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Waiver Wire: 9/28/24

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09/29: All players on Saturday’s waiver wire have cleared, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

09/28: With the regular season fast approaching, activity on the waiver wire is quickly picking up.  We’ll keep tabs on who has been waived today here.  This post will be updated as more placements come in.

Calgary Flames (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)

D Jonathan Aspirot
F Clark Bishop

Colorado Avalanche (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)

D Wyatt Aamodt
G Kevin Mandolese
D Keaton Middleton

Nashville Predators (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)

F Anthony Angello
D Kevin Gravel
F Jake Lucchini

New York Islanders (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)

F Tyce Thompson

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

D Maxime Lajoie

Utah Hockey Club (per team announcement)

F Egor Sokolov

Vegas Golden Knights (per team announcement and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman)

F Callahan Burke
F Grigori Denisenko
D Mason Geertsen
D Robert Hagg
F Mason Morelli
D Dysin Mayo
F Gage Quinney

Washington Capitals

F Ethen Frank
D Hardy Haman Aktell
F Alex Limoges
D Chase Priskie
F Riley Sutter

As for yesterday’s group, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that all players cleared waivers.

Metropolitan Notes: Milano, Tsyplakov, Vesey

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Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery isn’t enthused with winger Sonny Milano’s performance thus far this preseason, calling his showing “just okay” (via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti). Carbery added Milano has “the benefit of the doubt” as a veteran, but the 28-year-old’s standing in the lineup certainly seems to be on thinner ice.

Line rushes still indicate Milano has the inside track at a third-line left wing role alongside Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas, though. Now entering his third season with the Caps, the former Blue Jackets first-rounder had a career-high 15 goals in 49 games last year but added only eight assists for 23 points. It also came on the back of an unsustainably high 30% shooting rate – he averaged just over one shot on goal per game, the lowest of his career.

Milano doesn’t offer a ton of upside outside of scoring chance generation, so if that continues to dip, he could find himself on the outside looking in sooner rather than later. He has two years left on his contract at a $1.9MM cap hit and is facing competition for top-nine duties from PTO invite Jakub Vrána and 2022 first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko, among others.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • Islanders winger Maxim Tsyplakov is back at practice Sunday after sustaining a lower-body injury Friday, NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner relays. Recent line rushes indicate the 26-year-old free agent signing out of Russia’s Spartak Moscow is nearly a lock to make the opening night roster, potentially on a new-look fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean. Viewed as the top international free agent on the market, Tsyplakov had a career-best 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games for Spartak last season.
  • Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey sustained a lower-body injury in Sunday’s practice, head coach Peter Laviolette relayed (via the New York Post’s Mollie Walker). He’s being evaluated but doesn’t appear set to miss any significant time, he added. Vesey, 31, is entering the back half of a two-year, $1.6MM deal and had 13 goals and 26 points in 80 games for the Blueshirts last year.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Islanders

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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 that 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 heading into the 2024-25 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 Metropolitan Division, next up is the Islanders.

New York Islanders

Current Cap Hit: $88,000,000 (at the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Maxim Tsyplakov (one year, $950K)

Potential Bonuses:
Tsyplakov: $1MM

The Isles beat out a long list of suitors to secure Tsyplakov’s services after a breakout year in the KHL that saw him score 31 goals.  He projects to play in the bottom six, however, meaning he shouldn’t have a goal total anywhere near there.  If Tsyplakov stays in that role, he likely won’t reach any of his ‘A’ bonuses either.  Worth noting is that he will be arbitration-eligible next summer even though he’s exiting his entry-level deal.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Samuel Bolduc ($800K, RFA)
D Noah Dobson ($4MM, RFA)
F Hudson Fasching ($775K, UFA)
F Simon Holmstrom ($850K, RFA)
F Brock Nelson ($6MM, UFA)
F Kyle Palmieri ($5MM, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Alexander Romanov ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Oliver Wahlstrom ($1MM, RFA)

Nelson has been somewhat of a late bloomer.  His last three seasons have been the best of his career, reaching at least 34 goals and 59 points in each of them.  If he can extend that streak to four, he could land a small increase, an outcome that didn’t seem likely early on in this deal.  Palmieri didn’t fare well over his first two seasons in New York but did return to form last season, matching his career-high in goals with 30.  He’ll need to stay around that level to have a chance to stay around this price tag as three seasons between 21 and 33 points before 2023-24 will hurt him in negotiations.

Wahlstrom struggled considerably last season, leading to speculation about his future with the team (which hasn’t really changed heading into this year).  Assuming he doesn’t take a big leap forward this season, he’s likely to stay around this price point and could be a non-tender candidate given his arbitration rights.  Holmstrom’s first full NHL season was a good one with 15 goals, including five on the penalty kill but took a bit less than his qualifying offer to secure a one-way salary.  A similar showing could get him closer to double that next summer.  Fasching has had a limited role over the past couple of seasons and is likely to stay in that spot in 2024-25 which means he should stay around the league minimum mark next summer.

When Dobson signed his current deal, it was a situation where the Islanders had more of the leverage.  That’s not the case anymore.  He showed that his breakout 2021-22 performance wasn’t a fluke and built on it last season, recording 70 points and logging more than 24 minutes a night.  Essentially, he performed like a true number one defender.  With arbitration rights this time around, Dobson gets the leverage in that if early talks don’t go well, he could file for arbitration where he’d make a very strong case for a substantial raise.  Assuming neither side wants it to get to that point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dobson’s camp pushing for $10MM or more on a long-term deal at this stage.

Romanov has emerged as a legitimate second-pairing option in his first two seasons with the Isles while producing a bit more offensively than he did with Montreal.  Like Dobson, he’s also now arbitration-eligible and if he puts up a similar performance this season, Romanov could land closer to $4.5MM on his next contract.

Reilly re-signed after playing a regular role following his early-season waiver claim.  What will hurt him in future talks is how much he has bounced around which will give some teams pause in free agency when it comes to offering him a contract.  Accordingly, there’s a good chance he sticks around this price tag on more short-term deals over the next little while.  Bolduc has been in the seventh defender role over the past two seasons and is likely to stay in that spot this season.  Arbitration rights could give him a small raise but with the raises coming to Dobson and Romanov, they might need to keep this salary slot at the minimum.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Anders Lee ($7MM, UFA)
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5MM, UFA)

Lee managed to reach the 20-goal mark for the seventh time in the last eight years last season but with just 37 points, that was his lowest full-season total since 2015-16.  Now 34, the captain is showing signs of slowing down which means the last couple of years of this deal could be an issue from a value perspective.  If that happens, his next deal will be closer to half of this amount.  The same can be said for Pageau who is a luxury they can no longer afford on the third line which is where he’s best utilized.  But with that type of playing time, he won’t put up the production to justify the price tag.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see New York try to move him at some point but that won’t be easy.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Casey Cizikas ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Kyle MacLean ($775K, UFA)
G Semyon Varlamov ($2.75MM, UFA)

Cizikas is halfway through a six-year deal, a term rarely given to a player his age who plays exclusively in the bottom six.  With an uptick in production the last two seasons, they’ve done alright with it so far but he’ll be 36 when this contract ends so things could change quickly.  His next contract, if there is one, should come in below that.  MacLean was a career minor leaguer until partway through last season.  This deal was a nice one for both sides in that it gives him some financial stability while New York gets a player at the minimum for a few seasons which they’ll need given the pricey contracts they have (and will soon be adding to).

Varlamov is still an above-average second goaltender and getting that at this price point is good.  What could be problematic down the road is that he’s already 36 with three years left on his contract.  But goalies can still be serviceable into their late 30s so there’s a chance that this deal will work out well for New York.

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Brock Nelson Open To In-Season Extension Talks

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Many players across the league prefer not to engage in extension discussions when the regular season gets underway, wanting to solely focus on their on-ice performance and not the off-ice situation.  That doesn’t appear to be the case for Islanders center Brock Nelson, however, who indicated to reporters including Ethan Sears of the New York Post that he’s open to having in-season negotiations about a new deal.

The 32-year-old has become a much more impactful player offensively over the past three seasons.  Before then, his career bests were 26 goals and 54 points but since 2021-22, he has notched at least 34 goals and 59 points in each of the last three years.  Last season, Nelson had 34 goals and 35 assists while averaging a little over 18 minutes a night while adding two goals and two helpers in five postseason appearances.

There’s a case to be made that Nelson’s contract has become a team-friendly one as it stands to reason that if he was a free agent this summer coming off three straight 30-goal years, he could have landed more than his current $6MM price tag on a multi-year deal.

However, Sears suggests that the prudent move for the team at this point would be to hold off on those discussions for a while.  If the team falters and finds themselves in a selling position, they could be positioned to cash in nicely on Nelson who would quite likely be one of the top rental centers available (though there is a 16-team no-trade clause they’d need to contend with).  Meanwhile, given that a breakout this late in his career isn’t generally typical, it’s also prudent for the Isles to see if Nelson can continue at this rate of production or if he’ll start to slow down.

It should be noted that the Islanders already have nearly $66MM in commitments for next season on the books to only 13 players, per PuckPedia.  That’s not impossible to work around but another contract at or around Nelson’s current price tag would mean that a lot of those remaining spots would need to be filled by low-cost players.  And with Noah Dobson heading for a substantial raise on his current $4MM AAV and Alexander Romanov ($2.5MM) also heading for an increase, things could get very tight on their books very quickly even with a projected 5% increase in the salary cap.

With all that in mind, while Nelson would probably like to get a deal done sooner than later even if it comes in-season, that probably isn’t going to be happening for the foreseeable future.

Hudson Fasching Out Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury

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  • The New York Islanders will be without depth forward Hudson Fasching for the next couple of days as Andrew Gross of Newsday reports he is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. This confirms Fasching will not be in the lineup for the Islanders tonight as they take on division-rival New Jersey Devils in a preseason contest. Fasching has only been in one preseason game up to this point tallying one assist in 14:30 of ice time in the Islanders’ loss against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Summer Synopsis: New York Islanders

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Last season was a rough one for the Islanders in the first half of the season.  The team only won 19 of their first 45 games, leading to a coaching change with Patrick Roy taking over for Lane Lambert behind the bench.  It took a bit of time for them to find their stride but they got hot a little before the trade deadline, ultimately pulling themselves from being out of the playoff picture to finishing third in the Metropolitan Division although they bowed out in the first round to Carolina.  GM Lou Lamoriello didn’t have much flexibility this summer and largely elected to stay the course, hoping that New York’s finish to the season was a sign of things to come.

Draft

1-20: LW Cole Eiserman / U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)
2-54: D Jesse Pulkkinen / JYP (Liiga)
2-61: C Kamil Bednarik / U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)
4-115: G Dmitry Gamzin / Zvezda Moskva (VHL)
5-147: G Marcus Gidlof / Leksands IF J20 (J20 Nationell)
6-179: D Xavier Veilleux / Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)

Coming into the season, Eiserman was a popular pick to land in the top five.  While a little undersized, being a high-end scorer is an attribute that teams were expected to covet.  It didn’t happen that way.  Even though he broke the US National Team Development Program’s record for most goals scored (passing Cole Caufield, Phil Kessel, and Patrick Kane), Eiserman slipped out of the lottery altogether.  While Eiserman will likely spend a couple of years at Boston University, he projects as someone who should make an impact for the Isles sooner than a lot of others picked in that range.

Lamoriello didn’t waste any time signing Pulkkinen as the big blueliner inked his entry-level deal in mid-July.  He has some offensive upside and isn’t afraid of mixing it up, elements that will endear him to his coaches.  He will spend the upcoming season in Finland and is probably two or three years away from being NHL-ready.  Bednarik was Eiserman’s teammate with the NTDP and will continue to be his teammate at BU.  More of a two-way player than a raw gamebreaker like Eiserman, Bednarik is likely a few years away from turning pro.

With their other selections, the Islanders went with some longer-term options.  With a goaltending prospect cupboard that wasn’t the deepest, they opted for two netminders that carry at least four years of club control; Gamzin’s rights will be held indefinitely.  As for Veilleux, he’s committed to Harvard University but will spend another season in the USHL, meaning it could be five years before he signs.

Trade Acquisitions

The Isles were quiet on the trade front over the offseason.  Their only swap came more than a month before the draft when they flipped the 18th and 50th picks to Chicago for picks 20, 54, and 61.  Considering that they still wound up with Eiserman plus a pair of intriguing pieces in Pulkkinen and Bednarik, the move turned out pretty well for them as things stand.

UFA Signings

F Anthony Duclair (four years, $14MM)
F Liam Foudy (one year, $775K)*
F Mark Gatcomb (one year, $775K)*
G Marcus Hogberg (two years, $1.55MM)
F Fredrik Karlstrom (one year, $775K)*
D Mike Reilly (one year, $1.25MM)
F Maxim Tsyplakov (one year, $950K)*

*-denotes two-way contract

With limited cap space, Lamoriello used what he had primarily to try to upgrade the offense.  Duclair is a particularly interesting acquisition.  He struggled in San Jose but after Tampa Bay acquired him at the trade deadline, he came up just shy of being a point-per-game player down the stretch.  The 29-year-old has potted at least 23 goals in three of the last four years and this is a team that has scuffled offensively at times over the years.  Roy also has a comfort level with Duclair having coached him previously at the major junior level with QMJHL Quebec.  New York doesn’t need Duclair to produce as he did for the Lightning late in the season but if he can be a consistent 20-goal player and do some damage with his speed, this contract should work out for them.

Tsyplakov was the other addition of intrigue.  The 26-year-old had a breakout year in the KHL last season, notching 31 goals with Spartak Moscow; his previous career-high was 10.  That showing got him on a lot of NHL radars with New York being out a lot of teams for his services.  Capped at signing a one-year deal no matter who got him, Tsyplakov will be looking to land a full-time roster spot but will likely need to start in their bottom six, assuming they can create the cap room to keep him up – more on that later.

Reilly was picked up off waivers early in the season, a move that worked out quite well for both the team and the blueliner.  He wound up securing a full-time spot in the lineup, even holding onto one as players came back from injuries while he chipped in with 24 points in 59 games.  This is his fifth team since 2019 so it’s not surprising that Reilly decided to stay where he had some success; he should have a depth role on their back end this season.

RFA Re-Signings

D Dennis Cholowski (one year, $775K)*
F Simon Holmstrom (one year, $850K)
F Kyle MacLean (three years, $2.325MM)
F Tyce Thompson (one year, $775K)*
F Oliver Wahlstrom (one year, $1MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

Wahlstrom had a year to forget last season.  Coming off an ACL injury the year before, he was largely a non-factor on the nights he was in the lineup, recording just two goals and four assists in 32 games.  That had some wondering if the two sides could part ways.  Instead, they avoided arbitration with this deal, one that essentially represents a do-over on last season.  However, given the cheap deal and one-year term, it’s quite possible that the Isles still move on from Wahlstrom, either via a trade or even the waiver wire if they’re willing to risk losing him for no return.  Suffice it to say, things haven’t gone as planned so far for the 11th pick in the 2018 draft.

Holmstrom had a solid showing last season, scoring five shorthanded goals and 15 overall in 75 games despite playing nearly exclusively in the bottom six.  However, he elected to take less than his qualifying offer in order to secure a one-way contract which should help his chance of making the team in a similar role to last season’s.  MacLean was a feel-good story, making his NHL debut last season at the age of 25 and playing his way into a regular spot on the fourth line after that.  Rather than seek top dollar, he opted for security, getting three one-way years on his contract, an outcome that wouldn’t have seemed likely even at the midway point of last season.  Cholowski and Thompson, meanwhile, are primarily AHL veterans at this point of their careers.

Departures

D Sebastian Aho (Pittsburgh, two years, $1.55MM)
G Kenneth Appleby (Charlotte, AHL)
D Robert Bortuzzo (Utah, one year, $775K)*
F Cal Clutterbuck (unsigned)
F Brian Pinho (Bridgeport, AHL)
F Karson Kuhlman (Lukko, Liiga)
D Paul Ladue (MoDo, SHL)
F Otto Koivula (Vaxjo, SHL)
F Matt Martin (PTO with the Islanders)
D Robin Salo (Malmo, SHL)

*-denotes two-way contract

For the most part, New York lost predominantly AHL or depth players.  But their fourth line will look considerably different without Clutterbuck, who had been a fixture there for the past 11 seasons but wasn’t invited back despite recording 19 points and 273 hits.  Martin, meanwhile, wasn’t expected to be back but is hanging around on a PTO, one that’s expected to last into the start of the regular season so he may or may not be a departure when all is said and done depending on if he signs.

Bortuzzo was acquired early last season to offset some injuries on the back end, much like Reilly was.  But his role was much more limited, playing exclusively on the third pairing when he was in the lineup.  Aho, meanwhile, had worked his way from being a depth defender to a full timer on the roster, one who played in 129 games for New York over the past two seasons, predominantly on the third pairing as well.  But with their injured players returning and Reilly being retained, there wasn’t a vacant spot for Aho to potentially fill, resulting in him heading to the Penguins.

Salary Cap Outlook

At the moment, the Islanders have spent exactly to the $88MM Upper Limit (to the penny), per PuckPedia.  And that’s with Tsyplakov not being on the roster.  Presumably, they’re going to want to get him with the big club to start the season which has helped fuel the speculation around Wahlstrom’s future with the team.  MacLean is their only waiver-exempt player and since he makes the league minimum, sending him down isn’t enough.  Accordingly, expect to see some roster activity from the Isles in the coming weeks as they look to free up space for Tsyplakov, possibly Martin, while hoping to give themselves some wiggle room for in-season flexibility.  Lamoriello has some work to do to achieve that.

Key Questions

Can Sorokin Rebound? Through his first three seasons, Sorokin was an elite netminder, posting a 2.34 GAA along with a .924 SV% in 136 games.  That helped him earn an eight-year, $66MM contract extension last July, one that kicks in this season.  However, he struggled throughout last season, putting up a 3.01 GAA with a .908 SV%, a rate that was above the NHL average but well below his standards.  Those struggles resulted in Semyon Varlamov being the starter for their series against the Hurricanes.  Sorokin underwent back surgery this summer and while he isn’t expected to miss time, it only adds to the question of whether he can get back to the Vezina-contending form he has shown in the past.

Will The Offense Improve? New York finished in the bottom 12 offensively last season for the sixth straight year.  The only proven addition of note is Duclair, a player who is probably a middle-six forward.  He’ll help but he alone won’t bring this group to even a middle of the pack team.  They did fare a bit better in this regard following the coaching change but is that sustainable?  Of the 15 other playoff teams last season, the average number of goals scored was 276.  New York checked in at 246 with only Washington coming in below them.  If they want to get to that average, where are the extra 30 goals coming from?  And if they can get that and a bounce-back showing from Sorokin, the Islanders could make some noise this season.

Can Dobson Reach Another Level? Noah Dobson was certainly a bright spot on the blueline for New York last season.  Offensively, he blew past his career bests in assists (60) and points (70), finishing sixth and seventh league-wide in those categories for a defenseman.  Meanwhile, he logged over 24 minutes a night, becoming a legitimate number one blueliner.  Still just 24, how much more room is left to improve?  If he can get into that elite tier of defenders, he’ll give the Islanders an element they haven’t had for a while.  The timing would also be perfect as he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility next summer and will be looking to cash in.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Zub, Ovechkin, Reilly, Hatakka

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Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub has suffered a lower-body injury shares Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.

Zub has missed 42 games over the last two seasons, facing a long list of short-term but nagging injuries. That includes routine absences with lower-body injuries dating back to October of last year. He found his way to success last season regardless, recording a career-high 25 points in 69 games and spending time on the top unit of both special teams. He’s set to return to that role this year, though a precedent of injuries could force Ottawa to be cautious about how they transition him back. The Senators have five pre-season games remaining before their regular season kicks off on October 10th.

Other notes from around the Metro:

  • Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery shared with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that Alex Ovechkin could play in multiple preseason games after returning from a minor injury. Carbery added that this is the next step in ramping Ovechkin up to speed, as he prepares for his 20th season in the NHL – the most experience of any active player. Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, currently sitting just 41 goals back. He’s played in three preseason games every season since 2021, a tradition he seems set to continue.
  • New York Islanders defender Mike Reilly has returned to the team’s practices after sitting out with illness, shares Ethan Sears of the New York Post. He’s preparing for his second season in New York after recording 24 points in 59 games with the Islanders last year. Reilly was one of the few consistent pieces on an Islanders blue-line plagued by injury, though he only averaged 17 minutes of ice time. The 2024-25 campaign will mark Reilly’s 10th NHL season. He’s managed 400 career games and 122 points, split across six franchises.
  • New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe shared that defender Santeri Hatakka is being evaluated for an injury, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Hatakka is in competition for New Jersey’s seventh-defender role, after spending the bulk of last season in the minor leagues. Hatakka scored 20 points in 48 AHL games in that stint. He was also recalled for 12 NHL games, though he only recorded two assists. Keefe did not provide any clarity on what Hatakka’s injury is or how long he’s expected to be out, though his absence could clear more room for Nick DeSimone and Johnathan Kovacevic in their quest for an NHL role.

International Notes: Greiss, McKegg, Ritchie

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Goaltender Thomas Greiss has come out of retirement to sign what’s being described as a “short-term deal” with Lowen Frankfurt as the team bears through injuries to both of their goaltenders. Greiss is headed to Frankfurt from St. Louis, where he’s resided since joining the Blues in 2022. He announced his retirement following the end of the 2022-23 campaign, bringing an end to his 14-year career in the NHL.

Greiss found multiple paths to notoriety throughout his career – but became most well-known for his role in the New York Islanders’ goaltending carousel from 2015 to 2020. He moved to Long Island on a two-year contract, immediately assuming the starting role ahead of Jaroslav Halak. Greiss performed well on the deal, posting 49 wins and a .918 save percentage through a combined 92 games. That was enough to earn Greiss a three-year extension following the end of his deal, though New York would bring in Robin Lehner in 2018 and Sergei Varlamov in 2019 to split starts with the aging German. Those additions ultimately pushed Greiss towards a handful of sunset years with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues. He’d end his career with 368 games, 162 wins, and a .911 save percentage; playing with six different franchises, though only ever reaching 100 games with the Islanders. He’ll now bring that NHL experience to a reunion in Germany’s top league, having played 36 games and recorded a .925 save percentage from 2003 to 2006.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Veteran NHL forward Greg McKegg has signed with BK Mlada Boleslav of the Czechia Extraliga. It’s his first trip overseas, after spending the last 11 seasons across North American pros. He’s totaled 233 NHL games across nine seasons and seven organizations. He managed 21 goals and 39 points in that span, routinely filling a fourth-line role. McKegg will be the only one on Boleslav with NHL experience, though he’s one of 42 NHL vets across the league.
  • Fellow veteran NHL forward Brett Ritchie will move close by, signing a deal with HK Nitra of Slovakia’s Tipos Extraliga, the team announced on Instagram. Ritchie played in his first European season last year, recording three points in 12 games with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. He’s just two years removed from NHL action, having played in 50 games and scored 13 points between the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes in 2022-23. That season stands as the cap on Ritchie’s 391-game career in the NHL as he continues a trek around European hockey.

Metropolitan Notes: Holmström, Martin, Flyers, Nadeau

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At long last, Islanders forward Simon Holmström appears ready to push for a top-six role. Head coach Patrick Roy thinks so, at least, he told The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner.

Holmström, the Isles’ 2019 first-round pick, has established himself as a full-time NHLer over the past two seasons. But he’s been used almost exclusively as a bottom-six option at even strength with some fringe penalty-killing usage as well.

He began to flash some extended offensive upside last season, recording 15 goals and 25 points in 75 games. Those aren’t top-six totals on a playoff team, nor was Holmström ever drafted to be a true game-breaker on the scoresheet, but he’s showing the “compete level” necessary to flash his puck skills more often and fit better in a complementary role alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, Roy said.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Expect Matt Martin’s professional tryout with the Isles to last past when opening night rosters are due on Oct. 7, Rosner and The Hockey News’ Kai Russell write. Players can remain with a team’s practice group, just not game action, on PTOs up until the trade deadline. The Bruins took advantage of this tactic last season, keeping Danton Heinen around on his PTO for almost a month into the season before they created the cap space necessary to sign him to a contract. The Islanders, which currently have exactly $0 in cap space with an open roster spot (PuckPedia), may need to do the same if they want to bring the 35-year-old back for his 14th season on Long Island.
  • Early line rushes in camp suggest Flyers Calder Trophy candidate Matvei Michkov will start his first NHL season in a second-line role at right wing alongside Tyson Foerster and Morgan Frost, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes. Meanwhile, Noah Cates may fall victim to the press box early on in the season after finishing ninth in Calder voting and 15th in Selke Trophy voting just two seasons ago. The 25-year-old has had a continually diminishing impact as the Flyers have built out the rest of their forward corps, seeing his ATOI drop from 17:46 in his rookie season to 13:48 last season.
  • Seth Jarvis’ pathway to the NHL offers hope for Hurricanes winger Bradly Nadeau and his chances of cracking the opening night roster, opines Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer. Both first-round picks, Jarvis cracked Carolina’s roster as a 19-year-old in his second season after being drafted, skipping the AHL and landing a full-time role in the NHL directly out of juniors. Nadeau has faced older competition, recording 46 points in 37 NCAA games last season for the University of Maine before signing his entry-level contract and making his NHL debut in Carolina’s final game of the regular season.

Poll: Who Will Win The Metropolitan Division In 2024-25?

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A three-headed monster for much of the past few years, the Metropolitan Division only had two serious contenders last season. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers and second-place Hurricanes ran away with things, creating a 17-point gap between them and the third-place Islanders.

There are question marks around whether the Metro will return to its former level of competitiveness in 2024-25. What does seem relatively certain, however, are the Rangers’ chances of staying at the top of the division.

Little has changed for the Blueshirts. Their top-six forward group sees only one new name, veteran Reilly Smith, who’ll likely be part of a revolving door of wingers alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, like how things transpired last year. Their forward depth returns are largely intact, too, with a full season of a healthy Filip Chytil as their third-line center, hopefully giving them some more punch. The defense remained as it was, aside from the loss of Erik Gustafsson. All in all, there’s little reason to suspect significant, if any, regression from the Rags.

Last year’s runner-up, Carolina, is where things start to get interesting. The Canes lost multiple key pieces to the free-agent market, including Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teräväinen, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, and Stefan Noesen. They replaced their back-end departures, signing Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker, but didn’t do nearly as well to replace their departing forwards. That leaves the Hurricanes, whose offense has been their biggest weakness since returning to championship contention a few years ago, with considerable question marks, especially after news that Jesper Fast will miss the entire season after undergoing neck surgery. They’ll be counting on UFA signings like William Carrier and Jack Roslovic to play larger roles than they’re accustomed to and could trot out 2023 first-rounder Bradly Nadeau in NHL minutes in his first professional season.

The Islanders return with plenty of familiar faces after squeaking into a divisional playoff spot with 94 points – a total that would have made them the second Wild Card in the Atlantic Division and kept them out of the playoffs entirely in the Western Conference. They’ll likely need an improvement to return to the dance for a third straight year, let alone capture a divisional title. Their X factor will be Anthony Duclair, set to take on top-line duties alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat after signing a four-year deal in free agency. The four-time 20-goal scorer will be relied upon heavily to help lift the Isles’ offense out of the league’s bottom half for the first time since 2018. A rebound from Ilya Sorokin, who regressed to a rather pedestrian .908 SV% after two years of .920+ play, should help too.

The Capitals’ season will be dominated by more Alex Ovechkin headlines. After all, the captain is just 41 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record. But there’s a clear directive to remain competitive while he’s still around, as evidenced by their pickup of key names like Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, and Logan Thompson on the trade market and Matt Roy in free agency. All of a sudden, the Caps have one of the more well-rounded defense corps in the conference and are in a much better position to repeat last year’s 40-win, 91-point campaign without the concerningly low -37 goal differential.

The Penguins, fresh off signing Sidney Crosby to a two-year extension, also have dreams of just sneaking back into the playoffs rather than competing for a division title. They’re hoping some added speed on the back end in the form of Sebastian Aho and Matt Grzelcyk, as well as depth forward pickups like Anthony Beauvillier and Cody Glass, can help aid a still-skilled but aging core. Whether 2022 first-round pick Rutger McGroarty is ready to make an NHL impact after being acquired from the Jets this offseason is also a big question that will receive an answer over the next few weeks.

The Flyers seem set to remain in the mushy middle. It’s not a bad thing – they’re past the dark days of their rebuild with brighter days ahead – but no one is expecting them to be a top contender this season. A strong rookie season from 2023 seventh overall selection Matvei Michkov could go a long way toward firing up expectations for the future, though, and rightfully so. Early signs indicate it’ll be a two-horse race between him and Sharks first-overall selection Macklin Celebrini for this season’s Calder Trophy. He likely won’t be enough to lift an otherwise largely untouched roster from last season that finished with 87 points back into the playoff picture, though.

After an injury-plagued season plummeted the Devils to a seventh-place finish in the Metro, there’s no team with a better potential for a rebound campaign in the league. Whether New Jersey will reach the heights of their 112-point 2022-23 campaign remains to be seen, but it’s a safe bet that they’ll be knocking on the door of a playoff spot – if not working their way into the division title conversation. Their goaltending tandem is reworked with a duo of proven veterans in Jacob Markström and Jake Allen, their defense is again among the league’s elite with a healthy Dougie Hamilton and the additions of Brenden Dillon and Pesce, and the guts of the offense that finished fourth in the league two years ago are still intact.

Then there’s the Blue Jackets, who are set for another development season with new head coach Dean Evason at the helm. They’ll be looking for 2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli to stay healthy after a calf laceration truncated his rookie season, and they’ll also look for 2022 top-10 pick David Jiricek to take a step forward with increased responsibilities on the back end. They’re running back one of the league’s worst starters over the past two seasons in goal in Elvis Merzļikins, though, and while there are some breakout candidates elsewhere in the lineup, a third straight last-place finish in the division seems likely.

So, we ask you, PHR readers, who will finish atop the Metropolitan Division at the end of the 2024-25 season? Vote in the poll below:

Who will win the Metropolitan Division in 2024-25?
New York Rangers 43.41% (517 votes)
New Jersey Devils 18.72% (223 votes)
Carolina Hurricanes 12.17% (145 votes)
Pittsburgh Penguins 6.80% (81 votes)
Philadelphia Flyers 5.63% (67 votes)
Washington Capitals 4.95% (59 votes)
New York Islanders 4.70% (56 votes)
Columbus Blue Jackets 3.61% (43 votes)
Total Votes: 1,191

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