COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/23/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
St. Louis – David Perron, Nathan Walker
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
The Blues were able to get Jake Walman off the list on Friday and he was making his NHL playoff debut on the third pairing for St. Louis today in their loss to Colorado. With their season coming to an end with a 5-2 loss to the Avs, this may be the end of Perron and Walker appearing on this list as only teams that are still participating in the playoffs are listed on a daily basis.
Snapshots: Staal, Mukhamadullin, Peterka, Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and despite the tough year that Detroit had, he isn’t ruling out a return. The veteran told reporters, including Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News, that he enjoyed the change of scenery from New York and that he’d be open to returning. Regardless of where he winds up, the 34-year-old will be facing a steep pay cut from the $5.7MM AAV on his now-expiring contract. Staal averaged 18:25 per night on the back end and acknowledged that he may be interested in playing with one of his brothers; Jordan remains under contract in Carolina while Eric will be an unrestricted free agent as well after playing out the playoffs with Montreal.
More from around the league:
- Devils prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin underwent successful shoulder surgery and should be ready to play next season, relays Corey Masisak of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was the 20th pick back in October and had a regular role with Salavat Yulaev of the KHL while notching 10 points in 39 games. He has one more year left on his deal overseas with Masisak adding that New Jersey expects to sign the defenseman at the conclusion of his 2021-22 campaign.
- Sabres associate GM Jason Karmanos had high praise for prospect J.J. Peterka, telling Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that had Pittsburgh (where he worked previously) been able to secure a first-rounder last fall, they’d have picked Peterka with that selection. Buffalo wound up nabbing him early in the second round and the 19-year-old had a strong season split between Munchen in Germany and Salzburg in Austria while being dominant at the World Juniors with ten points in five games.
- After being cancelled due to the pandemic, Corey Pronman of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Hlinka Gretzky Cup could still happen this summer somewhere in Europe, albeit without Canada’s participation. The under-18 tournament is typically the first event on the calendar for draft-eligible prospects and typically features eight countries.
PHR Mailbag: Player Safety, Compliance Buyouts, Kessel, Summer Shakeups, Predators, Flyers, Officiating
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the Department of Player Safety, the possibility of compliance buyouts, a creative Arizona trade idea, teams that could be heading for a sizable shakeup, Nashville’s regular season struggles, Philadelphia’s offseason, and NHL officiating. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag.
pawtucket: How would you fix the Department of Player Safety and its obvious flaws and inconsistencies?
When it comes to its flaws, I’m not sure everyone in the league and the NHL Players Association necessarily sees it that way. I’m not going to weigh in on the Tom Wilson incident which is what I suspect led to this question aside from noting that the view of general managers who were willing to speak off the record about it was hardly unanimous. I’m fairly confident the same can be said of the players as well. If someone wants to see stiffer discipline handed out, there is someone else who likes things the way there are now. That makes meaningful changes hard to accomplish.
The fine system has largely been ridiculed given its lack of teeth but that’s how both sides (the NHL and NHLPA) seem to want it. The threshold for levying a fine without a disciplinary hearing is $5K and is collectively bargained (Section 18 for anyone who wants to look up the details). That’s why most fines have been for that amount; it’s the most they can give without calling a hearing. It can actually be higher (up to $15K for multiple fines in a 12-month period) but a hearing would have to happen each time. If they want it to be higher, it needs to be agreed upon in the CBA. They just extended the CBA and didn’t touch it. Until a large percentage of players and league executives believe things need to change, they’re not going to change.
As to what I might change? That’s a hard one as the ideas I have certainly have flaws to them but here they are. Having an independent party make the decision could be more objective than an NHL employee but that would cost more money and chances are, the league would be more hesitant to refer matters to that independent person which would mean even more of the current system. Maybe some sort of panel makes a ruling – one with a league representative, an NHLPA representative, and one other party (perhaps a former player). Each makes their ruling and the suspension or fine becomes the average or median amount of those three. I’ll admit, that’s not a great system either but in terms of changes that I can think of, those are the ones that come to mind.
Joe422: With so many teams up against the salary cap… is there any chance the league allows a compliance buyout this offseason? And if yes, we know Ladd, Neal, etc will be bought out but what surprise names could we see?
If there was going to be a compliance buyout that was allowed, it would have been last year when teams were caught off guard by the cap flattening out instead of continuing to increase. Everyone has now had a season to operate under the new system and have signed contracts knowing what the new economic reality is. And while there are some large-market, cap-strapped teams that would welcome the ability for a cap-exempt buyout, there are others that want to see those teams suffer, for lack of a better term. I’d be surprised if one was allowed this summer.
But, just for fun, a name that came to mind that might be viewed as a surprise when I saw this question was Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky. He has not fared well with the Panthers; a .902 SV% wasn’t what they were expecting when they gave him $10MM a year for seven years. They have Spencer Knight who is their goalie of the future. Clearing Bobrovsky’s deal off the books would also allow them to be able to afford to re-sign pending UFA Chris Driedger, bring in a veteran backup/platoon option, and still come out with cap and real dollar savings. GM Bill Zito isn’t the GM who gave Bobrovsky the contract so there’s no situation where the GM isn’t willing to admit his mistake – it was Dale Tallon who made it.
The Mistake of Giving Eugene Melnyk a Liver Transplant: Could Arizona expose Phil Kessel for the draft, then give up an asset to trade to get him back after the $5MM signing bonus has been paid?
Technically, this is legal, sort of. In the Vegas draft, teams were allowed to trade back for the players that they lost and a few of those teams went down that road but couldn’t work something out. However, as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic noted back in 2017 (Twitter link), it can’t be part of a pre-arranged transaction. Assuming that the purpose of this is to have Seattle repay Kessel’s July 1 signing bonus to Arizona (which is how it technically would work), that certainly feels like a pre-arranged transaction. They’d have to get a little creative as a result.
For a deal to not appear as pre-arranged, some time would need to elapse before Arizona would re-acquire Kessel. I’m thinking a couple of months or more with the deal coming just before (or during) training camp. By then, the Coyotes could plausibly argue that they were unable to replace him in free agency or the trade market and having had time to re-assess their team, now believe that they need to bring him back (and would be paying a fairly significant cost to do so). Is losing a good pick/prospect or two and potentially drawing the ire of the league worth saving $5MM in costs? Even with their financial situation, I’m not sure they’d see it that way but I like the creative thinking.
MoneyBallJustWorks: What teams if they are eliminated in Round 1 can you see making big changes this offseason?
For example, if Edmonton is eliminated in Round 1, do they shake up their core outside of Leon, Connor and Darnell?
Edmonton certainly seems like the obvious choice to be bolder in their team building. The forward depth isn’t the greatest which is a by-product of having players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on their roster. Their defense isn’t elite by any stretch either. I don’t think they’d move one of McDavid, Draisaitl, or Darnell Nurse but I don’t think there would be many untouchables beyond those three either. If they go down to Winnipeg with the offense continuing to sputter, GM Ken Holland will have a hard time justifying keeping things the way they are now.
Washington also stands out as a possibility and with them down 3-1 to Boston, them losing also stands out as a possibility. It has been a weird year for them and it certainly feels like Evgeny Kuznetsov’s time with them could be in jeopardy. Any time a center of his caliber becomes available, that’s shaking up the core. If they wind up exposing and losing T.J. Oshie to Seattle as some have speculated, that would be another big change to their core group.
Gbear: Despite getting into the playoffs, the Predators have been awful at shot suppression, shot creation and special teams throughout John Hynes’ tenure as coach. Is merely squeezing into the playoffs reason to allow him to keep his job in Nashville?
Related to that, it would seem that if any team needed to make a play for Jack Eichel, it would be Nashville. Would it not be reasonable for GM Poile to offer up two first-rounders, and any of their prospects not named Tomasino or Farrance for him?
Speaking of a team that could try to shake things up with a first-round exit, Nashville would certainly qualify as well. They’ve been sputtering for a while now and it’s clear the composition of players they have don’t work in terms of maximizing their individual talents. A swap of high-priced underachievers is one of the ways that teams can make moves without creating cap problems as long as the deals are similarly priced and the Predators look like a prime candidate to do that.
The hiring of Hynes was a little surprising at the time and frankly was underwhelming as nothing he had done in New Jersey suggested he was a ‘must-hire before anyone else gets a chance to get him’ coach. But it wouldn’t be fair to just lay it at his feet as the core wasn’t exactly doing much under Peter Laviolette either. I think it’s more of a roster composition issue than a coaching one at this point. And for what it’s worth, Hynes has only been behind the bench for 84 regular season games, barely one full season. Coaches, especially ones that they moved quickly to get like they did, typically get a longer leash than that, playoff success or not.
As for targeting Eichel, sure, they’d be wise to show interest in him. However, the cost to get a franchise player is going to be considerably higher than a couple of first-round picks that will be near the middle of the round and some prospects that aren’t at the top of their pool. Eichel will be looked at in more detail next week but if Buffalo isn’t getting elite talent in return, they shouldn’t be moving him. That package isn’t going to yield elite talent.
International Notes: Kaskisuo, Iskhakov, Weise
Predators goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo has been on an NHL contract for the past five seasons but only has two career appearances at the top level to this point of his career. As he’s set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, it appears some international opportunities will be presenting themselves; Leksand (SHL) GM Thomas Johansson told SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson that they are considering going after the 27-year-old for next season. Kaskisuo was Nashville’s taxi squad goaltender this season and made just a single appearance lasting 15 minutes while not getting any AHL time so at this point, simply going somewhere where he will have a chance to play would certainly be appealing.
Elsewhere around the international hockey world:
- Islanders prospect Ruslan Iskhakov opted to turn pro last season after spending two seasons at the University of Connecticut but instead of signing with New York, he went overseas and played in Finland. Despite finishing tied for third in scoring with TPS Turku with 38 points in 54 games, the 2018 second-rounder is on the move again and once again, it’s not to New York. Instead, Adler Mannheim of the DEL announced that they’ve signed the 20-year-old to a one-year deal for next season. It’s worth noting that the Isles only hold his rights through August 15, 2022, so if he doesn’t sign with them for next season, he’ll become a free agent.
- After not playing this season, it appears as if winger Dale Weise is set to resume his career. Svensson reports in a separate column that the veteran has agreed to terms with IK Oskarshamn of the SHL with an official announcement expected in the next few days. The 32-year-old is a veteran of 513 career NHL games across five separate organizations and became a free agent last fall after his contract with Montreal was not renewed.
Two Players Fined By Department Of Player Safety
After levying an eight-game suspension to Colorado’s Nazem Kadri on Friday night, the Department of Player Safety was busy on Saturday morning, announcing (Twitter links) a pair of fines as Hurricanes center Jordan Staal and Capitals winger Anthony Mantha are both $5K lighter in the wallet. As always, the money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Staal was fined for a trip on Nashville winger Luke Kunin during the second period where his right leg caught the back of Kunin’s left leg, causing him to fall backwards onto the ice. A minor penalty was assessed on the play. Meanwhile, Mantha was fined for goaltender interference on Boston’s Tuukka Rask. The incident occurred in the third period when he skated unimpeded into the crease, colliding with the netminder. Again, a minor penalty was called.
There was one other incident of note from the Boston-Washington game when a high hit from Dmitry Orlov injured Boston’s Kevan Miller, sending him to the hospital. NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin reports (Twitter link) that Miller spent the night in the hospital but has since been charged while Samantha Post of the Washington Post tweets that there will be no supplementary discipline forthcoming for Orlov.
North Notes: Giordano, Sutter, Senators Arena
Mark Giordano has been a fixture on Calgary’s back end for well over a decade and has gone from a role player to a top-line fixture while taking over as their captain. However, Seattle’s expansion draft is on the horizon and the Flames could be inclined to protect players that are going to be around a little longer than the 37-year-old in Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev who all have at least three years left on their respective deals. Accordingly, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis suggests that Giordano would be a viable target for the Kraken who would be able to afford the $6.75MM on his deal for next season where he’d be a valuable mentor (and perhaps a late-season trade chip). For his part, Giordano acknowledged that “there are certain situations where you have to be an adult about it and know there are certain things that have to happen”, suggesting that he seems to see the writing on the wall.
More from the North Division:
- Canucks center Brandon Sutter’s preference is to re-sign with Vancouver this offseason, notes Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 32-year-old certainly hasn’t lived up to the $4.375MM cap hit on the deal he signed after joining Vancouver but he can still be an effective role player, scoring nine goals this season while winning 55.5% of his faceoffs. A significant pay cut is coming one way or another but given his fit on the team, it’s understandable that Sutter may want to stick around.
- Ottawa’s arena situation has been a concern for a few years now after the LeBreton Flats development fell through but it has been off the radar lately. However, team owner Eugene Melnyk indicated in a recent appearance on the Bob McCown Podcast (audio link) that he’s hoping to commit to a new plan within the next few years. His preference is to stay in Kanata but he indicated an openness to considering Gatineau, Quebec as a potential fallback.
Latest On John Tavares
Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas met with the media to provide an update on center John Tavares who suffered a concussion in a scary collision with Montreal’s Corey Perry in the opening game of their first-round series on Thursday night. The good news is that he was cleared of all structural damage to his head, neck, and spine, relays Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).
However, in addition to the concussion, Dubas revealed that Tavares also suffered a sprained MCL on the play, Johnston tweets. That carries a minimum recovery time of two weeks although the concussion will certainly keep him out longer. When asked about that potential timeline, Dubas was non-committal for when his captain might return (via TSN’s Kristen Shilton):
We have to be very careful and keep in mind he has a young family and there’s an onus on us to protect his future in that regard.
The important thing is that he was discharged from the hospital early on Thursday and has avoided any serious structural injuries but Toronto will be without their captain for the foreseeable future as they look to try to put together a long playoff run. The second game of their series against the Canadiens goes tonight.
Colorado Recalls Eight Players
With Colorado’s AHL team falling 5-1 to San Jose in Wednesday’s play-in game, the Avalanche have made their end-of-season recalls to join their ‘Black Aces’. Per CapFriendly, the following players have been brought up from the Eagles:
Goalies: Justus Annunen, Adam Werner
Defensemen: Kyle Burroughs, Keaton Middleton
Forwards: Martin Kaut, Sampo Ranta, Miikka Salomaki, T.J. Tynan
The majority of these players likely won’t see any action for the Avs during the postseason barring a rash of injuries but will continue to skate to stay in playing shape unless they’re called upon. Three of the eight – Burroughs, Middleton, and Kaut – saw NHL action this season with Burroughs being the only one to record a point, notching an assist in five games. Among the others, Annunen and Ranta are two of their better prospects but are highly unlikely to suit up and are just up for the experience.
Tynan was one of the top scorers in the AHL this season, averaging an assist per game while picking up eight goals in 27 contests. Among players who played in at least 20 games this season, his 1.30 points per game average was the best in the league. Salomaki has the most NHL experience among the group with 167 appearances spread across six seasons with Nashville but hasn’t yet had an opportunity to suit up for Colorado.
Injury Updates: Miller, Hintz, Arvidsson, Tanev
Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller was taken to hospital for scans and further evaluation following an injury sustained on a hit from Washington blueliner Dmitry Orlov in tonight’s Game Four, the team announced (Twitter link). A video of the hit can be seen here. Orlov was initially given a major penalty on the play but it was subsequently dropped to a double-minor before play resumed.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- Stars forward Roope Hintz has undergone successful surgery to repair his left adductor tendon that was injured back in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, relays Saad Yousuf of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old was basically a game-time decision for the majority of the season and while he did miss 15 games, he was still quite strong offensively, notching a career-high 43 points while finishing third in scoring for Dallas. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp in the fall and considering the year he had while playing injured, there is certainly cause for optimism for him finding another level offensively next season.
- Predators winger Viktor Arvidsson was a late scratch in their third game against Carolina with the team announcing (Twitter link) that he’s dealing with an upper-body injury. He was fifth in scoring this season for Nashville with 25 points in 50 games and is listed as day-to-day. Calle Jarnkrok, who missed Game Two with an illness, took Arvidsson’s place in the lineup.
- Flames defenseman Chris Tanev has had tough luck with injuries over the years and while he played in all 56 games this season, it turns out he was far from healthy. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson notes that the blueliner was dealing with a pair of broken ribs and a torn pectoral muscle by the end of the year but preferred to stay in the lineup and play through it rather than get an early start to his offseason. Tanev’s first year in Calgary was a good one as he was able to adapt to playing a bigger role in the lineup (he was second in ATOI among Flames defenders) and while he clearly wasn’t healthy, he didn’t miss a game for the second straight year.
Offseason Checklist: Columbus Blue Jackets
The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league finished up after missing the playoffs. It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Columbus.
After eliminating Toronto in the Qualifying Round last season, there was supposed to be a bit of momentum for the Blue Jackets heading into 2020-21. However, that was quickly derailed by a trade request from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Gustav Nyqvist being ruled out for the season before it even began. Things basically only went downhill from there and instead of being in the mix for a playoff spot, they will be picking much higher in the draft than they wanted to. Now two years removed from their all-in push, GM Jarmo Kekalainen and the recently re-hired John Davidson have a lot of work to do this offseason to retain and supplement their new core.
Find A New Coach
Let’s get the easy one out of the way. Columbus has a vacancy behind the bench following the recent parting of ways between them and John Tortorella whose contract was not renewed. (On top of that, Brad Shaw, one of their assistant coaches, won’t be back either.)
As coaching cycles tend to alternate between tougher coaches and ones viewed as more of ‘players’ coaches’, it would seem that Kekalainen would be seeking someone in the latter category. The GM has already expressed an openness to hiring a first-time NHL head coach or someone who has held that title before so they’ll be casting a wide net.
One element Kekalainen will likely try to focus on is finding a coach who is going to play a more up-tempo system. Columbus struggled mightily in the offensive zone this season and while part of that is simply a lack of offensive firepower, some of the better forwards they had are coming off of tough seasons. Finding someone who can get more out of those players would certainly help their cause.
Extensions For Defensemen
While Columbus has seen their forward core get progressively weaker the past couple of years, that hasn’t been the case on the back end as their two stalwarts – Seth Jones and Zach Werenski – remain with the team. Both of them are signed for next season already but that’s it. As a result, they’ll be eligible to sign contract extensions once the 2021-22 calendar officially begins in July and Kekalainen will undoubtedly be looking to get new deals done with both of them.
Jones needs to be the priority of the two given his expiration status as he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of next season. His offensive numbers have dipped the last couple of years but he still managed to put up five goals and 23 assists in 56 games while averaging more than 25 minutes a night for the third straight year. He’s a legitimate top-pairing defenseman and will be in line for a significant raise on his current $5.4MM AAV. At 26, he’s in the prime of his career and should be able to command a max-term contract of eight years. He won’t come close to the highest-paid blueliners in the league but something in the $8MM range would appear to be doable.
As for Werenski, he will be a restricted free agent with another year of team control but that will already carry a premium price as his qualifying offer jumps to $7MM despite a $5MM AAV. It’s not that the price tag is daunting at that level but if you’re Werenski, it wouldn’t be worth accepting less than that on an extension knowing that much is already locked in for 2022-23. He is the better offensive player than Jones but isn’t as good in his own end and doesn’t play quite as much. However, he’s also in the prime of his career and is a viable top pairing player so he should be able to command a similar price tag as Jones.
While deals in that range would represent a substantial increase in cost, it’s one that they’d be wise to pay. That’s a strong defensive core to build around and they don’t even have $21MM in salary commitments for 2022-23; they have one of the cleanest cap situations in the league for that year. They can afford to do it.
New Deal For Laine
The trade of Dubois to Winnipeg brought back two forwards. One wound up finishing tied for second in team scoring while the other struggled offensively. Patrik Laine was supposed to become the go-to scorer for the Blue Jackets but instead, it was Jack Roslovic who thrived while Laine struggled considerably. He had just 10 goals in 45 games with his new team and while those numbers are certainly lower due to the pandemic-shortened season, it’s still worth noting that it was only an 18-goal pace over a full 82-game campaign. For someone that had at least 30 in each of his first three NHL seasons and played at a similar pace when COVID-19 put an early end to the 2019-20 campaign, that’s a substantial drop.
From Laine’s perspective, it was also an untimely one as the 23-year-old will be a restricted free agent this summer. This was supposed to be the year that helped him earn a long-term, lucrative contract. But after a year like this, there will definitely be questions about how much a deal that buys out several UFA years should cost.
At a minimum, we can comfortably say it will cost at least $7.5MM. With his bridge deal being backloaded, that’s the minimum required qualifying offer and while Laine didn’t have a season worthy of that level of production, there’s no way they’re non-tendering him. Has he done enough to earn more than that though? Is he willing to sign a long-term deal for that amount, even in this flat-cap market? Is he willing to sign a long-term deal in Columbus? (His comments at the end of the season seemed to suggest he would.) Is Kekalainen willing to do that type of contract or would he prefer a one-year pact to see how he fits in with a new coach and a new system?
There are undoubtedly plenty of questions, certainly more than either side would have hoped for when the trade was made. With Laine having arbitration eligibility this summer, they will have to be answered somewhere around the middle of August at the latest.
Add Impact Center
If this sounds like a familiar headline when it comes to Columbus, it’s because it is. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets, it’s an even bigger issue now.
Kekalainen tried to address the issue last summer when he brought in Max Domi from Montreal. While he was coming off of a down season, he was only a year removed from a 72-point season so there was optimism that he’d be able to bounce back. A one-two punch of Dubois and Domi wouldn’t challenge for the best in the league but there seemed to be some legitimate offensive upside there. Except that didn’t happen. Dubois wanted out and was eventually obliged while Domi struggled even more than a year ago, putting up the lowest per-game numbers of his career while collecting just 24 points in 54 games. To make matters worse, he spent time on the wing as well.
Now, their one-two punch is Roslovic, a player who had mostly been a winger in the NHL before getting to Columbus and Domi. Boone Jenner is a capable third liner while Alexandre Texier has top-six upside but hasn’t put it all together. There’s a case to be made here that they could use two impact centers but in a free agent market where there aren’t many available, that would be tough to do. It may have to come from a trade but another notable addition down the middle is certainly required.
Pick A Goalie
The good news is that the Blue Jackets have a good goalie tandem in Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins. It’s a homegrown duo and they combine for a $6.8MM cap hit which is the league median. They don’t even have to worry about losing one to Seattle in expansion as Merzlikins is exempt having just come off his second NHL season.
The bad news is that both goalies are set to become unrestricted free agents next summer. Speculatively, it stands to reason that neither of them will be content with being in a platoon beyond that as both have aspirations of being a starting goalie. Both of them have shown flashes of that already. At some point over the next year or so, they need to pick who they want to keep.
Having said that, the in-season trade market for rental goalies has been minimal for years now. That probably isn’t going to change next year. Accordingly, Kekalainen’s best chance at extracting reasonable value for one of them on the trade front would be over the next couple of months before money starts to be spent in free agency. To that end, in his end-of-season media availability with reporters including Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets’ team site, Merzlikins indicated that he’s expecting an uncertain summer with it seeming unlikely that both goalies will be content with the current situation.
As a result, that pick of who is going to be their goalie of the future may have to come sooner than later and could be dependent simply on if one is willing to sign now versus preferring to wait things out. It’s certainly shaping up to be a very busy offseason for Columbus.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.