didn’t translate to the NHL level as he was held off the scoresheet in nine games with Vancouver while averaging 13:30 per game of ice time. He remains waiver-exempt for next season but he should have a chance to push for a full-time roster spot with the Canucks in training camp.
As for Juulsen, the 25-year-old was set to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent but will instead stick around. Vancouver acquired the rearguard just before the beginning of the season from Florida along with forward Juho Lammikko in exchange for defenseman Olli Juolevi. Juulsen got into eight games with the Canucks (giving him 56 NHL appearances for his career) but spent most of the year with Abbotsford, collecting 16 points in 50 contests. He’ll likely return to the AHL level next season as long as he clears waivers in training camp.
Lockwood, meanwhile, had the most NHL playing time of the three in 2021-22 as the 24-year-old got into 13 contests with Vancouver but was held without a point. He was more successful in the minors with Abbotsford, however, as he picked up nine goals and 16 helpers in 46 games. Lockwood also has a year of waiver exemption remaining and will likely once again start next season in the minors with an eye on playing himself into being one of the first players recalled when injuries arise.
Stars Hire Steve Spott And Alain Nasreddine As Assistant Coaches
Peter DeBoer’s coaching staff in Dallas is starting to take shape. The Stars announced that they’ve hired Steve Spott and Alain Nasreddine as assistant coaches, joining goalie coach Jeff Reese and video coach Kelly Forbes behind the bench.
Spott is no stranger to DeBoer as the two have worked together many times in the past. That includes their days back in the OHL in the late 1990s when Spott was DeBoer’s assistant first with Plymouth and then with Kitchener several years later. Once DeBoer took over behind the bench in San Jose back in 2015, he quickly brought Spott over and the two have been joined at the hip since then through five seasons with the Sharks and the last two with Vegas before the pair were let go earlier this offseason.
As for Nasreddine, he spent the last eight seasons with the Devils, most of the time as an assistant with the exception of 2019-20 when he took over as a midseason replacement for John Hynes. He remained on New Jersey’s staff when Lindy Ruff took over the following season although it was revealed back in May that they would not be renewing his contract.
Between Spott and Nasreddine, Dallas has added 16 seasons of assistant coaching experience to their bench with DeBoer himself having parts of 14 seasons of NHL head coaching experience. The Stars have a veteran-laden roster and will enter 2022-23 with a veteran-laden coaching staff as well.
Kraken Re-Sign Gustav Olofsson
The Kraken have taken care of one of their pending free agents, announcing the re-signing of defenseman Gustav Olofsson to a one-year, two-way deal. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal pays $750K in the NHL and $275K in the minors, a small raise from the $200K AHL salary he had this past season.
The 27-year-old signed with Seattle as a Group Six UFA last summer after spending the previous three seasons in Montreal’s system. Olofsson was brought in to give the Kraken some recallable depth in case injuries arise although he was never called upon. Instead, he played in 41 games with AHL Charlotte, picking up two goals and seven assists.
Olofsson will need to pass through waivers to return to the minors next season where Seattle’s new AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, will debut. Having cleared on the wire in each of the last four seasons, that should happen once again in training camp. With 59 career NHL appearances under his belt between Montreal and Minnesota, Olofsson will be a useful depth piece once again.
CHL Notes: End-Of-Season Awards, Post-Moratorium Trades
Prior to the conclusion of the Memorial Cup, the CHL announced their end-of-season award winners with several NHL prospects taking home hardware. Those include Stars forward Logan Stankoven who was named Player of the Year after putting up 45 goals and 59 assists in just 59 games with WHL Kamloops. The 47th pick from the 2021 draft also averaged a goal per game in 17 playoff contests. Still just 19, Stankoven won’t be eligible to play in the AHL next season. Meanwhile, Rangers prospect Dylan Garand was named as Goalie of the Year following a strong showing with Kamloops that saw him post a 32-9-3 record in 45 games with a 2.16 GAA and a .925 SV%. The 20-year-old will turn pro next season.
Meanwhile, with the Memorial Cup now completed, a very narrow trade window opened up on Thursday. A few moves of note were made before the window closes later today following the annual Import Draft. Here’s a rundown of those transactions:
- Coyotes goaltender prospect Anson Thornton was traded from OHL Sarnia to Barrie. Arizona signed the 19-year-old as an undrafted free agent in October following a strong showing in rookie camp but he struggled, posting a 4.06 GAA along with an .883 SV% in 26 games with the Sting. Thornton is a year away from being eligible to play in the AHL and his three-year, entry-level contract will slide again next season.
- Blues goalie prospect Will Cranley was dealt from OHL Ottawa to Flint. The 20-year-old had a tough season, his first as a starter, as he had a 3.81 GAA along with an .873 SV% in 41 games with the 67s. Cranley is eligible to turn pro next season and is already signed. He can be returned to junior to play for the Firebirds but will still burn the first year of his contract in that scenario.
- One player that isn’t an NHL prospect just yet (but will be next week) was also on the move as the CHL rights to Brad Lambert were moved from WHL Saskatoon to Seattle. The projected first-round pick isn’t under contract in Finland next season and the fact the Thunderbirds moved four draft picks (only two conditional) to secure his rights suggests that they think they can get him to North America next season. He’d likely secure a significant role there compared to playing in Finland which could be appealing to teams considering drafting him.
Blue Jackets Re-Sign Josh Dunne
The Blue Jackets have taken care of another pending free agent, announcing the signing of center Josh Dunne to a one-year, two-way contract. Financial terms of the deal were not officially disclosed but Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Dunne’s NHL salary would be $874,125, suggesting he has accepted the terms of what would have been his qualifying offer. Dunne was set to become a restricted free agent later this month.
The 23-year-old signed with Columbus as an undrafted college free agent out of Clarkson back in 2021, making his NHL debut soon after. Dunne got into six NHL games that season with the Blue Jackets, recording seven shots on goal while averaging just over ten minutes a night of ice time. However, aside from a brief stint on the taxi squad in late December, Dunne didn’t see any time with Columbus this past season. Instead, he got into 29 games with AHL Cleveland, picking up six goals and five assists.
Dunne has one year of waiver exemption remaining so it’s all but certain he’ll return to the Monsters next season with the hopes of a bigger role and a chance to prove himself to be worthy of a recall. GM Jarmo Kekalainen still has plenty of pending restricted free agents to deal with this summer as eight remain, highlighted by winger Patrik Laine and defenseman Adam Boqvist.
Lightning Agree To Seven-Year Extension With Nick Paul
Nick Paul made a very good impression on the Lightning after being acquired from Ottawa at the trade deadline. He did well enough, in fact, to earn a long-term contract as the team announced that they’ve signed the forward to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $3.15MM. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal breaks down as follows:
2022-23: $750K base salary, $3.4MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2023-24: $2.15MM base salary, $2MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2024-25: $3.25MM base salary, full no-trade clause
2025-26: $3MM base salary, full no-trade clause
2026-27: $1.5MM base salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
2027-28: $1.5MM base salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
2028-29: $1.5MM base salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
The 27-year-old had a career year in 2021-22, picking up 16 goals and 16 assists in 80 games between the Senators and Lightning but his production in Tampa Bay was certainly noteworthy as he collected 14 points in 21 contests despite seeing his average ice time drop by more than three minutes per game to 14:06. Most of that time was spent on the wing but that changed in the playoffs as he mostly played down the middle. His production dropped to just five goals and four helpers in their 23 postseason matches but he took 382 draws in what was largely a checking role while his playing time jumped to over 18 minutes a night in the process.
Paul had been believed to be seeking a multi-year deal with an AAV around the $3MM mark while with Ottawa, a price they clearly didn’t want to pay which resulted in him being sent to Tampa Bay for Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round pick. His showing down the stretch and in the playoffs certainly bolstered his market and he was able to surpass the $3MM threshold while getting close to a max-term agreement in the process.
Of course, this contract further tightens Tampa Bay’s salary cap situation. They now have more than $87.6MM in commitments for next season, per CapFriendly, with a projected minimum-sized roster. They’ll have some relief with Brent Seabrook’s $6.875MM remaining on LTIR but that doesn’t give them much room to work with as they look to find a way to keep winger Ondrej Palat and defenseman Jan Rutta in the fold; both players are pending unrestricted free agents. On Thursday, it was reported that the Lightning were working with blueliner Ryan McDonagh to see if there’s a suitable trade he’d be open to which would give them some flexibility with the veteran carrying a $6.75MM cap charge for the next four years. GM Julien BriseBois can check off one key item of his summer to-do list but there is still some work to be done.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the two sides were closing in on an agreement while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the seven-year term.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sharks Fire Bob Boughner
There is a late entrant to the coaching shuffle around the NHL as the Sharks have announced that head coach Bob Boughner along with assistant coaches John Madden and John MacLean plus video coach Dan Darrow have all been relieved of their duties. Interim GM Joe Will released the following statement:
As we progress through our search for the next general manager of the Sharks following 19 seasons under Doug Wilson’s leadership, it has become apparent that the organization is in the process of an evolution. The bottom line is we have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons, which isn’t acceptable to our owner, our organization, or to our fans. As part of this evolution and evaluation, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to allow the next Sharks general manager to have full autonomy related to the make-up of the on-ice coaching staff moving ahead.
Boughner took over as San Jose’s head coach back in December of 2019 on an interim basis when he took over for Peter DeBoer with the team removing the interim tag at the end of the season, handing him a three-year deal in the process. That contract, worth $1.5MM per season, had one year remaining, and with so few head coaching openings out there, it’s unlikely he’ll be running an NHL bench when training camp comes around.
As Will noted in his statement, the Sharks missed the playoffs in each of the three seasons that Boughner was behind the bench with the team ultimately compiling a 67-85-23 record during his tenure. Their points percentage improved in each of the last two seasons but San Jose finished sixth in the Pacific Division this past season with a points percentage of just .470. For his head coaching career which included a two-year stint in Florida, Boughner’s record is 147-147-35.
What’s particularly noteworthy here is that the Sharks haven’t completed their search for a new general manager yet, at least officially. Will is the one that wound up making the change but there is an expectation that a new GM will be in place soon. TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that former Canadiens assistant GM Scott Mellanby is a name that has surfaced this week as one to watch on that front while ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski suggests Mike Grier and Ray Whitney are in the mix as well. With the draft now less than a week away and free agency beginning less than a week later, their new GM was already going to have plenty on his plate in terms of roster building to try to get this team back into the postseason and draft planning. Now, there will be a coaching search to complete as well.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Boughner had been let go. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was the first to add that Madden, MacLean, and Darrow were also out.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Five Key Stories: 6/20/22 – 6/26/22
With the offseason frenzy nearly upon us, activity around the league is starting to pick up. Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the past seven days.
DeBoer To Dallas: The Stars have found their new head coach as they hired Peter DeBoer, signing him to a four-year deal worth roughly $4.25MM per season. It took a little while for him to enter the coaching market with Vegas taking their time to make a decision on his future before ultimately letting him go. DeBoer has bounced around as this will be his fifth NHL team behind the bench but his best years came with the Golden Knights as he helped lead the team to a 98-50-12 record in 160 regular season games plus a 22-17 record in the playoffs. He’ll take over for Rick Bowness who agreed to step away after the Stars were eliminated in the opening round of the postseason.
Smith To Return: While the deal isn’t expected to be announced for a little while due to salary cap and tagging reasons, the Golden Knights have reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with winger Reilly Smith to keep him around. The agreement is believed to carry an AAV of around $5MM which also happens to be the AAV he has had for the last five years. The 31-year-old has been a key piece for Vegas through their first five years of existence and actually sits third in scoring in their brief franchise history. Smith is coming off a bit of a bounce-back season after a tough showing in 2020-21 as he collected 38 points in 56 games. If he can stay healthy and put up close to 50 points (he played at a 56-point pace this year), he’ll provide the Golden Knights with a decent return on this deal but GM Kelly McCrimmon still has a lot of work to do this summer to get this team cap-compliant.
Maurice To Florida: Andrew Brunette did well taking over from Joel Quenneville early in the season, helping to lead the Panthers to a 51-18-6 record while Florida took home the Presidents’ Trophy. That helped earn him a Jack Adams Award nomination but it didn’t help him keep his job as the team announced that they’ve hired Paul Maurice as their new head coach, signing him to a three-year deal worth just under $4MM per year. Maurice stepped away from the Jets midseason but his time away from the game was rather short. He has 24 years of NHL head coaching experience under his belt and will now be tasked with trying to get the team over the playoff hump after they were swept in the second round by Tampa Bay. As for Brunette, it remains to be seen if he’ll go back to being an assistant as he was at the beginning of the season or if he’ll look to join another organization.
News From Winnipeg: Early on in their coaching search, it was clear that Winnipeg’s preference for their next head coach was Barry Trotz, a Manitoba native. Trotz gave the job offer serious consideration but decided to decline it and will not be behind the bench to start next season. Meanwhile, there could be changes coming to their forward group as well. The team is believed to be exploring the trade market for captain Blake Wheeler. The 35-year-old overcame a slow start to pick up 60 points in 65 games but with two years left on his deal with a cap hit of $8.25MM. Between that and a trade-to list of just five teams, however, the market for him might not be too strong. Then there’s center Pierre-Luc Dubois. The pending restricted free agent has informed the team that his intention is to test unrestricted free agency when he’s eligible in 2024. Dubois, who was acquired for another player whose willingness to sign long-term was in question (Patrik Laine), had 60 points of his own this season with a new career-high in goals with 28. His hesitancy to sign a long-term agreement could ultimately dictate their plans for Mark Schiefele as it’s unlikely they’d part with both of their top centers in the same summer.
Richardson To Chicago: While an agreement hasn’t been made official yet, the Blackhawks have found their next head coach as they will be hiring Luke Richardson away from Montreal, where he had served as an assistant coach for the last four years. The 53-year-old played more than 1,400 games in the NHL as a defenseman and has been a coach basically ever since then; he kicked off his coaching NHL career in the same season that he played his final two games. Chicago is about to embark on a sizable rebuild so it’s not surprising they went with a first-time head coach with a reputation for being player-friendly. The contract is expected to be finalized sometime this coming week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Dallas Stars
With the offseason in full swing aside from the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Stars.
The Stars were able to secure the top Wild Card spot in the West this season, allowing them to avoid Colorado in the opening round. They were close to pulling off the upset against Calgary but came up just short, resulting in a significant move behind the bench with Peter DeBoer taking over for Rick Bowness; the rest of the staff will need to be filled out. In terms of their on-ice personnel, GM Jim Nill has some work to do this summer.
Re-Sign Or Replace Klingberg
John Klingberg‘s contract situation is something that loomed over the club all season long. While both sides have expressed a desire for him to stick around, they didn’t appear to be close during the regular season which led to what ranged from either a full trade request to Klingberg being extremely upset about the state of negotiations, depending on various reports. At one point, his camp was given permission to speak to other teams which resulted in plenty of trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline although a trade obviously didn’t happen.
Now, the contractual situation jumps back to the forefront. Klingberg was believed to be seeking a max-term eight-year deal with reports putting the AAV around the $8MM mark which would be nearly double the $4.25MM he had been getting for the past seven seasons. The 29-year-old certainly has a strong case for the big jump as well. He’s coming off a year where he collected 47 points in 74 games while only seven blueliners have more points than him over his eight-year NHL career. He’s going to be one of the top players to get to the open market this summer.
Accordingly, Nill has a big decision to make. Does he move close enough to Klingberg’s asking price at the eight-year term (which may not be too enticing since he turns 30 in August) or does he make other plans to replace him? With some other big contracts on the horizon (more on those shortly), can they afford another pricey long-term commitment or would they be better off trying to sign or acquire a cheaper, shorter-term replacement? Nill only has a couple more weeks to ponder that decision.
New Deal For Robertson
After spending most of his first professional season in the minors, Jason Robertson has quickly emerged as a legitimate top winger and in his first full year in the NHL, he provided Dallas with 41 goals (including a league-high 11 game-winners) and 79 points. With the 22-year-old hitting restricted free agency for the first time this summer, he’s in line for a significant raise compared to his rookie deal.
Nill undoubtedly would like to sign Robertson to a long-term contract that buys out a few UFA-eligible seasons but that will be a tough task even with nearly $20MM in cap space simply because of who else needs to sign. A long-term contract could jump into the $9MM range based on recent comparables including Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (five years, $45MM) which would eat up about half of their cap space with that one and could prohibit them from keeping Klingberg in the fold or finding a similar replacement. On top of that, Nill acknowledged earlier this month that the anticipated jump in the Upper Limit of the cap a couple of years from now could push prominent RFAs like Robertson into preferring a short-term deal.
With that in mind, a bridge contract, one that could free up enough cap room to try to take care of another pending free agent, seems like the probable outcome. But even that will carry a high price tag. Recent comparable players would put a deal for him in the $7MM range so the net savings compared to a long-term deal would be in the $2MM range. With those deals, teams can get creative with the salary structure to yield a higher qualifying offer at its expiration which is something Robertson’s camp would likely push for if they go this route. Worth noting, Robertson does not have arbitration eligibility and we’ve seen several in his situation wait until closer to training camp to put pen to paper on a contract.
Sign A Goalie Tandem
Another prominent restricted free agent this summer is goaltender Jake Oettinger. He actually started this season in the minors but did so well after being recalled that he never went back. The 23-year-old wound up posting a 2.53 GAA along with a .914 SV% in 48 games during the regular season and then was stellar in seven playoff contests, nearly helping them to get past Calgary despite facing an average of just over 40 shots per game.
This negotiation has the potential to be a bit of a longer one. Part of that will be due to a lack of experience at the NHL level as Oettinger has just 77 regular season games under his belt. Not a lot of goalies get pricey long-term deals with that limited experience. Even if they do want to work out something on a longer-term basis, their hands will largely be tied with what happens with Klingberg’s new deal or replacement as well as Robertson’s new deals. If both receive long-term expensive pacts, it’s going to force their hand into a short-term bridge agreement. As Robertson’s case could take a while, that could drag Oettinger’s discussions out accordingly.
There’s also the matter of figuring out their backup goalie. Braden Holtby had a nice bounce-back year with his best numbers since 2016-17 and while he’s not going to be considered as a top starter this summer, he could command a decent raise on the $2MM he made this season on a multi-year agreement. Dallas might not be able to afford that. Scott Wedgewood bounced around with three different teams this season but did well enough to be in the mix for a team that’s looking to save some money on their backup. A one-way deal around the $1MM mark should be doable for him, giving him some rare job security in the process.
The Stars do still have Anton Khudobin under contract but after a year filled with injuries and struggles, they’ll undoubtedly be looking to get out of the final year and $3.33MM of his deal so he probably won’t be in their plans so they’ll need to sign both ends of their tandem for next season.
Hintz Extension Talks
While the first three parts of this are the biggest priority for Nill, he’s also expected to look into what a contract extension would cost for forward Roope Hintz. Very quietly over the last couple of years, the 25-year-old has emerged as a viable top center and with a cap hit on his bridge deal of $3.25MM, Hintz has become one of the biggest bargains in the NHL.
That will change in the near future. Hintz will enter the final season of his contract once the new league year begins on July 13th which means he’ll be eligible to sign an extension at that time. Hintz had 37 goals and 35 assists this past season, good for career-highs in both categories but with DeBoer expected to play a more attack-oriented style, it’s reasonable to expect that Hintz could set new benchmarks in 2022-23. If that happens, the price tag will only go up.
Hintz will only have one RFA-eligible year remaining when his current deal expires so, unlike Robertson or Oettinger, there isn’t an option to do a short-term contract to massage their cap situation. If they can’t agree on a long-term deal, it’s possible that Hintz files for arbitration and takes a one-year award that takes him to the open market. A long-term contract should eclipse the $7MM mark and their ability to offer such a deal may very well be determinant on what contracts Robertson and Oettinger wind up with. When it comes to their summer spending and planning, everything is intertwined and this file, even though it doesn’t technically come up for another year, is no exception.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.