Noah Hanifin Reverses Course, Open To Extension In Calgary
Speaking with reporters, including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg at the NHL’s media tour in Las Vegas, Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin said he’s “absolutely” willing to consider an extension with the team.
Hanifin, 26, was unwilling to sign an extension in Calgary at the beginning of the offseason, according to reporting from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Along with Mikael Backlund and Elias Lindholm, who have expressed a conditional willingness to extend depending on the team’s performance this season, Hanifin is slated for unrestricted free agency next summer. He’s coming off a 2022-23 season in which he played 81 of 82 games, registered seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points, recorded a 53.0% Corsi for at even strength, and averaged a career-high 22:39 per game. LeBrun said earlier this summer Calgary was likely to trade Hanifin – something that didn’t come to fruition, and he’s now projected to start 2023-24 alongside potential captaincy candidate Rasmus Andersson on the team’s top pairing.
If they do extend him, it certainly won’t be on a discount – as is the likely scenario with Backlund and Lindholm. With extensions unlikely to be reached before the start of the season, Evolving Hockey projects an eight-year, $7.5MM AAV deal for Hanifin to remain in Calgary. Their model also predicts an eight-year extension at $8.4MM per season for Lindholm, but recent reporting from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that figure will be closer to $9MM if Lindholm does extend. For Backlund, they predict a four-year deal at around $5.5MM per season. For a team with little to no salary cap flexibility this summer, is extending all three even financially feasible if the players remain open to it?
The short answer is barely. CapFriendly currently projects the Flames with roughly $35.5MM in cap space for the 2024-25 season with a roster size of just 11 players, assuming the Upper Limit rises from $83.5MM to $87.5MM as projected. Taking the figures above means re-signing all three of Backlund, Hanifin and Lindholm would cost around $22MM, bringing that cap space figure to $13.5MM with a roster size of only 14. That would involve filling out the rest of their roster with contracts averaging less than $1.5MM AAV apiece, and it’ll likely take significantly more than that number to retain other pending UFA defenders like Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov as well as re-signing pending RFA forward Dillon Dubé.
Carey Price Confirms He Won’t Return To Play
Legendary Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price confirmed to reporters today his nagging knee injury will prevent him from returning to NHL play “barring a miracle,” expected news after missing the entire 2022-23 season and all but five games in 2021-22. Price had left the door open to a return at the beginning of last season but mentioned he was still having trouble with day-to-day activities and would have to wait and see how much he improved over the coming months.
Price said today he’s still not where he’d like to be in terms of his quality of life and, therefore, is all but closing the book on his 15-year NHL career. He is one of the best netminders in franchise history for a team stacked with legends such as Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante and Patrick Roy. While never winning a Stanley Cup, he got awfully close in 2021 as he guided the Canadiens on a miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final in what would be his final full season. He does have some significant hardware to his name, however, winning the Vezina and Hart Trophies in the 2014-15 season.
Selected fifth overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Price is the best of a quartet of elite netminders to come out of the class, which included Ben Bishop, Jonathan Quick and Tuukka Rask. While he wouldn’t make his NHL debut for another few years, he made his presence known immediately as a rookie in the 2007-08 season. While starting just 40 games, he still managed to finish fourth in Calder voting and ninth in Vezina voting after posting a 24-12-3 record and a .920 save percentage. He would eclipse the .920 mark five more times over the years, including a four-year stretch from 2013-14 to 2016-17, when he was arguably the most dominant netminder in the league when healthy. Despite all that, he would be woefully overlooked when it came to awards voting, only earning a Vezina Trophy nomination twice.
That aforementioned four-year run was enough to make Price the highest-paid goalie per season in NHL history, inking an eight-year, $10.5MM AAV extension with the Habs on July 2, 2017. That contract, with a full no-movement clause, will remain in effect through the 2025-26 season. Price said today he’s open to the Canadiens trading his contract to alleviate any potential salary cap issues.
His 712 NHL games are the second-most all-time among goalies who spent their entire NHL career with one franchise, trailing only Henrik Lundqvist. At career’s end, he boasts an all-time record of 361-261-79, 49 shutouts, a 2.51 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage. He holds Canadiens franchise records for both games played and wins.
Unfortunately, nagging hip and knee problems which exacerbated over the course of the 2021 playoffs were simply too much to overcome in order to make a full-time NHL return. Price wasn’t expected to miss any time after the initial surgery, undergone after the Canadiens left him exposed in the 2021 Expansion Draft for the Seattle Kraken. In fact, the Canadiens said themselves he’d be ready for opening night in 2021-22. He entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program at the beginning of 2021-22, however, and sustained a setback while training for his return after exiting the program in January. He got healthy enough to play at the tail end of the season, but the appearances caused further swelling in his knee – making it clear his playing days were potentially coming to an end.
All of us at PHR wish Price the best as he puts his true focus on the post-playing aspect of his career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NHL Remains Open To Atlanta Expansion
The NHL would seriously consider an expansion bid from the Atlanta area if the league did decide to add a 33rd franchise, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski Tuesday.
There’s been a quick one-two punch of recent expansion adds with the inception of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021, the league’s first adds in nearly two decades since bringing in the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild in 2000. That’s led to more public chatter about further expansion, fuelled even further by the record-setting sale of the Ottawa Senators for nearly $1B. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman maintains that expansion isn’t top of mind for the NHL right now, however, and more pressing concerns for the league and the NHLPA revolve around returning to a consistent international tournament schedule. When the league does decide to add to its family, however, Daly told Wyshynski they’ll employ an “open-door policy” when considering potential markets.
Daly believes the past reasons why two Atlanta franchises (the Flames and Thrashers) failed can be “overcome” if the league did accept a bid for a third franchise in the area, the eighth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.
“Market demographics have changed pretty dramatically since the first time we went there and then again in 1999,” Daly told Wyshynski. He believes a more suburban arena site, such as the one currently under construction in Alpharetta, would yield better attendance returns, citing the MLB’s Atlanta Braves as a platform for success after their move in 2017.
Atlanta will face fierce competition should an opening for a 33rd NHL team arise, however. Salt Lake City and Hartford-based ownership groups have been hot on the trail of the Arizona Coyotes should relocation become necessary, while Houston and Quebec City remain obvious choices (with the latter receiving significant government support from the province).
Nick Holden Retires, Joins Golden Knights Front Office
Longtime NHL defenseman Nick Holden is retiring after a 12-season career and will immediately join the Vegas Golden Knights’ player development staff, according to a team release. His specialty will be working with the team’s group of young defensemen.
Initially eligible for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Holden went undrafted and didn’t make it to an NHL organization until the Columbus Blue Jackets signed him to an entry-level contract in 2008 after completing his junior career with the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins (who have since relocated to Victoria to become the Royals). He would remain in the Blue Jackets organization until 2013 but spent most of it in the AHL, playing just seven NHL contests without recording a point. An unrestricted free agent in 2013, he signed a two-year, $1.2MM contract with the Colorado Avalanche, which jumpstarted his career. Finally playing his rookie campaign as a 26-year-old in the 2013-14 season, Holden recorded 25 points in 54 games for the Avs while averaging nearly 19 minutes per game.
He would settle into a top-four role during his peak, averaging over 20 minutes per game from 2014 to 2019. His career-best season came as a member of the New York Rangers in 2016-17, posting 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points in 80 games and a +13 rating. With the Rangers struggling the following season, however, they dealt him to the Boston Bruins at the 2018 trade deadline, where he played a depth role down the stretch. That led him to sign with the Golden Knights for their second season, and he gave them solid play over the course of three seasons from 2018-19 to 2020-21. After slipping down the depth chart and playing just 17 regular-season games in 2020-21, however, they dealt him to the Ottawa Senators in a swap for scoring winger Evgenii Dadonov.
Holden spent the final two seasons of his career in a Sens jersey, recording 35 points in 141 games while averaging 18:24 across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. His final NHL appearance came in an overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on April 13 of this year, in which he recorded a +1 rating, four shots on goal, 23:13 of ice time, and one block.
After turning 36 in May, Holden steps away from the playing side of the game with 654 career appearances. During his time with the Avalanche, Golden Knights, Blue Jackets, Rangers, Senators, and Bruins, Holden amassed 52 goals, 126 assists, 178 points, and a +16 rating.
“Nick was widely respected by management, teammates, and coaches during his time with the Golden Knights as a player,” Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He fills an important role with our player development and will work not only with our drafted prospects but also with our young pros with the Henderson Silver Knights.”
We at Pro Hockey Rumors congratulate Holden on a respectable career, and we wish him the best as he moves into the next chapter of his career in the sport.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Adam Erne To PTO
The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Adam Erne to a professional tryout agreement, per a team release.
Erne spent the last four seasons in Detroit, scoring 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points across 241 games in a Red Wings jersey. The gritty, 6-foot-1 winger is coming off a two-year, $4.2MM contract signed following an arbitration filing in 2021.
Last season was a disappointing one for the 28-year-old, who found himself on the waiver wire in early February for the first time in his career. He spent around a month with AHL Grand Rapids, recording five assists in nine games. The Red Wings recalled him before the trade deadline in March, and he spent the rest of the season in the big leagues.
Erne, the 33rd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, grew into a bottom-six role with the team that drafted him before they dealt his signing rights to the Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round pick in August of 2019.
He joins Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter as PTO adds during Edmonton’s camp, although given his lack of history playing center, Erne has a foggier path to earning a contract. He’ll have to demonstrate he can provide more than youngster Dylan Holloway or Mattias Janmark in order to get a contract, whereas Gagner and Sutter are only battling with strict depth center Lane Pederson for the fourth-line pivot job.
Unless Erne would be okay with an AHL assignment out of the gate, it’s unlikely this stint in camp will result in an NHL contract. Edmonton’s NHL roster availability is extremely limited – per CapFriendly’s projections, they only have room to carry one extra skater on their roster in order to be cap-compliant at the beginning of the season.
Joona Luoto Signs In Swiss League
Free agent forward Joona Luoto has signed a three-month try-out contract with NL club SC Bern, according to a team release. The deal contains a built-in option to extend through the end of the 2023-24.
Luoto, 25, spent last season in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. While he did record a goal (his first in the NHL) in seven games with Columbus, he spent most of 2022-23 in the minors with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. There, he tied for fourth on the team in goals with 14 and added 11 assists for 25 points in 45 games.
That was Luoto’s second attempt to stick in North America. The Winnipeg Jets signed him as a free agent from Liiga club Tappara before the 2019-20 season, but he disappointed with no points in 16 NHL contests and just four assists in 18 AHL games with the Manitoba Moose. Things didn’t go much better for him in the second year of his entry-level deal, playing just 11 AHL games thanks to the COVID-shortened 2021 campaign, recording four points yet again.
The disappointing stint led to Luoto returning to Tappara for the 2021-22 campaign, where he appeared to figure things out by season’s end. His nine goals and 14 points in 27 regular-season games didn’t jump off the page, but he exploded to lead the team in postseason scoring (17 points in 14 games) and won the Jari Kurri Award for the best player in the Liiga playoffs en route to a championship with Tappara. He then landed a deal with Columbus last summer on the heels of that performance.
His production with Cleveland was arguably his most promising and consistent professional showing. However, now 25, it’s becoming clear there isn’t enough runway left for an NHL future for the 6-foot-3, 201-pound winger.
Luoto will now try and stick his landing in Europe once again, joining a Bern team looking to rebound after a handful of disappointing seasons. It’s a team chock full of recent NHLers such as Martin Frk, Julius Honka, Dominik Kahun, Corban Knight, Patrik Nemeth, and Colton Sceviour.
Shane Wright Officially Granted Exemption, Can Play In The AHL This Season
Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis has shared that, if Shane Wright doesn’t make the NHL roster, he will be eligible for an AHL assignment. This move was recently speculated by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
CHL players are typically ineligible to play in the AHL until they are 20 years old on or before December 31 of the given season. Shane Wright won’t turn 20 until January 5, missing that cutoff by just five days. Another way to get out of the CHL-NHL agreement is to play four full seasons in the CHL, something Wright would have achieved had the 2020-21 OHL season not been canceled.
Because of these reasons, the OHL has granted Wright an exemption, following conversations between the Kraken, the NHL, and the OHL that date back months ago. These talks focused on how returning to the CHL wouldn’t benefit the former exceptional status recipient, especially after the tangled 2022-23 season that Wright had. Wright started the year with Seattle, before suffering an injury and getting assigned to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for a conditioning stint. After eight games, Wright returned to the NHL for a single game, then left for the World Juniors, and when he came back, his OHL rights had been traded from the Kingston Frontenacs to the Windsor Spitfires – whom he spent the remainder of the season with. But after Windsor’s early postseason exit, Wright returned again to the AHL, playing in 24 playoff games with Coachella Valley.
It was a season filled with travel for Shane Wright – something Seattle will hope to avoid this year. Francis told the Seattle Times, “We’re going to come in and commit to giving Shane every chance to make our team. And if at some point we make a decision that he’s not going to make it, then we would look to assign him to Coachella Valley and I believe at that point we would be fine in doing that.”
Shane Wright recorded two points in eight NHL games last season. He’ll enter the 2023-24 campaign looking to build on those eight games and finally see through his rookie NHL season. But if that doesn’t work, this exemption gives Seattle a contingency plan.
Vegas Golden Knights Sign Max Comtois To PTO
09/12/23: The Vegas Golden Knights have made Comtois’ professional try-out official.
09/12/23: TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reported today that Comtois is currently in Las Vegas this week, and that “you have to expect” that Comtois’ PTO signing with the Golden Knights will be confirmed this week.
There still hasn’t been any official word from Vegas as to whether the former Ducks 16-goal scorer will join the Golden Knights for training camp and preseason. But at this point, there has been enough reporting and smoke around this signing to confidently believe that a PTO is indeed coming.
09/01/23: The Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly set to offer winger Max Comtois a professional tryout contract, as initially reported by BPM Sports’ Marc-Olivier Beaudoin. The former Anaheim Duck did not receive a qualifying offer from the team before the June deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Before the Ducks cut their 2017 second-round pick loose, Comtois had posted 38 goals, 48 assists and 86 points in 210 games. The 24-year-old broke out to lead the Ducks in scoring during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, recording 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games. Things haven’t gone nearly as well in the two seasons since, however. In the 116 games following that breakout year, he’s recorded just 35 points despite more than twice the games played while posting an abysmal -37 rating. However, the latter is more the fault of the team around him than poor individual defensive effort.
The Quebec-born forward plays with an edge to his game and has a solid finishing touch with a career 12.8 shooting percentage. However, consistency and play-driving remain issues, and he’ll need to demonstrate that he’s made some strides in those areas during camp to earn a deal with Vegas.
Should he crack the Golden Knights roster, there would be some opportunity for him in their top nine. He’ll compete directly with Paul Cotter, Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden for a left-wing spot alongside William Karlsson or Chandler Stephenson on the team’s second or third line. There’s solid potential for his offensive totals to climb if he ends up on the same line with Stephenson and captain Mark Stone.
Theoretically, the Golden Knights could sign Comtois to a one-year deal up to around the $1.5MM mark and remain cap-compliant to start the season. CapFriendly projects Vegas with $851,653 in cap space entering the season with a full roster and Robin Lehner on long-term injured reserve, so they’d need to assign a player to the minors regardless of cap considerations to sign Comtois.
Summer Synopsis: New York Islanders
Last season saw the Islanders sneak into the playoffs in a tight Eastern Conference Wild Card race under first-year head coach Lane Lambert. They again struggled to put the puck in the net, failing to finish above 20th overall in goals scored yet again – a mark they haven’t achieved since John Tavares was their captain. With netminder Ilya Sorokin putting up a masterclass in the crease, however, they still rebounded after missing the playoffs in 2021-22 despite star forward Mathew Barzal missing most of the tail end of the season. They hope their offensive fortunes will change with a full season of both Barzal and Bo Horvat as they aim to rediscover the magic that led them to back-to-back Conference Final appearances in 2020 and 2021.
Draft
2-49: F Danny Nelson, USA U18 (NTDP)
4-113: F Jesse Nurmi, KooKoo (Finland U20)
5-145: F Justin Gill, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
6-177: D Zach Schulz, USA U-18 (NTDP)
7-209: D Dennis Good Bogg, AIK (Sweden U20)
The Islanders were out two picks in this year’s rather deep draft and didn’t trade to recoup the ones they lost. Their first-round pick, 17th overall, was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in the Horvat trade, who eventually flipped it to the Detroit Red Wings as part of the return for defenseman Filip Hronek. They conceded their third-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes two summers ago to get out of the tail end of forward Andrew Ladd‘s contract, who officially announced his retirement yesterday. To no one’s surprise, the Islanders’ top pick was a distinct Lou Lamoriello archetype, as Nelson projects as a gritty, two-way center who fights for net-front scoring opportunities (and also stands at 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds). Public scouts are split on his offensive ceiling at the NHL level, however, and he was a late riser up draft boards after recording seven points in seven games for the U.S. at the U18 World Juniors.
Nurmi, however, was quite a solid value pick in the fourth round and will battle for a full-time role in the Liiga with KooKoo after registering a point-per-game at the U18 World Juniors and notching 50 points in 41 games for KooKoo’s U20 club. Gill was the first of two over-age selections – a bit of a puzzling choice with only five selections to spare – but did have a breakout year in juniors with 44 goals and 93 points in 68 games, finishing ninth in QMJHL scoring. Already 20 years old, he projects to return to the QMJHL with Baie-Comeau after an offseason trade for an over-age season instead of turning pro. Schulz didn’t put up flashy point totals with the USNTDP, but he displayed consistent rush-defending instincts all season and will kick off his collegiate career at Wisconsin in 2023-24. Good Bogg, the Isles’ other over-age selection, looks to land a full-time roster spot with AIK in the second-tier Allsvenskan after skating in five games with them last season.
Trade Acquisitions
none
UFA Signings
F Pierre Engvall (seven years, $21MM)
F Julien Gauthier (two years, $1.575MM)
F Karson Kuhlman (one year, $775K)*
D Scott Mayfield (seven years, $24.5MM)
F Brian Pinho (one year, $775K)*
G Ilya Sorokin (eight years, $66MM) [extension, begins 2024-25]
G Semyon Varlamov (four years, $11MM)
*-denotes two-way contract
The Islanders were busy handing out cash this summer, albeit to retain existing talent. Lamoriello locked up his franchise-defining netminder through the 2031-32 campaign, and Sorokin will be the third-highest-paid active goalie in the league when his $8.25MM AAV extension starts in 2024. It’s the fourth-largest Lamoriello has signed in terms of total value throughout his lengthy career as an NHL GM, trailing the recently inked Horvat and Barzal extensions, as well as Ilya Kovalchuk‘s 15-year, $100MM whopper signed with New Jersey in 2010. He has full no-move protection for the first half of the deal and a 16-team no-trade list in the latter half. Given he’s put up over a .920 save percentage for two straight seasons and during his two playoff appearances, it seems an extremely safe bet for a player likely to be their franchise cornerstone for the better part of the 2020s. Without much change to the team in front of him, expect Sorokin to put him strong numbers again in 2023-24, the last season they’ll have him at his bargain $4MM cap hit.
Mayfield got an eyebrow-raising long-term commitment. Although $3.5MM per season isn’t a gross overpayment for his services, he’ll be 37 when his contract ends and still has trade protection. He did, however, post a career-high 24 points last season and finishes out a strong right side on defense behind Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock. Engvall also got a long-term commitment to make him a middle-six fixture on the Island for the rest of the decade. Acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs before last season’s trade deadline, the 27-year-old Swede played out the season in a top-six role alongside Brock Nelson and notched five goals and nine points in 18 games. Varlamov also remains on an affordable cap hit to reprise his role as Sorokin’s mentor and backup through 2027, at which point retirement seems likely at age 39.
Gauthier and Kuhlman were brought in to fight for spots in the team’s bottom six alongside guys like Hudson Fasching, who enjoyed a breakout 2022-23 campaign. Kuhlman is a likely candidate to get waived and assigned to AHL Bridgeport if he doesn’t have an extremely strong camp, and he’ll be a major player there along with Pinho, whom the Islanders also signed to add some minor-league depth.
RFA Re-Signings
D Samuel Bolduc (two years, $1.6MM)
G Jakub Skarek (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Oliver Wahlstrom (one year, $874K)
*-denotes two-way contract
Missing the last 46 games of the 2022-23 season with a lower-body injury cost Wahlstrom in more ways than one. He was on pace for a career-high 37 points had he played a full season, but instead, the 2018 11th overall pick had to settle for a one-year contract equivalent to his qualifying offer after holding out two weeks into July. The toolsy 23-year-old has had his moments in the big leagues, but he’s arguably been under-utilized by his coaches on the Island while simultaneously not quite doing enough to lock down a top-six role. He has 61 points through 161 games thus far, but if he can come back healthy and break out in 2023-24, he’ll play a large part in solving the team’s scoring deficiencies.
Bolduc, 22, will likely start the season in the opening night lineup with Alexander Romanov‘s recovery from offseason shoulder surgery still ongoing. He made his NHL debut last season, scoring three points in 17 games and making two playoff appearances. The team’s second-round pick in 2019 figured things out at the pro level last season, recording 35 points in 59 games with AHL Bridgeport. There were some visible growing pains in his NHL transitions and some mistakes he’ll need to clean up, but he’ll factor in as the team’s seventh defenseman when everyone is healthy and gain some valuable experience from being on the NHL roster.
Seeing Skarek receive a qualifying offer, let alone a two-year commitment was surprising. Entering his fifth pro season with AHL Bridgeport, he’s yet to post above a .900 save percentage and has just a 37-49-10 record at the AHL level (with a career .893 save percentage). What’s even more surprising is he’s currently slated to be Bridgeport’s starter and the Isles’ first call-up option should Sorokin or Varlamov go down with injury – they haven’t signed a veteran goalie to assume the AHL starting role. One has to assume that a signing will come this month.
Departures
F Collin Adams (Kalamazoo, ECHL)
F Andy Andreoff (Novosibirsk, KHL)
F Josh Bailey (trade with Chicago, subsequent buyout)
F Cole Bardreau (Bridgeport, AHL)
F Blade Jenkins (Worcester, ECHL)
F Jeff Kubiak (Bridgeport, AHL)
F Zach Parise (unsigned UFA)
D Parker Wotherspoon (Boston, one year, $775K)*
Bailey finishes out his Islanders career on a low note, but he still had a remarkable stint as one of the most consistent playmakers in franchise history, sitting fourth all-time in assists for the Islanders. After recording just 25 points in 64 games last season, however, his $5MM cap hit for next season was unjustifiable with the team in a financial crunch as is. Parise remains on the UFA list, and Lamoriello said earlier today he won’t be at training camp but isn’t ruling out an in-season return. He notched 21 goals on a bargain-bin deal last season and has played in all 164 games since joining the Islanders in 2021. The only other player on this list who skated in NHL games for the Islanders last season is Wotherspoon, who will move onto a minor-league role in the Bruins organization after recording an assist in 12 NHL games for New York.
Adams, Andreoff, Bardreau, Jenkins, and Kubiak were all minor-league forwards. Bardreau and Kubiak are remaining in the organization on AHL contracts with Bridgeport next season.
Salary Cap Outlook
The Islanders are tight to the cap and won’t be able to start the season with a full 23-player roster, per CapFriendly. Their projections currently put the Islanders at a cap hit of $83.99MM, which can be decreased below the $83.5MM Upper Limit if they operate with just two extra skaters.
Key Questions
Time To Break Up The Identity Line?: The Islanders don’t have many notable pending free agents after their spree of extensions earlier this summer. However, two core members of the Isles’ famed fourth line, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, are entering the last season of their contracts. As they’re both over 34 years old and their already meager offensive output is dwindling, the writing seems on the wall that one or both won’t be returning for 2024-25. With that said, does Lambert dare demote one of them to a 13th forward spot if others (like Gauthier, Kuhlman, or even a younger prospect) impress in camp? Their once-famed defensive impacts fell off a cliff last season – the unit played the most minutes together of any Islanders line but posted an abysmal 41.3% expected goals share, per MoneyPuck’s model.
Can Wahlstrom Break Out?: As referenced earlier, the Islanders are tight to the cap and don’t exactly have a lot of value contracts. Wahlstrom’s one-year extension is the only one with serious potential to give the Islanders 40+ points at a discount, and although it may cost them against the cap in 2024-25 with a more significant extension, they’d like to see him put things together and be a major top-nine contributor this season. Doing so would certainly help pad the loss of Parise, whose 21-goal void they haven’t really filled.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Matvei Michkov Expected To Be Loaned Within KHL
KHL club SKA St. Petersburg is once again loaning Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov to league rival HK Sochi, according to multiple reports out of Russia. St. Petersburg loaned Michkov to the basement-dwelling club near the beginning of last season as well.
The Flyers’ seventh-overall pick in 2023 has skated just 6:12 this season, only playing in one out of St. Petersburg’s four games to begin the 2023-24 KHL season. SKA has also effectively benched another young talent, Minnesota Wild prospect Marat Khusnutdinov, despite recording 41 points in 63 games for them last year.
The move returns Michkov to a club where he should immediately play a top-line role. As an 18-year-old, Michkov recorded 20 points in 27 games for Sochi in 2022-23, leading the team in points per game by far. Sochi has dropped three of their first four games, with their lone win coming from a massive 3-1 upset over 2023 Gagarin Cup finalist Ak Bars Kazan.
This is undoubtedly positive news for Michkov’s development (and the Flyers’ brass), returning him to a role where he can actually get playing time. He’s still under contract with SKA through the 2025-26 season, though, and this song and dance without having control over where Michkov plays is likely what some teams were looking to avoid by passing on him throughout the top five of the 2023 draft.