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Atlantic Notes: Peterka, Kostadinski, McCue

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The NHL has ramped up its visits overseas coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, they often make an effort to reunite foreign-born NHLers with their home countries and, even in some cases, their former teams.

That’ll be the case for emerging Sabres winger John-Jason Peterka, who spoke to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika about getting the chance to suit up in his native Germany and play a preseason game against EHC Munich of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, where he played in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

“I was always there with my parents cheering for the team,” Peterka told Cotsonika. “We were in the stands all the time. It was so special for me to play for Munich because I’m from there [and grew] up there. Yeah, having the chance now to go back there, play against them, play in front of all the fans again, yeah, it’s going to be really special.”

After their exhibition game in Munich, the Sabres will open the regular season with a back-to-back against the Devils in Prague, Czechia. It’s the start of a crucial campaign for Peterka, who’s entering the final season of his entry-level contract after scoring a career-high 28 goals and 50 points last season.

Other items of note from around the Atlantic:

  • Bruins defense prospect Kristian Kostadinski has committed to Boston College, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal and NHL.com. Boston drafted the 6’6″, 220-lb stay-at-home defender in the seventh round of the 2023 draft. The Gothenburg, Sweden native spent last season at home with Frölunda HC’s U20 club and will touch down in the North American juniors circuit this season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The 19-year-old will head to BC for his freshman campaign in 2025-26.
  • Maple Leafs seventh-rounder Sam McCue has a real chance to outperform his draft slot, opines Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff for The Leafs Nation. McCue, 19 next month, was taken 216th overall a few months ago after posting 37 points in 68 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Peterborough Petes and Owen Sound Attack last year. But despite those conservative point totals, Ellis believes McCue has NHL upside in his game as a “high-motor winger.”

Brad Marchand Underwent Multiple Offseason Surgeries, Expected To Be Ready For Season

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Bruins captain Brad Marchand underwent a trio of surgeries this summer, he told reporters at an informal skate Tuesday (via Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub). The winger may be slightly limited to start training camp later this month but expects to be ready for opening night, per Scott McLaughlin of WEEI.

The first procedure Marchand had done was to repair a torn tendon in his elbow that plagued him for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign, he said. He also underwent abdominal and groin surgeries to repair injuries he sustained late in the regular season.

Those injuries barely cost Marchand any playing time. For the second time in his career, he played in all 82 regular-season games, but he missed two playoff games with what the team called an upper-body injury. That one was presumably addressed with abdominal surgery.

Marchand slowed offensively in 2023-24, but whether that was because of his injuries or age remains to be seen. The 15-year veteran is entering his age-36 season and posted 67 points (0.82 per game) last year, his lowest per-game rate since 2015-16. He still managed to finish second on the team in scoring behind David Pastrňák and helped lead the Bruins to their first playoff series win since 2021 in his first season as captain following Patrice Bergeron’s retirement.

He’ll reprise his top-six role this season, but likely not on a line with Pastrňák with free-agent signing Elias Lindholm down the middle. Marchand said he expects to start the year back on the team’s second line, centered by Charlie Coyle (via Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe).

It’s an important campaign for Marchand as he kicks off the final year of the eight-year, $49MM extension he signed back in 2016. General manager Don Sweeney said in May that signing Marchand to an extension was one of his top priorities this summer, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Could Marchand Look To Maximize Earnings On Next Deal After Taking Team-Friendly Agreement Previously?

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While Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation is rightfully getting the attention in Boston right now, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News highlights the other contract of note the Bruins will have to work out, which is an extension for Brad Marchand.  At the time he signed his team-friendly deal that carries a $6.25MM AAV, the talk was about how their top players left some money on the table to keep the core together.  Since then, David Pastrnak ($11.25MM AAV) and Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM AAV) have signed pricey deals with Swayman believed to be looking for $8MM or more as well.  While Marchand is nearing the end of his career (he’ll be 37 when his next contract starts), Campbell wonders if he could be inclined to look to maximize his potential earnings this time around.  He adds that there have been no discussions about an extension between the two sides so far.

Evening Notes: Swayman, Dubois, Flames

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The Boston Bruins could opt for a short-term, bridge deal with starting goaltender Jeremy Swayman, as contract talks drag into Labor Day weekend, shares Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. Dupont mentioned that the $7.74MM cap hit on Juuse Saros’ recent eight-year extension could be a guiding light for the Bruins and Swayman, though there’s no definitive way to know what’s inspiring negotiations. A short-term deal would certainly be easier to price out, and give Boston the comfort of not committing much to a goaltender who hasn’t yet played a 50-game season.

But Swayman has commanded a lot of respect through just three full NHL seasons. He’s posted a .919 save percentage in 132 career games and has already won the William Jennings Trophy and earned top-10 Vezina Trophy consideration – all before his 26th birthday in November. That impressive precedent, Linus Ullmark’s move to Ottawa, and some well-timed studying of the CBA has Swayman inevitably positioned for a hefty contract. Boston could cut into the total salary with a short-term deal, but they’d run the risk of walking the still-young Swayman into long-term negotiations after the likes of Igor Shesterkin and Jake Oettinger set the bar for elite-goalie salaries. The Bruins currently have $8.64MM in available cap space, with no remaining free agents besides Swayman.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals are preparing for summer acquisition Pierre-Luc Dubois to play alongside hard-nosed winger Tom Wilson, head coach Spencer Carbery shared with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Carbery added, “I think those two guys playing together – big bodies, guys that can hold onto the puck – could be a good duo.”  That assignment likely means that Dubois is headed for Washington’s top line, one season after his top-line opportunity with the Los Angeles Kings turned into muddling third-line minutes and broken relationships. Dubois scored just 40 points last season, 20 fewer than his totals in the two prior years. Playing with Wilson should give Dubois the space to rediscover that scoring this season, though Washington will have to be careful with their usage – as the two players have combined for 562 penalty minutes over the last three seasons (Dubois – 253; Wilson –  309).
  • The Calgary Flames are still open for business on the trade market, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period shared during an appearance on NHL Tonight. Pagnotta went on to mention a string of players that may be on the trade block, including lineup pillars Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson, indicating that the Flames could be heading for a more true-to-form rebuild, as they look to build around top youngsters like Dustin Wolf, Zayne Parekh, and Samuel Honzek.

Bruins Sign Tyler Johnson To PTO

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With training camps now less than three weeks away, it’s expected that there will be an uptick in PTO activity over the coming days as players look to catch on somewhere.  The Bruins are getting involved in the tryout market as the team announced that they’ve signed veteran forward Tyler Johnson to a tryout agreement.

[Related: 2024 Professional Tryout Tracker]

The 34-year-old spent the last three seasons with Chicago after being acquired from Tampa Bay in a salary cap-clearing move.  Staying healthy had been a challenge for Johnson in his time with the Blackhawks which certainly didn’t help his cause on the open market.  Nonetheless, he managed to put up 32 points in 56 games in 2022-23 and followed that up with 17 goals and 14 assists in 67 contents last season while logging 15:32 per night.

Before that time, Johnson spent nine seasons with Tampa Bay, being a key secondary scorer for most of his tenure with them.  Over his 12-year career, he has 193 goals and 238 assists in 738 games between the Lightning and Blackhawks.  With that track record and a decent showing offensively when healthy with Chicago over the last two years, it’s a little surprising that he wasn’t able to secure a guaranteed contract for the upcoming season.

Earlier this month, we took a closer look at Johnson’s free agency and highlighted the Bruins as one of the possible fits.  While Johnson has spent more time on the wing than down the middle in recent years, he can still play center and would represent some insurance on Matthew Poitras who missed 38 games last season due to shoulder troubles.  If they want Poitras to ease in on the wing to start the season – or even start at AHL Providence – Johnson could serve as some low-cost insurance on that front.

At the moment, the Bruins have around $8.64MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  However, most of that will be earmarked for RFA goaltender Jeremy Swayman; they will need to sign him before they can get a better sense of what they might or might not be able to spend on a contract for Johnson or any other veteran free agents that they might have their eye on.  In the meantime, Johnson will at least have a shot at suiting up in the preseason and making a case for a contract either with Boston or elsewhere.

Not Time To Be Concerned Yet About Swayman, Morello Makes New College Commitment

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Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman is one of the top remaining restricted free agents with the calendar set to flip to September tomorrow.  Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald suggests that it’s not time yet for any side to be concerned that a deal isn’t in place.  He noted that it took until the eve of training camp for David Pastrnak to sign his post-entry-level contract and it stands to reason that at this point, Swayman’s camp will be looking to use that as a possible pressure point as well.  It was recently reported that Swayman was seeking a long-term agreement around the $8.5MM mark while Boston was coming in at a little over $6MM.  That’s quite a gap to try to bridge so it wouldn’t be surprising to see this one drag out to the start of camp if not even a little longer than that.

  • Still with the Bruins, prospect Jonathan Morello has decided on his new college commitment. After decommitting from Clarkson, PuckPreps reports (Twitter link) that the 18-year-old will play for Boston University when he begins his college career.  Morello was a fifth-round pick by Boston back in June, going 154th overall after a solid showing with OJHL St. Michael’s where he had 57 points in 50 games during the regular season while adding 21 more in 11 playoff contests.  He will play for USHL Dubuque this season.

Checking In On Notable Remaining Restricted Free Agents

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We are now three weeks away from training camp opening up in the NHL with preseason games coming quickly after. We recently checked in on several free-agent players looking for new homes shortly before preseason action and we’ll now pivot to notable restricted free agents still looking to re-up with their current clubs.

Goalies

One of the most oft-mentioned restricted free agents over the summer has been Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins. Recent reporting indicates that Swayman is not looking for the rumored $10MM a year salary but is looking more in the $8.5MM range. This would be a welcome sign for most teams but not for the Bruins as they are seeking a contract closer to $6MM a year and that gap is not close to getting bridged. They may come together soon and agree to a short-term pact that could lead Swayman to unrestricted free agency and give the Bruins more time to figure out their salary cap structure; this has all the makings of a contract negotiation that could leak into the regular season.

A reasonable price for Swayman may land between both asking prices with honest arguments. Swayman has earned a 79-33-15 record in 125 starts over his career in Boston with a .919 SV% and 2.34 GAA. There is a legitimate argument that Swayman has benefited greatly from the team playing in front of him and sharing the net for several years with now-Ottawa Senator, Linus Ullmark. Swayman’s side will likely argue that $8.5MM is a reasonable salary for an undisputed starter on a playoff-caliber team. He earned the majority of starts last season (43) and finished sixth in the league in goals saved above average with 16.4 with approximately 10 fewer games played than other goaltenders above him.

Defensemen

It’s been a quiet summer for the 2021-22 Calder Memorial Trophy winner Moritz Seider. He saw his entry-level contract expire on July 1st and very little has been reported on regarding current negotiations between himself and the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings currently own around $17.65MM in cap space so money won’t be an issue in retaining either Seider or his teammate Lucas Raymond (more on that later).

The young German defenseman has not missed a game since making his NHL debut on October 14th, 2021, and has been Detroit’s best defenseman since then. He’s been solid offensively with 21 goals and 134 points in 246 games over his entry-level deal but his defensive metrics are much more difficult to interpret. Seider is regularly put into bad situations when he hits the ice as the Red Wings’ most serviceable option on the back end. He’s finished towards the bottom of the roster in on-ice save percentage over his three-year career but he also finishes towards the top of the team in defensive zone starts.

The other notable restricted free-agent defenseman is nearly 1,200 miles away in Dallas, Texas. Thomas Harley is coming off an electric season with the Dallas Stars scoring 15 goals and 47 points in 79 games. He quickly became an offensive option behind Miro Heiskanen and gave the Stars more of a complete powerplay. The most recent reporting came on August 9th with general manager Jim Hill maintaining confidence that Harley will sign soon.

Forwards

Circling back to Detroit; Raymond joins Seider as another restricted free agent yet to re-sign with the Red Wings. He’s a more complicated situation to interpret as Raymond exploded offensively with 31 goals and 72 points last year. The young Swedish forward averaged 53 points a season before that so Detroit may have more desire for a short-term pact before they commit to Raymond as a first-line talent. Coupled with a shooting percentage 6.4% higher than his career average last year; the Red Wings may believe a certain amount of regression is in order next year.

Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes arguably represents the most talented option left on the board. A report yesterday from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period indicates a long-term deal may be on the horizon. It’s no surprise why both sides are targeting a long-term contract as he already showed his importance last year for Carolina before the organization lost a few key forwards this summer. He finished second on the team in scoring last season with 33 goals and 67 points in 82 games while chipping in another five goals and nine points in 11 postseason contests. The contract should eat into much of Carolina’s remaining salary cap space of $6.44MM according to PuckPedia.

The last notable restricted free agent forward we’ll touch on is Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils. The two sides have reportedly exchanged proposals which lends to the idea a deal will be done soon. He’s not as high-profile as some of the other forwards on New Jersey’s roster but Mercer has been a consistent and available scorer since entering the league three years ago. He hasn’t missed a game since the start of the 2021-22 season which has become invaluable to a Devils’ roster that has been rocked by injuries the last few years. Given his reliability and offensive abilities his AAV should land between Ondrej Palat ($6MM AAV) and Erik Haula ($3.15MM AAV) on the Devils’ salary cap table.

Atlantic Notes: Swayman, Stützle, LeBreton Flats, Leenders

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Speculation floating around that Bruins RFA netminder Jeremy Swayman wants a $10MM average annual value on his next deal is likely unfounded, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said on SN960 The FAN’s Big Show on Wednesday.

Swayman’s camp is holding out for an AAV in the $8.5MM range on a long-term deal, while the Bruins are holding firm just north of $6MM per season, per Seravalli. He adds there hasn’t been much progress toward a resolution since those numbers were first exchanged earlier this summer.

“I think that’s a pretty sizeable gap that hasn’t been bridged yet and with the trade of Linus Ullmark, it’s obvious that Swayman is such a big part of what the Bruins’ future looks like and the stability of their core because the goaltending has been the backbone of that team,” Seravalli said. “But if you have a philosophical difference on what you think your goaltender should make, and if you thought that with the numbers he’s posted that he was going to be in that range, I can understand why there’s been a disconnect there.”

Swayman, 26 in November, posted a .916 SV%, 2.53 GAA, and three shutouts with a 25-10-8 record last season in 44 appearances (43 starts).

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

  • Senators star center Tim Stützle has changed agents, per PuckPedia. After signing his eight-year, $66.8MM extension in 2022 under Octagon’s Ben Hankinson, he’ll now be represented by longtime NHLer Claude Lemieux of 4sports Hockey. He becomes Lemieux’s second client on the Sens, joining goaltender Mads Søgaard. Lemieux’s notable body of work includes Timo Meier’s eight-year, $70.4MM deal with the Devils, Hampus Lindholm’s eight-year, $52MM deal in Boston, and Joel Eriksson Ek’s eight-year, $42MM deal with the Wild.
  • Still with Ottawa, the franchise is still in negotiations with the National Capital Commission on a memorandum of understanding regarding their plan to build a new arena in the LeBreton Flats neighborhood downtown, team president Cyril Leeder said (via Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet). They’ve got less than a month to complete them with their temporary agreement with the city expiring on Sep. 20. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun said in April that public parking was the largest concern with the current plan.
  • Sabres goaltending prospect Ryerson Leenders will have a new home for junior hockey this season. The Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs acquired him from the Brampton Steelheads today for a whopping eight draft picks, per a team announcement. Buffalo selected Leenders, 18, with the 219th overall pick in this summer’s draft. He had a .909 SV% in 46 games for the Steelheads last season, the best in the league.

Prospect Notes: Skinner, Morello, Armstrong

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Former pro Brett Skinner has stepped into the role of general manager for the USHL’s Fargo Force, succeeding Cary Eades, who has held the position since 2015. Eades will stay as Fargo’s assistant general manager, while Skinner will continue his duties as Fargo’s head coach.

Eades has a storied career through USA Hockey, serving in various coaching and managerial roles across Minnesota high school, college, and the USHL. He’s spent 15 years with the University of North Dakota, 11 years at Warroad High School, and now nine years with Fargo. He’ll pass the torch to Skinner, who’s found his groove as a coach after a pro career that took him through 12 different pro leagues and spanned 410 career AHL games and one Calder Cup Championship. His championship tendencies followed into his coaching career, with Skinner winning the 2018 USHL championship as an assistant coach with Sioux Falls, then winning the 2023 NAHL championship and 2024 USHL championship as a head coach. He’s proven successful thus far and will now take on even more responsibilities for a Fargo team coming off a 50-10-2 performance last season.

Other notes from around the prospect world:

  • Boston Bruins prospect Jonathan Morello has de-committed from Clarkson University just ahead of the start of the school year and will instead join the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2024-25 season, the team’s training camp roster confirms. Morello spent the last two seasons with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the OJHL, posting 97 points in 101 games. That was enough to earn him the 154th-overall selection in the 2024 Draft – and Morello will now look to climb the ranks of Boston’s depth chart with a step up in the juniors hockey world.
  • The Nashville Predators have signed left-winger Easton Armstrong to an amateur try-out and included him on their rookie showcase roster. Armstrong is one of six right-handed wingers on the roster. He’s coming off a long career in the WHL, spanning five seasons and 210 games. He scored 60 goals and 99 points across those appearances, finding a promising edge as a power forward thanks to his six-foot-three, 205-pound frame. Armstrong is an unrestricted free agent after going undrafted through the 2022, 2023, and 2024 draft classes.
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