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Offseason Checklist 2024

Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers

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After this year’s Stanley Cup champion was crowned, the offseason has arrived for everyone. It’s time to examine what teams will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Last up is a look at the Cup champion Panthers.

After reaching the Cup Final last year before bowing out fairly quickly to Vegas, there was only one way Florida could improve on their fortunes.  They did just that, surviving losing three straight to Edmonton to erase a 3-0 series lead to win their first title in franchise history.  Now, GM Bill Zito has a lot to contend with concerning his roster for the summer and not a lot of time to do it.

Try To Keep Key UFAs

The Panthers have a sizable list of pending unrestricted free agents, many of which are core pieces.  How successful their offseason ultimately is will be determined by how many they’re able to keep or how well they’re able to replace them with the roughly $19.5MM in cap room they have, per CapFriendly.

Up front, the biggest name is Sam Reinhart.  After a quieter second season in Florida, the 28-year-old turned things around, putting together a career year that saw him put up 57 goals and 94 points during the regular season while adding 16 points in the playoffs.  A strong defensive player, Reinhart can also play down the middle if called upon which would only boost his value.  After making an average of $6.5MM over the last three years, Reinhart is well-positioned to earn a significant raise and a long-term deal.  He could conceivably cost up to half of Florida’s remaining cap room.

Then there’s Vladimir Tarasenko.  After his market didn’t materialize as planned, he settled for a one-year, $5MM deal with Ottawa, who flipped him to the Panthers at the trade deadline.  Notably, the 32-year-old made it known he’d only waive to go to Florida.  With 23 goals and 32 assists, he should be able to command a similar-sized price tag which could price him out of their range unless he’s willing to take a team-friendly deal.

On the back end, they took care of one key pending free agent when they signed Gustav Forsling to an eight-year, $46MM extension to keep him away from the open market.  But they have the top blueliner from this year’s class in Brandon Montour as well.  The 30-year-old broke out with Florida, living up to the high-end potential many felt he had.  He posted a career-best 73 points in 2022-23 but only managed 33 in 66 games during the regular season which will likely lower his overall price.  Having said that, he could still more than double the $3.5MM AAV he had over the past three years which could make it hard to keep him around.  Oliver Ekman-Larsson also had a nice bounce-back year and is set to hit the open market where he should command more than the $2.275MM he made this season.

Early Extension Talks

If those pending free agents weren’t notable enough, the Panthers have three key pieces that will be entering the final year of their respective contracts on July 1st, making them extension-eligible at that time.  While getting them locked up early isn’t necessary, Zito at least needs to get a sense of what those players are looking for as that will likely impact how many of their current free agents (who should all command multi-year contracts this time around) they’re able to try to re-sign.

One of those players is Carter Verhaeghe.  When he first arrived with Florida, he had yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player.  Now, just four years later, he has been one of the better bargains in the NHL while his offensive game has taken off.  In 2022-23, he potted 42 goals and 31 assists and followed that up with 34 goals and 38 helpers this season.  Those are top-line numbers that will have him positioned to command a long-term agreement and a significant raise.  For context, Verhaeghe made just $1MM in his first two seasons with the Panthers and currently has a cap charge of $4.167MM.  Next time out, he could potentially double it with an AAV that should check in around the $8MM range.

Meanwhile, Aaron Ekblad will soon be in need of a new deal on the back end.  The agreement that he’s on now was a record-setting deal at the time for a defenseman coming off his entry-level contract as he took an eight-year deal that carried a $7.5MM AAV.  While he never really took off offensively (aside from the 2021-22 campaign), the Panthers have still done rather well with that contract as Ekblad has been a workhorse for most of that time.  However, he dealt with some injury issues this season while his playing time was more limited; his 20:52 per game was a career-low.  It’s possible that Florida will try to get him to take a bit less this time around which makes it more challenging to see a deal get done in the coming weeks.  Those discussions will come with a new agent as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that he’s now represented by Newport’s Craig Oster.

Then there’s Sam Bennett.  His regular season numbers don’t jump off the page (his career-high in points is 49) but he’s coming off two strong playoff performances that saw him produce at a better rate, something that doesn’t generally happen.  On top of that, he’s a power forward who also plays center.  That’s a combination that will have a lot of teams gearing up to put in offers so it stands to reason that he’s in line for a considerable raise on his current $4.425MM AAV.

Again, they don’t have to get these players signed just yet.  Simply knowing what the asking prices are likely to be should give Zito enough information to formulate his plan for his pending free agents.

Knight Decision

With Spencer Knight spending a good chunk of 2022-23 away from the team while being in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Zito decided he needed some insurance between the pipes, inking Anthony Stolarz to a one-year, $1.1MM contract, a deal that couldn’t have worked out any better for them.  With Knight being young enough to get to the minors without waivers, he entered the season as Florida’s third-string option.

From a games-played perspective, things worked out relatively well for Knight as he played 45 times, his highest amount of appearances since his draft year.  However, his numbers with AHL Charlotte weren’t dominant by any stretch the way you’d hope someone making $4.5MM would be able to put up.  While he finished eighth among qualifying netminders in GAA (2.41), his SV% (.905) was only good for a tie for 28th place.  He got to play but management was probably hoping he’d have been more effective.

At this point, Stolarz is likely to price himself out of what Florida can afford as he’s slated to be one of the better options in a UFA goaltending class that is relatively weak.  Accordingly, Zito needs to decide if Knight is ready to re-assume the second-string duty behind Sergei Bobrovsky.  If so, then he has his very expensive tandem in place.  If not, then he’ll need to find a replacement.

And if the decision is made that Knight isn’t going to be the backup next season, Florida will need to contemplate a buyout.  He’s young enough that the buyout cost would only be $750K for four years.  If he’s buried in the minors again (he remains waiver-exempt), the cap charge would be $3.325MM.  That $2.575MM difference could be enough for a lower-cost backup on a deal similar to the one Stolarz received a year ago while freeing up funds to up an offer to one of their core free agents.

Knight didn’t play a single second for Florida during the regular season or playoffs but he could still play a big role in what the Panthers can and can’t do in the coming days and weeks.

Add Low-Cost Depth

Last summer, Zito had to make some low-cost acquisitions, bringing in Kevin Stenlund, Steven Lorentz, Dmitry Kulikov, Mike Reilly, Uvis Balinskis, and Stolarz on cheap deals worth $1.1MM or less.  For the most part, they did quite well with those pickups.

Now, Zito will be trying to repeat that level of success on what’s likely to be a mostly new group (only Balinskis is still signed) while also trying to replace some other veteran UFAs including Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins.  They could be looking at signing five or six forwards and a couple of defensemen with their remaining cap space while keeping in mind how much some of those top players are likely to command on the open market.

It’s quite possible that the $1.1MM line might be too steep for the Panthers this time around.  Now, they might have to shop for options much closer to the league minimum if not right at the $775K minimum salary to stretch every dollar.  Zito will have to find a way to find veterans who can provide a similar level of performance as his group from last summer while being even more constrained financially, assuming he’s able to keep at least one of his key free agents.  That will be a tough needle to thread for a second straight year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist: Edmonton Oilers

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After this year’s Stanley Cup champion was crowned, the offseason has arrived for everyone. It’s time to examine what teams will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Oilers.

A horrid 3-9-1 start to the season had the Oilers in dangerous territory in November, leading them to be the first team to make an in-season coaching change. They were raucous after replacing Jay Woodcroft with Kris Knoblauch behind the bench, rebounding to go 46-18-5 the rest of the way and finishing second in the Pacific Division with 104 points. Their star-studded roster got within one goal of their first Stanley Cup since 1990 but ultimately fell short in an incredible 2024 Stanley Cup Final that saw them erase a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7. Now, the focus quickly turns to next season, with the draft and free agency less than a week away.

Find Holland’s Successor

The 2024 NHL Draft is in just three days, but the Oilers won’t have a full-time general manager at the table, it seems. Ken Holland’s contract is up and he won’t be returning in the role next season, as he’s headed for something between pseudo-retirement and full retirement. There’s a sense Holland may still remain affiliated with Edmonton in 2024-25, but it won’t be as GM, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports.

That leaves Edmonton with some choices to make, both short-term and long-term. In terms of who will run the draft on Friday night and Saturday morning, that’ll likely fall on the shoulders of assistant GMs Keith Gretzky, Brad Holland and Bill Scott. Director of Amateur Scouting Bill Pracey and Chief Amateur Scout Bob Green will also likely have more increased responsibility than normal. One thing is for sure, though – Ken Holland won’t be on the floor in his former capacity.

They haven’t been linked to any external GM candidates yet, but they’ll need to conduct a search. Brad Holland, who holds a director of professional scouting specification under his AGM title, seems to be the likeliest candidate to take over as the de facto interim GM when free agency begins if Edmonton doesn’t name a permanent replacement in the next week.

Draisaitl Extension Talks

German superstar Leon Draisaitl has more than solidified himself as a top-five forward in the league, giving the Oilers a one-two punch down the middle only rivaled by the prime of the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in recent memory. He’s done so on an absolute steal of an $8.5MM cap hit that’s served them well over the last seven seasons, but he’s now hurtling toward unrestricted free agency in 2025 and will require a hefty raise.

It doesn’t help that his deal is expiring at a time when the salary cap is seeing hefty 5% raises annually, and the top end of skater contracts is seemingly moving north every summer. As Chris Johnston pointed out in his latest for The Athletic, Draisaitl is surely in line to at least match or exceed the $13.25MM cap hit that’s kicking in for Leafs star Auston Matthews next season. That would at least temporarily have him eclipse Connor McDavid as Edmonton’s highest-paid player. Is that something the organization is comfortable with?

We’ll find out soon enough. If Draisaitl signs an extension for the same cap hit percentage as Matthews, 15.87%, that would work out to $13.97MM per season with an $88MM upper limit. Evolving Hockey has a slightly more conservative extension projection for Draisaitl at eight years with a $13.54MM cap hit. It would still give him the largest cap hit in the league for a brief period of time – he’d surely be eclipsed by McDavid when his deal runs out in 2026.

Getting cost certainty on Draisaitl long-term is necessary for the Oilers’ planning this summer as they look to make commitments in free agency and offload some bloated deals. They’re likely not very comfortable with extension discussions drawing out into the season, either – letting him potentially walk for nothing next summer isn’t something they’re even entertaining, per Johnston.

Replenish Scoring Depth

The Oilers have a bevy of forwards who were regulars in postseason play hitting free agency this summer, headlined by 20-goal man Warren Foegele and trade deadline pickup Adam Henrique. Their penalty-killing duo of Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark, who had a strong playoff and an incredible breakthrough Cup Final against Florida, are also both up.

As it stands, four forwards who spent most or all of last season in the AHL (Xavier Bourgault, James Hamblin, Raphael Lavoie, Lane Pederson) are slated for their 2024-25 opening night lineup if they don’t sign any UFAs. That’s not a realistic scenario. Anyone who can be had for a relatively affordable price will likely brought back – after all, their scoring behind McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and company was strong enough to get them oh-so-close to a championship. Foegele especially was a crucial depth piece throughout the season, not just the playoffs, with his career-high 41 points.

But with only just over $10MM in projected cap space with nine open roster spots, that’s going to be an extremely tough ask. Money will need to be moved out no matter who they retain, which brings us to our next point…

Offload Campbell

Ridding themselves of or significantly reducing Jack Campbell’s $5MM cap hit is a much higher priority for Edmonton than its fourth-item placing in this article indicates. He’s taking up nearly 6% of their cap space and still costs $3.85MM when buried in the minors. While he did have a strong campaign in AHL Bakersfield, posting a .918 SV% in 33 games, the uncertainty of what you’re getting from him if you promote him back to the NHL is simply too great to stomach for a championship-caliber, cap-strapped team like Edmonton.

Whether that’s a trade or a buyout remains to be seen. He does have some trade protection, but a 10-team no-trade list isn’t absurdly difficult to deal with. A buyout would reduce his cap hit to $1.1MM next season, saving them $2.75MM in cap space compared to burying him in the minors. That’s enough for a pair of serviceable depth scorers in free agency.

Campbell had a .873 SV% in five NHL appearances to begin the season before being waived and sent to Bakersfield, where he spent the rest of the campaign. They would still need to find a backup for Stuart Skinner if they buy Campbell out or move him, but that can be done for a league-minimum contract (or close to it).

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Offseason Checklist: Dallas Stars

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at the Stars.

A quiet 2023 offseason outside of the addition of Matt Duchene yielded the same results for the Stars – a Western Conference Final elimination. Improvement from their budding stars like Wyatt Johnston and a true breakout season on the blue line from Thomas Harley helped Dallas reach 113 points in the regular season, their second-most in franchise history. They’re already facing one significant loss heading into next season, though, with veteran fixture Joe Pavelski expected to retire. Accordingly, it’s likely another summer of minor surgery for general manager Jim Nill, coming off his second Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award.

Fill A Top-Six Forward Spot

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a pressing team for a Stars offense that finished third in the NHL last season. But Pavelski and Duchene, who’s a pending UFA, were big parts of that, contributing 52 goals and 132 points between the two of them. They can’t lose both and expect to still be the team they were this season. While the production of one could be replaced by continued improvement from Johnston or strong rookie campaigns from Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven, asking them to offset the loss of both is a tough ask to put on the young future of your franchise.

There’s an easy way to check this box – re-up Duchene, who was more than effective for his $3MM cap hit. He’ll earn a slight raise on it this offseason, but there’s mutual interest in an extension, and he’s expressed a willingness to take a discount on his market value to stay in Dallas. It certainly helps that he’s still receiving $1.56MM per year from the Predators, who bought out the final three seasons of his prior contract last summer, through 2028-29.

In case they can’t keep Duchene from going to market, though, they’ll need to find somebody who can slot into a top-six spot on the right wing, preferably for under $5MM a season against the cap. Even at 32, Tyler Seguin still has enough juice in the tank to comfortably handle a top-six role, especially if the center responsibilities are being dedicated to Johnston and Roope Hintz. They will need an upgrade on someone like Evgenii Dadonov, though, who currently projects as their second-line RW but had only 23 points in 51 games this year. If they do need to hit the free agent market for a Duchene replacement, someone like Anthony Duclair, Anthony Mantha or Vladimir Tarasenko could be an appropriately priced option.

Start Oettinger Extension Talks

Things have been a tad up-and-down for Jake Oettinger since he took over the Dallas crease from Anton Khudobin in 2021, but a good playoff showing has him back to being a largely consensus top-ten netminder in the league. Even at his worst, he’s a slightly above-average goalie, evidenced by his career-low .905 SV% this season. Injuries were a bit of a concern, limiting him to 53 starts, but at his peak, he’s a game-altering talent.

He’s shown it multiple times, whether it be his .919 SV% and 37-11-11 record in 2022-23 that earned him fifth place in Vezina Trophy voting or his .954 SV% in a seven-game loss to the Flames in the first round in 2022 that has gone down as one of the better netminding performances in a series loss in league history. He’s worth shelling out for among a current crop of goalies that, aside from the very few elite, tend to have real stinker seasons at least every once in a while.

Now, as he enters the final season of a respectable three-year, $4MM AAV bridge deal, Nill needs to decide how far he’s willing to go on a long-term deal for his star netminder. If he gets it done early this summer – a realistic scenario given his otherwise light free-agent workload – it could come in a tad north of $8MM annually on a long-year deal. That’s a lower percentage of the cap than recent long-term deals for more highly-regarded netminders like Connor Hellebuyck and Ilya Sorokin and a good bit below what it’s expected to take for the Rangers to retain Igor Shesterkin.

New Deal For Harley

While the Stars have only a few impact UFAs to deal with, the list is even smaller for impact RFAs. Only two saw consistent playing time in the playoffs, and only one was deployed in high-usage situations – Thomas Harley.

The 22-year-old isn’t eligible for arbitration but is due a significant raise coming off his entry-level contract. Drafted 18th overall in 2019, Harley dethroned Ryan Suter for top-pairing duties alongside Miro Heiskanen early in the season and never looked back. He finished the campaign with 15 goals and 47 points in 79 games, finishing second among Dallas defenders in average time on ice with 21:01. His possession game with Heiskanen was strong, controlling 55.6% of shot attempts when on the ice at even strength.

He’s a core piece of their team and could very well serve as Heiskanen’s partner for the next decade if their results together this season are any indication. With the Stars in a bit of a cap crunch, though, expect them to opt for a bridge deal while they load up in a continued effort to make their second Stanley Cup Final appearance of the decade. Evolving Hockey pegs his new contract at a two-year term with an AAV close to $4MM, a safe bet for positive value considering his showing this year.

Add RD Depth

The Stars still have Esa Lindell and Suter signed next season behind Harley, so their left side is likely already locked in. But behind Heiskanen, who’s a lefty playing the right side anyway, there’s a lot of uncertainty.

Like Duchene, Nill is expected to make a big push to keep trade deadline acquisition Chris Tanev from heading to market next week. He was stellar in a second-pairing shutdown role alongside Lindell, controlling play well and posting two assists and a +7 rating in 19 playoff games. Even if he comes back, though, there’s a tossup behind him.

Jani Hakanpää is a cheap candidate to re-sign, but he provides much of the same services as Tanev and would likely be ruled expendable if the latter is extended. Nils Lundkvist had 13 points in 59 regular-season games but struggled early in postseason action and was a frequent healthy scratch in the later rounds. It’s fair to assume he won’t be relied upon for much of anything by head coach Peter DeBoer if he’s qualified and brought back next season. Lian Bichsel, while a strong prospect who could challenge for a roster spot out of camp, is also a lefty. Asking him to play his off side, even alongside a veteran like Suter, is an irresponsible ask.

That makes it clear that, even outside of Tanev, adding a right-shot defender will be a priority for Nill when the UFA market opens on July 1.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Offseason Checklist: New York Rangers

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at the Rangers.

After getting eliminated in the first round in 2022-23, the Rangers shook things up last offseason, bringing in Peter Laviolette behind the bench.  He helped lead New York to their highest point total in franchise history while they made it to the Eastern Conference Final before falling to Florida.  GM Chris Drury has already made one move of significance with Barclay Goodrow moving on to San Jose via waiver claim but he still has some work to do in the coming weeks.

Add Scoring RW

This has been an area of need for several years now after Pavel Buchnevich was moved out with the Rangers ultimately trying to get creative to try to fill it.  They’ve brought in rentals like Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko.  They’ve moved Alexis Lafreniere to his off-wing after Kaapo Kakko wasn’t able to play his way into that spot.  They’ve tried moving Filip Chytil there as well.  While Lafreniere showed some signs of a breakout this season, the other options haven’t worked quite as well so it remains a spot to be addressed.

While it’s possible that they could leave Lafreniere there longer (allowing him to see time on the top line more frequently), it stands to reason that they’d prefer to have him on his natural side regularly.  That means that Drury will once again be trying to fill this spot in the weeks ahead.

However, one of the challenges here will be their cap situation.  While they have a little under $13MM in cap space per CapFriendly, a good chunk of that will be going to their restricted free agents.  There won’t be enough money left to go after the likes of Sam Reinhart or even Steven Stamkos should he actually test free agency.  Instead, turning to someone like Tyler Toffoli could be a suitable Plan B although fitting him into their cap structure could be difficult as well.  In a perfect world, they’ll find a way to get what they hope will be a more consistently viable top-six option, be it through free agency or a trade.

Shesterkin Extension Talks

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has more than proven to be a quality successor to long-time franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes, giving New York the type of long-term high-end goaltending that many franchises could only dream about.  They’ve also benefitted from having Shesterkin on a contract that quickly became a team-friendly one as it was signed just 47 games into his NHL career.

That deal, which carries a $5.667MM AAV, will be entering its final year next season, making Shesterkin eligible for a contract extension as early as July 1st.  It’s fair to say the top end of the goaltending market has slowed down in recent years after big contracts were given to Carey Price ($10.5MM per season) and Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM per year) but this feels like the next goalie deal that could push past the double-digit AAV mark.

Bobrovsky’s contract counted as 12.27% of the salary cap at the time it was signed while Price’s deal checked in at 14%.  There is a strong case to be made that Shesterkin should be in that range as well.  Based on next year’s $88MM Upper Limit, that would put his range between $10.798MM and $12.32MM.  Of course, this contract doesn’t kick in until 2025-26 when the salary cap will be even higher.

Let’s re-run those numbers with a hypothetical $92MM cap ceiling.  Using Bobrovsky and Price’s percentages, the new range is between $11.288MM and $12.88MM.  It’s safe to say these are the comparables that his camp will be bringing up in discussions while Drury’s camp will obviously be trying to get the number a little lower.

Still, the possibility exists that Shesterkin will double his current AAV on his next contract.  Getting some certainty regarding just how much that’s going to cost would be helpful for their summer planning considering his likely raise will potentially more than cover the increase in the cap for 2025-26.

Re-Sign RFA Defensemen

With Kakko already re-signed to what would have been his qualifying offer, the list of pending restricted free agents that Drury has to contend with is pretty limited.  At this point, their two main ones are both defensemen in Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider.

Lindgren is coming off his bridge deal, a back-loaded pact that carried a $3MM AAV but has a $3.6MM qualifying offer with salary arbitration rights.  He’s also a year away from UFA eligibility.  He’s someone whose long-term value is a little harder to peg as he lacks the offensive numbers to command top dollar; he has yet to record 20 points in a season.  Instead, he’s more of a capable defensive second-pairing player so the asking price shouldn’t be exorbitant.  A long-term agreement likely pushes past $5MM per season but it’s also possible they work out what amounts to effectively a second bridge deal (potentially another three-year pact), allowing them to keep the price tag closer to $4.5MM which would give them a bit more breathing room to try to add up front.

As for Schneider, he’s exiting his entry-level deal and doesn’t have arbitration rights just yet.  He has been limited to playing on the third pairing for most of his career which doesn’t make him a strong candidate for a long-term agreement.  Generally speaking, a blueliner who has yet to average 16 minutes per game in a season will be heading for a bridge deal and this case should be no exception.  Schneider should be in line to double his $925K cap hit from his entry-level agreement on what might be a two-year agreement instead of the three-year bridge that Lindgren received when he was in this situation a few years ago.

Add Center Depth

In theory, with Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck in place as their top two middlemen and Chytil recovering to play in the playoffs, this isn’t necessarily a significant need.  However, with Chytil’s long track record of concussion trouble, they likely can’t simply assume that he’ll be healthy for all of next season.  Finding some injury insurance for him would be beneficial as a result.

Jonny Brodzinski spent a good chunk of the year down the middle but in an ideal scenario, he’s likely not on the third line with regularity.  Alexander Wennberg was brought in at the trade deadline and did relatively well but he’s probably too expensive to keep around.  Jack Roslovic, their other deadline pickup, can also play down the middle but is also unlikely to return.  Meanwhile, Nick Bonino, brought in to be their fourth center last summer, was released midseason and wasn’t replaced either.

At a minimum, a bottom-six addition down the middle would be beneficial, one who can kill penalties and fill the role that Bonino was supposed to cover this season.  Someone a tier below that who can be a serviceable recall wouldn’t hurt either.  But getting a third-line option would be some worthwhile insurance for Chytil’s concussion concerns while also allowing Chytil to play on the wing if it’s deemed a better fit for him.  They can’t do that, re-sign their blueliners, and add an impact right winger but if the latter doesn’t happen, this could be their Plan B.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist: Vancouver Canucks

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Vancouver.

The Canucks were one of the surprises of the season, going from a non-playoff team to winning the Pacific Division and getting deep into the second round despite being without their starting goalie.  GM Patrik Allvin has already checked one significant item off his summer to-do list with the recent re-signing of Filip Hronek to a long-term extension but he still has some items to check off in the coming weeks and months.

Reload The Back End

Even with Hronek under contract, Vancouver has just three full-time blueliners signed for next season – Hronek, Quinn Hughes, and Carson Soucy.  Noah Juulsen is also under contract, but he profiles as a sixth option at best and preferably a seventh who comes in when injuries arise.  That leaves three spots to fill, either by re-signing or replacing their pending unrestricted free agents.

The most notable of the trio is Nikita Zadorov.  The 29-year-old did well after being acquired early in the season from Calgary and then was a difference-maker for them in the playoffs.  He has struggled to get a long-term deal so far in his career, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around, with some suggesting that he could get six years and $6MM per season.  There’s mutual interest in having Zadorov stick around, but with how well-positioned he is to cash in, it’d be hard to pass up testing the market.

Tyler Myers had a contract that made him a target from the moment it was signed.  Miscast in a top role, the 34-year-old had arguably his best season in five years with Vancouver in 2023-24 as he was moved down the lineup.  He won’t get $6MM this time around, but there’s believed to be mutual interest in him coming back at the right price.  Meanwhile, that isn’t expected to be the case for Ian Cole, with the 35-year-old being set to possibly land with his sixth organization since 2020.

With nearly $17MM in cap space per CapFriendly, there’s room to potentially have one contract of significance as they re-sign or replace these veterans, although if they want to add up front – more on that shortly – then they’ll need some more cost-effective options as well.  Notably, Myers and Cole logged the most minutes shorthanded, so as they look to fill those spots, it’s likely that they will be looking to bring in some players with a track record of success on the penalty kill.

Boeser Extension Talks

As it stands, the Canucks won’t have nearly as much roster turnover via free agency in 2025 as they will this year, at least among their star players. They do have one big fish to get extended before next summer, though.

Brock Boeser finally hit his potential in earnest in 2023-24. After posting middling stat lines the past two seasons while dealing with a variety of personal struggles, which he opened up about to The Province’s Ben Kuzma last year, he erupted for a career-best 40 goals and 73 points in 81 regular-season contests. Averaging 18:36 per game and flourishing under head coach Rick Tocchet, he’s made himself an irreplaceable part of their core group of forwards and has set himself up well heading into a contract year.

As of today, he’d earn a significant raise on his current $6.65MM cap hit. Evolving Hockey projects a max-term eight-year deal in the $8MM AAV range as the most likely scenario if Boeser were to be extended shortly after becoming eligible to sign one on July 1. But with their aforementioned large plate of free agents to deal with this summer, extension talks with Boeser will likely take a while to get going.

Injuries were a concern early on in his career, but he has flashed the potential to consistently produce in the 70-point range in the past. His 0.90 points per game this season was a career-high, but he did get close on multiple other occasions (0.89 in 2017-18, 0.81 in 2018-19, 0.88 in 2020-21).

Add Impact Forward

A quick glance at the Canucks’ depth chart next season reveals a painstakingly clear need for a top-six winger (or two) to help complement J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Boeser has one spot locked down, and Conor Garland should likely find himself further up in the lineup after a strong 2023-24 campaign, but Ilya Mikheyev is currently slated for a second-line role alongside Pettersson. He’s not expected back next season anyway, and assuming they can clear the entirety of his $4.75MM cap hit, that’s more money for their front office braintrust of Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford to play with.

Their top target is clear. They were linked to former Penguins forward Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, and while they lost a bidding war to the Hurricanes, he’s available again this summer, with Carolina dangling his signing rights before he reaches UFA status. As expected, they’re checking in on him again.

He’d be the most expensive option available to meet the ’impact forward’ moniker, likely save for Panthers winger Sam Reinhart. Guentzel is likely to cost a team around or more than $9MM per season, and Vancouver would need to pounce quickly. Can they get certainty in the coming days that they’ll be able to accommodate such a deal under the salary cap? That’ll be a story to follow as next week’s draft nears.

Other cheaper options to complement Miller or Pettersson on the wing include Jonathan Marchessault, Teuvo Teräväinen, or a reunion with Tyler Toffoli. All would be significant short-term upgrades over Mikheyev or other oft-used options higher up in the lineup, like youngster Nils Höglander.

Clear Poolman’s Contract

We’re all but certain that defenseman Tucker Poolman won’t play again due to migraine issues. He hasn’t skated in an NHL game since October 2022 and spent all of the 2023-24 campaign on long-term injured reserve.

While some criticized the four-year, $2.5MM AAV deal Poolman received from the Canucks in free agency, few thought it would yield just 43 games of service from Poolman in a Vancouver sweater. Regardless, the 31-year-old Iowa native now has just one year left on his deal, and it’s gumming up the offseason salary cap works. Could a team desperately in need of salary cap relief, such as the Golden Knights or Lightning, acquire Poolman’s $2.5MM cap hit next season and place it on LTIR for some much-needed in-season relief? It would be a win-win situation.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist: Colorado Avalanche

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Colorado.

Expectations were high once again for the Avalanche heading into 2023-24.  The team made some moves to shore up their forward group over the offseason, leading them to be a speculative favorite to come out of the Central Division.  However, they came up a bit short, falling to Dallas in the division final.  Now, GM Chris MacFarland will look to add to his group again, a task that will be harder this time around.  Here’s what should be on his checklist in the coming weeks.

Create Cap Flexibility

Captain Gabriel Landeskog missed the entire season, allowing Colorado to go well into LTIR last summer as they knew in advance he wouldn’t be available to play.  There is still some uncertainty as to whether he’ll be ready to play next season but the winger has made it known he intends to try.  That effectively encumbers $7MM as they need to have that free in case he’s able to return from his knee cartilage transplant.

Then there’s Valeri Nichushkin.  He’ll miss the first few weeks of the season while being in Stage Three of the Player Assistance Program and will be cap-exempt during that time.  However, whenever he is cleared to return, his full $6.125MM cap charge will come onto the books.  They have to assume he’ll be cleared to come back so that money will be tied up as well.

While the Avs have over $16MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, they have quite a few roster spots to fill with that money; a big chunk of which will go to a pending RFA which will be highlighted shortly.  With the volume of spots (as many as eight) to fill, they’ll be hard-pressed to spend big on an unrestricted free agent which will make it difficult to re-sign Jonathan Drouin.

Finding a way to move all or at least some of Josh Manson’s $4.5MM AAV would be one way to accomplish this although it’s usually not easy to free up that much cap space for a couple of years.  Ross Colton ($4MM for three years) might be another option to move although doing so would create another hole down the middle to fill.  There aren’t many ways to do it but if MacFarland can open up some more wiggle room, they’ll have plenty more viable options to build their roster.

Rantanen Extension Talks

While this is something that could easily stay on the back burner this summer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Colorado take a real run at an extension for winger Mikko Rantanen.  Once July 1st hits, he’ll officially be in the final year of his contract, making him eligible to sign a new deal at any time.

The 27-year-old has been playing on a contract that pays $9.25MM per season since 2019.  It’s hard for that pricey of a contract to be construed as a team-friendly one but that is the case here.  Rantanen has become an impactful and consistent producer, averaging at least 1.23 points per game in each of the last four seasons.  He has been even more productive in the playoffs, averaging a minimum of 1.25 points per game over the last four postseason, tallying 62 points in 48 games over that span.

As a result, Rantanen is well-positioned to earn a considerable raise along with a max-term agreement of eight years if he wants to sign for that long.  Earlier this month, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post outlined some possible comparables for what Rantanen’s next deal could look like.  At this point, it’s fair to suggest that there’s a chance that Rantanen could sign the richest contract for a winger in NHL history (in terms of cap hit), surpassing Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM.  That still would slot him a bit behind Nathan MacKinnon who checks in at $12.6MM.

This isn’t something that MacFarland has to get done this summer as Rantanen is signed through next June.  However, it would be worthwhile to at least get an understanding of the asking price (if not get a deal done altogether) to aid in their spending plans now as some of the players they’ll be pursuing shortly will undoubtedly be seeking multi-year deals.  Having a better sense of what the 2025-26 books will look like makes navigating those other discussions a little easier.

Re-Sign Mittelstadt

Now, let’s get back to that pending RFA of note, center Casey Mittelstadt.  The Avs pulled off arguably the most surprising trade back at the deadline, acquiring the 25-year-old from Buffalo in exchange for promising young defenseman Bowen Byram.  In doing so, they shored up their second line, something they’d been looking to do since losing Nazem Kadri to Calgary in free agency.

Mittelstadt followed up a breakout 2022-23 performance that saw him put up 59 points with a similar showing between the two teams this season, tallying 57 points in 80 games.  However, that doesn’t quite tell the full picture as he was limited to 10 points in 18 appearances following the swap, a point-per-game drop of 0.2 compared to his output with the Sabres.  However, Mittelstadt was more impactful in the playoffs, collecting nine points in 11 games which will help his case this summer.

Mittelstadt is coming off a three-year bridge agreement that carried a $2.5MM AAV and has a required qualifying offer of $2.6MM.  He’s also arbitration-eligible for the first and only time as he can reach unrestricted free agency next summer.  That last note effectively rules out another short-term contract that would only buy a year or two of team control.

Given their cap constraints, it’s hard to envision the Avs working out a max-term agreement as the cost of it in terms of a higher AAV would make things a bit harder for them in the summer.  Accordingly, a medium-term deal (four to six years) feels like the sweet spot to try to aim for.  If that winds up being where the two sides land, he’s likely to at least double his qualifying offer and could push for $6MM.  Getting him locked up would certainly give them some stability down the middle with MacKinnon not going anywhere either.

Load Up On Depth

Last summer, Colorado needed to sign several players to low-cost one-year deals to round out their roster.  Up front, they added Drouin, Chris Wagner, and Joel Kiviranta while re-signing Andrew Cogliano all for $825K or less and also brought in Frederik Karlsson for the minimum from Dallas.  On the back end, they brought back Jack Johnson for the minimum and later acquired Caleb Jones who was also making the minimum salary.  They didn’t hit on every addition but most of them turned out pretty well while Drouin wound up being a key part of their forward group.  However, all but Wagner are free agents next month.

That’s a lot of roster spots to try to fill and depending on what happens with Mittelstadt’s deal and potentially trying to bring Drouin back, they’re going to be looking at trying to fill the rest either internally or with low-cost free agent pickups.  With their internal options, Nikolai Kovalenko and recent free agent pickup Jere Innala figure to be the likeliest to grab spots although both of them also check in at price tags higher than last summer’s group of depth additions.

With that in mind, MacFarland will likely be targeting four to six players for the league minimum or very close to it to try to backfill their forward group and round out the defense corps.  Additionally, he will likely be trying to add some potential in-season recalls on two-way deals worth the minimum in the NHL.  There will be a lot of these types of contracts signed in the first few days of free agency; expect Colorado to be among the leaders in them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist: Boston Bruins

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Boston.

There were some question marks surrounding the Bruins heading into the season after they lost both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.  However, they nearly won the Atlantic Division once again to bring their playoff streak to eight straight years.  Boston got past Toronto in the opening round before falling to Florida in the second round.  Armed with cap and roster flexibility for the first time in a while, GM Don Sweeney has a chance to reshape the roster or to keep the bulk of the core together.  Here’s what should be on their to-do list in the coming weeks.

Add Impact Center

After losing their top two middlemen from the year before, the Bruins didn’t do a whole lot to replace them.  Morgan Geekie came over after being non-tendered by Seattle while John Beecher and Matthew Poitras came up from the minors and the OHL respectively to largely fill the other vacancy.  In the meantime, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha covered the tough minutes.  All things considered, they cobbled together a solution relatively well given their cap constraints.

Now they don’t have those constraints; they have over $21MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  They now have an opportunity – and a need – to try to address that.  While their internal options fared well, they’re not a group of middlemen that a contender typically has.

There aren’t any true number one options on the open market this summer but there are some proven second options that can at least give them some more impactful depth.  They were speculatively linked to Elias Lindholm last summer and it stands to reason they’ll have interest in someone who can cover the hard two-way minutes like Bergeron used to.

Among the secondary options are Chandler Stephenson, Sean Monahan, and Matt Duchene.  All three have had success on the second line recently and have some upside at the offensive end.  They might not produce more than the 60 and 59 points that Coyle and Zacha put up but a third middleman in that range would lengthen their offense and hedge against some injuries.

In theory, they could try to trade for a center but given the dearth of trade assets they have (a byproduct of going for it regularly), it’s hard to see them putting together a package that could land a top-six piece so turning to free agency should be the way they go.

Goalie Decisions

For the last couple of years, the Bruins have had a high-end goalie tandem between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, allowing them to have starting-level goaltending on a nightly basis.  However, it’s about to become a luxury that’s too expensive for them to afford.

Swayman and the Bruins couldn’t agree on a contract last season, resulting in the two sides going to arbitration where he was awarded $3.475MM.  Now, with another strong campaign under his belt, Swayman’s camp has a much better case this time around and will be heading for another big raise.  Another one-year deal would push past the $5MM mark but it’s evident that both sides will want to get a longer-term agreement done this time around.  A deal that buys multiple years of club control should cost at least $6MM while a max-term agreement probably pushes past $7MM, doubling his price from this season.

With that type of commitment to Swayman, Ullmark becomes a very expensive second option with one year and $5MM left on his deal.  While they have enough cap room to carry both, that’s not necessarily the best use of their cap space with the other spots they’ll be looking to fill on their roster.  That means they’ll be turning to the trade market as they had looked to back at the trade deadline when Ullmark is believed to have nixed a trade with his partial protection.

Ullmark will still have the ability to block a trade to nearly half the league this summer so it’s not a given that something will get done with Boston’s preferred option.  It’s unfortunate for them that Ullmark will be in the market at a time where he’s not likely to be viewed as the number one option available and, in general, goalies don’t typically yield high-end returns too frequently.  But they should find the best offer they can get in the next couple of weeks to get this taken care of before free agency opens up as they’ll then know if they were able to fill a need with the swap or, if it’s a futures-based package, if they’ll have other assets to trade to fill one of those needs.

Sweeney will also have to decide if they’ll go with rookie Brandon Bussi as the second-string option behind Swayman next season or if they want to bring in a more experienced veteran.  If they don’t get a veteran to serve as the backup in the NHL, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go after a veteran third-stringer to partner with Michael DiPietro in the minors.

Re-Sign Or Replace DeBrusk

Jake DeBrusk’s future with the Bruins has been murky for several years, going back to his trade request, extension, and the eventual rescinding of that request.  But even after that time, his name was floated out as potential salary-matching ballast in hypothetical scenarios where Boston was landing a more impactful winger or help down the middle.

One way or the other, the uncertainty is coming to an end over the next couple of weeks.  DeBrusk is now a pending unrestricted free agent and is one of the younger players to hit the open market next month.  Accordingly, the time has come for the Bruins to decide if he’s part of their future plans which would require a long-term commitment and remove him from any trade speculation.  Alternatively, he’ll be parting ways in early July and Sweeney will be on the lookout for a replacement.

The 27-year-old has reached the 40-point mark five times in his seven-year career but has only hit the 50-point plateau once back in 2022-23.  Still, he’s in line for a sizable raise from the $4MM he made over the past two seasons.  A long-term agreement could conceivably push past $6MM if the open market is as strong as some are making it out to be.  Boston has the money to pay that if they want or they could take that offer and look at some other options on the open market.

There are a few wingers who should check in around that price point in free agency.  Tyler Toffoli, Vladimir Tarasenko, and David Perron are shorter-term options if they don’t want to make a long-term commitment at that spot while Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi (someone who has some familiarity with the team already) could command longer-term agreements.  Viktor Arvidsson could be a good fit as well but coming off an injury-prone year, he might want just a one-year deal to bolster his market value for 2025-26.  Either way, whether it’s re-signing or replacing DeBrusk, the Bruins have a big contract to hand out on the wing.

Add Depth

Last summer, the Bruins had several roster spots to fill for cheap, resulting in a lot of short-term contracts for role players.  Included among those were James van Riemsdyk, Danton Heinen, Milan Lucic, and Kevin Shattenkirk, all of whom are set to return to the open market this summer so Sweeney will likely be looking to follow a similar script this time around.

Up front, they have at least two and arguably as many as four spots to fill as Pat Maroon is also a pending UFA.  They won’t necessarily be as limited in terms of having to shop for players who will accept close to the league minimum although if they are able to land an impact center and either keep or replace DeBrusk, they will have to go bargain-hunting at some point.  The good news for them is that there will be plenty of players that will be in that price range.  They may not all sign quickly but Sweeney should be able to fill those spots.

On the back end, with Mason Lohrei showing that he’s ready for full-time NHL duty, the acquisition of Andrew Peeke at the trade deadline, and Parker Wotherspoon holding his own, they really only have to fill one spot even with Shattenkirk, Matt Grzelcyk, and Derek Forbort all heading for the open market.  As a result, they could target someone a little higher in price that could play in a fourth or fifth role.  It also wouldn’t be shocking to see an extra depth defender added to battle for the seventh spot.  Again, there are a lot of blueliners who fit into these buckets so they should be able to take care of this one fairly easily.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist: Carolina Hurricanes

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Carolina.

For the first time in a while, the Hurricanes were aggressive making moves in-season. After largely staying quiet at the past few trade deadlines, they acquired arguably the top name on the market in forward Jake Guentzel from the Penguins – without having to give up a first-round pick. While he performed well, it didn’t get them over the playoff hump, and they were dispatched in the second round by the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. Now, they’re headed for an offseason of major turnover both on the ice and off it, thanks to a late GM change.

Jarvis Extension

The Hurricanes’ entire offseason plan seems to revolve around prioritizing a limited amount of pending free agents instead of trying to retain as many as possible. Aside from defense fixture Jaccob Slavin, who’s under contract next season anyway but is still getting an extension next month, their other priority is a new deal for pending RFA Seth Jarvis. The 2020 13th overall pick has exhausted his entry-level contract and is in line for a significant pay bump over his previous $894K cap hit.

It’s not clear whether the Canes’ front office, led by interim GM Eric Tulsky, prefers to go the bridge deal or the long-term route with Jarvis. The difference in cap hit would likely be significant. Evolving Hockey projects a $5.15MM cap hit for a two-year deal, for example, but an $8.5MM cap hit if they wanted to lock him up to a maximum eight-year deal right away.

It’ll depend on how much cap space they want to reserve for everybody else next season. They’ve got nearly $24MM to spend after signing defenseman Jalen Chatfield to a three-year, $3MM deal this week. It also looks like they’ve made their peace with letting trade Guentzel walk, as they’ve started shopping around his signing rights for a mid-round pick. But after signing Jarvis, they still need to re-sign or replace Jordan Martinook, Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teräväinen – and that’s just among forwards. Tony DeAngelo, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei are all headed toward the UFA market on defense, although the Hurricanes do have some young players – particularly blue liner Scott Morrow – who are ready to challenge for spots.

Still, they’ve got to get some cost certainty on Jarvis before going free-agent hunting. As much as a $3MM range in cap hit, depending on the term, would surely be the difference between them landing or not landing someone high on their wish list.

Trade Nečas

Of course, in order to re-sign Jarvis, they need to figure out a game plan for the other big-name RFA forward they’re reportedly sacrificing to make room for him. Now arbitration-eligible after completing his two-year, $6MM contract, Martin Nečas finds himself on the block after seeing an 18-point decrease this season from 2022-23’s career-high mark of 71.

And it’s a move that should happen relatively soon, hopefully making this a short-lived unchecked box for all parties involved. An amicable departure via trade is the outcome both sides still prefer, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier this month. The beginning of the Stanley Cup Final came and went without a move, as Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff suggested may have been in the works, but all indications still point toward a deal getting done before or on draft day.

The Hurricanes are expecting a rich return package, though. While he’s still 25, that may be tough to swallow for teams picking up a player who’s only truly challenged for first-line minutes at sparing moments during his seven-year, 362-game NHL career. The 2017 12th-overall pick has eclipsed the 50-point mark just twice, each coming in his last two seasons.

His back-to-back 20-goal campaigns and his ability to shift to center if needed do position his value at a bit of a high point, though. He’s still projected to garner $7.5MM annually on a seven-year extension, per Evolving Hockey. That puts him relatively in line (if not more expensive) than some other comparable top-six-caliber but inconsistent forwards on the UFA market, such as Elias Lindholm.

Refill Wing Depth

As mentioned earlier, the Canes will be dealing with some major roster turnover on offense outside of their core forward pieces via their pending UFAs. Add Nečas into the mix, and it’s clear they’ll need to make some moves to replenish their scoring depth – especially on the wings.

Pulling off a Nečas deal could potentially solve some of that problem. By all accounts, they’re looking for NHL-ready talent in return, not draft picks and prospects. The purpose of such a deal is twofold: one, helping keep their contention window alive with a similarly valued Nečas replacement, and two, making it easier to get a trade across the finish line by opening up some roster flexibility for the acquiring team.

That leaves everybody else. Of course, Martinook, Noesen and Teräväinen could still – theoretically – all be back before or after July 1, and this is no longer much of a conversation. There’s still a question to be had about who might replace Guentzel at the top of the lineup, though. Yes, the Canes finished second in the Metropolitan Division without his services aside from the last few weeks of the season. But he was a force in a Carolina sweater, racking up 25 points in 17 games to end the campaign.

It could certainly be a by-committee approach in terms of depth scoring, and Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov would still round out a spectacular Aho-centered first line. But it does draw their secondary scoring into question, as outside of Nečas and their first line, their leading scorer from last season would be captain Jordan Staal and his 30 points. They’ll need some cost-effective, high-ceiling UFA options to help plug those holes.

Worry About The Future

It’s the last item on this list, but it’s also one they’re likely to start figuring out quickly. It appears they’ve already shifted a good portion of their attention here, reportedly agreeing in principle to an extension for Slavin. He’s not eligible to put pen to paper until July 1 with one season still left on his contract, though.

But even with the news, the Hurricanes still face a similar situation on defense in the summer of 2025 as they do now. Only Chatfield and Slavin are signed to one-way contracts for 2025-26, although Morrow will still be on his entry-level deal as a likely regular contributor. However, a replacement for the still-effective-but-aging Brent Burns will be needed, and Dmitry Orlov will also be an unrestricted free agent after next year.

Things are mostly stabilized offensively, with the brunt of the turnover expected this summer. A long-term extension for Jarvis “resets the window” for their forward corps, and no major pieces will be due for new deals within another few years.

They’ll also need to find a partner for the up-and-coming Pyotr Kochetkov in the crease. Barring a goalie trade, the Hurricanes will bring him back in tandem with established veteran Frederik Andersen next season. If both stay healthy and play to the potential they showcased this season, it’s a top-10 duo in the league. But Andersen will be 35 in October, and his injury history has given Carolina fits at inopportune times. It seems likely this will be his last season in Raleigh.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Offseason Checklist: Vegas Golden Knights

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Vegas.

To say the Golden Knights took a big swing at the trade deadline would be an understatement.  However, it didn’t result in the immediate success they were hoping for; while they snuck into the playoffs and gave Dallas a real run for their money, they were eliminated in the first round.  Now, GM Kelly McCrimmon will look at making some tweaks while trying to keep as much of the core intact as possible.  Here’s what they will likely be looking to try to do this summer.

Create Cap Space

Before Vegas can do anything when it comes to adding to its roster or even trying to re-sign some pending free agents, they need to get some cap flexibility.  As things stand, they have barely $1MM in regular cap space, per CapFriendly.  Only one team (Philadelphia) has less.  Granted, Robin Lehner and his $5MM price tag is quite certain to remain on LTIR but unless the Golden Knights can make the perfect LTI placement in the fall, they probably won’t be able to utilize all of that amount.  They can get close but few teams are able to use it all.

Even if we suppose they get the perfect placement, that gives them a little over $6MM to work with.  That’s not much to work with when you’re hoping to re-sign some of Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Michael Amadio, William Carrier, and Anthony Mantha up front.

Assuming they have designs on retaining several of those players, they’re going to have to free up some money.  It’s also reasonable to suggest they don’t want to move their higher-paid core pieces which limits their options.  On the back end, Zach Whitecloud feels like a possible trade candidate.  He was a regular for most of the year but spent time as a healthy scratch after Noah Hanifin was acquired.  For someone who is more of a third-pairing option, a $2.75MM price tag might be too much of a luxury for them to afford.  Replacing him with a cheaper player would open up a little more spending room.

Meanwhile, up front, Nicolas Roy would be a popular trade target for teams if Vegas elected to try to fill his spot with a lower-cost center as three years at $3MM per season is affordable for most…just not necessarily the Golden Knights.  A smaller move would be to move the final year and $1.9MM of Brett Howden’s contract, replacing him with someone making closer to half of that.  The trade return probably wouldn’t be the strongest but if that helped add enough extra space to re-sign a more prominent piece, it’d be worth doing.

McCrimmon won’t be able to open up enough cap space to keep everyone but he knew that before acquiring and extending Hanifin while adding Tomas Hertl and his long-term deal.  But if they can keep one of their top options and perhaps one of their bottom-six free agents, that would still be a good outcome for them.

Try To Re-Sign Marchessault

The most prominent of those pending unrestricted free agents is Marchessault.  One of the few remaining original members of the Golden Knights, the 33-year-old followed up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2023 by posting a career-high 42 goals in 2023-24.  Not a bad platform heading into free agency, that’s for sure.

Both sides have openly discussed a willingness to get a new deal done although talks were late getting started; it’s believed discussions only got underway in recent days.  Part of the hold-up could simply have been Vegas needing to get a better handle on what they have (or won’t have) to spend come July 1st before engaging but it still seems a little odd they waited this long.

Nonetheless, Marchessault is well-positioned for a nice raise on a multi-year agreement.  After making $5MM in each of the last six seasons, he could conceivably push for $7MM while getting three or four years if he makes it to the open market.  It’s possible that he could leave some money on the table to stay with the Golden Knights who likely can’t afford that type of contract given their salary structure but with this likely being his last big contract, that can’t automatically be assumed either.

Regardless of what happens, Marchessault’s later-career breakout has him on the upswing heading into free agency which will have him rated highly on our Top 50 UFA list to be released later this month.

Extension Talks

While McCrimmon will have some pressing matters to attend to when it comes to his group of pending unrestricted free agents, he’ll likely be looking ahead to 2025-26 as well.  A little over a year from now, three important players will be eligible to test the open market, making them eligible for contract extensions as of July 1st.

Shea Theodore is another one of the few remaining original members of the franchise and, when healthy, has been a key cog on their back end for the past seven seasons, logging over 20 minutes per game in each of them.  However, he has missed 62 games over the past two years which won’t help his cause when those talks begin.  Having said that, the 28-year-old will be viewed by numerous teams as a top-pairing player and the market for those players is quite significant.  At a minimum, it’s well above the $5.2MM AAV of his existing contract.  Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8MM) and Hanifin ($7.35MM) are on pricey contracts and Theodore should end up in that range whether it’s this summer or next.

Then there are the goaltenders.  Adin Hill went from being a depth addition between the pipes when he was first acquired to a player who was dominant in their run to the Stanley Cup in 2023.  That helped earn him what amounted to a second bridge deal, albeit with a sizable raise this time around.  That contract, one that carries a $4.9MM AAV, is set to expire next year and it will be interesting to see if he can beat that next time out.  Hill set a career-high in appearances in 2023-24 but still only played in 35 regular season games.  If he doesn’t see a number one workload, it will be difficult to justify giving him any sort of considerable raise.  That makes his situation a tough one to work through in terms of finding a number that works now for both sides.

That isn’t necessarily the case for Logan Thompson, however.  The 27-year-old has led Vegas in goalie games in his two full NHL campaigns and was the starter going into the playoffs.  If that holds true next season, that will be three seasons of at least closer to a starting workload which will help his case if he gets to the open market.  At this point in time, a contract for him likely starts above Hill’s current price tag and one thing is for sure, with the way their team is constructed, they won’t be able to keep both in the fold beyond next season.

Whether it’s Hill or Thompson, if they can determine which one to keep and get that deal worked out in the next couple of months, it’ll be one big item off of next year’s list.

Mine The Margins

Vegas has gotten quite accustomed to not being able to afford to carry a full-sized 23-man roster and next year should be no exception.  However, there are a couple of spots on the big club that could be up for grabs depending on what happens with their pending free agents that they may want to turn to the open market for.

However, they won’t be able to get involved in any sort of bidding war.  Instead, they’ll almost certainly be limited to offering minimum-salary deals ($775K) due to their cap situation.  Those contracts aren’t often signed on the opening day of free agency.  However, there are often bargains to be found with some patience so they may have to wait for the secondary free agent market to open up closer to training camp before filling those spots.

It would also be wise for them to get some NHL-capable pieces to be stashed at AHL Henderson.  The upside isn’t typically too high for two-way free agents but getting some players who have shown they can handle limited roles can’t hurt for when injuries arise.  These are the types of deals they can get aggressive on early as they’re likely to carry a $775K NHL cap charge with the only differences in offers from other teams being the minor league portion.  Landing some of the better players on that side of the market could prove fruitful as the year goes on but they’ll have to work through what’s set to be a very large list of players to find the best fits.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist: Toronto Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Toronto.

An offseason of low-risk, short-term signings for new general manager Brad Treliving paid some dividends for Toronto. Unfortunately, a lack of impact adds at the trade deadline and injuries to star forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander contributed to yet another first-round playoff loss to the Bruins. Now, a sharp increase in the salary cap is coming at the best possible time for the Leafs, who have a significant amount of roster and spending flexibility available for the first time in a while. It’s up to Treliving to not waste it.

Defense, Defense, Defense

Did we say defense? The Leafs only have three everyday defenders signed next season. Two of them, Simon Benoit and Jake McCabe, had competent showings in shutdown roles last season (especially the latter) but struggled to move the puck up the ice. The other, longtime fixture Morgan Rielly, remains a high-end offensive blue liner but has documented defensive weaknesses that make it increasingly difficult to justify playing him nearly 24 minutes per game.

Nearly all of their pending UFAs on defense, namely T.J. Brodie, aren’t expected to back. Their lone restricted free agent, Timothy Liljegren, is far from a sure bet either, and his signing rights could be used as trade bait this summer.

That leaves plenty of money and roster space for turnover, especially on the right side. All of Benoit, McCabe and Rielly are lefties, although McCabe is comfortable playing his off-side. In any event, Treliving is looking for at least two marquee right-shot blue liners on the open market that can comfortably shoulder top-four minutes.

Two options the Leafs have already been connected to as July 1 draws closer are Brett Pesce and Sean Walker. Both have historically been positive possession forces. While Pesce is coming off a down year offensively, the longtime Hurricane has a solid history of tossing up 20-plus assists per season. Walker was an absolute monster at getting the puck on net this year, though, managing 150 shots on goal (32nd among NHL defenders) despite averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game. Both are logical fits and upgrades over the rotating cast of Brodie, Joel Edmundson, Mark Giordano and Ilya Lyubushkin that was utilized down the stretch and in the postseason.

The Marner Conundrum

Despite producing over a point per game in six straight seasons, Marner immediately found himself in trade speculation after being limited to just one goal and two assists in seven playoff games. Like Matthews and Nylander, Marner likely wasn’t playing at 100 percent after sustaining a high ankle sprain in a regular-season game against the Bruins weeks earlier. But he’s entering the final season of his contract, is headed toward unrestricted free agency, and there’s little appetite to work on an extension on July 1 with another playoff disappointment fresh on everyone’s minds.

Reporting indicates the Leafs haven’t directly approached Marner about waiving his no-move clause, and the 27-year-old has made it clear he wants to stay in his hometown. They likely won’t do so until receiving a serious trade offer, and the likelihood of one of those coming through correlates directly with how aggressively Treliving shops him this summer, if at all.

The question for a Maple Leafs team in win-now mode is simple. Is the potential value of reallocating Marner’s $10.9MM cap hit next season greater than what he’ll give you on the ice? What he is is a consistent 100-point threat (if healthy) who averages over 21 minutes per game and finds himself consistently earning outside Selke Trophy consideration. Playoff disappointment aside, he’s a superstar.

It’s a tough question to answer, but one Treliving and his staff need to in short order.

Complement Woll

Perhaps the greatest certainty about the Leafs’ summer is that Ilya Samsonov will find a new home in unrestricted free agency. That leaves the up-and-coming Joseph Woll as the sole keeper of the crease for now, but they’ll need to find a solid complementary piece to give them better overall goaltending than last season’s roller-coaster ride.

Shelling out for a high-priced starter will be a controversial decision. Woll is still only 25, had a solid regular season and was excellent in brief playoff action this year before getting injured (.964 SV%, 0.86 GAA). He should likely be trusted for around 40 starts – which means the assets needed to acquire a Jacob Markström or Juuse Saros could wisely be repurposed elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the list of established true tandem options is incredibly small. They’ve been connected to Laurent Brossoit, who’s headed to UFA status next month. He’s had great numbers over the past two seasons, logging a .927 SV% through stops in Vegas and Winnipeg, but has never started more than 22 games in a season. He’s an upgrade on Samsonov over smaller stints, but questions will remain about how well he can handle an extended workload.

Find Cost-Effective Forward Depth

The Leafs had no problem putting the puck in the net last year, at least in the regular season. Their 303 goals were second in the league, influenced by a combined 109 snipes from Matthews and Nylander. But as it stands, no player projected in their bottom six next season had more than 0.5 points per game last year, a difficult stat to acquiesce for a team with championship aspirations.

One thing that would be a major boost is pushing shutdown pivot David Kämpf squarely into a fourth-line role. It’s not the most attractive option for a player with a $2.4MM cap hit, but averaging north of 13 minutes per game isn’t feasible for a player who provides as little offense as he does. He’s certainly a capable fourth-line defensive center on a Cup winner, but right now, they’re asking too much. Thus, at least one middle-six option is needed to help create a domino effect and spread out some scoring depth, plus a few more if they do indeed move on from Marner.

A spot can hopefully be filled by either Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten, their two top forward prospects, the former of whom is coming off an electric OHL postseason performance that earned him playoff MVP honors. After 96 points in 54 regular-season games and 34 points in 18 playoff games, Cowan is a solid bet for at least a nine-game trial out of the gate, but they need insurance options in the semi-likely event neither is ready to be an everyday top-nine force.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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