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Rangers Cut Four; Barclay Goodrow To Join Practice Tomorrow

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The Rangers have made their first training camp cuts, announcing (Twitter link) that the following players were sent back to their respective junior teams:

Barbashev, Grubbe, and McConnell-Barker are all unsigned prospects and will look to have big seasons at the junior level to help them try to earn an entry-level deal; Grubbe has until June 1st to sign if the Rangers want to retain his rights.  Alfano, meanwhile, was in camp on an ATO and has been released.  With two of the three CHL leagues already starting their regular seasons, other teams may soon be following suit with some of their junior players.

  • Still with the Rangers, forward Barclay Goodrow is expected to join the team at practice tomorrow, relays Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran is working his way back from an ankle injury and has been skating away from the team, including today, in an effort to make sure the injury has fully healed before participating in team exercises.  Goodrow is coming off a career year that saw him put up 33 points in 79 games last season, his first with New York.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  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 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 2022-23 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 CapFriendly.

New York Rangers

Current Cap Hit: $81,491,469 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Zachary Jones (one year, $925K)
F Alexis Lafreniere (one year, $925K)
D K’Andre Miller (one year, $925K)
D Braden Schneider (two years, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
Lafreniere: $2.85MM
Miller: $400K
Schneider: $400K
Total: $3.65MM

Lafreniere’s per-game numbers last season were nearly identical to his rookie-season numbers which doesn’t help bolster his case for a bridge-bypassing contract.  The top pick in 2020 certainly has shown some upside but for now, a bridge in the $2.5MM range might be the best way to go for both sides.  His ‘B’ bonuses are almost certainly unattainable but an improved performance could give him a shot at one or two of the ‘A’ bonuses worth $212.5K apiece.

Miller has averaged more than 20 minutes per game in his first two seasons and is pegged to have a top-four role again in 2022-23.  His limited offensive production, however, makes it difficult to project a long-term contract as Miller’s camp would likely prefer a bridge with the hopes that the output will come.  A two-year deal around $2.75MM or a three-year contract worth a little over $3MM might be where his next price tag checks in.  Schneider and Jones will both be looking to establish themselves as full-time regulars this season.  For Jones, that doesn’t leave much time to command a pricey second contract so he, too, will be looking for a bridge.  Schneider has a bit more runway but like Miller, he might not produce enough for both sides to find a long-term price tag that they’ll like.

Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level

F Sammy Blais ($1.525MM, UFA)
F Ryan Carpenter ($750K, UFA)
F Filip Chytil ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Julien Gauthier ($800K, RFA)
D Libor Hajek ($800K, RFA)
G Jaroslav Halak ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Dryden Hunt ($762.5K, UFA)
F Vitali Kravtsov ($875K, RFA)
F Ryan Reaves ($1.75MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Halak: $50K

Chytil took a bit of a step back last season.  He continues to show some signs of being able to crack a top-six spot but the consistency hasn’t been there yet.  He’s likely to remain on the third line where he’ll see time both on the wing and down the middle but unless he takes a sizable jump forward offensively (his career-high in points is 23), he might not be able to get much more than his $2.6MM qualifying offer.  Kravtsov is one of the bigger wildcards this season in New York.  He’s no longer waiver-exempt and he wasn’t exactly lighting it up in the KHL the last couple of years.  If he can lock down a regular spot in the lineup, he’ll be well-positioned for at least a small raise but otherwise, he’s likely to wind up around the $1MM mark.  Gauthier hasn’t been able to progress beyond being a fringe winger thus far and it’s telling that he took less than his qualifying offer to secure a one-way deal.  Until he establishes himself as a regular, he probably won’t pass the $1MM mark.

As for the UFAs, Reaves is one of the few remaining enforcers in the league.  He’ll be 36 when he signs his next deal and this might be the one that starts to drive his salary downward.  Blais missed almost all of last season after undergoing ACL surgery and will be looking to restore some value a year out before free agency.  If he can establish himself as a power forward that’s capable of playing on the third line, he could push for double his AAV next summer.  Hunt established himself a regular last season which will help him a bit but if he stays in a fourth-line role, he won’t be able to command much more than $1MM.  Carpenter had to settle for the league minimum this summer in free agency and if he winds up in a depth role again, that’s about where his next deal will be as well.

Hajek was a frequent healthy scratch last season and hasn’t lived up to the billing of being an important part of the Ryan McDonagh trade in 2018.  He should be on the fringes again this year.  He’s not in danger of being non-tendered but at this point, the raises will be incremental at most moving forward.

Halak comes over after a tough showing in Vancouver last season.  He should be able to play a bit more this time around after going long stretches between starts a year ago but he’ll be 38 next summer and will be going year-to-year from here on out with a cap hit around this range.

Signed Through 2023-24

F Kaapo Kakko ($2.1MM, RFA)
D Ryan Lindgren ($3MM, UFA)

Kakko, one of the top picks from 2019, struggled to stay healthy and couldn’t manage too much production so a bridge deal was the natural move for both sides.  Considering he’s still only 21, there’s still room for him to improve and become a full-time top-six player which would give him a shot at a sizable raise in 2024.

Lindgren has stepped up into a top-four role and has become one of New York’s better shutdown defenders over the last couple of seasons.  As was the case with some of their entry-level blueliners, limited production will limit his earnings potential but as he’ll be a year away from UFA eligibility in 2024, he’ll hold a lot of leverage and will be owed a $3.6MM qualifying offer.  A long-term agreement would be closer to the $5MM range.

Signed Through 2024-25

G Igor Shesterkin ($5.67MM, UFA)

Shesterkin’s deal was signed when had less than 50 career NHL appearances under his belt so it did carry some risk.  However, the reward already looks quite high as the Vezina Trophy winner and first-team All-Star is coming off a dominant season.  He’s not in the top ten in the NHL in terms of his cap hit so the Rangers have quite a bargain on their hands.  Looking ahead to three years from now, as long as he remains one of the top goalies in the league, he’ll hit the open market at 29 in a position to command close to a max-term deal where he’ll be able to become one of the top-paid netminders in NHL history.  Not too shabby for someone who even now has just 100 NHL regular season contests under his belt.

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Dallas Stars Acquire Nils Lundkvist

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7:30 PM: Both teams have now officially announced the trade.

7:28 PM: Per Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News, the conditional 2025 fourth-round pick in the deal becomes a 2025 third-round pick if Lundkvist scores 55 or more total points over the next two seasons.

7:10 PM: The Athletic has reported that the Rangers will also receive a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick as part of the deal.

6:46 PM: Just as training camps are set to begin, Nils Lundkvist has found his new team. As first reported by The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman, Lundkvist has been traded to the Dallas Stars.

The Stars are sending the Rangers a top-10 protected 2023 first-round pick in return, per the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. If the pick lands in 2023 and the Stars keep it, the Rangers would receive an unprotected 2024 first-rounder.

Lundkvist, 22, had requested a trade from the Rangers, a trade request that received significant media coverage in recent days. Because the Rangers’ defense features five players (Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, and Braden Schneider) who are either currently established long-term pieces or on the path to that status, Lundkvist felt that he would not have any chance to earn a top-four spot with power play time in New York.

It’s that locked-out feeling that inspired this trade request rather than any animosity towards the organization, and now Lundkvist heads to a team that features a defensive group that’s a bit less set in stone. On paper, it looks like this acquisition is part of the Stars’ attempt to make up for the loss of John Klingberg. The team signed defenseman Colin Miller to a two-year, $1.85MM deal this summer, and as of now thanks to that deal he has the inside track on winning Klingberg’s old job on the team’s second pairing next to Esa Lindell.

But now Miller has Lundkvist to compete with for that role, and since the Stars surrendered a quality asset to acquire Lundkvist, Miller’s early grip on that second-pairing job might not be as strong as it once looked to be.

Additionally, the team signed defenseman Will Butcher to a contract earlier this summer, and it seemed at the time that Butcher would be Miller’s primary competition for that role as the team’s go-to offensive blueliner. With this trade, Butcher’s status in the team’s blueline mix is more uncertain.

One other lineup factor at play here is the presence of Miro Heiskanen. Heiskanen’s mastery of the defensive side of the game could make him the preferred partner for Lundkvist, whose game has a more offensive bent. Additionally, a Lundkvist-Heiskanen pairing would allow Heiskanen to move to the left side, which he could prefer.

This is not a cheap addition for the Stars, but it’s a clear indication that the team has faith that Lundkvist will be every bit of the dynamic offensive force at the NHL level that he looked to be in the SHL. With Klingberg gone, the Stars need to find a way to replace the offense he brought to their blueline, and Lundkvist currently represents their highest-upside chance at doing so.

For the Rangers, this is a great return for a prospect who had already requested a trade and was unlikely to be in the team’s long-term plans. While the Rangers’ salary cap issues might have made Lundkvist (and his affordable cap hit) especially useful in the next few years, the Rangers do have other young defensemen like Zac Jones who can fill a similar role. Getting a coveted 2023 first-rounder (even if it’s top-ten protected) or an unprotected 2024 first-rounder in return for Lundkvist is about as strong of a return as the Rangers could reasonably expect to receive.

While the cost looks steep for the Stars now, the Stars won’t mind having paid that price if Lundkvist has a breakout year this season. It’s become increasingly common for fans to assign instant winners and losers to every transaction, and this trade will be no different. With that said, though, it’s important to keep in mind this is the type of trade where it will be difficult to truly judge Dallas’ side of the deal until we see how Lundkvist fares in victory green.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Rangers To Sign Matt Bartkowski To PTO

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It appears the New York Rangers, who had been rumored to be looking to add some defensive depth, have found their man, signing defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a PTO for the upcoming preseason, according to CapFriendly. The addition is a smart, cost-effective way for the team to add a veteran into the mix in the preseason, insure themselves in case of any injuries to those above him on the depth chart, and give an added level of competition to the third-pair, left-defense battle that appears to be between Libor Hajek and youngster Zachary Jones. The Rangers have not yet confirmed the transaction.

Bartkowski comes to the Rangers as an experienced journeyman, dressing for four NHL teams and three AHL teams over his 12-year professional career. A seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2008, the defenseman got his start with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, where he spent two years prior to joining The Ohio State University for a pair of seasons. Bartkowski turned pro at the start of the 2010-11 season, primarily suiting up for the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but did see a handful of games in the NHL with Boston. His main NHL action came between 2013 and 2016, where he suited up for 191 games between Boston and the Vancouver Canucks.

The veteran received a PTO offer last offseason as well, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins for camp. While it didn’t result in an NHL offer, he was able to play a key role over a full season on the backend for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins. Now 34, the defenseman is likely to use this opportunity to prove he still belongs in the NHL and push for time on the Rangers’ third-pairing, which appears to be welcoming competition.

Right now, the Rangers project to already have seven defenseman under contract and bound for the NHL roster, however two of those players, Jones and Braden Schneider, are relatively young and inexperienced. Presumably the team would like to roll with those two, but with the possibility of having them paired together and for the sake of testing their competitiveness with several veterans in camp, players like Bartkowski, Hajek, and Andy Welinski, who the club signed back in July, could prove valuable in the roles they serve.

Finding A Match For A Nils Lundkvist Trade

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With Rangers prospect Nils Lundkvist’s trade request now well-known, efforts continue to find the youngster a new home for the upcoming season.  If the belief that he won’t attend training camp in New York holds true, that could be a trigger point for GM Chris Drury to avoid any distractions heading into camp while getting a chance to integrate whichever player or prospect they get for the rearguard at training camp.

With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the potential suitors for Lundkvist.  Since he’s looking for a team that will have a chance to give him an NHL opportunity in the short-term, the focus will be on those squads although there undoubtedly will be others that will kick the tires.  Los Angeles is a team that has been speculated as a landing spot with their deep prospect pool but they don’t really have an opening on the right side of their back end for him to slide into so they don’t appear among the teams below.

Detroit: The Red Wings have two right-side rearguards in place in Calder winner Moritz Seider and young veteran Filip Hronek.  There are questions behind those two, however.  Gustav Lindstrom has yet to establish himself as a full-time player while Mark Pysyk will miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery in July to repair a torn Achilles tendon.  If Lundkvist was to go there and do well, it could free them up to move Hronek who is the type of blueliner that could yield a nice return for the Red Wings.

Detroit has a couple of young centers that the Rangers would likely show some interest in.  One is Joe Veleno who is close to being ready for full-time duty while Jonatan Berggren, who was picked just five spots after Lundkvist in 2018, had a very promising first season in North America in 2021-22.  They also have an extra second-round pick at their disposal if New York ultimately decides that a draft pick is the right return.  Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported a few days ago (subscription link) that at least one team had a second-rounder on the table in an offer for the blueliner.

Montreal: At the moment, the right side of the back end for the Canadiens is David Savard, Justin Barron, and Chris Wideman.  The only established full-time player out of that group is Savard.  Montreal is likely to use several prospects throughout the season (Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle among them) but those are left-shot options, not righties like Lundkvist.  It’s plausible that Lundkvist could jump into their lineup right away.  Jeff Gorton, who was GM at the time Lundkvist was drafted, now works in Montreal’s front office.

While the Rangers wouldn’t be likely to get a return that could help them right away, Montreal’s prospect pool is one of the deeper ones around the league with recent center picks like Jan Mysak, Owen Beck, and Riley Kidney potentially being of interest.  They could also deal from the left side of their defensive pool if New York would prefer a defenseman in return with Harris, Mattias Norlinder, and prospect Jayden Struble being possible options.

San Jose: The only established must-play right-shot defender on their roster is Erik Karlsson.  Matthew Benning got a four-year deal but could bounce in and out of the lineup while Ryan Merkley could stand to spend more time in the minors before becoming an everyday regular.  With Brent Burns not really being replaced after his trade to Carolina, there’s a definite need for a second defenseman to help shoulder the offensive load.  Worth noting, one of New York’s former top scouts, Chris Morehouse, is now heading up San Jose’s amateur scouting ranks.  He wasn’t there when Lundkvist was drafted but he’ll have some extra familiarity with the blueliner.

Center Thomas Bordeleau didn’t look out of place in his brief NHL stint late last season and acquitted himself well at the World Championship as well and is the type of young center that might entice the Rangers.  Merkley himself could be an option if Drury decides to look for a similar player, one that will be more amenable to being in the minors to start the season.  The Sharks don’t have an extra second-round pick but the one that they do have projects to be a good one based on the state of their roster heading into training camp.

Seattle: While the addition of Justin Schultz lessens their need for an extra offensive defenseman, the third RD spot is far from secure with William Borgen spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch last season.  That’s a spot that Lundkvist could conceivably battle for or least position himself to be the first one recalled.

The Kraken don’t have the deepest of prospect pools to work with since they’ve only been around for two drafts but they do have three second-rounders for the 2023 draft.  Parting with one for a potentially near-ready young defenseman would be a defensible move for the second-year squad.

Vancouver: The Canucks have been busy this summer when it comes to their forward group but nothing has been done with their back end yet and it’s not for a lack of trying.  Vancouver already has an offensive weapon in Quinn Hughes but someone like Lundkvist could potentially help run a second power play group and perhaps take some minutes from veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is getting near the point where he will need to be managed more carefully.  With Tucker Poolman’s availability uncertain for training camp, there’s a spot on the right side of their back end up for grabs.

As for possible trade options, Linus Karlsson is coming off a strong SHL season and shouldn’t be too far away from being NHL-ready which would give New York another option down the middle.  Alternatively, winger Nils Hoglander is someone that, on the surface, might be on the fringes of making Vancouver’s roster with their additions on the wing.  Perhaps there’s a trade to be made featuring those two?

Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list and other teams will inquire but if Lundkvist and agent Claude Lemieux’s intention is to have him start the upcoming season in the NHL, that does limit the number of viable opportunities for a trade if the Rangers decide to move him before training camp.

They don’t have to move Lundkvist, however.  He’s still waiver-exempt and even if he doesn’t want to report to the minors, they can send him there and suspend him for not reporting.  If it’s going to be more of a drawn-out process, a loan overseas (as they did last year with Vitali Kravtsov) is also on the table.  There are certainly non-trade options they’ll want to consider but if they do decide to go ahead with a trade, they’ll have some viable teams to consider.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Henrik Lundqvist Reflects On Retirement Transition

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  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple had a chance to sit down with former New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as he reflected on his transition from Hall of Fame goaltender to his new role away from the rink. Now, Lundqvist will serve in a forward-facing role, representing the Rangers in the community. Notably, Staple inquired about his transition from playing, which happened rather suddenly when a medical condition was revealed that would force the superstar into retirement. Lundqvist mentioned that the transition was a bit different for him because of the health condition, but it gave him plenty of time to reflect and leave him “in a good place mentally.” He added that leaving his playing days behind creates a hole that needed to be replaced, “[b]ut I also understand I’m not going to be able to feel the way I felt around the games, just my goal is to find new interests.”

Nils Lundkvist Requests Trade, Will Not Report To Training Camp

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9/16/22: USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano has issued an update on the Lundkvist situation, relaying the message from Lundkvist’s agent, Claude Lemieux, that the Swedish blueliner would not be reporting for training camp. Lemieux likely believes that the best way for his client to get the trade he requested is by sitting out for training camp, and only time will tell if he is correct.

For the Rangers, they will have to operate without Lundkvist in their plans for their defense in training camp. Five Rangers defensemen are locks to make the roster, so with Lundkvist seemingly out of the equation, it looks as though the competition for the final two spots on the Rangers’ defense will be between Libor Hajek, Zac Jones, and Jarred Tinordi, barring the acquisition of another defenseman.

9/1/22: A top New York Rangers prospect could be on the move relatively soon. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks has reported that the Rangers are “engaged in an accelerated effort” to trade 2018 first-round pick Nils Lundkvist. Citing “multiple sources,” Brooks adds that Lundkvist is “unlikely to report” for Rangers training camp if the team cannot find a trade by the time camp is set to begin.

Lundkvist, 22, was one of the Rangers’ three first-round picks from the 2018 draft. If this news seems familiar, it’s because it’s generally similar to 2018 ninth-overall pick Vitali Kravtsov’s saga with the Rangers’ front office in the past. Kravtsov requested a trade from the Rangers last year, and spent a season in the KHL rather than continue his development in the AHL, in part because of the challenge of landing a scoring-line role in New York. This situation might also feel familiar for fans who remember 2017 first-round pick Lias Andersson and his strained relationship with the Rangers, who ultimately dealt him to the Los Angeles Kings.

But Lundkvist’s situation is different from Kravtsov’s and Andersson’s for one main reason: there is no of animosity between the player and the organization, something that cannot be said about the sagas of the latter two players. As Brooks puts it, “Lundkvist has no issues with management” but he views the Rangers’ current roster makeup as an “unyielding roadblock” to his ability to establish himself in the NHL.

This means that Lundkvist’s desire for a change of scenery is not about any sort of friction between him and the Rangers, and instead about the Rangers’ current roster makeup. Brooks reports that Lundkvist prefers to head to a destination that offers a “better opportunity” for the defenseman to “compete for a top-four spot and role as a power-play quarterback.”

If that’s the role Lundkvist sees himself ready for, it’s understandable for him to feel locked out of those roles in New York. The Rangers’ top-four on defense is established, with Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, new captain Jacob Trouba, and K’Andre Miller all but set in stone in those roles. Additionally, the Rangers are extremely reliant on their highly-effective first power play unit, and Lundkvist wouldn’t be challenging for Fox’s job as that unit’s quarterback any time soon.

So, from a depth chart perspective, the motivation for Lundkvist to move teams is certainly understandable. For the Rangers, there is less reason for them to want to move Lundkvist outside of wanting to accommodate the player’s wishes. The Rangers are hard-pressed against the cap and figure to be in that position for the foreseeable future, so having cheap young talent like Lundkvist on their roster is important to keeping New York competitive as their veteran players become cap casualties.

Per Brooks, GM Chris Drury’s “target” in trade talks over Lundkvist is to acquire a “young, top-nine center who might grow with the organization.” While no specific teams that are potentially interested in Lundkvist were mentioned in the reporting, a few possibilities emerge when looking over the depth charts of other NHL clubs.

The Detroit Red Wings, for example, have a potential opening on the left side of their defense if they don’t want to use Jordan Oesterle as an everyday third-pairing defenseman. Lundkvist could potentially be a fit there playing next to his countryman, Gustav Lindstrom. He could even compete for a chance to play next to Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider as well. Lundkvist is, of course, a right-shot defenseman but if he wants to prioritize the best fit possible on a new team he might need to be flexible with where exactly in a lineup he plays.

One other factor making Detroit an intriguing potential trade partner is the fact that the Red Wings also have a young centerman who could fit the Rangers’ desired return: Joe Veleno. Veleno might not have a regular role down the middle in Detroit next season, given the emergence of Michael Rasmussen and the addition of Andrew Copp. Could a swap of the two 2018 first-rounders make sense for both teams?

That’s just one possibility for the Rangers and Lundkvist, and there will certainly be more options. While Lundkvist hasn’t been exceptional in North America, that’s exactly what he was in his native Sweden when he played for Lulea in the SHL. This is a bit of an unexpected storyline to have emerged, but it’s something to watch as we get closer to the opening of training camps.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Examining The Recent History Of Montreal Canadiens Captains

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When any NHL team names a captain, it’s big news — but even more so when it’s the most storied franchise in the history of the sport. That’s what happened today when the Montreal Canadiens named Nick Suzuki the 31st captain in team history, the first captain of Asian descent in team history (and only the second ever in the NHL after Paul Kariya), and the youngest Canadiens captain in quite some time at 23 years old.

11 months to the day after signing an eight-year extension to stay a Hab well into his prime, Suzuki adds his name to a storied list that’s worth taking a look at. While doing so would be a nearly academic-length exercise if done all the way back to the beginning of the franchise, taking a look back at the leaders of the Canadiens in recent memory still helps offer some context for the type of echelon Suzuki joined today.

Perhaps the most universally beloved Habs captain in recent memory is Saku Koivu. Serving from 1999 to 2009, his nine-year shift as captain is the longest for a Canadien since Jean Beliveau held the role from 1961 to 1971. Despite some great memories, though, Koivu’s era was not defined by playoff success. The team failed to make it out of the second round despite three appearances in that timeframe (2002, 2004, 2008). In the regular season, the Koivu-captained Canadiens had a 324-290-44-62 record, good enough for a .535 points percentage.

Ironically enough, the Canadiens finally made it to the Conference Final in 2009-10 after Koivu’s departure for the Anaheim Ducks. In their first season without a captain in their entire franchise existence, the Habs went on a memorable Cinderella run as the eighth seed, bowing out to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the Eastern Conference Final.

Next up at the helm was Brian Gionta, the first American to serve at least a full season as captain in franchise history. Gionta, a free agent signing prior to the 2009-10 season, was the captain for 2010-11 through 2013-14. In 242 games as captain, Gionta scored 69 goals and 127 points, a step back from his previous production in New Jersey and during his first season in Montreal. The Canadiens did make it back to the Eastern Conference Final in the last season of his tenure, though, this time losing to the New York Rangers with Carey Price injured during the final series.

After another vacant season in 2014-15, another American took the helm: Max Pacioretty. The team’s 2007 first-round pick had come off back-to-back 60-point seasons and was even named to the US Olympic team in 2014, cementing himself as one of the top players in the game at the time. He continued that production in his first two seasons as captain, rattling off 30-goal and 35-goal seasons, before taking a serious step back in 2017-18. His goal total dipped to just 17 in 64 games and he had just 37 points total on the year. The team also made just one playoff appearance with Pacioretty as captain, where he had just one assist in six games.

It turned out to be a captain-for-captain swap the following offseason, as a summer 2018 deal sent Pacioretty to the young Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a package that included then-prospect Nick Suzuki. Four years later, Suzuki has cemented himself as the future of the franchise long-term with a captaincy and long-term extension in place.

In the bridge between Pacioretty and Suzuki, the now retired-due-to-injury Shea Weber served admirably in the meantime. His last act as captain will be remembered for years, leading the 16th-seeded Canadiens all the way through to the Stanley Cup Final in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season before bowing out to career-ending injury.

Waiver Watching: Sizing Up The Goaltender Market

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With training camps on the horizon, there are still some goaltending situations around the NHL that are unsettled.  Accordingly, those teams may be planning on picking up a second goaltender on waivers during the preseason as Montreal did with Samuel Montembeault last season.  With that in mind, let’s examine who might be looking for a goalie and which teams have a netminder that could be of interest.

Potentially Looking

Arizona: The Coyotes have one of their two goalies locked up for three years in Karel Vejmelka but after that, there is nothing but question marks.  Farmhands Jon Gillies and Ivan Prosvetov have some NHL experience but Gillies struggled last season with New Jersey and Prosvetov hasn’t posted a .900 SV% in the last two seasons in the minors.  Cap space isn’t an issue for them so they can look at any of the options available on waivers or take on a bad contract for additional compensation.

Chicago: Right now, Alex Stalock is their backup goalie.  He has missed most of the last two seasons battling his way back from myocarditis and struggled considerably in the minors last year.  Granted, the Blackhawks certainly aren’t in win-now mode but in a perfect world, they’d like Arvid Soderblom to have an uninterrupted year with AHL Rockford.  Currently, he’s third on the depth chart but if there’s a chance to bring in a low-cost second-stringer and push Stalock into the spot of being the one to be recalled if an injury arises, they might want to take it.  The waiver wire could be the chance to add that.

Philadelphia: With Ivan Fedotov being blocked from going to North America this season due to a military commitment, the Flyers are going to have to turn to Plan B.  Felix Sandstrom is currently their second option but he has just five career NHL appearances under his belt.  They’re looking to be more competitive this season so this could be a spot for an upgrade.  Granted, Sandstrom would then need to be waived to be sent back to Lehigh Valley but that would have been the case if Fedotov had been able to play so it’s a risk they might be comfortable with.

Of course, an injury or two during the preseason could add to the list of suitors in the coming weeks as well.

Teams That Could Lose A Goalie

For the purpose of this exercise, the focus is going to be on either young goalies that could be appealing or veterans with some recent NHL experience that could fill a gap.

Buffalo: Malcolm Subban was brought back to be the veteran to partner with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in AHL Rochester but he has 86 games of NHL experience under his belt and a deal that’s only $100K above the league minimum.  He has been a full-time backup going back to his time with Vegas which would also bolster his chances of potentially being claimed.

Dallas: Right now, Anton Khudobin appears to be the odd one out again with Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood set to be the goalie duo for the Stars.  Khudobin is now in the final year of his deal that carries a $3.33MM AAV.  It wouldn’t be shocking if he cleared waivers but if Dallas wants to free up a bit of extra money for Jason Robertson’s contract, they’ll be calling Arizona to see what it would cost for them to take that contract on.

Los Angeles: Pheonix Copley has cleared waivers without any concerns the last couple of years but also was on a pricey contract for a third-string option.  Now, he’s on a much more palatable deal ($825K) and is coming off an impressive season in AHL Hershey.  The 30-year-old was the backup for the Capitals back in 2018-19.

Nashville: This is the most interesting one to keep an eye on.  Although Connor Ingram held his own in the playoffs for the Preds, they still went and brought in Kevin Lankinen on a one-year, $1.5MM deal.  That’s a lot to pay a third-string option so it could put Ingram in jeopardy.  However, if they try to sneak Ingram through, there’s a very good chance he’ll be claimed, especially with an AAV that’s below the minimum.  Carrying three goalies is a possibility but generally not ideal so something might have to give here.

New York (R): The Rangers went and brought in Louis Domingue on a two-year contract to be their insurance policy but he might appeal to some other teams as well.  He did alright in the playoffs for Pittsburgh and has 142 games of NHL experience over parts of two seasons.  Both years are one-way which was likely to try to deter other teams from claiming him but with an AAV of just $775K, he may attract some interest.

Seattle: With Martin Jones joining the Kraken as their backup, that’s going to push both Joey Daccord and Magnus Hellberg to the waiver wire.  Daccord was viewed as a possible NHL option not long ago and at 26, there could still be some upside after a strong season with AHL Charlotte.  Hellberg, meanwhile, has been dominant in the KHL the last few years which prompted Detroit to give him a brief look down the stretch last season.  Other teams might want to take a look as well depending on how things go over the next few weeks.

Winnipeg: Mikhail Berdin is the one goalie on this list that doesn’t have any NHL experience but at 24, he’s also the youngest in this group.  If a rebuilding team wants to take a look at a younger backup to see if there’s something there, this is the type of goalie they’d probably want to go for.

Of course, there will be other goalies that will hit the waiver wire in the coming weeks that could be of interest to teams as well depending on what transpires over the preseason.  There won’t be a ton of waiver activity between the pipes – there rarely is – but one or two of these players could be changing teams in the coming weeks.

Offseason Notes: Hurricanes, Lundqvist, Doan

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Although player transactions rightfully take up most of the attention in the offseason, a team’s additions to their coaching staff and hockey operations department can also play a significant role in whether the organization finds success. Today, the Carolina Hurricanes made three additions to their hockey operations department. The team hired Earl Schwartz as a compliance assistant, and Ellen Etchingham and Sidney Morin were named professional scouts.

Schwartz’s title may not make his role on the Hurricanes immediately clear, but based on the team’s description, it seems his work will revolve around the salary cap. The two new professional scouts the team hired, Etchingham and Morin, both have extensive experience in hockey. Etchingham, who Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek called “one of the smartest people” he’s ever met, has written about hockey since 2007, while Morin is a player for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the PHF and an Olympic Gold Medalist.

Now, for some other news from across the NHL:

  • It wasn’t long ago that Henrik Lundqvist was the on-ice face of the New York Rangers, and now in retirement, he’s positioned himself to be the off-ice face of the franchise. Today the Rangers announced that Lundqvist has joined Madison Square Garden in a “unique new role that helps support business operations for each company.” Lundqvist will continue his work as a studio analyst for Rangers broadcasts on MSG Network, as well as work in various roles across Madison Square Garden ranging from alumni relations to the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
  • While the Rangers’ franchise icon is doubling down on his involvement with the organization, the Arizona Coyotes’ face of their franchise is heading in a different direction. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Shane Doan is taking a “step back” from his role as Chief Hockey Development Officer for the Coyotes. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports added some context to this move, stating that Doan still “wants to be in hockey ops somewhere” but it likely won’t be with the Coyotes. Of note is the fact that Doan’s son, Josh Doan, was drafted 37th overall by Arizona at the 2021 NHL draft and is currently the captain of the Arizona State Sun Devils hockey team.

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