Atlantic Notes: Ryan, Watson, Power, Lazar
Decisions have been made on many of the players who were attending NHL training camps on tryouts but one call that hasn’t been made yet is Red Wings winger Bobby Ryan. The veteran was in Detroit last season but settled for a PTO deal at the beginning of training camp. MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that Ryan has done well enough to earn a spot and could slot into their top six following the long-term injury to Jakub Vrana. While he’s not an ideal fit in that role at this stage of his career, the 34-year-old managed seven goals in 33 games last season and could still contribute a little bit in a middle-six role.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Senators winger Austin Watson suffered an ankle injury in Thursday’s game against Montreal and there is no timetable for his return, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Entering his second season in Ottawa, the 29-year-old was likely to start the season in an energy role once again after recording 100 hits in 34 games last season but that appears to be in question now.
- Postmedia’s Michael Traikos spoke with Sabres top draft pick Owen Power regarding his decision to return to college over signing and debuting with Buffalo this season. Power indicated that he’s “in no rush to get to the NHL” and feels that some young players would be better off being more patient and take an extra year before turning pro. The defenseman will be on a loaded Michigan team this season and could very well wind up seeing some action with the Sabres this season once his college campaign gets to an end.
- Bruins center Curtis Lazar is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, relays Matt Porter of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The 26-year-old crashed into the net in Wednesday’s preseason contest against Washington. While viewed as an afterthought in the Taylor Hall trade last year, Lazar carved out a regular role on Boston’s fourth line, logging nearly 13 minutes a game with Boston following the swap.
Predators Notes: Ekholm, Forsberg, Richards
If the Predators are going to sign defenseman Mattias Ekholm to a contract extension, it certainly seems like the deal will need to be done soon. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported in a recent TSN Insider Trading segment that Ekholm’s camp as informed the team that they intend to stop talks on a new deal if an agreement isn’t reached by the start of the regular season. The 31-year-old hasn’t exactly hidden his desire to stick around so it may seem strange on the surface but it could simply be used as a pressure point to try to push the deal across the finish line. Ekholm is in the final season of a six-year deal with a $3.75MM AAV and will be getting a significant raise on his next contract, whenever it happens to get done.
More from Nashville:
- While Ekholm is well into discussions on his next deal, the same can’t be said for winger Filip Forsberg as his agent J.P. Barry told Adam Vingan of The Athletic (subscription link) that talks on Forsberg’s next deal have yet to begin. The 27-year-old appears to be content to play out his deal, putting Nashville in a bit of a tough spot. The Preds would undoubtedly love to keep him around but at the same time, while they’d like to remain competitive while rebuilding, his departure would probably push them in a longer-term direction so the earlier they know whether or not they can keep him, the better it would be for them.
- The team is hoping that assistant coach Todd Richards could be back behind the bench on opening night, relays Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean. Richards, who joined the Predators a year ago to coach their defense, suffered a heart attack back on October 1st.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Islanders
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2021-22 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
New York Islanders
Current Cap Hit: $85,229,188 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Noah Dobson (one year, $894K)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (two years, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Dobson: $537.5K
Wahlstrom: $537.5K
Total: $1.075MM
Wahlstrom managed to play in 44 regular season games in his rookie campaign despite a whopping 26 assignments to the taxi squad last season. He established himself as a capable secondary scorer and didn’t look out of place in his first taste of playoff action either. Wahlstrom should have a similar role this season if he can overcome a quiet training camp and with New York’s cap situation, it’s unlikely that he will get a long-term deal and unless he cracks the top six, he may be in tough to earn much on the bonus front. A bridge deal that buys them short-term flexibility is expected.
The same can be said for Dobson who was a regular for most of his sophomore year. He is improving but is still likely to be more of a depth player than a core piece in 2021-22 which makes it unlikely that he’d be able to command the type of money to justify a long-term contract or hit most of those bonuses. He’ll be bridged as well.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Sebastian Aho ($725K, RFA)
D Johnny Boychuk ($6MM, UFA)
D Zdeno Chara (terms undisclosed, UFA)
F Cal Clutterbuck ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Andy Greene ($750K, UFA)
D Thomas Hickey ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Ross Johnston ($1MM, UFA)
F Leo Komarov ($3MM, UFA)
F Zach Parise (terms undisclosed, UFA)
D Ryan Pulock ($5MM, UFA)
G Cory Schneider (terms undisclosed, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Greene: $250K
Let’s start with Chara and Parise. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has been quite secretive in contract disclosures so the full terms haven’t come out yet. The expectation is that they’re for the minimum of $750K with some performance bonuses but that hasn’t been confirmed. Schneider’s deal is also unknown but he played for the minimum last season on their taxi squad so it’s likely he signed for that as well. He may not play much – if at all – for the Isles this season but with Ilya Sorokin being waiver-exempt, sending him down and recalling Schneider to dip below their LTIR ACSL is a move we might see at times this season.
Clutterbuck has been a fan favorite for years and is an effective energy forward but for the role he plays, it’s a price tag that’s well above market value. His salary is down to $2.5MM and it wouldn’t be surprising if they try to sign him for a bit below that on a multi-year deal for next season. Komarov was brought in to play a similar role as Clutterbuck but hasn’t had anywhere near as much success. Something closer to the $1MM mark is likely when he hits the open market. Johnston has had a very limited role as one of the few remaining ‘enforcers’ in the league. He’s not that far off the minimum salary but he’ll be hard-pressed to command more than that in free agency.
Pulock was a victim of their cap situation as they weren’t able to afford to sign him long term. That walks the 27-year-old to the open market in the prime of his career (barring an extension, of course). He’d be a legitimate second defenseman on a lot of teams and that will create a strong market for his services where he could tack another couple million onto his current price. Hickey will once again be buried in the minors, clearing $1.125MM off their books and he won’t see a contract near that amount again. Greene will serve as a depth player and all of those bonuses will be hit if he plays in 20 games. Assuming he stays healthy, that should happen. Boychuk will be on LTIR once again as his playing days are over and that is how the Isles will get back into cap compliance.
Two Years Remaining
F Mathew Barzal ($7MM, RFA)
D Scott Mayfield ($1.45MM, UFA)
F Richard Panik ($1.375MM, UFA)*
G Semyon Varlamov ($5MM, UFA)
*-Detroit is retaining another $1.375MM of Panik’s contract
Barzal was also basically forced into a bridge deal, albeit the richest of its kind (at the time) since the Islanders didn’t have the cap room to pay him more than this at the time. He is their top center although his offensive production hasn’t been able to get back to his rookie-season level. He’s subject to the new qualifying offer rules so he’s looking at an offer of $8.4MM (120% of the AAV is lower than his final-season salary) with a long-term pact that buys out UFA years checking in a bit above that. Panik was brought in as a money balancer in the Nick Leddy trade. He’s likely to be a role player (if he makes the team at all; he could be a cap casualty) and it’s likely that his next deal will be closer to the $1MM mark.
Mayfield’s five-year, $7.25MM contract was a head-scratcher at the time considering he didn’t have a lot of experience but he opted for security and he has become quite the bargain for New York, playing his way into their top four for the price of a sixth defender. That should change on his next contract where he should be able to double his current price tag.
Varlamov was signed to be the starter between the pipes but Sorokin’s presence has changed that fairly quickly. With Sorokin being the goalie of the future, Varlamov is likely to be in a platoon role at best. He’s well above average in that role but it is a bit of an overpayment if he winds up in the 35-40-game range.
Three Years Remaining
F Josh Bailey ($5MM, UFA)
F Anthony Beauvillier ($4.15MM, UFA)
F Matt Martin ($1.5MM, UFA)
G Ilya Sorokin ($4MM, UFA)
Bailey hasn’t been able to hover near the point per game mark like he did in 2017-18 but he remains a capable top-six winger and at that price tag, the Isles are getting a pretty good return. He’ll be 35 in the first season of his next contract though which will limit his earnings upside three years from now. Beauvillier’s development has been slow and while he has shown flashes of top-end skill, the production hasn’t been there. This deal basically amounts to a second bridge contract and puts him in a spot to hit unrestricted free agency in his prime but he’ll need to establish himself as a consistent second liner if he wants to land a sizable raise at that time. Martin doesn’t put up many points anymore but provides plenty of physicality. His deal is likely close to what they’d like to do for Clutterbuck next summer while Martin will probably need to take another cut if he wants to re-sign when this deal is up.
Sorokin is someone that the Islanders had to wait a long time for before he came to North America and even after his rookie deal, he still hasn’t had a chance to prove much as he only played in 22 games last season. Still, New York committed a relatively hefty contract for someone with that little experience but it’s also a sign of how much they believe he’s their long-term goalie of the future. This deal gives him a chance to work his way into the number one role with Varlamov still in the fold while giving him an opportunity to earn a much bigger payday three years from now at a time where the Upper Limit should be starting to go up again.
25 Players Clear Waivers
October 3: The New Jersey Devils claimed Mason Geertsen on waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. All other players cleared.
October 2: As expected, it’s another busy day on the waiver wire today as Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter link) that the following 26 players have been placed on waivers:
F Cavan Fitzgerald (CAR)
F Maxim Letunov (CAR)
F Sam Miletic (CAR)
F Andrew Poturalski (CAR)
F Spencer Smallman (CAR)
F Brayden Burke (LA)
D Kale Clague (LA)
F Martin Frk (LA)
D Jacob Moverare (LA)
G Garret Sparks (LA)
F T.J. Tynan (LA)
F Lukas Vejdemo (MTL)
D Mason Geertsen (NYR)
G Antoine Bibeau (SEA)
D Connor Carrick (SEA)
D Cale Fleury (SEA)
D Gustav Olofsson (SEA)
F Tanner Kaspick (STL)
F Matthew Peca (STL)
F Nolan Stevens (STL)
G Maxime Lagace (TB)
C Otto Somppi (TB)
D Daniel Walcott (TB)
F Shane Gersich (WSH)
D Lucas Johansen (WSH)
D Dylan McIlrath (WSH)
A pair of young defensemen stand out among the long list of those available. Clague played in 18 games with the Kings last season, recording six assists while logging over 17 minutes a night. A productive scorer in junior, the 2015 second-rounder hasn’t been able to lock down a regular roster spot in the NHL yet but at 23, it wouldn’t be surprising if a team took a chance on him. Fleury was selected from Montreal in expansion by the Kraken and while he didn’t see any NHL action last season, he played in 41 games with the Canadiens in 2019-20 on their third pairing. With Montreal losing Sami Niku to a concussion on Friday night, they might be interested in a reunion.
Up front, Frk has had some success in limited NHL opportunities, notching six goals in 17 games with the Kings in 2019-20 and had a 25-point season with Detroit in 2017-18. Poturalski led the AHL in scoring last season with 43 points in 44 games with AHL San Diego and had 70-point campaign with Charlotte in 2018-19.
Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on any of these players.
Snapshots: Olympics, Eichel, Cirelli, Knyzhov
While the Olympics are still a few months away, each participating country will have to submit their long list of eligible players on October 15th, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). That list could contain 50 or more players per country with some having more than others. The full squads will be announced at some point in January with the exact date to be determined. At this point, the NHL and NHLPA are discussing whether to do it all in one day or spread it out to add some more buzz. There will be an extended break in the schedule this season to accommodate both the All-Star Game and the Olympics with most teams only having a small handful of games in February as a result.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While it will ultimately cost him some money in the end, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News argues that Sabres center Jack Eichel should ultimately go ahead with the surgery he prefers. He would be suspended, would have to pay for it out of pocket, and wouldn’t be paid while suspended but the risk is lessened since Buffalo almost certainly wouldn’t terminate his contract with how high the asking price in a trade remains. The artificial disc replacement carries a quicker recovery time and as soon as he’s able to show that he’s healthy, it might help the trade process along which is what he ultimately wants.
- Lightning center Anthony Cirelli left Thursday’s exhibition game early due to a lower-body injury and will be out at least one week, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old is coming off a quiet year offensively that saw him put up 22 points in 50 games last season.
- The Sharks are hoping that defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov will be able to start skating next week but his availability for the start of the season is in question, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 23-year-old had sports hernia surgery over the summer after playing through it last season. Knyzhov still managed to play in all 56 games in 2020-21, picking up 10 points while averaging 16:45 per contest.
Minor Transactions: 10/2/21
As players start to sign camp tryouts to catch on with AHL squads, there should be an uptick in transactions on that front over the coming days. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.
- While forward Justin Nachbaur was among Florida’s cuts earlier today, he will be sticking around the Panthers organization as their AHL affiliate in Charlotte announced that they’ve signed him to a minor league deal. The 21-year-old wrapped up his junior career last season with Prince Albert of the WHL, recording nine goals, six assists, and 62 penalty minutes in 22 games. Later on in the day, the Checkers announced (Twitter link) the signing of Ryan Lohin to a one-year, AHL deal. Lohin was recently cut from Seattle’s camp and the Kraken are sharing Charlotte as an affiliate this season. The 25-year-old had 15 points in 25 games with AHL Syracuse last season.
- While the Penguins cut veteran defenseman Matt Bartkowski earlier today, he’ll be sticking around the organization. Their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announced that they’ve signed the 33-year-old to a one-year, minor league contract. Bartkowski has played in at least one NHL game in each of his 11 professional seasons but spent most of last year in the minors with Iowa, collecting eight points in 23 games.
Canadiens Claim Samuel Montembeault Off Waivers
The Canadiens have added to their goaltending depth as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is among those reporting (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed goaltender Samuel Montembeault off waivers from Florida.
The 24-year-old spent last season with Syracuse of the AHL on a split affiliation between the Panthers and Lightning. As a result, he was limited to just 13 games, posting a 2.86 GAA with a .898 SV% in that span. However, Montembeault does have some NHL experience under his belt, playing in 25 contests with Florida between 2018-19 and 2019-20. He started as Florida’s backup in 2019 before Chris Driedger forced his way onto the NHL roster, pushing Montembeault down at that time.
The Canadiens are currently without starting goaltender Carey Price who is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and this move would suggest that Montreal is at least hedging their bets against him not being ready to start the season. As things stand, Montembeault will back up veteran Jake Allen with prospects Cayden Primeau and Michael McNiven likely to be assigned to AHL Laval.
Montembeault is on a one-year, two-way contract that pays $750K in the NHL, $250K in the AHL, and has a guaranteed payment of $350K. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer.
15 Players Clear Waivers
Saturday: Aside from Montembeault who was claimed by Montreal, the other 15 players cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
Friday: While there weren’t quite as many players placed on waivers today compared to Thursday, it’s still a long list. Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter links) that the following players have been put on the waiver wire:
Ben Gleason (DAL)
Joel L’Esperance (DAL)
Zac Dalpe (FLA)
Noah Juulsen (FLA)
Sam Montembeault (FLA)
Kevin Czuczman (MIN)
Joe Hicketts (MIN)
Dakota Mermis (MIN)
Mason Shaw (MIN)
Taylor Fedun (PIT)
Jayden Halbgewachs (SJ)
Joel Kellman (SJ)
Jaycob Megna (SJ)
Nicholas Merkley (SJ)
Teemu Kivihalme (TOR)
James Mirtle of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Hurricanes goaltender Alex Lyon is also on waivers today.
Two of Florida’s players stand out among the group. Juulsen was claimed off waivers by the Panthers from Montreal late in training camp last season but the 26th pick in 2015 was still only limited to four NHL games last season in part due to injury. As for Montembeault, the 24-year-old didn’t see any NHL action last season but has 25 career appearances under his belt and with the way goalies moved around on waivers last season, a claim can’t be ruled out.
Among the others, Merkley had 10 points in 27 games with New Jersey last season before being traded to San Jose over the offseason while Halbgewachs was a top scorer in the WHL several years ago and has had some success so far in the minors. Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Saturday to place a claim.
Meanwhile, Johnston adds (Twitter link) that all 21 players that were on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed.
Injury Updates: Backstrom, Kravtsov, Boeser, Senators
While Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom doesn’t want to rule out the possibility that he’s available for Washington’s season opener, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports that all signs point to the veteran not being available when the regular season gets underway. Backstrom is dealing with a hip injury, the same side that he had surgery on in 2015 and is hopeful to start skating soon. The Caps don’t have the cap space to carry a full 23-man roster so this could put them in a bit of a tight squeeze to start the season. It could, however, create an opening for youngster Connor McMichael to break camp in a top-six role, at least in the short term. Backstrom would need to miss three weeks and ten games to be eligible for LTIR relief.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov left Friday’s game after the first period due to a lower-body injury but it’s not believed to be a serious one, head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters including Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Kravtsov had four points in 20 games last season after coming over from the KHL and is expected to have a regular role in their lineup in 2021-22.
- Canucks winger Brock Boeser will miss at least a week due to an undisclosed injury, relays Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. He was a full participant in practice on Wednesday but hasn’t skated since. With still more than a week left until the start of the regular season, Boeser should be ready to go on opening night as long as there aren’t any setbacks along the way.
- Senators defenseman Victor Mete suffered a minor injury in Friday’s victory over Montreal and while he was supposed to play tonight as well, that won’t be the case, notes Ian Mendes of The Athletic (Twitter link). There’s no word regarding the nature of the injury. Meanwhile, Mendes adds in a separate tweet that prospect Parker Kelly is undergoing further evaluation for an upper-body injury that he suffered last night and that they’re hoping for more information on how long he might be out for on Sunday.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2021-22 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
New York Rangers
Current Cap Hit: $72,103,969 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Morgan Barron (two years, $925K)
F Adam Fox (one year, $925K)
F Kaapo Kakko (one year, $925K)
F Vitali Kravtsov (one year, $925K)
F Alexis Lafreniere (one year, $925K)
D Nils Lundkvist (three years, $925K)
D K’Andre Miller (two years, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Barron: $850K
Fox: $850K
Kakko: $2.65MM
Kravtsov: $850K
Lafreniere: $2.85MM
Lundkvist: $850K
Miller: $350K
Total: $9.25MM
Kakko’s first two seasons haven’t gone particularly well as he hasn’t been able to produce with much consistency. That can certainly change but at this point, a shorter-term second contract seems likelier than a long-term pact while the bulk of those bonuses won’t be met. Lafreniere’s rookie campaign was similar to Kakko’s and he is one of New York’s big wild cards heading into this season. A strong sophomore year could put him in position to meet most of his ‘A’ bonuses at least, totaling $850K though the ‘B’ bonuses remain unlikely. Kravtsov had a good season in the KHL but was relatively quiet in his first taste of NHL action. Now only a year away from his second contract, a bridge deal should be forthcoming. Barron may wind up also seeing action in AHL Hartford but if he winds up being a regular, he’s likely not going to be able to hit most of his ‘A’ bonuses.
Fox, the Norris Trophy winner, is on quite the bargain of a contract. His sophomore season was a dominant one and it’s safe to say he’ll be using some of the recent contracts for Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen (eight years, $8.45MM AAV) and Colorado’s Cale Makar (six years, $9MM AAV) as comparables. As long as he stays healthy, he should hit all of his ‘A’ bonuses. Miller is likely to have a similar role on New York’s back end this season which should give him a shot at two or three of his ‘A’ bonuses while setting him up for a nice second contract though nowhere near what Fox’s will be. Lundkvist is expected to contend for a regular role but if they ease him in, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to hit most of his bonuses.
There’s more emphasis on bonuses here than usual for a reason. While the Rangers are more than $9MM under the cap, that doesn’t factor in bonuses. Knowing that several million of those bonuses are likely to be hit, their effective cap space is lower unless they want to face an overage penalty in 2022-23 which would not be a wise idea if it can be avoided.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Sammy Blais ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Julien Gauthier ($775K, RFA)
G Alexandar Georgiev ($2.425MM, RFA)
D Libor Hajek ($874K, RFA)
F Ryan Strome ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Mika Zibanejad ($5.35MM, UFA)
All eyes are on Zibanejad as what happens with him will greatly affect their plans moving forward. If they lock him up to a long-term extension which could cost upwards of $10MM based on his current asking price, it’s going to take them out of the mix for adding down the middle. On the flip side, if they don’t re-sign the 28-year-old, they’ll be entering next summer with a significant void down the middle to try to fill if they aren’t able to trade for a certain Buffalo center by then. For the time being, Zibanejad is a number one pivot that’s being paid like a number two center which is a great bargain for the Rangers but that is going to change before next season one way or the other.
New York reportedly gave consideration to non-tendering Strome in the 2020 offseason before signing him to this deal and he responded with a career year. Part of that is playing with a top winger but another showing like that will give him a lot more leverage than he’s accustomed to having as he enters the UFA market for the first time. Blais was brought in to give the team some more grit but he will need to produce more offensively if he wants to get much more than his $1.6MM qualifying offer. Gauthier managed to earn a spot on the fourth line for a good chunk of last season but will need to bring something offensively to the table. He has produced at the lower levels but two goals in 47 career games isn’t going to help his cause for a new deal.
Georgiev has seen his save percentage dip each season which is never a good sign while he is now firmly entrenched as the backup. His $2.65MM qualifying offer may be a bit high for what they’ll be able to afford next season so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in trade speculation again. With the going rate for a good backup, Georgiev’s next deal should come in only a bit higher than his qualifier unless he has a big platform year.
Two Years Remaining
F Filip Chytil ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Ryan Reaves ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Jarred Tinordi ($900K, UFA)
The Rangers drafted Chytil hoping that he would eventually fill a role down the middle. That could still happen but so far, he has primarily been on the wing while his production has largely been limited so far. Still just 22, that could change between now and 2023 where he’ll be owed a $2.6MM qualifying offer. He’ll need to improve his offensive output to have a shot at earning a bigger raise beyond his qualifier. Reaves is high-paid for the limited minutes he plays but players like him are always in demand. He’ll be 36 when his one-year extension is up and at that point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be looking at a raise.
Tinordi has taken a long time to get to the NHL but a good showing in the second half of last season allowed him to land a two-year, one-way commitment on the open market. If he can hold down a regular spot on the third pairing each season, he’ll have a shot at a bigger deal in 2023 but if he winds up being more of a depth player as he typically has been, this is about as high as his salary will get.
Three Years Remaining
D Ryan Lindgren ($3MM, RFA)
D Patrik Nemeth ($2.5MM, UFA)
Lindgren moved into a regular top-four role for the first time last season and handled the extra responsibility well, earning him this three-year bridge deal that allows both sides to reassess before he gets to the open market. Owed a $3.6MM qualifying offer (120% of the AAV is lower than the final-year salary), Lindgren will need to do more at the offensive end if he wants to get more than that. Stay-at-home defenders can provide value still but at a lower price point than more offensive counterparts. Nemeth is a good example of that. He was in Detroit’s top four for most of the last two seasons (plus a short stint on Colorado’s third pairing) but while he’s steady in his own end, his market value is capped by a lack of production.