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Max Pacioretty Retires, Joins University Of Michigan’s Coaching Staff

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Tuesday: Pacioretty has indeed retired with the University of Michigan announcing that the long-time NHLer has been hired as a special assistant to head coach Brandon Naurato.  Pacioretty released the following statement:

After 17 seasons in the NHL, I’m excited to begin this next chapter with Michigan Hockey. I’m so thankful for the teammates, coaches and fans who have been a part of my journey. Hockey has given me so much, and now I have the opportunity to help develop the next generation of players. Michigan has a tradition of producing elite talent, and I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned to help these guys grow on and off the ice. Just as important, this next step allows me to be closer to my family and spend more time with my kids. I’m going to be coaching my four boys in youth hockey and that’s something I’ll really cherish as a dad.

Monday: One of the NHL’s better goal-scorers from the 2010s has reportedly hung up his skates. According to Nick Alberga of TheLeafsNation, instead of giving it one last shot in the NHL, veteran Max Pacioretty has chosen to hang up his skates and take a job at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.

Given that much of the conjecture surrounding Pacioretty this offseason was his desire to play close to Southeast Michigan, that effectively left his options down to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Although reporting from earlier in the summer indicated the Red Wings as his preferred destination, the team seemingly filled the void on the opening day of free agency by signing James van Riemsdyk.

Still, the New Canaan, CT native will get his desired outcome, albeit in a different role. Alberga didn’t allude to the exact position Pacorietty is taking in Ann Arbor, though it’s a fair guess to assume it’s with their hockey program.

Despite failing to find another job in the NHL, there’s very little for Pacioretty to feel ashamed about in his 17-year career.

He was originally selected with the 22nd overall pick of the 2007 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He immediately shifted to the University of Michigan after being drafted, scoring 15 goals and 39 points in 37 games during his freshman season. The Canadiens felt that one season of growth was enough in the NCAA and signed Pacioretty to his entry-level contract after his impressive one-and-done campaign.

In the first three years of his professional career, Pacioretty split his time between Montreal and its then-AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. From the beginning of the 2008-09 season to the end of the 2010-11 campaign, Pacioretty scored 20 goals and 49 points in 123 games with the Canadiens, and 25 goals and 72 points with the Bulldogs in 82 contests.

Since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign, Pacioretty hadn’t looked back. He exploded offensively, scoring 33 goals and 65 points in 79 games, nearly tripling his production from one year prior. Rewarding his success, the Canadiens signed Pacioretty to a six-year, $27MM extension the following offseason.

Over the next six years, despite some injury concerns, Pacioretty became a consistent scoring winger in Montreal and was named the team’s captain ahead of the 2015-16 season. Throughout that stretch, he crossed the 60-point threshold four times, scoring 173 goals and 334 points in 424 games. Additionally, although the Canadiens managed only one quality postseason run with Pacioretty on the roster, he scored 10 goals and 19 points in 38 postseason games with Montreal, averaging 19:29 of ice time per game.

Unfortunately, he would not play out the rest of his extension with the only organization he had ever known. The Canadiens traded Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights on July 13th, 2022, for Nick Suzuki, Tomáš Tatar, and a 2019 second-round pick. He signed a four-year, $28MM contract with the Golden Knights one day later.

His first three years in Vegas were impressive, scoring 78 goals and 157 points in 185 games after the team’s Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural campaign. He continued his quality scoring in the postseason, registering 15 goals and 30 points in 36 postseason contests for the Golden Knights.

Again, due to growing injury concerns and the need for additional cap space, the Golden Knights traded Pacioretty for the second time in his career, this time to the Carolina Hurricanes, along with Dylan Coghlan, for future considerations. In one of those unfortunate cases from the 2021-22 season, Pacioretty only managed five games with the Hurricanes due to two torn Achilles tendons.

Working his way back the following offseason and through much of the 2022-23 campaign, Pacioretty signed a bonus-laden one-year contract with the Washington Capitals. After returning to game action in early January, Pacioretty finished the year with four goals and 23 points in 47 games, with an additional assist in four postseason contests.

In what would become the last contract of his career, Pacioretty signed another bonus-laden deal, this time with the Maple Leafs. He struggled with injuries throughout the year, managing only five goals and 13 points in 37 games. Still, he was one of Toronto’s better performers in the playoffs, scoring three goals and eight points in 11 games, including the game-winner that allowed the Maple Leafs to move to the second round.

Pacioretty finishes his career with 335 goals and 681 points in 939 games, averaging 17:16 of ice time per contest. All of us at PHR congratulate “Patches” on a successful career and wish him the best as he moves to his next role at the University of Michigan.

Photo courtesy of Jean-Yves Ahern-Imagn Images. 

Mats Zuccarello Out “Minimum” Of Seven To Eight Weeks

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While the Wild ensured one top-six winger will be staying with the club long-term earlier today, they’ve lost another in the short term. The team confirmed Mats Zuccarello will miss a “minimum” of seven to eight weeks with the lower-body injury that’s sidelined him for all of training camp so far.

There was concern Zuccarello would miss the start of the regular season back at the beginning of camp. This is a bit more significant than just the start of the season, though. A seven-to-eight-week timeline from today puts his most optimistic return date on Nov. 18, by which Minnesota will have already played a quarter of its season. In all likelihood, it could be Thanksgiving or even further down the calendar until he’s able to make his season debut.

Now 38 years old, the 5’8″ Zuccarello has kept up his reputation as a consistent top-six scorer in what should be his twilight years. The Norwegian forward ranked fourth on the team with a 19-39–54 scoring line in 69 appearances last year, his sixth in Minnesota after first signing there as a free agent in 2019. While injuries have remained a concern – he hasn’t hit the 70-game mark in the past two years – he’s clicked above expectations since signing with the Wild and has scored at a 70-point clip per 82 games during his time there.

That’s a sizable absence in the scoring department, especially considering he still averaged over 19:30 of ice time per game last year. While he’s spent a good portion of his tenure in St. Paul opposite Kirill Kaprizov on the top line, Matt Boldy ended up getting that job in the playoffs last year after Kaprizov returned from surgery. Zuccarello dropped down to a middle-six role with Marcus Johansson and Frédérick Gaudreau, the latter of whom has since been traded to the Kraken. Since he hasn’t been in camp, it’s hard to predict where the Wild planned on slotting him this season, but it likely would have been in second-line duties while keeping the top line loaded with Boldy.

Zuccarello’s top-six vacancy could mean increased opportunity for veteran Vladimir Tarasenko to start the year. The Wild picked him up from the Red Wings for future considerations over the summer after the four-time All-Star had just 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games for Detroit. The Wild are now his sixth team in the last four years, but he could get a shot at second-line duties with Joel Eriksson Ek as his centerman. There’s also a clear path for one of the Wild’s recent first-rounders, namely Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov, to snag top-nine roles as they look to establish themselves as full-timers.

One player who won’t be getting an opportunity in the lineup is 220-game veteran Brett Leason. He was released from his PTO today, the club announced. He had a 5-12–17 scoring line in 62 games for the Ducks last year before being non-tendered.

Wild Extend Kirill Kaprizov

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Kirill Kaprizov is staying put and setting the market. The Wild have announced an eight-year extension for their superstar winger that will pay out a record-setting AAV of $17MM through the 2033-34 campaign. That’s a total value of $136MM. He was previously slated to hit the unrestricted free agent market following the 2025-26 season.

All but $8MM of that $136MM figure will come via signing bonuses, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports, along with an expected full no-movement clause for the duration of the deal. His base salary will only be $1MM per season. He will earn an $18.1MM bonus on July 1 from 2026-29 before that number drops to $16MM for 2030, $14.2MM for 2031, and $12.7MM for 2032 and 2033. It doesn’t change the cap picture for the Wild, but it does make the deal essentially buyout-proof, since signing bonus money is not affected by buyouts. Signing bonus money also carries more projectable tax rates since it’s taxed at the rate of a player’s primary residence, whereas base salary is taxed depending on the location of games. As PuckPedia notes, this structure could result in an increased cap hit for Kaprizov in the latter years of the deal since the league minimum salary is expected to increase beyond $1MM past 2030.

It will be the largest deal in NHL history by measure of total value as well, finally breaking the record Alex Ovechkin set with his 13-year, $124MM extension nearly two decades ago. Of course, the institution of an eight-year maximum extension length in the 2013 CBA prevented a deal from eclipsing that total value for quite some time. It’s also a drastic jump in terms of record-setting AAVs. Just over a year ago, Leon Draisaitl’s extension with the Oilers, which carries a $14MM cap hit, set the mark.  That’s a 21.4% increase in the league’s highest AAV in less than 13 months, far greater than the 8.9% increase the salary cap is projected to see next season.

It’s an important resolution after news leaked a few weeks ago that Kaprizov rejected an eight-year, $ 16MM AAV offer from Minnesota, which would have also been the largest contract in league history. While it would have been just a minor setback in talks if it had been contained, the information being made public understandably created an uncomfortable dynamic for both sides entering the season. The Wild had to lay heavy on the damage control front over the past several days as a result, rejecting speculation that they had asked for his trade list (he has an NMC as part of his expiring deal) amid concerns they might lose him for nothing next summer.

Instead, Kaprizov’s camp, led by TMI’s Paul Theofanous, gets the happy ending they hoped for – a scenario they thought out when only negotiating a five-year deal when his entry-level contract expired in 2021. Kaprizov, an age-28 season that sits right at the top of the aging curve, is never going to have a higher market value than he has today. It’s unlikely he would have been able to net much more than $17MM on the open market, either – a deal that would have netted him considerably less guaranteed cash because of the seven-year cap on UFA signings compared to extensions.

While Kaprizov is the lifeblood of Minnesota’s offense and inarguably the best talent in franchise history, it’s a tad jarring to see his name now atop the list of the league’s highest-paid players. He’s an elite scorer and the top left-winger in the game at the moment. Still, his points-per-game production over the past few seasons (1.24 since 2022-23) simply isn’t on par with names like Connor McDavid (1.71), Nathan MacKinnon (1.58), Nikita Kucherov (1.57), or even Draisaitl (1.47). Yet his deal takes up 16.35% of the salary cap at its start, higher than each of those names’ current deals did when they were signed.

It’s nonetheless a necessary price to pay for the Wild, who still have a considerable amount of financial flexibility moving forward and can ensure their top player remains with the club throughout their contention window, which is only just beginning with multiple promising under-25 talents in the organization yet to reach their stride fully. As recent first-rounders like Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Danila Yurov, and Zeev Buium develop into their primes, they’ll be doing so with Kaprizov in his late 20s and early 30s, still at the top of his game.

Kaprizov did not have that same billing. He’s one of the great draft steals of the era, falling to the Wild in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. He spent the following five years developing into a star in his native Russia, earning five consecutive KHL All-Star selections during that period while twice leading the league in goals. He also clinched a gold medal for Russia at the Winter Olympics in 2018. After reaching new heights with a career-high 33 goals and 62 points in 57 games for CSKA Moscow in 2019-20, Kaprizov finally made the jump to Minnesota and kicked off his NHL career with the COVID-shortened 2021 season.

He was an immediate star, posting a 27-24–51 scoring line in 55 appearances to lead the Wild, taking home Calder Trophy honors and finishing 15th in MVP voting. That’s the only season of his five-year NHL career so far where he hasn’t managed to reach the point-per-game mark.

Last season was on pace to be a career-best. If healthy, he would have hit the 100-point mark for the first time since hitting 108 in his sophomore year. Unfortunately, a lower-body injury he sustained around Thanksgiving resulted in him being in and out of the lineup for the remainder of the campaign and eventually going under the knife. He finished with a 25-31–56 scoring line in 41 games, on pace for 50 goals and 112 points if he played a full 82. That would have placed him third in the league in scoring behind Kucherov and MacKinnon.

Playing that full 82 is something Kaprizov has never done, though, and that’s where the most significant risk lies in such a rich bet on his future. After missing only one game each in his first two seasons, Kaprizov has now missed 63 games over the past three years – over a quarter of Minnesota’s games. An upper-body injury caused him to miss seven games in 2023-24, while a leg injury took away 14 games during the 2022-23 campaign.

Even with Kaprizov taking up such a significant amount of space, the Wild still have over $23MM in projected cap space for next season with 16 roster spots already accounted for, per PuckPedia. The quickly-rising cap, plus making it through the most impactful years of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, has left the Wild with enviable flexibility. They have three core pieces – Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber – signed through at least the end of the decade as well.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes first broke the news that an extension was imminent. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added that it was an eight-year term with a cap hit north of $16MM. 

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Jets’ Dylan Samberg Out 6-To-8 Weeks With Broken Wrist

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Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel announced that defenseman Dylan Samberg has sustained a broken wrist and will miss the next six-to-eight weeks, per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton. Samberg was knocked out of Winnipeg’s Saturday preseason game against the Calgary Flames in the second period, after taking an awkward hit from Flames winger Ryan Lomberg. Arniel referred to the hit as a “freak accident” after the game to Murat Ates of The Athletic.

This will be a dismal start to the three-year, $17.25MM contract that Samberg signed with Winnipeg in late July. The deal makes him Winnipeg’s third-highest paid defenseman, behind Neal Pionk ($7MM) and Josh Morrissey ($6.25MM). Samberg earned that standing with a career-year last season. He set multiple personal highs, including six goals, 20 points, and a plus-34 in 60 games. He led the Jets in plus-minus, blocked shots (120), and takeaways (33) – while standing out as one of the team’s top defensive stalwarts. That role elevated Samberg to an a career-high 21 minutes of ice time each game and a premier role on the team’s top penalty-killing unit.

It was Samberg’s third season of productive defense for the Jets. He’s offered minimal offense to this point in his career – but no Jets defender has blocked more shots, or recorded more takeaways, on a per-game basis than Samberg since his rookie season in 2022-23. His absence will leave a major hole in Winnipeg’s opening night roster. That should mean added minutes for physical defender Logan Stanley, who was limited to a low-end, third-pair role for the bulk of last season. It could also mean a promotion for extra-defenseman Haydn Fleury, who played in only 39 games last season. Stanley could be a reasonable bet to make up for some of Samberg’s defensive impact, though Fleury will be far from a direct replacement. The Jets will need to lean on veterans Morrissey, Pionk, and Luke Schenn to help carry their blue-line pairings until Samberg is ready to be reevaluated in mid-November.

Maple Leafs Sign Anthony Stolarz To Four-Year Extension

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Sep. 29: Stolarz’s contract includes a 16-team no-trade clause that applies not only to the first year of his extension in 2026-27 but will retroactively apply to the last year of his current contract, giving him new protection for the 2025-26 campaign, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. That list will downgrade to a 10-team NTC from 2027-29 and further to a five-team NTC in 2029-30. PuckPedia has the full cash breakdown of the deal:

2026-27: $850K base salary + $4.225MM signing bonus = $5.075MM total
2027-28: $900K base salary + $2.91MM signing bonus = $3.81MM total
2028-29: $1.07MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus = $3.07MM total
2029-30: $1.045MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus = $3.045MM total

Sep. 28: It was previously reported that Anthony Stolarz and the Toronto Maple Leafs were getting very close to an extension, and now ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston have reported that the two parties have come to an agreement on a four-year, $3.75MM AAV contract extension. According to Weekes, the contract is “largely signing bonus money” although no firm breakdown has been reported at this time. The Maple Leafs have now officially announced the contract.

Two days ago, it was reported that Stolarz and his camp, led by RSG Hockey’s Allain Roy, were eyeing recent contracts signed by Karel Vejmelka and Kevin Lankinen as potential comparables – deals that each carry a five-year term and an AAV of at least $4.5MM. The contract reported today isn’t quite as lucrative as those deals, although the fact that it is, per Weekes, heavy in signing bonuses does help bridge the gap.

The path to this contract has been an odd one for Stolarz, who appears to have emerged as a starting-caliber netminder at the age of 31. Five years ago, Stolarz was an AHL starter in the Anaheim Ducks organization, and he established himself as an NHL backup there. He signed with the Florida Panthers for 2023-24 to be Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, and ended up putting forth a brilliant .925 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average in 27 games.

That performance in Florida, which ended with Stolarz watching from the bench as the Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, earned the netminder a two-year, $2.5MM AAV deal to join the Maple Leafs in a tandem with Joseph Woll. Although Woll started more games in 2024-25, Stolarz was the superior of the two netminders, playing to an excellent .926 save percentage and 21-8-3 record across 34 games.

While he hasn’t been tested in a heavy workload just yet, Stolarz has posted some of the league’s best numbers across the last two seasons. While it’s no easy task to sustain such brilliance across a heavier diet of starts, Stolarz certainly has the talent to do it. If he can end up taking a larger role in the crease in Toronto, perhaps playing something closer to a standard starting netminder’s number of games, he could easily provide an immense amount of surplus value to Toronto over the course of this contract.

The last time Stolarz played in more than 40 games was for the 2015-16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms – it’s been a while. So there is some risk to this contract, without question. But that level of risk is likely wholly acceptable to Toronto given Stolarz’s brilliance over the last two years, and the odds he provides them with surplus value appear to greatly outweigh the odds he underperforms this modest cap hit.

The key for the Maple Leafs will, unsurprisingly, be the playoffs: Stolarz led Toronto to a first-round victory over the Ottawa Senators, but an injury cost him the chance to compete in the second round. If he can find a way to be a reliable, go-to starter in playoff situations, this would be a home run of a contract for the Maple Leafs.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Blues, Cam Fowler Agree To Three Year Extension

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A pending free agent, defenseman Cam Fowler has signed a three-year extension with the St. Louis Blues, per team announcement.

Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal is set at a $6.1MM AAV, with Jeremy Rutherford of the Athletic adding that it is a flat contract with no variation year-to-year. It will take Fowler through his age 36 season, and comes in above the projected value of $5.4MM, according to AFP Analytics. 

Fowler, 33, was acquired last December in exchange for fringe prospect Jérémie Biakabutuka and a 2027 second-round pick, in a deal that was not totally expected given the Blues’ stock of veteran left handed defensemen. However, it proved to be fruitful, as Fowler was a great fit wearing the Note, with 36 points in 51 games, and a +19, filling the void left from Torey Krug and his likely career-ending injury. 

After a season in which the Blues exceeded expectations, pushing the President’s Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets to the brink in the first round of the playoffs, change on the blue line has been a point of emphasis. Out went Nick Leddy and Ryan Suter, allowing for a larger role for Philip Broberg, along with the acquisition of promising young defender Logan Mailloux. 

Now with Fowler locked up as well, the Blues have built up a formidable core on both ends, which are all signed for the foreseeable future. The veteran offensive defenseman will continue to lead the Blues powerplay attack, and will be leaned on to mentor Broberg, Mailloux, as well as emerging youngster Matthew Kessel and eventually, top prospect Adam Jiricek. 

Having fallen into their laps at 12th overall during the 2010 NHL Draft, Fowler quickly became a vital member of the Ducks throughout the 2010s. Making the team right out of camp as a rookie, the smooth-skating defenseman notched 40 points, and never looked back, having never played a game in the AHL. Fowler earned an eight-year extension worth $6.5MM per season in 2017. The Windsor, Ontario native continued to produce through thick and thin for Anaheim for fifteen seasons. Finally after 17 games in the black and orange last season, and with the contract nearing an end, Anaheim made the difficult decision to deal their second-longest tenured player, retaining $2.5MM per year in the process. 

Although a slight decrease in annual value, Fowler’s resurgence undoubtedly heightened his value at 33-years-old, and the Blues are surely relieved to reach an agreement on their key defenseman before the season has begun. 

Ducks Sign Mason McTavish To Six-Year Contract

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The Ducks and center Mason McTavish have finally reached the finish line in their prolonged contract negotiations.  The team announced that they’ve signed McTavish to a six-year contract; Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) it’s worth $7MM per season.  GM Pat Verbeek released the following statement:

Mason is a key part of our team, and we’re excited to reach a long-term agreement that reflects his importance to our future. He’s a highly skilled, physical, and competitive player who plays the game the right way. Mason has already made a significant impact at a young age, and we’re confident he’ll continue to grow into a top player as we build toward sustained success.

The 22-year-old was the third overall pick in 2021 and is coming off his best statistical season so far, one that saw him score 22 goals and 30 assists in 76 games while primarily playing on the second line.  That was an offensive improvement over his first two NHL campaigns, where he put up 43 and 42 points respectively.  Given his draft pedigree and improvement, McTavish was in line for a significant raise and while it took them a while to agree on the terms of such a deal, they’ve finally worked it out.

Both sides had agreed a while back that a long-term pact was preferred.  For most young impact centers, those deals have fallen within the $7MM to $8MM range, most of which came in a salary cap environment that was more limited than it is now.  On the other hand, it appears that there is a ceiling in place that Verbeek wasn’t willing to go past.  Veteran Troy Terry and newcomer Mikael Granlund both make $7MM per season and with Terry’s track record, it might have been hard for Verbeek to justify giving McTavish more than that.  Accordingly, it’s probably not a coincidence that McTavish’s AAV checks in exactly at that number.

The trade-off to that is that instead of a maximum-term eight-year agreement (that is still legal for one more year), Anaheim had to settle for just a six-year pact.  In doing so, they only pick up an extra two years of team control while McTavish will now be eligible to test unrestricted free agency in the 2031 offseason when he’ll be 28.

Still, even though they didn’t get the maximum commitment, they have someone they feel will be a long-term core piece locked up at what should be a reasonable price tag (assuming he continues to improve) for six years.  That’s a more than long enough timeline for Anaheim to get through what they hope will be the final phase of their rebuild and a return to contention.  Meanwhile, what happened with these discussions could serve as a look ahead to what could happen next summer when Leo Carlsson, another promising young middleman, will be RFA-eligible for the first time.

With the signing, the Ducks have all of their players under contract for the upcoming season and still have over $13.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  If Anaheim under new head coach Joel Quenneville gets off to a hotter start than expected, Verbeek should have plenty of wiggle room to try to add to his roster midseason.

Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images.

Aleksander Barkov Undergoing Knee Surgery, Out Seven To Nine Months

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6:04 PM: The team released an update on Barkov, noting that he sustained injuries to his ACL and MCL.  The surgery has now been performed and carries a typical recovery time between seven and nine months.  The short end of that timeline would potentially give him a chance of returning in the second round of the playoffs while the long end would mean that he would miss the entire postseason as well.

10:39 AM: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needs surgery to repair the right knee injury he sustained in his first practice session of training camp yesterday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. There’s no timeline for his return, and there’s fear he could miss the entire season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

There is a clear video of yesterday’s incident. Barkov had a low-speed collision with teammate Niko Mikkola, bending as if he were attempting a hip check, which caused Mikkola’s weight to come down on top of him. He landed awkwardly on his right leg under pressure and was unable to get up without assistance (via WPLG Local 10 News).

A gargantuan hole now exists on the Cats’ first line, a position Barkov has held ever since entering the league as an 18-year-old in 2013. The back-to-back Selke Trophy winner is smack-dab in the middle of his prime at age 30 and is widely regarded as the best two-way center in the game, and for good reason. He’s now rattled off five straight seasons above a point per game, averaging a 33-62–95 scoring line per 82 games since the 2020-21 campaign. He’s also logged a cumulative +92 rating during that time and has won 56.1% of his draws. He reached new heights on the possession front last year, logging a career-high 60.8% Corsi share at even strength.

While the Panthers’ forward depth has been the hallmark of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, it’s already getting stretched thin. They’re now down two stars for at least the first few months of the season as Matthew Tkachuk recovers from offseason adductor surgery. Not having Barkov available down the middle also amplifies the impact of relatively minor injuries like Tomas Nosek’s. The natural pivot would have been in line to swallow up expanded bottom-six minutes normally, but he also underwent knee surgery recently and will miss multiple months.

This season’s new rules surrounding long-term injured reserve will now have a significant impact on the Panthers’ approach. If a player is not expected to miss the entire season, a team only unlocks the equivalent of last year’s league average salary – roughly $3.8MM in this case – in relief. That does not change based on the number of players on LTIR. If the Panthers were to make Barkov ineligible to play in the regular season or playoffs, though, they could unlock Barkov’s full $10MM cap hit worth of relief, assuming they optimize their capture correctly.

Florida already entered the season in a precarious position, projecting to exceed the cap by $4.5MM, per PuckPedia. While Barkov’s injury is a significant blow to their lineup, there’s now an easy out for them to achieve cap compliance by the time opening night rosters are due by ruling him ineligible to return this season, even giving them room to add a significant salary via trade to help shoulder his absence.

Until then, all eyes are on Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to anchor Florida’s top two lines. Bennett has been a stellar second-line pivot for the Cats since his arrival in 2021, and although he’s fresh off signing an eight-year, $64MM extension, he’s never been tested in a top-line role. There’s an argument to be made that Lundell, the 12th overall pick of the 2020 draft, should see the greater increase in minutes. He’s filled in on the top line during short-term absences for Barkov in the past and has been a more effective per-minute producer than Bennett. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is also locked up long-term and had a career-high 45 points in 79 appearances last year, averaging 16:43 per game and winning 53% of his draws.

The Panthers have a few options to fill the domino effect and replace Lundell as the No. 3 center. Evan Rodrigues, frequently a top-six complementary winger, is a natural pivot and has taken over 2,500 draws in his 10-year career. He might be a better fit in the role compared to other potential flex-overs like Eetu Luostarinen, who the Cats would presumably like to keep with Lundell and sustain the chemistry they’ve built in consistent deployment together over the past few years.

There’s also now a clear opening for PTO invites, Noah Gregor and Tyler Motte to land NHL deals. Both now clearly slot in among the Panthers’ top 14 forwards with Barkov, Nosek, and Tkachuk all sidelined.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

Connor Ingram Clears Waivers

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Sep. 26: Ingram cleared waivers and will be assigned to Tucson, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. A trade can still be worked on – in fact, it might be easier for the Mammoth to swing a deal now that the acquiring team knows they won’t immediately lose him on the wire.

Sep. 25: No trade has materialized up until this point, which has led the Mammoth to officially place Ingram on waivers today, the team said. They’ll now wait for the next 24 hours to see if another club submits a claim or if they’ll need to reassign him to AHL Tucson.

Sep. 17: Goaltender Connor Ingram will not attend the Mammoth’s training camp as the team works to find him a new home, general manager Bill Armstrong told reporters today, including Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. If a trade doesn’t materialize, the team intends to place him on waivers later in the preseason.

Ingram, 28, entered last season as Utah’s No. 1 netminder. He’d broken through as a starter with the Coyotes the year prior, amassing a strong 23-21-3 record, .907 SV%, and 2.91 GAA behind a heavily understaffed defense that finished out of the playoff picture. He also tied for the league lead with six shutouts and saved 8.3 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, although that didn’t land him any Vezina Trophy consideration.

That momentum did not carry through as the Coyotes’ hockey operations assets were transferred to the new Utah Mammoth (née Hockey Club) franchise. While Ingram played 12 of Utah’s first 15 games and had a 6-3-3 record, that was due to their offense giving him good goal support. He only managed a .879 SV% out of the gate, and the starting job was returned to Karel Vejmelka by mid-November. After being benched for more than a week, he sustained an upper-body injury in his first start back that ended up keeping him out of the lineup for nearly two months.

Initially, it looked like the break was a blessing in disguise for Ingram. He had a .967 SV% and only allowed one goal in a conditioning appearance for AHL Tucson and had a good run in his first few games back in Utah’s lineup. He made eight appearances between his return in January and the 4 Nations break, posting a 4-3-1 record with an improved .905 SV%. He then allowed four goals on 25 shots in his first game after the break, which would be his final game of the season and last for Utah. Two weeks later, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program after his mother passed due to breast cancer.

Ingram was cleared by the program last month, so he’s legally eligible to play and report to training camp. His lack of presence for the Mammoth isn’t due to his underwhelming on-ice performance last year; rather, he’s simply looking for a fresh start mentally. “Both sides are on the same page and will be working cohesively towards a positive outcome in order to provide Ingram with a fresh start on a new team that better suits his needs,” Bagley wrote.

Utah will still have two experienced NHL netminders on their roster to open the season. With Ingram’s status uncertain at the beginning of free agency, the team signed Vitek Vanecek to a one-year, $1.5MM deal. Today’s news means he’s essentially guaranteed to start the season as the backup to Vejmelka, who managed a .904 SV% and a 26-22-8 record in a career-high 55 starts and 58 appearances last year.

Ingram has one year left on his contract at a $1.95MM cap hit, although it’s worth noting his actual salary is higher than that at $2.15MM and could deter teams from submitting a claim for him on waivers. If he clears and agrees to accept an AHL assignment, Utah would still carry an $800K cap hit while he’s in the minors.

Maple Leafs Sign James Reimer To PTO

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Maple Leafs have signed veteran netminder James Reimer to a professional tryout, per a club announcement.

If it results in a contract, it could end up being a bookend to the 37-year-old’s NHL career. Reimer was a fourth-round pick by the Leafs back in 2006 and broke into the NHL with them four years later. He spent nearly six full seasons with the Leafs, spending a good chunk of that time in tandem with Jonathan Bernier, before being dealt to the Sharks at the 2016 trade deadline to kick off the journeyman portion of his career. His first go-around with Toronto saw him post an 85-76-23 record, .914 SV%, 2.83 GAA, and 11 shutouts in 207 appearances. He guided the club to its only playoff appearance of the Phil Kessel era and was excellent in a seven-game loss to the Bruins in the first round in 2013, logging a .923 SV% in that series.

He rejoins the organization now as much-needed depth after the club announced earlier this week that Joseph Woll had taken a personal leave and would be out indefinitely. Behind Woll’s tandem partner, Anthony Stolarz, the Leafs had only six games of NHL experience in their goaltending pipeline – all belonging to third-stringer Dennis Hildeby last season. Reimer’s 525 career games are more than twice the combined total of every available Toronto goalie at the moment.

Of course, Reimer is no longer the serviceable 30-to-40-start netminder he was for the Leafs a decade ago. He’s a fine backup option now, but hasn’t posted an above-average save percentage in each of the last three seasons. He made 21 starts and three relief appearances last year between the Ducks and Sabres, spending a good portion of the season as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s No. 2 in Buffalo. He compiled a 10-10-2 record with a .896 SV% and 3.04 GAA with one shutout. While those are below-average numbers on the surface, he ended up with a whopping 8.0 goals saved above expected thanks to some porous Sabres defensive performances in front of him, according to MoneyPuck. That ranked 25th in the league last year.

That latter number means he could be an intriguing stopgap for a Leafs squad that squeezed the best out of Stolarz and Woll last season. If Woll ends up missing extended time, he could be lined up to get more than the 1-in-4 workload he’s seen over the past couple of years with Stolarz untested past the 30-game range in a season.

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