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Avalanche Make Four Roster Moves

December 28, 2024 at 7:29 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

It was a busy day for the Avalanche on top of their trade with Nashville earlier today.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have loaned defenseman John Ludvig to AHL Colorado on a conditioning assignment while also assigning forward Givani Smith to the Eagles.  Meanwhile, the Avs also recalled defenseman Keaton Middleton and winger Jere Innala from the Eagles, per the AHL’s transactions log.

Ludvig was claimed on waivers back in October but playing time has been hard to come by as he has been limited to just eight games so far.  He has a pair of assists and 16 hits while averaging just under 13 minutes a night.  Ludvig has only played three times since November 10th and hasn’t suited up once since December 5th so he’ll be well-served getting some game action in with the Eagles.  The conditioning assignment can last up to two weeks.

As for Smith, he was acquired earlier this month from San Jose after he cleared waivers.  Since then, he has gotten into seven games, bringing his season total to 13.  For the season, the 26-year-old doesn’t have a point while adding 18 penalty minutes and 20 hits in a little over six minutes a night of playing time.  He can only play in three more NHL games before needing to pass through waivers again.

Middleton and Innala, meanwhile, were reassigned to the minors before the holiday break, allowing the Avs to save some money (though not bank cap space since they’re in LTIR).  Middleton has nine blocks and 13 hits in nine games so far while Innala has been held off the scoresheet in his first three NHL appearances.

AHL| Colorado Avalanche| Transactions Givani Smith| Jere Innala| John Ludvig| Keaton Middleton

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Hurricanes Recall Ty Smith; Shayne Gostisbehere Out With Upper-Body Injury

December 28, 2024 at 6:28 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Hurricanes had recalled defenseman Ty Smith on five separate occasions earlier in the season but he never got into a game.  It turns out the sixth time will be the charm.  Earlier today, the team announced that they once again promoted Smith from AHL Chicago.  However, they also revealed (Twitter link) that blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere was scratched for tonight’s game against New Jersey due to an upper-body injury.

Smith was acquired by Carolina last season at the trade deadline as part of the Jake Guentzel trade but hadn’t suited up for the Hurricanes before tonight.  The 24-year-old has played in 13 games with the Wolves so far this season, collecting three goals and seven assists.  Smith has 123 career NHL appearances under his belt between New Jersey and Pittsburgh but last saw action at the top level in January 2023.

As for Gostisbehere, he has been quite productive in his return to Carolina after signing a three-year, $9.6MM contract he signed back in July.  Through 35 games, he has six goals and 21 assists while logging 19 minutes a night.  He leads all Hurricanes blueliners in scoring while sitting third in points overall among all Carolina players so his absence will certainly be notable.  The team didn’t reveal any potential timeline for his absence.

AHL| Carolina Hurricanes| Injury| Transactions Shayne Gostisbehere| Ty Smith

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Golden Knights Make Three Roster Moves

December 27, 2024 at 5:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Golden Knights have made a trio of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against San Jose.  SinBin.Vegas relays (Twitter link) that center Nicolas Roy has been placed on injured reserve, opening a roster spot for defenseman Ben Hutton to be activated off LTIR.  Meanwhile, forward Tanner Laczynski has been recalled once more after being papered down over the holiday break.

Roy last played on December 15th where he suffered an upper-body injury.  The 27-year-old got off to a hot start to his season with a dozen points in his first 17 games but has been quiet since then, being limited to just one point – a goal – since then, spanning 14 games.  Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun adds (Twitter link) that Roy’s IR placement is retroactive to December 16th, meaning he has already served the required seven days so he’ll be able to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.

As for Hutton, he has been limited to just five games this season and has missed more than a month with an upper-body issue of his own which landed him on LTIR when Vegas needed to open up a bit of short-term cap flexibility.  The 31-year-old has been held off the scoresheet in his five outings while averaging just over 11 minutes a night.  With now eight healthy blueliners on the roster, Hutton may be waiting a little while before seeing game action.

Laczynski, meanwhile, was briefly up with Vegas before the break, getting into three games.  He was held without a point in those in just under nine minutes a night of playing time.  However, the 27-year-old has been productive with the Silver Knights, tallying six goals and 13 assists in 17 AHL games.  He’s in the first season of a two-year, one-way deal after spending the previous four seasons with Philadelphia.

Transactions| Vegas Golden Knights Ben Hutton| Nicolas Roy| Tanner Laczynski

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Jets Recall Dylan Coghlan; Haydn Fleury Out Week-To-Week

December 27, 2024 at 5:28 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

While he cleared waivers just last week, Dylan Coghlan’s time in the minors was short-lived.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the blueliner from AHL Manitoba.  Meanwhile, TSN’s John Lu notes (Twitter link) that blueliner Haydn Fleury is listed as week-to-week with his knee injury while Dylan Samberg will miss at least another five days as he works his way back from a foot injury.

Coghlan was acquired from Carolina back in July in exchange for future considerations, signing a one-year, two-way deal soon after.  He has been on Winnipeg’s roster for most of the year but that hasn’t resulted in much playing time as he has played just once with the Jets so far.  After clearing waivers last week, he got into two contests with the Moose, scoring once.  In the short term, Coghlan will likely resume his role as a reserve defenseman.

Fleury, meanwhile, tried to skate this morning after being injured on Monday against Toronto but it evidently did not go well, leading to this week-to-week designation.  The 28-year-old is in his first season with Winnipeg after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in the summer and has held down a regular spot in the lineup most nights.  Fleury has six assists in 25 games thus far while blocking 44 shots in over 17 minutes a night of action.  With an extended absence on the horizon, he’s likely to land on injured reserve in the coming days.

As for Samberg, he missed the last month due to his foot injury.  Head coach Scott Arniel indicated that the blueliner will skate on his own for the next five days before being reassessed.  Speculatively, he’ll need a few days of practice and being cleared for contact from there so his return is still likely more than a week away.  Samberg has played in 21 games so far this season, notching three goals and three assists while logging over 20 minutes a night, nearly five minutes a game higher than his ATOI last season.

AHL| Transactions| Winnipeg Jets Dylan Coghlan| Dylan Samberg| Haydn Fleury

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Rangers Activate K’Andre Miller, Assign Chad Ruhwedel To AHL

December 27, 2024 at 4:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

The Rangers will welcome back a key blueliner on Saturday as Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays (Twitter link) that defenseman K’Andre Miller has been activated off injured reserve.  In a corresponding move, the team announced (Twitter link) that blueliner Chad Ruhwedel has been returned to AHL Hartford.

Miller has missed a little more than two weeks with an upper-body injury but was believed to be nearing a return before the holiday break so it comes as little surprise that he has been activated now.  It has been a rough year for the 24-year-old as he has not been able to get back to the form he had over the past two seasons.  After putting up 43 points in 2022-23 and 30 last season, Miller has been limited to just two goals and four assists in 28 games so far this year despite still logging over 21 minutes a night.

The timing of his struggles certainly isn’t ideal from Miller’s perspective.  He’s in the final season of his two-year bridge deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights.  At that time, he’ll be owed a $4.646MM qualifying offer but while it looked like he’d vastly exceed that a year ago, that’s less likely to be the case now.  Meanwhile, with the team struggling, he’s among the players who have been speculated as potential trade chips as GM Chris Drury looks to reshape his roster.

As for Ruhwedel, he has been shuttled back and forth throughout the last six weeks but NHL playing time has been hard to come by.  The 34-year-old has played in just five games with New York so far, collecting one assist in a little over 14 minutes a night of playing time.  A veteran of 369 career NHL appearances, Ruhwedel will certainly be among the first recall options whenever another defender is banged up.  Ruhwedel also has three assists in 11 appearances with Hartford.

AHL| New York Rangers| Transactions Chad Ruhwedel| K'Andre Miller

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Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Senators, Boqvist, Vecvanags

December 27, 2024 at 4:17 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

The Maple Leafs will be without captain Auston Matthews for at least the next two games, mentions Nick Barden of The Hockey News.  The 27-year-old has missed the last two contests due to an upper-body injury that has lingered throughout the season.  When healthy, he has been productive with 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 games although that output is below his usual level.  Head coach Craig Berube did note that Matthews is getting better which is a positive sign although given how long this injury has lingered, it’s fair to suggest that it’s something the center will be dealing with at times throughout the rest of the season.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Senators winger David Perron (upper body) and defenseman Artem Zub (foot) both skated today as they work their way back from their respective injuries, notes Sportsnet’s Alex Adams (Twitter link). The veterans each last played back on November 23rd when they sustained their respective injuries.  Meanwhile, winger Michael Amadio (head) is expected to be out for a while according to head coach Travis Green.  It’s unlikely that Perron and Zub will be available to return right away given Ottawa’s four recalls earlier today but the fact they’re both skating suggests they’re getting closer to suiting back up.
  • Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist has been cleared to return to the lineup, team reporter Jameson Olive relays (Twitter link). He missed the last three games while being in concussion protocol.  Boqvist is in his first season with Florida and has five goals and six assists through 33 games so far while averaging 13 minutes a night of playing time.  Although he was eligible to be placed on IR during his absence, the team elected not to do so.
  • Canadiens prospect Mikus Vecvanags has signed with QMJHL Acadie-Bathurst, per a team announcement (Twitter link). Montreal selected the netminder in the fifth round (134th overall) back in June.  Vecvanags was selected by the Titan in the CHL Import Draft but elected to start the season with BCHL Brooks but playing time was hard to come by as he got into just five games with the Bandits, posting a 3.18 GAA with a .881 SV%.

Florida Panthers| Montreal Canadiens| Ottawa Senators| QMJHL| Toronto Maple Leafs Artem Zub| Auston Matthews| David Perron| Jesper Boqvist| Michael Amadio| Mikus Vecvanags

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Flyers Recall Olle Lycksell

December 27, 2024 at 9:08 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Dec. 27: Lycksell has been recalled from Lehigh Valley again with the holiday break soon to be in the rearview mirror, the team announced. He’ll be on hand for the Flyers’ West Coast road swing over the next week. Philadelphia’s active roster is full again with $2.31MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia.

Dec. 22: Philadelphia announced they’ve reassigned Lycksell to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He skated in 10:58 of last night’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, registering three shots on net.

Dec. 21: The Flyers have added a bit of forward depth to their roster heading into tonight’s game against Columbus.  Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays (Twitter link) that Philadelphia has recalled winger Olle Lycksell from AHL Lehigh Valley.  They are now carrying the maximum of 23 players on the roster.

This move comes on the heels of center Sean Couturier not being at the morning skate today.  It’s unknown if Lycksell’s recall is related to that or if someone else’s availability for tonight is in some question.

The 25-year-old has had plenty of offensive success in the minors but it hasn’t translated to much production with the Flyers.  Last season, Lycksell had 19 goals and 20 assists in 38 games with the Phantoms which earned him 18 appearances in Philadelphia.  However, he wasn’t able to muster up much with them, collecting just one goal and four helpers in those outings while logging just 9:57 per game.  That lack of production contributed to Lycksell clearing waivers back in October.

This season, it has been more of the same for Lycksell in Lehigh Valley as he has nine goals and 15 assists in 25 appearances which has helped him earn his first promotion of the season, even if it’s likely to be a brief one with the holiday break fast approaching.

AHL| Philadelphia Flyers| Transactions Olle Lycksell

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Maple Leafs Recall Matt Murray, Reassign Dennis Hildeby

December 26, 2024 at 9:56 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Dec. 26: Murray will get another crack at NHL minutes in the coming days. The team announced Thursday that he’s back on the roster with Hildeby heading back to the minors, indicating that he’ll start either tomorrow against the Red Wings or Saturday against the Capitals.

Dec. 21: Matt Murray’s return to the NHL was short-lived, at least for now.  The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned Murray to AHL Toronto while recalling netminder Dennis Hildeby.

Murray made his first NHL start in more than 600 days on Friday in Buffalo where he turned aside 24 of 27 shots in the win.  The 30-year-old also has a 1.85 GAA and a .939 SV% in eight appearances with the Marlies.

This demotion isn’t a performance-based one but one that appears to be made with waivers in mind.  Murray cleared waivers in training camp and thus is waiver-exempt until he either plays ten NHL games or is up with the big club for 30 days.  With the holiday break approaching and Joseph Woll likely to start their remaining two games before then, it then makes sense to send Murray down and stop the clock on the number of days he’s up.  With Anthony Stolarz out for four-to-six weeks, Murray would almost certainly become waiver-eligible again if he stayed up the full length of Stolarz’s absence.

As for Hildeby, he has won two of his three NHL starts this season and conceivably could get some work in with Stolarz out as well though he’s likely to be flipped with Murray again before too long.  The 23-year-old also has played six times for the Marlies, posting a 2.73 GAA with a .895 SV%, numbers that are well down from the 2.41 GAA and .913 SV% he had in 41 outings in 2023-24.

AHL| Toronto Maple Leafs| Transactions Dennis Hildeby| Matt Murray (b. 1994)

2 comments

No Extension Talks Yet Between Canadiens And David Savard

December 25, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

With the trade deadline about two and a half months away, some teams have started to assess what it might cost to keep some of their pending free agents around.  The Canadiens don’t appear to be one of them.  Center Jake Evans acknowledged that there have yet to be any discussions about a new deal while Pierre LeBrun recently reported on a TSN Insider Trading segment that the same goes for veteran blueliner David Savard.

The 34-year-old is in his fourth season with Montreal after inking a four-year, $14MM contract with them in the 2021 offseason.  Over his first three years with the team, he continued to be a reliable top-four defensive blueliner, albeit one who dealt with injury issues as he missed at least 20 games in each of those campaigns.  With that and the Canadiens rebuilding, Savard entered the season as a speculative trade candidate.

This season, Savard has seen his ice time dip a bit, checking in at 18:44 per game which would be the lowest he has had since the 2013-14 campaign with Columbus.  That is due to often lining up on the third pairing at even strength.  However, he leads Montreal in shorthanded playing time at 3:38 per night, a mark that ranks second in the NHL to Utah’s Mikhail Sergachev.  Savard has nine points in 32 games thus far while adding a team-high 84 blocked shots.

While Savard entered the year as one of the better right-shot rental options on the back end, the reduced role isn’t going to help his trade value.  Generally speaking, contending teams won’t want to move a high draft pick or strong prospect for a player likely to be their fifth defender.  Instead, they’ll be looking to upgrade those spots with more secondary pieces.

With that in mind, it might make sense for the Canadiens to entertain the idea of keeping Savard around a little longer.  While they got some veteran insurance on the right side of their back end when they acquired Alexandre Carrier just before the roster freeze, there’s certainly room to keep both around past this season.

Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are Montreal’s top prospects on that side of the defense and while Mailloux might be ready for a full-time role next season, Reinbacher has yet to play in 2024-25 due to a knee injury and probably won’t be ready to play full-time in the NHL next season.  If they don’t keep Savard, it stands to reason that they might look to add a veteran on that side sometime over the offseason.

In the coming weeks, the Canadiens will need to assess whether they want to keep Savard around a little longer at a price tag that would likely check in around his current $3.5MM AAV.  Otherwise, expect to see his name in trade speculation as we get closer to the March 7th trade deadline.

Montreal Canadiens David Savard

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vegas Golden Knights

December 25, 2024 at 6:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  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 often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 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 PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, last up is the Golden Knights.

Vegas Golden Knights

Current Cap Hit: $87,344,447 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Alexander Holtz (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses
Holtz: $850K

Holtz was acquired from New Jersey over the offseason in the hopes that a change of scenery would help him reach some of the potential that made him the seventh overall pick in 2020.  That hasn’t come to fruition so far as his role and production have been as limited as they were with the Devils.  It’s still too early to give up on him but he’s heading for a short-term bridge deal that shouldn’t cost too much more than his entry-level deal does.  At this point, his bonuses are unlikely to be reached.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Nic Hague ($2.294MM, RFA)
G Adin Hill ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Victor Olofsson ($1.075MM, UFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($775K, UFA)
G Ilya Samsonov ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Cole Schwindt ($800K, RFA)

Olofsson didn’t have a great platform year with Buffalo last season, leading to this deal where he hoped that a strong showing with Vegas could give him a stronger market next summer.  Injuries have limited him thus far but he still has seven goals in 14 games.  If he can stay close to that level, he should be able to get closer to the $3MM or $4MM mark albeit likely on another short-term agreement.

Schwindt was claimed off waivers at the start of the season and has held down a spot on the fourth line for most of the year.  He’s arbitration-eligible which could work against him as this is a roster spot that Vegas will want to keep close to the minimum.  If Schwindt is open to a short-term deal around this price point, that could be enough to keep him around.  Pearson converted a preseason PTO into a minimum salary deal.  While he has fit in well in a limited role, it’s hard to see him landing much more than this next offseason.

Hague has been a fourth or fifth defender for most of his career although his role and playing time have been reduced this season.  That’s not ideal as he’s heading toward having to be qualified at $2.7MM with arbitration rights that could push the cost closer to $4MM per season.  If he stays in more of a sixth role, he could become a non-tender candidate.

With Logan Thompson being moved to Washington, Hill became the undisputed starter, a good spot to be in considering it’s a contract year.  That said, his play has been a bit inconsistent which will make it difficult for him to command much more than he’s making now.  That said, he should be able to get something around this price point on a longer-term agreement than the two-year pact he’s playing on.  Samsonov had a rough year with Toronto in 2023-24 resulting in Samsonov looking for a place to try to rebuild his value.  He has performed a little better than a year ago but certainly not to the point where teams will be looking at him as a starter.  That said, a strong second half could allow him to approach the $3MM to $3.5MM mark as a backup who can play starters minutes when needed.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Pavel Dorofeyev ($1.835MM, RFA)
F Jack Eichel ($10MM, UFA)
D Ben Hutton ($975K, UFA)
D Kaedan Korczak ($825K, RFA)

Eichel has become the number one center that Vegas was hoping he’d be when they acquired him in 2021.  That said, he never has really had high-end point production before this season which might limit his market value to a point.  A small raise should still be expected on a max-term agreement but unless he can get to that 100-point threshold, he might be hard-pressed to beat someone like Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson ($11.6MM) barring a big jump in the salary cap by then.  Dorofeyev impressed in limited action last season and is producing at a better rate so far this year, making him a strong value piece on his bridge deal.  He’ll have arbitration rights in 2026 and if he continues to score at the pace he’s on, he could jump past $5MM per season on his next contract.

Hutton has been a capable depth defender for several years now which has helped earn him some stability with Vegas.  But these types of pieces generally stay low-cost and it would be surprising to see Hutton land any sort of notable raise on this deal, especially as teams will want to keep the back-of-the-roster spots as close to the minimum as possible.  Korczak is in a similar situation, although he’s young enough (23) to still change those fortunes.  If he stays in a depth role, he’s in the same boat as Hutton and his arbitration eligibility could work against him.  If he locks down a full-time spot, he could push for something more in the $1.5MM range.

Signed Through 2026-27

F William Karlsson ($5.9MM, UFA)
D Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Roy ($3MM, UFA)
F Mark Stone ($9.5MM, UFA)

When healthy, Stone is a legitimate top-line two-way threat, one that’s a key part of this lineup.  Of course, staying healthy has been a challenge for him over the years as he has missed significant time due to injuries over the past several years.  That will hurt him when it comes time for his next deal, as will the fact he’ll be 35 at that time.  Even in what should be a more favorable cap environment by then, Stone will likely be heading for a pay cut.  It wouldn’t be shocking to see a longer-term deal with an eye on getting the cap hit lower, similar to what Pittsburgh did with Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin in the past (though Stone’s price tag should come above theirs).

Karlsson has been a solid second option down the middle throughout most of his tenure with Vegas and the price tag for those players has shot up over the years.  That said, he’ll be 34 which means there’s a good chance his next contract is his last one.  Assuming it’s a longer-term one to keep the AAV down, it’s possible Karlsson’s price tag stays in this range.  Roy has held the third center role for the bulk of his time with the Golden Knights and has been above-average on the production side for the last few seasons.  It’s already a below-market deal and if he stays in that 40-point range, his next contract should start with a four.

In his prime, Pietrangelo was a high-end two-way threat from the back end.  However, he turns 35 next month and his production and ice time have dropped in recent years.  When he started in Vegas, Pietrangelo was worth this price tag, if not more.  But as the offensive numbers go down and he slips a bit more on the depth chart (or they at least try to manage his minutes a bit more), the perception of this deal will flip to an above-market one, an outcome that shouldn’t come as much surprise as that was the expectation at the time it was signed.  Having said that, he’s still playing a big enough role to give Vegas a decent return and that should continue for at least a little while longer.

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Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Ivan Barbashev ($5MM through 2027-28)
D Noah Hanifin ($7.35MM through 2031-32)
F Tomas Hertl ($6.75MM through 2029-30)
F Brett Howden ($1.9MM in 2024-25, $2.5MM from 2025-26 through 2029-30)
F Keegan Kolesar ($1.4MM in 2024-25, $2.5MM from 2025-26 through 2027-28)
D Brayden McNabb ($2.85MM in 2024-25, $3.65MM from 2025-26 through 2027-28)
D Shea Theodore ($5.2MM in 2024-25, $7.425MM from 2025-26 through 2031-32)
D Zach Whitecloud ($2.75MM through 2027-28)

*-San Jose is retaining an additional $1.3875MM on Hertl’s deal.

Hertl was a surprising acquisition at the trade deadline and has given the Golden Knights enviable depth at center, allowing them to shift Karlsson to the wing at times.  Even with retention, this is a bit of a high price tag for a player who has only surpassed 65 points once in his career but he should be able to hold down a spot on the second line for the bulk of the remainder of this agreement which means Vegas should get a good return on their investment.  Barbashev’s offensive improvement over the past few years helped earn him this contract and he has taken that production to another level this year, hovering near the point-per-game mark.  If that holds, he’ll be a considerable bargain in a hurry while positioning himself for a big raise down the road.

Howden hasn’t been a big point producer before this season (where he has a career-high 13 goals already).  That helped keep the price tag on his extension down.  They’ll be counting on him routinely putting up around 25 points a season to justify the higher price tag but that’s a reasonable goal for him to try to reach based on his uptick this season.  Kolesar opted to avoid testing free agency with this deal from just a couple of weeks ago.  It’s on the higher side for someone who has spent a lot of time on the fourth line in his career but he has been playing more than lately which would have helped him on the open market.  As a physical player who is showing a bit of a scoring touch this season (he also has a new personal best in tallies already with nine), there’s a good chance he’d have made more than this had he waited until free agency to sign.

When healthy, Theodore has been one of the more impressive offensive performers in recent years among NHL defenders.  However, like Stone, staying healthy has been a challenge.  That almost certainly played a considerable role in the blueliner getting $7.425MM per season on his extension when his open-market value would have been a lot higher, especially if he manages to stay in the lineup more often in 2024-25.  For an all-around blueliner that logs around 22 minutes a night, this new price tag is still a team-friendly deal.  The $5.2MM that Theodore is making this season is one of the better back-end bargains across the NHL.

Vegas got creative last season to add Hanifin with double retention and they wasted little time signing him to this deal a month after he was acquired.  For someone who has only been above average in terms of production for the last few years, there’s a bit of risk but he’s in the prime of his career and is a high-end defensive player which helps to mitigate that.  Top defensive players don’t often get this type of commitment but he’s one of the exceptions.

McNabb has never been a big point-getter which has limited his market in the past.  However, he’s still a reliable fourth defender and a good shutdown option which would have given him a good market in free agency even though he’ll be 34 when he starts that contract.  As long as he stays in that fourth role, they’ll do fine with this deal.  As for Whitecloud, he has been a regular on the third pairing for the past five years but hasn’t progressed from that point as they were hoping when they gave him this deal back in 2021.  It’s not a bad-value contract – especially as a right-shot player, the side in high demand – but it’s on the higher end for more of a limited piece.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Theodore
Worst Value: Pietrangelo

Looking Ahead

With Robin Lehner’s contract not counting against the books this year, Vegas hasn’t had to use LTIR as frequently, allowing them to bank in-season flexibility for the first time in a long time.  That said, they’re still tight enough to the cap ceiling that as things stand, they won’t be able to take much money on though it shouldn’t be a true money-in, money-out situation.

With the Golden Knights handing out several early extensions this season, they’ve spent up a lot of their flexibility for next summer as they have over $79.5MM in commitments on the books already to 17 players.  Knowing they need to sign a goalie tandem, potentially re-up Hague, and fill out the rest of the roster, GM Kelly McCrimmon likely won’t have a lot of spending room to add next summer.  With the long-term commitments they have now and those upcoming (Eichel, for example, is heading for another big-ticket contract), it’s going to be difficult for them to make another big splash without parting ways with a key veteran to do.  Of course, they’ve demonstrated that they’re willing to do just that before so if anyone can get creative to add a core piece, it will be McCrimmon and his team.

Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.

Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| Salary Cap Deep Dive 2024| Vegas Golden Knights

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