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Zach Parise Undecided On Playing Future

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A lot of people thought Zach Parise’s career was over a few years ago. In 2020-21, he scored just seven goals in 45 games for the Minnesota Wild, found himself on the fourth line or in the press box, and was bought out at the end of the season. He was turning 37 and would earn a paycheck from the Wild through 2028-29—what better situation to sail off into the sunset.

Except, he wasn’t done. Parise would join his old general manager Lou Lamoriello with the New York Islanders and experience something of a renaissance. This past season he scored 21 goals, the 11th time in his career he scored at least that many.  Now, instead of assuming his career is over, people are asking whether he’s returning to the Islanders for another go.

A month before his 39th birthday, Parise still isn’t sure. Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that the veteran forward is undecided on his playing future, meaning the Islanders must wait before any negotiations can happen.

After his one-year, bonus-laden deal expires, Parise is about to become an unrestricted free agent again. He had an initial $750K cap hit last season but earned another $750K in bonus money for staying healthy. That kind of a deal would be expected again if he decides to return, and likely only with the Islanders.

If it is the end, Parise’s two seasons with New York are a nice capstone on a fantastic career. Selected 17th overall by Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils in 2003, he has played 1,224 regular season games, scored 429 goals, and recorded 879 points.

Anaheim Ducks Hire Ryan Getzlaf

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It’s been the week of retired players receiving front office roles, with names like Pekka Rinne and Alexander Steen joining their former clubs. Late last night, Ryan Getzlaf was added to the group, accepting a role as player development coordinator with the Anaheim Ducks.

Getzlaf will work under director of player development Jim Johnson to “prepare and educate” the team’s prospects. General manager Pat Verbeek released the following:

We are thrilled to have a player of Ryan’s stature stay with the club into his post-playing career. His experience and knowledge from his NHL and international career will be invaluable for our young prospects. He can help prospects reach their full potential on and off the ice based on his 17 years as an NHL player and valuable insight of the necessary steps from junior or college hockey to the NHL.

The 38-year-old Getzlaf needs no introduction. Selected 19th overall in 2003, he quickly became a key part of the Ducks’ organization, winning a Stanley Cup in his sophomore year. The dynamic duo of Getzlaf and Corey Perry would lead the Ducks to annual regular season success, and several long playoff runs over the years.

In 1,157 regular season games, all with Anaheim, Getzlaf scored 282 goals and 1,019 points, reaching a career-high of 91 in 2008-09. He served as captain for more than 12 years, the longest stretch in franchise history.

Now, after retiring in 2022, he’ll transition to the other side of hockey and start a front office career. While his specific duties are not clear, bringing his leadership and experience back into the room should only serve the Ducks positively.

Kraken Defenseman Carson Soucy Likely Headed To Free Agency

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Another player that is likely headed to the free agency market is defenseman Carson Soucy. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff is reporting that the Seattle Kraken and the hulking defenseman had discussions about an extension, but it appears that at this point he is going to unrestricted free agency and will be in a new uniform next season.

This past season Soucy finished last in Kraken defensemen for points and ice time, however, he will still be a significant loss on the backend for Seattle. Together with offensive defenseman Justin Schultz, they formed one of the top third-defensive pairings in the NHL last season, which is what will ultimately price Soucy out of Seattle.

Soucy had three goals and 13 assists in 78 games last season and while he will never an offensive defenseman, he may be paid like one given that he’ll be entering a very weak free-agent market for defensemen. Soucy can bring a lot to a new team, he can play on both sides of the ice, has a bomb from the point, and is a good penalty killer. The one caveat to Soucy’s recent success is that he’s played sheltered minutes for the past two seasons. If a team pays him like a second-pairing defenseman, they might be very disappointed with the results.

Given what is known about Soucy’s game it seems unlikely that a team will dramatically overpay him. Daily Faceoff is projecting a three-year contract for him with an average annual value of $2.5MM, while The Athletic is projecting a $2.6MM annual value also on a three-year deal. Those numbers are more in line with a third pairing defensemen and that is a role the Soucy can flourish in as demonstrated by the past two seasons.

Devils Unlikely To Sign Miles Wood

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have granted Miles Wood permission to speak with other teams around the league about trading for his rights prior to July 1st. This likely signals the end for Wood in New Jersey as he will be an unrestricted free agent in a few days, and it doesn’t appear as though the Devils see him in their future.

New Jersey drafted Wood in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL entry draft and after a season in the NCAA and a cup of coffee in the AHL, Wood found himself as a regular in the Devils lineup. Expectations were high for the Buffalo native after he finished his second full season in the NHL with 19 goals and 13 assists.

It looked as though Wood was well on his way to becoming a solid middle-six forward who could contribute 20 goals a season. However, Wood was never able to duplicate those offensive numbers failing to reach the 30-point mark in each of the next five seasons. He also struggled to elevate his linemates and was frequently guilty of turning the puck over at inopportune times.

Last year Wood posted 13 goals and 14 assists in 76 games and did a much better job driving play and was much more engaged physically, however, he continued to turn the puck over regularly.

Wood will generate some interest on the open market, but it would be surprising to see a team give up an asset to acquire his rights given that free agency is just a few days away and there are plenty of available options that can offer a similar skill set to him. That being said, the market for free agents is weak and teams looking for bottom-six help could do worse than Wood.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins Free Agents, Duclair, Keefe

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The Boston Bruins had a historic regular season in 2022-23, and now in the aftermath of their disappointingly early playoff exit GM Don Sweeney has some difficult problems to solve this summer. Perhaps the team’s most pressing problem is one team president Cam Neely spoke on today, stating that the Bruins are operating under the assumption that their top two centers from last season, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, will not be returning for next year.

Both Bergeron and Krejci took below-market-rate contacts to remain Bruins, and now as each of them are 37 years old it appears Boston is going to head into this offseason preparing for life without either of them occupying their top-two center spots. Another soon-to-be Bruins free agent is Dmitry Orlov, and Sweeney said that he was unlikely to be re-signed by Boston, via The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. Orlov was acquired in a mid-season deal with the Washington Capitals and with Hampus Lindholm already occupying a spot on the left side of Boston’s defense at a high price there simply may not be the cap space to afford an Orlov extension.

Some other notes from across the Atlantic Division:

  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Florida Panthers are “actively shopping” 28-year-old winger Anthony Duclair. The Panthers are widely rumored to be seeking defensive upgrades this summer and are likely dangling Duclair in large part due to his contract, which carries a $3MM AAV and is set to expire in one year. Duclair re-invented himself as a member of the Panthers and reached new heights of production, so despite an injury-plagued regular season he should have a wide range of interested teams on the trade market.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving confirmed to the media today, including The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, that Sheldon Keefe will remain behind the bench for next season, going so far as to say the team is “excited for him to do so.” Keefe has led Toronto since taking over for Mike Babcock in 2019-20 and won at an extremely high rate in the regular season. While he has just one playoff series victory to his name, Keefe has shown himself to be a capable bench boss. With his immediate future now clear, Keefe will look to build on the momentum started by their elimination of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

New Jersey Devils Acquire Tyler Toffoli

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The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames, with the signing rights to RFA Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round pick (80th overall) headed to Alberta in return.

This move comes just after Toffoli made it clear to the Flames that he would not be signing a contract extension to remain in Calgary. The 31-year-old two-time Stanley Cup champion is playing out a $4.25MM AAV contract that will expire at the end of next season. By acquiring Toffoli, the Devils add the Flames’ leading scorer and a player who has crossed the 20-goal plateau seven times.

While the Flames as a team had an extremely disappointing season, Toffoli had one of the finest years of his career in 2022-23. Not only did he score 34 goals and 73 points, each career-high marks, he also captained Team Canada to victory at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships.

The acquisition of Toffoli signals a shift in focus for New Jersey that was all but confirmed when the team reached the playoffs and eliminated their arch-rival New York Rangers in the first round.

The long rebuild is over for the Devils, and the focus for GM Tom Fitzgerald is no longer on building for the future, it’s about assembling a Stanley Cup contender ready as soon as next season.

In adding Toffoli, the Devils’ hopes of going on a long playoff run have certainly increased. Toffoli’s been on quite a few of those, and he has triple the career playoff points of Tomas Tatar, the player he’s most directly replacing in New Jersey’s forward lineup. He may not be a long-term acquisition at 31 years old, but he’s an exceptional finisher and is easily improves the team’s group of forwards.

Seeing as Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier are likely at this point in time to occupy the spots on the wing next to New Jersey’s two franchise centers, Toffoli could end up in a third-line role for the Devils. That would give the Devils an embarrassment of riches up front, potentially giving them three forward lines capable of creating offense at an impressive rate. At the very least, Toffoli’s addition gives head coach Lindy Ruff another talented scoring forward to plug into his lineup.

Sharangovich was unlikely to have a long-term future in New Jersey, given the whole host of young players that still need to sign contract extensions. Players such as Meier and in the future, Luke Hughes are likely to eat up quite a bit of the Devils’ future cap space, so with RFA negotiations set to take place this summer, it seems other players supplanted Sharangovich in New Jersey’s long-term plans.

For Calgary, losing Toffoli is undoubtedly disappointing but they do have an interesting player headed their way in Sharangovich. As he turned 25 earlier this month, he fits new GM Craig Conroy’s goal of getting younger and faster this offseason. He got a little lost in a crowded Devils forward group last year and scored a career-low 13 goals and 30 points, but in the prior two years when he had a larger role he scored at a 25-goal, 48-point pace.

If Sharangovich gets a chance to play with forward Jonathan Huberdeau, for example, he could take an even larger step forward offensively. He’s also decently versatile, with experience playing all three forward positions. Seeing as Toffoli is a widely respected player with an affordable cap hit, the Flames likely had no shortage of offers for his services.

Their acquisition of Sharangovich suggests they feel he can become an even greater player under their new head coach Ryan Huska. While it undoubtedly hurts to lose Toffoli, Sharangovich could be a player who lifts Flames fans out of their seats for years to come.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Arizona Coyotes Re-Sign Ryan McGregor

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced a one-year, two-way contract extension for pending restricted free agent Ryan McGregor. The financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

The former captain and star forward for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, McGregor was a sixth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2017 draft. He didn’t earn an entry-level deal with Toronto, but did manage to get an ATO with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. After his final OHL campaign in 2019-20 McGregor signed an entry-level contract with the Coyotes.

McGregor, now 24 years old, scored 18 point in 34 games in his first pro season with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. After he missed most of the 2021-22 campaign due to injuries, McGregor managed to get into Roadrunners head coach Steve Potvin’s lineup 59 times, scoring 18 points.

He set a career-high of 12 goals in that span, and while he remains a long way from NHL viability this extension gives McGregor another year to develop his game in the AHL. He’ll now have an extra year to distance himself from his past injury issues and hope to make a sustained push for a greater role in the Roadrunners’ lineup.

Seattle Kraken Re-Sign Gustav Olofsson

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that defenseman Gustav Olofsson has been re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract carrying a league-minimum $775k AAV. Per CapFriendly, the deal carries a $350k AHL salary.

Olofsson, 28, has spent the last two years in the Kraken organization since signing with them in August 2021. He’s largely been a reliable AHL blueliner, and this past year he earned his first NHL games with the Kraken, earning his first NHL games since 2019-20. An AHL All-Star in 2015-16, Olofsson was counted on by head coach Dan Bylsma during the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ run to Game Seven of the Calder Cup Finals.

He isn’t much of an offensive player (Olofsson’s career-high in points as a professional is 24) but he offers decent size standing six-foot-two 200 pounds and has 62 games of NHL experience as well as some value as a locker-room leader. Olofsson’s been an alternate captain for both the Kraken’s affiliates and his former team, the Montreal Canadiens.

In locking him up for the next two seasons at an eminently affordable cost, the Kraken have ensured some continuity on their AHL blueline. They’ve also guaranteed that a familiar face will be waiting for them as a potential call-up should they run into injury issues on defense over the course of the next two seasons.

While GM Ron Francis has maybe more significant business to get done this summer, such as re-signing breakout blueliner Vince Dunn, this is extension will certainly help the Firebirds as they look to go on another long playoff run next year.

Anaheim Ducks Acquire Andrew Agozzino

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The Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks have completed a swap of minor-league players. Anaheim is acquiring veteran forward Andrew Agozzino from San Jose in exchange for the negotiating rights to veteran defenseman Andrej Sustr, who is set to hit the unrestricted free-agent market on July 1st.

Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will issued the following statement regarding the transaction:

Andrew requested a trade after the season, citing personal reasons, and we wanted to facilitate his request. We thank Andrew for everything he did with the organization last year and we wish him the best of luck moving forward.”

In trading Agozzino, 32, the Sharks have dealt the captain of their AHL affiliate and a player who is under contract through next season at a $775k cap hit. An undrafted player, Agozzino has long been a quality scorer at the junior and AHL level, ever since his days with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs.

He’s a three-time AHL All-Star who led the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda in scoring with 26 goals and 61 points in 63 games. In 664 career AHL games Agozzino has 516 points, and he’s worn a letter at pretty much every stop of his AHL career.

At the NHL level Agozzino has struggled to stick on a roster for an extended period, and he has just 12 points in 51 career games. He did manage to contribute three points in four NHL games this past year with the Sharks, but despite his impressive AHL form the Sharks gave him his first call-up in late March. Agozzino is likely hopeful he’ll get an increased NHL opportunity in Anaheim.

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has looked to overhaul his AHL affiliate this offseason, and he started in April when he hired a new head coach. Now, he’s added a valued leader and potential top scorer to his farm team.

For the Sharks, the motivation behind this deal seems to be largely an effort to do right by a veteran player who had a strong season with their affiliate. There’s no word on whether the Sharks plan on signing the six-foot-seven Sustr, though the 32-year-old does bring a valuable 361 games of NHL experience.

Players and agents across the league take notice of trades like this, when a team goes out of its way to help a player. By trading Agozzino to a potentially more favorable opportunity they’ve done exactly that. It’s possible the true value in this trade for the Sharks lies there.

Dallas Stars Extend Evgenii Dadonov

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The Dallas Stars are bringing back a good piece of forward depth, re-signing Evgenii Dadonov to a two-year contract extension through the 2024-25 season. The deal, worth $4.5MM, carries an average annual value and cap hit of $2.25MM.

Dadonov, 34, played a crucial depth scoring role for the Stars after a late-season trade from the Montreal Canadiens. He notched 15 points in 23 regular-season games and 10 points in 16 playoff games after a rough go of things with the Habs, finishing his tenure there with just 18 points (and just four goals) in 50 games.

Stars general manager Jim Nill expressed his satisfaction with an extension getting done:

Re-signing Evgenii was high on our priority list. He was a key player for us down the stretch, and he elevated his game on the big stage during the playoffs. We’re happy to get a deal done that works for both sides.

It was, unfortunately, a tough end to the season for Dadonov, who missed the final three games of Dallas’ Western Conference Final loss due to a lower-body injury sustained early in Game 3. He’ll get a chance for two more deep playoff runs with the Stars and head coach Pete DeBoer.

Dadonov’s NHL journey spans nine seasons, during which he has accumulated 131 goals and 167 assists for 298 points in 486 regular-season games. He has suited up for five teams, including the Stars, Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers. He’ll hit the 500-game milestone this season, a remarkable feat for a player who also suited up for six seasons and over 300 games in the KHL.

With Dadonov under contract, Dallas’ forward corps for next season already appears close to set. The team still has $5.1MM in projected cap space, per CapFriendly, but they need a new contract for pending RFA Ty Dellandrea. They’ll also need to replace or re-sign Max Domi, Luke Glendening, and Joel Kiviranta, although youngsters Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque could provide cost-effective solutions in those depth roles.

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