Detroit Red Wings Sign Tyler Motte
The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Tyler Motte to a one-year deal worth $800K. The 29-year-old spent last year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying six goals and three assists in 69 regular season games and a single goal in five playoff games.
The journeyman will join his seventh NHL organization and continues to find work in the league despite being a light scorer and undersized. A fourth-round pick in 2013, Motte has just 49 career goals and 41 assists in 400 NHL games. His best offensive season came in 2022-23 when he split time between the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, Motte finished the year with eight goals and 11 assists in 62 games.
Signing with Detroit marks a homecoming for Motte as he is from St. Clair, Michigan and he played his college hockey with the University of Michigan. Motte spent three years in the NCAA with Michigan and had an offensive breakthrough during the 2015-16 season, posting 32 goals and 24 assists in 38 NCAA games.
Motte’s one-year deal marks his third straight trip through unrestricted free agency that has resulted in a one-year deal as last summer he signed a matching one-year $800K with Tampa Bay, while in September of 2022, he signed a one-year $1.35MM with the Ottawa Senators. Motte will be a free agent once again next summer.
Metro Notes: Tarasenko, Perreault, Hurricanes
Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a contract offer to free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Fresh off the second Stanley Cup of his career and his first with the Florida Panthers, Tarasenko passed through the first day of free agency unsigned. It’s familiar territory for the 32-year-old as he didn’t sign a contract last summer until July 27th.
Tarasenko is no longer a perennial 30-goal scorer, but he remains a solid option on the wing, particularly for the Penguins who are looking for short-term options to play alongside Sidney Crosby. Tarasenko had a good year for Ottawa and Florida, tallying 23 goals and 32 assists in 76 regular season games.
The Penguins have just $3.5MM in available cap space (as per CapFriendly) at the moment but could bury salary in the AHL to open up room should they decide to do so. They also have a stockpile of fourth-line options and could presumably trade Lars Eller or Noel Acciari to open up room for Tarasenko.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today tweeted that New York Rangers forward prospect Gabe Perreault will be going back to Boston College for his sophomore season in the NCAA. The Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick (23rd overall) isn’t sure what direction he will go after the season but given his numbers last year in the NCAA (19 goals and 41 assists in 36 games) it’s fair to wonder if he’ll turn pro. Perreault is the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault and shares many of the same on-ice traits as his father, right down to their height at 5’11”. He has yet to sign his entry-level contract but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be an issue that is bothering Rangers management.
- David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes will be hiring a new president for the organization with an announcement coming in the coming weeks. Former president and general manager Don Waddell resigned back in May and his GM duties were eventually handed off to Eric Tulsky. Waddell oversaw the Hurricanes’ business operations for nearly ten years after he was hired back on July 1st, 2014. There are no indications as to who the Hurricanes new president could be, and it will add another layer of change to an organization that has seen quite a bit of it over the past six weeks. Carolina was busy in the first two days of free agency as they looked to replace the losses of Brett Pesce and Jake Guentzel who both signed elsewhere.
Maple Leafs Sign Joseph Woll To Three-Year Extension
07/01: The Leafs have made Woll’s three-year extension official. The deal will carry a formal cap hit of $3.66MM, giving the deal a total value just shy of $11MM. Woll becomes Toronto’s first goalie under contract this summer.
06/24: The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly closing in on a three-year contract extension with goaltender Joseph Woll (as per Kevin Weekes of ESPN). The extension can’t be formally announced until Woll is eligible for an extension after July 1st, but Weekes indicates that the contract is expected to fall in the range of $ 3.5MM – $4MM annually. The 25-year-old has one year left on his current deal that will pay him $775K next season and will be a restricted free agent on July 1st, 2025. If Weekes’ report is true, the Maple Leafs would be wasting no time in locking up their potential goaltender of the future.
Woll has shown himself to be capable during his brief time in the NHL, compiling a 22-13-1 record with a .915 save percentage in parts of three NHL seasons. He stepped into the net for Toronto in Game 4 of the first round of this year’s playoffs and led the Maple Leafs to victories in Games 5 and Game 6 to force a seventh and deciding game.
Therein lies the risk in signing Woll to an extension, the Dardenne Prairie, Missouri native, while capable, hasn’t been able to stay healthy and that is certainly a cause for concern with any young goaltender. Toronto management surely considered the risk and reward when it comes to Woll’s health and is hoping that the youngster is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Toronto is in the market for another goaltender as they are likely to let Ilya Samsonov walk into free agency and with Woll’s services secured for the next handful of seasons, they will need a capable goaltender to supplant Woll should he run into injury troubles once again.
Metro Notes: Trouba, Smith, Jarry
TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the New York Rangers are willing to retain up to $2.5MM per season if it helps them facilitate a trade for defenseman Jacob Trouba. The Rangers captain has two years remaining with a cap hit of $8MM annually and was reportedly shocked to find his name on the trading block and linked to the Detroit Red Wings.
Trouba’s play has fallen off in recent seasons and while he remains a physical presence on New York’s blueline, his lack of discipline and poor defensive work isn’t justifying his large cap hit. Trouba posted just three goals and 19 assists in 69 games last season and was a -4. While he has never been an analytics darling, Trouba’s CF% cratered last season to 47.2% at even strength.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas remains open and willing to trade Reilly Smith but according to sources, the team has been unable to find a dance partner. Smith never settled into Pittsburgh after coming over in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights for a third-round pick but did have a better second half of the season finishing with 13 goals and 27 assists in 76 games. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas told the media on Friday that he hoped to collect draft picks and prospects this summer while maintaining a competitive NHL roster, but if that is the ask for Smith it’s difficult to see a team stepping up with that kind of offer until after free agent options have dried up.
- Josh Yohe of The Athletic also spoke about Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry saying that Pittsburgh was willing to move the 29-year-old but weren’t able to find any interested parties. Jarry has four years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.375MM and has struggled with consistency throughout his career, fading in the second half of several seasons in a row. A number of goaltenders have moved in recent days, but with Jarry’s spotty record and large financial commitment, it’s hard to imagine a team stepping up unless Pittsburgh is willing to retain a large portion of salary to facilitate a deal.
Morning Notes: Askarov, Tanev, Laine
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that the Nashville Predators have told teams interested in goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov that they would like to get a current NHLer back in a trade or another highly touted forward or defensive prospect.
The 22-year-old Askarov appeared to be the Predators goaltender of the future, but with Juuse Saros expected to sign a long-term extension in Nashville, Askarov will not have a path to a starter job in the NHL until he is in his 30s. Given his pedigree as an 11th overall pick and his solid AHL numbers, Askarov figures to be an NHL goalie sooner than later, but it appears likely that it will happen in a different market than Nashville.
In other morning notes:
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is guessing that the Toronto Maple Leafs will look to sign recently acquired defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year, $24MM contract extension. Toronto acquired Tanev’s rights yesterday and early reports indicated that they could offer a deal of five to eight years in length. The 34-year-old Tanev wasn’t likely to sign in Dallas and the team elected to get something for him rather than letting him walk for free. Toronto has long sought after a defenseman like Tanev, and now that they’ve jumped the line to negotiate with him, they are expected to get a deal done.
- Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic write that the Minnesota Wild have had talks with the Columbus Blue Jackets about potentially acquiring scorer Patrik Laine. The 26-year-old Laine hasn’t been the goal-scorer he was when he broke into the league with the Winnipeg Jets back in 2016-17 but hasn’t had much support in Columbus and was limited to just 18 games last season. A change of scenery could be just what Laine needs as he tries to get his career back on track. The Wild struggled to score last season and with limited cap space, they will be looking for bounce-back seasons from several current players. Acquiring Laine might provide a safety net for Minnesota if they aren’t able to get depth scoring from their current roster of players.
Free Agency Notes: Wedgewood, Girgensons, Necas
Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood is expected to test free agency on July 1st (as per Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside). The 31-year-old is coming off a two-year, $2MM that was the first one-way NHL deal of Wedgewood’s career. The Etobicoke, Ontario native has made it clear that he would like a raise on his $1MM and given that he didn’t start making NHL money until he was 29, it makes sense that would attempt to maximize his earning potential while he has a window to do so.
Wedgewood wasn’t great last season, posting a 16-7-5 record with the Stars, a 2.85 goals-against average, and a .899 save percentage. However, the free-agent goalie market is very thin this summer and he should have an opportunity to get a multi-year deal at bigger money than his last contract.
In other free agency notes:
- The Buffalo Sabres are still waiting to hear if forward Zemgus Girgensons plans to test free agency (as per Lance Lysowski). It was reported a month ago that the Sabres wouldn’t re-sign the 30-year-old, but they have reportedly offered him a contract to stay in Buffalo. The Riga, Latvia native has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Sabres, dressing in 688 games. Girgensons has only topped 20 points twice in his career and not since the 2014-15 season. He signed a one-year $2.5MM last June to forgo free agency but had the worst offensive season of his career with just eight goals and six assists in 63 games. While he didn’t produce much offense, his possession numbers at even-strength weren’t awful with a CF% of 49.2%.
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that the Carolina Hurricanes could change their mind on trading forward Martin Necas. The Hurricanes have been trying to sign pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel and if he leaves Friedman believes the team could keep Necas and go to arbitration or sign a one-year deal. Carolina let the Columbus Blue Jackets negotiate a contract extension with Necas in an attempt to trade for the fourth overall pick, but the two sides weren’t able to reach an agreement.
Stars Buy Out Ryan Suter
June 28, 12:33 p.m.: The Stars made Suter’s buyout official on Friday. Since his contract carried a no-move clause, he doesn’t need to pass through unconditional waivers before being bought out. He will be eligible to sign anywhere as a UFA starting Monday.
June 27, 2:23 p.m.: Suter’s camp was informed of the buyout by the Stars last night, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports. There are already multiple teams interested in signing him when he becomes a free agent in the coming days, per LeBrun.
June 27, 9:07 a.m.: Jeff Marek of Sportsnet is reporting that the Dallas Stars are buying out the final year of defenseman Ryan Suter’s contract. Suter was owed $4.3MM in actual salary and was set to carry a cap hit of $3.65MM as part of the four-year $14.6MM contract he inked in July 2021. The buyout marks the second time in Suter’s career that his contract has been cut short, as the Minnesota Wild bought out the final four years of his 13-year, $98MM contract back in July 2021.
With the move, Dallas will add a $1.4MM charge to their cap for the 2025-26 season, but they will save $2.866MM this season (as per CapFriendly). Typically, a 35+ contract buyout wouldn’t lead to any savings, however, Suter’s contract was not frontloaded and had no signing bonuses after the first year, meaning the Stars will see some savings.
Suter played in all 82 games last season for Dallas but saw his offensive production drop for a second consecutive season as he tallied just two goals and 15 assists. His average ice time dropped to the lowest it has been since his rookie season with Nashville back in 2005-06.
While Suter isn’t the elite rearguard he once was, he remained an effective player for the Stars as he never missed a game in his three years with the team and was still a decent possession player, posting a CF% of 51% at even-strength. Suter can still skate and block shots and is responsible in his end, he is still an NHL defenseman despite being 39 years old. Suter will likely have interest from other teams in free agency if he elects to continue his career.
For the Stars, the move is surprising, but it makes sense given that they are hoping to retain pending unrestricted free agents Chris Tanev and Matt Duchene. Dallas had just over $16MM in available cap space coming into today and also has to try and re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Thomas Harley. If they do sign those three players, it will eat into most of their remaining cap space and would have left little room to fill out the remainder of their roster.
First Six Players Of 4 Nations Face-Off Rosters Announced
Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the United States have each named the first six players of their rosters for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off (Twitter link). The event will take place from February 12th, 2025, until February 20th, 2025. It will be hosted at the Bell Centre in Montreal as well as the TD Garden in Boston. Each roster will consist of 20 skaters and three goaltenders meaning each team will name 17 additional players later this year.
The lineups are as follows:
Sweden:
- D Victor Hedman (Lightning)
- D Erik Karlsson (Penguins)
- D Gustav Forsling (Panthers)
- F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
- F William Nylander (Maple Leafs)
- F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
Finland
- G Juuse Saros (Predators)
- D Miro Heiskanen (Stars)
- D Esa Lindell (Stars)
- F Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes)
- F Aleksander Barkov (Panthers)
- F Mikko Rantanen (Avalanche)
Canada
- D Cale Makar (Avalanche)
- F Sidney Crosby (Penguins)
- F Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
- F Brad Marchand (Bruins)
- F Connor McDavid (Oilers)
- F Brayden Point (Lightning)
United States
- D Adam Fox (Rangers)
- D Quinn Hughes (Canucks)
- D Charlie McAvoy (Bruins)
- F Jack Eichel (Golden Knights)
- F Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs)
- F Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers)
It’s hard to decide which of these rosters looks the most imposing with an initial glimpse. Canada leads the bunch with arguably the three best forwards in the NHL – in McDavid, MacKinnon, and Crosby. That trio will be incredibly tough to overcome, especially as MacKinnon has expressed interest in playing on Crosby’s wing. Assuming that would bump McDavid to his own line, Canada would have superstar power throughout their top-six.
But while Canada has loaded up on offense, America has loaded up on defense – bringing two Norris Trophy winners and one long-time favorite for the award. That should give them plenty of defense to corral Canada’s stars – at least enough to allow Matthews and Tkachuk a chance to strike. This tournament will notably mark the first time Matthews has faced off against McDavid on the international stage, after avoiding each other during their World Juniors runs and playing together on ‘Team North America’ at the 2017 World Cup.
Not to be left behind, Sweden is bringing their own pair of Norris Trophy winners in Hedman and Karlsson, flanked by a recent Norris-favorite – and this year’s fourth-place finisher – in Gustav Forsling. The trio offers the full suite of defensive skills, which should give good rise to the dynamic playmakers that will lead their offense.
But while Sweden and America take on the defense-first approach, Finland has joined Canada in loading up on offense – bringing the reigning Selke Trophy winner, Barkov, together with top-line scorers in Aho and Rantanen. The trio could make up one line, or support the majority of a depth chart, giving the Finns a bit more security as they look to enter the tournament with plenty of forward and goaltending talent – but a defense corps that could struggle to keep up with the other three attendees.
East Notes: Stamkos, Hedman, Flyers
Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to engage in contract talks but Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois isn’t sure that a deal will get done before July 1st (as per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times). The Lightning GM met with Stamkos’ representatives as recently as yesterday but with Tampa Bay’s cap crunch, the 2008 first overall pick may go to market.
Stamkos would have no shortage of suitors (as per Darren Dreger of TSN) if he becomes an unrestricted free agent and it would mark the end of an incredible era in Tampa Bay. Stamkos has won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning as well as two Rocket Richard trophies and has tallied 555 goals and 582 assists in 1082 NHL games. If the 34-year-old does go to market, he is sure to find a lucrative deal as he is coming off a season in which he registered 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games.
In other Eastern Conference notes:
- Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has held extension talks with defenseman Victor Hedman. BriseBois told the media that he hopes that he will agree on an extension in the coming days as Hedman is eligible to sign a new deal on July 1st. The 33-year-old has one year left on his current contract and is coming off another strong season in which he posted 13 goals and 63 assists in 78 games. Hedman’s cap hit for next year will be $7.875MM, but his actual salary will be $7MM.
- Pierre LeBrun of TSN is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers made a big push to try and acquire the fourth overall pick in this year’s NHL entry draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets. LeBrun’s sources have told him the Philadelphia made the offer on Wednesday and it was reported to include a swap of first-round picks, a player off the Flyers roster, and potentially the Flyers first-round pick next year. According to reports, Blue Jackets’ general manager Don Waddell turned down the offer, but it remains possible that the teams re-engage in the hours leading up to the draft.
Penguins Notes: Pettersson, Jarry, Smith
Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins and defensemen Marcus Pettersson have a mutual interest in signing a contract extension this summer. The 28-year-old Pettersson has one year left on his five-year contract at a cap hit of $4.025MM and was arguably the Penguins’ most steady defender last year, playing big minutes with both Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson and elevating both players.
The Penguins acquired Pettersson back in December 2018 for forward Daniel Sprong and the Skelleftea, Sweden native quickly became a regular on the Penguins’ back end. Pettersson has never been much of an offensive contributor but did post four goals and 26 assists in 82 games last season while playing 22:40 a game and providing terrific work on the penalty kill.
Pettersson’s next contract is tough to project, but given his contributions of late, it’s not unrealistic to expect his AAV to fall in the range of $5.5MM to $6MM per season on a long-term deal.
In other Penguins notes:
- Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that Tristan Jarry can submit a new 12-team no-trade list to the Penguins on July 1st, which could complicate a potential trade if they don’t move him before that day. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas would reportedly like to make a hockey trade for Jarry if he chooses to move him and wants to receive back a top-six winger or a top-four defenseman. According to Rossi, the Penguins aren’t in a rush to deal Jarry and are comfortable starting next season with him and recently re-signed Alex Nedeljkovic, as there is some debate about whether top goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist is ready to take a role in the NHL next season.
- The Penguins are hesitant to bring forward Reilly Smith back for the final season of his contract (as per Rossi). Pittsburgh management doesn’t believe that Smith was unhappy to be a Penguin, but reportedly hoped he would have an easier transition to the team after he came over in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights. Smith recently changed agents and is now represented by Pat Brisson, who also represents teammate Sidney Crosby. Rossi believes that the Penguins will work with Brisson to determine the best situation for Smith and the team and act accordingly. If that course of action is a trade, then the Penguins will look to move Smith to a destination that suits him. The Penguins offered Smith up at the trade deadline but couldn’t find a dance partner at that time. Smith has one year left on his contract at a $5MM cap hit.