Flames Begin Extension Talks With Johnny Gaudreau
With Calgary having another disappointing season, there is an expectation of change coming for the Flames. One of the players speculated to be in play is winger Johnny Gaudreau but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in his latest 31 Thoughts column that extension talks have gotten underway with the 27-year-old who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer without a new deal in place.
It has been a quiet couple of seasons for Gaudreau. Back in 2018-19, he put up 99 points, his second straight year of averaging over a point per game. There was a significant drop-off in 2019-20 to 58 points (with only losing a dozen games to the pandemic-shortened campaign) and there wasn’t much of a rebound this season; his 49 points in 56 games yielded slightly better per-game numbers but still nowhere near what they were just two years ago. That performance is what put him at the forefront of trade speculation but Gaudreau has indicated in the past that he’d like to remain with Calgary.
There are two contractual elements to consider for Gaudreau. The first is that he has considerable trade protection that is going to kick in once the new calendar year begins on July 28th (which is also the earliest day an extension could be signed). Right now, he doesn’t have the ability to block a trade to any team. Come the 28th, that changes to just five teams that he’s allowed to be traded to without his consent. If there is any consideration being given to trading him if a new deal can’t be reached, it stands to reason that the 28th serves as a soft deadline for that to happen as moving him gets much tougher afterwards.
The second is the price tag. At $6.75MM, Gaudreau will likely be looking for an increase to forego a shot at free agency. He was the benchmark contract for Calgary forwards before Matthew Tkachuk got $7MM on his bridge deal and it’s likely that Gaudreau will be seeking a bit more than that considering he has outperformed Tkachuk in terms of production for most of their careers. But with the drop off in scoring the last couple of seasons, is that something that Calgary GM Brad Treliving will be willing to do? If this isn’t a blip but rather a sign of things to come, that type of financial commitment to someone whose numbers are declining isn’t really justifiable either.
It’s hard to see Calgary bringing back the same core as it has struggled in recent years, not making it out of the first round in the last six years. Accordingly, a key piece or two will probably be on the move. Knowing the trade protection that is on the horizon, if the Flames and Gaudreau can’t work out a new deal in the coming weeks, expect the trade speculation to quickly intensify.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Metropolitan Notes: Nedeljkovic, Oshie, DeAngelo
It was quite the season for Hurricanes goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. He cleared waivers to start the year and was expected to serve as their taxi squad netminder but an early injury to Petr Mrazek gave him an opportunity to play and he seized it, posting a league-best 1.90 GAA and a .932 SV% in 23 starts and was similarly stingy in the playoffs. Despite that, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that Carolina appears to be giving some consideration to not tendering Nedeljkovic a qualifying offer. It’s not that they don’t want to keep him but rather that they’re worried about what an arbitration award would be.
With just 29 career regular season appearances, there are few close comparables for Nedeljkovic although Jordan Binnington of St. Louis could be one with the similarities in career trajectories. He signed a two-year deal after his only full NHL campaign with an AAV of $4.4MM. That’s below the walkaway threshold of $4.538MM per PuckPedia (Twitter link) which could give them some pause. If the Hurricanes go that route, it doesn’t guarantee he’d leave but Nedeljkovic would certainly be an intriguing late addition to the UFA market.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- Capitals winger T.J. Oshie has not been given any indication from the team that he will be left unprotected in the expansion draft, relays J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington. Oshie has long been a speculative target for Seattle although with the year he had offensively – 43 points in 53 games – he’d undoubtedly be a big loss for Washington. While Oshie doesn’t have a no-move clause and thus doesn’t need to be notified in advance if he was being exposed, Regan suggests this could mean that the Caps intend to have the 34-year-old on their protected list when it’s submitted a week from today.
- While the Rangers could wait until after the expansion draft to finalize a buyout of Anthony DeAngelo in the hopes of working out a deal for Seattle to take him (a route that most teams are expected to take with their buyout candidates), Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports that this won’t be the case. Instead, the team is expected to make that move official in the coming days as the window to do so is now open. As only one-third of the remaining salary is owed, New York will carry a dead cap charge of $383K next year and $883K in 2022-23.
Offseason Checklist: Winnipeg Jets
The offseason is in full flight with the draft and free agency fast approaching. We continue our series which examines what those eliminated teams need to accomplish over the coming weeks and months. Next up is a look at Winnipeg.
This past season was an up and down one for Winnipeg. At times, they were good enough to contend for the top spot in the North Division and others where they struggled considerably. Things followed a similar pattern in the playoffs as they swept Edmonton before being swept by Montreal. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has one of the cleaner cap situations in the league at his disposal this summer, giving him an opportunity to reshape his roster. One priority stands out amongst the rest, however.
Add Impact Defensive Help
Let’s not bother with delaying the obvious. The back end has been an issue for the last two years after Winnipeg lost Jacob Trouba (trade), Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot (free agency), and Dustin Byfuglien (injury and eventual contract termination). They have two proven players in Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk (part of the return for Trouba) but the depth takes a hit from there. Dylan DeMelo is a capable third pairing player, Nathan Beaulieu is serviceable depth, and Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola have some upside but are unproven.
As they’ve found out, that combination isn’t the makings of a top-level defense or even a league-average one. Cheveldayoff has made moves to try to raise the floor and add depth in the past two seasons since then with the pickup and re-signing of DeMelo last season, the signing of Derek Forbort (a pending UFA again this summer), and the trade deadline add of Jordie Benn this year but that isn’t going to drastically change their fortunes. Frankly, the Jets could benefit from trying to do that again this summer but that alone can’t the only upgrades made.
At least one top-four defender needs to be added to the mix. That would take some pressure off Morrissey and Pionk while also allowing Stanley and Heinola to continue to be eased in. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of impact blueliners available in free agency; you can probably count the number of top-four defenders on one hand. But with only $61MM in commitments for next season, they’ll have the ability to be a high bidder on those players if they want to go that way. Otherwise, it’ll have to come by a trade.
After failing to land an impact rearguard last summer, Cheveldayoff simply cannot strike out on that front again if he intends to see Winnipeg take a step forward next season.
Re-Sign RFAs
The Jets don’t have many restricted free agents to contend with this summer but they have two notable ones that will need to be addressed fairly quickly as both are eligible for salary arbitration.
The biggest one is Pionk. He really took off following the trade from the Rangers and got better when pressed into a bigger role. Going back to his USHL and college days, there has always been some offensive upside for Pionk and he has shown that since joining the Jets, collecting 77 points in 125 games. The timing couldn’t have been better as he now becomes eligible for a hearing for the first time. With two years away from UFA eligibility, the time has come for a long-term contract. Considering how much they’ve lost from their back end in recent years and how important Pionk has become, it’s likely that Cheveldayoff will push for a deal that buys out several UFA years. That could push his price tag close to double the $3MM AAV on his bridge contract but it’d be a price well worth paying to give them some stability.
The other is Andrew Copp who is basically Winnipeg’s Swiss army knife. He can play in a checking role and has shown that for several years. He has been called upon to play higher in the lineup at times as well and responded to that request by setting new career highs offensively across the board despite the pandemic-shortened season. He’s a natural center but spent a lot of time in 2020-21 on the wing. Role and positional flexibility is an ideal combination to have combined with the uptick in offense. He’s well-positioned to earn well over his $2.3MM qualifying offer and since he’s only a year from UFA eligibility, Copp could simply elect arbitration and go to a hearing which is what he did last time. They locked up Adam Lowry before the deadline on a long-term deal and will try to do the same with his linemate now.
Rebuild The Bottom Six
Winnipeg’s top five forwards are all either signed or under team control for at least the next three years so they’re pretty well set there although Paul Stastny will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month. However, they have a trio of bottom-six forwards that are set to hit the open market in Mathieu Perreault, Nate Thompson, and Trevor Lewis. The latter two were added last summer to add some grit and penalty killing acumen but Perreault has been a versatile piece for the Jets for the last seven years.
This is another opportunity for Cheveldayoff to shore up the bottom of his roster. Kristian Vesalainen and David Gustafsson are internal candidates for a regular role and with both on entry-level contracts, they’d be cheap enough for Winnipeg to afford to take a run at another top-six piece and strengthen their attack. Alternatively, if they opt to replace all of those players with free agents, they’ll again benefit from the flat salary cap and an environment where teams will be trying to go cheaper with role players; they’ll be well-positioned to bid a bit higher on each one which should give them a leg up in those discussions.
Fill The Backup Goalie Spot
The decision to bring back Laurent Brossoit for this season was a little curious considering how much the 28-year-old struggled in 2019-20 but Winnipeg’s faith in him was rewarded as he bounced back with a 2.42 GAA and a .918 SV% this season, numbers that were actually slightly better than Connor Hellebuyck’s. That could have Brossoit primed for a bigger deal in free agency, a pricier one than they may want to pay.
With Hellebuyck in the fold for three more years and a proven ability to log a lot of minutes, the Jets can afford to shop on the less expensive side of free agency, freeing up some extra cap flexibility elsewhere. Brossoit made $1.5MM this season and that’s likely the price range that Cheveldayoff will want to keep his second netminder. If Brossoit isn’t open to that deal this time around, there will be a change made between the pipes this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Charlie Coyle Undergoes Two Knee Surgeries
Bruins center Charlie Coyle had a quiet 2020-21 campaign but it appears he was playing through a knee issue for at least a portion of the season as Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic relays (subscription link) that the 29-year-old recently underwent a pair of knee surgeries to repair an avulsion fracture and a torn patellar tendon.
Coyle notched just 16 points in 51 games which is hardly the return he or the team were expecting in the first year of a six-year, $31.5MM contract. Things weren’t much better in the playoffs either as he managed just two goals and a single helper in 11 games. While it’s known exactly when the knee issues were sustained, it’s clear that it was hindering him for a significant chunk of the season.
The good news for Boston is that Coyle is expected to be ready for training camp in September. With David Krejci’s future with the team uncertain – he becomes an unrestricted free agent later this month with no decision yet made on his playing future – Coyle could be called upon to take a bigger role and could slide into the second center slot behind Patrice Bergeron. If Krejci returns, Coyle will remain their third-line pivot but will undoubtedly be counted on for a bounce-back season offensively in 2021-22.
Poll: Will Phillip Danault Re-Sign In Montreal?
The Montreal Canadiens’ unexpected Stanley Cup Final run means that now, all eyes are turned on how the team and general manager Marc Bergevin will alter the roster this offseason. Montreal struggled with the $81.5MM salary cap already, making a flurry of reassignments and emergency call-ups during the regular season in order to stay cap-compliant.
That decision-making will come under intense scrutiny this offseason for many reasons, mostly due to a very large number of unrestricted free agents to deal with. The biggest one of them all is undoubtedly Phillip Danault.
The Quebec-born center has finished high on Selke ballots in recent years. His defensive prowess was put on full display in the playoffs, shutting down Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler, Max Pacioretty, and Mark Stone en route to a Stanley Cup Final berth.
However, it hasn’t always been an easy road for Danault in Montreal. After being continually forced into more defensive assignments by former head coach Claude Julien, Danault left sentiments at the end of the 2019-20 campaign that he may not want to re-sign. Those feelings, from an outsiders’ perspective, at least, have certainly changed. Danault played an incredibly crucial role in Montreal’s success, both in the regular season and playoffs.
It’s for that reason that Danault is expected to receive a big payday on a longer-term deal this offseason. Yet, Montreal’s priorities remain unclear. Are they willing to invest that much money in a player with somewhat limited offensive upside, or do they feel as though Danault is truly an integral piece to the team?
So we ask you, PHR faithful, where do you think Phillip Danault ends up this offseason? Do you think he’s able to work out a deal in Montreal, or will he head elsewhere?
Will Phillip Danault re-sign in Montreal?
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No 41% (515)
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Yes, long-term 30% (379)
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Yes, short-term 28% (353)
Total votes: 1,247
Mobile users, click here to vote!
Free Agent Focus: New Jersey Devils
Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Yegor Sharangovich – A fifth-round pick of New Jersey in 2018, the Belarusian-born Sharangovich burst onto the scene in his first NHL season in 2020-21. His 16-goal, 30-point season was rather unexpected and was good enough to put Sharangovich 10th in this year’s Calder Trophy race. While Sharangovich had shown some promise in his past few AHL seasons, he scored at a better pace in the NHL this year than he ever has in the minors. His play this season was a continuation of a strong start to 2020-21 on loan with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. Serving as an alternate captain for his hometown team, Sharangovich scored and 25 points (17 of which were goals) in 34 games. Sharangovich seems to have secured a spot in the Devils’ top-six forward group for next season, but the Devils will be hesitant to plop too much money down too soon on the breakout forward. Expect general manager Tom Fitzgerald to sign Sharangovich to a bridge deal in the neighborhood of two years, making him an RFA again at the end of his next contract.
F Janne Kuokkanen – Kuokkanen was another surprise this season. The former Carolina Hurricanes prospect, acquired at the 2020 Trade Deadline in a package for defenseman Sami Vatanen, scored at a 41-point pace with New Jersey this year. Playing nearly 15 minutes a night, the 23-year-old Finn posted impressive possession numbers too considering the weakness of the team. Kuokkanen figures to be an important depth piece moving forward if his early performance is any indication. A lengthier extension, maybe three years, is in line for Kuokkanen in order to take him up to the very end of his restricted free agent eligibility.
Other RFAs: F Nicholas Merkley, F Michael McLeod, F Brandon Gignac, F A.J. Greer, F Marian Studenic, D David Quenneville, D Colton White, D Colby Sissons, G Evan Cormier, G Gilles Senn
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Ryan Murray – Acquired by the Devils in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick prior to the season, the injury-prone defenseman didn’t quite live up to expectations this season. While Murray was fine by his standards offensively with 14 points in 48 games, Murray’s defensive play slacked considerably from his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. That’s not to say the Devils won’t re-sign him, though. Their blueline is relatively barren and weak as is, and with Murray likely taking a pay cut on his next deal, his play could improve along with his surroundings. There’s always been the feeling of untapped potential surrounding the former second-overall pick, and the Devils may hope that they’re the ones to unlock it on his next deal.
G Aaron Dell – Once one of the more highly-regarded backup netminders in the league with the San Jose Sharks, Dell’s rough go of it this year may have cost him another NHL deal. Originally signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the season to serve as their taxi squad goalie, Dell was picked up on waivers by the Devils after Toronto attempted to return him post-callup. Getting into five starts and seven games with the Devils while they also dealt with goalie injuries, Dell won just one game and put up a .857 save percentage and 4.14 goals against average, both the worst marks of his career by far. Now 31 years old, Dell may have to head overseas or to the minor leagues to find his next team.
Other UFAs: F Ben Street, F Brett Seney, F Mason Jobst, D Connor Carrick, D Matt Tennyson, D Josh Jacobs
Projected Cap Space
Despite the flat $81.5MM salary cap continuing into next season, New Jersey is one of the few teams with very little to worry about. The team has $35.7MM in cap space and, when combined with the low quantity of free agents to re-sign, the Devils have serious amounts of free space to use to their advantage in free agency. Combine that with the intrigue of playing with a young core that includes Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Ty Smith, and GM Fitzgerald is in a position to acquire real talent to assist the Devils on their journey back to contention.
Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Dominique Ducharme In Discussions To Remain As Montreal Head Coach
As the Montreal Canadiens hosted their end-of-season media availability, general manager Marc Bergevin said the team is engaging in talks with Dominique Ducharme to officially become the team’s head coach.
It was a tale of two seasons for Montreal under Ducharme. While Montreal started strong out of the gate, a short string of unexpected losses led to the firing of head coach Claude Julien. On February 24, 2021, Ducharme was named the team’s interim head coach. It didn’t seem that Julien’s firing had made much of an impact on the team’s performance, however. Under Ducharme in the regular season, the Habs posted just a 15-16-7 record, clinching a playoff berth as the league’s 18th-ranked team due to this year’s divisional alignments. It all makes Montreal’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, in which the team still went 13-9, even more impressive.
What Montreal saw from Ducharme this season, in their eyes, has been enough to earn him the job. While the team’s on-ice performance may not have blown off doors immediately, Ducharme was able to guide the group through a tough first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs and onwards. Under his tutelage, the team gelled at the right time, losing to a team that’s now won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
As Montreal makes an effort to bring back their core next season, things may look a little different. The flat salary cap may have an effect on who they can and can’t afford to bring back. Montreal is hoping that by potentially retaining Ducharme in his role, they can catch lightning in a bottle once again moving forward.
Expansion Primer: Chicago Blackhawks
Over the last few weeks, we have been breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
The last time the Blackhawks had to face an expansion draft, the outcome ended up in the news long before the Golden Knights announced their pick. Trevor van Riemsdyk would be left unprotected, but Vegas would also agree to take on Marcus Kruger‘s remaining contract. Though it had to wait until after Chicago paid his signing bonus, Kruger would eventually end up with the Golden Knights in exchange for “future considerations.” Vegas would flip both Kruger and van Riemsdyk to Carolina, essentially getting second and fifth-round picks for just a tiny bit of salary retention. Those kinds of moves were part of the brilliant strategy devised by Vegas, but won’t be so easy to pull off this time around.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Jonathan Toews (NMC), Patrick Kane (NMC), Alex DeBrincat, Brett Connolly, Dylan Strome, David Kampf, Ryan Carpenter, Adam Gaudette, Josh Dickinson, Brandon Hagel, Henrik Borgstrom
Defense:
Duncan Keith, Calvin de Haan, Connor Murphy, Nikita Zadorov, Riley Stillman
Goalies:
Collin Delia, Malcolm Subban, Kevin Lankinen
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
Vinnie Hinostroza, Brandon Pirri, Anton Lindholm
Notable Exemptions
Dominik Kubalik, Pius Suter, Philipp Kurashev, Kirby Dach, Alexander Nylander, Ian Mitchell, Adam Boqvist, Wyatt Kalynuk, Nicolas Beaudin
Key Decisions
This time in Chicago, the decisions to make are actually relatively easy. One of the biggest questions a few months ago would have been whether Nylander deserved protection five years after being selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres. That question now has an easy answer, as the 23-year-old winger is exempt because he missed this entire season following knee surgery. Because his first two years post-draft were spent mostly at the AHL level, they don’t count toward his eligibility and thus he has just two years of professional experience under his belt, at least according to the expansion rules. He’s exempt, and Chicago fans can argue over whether or not he deserves a roster spot next season.
Toews, Kane and DeBrincat are obvious choices for protection. Now that the captain is back skating, there’s no need to talk about waiving his no-movement clause for the Blackhawks in order for them to protect an extra player. Strome, even though he is coming off a terrible season, has too high a ceiling to be left exposed to Seattle. Hagel was about as big of a bright spot as they had in Chicago this season, adding 24 points while seemingly never running out of energy. The 22-year-old likely gets protected. Borgstrom already agreed to a two-year deal to return to North America, so Chicago isn’t going to let the first-round pick get selected.
That leaves two spots for the group of Connolly, Kampf, and Gaudette, with the odd man out potentially heading to Seattle. A $3.5MM cap hit seems like a ridiculous price for the Connolly that scored just three goals in 31 games last season, but what about the one that had 71 over his previous 286 (a 20-goal 82-game pace). Sure, if Seattle took him off Chicago’s hands it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but at just 29 there is real bounce-back potential there. Kampf has never shown an ability to score at that rate, with just 17 goals over his four seasons with the Blackhawks. That’s not to say he’s useless, but he’ll be an RFA this summer and scored just a single goal in 56 games this season.
Gaudette is the most interesting case here, after arriving midseason in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks. The 24-year-old looked like he was ready to breakout in 2019-20 when he scored 12 goals and 33 points in 59 games, but he completely fell apart in the playoffs and then couldn’t find his game at all this season. He’ll also be an RFA this summer, and it’s not really clear how the Blackhawks plan to use the 2018 Hobey Baker winner. There is at least an argument to be made for Kampf’s defensive consistency over Gaudette’s offensive potential, even if it would have seemed crazy a year ago.
On defense, things really just boil down to the Keith situation. It appears a trade is likely, with the Kraken one of the preferred destinations thanks to its proximity to his hometown. Whether a deal is officially made before the draft (other teams including the Edmonton Oilers are also involved in the discussions) or Keith simply agrees to waive his no-movement clause, it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be protected by the Blackhawks.
That leaves three spots for four defensemen, with Murphy obviously getting one of them. Zadorov and de Haan could easily be the other choices, though perhaps Stillman could also be a factor if the team believes they’ve locked up real value when he signed a three-year, $4.05MM deal in April. When it was signed, GM Stan Bowman noted that Stillman’s development was “something we look forward to seeing firsthand,” suggesting that perhaps they believe he can be a real core piece moving forward. If that’s the case, Zadorov or de Haan could be exposed simply to open up cap space and minutes for their other young defensemen.
In net, it really comes down to who the organization believes has the highest ceiling. All three netminders played this season, all three will be unrestricted free agents after next. Lankinen came back to earth after an outstanding first half, finishing with a .909 save percentage in 37 games. He’s the leading candidate for protection, but it seems unlikely that any of them would be in danger of selection anyway.
Projected Protection List
F Jonathan Toews
F Patrick Kane
F Alex DeBrincat
F Dylan Strome
F Adam Gaudette
F Brandon Hagel
F Henrik Borgstrom
D Connor Murphy
D Nikita Zadorov
D Riley Stillman
*Assuming that Keith is traded or waives his no-movement clause before the draft
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (2): Brett Connolly, Ryan Carpenter
Defensemen (2): Duncan Keith, Calvin de Haan
Even if the team trades Keith ahead of the draft, leaving de Haan (or Stillman) exposed would fill their defensive requirements. The exposure requirements could also help the decision on Connolly, as he’s one of only a handful that currently meets the games played threshold and are signed through next season. Gaudette or Kampf, alternatively, would require new deals to fill that forward requirement.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
The Stanley Cup could be awarded this evening and the offseason is already in full swing around the NHL. We’re just a few weeks away from the Seattle Kraken selecting their expansion roster and the 2021 draft class finding out which team will choose them. Free agency will soon follow and teams will start preparing for the 2021-22 season, which is just a few months away thanks to the altered sports calendar.
With that in mind, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR Mailbag. If you missed the last one, it was broken into two pieces. In the first part, Brian La Rose gave his thoughts on Philadelphia’s defense corps, the future of Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen in Buffalo, and whether or not the Maple Leafs made a mistake when they installed Kyle Dubas as general manager. In the second, he suggested some teams that may need to complete a side deal with the Kraken, examined some interesting free agent targets, and gave his thoughts on the Dougie Hamilton market.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below.
Seattle Kraken Announce Preseason Schedule
The Seattle Kraken will play their first game as part of the NHL against the Vancouver Canucks on September 26, 2021. The match will be a preseason contest held at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Washington. The team has announced a full six-game preseason schedule that will give the world a few looks at the Kraken before they arrive at Climate Pledge Arena to open the regular season.
After that first game against the Canucks, the Kraken will hit the road to play in Edmonton and Calgary, before holding two other “home” games. October 1 will see the Oilers and Kraken play at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington, while the Flames will battle the new club on October 2 at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent. Those three arenas host the Spokane Chiefs, Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, giving junior hockey fans in the pacific northwest a chance to see the new pro club up close.
Seattle’s home arena is still on track to be open for the first home game of the 2021-22 season, but that schedule has still not been officially released. Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke released a short statement showing his excitement for the preseason action:
The arena is on track to host our first regular-season home game in mid-October, but we have made the decision to play our three inaugural preseason games at three outstanding local arenas. This gives us an opportunity to partner with the WHL teams, celebrate hockey across our region and grow this beautiful game. We couldn’t be more excited for these games and then to open Climate Pledge Arena.
In less than two weeks’ time, the Kraken will select their inaugural roster during the July 21 expansion draft. They will also receive a short window just before the draft in which they are allowed to speak with pending unrestricted free agents. If they sign a player, it would count as their selection from his former team.