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West Notes: Utah, Cataford, Foegele

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The franchise outlook is certainly different for Utah following their move from Arizona, a move that should give GM Bill Armstrong plenty more options in terms of adding to his roster.  However, as he noted to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman, the relocation won’t do anything in terms of affecting their plans when it comes to the draft later this month.  Utah only has one first-rounder (sixth overall) but with 13 total selections, they have the most of any team.  Armstrong suggested that while they won’t pick for need within their first few selections, they’re open to picking more based on positional need as the draft moves along.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Golden Knights prospect Mathieu Cataford is on the move in the QMJHL as Rimouski announced that they’ve acquired him from Halifax in exchange for five draft picks. The 19-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2023 and was a high-end producer in junior this season, notching 40 goals and 50 assists in 65 games.  Cataford, who has already signed his entry-level deal, also got into four regular season contests with AHL Henderson where he picked up two assists; he’s not eligible to play full-time at that level until the 2025-26 season, however.
  • After missing the last three games, Oilers winger Warren Foegele returns to the lineup tonight against Florida, relays Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link). He’s expected to take the place of veteran Derek Ryan.  Foegele had a career year during the regular season, one which saw him score 20 goals and 21 assists, both personal bests.  A pending unrestricted free agent, a strong finish to his postseason would certainly give him a boost heading into his first trip to the open market.

Avalanche And Jonathan Drouin Have Started Contract Talks

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Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin is one of the more intriguing pending unrestricted free agents available this summer.  After taking a low-cost contract with Colorado, he had a career year offensively, positioning himself for a considerable raise on the open market this time around.

Both Drouin and Colorado management have expressed a desire to get a new deal in place.  His agent Allan Walsh from Octagon indicated on his latest podcast (audio link) that he met with GM Chris MacFarland earlier this week at the NHL Combine to kickstart discussions and that both sides remain interested in getting something done.

However, as MacFarland acknowledged to Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, there are some complicating factors at play.  While they’re hopeful that captain Gabriel Landeskog can return, there is still some uncertainty on that front.  Meanwhile, Valeri Nichushkin will be away from the team for at least the first few weeks of the season while being in the third stage of the Player Assistance Program.  He won’t count against the salary cap during that time but will he be able to return after the six-month mark?  That question certainly also complicates their spending planning.

Unlike dealing with a restricted free agent where financial decisions could be pushed until later in the summer, Drouin’s unrestricted status doesn’t afford them that luxury.  Accordingly, MacFarland stated that this is something that will need to come together sooner than later:

It’s something over the next 10 days to two weeks we’re going to have to try and put our heads together. But really, it’s math. You can’t expect the player to come back on a low-level deal after what he did. It’s a matter of, can you find the space, how do you find the space, and when can you find the space?

In 2022-23, Drouin recorded just two goals and 27 assists in 58 games with Montreal, leading to a one-year, $825K contract with Colorado last July.  The move worked out quite well with both sides as the 29-year-old put up 19 goals and 37 helpers in 79 contests while logging over 18 minutes a night for the first time.  As a result, as MacFarland himself stated, the option for a low-cost agreement isn’t going to be there this time around.

On his contract with Montreal, Drouin carried a $5.5MM AAV.  It’s unlikely that he could command that much on a long-term agreement even with the year he had but something in the $4.5MM to $5MM range could be achievable, especially if several teams believe he’s back on track now coming off the year he had.

With trade activity unlikely to seriously pick up until after the Stanley Cup Final ends, MacFarland and the Avs have a bit of time to determine if they can either afford to re-sign Drouin at market value or take the risk of signing him and see what happens later with Landeskog and Nichushkin, knowing it could complicate things in-season.  But as much as it would be a risk to go that route, it would also be a risk to lose him outright with the uncertainty surrounding the other two wingers.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see something get done to keep him around in the coming weeks.

Snapshots: Conditional Picks, Tocchet, Thunderbirds

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The final series of the playoffs gets underway tonight with Edmonton taking on Florida.  The events and outcome of the Stanley Cup Final will also affect the draft order in the next three years.  As CapFriendly notes (Twitter link), the following four late-season trades will be finalized based on whoever wins this series:

Ducks/Oilers: The 2025 fifth-round pick that went to Anaheim in the Adam Henrique trade will upgrade to a 2025 4th round pick if Edmonton wins.

Sabres/Panthers: The 2024 seventh-rounder acquired by Buffalo for Kyle Okposo will upgrade to a 2024 fifth-round pick if Florida wins.  (Florida would also incur a $500K cap penalty next season in this scenario as that is payable to Okposo if they win.)

Senators/Panthers: The 2024 fourth-round pick that Ottawa received for Vladimir Tarasenko will become a 2026 third-rounder if Florida wins the series.

Penguins/Panthers: The 2025 seventh-round pick Pittsburgh acquired for Magnus Hellberg will convey if Hellberg plays in two games this round.  Hellberg is on Florida’s active roster as a Black Ace recall but has yet to play this postseason.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is heading into the final guaranteed season of his contract next season though there is a team option for 2025-26 as well. The bench boss told reporters including Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province that there have yet to be any discussions about a contract extension, nor is he concerned about that.  Tocchet led Vancouver to a surprising first-place finish in the Pacific Division with 109 points, helping him earn the Jack Adams Award last month.
  • The AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds (affiliate of the Blues) announced that they’ve hired long-time NHL blueliner Jaroslav Modry and AHL veteran Chad Wiseman as their new assistant coaches. Modry spent the last three seasons coaching in his native Czechia while Wiseman had been coaching with OHL Guelph since 2018-19.  They join NHL veteran Steve Konowalchuk on a new-look coaching staff.

Senators Shopping Mathieu Joseph

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This time a year ago, there was some speculation about Mathieu Joseph’s future with the Senators.  The team had limited cap room and needed to make some additions to the roster while keeping enough money to re-sign Shane Pinto which made Joseph a potential candidate to be moved.  As it turns out, that didn’t need to happen and they managed to stay cap-compliant throughout the year.

Fast forward to today and not a lot has evidently changed.  The Sens have some cap flexibility but need to re-sign Pinto again to a considerably pricier deal and once that’s done, they might not have enough left to add a key piece to their roster.  Accordingly, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa is trying to move Joseph before the draft begins on June 28th.

The 27-year-old is coming off a solid showing this season after struggling mightily in 2022-23, his first full season with the team.  Joseph notched 11 goals and 24 assists in 72 games, setting new career highs in assists and points along the way.  He was rewarded with a boost in playing time, going up to 16:28 per night while seeing action on both special teams units.

On the surface, this doesn’t seem like the type of player Ottawa should be trading.  However, Joseph has two years left on a contract that carries a $2.95MM AAV.  That is on the pricey end for a role player and if they could find a way to move him and have a lower-cost piece take his place, that might give GM Steve Staios enough extra flexibility to try to add an impact free agent.

Of course, the rest of the league knows that Joseph’s contract is a bit on the high side and with many other teams looking to try to make some splashes this summer, quite a few will be looking to save their cap room for those moves later in the offseason so the market for Joseph might not be particularly strong.  That said, Ottawa should have a better chance to move him now coming off a career year compared to the three-goal, 18-point performance he put up in 2022-23.  Will that be enough to find a trade fit by the draft this time around?  We’ll find out the answer to that within the next few weeks.

Morning Notes: Ullmark, Saros, Bemstrom

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Andrew Fantucchio of Boston Hockey Now writes that in his opinion the Boston Bruins have no reason to be in a hurry to trade goaltender Linus Ullmark as he has one year left on his deal and the Bruins could conceivably keep the netminder for the remainder of his deal. Ullmark has a lot of contractual control over where he is traded and could nix trades to nearly half of the league.

Goaltenders have been traded in recent years for a minimal return, including recent Vezina Trophy winners. However, as Fantucchio writes, the Ullmark situation is different than that of Marc-Andre Fleury who was dealt in July 2021 in what amounted to a salary cap dump. Fantucchio theorizes that if the Bruins are patient with the Ullmark trade it could drive up the asking price as teams might become desperate for goaltending as the market dries up.

In other morning notes:

  • It appears that Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros is prepared to let the goaltender market develop before signing his next deal. Jonathan Bailey of Nashville Hockey Now writes that Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet made his weekly appearance on 102.5 The Game on the Caroline, Willy, and D-Mase show to discuss the future of the Predators netminder. On the show, Friedman said that Saros is willing to see what kind of a contract New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin signs before he signs a new contract. Shesterkin figures to sign the richest goalie contract ever, and while Saros won’t reach the same kind of money, he can likely command a large percentage of that.
  • Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes that he doesn’t think the Pittsburgh Penguins will offer restricted free agent Emil Bemstrom a contract before the June 25th deadline to submit a qualifying offer. Bemstrom was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets and struggled to carve out a role in Pittsburgh despite the Penguins having a very poor bottom-six forward group. The 25-year-old is due a $945K qualifying offer and given the Penguins’ shortcomings it would be reckless to allocate that kind of cap space on a player that would be a 13th forward.

Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers

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Free agency is now just a month 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 Flyers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Bobby Brink – Brink finally found consistent playing time in the NHL, dressing in 57 games, potting 11 goals and 12 assists. The former second-round pick competes hard despite being an undersized, below-average skater and has good hands and vision around the net. Brink showed he can be part of the Flyers core going forward and is a good bet to get a bridge contract for 2-3 years with an AAV between $1MM-$2M.

G Carter Hart – Carter Hart is owed a $4.479MM qualifying offer and given his legal status it is unlikely that he will receive an offer, which the league hasn’t yet. The Flyers already have Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov under contract for next season, and it was reported in April that Hart’s trial likely won’t begin until the end of 2025.

D Yegor Zamula – Zamula enjoyed his first full season in the NHL in 2023-24 after spending parts of the previous three years with the Flyers. The 24-year-old showed good mobility and poise in the defensive zone and moves the puck well with a confident first pass, however, he is not an offensive playmaker and lacks consistency. He will also need to find a way to use his 6’3” frame more effectively when defending the net. Zamula also figures to receive a bridge contract from the Flyers in the range of $1MM – $2MM.

Other RFAs:  D Adam Ginning, D Mason Millman, D Will Zmolek

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Denis Gurianov – Gurianov is an intriguing free agent as he has a good pedigree having been drafted 12th overall back in 2015, however, the 27-year-old hasn’t been able to put his skillset together at the NHL despite being given ample opportunities. He played just four games for the Flyers last season after coming over in a mid-season trade from Nashville and posted zero points while dominating on the possession front (60% CF% as per Hockey Reference). Gurianov has a 20-season to his credit but has bounced between four organizations the last two years and seems destined for a new one this summer.

D Erik Johnson – Johnson is a former first-overall pick that brings almost no offense but handles his duty in the defensive zone with physicality. There is no flash to Johnson’s game, but he can still provide a good safety blanket if paired on a third pairing with an offensively-minded defensive partner. Johnson made $3.25MM last season on a one-year deal but is unlikely to duplicate that number this offseason. Another one-year contract is in order for the 36-year-old, but it seems unlikely that the Flyers will be a fit for him.

D Marc Staal –Staal is nearing the end of his career, but he remains an NHL player at this stage, albeit in the role of a sixth or seventh defenseman. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native remains a good shot blocker and battler along the boards and in front of his own net, but he is very limited with his skating and the puck on his stick. Staal has trouble playing against teams with speed as he has issues containing the puck carrier and finding space to make plays with the puck. Staal is likely to get another one-year contract in the $1MM range, although it seems unlikely it will be with the Flyers.

Other UFAs: C Adam Brooks, F Tanner Laczynski, F Cooper Marody, D Victor Mete, G Felix Sandstrom

Projected Cap Space

The Flyers have precious little in the way of cap space as they head into the offseason. As of right now, they have just a tick above $500K in room under the cap. That number will grow closer to $7MM when the club accounts for LTIR candidates. Philadelphia has a laundry list of needs and very little room to maneuver which is why the team is considering buyouts for several overpriced veterans. The Flyers will also have the pending free agency of Travis Konecny to consider as he is just a year away from unrestricted free agency. The team will need to get creative if they want to address some of their needs which could make for a busy summer for general manager Daniel Briere.

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

Flyers Considering Buying Out Cal Petersen And Cam Atkinson

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This past season was a tough one for Flyers winger Cam Atkinson who found himself a healthy scratch on several occasions while underachieving offensively.  Meanwhile, it was even worse for goaltender Cal Petersen who spent most of the season in the minors and struggled in his brief action with Philadelphia.

On top of that, cap space is at a premium for the Flyers as CapFriendly projects them to have barely $500K in regular cap room this summer which isn’t enough to try to make any sort of upgrade to their roster.  Accordingly, GM Daniel Briere acknowledged to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman that the team is considering all of its options when it comes to opening up cap space, including buying out the veterans when the window to do so opens up later this month.  However, no decision has been made at this time.

Atkinson is coming off the quietest full season of his career.  The 35-year-old notched just 13 goals and 15 assists in 70 games while seeing his ice time drop to a little under 16 minutes a night.  While he was a legitimate top-line threat earlier in his career, he has become a secondary scorer but one that carries a hefty price tag with a $5.875MM AAV.  That would be a difficult contract to move without incentivizing a team to take it on which makes the idea of a buyout more palatable.  They’d save a little over $3.5MM for 2024-25 if they went this route with Atkinson but would add a $1.76MM dead cap charge to their books in 2025-26.

As for Petersen, he was acquired in a salary dump from Los Angeles this summer.  At one point, it looked like he could start as the backup and allow Samuel Ersson to spend more time in the minors but instead, the 29-year-old was waived and spent most of the year in Lehigh Valley.  He didn’t have a particularly strong campaign there either, posting a 2.71 GAA and a .902 SV% in 28 regular season appearances.  Meanwhile, in five games with the Flyers, Petersen notched a .864 SV% while allowing 18 goals in five games.  A buyout for him would reduce his cap charge from $5MM to just $1MM for 2024-25 but add $2MM onto the 2025-26 books.

It’s worth noting that Philadelphia does have other cap room available to them as Ryan Ellis is set to remain on LTIR for next season, freeing up a potential $6.25MM in extra flexibility.  However, going deep into that would prevent them from banking any in-season cap room so ideally, they’d like to try to avoid it.

There’s also the uncertainty with Ryan Johansen’s situation.  Briere indicated to Kimelman that there’s no clarity yet when it comes to the center:

He’s going through some kind of rehab. He had an injection; claims he has a hip injury. At this point, honestly I’m not too sure where it’s at. We’re not sure if he’s going to need surgery, or if he’s going to be ready for camp. We don’t really know at this point.

Johansen has one year left on his deal with the Flyers being responsible for a $4MM cap charge.  If he’s unavailable to play at all, he would then be LTIR-eligible, giving them more wiggle room if they opted to use that.  However, the fact there is some lingering uncertainty about Johansen’s health takes a buyout off the table as injured players can’t be bought out, making Petersen and Atkinson the potentially viable options on that front.

The first buyout window will open up two days after the Stanley Cup ends and run through June 30th so while there is still time for Briere to make a decision on what to do with Atkinson and Petersen, he’ll have to move quickly once the window opens if they do indeed decide to part with one or both of them.

Prospect Notes: Celebrini, Letourneau, MacKinnon, Gordin

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While it has been widely expected that Macklin Celebrini will turn pro and play in the NHL in 2024-25, the center told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale earlier this week that he hasn’t decided his plans for next season just yet.  Celebrini is the presumptive top pick in the draft later this month and most of the time, number one selections make the jump right away.  However, it’s possible that Celebrini could opt for a second season at Boston College and then turn pro with San Jose (assuming they pick him as expected) for the stretch run, a route that Owen Power did after being the top selection back in 2021.

Other prospect news from around the hockey world:

  • The departure of Will Smith to San Jose has had a domino effect for draft prospect Dean Letourneau. The Score’s John Matisz relays (Twitter link) that with Smith turning pro, Letourneau has opted to play at Boston College next season instead of starting in 2025-26.  Letourneau, a potential late first-round pick, had a dominant showing at the Canadian high school level, recording 61 goals and 66 assists in just 56 games.
  • Predators prospect blueliner Dylan MacKinnon has been traded in the QMJHL. Moncton announced that they acquired the 19-year-old from Halifax in exchange for a trio of draft picks, one in each of the first three rounds.  MacKinnon was a third-round pick in 2023, going 83rd overall and is coming off a three-goal, 16-point campaign.  Nashville holds his rights until June 1, 2025 so MacKinnon will be hoping for a big year to secure a contract.
  • Canadiens prospect Alexander Gordin has been traded in Russia. Avtomobilist of the KHL announced that they acquired the winger as part of a three-way trade and signed him to a one-year deal.  Montreal drafted the 22-year-old back in the sixth round in 2020 but Gordin has spent limited time in the KHL since then.  This year, he played for Ryazan-VDV in the second-tier VHL, tallying 18 goals and 22 assists in 53 games.  The Canadiens hold Gordin’s rights indefinitely since no transfer agreement is in place with Russia.

Casey DeSmith Expected To Test Free Agency

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After being acquired right before training camp, Casey DeSmith had a solid season between the pipes for Vancouver.  However, it appears it will be one and done for his time with the Canucks as Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reported in a recent appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link) that there have been no contract talks for the pending unrestricted free agent and that the team is likely to go with Arturs Silovs as their backup next season.

Vancouver acquired the 32-year-old from Montreal in mid-September, sending winger Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick the other way.  In doing so, they were able to get an upgrade behind starter Thatcher Demko while also freeing up $1.45MM in cap space.

DeSmith played in 29 games during the regular season where he posted a 2.89 GAA and a .895 SV%, the latter number being a career low.  Nonetheless, that still represented a considerable upgrade over the .871 mark from Spencer Martin and .882 from Collin Delia back in 2022-23.  DeSmith also made a pair of playoff appearances following Demko’s injury before being injured himself.  That gave the net to Silovs who took the net and ran with it for the rest of Vancouver’s postseason.

While Silovs is also a pending free agent, it stands to reason that he’ll earn a fair bit less on his next contract than DeSmith.  Silovs is only eligible for restricted free agency and with just 19 career NHL appearances (regular season and playoffs combined), they should be able to get him signed on a short-term bridge contract around the $1MM range.  Those savings could be useful as they look to try to re-sign some of their key pending unrestricted free agents, highlighted by Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov.

As for DeSmith, despite his lower save percentage, he could be in line for a raise from the $1.8MM he made in each of the last two years.  It’s not a great free agent class for goaltenders and there’s a good chance several backups will be moving around.  That should create enough openings for there to be a market for DeSmith’s services once the market opens up on July 1st.

Blackhawks Notes: Kane, No. 2 Pick, Pending UFAs

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Last month, The Athletic’s Scott Powers reported the Blackhawks were having internal discussions about trying to bring back franchise fixture Patrick Kane, who’s set to hit the open market this summer after a one-year deal with the Red Wings. However, speaking with reporters today at the pre-draft scouting combine, general manager Kyle Davidson said he “doesn’t foresee us going back on that” regarding a Kane reunion (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times).

Kane, 35, had 47 points in 50 games to close out the season in Detroit after recovering from offseason hip resurfacing surgery. It was a promising step for the future Hall-of-Famer, considering hip resurfacing procedures generally signal the end of a player’s career.

After showing he can still hang around in a top-six role, he’ll look to land a raise on his previous $2.75MM cap hit this summer, but it appears it won’t be with Chicago. The 2007 first-overall pick had 1,225 points in 1,161 games there to begin his career, amassing three Stanley Cups.

Elsewhere from Chi-town:

  • To the surprise of no one, Davidson confirmed today the team isn’t shopping their second overall pick in this month’s draft (via NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis). The team is reportedly leaning toward selecting Belarusian defenseman Artyom Levshunov with the choice, their second top-two pick in the past two years.
  • While preparing for the draft, Davidson said he’s still trying to retain some of their pending UFAs (via Pope). As Pope points out, depth winger Joey Anderson is likely a member of that group, although he’s an RFA that only needs a qualifying offer. Anderson, 25, had five goals and 17 points in 55 games for the Hawks this year. Their notable pending UFAs include Colin Blackwell, Tyler Johnson and Jarred Tinordi.

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