Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks
Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We begin our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Anaheim Ducks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Trevor Zegras – After finishing as the runner-up in Calder Trophy voting last season, Zegras took a small step forward this season, setting new benchmarks in assists (42) and points (65) while matching his goal total from 2021-22. That allowed him to lead the team in scoring this season. As a center, the 22-year-old is well-positioned to land a significant long-term deal if that’s the way he chooses to go. A max-term agreement could very well push the AAV past the $8MM mark. However, with still five years of team control remaining (he didn’t play enough in 2020-21 to accrue a season of service time for UFA purposes), it’s possible that one or both sides look to a shorter-term bridge deal. That would lower the AAV to somewhere in the $6MM range for now but potentially set Zegras up to push for much more down the road in a more favorable cap environment. Whichever route they take, a big payday is coming his way.
F Troy Terry – In 2021-22, Terry narrowly edged out Zegras for the team lead in points. This season, the tables were flipped but the 25-year-old still put up his second straight 60-point campaign after having just 48 career points over his first 129 NHL appearances. One of the goals for Terry this year would have been to show that his breakout year wasn’t a fluke. Mission accomplished on that front and he is set to reap the benefits. Two years away from UFA eligibility, Terry will have arbitration eligibility this summer and it’s likely that GM Pat Verbeek will be looking to do a long-term agreement and avoid the potential for a hearing. After playing on an AAV of $1.45MM the last three seasons, Terry’s next deal could more than quadruple that cap charge.
D Jamie Drysdale – At a time when the Ducks have all three top CHL defensemen, it could be suggested that Drysdale has fallen off the radar. The 21-year-old suffered a torn labrum in the eighth game of the season and that was it for his year. At that to the fact that he only suited up 24 times in his first year and Drysdale has just 113 total NHL appearances under his belt and the Ducks are working with a small sample size here. Drysdale, a 2020 first-round pick (sixth overall), is still a significant part of Anaheim’s future but with such a limited sample size to work with and coming off a year that was more or less a write-off, a bridge contract is the likely outcome. That could push his price tag closer to the $2MM range on a two-year deal and a bit closer to $2.5MM on a three-year term.
F Max Comtois – Two years ago, it looked like Comtois was coming into his own and was on his way to becoming at least a capable second-line power forward. Players like those have a lot of value but then GM Bob Murray wanted to see if his performance was repeatable first. That proved to be a wise move as Comtois simply hasn’t been able to play at the same level, failing to reach 20 points for the second straight season. He’s owed a $2.445MM qualifying offer this summer which is a bit on the high side for someone struggling to produce. On the other hand, losing him for free would sting with how important of a piece it looked like he was going to be not long ago. Verbeek will need to decide if he’ll give Comtois one more chance under a new head coach or if it’s time to move on.
Other RFAs: D Axel Andersson, D Simon Benoit, G Lukas Dostal, G Olle Eriksson Ek, F Benoit-Olivier Groulx, F Bryce Kindopp, F Josiah Slavin
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Kevin Shattenkirk – While the stigma of having his four-year, $26.6MM deal bought out by the Rangers back in 2019 still exists, Shattenkirk has settled in nicely in a lesser role first with Tampa Bay and the last three seasons with Anaheim. The 34-year-old has been a capable secondary producer throughout his career while becoming more of a willing shot-blocker recently. His days of playing on the top pairing are gone but as a fourth defender capable of logging around 20 minutes a night, there should be some interest in Shattenkirk once some of the big names come off the board. He had a $3.9MM AAV on his deal with Anaheim and the veteran should be able to come somewhat close to that on his next contract.
G Anthony Stolarz – This season was one to forget for Stolarz (the same can basically be said for many of Anaheim’s veterans) but prior to that, he has shown some promise in limited duty, including a .917 SV% in 23 starts back in 2021-22. The 29-year-old isn’t going to be near the top of the market for goaltenders but budget-conscious teams looking for a cheap second-stringer with a bit of upside should be looking his way. That mindset will likely describe a few teams which should give Stolarz a decent market and a shot at surpassing the $1MM mark for the first time in his career.
F Derek Grant – It wasn’t a great platform year for the veteran who had multiple stints on injured reserve, limiting him to just 46 games. However, he still managed to pick up 18 points in those contests, a year after collecting 15 goals and 29 points, both career highs. The 33-year-old also won more than 55% of his faceoffs while logging plenty of ice time shorthanded. Now with over 400 games under his belt, Grant is well-known at this point as a defensively capable middleman that can chip in a bit offensively. Those players don’t get big contracts in free agency but he should have several offers that come in around the $1.5MM he has made in each of the last three seasons.
Other UFAs: D Nathan Beaulieu, D Michael Del Zotto, D Scott Harrington, F Justin Kirkland, F Jayson Megna, D John Moore, D Olli Juolevi, D Chase Priskie, F Dylan Sikura, D Andrej Sustr
Projected Cap Space
Cap space won’t be an issue for Anaheim this offseason as they currently have more than $39MM in cap space based on the projected $83.5MM Upper Limit for next season. New deals for Zegras and Terry will take a sizable chunk out of that but the Ducks still project to be well under the cap for 2023-24, one that is expected to be another rebuilding effort. If there is budget room for them to take on a bad contract or two while being compensated for it with prospects and/or draft picks, they could be a team to watch for in the coming weeks.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Offseason Checklist: Nashville Predators
The offseason has arrived for all but the four teams that still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. It’s time to examine what those eliminated squads will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Nashville.
The Predators came into the season hoping to continue their streak of eight straight playoff appearances (including the Qualifying Round in the bubble) but changed direction at the deadline, becoming one of the major sellers. However, the unexpected happened and Nashville went on a run down the stretch, nearly pulling off the improbable comeback. While David Poile did some heavy lifting at the deadline to set his successor up, incoming GM Barry Trotz (who officially takes over July 1st) will still have some work to do this summer.
Decide Hynes’ Future
After the season, Trotz indicated that he’d take some time to evaluate John Hynes and then decide on the future of his head coach. That was more than a month ago and there hasn’t been any sort of confirmation one way or the other. Hynes does have one year left on his contract but teams are often hesitant to have their coach behind the bench in a ‘lame duck’ situation. It’s possible that they work out another short-term extension (not unlike the two-year deal he’s currently on) to avoid that situation.
Technically, Trotz can take his time here deciding but the first dominoes are expected to fall soon on the NHL coaching market. If there are candidates out there that he wants, they need to be prepared to strike before that target goes elsewhere.
At this point, the long wait without a decision might actually work in Hynes’ favor but his staying on would be a tepid vote of confidence at best. His name will undoubtedly be on the hot seat if he remains with the team, especially if there’s no extension in place. But for now, simply deciding on if Hynes will be back behind the bench is all the team needs to decide now.
Pick A Direction
The term rebuild doesn’t come up very often when it comes to Nashville as they’ve been one of the models of consistency over the better part of the past decade. But their playoff appearances in recent years yielded quick exits and had they snuck in this season, there’s a good chance that they would have suffered the same fate.
With all due respect to Nashville’s current roster, if they were to try to load back up this summer, they’re probably still in that middle territory and not necessarily a true contender. However, as we’ve seen, some lower seeds have done some damage in the playoffs this season and with Juuse Saros, they have the level of goaltending that can win some games on their own. Accordingly, there’s a case to be made for a quick retool to try to get back into the playoffs in 2024.
On the other hand, there’s also a case to be made that they should be continuing in the direction that Poile took them leading up to the deadline. Move out some more veterans, build up the prospect pool, and try to get into a better position to be more of a real contender in a couple of years. Is that a better approach than hoping to make the playoffs and seeing what happens from there? Trotz will need to decide which is the better way to go and structure his offseason activity based on that choice.
Re-Sign Glass
Cody Glass had a tough first season with Nashville in 2021-22, suiting up in just eight games for the Predators and spending the rest of the year in the minors. Accordingly, the decision for him to take his qualifying offer made sense and the Preds certainly weren’t going to want to work out a long-term deal with someone they weren’t sure would even make their team.
One year later, the narrative is much different. The 24-year-old played the full season in the NHL, picking up 35 points in 72 games along the way. His playing time jumped up to a new career-high while he held his own at the faceoff dot as well, checking in at just under 50%. On the power play, he proved to be quite effective, scoring six times, good for the second-most on the team behind Roman Josi. A year ago, it was hardly a guarantee that Glass was going to be in Nashville much longer. Now, on a team that doesn’t have a lot of younger options down the middle, he looks like a long-term piece of the puzzle.
Glass has three years of club control remaining, all of which will have him arbitration-eligible. Trotz has two ways he can go here, do another short-term ‘prove-it’ type of contract that gives both sides more time to see if his level of production was repeatable, if there’s more in the tank, or if this might have been as good as it gets. Such an approach would certainly be defensible from Nashville’s perspective.
On the other hand, if they believe that Glass is going to become a core player, then perhaps the time is right to try to strike a longer-term agreement. That would push the AAV likely past the $4MM range, a price tag that might be high now but if he pans out, it would become a team-friendly one before too long. From Glass’ perspective, locking in guaranteed long-term money might be desirable a year after being a regular with AHL Milwaukee. There aren’t many key free agent decisions coming for the Preds but this is an intriguing one.
Look Into Barrie Trade
When Nashville traded Mattias Ekholm to Edmonton at the trade deadline, they had to take back Tyson Barrie’s contract as salary ballast as part of the return. Now, the veteran, who turns 32 this summer, will head into the final year of his agreement next season. With a short-term agreement and a right-shot defense market that isn’t all that deep, the Predators are well-positioned to net a quality return should they decide to make him available this summer.
Barrie is the type of player who could be shopped around even if Nashville decides to flip the switch again and try to add. While he’s certainly a capable point producer, he’s not someone that they should be looking to lock up long-term while if they opt to rebuild, he’s a logical piece to shop as a rental.
This isn’t a situation where they have to move him in the coming weeks. As a known commodity, Barrie would have some value closer to the trade deadline where there’s less left on his contract and the Preds might be more willing to retain salary to help facilitate a trade. But once players like Damon Severson and Mathew Dumba come off the board, teams looking for help now on the right side of the back end will have to turn somewhere. Barrie should be a fallback option for those teams, potentially creating a strong enough market to move him sooner than later. Accordingly, expect Trotz to do his homework on that front to be ready to strike if the opportunity presents itself in late June or early July.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Eyssimont, Talvitie, Pajuniemi
Team USA will be without the services of forward Michael Eyssimont for Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup against Czechia as the IIHF announced that he has received a one-game suspension for a kneeing incident in Tuesday’s game against Sweden. The 26-year-old was a late addition to the team after the Lightning were eliminated in the first round but had suited up all seven games so far. Eyssimont had two assists in those contests along with 11 shots and 29 penalty minutes in just over 12 minutes per game. Team USA has one extra forward on their roster, Montreal prospect Luke Tuch who will likely suit up as the extra forward in Eyssimont’s absence.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Devils prospect Aarne Talvitie has decided to go back overseas as TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga announced that they’ve signed the forward to a two-year contract. The 24-year-old showed some promise at Penn State after being drafted and was quite effective at the World Juniors in 2020. However, that didn’t translate to much success in the pros as he followed up a 12-goal, 24-point rookie campaign with a three-goal, 14-point sophomore season in 2022-23, resulting in him looking to head back home. New Jersey can still retain Talvitie’s RFA rights with a qualifying offer in June and he isn’t UFA-eligible until 2026, they might still do so.
- Pending Rangers RFA Lauri Pajuniemi has decided to try his hand in the SHL as he has joined Malmo on a one-year contract, per a team announcement. The 23-year-old winger had a good sophomore year with AHL Hartford, notching 19 goals (fourth-most on the team) and 38 points (sixth-most) in 68 games while chipping in with six points in nine playoff appearances. However, Pajuniemi didn’t receive a recall at any point during the regular season. New York can retain his rights through 2027 by still tendering him a qualifying offer next month.
Jamie Benn Suspended For Two Games
The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed down a two-game suspension to Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn as a result of a cross-check to the neck of Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone early into last night’s Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
As mentioned in our coverage earlier this morning of the news of Benn’s hearing, the initial play resulted in a major penalty and game misconduct for Benn.
In a video statement, NHL Player Safety described the play as Stone pursuing the puck through the neutral zone and appearing ready to engage with Benn. However, as Stone closed in, Benn made a decision that would ultimately lead to his suspension.
Benn chipped the puck up the wall, attempting to maneuver around Stone and gain the offensive zone. In the process, though, Stone was sent crashing to the ice. Seizing the opportunity, Benn then proceeded to deliver a forceful cross-check to Stone’s head and neck area.
Player Safety emphasized that Benn was in complete control of the play and deliberately chose to execute the dangerous cross-check on a prone player. Their decision to suspend Benn stems from their assessment of the incident as an unnecessarily dangerous act carried out with sufficient intent and force to warrant supplemental discipline.
It should be noted that Benn has a history of fines, having been fined four times over the course of his 1,030-game NHL career. This is his first offense to elevate to the level of suspension, however.
The suspension will see Jamie Benn sidelined for the Stars’ next two playoff or regular season games, meaning if the Stars are eliminated in tomorrow’s Game 4, Benn’s suspension will carry over to the first game of the 2023-24 season.
It’s a large loss for Dallas, who will need two straight wins to extend their season to the point where Benn can return. His 11 points in 16 games are tied for fourth on the team in scoring, and his 33 goals and 78 points in the regular season were his highest total since 2017-18.
Buffalo Sabres Extend Kyle Okposo
The Buffalo Sabres will have their captain back on the ice in 2023-24. Today, the team announced a one-year extension for Kyle Okposo worth $2.5MM.
2023-24 will mark Okposo’s 17th season in the NHL and his eighth in Buffalo. The 35-year-old right wing was coming off a seven-year, $42MM contract signed with the Sabres in 2016.
Named Buffalo’s captain ahead of the 2022-23 season, Okposo maintained his effectiveness in a bottom-six role, registering 11 goals and 28 points in 75 games. While injuries and inconsistencies have plagued Okposo’s tenure in Buffalo, he’s emerged as an invaluable leader among a young team on the rise. He’ll get to stay the course and aim to guide Buffalo to their first playoff appearance since 2011.
Save for a long-term absence, Okposo will play in his 1,000th NHL game next season. The Minnesota product is currently sitting at 984 NHL games, in which he’s recorded a total of 230 goals and 592 points.
Since Okposo is aged 35 or older, he’s eligible for a contract that includes performance bonuses. Per CapFriendly, Okposo will receive a $500,000 bonus if Buffalo wins the Stanley Cup in 2024.
Okposo still provides solid two-way metrics and is far from being a liability on the ice, so his leadership isn’t the only thing motivating the extension. He’ll likely play a more limited role on the team next season, however, given the emergence of their younger core and potential free-agent acquisitions.
After the extension, Buffalo still has roughly $17MM in projected cap space for 2023-24, as listed by CapFriendly.
Injury Updates: Barkov, Dadonov, Howden
Florida Panthers team captain Aleksander Barkov has been given the green light to hit the ice in tonight’s potentially series-clinching Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Paul Maurice said today. Barkov’s status update comes after he missed most of Florida’s 1-0 Game 3 win, sustaining a lower-body injury on a first-period hit from Hurricanes forward Jack Drury.
The 27-year-old Finnish center’s leadership and two-way acumen have proven invaluable to the team’s success, displayed most recently by a highlight-reel goal in Game 2. His four goals and eight assists for 12 points are third on the team in playoff scoring behind linemate Carter Verhaeghe and Hart Trophy finalist Matthew Tkachuk.
The 2021 Selke Trophy winner will log heavy minutes tonight as he looks to advance to the first Stanley Cup Final of his career.
- Dallas Stars forward Evgenii Dadonov is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s must-win Game 4, according to head coach Peter DeBoer. Dadonov left the game after sustaining a lower-body injury in a collision with teammate Roope Hintz while Dallas was on a power play and did not return. If captain Jamie Benn is suspended for his cross-check on Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone today, Stars forward Fredrik Olofsson would draw into the lineup and make his playoff debut if Dadonov can’t go.
- On the other side of the Dallas/Vegas coin, Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy also said today that forward Brett Howden‘s status for tomorrow is uncertain. Howden, who’s been elevated to a top-six role and has six points in 14 games, aggravated a lower-body injury yesterday and didn’t play in the third period. Either Michael Amadio or Phil Kessel could return to the lineup if he’s unable to go.
NHL Announces Jim Gregory Award Finalists
The NHL has announced this year’s finalists for the Jim Gregory Award, otherwise known as the General Manager of the Year award. Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins, and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers are the three candidates to take home the 2023 award.
Unlike most other awards, voting is not solely conducted among members of the media. All NHL GMs, as well as a spattering of league executives, are included in the process, and voting is conducted after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Under Nill’s management, the Stars recorded their highest regular-season point total since 2015-16 and have advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second time in four years, although their stay there appears to be nearing an unceremonious end. Undoubtedly, Nill’s key move last offseason was bringing in head coach Peter DeBoer, who has now brought his NHL-record fourth franchise to the third round of the playoffs in his first year with the team.
Nill also made a number of impactful free-agent signings, including left wing Mason Marchment and defenseman Colin Miller. He also locked in short-term extensions for core pieces Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson and acquired Evgenii Dadonov, Max Domi, and Nils Lundkvist via trade.
His recent drafting has also been crucial to the team’s success, namely 2021 first-round pick Wyatt Johnston, who became the youngest player in NHL history to score a series-clinching goal in a Game 7.
Sweeney oversaw an absolutely record-breaking season for his team. Already with the 2019 edition of the award in his pocket, Sweeney’s moves contributed heavily to Boston’s league-dominating 65-12-5 record, setting an NHL all-time high with 135 points.
Under the leadership of head coach Jim Montgomery, whom Sweeney hired in the offseason, Boston never once slipped out of the Atlantic Division lead, becoming only the fourth team in the post-expansion era to accomplish this feat. The Bruins set multiple records, including a remarkable 14-game home winning streak from the beginning of the campaign.
Sweeney bolstered his roster by re-signing center Patrice Bergeron, bringing back former center David Krejčí from overseas, and making strategic trades to acquire center Pavel Zacha, right wing Garnet Hathaway, and defenseman Dmitry Orlov. The signing of David Pastrnak to a long-term extension further solidified the team’s future.
Sweeney’s moves this season didn’t come without some justified controversy, however. Back in November, Sweeney opted to sign free agent defense prospect Mitchell Miller, whose draft rights were given up by the Arizona Coyotes after a 2016 assault conviction for bullying and abusing a Black, developmentally disabled classmate became public. Miller was sent away from the team within days of the signing.
Lastly, there’s Zito, who has the Panthers on the verge of their second Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. Zito started a pivotal 2022 offseason by securing the services of head coach Paul Maurice, a move that’s panned out well despite some public hesitance at the time. Zito then orchestrated a blockbuster trade to acquire and extend left wing Matthew Tkachuk, who has consistently been the team’s best player and emerged as a Hart Trophy finalist this season.
Other significant offseason moves, including signings of Nick Cousins, Alex Lyon, Eric Staal, Marc Staal, and Colin White, have mostly all contributed at points during Florida’s storybook playoff run. Zito, a finalist for the second time in his three years as a general manager, is hoping to secure his first win after finishing third in voting during his inaugural season at the helm of the Panthers.
Max Domi Fined For Slashing Mark Stone
The fallout continues from last night’s heated Game 3 of the Western Conference Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced this morning that Stars forward Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing Golden Knights captain Mark Stone.
Just hours earlier, DoPS said Stars captain Jamie Benn would have a hearing today for cross-checking Stone earlier in the game.
This is Domi’s third fine in his career, and his first stemming from a playoff incident. In 2016, while a member of the Arizona Coyotes, Domi lost $4,641 as part of an automatic one-game suspension handed out for instigating a fight within the final five minutes of regulation. While with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021, he was fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Referees did not penalize Domi for the slash, although he was given a roughing, cross-checking, and misconduct penalty stemming from an altercation with Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague.
With Benn facing suspension and likely unavailable for Game 4, Domi is a candidate to receive more minutes in a do-or-die matchup Thursday at home. The 28-year-old trade deadline acquisition has 11 points in 16 playoff games with the Stars, tied with Benn for fourth on the team.
Mark Barberio Re-Signs In KHL
The winding hockey career of Mark Barberio will take him to Cherepovets next season, as the free agent defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Severstal for 2023-24.
Barberio, 33, left North American pro hockey in 2020 to serve as captain of Lausanne HC in Switzerland before transitioning to the KHL in 2022. The puck-moving defenseman was part of Team Canada at the most recent Olympics and registered 12 points for Dinamo Minsk last season.
It’s been an interesting career to this point for the former QMJHL star, who took the Moncton Wildcats to the 2010 Memorial Cup as part of an incredibly versatile and dynamic defense corps. He and David Savard combined for 137 points that year, and it became obvious that Barberio wouldn’t be the average sixth-round pick.
By 2012, he won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s best defenseman with the Calder Cup champion Norfolk Admirals, a team loaded with future NHL talent. Unfortunately, while Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, and Radko Gudas would go on to huge success at the next level, Barberio struggled with the transition and bounced around for the next several years.
Overall, he played 272 games in the NHL, last appearing with the Colorado Avalanche in 2020. At his age, any thought of a return to the highest level of professional hockey is unlikely, so he’ll have to play out the last few chapters overseas.
Jamie Benn To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
It was not a good night for the Dallas Stars. Already down 2-0 in their third-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, the team allowed Jonathan Marchessault to get free in the left circle and wire home his seventh goal of the playoffs. Less than a minute later, captain Jamie Benn would let his frustration get the better of him, delivering a cross-check to a prone Mark Stone.
The incident would result in a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for Benn, who played just 42 seconds in a must-win game. The Stars would lose 4-0, fans would throw trash onto the ice, forcing team president Brad Alberts to issue a public apology, and now, all but eliminated, will likely be without Benn for at least another game.
Benn will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today to determine if supplemental discipline is required.
The Stars captain refused to take questions after the game, and may not get another chance to hit the ice, should a suspension come down the pipe. Vegas managed just 16 shots on goal last night but still somehow cruised to an easy victory, inching them closer to another Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Benn had a brilliant bounce-back season with 78 points in 82 games (his highest total since 2018) but has struggled to find the back of the net in the playoffs. He now has three goals in 16 games while recording 51 penalty minutes.