Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Newhook, Dach, Panthers, Khaira

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Expect Alex Newhook to start the season on the wing on the Canadiens’ second line centered by Kirby Dach and flanked by Patrik Laine, says Eric Engels of Sportsnet. It may not be a long-term fit, though, as Engels cautions not to be “surprised if there’s a bit of a revolving door next to Dach and Laine as the season rolls along.” Regardless of who plays with them, early signs point to Dach shifting to center after spending a good portion of his first season in Montreal, the 2022-23 campaign, on the wing. The 23-year-old forward missed all but two games last season after tearing his ACL and MCL in his right knee.

There’s more out of the Atlantic:

  • The Panthers will dip their toes into the professional tryout market soon, says David Dwork of The Hockey News. They’re on the lookout for a veteran forward, likely to compete to help replace the departures of fourth-liners Nick Cousins, Steven Lorentz, Kyle Okposo, and Kevin Stenlund over the past few months. Notable UFAs left to fill those roles that haven’t landed PTOs elsewhere include Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, and Chris Tierney.
  • Jujhar Khaira’s streak of appearing in an NHL game for the last nine seasons is in jeopardy after settling for an AHL contract today with the Lightning’s affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Khaira, 30, was once a regular bottom-six presence for the Blackhawks and Oilers around the turn of the decade but was relegated to an AHL role last season after signing a two-way deal with the Wild, making just one NHL appearance for Minnesota early in the season. In 22 games with the Iowa Wild, his first minor league action since the 2016-17 campaign, he scored five goals and added 13 assists for 18 points. His AHL deal with the Crunch could include a PTO with the Lightning, allowing him to participate in NHL training camp and attempt to earn a two-way contract with Tampa.

Snapshots: McCabe, Couture, Shattenkirk, Kaprizov, Sorokin

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Maple Leafs have begun initial talks with defenseman Jake McCabe on a contract extension, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on today’s “32 Thoughts” podcast. He’s entering the final season of a four-year, $16MM deal with a $4MM cap hit, but the Leafs are only on the hook for half of it thanks to the Blackhawks retaining $2MM per season on his deal when they traded him to Toronto before the 2023 trade deadline.

McCabe, 31 in October, has fit in seamlessly on the Toronto blue line, averaging 20:39 per game in his first entire season there last year. It wasn’t quite a career-high in ice time, but it was a career-best year for McCabe in nearly every other category, including goals (8), points (28), rating (+20), and hits (219).

While a passable puck-mover, McCabe is primarily effective as a stay-at-home piece. He averaged 2:12 per game on the penalty kill and kept his head above water in terms of controlling expected goals at even strength, the first time he’s done so in his career after toiling on rebuilders in Buffalo and Chicago. He’ll still feature heavily on a new-look Toronto defense next season featuring Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev.

More from around the league:

  • There’s still uncertainty about Sharks captain Logan Couture’s availability to begin the season, but Friedman said that he doesn’t get the sense Couture is considering hanging up his skates. The 35-year-old played just six games in 2023-24 due to osteitis pubis, a rare type of joint inflammation that causes pain and swelling in the groin and lower abdomen (from the Cleveland Clinic). With three seasons left on his contract at an $8MM cap hit, the 15-year veteran still hopes to be a core piece and guide San Jose’s new crop of young players through their ongoing rebuild.
  • Free agent defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk still fully intends on returning for his 15th NHL season in 2024-25, his agent, George Bazos, tells Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. Bazos said his camp is in discussions with a few teams regarding his client but didn’t say whether they were regarding guaranteed deals or professional tryout agreements. Shattenkirk, 35, had 24 points in 61 games with the Bruins last season in bottom-pairing minutes after signing a one-year, $1.05MM deal in Boston in free agency.
  • Leon Draisaitl’s recent eight-year mega-deal likely has positive implications for Kirill Kaprizov as he kicks off extension negotiations with the Wild, Friedman posits. Kaprizov’s deal runs for two more seasons, and he isn’t eligible to sign an extension until July 1, 2025, but there’s already a sentiment building around the league that Draisaitl’s $14MM cap hit is a “needle-mover” for contracts handed out to superstars, Friedman said. After winning the Calder Trophy during the shortened 2020-21 season, Kaprizov has emerged as one of the league’s most consistent scorers, topping the 40-goal mark for three years in a row. He’s still owed $17.5MM on the five-year, $45MM deal he signed as a restricted free agent in 2021.
  • An undisclosed injury may have had something to do with Ilya Sorokin’s slight regression in play for the Islanders last season, Friedman said. The 29-year-old netminder still managed to finish eighth in Vezina Trophy voting, but his .908 SV%, 3.01 GAA, and two shutouts were all career-lows. He’s about to kick off the eight-year, $66MM extension he signed to stay on Long Island last summer, and Friedman said whether Sorokin checks in at 100% when training camp begins later this month will be one of the bigger storylines to watch for the Isles.

Friedman: Sidney Crosby Still Undecided On Extension

at CDT | by 21 Comments

Entering the final season of his 12-year, $104.4MM mega-deal with the Penguins, franchise cornerstone Sidney Crosby became eligible to sign an extension on July 1 this year. A deal seemed close shortly after that, with reports suggesting the two sides would formalize an extension weeks into free agency. However, with no news yet, Elliotte Friedman said on today’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that Crosby is still weighing whether he wants to sign any of the multiple offers presented to him by Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas.

Crosby’s uncertainty isn’t related to a desire to maximize his earning potential in the latter stages of his career – it’s simply about whether he’s prepared to spend the final years of his time as a top-of-the-lineup player on a retooling Pittsburgh club. The Penguins have presented him with multiple offers with varying lengths, all of which are acceptable to Crosby in theory, Friedman notes.

One thing I wonder is if Crosby is simply sitting here saying ’I’ve got no problem with the offers, I’ve got no problem with the Penguins, but if we’re not going to be making the playoffs, am I going to be able to handle that?’ I think that’s one of the things he’d kind of weighing. My prediction is he stays because I think he’s a Penguin and he wants to be a Penguin, but I’ve tried to ask around about why it isn’t done, and I think one of the reasons is it’s the summer and he doesn’t need to rush. He’s still got time. And I think the other one is what if it’s like that? Is [he] going to be able to deal with it, because he’s still at the top of his game and he’s competitive.

With the extension saga beginning to draw out into its third month, there’s been more discussion about contingency plans and ripple effects if he enters training camp in a couple of weeks without a deal in place. Travis Yost of TSN posited earlier this week that Crosby may accept a trade elsewhere at the deadline, allowing the Pens to bolster their future with a presumably gargantuan trade return before signing back in Pittsburgh as an unrestricted free agency next summer. Last month, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote about the off-ice impact of Crosby not extending before camp.

Crosby has one season left on his deal at an $8.7MM cap hit, but he’s owed just $3MM in salary this year. It’s the same structure his extremely front-loaded contract has carried since the 2022-23 campaign.

If there’s a lack of urgency from Crosby’s end to the degree that Friedman implies, it’s becoming more plausible than not that he’s still not signed past 2025 when camp kicks off in less than two weeks. Pittsburgh still needs his best if they have any intention of closing the three-point gap that kept them out of the postseason for the second year in a row last season. The 37-year-old had 42 goals and 94 points in all 82 games en route to finishing ninth in Hart Trophy voting, his highest finish in the MVP tally since 2021.

East Notes: Kapanen, Kolosov, Mercer

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Canadiens center prospect Oliver Kapanen signed a two-year deal with Swedish Hockey League club Timrå IK back in May. He’s already made quite an impression on his new head coach, longtime NHLer Olli Jokinen, who showered the 21-year-old with praise in a recent interview with Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gambling.

In fact, Jokinen’s been so pleased with Kapanen’s play during the SHL preseason that he’s concerned about him spending more time than expected in Montreal next month when he heads to North America for training camp. “He’s been too good for our league so far this preseason, playing like a dominant force in every single game,” Jokinen said. “He’s been great offensively, scoring some goals, but also defensively and in the faceoff circle, which will be his biggest advantage going into Montreal.”

Kapanen may have inked a multi-year commitment with Timrå, but he also signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens shortly thereafter. While technically eligible for assignment to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, there’s a European Assignment Clause in his ELC that will allow him to return to Timrå if cut from Montreal’s NHL roster, Jokinen said.

It would be a surprise to see Kapanen unseat another Canadiens youngster like Joshua Roy to win a roster spot, but the Finnish national is certainly trending in the right direction after recording 34 points in 51 games last season with Liiga’s KalPa. If he does play this season in Timrå, he’ll likely be their leader in ice time among forwards as “a first-line center with power play and penalty kill time,” said Jokinen.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Flyers are now operating under the assumption that goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov won’t be reporting to training camp, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports. He also adds that general manager Daniel Brière remains unwilling to loan the 22-year-old back to Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he’s played for most of the past four seasons. Kolosov, a third-round pick of the Flyers in 2021, has two years left on his entry-level contract with Philadelphia. He’s been in dispute with the club about where to play this season since at least May, when reports emerged he had trouble adjusting to the North American environment after ending the 2023-24 campaign with a pair of appearances for Philly’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that he’s confident the Devils’ pending agreement with RFA forward Dawson Mercer will be a short-term one. With just under $5MM in projected cap space (PuckPedia), he doesn’t think the Devils would be able to fit a long-term deal with Mercer under the cap this season without a significant preseason corresponding transaction. Mercer remains unsigned with less than two weeks to go until training camp, but general manager Tom Fitzgerald said last month that a resolution wasn’t too far off.

Ducks Notes: Marchessault, Stamkos, Gibson, Gudas

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Anaheim was also one of the many teams making serious pitches for star forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos during their brief stints on the free agent market earlier this summer, said Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on today’s “32 Thoughts” podcast. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported at the time that the Ducks were among the top five teams making competitive offers for Stamkos, but Marchessault wasn’t linked to Anaheim until now. Many expected Anaheim to be a major player in free agency after picking up veterans Gudas and Alex Killorn in last year’s frenzy, especially with ample cap space to spend, but their offseason moves ended up being more conservative after Marchessault and Stamkos opted to both sign deals with the Predators instead.

There’s more from Friedman on Orange County:

  • The Ducks haven’t given up on trying to move goaltender John Gibson and are still shopping him with three years left on his contract, Friedman said. But there hasn’t been any significant progress, and no deal appears close with less than two weeks to go until training camp. They’ve been in trade discussions regarding the 31-year-old, who posted a career-worst .888 SV% in 46 appearances last season, for the entirety of the offseason, per Friedman.
  • With trade rumors now surrounding the Ducks’ longest-tenured player, Cam Fowler, expect them to name Radko Gudas their next captain before the season starts, Friedman said. The hulking 34-year-old defender was Anaheim’s best defensive player last season by a wide margin after signing a three-year, $12MM deal in free agency, leading the team with a +14 rating, 128 PIMs, 154 blocks, and 232 hits. The captaincy in Anaheim has been vacant since Ryan Getzlaf retired in 2022.

Ducks, Cam Fowler Reportedly Exploring Trade Options

at CDT | by 4 Comments

After over a decade in Orange County, defenseman Cam Fowler’s time with the Ducks may soon come to an end. Both he and the team are in the early stages of exploring trade options in what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman called a “positive working environment” on Friday’s episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast.

[Fowler’s] a little bit older. They’ve got a lot of good young players, and eventually what you’ve got to start doing is you’ve got to say, ’You know what, Cam, we have to start taking some of your ice time so that these other players learn what it’s like to play in the important situations’… Fowler knows that when they’re good and they’re really ready to contend, it’s going to be their team and not his team.

Fowler, 32, has been a staple on the Anaheim blue line ever since they made him the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft. He hit the NHL full-time the following season, stepping into a top-four role on a team in the throes of playoff contention.

While never cementing himself as a true star defender, he’s been remarkably consistent across a 974-game NHL career that’s spanned 14 seasons. He’s averaged over 20 minutes per game in every year of his career thus far, and his offensive production never varies too much from his career average of 0.47 points per game.

Fowler has only received outside Norris Trophy consideration once. It was in 2017 after he scored a career-high 11 goals, averaged another career-high 24:51 per game, and played a pivotal role in the Ducks advancing to the Western Conference Final. That performance spurned Fowler’s big payday – an eight-year, $52MM extension he signed immediately upon becoming eligible in the 2017 offseason that kicked in for the 2018-19 campaign.

He’s now entering the final two seasons of that deal, which carries a $6.5MM cap hit. The Windsor, Ontario native is still Anaheim’s undisputed top defender, averaging north of 24 minutes per night over the last three years. His offensive output has remained at, if not slightly above, his career average as the Ducks tore down their roster in the late 2010s in anticipation of their ongoing post-Ryan Getzlaf rebuild.

The past two campaigns have been difficult for the club, especially in their own end. That’s led to some pretty eye-popping numbers for Fowler, who’s posted a combined -59 rating in 163 games since the start of 2022-23. He may be logging the most ice time among Ducks defenders, but he’s not receiving the most challenging matchups. His offensive and defensive zone starts at even strength have remained relatively even, as they have for most of his career.

Poor goaltending doesn’t drag down that rating too much. His possession numbers have been legitimately bad, controlling only 46.1% of expected goals at even strength over the past two seasons, per Hockey Reference. However, his shot attempt shares were above team average during that time, a fact that the Ducks’ front office will likely point out in trade talks to prove that reports of Fowler’s defensive demise are exaggerated.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek will likely need to retain a small amount of Fowler’s remaining salary to move him. Only nine teams have the cap space for Fowler’s full $6.5MM hit if a trade were to happen today, per PuckPedia, and nearly all of them are in rebuilds themselves or still have a significant financial commitment to make this offseason to one or more unsigned restricted free agents. But doing so wouldn’t be an issue for Anaheim, which is only $2.1MM above the cap floor and has all three of its salary retention slots open.

Fowler largely has control over where he ends up as talks advance. The defender has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of four teams to which he’d be willing to accept a trade. However, Friedman reports he’s willing to give the Ducks more teams to work with outside of the list, which he already submitted to the team over the summer.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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 that 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 heading into the 2024-25 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 begin with a look at the Central Division; next up is Minnesota.

Minnesota Wild

Current Cap Hit: $87,243,590 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Brock Faber (one year left on ELC at $925K, has signed extension)
F Marat Khusnutdinov (one year, $925K)
F Liam Ohgren (three years, $886.6K)
F Marco Rossi (one year, $863.3K)

Potential Bonuses
Faber: $250K
Khusnutdinov: $850K
Ohgren: $475K
Rossi: $850K
Total: $2.425MM

Khusnutdinov spent last season in the KHL but with his team there missing the playoffs, he was able to get into 16 games down the stretch with the Wild.  He didn’t do a lot with somewhat limited minutes but that’s not entirely surprising for someone making their debut late in the season.  A top-six role seems unlikely which makes a bridge deal the most probable outcome, one that’s a bit too early to handicap while hitting his bonuses seems unlikely.  Ohgren, meanwhile, also got his feet wet with Minnesota late in the year and held his own.  In a perfect world, he finds his way onto the roster, giving the Wild some secondary scoring depth.  However, with their cap situation, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him start at AHL Iowa to allow them to bank some early-season cap space but he should be up at some point.  It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll hit his bonuses unless he’s a full-timer and makes an impact on the scoresheet.

Rossi made the jump to the NHL full-time last season and turned in a solid rookie campaign with 21 goals and 19 assists although that didn’t stop him from being in trade speculation earlier this offseason.  He reached two of his ‘A’ bonuses last season (ATOI and goals) and assuming he has a similar role this year, he has a good chance at reaching those again, counting at $212.5K apiece.  Considering the perception of his availability, it stands to reason that Minnesota’s preference is probably going to be a bridge deal.  If Rossi has another season like 2023-24, that contract should surpass $3MM per year on a two-year pact while a long-term agreement would likely push past $5MM per season.

Faber is worth a quick mention here due to the bonuses as they weren’t in the first or second year of his deal.  If he has anywhere near a repeat performance from a year ago, it’s going to be safe to pencil those into Minnesota’s cap planning.

Jesper Wallstedt (one year, $925K plus $425K in bonuses) isn’t mentioned above as while he’s expected to see some action between the pipes, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to carry him on the roster on a full-time basis.  That means the bonuses won’t be hit and with what’s likely to be a limited NHL workload, his next deal likely maxes out at what San Jose gave Yaroslav Askarov (two years, $2MM per season); it wouldn’t be shocking if it came in well below that either.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Declan Chisholm ($1MM, UFA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Marcus Johansson ($2MM, UFA)
F Reese Johnson ($775K, RFA)
F Jakub Lauko ($787.5K, RFA)
D Jonathon Merrill ($1.2MM, UFA)

Johansson didn’t light it up like he did after being acquired at the trade deadline the year before although 30 points for this price point isn’t bad value.  However, he’s someone who hasn’t had a lot of success on the open market in recent deals before this one so it wouldn’t be surprising to see his next contract land around this one.  Lauko was acquired from Boston at the draft and was brought in to add some grit on the fourth line.  With a rather limited overall track record (just 83 career NHL games), his next deal shouldn’t cost much more than $1MM barring an offensive outburst in 2024-25.  Johnson was signed to a two-way deal after being non-tendered by Chicago to avoid arbitration.  He’ll likely see action on the fourth line if he makes the team but with over 140 NHL games, he’s a potential non-tender candidate again as well.

Merrill saw his stock drop a bit last season, averaging less than 13 minutes a night when he was in the lineup.  A serviceable depth defender, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Wild tried to run him through waivers to open up a bit of flexibility; all but $50K of the contract would come off the books when he’s in the minors.  Looking ahead, he’ll have a hard time pushing past the $1MM mark unless he can re-establish himself closer to the 15-plus minute mark.  Chisholm, meanwhile, fared well after being claimed midseason from Winnipeg but a limited track record hurt his market value this summer.  If he can stay as a full-time option on the third pairing, doubling his price tag could be doable.

Many expected Fleury to retire but he opted to come back for one final season.  He’s coming off a down year but if he can bounce back a bit, Minnesota should get decent value with this price tag being below the top backup options.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Zach Bogosian ($1.25MM, UFA)
G Filip Gustavsson ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Kirill Kaprizov ($9MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($4.125MM, UFA)

Kaprizov has emerged as one of the top wingers in the NHL and he will be signing this deal at the age of 29, meaning he will still have some prime years left when the time comes to sign his next contract.  As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him surpass Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM AAV; while his point totals haven’t been as high, the increase in the salary cap between the two contracts should make the difference.  Zuccarello signed this extension early and has put up at least 63 points the last three seasons.  If that holds up, the Wild will do quite well here.  Even if the output starts to drop, it should hold up relatively well.  He’ll be entering his age-39 year on his next contract which means it’s far from a guarantee that there will be a next contract.

Bogosian did well in a limited role after being acquired from Tampa Bay.  As long as he stays around that fifth slot in terms of usage, they’ll do relatively well with this contract.

Gustavsson wasn’t expected to necessarily repeat his breakout numbers from 2022-23 but he didn’t exactly come close to them either.  He dropped 32 points on his save percentage while his goals-against average went up by nearly a full goal per game.  The end result was a stat line that was below average, even for a second-stringer.  It’s safe to say they’ll be counting on some sort of rebound.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Ryan Hartman ($4MM, UFA)
D Jared Spurgeon ($7.875MM, UFA)

Hartman didn’t get back to his output from 2021-22 but he still reached the 20-goal mark.  As long as he can stay there and play down the middle, this contract should age well.

Spurgeon, meanwhile, is coming off an injury-plagued year.  When healthy, he’s a top-pairing player but whether he can still be one for the final three seasons of this contract remains to be seen as he’ll turn 35 in late November.  It’s possible as a result that this one could become an issue for Minnesota down the road.

Read more

Snapshots: Kane, Ducks, Seider, Malone

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

For the past several months, there has been plenty of speculation about the availability of Oilers winger Evander Kane (or lack thereof).  Even following a report last month that he would be undergoing surgery, there is still some uncertainty about how long he might be out for.  It appears that we should soon have some clarity on that front as GM Stan Bowman indicated on a recent Oilers Now segment (audio link) that they’re hoping to have an update on Kane in the next seven to ten days.  Kane played through a sports hernia injury for much of last season and the playoffs but still managed to put up 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular season appearances.  Edmonton’s roster movement this summer has positioned themselves to operate without necessarily needing LTIR so even if Kane will be out long-term, they may not choose to put him there when the season starts.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke suffered a fractured foot during offseason training that will keep him out for six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, the team also revealed that goaltender Tomas Suchanek had successful surgery to repair a ruptured ACL and will miss six to eight months.  Sennecke was a late-riser heading into the draft with his selection coming as a surprise to many.  The injury will derail any outside chance he had at making the team but he should be good to go by the time the World Juniors come around.  Suchanek, meanwhile, posted a 2.92 GAA and a .910 SV% in 29 games with AHL San Diego last season and was in position to likely be Anaheim’s third-string option this year.  This injury likely led to today’s earlier signing of Oscar Dansk to a one-year deal.
  • Earlier today, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta relayed that the Red Wings were making progress on a long-term contract for RFA winger Lucas Raymond. Later in the day, he added (Twitter link) that Detroit and RFA Moritz Seider are also working away at a long-term pact.  The 23-year-old has been a key cog on the back end for the last three seasons, recording at least 42 points while logging over 22 minutes a night in each of them.  Detroit has over $17MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, which should be enough to get both key youngsters signed to long-term agreements.
  • Back in April, it was reported that veteran winger Brad Malone would be calling it a career. It was made official today with Malone announcing it on his Twitter page.  Malone played in 217 career NHL games between Colorado, Carolina, and Edmonton, while also seeing time in a dozen AHL campaigns, spanning 552 contests.  His days in hockey aren’t over, however, as OHL Oshawa announced that they’ve hired Malone as their Player Development Coach.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

at CDT | by 29 Comments

With training camps on the horizon, we’re likely to see an uptick in transaction activity over the next couple of weeks as teams look to finalize their rosters.  With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.

Our last mailbag was done in two segments.  The first looked at what options the Stars could have to add to their roster and how Thomas Harley affects it, Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation, the status of the Blues’ defense, and more.  Meanwhile, the second examined some potential coaching and GM candidates, the quiet summer in Anaheim, and assessing Rob Blake’s offseason, among other topics.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below.  The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Canucks Hoping To Avoid Using LTIR

at CDT | by 3 Comments

One of the challenges that Vancouver had last season was the inability to bank day-to-day cap space with the team needing to use LTIR.  While defenseman Tucker Poolman is eligible to go back on there in 2024-25, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford recently told reporters including Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston that their goal is to open up the season without needing to use LTIR.

Poolman has spent the majority of his three-year tenure with the Canucks on LTIR, playing only 33 games over that span; all but three of those came back in 2021-22.  He has been dealing with migraines throughout his time with Vancouver and isn’t expected to play at all this season.  In theory, that could allow the team to spend past the cap by up to his $2.5MM cap charge.

However, if they did so, their remaining cap space would be limited to the portion of LTIR space that they’re not spending at the time with no benefit of the value of that space going up as the season goes along.  In other words, a team with $1MM in LTIR at the start of the season could only add a player making $1MM then or at the trade deadline.  That was a limiting factor in their efforts to upgrade at the deadline last season.

While it’s understandable that they’d want to stay below the $88MM mark in spending and not need LTIR, accomplishing that goal could be a bit tricky.  Per PuckPedia, the team projects to have less than $191K to start the season, an amount that wouldn’t be worth anything of consequence at the trade deadline in March.  They’d have to go into LTIR as soon as an injury recall was needed.

Accordingly, if their goal is to bank enough flexibility to have more options later on, the Canucks will need to trim from their roster.  They could opt to carry a roster with fewer than the maximum of 23 players or attempt to make a cost-cutting trade.  One option on that front would be to try to find a taker for Poolman’s contract although with the contract believed to be uninsured and not a lot of teams looking to take on money, the incentive to get a team to take it on would be pricey.

Regardless of what route they go, if the Canucks want to stay out of LTIR, they probably have some work to do in the coming weeks to achieve that objective for any prolonged amount of time.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top