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Stars Notes: Dellandrea, Tanev, Carrier

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Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek spoke about the Dallas Stars on the 32 Thoughts podcast today saying that the belief is that the Stars traded Ty Dellandrea to the San Jose Sharks to open up room on their roster for other moves. Dellandrea was dealt to the Sharks for a 2025 fourth-round pick and the speculation is that the Stars feel that Mavrik Bourque is ready to step into a full-time role and that ice-time could come from Dellandrea.

Bourque is a former first-round pick in 2020 (30th overall) and has played just one NHL game to this point in his short career. However, the 22-year-old has good offensive instincts and excellent hockey IQ and has excelled in the AHL posting 26 goals and 51 assists in 71 games last season for the Texas Stars. Given his progression, it seems likely that the Plessisville, Quebec native is ready for an NHL role.

In other Dallas Stars notes:

  • Jeff Marek also noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Stars have taken a run this week at re-signing Chris Tanev before he goes to unrestricted free agency. This was also mentioned earlier in the week by Darren Dreger on TSN 1200. Tanev and the Stars have an interest in extending their working relationship as they believe Tanev is an excellent fit on the team’s backend. At 34 years old, Tanev is looking at his last opportunity to secure a lucrative multi-year deal, and the Stars will likely need to up their offer to keep the Toronto, Ontario native in Dallas.
  • Friedman notes on 32 Thoughts that he’s heard rumblings that the Stars have an interest in Vegas Golden Knights forward William Carrier. The 29-year-old Carrier will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and has played for Stars head coach Pete DeBoer before as a member of the Golden Knights. Carrier doesn’t score much, posting just six goals and two assists in 39 games this season, and has also struggled to remain in the lineup over the years, never playing more than 71 games in a season.

Red Wings Notes: Seider, Raymond, Larkin, Defense, Goaltending

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Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman met with the media today (video link) to discuss his team heading into the draft and upcoming free agency period.  The biggest item on their to-do list this summer is getting new deals in place for pending restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.  While Yzerman was hoping to have deals in place early for those two, it doesn’t appear that will be the case.  If Detroit wants to sign both players long-term, that could take up more than half of their $29.3MM of cap space (per CapFriendly) which would play a big role in their offseason spending.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a fair bit of that money go unspent on July 1st, leaving themselves options to lock up their two key pieces.

More from Detroit:

  • Yzerman confirmed that center Dylan Larkin had minor surgery for an upper-body injury sustained late in the season that kept him out of playing at the Worlds. At the moment, he hasn’t been cleared to skate although he has been training.  Larkin, who averaged over a point per game this season for the first time, is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp in the fall.
  • The Red Wings have a deep back end on paper in terms of having plenty of veterans plus some prospects on the cusp of being NHL-ready. While Yzerman indicated that he’d like to try to re-sign pending UFA Shayne Gostisbehere, he also acknowledged that he’s not sure about bringing back the same group of blueliners next season.  With Simon Edvinsson appearing to be ready for a full-time role and Albert Johansson now waiver-eligible, it seems like one way or the other, they will have to subtract from their current group in the coming weeks.
  • Yzerman noted that goaltender Ville Husso is fully healthy now while fellow netminder Alex Lyon will be ready for training camp after leaving the Worlds early last month. He stated that the team will look into the goalie market but that he isn’t looking to bring in an older netminder who won’t be around in a few years, nor does he want to carry three goalies on the NHL roster full-time next season.  Speculatively, that suggests they’ll likely be primarily looking for a playing partner for prospect Sebastian Cossa who should see the bulk of the playing time with AHL Grand Rapids once again in 2024-25.

Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings

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Free agency is now less than two weeks away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Kings.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Quinton Byfield – The Kings were hoping that the 2020 second-overall pick would take a big step forward and become a key top-six threat for them in 2023-24.  Mission accomplished on that front.  After being more of a role player in his first couple of years, he was regularly in the top six while taking a regular turn on the power play.  Byfield also did so while playing primarily on the wing which isn’t his natural position.  That could change moving forward now with Pierre-Luc Dubois in Washington, opening up a path for Byfield to move back down the middle.  A bridge contract might be the safer route here, checking in somewhere around the $4MM mark but if GM Rob Blake thinks that Byfield has another level to get to, he could try to pursue a long-term agreement, one that would likely push past $7MM per season.

F Arthur Kaliyev – In his first two seasons, Kaliyev was a decent secondary scorer, albeit an inconsistent one.  However, he struggled considerably in 2023-24 and following the midseason coaching change that saw Jim Hiller take over, the 22-year-old hardly played after that.  With a qualifying offer of just $874K, he shouldn’t be a non-tender risk but it’s more than evident at this point that a change of scenery would be a good idea for both sides.

F Blake Lizotte – After a breakout showing in 2022-23, Lizotte saw his output drop this season, tallying just 15 points in 62 games.  He’s a regular on the penalty kill and plays with some jam despite his smaller stature but he’s owed a $1.675MM qualifying offer, one that also carries arbitration rights.  With a 34-point effort the year before, it’s probable that the award would check in over $2MM.  For the limited role he fills, is that the best use of their money or would a non-tender make more sense while they look to fill that role with someone cheaper?

D Jordan Spence – The 23-year-old was basically a full-time NHLer for the first time this season, getting into 71 games.  He was predominantly limited to playing on the third pairing with a bit of power play time but he still managed a respectable 24 points which will definitely help his case in negotiations.  Given the limited role, it doesn’t make much sense for a long-term agreement to be worked out but a short-term bridge deal worth a little over $2MM might be the right fit.

Other RFAs: F Samuel Fagemo, F Carl Grundstrom, G Jacob Ingham, F Tyler Madden, G Erik Portillo, F Alex Turcotte

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Viktor Arvidsson – Suffice it to say, this was not the ideal walk year for the 31-year-old.  Arvidsson missed the first 50 games of the season after undergoing back surgery, then landed back on LTIR just four games after returning.  He did come back to finish off the year and played in the playoffs but suited up just 21 times combined.  Still, Arvidsson has a track record of being a quality top-six piece with five 20-goal seasons under his belt while being a strong possession player which helps.  But with the injuries, it’s hard to see teams offering up a long-term deal.  Instead, the offers might be more of the three-year variety while he’s a candidate to opt for a one-year pillow contract in the hopes of showing he’s fully healthy, thereby bolstering his value for the 2025 open market.

F Trevor Lewis – A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Lewis has been an effective fourth liner for quite some time.  His production has dropped compared to his first stint with the Kings when he was more in his prime but he’s still worth signing to fill the role he has the last few years.  That will be a contract at or close to the league minimum salary but he should get another deal to give him a shot at reaching 1,000 career regular season games, a number he’s 26 shy of at the moment.

D Matt Roy – Roy has been one of the more under-the-radar blueliners over the past few years.  He’s a stable second-pairing player who can move up when needed while also helping to anchor the penalty kill.  On top of that, he’s a right-hand shot, the side that’s always in high demand.  Los Angeles would undoubtedly love to bring him back but the 29-year-old is well-positioned to cash in and this is his best shot at a big long-term deal.  After making $3.15MM the last three seasons, he could come close to doubling that on the open market.

G Cam Talbot – The veteran wound up settling for a low-cost contract that ultimately paid him $2MM with bonuses; $1MM of that will be on the Kings’ books in 2024-25.  Still, the move worked out well for both sides as the 36-year-old made 52 starts, posting a 2.50 GAA with a .913 SV%, more than respectable numbers for someone at that price point.  With their acquisition of Darcy Kuemper, it’s likely that Talbot moves on but as one of the more proven netminders on the market, he should be able to land another one-year deal, perhaps with a bit more guaranteed money this time around.

Other UFAs: D Kevin Connauton, G Pheonix Copley, G Aaron Dell, F Hayden Hodgson, F Mikhail Maltsev, D Steven Santini, F T.J. Tynan

Projected Cap Space

After being rather limited spending-wise last summer, the Kings have $23.45MM in flexibility for next season.  Granted, they have as many as ten players to sign with that money with a fair-sized chunk of that being earmarked for Byfield’s contract and the re-signing or replacing of Arvidsson and potentially Roy.  Nonetheless, Blake has a chance to make another splash this summer, one he’ll be hoping works out a lot better than the one he made around this time a year ago.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.

PHR Mailbag: Blackhawks, Draft, Zegras, CapFriendly, Panthers, Player Safety

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Topics in this edition of our mailbag include several draft questions, where Trevor Zegras might be playing next year, and much more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in our mailbag from last weekend.  There will be one more that runs on Monday.

UncleMike1526: Who should be the one player, be it trade, UFA signing, or RFA signing the Blackhawks should target this offseason?

I’ll go with Jake Guentzel here.  Not only is he one of the top free agents available but he doesn’t cost anything but cap space to bring in.  (Unless Chicago were to trade for his negotiating rights, then it’d be a mid-round pick which isn’t a big deal for them.)  They’re at the point now where they need to start adding pieces and while he alone won’t turn around their fortunes for next season, getting a quality scorer for free (or close to it) would be great.

I also put some value in the success he had with Sidney Crosby.  It’s not as easy as some think to keep up with elite players so finding someone that could ride shotgun with Connor Bedard isn’t as easy as it seems.  Getting someone who has spent the majority of the last several years in that type of role would be the perfect fit to work with Bedard.  It might not be an easy sell considering there will be plenty of playoff-contending teams that will have interest but that would be a great outcome for them.

You mention an RFA signing in your question but an offer sheet would not be advisable for them.  If they’re signing someone of consequence, it’s going to cost them at least one first-round pick.  Those picks are unprotected and considering that one player alone isn’t going to make a big difference, I’m not sure they should be running the risk of losing what could be a fairly high lottery pick a year from now.

jminn: If Chicago takes Artyom Levshunov second overall, who do you think the Ducks will take? They’ve said they need both a right-handed defenseman and a right-handed wing. Do they attempt to get that at number three or take the guy they think is the best available player even though they’re loaded with left-handed defenders?

If it’s me in charge, I’d go with Ivan Demidov.  There is a bit of risk considering he was playing at a lower level but he might be the most skilled player left on the board.  Anaheim is still at a point where they should be looking to add firepower to their quickly improving forward group and getting a possible front-line winger to go with their young centers would be great.

But it’s not me in charge, it’s Pat Verbeek.  He has certainly put an emphasis on size and grit and Anton Silayev could be that type of unicorn defender that rarely comes around.  Even though he doesn’t have the offensive upside that several other blueliners do, players with his profile that can play at a high level don’t come around too often.

Yes, the Ducks have ample left-side depth on the back end.  But they don’t have anyone like Silayev.  He’s someone who could be that key shutdown defender who kills penalties and plays in late-game defensive situations, basically being the perfect complementary piece to Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger on the left side.  Watching these playoffs, Silayev could be a significant difference-maker and that’s why I think they’ll view him as the BPA and add him to their already-deep prospect pool.

GBear: Draft question!

Assuming the Preds are looking for a forward who is a drive-the-play type player, who would you be looking at as likely available at the #22 spot at the draft? I’m leaning towards Sacha Boisvert, fwiw.

This is probably a good time for my annual reminder that I’m not a scout by any stretch of the imagination so I’m relying solely on second-hand info as a result.  Boisvert seems like a good fit in that range.  I wonder about Igor Chernyshov falling into that range as well.  He has that power forward-type of profile but we’ve seen some Russian-born players slip in recent years and if he does, he could fall into Nashville’s laps.

I don’t know if he necessarily fits the profile you’re hoping for but the other player that comes to mind for them if they’re going for a forward is Andrew Basha.  He is a bit smaller but is a strong puck carrier who could drive the play while being an all-situations player.  He’s the type of complementary player that I could see GM Barry Trotz showing some interest in him and that’s in the range that some think Basha will land in.

jminn: Do you think Carter Yakemchuk is NHL-ready or does he need AHL seasoning?

Offensively, I think Yakemchuk could hold his own in the NHL next season and that’s a compliment.  His shot is a considerable weapon and he doesn’t hesitate to get involved in the rush; that’s something teams could work with.  Physically, he has a frame where he might be able to stick as well.  But on the whole, no, I don’t think he’s ready to play at the top level just yet.

One of the big knocks on him is his skating.  That’s something that pro teams will exploit pretty quickly.  In general, his defensive game needs some work.  Part of that can be fixed with skating improvements but he needs reps against easier competition to start developing some better habits on that end.  I think he’d be overwhelmed if exposed to NHL-level players on an extended basis.  Most blueliners would; there’s a reason why there are very few 18-year-old defenders in the NHL.

I’ll also clarify that Yakemchuk isn’t eligible to play in the AHL next season.  As a CHL-based player, it’s NHL or bust for him.  He’s not eligible to play in the minors on a full-time basis until 2026-27.  Unless his defensive game and skating improve considerably over the next couple of years, he could certainly benefit from time in that level as well to shore up that side of his game before getting regular NHL minutes.  That’s a pretty standard development curve for most rearguards and I think it’s probably the best one for him as well.

@SamToo22: Where does Trevor Zegras end up?

One of the challenges of finding the right fit for Zegras (if he’s moved at all) is trying to figure out what it is they want.  I expect they’ll be active in free agency again this summer as they look to add veteran pieces to help position themselves toward moving past their rebuild.  But having said that, it would surprise me if they were interested in moving Zegras for that veteran type of piece; I think they’ll want someone (or something) with considerable club control.  That takes some potential suitors off the table.

On the flip side, having been rebuilding for basically six years now, a strictly futures-based return probably isn’t going to fly either.  Sure, a high draft pick could be part of a package but there needs to be someone that isn’t years away from being an impact NHL player.  This element might not reduce any suitors but it puts more limitations on the types of offers that could be made.

Montreal has been suggested as a possible fit.  They’ve moved younger players and draft picks at the last couple of drafts for more win-now help and they have a fairly deep prospect pool and some young roster players that could be appealing.  If he went there, it wouldn’t surprise me.

But my pick is Utah.  It’s the same general idea as Montreal in that they have a draft pick surplus, a strong group of prospects, and some younger roster pieces that can help Anaheim in the near future.  Like many, I expect Utah to take a swing or two this summer and go after someone like Zegras who is young enough that he can be a part of the younger core group they already have.  They certainly could use some help down the middle and an influx of offensive talent so if Zegras winds up moving, Utah is my guess at a landing spot.

Gmm8811: So let’s talk about CapFriendly… where are we gonna go now to find that kind of information? Maybe your site will expand its content? Also, any updates on what is going on with the players involved in the Hockey Canada mess?

jminn: Why didn’t the NHL buy CF? Daly and his chimp sleeping at the wheel.

Losing cap sites is something I’ve been accustomed to over the years.  I remember about 20 years ago when there weren’t any sites but rather a mailing list with an Excel spreadsheet (which took quite a while to get onto, might I add) that had contract info but not cap tracking.  Teams have taken over cap sites before and we’ve been fortunate enough to have new ones pop up quickly.  Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for a new one this time as PuckPedia has been up and running for several years now.  Meanwhile, as Josh Erickson noted in a reply to this question in the callout, we are looking into some options as well but obviously there’s nothing to report on that front.

As to why the NHL didn’t take over the site, they are steadfastly against salary disclosure.  I remember Gary Bettman saying in the past that he didn’t think there was much demand for this information; it came a day or two after the cap site at the time crashed due to too many visitors putting too much strain on the site’s server.  We’ve learned since Washington’s purchase was announced that the league wasn’t too thrilled about the existence and popularity of CapFriendly so the last thing they were going to do was amplify it by folding it into their own site.  If anything, I suspect there were some cheers from the league office when it came out that a team was buying it and getting CapFriendly out of the public domain.

Meanwhile, regarding the Hockey Canada situation, TSN’s Rick Westhead relayed last week (Twitter link) that a trial date won’t be set until mid-August while the earliest a trial could happen would probably be April 2025 and that the proceedings could take at least two months.  Accordingly, there isn’t going to be much news on that front for a while yet.

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Phoenix Land Sale Cancelled Until Coyotes Receive Zoning Permit

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The Arizona Coyotes have, for now, lost their last bit of hope for a new arena, with the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) canceling the Phoenix land auction that was scheduled for June 27th, shares Craig Morgan of Go PHNX (Twitter link).  The Coyotes, now reduced to a short team behind ex-owner Alex Meruelo, were hoping that this land auction would provide the ground for their new arena – one fans have been waiting for since the Coyotes were booted from Gila River Arena in 2022.

But once again, the Coyotes seem to be missing logistical steps, with the ASLD sharing that the Coyotes’ arena proposal would require a Special Use Permit that the team hasn’t yet filed for. Morgan adds that the Coyotes were under the impression that the land had already been zoned, though reports from the Spring emphasize that wasn’t the case (Twitter link). It won’t be until the Coyotes have received that zoning permit that the ASLD will move forward with the land auction. This will include going through a formal process with the City of Phoenix’s Planning and Development Department, including a vote from the city’s Board of Adjustment.

In other words, the Coyotes seem a long way out from even considering buying more land in their old namesake city. The permit application process can take upwards of two or three months, depending on Board activity, effectively sidelining the Coyotes while the succeeding Utah Hockey Club settles into the league. No representatives from the prevailing Coyotes organization have yet commented on this matter, leaving it unclear as to whether the team intends to move forward with the land purchase at all now.

More importantly, the NHL hasn’t commented on this setback. The team previously shared that Meruelo was grandfathered into NHL ownership should he compile the pieces necessary to build an arena. But he’s now moving backward in that quest, with no indication of the next steps. That uncertainty won’t be able to stick around for much longer if Meruelo really does want to bring hockey back to the desert – with plenty of other cities – like Houston, Quebec City, and Atlanta – vying for NHL expansion of their own.

Hurricanes Sign Ty Smith To Two-Way Extension

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Ty Smith to a one-year, two-way contract extension (Twitter link). The Hurricanes acquired Smith as a minor addition to the Jake Guentzel trade this Deadline.

Smith was originally drafted 17th-overall in what’s become a relatively lackluster 2018 NHL Draft class. He made his NHL debut three seasons later, recording 24 points in 48 games as a rookie and seemingly earning a daily role in the lineup. He wasn’t able to hang onto the role in his sophomore year, though, with just 20 points in 66 games and a floundering -26. That performance would spark a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins, with New Jersey receiving top-four standout John Marino in return. But Smith couldn’t rekindle his touch with the Penguins, ultimately spending much of the last two years with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Smith has totaled 67 points in 102 games with the Baby Penguins, including 43 points in 63 games this season.

That could be enough of a returned offensive touch to earn Smith NHL attention next year, though he’ll enter a crowded Hurricanes defensive corps. Not including their four pending free agents, Carolina has six defensemen already signed to NHL contracts this season, including rookie Scott Morrow and the recently extended Jalen Chatfield. That pair will represents Smith’s toughest competition for minutes, and likely doom him to fighting his way up from the minor leagues.

Afternoon Notes: Clune, Devils, Kane, Holloway

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The Anaheim Ducks have hired former player Rich Clune as an assistant coach, shares Chris Johnston of The Athletic (Twitter link). Clune has spent the last two seasons as a development coach with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, joining the team he once captained immediately following his 2022 retirement. Clune added a role behind the bench last season, and will now get a chance to do the same at the NHL level.

Clune was a career minor-league bruiser, who played in just two full NHL seasons as part of his 15-year career in North American pros. He scored a career-high nine points in 47 games during the 2012-13 season, swapping record stats in the following year with seven points and a career-high 166 penalty minutes in 58 games. Clune would go on to play just one more NHL game in his career, though he did total an impressive 593 career games in the AHL – recording 151 points and 1,607 penalty minutes.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New Jersey Devils have signed a two-year extension with ECHL affiliate the Adirondack Thunder. The two teams have been partnered since 2017-18, following a brief connection between Adirondack and the Calgary Flames. The Thunder have only missed the playoffs once in their six-year connection with New Jersey, though they’ve failed to make it past Divisional finals.
  • The Edmonton Oilers could welcome winger Evander Kane back to the lineup on Friday, with head coach Kris Knoblauch designating him a game-time decision to Dan Rosen of NHL.com (Twitter link). Kane hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and hasn’t scored since Game 5 against the Dallas Stars. In total he has just eight points in 20 games this postseason, though his aggression and grit will be a welcome boost over Dylan Holloway, who’d stand to lose his role should Kane step back in, shares Renauld Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link).

Offseason Checklist: Vancouver Canucks

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The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Vancouver.

The Canucks were one of the surprises of the season, going from a non-playoff team to winning the Pacific Division and getting deep into the second round despite being without their starting goalie.  GM Patrik Allvin has already checked one significant item off his summer to-do list with the recent re-signing of Filip Hronek to a long-term extension but he still has some items to check off in the coming weeks and months.

Reload The Back End

Even with Hronek under contract, Vancouver has just three full-time blueliners signed for next season – Hronek, Quinn Hughes, and Carson Soucy.  Noah Juulsen is also under contract, but he profiles as a sixth option at best and preferably a seventh who comes in when injuries arise.  That leaves three spots to fill, either by re-signing or replacing their pending unrestricted free agents.

The most notable of the trio is Nikita Zadorov.  The 29-year-old did well after being acquired early in the season from Calgary and then was a difference-maker for them in the playoffs.  He has struggled to get a long-term deal so far in his career, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around, with some suggesting that he could get six years and $6MM per season.  There’s mutual interest in having Zadorov stick around, but with how well-positioned he is to cash in, it’d be hard to pass up testing the market.

Tyler Myers had a contract that made him a target from the moment it was signed.  Miscast in a top role, the 34-year-old had arguably his best season in five years with Vancouver in 2023-24 as he was moved down the lineup.  He won’t get $6MM this time around, but there’s believed to be mutual interest in him coming back at the right price.  Meanwhile, that isn’t expected to be the case for Ian Cole, with the 35-year-old being set to possibly land with his sixth organization since 2020.

With nearly $17MM in cap space per CapFriendly, there’s room to potentially have one contract of significance as they re-sign or replace these veterans, although if they want to add up front – more on that shortly – then they’ll need some more cost-effective options as well.  Notably, Myers and Cole logged the most minutes shorthanded, so as they look to fill those spots, it’s likely that they will be looking to bring in some players with a track record of success on the penalty kill.

Boeser Extension Talks

As it stands, the Canucks won’t have nearly as much roster turnover via free agency in 2025 as they will this year, at least among their star players. They do have one big fish to get extended before next summer, though.

Brock Boeser finally hit his potential in earnest in 2023-24. After posting middling stat lines the past two seasons while dealing with a variety of personal struggles, which he opened up about to The Province’s Ben Kuzma last year, he erupted for a career-best 40 goals and 73 points in 81 regular-season contests. Averaging 18:36 per game and flourishing under head coach Rick Tocchet, he’s made himself an irreplaceable part of their core group of forwards and has set himself up well heading into a contract year.

As of today, he’d earn a significant raise on his current $6.65MM cap hit. Evolving Hockey projects a max-term eight-year deal in the $8MM AAV range as the most likely scenario if Boeser were to be extended shortly after becoming eligible to sign one on July 1. But with their aforementioned large plate of free agents to deal with this summer, extension talks with Boeser will likely take a while to get going.

Injuries were a concern early on in his career, but he has flashed the potential to consistently produce in the 70-point range in the past. His 0.90 points per game this season was a career-high, but he did get close on multiple other occasions (0.89 in 2017-18, 0.81 in 2018-19, 0.88 in 2020-21).

Add Impact Forward

A quick glance at the Canucks’ depth chart next season reveals a painstakingly clear need for a top-six winger (or two) to help complement J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Boeser has one spot locked down, and Conor Garland should likely find himself further up in the lineup after a strong 2023-24 campaign, but Ilya Mikheyev is currently slated for a second-line role alongside Pettersson. He’s not expected back next season anyway, and assuming they can clear the entirety of his $4.75MM cap hit, that’s more money for their front office braintrust of Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford to play with.

Their top target is clear. They were linked to former Penguins forward Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, and while they lost a bidding war to the Hurricanes, he’s available again this summer, with Carolina dangling his signing rights before he reaches UFA status. As expected, they’re checking in on him again.

He’d be the most expensive option available to meet the ’impact forward’ moniker, likely save for Panthers winger Sam Reinhart. Guentzel is likely to cost a team around or more than $9MM per season, and Vancouver would need to pounce quickly. Can they get certainty in the coming days that they’ll be able to accommodate such a deal under the salary cap? That’ll be a story to follow as next week’s draft nears.

Other cheaper options to complement Miller or Pettersson on the wing include Jonathan Marchessault, Teuvo Teräväinen, or a reunion with Tyler Toffoli. All would be significant short-term upgrades over Mikheyev or other oft-used options higher up in the lineup, like youngster Nils Höglander.

Clear Poolman’s Contract

We’re all but certain that defenseman Tucker Poolman won’t play again due to migraine issues. He hasn’t skated in an NHL game since October 2022 and spent all of the 2023-24 campaign on long-term injured reserve.

While some criticized the four-year, $2.5MM AAV deal Poolman received from the Canucks in free agency, few thought it would yield just 43 games of service from Poolman in a Vancouver sweater. Regardless, the 31-year-old Iowa native now has just one year left on his deal, and it’s gumming up the offseason salary cap works. Could a team desperately in need of salary cap relief, such as the Golden Knights or Lightning, acquire Poolman’s $2.5MM cap hit next season and place it on LTIR for some much-needed in-season relief? It would be a win-win situation.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lightning Sign Gage Goncalves To Two-Way Extension

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The Lightning have re-upped forward Gage Goncalves on a two-way deal for 2024-25, the team announced. The deal carries a $775K cap hit and pays him a $100K minors salary with $125K guaranteed, per PuckPedia.

Goncalves, 23, is coming off an All-Star campaign in the minors. The 2020 second-round pick now looks like he’s one of the better playmakers in the Tampa Bay system, notching 45 assists and 58 points in 69 games this year to lead the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch in scoring. He added a goal and five assists in seven playoff games to end his season.

He has a pair of NHL games under his belt, both coming during a brief mid-January call-up this season. The 6’0″ center was shifted to the wing and was used sparingly by head coach Jon Cooper, though, averaging 9:58 per contest. He didn’t manage a shot on goal but did have two hits. The Lightning controlled 52.2% of shot attempts in Goncalves’ brief time on ice at even strength.

Goncalves will more likely than not start next season in Syracuse, but he’ll be a name to watch as training camp progresses in the fall. Even if he doesn’t make the team, he’s on an upward trajectory and should be considered for more NHL recalls in 2024-25.

The British Columbia native was slated for restricted free agency this summer. He wasn’t arbitration-eligible this time around, but he will be when his extension expires in 2025.

Senators Sign Jamieson Rees To Two-Way Extension

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The Senators announced a one-year, two-way contract extension for center prospect Jamieson Rees today. Per the team, the deal pays him $775K in the NHL and $85K in the AHL.

It’s a good sign for Rees’ future in the Sens organization for him to avoid being non-tendered and reaching unrestricted free agency at the end of the month. The 23-year-old is coming off an incredibly trying season split between three AHL clubs, going without a goal and registering only eight assists in 51 appearances.

A second-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2019, Rees was on an upward trajectory as recently as last season when he recorded a career-high 14 goals and 42 points in 65 games for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. However, his development was derailed by Carolina’s lack of an AHL affiliate this season. He began the campaign on loan to AHL Springfield, the primary affiliate of the Blues, where he received little ice time and was limited to three assists in 30 games with a -3 rating.

The Canes briefly found a new home for him on the Panthers’ farm club in Charlotte, but he played only seven games there before he was traded to Ottawa for a sixth-round pick in March. He finished the season on a slightly higher note, posting four assists in 14 games with AHL Bellville, his best rate of production all season long.

Rees will be back with the B-Sens next season as he looks to rebound to a level of production more representative of a top-six minor league forward. The Ontario native will be a restricted free agent upon expiry.

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