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The Case For A Tristan Jarry Offer Sheet

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The art of the offer sheet is all but dead in the NHL. As The Athletic’s Craig Custance writes, there have only been eight offer sheets in the salary cap era, all but one have been matched, and none have been signed since 2013. It remains a shadowy threat for every GM looking to lock up his young restricted free agents, but at this point is more myth than reality. Custance even conducted a poll of nine GM’s that implied a feeling across the league that no offer sheets are coming this off-season. Even with attractive targets like the cap-strapped Detroit Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin, the Calgary Flames’ newly-acquired Noah Hanifin, and a key piece of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ young core, William Nylander, none of the GM’s could see a realistic spot where making an offer would be worth the effort as the team would always be able to match.

What about thinking outside the box and not looking at the top targets but at the team most unlikely to match? The Pittsburgh Penguins are not getting any sympathy from teams around the league. Winners of two of the last three Stanley Cups, a playoff team every year since 2007, and home to the best player in the league, the Penguins have had a great run and it’s unlikely to end any time soon. While many teams fear the backlash associated with poaching young players through offer sheets, Pittsburgh is perhaps the only team in the league that could come under attack and no one else would mind. The Penguins have also put themselves in a position that makes them easy prey. CapFriendly currently estimates that the team has just $745K in cap space heading into next season. Even if Jimmy Hayes fails to break camp or Zach Aston-Reese is sent down – the only foreseeable options, the Pens are still left with no more than $1.5MM in space and will need room to maneuver during the season.

Pittsburgh has just one restricted free agent left to re-sign: 23-year-old goaltender Tristan Jarry. Jarry has not been considered an offer sheet threat for a couple of reasons. The first is simply that he has yet to prove that he is a true NHL-caliber goalie. Jarry was a star at the junior level with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and was drafted in the second round by the Penguins in 2013. His first two pro seasons were spent entirely in the AHL, expect for one spot start in Pittsburgh, and he made the transition look easy, posting strong numbers through 78 combined games. Last season was a deviation from that smooth upward trajectory. The departure of Marc-Andre Fleury left Jarry as the primary backup to starter Matt Murray and the NHL level proved to be a little more difficult. Jarry had an up-and-down season with streaks of both good and bad play. He also struggled when he was returned to the AHL in favor of Casey DeSmith or briefly Antti Niemi. However, at the end of the season Jarry’s line of a .908 save percentage, 2.77 goals against average, and .609 quality start percentage in 26 NHL appearance was more than respectable for his first year in the bigs. Has he proven without a doubt that he can be an NHL regular or reliable backup? No, but the potential is there.

The other reason that Jarry would seem to be a strange offer sheet target is that he is waiver-exempt. Jarry is too young and inexperienced to have lost his waiver protection. This means that a team could hypothetically offer far above market value and multiple years and the Penguins could simply match it and stash Jarry in the minors without a second thought. The only problem is that Pittsburgh especially could not leave Jarry in the AHL for a whole season, nevertheless multiple. Since Murray became a fixture in net for the Penguins in 2015-16, he has made 111 appearances in three seasons with no more than 49 games in any year. In that same time, the Penguins have used six other goaltenders. Excluding Fleury, who was the starter in Murray’s first season and split time with him the following year, Jarry, DeSmith, Niemi, Mike Condon and Jeff Zatkoff have had to make 59 appearances over the past three years – more than half of Murray’s games played. Pittsburgh’s injury-prone starter clearly needs multiple quality options behind him until he can prove himself over a full season. DeSmith, who admittedly outplayed fellow rookie Jarry last season but in 12 fewer starts, may struggle to even backup Murray this season, nevertheless replace him for short stretches with untested minor league journeyman John Muse – the only other Penguins goalie – as the backup. The Penguins need a third-string goalie who costs as close the minimum against the cap as possible. If Jarry was to sign an offer sheet for even $1.5MM AAV, Pittsburgh would struggle to move that contract back and forth or keep him on the roster all year long. A team with ample cap space and a well-off ownership group could easily improve on that offer as well. Only moving out salary or injured reserve space would conceivably allow the Penguins to keep Jarry at that price or more.

At the end of the day, an offer with just the right amount of salary and term would be hard for the Penguins to match in their current state. Sure, they could simply sign a proven veteran free agent to a minimum deal and move on, but losing a promising young netminder would be a blow. On the other side of the table, it would only cost a team at most a third-round pick to land a young, high-ceiling goalie who is still waiver-exempt. If Jarry excels at the NHL level, they made a great deal; if he struggles, he can be sent to the AHL risk-free for further development. The rest of the league would hardly mind seeing Pittsburgh and wheeler-dealer GM Jim Rutherford baffled by an offer sheet as well. It seems to be a win-win. Will it happen?

Central Notes: Seguin, Parise, Trouba

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The Dallas Stars have a tough road ahead of them. With new inspiring head coach Jim Montgomery ready to take the reins in Dallas, the team is eager to force their way to the top of the Central Division, but they also know that if the team can’t sign star Tyler Seguin to an extension sometime this year, everything they’ve worked for could fall apart.

The 26-year-old star is coming off a career-high 40 goals, but has also seen his team not reach the playoffs in three of his last four seasons. On top of that, Seguin has not signed an extension as of yet, something that could have happened on July 1. NHL.com’s Mike Heika writes that while Seguin has been careful about what he says about his next contract, he has expressed his love for the city.

“My focus is I have another year with the Dallas Stars, so there is no real thought of thinking of other teams or thinking of free agency,” Seguin said. “My focus is getting ready to play this year … I love it here. My objective is I want to win a championship here. I love Dallas, it’s home to me. So that’s my No. 1 goal.”

Heika writes that one obstacle is the team is hesitant to sign any player to a higher AAV than the deal they gave Jamie Benn back in 2016. Unfortunately, Seguin might easily be able to pass that mark as John Tavares recently signed for an $11MM AAV and with salaries increasing yearly, that could be an issue that Dallas might have to re-examine.

  • Dane Mizutani of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press writes that Minnesota Wild winger Zach Parise, who suffered a fractured sternum just three games into the playoffs, says he is 100 percent now and will be ready for training camp. In fact, the 33-year-old feels so good that he has decided to participate in Da Beauty League, a weekly 4-on-4 league, to get himself back into game shape after suffering the injury. Parise, who was one of the top scorers for Minnesota late in the season, including scoring 12 goals over the final 18 games and then three more goals in the first three games of the playoffs, will be a key piece for the Wild to compete for a playoff spot next season.
  • Scott Billeck of NBC Sports writes that the Winnipeg Jets are likely going to have to pay up to sign restricted free agent Jacob Trouba and predicts the team will hand him an eight-year deal. The real question is how much will the team have to pay for Trouba, who has developed into one of the best top defensive lines next to Josh Morrissey. Trouba’s numbers may not look impressive, but he had career numbers in assists per 60 minutes at 1.03 and points per 60 minutes at 1.22. Those numbers actually compare to elite defensemen like Victor Hedman, Drew Doughty and P.K. Subban. Those numbers could bring his pricetag to a very high number.

Flyers Sign RFA’s Taylor Leier And Tyrell Goulbourne

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The Philadelphia Flyers have had a busy morning, announcing new one-year contracts for both Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne and confirming the signing of Danick Martel, also to a one-year deal which had been previously reported. While Martel simply accepted his qualifying offer, the other two contracts were negotiated. No salary terms were revealed by the team, but CapFriendly reports that Leier will make $720K on a one-way deal, while Goulbourne will likely play on a two-way deal similar to Martel’s.

Leier’s contract is interesting for many reasons. The first, and most pressing, is that it negates an August 3rd arbitration hearing date. Leier had filed for salary arbitration after spending the entire 2017-18 season in Philadelphia. While Leier only played in 39 games, it is easy to see why he might not be agreeable to a two-way deal after avoiding the AHL for an entire campaign. However, Leier’s qualifying offer was of a two-way nature. Rather than agree to that deal, the two sides worked out a contract that actually comes in below the qualifying offer value, but with a one-way status. Leier, 24, collected five points last season and will be looking to improve his production in the coming season.

Goulbourne finally cracked the NHL last season after his first two pro years were spent entirely in the minors, including half a season in the ECHL. The 24-year-old managed to get into nine games with the Flyers, though he was held scoreless and saw under six minutes of ice time per night in a fill-in role. Goulbourne wasn’t super productive with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms either, recording just 19 points in 63 games. Although Goulbourne is a more defensive-minded forward, he’ll need to show a more well-rounded offensive game if he wants to earn another long stay in Philadelphia.

With these three forwards locked up, Philadelphia has just two more restricted free agents to deal with. Defenseman Robert Hagg, who was very reliable in 70 games as a rookie on the Flyers’ blue line, is a interesting case to follow, as the team needs to be careful about the length and value of the contracts they hand out to their many promising young defenseman, as setting a bad precedent could bury them. The situation with goaltender Anthony Stolarz is also curious, as the young keeper missed most of last season due to injury after previously looking like a future star in seven starts with Philly in 2016-17. He now has to compete with Alex Lyon and Carter Hart for the honor of “heir apparent” and the Flyers might be wondering if that is one goalie too many to compete or at least how much they are willing to pay to keep another young backstop around.

Central Notes: Maroon, Predators, Kruger

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The St. Louis Blues had one of the best offseasons in the league when they managed to acquire Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, David Perron with in the first few days of the start of free agency. The fact they were able to add those players without mortgaging their future prospects, make their offseason that much more successful. However, when the team signed winger Patrick Maroon to a one-year, $1.75MM deal, the team really looked at their offseason as a roaring success.

Maroon, who opted to give up both money and term so he could sign with his home-town Blues, could easily have gotten both elsewhere. Maroon, who made $2MM last year, has scored 44 goals in the past two years, making the 6-foot-3 physical forward an excellent, inexpensive addition. However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes don’t be surprised if Maroon gets an extension before the 2018-19 season ends. It’s likely the team will give him that deserved money and term when the team’s salary cap situation improves next season.

A lot of that will depend on how Maroon plays next season. The 30-year-old will likely find himself on the team’s third line, which could prove challenging to put up big numbers in. However, with his experience and ability to play along with top-line talent like he did alongside Connor McDavid in Edmonton, Maroon could easily find himself in a top-six role if injuries develop or lines don’t produce like the team hopes.

  • In a mailbag segment, the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that he wonders whether the Nashville Predators insistence on not including no-movement clauses is what’s hurting the team from signing top free agents to their team. In fact, the scribe wonders whether the team can keep that policy up when it comes to re-signing defenseman Ryan Ellis. The problem with refusing to include no-movement clauses into contracts is that players will often take less money to stay with the Predators due to the lack of a state tax in Tennessee. However, the issue that many players have is that if the team trades them and the player then doesn’t receive the tax benefits. Only goaltender Pekka Rinne has a no-movement clause.
  • Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that despite the team lack of success when bringing back former Stanley Cup Champions to their lineup, the acquisition of Marcus Kruger is a minimal risk. The veteran forward, who was acquired in the Marian Hossa deal with the Arizona Coyotes, is in the last year of a three-year, $9.25MM deal in which he will only cost them $2.775MM against the cap. The forward struggled in Carolina last year, posting just six points in 48 games and played some time in the AHL as well. However, it turns out he played most of the season with a sports hernia injury. At just 28 years of age, the team should be thrilled if they can get some quality minutes out of him on the team’s fourth line.

 

Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes Complete Seven-Player Trade

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Marian Hossa won’t be playing in the NHL this season (or likely ever again), but his contract is still on the books for the Chicago Blackhawks. Though they can place it on long-term injured reserve to get some cap relief, doing so still complicates things for a team that is always pushing right against the cap ceiling. Because of this there has been plenty of speculation about the team moving out Hossa’s deal to a team closer to the salary cap floor, and that team is the Arizona Coyotes. The Blackhawks have sent Hossa, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle and a 2019 third-round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for Marcus Kruger, Andrew Campbell, MacKenzie Entwistle, Jordan Maletta and a 2019 fifth-round pick.

This isn’t the first time the Coyotes have done something like this, as they previously took on Pavel Datsyuk’s contract after he returned to Russia, Chris Pronger’s deal after he was forced out of the game by injury, and still have Dave Bolland on the roster despite him never playing a game in Arizona.

Hossa, 39, has three years remaining on the 12-year, $63.3MM contract he signed in 2009, but is actually only owed $3MM in salary due to the front-loaded nature of the deal. That cap hit hurts for the Blackhawks, as Hossa isn’t able to play due to a skin condition that has worsened over his career and forced him into retirement after the 2016-17 season. For Arizona though it wouldn’t have much impact as the team isn’t expected to push all the way up to the cap ceiling this year. For the low cost of covering whatever insurance won’t of the $3MM (CapFriendly reports the deal is 80% insured), they will add assets that could pay off quickly as they try to rebuild the franchise and make it back to the playoffs.

Hinostroza and Oesterle are both useful players who showed last season that there may be more to their skill set than previously believed. The former is a sixth-round pick who has turned into a legitimate NHL offensive threat—Hinostroza scored 25 points in 50 games last season despite relatively limited minutes—and recently signed a two-year contract that will pay him a total of $3MM. He’ll still be a restricted free agent at the contract’s end, and should fit in nicely on a young Arizona roster that wants to play with speed and skill.

The latter, Oesterle, found new life in his career when he debuted in Chicago. Quickly ascending to the top pair alongside Duncan Keith, the undrafted defenseman ended up with 15 points in 55 games and excellent possession statistics. Whether he’ll find that kind of success in Arizona isn’t clear—Oesterle struggled to find playing time on the Edmonton Oilers through the first part of his career—but at the very worst he’s an extremely cheap depth option for the Coyotes. The 26-year old will earn the league minimum of $650K this season before hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer.

For Chicago, getting anything of value back in a trade like this is a positive. The team has cleared Hossa’s contract off the books while bringing back a familiar face in Kruger, who was part of the team’s last two Stanley Cup victories and had the best seasons of his career in a Blackhawks uniform. Dealing with injury last season he struggled mightily for the Carolina Hurricanes and was eventually sent to the minor leagues. The Blackhawks will hope that’s not the story this year, as he’s still carrying a cap hit of almost $3.1MM.

Maletta and Campbell will more than likely spend the entire 2018-19 season in the minor leagues and aren’t expected to make an impact at any point in the NHL, but Entwistle could be a different story. The 2017 third-round pick is a big lanky winger that played down in the Hamilton Bulldogs lineup this year but made quite an impact in the OHL playoffs. Once a very intriguing prospect the shine has come off him somewhat in the last year, but there’s no telling what he could become at this point. He’ll turn 19 in a few days and will play next season again in the OHL.

There will be obvious speculation surrounding the Blackhawks now that they’ve cleared some cap room, as the team now projects to have $9.3MM in free space for next season. While CapFriendly’s estimate of that number only includes nine forwards and six defensemen, there is obviously room for the team to add some bigger names over the next few months. The team has been linked in the past to potential scoring threats like Jeff Skinner and Max Pacioretty, but will still have to spend their assets carefully in any trade. The team can’t afford to get into any more long-term contracts for aging players if they want to compete down the road, but they do want to give the team a chance at the playoffs this year. You can bet that GM Stan Bowman is still working the phones trying to use that cap space on something, and there isn’t much left on the free agent market that could help the Blackhawks.

Montreal Canadiens Invite Simon Despres To Training Camp

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The Montreal Canadiens will take a chance on a former top prospect, as they have signed Simon Despres to a professional tryout and invited him to their training camp. Despres played last season in the KHL, but indicated he would like another chance at an NHL career at some point. That chance is now, and the Canadiens may represent his best option while they deal with an injury to Shea Weber and need defensive depth.

Despres, 26, is from nearby Laval and is a worthwhile gamble for Montreal after recording 11 points in 44 games for Bratislava Slovan. Though he didn’t end up making the cut for the Canadian Olympic team, he did play some international games during the season and effectively proved his health on the ice. That health will obviously be the biggest factor in any potential NHL return, but the former QMJHL Defenseman of the Year was highly regarded in the early part of his career as a shutdown defender who used his long reach and good positioning to stifle offenses in his own end.

The Canadiens have already brought in other depth options like Xavier Ouellet and Mike Reilly over the last few months and could get a bigger contribution from Noah Juulsen this season, but are still looking for any way to upgrade their blue line after a disastrous 2017-18. With Weber missing a good chunk of last season, the team struggled at both even-strength and on the penalty kill. Despres doesn’t exactly fit their need of a puck-moving option, but if he can show he’s healthy enough to contribute the team could certainly use the depth.

The Salary Cap Implications Of A Shea Weber Early Retirement

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When Shea Weber signed a 14-year, $110MM offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, everyone knew right away that it would end badly. Yes, Weber was 27 years old and one of the top defensemen in the league, but the contract was top-heavy and carried a $7.86MM cap hit through his age-40 season. The chances of him playing to a level matching that value over a full 14 years was very slim. The Flyers knew this and specifically structured it in a way that they hoped would scare the Nashville Predators and frugal GM David Poile away – it didn’t. The Predators had just watched Ryan Suter walk in free agency and couldn’t afford to let Weber leave as well. They matched the deal and held on to their superstar defenseman.

When Weber was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens for P.K. Subban in 2016, the risk in Weber’s contract increased exponentially. The league had since banned all similarly long-term contracts – setting a limit of seven years on the open market and eight years for an extension –  nevertheless the front-loaded, cap-circumventing type that Weber had signed. To combat teams continuing to front-load contracts, the NHL implemented salary cap recapture penalties. This system punishes teams for lengthening contracts with low-salary seasons in order to lower the cap hit during prime years by issuing a salary cap charge if the player retires prior to the end of the contract, thereby negating the years that lowered his cap hit. The calculation is the difference in total salary and total cap hit over the course of the contract with which the player played with the team, divided by the number of years remaining on the contract after retirement. In Weber’s case, the scenario looks like this:

Year           Team           Cap Hit           Salary           Difference
2012-13        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2013-14        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2014-15        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2015-16        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2016-17        MTL             $7.857MM        $12MM           $4.143MM
2017-18        MTL             $7.857MM        $12MM           $4.143MM
2018-19        MTL             $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2019-20       MTL*           $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2020-21       MTL*           $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2021-22       MTL*           $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2022-23       MTL*           $7.857MM        $3MM          -$4.857MM
2023-24       MTL*           $7.857MM        $1MM          -$6.857MM
2024-25       MTL*           $7.857MM        $1MM          -$6.857MM
2025-26       MTL*           $7.857MM        $1MM          -$6.857MM

So far over the course of Weber’s contract, both Nashville and Montreal have paid him far beyond what his cap hit would suggest. If Weber was to retire today, they would both be penalized. Nashville’s total penalty is $24.572MM, while Montreal’s is fluid. However, next season marks a drop for Weber below his cap number for the remaining eight years of his contract. Now, Weber is not going to retire this off-season. However, the chances that he retires early are very high. Earlier this week, it was reported that Weber had undergone a second off-season surgery and would likely be out until mid-season. Many expected when Weber was traded to Montreal that he still had many years left of strong play in him, but it appears that the deterioration of his body has already begun. Facing a decreasing salary for the remainder of his contract and concerns about his long-term health, it would be no surprise to see Weber retire in the next two years or so nevertheless by the end of the remaining eight years. By year, here is how the penalties would play out for both Nashville and Montreal:

If Weber retires before:      Penalty per year – NSH         Penalty per year – MTL
2019-20                                          $3.51MM                                              $918K
2020-21                                          $4.1MM                                                $762K
2021-22                                          $4.91MM                                              $543K
2022-23                                          $6.14MM                                             $215K
2023-24                                           $8.19MM                                             None
2024-25                                           $12.29MM                                           None
2025-26                                           $24.57MM                                           None

Obviously, the Predators have a lot to lose if Weber retires early. It is very unlikely that Weber, if he makes it that far, is likely to retire with one or even two years left on his contract. At that point, it is likely the Canadiens would just place him on long-term injured reserve to finish his career, as has become a growing trend in the NHL. However, if Weber is unable to get over the injuries that have plagued him in Montreal, could he call it quits within the next few years and stick Nashville with a $3.5-$5MM yearly penalty? Absolutely. It is a scary possibility for the Predators and a situation worth watching as Weber battles back from injury yet again next season and beyond.

All salary and cap figures are approximations. Data courtesy of CapFriendly.com.

Snapshots: Chychrun, Lambert, Legace

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The Arizona Coyotes were shocked by how quickly Jakob Chychrun recovered year, as the then-19 year old defenseman made his return to the lineup just three months after undergoing knee surgery in August. This time they won’t be so surprised. Chychrun, who suffered another brutal knee injury at the very end of the season, is expected to be ready for training camp in September with the Coyotes according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. His remarkable ability to rehab doesn’t faze GM John Chayka at this point, who said that Chychrun is “just one of those guys who just recovers on his own schedule.”

That’s big news for the Coyotes, who are looking to ride a late-season surge last season all the way to the playoffs in 2018-19. After acquiring several players including Derek Stepan, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Antti Raanta last summer, Chayka was busy again in bringing in Alex Galchenyuk, Michael Grabner and Marcus Kruger to round out the lineup. All eyes though will be on the young core of Chychrun, Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome, who are the key to getting the Coyotes back to long-term respectability.

  • The New York Islanders have shocked no one by hiring Lane Lambert as an assistant coach, reuniting him with Barry Trotz behind the bench. Lambert has worked alongside Trotz for the last seven seasons, prior to which he worked as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals implementing the same system Trotz was using while with the Nashville Predators. The two are almost inseparable at this point, and now face the task of returning the Islanders to success in 2018-19.
  • As many have expected, the Columbus Blue Jackets have named former NHL goaltender Manny Legace as their new goaltending coach, promoting him from a similar position with their minor league affiliates. Legace, known as an incredibly consistent backup goalie during his playing career, is now an extremely well-regarded coach that was destined for the NHL ranks. He’ll get to work with two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky in his first season in Columbus, but will likely focus more on preparing Joonas Korpisalo for the starting role should the team not be able to reach a contract extension with the former. Bobrovsky is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and could command a deal like Carey Price’s eight-year $84MM extension.

Shea Weber Out Five To Six Months Following Knee Surgery

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The Montreal Canadiens have been hit with injury after injury that will take several players out for the beginning of the 2018-19 season. What they didn’t need was another surgery for one of their best players, and yet today announced that Shea Weber will be out for five to six months. Weber underwent knee surgery to repair a meniscal tear on June 19th, and will be out until mid-December. The team had already announced earlier this offseason that Paul Byron would miss six months after shoulder surgery, prospect Joni Ikonen needs six months to come back from a knee injury, and Andrew Shaw won’t be ready for the start of the season due to his own knee surgery in April.

While all three of those prior injury updates hurt, the Weber news is crushing for the Canadiens as they try to bounce back in 2018-19. The team struggled tremendously without Weber in the lineup last season, and simply don’t have anyone on the roster who can provide the kind of impact expected of him. The blue line will have to rely on veterans like Karl Alzner and Jeff Petry, while hoping young Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen can make an impact right away. Weber will be 33 when he makes his return, and played just 26 games last season while dealing with a foot injury.

The Canadiens maintain that they’re trying to make the playoffs this season, and goaltender Carey Price is just entering his eight-year $84MM contract extension. Still, after holding onto the third-overall pick to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi and with rumors persisting about a potential Max Pacioretty trade, the team seems to be headed into a sort of mini-rebuild. After spending very little on the free agent market—bringing back Tomas Plekanec on a $3.5MM performance bonus-laden deal was their biggest commitment—the team still has nearly $13MM in cap space with some restricted free agents left to sign.

The most frustrated in the whole situation is likely Weber, who last played on December 16th, 2017 meaning it may be an entire year before he’s back on the ice for Montreal. That’s an enormous weight to carry when earning a huge salary, though as of this season the Canadiens financial burden did reduce some. Weber is owed just $6MM this season and $30MM over the next eight years, despite carrying a cap hit of just under $7.86MM through 2025-26.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Calvin De Haan

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The Carolina Hurricanes, known for their depth and talent on defense, continue to surprisingly add top blue line names to the roster this off-season. After previously trading for right-handed scoring threat Dougie Hamilton, the team has reportedly agreed to a deal with arguably the top defender on the free agent market, left-landed shutdown defenseman Calvin de Haan. The Raleigh News & Observer’s Luck DeCock first reported that the team has signed de Haan to a four-year, $18.2MM contract – a $4.55MM AAV. The team confirmed the deal soon after.

De Haan, 27, was No. 9 on PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents List. Although he missed the majority of last season due to injury, de Haan has shown a high-end defensive ability in his pro career. The 12th overall pick in 2009 by the New York Islanders, de Haan has proven to be one of the best shot blockers in the NHL and an extremely reliable presence on the back end. Yet has has also improved his offensive production with each year, including a career-best scoring rate prior to his injury last season. While many may have balked at a $4.55MM value for de Haan in a vacuum, he is clearly superior to nearly every other defenseman in this free agent market.

Carolina is a surprise landing spot for the defensive standout though. De Haan’s arrival in Raleigh will only add to a formidable corps of rearguards that includes Hamilton, Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk (an RFA), young pros Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown, and elite prospects Jake Bean, Luke Martin, and Adam Fox. De Haan’s signing very well could be a sign of more changes coming in Carolina under new ownership and new GM Don Waddell. 

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