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East Notes: Hurricanes, Sabres, DeSmith

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The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t going anywhere – they’ve signed a 20-year lease extension agreement with the Centennial Authority and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment, according to a team release, keeping them at PNC Arena through the 2043-44 season. As part of the agreement, PNC Arena is poised for a substantial facelift, with plans to create a sports and entertainment district encircling the arena, which is rather secluded from downtown Raleigh as things stand. “This development will transform PNC Arena into a year-round destination for residents while also improving the event day experience for Hurricanes fans, NC State fans, and concertgoers alike,” said Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon.

It’s a significant investment coming from the local government, with a combined $300MM million from the City of Raleigh and Wake County. There’s also a fair amount of private money funneled into developing the land around the arena, which will include office space, living space, a hotel, and a concert venue – a minimum of $200MM investment within five years, $400MM within ten years, and $800MM within 20 years.

Elsewhere from the Eastern Conference today:

  • Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News tabs Jacob Bryson as the likeliest odd man out when it comes to their crowded defense during camp. Noting that his $1.85MM cap hit isn’t fully buriable in the minors, a trade is more likely for the 25-year-old than placing him on waivers and assigning him to AHL Rochester. Bryson signed a two-year, $3.7MM extension with Buffalo before last season after he played in a career-high 73 games, posting some solid two-way numbers in a bottom-pairing role. His momentum evaporated this season, however, and he was a defensive liability when given any increase in minutes, posting a career-low relative Corsi for at even strength of -2.3%.
  • After flipping one asset acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade earlier today, the Montreal Canadiens are still faced with a goalie crunch caused by taking on netminder Casey DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Speaking with reporters today, GM Kent Hughes said he’s talked to DeSmith and asked him “to be patient.” Hughes is undecided on whether to keep DeSmith or trade someone else (Jake Allen or Samuel Montembeault) off the roster to make room for the 32-year-old, who started a career-high 33 games for the Penguins last season.

Buffalo Sabres Loan Anton Wahlberg To SHL

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After signing him to an entry-level contract earlier this summer, the Buffalo Sabres are loaning 2023 draft selection Anton Wahlberg back to Sweden for the 2023-24 campaign, per a team announcement.

Despite the announcement’s wording making it seem like this is an optional choice for the Sabres, it isn’t. Since a recent update to the transfer agreement between the NHL and SHL, players drafted outside of the first round and are under the age of 24 must be loaned back to their Swedish team if they don’t crack the NHL roster – if their team wants them, that is. This is the same case we saw with netminder Dennis Hildeby of the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, who the team was forced to loan back to Färjestad instead of assigning him to the AHL. With Hildeby’s SHL contract expiring this offseason, he can now play in the AHL.

This means Wahlberg’s entry-level contract will not begin this season and will slide to the 2024-25 campaign. Wahlberg is only under contract with his SHL club, the Malmö Redhawks, for this season. If he doesn’t sign an extension with them, Buffalo could, in theory, assign him to play with the AHL’s Rochester Americans in 2024-25.

Wahlberg was a late riser on draft boards thanks to a strong performance with Sweden at the U18 World Juniors, where he recorded three goals and six points in seven games en route to a silver medal. His offensive production doesn’t jump off the page – he didn’t crack the point-per-game mark in the Swedish junior circuit, recording 27 points in 32 games last year with Malmö’s U20 team. However, he’s got pro-ready size at 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds and possesses a strong two-way acumen, both of which earned him a call-up for 17 SHL games with Malmö last year, where he scored twice and added two assists.

Buffalo was reportedly eyeing Wahlberg in the late first round and attempted to trade up to select him there, but they ended up not making a deal and selected him with the 39th overall pick in the early second round. Wahlberg also attended Sabres development camp earlier in the summer.

Paul Byron Expected To Retire

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August 15: Canadiens GM Kent Hughes spoke to the media today in the wake of dealing defenseman Jeff Petry to Detroit, confirming that he expects Byron to retire and will speak to him in September.

April 14: Montreal Canadiens forward Paul Byron is facing a difficult decision regarding his future in the NHL. Byron missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a lower-body injury after playing just 27 games the year before, and according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, doctors have still not cleared him to return to play.

Byron will be making a decision on his future within the next month, says Lavoie, signaling what could be a tough end for the 34-year-old known for his effort on the ice. Since Montreal claimed him on waivers in 2015, Byron’s suited up in 383 regular-season games for the Habs, becoming a fan favorite thanks to his speed, tenacity, and versatility.

Speaking this morning, Byron expressed his desire to reporters to remain with the team in a different capacity, particularly player development. Byron says Montreal management’s answer on a front office role will influence his decision on whether to continue his career.

Regardless of what Byron’s future holds, it’s clear he’s made a significant impact on the Canadiens organization during his time with the team. He’s been public about his experiences with chronic pain, hoping to raise the importance of players’ quality of life in hockey circles.

If it’s the end of the road for Byron, he wraps up a 12-year, 521-game career that was unexpected given his status as a sixth-round draft pick in 2007. He hit the 20-goal mark twice with Montreal, proving himself as a versatile bottom-six forward at his peak.

All Reserve List Expirees On August 15th

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Originally published August 8. Updated to reflect Harrison Blaisdell is returning to the University of New Hampshire for a fifth season, meaning the Winnipeg Jets will retain his rights until August 15, 2024.

Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the National Hockey League and its Players Association, every year on August 15th, certain players (if parameters are met) become unrestricted free agents at 5 pm ET. If a college-drafted player has not received a bona fide offer, and graduates from a four-year university, that player will have the freedom of pursuing a different organization via unrestricted free agency.

This does not typically happen for some of the higher-profile college-drafted prospects around the league, but has happened before most notably in the case of Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey. This year, nine players find themselves headed for unrestricted free agency a week today:

F – John Farinacci (Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall, 2019)
F – Demetrios Koumontzis (Calgary Flames, 108th overall, 2018)
F – Kevin Wall (Carolina Hurricanes, 181st overall, 2019)
F – Jake Wise (Chicago Blackhawks, 69th overall, 2018)
F – Robert Mastrosimone (Detroit Red Wings, 54th overall, 2019)
F – Jay O’Brien (Philadelphia Flyers, 19th overall, 2018)
D – Ryan O’Connell (Toronto Maple Leafs, 203rd overall, 2017)
G – Jared Moe (Winnipeg Jets, 184th overall, 2018)

These players are seeing their NHL signing rights expire but have signed ECHL, AHL, or European contracts for the 2023-24 season:

D – Robbie Stucker (Columbus Blue Jackets, 210th overall, 2017) – Signed with ECHL Iowa
F – Skyler Brind’Amour (Edmonton Oilers, 177th overall, 2017) – Signed with AHL Charlotte
D – Christian Krygier (New York Islanders, 196th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Bridgeport
F – Jacob Pivonka (New York Islanders, 103rd overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Bridgeport
F – Jakov Novak (Ottawa Senators, 188th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Laval
D – Jonny Tychonick (Ottawa Senators, 48th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Toronto
D – Arvid Henrikson (San Jose Sharks, 187th overall, 2016) – Signed with Västerviks IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan

An abundance of these individual players are destined for AHL or ECHL agreements for the 2023-24 season if they are able to play anywhere, but there are several that should garner some significant interest on the market leading up to training camp in September. The immediate being O’Brien, a recent graduate from Boston University, who tore up his United States Preparatory High School league in his draft year. Originally committing to Providence College, O’Brien would transfer to Boston for the last three years of his collegiate career.

In 79 total games with the Terriers, O’Brien put up 26 goals and 44 assists, nothing to shake your head about in the NCAA. O’Brien may not be ready for NHL minutes just yet, but there should be plenty of rebuilding clubs ready and waiting to give him a shot for next season.

Wise will also be another interesting name to keep an eye on in a week’s time. Originally committing to Boston University, his collegiate career did not get off to a great start with the club, and Wise transferred to Ohio State University for the remainder of his collegiate career. In his final season in the NCAA, Wise had a tremendous season, scoring 12 goals and 27 assists in 39 games. Garnering Second-Team All Big 10 honors for the 2022-23 season, Wise helped OSU make it all the way to the Frozen Four quarterfinals, losing to the eventual champions, Quinnipiac University.

Lastly, Mastrosimone is likely the player on this list most ready to crack an NHL roster next season. Originally looking to be a solid draft pick by the Red Wings back in 2019, the beginning of his college career with Boston University soured any chance of the team offering up a contract. In his final year of NCAA eligibility, Mastrosimone excelled, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists in 38 games for the Arizona State University Sun Devils.

One of the biggest knocks on Mastrosimone is his size, standing at 5’10” and 170 pounds, but his skill is apparently ready. The NHL is not as big on size as it had been previously, but some clubs may want him to fill out a bit more before giving him meaningful minutes.

Detroit Red Wings Acquire Jeff Petry

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The Detroit Red Wings have acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens just days after Montreal re-acquired him from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the three-team Erik Karlsson blockbuster, according to a team release. Montreal receives defenseman Gustav Lindström and a 2025 conditional fourth-round pick in return.

Montreal is retaining an additional 50% of Petry’s salary in the trade, bringing his cap hit with Detroit down to $2.34MM. CapFriendly reports Montreal will receive the later of Detroit’s or the Boston Bruins’ 2025 fourth-round picks, both of which Detroit currently owns.

This is an expected move, although most reporting indicated Canadiens GM Kent Hughes would wait a little longer to hit send on a deal. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reported immediately after the Karlsson trade went through that Montreal was going to flip Petry again with salary retained but didn’t think the move would happen until closer to training camps and the start of the regular season. It also marks a return home for Petry, who was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and played college hockey at Michigan State.

Petry, 35, had a decent lone season in Pittsburgh last year but wasn’t quite worth the $6.25MM he was costing them against the cap. He finished the year with five goals, 26 assists, 31 points, and a +2 rating in 61 games, a slight rebound from the 2021-22 campaign in Montreal. He once again logged heavy minutes, averaging 22:21 per game.

However, at his age, the chances of Petry producing the 40-plus point campaigns with solid defensive metrics he was known for in Montreal are slim. $2.34MM is quite a manageable number for his services, though, and he still has the potential to challenge Justin Holl for the second-pair right defenseman slot behind undisputed number-one Moritz Seider. Detroit hopes he can at least keep up NHL-caliber play for the next two seasons until his contract expires in 2025, avoiding too sharp of an age-related decline.

Aside from their top pairing of Seider and Jake Walman, Detroit’s depth defense was quite weak last season when it came to controlling possession. While he isn’t a shutdown defender by any stretch, Petry isn’t a liability either, and he should help improve possession numbers for Detroit’s second or third pairing marginally. Adding Petry into the fold also gives Detroit the option to bench Ben Chiarot, who had a disastrous first campaign with Detroit after signing a four-year, $19MM contract with trade protection in free agency last summer – a deal that’s quickly looking like an albatross.

Some are likely questioning this move, given Detroit’s now added a trio of NHL defensemen this offseason and have blocked a potential lineup spot for 2021 sixth-overall pick Simon Edvinsson. However, the 20-year-old defender likely won’t be ready to start the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in May, and without participating in training camp, starting the season with AHL Grand Rapids again isn’t the worst idea. With Detroit evidently looking to challenge for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division in 2023-24, Petry is a significant upgrade over Chiarot if that’s the lineup swap head coach Derek Lalonde chooses to make.

In Lindström, the Canadiens receive a young depth defenseman still trying to demonstrate he can give an NHL team reliable minutes. Detroit selected the 24-year-old 38th overall in 2017, and he’s gotten into 128 NHL games since then over the course of the past four seasons. Last season, he recorded a goal and eight points in 36 games, along with a -16 rating. The Red Wings signed him to a one-year, one-way deal worth $950K earlier this offseason, and he’s slated to be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in the summer of 2024.

As CapFriendly notes, this was a significant step for Montreal to become cap-compliant next season without sticking netminder Carey Price’s $10.5MM cap hit on LTIR.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AHL Notes: Farrance, Mullin, Cosgrove, Calder, Martin

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The Toronto Marlies have signed defenseman David Farrance to a one-year, two-way contract, according to The Hockey News’ Jacob Stoller. A 2017 third-round pick of the Nashville Predators, Farrance spent last season on an AHL contract split between the Chicago Wolves and Colorado Eagles. He finished the 2022-23 season with three goals, 21 assists, 24 points, and a -7 rating in 45 games.

Farrance was a rather highly-touted addition when he turned pro with Nashville to end the 2020-21 campaign. He had just rattled off two seasons above a point-per-game at Boston University and was in the conversation to earn a spot on the team out of camp to begin 2021-22. However, the following season unfolded disastrously. Not only did he not make Nashville’s opening-night roster, he struggled mightily in his first pro season. In 50 games on assignment with AHL Milwaukee, Farrance struggled to maintain a spot in the lineup and posted middling defensive metrics, finishing with a goal and 13 assists for 14 points. After completing his two-year entry-level contract, Nashville did not issue Farrance a qualifying offer in the summer of 2022 and relinquished his NHL rights. Extending Farrance a two-way deal means if the Marlies assign him to ECHL Newfoundland, he’ll receive a lesser salary.

A handful of other AHL signings today:

  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have agreed to terms with forward Tristan Mullin on a one-year AHL contract, per a team release. Mullin will play with the New York Rangers’ affiliate after spending the 2022-23 season in the Seattle Kraken’s farm system with both AHL Coachella Valley and ECHL Kansas City. The 26-year-old center is now entering his fourth pro season and will fight for a fourth-line role in Hartford after recording 25 points in 25 ECHL games last season.
  • The Bridgeport Islanders are bringing back depth defenseman Trevor Cosgrove for the 2023-24 campaign, the team announced Tuesday. Cosgrove, 26, appeared in nine games for Bridgeport last season, his first professional campaign after five NCAA seasons with Colgate and Western Michigan. Bridgeport could return the left-shot New Hampshire native to ECHL Worcester, where he led defensemen in goals last season with five goals and 21 points in 40 games.
  • Bridgeport also signed 25-year-old forward Ashton Calder to an AHL deal for 2023-24. Calder signed on with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades at the end of 2022-23 after finishing out his fifth college year at Penn State, and he quickly fit right in. In 17 playoff games, Calder recorded three goals and six points, playing an important depth role en route to winning a Kelly Cup championship in his first taste of pro hockey. With the Islanders lacking forward depth at the AHL level, he’s a name to watch to crack the Bridgeport roster in training camp next month.
  • Defenseman Max Martin has signed a two-way contract with the Ontario Reign, per Stoller. The 24-year-old undrafted free agent won a WHL championship with the Prince Albert Raiders in 2019 and earned ECHL Second All-Star Team honors last year, finishing second on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in scoring with 14 goals, 38 assists and 52 points in 66 games along with a strong +26 rating. He’ll look to build on his previously acquired 22 games of AHL experience, all spent with the Texas Stars between 2020 and 2022.

Atlantic Notes: Krejci, Roger, McDonnell

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When Boston Bruins center David Krejci officially announced his retirement yesterday, he only confirmed his retirement from the NHL – leaving the door open for a potential return to European or international play. Speaking with reporters, including Patrick Donnelly of the Boston Sports Journal today, Krejci said that was intentional, and he is indeed considering playing in the Czech league next season or, if nothing else, suiting up for his country at the 2024 World Championships. Krejci said the injury he was playing through during the team’s first-round loss to the Florida Panthers would have required surgery to play for Boston in 2023-24, and said he “can’t take the whole season” anymore.

That makes a return to the World Championship makes sense, given he won’t be playing anywhere (if he does return) until the calendar flips to 2024. Krejci’s done quite well for Czechia at the Worlds, even recently – he’s combined for 18 points in 15 games during his last two appearances at the tournament in 2018 and 2022. He last suited up in Czechia for Extraliga club HC Olomouc in 2021-22, leading the team in scoring with 20 goals, 26 assists and 46 points in 51 games. Olomouc has finished under .500 for three consecutive seasons, and their 2023-24 roster lacks any notable names with NHL experience. Even at Krejci’s age, he’d be a large boost to Olomouc’s chances of avoiding relegation next season.

Some other notes from around the Atlantic Division:

  • 2021 Ottawa Senators second-round pick Ben Roger isn’t turning pro after completing his junior career last season, instead opting to join the Canadian university circuit with Saint Mary’s. Ottawa no longer holds the 20-year-old defenseman’s NHL rights after they opted not to issue him an entry-level contract before June 15. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds, the Roger selection was always a bit of a gamble given his lack of offensive upside and playing experience at the time of the draft. He lost the entire 2020-21 campaign due to COVID regulations, meaning he lost out on a crucial year of development. He completed his OHL career with 140 games split between the London Knights and Kingston Frontenacs, recording five goals, 27 assists, 32 points, and a -4 rating.
  • Also joining Saint Mary’s is Tampa Bay Lightning 2020 seventh-round selection Declan McDonnell, who also no longer has a rights agreement with an NHL team due to the same circumstances as Roger. The 21-year-old winger scored 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points in 63 games with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers in his draft year but saw his production zigzag over the following campaigns. Last season, he recorded just 13 goals in 63 games for the Barrie Colts to finish off his junior career.

 

Bob Baun Passes Away

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Four-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Bob Baun has passed away, per an announcement from the NHL Alumni Association. He was 86 years old.

Born in Lanigan, Saskatchewan, in 1936, Baun got his start in hockey in Toronto in his teens. He worked his way up through the junior ranks with the Toronto Marlboros before eventually earning an NHL deal with the Maple Leafs at age 20 in 1956-57. He played in just 20 games during that season, maintaining his rookie status. His first full-time campaign was the following season, where he recorded ten points in 67 games and added 91 penalty minutes, finishing fifth in the 1958 Calder Trophy voting. Over the next few seasons, he became one of the NHL’s most respected defensemen, known for hard but clean hits and stout defensive play, earning the nickname “Boomer.”

The 1960s saw Baun win four Cups in a six-year span with the Maple Leafs, becoming a large part of the last Toronto core to win a championship. It was his third Cup win in 1964, though, that’s cemented Baun in NHL lore. Down 3-2 in the Final series against the Detroit Red Wings, Baun sustained a broken ankle in Game 6 but would leave the game just briefly. He returned on the broken ankle when overtime began and scored just his third career playoff goal in 61 games at the time to tie the series. Toronto would win Game 7 in shutout fashion, 4-0, taking home their third straight Stanley Cup.

Baun would play for many more seasons, finally being forced to retire during the 1972-73 campaign at age 36 after he sustained a broken neck on a hit five games into the season. He finished his NHL career with 224 points and 1,489 penalty minutes in 964 games across 17 seasons, also making brief pit stops with the Oakland Seals and Red Wings.

He was also an influential force off the ice, leading the charge for increased player wages at the dawn of the expansion era and even attempted to organize an alumni association in the years after his retirement, looking to investigate what he believed were issues in the NHL’s pension plan at the time. He received little support from players at the time, but an independent audit later confirmed his suspicions.

Baun’s grandson, Kyle Baun, had a brief professional career in the 2010s that included a five-game stint with the Chicago Blackhawks.

We at PHR extend our deepest condolences to Baun’s family, friends, and former teammates.

2009 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

The results of our redraft so far are as follows, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Victor Hedman, New York Islanders (2)
2nd Overall: John Tavares, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
3rd Overall: Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche (33)

The Conn Smythe winner with the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues is off the board at third overall, becoming the first player taken outside of the first round to appear in our redraft. Notably, he does stay with the team that took him on Day 2 of the 2009 NHL Draft – the Colorado Avalanche, who used their second pick of the draft on O’Reilly after selecting Matt Duchene with the third overall pick. Both players have gone on to produce good offensive totals near the top of the class, although O’Reilly’s taken home more in terms of award hardware with a championship, a Conn Smythe and a Selke Trophy all under his belt. O’Reilly won with 48% of our polling, while Duchene finished second in third-overall voting with just 13% of the vote.

Next up on the draft board is the Atlanta Thrashers at fourth overall. This was their second straight top-five selection after using the third overall pick on defenseman Zach Bogosian in 2008.

This year, however, their big prospect add was forward Evander Kane out of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. While it wasn’t a bad pick at all if you look at his point production throughout his career and his ability to consistently play a top-six role, Kane has had a multitude of off-ice incidents throughout his career, including having his contract terminated by the San Jose Sharks in 2022 for breaching COVID protocols.

Nonetheless, Kane was a solid player for the Thrashers (and Winnipeg Jets) for parts of six seasons until he was moved to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015. He was widely viewed as the best pick available at the time – after all, he had just posted 96 points in 61 games with the Giants while recording 89 penalty minutes to boot, and he’d recorded six points in six games for Canada at that year’s World Junior Championships.

He signed his entry-level contract with Atlanta just weeks after the draft and made the NHL full-time out of the gate in a middle-six role. As an 18-year-old, he recorded 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points in 66 games, finishing tied in Calder Trophy voting with Hedman that year. By the time the 2012-13 partial lockout rolled around, Kane had a 30-goal season under his belt and was averaging over 20 minutes per game.

After later career stops with the Sabres, Sharks and now Edmonton Oilers, Kane has some well-documented defensive weaknesses but still brings an intriguing blend of shooting ability and physicality to the table. In 853 games, he’s scored 302 goals – third among the 2009 class behind Tavares and Duchene. His 573 career points are sixth in the class.

There’s an argument to be made that the Thrashers made the right pick, but Duchene could have also been a more intriguing option had he been available for the Thrashers to select at fourth overall. They don’t have very long to decide, though, as Atlanta is now on the clock – who should they select with the fourth-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft? Make your voice heard below:

2009 Redraft: Fourth Overall
Matt Duchene 29.65% (247 votes)
Chris Kreider 15.13% (126 votes)
Nazem Kadri 13.93% (116 votes)
Mattias Ekholm 12.00% (100 votes)
Evander Kane 8.16% (68 votes)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson 4.20% (35 votes)
Dmitry Orlov 3.60% (30 votes)
Brayden Schenn 3.12% (26 votes)
Ryan Ellis 3.00% (25 votes)
Anders Lee 1.56% (13 votes)
Reilly Smith 0.84% (7 votes)
Darcy Kuemper 0.60% (5 votes)
Robin Lehner 0.60% (5 votes)
Mike Hoffman 0.48% (4 votes)
Tomas Tatar 0.48% (4 votes)
Tyson Barrie 0.36% (3 votes)
Marcus Johansson 0.36% (3 votes)
Dmitry Kulikov 0.36% (3 votes)
Brayden McNabb 0.36% (3 votes)
Calvin de Haan 0.24% (2 votes)
Nick Leddy 0.24% (2 votes)
Sami Vatanen 0.24% (2 votes)
Kyle Palmieri 0.12% (1 votes)
David Savard 0.12% (1 votes)
Jakob Silfverberg 0.12% (1 votes)
Craig Smith 0.12% (1 votes)
Total Votes: 833

If you can’t access the built-in poll, click here to vote.

West Notes: Canucks, Yurov, Labanc

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Following last week’s signing of Pius Suter, the Canucks find themselves even further above the $83.5MM cap ceiling with more than $88MM in commitments per CapFriendly and with a surplus of forwards.  Thomas Drance of The Athletic examines (subscription link) how Vancouver can get cap-compliant even with Tanner Pearson’s potential return from LTIR.  It would require carrying a 22-man roster instead of the maximum of 23 and would require at least three players to go on waivers, one of which needs to make at least $1.15MM.  That would give them less than $150K in wiggle room, however, so it wouldn’t be surprising if GM Patrik Allvin looks to make a move or two to try to give themselves at least a bit of flexibility.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Minnesota is open to trying to turn prospect Danila Yurov into a center down the road, relays NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. The 19-year-old was a first-round pick (22nd overall) by the Wild last year and is set to remain with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL next season before coming to North America.  Generally speaking, teams often allow center prospects to develop on the wing to start so it might take some time before Minnesota determines whether this is an experiment worth pursuing.  However, finding and developing an impact young middleman has proven to be a challenge in recent years so if Yurov could be up to the task down the road, he’d help fill a big organizational void.
  • With the Sharks adding four forwards to their roster this summer, there aren’t many openings up front for prospects. One idea to open up a spot would be to waive and demote frequent speculative trade candidate Kevin Labanc but Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News believes that option would be a far-fetched one.  The 27-year-old is entering the final year of his contract which carries a $4.725MM AAV.  Labanc has shown he can still produce after notching 15 goals in 72 games last season although that’s not a great return on their investment.  San Jose has one salary retention slot remaining for 2023-24 and burying Labanc in the minors for any period of time would likely hurt their chances of moving him with 50% retention later in the year.

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