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Restart Notes: NHL Calendar, Canucks, Entry-Level Slide, Training Camps

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With the date set for a Jan. 13 agreement by the NHL and NHLPA, more dates have started filling into the NHL’s calendar for the upcoming season and beyond, according to The Athletic’s Scott Burnside (subscription required).

Training Camps Open (for seven non-playoff teams): Dec. 30

Training Camps Open (for everyone else): Jan. 3

Regular Season Begins: Jan. 13

RFA Signing Deadline: Feb. 11 (normally Dec. 1)

Contract Extensions: March 12 (normally Jan. 1 to sign extensions for 2021-22)

Trade Deadline: April 12

End of Regular Season: May 8

Seattle Expansion Draft: July 21

NHL Draft: July 23-24

Free Agency Begins: July 28

  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the NHL continues to talk to all of Canada’s province’s, but is still working with B.C. and its health officials to try to get the Canucks to play in Vancouver. Pagnotta did say that a league source did say that if negotiations aren’t successful that the Canucks could still play in another city, maintaining an all-Canadian division. All options remain on the table. Like the San Jose Sharks begin training camp in Arizona, the Canucks may be forced to do the same thing, especially with Jan. 3 being not far away. Vancouver was a finalist to have one of the playoff bubbles last season, but the province of B.C. added extra restrictions at the last minute that forced the NHL to move its preparations to Edmonton.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the NHL has prorated entry-level slides for the upcoming shortened season. Up until now, an entry level could slide up to two years, but if the player appeared in 10 NHL games during one of those two years, their contracts officially begin. That number now changes to seven games, which could be significant as many younger players may find themselves on taxi squads and could find themselves getting into games. That also means that if a young player appears in more than six games, their contract officially begins. Those rules could have an effect on players such as Los Angeles’ Quinton Byfield, Winnipeg’s Cole Perfetti, Toronto’s Nick Robertson and Vegas’ Peyton Krebs, who may not have played this season, but could find playing time now, especially with the state of the junior league seasons in jeopardy.
  • In a separate tweet, Friedman also notes that NHL training camps will allow 36 skaters and an unlimited amount of goaltenders.

Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Set For July 21

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The Seattle Kraken now know when they will have their team set up as TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the expansion draft will be held on July 21, two days before the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He also notes that NHL teams will have to turn in their protection rosters to the league by July 17, giving Seattle four days to get ready for their draft.

All NHL teams (except the Vegas Golden Knights) will have to submit their protection roster of seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or eight skaters and a goaltender to the league as part of Seattle’s $650MM price tag for joining the league, which should give the expansion team a good opportunity to jump into the league and compete immediately. The Golden Knights had the exact same criteria for their expansion draft in 2017 and took those advantages straight to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The real question is whether the Kraken can take advantage of the flat salary cap in order to get multiple side deals like Vegas was able to do before their expansion draft. The Golden Knights had many side deals that netted them significant core players. While there had been talk that teams weren’t likely to make the same mistakes they made in this coming expansion draft, the state of the league due to the pandemic, could give Seattle an opportunity to offer teams salary cap relief in exchange for top players/prospects or picks.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also notes that no-movement clauses have also been extended into July, so that players who were supposed to have their NMC’s in place before the expansion draft will still have that.

The league has already prorated many key numbers to benefit the Kraken. Capfriendly reports that the 40/70 games played requirement for players to be exposed for the expansion draft that started in 2019/20 has been altered. Instead of 40/70, the league has prorated those numbers to 27/54 games. The career injury threshold of 60 consecutive games played will now be 41 games missed.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert 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 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 2020-21 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 CapFriendly.

Philadelphia Flyers

Current Cap Hit: $79,238,852 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Joel Farabee (two years, $925K)
F German Rubtsov (one year, $894K)
F Morgan Frost (two years, $863K)
G Carter Hart (one year, $731K)

Potential Bonuses
Farabee: $500K
Rubtsov: $425K
Hart: 83K
Total: $1.1MM

One thing the Philadelphia Flyers have a lot of is balance, which includes quite a few impressive young players on entry-level deals. While he may not be paid the most of the entry-level players, the guy that is likely next to cash in is goaltender Carter Hart. Just 22, the young netminder has been impressive in two seasons. Perhaps the statistic that stands out the most is his numbers when at home. Hart posted a dominant 20-3-2 record at home with a 1.63 GAA and a .943 GAA. Unfortunately his road record wasn’t as good with a 3.04 GAA and a .896 save percentage — something he must work on. Regardless, he will likely command quite a bit when the Flyers try to lock him up to an extension.

Farabee and Frost are two young prospects who could make their impact known as soon as next season. Farabee played in 52 games last year for Philadelphia, scoring eight goals and 21 points, but he could be primed for a breakout season. Frost is the next prospect up. He appeared in 20 games last year, scoring two goals and seven points, but should see more regular time in Philadelphia’s lineup this season and could be a significant contributor down the road.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Travis Sanheim ($3.25MM, RFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($3MM, UFA)
F Scott Laughton ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Michael Raffl ($1.6MM, UFA)
G Brian Elliott ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Nolan Patrick ($874K, RFA)
D Samuel Morin ($700K, RFA)

Sanheim has established himself as a top-four defender on a very young defense and should continue to get better. With the loss of defenseman Matt Niskanen to retirement, Sanheim will be expected to take that next step and become a dominant defeneman for the Flyers. He scored eight goals and 25 points last season, but could be primed for a bigger year. Gustafsson was brought in to fill in the holes on the team’s defense. The 28-year-old was coming off a 60-point season in 2018-19, but failed to duplicate that with either with the Blackhawks or the Flames after he was traded at the deadline.

Laughton has been a useful bottom-six player over the last few years. The 26-year-old provides the team a combination of some offense and some physicality, something the team needs. Laughton finished last season with 13 goals and 27 points in 49 games last season as well as 109 hits, but more importantly stepped up in the playoffs, putting up five goals and nine points in 15 games. The 32-year-old Raffl is much the same, putting up eight goals and 20 points in 58 games with 96 hits.

The most interesting name might be Patrick, who missed the entire 2019-20 season with a migraine disorder. The Flyers hope that the No. 2 overall pick in 2017 can pick up where he left off and eventually become the dominant player he once was despite struggling through a myriad of injuries in the past. When healthy, Patrick can be a dominating, playmaking center. The team hopes to insert him into the lineup as the team’s third-line center to start and see where he goes from there.

Elliott, who has been mentoring Hart ever since Hart arrived, struggled last year and the team hopes the 35-year-old can find his game this season. If not, the team will likely move on from him in a year.

Two Years Remaining

F Claude Giroux ($8.25MM, UFA)
F Sean Couturier ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Justin Braun ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Robert Hagg ($1.6MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel ($1.08MM, RFA)

Giroux has been one of the most dominant Flyers players in their history with 257 goals and 810 points over his career. He put up 21 goals last year in just 69 games, but did see a decline in his overall points as his point totals went from 85 to 53. At 32 years of age, it’s likely that we’ll see the start of a decline in the next few years, but with two years remaining on his contract, the team does have some relief coming down the road. If Giroux can bounce back this year, he’ll remain a viable player for a few more years and can eventually be signed to a cheaper deal as he reaches his mid-30’s.

Couturier, on the other hand, is also coming off a disappointing season. After two straight 30-goal seasons, he struggled with just 22 goals in 69 games. Of course, had he played the entire 82 games, he may have come close to those goal-scoring numbers, but the 28-year-old should continue to post good numbers for the next few years and his contract looks like a value deal if he can get back to 30 goals once again.

Braun provides some much-needed veteran depth on the blueline after the Flyers traded a second and third-round pick to acquire him last offseason. They still get two more years out of him. Hagg also provides key depth despite an injury plagued 2019-20.

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Vancouver Canucks Sign Tyler Graovac To One-Year Deal

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The Vancouver Canucks announced they have brought back unrestricted free agent Tyler Graovac and signed the veteran to a one-year, two-way deal. The 27-year-old bounced between Vancouver and the Utica Comets of the AHL last season and likely will do the same again this year.

Graovac spent most of the season injured last year after suffering a lower-body injury. He did appear in eight games with the Canucks, scoring two goals, while also appearing in 11 games for Utica, posting two goals and three points. He was with the Canucks in the playoff bubble, but did not appear in a game.

The 6-foot-5 forward has appeared in just 70 NHL games over his career with most of those coming in 2016-17 when he played 52 games for the Minnesota Wild. However, he struggled to gain a full-time role after that and was traded to Washington where he spent most of that next season with the Capitals’ AHL team. He signed with the Calgary Flames in the 2018 offseason, but never played a game for them, scoring a career-high 24 goals with the Stockton Heat instead. Graovac signed last offseason with the Canucks then.

 

Who Your Team Is Thankful For: Edmonton Oilers

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We’ve now made it past Thanksgiving and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Oilers most thankful for?

A team that looks to be deep enough to compete near the top.

The team may have two of the best players in the league (see below), but the biggest problem the team has dealt with over the past few years was their lack of top-six and even top-nine depth to assist those two players. However, while the the Oilers have always had Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, he has finally found a place next to Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto on the second line. That trio was dominant in the second half of the season once the line was put together.

Edmonton also added several veterans to the roster, adding James Neal a year ago, who showed he wasn’t done yet. They then added Tyler Ennis at the trade deadline and signed Kyle Turris this offseason, giving the team quite a bit of veteran depth to fill in gaps in the middle six.

Perhaps the most interesting player to keep an eye on will be former top prospect Jesse Puljujarvi, who finally returned to Edmonton after playing last year in the Liiga after he left the team due to his lack of playing time. The fourth-overall pick from the 2016 draft hasn’t panned out yet, but is only 22 years old and returns to the NHL with plenty of confidence after being one of the top scorers in Finland’s top pro league.

Who are the Oilers most thankful for?

Two Hart Trophy winners in Connor McDavid and now Draisaitl.

Few teams can boast they have one Hart Trophy winner, let alone two and both McDavid and Draisaitl are still so young that they can still get better. McDavid had put together three straight 100-point seasons and would have done that last year (he had 97 points), but the pandemic stopped that streak. Nevertheless, he is one of the best, if not the best player in the NHL.

Now Draisaitl, who dominated in 2018-19 with a 50-goal, 105-point season, posted another impressive year, scoring 45 and leading the league with 110 points in just 71 games. The two finally were split onto separate lines on even strength, but still dominated together on the power play, giving the team the top-ranked power play in the league by a whopping 29.5 percent, more than four percent better than the second place power play team.

Those two players only make it easier for general manager Ken Holland to build a solid team around sooner than later.

What would the Oilers be even more thankful for?

A return to form of Tyson Barrie.

With an injury to Oscar Klefbom that could keep him out for the entirety of the 2020-21 season, Holland went out and inked Barrie to a one-year deal after the once highly-touted blueliner suffered through a disastrous season with the Toronto Maple Leafs a year ago. Toronto brought in Barrie via trade in hopes of shoring up their deficient defense, but the offensive-minded defenseman never fit into the Maple Leafs’ system and even saw his offensive numbers drop like a stone. Barrie was coming off  two straight 14-goal, 50+ point seasons in Colorado, but managed just five goals and 39 points.

However, in Edmonton with a prove-it deal in hand (as well as no Klefbom to take away power play minutes), Barrie should get every opportunity to find his game and return his status as a top offensive defenseman.

What should be on the Oilers holiday wish list?

A goalie upgrade.

If there is one area of weakness in Edmonton, it’s in net. The team is hamstrung under Mikko Koskinen, who is being paid as a starter, but is a tandem goalie at best. The team had hoped to pry Jacob Markstrom away from Vancouver in free agency, but were outbid by the Calgary Flames. Instead of grabbing at another free-agent, the team opted to sign Mike Smith to another one-year deal. However, the team might be better off searching the trade market at some point and fixing that goaltending situation later in the season, depending on the team’s success this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Lightning Sign Gage Goncalves To Entry-Level Deal

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have signed second-round pick Gage Goncalves to a three-year entry-level deal. He is the second 2020 second-round pick that the Lightning has signed in the last 24 hours as Tampa Bay inked Jack Finley (#57) Saturday to an entry-level contract. Goncalves was chosen five picks later at #62.

Goncalves has taken the long road to get where he was. The forward was signed by the WHL’s Everett Silvertips as an undrafted free agent as he was considered a weak skater, who lacked size or physicality back when he was 14 years old. He was given a camp invite in 2016 and 2017 to make the Silvertips and was cut both times. However, he never gave up, continuing to work on his game and constantly working on building up his body.

He was given a third chance in 2018 and made the team. Even then, Goncalves didn’t produce much, posting just a goal and 15 points in the 2018-19 season. Then suddenly last year, everything changed for him as he broke out for 33 goals and 71 points and showcased skills that many had not seen before. One reason for the change was a growth spurt that pushed his height to 6-foot-1. That production prompted the Lightning to grab Goncalves in the second-round, something that seemed impossible just one year before that.

Despite signing a three-year deal, Goncalves is expected to return to Everton next season, which will allow his contract to slide at least one more year.

Former Avalanche CEO Pierre Lacroix Passes Away

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The Colorado Avalanche fans received some bad news today when TVA’s Renaud Lavoie announced that former longtime Avalanche president and general manager Pierre Lacroix passed away at the age of 72.

The Avalanche released a statement:

It is with great sadness that the Colorado Avalanche organization has learned of the passing of Pierre Lacroix. Pierre was the architect of the Avalanche’s two Stanley Cup championships, which included the city of Denver’s first major sports championship in 1996. Pierre was instrumental in not only the team’s on-ice success but also building the Avalanche brand into what it is today. His legacy reaches far beyond the NHL level and his impact can be felt throughout all of youth hockey in the Rocky Mountain region. Our thoughts are with the Lacroix family during this difficult time, his wife, Colombe, his sons Martin and Eric, and his three grandchildren.

Lacroix was the master builder of two Stanley Cup Champion teams in both 1996 and 2001. He was known as a GM who was only focused on winning during his tenure. He might be best known for his big-time deals before both Stanley Cup championships, including trading for goaltender Patrick Roy during the 1995-96 season and then acquiring Ray Bourque during 1999-2000 and Rob Blake in 2000-01.

The GM was actually named general manager of the Quebec Nordiques in 1994 and traveled with the team on its move to Denver the following year. Lacroix eventually stepped down from his general manager role in 2006 and stayed on as president of the team until 2013 before taking on an advisory role with the team.

Everyone at PHR wishes the best to the family and friends of Lacroix and all who he touched during his life.

 

Three More ECHL Teams Opt Out for 2020-21 Season

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Dec 7: Official now, the ECHL has announced that the three teams have elected to suspend play for the 2020-21 season. All three are expected back for the 2021-22 season, but players signed to ECHL contracts with the clubs are now free agents.

Dec 6: With eight ECHL teams already having suspended operations due to COVID-19 for the 2020-21 season, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that three more teams have announced they will not play next season, including the Cincinnati Cyclones (Buffalo Sabres affiliate), Idaho Steelheads (Dallas Stars) and the Kalamazoo Wings (Vancouver Canucks).

That makes it 11 out of 26 teams, almost half the league that has bowed out due to the pandemic. Marek also adds that two other teams, the Fort Wayne Komets (Vegas Golden Knights) and the Toledo Walleye (Detroit Red Wings), have not decided their status yet, meaning it could be half the league if both teams suspend their operations. Much of that concern stems from teams’ financial success as much of their financial gains comes from ticket sales, which is a major problem as many cities are not allowing fans to attend sporting events.

The other eight ECHL teams that backed out earlier this year were the Worcester Railers (New York Islanders), Maine Mariners (New York Rangers), Reading Royals (Philadelphia Flyers), Newfoundland Growlers (Toronto Maple Leafs), Adirondack Thunder (New Jersey Devils), Brampton Beast (Ottawa Senators), Atlanta Gladiators (Boston Bruins) and the Norfolk Admirals (no affiliation).

While the ECHL is the “AA” version of hockey teams, it’s a major hit to NHL teams who have used the league as a way to develop prospects who might not be ready for AHL action yet and is especially beneficial to goaltenders who need seasoning out of junior leagues, such as Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. While top prospects are likely to find some work, other young players could have a much more challenging time finding a team they can play for this upcoming season, which will definitely hurt their development.

Snapshots: Laine, Sabres, Henriksson, Team USA

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With trade rumors surrounding the Winnipeg Jets and Patrik Laine, there are many wondering if a deal is coming any time soon. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe writes that no matter what happens between the Jets and Laine, nothing will be happening any time soon.

With most teams already at the flatlined salary cap, Wiebe writes that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will likely wait until next offseason when more teams might have the cap room to take on Laine and be able to send the assets that the Jets want back. That’s not to say that the Jets have given up on signing Laine to an extension. The scribe writes that while the two sides have had some issues, he doesn’t believe that it has reached a point of no return and believes an extension is just possible as a trade.

The problem with a contract is that Laine is a rare gem, who has 138 goals in 305 games and is tied for seventh in the league for goals scored since 2016. Throw in the fact that he’s still quite young at age 22 and is just starting to develop into a complete player and it isn’t easy coming up with the parameters of a deal.

  • The Buffalo Sabres could go in two different directions this season with a team having a solid chance to reach the playoffs. However, if the team goes its usual route lately and once again find themselves out of the playoffs near the trade deadline, NBC Sports James O’Brien writes that Buffalo would have a few assets that could net them a solid return. While newly signed forward Taylor Hall has a no movement clause, it still quite plausible that he would waive that if things go south in Buffalo to get a chance at the playoffs, while veteran Eric Staal might also proven to be a valuable asset if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. The 36-year-old has a affordable $3.25MM contract, which could make him attractive down the road. That doesn’t even include players like Rasmus Ristolainen, Carter Hutton and a few others who are already on the team. Needless to say, the hope is the team finally breaks its nine-year playoff drought, but it could turn into a different direction if things don’t go right in Buffalo.
  • Just yesterday, it was announced that Team Sweden would be without 2021 draft prospect William Eklund for the World Junior Championship this year after the 18-year-old tested positive for COVID-19. Now Sweden has taken another hit immediately after that news when Adam Johansson of Expressen.se reports (translation required) that the team’s No. 1 center Karl Henriksson will also have to miss the World Juniors after also testing positive for COVID-19. While the World Juniors don’t start in Edmonton until Dec. 26, the Swedish team is expected to leave for Canada on Dec. 13th, too late for the two young prospects to pass quarantine rules before having to enter the country. Henriksson, a second-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2019, has been centering top prospects Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz in international play and will be a big loss for Sweden.
  • Sticking with the World Juniors, Team USA has lost a few prospects as a Boston University trio will not be attending the World Juniors training camp due to COVID-19 protocols, according to New England Hockey Journal’s Jeff Cox. The U.S. team will have to do without forward Robert Mastrosimone, a second-round pick in 2019 by the Detroit Red Wings; defenseman Alex Vlasic, a second-round pick in 2019 by the Chicago Blackhawks; and goaltender Drew Commesso, a second-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks this year.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Columbus Blue Jackets

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert 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 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 2020-21 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 CapFriendly.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Current Cap Hit: $72,274,125 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Emil Bemstrom (two years, $925K)
D Andrew Peeke (one year, $917K)
F Alexandre Texier (one year, $898K)
F Liam Foudy (two years, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Bemstrom: $850K
Peeke: $850K
Foudy: $375K
Total: $2.08MM

Despite not having brought in much young talent the past few years in the draft, the Blue Jackets do still have a number of young players who could make a quick impact on their franchise. Bemstrom, a fourth-round pick from 2017, came over from Sweden last year at the age of 20 and played in 56 games, scoring 10 goals in his rookie season. He should continue to force his way into the more and more minutes and the speedy forward could eventually develop into a 25-goal scorer. Texier is another quick-moving forward who could develop into a future core piece of the team. Despite dealing with a back injury, Texier scored six goals in 36 games as a 20-year-old. Foudy played most of last season in the OHL, but did get a chance to appear in two games for Columbus, but the 2018 first-rounder is also a candidate to challenge for playing time with the Blue Jackets next season.

Peeke, on the other hand, looks to already be penciled into the Blue Jackets’ blueline. With the departures of Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara, Peeke will get every opportunity to claim one of the third pairing openings. The 22-year-old looked impressive in 22 appearances last year and could eventually work his way towards a top-four spot.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Brandon Dubinsky ($5.85MM, UFA)
F Nick Foligno ($5.5MM, UFA)
D David Savard ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Riley Nash ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Oliver Bjorkstrand ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Mikko Koivu ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Mikhail Grigorenko ($1.2MM, UFA)
F Kevin Stenlund ($874K, RFA)

The Blue Jackets have quite a bit of salary coming off the books next season. First off the list will be Dubinsky who has scored just 12 goals since the 2017 season as he has been dealing with a wrist injury and recently general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he wasn’t likely to ever play professional hockey again. That frees up a lot of cap room. Foligno is a different matter, however, as the 33-year-old may have seen a slight decline in his play recently, but the team will likely do what it can to retain their captain, who has been a key figure for the team both on and off the ice, even if he may be moving to the bottom-six of the lineup in the near future.

The team will also have to make a decision on Savard, who is one of the team’s top defensive players. The 30-year-old doesn’t help much offensively, but is a minutes eater who has been a key piece to the team’s top-four.

On the restricted front, the team’s top RFA next offseason will be Bjorkstrand, who has scored 20 or more goals for two straight seasons and is starting to come into his own. The 25-year-old posted 21 goals in 49 games last year, on pace for a potential 35-goal season had an ankle injury and the pandemic not cut into a chunk of his season.

Kekalainen also took a couple fliers, signing veteran Koivu and KHL star Grigorenko to one-year deals. Koivu should provide the team with key leadership and be able to help out the team’s bottom-six and penalty kill, while the Blue Jackets are hoping that Grigorenko, a former lottery pick in 2012, might be able to make it work in North America on his second attempt. The Russian, now 26, could never find his niche in the NHL and returned to the KHL, where he tallied 38 goals and 93 points combined in his last two seasons for CSKA Moscow.

Two Years Remaining

D Seth Jones ($5.4MM, UFA)
F Max Domi ($5.3MM, UFA)
D Zach Werenski ($5MM, UFA)
G Elvis Merzlikins ($4MM, UFA)
F Boone Jenner ($3.75MM, UFA)
G Joonas Korpisalo ($2.8MM, UFA)
D Dean Kukan ($1.65MM, UFA)
D Scott Harrington ($1.63MM, UFA)
F Eric Robinson ($975K, UFA)
F Nathan Gerbe ($750K, UFA)
D Gabriel Carlsson ($725K, RFA)

The Blue Jackets have quite a few key players hitting unrestricted free agency in a couple of years and will have to find a way to sign some of them to long-term deals. At the top of that list are their two star defensemen in Jones and Werenski. Jones has been one of the most dominant players on the team’s stifling defense and plays quite a key role on offense as well. The blueliner scored six goals and 30 points in just 56 games, but was sorely missed when he went down with an ankle injury in February. His partner, Werenski stepped it up, especially on offense last year, breaking the 20-goal mark for the first time and in just 63 games last year. The two together form one of the top defensive lines in hockey. Both will require quite a large sum of money to re-sign, but the Blue Jackets look like they should have money to spare to sign both of them.

Columbus also acquired Domi from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for disgruntled forward Josh Anderson and now have two years to decide if the 25-year-old forward can make the most of the next two seasons. Domi scored 18 goals with Arizona in his rookie year, but then failed to break 10 goals for the next two seasons. Then he was traded to Montreal where he put up 28 goals in his first season there only to post 17 goals the following season and fall out of favor. Now on his third team, the Blue Jackets hope that Domi can put it all together and be the team’s No. 2 center long-term. The team will also have to decide whether Jenner is worth holding onto. After scoring 30 goals in the 2015-16 season, the 27-year-old has seen his offense decline almost every year as he posted just 11 goals last year.

The team may also be forced to make a decision in net in two years as well. The Blue Jackets got a real boost when both Korpisalo, the previous year’s backup, and Merzlikins, the team’s top goalie prospect took over for Sergei Bobrovsky only to watch both flourish. With both locked in for another two years, the team has time to decide which one to keep as neither are making too much money. Although there was talk during the season that Columbus might be willing to move one of its netminders for some offense.

Three Years Remaining

F Gustav Nyquist ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Vladislav Gavrikov ($2.8MM, UFA)

Nyquist was brought in last offseason to offset the losses of Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. The 31-year-old put up 15 goals and 42 points in 70 games last season, which is solid for a middle-six forward, but the team is hoping that can be on pace for better numbers next season. Kekalainen brought in Gavrikov last  year on a one-year entry-level deal and that paid off as he quickly earned a bottom pairing role for the season, using his size and defensive abilities to his advantage. He fared well when pressed into a top-four role and was rewarded in the offseason with a three-year extension and likely will take a bigger role next year with Murray gone. Read more

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