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Offseason Checklist: Winnipeg Jets

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The offseason has arrived for all but the three teams that still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.  It’s time to examine what those eliminated squads will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Winnipeg.

It was a rocky season for the Jets.  At one point, they were atop the Central Division and rolling under new head coach Rick Bowness.  By the end, they barely squeaked into the playoffs and went out quickly in the first round, earning a public rebuke from Bowness along the way.  GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has four prominent players on his roster that are or could be UFA-eligible in 2024.  Not surprisingly, the bulk of their checklist revolves around those four players.

Goaltending Decisions

Let’s get one of those players out of the way first.  Connor Hellebuyck has been Winnipeg’s MVP for several seasons now, often providing high-end goaltending to get or keep them in the playoff picture.  He has done so on a team-friendly deal as well; while his $6.17MM is above the NHL average, he’s a goalie that has been well above league average.  Next summer, he’ll become one of the top-paid netminders in the league.  Will Winnipeg be the team to give it to him?  At a minimum, Cheveldayoff needs to make a serious extension offer and then see what happens from there.  If the 30-year-old balks at signing, then they’ll have to investigate moving him as well.

On top of that, the Jets also need a backup goalie for next season.  As they’ve done in recent years, Winnipeg went for a lower-cost option this year in David Rittich who had a nice bounce-back campaign, posting a 2.68 GAA with a .901 SV% in 21 games.  He’s earned a small raise so Winnipeg will either have to allocate more to their backup position or look for a new second-stringer.  Also worth considering is that if they trade Hellebuyck, they’ll likely have to change gears and look for a more prominent backup.  That could lend a pressure point to the Hellebuyck talks even though he isn’t eligible to sign until July 1st.

There’s also a longer-term element to consider.  There is no high-end starter of the future in their system (although Domenic DiVincentiis had a strong year in the OHL) which is another pressure point on the Hellebuyck situation.  If they don’t keep him, they don’t have anyone in the system close to being ready to step in.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them target a signed prospect goalie this summer and if they do move their star netminder, it’s quite likely that they’ll be showing interest in a strong prospect goaltender as part of the return package.

Decide On Dubois

Last summer, RFA center Pierre-Luc Dubois was the predominant storyline in Winnipeg among their players.  He had indicated that his intention was not to sign a long-term deal with the team and there has been no shortage of speculation that Montreal would be where he would like to end up.  Interestingly, he didn’t file for arbitration last summer, a move that likely cost him some money as he wound up accepting his $6MM qualifying offer.  That means they get to go through this all over again this summer.

Dubois is once again arbitration-eligible but filing would lock in a contract date near the end of July once the hearing has concluded and the award has been issued, should it get that far.  If his intention is to try to force a trade, he might opt to repeat what he did last summer, eschewing arbitration and waiting it out in the hopes that a move is made and he can potentially negotiate a long-term deal with the acquiring team.

But the Jets aren’t under any obligation to move him to his desired destination(s).  They can opt to treat him like a typical rental player and even if teams believe Dubois will test the open market in 2024, Winnipeg should still get a good return if they opt to move him this summer, especially with a thin crop of available players this year.  But that’s still an if.  It’s possible that Cheveldayoff still hopes he can change Dubois’ mind and convince him that it’s worth staying in Winnipeg.  It’s also quite possible that he opts to keep Dubois to start the season in the hopes of helping the Jets stay in the playoff picture and then pivots to a trade closer to the deadline if they’re not in the race.  Again, in that scenario, he’d likely be the top middleman available and could bring back a strong return.

At the moment, it seems like the probable outcome with Dubois is that he gets moved.  But when that happens is the decision that needs to be made.  It could be dictated by what happens with their other 2024 UFAs which could ultimately make this a big summer of change in Winnipeg or more of the same.

Clear The Defensive Logjam

The Jets boast strong depth on the back end, one that has served well when injuries have arisen but also created some frustration with their younger players with both Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola making it known to management that if they’re not going to play with the Jets, that they wouldn’t mind being moved elsewhere.  On top of that, they lost Johnathan Kovacevic to Montreal in training camp on waivers with the 25-year-old going on to play 77 games with the Canadiens this season.  They also lost Leon Gawanke who opted to sign in Germany for next season (and well beyond) after his frustration at not getting a chance with the big club.

Nothing is set to change as things stand for next season as there are no pending unrestricted free agents on their back end while Stanley and Dylan Samberg need new deals as restricted free agents.  Heinola is presently ninth on the depth chart with Declan Chisholm tenth and a pretty strong candidate to be claimed on waivers if he doesn’t crack the team out of training camp in the fall.  Depth can be great to have but there can be too much of it, especially in the preseason when waivers really come into play.  It appears that Winnipeg is going to be in that situation.

There are three defenders that are set to enter the final year of their respective deals.  Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo will be unrestricted in 2024 while Kyle Capobianco will be a restricted free agent.  One (or two) of those three being out of the picture would open up opportunities for their younger blueliners to step up and try to claim a full-time spot at a much cheaper price point compared to Dillon ($3.9MM) and DeMelo ($3MM).  Winnipeg might also want to move Nate Schmidt but with two years left at just under $6MM, getting value for him would be difficult.

There should be a decent market for Dillon and/or DeMelo.  Both are capable of logging nearly 20 minutes a night and killing penalties and in terms of market value, are on reasonable contracts.  If another team is looking for one of those pieces but doesn’t want a long-term commitment that a free agent this summer would want, they’ll certainly be calling up Winnipeg.  It might be in Cheveldayoff’s best interest to make a move on that front in the coming weeks.

Decisions On Other 2024 UFAs

We still haven’t covered all the 2024 UFAs of note that decisions will need to be made on.  Top center Mark Scheifele is in that situation as well, as is former captain Blake Wheeler.

Scheifele posted a career-high 42 goals this season while reaching the 60-point mark for the eighth straight season.  Quietly, he has the 14th-most points league-wide over that eight-year stretch.  Fortunately for Winnipeg, he has produced most of that on what has been a very team-friendly deal, one that has carried a $6.125MM AAV for the last seven seasons with one more to go.  For a top center, that’s well below market value.  That will change next summer when he should have a chance to push for around $9.5MM (or more, depending on the cap increase) in free agency.

It’s likely that Winnipeg will try to re-sign him, even if some feel that they need to shake up their core somewhat.  Simply put, letting a top middleman go isn’t a great way to try to win.  But is Scheifele willing to extend right now?  After the playoffs, he said it was too soon to think about his nearing free agency.  The Jets will be pushing for a decision soon enough.

As for Wheeler, he’s at a different stage of his career; there isn’t a big next contract coming his way.  He has been a fixture with this franchise for more than a decade and has been quite productive; in the last eight years, he’s 15th league-wide in scoring, one point behind Scheifele.  The 36-year-old still had a reasonable 2022-23 campaign, notching 55 points.

However, it feels like his time with the team could be coming to an end.  It was a bit surprising to see him stay after losing the captaincy although his $8.25MM AAV might have had something to do with that.  But with one year remaining, it’s an easier contract to move while a buyout would free up $5.5MM on the cap for 2023-24 (while adding $2.75MM in dead space the following season).  Cheveldayoff needs to decide if a fresh start for both sides is best and after teams do their summer spending, that contract will become quite difficult to move.  Accordingly, this is a choice that will need to be made in the next few weeks.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Arturs Silovs Named MVP Of 2023 Men’s Worlds

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While Team Canada took home the gold medal at the IIHF 2023 Men’s World Championship a few hours ago, partial host country Latvia made waves earlier this morning by capturing the bronze, their first-ever medal at the tournament. Later today, after Canada’s win over Germany, the IIHF announced Vancouver Canucks netminder and Team Latvia starter Arturs Silovs was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Silovs is the first Latvian to be named MVP since the IIHF began awarding the honor in 1999, and he’s the first Latvian in the history of the tournament to earn a single directorate award.

It’s been a quick rise up the prospect ranks for Silovs, who Vancouver selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Still just 22, Silovs commanded a starting role with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks this year and earned five NHL appearances, the first of his career.

With more action came more responsibility, and Silovs has stood up to the task over the last 18 months or so. He had a similarly stellar performance at last year’s Worlds, posting a .952 save percentage in four games, but didn’t get the full team effort that Latvia presented this year to earn the bronze.

This year with Abbotsford, Silovs posted four shutouts and a .909 save percentage in 44 games, adding in a respectable .908 save percentage in his NHL appearances. He finishes his second World Championship with a .921 save percentage in 10 games.

Peter Laviolette Linked To New York Rangers Coaching Vacancy

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The New York Rangers could be the first team of the 2023 offseason to fill a vacant head coaching position. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, well-tenured NHL bench boss Peter Laviolette is becoming the consensus pick to take over behind the Rangers bench, with a potential announcement coming next week.

Out of all the teams looking for a new head coach this offseason, the Rangers’ search has been the shortest. The team announced they’d parted ways with second-year coach Gerard Gallant on May 6.

If hired, the Rangers would be the sixth stop on Laviolette’s coaching tour. He ranks third among active coaches for seasons spent as a head coach (21), tied with current Philadelphia Flyers bench boss John Tortorella.

Laviolette, 58, himself became a free agent this summer, mutually parting ways with the Washington Capitals after three seasons as their head coach. His contract was set to expire regardless on June 30.

Undoubtedly, Laviolette is one of the most coveted options on the market. He’s got multiple deep playoff runs under his belt, and at first glance, he seems like an ideally experienced candidate to handle the New York market and lead the team into its first Stanley Cup Final since 2014.

But if you’re met with exasperation from Rangers fans when bringing up the connection, it is justified. The team’s largest issues over the past few seasons have been developing the talent they drafted to lead their retool, instead leading on their veteran stars (and goaltending) to take them to the next level.

Filip Chytil seems to be growing well into a high-end third-line center, but Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko weren’t able to reach their peak effectiveness under two previous coaches in New York. Other top ten picks, namely Lias Andersson and Vitali Kravtsov, ended their Rangers careers as merely a blip in the stat book and now reside outside the organization.

Is Laviolette the right candidate to fix that issue and utilize the most out of depth players? The jury’s out on that one. His two previous franchises, the Capitals and Nashville Predators, are currently stagnant in their development. Nashville’s future only recently brightened thanks to a series of shrewd moves over the past few months from outgoing general manager David Poile.

There is one thing on Laviolette’s résumé that puts him ahead of a more developmental candidate or potentially an internal promotion from the team’s AHL staff in Hartford: three conference championships, all with different teams. Considering he hasn’t reached the Cup Final since 2017 with Nashville, Laviolette does seem due for another chance at Stanley after appearances in 2006 (a win with Carolina) and 2010 (a loss with Philadelphia).

Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Philipp Kurashev – Finishing off his third season in the NHL, Kurashev has yet to break out in any significant way with the Blackhawks. He was able to provide some decent depth scoring over the last two seasons, playing in a total of 137 games, scoring 15 goals and 31 assists. This year, due to the roster construction in Chicago, Kurashev was able to average about 17 and a half minutes on the ice, almost five minutes more than the previous season.

Unfortunately, on March 23rd of this year, Kurashev injured his shoulder, keeping him out for the rest of the season. Although he has been unable to have either an offensive or defensive breakout, he should be able to receive an ample amount of playing time in Chicago. The expectation is that the Blackhawks will select Connor Bedard with the first overall selection next month, which will likely be the most significant acquisition of the team over the summer. If this is the case, there are no other players that should eat into Kurashev’s minutes in the Windy City.

F Anders Bjork – After being acquired from the Boston Bruins on the other half of the Taylor Hall trade, Bjork was supposed to continue to grow into an offensive talent for the Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately, that did not come to fruition for either side, and Bjork was sent to the Blackhawks for future considerations at this year’s trade deadline. In a handful of games for Chicago, Bjork did show some offensive prowess, scoring two goals and six assists in 13 games.

D Caleb Jones – Coming over from the Edmonton Oilers to play with his brother, Seth Jones, Caleb has become heavily utilized by the Blackhawks. After all was said and done this season, Jones finished third in average ice time on Chicago, only placing behind his brother and Connor Murphy. He has shown quite the ability to block shots and make hits, accruing over 100 of each this past year. As the Blackhawks look to create their next generation of hockey talent, Jones should add some extra stability throughout this transitional process.

Other RFAs: F Austin Wagner, D Ian Mitchell, F Joey Anderson, F Hunter Drew, F Maxim Golod, F Cameron Hillis, D Jakub Galvas, D Alec Regula

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Andreas Athanasiou – Thought to be a rental heading into this season, Athanasiou performed rather well for Chicago. Needing a grain of salt when analyzing the output from any player on the roster this season, Athanasiou was still able to score 20 goals and 20 assists, finishing third on the team in points (first place after the trades of Patrick Kane and Max Domi)

Although he would likely receive first-line even strength and power play minutes on this Blackhawk’s team, Chicago will have to make a decision on whether or not Athanasiou will be the appropriate winger to place with Bedard. If the team does go ahead with that option, Athanasiou may once again look for a one-year deal, raising his offensive output next to Bedard, and fully cash in next summer.

If Athanasiou does test the open market, he shouldn’t have any shortage of suitors, being that he can provide above-average secondary scoring to just about any team in the NHL. Although failing under the leadership of Todd McLellan and the Los Angeles Kings, Athanasiou has shown a talent to score throughout his entire career.

F Jonathan Toews – The only thing that has been confirmed about the future of Toews is that he will not be on the Blackhawks next season. Moving forward, especially taking into account his health issues and injury history, Toews will likely serve in a bottom-six role on a contending team next season if he does choose to play. At the time of the announcement, Chicago was unaware that it would have the privilege of selecting Bedard at the 2023 NHL Draft, but Toews would seem like a natural fit to help Bedard adjust to NHL life.

G Alex Stalock – Hampered by a bout of myocarditis losing him just about all of the 2021-22 NHL campaign, Stalock rebounded nicely for Chicago this year. He still dealt with some injury issues, but Stalock was able to post a 9-15-2 record, coupled with a .908 SV% and a 3.01 GAA. These numbers should find Stalock a backup role next year, and he eventually may find his way back to the Blackhawks. However, with Petr Mrazek receiving the largest share of starts, and the rise of Jaxson Stauber and Arvid Soderblom through the Chicago organization, Stalock may find himself elsewhere next season.

Other UFA’s: F Jujhar Khaira, D Andreas Englund, F Buddy Robinson, D Andy Welinski, G Anton Khudobin

Projected Cap Space

For the foreseeable future, cap space shouldn’t be an issue for the Blackhawks. Heading into this offseason, the team will have $41.7MM available to spend, and they should be able to weaponize that through trades. Even if the team makes a splash by bringing in another high-profile player to slot up next to Bedard, Chicago will still have ample space to take on a bad contract or too from cap-strapped teams.

Although the likes of Mrazek, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Zaitsev will all be available for contract extensions on July 1st, Chicago likely will not be making any extensions like this yet. As prospects such as Kevin Korchinski, Frank Nazar, and Lukas Reichel make the full-time jump to the NHL, and factoring in the likely draft choice of Bedard this June, the Blackhawks will have a lot of flexibility moving forward to keep these young players for the long haul.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

IIHF Notes: Hall of Fame, Latvia, Bear

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Earlier this morning, the IIHF officially inducted their 2023 Hall of Fame class, including former NHL stars such as Brian Leetch, Henrik Zetterberg, and Cristobal Huet. Also included in the induction: Sandra Dombrowski (official), Jimmy Foster (player), Kalervo Kummola (builder), Caroline Ouellette (player), Viktor Szelig (player), and Kimmo Leinonen (builder).

Although much is well known about their individual and team successes in the NHL, Leetch, Zetterberg, and Huet performed extremely well internationally as well. From 1987-2004, Leetch played in two World Championships, two World Cup of Hockey events, and three Olympic Games, scoring 41 points in 55 total games. In 1996, as he was captain of Team USA, Leetch helped the Americans to a gold medal in that year’s World Cup of Hockey.

Zetterberg, coming from Sweden, also played in quite a few international events, including four Olympic Games. In his second attempt in 2006, Zetterberg was able to help lead Team Sweden to a gold medal in the Turin, Italy Winter Olympics. Throughout his international career, spanning from 2001-2014 at the professional level, Zetterberg played in 73 international games, scoring 17 goals and 38 assists.

Going down as likely one of, if not the best hockey player to ever come out of France, Huet spent many years between the pipes for the French national team. Unfortunately, throughout his rather lengthy international career, Team France was only able to qualify for two Olympic Games, in 1998 and 2002. In 87 career games on the international scene, Huet racked up a total of 4,589 minutes played, adding six total shutouts for Team France.

Other notes:

  • Earlier this morning, winning their first IIHF tournament medal in their country’s history, Team Latvia beat Team USA in overtime. Kristians Rubins, who is currently playing for the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL, scored both the game-tying goal and the game-winning goal, awarding Latvia the bronze medal. In the championship, Team Canada will face off against Team Germany.
  • Rick Dhaliwal of the Vancouver Athletic reports that defenseman Ethan Bear has missed the last two games for Team Canada due to an upper-body injury. Bear, who will be a restricted free agent for the Vancouver Canucks this offseason, will return to Vancouver to be re-evaluated by team staff.

Daniel Briere To Consider Trading Carter Hart

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The new General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, Daniel Briere, has acknowledged the possibility that goaltender Carter Hart may be on the move this summer. In a post from Philadelphia Hockey Now, Chuck Bausman reports the quote, where Briere said, “Most likely, Carter will be our goalie for the future, but I’m not in a position to turn down anything, I have to listen.”

After becoming the interim General Manager for the Flyers in March, Briere quickly acknowledged that Philadelphia was headed toward a rebuild. Failing to make the playoffs the last three seasons, Briere will be looking to change up his roster starting this summer.

In all likelihood, Hart will remain the Flyers’ goaltender of the future, but putting out the possibility of a trade to the public should raise some eyebrows. At still only 24 years old, and with Hart only becoming a restricted free agent at the conclusion of his current contract, Hart should be considered a building block in Philadelphia’s rebuilding efforts.

Aside from a disastrous 2020-21 season, Hart has shown to be a quality goaltender in the NHL. This past season, Hart started in 54 games, holding a record of 22-23-10, and posting a .907 SV% and a 2.94 GAA. Especially considering that the Flyers finished 23rd in the league in GA/G, Hart’s production added some much-needed stability to a lineup that his wholly lacking in that department.

If Philadelphia does end up moving on from Hart, factoring in his age, his performance, and the flexibility provided in his contract, there should be plenty of suitors for his services. For context, although not holding two above-average goaltenders like the 2012-13 Vancouver Canucks, the Canucks were able to trade Cory Schneider at the 2013 NHL Draft for the ninth overall pick, which would go on to become Bo Horvat.

Schneider did hold a longer string of success compared to Hart, but considering that Hart is three years younger compared to when Schneider was traded, and they hold similar contracts, the Flyers could conceivably receive a large haul for Hart.

Free Agent Focus: Carolina Hurricanes

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Jesse Puljujarvi – After being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers at the 2022-23 NHL trade deadline, Puljujarvi did not take a serious step in getting his offensive production back on track in Carolina. In 58 games with Edmonton prior to the move, Puljujarvi scored five goals and nine assists, also increasing his physical play by managing 112 hits. After the trade, Puljujarvi managed 17 games with the Hurricanes, only scoring two assists. Things did not improve much in the playoffs, as Puljujarvi only played in seven of a possible 15 games. The Hurricanes will likely give serious consideration to non-tendering Puljujarvi, making him an unrestricted free agent.

D Dylan Coghlan – Coming over in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights last summer that also landed Pacioretty in Carolina, Coghlan was primarily used as a depth defenseman for the Hurricanes this season. Only managing to suit up in 17 games, Coghlan scored three assists for Carolina, averaging almost 13 minutes of ice time a night. To his disadvantage, the Hurricanes’ defensive depth was simply too deep for Coghlan to find any more playing time.

Other RFAs: D Maxime Lajoie, F Dominik Bokk, F Stelio Mattheos, D Cavan Fitzgerald

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Max Pacioretty – In one of the most disappointing storylines from the Hurricanes this season, the offseason acquisition of Pacioretty did not pan out for the team. Shortly after the team acquired him, Pacioretty suffered a torn Achilles tendon during an offseason workout, which ruled him out for the first several months of the 2022-23 season.

Upon making his return on January 5th against the Nashville Predators, Pacioretty immediately became the player that Carolina was hoping he would be. In five games played, Pacioretty scored three goals, providing offense to a team that was severely lacking in that department in relation to their spot in the league standings.

In a horrible sequence, on January 19th, two weeks to the day that he made his return to the ice, Pacioretty once again suffered a torn Achilles in a game against the Minnesota Wild. Although it will be both incredibly physically and mentally difficult to make a return to the ice following this injury, the Hurricanes could look to retain Pacioretty at a much lower price point, given his injury history over the past couple of seasons. If he is to make another return to the NHL, Carolina would surely benefit from the offense that he has been able to provide to teams in the past.

D Shayne Gostisbehere – Acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the addition of Gostisbehere to Carolina’s defensive core shored up all of the edges. Re-igniting his offensive flame since joining the Coyotes last season, Gostisbehere managed back-to-back seasons of being a half-point-per-game player. In 23 games in Carolina, Gostisbehere scored three goals and seven assists, while also adding three assists on the Hurricane’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals this season.

F Jordan Staal – Finishing off the last season of a 10-year, $60MM contract extension signed prior to the 2012-13 season, Staal has spent the majority of his career in Carolina. Taking over as full-time captain during the 2019-20 season, Staal has become a foundational leader in the Hurricanes locker room. Although his offensive contributions have waned over the last several years, Staal is still very much capable of providing 30-40 points each season and still remains one of the better defensive centers in the game, highlighted by his faceoff percentage and takeaways.

G Frederik Andersen – One season removed from winning the William M. Jennings trophy, the 2022-23 season did not go as planned for Andersen. Dealing with injuries for much of the season, Andersen managed to play in 34 games, posting a 21-11-1 record, garnering a .903 SV% and a 2.48 GAA. In the playoffs, however, Andersen found his game, accruing a 5-3-0 record with a .927 SV% and a 1.83 GAA.

Other UFA’s: F Jesper Fast, F Mackenzie MacEachern, F Paul Stastny, F Derek Stepan, D Calvin de Haan, G Antti Raanta, G Zach Sawchenko, D Jake Gardiner, F Ondrej Kase, F Jack Dugan, F Ryan Dzingel, F Malte Stromwall, D William Lagesson

Projected Cap Space

For their financial outlook, the Hurricanes are projected to have around $24.1MM available in cap space heading into the summer. They currently have eight forwards, five defensemen, and one goaltender currently projected on the roster. This should be plenty of money to fill in their depth around the edges, and even make some improvements in other areas of the team.

On July 1st, major players such as Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas, and Brett Pesce will all be able to sign extensions, and that should be where the priority lies for Carolina this offseason. The Hurricanes only have three players currently signed beyond the 2025-26 season, and will have to find ways to keep their core around if they wish to continue being a regular Stanley Cup contender.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Calgary Flames.

Key Restricted Free Agents

For the Calgary Flames this offseason, they do not currently have any restricted free agents going into this summer’s free agency period. Although the team’s outlook on this front may become a bit more complicated next summer as the contract of Dillon Dube comes to an end, the team currently will not have this issue to deal with this summer, unless making an acquisition.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Milan Lucic – After being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in the 2019-20 offseason (albeit at a 12% discount), Lucic has become a serviceable player for the Flames up to this point. Being paid $5.25MM per season over the last four years, Lucic has scored 35 goals and 48 assists in 283 games over his time in Calgary. Although not offering the offensive production that most would expect with a $5MM+ player, Lucic’s physical abilities have transferred into the back half of his career.

The number of hits are down throughout his tenure with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers, but Lucic has still managed to accrue well over 100 hits a season, breaking the 200-hit mark during the 2021-22 season with the Flames. Entering free agency for the first time before signing his 7-year, $42MM contract prior to the 2016-17 season with the Oilers, Lucic should be headed towards a familiar role next year.

As he now seems to be unable to crack even the 15-goal mark, Lucic has isolated himself into a depth forward position moving forward. With his tenure, and also having the experience of winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins, Lucic will potentially be able to mentor younger players on any roster. There is a very real possibility that Lucic will have to settle for a training camp invite as this summer closes, but the possibility remains that a team reaches out with a guaranteed contract offering him a very specific role on their hockey club.

F Troy Stecher– After being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes at this year’s trade deadline, Stecher reached the same point totals with the Flames as he did with Arizona, in 50% less of the games played. In 61 games played in Arizona prior to the trade deadline, Stecher accrued seven assists, not managing to find the back of the net. In 20 games in Calgary, the defenseman was able to score three goals and four assists.

After being traded twice in back-to-back trade deadlines, Stecher has been unable to find the depth defensive scoring that he managed with the Vancouver Canucks between 2016-19. In his first three seasons in the NHL spent with the Canucks, Stecher was able to score 58 points in 217 games, playing on the Vancouver team that took the Vegas Golden Knights to the seventh game of the 2020 NHL playoffs’ second round.

F – Nick Ritchie – Acquired in the same trade as Stecher from the Coyotes, Ritchie was wholly unable to find his offensive game in Calgary. Becoming a healthy scratch for several games down the stretch, Ritchie only managed to score one goal and five assists in 16 games played for the Flames.

Unexpected to be retained by Calgary this offseason, the maximum that Ritchie should be expecting on the open market is similar to the 2-year, $2.5MM contract that Derek Ryan signed with the Oilers prior to the 2021-22 NHL season.

F – Trevor Lewis – After receiving a $200K increase from his 2021-22 salary, Lewis decided to renew his contract with the Flames for the 2022-23 season. Being a bottom-six forward for most of his career, Lewis was able to crack the 20-point mark for the first time since the 2017-18 season with the Kings, scoring 20 points in 82 games for Calgary this season. Proving that he is able to handle over 12 minutes a night for a competitive Western Conference team this season, Lewis should be able to find a spot in a lineup next year.

Other UFA’s: D Michael Stone

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately for the Flames, the problem becomes extremely dire when looking at the projected cap space for next season. Especially considering the team was unable to qualify for the 2022-23 NHL playoffs, the team will only have $1.25MM available headed into the offseason.

Although the team does not have any game-breakers headed for free agency this offseason, if the team hopes to succeed in a tough Pacific Division, Calgary will need to come up with more cap space than what they currently have available. With players such as Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Mikael Backlund expected to make the jump to unrestricted free agency after next year, it is imperative that the Flames find cap space to retain such vital parts of the organization.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Lehner, Hurricanes, Development Camp

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In a piece from Vegas Hockey Now, Dan Kingerski raises an interesting question about the future between the pipes for the Vegas Golden Knights next season. Although it would be more financially feasible for the Golden Knights to retain Robin Lehner on LTIR, Kingerski asserts that Vegas may be better off buying out Lehner’s contract this summer.

The main point behind his reasoning is that with netminder Adin Hill eventually hitting the unrestricted free-agent market this offseason, having the cap space this summer to retain Hill may be Lehner’s undoing in Vegas. If the Golden Knights were to buy out the remaining 2-year, $10MM remaining on Lehner’s contract, Vegas would be hit with a $750K cap penalty next season, $2.25MM the following year, and $1.75 the next two years.

Obviously, the injury concerns surrounding Lehner are well known, as he missed the entirety of the 2022-23 regular season, and remains out during the Golden Knight’s playoff run. In his two full seasons in Vegas (subtracting the three regular-season games he played during the 2019-20 season following his trade from the Chicago Blackhawks), Lehner has posted a 36-21-4 record in 63 games played, garnering a .909 SV% and a 2.66 GAA.

Unfortunately, although the win record and GAA have both been positive for Lehner, the SV% has left a lot to be desired. On the other hand, Hill has been well above average since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks in late August of last year. In 27 games played for the Golden Knights this year, Hill posted a 16-7-1 record, accruing a .915 SV% and a 2.45 GAA. As both he, Jonathan Quick, and Laurent Brossoit enter unrestricted free agency this year, the potential Western Conference champions will have difficult choices to make in net this offseason.

Other snapshots:

  • In an opinion piece from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, a hypothetical question is raised as to whether or not the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets would make an ideal trade fit this offseason. With plenty of buzz surrounding the potential rebuild of the Jets this summer, Wiebe questions whether Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck could be potential acquisitions for the Hurricanes. Both players will be pending unrestricted free agents after next season, and both players fit organizational needs at the moment. Martin Necas being the only true top-six center in the organization, and both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta becoming UFA’s this summer, the Hurricanes could look to poach the Jets for resources.
  • Mark Divver of the NHL reports that both Eric Parker and Ben Wozney from Bowling Green State University have received development camp invites from the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken, respectively. Parker appeared in eight games for Bowling Green, scoring one goal and three assists, as Wozney scored two goals and 13 assists over 36 games for the Falcons.

Snapshots: World Championship, Grzelcyk, Ceci

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The medal games have been set at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.  After Latvia and Germany were able to pull off significant upsets to get to the semi-finals, one of them was able to do so again as the Germans scored late in the third to tie it at three send their game against Team USA to overtime, paving the way for former Pittsburgh prospect Frederik Tiffels to score the winner late in the extra session.  Meanwhile, in the first semi-final, the presumptive second-overall pick next month, Adam Fantilli, picked up the winner in the third period as Canada doubled up the Latvians 4-2.  Latvia and the US will face off for Bronze while Germany and Canada will battle for Gold with both games slated for Sunday.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic examines (subscription link) some potential trade options for the Bruins this summer, including defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. The 29-year-old has been a capable secondary producer offensively for the past several seasons, including notching a career-high 26 points in 75 games in 2022-23.  However, his $3.6875MM AAV is a bit on the high side relative to his ice time which is that of a player on the third pairing and with the team facing quite a cap crunch this summer, Grzelcyk is a luxury they might not be able to afford.  He, along with fellow left-shot defenders Derek Forbort and Mike Reilly, are all a year away from unrestricted free agency and there’s a good chance one of them, if not more, will be on the move in the coming months.
  • While the Oilers will need to free up some cap space to re-sign Evan Bouchard and round out their roster this summer, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal argues that one of those money-saving moves shouldn’t involve moving defenseman Cody Ceci. The 29-year-old still has two years left on a contract that carries a $3.25MM price tag and saw his output dip from 28 to 15 points this season while seeing his playing time go down slightly as well.  However, the fact that he can still handle second-pairing minutes remains valuable on a team that has some unproven defenders and others that are best served with limited ice time so if they can find a way to cut costs elsewhere, that might be a better way for them to go.

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