Training Camp Snapshots: Voracek, Othmann, Zibanejad
In a press release coming out of the Czech Extraliga, former player Jakub Voracek will be joining the Kladno Knights as a powerplay coach for their 2023-24 season. Born and raised in Kladno, Voracek will return home, having his career cut short last year due to concussion symptoms.
A long-time member of both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers organizations, Voracek is currently under contract with the Arizona Coyotes for the 2023-24 season, with his $8.25MM salary currently in one of the team’s LTIR slots. Last March, once it was understood that Voracek would likely never play again due to his concussions, the Blue Jackets traded him, along with a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, to the Coyotes in exchange for goaltender Jon Gillies.
Finding his path in life after hockey, it would have been difficult to find a better powerplay specialist for Kladno. During his time in the NHL, Voracek was one of the better playmakers of his generation when healthy, scoring 55 goals and 204 assists on the powerplay throughout his 1,058 games in the NHL over 15 years.
Other snapshots:
- The New York Rangers will be missing top prospect Brennan Othmann for a few days of training camp, as the team announced this morning he is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Already carrying a solid top-six forward group heading into the season, it would have been difficult for Othmann to crack the Rangers’ roster out of training camp regardless of this injury. However, he is poised to wreak havoc at the AHL level for the Hartford Wolf Pack, after having scored 29 goals and 38 assists in 56 games during his last season in the OHL.
- Vince Mercogliano of USA Today reports that the top center for the New York Rangers, Mika Zibanejad, was seen going to the locker room this morning, favoring his right arm after slowly getting off the ice. It’s still to be seen whether or not Zibanejad will miss time, or the seriousness of the injury altogether. The Rangers currently have the center depth necessary to weather the storm of potentially losing out on Zibanejad for the time being, but can not afford to lose him for a considerable time with Stanley Cup aspirations.
Summer Synopsis: Seattle Kraken
Not only did the sophomore year of the Seattle Kraken organization in the NHL result in a playoff berth, but the team was able to impress even further by eliminating the then-defending Stanley Cup champion, Colorado Avalanche, in their seven-game opening-round matchup. Led by emerging star and 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matthew Beniers, as well as a hodgepodge of veteran leaders thanks to the expansion draft, free agency, and well-timed trade acquisitions, this team still has an uphill battle in the Pacific Division.
It was a relatively quiet offseason for the Kraken, who are looking to build on their impressive season last year. Most of the talent acquired this summer primarily came out of the draft, with the team making no trades and largely nibbling around the edges of the free-agent market.
Draft
1-20: F Eduard Sale, HC Kometa Brno (Czechia)
2-50: F Carson Rehkopf, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2-52: F Oscar Fisker Molgaard, HV71 (SHL)
2-57: D Lukas Dragicevic, Tri-City Americans (WHL)
3-84: D Caden Price, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
4-116: F Andrei Loshko, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
5-148: D Kaden Hammell, Everett Silvertips (WHL)
6-168: G Visa Vedenpaa, Karpat U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
6-180: F Zeb Forsfjall, Skellefteå AIK (SHL)
7-212: F Zaccharya Wisdom, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
Carrying a healthy mix of forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders, as well as a balance between North American and European skaters, the Kraken organization deepened all facets of their prospect cupboards at the 2023 NHL Draft.
The prize of the draft for Seattle, Sale, was one of the better selections in terms of return on investment. Only one year ago, Sale was frequently cited in the top 10 on most draft big boards, scoring 89 points in 39 games during his last season in Czechia’s top junior league. Unfortunately, in his first season against more seasoned veterans in Czechia’s professional league, Sale was only able to score seven goals and seven assists in 43 games, playing in an extremely limited role overseas. Nevertheless, Sale has all the intangibles to be a top-six forward in the NHL and should have better luck playing for the Barrie Colts this season.
In one of the higher upside swings for the team at this summer’s draft, the Kraken were able to select Dragicevic at 57th overall, the highest-scoring right-handed defenseman in the draft. Playing for the Americans last season in the WHL, Dragicevic put up 15 goals and 60 assists in 68 regular season games, showing excellent vision in transition and on the powerplay. There are quite a few questions surrounding his defensive side of the game, but most teams in the NHL would overlook defensive shortcomings for a potential point-per-game blueliner.
UFA Signings
F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (one year, $775K)
D Connor Carrick (one year, $775K)*
D Brian Dumoulin (two years, $6.3MM)
F John Hayden (one year, $775K)*
D Mitch Reinke (one year, $775K)*
D Jimmy Schuldt (one year, $775K)*
F Devin Shore (one year, $775K)*
F Marian Studenic (one year, $775K)*
F Kailer Yamamoto (one year, $1.5MM)
*-denotes a two-way contract
By most metrics, Dumoulin had a subpar season last year with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was able to earn a career-high in assists (24) and points (25) but did see his CF% dip under career averages with a 45.2% showing, as well as his oiSV% at 88.5%. At only a two-year deal, it’s a relatively low-risk deal for the Kraken, who are now able to use Dumoulin to round out their top four and still have many of the blueliners present on the team last season.
One of the more under-the-radar signings not only for Seattle but across the entire NHL this summer is the one-year deal the team handed out to Yamamoto. He was originally acquired by the Detroit Red Wings in a salary dump deal earlier in the summer, and thanks to a buyout on June 30th, Yamamoto entered unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. At still only 24 years old, Yamamoto still has quite a bit of talent to showcase, and with his offensive capabilities, as well as his above-average speed with and without the puck, should be able to translate smoothly to the Kraken organization.
RFA Re-Signings
D William Borgen (two years, $5.4MM)
D Vince Dunn (four years, $29.4MM)
D Cale Fleury (two years, $1.6MM)
F Kole Lind (one year, $775K)*
*-denotes a two-way contract
Heavily blocked on the depth chart during his time with the St.Louis Blues from 2017-2021, Dunn has thrived since joining the Kraken organization. Based on his last two seasons in Seattle, Dunn is one of, if not the best player selected by the Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft.
Matching a career-high in points in Seattle during the 2021-22 season, Dunn accelerated into an entirely different form last year, scoring 14 goals and 50 assists in 81 regular season games for the Kraken. Carrying his season momentum into the playoffs, Dunn would score one goal and six assists in 14 games, finishing second amongst defensemen on the team in points. Although the Kraken would have likely wanted to sign Dunn to a longer-term extension, this four-year deal will take Dunn to his age 30 season, giving him ample opportunity to get paid once again in unrestricted free agency.
Departures
F Ryan Donato (Chicago, two years, $4MM)
F Joonas Donskoi (Retirement)
F Morgan Geekie (Boston, two years, $4MM)
D Brogan Rafferty (Detroit, two years, $1.55MM)
D Carson Soucy (Vancouver, three years, $9.75MM)
F Daniel Sprong (Detroit, one year, $2MM)
F Alexander True (Florida, one year, $775K)
Much like Dunn, thanks to increased playing time with the upstart Kraken organization, Soucy was able to turn his career around in Seattle. Becoming one of the more unheralded two-way defensemen in the NHL, Soucy would regularly use his body to make important hits during the game and spend plenty of time on the Kraken penalty kill. The loss of Soucy shouldn’t slow down Seattle, however, as the acquisition of Dumoulin should offset much of the lost value.
The Kraken did lose three key middle-six forwards in Donato, Geekie, and Sprong, but the team should once again recoup a lot of the lost value with the acquisition of Yamamoto, and a full season from both Eeli Tolvanen and Shane Wright. As far as departures go for most cap-strapped playoff teams, the Kraken will leave this summer relatively unscathed.
Salary Cap Outlook
With only a little over $900K in cap space to work with for the regular season, the Kraken should be able to add one or two depth pieces at this year’s trade deadline, barring any players going on LTIR throughout the season. Next summer, not taking into consideration the eventual increase to the upper limit of the salary cap, the team will have approximately $23.7MM coming off of the books.
A good chunk of that money should go to contract extensions for both Beniers and Alexander Wennberg, with the team having the option to bring back Tolvanen, Yamamoto, Justin Schultz, and Jordan Eberle as well.
Key Questions
Can The Team Rely On Its Current Goaltending? As well as Philipp Grubauer played in the playoffs last year, the regular season was currently not as kind to him. Throughout the regular season, even on a team that won 46 games in the regular season, Grubauer would post a record of 17-14-4, carrying a SV% of .895 and a GAA of 2.85. These are not horrible numbers by any means, but the Kraken should be expecting more from a goaltender they have to pay $5.9MM a season for the next four years. If Grubauer can continue last year’s playoff performance into this year’s regular season, Seattle will be very comfortable with their goaltending situation. However, if Grubauer is not able to string along his successes, the Kraken do not have much in the way of internal solutions to shore up their goaltending.
Will This Team Make The Playoffs? Although not having a poor team on paper last season, few would have expected Seattle to make the playoffs out of the Western Conference. This season, with raised expectations, they are once again due for a bloodbath in the West. They will have plenty of problems in their own division, as the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, and Los Angeles Kings are some of the most dangerous teams in the sport, and the Calgary Flames appear poised for some rejuvenation after last year’s disappointment. In the Central Division, the Kraken shouldn’t have to worry about the Avalanche or the Dallas Stars in the wild-card race but should face some competition from both the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets. It’s once again difficult to project the Kraken as one of the three divisional locks in the Pacific, so they will likely once again be locked into a tight wild-card race.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Injury Notes: Canadiens, Ehlers, Barlow, Smith
After losing 167 games to injury last season, CapFriendly reports that the Montreal Canadiens have officially activated Cole Caufield, Sean Monahan, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Arber Xhekaj from the injured reserve today. All four returning players are favorable for the Canadiens, each providing value in their own way, but Montreal has some serious work to do in cutting down its roster at the end of training camp. With Caufield, Monahan, and Slafkovsky officially back in the mix, the Canadiens have approximately 17 forwards ready for NHL minutes, give or take a few. There is still plenty of time for General Manager Kent Hughes to make a move or two to thin out the roster, but Montreal realistically will have to use the waiver wire at the beginning of the season to make the necessary room. Caufield, being the most significant return for the Canadiens, is poised for another stellar season, especially in the goal-scoring department. Finishing 26th in total scoring during the 2022-23 NHL season, none of the blame should be put on Caufield. Last year, only playing in 46 total games before shoulder surgery ended his season early, scored 26 goals, a 46-goal pace over a full season. Other injury notes:
- The Winnipeg Jets will have to wait a bit longer to get one of its best players and one of its best prospects back on the ice for training camp. In a report from Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press, head coach of the Jets, Rick Bowness states that forward Nikolaj Ehlers will miss this weekend’s on-ice sessions due to neck spasms, and recently signed 2023 first-round pick, Colby Barlow, would skate in limited action due to an undisclosed illness. Bowness relays that neither player is expected to miss significant time.
- Amongst the longer-term injury news from the day, the Anaheim Ducks have announced via a press release that prospect Konnor Smith will miss between two-four weeks due to a fractured hand, an injury he sustained during the Rookie Faceoff tournament. Smith was the Ducks’ fourth-round pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, recently playing for the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, scoring three goals and 12 assists in 65 games last year.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Tanner Pearson
After being hinted at for most of the morning, in order to become salary cap compliant for the upcoming season, the Vancouver Canucks have traded Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens for goaltender Casey DeSmith.
After the trade, the Canucks will have freed up $1.45MM in cap space if no salary is retained, making compliance with the salary cap a much more manageable endeavor. Also, by acquiring DeSmith in the deal, as well, Vancouver has a much more capable backup netminder to put behind Thatcher Demko, something the team did not have last season.
From the standpoint of Montreal, they also worked out their own dilemma, no longer having three playable goalies on the roster to start the season. After acquiring DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the same deal that would land Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh, it had been rumored for weeks that the Canadiens would eventually look to move out DeSmith as well.
All-in-all, simply for their involvement in the Karlsson trade, Montreal has acquired Pearson, Gustav Lindstrom, Nathan Legare, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2025 third-round pick, and a conditional 2025-fourth round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick.
This is a solid trade haul for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens, but after finding a solution to one problem, another has been created entirely. Now with Pearson in the mix, the team already has a projected 12 forwards on the roster according to CapFriendly, with Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Sean Monahan, still to return from injury. Even aside from those players, players such as Sean Farrell and Owen Beck also appear close to being NHL-ready.
At any rate, both teams solved issues for the time being with this particular trade and should alleviate some concerns heading into training camp.
Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report Pearson was heading to Montreal.
Chris Johnston of TSN was the first to report no salary had been retained by the Canucks.
Dreger was the first to announce the trade details.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to report the full trade details.
Training Camp Notes: Pearson, Berni, Blue Jackets
Officially being activated from the injury reserve earlier today, Vancouver Canucks forward, Tanner Pearson, may not end up spending very long with the team, anyway. Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic passes along a note from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that the Canucks are looking to move Pearson to a different team.
Now with Pearson activated, the Canucks are approximately $1.7MM above the cap, even factoring in Tucker Poolman on the LTIR to open up the year. With a glut of players at the forward position, several surgeries, and noted dissatisfaction with the organization, Pearson does project as the likeliest player to be moved in order for Vancouver to become salary cap compliant.
As of right now, there are only about eight teams that could comfortably fit Pearson’s $3.25MM salary into their current roster, with teams such as the Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, and Anaheim Ducks in a position to acquire a boost to their secondary scoring. However, with limited availability due to his injuries, and the Canucks bargaining from a weakened position as a seller in this scenario, it is tough to project a hypothetical return for Pearson’s services, if any at all.
Other training camp notes:
- Much like Egor Sokolov‘s situation with the Ottawa Senators, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that even without a contract, defenseman Tim Berni will still be at training camp for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his first year in the NHL during the 2022-23 season, Berni suited up in 59 games for Columbus, scoring one goal and two assists, finishing with a dismal -26 rating. After adding both Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov this offseason, Berni may not see much playing time for the Blue Jackets this year, even with a guaranteed contract.
- Sticking with Columbus, in a separate report, Portizline notes that after announcing the resignation of Mike Babcock, the General Manager of the Blue Jackets, Jarmo Kekalainen, is still looking at changes to the coaching staff, even in the wake of announcing Pascal Vincent as the new head coach. It remains to be seen whether or not Kekalainen is still considered higher-profile coaching changes, or a few developmental coaches around the edges.
Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Calen Addison
In a press release, the Minnesota Wild announced that the team has agreed to a one-year, $825K contract with defenseman Calen Addison. Being the last restricted free agent on the roster, the Wild and Addison were able to get a deal done only one day before training camp started.
Coming over to Minnesota in the trade that sent Jason Zucker to the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2020, it would take Addison two full years migrating back and forth from Minnesota and their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, before finally receiving the full-time call-up for the 2022-23 NHL season. Missing three weeks of action in October due to a foot injury, Addison still had a solid rookie season, scoring three goals and 26 points in 62 games for the Wild.
For Minnesota specifically, Addison would break the team’s rookie record for points by a defenseman, and also finish second in all-time points by a rookie defenseman, finishing one point back of Filip Kuba‘s 2000-01 rookie season. In the entirety of the NHL last year, Addison would finish first among rookies in powerplay points, and tying for fifth in assists, and third in points for all rookie defensemen, respectively.
Even after his impressive rookie campaign, all signs indicate that Addison will be locked in a battle for a top-four role on the right side of the defensive unit for training camp. Another prospect, Brock Faber, who was acquired by the organization from the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent Kevin Fiala to the West Coast, is being given the opportunity to earn that role, after his excellent season at the University of Minnesota last year.
In fact, during the Wild’s opening-round matchup against the Dallas Stars in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Faber played in all six games, averaging over 14 minutes a night, while Addison only suited up for three games, playing a touch over 12 minutes a night.
Although Faber is already seen as a more defensively sound player than Addison on the blue line, as Addison would finish last season with a -17 rating to end the season, Addison’s possession metrics, highlighted by his CF% of 60.8%, and his ability to transition out of the zone and move the puck effectively make him just as solid as an option.
All-in-all, although the winner of the competition remains to be seen, it may come down to Minnesota riding the hot hand for much of the season. Addison will likely still receive an abundance of powerplay time throughout the year, while Faber should garner more defensively-minded roles and situations.
Sarah McClellan of Star Tribune Sports was the first to report that Minnesota had signed Addison
Latest On Lukas Reichel
Leading up to training camp opening up, the General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kyle Davidson, spoke about his vision for the future of forward prospect Lukas Reichel. Charlie Roumeliotos of NBC Sports Chicago reports that Davidson believes Reichel is NHL-ready for the upcoming season and envisions him to play down the middle of the ice.
Reichel was originally drafted by Chicago as the 17th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft, a few years after the rebuild started for the Blackhawks organization. He spent the next season with the Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL, before finally making the transition to North American hockey for the 2021-22 NHL season. Being a part of the taxi squad at the beginning of the season for Chicago, Reichel received two separate call-ups in February and April of that year.
Primarily playing in the AHL, Reichel showed an impressive rookie effort for the Rockford Ice Hogs, scoring 21 goals and 36 assists in 56 games, finishing first on the team in scoring as a 20-year-old. Playing in 11 games for the Blackhawks that year, Reichel only recorded one assist, receiving a tad over 13 minutes of ice time per night. Aside from his play on the ice, Reichel did suffer from an undisclosed injury that would keep him out of the lineup for a little over two weeks but has sustained a clean bill of health since that point.
Much like his first year playing in North America, Reichel spent much of last season in Rockford but did play with the Blackhawks in a full-time role for the last month of the season. In a similar effort to his previous season, Reichel was once again effectively a point-per-game player in the AHL, scoring 20 goals and 31 points in 55 games.
Receiving the full-time callup one day before the 2022-23 trade deadline, Reichel became a focal point of the Blackhawks offense down the stretch. Well, outside of the playoff picture at that point, the organization was able to give Reichel just under 17 minutes a night, and he rewarded the team with six goals and six assists in only 19 games.
With his play to wind down the 2022-23 regular season for the Blackhawks, there shouldn’t be any question as to whether or not Reichel is ready for NHL minutes, but more so around Davidson’s belief he will be an effective option at center moving forward. Chicago did give Reichel 13 opportunities in the dot last year, as he would finish with a FO% of only 38.5%.
Although he has limited NHL experience up to this point, Reichel’s defensive metrics and possession metrics have not struck much confidence in his play on both sides of the puck. Without a doubt, the Blackhawks will start Connor Bedard as their number one center option this season, and one would also assume that their 2022 13th overall selection, Frank Nazar, will get the nod in the future holding down the second line.
Nevertheless, although it is never a given that a team will not make the playoffs, the Blackhawks still do not project as a playoff team for the upcoming season. Given where they are at in their organizational timeline, they don’t have much to lose trying Reichel out at the center position for this year.
Colorado Avalanche Eyeing Goalie Market
09/19/23: Yesterday, Adrian Dater wrote on X confirming that the Avalanche are indeed “looking for new backup goalie.” He named Halak and DeSmith as options, as well as Calgary Flames netminder Daniel Vladar.
Vladar is an interesting case as the motivation from the Flames to deal him would in all likelihood be in order to clear an NHL spot for top goalie prospect Dustin Wolf. Wolf has accomplished just about everything a goalie could hope to accomplish in the AHL save for a Calder Cup title, posting a 77-20-7 record and .927 save percentage there. He’s a two-time AHL goalie of the year and the reigning AHL MVP, so it’s understandable that the Flames would want to give him a clear path in the NHL next to starter Jacob Markstrom.
What could complicate a Vladar trade is the fact that Vladar is making $2.2mM for the next two seasons, and struggled to the tune of a .895 save percentage last season.
09/14/23: Earlier this afternoon, Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reported that the Colorado Avalanche will likely be without regular backup goaltender Pavel Francouz to start the year, as the goaltender has not yet fully recovered from an offseason adductor surgery. In one minor comparable to the Gabriel Landeskog situation, the timeline of Francouz’s recovery is seemingly unclear.
As an internal candidate to take over the backup role in Colorado, young netminder Justus Annunen would be the likeliest candidate. Of all the goaltenders in the Avalanche organization, he is one of only three with NHL playing experience, having played in four games over the last two seasons, posting a 2-1-1 record, carrying a .859 SV% and a 3.92 GAA. His numbers in the AHL have been markedly better but he has not struck much confidence at the top level, even with limited playing time, making it unlikely that Colorado will pick him as their second goalie.
In late June, veteran netminder, Jaroslav Halak, indicated that he is committed to playing for the 2023-24 NHL season, despite still finding himself on the free agent market. With little interest in his services up to this point, this may be the situation that Halak had been waiting for. With approximately $500K in cap space after putting Landeskog on LTIR to start the season, if Francouz also finds himself on LTIR to start the year, the Avalanche would have ample space to bring in Halak as a stopgap.
Lastly, in the trade market, the most obvious trade connection for Colorado comes from the Canadian Northeast. Only a few weeks ago, it became public knowledge that after acquiring goaltender Casey DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins due to their involvement in the Erik Karlsson trade, the Montreal Canadiens have committed to finding a different landing spot for him. Last year, as a backup to Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh, DeSmith posted a 15-16-4 record in 38 games, with a .905 SV% and a 3.17 GAA. Although the backup goaltender position does not typically carry the highest of expectations, DeSmith would likely improve upon those numbers behind a much more capable Colorado defense.
Nevertheless, even in the case of Francouz’s potential placement on LTIR, the Avalanche are going to be a bit close to the cap to start the year and will have to get creative in this situation. Relying heavily on goaltender Alexandar Georgiev last season, if the backup goaltending situation stagnates in Colorado, Georgiev could potentially see even more than 62 starts as he did last season.
Latest On Shane Pinto
The NHL continues to crawl closer to the start of training camp, and as usual, most teams have done much of their heavy lifting already, eager to see how new acquisitions mesh with their new teams. Unfortunately for the Ottawa Senators, they are still left without a contract for their sixth-highest goal-scorer during the 2021-22 season, Shane Pinto.
Only last week, the Boston Bruins, who much like the Senators have little salary cap flexibility to work with, had a reported interest in acquiring Pinto to fill their newfound void at the center position. Nevertheless, only a day later, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke candidly about Pinto’s situation, describing that Ottawa would need to make a trade to fit him under the salary cap for the upcoming season.
It’s no surprise as to why the Senators would want to extend Pinto, as well as the reported outside interest from other teams around the league. At 22 years old, Pinto is coming off a 20-goal season and should come at a fairly cheap price as he is coming off of his entry-level contract.
Speaking in place for new owner Michael Andlauer during Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe‘s monthly breakfast at City Hall, General Manager of the Senators, Pierre Dorion spoke to the situation surrounding the contract of Pinto.
Dorion noted that both sides are hoping to have a deal done by next Tuesday, which could provide a resolution by the end of the upcoming weekend. However, Dorion did acknowledge there still is a gap between the two parties, and that the team does need to move a contract of magnitude in order to keep Pinto in the fold for the 2023-24 season. Dorion said, “We’re working on that one (Pinto), hard. We’d like to see him next week when we open camp“.
Whatever the outcome is for this ordeal, it’s important to point out that the Ottawa organization should be uniquely busy this weekend, unlike most teams during this time of the year. As things currently stand, the Senators have approximately $895K in cap space, and will likely need to free up around $900K-$1MM to sign Pinto comfortably. Whether it comes through a small deal, or even some roster manipulation by Dorion, a solution should be arranged by early next week.
Poll: Which Team Is The Most Improved This Offseason?
This offseason, there were some teams that made quite a few large-scale moves. The New Jersey Devils inked contract extensions with forwards Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt, as their Metropolitan division rival, the New York Islanders, handed out an eight-year contract to arguably the best goaltender in the NHL, Ilya Sorokin.
Although those contract extensions are important deals in their own right, this poll is specifically about which team is most ‘improved’ after this offseason, not necessarily which team had the ‘best’ offseason.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who already had two former MVP winners in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, as well as a defenseman who has received plenty of Norris votes throughout his career in Kris Letang, went for the big fish and acquired Erik Karlsson in a three-team trade. There are certainly some defensive issues that come into question in this deal, but it’s hard to see how acquiring not only the reigning Norris Trophy winner but a defenseman who scored over 100 points only a season ago, as anything other an improvement.
Even after winning their first playoff series in quite some time, the Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 playoff run was still considered a failure in many ways. In an attempt to get even deeper into the playoffs next spring, the Maple Leafs brought in John Klingberg, Ryan Reaves, Max Domi, and Tyler Bertuzzi just to name a few. At the very least, both Bertuzzi and Domi had solid playoff performances last season, and add extra grit to Toronto’s lineup.
Not considered even a fringe playoff team for this season, there is an argument to be made that the Chicago Blackhawks are actually the most improved team this summer. No other team in the NHL was able to select Connor Bedard, and if everything goes as expected, will make even Connor McDavid look human. After an early summer trade with the Boston Bruins, the team will also be able to position Taylor Hall on Bedard’s wing, as well as adding Nick Foligno and Corey Perry as extra forward depth.
There are even more teams than these three alone that could have been considered as the most improved. That is why we ask, who do you think is the most improved team after this offseason?
Which Team Is The Most Improved This Offseason?
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Other (Comment Below) 35% (383)
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Chicago Blackhawks 29% (309)
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Pittsburgh Penguins 22% (242)
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Toronto Maple Leafs 14% (147)
Total votes: 1,081