Leo Komarov Signs With Liiga’s HIFK
Helsinki-based club HIFK in Finland’s top league have signed former New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov to a two-year contract, according to a team release. In doing so, Komarov returns to play professionally in the country he’s represented internationally for the first time since 2009.
Born in Estonia, the 36-year-old Komarov has maintained Finnish citizenship and nationality since his family moved there in his youth. He hasn’t played in the NHL since he mutually terminated his contract with the Islanders in November 2021.
A 2006 sixth-round pick of the Maple Leafs, Komarov has gone on to have quite a successful career despite playing less than 500 NHL games. The versatile forward is well-decorated internationally, winning gold medals with Finland at the World Championship and the Winter Olympics and capturing the KHL’s Gagarin Cup.
It was extremely unlikely Komarov would ever return to the NHL after departing for Europe this late into his career, but this essentially confirms he’s played his last game in North America. If that’s the case, he finishes his NHL career with 63 goals, 107 assists and 170 points in 491 games across nine seasons with the Islanders and Leafs.
Komarov spent last season in the Swedish Hockey League with Luleå HF. There, he recorded nine goals, nine assists and 18 points in 49 games as his squad lost to Växjö Lakers HC in the league’s quarterfinals.
Kenny Agostino Signs With SHL’s Skellefteå AIK
August 23: Johan Svensson and Jennifer Engstrom of Expressen report that Skellefteå is set to terminate their agreement with Agostino just days after signing him. The club had come under criticism in Swedish circles for pursuing a player who’d spent the last two seasons playing in Russia.
August 21: Free agent left-winger Kenny Agostino has signed a one-year deal with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, according to a team release.
Agostino, a veteran of 86 NHL games across six seasons, hasn’t played in North America since 2021 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The 31-year-old has spent the last two seasons in Russia with the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, where he’s recorded 24 goals, 27 assists and 51 points in 75 games. Most of that offensive production came in 2021-22, however, when he produced at a point-per-game clip. 2022-23 was a tough year for Agostino as he dealt with injuries and inconsistency, scoring just four goals in 29 games.
There likely would have been a spot for Agostino in many NHL organizations had he wanted to return this summer despite last season’s poor performance. He’s been a solid pinch hitter at the NHL level with strong minor-league production, posting 317 points in 348 career AHL games. Despite the limited major-league action, Agostino’s production has been fine for a bottom-six call-up – 30 points across those 86 games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, and Maple Leafs.
Opting to stay in Europe this summer could very well be an indication Agostino intends to spend the rest of his career there. It’s been quite the journey so far for the 2010 fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, earning true journeyman status since finishing his collegiate career at Yale in 2014. It wasn’t too long ago Agostino was viewed as one of the more reliable scoring talents outside of the NHL, as he was named to the United States roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
Agostino joins a Skellefteå roster that includes Detroit Red Wings 2023 first-round pick defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka, as well as a trio of former Swedish NHL forwards – Oscar Lindberg, Pär Lindholm and Oscar Moller.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Nate Schnarr To PTO
The Columbus Blue Jackets have inked a professional tryout deal with forward Nate Schnarr, as confirmed by CapFriendly yesterday evening. Schnarr, 24, finds himself looking to earn a spot in the Blue Jackets organization after struggling to adjust to the pro game over the past few seasons.
Despite spending all four seasons of his pro career on an NHL contract, Schnarr is still looking to make his NHL debut. A third-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes in 2017, Schnarr exploded onto the scene as a prospect in the 2018-19 campaign after leading the OHL champion Guelph Storm in points with 102 in 65 games.
He hadn’t posted eye-popping point totals in juniors before that, though, which signaled he may have trouble carrying over that offensive explosion to the pros the following season. He played just 22 games in the minors with the Coyotes in 2019-20 before he was shipped to the New Jersey Devils as part of the five-asset return for Taylor Hall.
Schnarr’s been traded again in each of the past two seasons, ending up with the Montreal Canadiens before finishing out 2022-23 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings organization. Last season was the worst of his pro career to date, recording just four goals and five assists for nine points in 45 AHL games split between the Laval Rocket and Ontario Reign. He recorded just two points in 18 games with Ontario after the trade to the Kings, leading the team to opt not to issue him a qualifying offer this summer and let him become a UFA.
He’s extremely unlikely to earn an NHL role with Columbus off a PTO, but Columbus has brought in potential targets for their minor-league affiliate on tryouts over the past few seasons. At minimum, Schnarr will look to convince the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters to sign him to a contract, although ideally, he’d receive a two-way deal from the Blue Jackets with the option of being called up to make his NHL debut. Columbus has the space to do it; they have 44 out of the maximum 50 active contracts with only one unsigned RFA remaining, defenseman Tim Berni.
Schnarr must impress to stand out amongst a crowded core of existing Blue Jackets prospects and veterans destined for AHL assignment. Per CapFriendly’s projections, the Blue Jackets have 13 forwards under contract slated for assignment to the minors, while the Monsters have four additional forwards signed to AHL deals. 2022 draft choice Jordan Dumais is listed under CapFriendly’s “minors” category for Columbus at the time of writing but is not yet eligible for AHL assignment given his age – he must be returned to juniors if not on the NHL squad, per the NHL/CHL transfer agreement.
Peter Holland Signs PTO With Colorado Avalanche
Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Peter Holland is attempting to make a comeback with the Colorado Avalanche. Baugh reports that Holland will be trying to return to the NHL after not playing hockey anywhere last season.
Holland last played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League for Djurgardens IF. He struggled offensively, posting just six assists as he cut his season short and played in just 15 games.
Holland hasn’t dressed in an NHL game since 2017-18 when he was a member of the New York Rangers. He struggled mightily that season as he posted just a goal and three assists in 23 games while playing in a bottom-six role. He then spent time in the AHL and Sweden before eventually landing in the KHL where he played for two seasons as a member of Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
Holland will be a long shot to make a very talented Avalanche team. He will be fighting an uphill battle after sitting out for a season and spending a half-decade outside of the NHL. But he is a talented player, while he never reached the level scouts thought he would when he was selected 15th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2009 NHL entry draft, he did put up several solid seasons as a member of the Maple Leafs.
Holland will join the likes of Nathan Beaulieu (Hurricanes), Alex Chiasson (Bruins), and Brandon Sutter (Oilers) who are all hoping to convert PTOs into NHL contracts for next season.
Detroit Red Wings Re-Sign Joe Veleno
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that they’ve re-signed forward Joe Veleno to a one-year contract for the 2023-24 season with a cap hit of $825,000. The 23-year-old just completed his third season with the Wings and tallied nine goals and 11 assists in 81 games.
Veleno served Detroit’s fourth line well as he posted 152 hits on the season and was a disruptive force against opposing offences. While he did post 20 points on the campaign, he endured some long stretches where the offence dried up, including a 20-game drought where he was held pointless.
Veleno did not qualify for arbitration, which significantly hindered his negotiating power. He will once again be a restricted free agent next summer and could be looking to cash in if he can find more offence in the upcoming season. He will be due a qualifying offer of $866,000 next summer for Detroit to retain his rights.
The Montreal, Quebec native has a good combination of size and speed. He does good work on the forecheck, but it does feel like he has a lot more to give as he enters his prime. Although he hasn’t typically been penalized a lot in the NHL, he did face a major suspension this past spring when he was suspended at the 2023 IIHF World Championship for stomping on the leg of Winnipeg Jets forward Nino Niederreiter during a preliminary round game between Switzerland and Canada.
Veleno was coming off his entry-level contract with Detroit after dressing in 152 games over the past three years. To this point in his career, he has collected 18 goals and 18 assists while posting 13:03 of ice time per game.
Logan Mailloux Cleared To Play For Canadiens
Renaud Lavoie of The NHL Network is reporting that Montreal Canadiens defensive prospect Logan Mailloux has been cleared by the NHL to play for the team next season. Lavoie tweeted, “Logan Mailloux has received a green light to play in the NHL when he earns a job with the Montreal Canadiens, putting an end to the speculation.”
The native of Belle River, Ontario, just wrapped up his final season of OHL eligibility with the London Knights, a season in which he posted 25 goals and 28 assists in 59 games.
The 20-year-old Mailloux was charged in Sweden with defamation and offensive photography after he shared an explicit picture of a woman with his teammates in Sweden without her consent. Mailloux was 17 years old at the time, and amid the controversy, he was selected by the Canadiens in the entry draft that followed after he had asked teams not to draft him. The NHL elected to review the situation before agreeing to allow Mailloux to play in the league.
Mailloux met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman this past summer in what was presumably a meeting to discuss his being cleared by the league as he looked to turn pro for the first time after signing his NHL entry-level contract last year. He would have required clearance to play in the AHL or the NHL if he wanted to play professional hockey in North America.
Mailloux and the Montreal Canadiens have taken steps to try and make amends. Mailloux has participated in multiple educational events led by the community manager for the Montreal Canadiens Foundation, Geneviève Paquette. The Canadiens franchise has also put $1MM into a ‘Respect and Consent Action Plan‘.
With Mailloux now reportedly cleared to play, he will need to play catchup as he has missed significant time due to his suspensions as well as multiple injuries that he has dealt with. He is unlikely to land a job with the Canadiens as they have a good stockpile of skilled, young defensemen who will also be looking to crack the lineup. Given that, he will likely start the season with the Laval Rocket, which would be a good fit for him to better understand what it takes to become a professional before being thrust under the bright lights in Montreal.
Edmonton Oilers Make Changes To Scouting Staff
The Edmonton Oilers announced today that they have made several changes to their scouting staff as the team gears up for training camp. The club has named Rick Pracey as Director of Amateur Scouting while mutually parting ways with Tyler Wright.
The 52-year-old Pracey has been an amateur scout with the Philadelphia Flyers since 2014 and brings over 20 years of scouting experience to Edmonton. He has previously worked as a Director of Amateur Scouting with the Colorado Avalanche, a role he served in from 2008-14 during which time the team selected Tyson Barrie, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, and Matt Duchene.
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Pracey’s professional playing career was short-lived as he played college hockey in Canada for both the University of Windsor and Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a one-year stint in the UHL. After his playing career was over, Pracey joined the Avalanche in 2001 in an amateur scouting role and built his career from there.
For Tyler Wright, he moves on after just over four years with the Oilers. The 50-year-old came over to Edmonton in July 2019 along with Ken Holland after working alongside Holland with the Detroit Red Wings for six seasons. He served as Director of Amateur Scouting for all four years and was in the same role with the Red Wings for over six years.
It will be interesting to see where he lands given that the move was a mutual one for Wright and the Oilers. Wright’s work likely went by the wayside this year as the Oilers drafted just three players in June’s NHL entry draft after trading away picks in the Mattias Ekholm and Kailer Yamamoto trades.
Extension Candidate: Mark Scheifele
The Winnipeg Jets are approaching a potentially franchise-altering season. Two of the organization’s key players, former Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and team number-one center Mark Scheifele are each on expiring contracts that stand to walk them straight to the unrestricted free agent market next summer.
The Jets are intent on remaining competitive with key players such as Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers, and recent acquisition Gabriel Vilardi still on their roster. So it stands to reason that the team would be interested in retaining Scheifele, the player with the most goals in Jets history since they arrived from Atlanta.
But seeing as his name has come up in trade rumors this summer, it’s also a very real possibility that he ends up on a different team next season. A poor campaign by Winnipeg could finally catalyze the type of re-tool that seems off the table at this current moment entering 2023-24.
The likeliest scenario that would result in Winnipeg engaging in serious discussions about a long-term contract with Scheifele next season would be if the team sprints out of the gate at the start of the regular season and looks like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
If that ends up happening, the Jets finding a way to retain their number-one center would likely become an organizational top priority. Should the Jets make a determined effort to extend Scheifele — assuming they haven’t already — what might that contract look like?
2022-23
For quite a while now, the question of Scheifele’s true on-ice value has been a hotly debated one. He’s a divisive player, and that’s not even a reference to the vicious hit he laid on an unsuspecting Jake Evans during the 2021 playoffs — one that got him suspended for the team’s final three games as well as Winnipeg’s season-opener the following campaign — but rather a reference to the way in which Scheifele approaches the game.
Scheifele places a premium on offensive creation and offensive production, something that is certainly admirable, but often comes at the detriment of his all-around value. His fixation on always maximizing his and his linemates’ offensive production has made him something of a lightning rod for criticism as the Jets franchise has declined since their 2018 run to the Western Conference Final.
Scheifele’s approach to the game has at times attracted harsh criticism from those who would like to see him take a more committed approach to the defensive side of the game. A lot is typically asked of elite centers in the NHL, and nothing Scheifele has shown in recent seasons has suggested he is able to capably manage the sort of defensive commitment many coaches want to see out of top pivots. Jets coach Rick Bowness even appeared to show some frustration at Scheifele during last season, per The Athletic’s Murat Ates, suggesting that many fans’ frustration with Scheifele’s offensive focus could be shared, to a certain extent, by figures within the Jets organization.
But on the flip side of those negatives is the undeniable reality that Scheifele is among the most offensively gifted centers in the NHL. He scored a career-high 42 goals last season and has frequently been an at-or-above point-per-game scorer. He’s a two-time NHL All-Star and has even been productive in the playoffs, with 32 points in 37 career games. He undoubtedly has the numbers of a true first-line center, and first-line centers are extremely rare. But then the question becomes, he has number-one center numbers, but does he play like one?
Statistics
2022-23: 81 GP, 42 G, 26 A, 68 pts, -16 rating, 43 PIMs, 206 shots, 20:29 ATOI, 58.5% CF
Career: 723 GP, 272 G, 373 A, 645 pts, +46 rating, 303 PIMs, 1,620 shots, 19:59 ATOI, 55.7% CF
The Market
Centers who put up the kind of numbers Scheifele has throughout his career don’t come cheap. While Scheifele is undoubtedly a cut below the dynamic, league-defining centers such as Nathan MacKinnon that are at the top of the financial leaderboard, he nonetheless has the profile of a player who merits a franchise-defining contract.
It’s very rare for a point-per-game top-line center to hit the open market, and while it’s certainly up for debate if Scheifele truly fits that mold, he’d certainly end up the best center on the open market assuming both Auston Matthews and Steven Stamkos re-sign with their current clubs.
That would likely aid Scheifele significantly should he be seeking the highest AAV mark possible on his next deal, as it’s probable that teams desperate for a true scoring center (such as the Boston Bruins, who lost David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron to retirement) would be ready to open their wallets for Scheifele.
The Jets have the sort of cap space to afford a hefty raise for Scheifele, in large part thanks to the nearly $7MM set to come off their books at the expiration of Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo‘s contracts. The team shifting to a cheaper goaltender should Hellebuyck depart could also make fitting a pricey Scheifele extension all that much easier for Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
Comparable Contracts
Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) – Detroit invested an $8.7MM AAV in Larkin’s next contract, and although Scheifele is three years older he has a decent argument to have earned more than that number. Scheifele has a more extensive track record of offensive production than Larkin, though Larkin’s defensive game certainly surpasses Scheifele’s. It’s also worth noting that Larkin was signing with his hometown team and the club he captains, and although Scheifele has spent his entire pro career with the Jets it’s unlikely he has ties as deep, long-lasting ties as Larkin had, the sort of ties that would make a player particularly motivated to re-sign.
Bo Horvat (New York Islanders) Horvat has posted numbers far below Scheifele’s career standards for much of his time in the NHL, and he earned an $8.5MM AAV from the New York Islanders. Horvat’s commitment to defense far surpasses Scheifele’s and he is two years younger. But NHL teams first and foremost pay for production when it comes to scoring forwards, and as a result, it’s difficult to imagine Scheifele earning less than Horvat on his next deal, at least on an average annual value basis.
Projected Contract
In our preview of the 2024 free agent class, we projected a $9.4MM AAV on Scheifele’s next contract, on a seven-year term. That’s certainly a fair number looking at Scheifele’s offensive production, but one wonders if teams would give pause to committing that kind of money to a player with Scheifele’s defensive warts now that he’s past the age of 30.
That being said, the type of bidding war that would be likely to take place should Scheifele hit the open market would almost undoubtedly see Scheifele offered a contract at that AAV, if not higher. Quite simply, centers of his caliber are among the rarest commodities in the NHL, and almost never hit unrestricted free agency.
If the Jets want to motivate Scheifele to forgo a likely highly lucrative trip to the free agent market, they’ll likely need to pony up, potentially giving him a maximum-term deal above the $10MM mark.
Similarly, for a team to prevail in what is likely to be a hotly contested battle for his signature in any potential Scheifele unrestricted free agency, they’ll likely need to cross that $10MM threshold as well.
It’s far from a given we reach that point since Scheifele still needs to have a productive 2023-24 season, but if he has another near or above-point-per-game season he could very well end up the star of next summer’s free agent frenzy. Though if he does, there will undoubtedly be quite a bit of debate over whether he truly merits the contract he’ll receive.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Brandon Hagel To Eight-Year Extension
11:50 AM: CapFriendly has provided the financial breakdown of Hagel’s extension:
2024-25: $1.82MM + $7.18M SB
2025-26: $2.5MM + $6.5M SB
2026-27: $6.75MM
2027-28: $5.45MM
2028-29: $4.45MM + $1M SB
2029-30: $4.45MM + $1M SB
2030-31: $4.45MM + $1M SB
2031-32: $4.45MM + $1M SB
8:30 AM: The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Brandon Hagel to an eight-year contract extension, carrying an AAV of $6.5MM. The deal will start in the 2024-25 season, at the expiry of Hagel’s current $1.5MM AAV deal. Hagel, who will turn 25 on Sunday, was set to become a restricted free agent next summer.
This contract is a significant one for both Hagel and the Lightning franchise. For Hagel, he’s committing himself to Tampa Bay for what is likely to be the prime of his playing career. The deal will stretch from his age-26 season (2024-25) through 2031-32, Hagel’s age-33 season.
For Tampa Bay, the team has now invested a significant portion of their available cap space for the rest of the decade into Hagel, betting that his strong form from 2022-23 will not only be maintained into future seasons, but built upon.
Hagel was originally a late-round draft choice by the Buffalo Sabres at the 2016 draft but was not tendered an entry-level contract by the team. He signed with the Chicago Blackhawks at the conclusion of his WHL career and made an instant impact with the team’s AHL affiliate in 2019-20, leading the team in goals with 19.
In 2020-21 Hagel became a full-time NHLer, scoring at a decent clip, 24 points in 52 games. In August 2021, the Blackhawks made the prudent choice to sign Hagel to a three-year, $1.5MM AAV contract extension, a deal that paid immediate dividends.
Hagel’s scoring numbers in the NHL began to look quite a bit more like what one would expect from a former WHL star, and in 55 games with the team, he scored 21 goals and 37 points. Heading into a rebuild, the Blackhawks chose to cash in on Hagel’s breakout as well as the immense surplus value he provided on a $1.5MM AAV deal and traded him to the Lightning, a cap-strapped team specifically targeting players who could outperform their cap hit by multiple degrees of magnitude.
Hagel had a slow start in Tampa, scoring just seven points in 22 regular-season games and six points in the team’s run to the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. But this past season, Hagel’s first full campaign in Tampa, he showed exactly why the Lightning surrendered two first-round picks and two young players in order to acquire him. He scored 30 goals and 64 points in 81 games, delivering consistent offensive quality in a top-six role.
He averaged 18:38 time-on-ice per game, a career-high, which ranked him fourth among Lightning forwards. Beyond just delivering offensive consistency and top-line production, Hagel’s two-way game also took a step forward. He averaged just a shade under two minutes per game on Tampa’s penalty kill, and even got a fifth-place Selke Trophy vote for the NHL’s best defensive forward.
While this contract certainly carries some risk — Hagel has only been a true top-line forward in the NHL for one, maybe two sesons — it’s easy to see why Tampa has gambled on Hagel as a key party of their future. He’s been a healthy, productive, generally consistent all-around player who still has room to improve. The team isn’t buying any seasons in Hagel’s mid-to-late thirties with this deal, minimizing the room for this deal to age poorly in its later years.
While $6.5MM places Hagel in the financial company of players such as Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kreider, Sam Reinhardt, Claude Giroux, and William Nylander, forwards who have all reached higher offensive heights than Hagel, the cap hit should look more appropriate as the league’s upper limit rises in the near future.
Additionally, seeing as the Lightning likely believe Hagel still has room to grow offensively, there is always the possibility that Hagel makes this $6.5MM price tag look like a steal down the line. If he can get even more regular time on the powerplay next to stars like Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, Hagel could potentially score 40 goals or 70 points in the future. But even if that doesn’t come to pass, as the cap rises this $6.5MM cap hit is an eminently reasonable price to pay for the prime years of a player like Hagel.
Adding this contract extension to the extensions signed by other ascending Lightning players, such as Erik Cernak, Mikhail Sergachev, and Anthony Cirelli, it’s clear that Tampa Bay is working towards building a core group of players for the rest of the decade and beyond.
The team is intent on continuing to compete even as franchise icons such as Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman advance deeper into their thirties, and now with all of these extensions signed Tampa Bay has made sure that if those veterans ever get their names etched into the Stanley Cup for a third time, it will be alongside new core players, such as Hagel.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Examining An Upcoming New York Rangers Roster Crunch
The New York Rangers are intent on earnestly competing for the team’s first Stanley Cup championship since 1994 next season. With precious little cap space to augment their roster this summer, the team made the decision to focus on signing an experienced group of players to occupy roles lower in their lineup and bolster the organization’s depth.
Although the Rangers’ 2023 free agent class is headlined by a star winger in Blake Wheeler, it is populated mostly with players likely to win jobs in the team’s third or fourth forward line and third defensive pairing. The structure of the Rangers’ cap sheet warrants these kinds of signings, as the team has most of its available cap space locked away in its impressive core of star players, such as Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad.
Understanding that the team wouldn’t be able to invest much money to sign top-of-the-line role players (especially seeing as the team already did exactly that in the summer of 2022, signing Barclay Goodrow to a $3.6MM AAV deal), Rangers GM Chris Drury seems to have bought into the idea that assembling a group of experienced depth players who will have to compete with one another for the few open NHL jobs available on the team is the best way for his Rangers club to build impressive lineup depth.
As we approach Rangers training camp next month, these free agent signings have set the stage for what will likely be some intense, highly competitive battles for the few roster spots up for grabs on new head coach Peter Laviolette’s opening-night roster. One of the most important spots set to be fought over in camp and the preseason is on the team’s defense, where a spot on the third pairing next to 2020 first-rounder Braden Schneider as well as the role as the team’s seventh defenseman needs to be filled. 
Looking at the Rangers’ defensive depth chart, offseason signing Erik Gustafsson likely enters the preseason with the best chance of securing the third-pairing role next to Schneider.
The 31-year-old Swede is an offensive defenseman who played under Laviolette with the Washington Capitals last season. He scored a total of 42 points in 70 games last season, and it was a surprise to see him receive only a $825k guarantee from the Rangers earlier this summer.
Experienced 42-point defensemen who also have a 60-point season on their resume typically go at far higher prices, but it’s likely that the bouts of inconsistency Gustafsson has had throughout his career have lowered his price tag. In 2021-22, Gustafsson only managed 18 points in 59 games for the Chicago Blackhawks and even began the season on a PTO with the New York Islanders.
His stock leaguewide has fluctuated to an extreme degree since he arrived in North America from the SHL’s Frölunda HC nearly a decade ago, so while Gustafsson likely has the early lead for a regular role next to Schneider, he’s far from a certainty to ultimately see his name listed on the Rangers’ opening-night lineup.
Gustafsson will have to compete with a group of other blueliners for one of those roster spots, including 22-year-old 2019 third-round pick Zac Jones. Jones has been a difference-maker at the AHL level (31 points in 54 games last season) but hasn’t quite made his mark in the NHL.
He’s no longer waiver-exempt and would be a likely candidate to get claimed on season-opening waivers, so the Rangers will have to factor that into their roster-making calculus and that could give him a leg up over other, more experienced players.
Earlier this month, we covered how Jones could be a preseason trade candidate if he falls behind in the training camp battle against the Rangers’ other defensemen, so in the mix of all of the Rangers’ new arrivals on their blueline as well as incumbent players Jones could be the name to watch.
The Rangers also signed 26-year-old Connor Mackey, a player who got the most extensive NHL look in his pro career down the stretch with the Arizona Coyotes last season. Arizona head coach André Tourigny played Mackey an average of nearly 16 minutes of ice time per night last season, including nearly two minutes per night on his penalty kill.
While Mackey has far from an extensive NHL track record, he offers a more well-rounded set of tools than Gustafsson and quite a bit more size than Jones, potentially making him the safest choice to play next to Schneider should those two struggle in the preseason.
198-game NHL veteran Ben Harpur is also in the mix for one of the likely two open roster spots on the Rangers blueline. A combination of factors, namely his service to the team last season, his $787.5k contract for the next two campaigns, and his measurables (six-foot-six, 231 pounds) give him a healthy shot to win a roster spot.
As the Rangers struggled with injuries to their defense and a lack of cap space after their acquisition of Patrick Kane last season, Harpur stepped up and weathered some difficult minutes for the team, including a late February contest that saw him register 28:04 time on ice.
If the Rangers want a physical, stay-at-home presence in their opening-night lineup, among this group of depth defensemen Harpur likely best fits that profile. But seeing as Harpur’s toolkit is relatively limited (he’s a big, physical stay-at-home defenseman) and he offers little in the way of puck-moving utility or two-way value, he does seem to be a more likely candidate to hit the waiver wire and begin the season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.
In any case, with these players each waiver-eligible, it’s likely that, barring a Jones trade the Rangers will have to expose at least two competent, NHL-relevant defensemen to the league’s 31 other clubs before opening night.
While the many long-term deals on the Rangers’ books dictate that most of the roster Laviolette inherits from former coach Gerard Gallant is set in stone, the leeway Drury’s extensive group of depth signings has afforded his new coach to construct the lower parts of the Rangers’ lineup should make for an intriguing storyline to track in the NHL preseason.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.