Calgary Flames Hire Dave Lowry As Assistant Coach
Earlier today, the Calgary Flames announced they’ve hired Dave Lowry as an assistant coach. Lowry will replace assistant coach Brad Larsen, who has stepped away from the team due to familial reasons.
Lowry has been well-ingrained in southern Alberta since the waning days of his professional playing career. After a 15-year career that saw stops with the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers, and San Jose Sharks, Lowry signed with the Flames as a free agent ahead of the 2000-01 NHL season, spending his first two years with the organization as the team’s captain. Although he would have the captaincy stripped from him in favor of Craig Conroy and later, Jarome Iginla, Lowry finished his career with Calgary, playing in 10 games of their 2004 Stanley Cup Final run.
Remaining in Calgary after his playing career, Lowry spent four years as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen before joining the Flames in a similar role from 2010 to 2012. Unfortunately, under the stewardship of head coach Brent Sutter, Calgary didn’t reach the playoffs in any of the years with Lowry on the staff. After Sutter was relieved of his duties, Lowry also left to take the head coaching position with the WHL’s Victoria Royals, where he remained through the 2016-17 season.
Despite a one-year stint as head coach of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings during the 2019-20 season, Lowry has been in the NHL ever since, serving as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, and Seattle Kraken. During his time with the Jets, Lowry briefly served as the team’s head coach after Paul Maurice stepped down during the 2021-22 season. Under Lowry, the Jets managed a 26-22-8 record in 54 games, missing the postseason by eight points.
Returning to Calgary, Lowry ends a 13-year hiatus from the club. Unfortunately, Lowry’s return is somewhat bittersweet, as Larsen had to leave the organization after only one year. Before joining the Flames last season, Larsen had enjoyed a lengthy run with the Columbus Blue Jackets, serving as the team’s assistant coach from 2014 to 2021 and head coach from 2021 to 2023.
Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up
A handful of changes outlined in the CBA extension and new Memorandum of Understanding that were ratified over the summer will go into effect earlier than expected. While the full extent of the agreement won’t take effect until the current CBA expires on September 15, 2026, some of the new rules and regulations in the new agreement will have an effect on league operations for 2025-26.
Chief among them is the major overhaul to long-term injured reserve, PuckPedia and Frank Seravalli report. The new playoff salary accounting rules and in-season LTIR relief rules will cover the 2025-26 regular season, not 2026-27 as initially planned.
In the past, teams have routinely benefitted from having a high-priced player on LTIR for either the entire season or a significant portion of it late in the year, allowing them to replace their cap hit before getting the injured player back for the postseason. That allowed teams to ice playoff gameday rosters that had combined cap hits well over the regular-season upper limit.
Now, prior to each playoff game, teams will need to submit their roster of dressed players (not including scratches or injuries) to the league. The combined cap hit of that roster, plus any dead cap space like buyouts or retained salaries, must be at or under the preceding regular season’s upper limit. For players on 35+ contracts, entry-level deals, or other contracts eligible to include performance bonuses, those bonuses will not be incorporated into playoff cap-counting calculations, per PuckPedia.
The only mathematically complex portion of the new playoff cap situation will be regarding players involved in retained salary transactions. From PuckPedia directly:
For the team that retains cap hit, the retention is pro-rated based on the remaining regular-season days at the time of transaction (e.g. if a team retains 25% of a player’s salary in a transaction, the 25% charged to the retaining team is pro-rated. If that retention occurred halfway through the season, the retaining cap would have a playoff cap hit equal to 25%*50%= 12.5% of the full cap hit). Note that the team that receives the retained player does not have their cap hit pro-rated for the portion of the season the player was on their roster.
For in-season LTIR, the changes are simpler. Teams still have the ability to optimize their captures, but the total relief amount that an LTIR pool can hold will now be limited to the previous year’s average salary. For 2025-26, that means teams can only create up to $3,817,293 in flexibility via LTIR, regardless of the total amount of cap hit a team has on LTIR.
There’s one key exception to that rule – if an LTIR-bound player is expected to miss the entire season, the team can still take full advantage of their cap hit. The league needs to approve each scenario, and the LTIR-bound player in question would then be ineligible to play in the postseason regardless of their health.
That means teams like the Golden Knights and Blues, who are expected to use Alex Pietrangelo‘s and Torey Krug‘s long-term injuries to stay cap-compliant via LTIR placements, won’t be affected by this change since those players are not expected to resume their careers, at least not this season. Meanwhile, the Panthers will now only be able to unlock that $3.82MM in flexibility compared to the $4.5MM they’re currently projected to need with Matthew Tkachuk expected to begin the season on LTIR with a target return date in January.
Here are the other elements of the CBA extension that will now take effect this season, per PuckPedia and Seravalli:
- Contracts with deferred compensation will be outlawed beginning Oct. 7 (the first day of the regular season)
- No more “paper transactions.” When a team assigns a player to the AHL, they must play one game for their respective affiliate before becoming eligible for an NHL recall.
- Double salary retention on a contract can no longer occur simultaneously. A contract can only be involved in a second retained salary transaction 75 regular-season days after the preceding one, eliminating the possibility for three-team trade deadline deals to effectively allow a team to acquire a player at 25% of their initial salary.
- Teams can bypass the NHL-CHL transfer agreement and loan one 19-year-old player to their AHL affiliate who would otherwise be required to stay on the NHL roster or return to juniors.
- The limit of four post-trade deadline standard recalls is expanded to five, although only four of those players can be on the roster simultaneously.
- Teams can no longer implement a dress code for players.
- Players may now endorse wine and spirits.
There will also be a slate of new rules that will take effect for the 2026-27 season but before the new MOU goes into effect on Sep. 16, per PuckPedia. Those are as follows:
- Changes to drafted player rights retention will take effect for the 2026 class (uniform expiry at age 22, regardless of league). Russian players remain exempt and their rights are held indefinitely by the team that drafts them.
- Increases to maximum minor league compensation on entry-level contracts.
- Increases to NHL league minimum salary, which will jump from $775K in 2025-26 to $850K in 2026-27.
- Mandatory neck protection rules begin July 1, 2026.
- Removing additional entry-level restrictions for European players.
Flames, Connor Zary Making Progress On Three-Year Deal
The Flames are “getting closer” to a resolution with restricted free agent Connor Zary, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Tuesday. It’s likely to be a three-year deal when it finally gets across the finish line, in line with what Calgary’s front office was reportedly aiming for in talks last month.
The cap hit on said deal will likely be in the neighborhood of $3.5MM, as indicated by AFP Analytics’ projections from the beginning of the offseason. Cap space was no object in talks for the Flames, who still have over $15MM in flexibility for opening night with only Zary left to sign, according to PuckPedia.
Zary ended up as one of the longest RFA negotiations this summer after plateauing in his sophomore season. After scoring 34 points in 63 games in 2023-24 and finishing eighth in Calder Trophy voting, he churned out 27 points in 54 games last year – a decrease of 0.04 points per game. Matters weren’t helped by a pair of lower-body injuries, including a knee injury that ended his season a few weeks early.
There’s still some room to grow for Zary, though. He turns 24 later this month and was Calgary’s first-round pick (No. 24 overall) in 2020. So far, that billing seems appropriate – his 61 career points rank exactly 24th among 2020 draftees. He also took on consistent top-nine and more frequent top-six deployment last season, averaging north of 16 minutes per game.
As he continues to work on building up his offensive acumen, he should expect a similar role in 2025-26. The Flames will begin camp with no notable changes to their forward group over the offseason, meaning a spot on the wing alongside either Mikael Backlund or Nazem Kadri should be his for the taking. It’s not as if he hadn’t been making linear progress up until last year – he steadily increased his production in the minors before exploding with AHL Calgary to start 2023-24, scoring 10 points in six games before earning his first NHL recall and never looking back.
A three-year deal would keep Zary under team control in the summer of 2028, but that’s Calgary’s last chance to negotiate with him as an RFA. Any subsequent deal he signs will lead him to unrestricted free agency.
Atlantic Notes: Meloche, McTavish, Hildeby
Sabres goaltending prospect Samuel Meloche has committed to Northeastern University, he announced on Instagram. It’s unclear if the 18-year-old will join the school for the upcoming 2025-26 season or return to the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, where he emerged as a starter in his draft year, before heading to the college ranks in 2026-27. He was a fourth-round selection in June and checked in as one of the more athletic goalies in this year’s class. The 6’2″, 190-lb netminder had a .900 SV%, 2.90 GAA, five shutouts, and a 30-14-6 record for the Huskies last year – now committing to a school with the same moniker.
Other updates from the Atlantic Division:
- As the Bruins continue to overhaul their center pipeline, swinging a trade for Ducks restricted free agent Mason McTavish may be among the most realistic options they have to add a top-six piece, Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe opines. “If McTavish is actually available, the Bruins likely would need to relinquish a first-round pick or two, along with an intriguing prospect or young NHL player,” Ryan wrote. “There’s plenty of risk involved with moving first-round picks — especially for a retooling team that could land another top-10 pick next June. But a player such as McTavish also represents a high-upside addition with established production and room to grow — especially given his age.“
- After signing a three-year deal this morning, Maple Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby will have a $945K qualifying offer due upon expiry in 2028, PuckPedia reports. His one-way salary in the final year of the deal will be $900K after earning a $775K NHL/$350K AHL breakdown this season and an $850K/$450K split in 2026-27.
Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To Three-Year Deal
Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby had spent most of the summer as a restricted free agent, but he finally has a new contract in hand. The team announced Tuesday that they’ve signed their No. 3 option between the pipes to a three-year deal, keeping him in Toronto through 2027-28.
Hildeby’s deal carries a two-way structure through 2026-27 before converting to a one-way deal in its final season, the team said. He’ll carry a cap hit of $841,667 if he’s on the NHL roster.
The 24-year-old is coming off his first season of NHL action. The towering Swede didn’t fare all that well in his six starts, however, logging a .872 SV% and 3.33 GAA with a 3-3-0 record. Only two of those starts were quality ones, and he conceded 4.3 goals above expected in just over 360 minutes of ice time, per MoneyPuck.
Toronto is betting on there still being better days ahead in Hildeby’s development. He was initially draft-eligible in 2019 but was passed over three times before finally being selected by the Leafs in the fourth round in 2022 following a small but stellar first taste of professional action with Färjestad BK in Sweden’s SHL.
After Hildeby became the first player from the 2022 class to sign his entry-level deal, Toronto loaned him back to Färjestad before bringing him to North America at the end of the 2022-23 season. He’s largely remained on assignment to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies ever since, where he has a .909 SV%, 2.53 GAA, six shutouts, and a 37-21-14 record in 73 appearances for the club in the last three years.
Hildeby was an AHL All-Star in 2023-24 and, since he won’t require waivers for another season, is virtually guaranteed to begin this season as the Marlies’ starting option unless an injury strikes down one of Toronto’s NHL tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll in preseason. He’ll be the Leafs’ only real recall option unless they make another addition. Their other goalies under contract, Russians Artur Akhtyamov and Vyacheslav Peksa, are potentially high-ceiling options but are still too early in their development to warrant an NHL look.
Cal O’Reilly Signs In Switzerland
After 19 professional seasons in North America and well over 1,100 games, center Cal O’Reilly is making the jump overseas for a second time. He’s signed a contract with SCL Tigers of Switzerland’s National League that runs through the end of October with an option to extend for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, the team announced.
O’Reilly, the older brother of Ryan O’Reilly, has 145 NHL games to his name but hasn’t touched the top level since 2017-18 with the Wild. He’s played exclusively in the minors ever since, spending the last two seasons in the same organization as his brother on an AHL contract with the Milwaukee Admirals.
Long a premier playmaking threat at the game’s second-highest level this side of the Atlantic, the 6’0″, 187-lb pivot still managed an 11-38–49 scoring line in 68 games for the Admirals last season to lead the club in scoring. As he enters his age-39 season, he’s showing little sign of slowing down – rebounding quite well from some regression that saw him produce as little as 18 points in 59 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2022-23.
The move to Langnau marks O’Reilly’s first time playing in Europe in over a decade. His only previous overseas stint coincided with the 2012 lockout, when he joined the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk on a multi-year deal. For whatever reason, his offense didn’t translate – he only managed 20 points in 46 games before he was released early in the 2013-14 season and promptly returned to North America.
O’Reilly was a fifth-round pick by Nashville way back in 2005 and has since gone on to appear in five AHL All-Star games, although a Calder Cup title has eluded him. He’s notched 177 goals and 606 assists for 783 points in 1,022 career minor-league games, tied for 17th in AHL all-time total points and second among active players behind Chris Terry‘s 807.
He joins the Tigers a week ahead of their regular-season opener amid some recent injuries to their forward group. He joins Saku Mäenalanen, Harri Pesonen, André Pettersson, and Juuso Riikola as the NHL-experienced talent on their roster.
Summer Synopsis: Seattle Kraken
With training camps now less than a month away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Seattle.
When the Kraken promoted Dan Bylsma to take over as head coach last summer, Seattle was hoping that he’d be able to get them going back in the right direction after taking a big step back. Unfortunately for them, they instead took another step back, prompting not only a coaching change again with Lane Lambert taking over but even a new front office structure with Jason Botterill being elevated to general manager. His first summer at the helm saw the team make a few moves but the primary core of this group remains largely unchanged.
Draft
1-8 – F Jake O’Brien, Brantford (OHL)
2-36 – D Blake Fiddler, Edmonton (WHL)
3-68 – D Will Reynolds, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
5-134 – D Maxim Agafonov, Ufa (MHL)
7-205 – D Karl Annborn, HV71 (Sweden U20)
7-218 – F Loke Krantz, Linkoping (Sweden U20)
There’s a saying that a team can’t have enough centers. Seattle’s draft history might yet put that theory to the test as the selection of O’Brien made it four middlemen taken with their top pick in five years, all of those coming no later than eighth overall. O’Brien had a breakout season with OHL Brantford, finishing as one of the league’s top assist and point leaders, an impressive feat for a player in his draft-eligible season. He has already signed his entry-level contract taking a possible NCAA detour off the table but he doesn’t have a lot left to prove in junior either. He might not push for a spot with Seattle this season but next fall, he could legitimately get a look.
Fiddler was a nice pickup in the early second round as a player ranked by some in the late teens. The son of long-time center Blake Fiddler, he’s a strong skater on the back end with a bit of secondary offensive upside and showed well at the World Under-18s back in May. Size-wise, he’s already big enough to fit in on an NHL back end but he’s probably a few years away from getting that chance. The Kraken stayed in the junior ranks with Reynolds, another big defender but whose profile is much different than Fiddler’s. He’s more of a true physical shutdown player, a profile they don’t have a lot of in their system.
Among the late-round selections, Agafonov showed well at the Russian junior level last season with his mobility standing out in particular. He’s someone who will need a couple of years to work up to the KHL and then likely a year or two from there before being NHL-ready. Annborn, their fourth straight rearguard, got a brief taste of SHL action but spent most of the year at the Under-20 level where he notched 21 assists in 39 games. Under contract through 2027-28 back home, he won’t be on the radar for a while. The same can be said for Krantz, though not necessarily because of his contract. He has a strong shot that made a big impact in Sweden’s Under-18 level but it didn’t translate to the Under-20 division. He still has some work to do there and is a multi-year project as well.
Trade Acquisitions
F Frederick Gaudreau (trade with Minnesota)
F Mason Marchment (trade with Dallas)
With Dallas needing to free up some money this summer, Seattle was there to take advantage, acquiring Marchment and his $4.5MM contract for the low cost of a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round selection. For a player who has put up 100 points over the last two seasons while also bringing some physicality to the table, that’s a nice bargain acquisition for them. If things go well, he’s someone who plausibly could be offered a deal to stick around beyond this season. If not, he’s someone that they should be able to flip closer to the trade deadline as a rental player for a return that’s better than what they gave up to get him. Either way, the Kraken should come out of this trade a winner.
Very quietly, Gaudreau has put up solid offensive numbers for a secondary producer in recent years, tallying at least 14 goals and 37 points in three of the last four seasons while also being a regular killing penalties and respectable at the faceoff dot. The Wild decided that they’d rather try someone else in that role and again, while Seattle has a lot of center depth already, the acquisition cost of a fourth-round pick is quite reasonable, especially since he has three years left on his contract. That said, his role might be a bit lower on the depth chart than it was in Minnesota.
UFA Signings
D Cale Fleury (two years, $1.78MM)^
F John Hayden (two years, $1.55MM)^
D Ryan Lindgren (four years, $18MM)
D Josh Mahura (two years, $1.815MM)^
G Matt Murray (one year, $1MM)
F Ben Meyers (one year, $775K)^
*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing
For the second straight summer, Seattle’s biggest free agent splash came on the back end although Lindgren’s deal isn’t anywhere near as significant as the seven-year, $50MM contract given to Brandon Montour. Lindgren has largely been the same player for most of his career, a second-pairing defensive-minded player whose possession metrics aren’t the prettiest while he doesn’t bring much to the table offensively; last season was the first time he reached 20 points. His addition gives the Kraken one of the more expensive bluelines in the NHL for the upcoming season but with the team allowing an extra 30 goals compared to 2023-24, it’s not much of a surprise that their top signing was someone who they hope can help on the defensive side of things.
Most of their other three signings were more of the depth variety, aside from Mahura who spent most of the year on the third pairing and should be in that sixth or seventh battle once again. Murray will be given a shot to battle for the backup job but could be ticketed to start the year with AHL Coachella Valley. Fleury has seen NHL action in each of the last four years, albeit in a limited role as he spent the bulk of last season with the Firebirds, a role he’ll likely have once again. As for Meyers, he had five recalls in 2024-25 although that only led to eight appearances with the Kraken. He’s also likely heading for the minors where he’ll be one of their veteran recall options when injuries arise as will Hayden.
RFA Re-Signings
D Ryker Evans (two years, $4.1MM)
F Kaapo Kakko (three years, $13.575MM)
F Tye Kartye (two years, $2.5MM)
*-denotes two-way contract
Kakko had a rough start with the Rangers last season and New York decided that the time was right to move him. As they did with their two trade pickups this summer, the Kraken were there to take advantage of a buy-low pickup. The change of scenery certainly seemed to work as Kakko collected 30 points in 49 games following the swap, allowing him to set new career bests in assists and points. After filing for arbitration back in July, the two sides settled on this deal soon after. Considering his overall struggles in his young career, it’s a deal that carries some risk but if Kakko is able to keep up the same type of production he had following the swap, he could become an important part of their top six.
Seattle had enough cap space to try to do a long-term deal with Evans but they instead elected to do a bridge. He impressed in his first full NHL campaign last season, notching 25 points in 73 games while logging over 19 minutes a night before getting a look with Canada at the Worlds in May. He projects to be a big part of their long-term plans defensively but the big pay day will have to wait a little while longer. Kartye made a name for himself when he debuted in the 2023 playoffs but since then, he has been limited to primarily fourth-line duty. A short-term pact accordingly made sense for both sides as he’ll look to grab hold of a spot higher on the depth chart over the next couple of years.
Departures
F Brandon Biro (signed in Russia)
D Nikolas Brouillard (signed with San Diego, AHL)
F Andre Burakovsky (trade with Chicago)
F Michael Eyssimont (signed with Boston, two years, $2.9MM)
F Luke Henman (signed in Finland)
D Maxime Lajoie (signed in Russia)
D Gustav Olofsson (signed with Coachella Valley, AHL)
G Ales Stezka (signed in Czechia)
*-denotes two-way contract
After acquiring Marchment, the Kraken quickly moved out Burakovsky to Seattle, taking back Joe Veleno who was promptly bought out. Brought in on the heels of a career year with Colorado that saw him score 61 points in 2021-22, Burakovsky only managed 92 points over his three seasons with the Kraken, two of which were plagued by a significant injury. On top of that, he dropped under the 15-minute-per-game mark over the last two seasons, not ideal for one of their top-paid forwards. Still, they managed to clear out his $5.5MM AAV with only needing to eat a $379K cap charge for the next two seasons with the Veleno buyout so with them deciding the time was right to part ways, it could have gone worse.
Eyssimont was acquired at the trade deadline as part of the return for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand and played well in limited action following the swap. However, Gaudreau could ultimately wind up taking his place in the lineup. Most of their other departures had at least a little bit of NHL experience over the years but those players were primarily regulars at the AHL level and in Olofsson’s case, he remains with the organization, just not on an NHL contract.
Salary Cap Outlook
By electing to do a bridge contract for Evans, Botterill has left himself plenty of flexibility heading into the season with the team projected to open up with just under $4.6MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That gives them more than ample coverage should injuries arise while if they find themselves in the mix by the trade deadline, they’ll have more than enough room for a couple of additions. On the other hand, if they’re not in the playoff picture, they’ll be able to retain on some of their pending unrestricted free agents or act as a third-party facilitator (which is still legal for this season before becoming much more restrictive for 2026-27).
Key Questions
Will Beniers Take The Next Step? When Seattle drafted Matty Beniers second overall in 2021, they thought they had their top center of the future in place. After putting up 57 points in his rookie season, it looked like he was on his way to being that player. But production has been harder to come by over the last two years with point totals of 37 and 43. Those are still decent for a player who is still only 22 but they’re not top-end either. Right now, he looks more like a second option than a first; if he can get to that top level, the trajectory of this offense changes considerably.
Can Grubauer Deliver NHL-Level Goaltending? Last season was an unmitigated disaster for goaltender Philipp Grubauer and frankly, that still might be an understatement. He struggled out of the gate and never really got going after that. The end result was him clearing waivers midseason and posting a career-worst .875 SV% in 26 starts, leading to some buyout speculation this summer. With Murray in the mix now, Grubauer will simply be fighting to keep a roster spot in training camp, an outcome few thought possible when he signed a six-year contract with them back in 2021.
Will The Special Teams Improve? Botterill indicated recently that one of the goals for this season will be to improve on special teams. Both units struggled last season with the power play checking in 23rd overall (18.9%) while the penalty kill came in 21st (77.2%). Neither of those numbers are at the level of a playoff-caliber team and with the Kraken electing not to rebuild but merely to tinker with their core, it’s clear they envision themselves as a group capable of making the postseason. Can they get the desired rebound on special teams? If not, their goal of getting back to the playoffs is going to be even tougher.
Photos courtesy of Sergei Belski and Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.
Blue Jackets Prospect Malte Vass Transfers To Boston University
Sept. 1: Vass has made his college commitment official as Boston University recently announced (Twitter link) that the blueliner will indeed suit up for them this season. He’s their final addition to a class that saw them add multiple NHL draft picks including Ryder Ritchie, Haoxi Wang, and Sacha Boisvert, among others.
Aug. 9: It’s not very often that a player will leave a professional team to go to college but it does happen periodically with international players. It appears that Blue Jackets prospect Malte Vass will be one of them as Varmlands Folkblad’s Johan Ekberg reports (subscription link) that the blueliner is leaving Sweden to play in the NCAA next season. Which school he has chosen to go to yet remains unknown but Boston University is a school that is believed to have shown interest in him.
Vass was a third-round pick by Columbus last month, going 76th overall. However, he was rated much higher on their draft board as Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch relayed after the draft that the Blue Jackets had Vass within the top 15 in their rankings, a sign that they clearly viewed him as being first-round-worthy.
Vass spent last season in Farjestad’s system, playing predominantly with their junior team where he had 11 points and 53 penalty minutes in 40 games. However, he also got into five games with their SHL club where he was held off the scoresheet. It’s likely that he would have had a chance to get some more action at their top level in 2025-26 but that’s no longer in the cards.
Vass noted that the recent change to allow CHL players to play in the NCAA expedited his decision to come to North America as the spot that’s being made available to him now might not have been available next year, given the number of junior players now seeking a school to play at. It will be interesting to see if other international players start to feel that same pressure and up the urgency to pursue an NCAA spot as well over the next couple of years.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. 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 who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. 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 PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Central Division, next up are the Wild.
Minnesota Wild
Current Cap Hit: $91,088,165 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Zeev Buium (two years, $966.5K)
D David Jiricek (one year, $918.3K)
F Liam Ohgren (two years, $886.7K)
F Danila Yurov (three years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Buium: $1MM
Jiricek: $1MM
Ohgren: $500K
Yurov: $2MM
Total: $4.5MM
Yurov is coming off a bit of a tough year in the KHL after a breakout 49-point effort in 2023-24 but he’s still expected to come in and play a regular role with Minnesota right away. His $1MM in ‘B’ bonuses are unlikely while he’ll need to play regularly in the top six if he is going to have a shot at his $250K ‘A’ bonuses, of which there are four of them. Ohgren’s first season in North America didn’t go quite as well as the Wild had hoped. He was a solid scorer with AHL Iowa but didn’t fare particularly well with the big club. Projected as more of a depth player this season, his ‘A’ bonuses seem unlikely while he’d be trending toward a bridge deal if he winds up in that limited role this year.
Buium was a late-season addition, getting into four playoff games where he held his own. Without a ton of firepower on the back end, he should be able to play an important role this season, including seeing some action on the power play. Reaching a couple of his ‘A’ bonuses should be doable while if things go as planned, he could be the type of player that they want to sign long-term quickly. Jiricek, on the other hand, feels likely for a bridge as well. He has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player and while he should get there this year, that won’t be enough to land a long-term pact. If he can lock down a regular third-pairing spot, he could potentially double his current price tag although his bonuses are unlikely to be hit.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
D Zach Bogosian ($1.25MM, UFA)
G Filip Gustavsson ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Marcus Johansson ($800K, UFA)
F Kirill Kaprizov ($9MM, UFA)
F Vladimir Tarasenko ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($4.125MM, UFA)
The timing of the multi-year cap increase couldn’t have been any better for Kaprizov. Already poised for a multi-million-dollar raise, his market value will only go up now. Recent speculation has a possible offer landing in the $16MM per season range which feels a bit much on the high side but if it gets a deal done, expect GM Bill Guerin to do it. When healthy, he’s one of the elite wingers in the league. Tarasenko was brought in from Detroit in a cap-clearing move from the Red Wings and is coming off a rough year that only saw him record 33 points, the lowest full-season total of his career. A rebound this season could keep him in this price range but if he has a similar showing in 2025-26, landing half of this could be tough.
Zuccarello saw his production dip last season but he still managed 54 points, a solid return on the first season of this contract. Now 38, it’d be surprising to see him land another two-year pact but if both sides are happy, he could land another one-year agreement. His next deal would be a candidate to be bonus-laden if Minnesota needs some extra flexibility next summer with an overall price checking around this one. Johansson opted to take just above the minimum to ensure he stayed with the Wild. He probably could have beaten that on the open market with something more in the $1.5MM range based on the season he had but as long as he’s content in Minnesota, they could keep him around at a price close to the minimum if he has a similar role this season.
Bogosian wasn’t quite as impactful last season as he was in his first year with the team but he still held down a steady third-pairing role while taking a regular turn on the penalty kill. This type of salary for that type of role is reasonable value but it would be surprising if he landed this much on his next deal when he’s 36. By that point, he may be better off in a seventh defender role who steps in when injuries arise.
While plenty has been said about Kaprizov’s situation (and justifiably so), Gustavsson’s expiring contract also looms large. After a tough 2023-24 showing that saw him lose the starting job at times to Marc-Andre Fleury, he rebounded quite nicely, making a career-high 58 starts while finishing sixth in Vezina Trophy voting. The starting goaltender market has gotten a lot more expensive over the last 18 or so months and while he’s not in the same echelon as the starters who passed the $8MM mark recently (Linus Ullmark, Jeremy Swayman, Jake Oettinger, and Thatcher Demko), there’s a case to make that he’s in the tier below them. That could allow him to push for $7MM on a long-term agreement which would be another sizable jump on their books.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Ryan Hartman ($4MM, UFA)
D Jared Spurgeon ($7.575MM, UFA)
F Nico Sturm ($2MM, UFA)
G Jesper Wallstedt ($2.2MM, RFA)
Hartman has shown some flashes of being a legitimate top-six threat over his six seasons with the Wild which earned him this vote of confidence. However, the first year of the deal wasn’t great while he has now dealt with injury issues in four of those six years. Still, a center who has 20-goal upside when things are going well should be able to command at least a little more than this on the open market two years from now on another multi-year deal. Sturm was Minnesota’s most notable UFA signing this summer, coming over from Florida to help the penalty kill and play in the bottom six. He’ll need to get back into the 20-point range with Minnesota to avoid being cast more into the fourth-line role which would lower his market value.
Spurgeon has been a big-minute, all-situations player for a long time but it has started to catch up with him in recent years. They’ve managed his minutes a bit more lately to the point where he was fourth in ATOI among Minnesota’s blueliners. While that’s an appropriate role for his age, this contract is definitely on the expensive side for someone in that role. If there’s an extension two years from now, it could be worth closer to half this amount, including incentives.
Wallstedt’s deal was a headscratcher when it was signed and it looks even worse now. Following San Jose’s path when they signed Yaroslav Askarov early, he struggled considerably with AHL Iowa last season, posting a .879 SV%. Had they waited, they probably could have signed him for half this amount. Nonetheless, he’s still viewed as a quality prospect and if he performs to those expectations, they should still get a good return on this deal. He’ll need to cut into Gustavsson’s playing time if he wants to get more than an incremental raise in 2027.
Signed Through 2027-28
D Jonas Brodin ($6MM, UFA)
F Marcus Foligno ($4MM, UFA)
F Marco Rossi ($5MM, RFA)
F Yakov Trenin ($3.5MM, UFA)
Few players were in as much trade speculation as Rossi was this summer. For months, it had been well known that he wanted a long-term, big-money contract while Guerin’s preference was a bridge deal. A suitable trade offer wasn’t made, nor did an offer sheet materialize and in the end, Rossi moved toward Minnesota’s preferred option. Coming off a 60-point season, this isn’t bad value for the Wild and notably, the contract is back-loaded, carrying a $6MM salary in 2027-28; that number becomes his qualifying offer when he’ll also have arbitration rights. If all goes as planned in his development, the big payday coming his way will be even higher than the contract he was originally seeking this summer.
Foligno also got an early extension a couple of years back like Hartman did. Unlike Hartman, the offensive upside isn’t there as he has only reached 30 points once in his 14-year NHL career nor does he play center. He’s still an effective third liner but this is on the high side of things for someone who is best known for his physicality. Considering he’ll be 37 when his next contract starts, he’ll probably be year-to-year on his next deals at a lower cost than this. Trenin’s deal was baffling at the time as giving someone who is best suited as a fourth liner this term and money was not necessarily the best of ideas. Clearly, they were banking on a bounce-back offensively and that didn’t come. Trenin can contribute, sure, but his value might be closer to half of this.
Brodin has been a key shutdown defender throughout his 13-year NHL career, playing big minutes and anchoring the penalty kill. Those players typically don’t get big contracts but Brodin, being one of the better players in that role, was the exception with this deal. As market values increase with the cap, this contract will hold up just fine, as long as he stays healthy. Unfortunately, that has been a consistent challenge for him lately.
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