Brian La Rose

Snapshots: Red Wings, Broberg, Islanders

September 14, 2024 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

As the Red Wings work through the process of signing their two top remaining RFAs in defenseman Moritz Seider and winger Lucas Raymond, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press suggests that their preference is to keep the cap hit for both players below Dylan Larkin’s $8.7MM price tag. With the price tag for top blueliners coming off their entry-level deals going up relatively quickly, Seider has some comparables past the $8MM mark (Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson and Buffalo’s Owen Power) so it wouldn’t be surprising to see his cost come in relatively close to Larkin’s. Raymond, meanwhile, might be using Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle ($8.35MM) as a possible comparable which could result in his cost coming close to the captain’s as well.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

While the Blues handed a pricey contract to get Philip Broberg from Edmonton via an offer sheet this summer, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch relays that the blueliner probably won’t see power play action right away, even without Torey Krug who is out for the season. Broberg had 39 points in 47 games with AHL Bakersfield last season but head coach Drew Bannister has indicated that their plan for the 23-year-old at this point is to have him killing penalties and that they don’t want to load up on his workload too fast after having a limited role with the Oilers.
In his media availability yesterday (video link), Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello indicated that there probably won’t be much of a battle for roster spots on the back end in training camp. Their top six is healthy after an injury-riddled year and their preference is to not have prospects Calle Odelius and Isaiah George in a reserve role to start the season. Accordingly, the battle for the seventh and final defensive spot in camp could be between returnees Simon Bolduc and Dennis Cholowski. Bolduc is now waiver-eligible which could help give him a leg up in that battle since Cholowski has cleared successfully in the past.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Utah Hockey Club

September 14, 2024 at 3:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

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 heading into 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 begin with a look at the Central Division; next up is Utah.

Utah Hockey Club

Current Cap Hit: $78,079,643 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Logan Cooley (two years, $950K)
F Josh Doan (two years, $925K)
F Dylan Guenther (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses
Cooley: $3.5MM
Guenther: $850K
Total: $4.35MM

Cooley’s first NHL season was a solid one. They kept him in the top six for most of the year while not frequently exposing him to top checking. While he struggled mightily at the faceoff dot (many rookies do), Utah still views Cooley as their top center of the future. If he can take a step forward offensively this season, he could be a candidate for a long-term extension next summer. If that happens, his camp will likely use Juraj Slafkovsky’s contract (eight years, $60.8MM) as a comparable.

Doan impressed in his first taste of NHL action down the stretch, giving him a shot at earning a full-time spot in camp. But even if that happens, he’ll likely have too small of a track record for an early extension next summer. Guenther, meanwhile, was able to play in the minors last season but played his way into a promotion relatively quickly where he picked up 35 points in 45 games. With just 78 games under his belt, an extension in the coming weeks is unlikely but if he puts up a full season at that level of production, he could push for a long-term deal starting with a seven next summer.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

F Nick Bjugstad ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Michael Carcone ($775K, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($3.1MM, UFA)
F Alexander Kerfoot ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Jack McBain ($1.599MM, RFA)
G Karel Vejmelka ($2.725MM, UFA)

Kerfoot was a nice addition by Arizona last summer, giving them a capable two-way pivot who is capable of playing high in the lineup, allowing them to ease Cooley in. If he can have a similar offensive showing this season (45 points), he could push for upwards of $5MM on a multi-year agreement next summer given the consistently high demand for centers. Bjugstad made the decision to return to the Coyotes last summer and it was a good one as he had his best season offensively since 2017-18. While they’re certainly pleased with the performance, his track record is as a player with limited offense. Accordingly, an early extension would be hard to come by as both sides would be better off seeing if his production can be repeatable. If it is, he could come in closer to $4MM next time out.

McBain has become a capable checking center who has chipped in a bit offensively while throwing his body around. That’s a solid profile for a player at this price point. If the upcoming season is similar to these last two, he could double this price tag with arbitration eligibility. Carcone reached 20 goals last season, his first full NHL campaign at the age of 27. Obviously, getting a 20-goal scorer for the league minimum is excellent value but how close he comes to repeating that will dictate if he’s going to stay close to this price tag or easily reach seven figures in 2025-26.

This is the fourth year in a row that Cole has taken a one-year deal with a price point between $2.9MM and $3.1MM. Barring a significant change in his performance, it seems fair to infer that he could be in line for something close to that range next summer as well.

Vejmelka is an interesting case in terms of his free agent value. On the surface, his numbers are rather pedestrian; he has yet to record a save percentage of .900 or better while the lowest GAA of his three-year career is 3.35, set last season. And yet, the general perception around him has been that perhaps on a better team, he’s someone who might be more impactful. With the overhaul Utah has had on the back end this summer, this could be a good test of that theory. If that happens, Vejmelka could conceivably push for a contract in the higher tier of backup or platoon goalies with a price tag approaching $4MM. If that doesn’t happen, however, a small pay cut might be coming his way.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Barrett Hayton ($2.65MM, RFA)
G Connor Ingram ($1.985MM, UFA)
D Michael Kesselring ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Matias Maccelli ($3.425MM, RFA)
F Nick Schmaltz ($5.85MM, UFA)
F Kevin Stenlund ($2MM, UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($2MM, UFA)
D Shea Weber ($7.857MM, UFA)

Schmaltz has very quietly been one of the steadier Coyotes in recent seasons, ranging between 58 and 61 points in the last three seasons, two of which saw him over a point per game while dealing with injury trouble. While he’s not a full-time center anymore, he can still play down the middle which will help from a value perspective. Assuming this production keeps up, he should push past the $7MM mark on his next deal. Maccelli, meanwhile, wasn’t quite able to produce at the same level as 2022-23 but he came close, giving Arizona solid value on the first year of his bridge deal. Staying around this level of offensive numbers could put him around the $6MM range on his next contract.

Hayton followed up a career year with arguably his worst one, resulting in what amounts to a second bridge contract. He’ll only have one season of club control left after this contract expires and both sides will be hoping that he can become much more impactful by then. Stenlund had a solid season with Florida, chipping in 11 goals in a limited role which allowed him to double his price tag from a year ago and tack on a second season. This is more on the upper tier for someone who projects as a fourth liner but if he can hang around the double-digit goal mark, he could beat this price tag.

Weber has been on LTIR for the past three years and will continue to be there for the rest of the deal. With Utah having ample cap space, he won’t be a burden on their cap. Valimaki has become a reliable second-pairing defender at a price point well below market value. While the additions could push down his playing time, he could still conceivably double this in 2026. Kesselring spent most of last season in Arizona for his first consistent taste of NHL action. He fared pretty well all things considered but with his limited track record, a bridge deal was the way to go. He’ll have arbitration rights next time out and could double this if he holds onto a regular spot on the third pair.

Ingram has turned into one of the better waiver claims in recent years, going from a third-string option with Nashville to a starter as he played in 50 games last season while leading the league in shutouts. If he continues on that trajectory and becomes a consistent starter, he could push past $5MM two years from now.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Lawson Crouse ($4.3MM, UFA)
D John Marino ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Liam O’Brien ($1MM, UFA)

It took some time but Crouse has emerged as a consistent top-six power forward, hitting the 20-goal mark in three straight years while averaging 183 hits per season in that span. Given the high demand for players like this, Crouse appears to be well on his way to passing the $6MM mark on his next deal. If the cap goes up quickly before 2027, $7MM could be possible if he stays at that level of production. O’Brien had a career year offensively last season while leading the league in penalty minutes. That helped earn him this three-year contract, something that a lot of enforcers don’t typically get. Even if O’Brien struggles, the deal can come off the cap entirely if he’s in the minors, making it a low-risk signing.

Marino was acquired at the draft from New Jersey to help bolster the back end. While he hasn’t been able to get back to the level of production from his rookie year (which largely helped him earn this agreement), he has been a consistent minutes-eater, logging over 20 minutes a night in each of his five NHL seasons while recording 25 points in two of the last three years. For a second-pairing player, that’s solid value.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

D Sean Durzi ($6MM through 2027-28)
F Clayton Keller ($7.15MM through 2027-28)
D Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5MM through 2030-31)

Keller has found another gear offensively in recent seasons, averaging just shy of a point per game over the last three years. In doing so, he has become the consistent top-line forward that they were hoping for when they gave him this contract back in 2019, hoping he’d become a bargain in the back half. Now halfway through that deal, they’ve already been reaping the benefits and as the cap increases, this should shift into even more of a team-friendly agreement. Keller probably hasn’t produced enough to this point to be in the mix for a contract of $10MM or more in 2028 but another 80-point season or two could have in that range before too long.

Sergachev was Utah’s biggest acquisition over the summer, being acquired early on the second day of the draft, giving them a legitimate top-pairing defender, albeit one with some risk. He’s coming off an injury-marred season and only has one year with more than 40 points. If he can get back to his 2022-23 form with Tampa Bay, this will work out splendidly for GM Bill Armstrong but after missing so much time last season, a slower start could be possible. Durzi showed that a change of scenery wouldn’t slow him down, keeping up an above-average level of production while averaging just shy of 23 minutes a night, helping him more than triple his cap hit from last season. Interestingly, the contract only bought two years of club control, allowing him to reach free agency at 29. While Sergachev will take a big share of prime power play time, Durzi even staying around 40 points consistently could set him up for a bigger deal down the road.

Buyouts

D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($320K in 2024-25, $650K in 2025-26 and 2026-27, $290K from 2027-28 through 2030-31)
F Zack Kassian ($767K in 2024-25)
D Patrik Nemeth ($1.167MM in 2024-25)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

D Victor Soderstrom – The 2019 first-rounder spent most of last season in the minors despite a solid showing with AHL Tucson which has resulted in Soderstrom declining to re-sign to this point. A trade doesn’t appear to be coming which has the 23-year-old working on a contract with SHL Brynas for the upcoming season. If that happens, Utah will retain his RFA rights.

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Valimaki
Worst Value: Sergachev

Looking Ahead

For years, the focus for this organization was trying to spend as close to the Lower Limit of the salary cap as possible while spending as little money as possible, resulting in Weber and several other high-priced injured players to get there. Now, in a new market and with an owner who appears to be willing to spend, Armstrong was active in making some additions while still having more cap space than almost the entire league.

That flexibility should continue for a couple more years, at least. Cooley and Guenther could be heading for pricey second contracts but even with that, there are enough contracts coming off the books where those can easily be afforded while still having room to add. This summer’s activity should only be the start of Utah adding some proven veterans over the next few seasons to help them emerge from what has been a long-term rebuilding process.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Vladar, Perfetti, Molendyk

September 14, 2024 at 1:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With Jacob Markstrom now in New Jersey, the starting job in Calgary is up for grabs. While top prospect Dustin Wolf is garnering most of the attention, Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson relays that Flames netminder Daniel Vladar is now pain-free and fully recovered from his hip injury. The 27-year-old struggled mightily last season in limited action, putting up a 3.62 GAA with a .882 SV% in 20 appearances before undergoing surgery in March but he noted that he had been dealing with discomfort for at least the last two seasons. It’s a contract year for Vladar who carries a $2.2MM price tag. A pending unrestricted free agent, he could push for double that if he’s able to secure the starting role in 2024-25.

Canucks Have Offered Kevin Lankinen A Contract

September 14, 2024 at 12:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

In recent weeks, the Canucks have been offering PTO deals to some veteran goalies as some insurance with Thatcher Demko’s health still in some question. After being unable to get either Kevin Lankinen or Antti Raanta to agree to a tryout, they’ve now gone a step further. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vancouver has made a one-year full contract offer to Lankinen. However, the offer was believed to be for less than $1MM, a price tag he doesn’t appear to be willing to accept at this time.

The 29-year-old made $2MM last season in Nashville so Vancouver’s offer would certainly represent a sizable pay cut. However, the Canucks have less than $200K in cap space per PuckPedia and have made it known that they don’t want to go into using LTIR. Accordingly, even to make that offer work, they’d have to drop a skater off their roster to be able to afford Lankinen, effectively having to carry three goalies heading into the season if Demko isn’t able to play.

Lankinen spent the last two years with the Predators and put up solid numbers overall, posting a 2.79 GAA and a .912 SV% in 43 games over that span. Those are certainly above-average for a second-string option which is likely why his camp has been holding out in the hopes of landing a more substantial offer. However, barring an injury of some significance, most teams have their goaltending set so that better offer might not materialize for a while yet if at all if he continues to wait.

The fact that the Canucks have opted to make a full offer to Lankinen would imply that they remain concerned about Demko’s recovery from a knee injury sustained early in the playoffs last spring. If they felt he was on track to return on time or even a few games into the season, Vancouver could simply run with Arturs Silovs and new third-stringer Jiri Patera for a couple of weeks and get by that way. Silovs had a good run in the playoffs and could easily handle the starting role for a handful of games early on.

But if they feel their best option now is to get someone on a full-season deal, it would seem as if there is at least the potential for Demko’s recovery period to drag out even longer. That type of uncertainty is hardly ideal with training camps now less than a week away. Whether that will push them to up their offer or if they’ll hold out hope that Lankinen will have a change of heart and accept their most recent offer remains to be seen.

Golden Knights Notes: Marchessault, Theodore, Hagg

September 14, 2024 at 11:44 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

The departure of Jonathan Marchessault to Nashville in free agency was one of the bigger surprises with many expecting that he’d have re-signed with the Golden Knights. Team reporter Gary Lawless transcribed a part of a Sirius XM interview with Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon where he indicated that while they eventually went to four years on their offer for the 33-year-old, they weren’t comfortable going to five which is how many he received from the Predators. Marchessault spent seven seasons with Vegas, recording 192 goals and 225 assists in 514 games, making him the franchise leader in every category.

Antti Raanta Indicates He Won’t Play In The NHL Anymore

September 14, 2024 at 10:38 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

One of the remaining veteran free agent goaltenders is Antti Raanta but don’t expect his name to be added to the list of players accepting PTOs. The veteran told Ilta-Sanomat’s Sami Hoffren that he has decided that his playing days in North America have come to an end.

The 35-year-old indicated that he did have some interest from NHL teams in free agency, including Toronto. Meanwhile, Vancouver reached out with a PTO offer a few weeks ago as they look for veteran insurance with the uncertainty surrounding Thatcher Demko’s situation. However, Raanta indicated that those teams were viewing him more as an insurance option and that there was a possibility that he would have had to start in the AHL.

Last season, Raanta was back with Carolina after a strong 2022-23 showing that saw him post a 2.23 GAA and a .910 SV% in 27 games. Unfortunately for him and the Hurricanes, he struggled mightily last year, putting up a 2.99 GAA with a save percentage of just .872 and eventually, Carolina had to run him through waivers multiple times, sending him down to AHL Chicago after he cleared. He didn’t see much playing time with the Wolves but didn’t fare any better than he did with Carolina. Accordingly, the type of offer he was hoping for from an NHL team was unlikely to materialize.

Raanta’s NHL playing days end with 277 career appearances at the top level with four different organizations. He posted a 139-80-29 record while putting up a 2.48 GAA, a .915 SV%, and 20 shutouts. Overall, it was a solid career for someone who went undrafted and didn’t make his NHL debut until his age-24 campaign.

But while it’s the end of the road for Raanta in North America, it’s not necessarily the end of his playing days. Raanta indicated to Hoffren that he’s looking to land a spot in Switzerland, Czechia, or Germany. While he had offers from there in the spring, he turned them down at the time, hoping for an NHL offer to his liking to come around. At this point, with international leagues either underway already or about to start, Raanta will be biding his time for the time being with the hopes of getting a call in the near future.

Summer Synopsis: Montreal Canadiens

September 12, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

In a summer when many teams either looked to add to their rosters to aid in their expected playoff push or sold as part of their rebuilding process, the Canadiens have largely stood pat, opting to continue their current trajectory from the rebuild that began in the season following their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. In doing so, they’ll be banking on continued development from their young core while hoping for better luck on the health front after dealing with considerable injury trouble in recent years.

Draft

1-5: RW Ivan Demidov, SKA-1946 St. Petersburg (MHL)
1-21: C Michael Hage, Chicago Steel (USHL)
3-70: C Aatos Koivu, TPS U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
3-78: C Logan Sawyer, Brooks Bandits (BCHL)
4-102: D Owen Protz, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
5-130: RW Tyler Thorpe, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
5-134: G Mikus Vecvanags, Tukums (Latvia2)
6-166: C Ben Merrill, St. Sebastian’s School (USHS-Prep)
7-210: RW Makar Khanin, Dynamo St. Petersburg (VHL)
7-224: D Rasmus Bergqvist, Skelleftea AIK J20 (J20 Nationell)

Some expected Demidov to go as high as second overall with few figuring he’d be available with the fifth selection. After passing on another high-offense winger the year before in Matvei Michkov, the Canadiens were happy to get their hands on a player who they believe could be a game-breaking talent. While he’ll play this season in the KHL, he’s expected to sign with Montreal once that campaign ends, providing the possibility that he could get into a game or two with the Canadiens before the end of the 2024-25 season.

That won’t be the case for Hage, however. After a strong second half in the USHL, Hage is on his way to the University of Michigan. While some college prospects are one-and-done, the likelier scenario for Hage is that he spends at least two seasons with the Wolverines, allowing him to ease his way into a top role before turning pro.

To start the second day of the draft, the Canadiens turned to a bloodline they’re familiar with in Koivu whose father Saku spent 13 years with the team. While Saku was in the NHL two years after being drafted, that isn’t expected to be the case for Aatos who will be looking to make the full-time jump to the professional ranks in Finland. Sawyer, a big center is also a longer-term project even after reclassifying to start with Providence College this season instead of waiting until 2025-26.

In recent years, the Canadiens have opted to largely eschew drafting from the CHL, a decision that gives them a longer signing timeline with most of their picks; only Protz and Thorpe have to sign by June 1, 2026. As a team carrying 21 players on entry-level contracts at the moment, their hope is that this approach will allow them more time to integrate their prospects into their minor league system and lessen the potential of having too many to sign at a certain time. And with a dozen picks for 2025 already, they may be continuing that approach for a little while longer.

UFA Signings

F Alex Barre-Boulet (one year, $775K)
G Connor Hughes (one year, $775K)*

*-denotes a two-way contract

Arguably no team was quieter than the Canadiens on the free agent front this summer. Their one move was to make an addition that some feel is more for their AHL team than Montreal. Barre-Boulet played in a career-high 36 games with Tampa Bay last season, picking up nine points. But the 27-year-old has been a high-end AHL performer, recording 302 points in 294 games over six seasons at the minor league level. An offseason training injury to Rafael Harvey-Pinard could give Barre-Boulet a path to a roster spot to start the season but if that doesn’t happen, he’s likely to play a big role with AHL Laval pending waiver clearance.

Technically, Hughes was signed in the spring, inking this deal nearly a month before free agency opened up but with Montreal not doing anything else on the open market, we’ll note it here. The 28-year-old has taken a unique path to this NHL contract. After not landing a CHL opportunity in his junior career, Hughes spent the last seven seasons in Switzerland, working his way up from the second league to the NL where he posted a 1.73 GAA and a .940 SV% in 19 games with Lausanne last season. He’ll also likely battle for playing time in Laval.

Trade Acquisitions

F Patrik Laine (acquired from Columbus)

Again, it’s a pretty small section to work with as GM Kent Hughes only made one addition on the trade front. It was, however, a notable one as Laine immediately becomes Montreal’s highest-paid skater at $8.7MM for the next two seasons; the contract was enough of an issue that the Canadiens also received a second-round pick as part of the move to absorb the full cost of it.

Last season was a rough one on multiple fronts for the 28-year-old. When healthy, he struggled to the point of even being healthy scratched. Laine then underwent shoulder surgery and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program soon after, only being taken out of that in recent weeks. The end result was a career-low 18 games played with just nine points. However, Laine was a point-per-game or better in his two previous years in Columbus and Montreal will be counting on at least somewhat of a return to form to give them a lift offensively.

RFA Re-Signings

D Justin Barron (two years, $2.3MM)
D Arber Xhekaj (two years, $2.6MM)

Again, you guessed it, it was a pretty small list of RFAs for the Canadiens to navigate. Both blueliners broke camp with Montreal last season but wound up seeing time in the AHL with the Rocket in an effort to work on some areas of concern before returning to the big club.

Barron, a 2020 first-round pick, logged over 18 minutes a night when he was with the Canadiens, often seeing time in the top four. With only one other veteran right-shot blueliner in the mix (David Savard) and the fact he’s now waiver-eligible, Barron should have an opportunity to cement himself as a full-time regular this season.

As for Xhekaj, his playing time has been a bit more limited so far, averaging under 16 minutes a night in his first two seasons. The 23-year-old has been one of the better undrafted free agent CHL players in recent memory, going from being undrafted in 2021 to seeing NHL action the following year. Montreal doesn’t have a lot of intimidating players on their roster and it stands to reason he’ll be penciled in to remain on the third pairing for at least the short-term future. Worth noting is that Xhekaj remains waiver-exempt so if the Canadiens are looking to dip in and out of LTIR (or stay out altogether), he could be someone who gets papered to the minors somewhat regularly early on.

Contract Extensions

D Kaiden Guhle (six years, $33MM)
F Juraj Slafkovsky (eight years, $60.8MM)

Continuity was the theme of Montreal’s summer so it comes as no surprise that their most prominent transactions in July revolved around that.

The team wasted little time getting a max-term extension for Slafkovsky done, buying four years of extra club control in the process while respecting the salary structure of Nick Suzuki being their top-paid forward (before Laine took that on six weeks later). The 2022 number one pick had a dreadful start last season, leaving some calling for him to spend time in Laval. Instead, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis took a different approach, instead elevating Slafkovsky to the top line. The move worked wonders as Slafkovsky picked up 16 goals and 19 assists in the second half of the season, showing signs of becoming the impactful power forward they want him to be. Clearly, management felt that this was a sign of things to come and with this extension, Montreal’s top line is all signed through at least the 2029-30 campaign.

Meanwhile, management determined that Guhle is one of the building blocks on a back end that has gotten very young very quickly (with a few prospects still looking to make the jump). The 2020 first-round pick has had injury issues in his first two professional campaigns but when he was in the lineup, he logged over 20 minutes each year. Montreal will be counting on him to play a key defensive role both now and in the future on a back end that is still expected to have a fair amount of turnover over the next couple of years. The deal buys two extra years of club control while giving Guhle a chance to hit the open market at 29, giving him a chance at another long-term deal.

Departures

F Lias Andersson (Biel-Bienne, NL)
F Filip Cederqvist (Frolunda, SHL)
F Arnaud Durandeau (Amur Khaborovsk, KHL)
D Jordan Harris (trade with Columbus)
D Brady Keeper (Poprad, Slovakia)
D Johnathan Kovacevic (trade with New Jersey)
F Philippe Maillet (Ambri-Piotta, NL)
D Mattias Norlinder (MoDo, SHL)
F Tanner Pearson (PTO, Vegas)
F Mitchell Stephens (Seattle, two years, $1.55M)*
F Colin White (San Jose, AHL)
D Chris Wideman (retirement)
F Jesse Ylonen (Tampa Bay, one year, $775K)*

*-denotes a two-way contract

On the trade front, the Canadiens parted with a pair of regular defenders from the past two seasons, opening up room for some younger players to push for a spot. Harris was the return going to Columbus in the Laine swap. The 24-year-old has 131 career NHL contests under his belt already, establishing himself as a capable depth defender, a role he should be able to push for with the Blue Jackets. As for Kovacevic, he was a waiver claim late in training camp in 2022 and more or less was a full-time player after that, getting into 139 NHL games since then. Signed for one more year at a cap charge below the league minimum salary, Kovacevic is likely to have more of a depth role with New Jersey, barring injuries.

On the free agent departure side, Montreal didn’t lose any core pieces. Ylonen played in a career-best 59 games last season but managed just eight points, resulting in a non-tender. Pearson was acquired as a salary offset in a late-summer trade with Vancouver last year but had a very limited role while White, a late-season waiver pickup, failed to record a point in 28 NHL games last season. Aside from Wideman (who didn’t play due to injury), the rest of the departures were from the AHL level; the Canadiens are opting to fill those roles with prospects and some veterans on minor-league contracts.

Salary Cap Outlook

At the moment, the Canadiens project to be a little more than $2MM above the cap ceiling, per PuckPedia. However, that figure includes Carey Price ($10.5MM) who remains LTIR-eligible should Montreal not be able to get below the $88MM Upper Limit before the start of the season. While staying in LTIR would give them a seven-figure bonus overage penalty for 2025-26 (as they have this season and had the year before), Price being on LTIR would give them more than enough space to operate with. If they opt to stay in LTIR all season, it’s possible that they look to take on a contract from a team looking to open up extra cap space.

Key Questions

What Will Laine Provide? When Laine is at his best, he is a high-end goal scorer who can play around a point-per-game level. If he can get back to that level, he can provide a significant boost to Montreal’s forward group, giving them some much-needed secondary scoring on a roster that has been in the bottom six in goals scored in three straight years. But his struggles pre-injury with the Blue Jackets were certainly significant and after being off since mid-December, it’s far from a guarantee that he can get back to his top form. Laine asked for a fresh start and now he has it; we’ll soon see if that can kick-start him after a rough 2023-24 campaign.

Is Hutson Ready For Prime Time? One of the storylines heading into the 2022 draft was Lane Hutson, a player with first-round talent but he was well undersized for a blueliner. He slipped to the end of the second round and then lit up the NCAA for two seasons, securing his entry-level deal and getting into two games with Montreal to finish the year where he had two assists. Will Hutson and his high-skilled offensive game be able to stick with the Canadiens or will he need time with Laval? If Hutson can crack Montreal’s roster, he should become a second legitimate offensive threat from the back end, joining Mike Matheson who quietly finished ninth in points by a defenseman last season.

Can Dach Become A Full-Time Top-Six Center? After showing some promise down the middle late in 2022-23, Kirby Dach was slotted in as Montreal’s second-line center to start last season. That lasted for all of four periods before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Injuries have been a consistent problem for the 2019 third-overall selection going back to his time with Chicago. Nonetheless, the Canadiens didn’t look to add any help down the middle this summer; their only other potential center with some offensive upside is Alex Newhook who might be better suited on the wing. Suffice it to say, they’re counting on Dach staying healthy and having a breakout year. With Hage being at least a couple of years away and being their top center prospect, Dach has some runway to work with. Can he become that core player the Blackhawks were counting on him to be five years ago? This season might go a long way toward answering that question.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Peat, Merkulov, Canadiens

September 12, 2024 at 6:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The NHL Alumni Association announced today (Twitter link) that former Capitals winger Stephen Peat has passed away at the age of 44 from injuries sustained in a car accident a little over two weeks ago. He was drafted by Anaheim in the second round in 1998 but never played for them as he was moved to Washington two years later. Peat spent parts of five seasons in the Capitals organization, getting into 130 games at the NHL level where he had ten points and 234 penalty minutes, wrapping up his pro career one year later in the 2006-07 season. We at PHR send our condolences to Peat’s family and friends.

Five Key Stories: 9/2/24 – 9/8/24

September 8, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Training camps are almost upon us but beyond an uptick in PTOs as expected, it was a relatively quiet week across the NHL aside from a record-breaking contract which is one of our key stories of the past seven days.

Off To Switzerland: Unable to secure a contract to their liking from an NHL team, a pair of wingers have opted to try their hand in Switzerland. First, winger Filip Zadina inked a two-year contract with HC Davos. The 2018 sixth-overall pick spent last season with San Jose after terminating his deal with Detroit in the hopes that a change of scenery would give him a better opportunity. Instead, he put up just 23 points in 72 games along with a ghastly -44 rating. Still just 24, a good showing in the NL could get him back on the NHL radar fairly quickly. A few days later, veteran winger Dominik Kubalik signed a one-year deal with Ambri-Piotta. The 29-year-old spent last season with Ottawa after being acquired in the Alex DeBrincat deal but struggled considerably, recording a career-low 15 points in 74 appearances. His deal contains an NHL out clause should an opportunity present itself at the top level by December 15th.

Surgery For Krug: After the rehab period didn’t yield any improvement, Blues defenseman Torey Krug will undergo ankle surgery to address pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, a procedure that will end his 2024-25 season before it even starts. The 33-year-old had 39 points last season in 77 games while logging nearly 22 minutes a night and will effectively be replaced by offer sheet pickup Philip Broberg. Krug will be eligible to be placed on LTIR should St. Louis need to put him there. Meanwhile, while the hope is that Krug will be able to return next season, GM Doug Armstrong acknowledged that this injury could wind up being a career-ender for the veteran.

Draisaitl Sets A Record: While it may have taken longer than some in Edmonton would have liked, the Oilers and center Leon Draisaitl reached an agreement on an eight-year, $112MM contract extension, one that comes into place for the 2025-26 campaign. The $14MM AAV is the highest in NHL history while it’s the second-richest contract in league history. (The highest was Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124MM pact, one that is now illegal with the maximum length being eight seasons.) The 28-year-old has been one of the top scorers in the league for several years now; only his teammate Connor McDavid has more points than he does over the last five seasons. That made it quite likely that he’d eclipse Auston Matthews’ record-setting $13.25MM AAV. Draisaitl won’t hold the record for long, however, with McDavid being extension-eligible next summer.

Three Surgeries For Marchand: It was a busy summer for Bruins captain Brad Marchand but perhaps not in the way you might think. The winger indicated that he had three separate surgeries over the offseason. One was to repair a torn tendon in his elbow that he played through for most of the year while later having abdominal and groin surgeries to address injuries sustained late in the season. Marchand managed to play through those issues, playing in all 82 games in 2023-24, recording 67 points. It appears he might be limited at the beginning of training camp but he is expected to be ready to suit up when the regular season begins next month.

Veteran Defensemen Retire: A pair of long-time NHL blueliners officially called it a career in recent days. Marc Staal spent most of his playing career with the Rangers and will begin his post-playing days there as well as it was announced that he has been hired as a player development assistant. The 37-year-old played 17 seasons in the NHL, the first 13 of which came with New York. Staal retires with 234 points, 1,448 blocks, and 1,643 hits in 1,136 career games at the top level. Meanwhile, veteran rearguard Alex Goligoski confirmed that his playing days have come to an end. The 39-year-old spent the last three seasons with Minnesota, his hometown team and he had no desire to uproot his family to attempt to keep playing. Goligoski had 475 points, 1,777 blocks, and 1,164 hits in 1,078 appearances over his 17-year NHL career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Dermott, Tucker, Zelenov

September 8, 2024 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While there has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Oilers when it comes to adding a right-shot defenseman (either via PTO or a one-year deal) heading into training camp, Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins wonders if they might go a different direction. He suggests that it might be more likely that veteran blueliner Travis Dermott could wind up in Edmonton for training camp. While the 27-year-old is a left-shot player, he can play on the right side and he played for head coach Kris Knoblauch in his junior days with OHL Erie while Jeff Jackson, Edmonton’s CEO of Hockey Operations, used to be his agent. Dermott played on a two-way deal last season with Arizona, picking up seven points in 50 games while logging over 17 minutes a night.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch assesses the defensive situation for the Blues. Even with Torey Krug’s season over before it even started, St. Louis has ample depth with nine players who could plausibly make a case for a roster spot. Matthew Kessel is the lone waiver-exempt player which could hurt his chances while DeFranks suggests that Tyler Tucker might be the one with the most work to do to maintain his roster spot. Unless St. Louis wants to carry eight blueliners to start the season, they’ll have to put one of their current rearguards on waivers barring an injury in training camp.
Sabres prospect Vasili Zelenov is generating a lot of NCAA interest, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was a seventh-round pick in June, going 204th overall after a strong season in Austria, one that saw him put up 37 points in 40 games. Zelenov is playing with USHL Green Bay this season and will likely look to make the jump to college hockey for the 2025-26 season.

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