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Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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As expected, the draft and free agency brought about plenty of activity across the NHL with over 200 prospects being drafted and nearly that many contracts handed out over the past two weeks.  With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.

Our last mailbag came before the draft and was broken into three segments.  The first looked at the likelihood of a Linus Ullmark trade (which came to fruition soon after), Jacob Trouba’s future with the Rangers, and a look back at the Matthew Tkachuk trade, among other topics.  Included in the second were several draft questions along with trying to find a possible landing spot for Trevor Zegras should the Ducks move him.  Meanwhile, the third included some discussion about Colorado’s potential offseason, Philadelphia’s prospect pool, and the NHL-CHL player transfer agreement.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below.  The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Blues Sign Ryan Suter

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Veteran Ryan Suter will play his 20th NHL season in the fall as the Blues announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year contract.  The deal carries a base salary of $775K and contains an additional $2.225MM in performance bonuses.  The team did not reveal the breakdown of the bonus structure but Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports (Twitter link) that it’s as follows:

10 GP: $225K
30 GP: $400K
40 GP: $500K
60 GP: $600K
60 GP and qualifies for the playoffs: $500K

Suter spent the last three seasons in Dallas but saw his minutes drop in 2023-24, dipping to 18:56 per night, the lowest since his rookie year back in 2005-06 when he was with Nashville.  The 39-year-old’s point total also dropped to the lowest it had been since then as he managed just two goals and 15 assists although he played in all 82 games for the third straight year.  Suter added four points in 19 postseason contests but his ice time was a bit lower, checking in at 17:50 per contest.

As a result of the dip in performance and playing time, the Stars opted to buy out the final year and $3.65MM remaining on his contract.  Considering he’s also still being paid by Minnesota on his buyout with them back in 2021, he will be paid by three Central Division teams next season.  He’s the second player in NHL history to be bought out twice, joining fellow rearguard Tony DeAngelo.

A veteran of 1,444 career NHL appearances, Suter sits fifth all-time among U.S.-born players.  Assuming he stays healthy and plays a regular role for St. Louis, he could climb up to second on that list; he sits 72 games behind Matt Cullen for that slot.  He has 681 points in those appearances with an average TOI of more than 24 minutes a night.

Of course, those numbers don’t reflect where Suter is in his career.  At this point, he’s more of a depth player than one who will be expected to anchor a back end but with the Blues, he can be more of a depth piece as he’ll slot in behind Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy, and Torey Krug.  With them in place, Suter will be battling with Scott Perunovich, Tyler Tucker, and newcomer Pierre-Olivier Joseph for playing time on the third pairing.

The fact the contract is structured this way is interesting as St. Louis has more than ample cap space to cover the full amount should his bonuses be reached; they still have more than $7.3MM in room, per PuckPedia with RFA Nikita Alexandrov still in need of a new deal.  However, by making the base salary the league minimum, that will be a lower daily charge on the cap which could make him an intriguing option for buyers near the trade deadline if the Blues find themselves out of a playoff spot.  If he remains in St. Louis, they should be able to cover any of those bonuses on the 2024-25 cap instead of rolling those charges over to the following season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jackets Notes: Coaching Search, Laine, Dumais, Matteau

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The Blue Jackets continue to have the lone head coaching vacancy in the NHL following last month’s dismissal of Pascal Vincent.  Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that a decision on a new bench boss is expected this week with Todd McLellan, Jay Woodcroft, and Dean Evason believed to be among the remaining finalists.  Last month, McLellan was suggested to be the front-runner for the position.  There has been a lot of turnover behind the bench in Columbus in recent years.  Since John Tortorella was let go in 2021, they’ve gone through three head coaches since, Brad Larsen (two years), Mike Babcock (who resigned before coaching a single game), and Vincent, who only had one season before being let go.

More from Columbus:

  • Also from Portzline’s piece, winger Patrik Laine has not yet been cleared from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. While Columbus can trade him while he’s in the program, GM Don Waddell previously indicated that teams want to speak to Laine before considering putting an offer in for his services.  Those conversations can’t happen until he’s cleared.  The 26-year-old was limited to just nine points in 18 games last season and has two years left on his contract with an $8.7MM cap hit along with a 10-team no-trade list.
  • Prospect Jordan Dumais might not be cleared to fully participate in training camp in September, relays Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. The 20-year-old was a dominant scorer in the QMJHL, putting up 140 points in 64 games in 2022-23 and had 47 in 21 games last season before being shut down midseason to undergo hip surgery.  Dumais will be AHL-eligible for the first time in 2024-25 and stands to play a big role with AHL Cleveland next season when he’s fully cleared to play.
  • Speaking of Cleveland, they announced the re-signing of winger Stefan Matteau to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old previously spent two years with them back in 2019-20 and 2020-21 before going to Colorado but returned on a minor league deal last season where he had six points in 15 regular season games before adding seven more in 14 playoff contests.  Matteau, a 2012 first-round pick, has 92 career NHL appearances under his belt with a total of 11 points.

Wild Re-Sign Adam Raska

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Minnesota has taken care of one of its restricted free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed winger Adam Raska to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $775K in the NHL and $95K in the minors, meaning he took less than his qualifying offer to secure a $15K boost in guaranteed money.

The 22-year-old was a seventh-round pick by San Jose back in 2020, going 201st overall.  Raska started last season in the Sharks’ system but was traded early in the year to the Wild as part of the return for defenseman Calen Addison.  Raska spent most of the season in the minors, playing in 56 AHL contests where he had seven points and 98 penalty minutes.

He has also seen NHL action in each of his first three professional campaigns, including five games with the Wild last season where he had a dozen hits despite averaging less than seven minutes a night.  Over his three years, Raska has 13 total appearances at the top level but is still looking for his first NHL point.

Raska will be waiver-eligible for the first time next season so Minnesota will have to get him through waivers successfully to return him to AHL Iowa.  Assuming that happens, he’ll play in a depth role for them but could get a look with the big club if they’re looking for some grit on the fourth line.

Agent For Leon Draisaitl: Ball Is In Oilers’ Court For Extension Talks

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With the bulk of the heavy lifting already done in the 2024 class of unrestricted free agents, many have started looking ahead to a 2025 group that is currently star-studded.  Among the headliners is Oilers center Leon Draisaitl who, despite making $8.5MM per season, has been one of the better bargains in the NHL in recent years.  That should soon change as the 28-year-old will undoubtedly become one of the NHL’s highest-paid players on his next contract.

How soon that next deal comes is still under question.  Edmonton is currently without a GM following the departure of Ken Holland with team president Jeff Jackson serving in the interim role; Jackson has previously indicated that he doesn’t want to take on the full-time managerial position.  To that end, the search for a full-time replacement for Holland is ongoing and it makes sense for that hire to be in place before any substantive discussions get underway.

However, it appears that Draisaitl’s European-based agent feels there’s a deadline to get this done.  Speaking with Eishockey News’ Michael Bauer, Jiri Poner indicated that the end of the summer might be the deadline to get a deal in place:

There’s no rush yet, but either it happens quickly, i.e. by the end of August, or it doesn’t work out at all. It will also become clear whether Edmonton really wants him or not. Leon holds all the trump cards.

Technically, Edmonton can negotiate with Draisaitl right up to free agency next July so this stance from Poner suggests that Draisaitl’s preference might be to set a hard line of not negotiating during the season.  If that’s the case, whoever takes over as GM won’t have much time to work out an agreement to keep him in the fold.

Draisaitl has passed the 100-point mark in five of the last six seasons and over that stretch, he has the second-most points in the NHL.  His teammate, Connor McDavid, is the only one ahead of him.  With McDavid’s current contract coming back in 2017, his $12.5MM AAV doesn’t stand as a great comparable.  However, the recent $13.25MM AAV that Auston Matthews received from Toronto last year could very well be in play, especially if he makes it to the open market next summer.

Can Edmonton afford to pay Draisaitl market value for 2025-26 knowing that McDavid’s deal will be up a year later and cost considerably more?  That’s a question the new GM will have to answer relatively quickly given Poner’s comments regarding a possible deadline for talks.  Having said that, Poner did add that he’s very confident that the two sides will be able to hammer out a deal to keep Draisaitl in an Oilers uniform for years to come.

Capitals Sign Ilya Protas

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3:15 PM: The Capitals have officially announced the contract.

12:35 PM: A day after signing their first-round pick, the Capitals have signed another one of their 2024 draft picks.  Dan Milstein, the agent for Ilya Protas, announced (Twitter link) that Washington has signed the forward to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed but PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries a cap hit of $889K and an AAV of $975K if he reaches his games played bonuses each season.

The 17-year-old was the 75th pick last month, going in the third round.  Protas spent 2022-23 in the Belarusian junior system before coming to North America last season, suiting up with USHL Des Moines.  He had a solid first season with them, collecting 14 goals and 37 assists in 61 games which helped get him on the draft radar.

Protas is the younger brother of Capitals center Aliaksei Protas, who is coming off his best season, one that earned him a five-year deal along the way.  However, it will be a while before the two have a chance to play together.

By signing his entry-level contract, Protas will no longer be able to go the NCAA route.  Accordingly, his two most likely options for next season are to remain with Des Moines or to go to the CHL.  In this week’s Import Draft, Protas was the first player to be picked by an OHL team, going third overall to Windsor.  By picking him that early, the Spitfires are likely quite confident that they’ll be able to get Protas onto their roster for next season.

As long as Protas doesn’t play in more than nine NHL games next season (a likely scenario at this point), his contract will eventually slide and will still have three years remaining on it heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

Capitals Notes: Chychrun, Oshie, Saulnier

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The Capitals made a big addition on their back end earlier this month with the acquisition of Jakob Chychrun from Ottawa in exchange for Nick Jensen and a third-round pick.  With Chychrun in the final year of his contract, he’s now extension-eligible.  However, GM Brian MacLellan indicated earlier this week (video link) that they won’t be rushing to get a new contract in place.  Instead, they’ll wait to evaluate his fit with the team before beginning those discussions.  The 26-year-old matched his career high in points last season with 41 and carries an AAV of $4.6MM, suggesting that he’ll be in line for a considerable raise starting in the 2025-26 campaign whenever negotiations on a new contract begin.

More from Washington:

  • In a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), winger T.J. Oshie provided an update on his injured back. The veteran has been reaching out to different specialists to try to find a long-term solution to his ongoing back issues but they’re running out of new options to try.  The 37-year-old battled the injury throughout last season, putting up a career-low 25 points in 52 games.  However, Oshie indicated he doesn’t want to go through the same struggles to play next season which has led to some speculation that he could wind up on LTIR.  Considering the Caps are more than $13MM above the Upper Limit, per CapFriendly, Washington’s offseason spending suggests that they believe Oshie will ultimately land on LTIR which, coupled with Nicklas Backstrom staying there, would get them cap-compliant for next season.
  • Their farm team in Hershey announced the signing of winger Brennan Saulnier to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old played in 36 games with AHL Belleville last season, recording three goals, four assists, and 94 penalty minutes playing primarily on the fourth line.  Saulnier is likely to have a similar role for the reigning Calder Cup champions.

Wild Re-Sign Declan Chisholm

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Minnesota had just one remaining restricted free agent who saw regular NHL action with them last season and they’ve quickly reached an agreement with that player.  Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Wild have inked blueliner Declan Chisholm to a one-year, $1MM contract.  Chisholm was eligible to file for salary arbitration by yesterday’s deadline but elected not to do so.

The 24-year-old was a productive blueliner in Winnipeg’s system but failed to land a full-time spot with them over his entry-level contract.  That led to a one-year, two-way deal for the league minimum last season where he was waiver-eligible.  The Jets didn’t want to lose Chisholm for nothing at the end of training camp but weren’t confident enough to play him.  As a result, he got into just two games with them before finally being waived in late January where he was promptly claimed by the Wild.

With Minnesota, Chisholm became much more of a regular, getting into 29 games with them over the final three months when he had eight points and 36 blocked shots in a little under 17 minutes a night.  While that output pales in comparison to the 43 points he had in the minors the year before, the fact he was able to lock down a regular role demonstrated that his defensive game improved enough to the point where he could be relied on.

This deal represents a low-risk move for the Wild as $1MM for someone who can hold their own on the third pairing represents strong value.  At the moment, Minnesota has just six regular blueliners under contract for next season so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them shop around for some more depth over the coming weeks.  However, with minimal cap space to work with, they’ll have to shop for some lower-cost options.

Jets Re-Sign Logan Stanley And David Gustafsson

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The Jets took care of a pair of their restricted free agents on Saturday, announcing the re-signings of defenseman Logan Stanley and center David Gustafsson to two-year contracts.  Stanley will carry a $1.25MM AAV while Gustafsson checks in at $835K.  Both players were eligible to file for salary arbitration but elected not to do so on Friday.

Stanley was a first-round pick by Winnipeg back in 2016, going 18th overall.  At the time, they were hoping that they’d secured a key cog of their future back end.  However, that has yet to become the case.

Playing time has been hard to come by for the 26-year-old in recent years.  He played in just 19 games in 2022-23, leading to an indication that he wouldn’t mind a change of scenery.  He wound up re-signing the following summer but the lack of playing time continued as Stanley got into just 25 games last season where he had one goal and one assist while logging less than 14 minutes a night.  He also saw action in three of their five playoff contests.

However, with Brenden Dillon departing in free agency, there could be an opportunity for Stanley to play more of a regular role next season although Ville Heinola (who is now waiver-eligible) is likely to be in the mix there as well.  This deal gives him a $250K raise while Winnipeg gets an extra year of club control to see if Stanley can become at least a regular part of their back end.

As for Gustafsson, the 24-year-old was a late second-round pick in 2018 (60th overall) and spent most of last year with Winnipeg, albeit in a limited role.  He suited up in 39 games last season, picking up three goals and four assists in just over nine minutes a night of action while winning more than 54% of his faceoffs.  He got into four postseason contests, scoring once.  Gustafsson also played in six regular season games with AHL Manitoba where he collected three assists.

Gustafsson won’t have the option of returning to the Moose next season without going through waivers first.  The likelier scenario is that he once again stays in the mix to anchor the fourth line or hold onto the 13th spot on Winnipeg’s forward group.  He will still have another year of RFA eligibility once this contract ends.

With these signings, the Jets are down to four remaining restricted free agents.  On the back end, Heinola, newly-acquired Dylan Coghlan, and Simon Lundmark need new deals while up front, Cole Perfetti still needs to be signed.  They have a little over $4.25MM in remaining cap space, per CapFriendly.

Latest On Yaroslav Askarov

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Since he was drafted 11th overall in 2020, it had been widely expected that Yaroslav Askarov would eventually become the long-term goalie for the Predators.  However, the eight-year, $61.92MM contract extension they handed Juuse Saros earlier this week that runs through the 2033-34 campaign immediately called Askarov’s future with the franchise in question.

In a recent interview with Championat’s Pavel Panyshev, Askarov’s agent Dan Milstein further clouded Askarov’s future with Nashville, stating that he’s working with the club on different options when it comes to the young netminder and that he has proven that he’s an NHL player.

That last part is a bit difficult to agree with considering that Askarov has all of three career NHL appearances under his belt.  While he has fared well in those games with a 2.58 GAA and a .914 SV%, it’s still too small of a definitive sample size to draw any meaningful conclusions from.

Having said that, the 22-year-old had a strong sophomore year at the AHL level, showing he’s progressing well toward becoming the impactful NHL netminder many expect him to be.  Askarov played in 44 games with Milwaukee last season, matching the .911 SV% from his rookie campaign while shaving 30 points off his GAA, bringing it down to 2.39, ranking him fifth league-wide among qualifying netminders.

Askarov remains waiver-exempt for the next two seasons so this is something that, in theory, GM Barry Trotz could simply punt on for the time being, thereby keeping the netminder in the top role with the Admirals.  That timeframe coincides with the length of contract handed to veteran Scott Wedgewood who was brought in as part of their July 1st spending spree so, in theory, Askarov would then move into the second-string role for the 2026-27 campaign.

But Milstein’s comments suggest that they have a different idea in mind, one that will get his client to a regular NHL role much sooner than that.  This isn’t the first time Askarov has been in trade speculation as it was widely reported that he was in play at the 2023 draft in an effort to move up in the first round but no suitable trade came to fruition.

If Trotz does opt to once again look into an Askarov trade, he will have some challenges.  The team is pretty much capped out as a result of their offseason movement so far; they’re at a point where they might be trying to save a few bucks to have a shot at carrying more than a minimum-sized roster.  That will limit them to trading for future assets, either draft picks or prospects.  Speculatively, with the moves they’ve made so far, the latter might be their preferred option, getting someone around Askarov’s age who is close to being NHL-ready and could be called upon when injuries strike.

The moment Saros agreed to his max-term extension, the long-term future of Askarov with the Predators was called into question.  Based on what his agent is suggesting, it might be fair to wonder about his short-term future with them as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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