Jakob Pelletier Signs ELC With Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have worked quickly to get their most recent first-round pick under contract. The team has announced a three-year entry-level contract with forward Jakob Pelletier. Pelletier was the 26th overall pick from the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Pelletier, 18, has clearly done enough in training camp these past few weeks to convince the team that he should be under contract as soon as possible. The slick winger is dangerous with puck and can create high-percentage chances as well as finish with consistency. His offensive instincts were obvious at the junior level last season, as he recorded 89 points in 65 games with Moncton. The No. 3 overall pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft three years ago, Pelletier has long been considered a special talent, yet he still has room to grow and improve.
While Pelletier is now officially a Flame, by no means does the timing of the contract imply that he has made the Opening Night roster. Quite the opposite in fact, as the young forward was reassigned to the Wildcats earlier today. Pelletier is undoubtedly a talented player, but was considered by most to be only a fringe first-rounder. While he uses his 5’9” frame to the best of his ability with a high-energy, aggressive style, he still needs to work on facing bigger and stronger competition. Scouts also weren’t blown away by his skating ability. Pelletier may be a good two or three years away from the NHL, but his contract will slide in the meantime until he is ready to make the jump. It’s a good sign that the team already believes he will be ready for that jump sooner rather than later.
Waivers: 09/23/19
With AHL training camps getting underway, many players will be put on waivers over the next several days. We’ll keep track of all of them right here:
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
F Byron Froese
F Justin Kirkland
F Buddy Robinson
F Rinat Valiev
D Andrew Nielsen
Carolina Hurricanes
F Brian Gibbons
D Kyle Wood
D Alex Lintuniemi
D Roland McKeown
D Fredrik Claesson
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Zac Dalpe
F Markus Hannikainen
F Ryan MacInnis
D Adam Clendening
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
F Kyle Rau
D Matt Bartkowski
F Luke Johnson
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Andrew Agozzino
F Joseph Blandisi
F Joseph Cramarossa
F Thomas Di Pauli
F Ryan Haggerty
D Kevin Czuczman
D David Warsofsky
San Jose Sharks
Training Camp Cuts: 09/23/19
Like always, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:
Anaheim Ducks (per team release)
F Alex Dostie (to San Diego, AHL)
F Brent Gates Jr. (to San Diego, AHL)
F Luke Gazdic (to San Diego, AHL)
F Johno May (to San Diego, AHL)
F Antoine Morand (to San Diego, AHL)
F Conor Riley (to San Diego, AHL)
F Deven Sideroff (to San Diego, AHL)
F Corey Tropp (to San Diego, AHL)
D Dawson Davidson (to San Diego, AHL)
D Scott Moldenhauer (to San Diego, AHL)
D Steven Ruggiero (to San Diego, AHL)
G Roman Durny (to San Diego, AHL)
G Olle Eriksson Ek (to San Diego, AHL)
F Chase Wouters (to Saskatoon, WHL)
D Matthew Hill (to Barrie, OHL)
G Lukas Dostal (to Ilves, Liiga)
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
F Beau Bennett (to Tucson, AHL)
F Andy Miele (to Tucson, AHL)
D Dysin Mayo (to Tucson, AHL)
D Robbie Russo (to Tucson, AHL)
Calgary Flames (per team release)
F Byron Froese (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Justin Kirkland (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Buddy Robinson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Rinat Valiev (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Andrew Nielsen (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Glenn Gawdin (to Stockton, AHL)
F Ryan Lomberg (to Stockton, AHL)
F Luke Philp (to Stockton, AHL)
F Matthew Phillips (to Stockton, AHL)
F Martin Pospisil (to Stockton, AHL)
F Adam Ruzicka (to Stockton, AHL)
F Eetu Tuulola (to Stockton, AHL)
D Robert Hamilton (to Stockton, AHL)
D Zac Leslie (to Stockton, AHL)
D Corey Schueneman (to Stockton, AHL)
D Alexander Yelesin (to Stockton, AHL)
G Tyler Parsons (to Stockton, AHL)
G Artyom Zagidulin (to Stockton, AHL)
F Jacob Pelletier (to Moncton, QMJHL)
D Alexandre Grenier (released from PTO)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)
F Jacob Nilsson (to Rockford, AHL)
F Philip Holm (to Rockford, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
F Zac Dalpe (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Markus Hannikainen (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Ryan MacInnis (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Adam Clendening (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Doyle Somerby (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Veini Vevilainen (to Cleveland, AHL)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
D Ethan Prow (to Springfield, AHL)
D Thomas Schemitsch (to Springfield, AHL)
G Philippe Desrosiers (to Springfield, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per team release)
F Colin Blackwell (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Anthony Richard (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Alexandre Carrier (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Matt Donovan (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Troy Grosenick (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team release)
F Connor Brickley (to Hartford, AHL)
F Timothy Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
F Nick Jones (to Hartford, AHL)
F Dawson Leedahl (to Hartford, AHL)
D Sean Day (to Hartford, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)
F Andrew Agozzino (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Joseph Blandisi (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Joseph Cramarossa (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Thomas Di Pauli (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Ryan Haggerty (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Kevin Czuczman (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D David Warsofsky (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Justin Almeida (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Anthony Angello (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Kasper Bjorkqvist (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Sam Lafferty (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jake Lucchini (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Sam Miletic (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Oula Palve (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Niclas Almari (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Emil Larmi (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Nathan Legare (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Samuel Poulin (to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
San Jose Sharks (per team release)
F Joakim Blichfield (to San Jose, AHL)
F Ivan Chekhovich (to San Jose, AHL)
F Sasha Chmelevski (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
F Noah Gregor (to San Jose, AHL)
D Thomas Gregoire (to San Jose, AHL)
F Artem Ivanyuzhenkov (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
F Joel Kellman (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nikolai Knyzhov (to San Jose, AHL)
G Joseph Korenar (to San Jose, AHL)
F Ivan Kosorenkov (to San Jose, AHL)
F Tristan Langan (to San Jose, AHL)
F Maxim Letunov (to San Jose, AHL)
D Keaton Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jeremy Roy (to San Jose, AHL)
G Zach Sawchenko (to San Jose, AHL)
G Andrew Shortridge (to San Jose, AHL)
F Marcus Vela (to San Jose, AHL)san
F Jeffrey Viel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Evan Weinger (to San Jose, AHL)
F Vladislav Kotkov (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
D Tony Sund (to TPS, Liiga)
Vancouver Canucks (per team release)
F Reid Boucher (to Utica, AHL)
F Francis Perron (to Utica, AHL)
D Ashton Sautner (to Utica, AHL)
G Zane McIntyre (to Utica, AHL)
Training Camp Cuts: 9/21/19
With the regular season less than two weeks away, there will likely be plenty more training camp cuts today. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
D Dane Birks (to Tucson, AHL)
D Cam Dineen (to Tucson, AHL)
F Giovanni Fiore (to Tucson, AHL)
F Jeremy Gregoire (to Tucson, AHL)
F Keeghan Howdeshell (to Tucson, AHL)
G Erik Kallgren (to Tucson, AHL)
F Kelly Klima (to Tucson, AHL)
G Merrick Madsen (to Tucson, AHL)
F Jonathon Martin (to Tucson, AHL)
F Nate Schnarr (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jalen Smereck (to Tucson, AHL)
Calgary Flames (per team release)
F Alex Gallant (to Stockton, AHL)
F Jeremy McKenna (to Stockton, AHL)
F Mason Morelli (to Stockton, AHL)
G Nick Schneider (to Stockton, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
G Callum Booth (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Jeremy Helvig (to Charlotte, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)
D Nicolas Beaudin (to Rockford, AHL)
D Lucas Carlsson (to Rockford, AHL)
F MacKenzie Entwistle (to Rockford, AHL)
F Alexandre Fortin (to Rockford, AHL)
F Brandon Hagel (to Rockford, AHL)
F Mikhael Hakkarainen (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matthew Highmore (to Rockford, AHL)
F Reese Johnson (to Rockford, AHL)
F Philipp Kurashev (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dylan Sikura (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)
D Joni Tuulola (to Rockford, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
F Derek Barach (released from PTO)
D Gabriel Carlsson (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ryan Collins (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Maxime Fortier (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brett Gallant (released from PTO)
D Anton Karlsson (released from PTO)
F Nikita Korostelev (released from PTO)
F Stefan Matteau (released from PTO)
F Bryan Moore (released from PTO)
D Michael Prapavessis (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Eric Robinson (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Kole Sherwood (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Kevin Stenlund (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Calvin Thurkauf (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Sam Vigneault (released from PTO)
Dallas Stars (per team release)
F Michael Mersch (to Texas, AHL)
D Reece Scarlett (to Texas, AHL)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
F Rodrigo Abols (to Springfield, AHL)
F Jonathan Ang (to Springfield, AHL)
G Ryan Bednard (to Springfield, AHL)
D Tommy Cross (to Springfield, AHL)
F Joel Lowry (to Springfield, AHL)
D Jake Massie (to Springfield, AHL)
F Serron Noel (to Oshawa, OHL)
F Kevin Roy (to Springfield, AHL)
F Paul Thompson (to Springfield, AHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team Twitter)
F Samuel Fagemo (to Frolunda, SHL)
F Akil Thomas (to Niagara, OHL)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
F Morgan Adams-Moisan (to Laval, AHL)
F Alexandre Alain (to Laval, AHL)
F Joe Cox (to Laval, AHL)
D Ryan Culkin (to Laval, AHL)
F Nikita Jevpalovs (to Laval, AHL)
G Connor LaCouvee (to Laval, AHL)
D Maxim Lamarche (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
F William Pelletier (to Laval, AHL)
F Michael Pezzetta (to Laval, AHL)
D David Sklenicka (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Hayden Verbeek (to Laval, AHL)
F Antoine Waked (to Laval, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team release)
F Gabriel Fontaine (to Hartford, AHL)
D Mason Geertsen (to Hartford, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Hartford, AHL)
F Patrick Newell (to Hartford, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (per team release)
D Jake Dotchin (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Joey LaLeggia (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nick Lappin (to San Antonio, AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)
F Peter Abbandonato (released from PTO)
G Louis Domingue (to Syracuse, AHL, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic)
F Jimmy Huntington (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Boris Katchouk (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alexey Lipanov (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Ryan Lohin (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (released from PTO)
F Taylor Raddysh (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Mikhail Shalagin (released from PTO)
D Luc Snuggerud (released from PTO)
D Oleg Sosunov (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Matthew Spencer (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Nolan Valleau (released from PTO)
G Clint Windsor (released from PTO)
F Dennis Yan (to Syracuse, AHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team Twitter)
G Brandon Halverson (to Toronto, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (per team release)
F Justin Bailey (to Utica, AHL)
F Landon Ferraro (released from PTO)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
D Olli Juolevi (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
D Brogan Rafferty (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (per team Twitter)
F Tyrell Goulbourne (to Chicago, AHL)
D Brett Lernout (to Chicago, AHL)
D Jaycob Megna (to Chicago, AHL)
West Notes: Tkachuk, Krebs, McDavid
While Mikko Rantanen and Patrik Laine have joined a European team to continue their training while waiting on a new contract, Matthew Tkachuk has taken a different route. The Calgary Flames restricted free agent has started skating with the London Knights according to Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press, taking the ice with some former teammates in Ryan Rupert and Matt Rupert.
Tkachuk spent just one season with the Knights before being drafted by the Flames in 2016, but formed one of the most dominant lines the OHL has seen in many years alongside Mitch Marner and Christian Dvorak. The trio each totaled more than 100 points that season en route to a Memorial Cup championship. Both Marner and Dvorak have signed long-term extensions with their respective NHL teams, but for the Flames to do the same with Tkachuk might be tricky. The team currently projects to have just over $6.3MM in cap space and would likely have to make an additional move of some kind before signing the star winger to any deal buying out unrestricted free agent years.
- Speaking of impressive junior players, Vegas Golden Knights first-round pick Peyton Krebs has been named captain of the Winnipeg Ice for their first season after the recent relocation. Krebs served in that role last season when the team was still located in British Columbia as the Kootenay Ice, and scored 68 points in 64 games. The 18-year old forward was expected to go even higher than his eventual draft position of 17, but suffered an Achilles injury just a few weeks before the draft and ended up falling out of the first half of the round. The Golden Knights certainly weren’t disappointed to get a player of his caliber that late, and they’ll be keeping a close eye on him in Winnipeg this season.
- Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland told reporters he is “pretty optimistic” that Connor McDavid will be fully recovered from his knee injury in time to suit up for opening night, and that there is a chance that he gets into at least one preseason game. While it hasn’t been officially decided, having McDavid in the lineup to start the year is huge for an Oilers team that needs every point they can get this season as they look to try and get back into the playoffs. The Pacific Division is packed with teams that believe they can represent the division in the postseason this year, and the Oilers will have to get off to a strong start if they want to keep pace.
Calgary Flames Re-Sign Andrew Mangiapane
After months of negotiations, young Calgary Flames depth forward Andrew Mangiapane has finally signed a new contract – his qualifying offer. The Flames announced that Mangiapane has agreed to return on the minimum one-year, two-way contract worth $715K that they had initially extended to him in June. It’s a win for GM Brad Treliving and company, who get a capable, developing winger back under contract at a bargain price as they continue to maneuver through a tight salary cap squeeze.
This is a classic case – although not as common with restricted free agents nowadays – of a team holding tight to their leverage with a young player. Mangiapane, 23, did not have any arbitration rights this summer, nor had he earned the right to demand a higher salary because the team could not survive without him. In fact, it is no surprise that Mangiapane finally caved with training camp just getting underway. The player and his camp had to know that the more training camp he missed, the less likely his chances were of earning a spot on the team. Although Mangiapane took a big career step last year with a career-high 44 NHL games played and 13 points, he didn’t yet have the job security to risk missing too much of training camp and preseason action. Calgary knew that they could assist with a difficult salary cap situation by forcing Mangiapane to accept their minimum offer. This is now very much a “show me” season for the Barrie Colts product, who will look to earn a more regular role and improve his offensive totals ahead of another round of restricted free agency next summer, this time with arbitration rights.
With Mangiapane now signed, and projected to be on the opening night roster, CapFriendly lists the Flames as having just over $75MM committed to 22 players. That leaves approximately $6.3MM to sign that final 23rd player, unsigned RFA forward Matthew Tkachuk. However, coming off a 77-point season at just 21 years old, the team may find it impossible to re-sign their young star with just that amount to work with. Treliving still has plenty of work to do before the season starts to re-shape the roster in a way that allows the team to re-sign Tkachuk.
Snapshots: Mangiapane, DeAngelo, Sharks
The Calgary Flames are still working towards a deal with Matthew Tkachuk, but he’s not the only unsigned restricted free agent they have. Andrew Mangiapane is now missing time at training camp as well, but Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that’s not what he wants. Francis tweeted today that Mangiapane has made a $200K concession in negotiations, bringing his ask down to $850K in order to get into camp and prove himself. Unfortunately, that’s still more than his $715K qualifying offer that the team can wait for him to accept.
The Flames don’t have any excess cap space to be handing out, even though there is now such a small gap between the two sides. Tkachuk is going to get a huge raise and could very well become the highest paid player on the team—eclipsing Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano at $6.75MM—meaning the team needs to save every penny in negotiations. Already with just 21 players on the roster, CapFriendly projects the Flames to have just barely over $7MM in cap space.
- Anthony DeAngelo, another restricted free agent that isn’t getting many headlines, also remains without a contract with the New York Rangers. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that there is still a “wide gulf” between the two sides, and notes that the Rangers don’t want to go higher than the $925K they recently signed Brendan Lemieux for. DeAngelo broke out last season for the Rangers with 30 points in 61 games and was one of the team’s better defensemen by year’s end. The 23-year old doesn’t have a lot of leverage without arbitration eligibility however and will have to make a decision soon if he wants to take part in any of training camp.
- The San Jose Sharks have already made some training camp cuts, sending six players back to junior. Mitchell Brewer, Zach Emond, Zach Gallant, Jake Gricius, Jake Lee and Hudson Wilson have all been returned, leaving 57 players for the NHL training camp.
Calgary Flames Sign Michael Stone
In a downright shocking move, the Calgary Flames have announced one-year contract for Michael Stone. Stone of course saw the final year of his previous contract with the Flames bought out in August, meaning he’ll not only earn the $700K on this new deal but an additional $1.17MM for each of the next two seasons from the buyout. Stone had been set to earn $3.5MM on his previous deal, meaning the Flames are actually saving more than $1.6MM in cap space this season—room they desperately need to re-sign Matthew Tkachuk.
This move screams of cap circumvention, but actually may have an innocent enough explanation. When Stone was bought out, he was an expensive luxury as a depth option given the team was expecting both Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki to step into increased roles this season. Less than two weeks later, Valimaki tore his ACL during offseason training and was ruled out for a huge chunk of the season (if not the entire thing). Stone’s buyout then may have looked like a mistake given the team’s immediate need for another defenseman with NHL experience.
As it turns out, the Flames will still receive part of the benefit from the buyout and Stone will have another chance to prove he can stay healthy enough to contribute in the NHL. The 29-year old played just 14 games with the Flames last season thanks to various ailments (including a blood clot) and struggled even before that. After contributing at a high level for the Arizona Coyotes in 2015-16, Stone has just 21 points in 115 games for the Flames.
While the optics of this move may seem less than above board, it’s important to note that the Flames are giving up $700K of the cap room (and actual salary savings) they created by moving Stone off the books in the first place. It is also important to understand that Stone had to agree to the salary on the new contract and could have taken his services anywhere else.
To clear up any confusion, there is nothing in the CBA to prevent a move like this directly. Only compliance buyouts included a provision that made a player unable to re-sign with his team for one year. This could however be investigated by the league for cap circumvention if they believe it was intentional, as they did in the case of Brooks Orpik last summer.
Early Notes: Mangiapane, Rantanen, Okhotyuk
The Calgary Flames have had countless headlines written about their ongoing negotiation with Matthew Tkachuk, but they actually have another restricted free agent still unsigned as well. Andrew Mangiapane is in danger of missing the start of training camp if something can’t get done, which is likely more important for a player that has just 54 NHL games under his belt and is fighting for a full-time roster spot. Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that the two sides are $200K apart on a one-year deal, with the Flames offering $800K and Mangiapane “looking for closer to $1MM.”
Calgary GM Brad Treliving told Francis that the team isn’t waiting on Tkachuk to sign Mangiapane, but with such a small difference in offers you can bet the team is trying to make sure they don’t overpay even the slightest, knowing they don’t have a lot of wiggle room under the cap ceiling. The Flames currently project to have just over $7.7MM in cap space, though there are a few ways to create some extra room, like placing defenseman Juuso Valimaki on long-term injured reserve.
- Though Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen have raised eyebrows during their negotiations by being linked to clubs overseas, the latter decided to put that idea to rest in an interview with Russian outlet Business Online. Rantanen was very clear that the NHL is “the only option” for him this season and he won’t be discussing contracts with the KHL or other leagues. The Colorado Avalanche forward is coming off his second consecutive season scoring more than a point-per-game and has found a home on the top line beside Nathan MacKinnon. Still just 22, he could potentially become Colorado’s highest-paid player on his next contract.
- The New Jersey Devils won’t be able to get a closer look at prospect Nikita Okhotyuk at the Prospect Challenge this weekend, as the team announced he is out six to eight weeks following surgery on a broken finger. Okhotyuk was selected in the second round in June and will miss regular training camp as well. The 18-year old defenseman is expected to return to the Ottawa 67’s for the 2019-20 season.
Calgary Flames Sign Four Players To Professional Tryouts
The Calgary Flames will have several experienced NHL players battling for a contract in training camp, as the team announced today that Devante Smith-Pelly, Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo and Alexandre Grenier have all signed professional tryouts. The team had previously announced that Andrew MacDonald would be in training camp on a PTO as well.
Smith-Pelly may inspire the most interest from Flames fans given his playoff heroics for the Washington Capitals in 2018, but after recording just eight points in 54 games last season and clearing waivers in February it’s hard to expect him to have much of an impact on the roster. The 27-year old spent a good chunk of the 2018-19 season in the minor leagues and is likely just trying to hold onto his place in the NHL.
Rieder meanwhile played 67 games for the Edmonton Oilers and was expected to provide a little offensive punch after scoring double-digit goals in each of the previous four seasons. Unfortunately things went horribly wrong for the 26-year old forward and he was held without a single goal all season. Rieder was infamously the target of some pointed criticism from Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson after his disappointing season, and will have to try to convince someone in the NHL to give him another chance to perform.
It’s important to remember that the Flames are cap-strapped already thanks to the impending contracts of Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane, meaning they don’t have a lot of money to go spending on these players if they do earn a contract. Any of the four could only really expect a league-minimum salary (or close to it) if they prove to be worthwhile investments.