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Blue Jackets Notes: Fourth Overall Pick, Laine, Hartley

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The Blue Jackets are open for business regarding their fourth overall pick in next week’s draft, GM and president of hockey operations Don Waddell said today (via Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch). They wouldn’t be looking at shopping the pick for an immediate roster upgrade, though.

Moving back in the draft is the only option if they’re parting with the pick, Waddell implied. He said “the price is high” to get them to do it, citing multiple other teams in the top 10 are also listening to offers to swap their picks.

If they don’t move the pick, the Blue Jackets are looking at their fourth top-10 pick in a row. Previous selections include Kent Johnson (fifth overall, 2021), David Jiříček (sixth overall, 2022) and Adam Fantilli (third overall, 2023).

Other quick hits from Waddell at this morning’s media availability:

  • Columbus hasn’t had any substantive trade discussions involving Patrik Laine yet, Waddell said (via Hedger). He’s actively in contact with Laine’s representation about trade options, but isn’t yet talking to other teams while Laine is still receiving treatment in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Waddell said that when they do get to the point of making a trade, he’d like it to be for established talent in return (via the team’s Jeff Svoboda). Laine and the Blue Jackets are seemingly both happy with parting ways this summer. Among interested parties, the Kraken have already been linked to his services.
  • Longtime NHL coach Bob Hartley has reached out to Waddell about the Blue Jackets’ vacancy, he confirmed (via Hedger). Hartley, who coached the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup in 2001, also worked under Waddell with the Atlanta Thrashers from 2003 to 2007. He hasn’t coached in the league since a four-year run with the Flames from 2012 to 2016, however. His only experience since has come overseas with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, a post he held from 2018 to 2022. In 2021, Hartley was named the KHL’s Coach of the Year and guided Omsk to a Gagarin Cup championship.

Offseason Checklist: Colorado Avalanche

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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 Colorado.

Expectations were high once again for the Avalanche heading into 2023-24.  The team made some moves to shore up their forward group over the offseason, leading them to be a speculative favorite to come out of the Central Division.  However, they came up a bit short, falling to Dallas in the division final.  Now, GM Chris MacFarland will look to add to his group again, a task that will be harder this time around.  Here’s what should be on his checklist in the coming weeks.

Create Cap Flexibility

Captain Gabriel Landeskog missed the entire season, allowing Colorado to go well into LTIR last summer as they knew in advance he wouldn’t be available to play.  There is still some uncertainty as to whether he’ll be ready to play next season but the winger has made it known he intends to try.  That effectively encumbers $7MM as they need to have that free in case he’s able to return from his knee cartilage transplant.

Then there’s Valeri Nichushkin.  He’ll miss the first few weeks of the season while being in Stage Three of the Player Assistance Program and will be cap-exempt during that time.  However, whenever he is cleared to return, his full $6.125MM cap charge will come onto the books.  They have to assume he’ll be cleared to come back so that money will be tied up as well.

While the Avs have over $16MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, they have quite a few roster spots to fill with that money; a big chunk of which will go to a pending RFA which will be highlighted shortly.  With the volume of spots (as many as eight) to fill, they’ll be hard-pressed to spend big on an unrestricted free agent which will make it difficult to re-sign Jonathan Drouin.

Finding a way to move all or at least some of Josh Manson’s $4.5MM AAV would be one way to accomplish this although it’s usually not easy to free up that much cap space for a couple of years.  Ross Colton ($4MM for three years) might be another option to move although doing so would create another hole down the middle to fill.  There aren’t many ways to do it but if MacFarland can open up some more wiggle room, they’ll have plenty more viable options to build their roster.

Rantanen Extension Talks

While this is something that could easily stay on the back burner this summer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Colorado take a real run at an extension for winger Mikko Rantanen.  Once July 1st hits, he’ll officially be in the final year of his contract, making him eligible to sign a new deal at any time.

The 27-year-old has been playing on a contract that pays $9.25MM per season since 2019.  It’s hard for that pricey of a contract to be construed as a team-friendly one but that is the case here.  Rantanen has become an impactful and consistent producer, averaging at least 1.23 points per game in each of the last four seasons.  He has been even more productive in the playoffs, averaging a minimum of 1.25 points per game over the last four postseason, tallying 62 points in 48 games over that span.

As a result, Rantanen is well-positioned to earn a considerable raise along with a max-term agreement of eight years if he wants to sign for that long.  Earlier this month, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post outlined some possible comparables for what Rantanen’s next deal could look like.  At this point, it’s fair to suggest that there’s a chance that Rantanen could sign the richest contract for a winger in NHL history (in terms of cap hit), surpassing Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM.  That still would slot him a bit behind Nathan MacKinnon who checks in at $12.6MM.

This isn’t something that MacFarland has to get done this summer as Rantanen is signed through next June.  However, it would be worthwhile to at least get an understanding of the asking price (if not get a deal done altogether) to aid in their spending plans now as some of the players they’ll be pursuing shortly will undoubtedly be seeking multi-year deals.  Having a better sense of what the 2025-26 books will look like makes navigating those other discussions a little easier.

Re-Sign Mittelstadt

Now, let’s get back to that pending RFA of note, center Casey Mittelstadt.  The Avs pulled off arguably the most surprising trade back at the deadline, acquiring the 25-year-old from Buffalo in exchange for promising young defenseman Bowen Byram.  In doing so, they shored up their second line, something they’d been looking to do since losing Nazem Kadri to Calgary in free agency.

Mittelstadt followed up a breakout 2022-23 performance that saw him put up 59 points with a similar showing between the two teams this season, tallying 57 points in 80 games.  However, that doesn’t quite tell the full picture as he was limited to 10 points in 18 appearances following the swap, a point-per-game drop of 0.2 compared to his output with the Sabres.  However, Mittelstadt was more impactful in the playoffs, collecting nine points in 11 games which will help his case this summer.

Mittelstadt is coming off a three-year bridge agreement that carried a $2.5MM AAV and has a required qualifying offer of $2.6MM.  He’s also arbitration-eligible for the first and only time as he can reach unrestricted free agency next summer.  That last note effectively rules out another short-term contract that would only buy a year or two of team control.

Given their cap constraints, it’s hard to envision the Avs working out a max-term agreement as the cost of it in terms of a higher AAV would make things a bit harder for them in the summer.  Accordingly, a medium-term deal (four to six years) feels like the sweet spot to try to aim for.  If that winds up being where the two sides land, he’s likely to at least double his qualifying offer and could push for $6MM.  Getting him locked up would certainly give them some stability down the middle with MacKinnon not going anywhere either.

Load Up On Depth

Last summer, Colorado needed to sign several players to low-cost one-year deals to round out their roster.  Up front, they added Drouin, Chris Wagner, and Joel Kiviranta while re-signing Andrew Cogliano all for $825K or less and also brought in Frederik Karlsson for the minimum from Dallas.  On the back end, they brought back Jack Johnson for the minimum and later acquired Caleb Jones who was also making the minimum salary.  They didn’t hit on every addition but most of them turned out pretty well while Drouin wound up being a key part of their forward group.  However, all but Wagner are free agents next month.

That’s a lot of roster spots to try to fill and depending on what happens with Mittelstadt’s deal and potentially trying to bring Drouin back, they’re going to be looking at trying to fill the rest either internally or with low-cost free agent pickups.  With their internal options, Nikolai Kovalenko and recent free agent pickup Jere Innala figure to be the likeliest to grab spots although both of them also check in at price tags higher than last summer’s group of depth additions.

With that in mind, MacFarland will likely be targeting four to six players for the league minimum or very close to it to try to backfill their forward group and round out the defense corps.  Additionally, he will likely be trying to add some potential in-season recalls on two-way deals worth the minimum in the NHL.  There will be a lot of these types of contracts signed in the first few days of free agency; expect Colorado to be among the leaders in them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Marchessault, Mantha, Vladar, Wouters

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The Golden Knights are continuing their discussions with Jonathan Marchessault’s camp in advance of his pending unrestricted free agency, relays The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta (Twitter link).  The 33-year-old had a career-best 42 goals in 2023-24 on the heels of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in their Stanley Cup title in 2023.  That has him well-positioned to earn a fair-sized raise on the $5MM he made in each of the last six years but that increase will be tough for Vegas to fit on their books with less than $1.2MM in regular cap space, per CapFriendly.  Yes, Robin Lehner and his $5MM should land on LTIR again but they also need to re-sign Pavel Dorofeyev and shore up their depth in the coming weeks.

More from the Pacific:

  • Speaking of Golden Knights pending unrestricted free agents, Anthony Mantha told RDS that the team has told him he will not be offered a deal for next season. The winger was acquired just before the trade deadline from Washington after putting up 20 goals with the Caps but he struggled with his new team, eventually being scratched in their first-round exit to Dallas.
  • Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar is expected to be ready for training camp after undergoing hip surgery back in March, relays team reporter Ryan Dittrick. The 26-year-old struggled this season, posting a 3.62 GAA with a save percentage of just .882 in 20 appearances.  However, he’s now the veteran netminder on Calgary’s roster as it’s expected that he’ll team up with top prospect Dustin Wolf as their tandem for next season following the trade that saw Jacob Markstrom go to New Jersey today.
  • Vancouver’s farm team in Abbotsford announced that they’ve signed captain Chase Wouters to a two-year contract extension. The 24-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Canucks’ affiliate and posted nine goals and 14 assists in 66 games in 2023-24.  Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal pays the forward $225K per season.

East Notes: Ullmark, Flyers/Senators Talks, Potulny

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With Jacob Markstrom now in New Jersey, the Senators have stepped up their efforts to acquire Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  Ullmark saw his numbers drop this year compared to his Vezina-winning 2022-23 campaign but he still posted a solid 2.57 GAA with a .915 SV% in 40 games.  Those numbers would represent a significant improvement on the 3.30 and .888 that Ottawa put up as a team in 2023-24.  Ullmark has one year left on his contract with a $5MM price tag and it’s worth noting that he has a 16-team no-trade clause so he does have some say in where he could ultimately be moved.

Meanwhile, Garrioch adds that the Bruins don’t have interest in taking back the final four years of Joonas Korpisalo’s contract as expected.  However, with Anton Forsberg ($2.75MM) set to enter the final year of his deal next season, Boston could be amenable to taking him back, allowing the Senators to reduce the additional salary they’re taking on.  That said, Garrioch notes that there is still work to be done before this possible swap has a chance of reaching the finish line.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • We’ve had three trades announced today and it appears progress was made on another one. TSN’s Travis Yost suggests (Twitter link) that the Senators and Flyers have the framework of a deal in place although it might not be announced until closer to the trade. No specifics as to who was involved were provided but those teams could be worth keeping an eye on in the coming days.
  • It appears that the Rangers are closing in on finding their next head coach at AHL Hartford. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Grant Potulny is expected to become the Wolf Pack’s next head coach.  Potulny spent the last seven seasons at Northern Michigan before resigning recently, citing a desire to pursue a position in professional hockey.  Kris Knoblauch started the season in Hartford before being hired away by Edmonton while Steve Smith served as the interim bench boss for the rest of the season.

Front Office/Coaching Notes: Hurricanes, Clune, Laperrière, Murphy

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In today’s media availability with the new General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, Eric Tulsky, team reporter Walt Ruff came away with a couple of news items. Inside the organization, Tulsky acknowledged he would have to hire someone toward the top of the management hierarchy given that he was an internal hire and that the coaching staff of the Chicago Wolves is still being deliberated upon.

Darren Yorke is poised to take on the full responsibilities as Assistant General Manager of the Hurricanes organization after sharing the role with Tulsky over the last two seasons. Carolina may look to fill the position of Director of Player Personnel which has been vacant since Yorke left the role after the 2019-20 NHL season.

For the Wolves, Tulsky is expected to procure an additional coach to Bob Nardella’s staff for the 2024-25 AHL season. As things currently stand, Nardella will retain his role as head coach of Chicago with the team also retaining Dave Barr as an assistant coach and Stan Dubicki as the team’s goaltending coach.

Other notes:

  •  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Anaheim Ducks are interested in hiring Rich Clune as an assistant coach for the 2024-25 NHL season. Clune has been serving in a similar role with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL after being promoted from his previous position as Development Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 29th. Nevertheless, there has been nothing indicating that Clune is interested in the position in Anaheim, as he spent the last seven years of his playing career with the Maple Leafs organization.
  • The AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms has extended head coach Ian Laperrière through the 2025-26 AHL season per a team announcement. Laperrière has spent the last three years as head coach for the Phantoms while coaching the team to a 98-92-30 record and has qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Outside of the progress he has seen with the Phantoms, Laperrière has also helped graduate Tyson Foerster, Cam York, and Bobby Brink to the NHL level in recent years.
  • Top professional scout Rob Murphy will be headed to another nation’s capital city as Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports he will be leaving the Ottawa Senators organization to join the professional scouting department of the Washington Capitals. Murphy has been a respected scout in the NHL for nearly the last two decades having performed similar duties with the Phoenix Coyotes and spending three years as the Director of Scouting for the Buffalo Sabres from 2014-2017.

Defensemen Notes: Slavin, Kylington, McCabe

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A few days ago, it was reported that the Carolina Hurricanes and defenseman Jaccob Slavin were in an informal agreement on a contract extension, but the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed as he is ineligible to put pen to paper until July 1st. Earlier today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on ’32 Thoughts’ that the contract should clock in as an eight-year, $52MM contract paying Slavin an average of $6.5MM a year (X Link).

At face value, the terms of the deal seem like a perfect arrangement for Slavin and the Hurricanes organization, as Evolving Hockey predicted an eight-year extension for Slavin at a $6.492MM salary. Slavin’s current seven-year, $37.1MM contract will expire after the 2024-25 NHL season and this new deal will take Slavin to his age-39 season in 2023-33.

Slavin rebounded in the point department nicely from a down 2022-23 season, but also saw his ice time dip by just over a minute as head coach Rod Brind’Amour spread the wealth much more this past season. The recent recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy scored six goals and 37 points in 81 games for Carolina this year and should maintain his status as a top-pairing defenseman for the organization next to Brent Burns.

Other notes:

  • Speaking to the media today after sending goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils, the General Manager of the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy, spoke briefly about the ongoing extension negotiations with defenseman Oliver Kylington. Danny Austin of the Calgary Sun quoted Conroy saying, “We’ve been in contact and going back-and-forth. There’s been a lot of stuff going on but I actually talked to Oliver the other day. Things are progressing. I know everyone wants things quicker, but sometimes it just takes a little time“. After acquiring defenseman Kevin Bahl in the deal for Markstrom, the Flames may not have enough room for Kylington even if there is mutual interest in an extension unless another move is made.
  • Expected to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 NHL season, defenseman Jake McCabe of the Toronto Maple Leafs is doing some preliminary work for his future. In an announcement from the firm, McCabe has switched over his representation to Bartlett Hockey. One of the more established groups for player representation, Bartlett Hockey also represents the likes of Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, and Cale Makar.

Utah Signs Matt Villalta To Two-Year Contract

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Taking care of some goaltending depth in the minor leagues, the Utah Hockey Club has announced a two-year, two-way contract for goaltender Matt Villalta. Although financial terms of the deal were not included in the announcement, it is expected Villalta will make close to if not the minimum salary at the NHL level.

Villalta originally broke into the league as a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings during the 2017 NHL Draft. Villalta made his professional debut during the 2019-20 AHL season after finishing his junior career for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. Villalta spent the next four seasons playing for the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he collected a 58-32-14 record in 108 regular season games while seeing his save percentage climb to .910 in his last year with the organization.

After becoming a free agent last offseason, Villalta signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Arizona Coyotes and was immediately assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners after clearing waivers during training camp. Not only did Villalta provide solid goaltending for the Roadrunners, he was one of the better goalies in the entire AHL having posted a 31-17-3 record in 51 games while carrying a .911 SV% and 2.54 goals against average.

While leading the AHL in wins and earning an AHL All-Star nod, the Coyotes recalled Villalta to the NHL level for the first time in his career on February 16th by way of an emergency loan. Unfortunately, Villalta’s strong performance in the AHL did not translate in Arizona, posting a 0-1-0 record after one start while stopping only 82.8% of shots.

Depending on what Utah ends up doing with Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram this summer, Villalta could once again play himself to an opportunity at the NHL level. However, if Utah keeps both goaltenders in the mix heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, Villalta will surely start the year in the AHL.

Canucks Sign Mark Friedman To One-Year Extension

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Acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in an early season trade — it appears that defenseman Mark Friedman will continue his time in British Columbia. The Vancouver Canucks announced they have signed Friedman to a one-year contract extension that will pay him $775K at the NHL level.

Friedman was originally brought into the Canucks organization to serve in a depth role and the team may have to elevate him into a consistent bottom-pairing role depending on how their offseason plays out. Vancouver got a head start on their defensive core yesterday signing pending restricted free agent Filip Hronek to an eight-year extension but Ian Cole, Nikita Zadorov, and Tyler Myers are set to hit the open market in a few short weeks.

In his role as a depth defenseman, Friedman suited up in 23 games for the Canucks this season while tallying only one assist after averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game. Outside of his offensive production, Friedman did post solid defensive and possession metrics in limited action with a 50.3 CorsiFor% and a 92.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations.

Additionally, Friedman spent a brief period with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. In mid-January, the Canucks placed Friedman on a six-day conditioning loan allowing him to suit up in four games for the AHL Canucks which saw him post one goal and four points in total.

After the Canucks offseason finally reaches its conclusion, Friedman should once again be bumped into a depth role, but he now serves as one of five defensemen on the roster with a contract for the 2024-25 NHL season. Nevertheless, General Manager Patrik Allvin will allow Friedman to see more minutes by saying, “Mark’s addition to our group last year gave us some much needed depth and he is someone we can count on if plugged into our lineup. He is a team first player and is always ready to step in if called upon. We expect him to come into camp and compete hard for a regular spot this season“.

Capitals And Kings Swap Pierre-Luc Dubois, Darcy Kuemper

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TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings are working on a one-for-one swap to see Pierre-Luc Dubois head to Washington and goaltender Darcy Kuemper head to the Kings. LeBrun also mentions that no salary will be retained in the deal. The Kings organization has confirmed the deal.

Although there were no major rumblings that Dubois would be moved this offseason, it makes sense on paper given his no-move clause will start in only a few weeks. The Capitals will now be on the hook for the remaining seven years and $59.5MM remaining on Dubois’ extension.

Washington will now mark the fourth team of Dubois’ career after being involved in two separate trades prior. During the 2020-21 NHL season, Dubois was sent to the Winnipeg Jets in a deal that landed Patrik Laine with the Columbus Blue Jackets. With an apparent distaste for the Jets organization, Dubois was traded to the Kings organization last summer in a deal that saw Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Rasmus Kupari head to Manitoba.

After posting back-to-back 60-point seasons in Winnipeg, Los Angeles originally thought Dubois would make a perfect addition as the team’s second-line center for many years to come, and even replace Anze Kopitar as the team’s top centerman when he eventually hangs up his skates. However, Dubois failed to deliver on expectations that come with an $8.5MM salary with the Kings, scoring only 16 goals and 40 points this past season.

Dubois’ offensive production was not the only thing to slip in his first season in California, as both his defensive and possession metrics also saw a decline. Nevertheless, although inconsistency has plagued him for much of his career, Dubois is still only 25 years old giving him plenty of time to become a dependable player on any team.

Dubois should have access to a much larger role in Washington given that the team has seen two top-centerman leave the organization in recent years. Nicklas Backstrom has more than likely played his last game in the NHL after failing to fully recover from hip-resurfacing surgery while Evgeny Kuznetsov was shipped off to the Carolina Hurricanes at last year’s deadline after struggling to put up points.

The Capitals will likely start Dubois as the team’s second-line center with Dylan Strome creating solid chemistry with franchise legend Alex Ovechkin, but Dubois gives the team a lot of flexibility at the top of their forward core. Although he is not a very physical player, Dubois carries a big frame which could allow more ice to open up for Ovechkin.

On the other side of the deal, Kuemper’s inclusion in the deal gives Los Angeles some much-needed certainty in the crease while opening up another $3.25MM in cap space. Likewise, this means that the Capitals have firmly committed to Charlie Lindgren as the team’s top goaltender heading into the 2024-25 NHL season. After the swap, the Kings now have $23.45MM in cap space but do have a couple of restricted free agents to bring back into the fold.

It will be interesting to see if Kuemper can rediscover his game in California, as he had not been very consistent throughout his time with the Capitals. In 2021-22, then the starting goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche, Kuemper backstopped his team to a Stanley Cup Championship which would later earn him a five-year, $26.25MM deal with Washington on the open market.

Throughout his time in the United States capital, Kuemper started in 86 games for the Capitals in two seasons earning a 35-40-10 record while carrying a .902 save percentage and 3.03 goals against average. In any case, Kuemper should benefit from a much stronger defensive core in Los Angeles as the team only allowed 2296 shots against this past season which was good for fourth in the NHL.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Dubois had been traded to Washington. 

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report that Kuemper was included in the trade. 

LeBrun was the first to break the full trade details. 

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

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