Igor Shesterkin Wins The 2022 Vezina Trophy
On Tuesday, the final five NHL awards are being handed out. First up was the Vezina Trophy for the best goaltender. The winner of the award was Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The other finalists were Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom and Nashville’s Juuse Saros.
The 26-year-old had a dominant season, leading the league with a 2.07 GAA along with a .935 SV%. That helped lead New York to second place in the Metropolitan Division while recording their highest point total since the 2014-15 campaign and third-best in franchise history. Shesterkin’s numbers in the playoffs were also quite strong as he put up a 2.59 GAA along with a .929 SV% as he helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final before they were eliminated in six by Tampa Bay. He becomes the third Ranger to win the award under the current voting criteria, joining Henrik Lundqvist and John Vanbiesbrouck.
The Vezina Trophy is voted on by the 32 General Managers and it was a near-unanimous selection as Shesterkin took home 29 of 32 first-place votes while having more voting points than every other goalie combined. Interestingly, the other two finalists didn’t receive a first-place vote with those nods going to Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning, Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders, and Frederik Andersen of the Hurricanes.
The full results of the voting can be found here.
Dallas Stars Hire Peter DeBoer
June 21: The team has now officially announced DeBoer as the next head coach of the Stars. While the team did not release financial information or term, LeBrun reports that it is a four-year deal worth $4.25MM per season.
General manager Jim Nill released the following statement:
Pete brings a wealth of experience to our dressing room, and we’re thrilled to name him our next head coach. Every team that he has taken over has not only shown immediate improvement but has been ultra-competitive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has taken five teams to the Conference Finals, and two of those to the Stanley Cup Final, in his 14 years as a head coach. His resume displays the high standards he sets and his ability to get his team to play up to that level consistently. We’re excited to welcome Pete and his family to Dallas.
June 19: A pair of coaching vacancies have been filled in recent days with Vegas and Philadelphia finding their new bench bosses. It appears Dallas is on the verge of doing the same as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Stars are expected to name Peter DeBoer as their new head coach. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski adds (Twitter link) that an official announcement is not expected to come tonight with Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes (Twitter link) contract terms are still being discussed.
DeBoer was a fairly late entrant into the coaching market this spring as Vegas waited a couple of weeks before making the decision to part ways with him. He had a pretty successful run with the Golden Knights he led the team to a 98-50-12 record in 160 regular season games, good for a .650 points percentage. Vegas also had two good playoff runs with him at the helm as they went 22-17 over that stretch. However, it was the fact that they didn’t make it to the postseason that resulted in his departure with Bruce Cassidy taking over that job on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Stars have been on the lookout for their next bench boss for the past month after the team and Rick Bowness mutually agreed to part ways with their assistant coaches also departing. Dallas finished in the top Wild Card spot in 2021-22 (four points ahead of Vegas) and gave Calgary a pretty good run in the first round before ultimately falling in seven games which led to them changing things up.
The fact that the Stars are looking for a win-now coach doesn’t come as much of a surprise as they largely have a veteran core in place with a team that’s built more for the present than the future. Under Bowness, Dallas has consistently been one of the stronger defensive teams in the league but they have also found themselves in the bottom half of the league offensively with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn both taking considerable steps back in recent years. Considering both are on the books at a high price tag ($9.5MM for Benn, $9.85MM for Seguin), finding a coach that can coax more out of them offensively would certainly help their chances moving forward.
Dallas GM Jim Nill feels DeBoer is the coach that can bring out more offensive production without drastically compromising their defensive principles. There is some recent cause for optimism on that front based on his time with the Golden Knights as Vegas was in the top half of the NHL in both goals scored and allowed in each of his three seasons with them.
DeBoer sits 27th all-time in games coached at 1,015 and is 26th in wins with 513 and assuming this contract becomes official, he’ll have a chance to improve those numbers on a Stars team that should once again be in the playoff mix in 2022-23. He’ll become the fifth different head coach for Dallas since 2013 when Jim Nill took over with the others being Lindy Ruff, Ken Hitchcock, Jim Montgomery, and Bowness.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Edmonton Oilers Agree To Contract With Jay Woodcroft
June 21: After reports earlier confirmed a deal was done, the Oilers have officially announced a three-year contract for Woodcroft, taking away the interim tag. Extending through the 2024-25 season, the coach will have his chance to take Edmonton all the way after an outstanding debut in the second half.
June 19: With Edmonton making it to the Western Conference Final, the expectation was that Oilers would lift the interim tag off head coach Jay Woodcroft. They’re getting close to doing just that as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton is making progress on a three-year contract with the bench boss. Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins adds that expects the deal to be finalized by the end of the month.
Edmonton’s turnaround after Woodcroft was promoted from AHL Bakersfield to replace Dave Tippett back in February was quite astounding. The Oilers played to a .724 points percentage with a 26-9-3 record under his tutelage, a far cry from the 8-13-3 the team had put up under Tippett in the nearly ten weeks leading up to his departure. They showed considerable improvement defensively without significantly affecting one of the strongest offenses in the league which allowed them to finish second in the Pacific Division at the end of the season.
From there, Edmonton squeaked by Los Angeles in the first round before stunning provincial rival Calgary (who won the Pacific) with a five-game series victory. They weren’t as successful against Colorado, however, as they were ousted in four straight. Still, it was a strong season overall for the Oilers so the news that they’re getting closer to getting Woodcroft signed shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
While they don’t have to get it done right away, the sooner GM Ken Holland can get this done, the better. Edmonton has several prominent pending free agents highlighted by winger Evander Kane among those eligible for unrestricted free agency and wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi among the RFA-eligible players. With minimal cap space to work with, Holland will need to focus most of his time on getting things settled on that front so getting Woodcroft’s deal signed sooner than later will give him more time to focus on their needed roster movement this summer.
Five Key Stories: 6/13/22 – 6/19/22
Things are starting to pick up across the NHL with most of the league now firmly in offseason mode with the league providing a key cap figure for their summer planning. Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the past seven days.
Tortorella To Flyers: Philadelphia has their new head coach in place as they hired long-time bench boss John Tortorella, giving him a four-year deal that’s believed to be worth $4MM per season. The Flyers have made it clear that even though they missed the playoffs this season, they are in win-now mode and Tortorella’s hiring certainly cements that line of thinking. Philadelphia is Tortorella’s fifth NHL team as a head coach and ranks 13th all-time in games coached with 1,383 and sits 14th for most wins with 673. Even with this move, many believe GM Chuck Fletcher will try to shake up his core so the Flyers will continue to be a team to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.
Cassidy To Vegas: Tortorella wasn’t the only head coach to be hired as Bruce Cassidy’s time on the unemployment line didn’t last very long with the Golden Knights naming him as their new bench boss. Boston decided to part ways with Cassidy earlier this month despite a very strong regular season showing that saw the team go 245-108-46 under his watch although they had a losing record (36-37) in the playoffs. The Golden Knights are now on their third coach in franchise history and while they have some work to do to fill out their roster and be cap-compliant next season, Cassidy will have high expectations immediately as Vegas looks to get back into the playoff picture.
Montreal-Vegas Trade: The first notable trade of the summer was made as the Golden Knights dealt winger Evgenii Dadonov to the Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Shea Weber. Or, to be more specific, Weber’s contract. The blueliner has four years left on his deal with a $7.857MM AAV but isn’t expected to play again due to injuries. The move will lock Vegas into LTIR for the foreseeable future but they’re certainly quite comfortable operating in there with how things went this season. Meanwhile, Vegas is able to shed Dadonov’s $5MM cap charge for next season after unsuccessfully moving him to Anaheim at the trade deadline. While his contract was unwanted around the league (Vegas attached a second-rounder to move Dadonov in the failed move with the Ducks), he’ll give the Canadiens some extra depth on the wing and as an expiring contract, it’s possible Montreal could look to flip him with retention closer to the 2023 deadline.
Calling It A Career: Veteran goaltender Carter Hutton isn’t waiting to see if a contract offer materializes in free agency next month as instead, he has decided to retire. This past season was a tough one for the 36-year-old as after signing with Arizona last summer, he suffered a lower-body injury early in the season and as soon as he was ready to return, he went through waivers unclaimed and was traded to Toronto as injury insurance but never suited up with the team. Overall, Hutton had a fairly strong career for an undrafted goaltender, getting into 235 games over parts of 10 NHL seasons with his best year coming with St. Louis in 2017-18 when he led the league in both GAA (2.09) and SV% (.931).
Surgery For Backstrom: Following their playoff exit, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan indicated that Nicklas Backstrom continuing to play through his hip injury would be unsustainable. On Saturday, it was announced that the veteran has undergone hip resurfacing surgery. While no timetable was provided for a return, based on the limited track record of other NHL players who have had the procedure, there’s a very good chance that the 34-year-old could miss the entire season. That’s certainly a big blow for Washington as Backstrom has been a focal point of their attack for 15 years but they will have to approach the 2022-23 season as if he won’t be available.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Washington Capitals
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 Capitals.
It was a tough season on the injury front for Washington with three of their top forwards missing at least 35 games. Despite that, the Capitals remained a top-ten offensive team and were able to get to the playoffs although they were ousted in the first round by Florida. With an aging core, GM Brian MacLellan will have some work to do to keep this group in the playoff hunt as a rebuild isn’t likely in the cards.
Add Short-Term Offensive Talent
The recent news that Nicklas Backstrom has undergone hip resurfacing surgery should open up some LTIR flexibility for Washington. While no firm timetable for a return has been announced, of the handful of players who have had the surgery, the quickest recovery was after an entire season. Accordingly, MacLellan should be comfortable using a good chunk of his $9.2MM AAV on a replacement. But as this hasn’t been termed a career-ending procedure (though it put an end to Ryan Kesler’s career), the Capitals will be limited in terms of what they can do to replace him.
Since the potential exists for Backstrom to play down the road, Washington should be limiting themselves to looking to either acquire a player on an expiring contract or signing a free agent to a one-year deal. In doing so, they’ll be able to free up the cap space to integrate Backstrom back for 2023-24 without any issue and if he can’t return, then they’ll have the flexibility to spend next summer.
Of course, Backstrom’s injury leaves a big hole down the middle and let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of impact centers available on one-year contracts so the Capitals may need to get creative here. Lars Eller can play in the top six in a pinch but isn’t an ideal fit there for a long stretch, nor is Nic Dowd. T.J. Oshie has shifted down the middle to cover for short-term injuries but asking him to do that for a full season would be tough and it’s not as if he’s consistently healthy either. Spending at least part of Backstrom’s money on help at center will be a must for MacLellan.
You might have noticed I haven’t mentioned Tom Wilson here who will be on LTIR as well to start the year. However, since he’s due back a couple of months into the season, the Capitals can’t really do much of anything to replace him outside of recalls although they’ll be able to carry a max-sized roster at least.
Pick A Goalie; Deal A Goalie
When Seattle took Vitek Vanecek in expansion, it looked as if Washington’s decision of who to run with between the pipes had been finalized and that they’d run with Ilya Samsonov moving forward. But a week later, the Capitals reacquired Vanecek and the questions returned. After running that tandem for all of this past season, the questions still remain.
Vanecek’s campaign was practically identical to his rookie year (2.67 GAA, .908 SV% compared to 2.69 and .908, respectively) but his track record is still limited to just 79 games in the regular season. While those numbers are decent, they’re also not starter-level either. Meanwhile, Samsonov saw his numbers get worse for the second straight year (3.02 GAA, .896 SV%, both worse than the league average). That said, Samsonov was a highly-touted first-round pick who has been perceived to have the higher upside of the two even though the results haven’t been there so far.
While it’s possible that the Capitals could opt to bring both goalies back (both are restricted free agents with arbitration rights as well), it feels like the time is right for a chance. Washington was believed to be interested in Marc-Andre Fleury at the trade deadline although making a deal and remaining cap-compliant was next to impossible. But if they were looking for a veteran then and have since suffered another quick playoff exit, it stands to reason they’ll be looking for a veteran upgrade again. If that’s the case, one of Samsonov or Vanecek has to go.
The trade market for goalies rarely yields a significant return although the fact that both are young (Vanecek is 26, Samsonov 25) will help. This is something that they may want to do sooner than later as well. While it’s possible they could wait to see how free agency shakes out to see if there’s a vulnerable team or two, the risk is that if everyone finds alternative options between the pipes, the Capitals could be stuck carrying three goalies into training camp. If they want to avoid that, the choice of who to keep and who to trade will need to be made within the next few weeks before the start of free agency on July 13th.
Round Out The Back End
With Justin Schultz, Matt Irwin, and Michal Kempny all set to hit free agency this summer, there are a couple of slots to fill at the back of Washington’s back end. The emergence of Martin Fehervary helps in that they don’t necessarily have to look for someone that can fill a spot in the top four although it would be a nice luxury if they opt to reallocate some of Backstrom’s money to the blueline.
Assuming none of those three free agents return, there will be a couple of different roles to try to fill. Schultz took a regular turn on the second power play unit and the Capitals don’t have a lot of players that can run the point aside from their top two. Accordingly, one of their two targets to fill out their defense corps should be someone that can play in that role. The other role is Irwin’s, one that he did a good job with. While he didn’t log a lot of special teams time, he was able to play on both sides and that type of flexibility is something that head coach Peter Laviolette certainly covets.
It wouldn’t hurt if at least one of those spots was filled by someone on a multi-year deal either. The list of Washington’s NHL rearguards that are signed beyond 2022-23 starts and ends with John Carlson. It wouldn’t be ideal to be in a situation where the Capitals are trying to rebuild half of their back end or more a year from now so if they can get a bit of stability with their depth options, it would be helpful.
Orlov Extension Talks
To that end, extension talks for Dmitry Orlov should be high on MacLellan’s priority list. The soon-to-be 31-year-old is actually coming off a career season offensively with 12 goals and 35 points but overall, has been quite consistent with his offensive production, averaging between 0.35 and 0.46 points per game over the last seven seasons. It’s pretty safe to pencil him near that rate for a little while longer yet. Orlov has seen his ice time dip a little bit the last couple of seasons but he was just under 21 minutes in 2021-22. Again, it’s pretty safe to pencil him in around the 20-minute mark for a few more years.
That helps set a ballpark price for what an extension should look like. Orlov is a number two defender who, in an ideal world, would drop down a peg over the next few seasons as he gets older. For that type of role at his age, Orlov should be in line for a raise on his current $5.1MM AAV but not a substantial one. While the total AAV will likely depend on the length of the contract (do they work out, say, a six-year deal with the salary in the final season being a little lower to bring the cap hit down?), it should check in somewhere near the $6MM mark. If Washington is comfortable around that range, they should be trying to work something out soon after he’s eligible for an extension in mid-July and ensure that a second key cog of their back end will be around for a while.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Snapshots: Cogliano, Quenneville, Kostin
Colorado might get a veteran back in the lineup tonight as head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin that winger Andrew Cogliano could be an option to return. The 35-year-old underwent hand surgery to repair an injury sustained during the Western Conference Final but returned to practice on Friday and participated in the morning skate today. Cogliano, who leads all Colorado players in terms of the number of playoff games played, has two goals and an assist in 11 games so far this postseason while logging a little more than nine minutes a night of action. If Cogliano is able to return, Nicolas Aube-Kubel may be the one to cede his spot.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- In an appearance on ESPN’s The Point on Friday (video link), commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged that former Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville has expressed a desire to return to the NHL though not for a specific job opening. At the time of Quenneville’s resignation following the findings of the Kyle Beach investigation being released, Bettman indicated that he would “require a meeting in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place”. That meeting probably won’t be coming soon as Bettman added during his appearance that he doesn’t believe that this is the right time to discuss the potential of Quenneville returning to work for a team.
- In his latest reader chat, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that winger Klim Kostin is a likely trade candidate for the Blues this summer. Alexey Toropchenko plays a very similar style as Kostin and is someone that head coach Craig Berube is a fan of, giving Torochenko a leg up for that spot on the lineup. A 2017 first-round pick, Kostin is waiver-eligible next season but could still carry some value after picking up nine points and 90 hits in 40 games with St. Louis this season while also playing a key role for AHL Springfield as the Thunderbirds get set to start the Calder Cup Finals tomorrow.
Blue Jackets Re-Sign Brendan Gaunce
After re-signing Liam Foudy on Friday, the Blue Jackets have taken care of another one of their pending free agents today as they announced the signing of center Brendan Gaunce to a two-year, two-way contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team but Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that he’ll make $750K in the NHL next season and $450K in the minors while in 2023-24, his NHL salary goes up slightly to $775K while the minor league portion remains $450K. There is a guaranteed payout of $475K each season. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement about the 28-year-old:
Brendan is a competitive forward with good size who can play both the center and wing. He played well last season and brings versatility and depth to our forward group.
Gaunce spent the 2020-21 season in Sweden before deciding to return to North America last season where he inked a two-way deal with Columbus. He split this season between Columbus and AHL Cleveland where, as Kekalainen alluded to, he spent time both down the middle and on the wing. With the Blue Jackets, he suited up in 30 games, recording five goals and two assists while averaging just over eight minutes per game. In the minors, Gaunce was considerably more productive, picking up 16 goals and 12 helpers in 39 contests.
Gaunce is likely to play a similar role with Columbus for these next two seasons. He isn’t much of a risk of being claimed off waivers having cleared three times in the past and could play a key role with the Monsters at times. With an AAV of just over $762K, he won’t cost much to keep around at the end of the roster where his versatility will certainly be useful.
Kekalainen still has a lot of work to do this summer as the Blue Jackets still have 15 players whose contracts are set to expire next month, headlined by pending restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Adam Boqvist.
PHR Mailbag: Klefbom, LTIR, Blashill, Top Pick, Miller, Sabres, Predictions, Murray, Cup Final
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the creative usage of LTIR in recent years, Buffalo’s goaltending situation, J.T. Miller’s future with Vancouver, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here and wasn’t about Detroit, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag. If your question was about the Red Wings, watch for that to be covered in a bonus mailbag between now and then.
WilfPaiement: Is there any updated information on Oscar Klefbom? Playing next season? Retiring?
It’s the status quo for the Edmonton blueliner. Klefbom’s shoulder injury still lingers and at this point, there’s no expectation that he’ll be able to resume his NHL career. He certainly won’t be retiring, however. He’s still owed $5.169MM in salary for next season and there’s no way he’s leaving that on the table to do Edmonton a favor. Since his deal is backloaded as well, he’s not as likely of a candidate to be moved to a team looking to do some LTIR shenanigans. Speaking of which…
rickg: Are there any opinions on how teams are using the LTIR for the purpose of adding to the roster to better the team, instead of what the LTIR was intended to be used for as a way to replace an injured player on your roster if your team was maxed out and LTIR allowed the team to go past the high-end cap threshold?
There are few things as confusing in hockey as the inner machinations of LTIR. It might even give ‘What constitutes goalie interference?’ a run for its money at times. I’d say by now that most understand the basics which was what the rule was intended to be but these trades that now see injured players going for value that involve transaction sequencing and precise timing of roster moves takes it to a whole different level, one that is much more confusing and harder to explain.
But even if they’re harder to explain, are stranger on the surface, and can even flat out baffle people, I have no problem with these types of moves. The NHL is a hard cap system that doesn’t have a lot of potential for wiggle room. If teams can find a loophole to exploit, go for it. Use it until enough general managers complain to make it a sticking point in the next CBA discussions. Right now, there isn’t enough of an appetite for trying to close that Pandora’s box.
Does the recent Shea Weber for Evgenii Dadonov trade go against the spirit of the LTIR rule? Of course it does. But if Montreal and Vegas are both happy at the end of the day and the trade fulfills an objective they wanted to achieve, then good on them for finding a way to make something work. At least it made for a good discussion point for a bit of time during a quiet part of the NHL calendar when it comes to off-ice movement.
I’ll mention that this question came in before that trade happened. Perfect timing on your part.
Johnny Z: So, does Blashill have the inside track on the Florida coaching job?
The former Detroit bench boss was linked to the Panthers earlier this month but at this point, it’s hard to see him being the contender for a position that may or may not be available. With reports coming out on Friday that Florida is conducting a rather thorough coaching search and has interviewed several prominent veterans, it’s hard to see Jeff Blashill coming up as the winner in that particular battle should GM Bill Zito opt to go in a different direction from interim head coach Andrew Brunette.
I think Blashill could be a candidate to be an assistant coach with Florida, however, particularly if Brunette retains the job. There are openings to be filled and if you have effectively a first-time head coach running the bench, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone with recent NHL head coaching experience on the staff. Blashill, who doesn’t seem to be a candidate for any of the other openings at the moment, would be a decent fit in that type of role and unlike the prominent veterans, would likely be willing to accept an associate coach position as well. He could wind up in Florida, just not as their next head coach.
ckw: Do you think Shane Wright is going to go first overall and if not, who do you see the Habs taking?
I know there’s a growing sense that Juraj Slafkovsky could ultimately be the number one pick and I can understand the logic behind it. Wright’s season wasn’t up to the admittedly high level of expectations and while Slafkovsky was quiet himself for long stretches, his performance at the Olympics and the Worlds turned some heads. If he can find a way to play at that level consistently, he’s worthy of being the top pick. But that’s a big if. Even so, this doesn’t feel like the type of typical smokescreen you might see at this time of year from the team holding the top pick.
That said, Wright is my expected choice for the Canadiens. Montreal has been chasing center help for basically the better part of two decades now. Even when their NHL depth was good, they didn’t have that true number one. I don’t think Wright is a true number one either but a combination of him and Nick Suzuki for seven years as their top two options is a lot better than what they’ve trotted out in recent years. I have a hard time thinking they can pass on that, especially knowing that their salary cap situation isn’t exactly ideal; it’s not as if they can go out and sign an impact free agent middleman any time soon.
pawtucket: J.T. Miller gets traded. If yes, to what sort of team and for what sort of package. If no, which of Horvat or Boeser goes and to what sort of team and for what sort of package.
I’m going to say yes, Miller does get traded. Is Vancouver really prepared to pay upwards of $8MM per season on a contract that starts at the age of 30 for a player who has only twice reached the 60-point mark? I know he has been much more productive lately but I still see giant red flags when I try to picture that type of contract. Knowing extending Miller would eventually cost Bo Horvat (they can’t afford Elias Pettersson, Miller, and Horvat down the middle), I’d rather take the short-term hit in talent to add some important future assets and gain some much-needed cap flexibility.
As for where, that’s a tough one but I’ll say Los Angeles. Anze Kopitar has two years left on his deal and Miller’s extension wouldn’t start until 2023-24 so there’s only one year of overlap. Kopitar will be in his age-37 season when he signs his next contract so he’ll likely be starting to decline at that time; a new top pivot will be needed. Miller would be a good insurance policy if the likes of Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte don’t pan out as intended (and if they do, affordable short-term surplus center depth is never a bad thing). The Kings have the cap space to bring him in now and have some longer-term flexibility. They also have quality prospects that would make it easier to part with the package it would take.
I’d peg that package as a three-piece deal. The first-round pick (19th overall) next month would be one of them. I’d put Rasmus Kupari in their as a second one, a 22-year-old former first-rounder that could be Vancouver’s cost-controlled 3C of the future; if he pans out, a Pettersson-Horvat (assuming he’d be extended after moving Miller)-Kupari trio would put them in good shape. The other is a prospect and looking at what the Canucks have in their prospect pool, a right-shot defender would be a target. The Kings have a few of those but the one that stands out is Brock Faber, a 2020 second-rounder that’s probably a year away from being pro-ready and plays the type of complementary game that would work well alongside someone like Quinn Hughes.
Atlantic Notes: Campbell, Gaudette, Bruins
Kurt Overhardt, the agent for Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell, told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has held talks with Toronto roughly once a week although, to this point, no numbers have been exchanged between the two sides. He also reiterated that the 31-year-old would like to return to Toronto. Campbell had an up-and-down year, being named to the All-Star Game but also posted a save percentage of just .893 from January on to the end of the season. He’s going to be in line for a sizable raise on the $1.65MM AAV he had for the last two years but the shaky finish certainly won’t help his market. While there are still a few weeks before free agency opens up, the fact neither side has tabled a firm proposal yet throws some uncertainty onto whether or not he’ll be back with the Maple Leafs next season.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Senators are currently undecided on whether or not to tender center Adam Gaudette a qualifying offer next month, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Ottawa claimed the 25-year-old off waivers from Chicago back in November and he chipped in with a dozen points in 50 games the rest of the way, his first real taste of consistent NHL action since the 2019-20 season. His qualifier is only for $1MM but his production in the past (including 33 points in the 19-20 campaign) makes him a bit of a risk for salary arbitration. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the two sides discuss a deal leading up to the tender deadline to see if there’s a fit on a one-year contract that would extend his stay but not push the price tag much higher than their required offer.
- Spencer Carbery is among the candidates for Boston’s head coaching vacancy, reports Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Twitter link). The 40-year-old does have a bit of previous experience with the Bruins having served as an assistant coach with AHL Providence in 2017-18 before Washington hired him to be the head coach in AHL Hershey. Carbery got his first taste of working behind an NHL bench this season when Toronto hired him as an assistant coach last summer.
Offseason Checklist: Minnesota Wild
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 Wild.
This past season was an interesting one for the Wild. They were one of the top scoring teams in the NHL and knowing the cap adventure that lies ahead (more on that shortly), GM Bill Guerin made some moves to add at the deadline in the hopes of a long playoff run. Instead, despite finishing fifth overall in points during the regular season, they were ousted in the opening round by St. Louis. Now, Guerin has some work to do to be able to keep as much of this core together as possible which is the focal point of Minnesota’s checklist.
Free Up Cap Space
It’s not as if Guerin hasn’t known this was going to be at the top of his list at some point. It would have been the case had they not bought out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise and it still is the case with them being bought out as their dead cap charge went up by $4MM for each player. That’s hard for any team to overcome. And that’s not the total charge, that’s just the increase; the total is over $12MM for next season. (If you want to look ahead a year, it goes up by another $1MM each in the 2023 offseason as well; this isn’t just a one-time situation to navigate through.)
At the moment, Minnesota has a little over $7MM in cap space with which to sign multiple forwards, a defenseman, and a second goaltender. That, on its own, might not sound so bad but once you factor in who some of those players are – that list comprises the rest of their checklist – it’s considerably worse.
It’s not as if there are some contracts that are well above market value on their books but $12MM in dead space is going to be very difficult to overcome. A small move or two to free up some extra wiggle room could be the difference in whether they can keep a key player or not. There’s a lot at stake as a result.
Sign Or Trade Fiala
If you read the above and immediately thought of Kevin Fiala, you certainly won’t be alone. The winger has been in trade speculation going back to last summer with this exact situation in mind.
If the two sides would have been able to work out a long-term agreement last summer, that might have been enough to put an end to that speculation. Instead, Minnesota took the rare step of pre-emptively filing for arbitration before eventually settling on a $5.1MM salary for this past season. Fiala then went and had a career year, picking up 33 goals and 52 assists in 82 games, all career highs. Overall, the Wild received really good value on that deal but things are only going to go downhill from here for them.
Fiala is now a year away from unrestricted free agency and while the Wild can’t take him to arbitration again, he can take them to a hearing, get a nice raise from the arbitrator, and hit the open market in 2023 in the prime of his career. A long-term deal could approach the $7.5MM to $8MM range and while Guerin probably wouldn’t mind giving that to him, they’d have to part with another core player to make that happen. At this point, it seems likely that the 25-year-old will be traded.
While Fiala doesn’t have a no-trade clause, he holds the hammer on this front as well. Fiala on a long-term contract has a lot more value than Fiala on a one-year deal. Teams can’t put conditional draft picks in a trade that are dependent on whether or not he signs either. Guerin will need to work hard to get maximum value for Fiala (likely in the form of futures or young roster players) but will also have to work hard with the pending RFA to find a suitor that he’s willing to forego the open market to sign with. There’s a lot of work to do on this front in a short period of time.
Sign Second Goalie
Guerin surprised some with the acquisition of Marc-Andre Fleury at the trade deadline in an effort to give them a second proven veteran goaltender for the playoffs. He was a little better down the stretch than he was with Chicago and that got him most of the playing time against the Blues. While it may have seemed like this was just a short-term pickup, Guerin has expressed a firm desire to keep Fleury around to split time with Cam Talbot next season.
While it’s certainly fair to say that Fleury will get considerably less than the $7MM AAV he had on his expiring contract, he still should have enough interest out there to get half of that price tag. Even if Fiala moves for futures, Minnesota can’t afford Fleury at that price tag. They have two options on that front. One is to try to move a current roster player for someone making less and use those savings to afford Fleury’s new deal. The other is to work out an incentive-laden deal that gives them the ability to roll over the bonuses onto the 2023-24 cap. Of course, with the dead money going up, that’s only pushing the problem over, not fixing it.
If they’re unable to keep Fleury, Guerin will need to be aggressive on the open market for a replacement with Kaapo Kahkonen now in San Jose. Talbot will turn 35 next month and while he’s still a capable NHL goaltender, he’s not someone that can handle 60-plus games next season. They’ll need a fairly strong second option, one that will be able to play 30 or more games. That will put them looking in the high-$2MM/low-$3MM range even if it isn’t Fleury. Jesper Wallstedt is their goalie of the future but he’s a few years away from being NHL-ready. They need to add another NHL option in the meantime over the coming weeks.
Re-Sign Middleton
The player Minnesota received in the Kahkonen trade, defenseman Jacob Middleton, is also in need of a new contract. He’s a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights and is a year away from UFA eligibility. This is one of those situations where finding fair value is going to be a challenge.
Middleton has just 80 career NHL games under his belt, 66 of which came this season. Heading into the year, he was a candidate for a deal around the $1MM range but after a strong showing with both the Sharks and Wild, he’s going to get more. If it gets to an arbitrator, the award could be tricky to pin down because of the limited experience but that doesn’t give Guerin the hammer by any stretch since a low-ball offer could force Middleton to file for arbitration and see what his value is on the open market next summer.
A long-term contract doesn’t seem likely at this point given his limited track record but a deal that buys out a couple of UFA years could be doable. The AAV would likely jump over $2MM in that situation but it would be a justifiable price. Of course, the longer the contract, the harder it will be to fit the other pieces of the puzzle in from a salary cap perspective. Middleton’s case isn’t as prominent as some of the others but it has to stay in the back of Guerin’s mind as he works his way through Fiala’s eventual trade and finding a second netminder.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.