Central Notes: Benn, Hyry, Klippenstein
Stars captain Jamie Benn is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the same fate he faced last year before signing a one-year deal to remain in Dallas. While Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News believes that the organization would be willing to bring him back, there would need to be some tough discussions first as he’s now coming off his second straight subpar playoff performance. He’ll be 37 when next season starts so while he could still hold his own in a bottom-six role during the regular season but will those postseason struggles give them enough pause to start the search for a new captain? If not, Benn is eligible to once again sign a bonus-laden deal as long as it’s a one-year pact. He did so last summer, accepting a $1MM base salary with up to $3MM in bonuses, $2MM of which were reached and will count against their salary cap in 2026-27 thanks to them ending the year using LTIR.
More from the Central:
- Still with the Stars, forward Arttu Hyry won’t be available for AHL Texas in their series against Chicago, relays 100 Degree Hockey (Twitter link). The 25-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the fifth game of the Dallas-Minnesota series earlier this week and while it was initially thought that it was a day-to-day issue, it appears that’s not the case. Hyry was on Texas’ roster at the trade deadline, meaning that Dallas can send him down once he’s cleared to return. He had 19 points in 27 AHL games along with five points in 20 NHL appearances during the regular season.
- Wild prospect Carter Klippenstein will be leaving the WHL next season to make the jump to the NCAA. Providence College announced on its Instagram page that the 19-year-old has committed to playing for them next season. A fifth-round pick last summer, Klippenstein was limited to just 38 games this season due to injury. Still, he was fairly productive, tallying 11 goals and 17 assists in those outings. With the transfer of leagues, Klippenstein’s signing timeline will be extended, giving Minnesota a couple of extra years to determine if they want to sign him. Had he stayed in junior, they’d have had to make that call just over a year from now.
Lucas Carlsson Signs In Sweden
A Sharks pending unrestricted free agent has decided to forego testing the open market to head home instead. Djurgardens in the SHL announced that they’ve signed defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a four-year deal that begins next season.
The 28-year-old spent the last two seasons in San Jose’s organization although it didn’t amount to a lot of playing time at the top level. Carlsson played in 13 games down the stretch in 2024-25 and held his own while picking up four points in over 19 minutes per night of playing time. But after the Sharks overhauled their back end over the summer, he was on the outside looking in again. This season, he played exclusively with the AHL’s Barracuda, collecting 12 goals and 14 assists in 58 appearances.
Over his career, Carlsson has played in 73 NHL games between San Jose, Florida, and Chicago. He has spent the bulk of his career in the minors and has been quite productive down there, tallying 219 points in 359 games over parts of eight seasons.
With that in mind, Carlsson would almost certainly have received interest in another two-way contract this summer from teams looking for a quality veteran blueliner who can hold his own in a pinch in the NHL. But instead of seeing what offers might have materialized, he decided that it’s time to turn the page and head home. That likely will close the book on his time in North America unless a strong performance overseas yields one last opportunity down the road.
Offseason Checklist: New York Rangers
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Rangers.
It’s fair to say that this season didn’t go to plan for the Rangers. Sure, they were coming off missing the playoffs but the hiring of Mike Sullivan indicated that the expectation was a return to the postseason. Instead, they finished last in the Eastern Conference and released another letter to the fans before moving away Artemi Panarin for future assets. GM Chris Drury’s checklist this summer involves continuing in that direction although there remains a chance that they look for a quicker fix.
Re-Sign Or Move Schneider
When Braden Schneider was the 19th overall pick back in 2020, the Rangers were hoping that they had a core defender on their hands. But after some stagnation early in his career and a tight cap situation, the two sides worked out a bridge deal two summers ago. Since then, with their struggles, Schneider’s name has come up in trade speculation although they didn’t pull the trigger on a move.
Now, the time for kicking the can down the road should be over. Schneider’s contract is up this summer and he’ll be owed a $2.64MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights. They’ll tender the offer but what comes next is the harder decision.
If Drury feels that Schneider should be part of the post-rebuild core, this is the time to sign him. It’d take a long-term deal worth more than double that qualifying offer but if he’s one of the long-term building blocks, then that price tag is justifiable. If not, then this is likely the right time to move him. The acquiring team then works on the long-term pact and sends the Rangers what would likely be another young player of some significance (potentially a winger with some club control to help replace Panarin). Doing a short-term deal would allow them to kick the can down the road a little longer but at the risk of hurting his trade value.
There are multiple veterans for whom a trade makes more sense than keeping; we’ll get to one of those next. But Schneider is one of the few toss-ups. They need to pick a direction with him, either commit to him for the long haul or move him out for another piece who will be around for a while.
Make The Trocheck Move
Beyond Panarin whose exit from the team was telegraphed long before it happened, the Ranger whose name was in the rumor mill the most was center Vincent Trocheck. By all accounts, there were some big offers made before the trade deadline but Drury opted to hold him for now, presumably thinking better ones could be coming this summer when more teams are looking to buy. Frankly, there’s some logic to the idea.
Now, it’s time to see if that bet was the right one. In theory, New York should be poised to capitalize here on the trade front. The list of top-six UFA centers is rather small this summer. It starts with Charlie and ends with Coyle. The list of teams looking for a top-six center? More than ten times as long. One team can ideally fill that spot by signing Charlie Coyle while the rest will have to try to do so on the trade front where supply is limited and demand is extremely high.
Trocheck could very well be the best center that gets made available this summer. (We’ll see what Alex Steen’s plans are for Robert Thomas, who could ultimately stick around.) Granted, there is a 12-team no-trade list that could affect things and Trocheck himself noted before the deadline that Western teams are on that list. However, there are still plenty of Eastern Conference teams who will be looking to upgrade down the middle, certainly enough to drum up a bidding war.
While the East Coast limitation increases the odds that Trocheck could be moved within the Metropolitan Division, this should be about getting the best return regardless of where it comes from. It’s a package that should include a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, and at least one other element, potentially a roster player to help offset some of the money (although Trocheck’s $5.625MM for three more years should be affordable for a lot of teams). It certainly feels like it’s time to cash in on that high demand.
Make Room For Youth
One thing that the Rangers did down the stretch was start to use their youngsters more. Gabe Perreault got a bigger role while young forwards Adam Sykora and Jaroslav Chmelar made strong first impressions. Drew Fortescue got his feet wet on the back end as well. And with that extra speed and hustle in the lineup, they were a lot more respectable down the stretch, winning six of ten games to close the season.
This isn’t a situation of reading too much into what amounts to garbage time performance. But it’s an acknowledgement that the Rangers need to see what some of their youngsters can do. With the belief that they’d like this to be more of a retool than a long-term rebuild, it’s critical that the team finds out which of these youngsters are going to be part of the core group at that time. The only way to do that is to give them a chance to play at the NHL level.
That means that this summer, the focus shouldn’t be on re-signing or replacing Jonny Brodzinski or Conor Sheary up front; those spots can be left for some of those youngsters. Is Matt Rempe (still just 23) or Adam Edstrom (now 25) still in the plans or are they movable? Would Taylor Raddysh’s or Urho Vaakanainen’s role be better served by more of a prospect?
This isn’t a case of bringing in half a dozen youngsters. That will cause a different set of challenges. But having a few spots available at the start of the year to use for evaluation would give the team a lot more information about the future. To do that, they may yet still need to move out a veteran or two.
Add Goaltending Insurance
There is one other roster spot that appears likely to be turned over to a youngster, that being between the pipes. With Jonathan Quick retiring, prospect Dylan Garand appears to be in line to get a shot at the full-time backup spot behind Igor Shesterkin. While it’s not ideal that a soon-to-be-24-year-old will be looking at limited minutes behind one of the NHL’s top netminders, Garand has to pass through waivers next season and it’s not a guarantee that he’d pass through unclaimed should they try to sneak him down.
But even if the plan ultimately is to re-sign Garand (a pending RFA) and have him in the number two role, they need a Plan B. If he struggles mightily in training camp, turning to midseason signing Spencer Martin isn’t exactly a viable option as he has struggled in his limited action at the top level.
Accordingly, this is the one position where a veteran addition could be useful. The ideal fit would be a veteran who could cover the backup role if Garand struggles or pass through waivers himself if Garand is ready for the job and serve as insurance with Hartford. Basically, the type of role they once envisioned for Louis Domingue but someone perhaps a little more proven. Buffalo signed James Reimer for that role for 2024-25 (though he never made it through waivers for their plan to work). Someone around that caliber of player would be a worthwhile addition, even if it goes against the rest of the goal of getting younger.
Photo courtesy of Danny Wild-Imagn Images.
Nikita Zadorov Sustained Torn MCL Midway Through First Round
Boston’s season came to an end on Friday night as they lost to Buffalo, ending the series in six games. Following the outing, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov revealed to reporters including Boston.com’s Conor Ryan that he sustained a torn MCL in the third game of the series.
Before last night, he had indicated that he was playing through something but hadn’t indicated what. It appears as if the injury is on the severe side, too, as Zadorov mentioned that the ligament was fully torn off the bone.
While MCL injuries aren’t generally as severe as ACL ones, a fully torn MCL may still require surgery with a recovery timeline pushing three months. That should have him fully recovered heading into training camp in the fall but his overall offseason training will certainly be impacted by this injury.
Although Zadorov was far from fully healthy, it didn’t seem to affect his playing time all that much. He logged 19:20 of playing time in Game 4, 23:11 in Game 5, and 21:52 last night, all around his regular season ATOI of 20:53.
Zadorov was the league leader in penalty minutes for the second straight season and after a 37-PIM performance in the opening round, he’s currently leading the way in that category as well. Beyond that, he chipped in with an assist and 17 hits in the series.
Sonny Milano Signs In Switzerland
4/29/26: SC Bern have officially announced the signing of Milano to a one-year contract for next season, confirming that the former top prospect will play in the European pro ranks for the first time in his career. At 29 years old, Milano has played in 344 games at the NHL level and 187 games in the AHL.
4/20/26: From a health perspective, this has been a good year for Capitals winger Sonny Milano. However, he’s currently in the minors playing for Hershey, an outcome he likely wasn’t expecting coming into the season. The pending UFA appears to be eyeing a change of scenery for 2026-27 as Watson’s Klaus Zaugg reports that Milano is expected to sign with SC Bern in Switzerland.
The 29-year-old missed the majority of last season with an upper-body injury. He attempted to come back from it but suffered a setback, one that put the beginning of 2025-26 in jeopardy. However, he was able to play at the start of the year and made Washington’s roster out of training camp.
While Milano played regularly in the first week of the year, playing time started to become more sporadic after that as he spent considerable time as a scratch. Then, following the Olympic break, he lost his roster spot and cleared waivers, paving the way for him to join Hershey for his first taste of action in the minors since a 2022-23 conditioning stint.
Milano played in 31 games for the Capitals this season, picking up four goals and four assists while playing just 8:53 per night. He has played almost exclusively in the bottom six over his four years with Washington although he still managed 15 goals in 2023-24 in spite of his limited usage. Meanwhile, he has been productive with the Bears, tallying 13 points in 16 games. He’ll still be playing for the time being with Hershey beginning a best-of-three playoff series versus Bridgeport on Tuesday.
Given Milano’s last couple of years and the fact that he had a hard time securing a contract in free agency in 2022, he profiles as more of a PTO candidate if he decides to test the open market this summer. Instead, it appears he’ll bypass doing that and lock down a top role in the Swiss league to continue his career.
Evening Notes: Hedman, Foster, Saarinen, Greig, Davidson
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was a full participant in practice as he continues to try to work his way back to game readiness, relays NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. However, head coach Jon Cooper noted that his captain is still uncertain to return at some point in their opening-round series against Montreal. Hedman hasn’t played since March 19th when he exited that game early due to illness and then left the team on a leave of absence soon after. He had 17 points in 33 games this season and would be a big addition to Tampa Bay’s lineup if he’s able to get back into one of the final games of the series.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Still with the Lightning, prospect forward Aiden Foster has joined AHL Syracuse, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old was drafted in the fourth round last June, going 127th overall and spent this season with WHL Prince George. Foster set new career highs offensively with the Cougars this season, picking up 14 goals and 21 assists in 65 games while surpassing the 100-PIM mark for the third straight year. Foster has yet to sign his entry-level contract and will likely serve as a Black Ace for the Crunch’s playoff run.
- The Kraken have reassigned goaltender Kim Saarinen to AHL Coachella Valley, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old spent the season on loan to HPK in Finland and played quite well at the Liiga level. In 38 starts during the regular season, Saarinen posted a 2.11 GAA with a .916 SV% and put up even better numbers in nine playoff appearances at 1.68 and .944, respectively. Saarinen was under contract with Seattle this season but since he didn’t get into ten NHL games, his deal is eligible to slide and will still have three years left on it heading into 2026-27.
- The Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link) that the disciplinary hearing for Senators forward Ridly Greig will be held on Monday. The incident happened in the final game of their first-round series against Carolina for throwing a sucker punch at Sean Walker. With this being a phone hearing, any supplemental discipline would be capped at five games with Greig serving the suspension next season with Ottawa’s playoff run already over.
- The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that former player Matt Davidson has passed away at the age of 48. Davidson spent three seasons with Columbus, playing in 56 games where he had a dozen points. He had recently kicked off his post-playing career in hockey and was working for WHL Portland as their Director of Player Personnel before his passing.
Offseason Checklist: Calgary Flames
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Calgary.
After a late-season push in 2024-25, there were some in Calgary who hoped that the Flames would be able to take another step forward and get back to the playoffs. Instead, the firm realities of a rebuild set in, with the team ultimately jettisoning their two top defensemen and number one center. There is a lot that GM Craig Conroy still has to do although with 2026-27 expected to be another tough year in the standings, the biggest work isn’t in the cards this summer.
Keep Stockpiling
Last summer, the Flames only had one extra draft pick but it was an important one in the form of a first-round selection, albeit at the end of the first round. It was the second straight year they had an extra pick in the opening round after nabbing Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin in 2024.
As things stand, that will extend to three years as Calgary has an extra first-round selection (Vegas), plus three extra second-rounders that in theory could be packaged to try to land another day one pick. They also have extra firsts in 2027 and 2028.
That’s a strong foundation of draft picks to work with although that’s only part of the battle. They also need to keep adding more drafted prospects that are closer to being NHL-ready to their pool. Those players would then represent the next wave as more veterans are cleared out over the next couple of years before the high volume of draft picks yield players that will eventually be ready to push for playing time. Calgary has done well there lately as well with the additions of Abram Wiebe, Jonathan Castagna, and Tyson Gross over the last few months.
Will there be a logjam down the road? That’s the ideal plan, giving the Flames extra depth to deal from at the time that they should be flipping the switch from their rebuild to trying to contend. So, for now, there should continue to be an emphasis on not just quality but also quantity, allowing a deep stockpile to get even deeper. Continuing to add center depth would be particularly wise.
Cash In On Coleman
Heading into the trade deadline, there were questions of how many more veterans would be heading out the door, joining Rasmus Andersson who had already been moved to Vegas. MacKenzie Weegar ultimately was moved to Utah while Nazem Kadri wound up back in Colorado. But there was one veteran of significance who was drawing significant interest who didn’t move, winger Blake Coleman.
While there’s something to be said for having some quality veterans to work with a young core group, there’s also something to be said for not cashing in one of their top trade chips. Yes, his contract is on the pricier side for a player who has only reached the 40-point plateau once, but with the salary cap set for a big increase and a fairly thin UFA market, $4.9MM for one season is a price tag that a lot of teams should be able to afford. (And if not, Calgary gets two salary retention slots back on July 1st which could be used to get something done.)
Down those retention slots back in March, it’s understandable that Conroy opted to pass on moving him as in theory, the return should be better with part of the contract paid down. It’s also understandable that a team would want some quality veterans working with an increasingly younger core group. But Coleman is also one of the few veterans remaining that could plausibly yield a return of significance. It’d be hard to pass that up for extra mentorship in the room. Yes, they could wait things out and see how things look at next year’s deadline, but if there’s a strong return out there this summer, that might be the right time to take it.
Add Serviceable Veteran Defender
If Conroy is concerned about a dearth of quality veteran leaders in the dressing room following the recent exodus of players (and the potential move of Coleman), there’s nothing stopping him from trying to add one via trade or free agency. And if he wants to do that, looking at the back end would be a good idea.
While Calgary did receive veterans back in the Weegar (Zach Whitecloud) and Weegar (Olli Maatta) deals, neither of those players are ideal top-half pieces in the lineup. Whitecloud, meanwhile, had a strong market at the trade deadline and is a plausible candidate himself to get dealt over the summer if the Flames want to cash in on his elevated trade value. Those two were basically top-pairing players down the stretch with Kevin Bahl getting nearly 22 minutes a night as well.
Meanwhile, their depth isn’t the greatest either. While they have high hopes for Zayne Parekh, and Yan Kuznetsov impressed this season, Brayden Pachal and Joel Hanley are next on the depth chart. Those are more fringe/depth pieces than full-fledged regulars. They could be upgraded on with another serviceable veteran or two that raises the floor of the group to move it to more of a by-committee approach which probably better suits this roster.
Fortunately, depth defenders are a lot easier to find than top-four pieces, ones they’ll have to trade for at some point when they’re closer to ending their rebuild. But a good veteran or two on the third pairing can help fill some of the leadership gap and perhaps even give them some chips to move closer to next year’s deadline. While rebuilding teams often aren’t looking to get older, Calgary could buck that trend with the right veteran blueliner or two.
Work On Frost Extension
Last summer, the Flames elected not to work out a long-term contract with then-RFA center Morgan Frost. Having just acquired him from Philadelphia earlier in the season, they wanted to get a better sense of how he’d fit. Accordingly, he inked a second bridge contract, a two-year, $8.75MM agreement. On July 1st, he’ll be extension-eligible and now armed with more information about his fit on the roster, Conroy should be looking to get something worked out.
Frost only managed a dozen points in 32 games after being acquired last season. However, a full training camp and season in Calgary’s lineup seemed to get him going again. Frost played in all 82 games this season for the first time in his career, scoring a career-best 22 goals while adding 21 assists in 15:30 per night of playing time. He also won nearly 57% of his draws, also a new personal best.
While Frost doesn’t profile as a top-line pivot by any stretch, he should have plenty of years ahead of him in a middle-six role. While that’s not necessarily the type of player teams will generally want to commit a long-term contract to, Calgary’s dearth of center options could force their hand. Kadri is now gone while captain Mikael Backlund is 37 and is nearing the end of his career (though he begins a two-year deal next season). Ryan Strome is also in the fold but is more of a reclamation type of project.
Yes, the Flames have high hopes for prospects Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter, and newcomer Castagna. However, those players are a while away from making meaningful NHL contributions. Frost is a logical fit to try to keep around for a few extra years beyond 2027 to serve as a bridge to some of those prospects.
Given that he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and the big projected increases to the salary cap, it’s fair to say that Frost will be in line for a bump up on his current deal. An increase into the $6MM-plus range feels doable and with their long-term cap situation looking quite strong at the moment, it’s a price tag they can afford. Rather than wait it out another year, it might make more sense for the Flames to get this done this summer.
Photo courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.
Samuel Bolduc To Pursue KHL Contract
A pending Senators Group Six free agent is looking to get a head start on the open market. Winners Agency announced on its Telegram page that they are now representing Samuel Bolduc and are looking at finding the defenseman a contract in the KHL next season.
The 25-year-old was acquired by Ottawa after the trade deadline from the Kings in exchange for forward Jan Jenik. However, because of the timing of the swap, he wasn’t eligible to be recalled despite a lengthy list of injuries on the back end. Instead, he had an increasing role with AHL Belleville and was productive for them, tallying 10 points in 12 games after putting up 21 in 56 with AHL Ontario prior to the swap.
This was the first time in four seasons that Bolduc didn’t see any NHL action. He has played in 52 games at the top level over parts of three years, all with the Islanders. Over that span, he managed four goals and four assists along with 56 blocks and 70 hits in 13:25 per night of playing time. Bolduc was non-tendered last summer to avoid arbitration eligibility and inked a one-year, two-way deal with Los Angeles soon after.
Bolduc will qualify for veteran status in the AHL next season thanks to crossing the 320-game mark between the NHL and AHL. Lineup spots for those players are capped at six, making it much more difficult to secure a contract despite a solid career thus far. Knowing this, it appears Bolduc will look to lock down a deal overseas and avoid running the risk of not being able to secure a two-way deal in NHL free agency.
PHR Mailbag: Predators, Lottery, Hellebuyck, Rookies, Playoff Pressure Players
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Nashville’s open GM position, what players have a lot to gain or lose by their playoff performances, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in one of our next two mailbag columns.
Gbear: Who gets the Preds GM job and does Bruno stay or go?
While Barry Trotz is on the way out, I tend to believe his words from earlier this week when he talked about the thought of keeping a lot of this roster intact. That has me leaning toward a candidate that’s a little more predictable in Tom Fitzgerald. While he took some swings toward the end of his tenure in New Jersey, he’s not going to come in saying that they need to execute a full rebuild. I can’t help but wonder if some of the other first-time candidates might be recommending the other direction which might hurt their chances.
I think what also works in Fitzgerald’s favor is that he has held a dual President/GM role before with the Devils. Throughout this long search, it certainly doesn’t sound like the team is looking to hire two separate people for those roles. If that’s the case, having an experienced candidate who can handle both might appeal a little more.
Fitzgerald, of course, is familiar with head coach Andrew Brunette, as he hired him to join the Devils as an assistant coach. Brunette then left a year later to take this job. With what seems like a good history from their one year together and how this group finished the season, I suspect they’d stay conservative and keep the status quo intact for now if it winds up being Fitzgerald getting the job. If things don’t go well in 2026-27, then it would be easier for them to make a change.
rayk: What is your opinion of the draft lottery which is approaching on 5/5? Is having teams like the Islanders and Mammoth move up so many slots as they did in 2025 really help promote league parity?
For me, the lottery is a partial solution to a problem that doesn’t have a great solution to it. Teams that want to tank are going to try to position themselves as low in the standings no matter what the draft order rule is. If it’s straight reverse standings, we’ve seen how bad that can go. The lottery creates some randomness which is fun but the bottom-feeding teams are still going to want to get as low as possible to increase their odds of picking first and ensure they don’t slide down as much. There’s no getting around that.
One solution that is gaining some popularity is the Gold Plan. Named after its inventor, Adam Gold, the idea is that the first pick goes to the team that gets the most points after being eliminated from playoff contention. The PWHL uses it. However, the workaround there is that a team struggles early, has a bunch of core guys get ‘injured’ midseason, then they all come back in March after the team has been mathematically eliminated. All it does is change when a team decides to sit all its players for tanking purposes.
The lottery isn’t perfect. But I don’t think there is a perfect solution out there as they’re all easily manipulable. So having some randomness that gives teams (and fans) a bit more hope seems like a good enough solution for now, at least.
SkidRowe: Will the league rig the lottery so the Toronto Maple Losers are in the top 2?
I feel like this is an important time to remind you that the lottery is done with ping pong balls. Literal dollar store ping pong balls. They first provided the video of it in 2022 and if you’re not familiar with the mechanics of how it’s done, I recommend you watch it. It’s dry and boring but it does provide a good overview of each step.
It’s 14 equally weighted ping pong balls and a lottery-drawing machine. This isn’t drawing for an envelope that may or may not have been left in a freezer, it’s a 10-cent ball which somehow is harder to rig. The lottery combinations are assigned to teams in advance (and sometimes are even posted online before the actual proceedings) so there’s no room for uh, excess creativity on that front either. Conspiracy theories can be fun but how they do the lotteries is legit.
Toronto has greater than a 17% chance of picking in the top two. After what has happened in recent years, their landing a top-two spot is very much within the realistic range of possibilities.
Cla23: With Hellebuyck’s frustration with the Jets’ season, do you see a trade? If so, where do you think he lands and what do the Jets get in return?
Keep in mind he wants to contend, not rebuild, and NT/NM contracts come into play.
Probably not this summer. His comments about not wanting the team to be too complacent again this summer suggests to me that he still wants to be there; he just wants to see some other changes to the roster. If that doesn’t happen, then yeah, he might want out. The problem is that by the time Hellebuyck will have a chance to assess the state of the roster, most teams will already have their rosters set (or at least wouldn’t be looking to trade for a number one netminder). So even if he looked at their roster in August and said it’s time for a move, there probably isn’t one available until midseason at the earliest or, more likely, next summer.
But, let’s say he does ask out so that I can tackle the second part of the question. Vegas stands out to me as a potential fit. Adin Hill had a rough year while Carter Hart and Akira Schmid have shown good flashes at times but have been inconsistent. Hellebuyck would give them a much more proven starter. I could see both Hill and Schmid in the return, negating the need to bring back Eric Comrie. To make the money work, I think William Karlsson could also be in there, giving Winnipeg at least a short-term center at the same time. Hill and Karlsson both have 10-team no-trade clauses which could scuttle things so let’s get that out of the way.
Given Hill’s struggles and Karlsson’s short-term deal, either Karlsson would need to come with an extension or there would need to be another piece of significance in there. I could see Kevin Cheveldayoff asking for Trevor Connelly but he’s someone Vegas doesn’t want to move. If it landed them a top-end goalie though (and got them out of Hill’s contract), maybe that’d make it worthwhile.
I could also see Florida in there but the potential return is harder to peg down. They don’t have a starter to send the other way which makes it a tough sell right away. With both Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett signed long-term, teams will call about Anton Lundell and I imagine Winnipeg would do that, hoping to fill the longstanding 2C issue and then trying to get a goalie from elsewhere. I’m not sure the Panthers would, however. But at any rate, I don’t expect Hellebuyck to be asking out this month.
Metropolitan Notes: Greaves, Fisher, Vladar
Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves will play for Canada at the Worlds next month, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). This was the 25-year-old’s first full NHL season and it was a good one as he posted a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV% in 55 games. That showed that his hot finish to last season wasn’t just a one-off and he’s now in place as their starter of the future. Notably, Greaves is a pending restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights and is poised for a significant raise on his current $812.5K price tag. That makes it a little surprising that Greaves will play for Canada in the tournament as pending free agents usually take a pass to avoid the risk of an injury sustained there affecting contract negotiations. Instead, he’ll make a strong case to be the starter regardless of whichever other two goalies participate, something that Dreger added is still being worked out.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with the Blue Jackets, prospect James Fisher has changed schools. Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald relays that the forward has transferred from Northeastern to St. Lawrence University for next season. The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Columbus back in 2022 and has not progressed particularly well thus far. After two post-draft seasons at junior levels, he spent two years with the Huskies, managing just five points in 60 games over that stretch. He’ll be hoping that a change of scenery can land him a bigger role and a chance to get back on the radar for a contract down the road.
- After a bit of an injury scare in Game 3 of their opening round series against Pittsburgh, it appears Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar is good to go as the team announced (Twitter link) that he’ll get the start tonight. Bryan Rust fell over him in the third period on Wednesday and didn’t practice the following day but it won’t cost him any time. Vladar’s first foray into the playoffs as a starter has been successful so far as he has turned aside 70 of 74 shots to help Philadelphia take the first three games.