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Brandon Yip Announces Retirement

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Former Colorado Avalanche forward Brandon Yip has announced his retirement from professional hockey via a social media post from his team, the KHL’s Shanghai Red Dragons. This news confirms recent speculation. Yip spent seven of his final eight seasons with the Kunlun Red Stars, who relocated to Shanghai this summer. His sole year away from Kunlun in that span came with the Liiga’s Mikkelin Jukurit during the pandemic season in 2020-21.

Yip became a beacon of Chinese hockey in the second-half of his career. He joined Kunlun in 2017, after three years in Germany’s DEL, and earned the captaincy for the top Chinese club after just one season. He would carry the Red Stars’ ’C’ for six more seasons. Residency in China also helped Yip – a Chinese-Canadian – join Team China at the 2022 Winter Olympic Qualifiers. He posted one assist in four tournament games, and six points in four games at the Division-II-A World Championship, that season. His performance was a major part of China’s promotion to the Division-I-B World Championship in 2023, where he scored four points in five games. Yip served as China’s captain in all 13 games he played with the club.

Yip’s career took him across the hockey world before settling in China. He earned an eighth-round selection in the 2004 NHL Draft after scoring 131 points in 99 BCHL games, through two seasons in the league. He followed his draft selection with a four-year tenure at Boston University, where he scored 108 points in 138 games. Colorado promoted Yip to the NHL the year after his collegiate career ended, and he managed a hardy 11 goals and 19 points in 32 games.

That was enough to earn Yip a nightly lineup role for the 2010-11 season – but he wasn’t able to keep the high-tempo offense rolling. He scored just 22 points in 71 games that year, kicking off a slide of underwhelming play that’d carry through the next four seasons. Yip moved to the Nashville Predators in 2012, and Phoenix Coyotes in 2013, but ultimately found himself in a full-time AHL role by 2014. He chose to move away from North America two years later, ending his NHL career at 56 points in 174 games.

Now taking the first step beyond his playing career, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Yip take on a new role with Team China. He boasts the most NHL experience of any player in the country’s brief international hockey history. Currently, 74-year-old Perry Pearn – once a journeyman NHL assistant coach – serves as the head coach of China’s Men’s team and junior team.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Colorado Avalanche

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Central Division, next up are the Avalanche.

Colorado Avalanche

Current Cap Hit: $94,170,000 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Ivan Ivan (one year, $835K)

There was no shortage of entry-level players trotted out on the fourth line at times last season and chances are that some of them will be back and forth once again.  But Ivan got into 40 games with the Avs in 2024-25 and projects to have a similar role this season.  Given his limited output, he’s someone who shouldn’t be able to command much more than this on his next deal, especially if he lands a one-way pact.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

D Brent Burns ($1MM, UFA)
F Jack Drury ($1.725MM, RFA)
F Daniil Gushchin ($775K, RFA)
F Joel Kiviranta ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Sam Malinski ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Martin Necas ($6.5MM, UFA)
F Victor Olofsson ($1.575MM, UFA)
G Scott Wedgewood ($1.5MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Burns: $4MM

After being unable to agree to terms with Mikko Rantanen on an extension and not wanting to run the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency, GM Chris MacFarland opted to move him for Necas (and Drury).  A year later, they might be in the same situation.  Necas is coming off a career year and couldn’t agree to terms on a long-term pact last summer in Carolina with the belief that he wanted to test the open market.  Now, that price tag has only gone higher given the year he had and the pending changes to the cap.  It wouldn’t be shocking to see a long-term contract creep close to the $10MM mark now and if Colorado doesn’t want to pay that, they might have to look into moving him during the season.

Drury wasn’t as impactful of an acquisition as Necas but he certainly gave them some needed extra depth down the middle.  He wasn’t able to repeat his 2023-24 performance offensively, however, which could limit his earnings upside.  His qualifying offer checks in at $1.675MM with arbitration rights and while he should be able to beat that on another short-term deal, it won’t be a significant increase barring a breakout year.  Olofsson had a decent season with Vegas in a supporting role and should have a similar type of role this season.  He has had to settle for one-year deals in his first two trips through unrestricted free agency.  Barring an uptick in production, he’ll either stay on that path or have to settle for a multi-year pact at a lower price tag than the $4.75MM he was making at the end of his time with Buffalo.

Kiviranta had a career year last season, notching 16 goals.  By comparison, his previous personal best in points was 11.  Not surprisingly, teams weren’t willing to pay him much more than his usual contract, being unconvinced that this improvement is repeatable.  If he can match that this season, he might be able to land closer to $2MM.  If he goes back to normal, he’ll be back in league minimum territory for 2026-27.  Gushchin is one of many players who will be fighting for a back-of-the-lineup spot but given his production in the minors last year with AHL San Jose and the fact he’s now waiver-eligible, he might have a small leg up on the competition for a spot.  Given his limited NHL opportunities so far and the likelihood of limited playing time given how Jared Bednar deploys his fourth line, Gushchin should stay around the minimum salary for next season even if he locks down a roster spot.

Burns comes over from Carolina in a deal that was set up to work within Colorado’s limited cap flexibility.  Of the $4MM in bonuses, he’ll each $3MM with his tenth game of the season while the other million will be harder to reach (70 GP with over 23 minutes per contest).  While he’s 40, he has shown himself to be capable of still playing in the top four which should make his base salary quite a bargain; they’ll be paying off the bonuses next season though.  This type of contract structure could come his way again if he plays beyond this season.  Malinski held his own in his first taste of full-time NHL action last season on the third pairing.  If he has that same role this year, he should push past the $2MM mark if he remains as effective as he was in 2024-25.

Wedgewood signed this contract with Nashville last summer but he wasn’t there for long, being moved to Colorado not even two months into the season.  He thrived in limited action with the Avs and while that probably isn’t repeatable, he’s establishing himself as a late-bloomer in terms of being a legitimate backup option.  That should be enough to push him past $2MM per season on his next deal if he can give them even an adequate level of goaltending this year.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Ross Colton ($4MM, UFA)
D Samuel Girard ($5MM, UFA)
F Artturi Lehkonen ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Cale Makar ($9MM, UFA)
D Keaton Middleton ($775K, UFA)

Lehkonen has found another level offensively since being acquired from Montreal while still being a strong defensive player.  Now producing as a top-six forward (and playing top-line minutes), his price tag should shoot up on his next deal.  Given his quality of linemates though (a quality that few teams can match), that could be a limiter on a new contract, especially if he makes it to the open market.  If Colorado re-signs him, a cap charge starting with a six should be doable.  Colton wasn’t able to sustain the hot start he had last season but stayed within a similar goal and point-per-game range as he had the previous three years.  At this point, that starts to become the trend, not the outlier.  He didn’t play much at center last season but his ability to do so will also be a boost to his value.  As long as he stays around the half-point-per-game range, Colton should be able to land closer to $5MM on his next contract knowing the demand that will be out there for help down the middle.

It’s hard for a $9MM contract to be a bargain but Makar more than fits the bill.  At a time when older top blueliners landed $11MM or more several years ago, Makar has outproduced them since then and has a couple of Norris Trophies under his belt, putting his contract several million below market value already.  He will be in line to sign a record-setting contract for a defenseman and while the Avs might prefer to operate on an internal cap and not have him make more than their top forward, that could be a tough sell knowing where the Upper Limit of the cap will be in 2027 (around $113.5MM).  $14MM or $15MM on a max-term agreement certainly feels achievable at this point, especially as new benchmarks get set over the next couple of years.

Girard has been a steady second-pairing defender for the bulk of his eight-year career at a time when consistency is highly valued.  However, given that he is one of the smallest blueliners in the NHL, his name has been speculated as a possible trade candidate for a while now.  Meanwhile, with a lot of teams currently aiming for their back ends to get bigger, that could limit Girard’s earnings potential.  Based on his performance, a raise past $6MM should be doable but if his market cools because of his size, that could make reaching that a challenge.  Middleton is a depth defender who projects to be the seventh option more often than not.  Those players tend to stay close to the minimum salary and that should be the case for him as well on his next contract.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Josh Manson ($4.5MM in 2025-26, $3.95MM in 2026-27 and 2027-28)
F Brock Nelson ($7.5MM, UFA)

Nelson didn’t exactly play great after being acquired but with the Avalanche looking to shore up a second center position that has been in flux as of late, they paid a high price to keep him from hitting the open market.  Frankly, given the dearth of impact centers in this year’s class, he likely would have received this or more had he tested free agency.  He’ll be 36 (nearing 37) when this deal is up and assuming his production starts to decline by then, he might be more in the $4MM to $5MM range on his next contract which could still be a multi-year pact.

Manson is still a capable physical defensive defender when healthy.  But staying healthy has been an issue as he hasn’t made it to 70 games in a season since 2018-19 and that’s factored into the cost of the extension, a small pay cut.  It’s on the high side for someone who should be more of a fifth option by then but if they can afford it, it’s not a bad luxury to have.

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Avalanche’s Mikhail Gulyayev Aiming For NHL Debut This Season

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Avalanche 2023 first-round pick Mikhail Gulyayev has spent his entire career in his native Russia to date. He’s looking to change that by making his NHL debut at the tail end of the 2025-26 campaign, he told Sergey Demidov of RG.

Now 20, Gulyayev was always one of the most high-ceiling offensive options among blueliners in the 2023 class. The lefty has to work to overcome his sub-ideal frame – 5’10” and 172 lbs – but his projection hasn’t really changed.

He’s struggled to gain premier ice time in the KHL but enters 2025-26 with two full-time seasons at the pro level under his belt. He’s developed almost entirely in Avangard Omsk’s system and has played exclusively for the top club in the regular season since his post-draft year. He now has an 11-17–28 scoring line in 144 career KHL games with an even rating.

His coach in Omsk is ex-NHL bench boss Guy Boucher, who told Demidov to throw caution regarding any playing-style comparisons to Avs star Cale Makar. “This is a kid who has good potential to be himself,” Boucher said. “Over the years, this is what I realized kills players, kills youngsters, when they are compared to other people. He needs to grow his pace to be himself. Makar is a completely different type. You can compare it to football. They have a quarterback and running backs. Makar is more of a quarterback. Guly is more of a running back, it’s not the same style at all.”

As things stand, the Avs have a bit of a hole on their left side and could benefit from Gulyayev being an option come playoff time if his development this season dictates he’s ready to make the jump to the NHL. They’re likely to need to run two righties on their third pairing in Brent Burns and Sam Malinski, and there are no legitimate everyday lefties in the organization outside of top-four fixtures Samuel Girard and Devon Toews.

Even if he’s not able to make the jump this season, Girard only has one year remaining on his deal after this one. There’s plenty of organizational room long-term for Gulyayev to grow into the impact piece Colorado hopes he can be after having a rather iffy recent track record with first-round selections.

Prospect Notes: Behrens, Wassilyn, Bourque

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The Colorado Avalanche have received a bit of good news in the quietest days of summer. Defense prospect Sean Behrens shared that he’s been fully cleared to participate in the team’s rookie tournament with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. Behrens missed all but two games of last season after sustaining a knee injury in an October practice scrimmage. The first-year pro only suited up for the very first, and very final, game of the Colorado Eagles’ season.

Hopes were high for Behrens prior to his season-ending injury. He seemed well set for a strong push into pros after finishing a three-year stay at the University of Denver with 31 points in 44 games, and a National Championship win, in the 2023-24 season. Behrens was a core part of the title-winning Pioneers, where he often found himself playing alongside or directly behind top prospect Zeev Buium. He showed off all of the sharp stickhandling and quick skating needed to keep the Pioneers offense running with Buium off the ice, and earned the NCHC’s ’Defenseman Of The Year’ award as a result. Behrens now faces an uphill battle adjusting his slight, 5-foot-10 frame to the pro level. He’s made strong impacts in both junior and college hockey, and could earn a top role with the Eagles with a quick return.. He’ll be a name for fans to watch – though likely one that the Avalanche take their time with – as he looks forward to a healthy season.

Other notes from around the prospect world:

  • Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Braidy Wassilyn will indeed return to the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs next season, then attend Boston University in the 2026-27 season, shares Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. Kennedy mentions that Wassilyn’s return to juniors wasn’t previously guaranteed. This news puts the cherry on top of a productive summer for Niagara. Wassilyn scored 39 points in 62 games of his rookie OHL season last year. He rivaled the team’s top-six by the end of the season, profiling as a sharp and mobile playmaker with a heavy, 200-pound frame. He’ll return to great company in Niagara – set to play alongside fellow top 2026 draft prospect Ryan Roobroeck, Winnipeg Jets prospect Kevin He, and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Czata.
  • Dallas Stars forward Mavrik Bourque will now be represented by agent Olivier Fortier, Vice President of Wasserman Hockey, per PuckPedia. Borque just wrapped up his rookie season in the NHL with 11 goals and 25 points in 73 games. It was a relatively calm performance, after Bourque won the AHL’s MVP award with 77 points in 71 games of the 2023-24 season. He did maintain a positive plus-minus and consistent lineup role through his first NHL season, even playing second-line minutes through certain points in the year. He’ll face the task of now cementing a spot up the lineup, and discovering his scoring prowess, ahead of restricted-free agency next summer.

Tyson Barrie Announces Retirement

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Amid his participation in yesterday’s Avalanche alumni game, defenseman Tyson Barrie confirmed to Nathan Rudolph of the DNVR Avalanche podcast that he’s retired.

A third-round pick of the Avalanche in 2009, Barrie was a highly intriguing offensive option out of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets and quickly looked like he could be something of a steal. He led the league in assists by a defenseman in his post-draft year and was named the WHL’s top defenseman as a result, but concerns about the righty’s size and defensive acumen meant he returned for a fourth and final season of junior hockey before making the jump to the pro ranks in 2011-12. Even then, he spent most of that year in the minors and only received 10 NHL games.

He slowly worked his way up the Avs’ depth chart, seeing less and less AHL time each season before earning his final recall in November 2013, early in his age-22 season. While he checked in as a fringe top-four option at even strength, he overtook Erik Johnson as Colorado’s top power-play quarterback and ended up recording a 13-25–38 scoring line in 64 games over the balance of the campaign. Those 0.59 points per game placed him inside the top-15 among NHL rearguards that year.

The 2014-15 campaign marked Barrie’s true coming of age. He broke the 50-point plateau – the first of four times he’d end up doing so in his career – while serving as Colorado’s de facto No. 1 option for a good portion of the season with Johnson injured. He would continue averaging north of 21 minutes per game for the remainder of his Colorado tenure, twice earning fringe votes for year-end All-Star honors.

Colorado didn’t have a ton of team success during Barrie’s six-year run as a full-timer there, though, only making the playoffs three times and winning a round once. His struggles away from the puck played a significant role in that. Only once, his final season in Denver, did Barrie manage to record a positive expected rating based on shot quality generated and allowed when he was on the ice at even strength. He posted a negative actual plus/minus rating in his last four years for Colorado, including a league-worst -34 mark in the Avs’ disastrous 22-win season in 2016-17.

Entering the 2019-20 season, Barrie was a pending unrestricted free agent and had been made redundant with Cale Makar’s emergence in the preceding postseason. That kicked off the latter journeyman phase of his career, beginning with a July 1 blockbuster that sent him to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Nazem Kadri. It didn’t work out all that well for Barrie or Toronto. He was no longer his club’s top power play option, sitting behind Morgan Rielly on the Leafs’ power play pyramid, and his offensive output declined to a more pedestrian 5-34–39 scoring line in 70 games as a result.

With Barrie’s point production his only real calling card, the fit in Toronto obviously wasn’t going to be a long-term one. They let him become a free agent during the COVID-laced 2020 offseason, and he proceeded to land a one-year, $3.75MM “prove-it” deal with the Oilers.

Barrie was plopped onto a top power-play unit in Edmonton with the two-headed monster of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid – the league’s two leading scorers in the shortened 2021 season – and responded with the best campaign of his career. He recorded 48 points in the truncated 56-game schedule, leading the NHL in scoring among defenders. His defensive deficiencies remained quite visible, though. He only managed a +5 rating compared to regular partner Darnell Nurse’s +27 mark, and as Edmonton was swept in the first round of the playoffs, Barrie became the first defenseman in league history to lead the position in scoring while not receiving a single Norris Trophy vote.

While Barrie remained a fine puck-mover for the Oilers, his production never quite found that gear again. His minutes began to drop back below the 20-minute mark, and at the 2023 deadline, he was sent to the Predators in the deal that landed Edmonton two-way dynamo Mattias Ekholm.

Nashville marked the last real turning point in Barrie’s career, and it wasn’t for the better. While he was still quite effective for the Preds down the stretch after the trade, recording 12 points in 24 games, that didn’t last very long. In 2023-24 – the final year of a three-year, $13.5MM extension he signed with Edmonton – Barrie tumbled down Nashville’s depth chart and ended up becoming a routine healthy scratch by the time the season ended. As such, he was limited to just one goal and 15 points in 41 games and only drew into the Preds’ playoff lineup once in their first-round loss to the Canucks.

Ahead of his age-33 season and with his value at an all-time low, Barrie ended up needing to settle for a professional tryout with the Flames to participate in an NHL training camp last fall. He did convert that into a $1.25MM contract in early October, but the fit wasn’t quite what Calgary hoped for. He only logged 13 appearances for the club and even ended up on waivers and cleared, seeing his first AHL action in over a decade with the Calgary Wranglers.

Barrie was a free agent this summer, and there was no reported interest in him on the open market. He hangs up his skates with 822 games played in 14 seasons, 23rd among his rather stacked draft class. He scored 110 goals and added 398 assists for 508 points, 10th in the league among defensemen since he debuted back in the 2011-12 season. He averaged just over 21 minutes per night for his career and made $47.85MM in estimated total earnings, per PuckPedia.

All of us at PHR congratulate Barrie on his fine career and wish him the best in his next steps.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Avalanche Sign Victor Olofsson

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Aug. 20: Olofsson’s deal will pay him $1.575MM this season, PuckPedia reports. The team quickly confirmed his signing.

Aug. 19: According to a report from PuckPedia, the Colorado Avalanche are zeroing in on a one-year deal with unrestricted free agent forward Victor Olofsson. Olofsson represented one of the few remaining quality scoring options on the free agent market.

It’ll be a second straight one-year contract for Olofsson. He joined the Vegas Golden Knights last summer on his first trip through unrestricted free agency, reuniting with his former linemate with the Buffalo Sabres, Jack Eichel. He didn’t spend much of his time on the top line with Eichel, but he had a much better season than he did a year prior, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games, averaging 14:30 of ice time per night.

Still, it would’ve been difficult for Olofsson to have a worse season than his final year with the Sabres. In his last year with the club during the 2023-24 campaign, Olofsson mustered seven goals and 15 points in 51 games. It was objectively the worst season of his professional career, including his time in the Swedish Hockey League from 2013 to 2018.

It obfuscated the successful run he had with the Sabres earlier in his career. From 2019 to 2023, Olofsson was one of the better secondary scorers in the league, managing 81 goals and 163 points in 257 games with the Sabres. Furthermore, given that 56 of those points came on Buffalo’s power play, Olofsson was a notable offensive weapon with a man advantage.

The Avalanche have been stockpiling depth assets for the better part of two years now, and it’s easy to understand why. Colorado has dealt with considerable injury issues throughout the last few seasons, necessitating their need for more NHL-ready options. Last season, the Avalanche used 49 different players throughout the regular season, though they still finished the season as one of the better teams.

This means that Olofsson could have more access to playing time than he might otherwise expect. He’s certainly a better option for the Avalanche to use regularly than their recent acquisition, Daniil Gushchin, and is objectively a better option than Ivan Ivan.

Logan O'Connor's Injury Recovery Faster Than Expected

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Avalanche Sign Alex Gagne To Entry-Level Deal

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The Avalanche announced that they have signed defenseman Alex Gagne to a two-year, entry-level deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Gagne, fresh off his 23rd birthday, is the first of the group of players who saw their draft rights expire on Friday to land an NHL contract. The Lightning initially selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, but the two sides didn’t end up finalizing an entry-level contract after his four-year run with the University of New Hampshire came to an end last season. It’s unclear whether Tampa declined to offer him a deal or if Gagne declined to sign one, but the former would make sense as Tampa only has three contract slots available for 2025-26.

The 6’5″, 225-lb lefty isn’t a big point producer but was among the Wildcats’ most important players, particularly later in his career. He’d served as their captain since 2023-24 and finished his college career with a 7-41–48 scoring line in 139 games, totaling a +4 rating. He was named to Hockey East’s Third All-Star Team each of the last two years.

The New Hampshire native wasn’t a particularly high-profile prospect in Tampa’s system and won’t be one in Colorado’s either. Nonetheless, he’ll get a two-year runway, presumably with either AHL Colorado or ECHL Utah, to show enough development to earn a qualifying offer when his ELC expires in 2027.

Colorado had much more flexibility to make late-offseason depth additions than the Bolts. Gagne’s signing brings them to 43 standard contracts on the books for 2025-26, seven short of the limit.

Morning Notes: Red Wings, Stenberg, Funck

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The biggest training camp storyline for the Red Wings will be who begins the season as their top line left wing next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. They’ve had a revolving door there for the first four years of the latter’s career, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon.

To that end, Max Bultman of The Athletic explored that topic today. Their most frequent linemate last season was youngster Marco Kasper, but with his development more apt in filling a much-needed second-line center role for the Wings, that’s where Bultman anticipates him staying to open the season.

If not Kasper, it’s a rather uninspiring list for a unit expected to be Detroit’s most productive. The leading contender might be a swap of who Kasper replaced down the middle late last year. Veteran Andrew Copp has played exclusively down the middle since signing with the Wings three years ago, but could slot in on Larkin’s wing to “bring some of the same heaviness and defensive elements Kasper did to that line,” Bultman writes.

Copp is arguably the leading contender because of Detroit’s relatively quiet offseason, leaving them with uninspiring top-line options in the likely scenario they keep wingers Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane as their second-line anchors. Other names in the mix, Bultman writes, will be free agent pickup James van Riemsdyk and the towering young Elmer Söderblom. The former was more productive last season with 36 points in 71 games for the Blue Jackets, but only averaged 12:24 per night.

Here’s more from around the hockey world today:

  • It’ll take a miracle to unseat phenom Gavin McKenna from first overall on anyone’s draft board by the time next June rolls around, but the No. 2 slot is still up for grabs. While the consensus preseason opinion there is big-bodied defender Keaton Verheoff, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines that his average skating gives the edge to Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg, whom he opines is a slam-dunk first-line winger. His production in under-20 play with Frölunda last season jumps off the page – 53 points in 27 games – and he just won a bronze medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup while contributing a tournament-leading four goals and 10 points in five games. He’s primed for a full-time role in the pros in the SHL this season, but his early birthday for the class (Sep. 30) means he’s further along in his development than most of his peers.
  • After being drafted out of his native Sweden, Avalanche defense prospect Linus Funck is making the jump to North America. The 2025 fourth-rounder will suit up for the OHL’s London Knights this season, the team announced. The 6’3″, 186-lb righty had a 5-23–28 scoring line in 48 games for Luleå’s U-20 squad last season but was not part of Sweden’s contingent for this month’s Hlinka Grezky tournament.

Players Who Could Start The Season On LTIR

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While only a handful of teams project to need cap relief via long-term injured reserve to open the season, multiple candidates across the league might technically qualify for a placement. Doing so would bar the player from returning until Oct. 31 at the earliest – 24 days from the season start date of Oct. 7.

Avalanche: Logan O’Connor

O’Connor underwent hip surgery in early June. Given the five-to-six-month projected recovery window, he won’t be available until early November at best, putting him past the 10-game/24-day threshold required for LTIR. Colorado, which has $2.10MM in current cap space, will likely place O’Connor on standard IR if they don’t make any other cap-affecting moves between now and October. If they need the relief, though, they could create up to O’Connor’s $2.5MM cap hit in cushion for the first few weeks of the season if they need it.

Blues: Torey Krug

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong announced in May that Krug’s career is done because of pre-arthritic conditions in his left ankle that surgical intervention only slowly corrected. Since the Blues only have around $625K in cap space, Krug and his $6.5MM cap hit will be going on LTIR as soon as they need the flexibility for a call-up.

Canadiens: Carey Price

What’s certain is that Price won’t play this season or ever again. He’s entering the final season of his contract at a $10.5MM cap hit after confirming nearly two years ago that his knee injury would prohibit him from suiting up again. What’s uncertain is whether or not he’ll begin the season on LTIR. Montreal isn’t in a great position to optimize its LTIR relief, either by matching his cap hit in excess or getting down to $0 in space before placing him on the list. That’s made his contract a trade chip for teams who might need the relief more.

Devils: Johnathan Kovacevic

Kovacevic underwent knee surgery in early May and won’t be ready for training camp and likely opening night as well. Whether that stretches past Oct. 31 and makes him eligible for an LTIR placement if New Jersey needs cap relief early on remains to be seen.

Flyers: Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen

Ellis’ career is over after sustaining a wide-ranging muscular injury in his pelvis just four games into his Flyers tenure in 2021. Ristolainen underwent a procedure on his right triceps tendon on March 26 with a six-month recovery time, putting him right on the edge of potential LTIR eligibility. Philly will have a better idea of the latter’s LTIR deployment potential after he undergoes his training camp physical. With $370K in cap space, they’re in a good position for near-max LTIR capture and will almost certainly at least place Ellis there to begin the year to give them call-up flexibility.

Golden Knights: Alex Pietrangelo

Pietrangelo is already on offseason LTIR, meaning the Knights actually still have to add an additional $1.2MM to their roster before opening night to optimize his capture and unlock his full $8.8MM cap hit’s worth of relief for this season. The team confirmed he requires multiple undisclosed but significant surgeries that will likely mark the end of his playing career, but it’s unclear if he’s actually had them done yet.

Jets: Adam Lowry

Lowry underwent hip surgery in late May and won’t be available until after Thanksgiving at the earliest. Winnipeg likely won’t be formalizing an LTIR placement with nearly $4MM in cap space, though.

Mammoth: Juuso Välimäki

Välimäki underwent ACL surgery in early March. He likely won’t end up on LTIR given Utah’s current cap flexibility ($6.68MM), but he’ll be out until at least early November so he’ll be there as an early-season option in case they need relief for whatever reason.

Oilers: Zach Hyman

Hyman’s inclusion here is on the speculative side. The winger could very well be ready for the start of the season. However, there hasn’t been much clarity on how much recovery he still needs after undergoing surgery to repair a severe wrist injury that kept him out of the Stanley Cup Final. A report in early June indicated there was uncertainty about his status for training camp, with no meaningful updates since then.

Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk

Tkachuk told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski earlier this month that he’s still deciding whether he wants to undergo surgery to address the adductor issue that hampered him down the stretch and in the playoffs after sustaining it at the 4 Nations Face-Off. All signs point to him opting for it and spending the next two to three months on the shelf as a result, though. Placing him on LTIR is the only way the Panthers, who currently have a cap exceedance of $3.725MM, can be compliant to start the season without shedding a significant contract, something they aren’t keen to do.

Wild: Jonas Brodin

Minnesota has $9.41MM in cap space, but that number will shrink once they re-sign restricted free agent Marco Rossi (or add salary while trading his signing rights). Neither scenario will likely push them into a situation where they need to use LTIR relief, but they might have Brodin and his $6MM cap hit as an option for some short-term flexibility if required. He underwent an upper-body procedure in early June and is questionable for the beginning of the season, so it’s not yet clear if he’ll miss enough time to qualify.

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