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San Jose Sharks Acquire Luke Kunin

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The San Jose Sharks have landed another depth forward, acquiring Luke Kunin from the Nashville Predators. The Sharks will be sending back John Leonard and a 2023 third-round pick.

Kunin, 24, is a restricted free agent this summer, coming off a two-year deal that carried a $2.3MM cap hit. He’ll need a qualifying offer worth the same amount and is eligible for salary arbitration, though the Sharks could also work out a contract before that is necessary.

While he hasn’t exactly lived up to his billing as the 15th overall pick in 2016, Kunin’s game has developed to the point where he is an effective bottom-six option. This year, he seemingly decided to lean into the physical side of the game, racking up 223 hits and 99 penalty minutes–nearly doubling his career totals.

Still able to contribute around the net, he also potted 13 goals, the third-straight double-digit total for the young forward. As the Sharks start to form a new identity under general manager Mike Grier, Kunin’s toughness and versatility will come in handy.

For the Predators, landing a depth forward and a third-round pick certainly makes up for it. Leonard, 23, has 58 games of NHL experience and was a strong performer for the San Jose Barracuda this year. He too will need a contract and is arbitration-eligible but doesn’t have much of a case for anything over the league minimum.

By moving Kunin out, the team has opened up some additional cap space as they fit in Ryan McDonagh and continue to speak with Filip Forsberg.

Latest On Filip Forsberg

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July 7: The two sides met again this morning, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who suggests that the stalemate could end if the Predators were willing to go to $8.5MM per season.

July 6: Filip Forsberg is one of the best potential free agents available in what’s a highly saturated market of star forwards this offseason. He may not hit the open market after all, though, as Nashville Predators general manager David Poile confirmed today that the two sides are getting closer on a deal, calling it the team’s “number one goal” to sign him.

Poile also informed reporters that Forsberg desires a no-movement clause in his contract. That’s likely a big sticking point of the deal, as Poile is notoriously stingy with handing out any form of trade protection. Only one Nashville player, captain Roman Josi, has a no-movement clause.

If Forsberg is off the market, all focus will be on Johnny Gaudreau for teams looking to add an All-Star-caliber winger to their lineup. While Calgary is pushing hard to reach an extension with the winger before July 13, it doesn’t seem nearly as close to being done as Forsberg’s deal is.

Forsberg is Nashville’s all-time leader in goals with 202. Multiple reports over the past few weeks have suggested the deal is likely to fall in the $8MM range, a fair value for the three-time 30-goal scorer who’s now consistently floating around a point per game. After signing him and acquiring Ryan McDonagh from Tampa Bay, the team would still have roughly $10MM in cap space to work with and no other big contracts to re-sign, making them a dark horse candidate to be active in free agency if Poile so chooses.

NHL Announces 2022-23 Regular Season Schedule

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The news continues to break during what’s been a busy pre-draft week. The NHL has released the full 82-game schedule for the 2022-23 campaign, marking a return to normal dates and length for the first time since 2018-19.

2022-23 will see its curtains open overseas, where the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will open the season at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8, 2022. The regular season will begin on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, with a classic doubleheader. The puck will drop at Madison Square Garden for an Eastern Conference Final rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, followed by a Pacific Division showdown in Southern California between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.

The Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony will be the following night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The season will wrap up on April 13, 2023.

Some key events throughout the season include the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland, where the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a pair of games on November 4 and 5, 2022. The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic is slated for January 2, 2023, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, and the 2023 NHL Stadium Series is set for February 18, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes will host the Washington Capitals. All-Star Weekend will be February 3-4, 2023, hosted by the Florida Panthers.

Latest on Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk

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There’s a significant sense around the league that teams are rushing to get their salary cap situations cleared up before the start of free agency next week. Moves like the Tampa Bay Lightning trading Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators for spare change and the Minnesota Wild moving early on a Kevin Fiala deal are evidence of that.

Now, another team is joining that list of really trying to make headlines in the near future. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that the Calgary Flames are making “every effort” now not only to re-sign top pending unrestricted free agent forward Johnny Gaudreau but also restricted free agent Matthew Tkachuk.

While most of the public talk has centered around Gaudreau’s status, it makes sense that general manager Brad Treliving would want to get these deals done in a short window. Playing on the same line, Gaudreau and Tkachuk helped propel each other to career seasons. The Flames are likely hoping that keeping the two together will keep their level of play from declining after this season.

Finances are also a huge part of this equation too, though. Gaudreau and Tkachuk are surely bound to take up a gigantic chunk of Calgary’s offseason spending limit, likely at least $16MM of it. With a long list of other players to re-sign and/or spots to fill via free agency, Calgary needs a clear picture of how much cash they’ll be able to devote to players like Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington while still fielding a cap-compliant squad.

With Tkachuk’s value through the roof after his 40-goal, 100-point season and Gaudreau likely able to net eight figures on the open market, Treliving faces his toughest challenge yet as GM in Calgary in order to keep this year’s Pacific Division champions at the top of the Western Conference.

Nashville Predators Acquire Ryan McDonagh For Philippe Myers, Grant Mismash

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Per their Twitter, the Tampa Bay Lightning confirmed that they have traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators. In exchange, the Lightning receive defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash from Nashville. It doesn’t appear that any salary has been retained in the trade. With the Lightning needing to make some tough salary cap decisions if they wanted to keep a majority of their core together, one name that was rumored to be on the move was McDonagh, and GM Julien BriseBois was able to make it happen. McDonagh carries a cap hit of $6.75MM for each of the next four seasons.

In McDonagh the Predators acquire a sturdy shutdown defenseman and veteran of 783 career regular season NHL games, in addition to 185 playoff games, including Stanley Cup Championships with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Originally the twelfth-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, McDonagh was traded to the New York Rangers two years later in the Scott Gomez deal. The defenseman went on to play in 516 regular season games for the Rangers, captaining the team from 2014-15 until his trade to the Lightning during the 2017-18 season. After the trade, the Predators still project to have just over $18.1MM in available salary cap space this offseason, which should be more than enough to make necessary moves and extend franchise-icon Filip Forsberg.

Matt Tennyson Clears Unconditional Waivers

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July 3: Per TSN’s Chris Johnston, Tennyson has cleared unconditional waivers and will have his contract terminated.

July 2: The Predators will be parting ways with one of their defensive depth pieces as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Matt Tennyson on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract.

The 32-year-old was set to enter the second and final season of a two-year, two-way contract that pays the NHL minimum of $750K in the NHL and $325K in the minors.  Tennyson got into eight games with the Predators this past season, recording three assists while averaging nearly 13 minutes a night.  He spent most of the year with AHL Milwaukee, recording 14 points in 53 games along with 44 penalty minutes.

PuckPedia clarifies (Twitter link) that Tennyson’s placement is for termination purposes, not a buyout.  That certainly makes sense as going that route won’t result in any salary cap charges for next season whereas a buyout would have put $250K on Nashville’s salary cap for each of the next two seasons and cost more in salary dollars than the $325K he’d be owed in the minors.  In the meantime, with Tennyson requesting a contract termination, it will be interesting to see what opportunity he has lined up elsewhere assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed on Sunday.

Rival Teams Believe Eight Years At $8.5MM Would Keep Forsberg In Nashville

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Predators winger Filip Forsberg is one of the most prominent pending unrestricted free agents with the opening of the market now less than two weeks away.  However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relays in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that teams believe there’s a path for the 27-year-old to stay in Nashville on a max-term eight-year deal with an $8.5MM AAV.  Such a deal would represent a $2.5MM raise on his last contract, one that would be well-deserved after a 42-goal, 84-point season.  Worth noting is that Nashville’s tax situation is a favorable one so if other teams think an AAV of $8.5MM would get a deal done with the Predators, teams that aren’t in an ideal tax environment would need to go considerably higher to match the net money Forsberg would receive.

Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Mathieu Olivier

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The Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators have announced a trade: forward Mathieu Olivier is going from Nashville to Columbus in exchange for the 122nd pick at next week’s draft, a pick that originally belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Olivier, 25, is an undrafted player who spent most of this past season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The six-foot-two, 210-pound native of Biloxi, Mississippi had his longest stretch of NHL action in 2020-21, when he got into 30 games for the Predators, registering three goals and five points to go along with 70 penalty minutes. Olivier will play next season on a $750k cap hit before becoming an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent.

In Olivier, the Blue Jackets are acquiring a big, physical fourth-line grinder. He’s a hit-first, ask questions later sort of player who isn’t much different from what Columbus coach Brad Larsen was when he was in the NHL. Olivier isn’t much of a scorer, and his 11 points in 46 AHL games this past season is a clear indication of that. Olivier fits best in a fourth-line role at both the NHL and AHL levels and can play that role with some success. Predators coach John Hynes trusted Olivier enough to play him in three of the team’s four playoff games this year, and it’s definitely possible that he earns a similar level of trust from Larsen. While fourth-rounder is a bit of a steep price to pay for someone who likely won’t be anything more than a fourth-liner, it’s clear the Blue Jackets have an identity they want to build and they believe that Olivier helps them build it.

For the Predators, getting a fourth-rounder for Olivier is a decent bit of business, especially if he wasn’t in their long-term plans. According to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, the Predators have the 12th-ranked prospect pool in the NHL, so adding another pick in next week’s draft gives GM David Poile and his staff another swing of the bat to try to make a home-run selection.

Ultimately, if the Predators do end up feeling like they’ll miss what Olivier brings to the table, physical fourth-liners are always available in free agency. But with Tanner Jeannot and Yakov Trenin already in the fold, among others, it’s possible that dealing Olivier is simply the Predators cashing in a surplus player in order to add an extra draft choice.

West Notes: Forsberg, Horvat, Oilers Coaching Staff

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Recently, we covered how Filip Forsberg and the Nashville Predators’ negotiations on a new contract had been difficult, with both sides still “far apart” in terms of what a potential extension would look like. A week later, the situation remains uncertain. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on the status of the negotiations today, clarifying that while the gap between the team and player is said to be less than $1MM per year, there still has not been “a lot of progress” on finalizing a deal. With the eight-year term already agreed upon, that relatively small gap in the negotiation could cause the situation to drag on until potentially even the start of free agency.

With the gap under $1MM, it’ll be extremely interesting to see if Forsberg remains a Predator. He is the team’s all-time leading goal scorer and among their most important players. GM David Poile is a firm negotiator, and the Predators’ reluctance to give n0-trade protection on deals has been well-publicized. So, with that reputation in mind, it’s fair to wonder if Poile will let that six-figure gap be the reason Forsberg departs Nashville. From most fans’ perspectives, it seems like an easy question: the small bump in cost is worth avoiding the trouble of finding a replacement player. But to cement a deal with the long-tenured Poile, who is no stranger to letting important players leave in free agency, perhaps Forsberg will be the one who will need to compromise.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL’s Western Conference:

  • While J.T. Miller has been the name most frequently mentioned in trade rumors, Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat actually has an identical contract situation, as he too will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. But unlike Miller, Horvat probably won’t be on the move anytime soon, hence his absence in the rumor mill. Per Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link), the Canucks are “completely invested” in retaining Horvat beyond the expiry of his current contract. It’s easy to see why, as Horvat is among the team’s most important leaders and is still a highly effective on-ice talent. The 27-year-old pivot crossed the 30-goal plateau last year for the first time in his career and should be in line for a moderate raise from his current $5.5MM cap hit.
  • The Edmonton Oilers finalized their coaching situation when they removed the interim tag from coach Jay Woodcroft’s job title. Now, it seems that Woodcroft’s full coaching staff is taking shape. Per Dreger, Oilers assistant Brian Wiseman is “moving on” from the team, while fellow coaches Dave Manson and Glen Gulutzan are expected to stay in Edmonton. Wiseman is a former twelfth-round pick who has been an assistant coach in Edmonton for three seasons. Before then, he was part of the coaching staff at his alma mater, the University of Michigan. While a return to the college ranks is possible, Wiseman will certainly have options, as Dreger reports that he is set to have “strong interest” from a “variety of teams.”

Filip Forsberg Looking For Eight-Year Deal

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Nashville Predators’ general manager recently publically announced that he had offered Filip Forsberg an eight-year deal to stay in town and avoid free agency, and now Forsberg’s agent has done the same. JP Barry told Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV that they are talking about an eight-year deal and though he noted they are not yet in agreement on salary, the two sides are grinding away at it.

The Predators are the only team that is allowed to offer Forsberg an eight-year deal at the moment, and even that right will expire in two weeks when free agency begins. The 40-goal winger will turn 28 in August, meaning a contract of that length would take him well into his mid-thirties and potentially represent the final big payday of his career.

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