Jake Guentzel Out Three Months After Ankle Surgery
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair a lingering right ankle issue, general manager Kyle Dubas said in a statement today. The 2017 Stanley Cup champion will be re-evaluated in 12 weeks, meaning he’ll miss around the first month of the 2023-24 season.
Guentzel underwent his surgery in Minnesota, where he’d been playing summer-league hockey up until the procedure. Dubas said as Guentzel was ramping up preparation for training camp, “it was apparent that his ankle injury was not resolving in a way that was satisfactory to [him] or the Penguins.”
Financially, this is quite an important move for Pittsburgh. Guentzel’s timetable for a return means his $6MM cap hit is a candidate for LTIR to start the season, which would give the Penguins some more offseason cap flexibility as they try and position themselves to acquire top-flight defender Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks.
Regardless of any potential ulterior motives at play, Guentzel is a two-time 40-goal scorer whose presence is invaluable for a team likely to be stuck in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Pittsburgh surely has no plans of missing the playoffs for a second straight year, and they’ll need Guentzel’s best after he returns from injury to stay ahead. In the meantime, they’ll rely on veteran addition Reilly Smith, a member of last year’s Stanley Cup-winning team with the Vegas Golden Knights, to shoulder some of Guentzel’s load. He’s the most likely candidate to slide up to first-line duties alongside Sidney Crosby and one of Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust.
Guentzel has become synonymous with first-line duties on the Penguins throughout his seven-year career there, stapled to Crosby’s wing for much of his NHL time. He’s averaged over 20 minutes per game over the past four seasons, routinely producing around a point-per-game clip since breaking out for 40 goals and 76 points in 2018-19.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Guentzel will miss a significant chunk of a season for injury-related reasons. He missed the last 30 games of the 2019-20 campaign thanks to a shoulder injury.
Notably, Guentzel’s injury guarantees them cap compliance to start the season, even if a Karlsson trade doesn’t pan out. The Penguins were more than $3MM over the cap after signing Drew O’Connor earlier this week, even if it was a slightly inflated figure thanks to three goalies currently on their NHL roster. Now, with Guentzel projected to land on LTIR to start the season, CapFriendly projects Pittsburgh to have roughly $2.75MM in space.
Latest On Trevor Zegras
Yesterday, we issued an update on the 14 remaining unsigned RFAs league-wide after this year’s arbitration calendar wrapped up thanks to the Anaheim Ducks’ massive seven-year settlement with winger Troy Terry. The most glaring name on that unsigned list is Terry’s linemate, Trevor Zegras, who told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen yesterday he’s “hopeful” for a new contract soon but won’t return to Anaheim until a new deal is signed. He’s spent the offseason training in Connecticut, where he’ll remain for the time being.
Zegras offered no update, good or bad, on how close his camp was to an extension with Anaheim. He did infer that he hasn’t been personally involved much in contract talks, saying the negotiations are “kind of out of my control” and “this is why you have people in place to handle this type of stuff.” Zegras, 22, did not have the four professional seasons required under his belt to be eligible for arbitration this summer. He remains an RFA for the time being after his three-year, $5.235MM entry-level contract expired on July 1.
If general manager Pat Verbeek‘s negotiations with Terry are any indication, we likely won’t learn any details about Zegras’ extension until it’s officially announced. The two sides were $3.5MM apart on a contract heading into their arbitration hearing, and there were no credible rumors of a settlement before the announcement came last Wednesday. Financial flexibility is not an issue for the rebuilding Ducks – CapFriendly still projects them with over $20MM in cap space after signing Terry.
Despite a 32nd-place finish for Anaheim in 2022-23, Zegras himself had a solid sophomore season. Skating in 81 games, he matched his rookie total in goals (23) and set a career-high in points with 65 while seeing a small bump in ice time to 18:50 per game. The 2019 ninth-overall pick has kept Anaheim relevant in public discourse despite their poor performance, routinely making incredible individual playmaking efforts. He may have significant defensive holes in his game, but Zegras said he’s “very excited” to play for new head coach Greg Cronin, who traveled to Connecticut to meet with the young center and outlined specific improvements for Zegras to focus on in the defensive zone.
Ideally, the buck won’t fall on Zegras long-term to be a do-it-all first-line center. The Ducks have multiple other top-six caliber prospects, including Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson, with the latter carrying high two-way upside. Verbeek mentioned yesterday he envisions Zegras as the most likely candidate to shift to the wing eventually if Anaheim’s center corps becomes crowded.
That change won’t happen anytime soon, though, as Carlsson isn’t a guarantee to make the NHL next season. For now, Anaheim’s roster still carries significant holes, which will lead them to rely on Zegras heavily in the middle of the ice. Although free-agent additions Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas and a healthy Jamie Drysdale could buoy the team and lift them out of last place, 2023-24 is not expected to be the season where the young Ducks break out – yet.
Snapshots: Silfverberg, Carlsson, Jones, Seattle
Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg missed the final 23 games of the 2021-22 season due to a blood clot and had to deal with one once again this summer. Gefle Dagblad’s Daniel Sandstrom reports that the 32-year-old sustained one while suiting up for his native Sweden at the Worlds back in May. Fortunately, he is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Silfverberg is coming off a 26-point season while playing over 80 games for the first time since 2015-16 and is entering the final year of his contract which carries a cap hit of $5.25MM.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Still with Anaheim, while there is an expectation that Ducks prospect Leo Carlsson will make the jump to the NHL next season, GM Pat Verbeek told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that no determination has been made just yet on their plans for him. Carlsson was the second overall pick back in June and had a productive year with SHL Orebro, recording 10 goals and 15 assists in 44 games. If Carlsson doesn’t make the team, Verbeek indicated that he’d be assigned to AHL San Diego next, not back to the Swedish league. If he does make the team at his natural center position, Verbeek feels that Trevor Zegras who would move to the wing to make room for him.
- At the moment, the defensive depth chart for the Rangers suggests that defenseman Zac Jones – now waiver-eligible – could be in line to land the seventh spot on the back end. However, in that scenario, Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the likelier outcome would be New York trading the 22-year-old over risking having his value stagnate as a frequent healthy scratch. Jones seemed likely to crack the top six before the Rangers brought in veteran Erik Gustafsson (who played for new head coach Peter Laviolette last season in Washington) which should give him a leg up in the competition for a regular spot on the third pairing.
- Seattle will be entering a bid to host the 2026 World Juniors, reports NHL Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). If their proposal is accepted, Climate Pledge Arena – the home of the Kraken – would be one of the host facilities which means the Kraken would be eyeing a long road trip during the event. A decision on the host city for the event is expected later this year.
Latest On Ethan Bear
It has been an interesting few months for unrestricted free agent defenseman Ethan Bear. After finishing out his season with Vancouver, he agreed to play for Canada at the Worlds despite not having a deal in place for 2023-24, a move that carried some risk. While at that tournament, he re-aggravated an existing shoulder injury, resulting in him undergoing surgery. That caused the Canucks to lower their offer to him and when a deal wasn’t agreed upon, they non-tendered him after the draft.
Since then, things have been quiet on his front with Bear not being linked to any teams through the first month of free agency. Although he acknowledged to Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston that recovery is going well (perhaps even slightly ahead of schedule), the 26-year-old still isn’t going to be ready to play until sometime in December. That certainly seems to have presented some challenges for him when it comes to finding a team to sign with.
With so many teams capped out, that will stand to limit the potential suitors Bear has right now. While he’d be LTIR-eligible to start the season, if a signing team doesn’t have the cap room to carry him on the active roster now, they’d be in a tough spot where they’d need to open up room midseason to activate Bear. The odd team has a willingness to do a move like this where they deal with the potential ramifications later but the role he’s likely to fill isn’t one where such a move could be justifiable.
Meanwhile, by the time he’s ready to return, there’s no guarantee that the teams that might have a spot for him now will still have one in December. Others could be created by injuries but generally speaking, players unsigned that late into the year are settling for league minimum contracts (although Patrick Kane will almost certainly buck that trend at some point in 2023-24).
Bear indicated that a few teams have made inquiries thus far but clearly, an offer to his liking has yet to materialize. He specifically stated a preference to return to Vancouver but was told by GM Patrik Allvin that they would need to clear up cap space for that to happen, a scenario that they are hardly alone in. He fared relatively well with the Canucks after being acquired early last season, picking up 16 points in 61 games while averaging 18:32 per contest.
When healthy, Bear has shown over his five-year career that he is certainly an NHL-caliber defenseman, and as a right-shot player, he should be in more demand than it appears he has been thus far. But his injury situation adds a wrinkle to those discussions and as a result, it looks like he’ll be on the open market for at least a little while longer even though his recovery might even be ahead of schedule.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Bichsel, Kiiskinen, Stapley
While Stars prospect Lian Bichsel has his sights set on trying to crack the NHL roster in training camp after signing his entry-level contract back in May, it appears he’ll have a new team to play for if he goes back to Sweden. Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros of Aftonbladet report that the blueliner wouldn’t return to Leksands of the SHL; instead, he’d suit up in Rogle if loaned back overseas. The 19-year-old was the 18th overall pick in 2022 and played a regular role with Leksands last season, collecting six points in 42 games while also suiting up for his native Switzerland at the World Juniors. Dallas also has the right to send Bichsel to the AHL if they so desire which would give them an opportunity to have more influence on his playing time.
More from the Central:
- Predators prospect Jesse Kiiskinen sustained a jaw injury on Monday and was held out of Finland’s final contest on Wednesday as well at the World Junior Summer Showcase. However, NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman notes that the injury isn’t believed to be serious but given that this is a summer event, they’re opting for caution with the 17-year-old. Kiiskinen was a third-round pick by Nashville back in June (68th overall) and will be looking to land a full-time spot with Pelicans in Finland’s top level next season after getting seven Liiga games under his belt in 2022-23.
- Colorado’s AHL affiliate announced the signing of forward Brett Stapley to a one-year, two-way AHL deal. The 24-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Montreal back in 2018 (190th overall) but didn’t receive an NHL contract from them. He did, however, spend last season in their farm system, suiting up in 52 games with ECHL Trois-Rivieres, recording 52 points to lead the team in scoring. Stapley will have some familiarity with the area having played his four-year college career with Denver.
Update On The Top Remaining RFA’s
Since the opening of free agency on July 1st of this summer, there have been 300 contracts signed in the NHL. A bulk of those contracts have been unrestricted free agents signing with new teams, but also include restricted free agents garnering new deals with the current clubs, as well as some notable extensions.
The financial landscape around the league is very near to being set in stone before the start of training camp in September. Nevertheless, there are still a handful of restricted free agents left without new contracts who either did not file for arbitration or are ineligible to do so.
Per CapFriendly, in order of previous salary, the complete list is as follows:
- F Trevor Zegras – Anaheim Ducks
- F Alexis Lafreniere – New York Rangers
- D Tim Berni – Columbus Blue Jackets
- D Jamie Drysdale – Anaheim Ducks
- F Shane Pinto – Ottawa Senators
- D Logan Stanley – Winnipeg Jets
- F Joe Veleno – Detroit Red Wings
- D Evan Bouchard – Edmonton Oilers
- F Noah Philp – Edmonton Oilers
- F Egor Sokolov – Ottawa Senators
- D Declan Chisholm – Winnipeg Jets
- F Morgan Frost – Philadelphia Flyers
- F Jan Jenik – Arizona Coyotes
- D Calen Addison – Minnesota Wild
Immediately jumping off the list is the two notable building blocks in Anaheim, Zegras and Drysdale. After a solid year during the 2021-22 regular season, Drysdale was injured for much of last year due to a torn labrum, an injury that would limit him to only eight games played all year. Because of this, Drysdale might be boxed into a one-year deal for 2023-24, or he and the team could pursue a two-year, $5MM contract similar to the one Oliver Kylington signed with the Calgary Flames around this time last year.
Zegras, on the other hand, should have a much different approach to his contract negotiations with Anaheim. Over the past several years, the NHL has seen a large uptick in notable contract extensions given to young centers, the most recent example being Tim Stutzle‘s eight-year, $66.8MM contract extension with the Ottawa Senators last September. After that contract was signed, Stutzle went from a 60-point pace in 2021-22 to a 90-point pace in 2022-23. Zegras is a very similar player to Stutzle (albeit Stutzle has shown the ability to be a better goal-scorer so far) but it will all come down to Pat Verbeek‘s confidence in Zegras’ growth for next season. If he believes Zegras will become a star, a contract similar to Stutzle’s should largely be the aim of the team. If, however, Verbeek does not have the confidence in Zegras to become an above-average point scorer, Zegras may be in line for a one to two-year bridge deal.
Another name that should get a long look as a possible long-term extension candidate would be Frost on the Flyers. In his first season under new head coach, John Tortorella, Frost experienced a breakout year, scoring 46 points in 81 games. Although not having the track record typically necessary for a long-term extension, the rebuilding Philadelphia franchise has an opportunity to start securing its core for the future. Already moving on from Kevin Hayes, Frost projects as the team’s third-best forward for the upcoming season, and if the Flyers plan on contending in the next 5-7 years, a contract similar to Travis Konecny‘s back in 2019 may not be the worst decision for the future of the franchise.
Lastly, two of the most complicated situations on the board come from Bouchard and Lafreniere. Suffice it to say, there is a legitimate chance that both players sit out a portion of training camp due to contract holdouts.
Both players are largely projected for bridge deals, given the cap space of their current clubs, but both of their markets have been impacted greatly this summer. In Bouchard’s case, the contracts given to Bowen Byram of the Colorado Avalanche, and K’Andre Miller of the New York Rangers, largely indicate what Bouchard should be expecting on his next deal. He should be expecting a two-year deal, somewhere in the $3.9MM-$4.1MM AAV range, and that’s something the Oilers do not have the space for currently. Bouchard’s importance to Edmonton was solidified last postseason, after scoring 17 points in 12 games, finishing third on the team in scoring. With only $3.5MM in cap space heading into the season, the Oilers are close to having enough space to fit in Bouchard, but will still need to make a move or two to fit in one of their best defensemen.
Unlike Bouchard, Lafreniere has largely disappointed in the context of his draft ranking (first overall in 2020). Patience seems to be growing thin with the young forward, even leading to rumors of a potential trade away from New York this summer. However, as many Vancouver Canucks fans should remember, franchise legend Daniel Sedin did not play like a top-three selection in his first three years in the league, either. This is not to say that Lafreniere will go on to produce as much as either Sedin twin, but a little more patience should be in order for the Rangers. With only $2.2MM remaining in cap space, and given his limited production over the past three seasons, Lafreniere should be expecting a two-year, $2.1MM-$2.5MM AAV for his next contract.
Pittsburgh Penguins Remove Interim GM Tag From Kyle Dubas
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Thursday that they’ve removed the interim tag from Kyle Dubas‘ role as general manager, signifying they’ll continue with him serving as GM and president of hockey operations for the foreseeable future.
Pittsburgh also announced four other promotions, naming Andy Saucier their director of professional personnel, Erik Heasley their director of minor league and amateur scouting operations, and confirming the promotions of Amanda Kessel and Trevor Daley as special assistants to Dubas.
“At this time, I feel it is best for continuity that I formally continue in both roles as President and General Manager in the hockey operations department,” Dubas said, justifying removing the interim tag from his role. Pittsburgh brought Dubas in solely as the president of hockey operations when they hired him in June and initially aimed to name a separate general manager to work under Dubas later this summer. Dubas left the door open in his statement today on bringing a different general manager in down the line, but no such move will be made before next summer.
Saucier’s promotion is well-deserved, to say the least. He’s been in the Penguins organization for more than a decade, initially joining the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as a video coach in 2010. After two seasons in the minors, he was promoted to Pittsburgh to serve in the same role, which he held until 2022. Last offseason, Pittsburgh promoted Saucier to hockey operations analyst. He’s now been promoted yet again to a new role under Dubas, which did not previously exist in the organization.
Heasley has also spent the entirety of his management career in the Penguins organization and had served as the GM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for parts of the last three seasons. Now, he’ll oversee the entire scouting department as it relates to AHL, ECHL, and junior-league talents.
Daley had spent the past three seasons in a senior advisor role for Pittsburgh, but he and Kessel (whose promotion was previously reported) will now work directly with Dubas in roles similar to what Jason Spezza had previously held when the two worked together last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Latest On Elias Pettersson
After the Vancouver Canucks wrapped up a busy offseason of UFA signings mostly focused on fortifying their defense, everyone is now watching Elias Pettersson‘s contract situation as the 2023-24 season approaches. The star center is heading into the final year of his three-year bridge contract, carrying a $7.35MM million cap hit, signed in 2021. While the Canucks will still retain his rights next summer as a restricted free agent if an extension isn’t reached soon, Pettersson’s potential eligibility for unrestricted free agency in 2025 if he only signs a one-year extension has given him tremendous leverage in upcoming negotiations. His agent, J.P. Barry, said early last month he doesn’t anticipate beginning those extension talks with Vancouver until the end of this summer.
Today, The Athletic’s Harman Dayal polled a number of NHL agents on what potential scenarios could arise in Pettersson extension talks. Obviously, the biggest question facing Pettersson’s camp is whether he should sign an extension immediately this summer or take a wait-and-see approach into the season. Waiting would offer him more clarity on the Canucks’ future and potentially enhance his earning power if he continues his upward climb. If the team can finally perform well after a long stretch of mediocrity, Pettersson may feel more comfortable committing long-term.
One anonymous agent suggested a wait-and-see approach could be sensible but said not to discount the mental challenges that a contract year can place on a player and, in turn, affect their performance. If Pettersson and his camp feel the outside noise of extension talks during the season would be too much of a distraction, signing now would almost definitely be a better choice to avoid lowering his value after a 102-point year last season. It’s likely something Pettersson will heavily consider after going through the contract-related pressure Pettersson faced in the final year of his entry-level contract in 2020-21, Dayal says.
Another factor affecting the timing of negotiations is whether Pettersson’s camp wants to wait for Auston Matthews‘ extension, as it could introduce a new comparable, another agent said. Pettersson’s value may have been tampered slightly by a recent comparable – Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, who signed an eight-year extension last month carrying a $9.75MM cap hit. If Matthews’ extension in Toronto comes in north of $12MM, it could strengthen Pettersson’s case for an eight-figure cap hit on a long-term deal.
While eight-year deals are the norm for players with high cap hits, an agent Dayal spoke to said shorter contracts have become more attractive due to the expected rise in the salary cap. Signing a shorter contract could allow Pettersson to capitalize on a higher salary cap when he re-enters the market in his late 20s.
Of note, former Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Chris Gear predicted a cap hit between $9.5MM and $10.25MM on Pettersson’s next deal last month.
Sven Baertschi Announces Retirement
August 3: Baertschi has confirmed his retirement in a statement from SC Bern, citing health concerns. “Like most players, I’ve had a number of injuries that are now taking their toll,” Baertschi said. “After months of training, I realized that my body can no longer perform as well as I need it to. And playing with less than 100 percent, I can’t accept that.”
August 2: Left winger Sven Baertschi left the NHL for Europe last offseason, and after just one year overseas, Swiss outlet Blick reports that Baertschi is retiring with two seasons left on his contract with NL club SC Bern. The Swiss forward is stepping away from the game at 30 years old after accumulating 138 points in 292 games with the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights between 2012 and 2022.
The first three and a half seasons of his career were spent in Calgary, who selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft after he put up 85 points in 66 games with the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks. However, concussion issues quickly derailed a promising career after a trade to the Vancouver Canucks in 2015. He would never eclipse the 70-game mark in a single season with the club and never played more than 53 after his first reported concussion in 2016-17.
While he never found his footing in Calgary, he did post some solid numbers in a middle-six role for the Canucks before injuries stunted his play. His career-best campaign came in that 2016-17 season when he recorded 18 goals, 17 assists and 35 points in 68 games while averaging nearly 16 minutes per game.
After four injury-riddled seasons with the Canucks, Baertschi continued to slip down the depth chart and spent most of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns in the minors on assignment with the AHL’s Utica Comets. It looked like he had gotten his mojo back in that first campaign with Utica, recording 46 points in just 43 games, but he didn’t make the Canucks out of camp in 2020-21, and his production quickly trailed off.
He signed with the Vegas Golden Knights as a free agent the following offseason, where he again provided solid but unimpressive production for their minor-league affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. He did get into one game with Vegas in November 2021, skating 13:54 in a 5-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings. That will be his final NHL game. Playing in his home city of Bern last season, he produced well below expectations with just four goals in 36 games.
PHR extends its best wishes to Baertschi in retirement, especially in regards to his long-term health.
Snapshots: Lindholm, Wild, Islanders
Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm is one of the biggest potentially available names on the trade market. Potentially is the operative word there, as things still remain up in the air about whether the 28-year-old will consider re-signing in Calgary with his contract set to expire next summer. If he does hit the trade market, however, The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie and Shayna Goldman today examined some potential fits for his services.
The most obvious of these is the Boston Bruins. As we mentioned last week, the team is not shy about looking to replace the roles of David Krejčí and Patrice Bergeron by any means possible. Lindholm, who finished second in Selke Trophy voting in 2022 and posted positive relative Corsi for percentages in the first four of his five seasons in Calgary, is easily the closest stylistic replacement for Bergeron available in terms of his two-way acumen. However, as McKenzie and Goldman rightly note, the likelihood of the Bruins being unable to pony up the assets needed to win a bidding war for Lindholm is high, given the rather ghoulish state of their prospect pool and draft pick stash. McKenzie and Goldman also mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks as teams with a need for center help and assets available to spend.
More from around the NHL today:
- The Minnesota Wild’s offseason hasn’t been dominated by the moves they’ve made, but rather the moves they can’t make because of $14.75MM in dead cap allocated to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. With their combined cap hits set to decrease to just $1.67MM ahead of the 2025-26 season, Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic examined what options the additional cap space might open up for the Wild in two seasons. They note the biggest use of that cap space will undoubtedly be an extension for star winger Kirill Kaprizov, who will be entering the final season of his five-year, $45MM contract and will require a hefty extension to avoid him becoming a free agent.
- While we covered some New York Islanders items of interest from The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz in a notes piece yesterday, Kurz also mentioned in his mailbag that he envisions 2023-24 being the last season of ‘The Identity Line’ on Long Island. Made up of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, the line has been in existence for the better part of a decade, coming together in 2014-15 and taking a two-year break from 2016 to 2018 while Martin was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In that time, they’ve been recognizable as the team’s most consistent unit, providing a desirable mix of defensive acumen, fighting skill and forechecking that set the tone for a number of deep playoff runs over the past while in New York. Martin and Clutterbuck are now both in their mid-30s, and as they’re set to become UFAs next summer, Kurz thinks it’s a strong possibility that one (or both) don’t return to the team. Clutterbuck especially has become injury-prone in his twilight years, not playing more than 70 games in a season since 2018-19.