PHR Mailbag: Kane, Blues, Kings, Chychrun, Bruins, Gurianov, Devils
With the trade deadline now less than a week away, the focus of the mailbag this weekend will be questions pertaining to trades and the upcoming deadline. With so many deadline questions submitted, we’ll split this weekend’s mailbag in two. Next week, the focus will primarily be on the non-deadline queries (with a couple of trade ones in there as well).
@kflorenz1: Assuming Kane decided to waive his no-trade and the ‘Hawks express an interest in retaking 50-75% of the cap hit, what does the package look like?? #1 and a prospect?? 2nd rounder, plus two prospects??
Based on Patrick Kane’s recent comments, if he opts to waive his no-move protection, it will only be for one team, maybe two max if someone comes in late that intrigues him. At this point, I think pretty much everyone believes the list begins and ends with the Rangers. That will make it extremely difficult for Chicago to get good value, let alone top value. If it is just New York or bust, the Rangers can come in with a low-ball offer and basically say it’s that or nothing.
Let’s go Rangers-specific here with the package. I don’t think their other first-rounder is in play but they have a second-rounder this year. I think that would move. There should be a prospect component after that but I’m not sure it’s toward the top end of their prospect pool. I’ve seen some suggest Zachary Jones as a possibility and if it’s a forward, I like Adam Sykora, a player who likely isn’t a top-six piece in the NHL but has a good shot at making it in a lower role. They’ll also have to flip a mid-round pick somewhere for the extra 25% of retention. With a one-team bidding pool, I don’t expect the cost to be particularly high and it will be Chicago choosing to ‘do right’ by their long-time star to move him to his desired destination.
Gmm8811: Now that Armstrong has started the fire sale, I see a couple more moves that might make sense. Krug to Detroit…they have the cap space and prospects to make this work, plus maybe going back to his hometown might be the best for him. While I’m not ready to give up on Parayko just yet, send him home to Edmonton for Hyman. I know they all have NMC clauses, but as we’ve seen that’s not really an obstacle.
I can make a case for Krug to Detroit but there’s a reason that GM Steve Yzerman has refused to commit long-term contracts in free agency. He doesn’t want to make that type of long-term commitment although he’s going to have to soon if he wants to re-sign Dylan Larkin. If he doesn’t give one to a player on the open market, why would he turn around and trade for one, giving up assets to do so? If there were two fewer years on the contract (meaning there were two years left instead of four), I think this could be an interesting option but with Krug signed at $6.5MM through 2025-26, I don’t think Detroit shows interest.
As for Colton Parayko to Edmonton, he’d certainly help their back end. However, Zach Hyman is on pace for a 96-point season. Is subtracting a player that seems likely to hit 40 goals and around 90 points if he stays healthy really a move that makes them a better team in the long run? I don’t think it does. If they move Parayko, the return is going to be underwhelming as that contract ($6.5MM through 2029-30) and concerns over his back means it would be more of a cap dump than trading for someone of value.
I also want to comment quickly on your NMC thought. Just because we see some players waive their trade protection doesn’t mean it’s not an obstacle. There are quite a few trades every year that get kiboshed due to a player invoking that protection. We just don’t always hear about it. And if someone has full protection, they can leverage that into a very small list that makes it difficult for the trading team to bring back full value (think back on this when the expected Kane trade is made official). Sometimes, it doesn’t matter much but it can be an obstacle more often than you might think.
dodgerskingsfan: I thought the Kings were close on Chychrun. What other LHD are there that the Kings can acquire and who (if any) will be traded off the roster?
rpoabr: Add to this. – what’s a fair deal for the Kings to get Chychrun all things considered? Coyotes aren’t getting their ask based on no deal, so far, Kings should be able to offer a good package to get it done without sacrificing the future.
Let’s put these two together. I’ll tackle the easy part first. Sean Walker is probably the one who goes if they need someone strictly to try to match money. Matt Roy would be the other but he has some standalone value so that one would be more of the team trading Los Angeles doesn’t want to take Walker back and the Kings turn around and move Roy in a separate deal to clear the salary.
As for other left-shot defenders possibly in play, Vladislav Gavrikov is back in play after the expected deal with Boston fell through. Jake McCabe is signed as long as Jakob Chychrun at fairly similar money ($4MM for McCabe, $4.6MM for Chychrun) and he’d likely fit in on their second pairing. Shayne Gostisbehere is a rental that can help a power play. If Nashville decides to actually sell, I could see them poking around on Mattias Ekholm as well. If Chychrun falls through (and I don’t think it’s at that point yet), there will be other options.
As for the second question, Arizona is looking for future assets. If Los Angeles is offering a package that doesn’t sacrifice anything of their future, what’s in it for the Coyotes? They’re well within their rights to ask for the package they’re believed to be looking for. It’ll have to include their first-round pick this year, that’s pretty much a given. I think there needs to be a young defenseman coming back so that’d be one of Jordan Spence or maybe Tobias Bjornfot.
The other piece is a little harder. Assuming it’s another first-round element, I think the Coyotes would want a center. They’d probably ask for Quinton Byfield but that should be a non-starter for the Kings. Los Angeles probably counters with Alex Turcotte who is probably a non-starter for Arizona unless their scouts are really high on him. With the belief that their focus is on entry-level players, how much do they like Rasmus Kupari? I think this is where the hold-up is in a trade as the other secondary elements are there but finding that ‘A’ piece is where they’re struggling as swapping in a 2024 first-rounder probably doesn’t move the needle either.
SkidRowe: 1) Did the Bruins do enough?
2) Why did it cost as much for Orlov and Hathaway as the Rangers paid for Tarasenko and Mikkola and the Maple Leafs paid for O’Reilly and Acciari?
1) Considering Boston is already the top team in the league playing at a level rarely seen, they didn’t really have to do a whole lot necessarily. That they were able to add an impact defenseman and a gritty depth winger that can kill penalties without subtracting anything of consequence is excellent for them. Right now, they’re still the prohibitive Stanley Cup favorite so by that standpoint, yeah, they’ve done enough. Of course, the true answer to that question will come in June.
2) With Tarasenko, the Rangers got the best rental winger on the market. With O’Reilly, the Maple Leafs got the best rental center that might move. In Orlov, the Bruins are getting the best rental defenseman that’s out there so when you have two preceding trades that set the precedent for the ‘top at that position’ type of swap, it made sense to me that this one was similarly structured. It also should be noted that Boston, unlike the other two teams, was in a spot where they had to match money so there’s a bit of premium to be paid to do so to get Washington to take Smith’s deal on. It’s a high price, no doubt, but I think it was a fair one based on what had already been established.
Winnipeg Jets Acquire Nino Niederreiter
The Winnipeg Jets have added to their forward group, acquiring Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2024 second-round draft pick. Winnipeg then sent Axel Jonsson-Fjallby to the AHL to open the roster spot.
The 30-year-old has been a reliable secondary scorer for the majority of his career and continued that trend in his first season with Nashville. This season, Niederreiter has 18 goals and 10 assists in 56 games, good for second on the Preds in goals (just one behind Filip Forsberg). He has reached the 20-goal mark in six of the last eight seasons and should certainly bolster Winnipeg’s scoring depth, especially with Cole Perfetti likely out for the remainder of the regular season and potentially into the first round.
Notably, Niederreiter isn’t a rental acquisition for Winnipeg as he still has one year remaining on his deal after this season with a $4MM cap hit. They already had more than $66.5MM in commitments for next season to just 13 players per CapFriendly, a total that will jump to over $70.5MM. Notably, that figure does not include an expected new deal for RFA center Pierre-Luc Dubois who is heading for a sizable raise on his current $6MM salary. With that in mind, it’s quite possible that from here on out, the Jets will be focusing on rental players.
As for Nashville, this year hasn’t gone as planned for the Preds. After being 12th in goals scored in 2021-22, they’ve struggled offensively this season, sitting 26th in that department even with the addition of Niederreiter who was supposed to help bolster their attack. The end result is that they find themselves fifth in the Central Division and seven points out of a Wild Card spot heading into today’s action. It appears that GM David Poile has settled on his course of action after previously suggesting he wasn’t entirely sure if he’d be a buyer or seller.
While the Preds don’t have a strong list of pending UFAs – it’s basically backup goaltender Kevin Lankinen and injured blueliner Mark Borowiecki – they do have some other players that are signed or under team control beyond this season that could be of interest. Pending RFA defenseman Dante Fabbro has been in recent speculation while veteran rearguard Mattias Ekholm has previously been suggested as someone that could move if they look to undergo a longer-term retooling process.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news (Twitter link) that Niederreiter was headed to Winnipeg.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Austin Watson
The Senators have moved out a couple of veterans already recently in defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and forward Tyler Motte. While they haven’t completely thrown in the towel yet on trying to make the playoffs, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that at least three teams have shown interest in acquiring veteran winger Austin Watson. Those three are all Western Conference squads in the Stars, Kings, and Avalanche.
Watson is in his ninth NHL season and is having a quieter year than normal offensively, scoring just four goals and two assists in 53 games while his playing time has dipped to just above ten minutes a night. However, he’s only one year removed from a ten-goal campaign. The 31-year-old continues to play a physical game, picking up 120 hits along with 63 penalty minutes and that’s what’s likely to draw attention from elsewhere. He’s in the final season of a three-year deal that carries a $1.5MM AAV and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Playoff-bound teams are often looking to shore up their depth forwards at this time of year and adding some grit for the playoffs is also a trait that is often coveted so it’s no surprise that some teams are calling about Watson. Those three teams are quite familiar with him from his days in Nashville as well. He’d be no more than a fourth liner on any of those squads though so if Ottawa does wind up moving him, they’d likely be limited to receiving no more than a mid-round draft pick for his services.
Scratch Notes: Kane, Lafferty, Meier
With the trade deadline now less than a week away, more teams are starting to sit their players to avoid any risk of injury that could scuttle a pending move or complicate ongoing discussions. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of players in that situation that are out of the lineup today.
- The Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that winger Patrick Kane and forward Sam Lafferty will sit for trade-related reasons. Kane’s agent Pat Brisson relayed a statement to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link) that it was mutually agreed that Kane would sit during this “period of reflection”. Kane is mulling over whether to leave the only NHL organization he has ever known with the Rangers expected to be the likely destination, provided that they can make the money work as Kane carries a $10.5MM AAV. They’ll need double-retention for a deal to happen.
- As for Lafferty, the 27-year-old is in the midst of a career year with 10 goals and 11 assists in 50 games while winning more than 52% of his faceoffs in a little more than 15 minutes a night of action. Signed for one more season with a manageable cap hit of $1.15MM, he should attract interest from several teams.
- The Sharks will be without winger Timo Meier tonight, reports Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). The 26-year-old is having another strong season, notching 31 goals and 21 assists in 57 games and is four goals shy of his career-high which was set last year. Meier is a pending restricted free agent that’s owed a $10MM qualifying offer this summer but only a $6MM AAV this season. Acquiring teams will likely want to get a long-term deal below that but as of yet, San Jose is not believed to have granted interested squads a chance to negotiate an extension with Meier’s camp. He’s currently nursing an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day so it’s unlikely he’ll suit up before the deadline for precautionary reasons.
Canucks Acquire Vitali Kravtsov
The Canucks are expected to be adding a young forward to their lineup as they’ve acquired winger Vitali Kravtsov from the Rangers. Going to New York is winger William Lockwood and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick. Both teams have announced the deal.
Kravtsov was the ninth-overall pick in 2018 but has struggled in limited NHL action and has just three goals and three assists in 28 games this season. He also played in 20 games back in 2020-21 and produced at a similar rate, notching two goals and two helpers in 20 contests.
Last season, Kravtsov opted to return to the KHL instead of reporting to New York, picking up 13 points in 17 games with Traktor Chelyabinsk during the regular season before adding seven goals in 15 playoff contests. That was enough for New York to give him a one-year, one-way $875K contract for this season. He’ll be arbitration-eligible this summer and will be owed a $840K qualifying offer.
To make room for Kravtsov on the roster, the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that center Curtis Lazar has been placed on injured reserve. It’s the second trip to the IR for the 28-year-old who has five goals and 124 hits in 45 games this season.
As for Lockwood, the 24-year-old has been up and down this season, getting into 13 games with Vancouver where he picked up an assist along with 37 hits while averaging just over 10 minutes per game. He has been more productive with AHL Abbotsford though, collecting a dozen goals and six assists in 26 contests. He’s on a one-year, two-way deal with $750K in the NHL and should remain in the minors with his new team.
It’s certainly an underwhelming return for Kravtsov, once viewed as a key piece of the future for the Rangers. However, his struggles in the NHL and the potential for him to return to the KHL certainly deflated his value. But this move, coupled with the waiving of Jake Leschyshyn earlier today, will open up some extra cap space for New York to try to add another piece down the stretch; Chicago winger Patrick Kane has been speculatively linked to them recently and these deletions would be enough to squeak him in at 25% of his AAV. Meanwhile, it’s about as low-risk an acquisition as possible for Vancouver who will now try to see if Kravtsov can become more of an impact player with a new organization.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Kravtsov was being traded to Vancouver.
Bruins Acquire Shane Bowers
The Bruins and Avalanche have swapped depth players as Colorado has traded forward Shane Bowers to Boston in exchange for goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Both teams have announced the move and have confirmed that the players have been sent down to their respective minor league clubs.
Bowers made his NHL debut this season but it was a short-lived one as he was injured in the first period. The 2017 first-round pick has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, picking up 14 points in 37 games with AHL Colorado. Bowers is on a one-year, two-way contract that pays $750K in the NHL and just $100K in the minors and he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer. The subtraction of Kinkaid partially clears up a logjam between the pipes with AHL Providence who are now down to two goalies on the roster plus Michael DiPietro playing at the ECHL level.
As for Kinkaid, the 33-year-old is a veteran of 168 career NHL appearances over parts of 10 seasons. However, he has just 11 of those over the past three years as he has settled in as a veteran third-stringer. He has a 3.10 GAA with a .909 SV% in 20 games at the AHL level so far and will give the Avs some extra insurance between the pipes with Pavel Francouz currently out with a lower-body injury. He’s also on a one-year, two-way deal worth the minimum in the NHL although his AHL pay is considerably higher at $450K. Kinkaid will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Golden Knights Assign Michael Hutchinson And Daniil Miromanov To AHL
The Golden Knights have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Dallas, announcing (Twitter link) that goaltender Michael Hutchinson and defenseman Daniil Miromanov have been assigned to Henderson of the AHL.
Hutchinson was on recall with both Logan Thompson and Adin Hill dealing with injuries. While Thompson is on injured reserve, this move suggests that Hill will be available to dress tonight against the Stars. Hutchinson didn’t play for Vegas on this recall and hasn’t suited up much overall. He has only made seven appearances with the Silver Knights, posting a 2.74 GAA along with a .897 SV%. He also played twice for Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December. With Laurent Brossoit still up covering for Thompson’s injury, however, Hutchinson should be in line for more playing time in the short term.
As for Miromanov, he had been on injured reserve dating back to February 20th so this move indicates that he has been cleared to return. The 25-year-old had actually been up with the Golden Knights since the end of November but still has seen more action with Henderson than Vegas this season. In 17 games with the Silver Knights, Miromanov has 13 points while he picked up two goals and four helpers in 14 contests with Vegas. It’s quite possible that he’ll be back up before long but having been out since the end of December, he needs to get some playing time under his belt first.
Blues Claim Kasperi Kapanen Off Waivers From Penguins
Kasperi Kapanen is on the move as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Blues have claimed the winger off waivers from the Penguins.
The 26-year-old is in the midst of a tough season that has seen him record just seven goals and 13 assists in 43 games while being a healthy scratch on multiple occasions. When he has been in the lineup, Kapanen is averaging just over 12 minutes a night which is a career low. However, prior to this season, he has been a capable middle-six winger, ranging between 11 and 20 goals over the last four seasons between Pittsburgh and Toronto while he is one of the faster players in the league as well.
With that track record, it’s understandable that St. Louis would want to take a flyer on Kapanen to try to restore some value. However, it does come with a somewhat notable salary commitment as the winger is in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $3.2MM cap hit. As a result of that claim, the Blues will take the entirety of that contract on. Prior to the claim, they had nearly $71MM of commitments on the books for next season per CapFriendly with this claim pushing that number up to nearly $74MM for 16 players. That won’t leave them with a lot of wiggle room to add to the back of their roster.
To make room for Kapanen (who won’t play today against his now-former team) on their roster, the Blues announced (Twitter link) that forward Nikita Alexandrov has been sent down to AHL Springfield. The 22-year-old has five points in 20 games with St. Louis in his first taste of NHL action while he has done well in the minors, picking up 12 goals and 10 helpers in 28 contests with the Thunderbirds.
Meanwhile, it’s a disappointing end to Kapanen’s tenure with Pittsburgh with the team moving a first-round pick to reacquire him from Toronto less than two and a half years ago. However, the move gives them some much-needed financial flexibility. Being claimed allowed the Penguins to activate Jan Rutta from LTIR without needing to make any other roster moves while they will now have a bit more space to try to add another piece before the trade deadline.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Toronto Maple Leafs
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
Over the past several months, PHR has looked at every NHL team and given a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2022-23 season and beyond. This is the final piece of the series. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Current Cap Hit: $88,851,650 (over the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Pontus Holmberg (one year, $827.5K)
F Nicholas Robertson (two years, $796.7K)
Potential Bonuses
None
Robertson has been viewed as one of Toronto’s top prospects for a few years now. However, injuries have limited him significantly in the pros and he’s out for the rest of this season after undergoing shoulder surgery. The Maple Leafs frequently use bridge contracts and he’s a very strong candidate to get one. If he returns to health and produces, it could be around the $1.5MM mark but it’s likely to come in below that. Holmberg fit in nicely in Toronto’s bottom six and is playing his way into consideration for a full-time spot beyond this season although he’s back in the minors for the time being. Even so, with their cap situation and Holmberg’s limited NHL experience, a short-term bridge deal around the $1MM range is where his next deal should fall.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Noel Acciari ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Joey Anderson ($750K, RFA)
F Zach Aston-Reese ($840.6K, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($750K, UFA)
F Michael Bunting ($950K, UFA)
F Pierre Engvall ($2.25MM, UFA)
D Justin Holl ($2MM, UFA)
F David Kampf ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Alex Kerfoot ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Victor Mete ($750K, RFA)
F Ryan O’Reilly ($1.875MM, UFA)*
G Ilya Samsonov ($1.8MM, RFA)
F Wayne Simmonds ($900K, UFA)
*-St. Louis is retaining 50% of O’Reilly’s cap hit ($3.75MM) and Minnesota is retaining an additional 25% ($1.875MM).
Kerfoot’s hold of a roster spot in Toronto has seemingly been in question for about three of his four years with the team but it’s not because he has a bad contract by any stretch. He’s on pace to push for 40 points again which, coupled with his ability to play center and the wing, should have him earning another million or so on his next deal, one that’s likely to be for more years than this four-year agreement he’s finishing now. Engvall is a capable depth forward but hasn’t shown the ability to produce consistently. Since he doesn’t kill penalties too frequently either, his market might not be the strongest. He could get something close to this amount but not considerably higher. Kampf isn’t much of a scorer himself but with him being good on faceoffs and killing penalties, there should be a market for him that should land him a multi-year deal closer to the $2MM (or even $2.5MM if enough teams show interest.).
Then there are the newcomers. O’Reilly has had a tough year this season but has a long and proven track record as a key two-way player. At 32, he still should be able to land a sizable agreement on a multi-year deal but it’s likely to be for at least a couple million less than his base $7.5MM AAV unless he has a big finish to his season with Toronto; he’s off to a good start on that front. As for Acciari, he had a nice bounce-back showing in the bottom six with St. Louis before the swap and, as a player who can hold his own on the third line or anchor the fourth, can kill penalties, plays with an edge, and win faceoffs, he’ll have a stronger market than he did last summer which should lead to a multi-year agreement and an AAV closer to the $2MM mark at least.
Bunting is going to be a particularly intriguing case to follow. He has been one of the top bargains in the NHL these last two years, providing top-six production for depth forward money. Even with what’s still a limited track record, there are enough comparable deals that could realistically push his asking price past the $5MM mark on a long-term agreement. Is that one Toronto will be able to fit into their salary structure? That’s one of the questions they’ll certainly be pondering. Aston-Reese didn’t have a strong market last summer and likely hasn’t done enough to change that so he should stay in this price range. Simmonds, if he plays another year, will be at the league minimum while Anderson should wind up there as well.
Holl might not be a top-end defender but he has held his own while logging around 21 minutes a night this season. He’s also a right-shot player, the handedness that’s always in high demand. While he was a depth defender early on in his time with the Leafs, that’s not the case now and he could add at least $1MM on his next contract which could very well price his way out of Toronto. Benn and Mete both signed minimum deals back in July and their markets haven’t changed significantly since then. Mete is arbitration-eligible once more but because he has 247 career games under his belt, he’s likely to be non-tendered to avoid that risk.
Samsonov chose to sign with Toronto in the hopes of rebuilding his value. That decision has worked out rather well so far as he is staking claim to the starting role. We’ve seen the price tag for young goalies with limited experience go up considerably lately (Samsonov has less than 130 NHL appearances even including the playoffs) and it’s plausible that his next deal could push past the $5MM mark.
Signed Through 2023-24
D T.J. Brodie ($5MM, UFA)
D Mark Giordano ($800K, UFA)
D Timothy Liljegren ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Auston Matthews ($11.64MM, UFA)
G Matt Murray ($4.688MM, UFA)*
D Jake Muzzin ($5.625MM, UFA)
F William Nylander ($6.962MM, UFA)
D Rasmus Sandin ($1.4MM, RFA)
*-Ottawa is retaining an additional $1.5625MM (25%) on Murray’s deal.
It has been widely expected for several years now that Matthews will set the new standard for the highest AAV in the NHL when he signs his next contract. It’s not a matter of if he’ll pass Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6MM starting next season) but by how much. He has been the top goal-scorer in the NHL in the past two seasons and even in a bit of a down year this season, he’s still averaging over a point per game. Matthews will hit the open market at the age of 26 when he’s clearly in the prime of his career. Top centers rarely make it to free agency and if he’s going to be the rare exception, there will be plenty of interest, even at a record-setting price tag.
What happens with Matthews could very well dictate if Toronto can afford to re-sign Nylander as well. He cracked the 80-point mark last season for the first time and is playing at a 95-point pace this year. One more season around that type of production and it’s quite possible that the AAV on a max-term deal for him will push past the $10MM plateau as well. Even if there’s a jump in the Upper Limit by then, keeping both players will be tricky.
Muzzin has spent most of the season on the injured list and there are questions about his ability to return, not only this year but beyond that. He has been ruled out for the rest of 2022-23 as expected, but unless they know that Muzzin isn’t coming back period, any other moves they make will also be limited to rentals. At this point, it doesn’t seem likely that the veteran will be able to command anywhere near this type of money if he is able to come back. As for Brodie, he continues to be a mobile and steady veteran that can kill penalties, log big minutes, play on both sides, and chip in with a few points. Nothing flashy but that type of role is one that’s always in demand. He’ll be 34 when he hits the open market but even so, a deal similar to his current one (four years at $5MM per season) could be doable.
Sandin showed a fair bit of offensive upside in the past and slowly but surely, he’s starting to produce a little more in Toronto. He’s on his bridge deal now, one that carries a $1.6MM qualifying offer. Assuming he continues to develop and starts to push his way into more playing time, he should be able to more than double that with arbitration rights. Liljegren is in a very similar situation although his offensive upside hasn’t been viewed as high as Sandin’s. But otherwise, both players are gradually improving and are trending toward eventual top-four roles. Liljegren’s qualifier checks in at $1.5MM next summer and he, too, should double that at least if he continues to progress. Giordano accepted a contract that was well below market value to stay with his hometown team. If he was to sign another deal, it’d be for his age-41 season and at that point, he’s likely to be around the minimum salary once again.
Murray has had flashes of dominance mixed in with struggles and injuries which is what happened in his previous stops with Ottawa and Pittsburgh as well. When he’s on his game, he’s a capable starting goaltender but the inconsistency will hurt him. When he signed this contract, Murray was viewed as a goalie on the rise. That shouldn’t be the case in 2024 where he’s likely to be viewed as more of a mid-tier netminder. The market rate for those types of players is closer to the $4MM range.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Mitch Marner ($10.903MM, UFA)
F John Tavares ($11MM, UFA)
D Conor Timmins ($850K in 2022-23, $1.1MM in 2023-24 and 2024-25)
G Joseph Woll ($767K, RFA)
Tavares certainly hasn’t played poorly since joining Toronto as he’s averaging just under a point per game in his five seasons with the team but that’s not a great return on one of the priciest UFA deals in NHL history either. The flattened salary cap – something that couldn’t have been foreseen at the time this deal was signed – has also exacerbated the effect of this contract on their cap situation. That all said, he’s still a very important piece for the Maple Leafs but if he’s going to sign a second contract with the team, it will need to be for considerably less than this to fit what their financial outlook is likely to be if they keep their other core pieces.
Marner has been one of the top-scoring wingers in the league for the last several seasons. Over the last five years, only one – Artemi Panarin – has more points than he does. With the cap set to be higher in 2025, it stands to reason that he could take aim at setting the new benchmark for a contract for a winger; Panarin checks in at $11.643MM. Marner will be 28 when this contract kicks in so it’s pretty much a lock that he’ll be securing a max-term agreement if he wants it on the open market.
Timmins was picked up early in the season from Arizona and has done quite well in a limited role which earned him the extension earlier this month. If he can lock down a full-time spot and continues to produce, his next contract could be more than double what he’ll start getting next season.
Woll doesn’t have much NHL action under his belt but with two years left at an AAV that will be below the league minimum next season, he’s the odds-on favorite to be the backup at some point during that stretch. Exactly when that permanent promotion comes will go a long way toward determining how much his next contract will be. If he’s established by then, it could be as high as the $3MM range.
Flyers Recall Elliot Desnoyers
The Flyers are giving one of their more promising prospects his first taste of NHL action as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Elliot Desnoyers from Lehigh Valley of the AHL. He will make his NHL debut tonight against New Jersey.
The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Philadelphia back in 2020 (135th overall) but has certainly outperformed his draft stock since then. He became an impact scorer at the major junior level after being drafted, recording 137 points in 108 games with Halifax of the QMJHL after being selected which helped him earn a spot on Canada’s entry into the World Juniors last summer.
This season, Desnoyers has made the adjustment to playing in the pros and has done quite well, leading the Phantoms in scoring with 19 goals and 17 assists in 48 games. He’ll now get a chance to see if that scoring touch can translate to the NHL level.
To make room for Desnoyers on the roster, the Flyers placed winger Travis Konecny on injured reserve. He suffered an upper-body injury on Monday against Calgary and there’s no timeline for how long he’ll be out.