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Free Agent Focus: Colorado Avalanche

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With free agency now just a few weeks away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While their top performers may still be locked up, Colorado has a ton of work to do on their depth pieces.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Valeri Nichushkin – After a season that saw him score exactly zero goals in 57 games following several years in the KHL, it looked like Nichushkin’s NHL career might be over after the 2018-19 campaign ended. He was bought out by the Dallas Stars in June and could have easily decided to go back to Russia and continue his career there. Not so fast, said the Avalanche, who signed Nichushkin to a one-year, $850K deal that gave him another chance in the NHL. After scoring 13 goals and 27 points in 65 games while being one of the best defensive wingers in the entire league—he finished eighth in Selke Trophy voting—the 25-year-old Russian has probably earned himself a multi-year extension with Colorado.

F Andre Burakovsky – Quick, after Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who was the leading scorer on the Avalanche this season? Gabriel Landeskog? Mikko Rantanen? Nazem Kadri? No, it was Burakovsky, whose 45 points were a career-high despite the shortened season. In just 58 games he scored 20 goals for the first time in his career, finally getting the opportunity to play big minutes and rewarding the Avalanche by fulfilling the huge potential he had shown as a young player. Importantly, Burakovsky has already played six full seasons in the NHL despite being just 25, meaning he could become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Waiting for a one-year arbitration award would get him there, meaning the Avalanche will have to try and work out a multi-year deal in the coming weeks if they want to lock him up.

D Nikita Zadorov – For all the frustration at the fact that Zadorov still hasn’t grown into that minute-munching two-way star that fans have been dreaming off since he came into the league as a teenager, he has already logged nearly 400 games in his NHL career and only turned 25 a few months ago. He’ll never be the leader of the Colorado blueline, but he still represents a valuable asset that they’ll have to make a decision on this summer. Like Burakovsky, Zadorov already has six NHL seasons under his belt and could use an arbitration award to get to unrestricted free agency at 26 next offseason. Unlike Burakovsky, the Avalanche might be okay with that outcome given the pipeline of defensemen they’ve created over the last few years.

Other RFAs: F Tyson Jost, F Vladislav Kamenev, D Ryan Graves, F A.J. Greer, F Sheldon Dries, G Hunter Miska

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Colin Wilson – When the 2018-19 season came to an end, the Avalanche decided that Wilson was worthy of a $2.6MM contract. They waited until July 1 to do it, but they obviously felt it was acceptable after his 12-goal, 27-point campaign. He was an option on the powerplay and a depth piece for a team that looked like they were gearing up for a real Stanley Cup run. Unfortunately, that $2.6MM resulted in just four points and nine games. Wilson suffered a (somewhat mysterious) injury in October and never returned, opening the door for other players to take his opportunities. If he’s healthy, perhaps the Avalanche bring him back. But with so much firepower ahead of him on the depth chart, it might be wise for Wilson to go somewhere else to build his value back up.

F Vladislav Namestnikov – If a trade deadline pickup ends up playing just nine regular season games for your team, it usually means the transaction was a mistake. Not so with Namestnikov, who scored four goals for the Avalanche before the shutdown and then added another four in their 12-game postseason. You can bet the team is wondering what kind of a resurgence they could milk out of the 27-year-old Russian forward, given he has shown an ability to score in bunches, but there simply might not be enough to go around. If the team is set on bringing back all of their restricted free agents, Namestnikov may be better served looking for a free agent landing spot.

F Matt Nieto – What can you say about Nieto? A few years ago he was lining up beside some of the very best players on the Colorado roster, but even after being dropped out of that group has still performed relatively well. 21 points in 70 games are nothing to sneeze at, especially when it comes in just over 11 minutes of even-strength ice time a night. Nieto was Colorado’s top penalty-killing forward this season and will be missed if the team is forced to let him reach free agency. There’s not always enough money to go around, especially if Nieto’s versatility and consistency end up drawing a crowd when the market opens.

Other UFAs: D Kevin Connauton, G Michael Hutchinson, F Jayson Megna, D Mark Alt, G Antoine Bibeau

Projected Cap Space

The $22.4MM in cap space Colorado has this offseason is a testament to the way GM Joe Sakic has built his squad, but it doesn’t mean they can take endless shots at high-priced free agents. The team has to consider their own core first, with Makar and Landeskog both heading into their final season under contract. MacKinnon will be up two years after that, with Kadri due for a new deal in the middle. No, they’re not in cap trouble, but they could be if they lean in and spend all of their room this offseason trying to chase a Stanley Cup right away.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Vancouver’s Pending Free Agents

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The Vancouver Canucks have one of the more precarious salary cap situations in the league as they enter the offseason. While they project to have close to $14.3MM in space for next season, things are going to get a lot different in a year. That’s when Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko will all hit restricted free agency at the same time, potentially eating up a huge chunk of the salary cap as the team’s young core.

With that expensive offseason right around the corner, Canucks GM Jim Benning will have to play his cards quite carefully next month to make sure he doesn’t back himself into a corner. That includes UFA negotiations with Chris Tanev, Tyler Toffoli, and perhaps most importantly, starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

Rick Dhaliwal was on TSN radio today talking about the Canucks pending free agents, even expressing awe that the team has still not worked something out with Markstrom:

This has not been an easy negotiation. We’re 15 months into this and now he’s 17 days away from walking and leaving. The two-time MVP of this team, he’s 17 days away from walking away from this team. They’ve been negotiating for 15 months–think about that for a second–and they’re not closer. There is still tons of work to do before they get a deal done.

Dhaliwal suggested again that the goaltender is looking for a deal with a cap hit of around $6MM, but stressed how challenging the negotiation has been so far. Markstrom, 30, is coming off his second straight year receiving Vezina Trophy votes, actually finishing fourth this season after putting up a .918 save percentage in 43 appearances. His market will be strong should he reach unrestricted free agency, something that Benning explained he was trying to avoid at his end of season press conference:

We’re going to try and figure out a way that makes sense for us and makes Jacob and his agent happy. Try and figure out a deal to get him signed. We want him back. We’re going to start working on that this week.

The question still comes back to that future cap situation though, especially given what Demko did in the playoffs with Vancouver. Though he’s not nearly as proven—Demko has just 37 regular season appearances under his belt—the Canucks could potentially hand the starter role to him next seaosn and take their chances with him on a full-time basis. They could also go after another free agent netminder instead, with Dhaliwal bringing up the names of Braden Holtby, Thomas Greiss and Cam Talbot as potential options.

In terms of Tanev, Dhaliwal explains that while Markstrom and Toffoli are the focus for Vancouver, the veteran defenseman hasn’t even received a contract offer from the Canucks at this point. Tanev, who will turn 31 in December, was the focus of a report today from Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe of The Athletic, which indicated that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be after him should he hit the open market. Tanev is the older brother of Penguins forward Brandon Tanev, who was given a long-term deal by Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford last summer.

Even though he is not an effective offensive weapon, Tanev has logged big minutes whenever healthy over the last decade in Vancouver. He registered 20 points in 69 games this season while still logging more than three minutes of short-handed ice time every night.

Free Agent Focus: Carolina Hurricanes

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Carolina Hurricanes already traded away the rights to one pending free agent but still have some tough decisions to make.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Warren Foegele – The journey to the NHL wasn’t smooth for the 24-year-old Foegele, who actually left the University of New Hampshire in 2015 to return to the OHL and continue his development back at the junior level. A few years later and it’s clear that that was the right decision for him after two full seasons as a member of the Hurricanes. After really making a name for himself in the 2019 playoffs where he nearly registered as many points as his whole regular season, Foegele came back in 2019-20 as an integral part of the Carolina machine.

In 68 games he scored 13 times and put up 30 points despite averaging just over 12 minutes at even-strength and not touching the ice on the powerplay. That level of production won’t land him a huge raise, but it should afford him a little more ice time and a bigger role moving forward. The question will be whether or not they can work out a multi-year contract or if either of the two sides would rather test arbitration.

D Haydn Fleury – It’s easy to forget that Fleury was the seventh-overall pick in 2014, because to this point in his career he frankly hasn’t lived up to that draft billing. Selected ahead of first-round talents like William Nylander, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dylan Larkin, and of course David Pastrnak (whose selection at 25 still haunts most of the league), Fleury has still played just 132 games in the NHL. That said, his talents did start to show themselves down the stretch for the Hurricanes, with the team even giving him a chance to play more than 20 minutes in four of his last five games before the season was canceled.

In the postseason, Fleury’s role with the team was still large enough to think that they will move forward with him as a full-time member of the defense. With Joel Edmundson traded and two other defensemen set to hit unrestricted free agency, there will be minutes to go around. Like Foegele, Fleury is arbitration-eligible but still might not be able to argue for much of a raise given he played just 45 NHL games this season.

Other RFAs: F Steven Lorentz, F Clark Bishop, F Spencer Smallman, F Jacob Pritchard, D Oliwer Kaski, D Roland McKeown, D Gustav Forsling, G Callum Booth

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Justin Williams – Does he come back for a 20th NHL season? It’s not clear at all what Williams’ plans are, but last time it took him until January to officially return to the league and it just so happens that that is when the next season is expected to start. Maybe the next few months will be enough time off for the veteran forward to get the itch again and if Carolina is willing, it seems like the only destination. Williams signed for just $700K (plus performance bonuses) this season and would likely do the same if he returns.

D Sami Vatanen – The bigger question is trade deadline acquisition Vatanen, who actually may have never suited up for Carolina had the playoffs not been delayed. The 29-year-old was injured when the Hurricanes acquired him at the deadline and tweaked it again meaning he never did actually play a regular season game for the team. That didn’t stop head coach Rod Brind’Amour from using Vatanen a lot in the playoffs, but even that postseason performance seems unlikely to land him a new contract with the Hurricanes this offseason.

Carolina already has five defensemen locked up for at least $4MM per season, a number that Vatanen will likely be trying to eclipse on a multi-year deal in free agency. He’s coming off a four-year contract that carried a $4.875MM AAV, and though the flat cap situation may squeeze middle-tier free agents like Vatanen, it’s hard to see how the Hurricanes could really justify bringing him back without a trade of someone else.

Other UFAs: D Trevor van Riemsdyk, F Max McCormick, F Brian Gibbons, G Anton Forsberg

Projected Cap Space

Hard to justify because the Hurricanes only have about $7.8MM in cap space going into the offseason and have more pressing needs than their third pairing. James Reimer and Petr Mrazek are both heading into their final seasons under contract and the Hurricanes have been included in plenty of goaltending speculation. There is also a new deal just around the corner with budding superstar Andrei Svechnikov, who will be a restricted free agent for the first time in 2021.

Promoting youngsters like Jake Bean can provide some more flexibility because of their inexpensive entry-level contracts, but the Hurricanes may end up more involved in the trade market than free agency given their current situation.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

More On Alex Pietrangelo’s Pending Free Agency

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When news surfaced over the weekend that talks had broken off between the St. Louis Blues and captain Alex Pietrangelo, speculation exploded all over the hockey world trying to figure out where the star defenseman will play next season. Almost every team in the league could use a Norris-level right-handed defenseman who can play in all situations, but the list that could actually fit him into their salary cap structure doesn’t appear to be nearly as high.

That won’t stop fans from trying to find a way (as evidenced by CapFriendly’s Toronto Maple Leafs page getting a surge of traffic) and it won’t stop discussion over what Pietrangelo’s presence would mean to a team looking to change their defensive identity. Toronto, a team that has struggled for ages on the defensive side of the puck, also happens to be where Pietrangelo grew up and is getting plenty of press as a potential destination. Today, Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest spoke with Carlo Colaiacovo on TSN radio and gave his thoughts on whether playing in Toronto could excite Pietrangelo:

I think it one-hundred percent does. 

You talk about pulling at the heart strings and the idea of playing there? I think that one-hundred percent exists. Now whether or not they can meet his demands–and again, Toronto is going to be competing with other teams to get his services.

You look at the signing bonus Toronto has paid at some of these other guys including Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. The Blues don’t need to pay that kind of signing bonus money. When we talk about bonus money, he’s not looking for that level of bonus money from a team like St. Louis. But from a team like Toronto? Knowing they can afford to pay that? They’re going to have to pay bonus money in that range.

The entire interview is quite fascinating, given it takes place between someone who covers the Blues closely and someone who is close with Pietrangelo (Colaiacovo also played in St. Louis and was in his wedding party). Still, even with a lot of things pointing to the Maple Leafs entering the race for the pending free agent, it will be a difficult task for them to pull off.

Toronto isn’t in quite as dire of a cap situation as some seem to think, with more than $6MM in space and only two important restricted free agents to sign, but that doesn’t mean adding Pietrangelo is even a good idea. The team already has so much money tied up in the very top-end of their roster that adding another $8MM+ cap hit (the very low-end of what he’s expected to receive on his next deal) could potentially weaken their depth even further.

Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star argued against moving one of the team’s other top players in his latest column and Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has never indicated a willingness to listen on names like Mitch Marner or Morgan Rielly. More likely, a move to land Pietrangelo would come at the expense of some names lower in the lineup like Andreas Johnsson or Alexander Kerfoot.

Past the Maple Leafs, there will be several other teams picking up the phone to contact Pietrangelo and Newport Sports on October 9th. In fact, Strickland suggested today that there actually may be some excitement from the defenseman to see what is out there for him.

I don’t think it truly comes down to the money. It does come down to how the deal is structured. At the end of the day I truly believe that Alex Pietrangelo, the idea of going elsewhere, of entering free agency, I think that excites him. I think he is interested in seeing what else is out there.

There is now less than three weeks until Pietrangelo and the rest of the class can start talking to new teams, when free agency opens on October 9.

Ottawa’s Andreas Englund Signs In Allsvenskan

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The Ottawa Senators may have lost one of their defenseman as Vasterviks IK announced (translation required) they have signed defenseman Andreas Englund, who is expected to hit restricted free agency on Oct. 9. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the deal has an out-clause in which he can return to the Senators, but only if the team gives him a qualifying offer next month, which is no certainty. The wording on the announcement also suggests the Allsvenskan team hopes to keep him around permanently.

“24-year-old Andreas Englund played in (Ottawa) last season but his contract has now expired so he is now a free agent,” according to the press release.

Englund did manage to play a career high in games played in the NHL this season. He appeared in 24 games for the Senators, who drafted the blueliner in the second round back in 2014. However, the blueliner was also placed on waivers on multiple occasions throughout the year and didn’t see much time on the ice in Ottawa regardless. Englund averaged just 10:54 of ATOI and due to his lack of offensive ability, many believe that he doesn’t have the ability to win himself a permanent spot as a top-six defenseman in the NHL. That, along with a number of new faces on Ottawa’s defense this year, including a permanent role for Erik Brannstrom, a healthy Christian Wolanin and the overseas signing of Artem Zub, there may not be a place in the NHL for Englund, leaving many questions whether the team will hand him a qualifying offer.

Englund has played in the Allvenskan before when he played for Djurgardens Stokholm squad and then followed that year up with two years in the SHL before coming over to North America. He does have some size at 6-foot-4, but lacks significant offensive skill as he managed just three assists in 24 NHL games and went scoreless in 22 AHL games and his career high in AHL scoring has been 14 points (back in 2018-19).

 

Washington Capitals Sign Daniel Sprong

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The Washington Capitals acquired Daniel Sprong at the deadline in an under-the-radar move, but have now decided to re-sign the former top prospect. Sprong has signed a two-year, one-way contract with the Capitals that will carry a $725K average annual salary. The 23-year-old forward was scheduled for restricted free agency and would have been arbitration-eligible but will now be under contract through the 2021-22 season.

For several years following his second-round selection in the 2015 draft, Sprong was seen as a future top-six star in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. He made the team out of training camp just a few months after being drafted and played 18 NHL games as an 18-year-old. After finally returning to the QMJHL, he scored 61 points in just 45 games before then being sent back to pro hockey and playing big minutes for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs. That was followed by another very successful (though limited) season with the Charlottetown Islanders before Sprong burst back onto the AHL scene with a 32-goal, 65-point season with the baby Penguins in 2017-18.

Expected to then take the next step for Pittsburgh and become a core part of their NHL team, things fizzled. Sprong would fail to score a goal in 16 games to start the 2018-19 campaign and found himself traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Marcus Pettersson. 14 goals down the stretch for the Ducks wasn’t enough to keep him off waivers the following training camp and when he cleared, it was obvious his NHL outlook was not as rosy as it once was.

This season, Sprong spent the majority of the year with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, scoring 27 points in 39 games. He was swapped for Christian Djoos at the deadline, and finished strong with the Hershey Bears before the season was canceled. Now in Washington, where the team will be looking for inexpensive options at the bottom of their NHL roster, Sprong has another great shot to get his career back on track.

Still just 23, it’s impossible to write him off completely at this point. Should Sprong get an opportunity with some of the more skilled attackers in the Capitals lineup there is a real chance he flourishes in this next chapter. Still, he’ll have to prove he can do more than just contribute at the offensive end of the rink to keep himself up at the NHL level.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Nicolas Aube-Kubel

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The Philadelphia Flyers have finished some offseason business early, reaching a contract with Nicolas Aube-Kubel before he hits restricted free agency. The new two-year deal will carry an average annual value of $1.075MM and run through the 2021-22 season.

Aube-Kubel, 24, made his presence felt in the NHL for the first time this season, scoring 15 points in 36 games with the Flyers. The 48th overall selection from 2014, he had played three full seasons in the minor leagues and had just nine NHL games and no NHL points to show for it before 2019-20 started. When he agreed to a one-year, two-way $700K contract last summer he seemed like he may be destined to be organizational filler instead of a real option for the Flyers lineup.

Now, after finding himself on the ice for 13 of the team’s 16 postseason games, it’s hard to imagine he won’t get a real shot at a full-time roster spot in 2020-21. With Nate Thompson, Derek Grant and Tyler Pitlick all scheduled for unrestricted free agency, there may be some more minutes to go around for players like Aube-Kubel.

With a $1.075MM contract, he becomes an inexpensive option that could technically still be completely buried in the minor leagues if the team needed. That cap number is precisely the amount that comes off the books when someone is stashed in the AHL, though Aube-Kubel would need to clear waivers in order to go to the minors in the first place. One other thing to worry about is Group VI UFA status after the deal expires, though he’ll need just 22 games over the length of the contract to avoid that designation.

The Flyers still have some work to do with their restricted free agents, including Nolan Patrick, Philippe Myers, and Robert Hagg.

Kyle Clifford To Test Free Agency

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Just yesterday we profiled the Toronto Maple Leafs free agent situation, and our Brian La Rose wrote this in regards to pending UFA Kyle Clifford:

There’s mutual interest in a new contract but it’s worth noting that Los Angeles paid down half of his $1.6MM price tag in the move.  If Clifford wants a similar contract – and he should be able to get that even in a depressed market – he will almost certainly price himself out of the range that the Maple Leafs can afford to pay.

The suggestion that Clifford will be a bit too pricey for the Maple Leafs has been confirmed today, as his agent told Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that Clifford will test the open market. Not only will the 29-year-old forward be looking for more than the Maple Leafs can likely pay a fourth-line forward (that is, the league minimum), but his re-signing was also tied to a draft pick condition from his trade in February. Had the Maple Leafs re-signed Clifford, the 2021 third-round pick they surrendered in the trade with the Los Angeles Kings would be upgraded to a 2021 second-round selection.

It’s easy to see Clifford as just a forgettable depth forward after the Maple Leafs used him so sparingly, but it’s also important to remember that he has two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings and actually scored 11 goals in 2018-19 despite averaging just over ten minutes of ice time a night. The physical forward can skate well enough to keep up with today’s game and has actually helped drive strong possession numbers at times.

While he won’t be jumping into any team’s top-six next season, it makes sense that Clifford and his representatives want to test the open market to see what kind of contract he can secure. Coming off a five-year $8MM deal with the Kings, it will be interesting to see if he can land close to that $1.6MM AAV on his next deal.

For the Maple Leafs, letting Clifford reach free agency always seemed like the likely outcome because of the pick condition, but the team also has some other players pushing for roster spots. Top prospect Nicholas Robertson came in and showed off some of his skill in the postseason, while older forwards like Alexander Barabanov, Egor Korshkov, and Adam Brooks will all be in the mix for NHL roster spots. There’s also free agent Jason Spezza, who has indicated his desire to return to the team next season and newcomer Evan Rodrigues who is a restricted free agent but could work out a deal with the team as a bottom-six option.

Snapshots: Kitchen, Edmundson, Soucy

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The Florida Panthers are expected to part ways with assistant coach Mike Kitchen, according to Frank Seravalli and Darren Dreger of TSN. The decision comes after an alleged physical altercation with a player on the bench that happened in Minnesota on January 20. Kitchen opted out of the return to play postseason with the full support of the organization, saying at the time “it was a difficult decision to say the least, but the right decision for me and my family.”

Kitchen has been an assistant of Joel Quenneville at several stops and joined him in Florida for the 2019-20 season. The 64-year-old coach has three decades of coaching experience in the NHL dating back to the 1989-90 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team has not yet made an official statement about his status with the organization.

  • The Montreal Canadiens acquired the rights to Joel Edmundson over the weekend and now have just a few weeks to convince him to sign with the team before hitting unrestricted free agency. Nick Alberga of Sportsnet tweets that there is a “high chance” that Edmundson signs, with a two-year deal being discussed. The 27-year-old defenseman spent the 2019-20 season with the Carolina Hurricanes where he registered a career-high 20 points in 68 games. His one-year, $3.1MM contract set to expire in October was awarded through arbitration with the St. Louis Blues before a deal took him to Carolina just over a month later.
  • The Minnesota Wild made big news by extending Jonas Brodin earlier today, but could end up signing another defenseman to a new deal before long. Wild GM Bill Guerin told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic that he would like to keep Carson Soucy, though admitted they have had only initial conversations with his representatives. Soucy, 26, actually qualifies for Group VI UFA status despite playing in 55 games for the Wild this season and could hit the open market next month at a relatively young age.

Braden Holtby Expected To Test Free Agency

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Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise at this point, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan confirmed today that he expects Braden Holtby to reach free agency according to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic. Holtby is set to become an unrestricted free agent next month and seems to be an unlikely candidate to return to Washington.

For one thing, the 30-year-old netminder is coming off his worst season as a professional. While he still posted a 25-14-6 record thanks to a strong Capitals team, his individual numbers—.897 save percentage, 3.11 goals-against average with zero shutouts in 48 appearances—were drastically below his career norms.

Partly because of those struggles, the door was opened this season for young phenom Ilya Samsonov to step into the spotlight in Washington and show he’s ready for a starter role. In 26 games the rookie goaltender registered a .913 save percentage and looked the part of a future star. One of the best goaltenders in the KHL for the last few seasons, the 2015 first-round pick was always going to challenge for the starting role in Washington eventually.

Interestingly though, Samsonov was unable to join the team in the postseason bubble due to injury giving Holtby one last chance to prove himself before hitting the open market. He actually did perform better than his regular season, but still not nearly well enough to force the Capitals to rethink their future at the goaltending position.

Again, Holtby does have a long history of success to remember. A Vezina Trophy in 2016 as the league’s best goaltender was followed by a second-place finish the following year, while 2018 brought the Stanley Cup to Washington for the first time. After Philipp Grubauer actually started the playoffs for the Capitals that year, Holtby quickly took the net back and led the team to the finish line with a .922 save percentage in 23 appearances. That was actually lower than his career .926 postseason number, which is still an impressive total to consider for teams looking to add goaltending this offseason.

The question now is just how expensive will Holtby be on the open market. A year ago Sergei Bobrovsky signed a seven-year $70MM deal with the Florida Panthers and some immediately pointed to it being a possible target for Holtby. After all, while Bobrovsky had won the Vezina twice in his career, his overall regular season numbers were eerily similar and he didn’t have nearly the same playoff resume.

Now, after a hugely disappointing year from Holtby, the COVID-19 pandemic squeezing finances and an unusually deep goaltending market, it’s hard to imagine the Capitals netminder securing anything close to that $70MM deal. In fact, he may have to settle for a shorter deal in order to rebuild his brand and navigate a unique free agent market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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