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Rangers Reassign Jake Leschyshyn

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Oct. 27: The Rangers assigned Leschyshyn back to Hartford on Sunday morning, the team announced. He didn’t play in last night’s 2-1 win over the Ducks, instead serving as a healthy scratch. He could continue to serve as an extra forward for the next little while but will likely only be summoned to the Rangers’ roster on game days, allowing them to accrue additional cap space while Leschyshyn is off the roster.

Oct. 26: The Rangers didn’t waste much time filling the roster spot created by Friday’s assignment of winger Matt Rempe to AHL Hartford.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Jake Leschyshyn has been recalled from the Wolf Pack.

The 25-year-old was a full-time roster player for the better part of a year and a half between Vegas and New York, who claimed him off waivers in early 2023.  However, he only got into one game with the Rangers last season, spending the rest of the year in Hartford where he had eight goals and 11 assists in 47 games.  He has suited up five times for them this season, collecting three points so far.  For his career, he has played in 77 NHL contests, notching two goals and four assists in 10:15 per game of playing time.

With a cap hit of just $766.7K, Leschyshyn actually costs less than the league minimum on the cap which will help them as they look to stay out of LTIR and continue to accrue cap space.  He’s in the final year of his contract and will need to play at least three NHL games for him to be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.  If that doesn’t happen, he can hit the open market next summer as a Group Six unrestricted free agent.

Atlantic Notes: Ekblad, Barkov, Pacioretty, Subban

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The Panthers have been busy on the extension front early on this season.  They signed Carter Verhaeghe on opening night, recently inked Paul Maurice to a new deal, and are in discussions on an extension with Sam Bennett.  However, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, it has been quiet when it comes to potential talks with their other prominent UFA, defenseman Aaron Ekblad.  The 28-year-old is in the final season of what was a record-setting contract at the time for a blueliner coming off an entry-level deal, paying him $7.5MM per season.  Despite being banged up with injuries the last few years, it stands to reason that a new pact should come in somewhat close to this one which Florida might not be able to afford if they keep Bennett.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with Florida, center Aleksander Barkov took part in a full practice for the first time since sustaining his lower-body injury, one that’s believed to be a high-ankle sprain, notes George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. While he has been ruled out for tonight’s game, the 29-year-old could be cleared to return on Monday against Buffalo.  Barkov has potted at least 68 points in the last three seasons and has an assist in two games so far in 2024-25.
  • Maple Leafs winger Max Pacioretty will return from his lower-body injury tonight versus Boston, relays TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). The 35-year-old has played in five games so far this season, scoring twice.  Pacioretty is owed a bonus of just over $313K when he reaches the 10-game mark and even with Toronto not playing him full-time, he should be able to hit that over the next few weeks as long as he stays healthy.
  • The Grand Rapids Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the Red Wings, announced that they’ve released goaltender Malcolm Subban from his PTO deal. The 30-year-old played in 35 AHL games last season, posting a 3.12 GAA and a .901 SV%.  Subban also has played in parts of nine NHL seasons spanning 87 appearances where he has a 3.10 GAA and a .898 SV% and will now look to catch on elsewhere.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames

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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, next up is the Flames.

Calgary Flames

Current Cap Hit: $69,288,958 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Matthew Coronato (one year, $925K)
F Samuel Honzek (three years, $918K)
F Connor Zary (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses
Coronato: $850K
Honzek: $500K
Zary: $212.5K
Total: $1.5625MM

When he was with the Flames, Coronato’s role and production were limited and he was deployed the same way early on this year before being demoted earlier this week.  With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal is likely coming his way, one that shouldn’t cost much more than his current deal.  Meanwhile, his bonuses are unlikely to be met.  Honzek made the team out of camp, playing his first four NHL games but has already landed on IR.  It’s too early to forecast what his next deal will be while his bonuses aren’t likely to be reached unless there is a portion split off for games played.

Zary, meanwhile, is a bit more established after getting into 63 games last season where he averaged over half a point per game.  He’s at a better rate in the early going this year while ranking in the top five for ATOI.  Someone with this type of profile could land a longer-term agreement which would likely push past the $5MM mark.  The safer bet here would be a bridge deal, however, one starting with a three.  If he stays at his current pace, he should easily reach his one ‘A’ bonus.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Kevin Bahl ($1.05MM, RFA)
D Tyson Barrie ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Joel Hanley ($787.5K, UFA)
F Adam Klapka ($775K, RFA)
F Andrei Kuzmenko ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Anthony Mantha ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Brayden Pachal ($775K, UFA)
F Kevin Rooney ($1.3MM, UFA)
G Dan Vladar ($2.2MM, UFA)

Kuzmenko is one of the more intriguing potential unrestricted free agents this coming summer.  His first year was quite impressive with 39 goals and 74 points but there was still some uncertainty about his repeatability, leading to this contract.  That wound up being wise for Vancouver as Kuzmenko struggled last season to the point of being a cap dump to the Flames.  To his credit, he played better after the swap and is off to a good start this season.  If he gets back to that 30-goal mark and shows that last year was the outlier, he could still land a contract around this price point with a bit more term this time around heading into his age-29 year.  But if he struggles again, something closer to $4MM might be where he lands.

Mantha didn’t have a strong market this past summer, leading to this contract where he’s hoping to play a big role and show that he’s worth a pricey long-term agreement.  He’s off to a decent start early on and the perceived upside might still be there.  If he rebounds, something in the $5MM range could happen; otherwise, he could stay around this price tag.  Rooney has had a very limited role with the Flames over his first two-plus seasons with them.  Accordingly, he should be closer to the league minimum moving forward.  Klapka has seen fourth-line action in his limited NHL minutes.  Accordingly, while his qualifying offer is for just under $814K, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Calgary offer a deal for the minimum with a higher AHL salary next time.

Barrie had a rough year last season and despite a track record of being a solid offensive producer from the back end, his market basically cratered to the point of needing to take a PTO.  With a limited role early on, it’s hard to project much of a raise at this point unless he can secure a full-time spot.  Bahl is more of a throwback stay-at-home defender and the lack of offensive numbers will hurt him.  Still, he’s viewed as part of their longer-term plans so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a four or five-year deal come his way with a price tag starting with a three.

Hanley hasn’t played much in the NHL in recent years but he has also been a full-time NHL player since the 2020-21 campaign, albeit primarily in a seventh role.  That’s likely to keep him around the minimum next time out, probably again on a one-way price tag.  Pachal has also spent a lot of time in the sixth or seventh role and while he’s getting a chance to play more regularly in Calgary, it’s still on the third pairing.  Accordingly, it’s hard to see him landing much more than $1MM next summer.

Vladar struggled considerably last season before undergoing hip surgery.  If he were to repeat the same type of performance this year, he’d be looking at closer to half of this price point.  However, indications are that he’s now healthier than he was the last couple of years and is off to a good start in limited action.  Given the ups and downs, he’s probably not going to be able to command top dollar for a backup option but the two-year, $6.6MM deal Laurent Brossoit received from Chicago this summer might be doable if Vladar has a bounce-back year.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Rasmus Andersson ($4.55MM, UFA)
F Mikael Backlund ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Jake Bean ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Ryan Lomberg ($2MM, UFA)
D Daniil Miromanov ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Martin Pospisil ($1MM, RFA)
G Dustin Wolf ($850K, RFA)

At 35, Backlund is nearing the end of his playing days but he still played top-line minutes last season and is averaging even more early on this year.  As long as he can hold down a regular spot in the top six and be his usually strong self defensively, Calgary will do well with this deal.  If that holds up through next season, another short-term contract in this price range could happen.

Lomberg was brought over from Florida in free agency on a deal that will be tough to justify from a value perspective as this contract for a player coming off a seven-point season isn’t much bang for the buck.  However, GM Craig Conroy identified that he wanted to add some grit and the fact it cost this much to get him suggests he had a relatively strong market.  Pospisil wound up on a bridge deal after only securing a regular NHL spot last season.  Even so, it’s a team-friendly agreement and if he shows he’s capable of more offensively, it will be a significant bargain.  If he can move into a top-six role – something they’ve already experimented with – he could triple this (or more) in 2026.

At the time Andersson’s deal was signed, it looked a bit risky.  He hadn’t recorded more than 22 points in a season and had yet to average 20 minutes a game.  However, it has worked out arguably better than Calgary could have hoped for.  His offensive production has improved considerably, topped by a 50-point effort in 2021-22.  He has become an all-situations player who has played on the top pairing for the last few years.  That alone will help give him a very strong market in free agency before even considering the fact he’s a right-shot player, the side that is always in premium demand.  A max-term deal with an AAV starting with a seven looks like a given at this point, if not more.

Bean came to his hometown team after being non-tendered by Columbus, taking a pay cut in the process to do so.  Once touted as a high-end prospect, he has settled in more as a depth defender to this point in his career.  This price tag for a regular on the third pairing is manageable but he’ll need to find a way to at least get into a number five slot if he wants to beat $2MM again next time out.  Miromanov was acquired and quickly extended last season, giving him some security and Calgary a low-cost two-year look at a player who had shown flashes of upside in his limited action with Vegas.  At this point, establishing himself as a full-timer is the first goal, one that would allow him to stay around this price tag.  If he works his way into a fourth or fifth role between now and then, doubling this (or a bit more) could be doable.

Wolf already looks like quite a bargain given some of the other contracts promising but unproven goalies have signed recently (with an AAV higher than Wolf’s total contract value).  He’s their goalie of the future and if he locks down the starting role by then, his next deal should vault past the $5MM mark at a minimum.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Blake Coleman ($4.9MM, UFA)

Coleman had a breakout performance last season, notching 30 goals while passing the 40-point mark for the first time of his career.  From a value perspective, this price tag would be a bargain if he could maintain that type of output.  Of course, his point total is usually in the 30s and at that level, this is an above-market contract.  That said, with the role he fills and Calgary’s cap space, it’s not an overpayment they’re probably too concerned about at this point.

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Metropolitan Notes: Pettersson, Tortorella, Vesey

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The Penguins intend to wait a while before deciding if they’ll proceed with any significant discussions about an extension for defenseman Marcus Pettersson, relays David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).  The 28-year-old has become a key cog on Pittsburgh’s back end in recent years and is heading for a raise on his current price tag of just over $4.0.25MM.  However, the Penguins need to determine if they’re going to be a team that’s vying for a playoff spot in the second half of the season or a possible seller if things aren’t going so well.  If it’s the latter, they could decide the better move is to move him as a rental player at the trade deadline where there would be a strong market for his services.  Accordingly, don’t expect a decision on that front for a while yet.  Pettersson has four points in nine games so far this season while averaging over 21 minutes a night of playing time.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Despite a slow start to the season that saw the Flyers collect just one win in their first seven games, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that head coach John Tortorella has the complete and total support of the team. The veteran bench boss is in his third season with Philadelphia with the expectations potentially being a bit higher last season after the rebuilding Flyers nearly made the playoffs last year.  Tortorella is signed through 2025-26 but was inherited by GM Daniel Briere who was a special assistant to the GM at the time the 66-year-old was hired.
  • Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey took part in the morning skate today in a non-contact jersey, relays Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury sustained in the preseason, landing him on LTIR in the process.  Vesey was a capable depth scorer for New York last season, recording 13 goals and 13 assists in 80 games, the best offensive numbers he had since the final year of his first stint with the team back in 2018-19.  Because of the LTIR placement, he has to miss 10 games and 24 days, meaning the earliest he can be activated is their November 3rd contest.

Islanders Sign Matt Martin, Make Several Other Roster Moves

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The Islanders are back in action tonight against Florida and have made several roster moves in advance of that contest.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Anthony Duclair was placed on LTIR while Liam Foudy was assigned to AHL Bridgeport.  With the cap savings from those two moves, the team has signed veteran winger Matt Martin to a one-year contract and recalled wingers Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching from the minors.

Martin has spent all but two of his 15 NHL seasons with the Isles, becoming a key member of their fourth line along the way.  It looked like the two sides would part ways over the summer when he was told that he wouldn’t be offered a contract.  However, when he hadn’t reached a deal heading into training camp, Martin signed a PTO with New York, allowing him to play and practice with them for the preseason.  No contract came along then but he remained on a tryout deal into the season, suggesting that it was only a matter of time before he received a contract, the financial terms of which were not disclosed.

The 35-year-old has played in 955 career NHL games between New York and Toronto, recording 176 points, 1,158 penalty minutes, and 3,849 hits.  With the series of roster moves the team made, he will be available to suit up against Florida tonight if head coach Patrick Roy wants to put him in the lineup.

Duclair’s placement on LTIR comes as no surprise.  Earlier this week, it was revealed that he’ll miss four to six weeks due to the leg injury he sustained last weekend.  With the Islanders operating very close to the salary cap, gaining even some short-term flexibility will certainly help.  Duclair’s placement was backdated to October 19th and he must miss at least 10 games and 24 days from then although the expected timeline for recovery will run longer than that.

Foudy’s time with the big club was relatively short-lived.  He was only brought up on Tuesday, taking Julien Gauthier’s place on the active roster.  The 24-year-old played in two games while on recall and was held off the scoresheet while averaging just 7:27 per game.  Foudy has 104 career NHL appearances under his belt now between three separate organizations.  He has four assists in five games so far with Bridgeport.

Engvall is in the second season of a seven-year, $21MM contract which made it both surprising and not surprising that he was on waivers at the end of training camp.  Needing to open up cap room (his demotion saved them $1.15MM prorated), he was a safe bet to pass through unclaimed.  That said, the fact he hit the wire just a year after being retained as a key secondary piece is an outcome few would have foreseen.  The 28-year-old had 10 goals and 14 assists in 74 NHL games last season and has just one tally in six games so far with Bridgeport.

Fasching played in 45 games with the Isles last season where he had four goals and ten assists.  However, that wasn’t enough to save him from going through waivers late in training camp where he passed through unclaimed.  He has a goal and an assist in five games so far with Bridgeport.

As a result of these roster moves, the Islanders are now at the maximum of 23 players on the active roster.

Cam York To Miss At Least Two Weeks

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The Flyers will find themselves without a key defender for the next little while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Cam York will miss at least the next two weeks due to an upper-body injury.

York sustained the injury late in Wednesday’s game against Washington on a hit from Nic Dowd.  The 23-year-old had a breakout showing last season with 30 points in 82 games while recording 174 blocked shots, all career highs.  His 22:37 ATOI was also his best by a considerable margin as he established himself as a top-pairing player alongside Travis Sanheim.

It has been more of the same for York in the early going this season.  He has two goals and an assist along with ten blocks in seven appearances so far.  Meanwhile, his playing time is up to 22:56 per night, good for the team lead in that regard (just ahead of Sanheim).  Accordingly, his absence is a big one for a team that has already struggled out of the gate, winning just once through their first seven games.

For the moment, York has not been placed on injured reserve and veteran Erik Johnson will take his place in the lineup today against Minnesota.  However, with the team now down to just six healthy rearguards, they’ll likely want to add a seventh in which case they may opt to put York on IR to create the roster spot to do so.

While York will be out of the lineup, the same can’t be said for winger Travis Konecny.  Listed as day-to-day yesterday with what head coach John Tortorella termed a ‘body injury’, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays (Twitter link) that Konecny will be in the lineup today.  He’s tied with Matvei Michkov for the team lead in goals with three and sits tied for second in points with four.

Flyers Return Jett Luchanko To OHL

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Few expected prospect center Jett Luchanko to make Philadelphia’s roster in training camp but his training camp performance allowed him to do exactly that.  However, the team has decided that returning to junior is the best move for development; the team announced that they’ve assigned him to OHL Guelph.  GM Daniel Briere released the following statement on the move:

The decision to send Jett back is something we strongly believe is the right path for him and his development. His work-ethic, preparedness and play during training camp and preseason was something we were extremely impressed with and felt he earned the right to make our roster and start the season with us. Ultimately, we feel it is more valuable for Jett to be put in the best possible position to prepare himself for an NHL career, and right now that is with his team in Guelph.

The 18-year-old had a strong showing with the Storm last season, notching 20 goals and 54 assists in 68 regular season games along with three assists in four playoff appearances.  That had him rated by many outlets as a first-round pick outside of the lottery.  But the Flyers felt differently about his upside, ultimately selecting him 13th overall, signing him to an entry-level contract less than two weeks later.

Luchanko got into four preseason games with Philadelphia, picking up two assists and playing his way onto the opening roster.  He suited up in four regular season contests as well – making him the youngest player in the league – but was held off the scoresheet while playing just over 14 minutes per game on average.  However, after being scratched for three of their seven games, it seemed likely that he’d eventually return to junior where he can play significant minutes in all situations and push for a spot at the World Juniors in December.

Since Luchanko won’t get into ten or more NHL contests this season, his contract won’t officially begin this season after all and he will still have three years remaining on it with a slightly lower cap hit heading into 2025-26.  The Flyers now have one vacancy on their active roster and can either promote someone from AHL Lehigh Valley to fill it or operate with 22 players for the time being.

West Notes: Spurgeon, Hartman, Brossoit, Hague

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Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to practice Friday for the first time since being sidelined after two games with a lower-body injury related to his surgeries last season, relays John Shipley of the Pioneer Press.  It’s unlikely that he’ll suit up today but the team is hoping that the captain could return on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.  Spurgeon has been a key cog on Minnesota’s back end for the better part of the last 15 years and will give them a boost when he’s able to return.

Meanwhile, Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the Wild have sent forward Ryan Hartman back to Minnesota, meaning he will miss the final two games of the road trip.  The 30-year-old suffered an upper-body injury a week and a half ago and while he has been listed as day-to-day in that stretch, his recovery is seemingly taking a bit longer than anticipated.  He has two goals in four games so far this season.

Elsewhere out West:

  • While the Blackhawks were hoping Laurent Brossoit wouldn’t miss much time to start the season, that’s not going to be the case. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times relays (Twitter link) that the netminder won’t begin skating until next week and will need a couple of weeks from there to be game-ready.  Brossoit suffered a knee injury in late August during offseason training, delaying what’s expected to be a legitimate opportunity at Chicago’s number one job after putting up a 2.00 GAA and a .927 SV% in 23 games with Winnipeg last season.
  • Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague left yesterday’s game with a lower-body injury but it doesn’t appear that it’s particularly serious. Speaking with reporters postgame including Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, head coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t able to rule the blueliner in or out for their game tonight against San Jose.  Hague has one goal in eight games so far this season, that coming last night against Ottawa.

Penguins Assign Tristan Jarry To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Tristan Jarry situation in Pittsburgh has taken another turn.  Just a couple of days after being sent back to Pittsburgh from their road trip to work on his game away from the team, the Penguins announced (Twitter link) that Jarry has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan.

The 29-year-old has certainly struggled out of the gate this season, allowing 12 goals on 73 shots in his first three appearances, ceding time to prospect Joel Blomqvist early on.  With Alex Nedeljkovic returning earlier in the week, the Penguins have been carrying three goaltenders on their active roster since then.

Jarry’s assignment to the minors doesn’t change that as players on a conditioning loan count against the 23-player active roster.  It also means that Pittsburgh does not receive any cap benefit from this roster move.

The maximum length of the assignment is 14 days.  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton plays in five games over that stretch so if Pittsburgh intends to keep him down there as long as possible, Jarry should at least have a few starts to work on his game to see if he can at least start to turn his fortunes around.

With Jarry being signed through the 2027-28 season with a $5.375MM cap charge, it’s fair to suggest that there isn’t much of a viable trade market for him out there.  Accordingly, if Jarry struggles in the minors or even if Pittsburgh wants to extend his assignment if Blomqvist and Nedeljkovic are playing well, the next move would likely come in a couple of weeks with a waiver placement as it’s highly unlikely he’d be claimed.  This certainly isn’t a situation GM Kyle Dubas envisioned when he signed Jarry to this contract in the 2023 offseason but a loan to the minors probably is the best option for both sides at this time.

Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Voronkov, Blake, Roy

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Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson will not need surgery on his injured shoulder, GM Don Waddell confirmed to reporters including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link).  However, that shouldn’t be construed that it won’t be a long-term injury as originally reported.  Instead, the team simply feels that the injury can be treated with rehab.  This is the second straight year that the 22-year-old has dealt with injury troubles and he was off to a good start before sustaining it as he had five points in his first four games.  He still technically hasn’t been moved to injured reserve at this time but that’s something that should happen in the coming days whenever they have to open up a roster spot.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Still with Columbus, forward Dmitri Voronkov was a partial participant in practice today and appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a shoulder injury, reports Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. The 24-year-old suffered the injury late in the preseason.  Voronkov had a solid rookie season for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24, picking up 18 points and 16 assists and with the injuries they’re dealing with, getting him back a little earlier than expected would be some rare positive news on that front.
  • The Hurricanes have once again sent winger Jackson Blake to AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. They’ve done this four times already this season in an effort to bank a bit more cap room.  The 21-year-old has two goals in six games with Carolina so far so it’s safe to say he’ll be brought back up in time for puck drop against Seattle on Saturday.
  • Capitals defenseman Matt Roy skated today before practice notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 29-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in Washington’s season opener and hasn’t played since.  Roy was their most prominent free agent signing over the summer, inking a six-year, $34.5MM contract after putting up 25 points in nearly 21 minutes a night last season with Los Angeles.  While he’s now back on the ice, he did not accompany the team on their road trip to Tampa Bay.

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