Senators, Shane Pinto To Meet Again On Contract Extension
The Ottawa Senators will resume one of their most important conversations of the season later this week. High-scoring centerman Shane Pinto is set to become an arbitration-eligible, restricted free agent this summer, after closing out the two-year bridge deal he signed in 2024. The Senators have already started offering new deals to the 24-year-old, including a six-year, $52MM extension offered last month, per Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch. That deal would have set Pinto’s cap hit at $6.5MM each season – though Garrioch points out that Pinto likely wouldn’t have liked the money or term of that deal.
Pinto has certainly garnered the right to ask for a few favors on his next contract. He’s scored eight goals and 14 points through 16 games this season, good for third on the team in scoring behind Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle (16 points each). More than that, Pinto has posted a 57.8 faceoff percentage on 199 draws – ranking him 16th in the league among eligible players (>100 faceoffs). He also ranks among the top-five Senators forwards in blocked shots per game. That performance has cemented Pinto as Ottawa’s second-line center this season – a role the team was desperately looking for, even acquiring Dylan Cozens to fit the bill last season.
Pinto saved his career-year for his contract-year, but his performance doesn’t appear to be a total fluke. He leads the Senators’ offense in total expected-goals with 7.0 – a mark he’s just narrowly outperformed with eight goals on the year. He also leads the bunch in shot attempts per game – averaging 5.8, one full shot more than Stutle’s 4.8 in second-place. Pinto has recorded an 18.6 shooting percentage in total – a mark that sits far above his career-average of 13.2 percent. That could indicate that the young center is set to fall back to Earth in due time, though it could also be elevated by Pinto’s growing lineup role.
In full, Pinto is on pace to score 41 goals and 72 points this season. That would blow his previous best – 21 goals and 37 points scored last year – out of the water. It would also command far more than $6.5MM each season, especially against the growing salary cap.
Few players have found themselves in Pinto’s shoes – with a productive, top-end role still a few years away from their prime. Many comparable free agents have opted to avoid max-term contracts – including Marco Rossi, who signed a three-year, $15MM deal with the Minnesota Wild, and Connor Zary, who signed a three-year, $11.325MM deal with the Calgary Flames.
Pinto and his agent Lewis Gross could point towards Chicago Blackhawks’ recent extension of Frank Nazar as a baseline. Chicago inked Nazar to a seven-year, $46.2MM contract ahead of his second full season in the NHL. Nazar has gone on to score just below a point-per-game pace – 11 points in 15 games – enough to cement his spot as Chicago’s number-two behind Connor Bedard. Pinto is three years older than Nazar, and likely won’t be able to carve out as much importance on a top-heavy Senators offense. Nonetheless, shooting for roughly $7MM each season could be a sensible mark, especially if Pinto continues his dominant season.
The salary cap is expected to grow by up to $8.5MM between this season and next. That will be more than enough room for Ottawa to afford a player-friendly extension with Pinto – or earn some savings by pulling him closer to their first offer. Either way, it seems the Senators are well on their way towards cementing yet another young, high-potential forward into their future.
Photo courtesy of Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports.
Rangers Activate Vincent Trocheck
11:43 a.m.: Trocheck has been formally activated from LTIR, and Rempe has been shifted there in the corresponding move, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post.
9:51 a.m.: Rangers center Vincent Trocheck is expected to come off long-term injured reserve and return to New York’s top six when they face the Predators tonight, according to this morning’s line rushes (via Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic). The Blueshirts are currently using about $100,000 of Trocheck’s $3.768MM LTIR pool after recalling top prospect Gabriel Perreault yesterday, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction. That could easily mean shifting Matt Rempe from IR to LTIR, since he has already missed 18 days and seven games of the 24 and 10 required, and he remains out indefinitely.
Rempe notwithstanding, Trocheck’s activation gives the Rangers a healthy forward group for the first time since their second game of the season. Trocheck left that contest against the Sabres early and was quickly labeled week-to-week.
His absence was essentially a death knell for the Rangers, whose limited bottom-six scoring depth made it imperative that their first and second lines operated at maximum capacity. He’d started the first game-and-a-half as their top-line center between Alexis Lafrenière and Artemi Panarin, a role filled by Mika Zibanejad shifting back to center after starting the year on the wing. That domino effect led to training camp tryout success story Conor Sheary being immediately overtaxed in second-line duties alongside J.T. Miller and William Cuylle.
The results have been disastrous. The Rangers have been shut out five times in seven home games and are scoring just 2.19 per game overall, second-worst in the league ahead of only the Flames. Only Panarin has produced at more than a 41-point pace with 10 in 16 appearances. They’re hoping a new-look offense, fueled by Trocheck and Perreault’s season debut, can help reverse that trend starting tonight.
Trocheck will reprise his role between Panarin and Lafrenière. At the same time, Perreault bumps Sheary back down to the bottom six, according to Mercogliano – the latter slots in on the left wing with Zibanejad and Miller.
Only now will Trocheck get his season started in earnest. He’s looking for a rebound after a semi-underwhelming offensive showing in 2025-26. He finished top 20 in Selke Trophy voting for the second year in a row, but his 59 points in 82 games were his lowest total since signing his seven-year, $39.375MM contract with the Rangers in free agency in 2022.
Sabres’ Jiri Kulich Diagnosed With Blood Clot, Out Indefinitely
Sabres center Jiri Kulich will miss a “significant amount of time” after a blood clot was diagnosed during an unrelated injury absence, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters today (per Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report). Ruff demonstrated optimism about Kulich being able to play again this season, but wouldn’t commit to it, leaving the door open to Kulich’s IR stint being permanent for the balance of the campaign.
They’ll have a better estimate of Kulich’s return timeline based on how his treatment progresses in the next three to four weeks, Ruff said. That’s normal for clotting issues. The Penguins recently had the same thing sideline rookie Filip Hallander and immediately gave him a three-month timeline.
Kulich had already missed three games with a facial injury and was placed on IR late last week as Buffalo tries to manage a crushing amount of injuries to its forward group. Five regulars – Kulich, Zach Benson, Justin Danforth, Joshua Norris, and Jason Zucker – are currently on injured reserve with none expected back in the short term. Understandably, the team’s offense has faltered. Their 2.67 goals per game are sixth-worst in the league, and they’re averaging just 1.75 per game over their last four outings.
Kulich’s long-term health now takes the forefront, though. The 21-year-old had played in 12 straight to begin the year and was frequently serving as their top center between Benson and Tage Thompson. He’s notched three goals and five points with a -4 rating while averaging a career-high 16:22 per game. The No. 28 pick in the 2022 draft is in just his second season as a regular but has managed an 18-11–29 scoring line through his first 75 career games.
With both of Thompson’s usual linemates out of commission, he’s seen Ryan McLeod and Alex Tuch elevated to ride shotgun. That trio practiced together again today, although Buffalo is off until Wednesday after losing 6-3 to the Hurricanes on Saturday.
Rangers Recall Gabriel Perreault
The New York Rangers have announced that top prospect Gabriel Perreault has been called up from AHL Hartford, while Jaroslav Chmelar is headed back down in a corresponding transaction. The move will bring excitement to fans, especially given the team’s polarizing start to 2025-26. Perreault is back in the NHL after a scoreless five-game stint in 2024-25, fresh out of the NCAA.
Although the Rangers have not bottomed out by any means, finding consistency under new Head Coach Mike Sullivan remains a work in progress. Most fascinating is their immense struggles at home (0-6-1) versus their success on the road (7-1-1). While blame has been cast out from the top of the Rangers lineup to the bottom, offense across the board has been a major issue. New York has scored just 35 goals, ranking last in the league. They have been shut out in five of their seven home games thus far. 16 games into the season, the offensive production is simply unacceptable, given the roster at hand.
Now, New York has called upon their undisputed top prospect to help get things turned around. Perreault got some needed seasoning with AHL Hartford, where he leads the team with ten points in nine games so far. Drafted 23rd overall in 2023, Perreault, son of longtime NHLer Yanic Perreault, projects as a true top-six forward. With high-end playmaking ability, the Quebec-native could pan out as a legitimate first-line player, but first will need to become more responsible in other areas of the game. After jumping into the Rangers lineup right out of Boston College last season, where he was unable to find the scoresheet, fans will watch for such progress from the 5’11” left-handed shooter.
GM Chris Drury was likely not counting on making the call for the prospect after just nine games with Hartford, but patience is quickly wearing thin for New York, especially after another shutout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, a convincing 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Islanders. Now the club hopes Perreault will provide a needed spark. On the flip side, headed back to the AHL, Chmelar appeared in his first two NHL games, but did not record a point. While the 22-year-old was a nice find for New York in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, Chmelar offers more size and physicality (6’4”) than offensive flair.
With the Rangers looking to finally enter the win column at home tomorrow against Nashville, nothing has been confirmed yet, but eyes will be on Perreault to enter the lineup and potentially record his first NHL point.
NHL Seeking Agreement To Allow 19-Year-Olds Into AHL
It appears a rumor from the preseason could soon come true. The NHL is seeking an agreement with the CHL that would allow teams to assign one 19-year-old to the AHL each season, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest Saturday Headlines. Friedman added that some general managers are seeking even more flexibility, and that negotiations will pull in voices from the NHLPA in addition to each league. A change to the format could be made as soon as next season.
This would represent yet another significant change in what Friedman dubbed “the Wild West of junior hockey in North America”. NHL draft picks make up the majority of top-end players throughout the CHL. They help drive attendance and sales, and losing even a few could be enough to bring noticeable change. At the same time, deciding where to assign CHL prospects who appear to have outgrown their junior league can often be an all-or-nothing choice.
The Calgary Flames are currently in a pickle with defense prospect Zayne Parekh, who sustained a week-to-week injury and could earn a brief AHL conditioning stint, but who could also benefit from prolonged AHL ice time after not yet finding his NHL footing. Parekh is currently ineligible for the AHL, facing the decision of whether to return to the OHL or continue fighting for NHL minutes, as the offensive defenseman recovers from injury.
The Nashville Predators faced a similar decision with reigning fifth-overall pick Brady Martin earlier in the year. Martin showed flashes of dominant play through the first three games of his NHL career. At his peak, he was playing alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg, but the Predators opted to return him early after he scored only one assist. Martin has torn up the OHL since returning, netting 11 points in seven games with the Soo Greyhounds. It’s still early in the season, but Martin is on pace to rival the 100-point mark this season, after posting 72 points in 57 games last year.
In the cases of both Parekh and Martin, as well as numerous other NHL prospects, such as Seattle’s Jake O’Brien and St. Louis’ Justin Carbonneau, the AHL would seem to offer a smooth ramp into the systems and physicality of professional hockey. Instead of pursuing AHL eligibility, many teams have turned their attention to developing their prospects for the NCAA, where they face a significant jump in competition and play against players up to the age of 26. That bridge has led to the unprecedented decision to allow CHL players into the NCAA, which has built up pressure that offering a path to the AHL could relieve.
Finding a balance between player value in the CHL, NCAA, and AHL is the task the NHL and its general managers face. They will drive decision-making throughout the process, while also ensuring that each party is satisfied with their share. On the other side of those decisions lies a junior hockey landscape that is likely completely different from what the hockey world has come to know. With more precise, more incremental steps to the top flight laid out, the NHL’s relationship with its partner leagues could even become reminiscent of the MLB.
More information about the topic of 19-year-olds in the AHL is expected to be announced in March, following the next major meeting between the NHL, NHLPA, and general managers.
Capitals’ Pierre-Luc Dubois Undergoes Surgery, Out 3-4 Months
11/09/25: The Washington Capitals announced today that Dubois underwent surgery on Friday in order “to address injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles.” The Capitals added that Dubois is “expected to miss 3-4 months” as he recovers.
While it had been announced previously that Dubois would miss an “extended period” due to the injury, today’s announcement provides clarity on the nature of Dubois’ injury and a timeline for his return.
Dubois is a key contributor in Washington, and losing him for such a significant amount of time will likely damage the Capitals’ efforts to push for a playoff spot in a competitive, deep Eastern Conference. In four games since Dubois’ injury, the Capitals have gone 1-2-1.
In Dubois’ absence, Washington has shifted McMichael back to center and had him take Dubois’ spot as the team’s second-line pivot. After breaking out last season and scoring 26 goals and 57 points, McMichael is down to just four points through 15 games this year, and just one point since moving to the 2C role.
The other two centers playing behind first-liner Dylan Strome in Washington’s lineup, Hendrix Lapierre and Nic Dowd, have a combined six points this season.
If the Capitals’ centers behind Strome continue to struggle to produce offensively, Dubois’ injury could place Washington firmly in the market for an external center addition. The list of teams looking to acquire a capable NHL center is far more crowded than the list of teams with a quality NHL pivot they’re willing to trade, and this injury to Dubois may only further complicate that trade market.
11/03/25:The Washington Capitals have received bad news on center Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ lower-body injury. He will be out for an “extended period”, head coach Spencer Carbery told The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson. The Capitals are continuing to evaluate the injury and aren’t yet sure if Dubois will need surgery, per Johnson.
Dubois’ knee buckled on a defensive-zone faceoff in Friday night’s loss to the New York Islanders. He needed assistance getting off the ice. No specifics have been revealed about Dubois’ injury, though Carbery did note that it is unrelated to the lower-body injury that forced Dubois out of five games earlier in the season. The 27-year-old was making his return from that prior injury on Friday, but only managed six minutes back in the lineup before going down again.
Dubois has only been in the lineup for five full games this season. He is still searching for his first point of the season, currently sitting with just nine shots on goal and six hits to his name. Dubois was a core piece of Washington’s offense last season. He reached 20 goals and 66 points while filling the second-line center role for all 82 games. That scoring tied Dubois with Aliaksei Protas for third on the team in scoring, though Protas managed 30 goals and only played 76 games. Dubois centered Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson, who both posted career-highs in scoring.
Last season marked a phenomenal start to Dubois’ time in Washington. He finished the year with a plus-27, an incredible surge after recording a negative plus-minus in four of the prior five seasons. He had previously reached solid scoring marks, though, achieving four 20-goal seasons and three 60-point seasons prior to 2024-25. Those performances spanned a tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets, though Dubois has seemed to find his firmest roots in the Capitals organization. He’s a pillar of the offense when healthy, and should return to a top-six role on the other side of this indefinite injury.
Maple Leafs Suspend David Kämpf Without Pay
Nov. 9th: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported yesterday on the network’s “Saturday Headlines” segment that one of the key issues regarding a potential contract termination for Kämpf has been his signing bonus.
Kämpf was paid a $1.325MM signing bonus earlier this year, and Friedman reported that the NHL and NHLPA are currently “involved” in discussions over whether Kämpf would need to return a portion of that signing bonus in the event of a contract termination.
Friedman noted that “the hope” from each side is that Kämpf’s situation would be sorted out by Monday, but the signing bonus issue could be something that prolongs the process. There does not appear to be any concrete rule regarding what to do with a player’s signing bonus in the event of a mutual contract termination. What to do with that money is typically decided between a player and his contracted team on a case-by-case basis, often with the involvement of the NHL and NHLPA, as is the case in this situation.
Nov. 8th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Kämpf and his agent, JP Barry, are exploring all of their options and will decide on Monday. Given that a trade is highly unlikely at this point, Kämpf and the Maple Leafs are likely to agree to a mutual contract termination by the end of the weekend, despite reports indicating otherwise.
Nov. 6th: The Maple Leafs have suspended center David Kämpf without pay for departing their AHL affiliate while on assignment, PuckPedia reports. As such, the $1.25MM cap charge Kämpf incurred while in the minors is temporarily struck from their books until the situation is resolved.
Recently, there was talk of a potential mutual contract termination between Kämpf and the Leafs. The 30-year-old has not suited up for Toronto this season after clearing waivers and heading to the minors late in training camp. He initially accepted the assignment, but the defensive specialist only registered one assist and a -1 rating in four games before leaving the team late last month. Today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported there’s been “pushback” against a contract termination.
That’s not particularly surprising. Doing so would mean Kämpf walking away from the remainder of his $1.075MM salary for this season, plus the $1.325MM signing bonus and $1.075MM base salary he’s owed for 2026-27 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He’s only just past the halfway point of the four-year, $9.6MM extension he signed with Toronto in 2023.
Others have taken the contract termination approach in the past few years, most notably Brandon Saad, Conor Sheary, and Filip Zadina, in order to remove their albatross contract as an obstacle toward returning to an everyday NHL role. In the vast majority of cases, it’s worked out, at least in terms of the player being able to find an everyday role again. Recouping the money they surrender by doing so doesn’t always happen, though.
It’s not as if Kämpf is completely dead weight. He’s still a serviceable fourth-line piece who can contribute two-plus minutes a game shorthanded. He did fall out of a regular role on a deeper Toronto forward group last season, though. His 59 appearances in 2024-25 were his lowest since the COVID-shortened 2021 season, and he scored five goals and 13 assists with a -1 rating. He’s 51.4% on faceoffs for his career, and while he doesn’t have a history of strong possession impacts, he started over 70% of his shifts in the defensive zone at even strength in all of his four years as a Maple Leaf so far.
Former Flyers Center Mel Bridgman Passes Away At 70
Former Philadelphia Flyers centerman and general manager of the 1992 Ottawa Senators, Mel Bridgman, has passed away at the age of 70. Bridgman was the first-overall selection in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played through 14 seasons in the NHL, then returned to school to support a front office career with the Senators.
Philadelphia drafted Bridgman on the heels of the Broad Street Bullies era. Coming off of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, the Flyers managed to acquire the first-overall pick from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Bill Clement, Don McLean, and a later first round pick. Naturally, the Flyers took a player that fit right in with their gritty style. Bridgman was coming off a 157-point season in the WCHL, the predecessor to the modern WHL. He didn’t keep quite that spark in the NHL, but still put together a solid rookie year, with 50 points and 86 penalty minutes in 80 games. That presence helped Bridgman climb into a major role with the Flyers at only 20-years-old, and earned him a fifth-place finish in 1976 Calder Trophy voting.
Bridgman found his groove as a hard-nosed grinder over the next five seasons. He became the seventh Flyer to cross the mark of 200 penalty minutes when he reached 203 PIMs in the 1997-78 season. He continued to rival that mark through 1981, all while routinely rivaling 50-to-60 points. Bridgman reached his scoring peak in the 1981-82 season, though the bulk of his points would come with the Calgary Flames, after a contentious November trade swapped him for Brad Marsh. Bridgman put up 75 points and 94 penalty minutes in 63 games with Calgary, bringing him up to a year-long total of 87 points and 141 penalty minutes after nine games with Philadelphia to start the season.
His scoring fell back to normal in the following year, prompting a move to the New Jersey Devils in 1983. Bridgman, once Philadelphia’s captain for three years, took on the Devils’ captaincy and led the team in scoring (61 points) in the 1984-85 season. He continued to wear the ‘C’ until being traded to the Detroit Red Wings at the 1987 Trade Deadline. Bridgman continued his career for two more years, and retired with the Vancouver Canucks in 1989.
Soon after ending his playing days, the well-known Bridgman was named GM of a 1992 expansion team, the revitalized Ottawa Senators. He brought in eight-year pro John Ferguson as his Director of Player Personnel, and built a Senators squad headlined by Peter Sidorkiewicz, Norm Maciver, and Brad Shaw. The team ranked dead-last in scoring in their inagural season, leading to an attempt to spur the offense with Alexei Yashin and Alexandre Daigle, the second-overall pick in 1992 and first-overall pick in 1993 respectively. The duo led the Senators in scoring as rookies, but failed to pull Ottawa from the league’s depths, prompting Bridgman to launch a flurry of roster transactions that would end with his firing at the end of the 1992-93 season.
Bridgman stepped away from the NHL following his ousting in Ottawa. To some, he’s remembered as a great Flyer who led the team through the first years after their dynasty era. To others, he’s among the most imposing players of the NHL’s most physical era, as described by Mike Bossy in his biography and NHL Player’s Tribune letter. Bridgman’s tenure in the NHL often sparked controversy, but was never short of action. He was tapped to lead clubs through dark times, as a player and manager, and did both with breakneck pace. Pro Hockey Rumors sends condolences to Bridgman’s family, friends, and fans.
Sharks’ Michael Misa Out Week-To-Week
The San Jose Sharks will be without the ace up their sleeves for the next few games. Rookie winger Michael Misa is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained during practice, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (subscription required). Warsofsky emphasized that the medical staff was confident Misa’s recovery will only take a few weeks. He also said that the Sharks will continue to use video coaching and light skates to focus on Misa’s development.
Misa, the 2025 second-overall pick, has been rotated in-and-out of the lineup through the start of his NHL career. He has one goal and three points in seven games. More importantly, he’s posted five blocked shots and a 52.6 faceoff percentage. Those are positive signs of Misa’s adjustment to the NHL, especially on a Sharks team that’s allowed the sixth-most goals this season.
Misa is a true star prospect, coming off a near goal-per-game season in the OHL last year. He finished the season with 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games, the second-most from a draft-year OHL player since 2000, behind Patrick Kane‘s 145 points in 2006-07. San Jose’s lineup won’t be much affected by Misa’s absence, given his rotating role and Ryan Reaves‘ return from injury, but making sure their latest top-pick stays on the track will remain top priority.
Working through a frustrating injury and returning to a strong role in the lineup could be enough to earn Misa a crack at minutes in the top-six, or on the powerplay. He has been held out of both groups so far, but created a dynamic fourth-line alongside fellow rookie Collin Graf and veteran Adam Gaudette. The trio spent 20 minutes of even-strength ice-time together across three games in mid-October and outscored their opponents three-to-zero. Misa recorded a point on all three goals, stretched across a brief three-game point streak. It has become clear that the Sharks want to make Misa earn his path to top minutes, but his success in a depth role is an encouraging sign of things to come. He’ll jump right back into that climb up the lineup on the other side of the first injury of his career.
Wild Activate Mats Zuccarello
The Wild announced they’ve activated winger Mats Zuccarello from injured reserve. The top-six fixture will make his season debut in a couple of hours against the Islanders. They’ve been operating with an open roster spot for quite some time, so no corresponding move is required.
Minnesota didn’t hold a morning skate before today’s game. That’s to be expected on the second half of a back-to-back with travel – they lost to the Hurricanes 4-3 in Carolina last night. As such, it’s unclear where Zuccarello will slot into the lineup, but it’s assumed he’ll reprise his familiar role on the top line with Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi.
Zuccarello had a lower-body issue pop up in the closing weeks of the offseason and wasn’t cleared to participate at the beginning of training camp. The initial expectation was that he’d miss the start of the regular season, and that was confirmed when the Wild said in late September that he’d be out for a minimum of seven to eight weeks. That makes his recent progress and today’s activation around a week and a half ahead of schedule.
His return is of special note for a Wild club that’s been looking to add an impact scoring winger on the trade market. They’re off to a sluggish 5-7-3 start, due mostly to uncharacteristically poor defensive play. They’re bottom-five in the league or close to it in most metrics – 29th in goals against per game (3.67), 29th in penalty killing (68.8%), 26th in shots against per game (30.1), and 29th in expected goals against per game at 5-on-5 (2.47).
Zuccarello won’t have much of an impact there, but the Wild are hoping he can at least help them outscore their problems. Fellow aging veteran Marcus Johansson stepped into Zuccarello’s top-line home to start the year and performed admirably, rattling off six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 15 games. The Wild hope he can keep some semblance of that momentum up as he shifts down into a second-line job with Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek – the former of whom is clicking at a point per game – to boost the depth output from their middle-six.
Now in his age-38 season, expectations for Zuccarello should start to be tempered. He’s still been a minutes-muncher for the Wild as he ages, averaging 19:39 per game last year, but he can’t keep that workload up forever. His 0.78 points per game last season were his lowest since 2019-20 and a 14% dropoff from the year prior. If that decline ends up being linear and Zuccarello only operates at around a 55-point pace this year, Minnesota’s search for another top-nine piece will only intensify.