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Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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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 Sharks.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Alexander Barabanov – Barabanov isn’t expected to return to San Jose this summer, instead set on testing free agency after what was a turbulent season. Barabanov played in just 46 games, missing time with a menagerie of injuries – from a broken finger in October, to illness in December, and then a season-ending ankle injury in late March. And he wasn’t particularly effective on the ice, posting just four goals and 13 points to go with 12 penalty minutes and a -24. It was a disappointing encore to Barabanov’s strong 2022-23, when he scored 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games. But he’ll enter the open market with the confidence that teams are at least interested in his services. The Sharks reportedly had a Trade Deadline move that would have sent Barabanov to the New York Rangers shutdown due to complications with salary retention. He’ll get a chance to connect with New York one-on-one on July 1st.

F Mike Hoffman – The extent to which any of San Jose’s depth players were impactful this season is hard to gauge. Hoffman wasn’t spared from the tough year, posting a career-low 10 goals and 23 points this season, though he still outpaced many of his bottom-six peers in scoring. Hoffman was serviceable, and his $4.5MM cap hit went a long way towards helping the Sharks reach the cap floor. He’ll be set for a deal much closer to league minimum this summer, though the chance to secure cheap, veteran experience in what’s bound to be a very young lineup could be tempting for San Jose.

F Kevin Labanc – Labanc is also expected to move on from the Sharks this summer after a fall-out with Sharks head coach David Quinn. He was a healthy scratch for much of the year, ultimately appearing in just 46 games and recording nine points. Labanc has fallen a long way from his breakout 2018-19 season, when he posted 17 goals and 56 points in 82 regular-season games, then added nine points in 20 playoff games. But he hasn’t been able to rediscover that scoring, with his 15 goals and 33 points last year the closest he’s come. Labanc has a modest 82 goals and 225 points across 478 career games, all coming in San Jose. That stat line should be enough to earn him a low-stakes contract on the open market, from a team hoping a change of scenery can rekindle Labanc’s scoring potential.

G Devin Cooley – The Sharks acquired Cooley in a last-minute trade at the Trade Deadline, sending the Buffalo Sabres a 2025 seventh-round pick to bolster their goaltending corps after moving Kaapo Kahkonen. And while certainly a minor move, a string of injuries would force Cooley into the NHL lineup near the end of the season. He played in the first six games of his NHL career, posting two wins and saving 167 of the 192 shots he faced, good for an .870 save percentage. They were noteworthy performances, especially when juxtaposed by Mackenzie Blackwood’s five-game losing streak and .890 save percentage to end the season. Cooley hasn’t played himself into a lineup role just yet but he was strong when called upon, even beating out Magnus Chrona for the team’s backup role. San Jose is almost certain to bring in more depth this summer, after having to lean on five different goaltenders this season. That’ll leave no shortage of competition for minor league minutes, though Cooley should enter next season as a favorite to start for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Other UFAs: F Justin Bailey, F Ryan Carpenter, F Brandon Coe, F Jacob Peterson, D Jacob MacDonald, G Eetu Makniemi

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Luke Kunin – Kunin established himself as a core member of the Sharks this season, while serving in his first season as one of the team’s alternate captains. While not his best year statistically, Kunin was one of San Jose’s few spark plugs – ready with a deserved goal, heavy hit, or scrappy fight any time the team needed a boost. And while his performance only amounted to 11 goals and 18 points on the year, his intangibles were enough to earn a spot at the 2024 World Championship with Team USA, where he added three points in seven games. His benefits in San Jose know no bounds per David Quinn, who told Erika Towne of Fear The Fin, “I can’t say enough about that guy. I would go to war with him any day. You want him on your team every day. He’s always the guy doing it. So it’s just who he is; it’s who he’s been his whole career.” And while Quinn’s time in San Jose has ended, his sentiment remains – Kunin is popular. The Sharks will likely look to lock up Kunin for as long as they can this summer.

F Filip Zadina – Zadina was one of San Jose’s few beacons of hope this season, posting the most goals and points of the team’s bottom-six – though that only amounted to 13 goals and 23 points in 72 games. Still, he was one short of the career-high 14 goals and 24 points he posted with the Detroit Red Wings last season, and seemed to look a bit more comfortable making individual plays in the San Jose system. The team signed him to a one-year, $1.1MM contract last summer, hoping his play would earn him much more of a payday this year. That hasn’t entirely panned out, though Zadina’s season was likely enough of a lateral step to warrant a new deal. He’ll look to breakout on that deal, supported by San Jose’s influx of top end prospects Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

D Calen Addison – The Sharks acquired Addison in one of the first trades of the season, sending Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth-round pick back to the Minnesota Wild. And San Jose was clearly excited about the addition, awarding Addison roughly 20 minutes of ice time each night through his first 11 games. But his play didn’t keep up and Addison ultimately found his everyday role on the team’s bottom-pair. He posted just 12 points in 60 games with the Sharks while searching for that role, and while his play was enough to warrant minutes over fringe lineup piece Marc-Edouard Vlasic  and the oft-injured Ty Emberson. Addison still has potential, though he’s running out of time to prove it. The Sharks will be laying out his leash with the price and term of his deal this summer.

Other RFAs: F Thomas Bordeleau, F Jack Studnicka, D Henry Thrun, D Ty Emberson

Cap Space

The Sharks have a very busy summer ahead, with a total of 17 players facing the open market. But they’ll have more than enough room to both bring back their choices of the bunch and search for major additions on the open market, boasting $37.22MM in cap space, the second-most in the league. They aren’t likely to spend that full amount, though the additions of Celebrini and Smith could be enough to sway a few notable free agents to the lineup. San Jose will hope that’s the case, as they look to give their next generation of stars the best platform to start their career from.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Network.

Ethan Bear To Be Activated From NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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Ethan Bear is expected to be activated from the NHLPA Player Assistance Program according to CapFriendly, although the Washington Capitals have yet to confirm the news. Bear originally went into the program on March 27th of this year, missing the last 18 games of the regular season for the Capitals and an additional four postseason contests.

It has been an interesting year and a half for Bear, who, after having injured his shoulder in last summer’s IIHF World Championships, was non-tendered by the Vancouver Canucks, allowing him to become a free agent. Since the injury took nearly six months to heal, Bear had to wait until late December before ultimately signing with a team.

At the time of his signing, reporting in early December suggested Bear was being monitored by three teams — the Toronto Maple Leafs, Canucks, and his eventual landing spot, the Capitals. On December 28th, Washington signed Bear to a two-year, $4.125MM contract, eventually enticing the defenseman with an extra year on the contract.

Unfortunately for Bear, he was used sporadically by the Capitals, playing in 24 games while managing just under 15 minutes of ice time. Coupled with the lengthy layoff from the shoulder injury, Bear did not look like the same defenseman from only a season ago.

Now that Bear is fully out of the Player Assistance Program, he will have a second opportunity to prove his worth in Washington. However, with notable right-handed shot defensemen already signed for the 2024-25 season, Bear may ask for a change of scenery this offseason.

Offseason Checklist: Winnipeg Jets

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

The Jets entered the season on a high note, knowing that franchise cornerstones Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele would be around long-term after signing matching seven-year, $59.5MM extensions. That excitement translated to their second-best season in franchise history, ending the season on an eight-game tear to match their record 52 wins set in the 2017-18 season.

However, they were the only team with home-ice advantage in the first round to lose their series, bowing out in five games to the Avalanche. With new head coach Scott Arniel in place after Rick Bowness announced his retirement, Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has some other big-ticket items to check off his list this summer to keep the Jets in contention.

Make A Call On Ehlers

28-year-old Dane Nikolaj Ehlers is heading into the final season of his $6MM AAV contract. After his worst regular-season offensive showing in five years and going without a goal in the playoffs, his trade (and extension) value is lower than in past summers.

That leaves Cheveldayoff in a pickle about whether to trade the longtime top-six fixture or work on keeping him in Winnipeg through his prime. Murat Ates of The Athletic reported last month that Cheveldayoff would at least explore moving the winger as the 2024 NHL Draft nears.

While his 2023-24 season may not have been up to his recent standards, by no means did Ehlers have a bad year. In fact, he’s routinely given the Jets great value for his $6MM cap hit over the life of his contract, which began back in 2018-19. Despite not seeing heavy power-play usage, keeping his average ice time under 16 minutes per game for a second straight season, he still managed 25 goals, 61 points and a +27 rating while playing in all 82 games.

His even-strength possession play has long been among the best on the Jets. He’s never had a season with a negative relative shot attempt share to his teammates, consistently tilting the ice in Winnipeg’s favor.

But for a team looking to be Stanley Cup contenders after a 110-point season, his poor playoff history is a rightful cause for concern. The 2014 ninth-overall pick has just four goals and 14 points in 37 postseason contests in Winnipeg with a -9 rating. None of those four goals came during this year’s first-round elimination.

As with any future UFA entering a contract year, the Jets have three options: trade him now, work on an extension when he’s eligible to sign one starting July 1 or play the waiting game. But his trade value won’t be as high in-season if they decide to move him as a rental – an acquiring team would certainly be willing to pay more for a full season of his services plus a longer window to discuss an extension.

Winnipeg has forward help coming in the form of recent first-round picks Colby Barlow and Rutger McGroarty, but not as soon as next season. Trading Ehlers leaves a major hole in their top nine as they attempt to reshape their roster, and it’s unlikely they’d be able to find a better value proposition to replace his role on the open market.

Re-Sign Monahan

One clear hole on the Jets’ depth chart is their second-line center. It’s unlikely that the organization trusts 22-year-old Cole Perfetti, who averaged fewer than 14 minutes per game last year and was a healthy scratch for most of their brief playoff run, to take over that role come opening night.

It was an issue last year, too, but the Jets addressed it weeks before the deadline by acquiring Sean Monahan from the Canadiens. Like many others, the 29-year-old struggled to produce in the playoffs, but he did end the regular season with 13 goals in 34 games for the Jets. Injuries have troubled him in the past, but he managed to stay healthy for all 83 games he was eligible to play in thanks to the trade and scored 59 points, his most in five years.

There aren’t many options on the open market considerably better than Monahan, especially for the money. Signing him in the next few weeks to keep him from becoming a UFA would likely result in a mid-term deal in the $5MM range annually.

That’ll likely be significantly cheaper than the top option on the market, Elias Lindholm, who’s coming off a steady decline in production over the past three seasons and scored fewer points per game than Monahan this year. Bringing Monahan back allows Arniel to keep deploying captain Adam Lowry in a comfortable third-line shutdown role, too, instead of forcing him to be more of a factor offensively.

Revamp Defense

Three defenders who logged significant time on the Winnipeg blue line last season – Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon and Colin Miller – are set to become UFAs next month. They may engage in more aggressive extension discussions with DeMelo and Miller, but reports last month indicated Dillon is unlikely to be back with the Jets.

If at all possible, the Jets should be taking the DeMelo negotiations down to the wire. He grew into a top-pairing role as a serviceable partner to Josh Morrissey this season, putting up 31 points in 82 games while logging 21:44 per night. His +46 rating is almost certainly inflated due to his quality of teammates (and the quality of his goaltender), but the Jets have still controlled 51.2% of expected goals with DeMelo on the ice since his acquisition from the Senators in 2020.

That still leaves more than a couple of spots up for grabs, though, especially considering 32-year-old Nate Schmidt and his $5.95MM cap hit appears to be a strong buyout candidate as he enters the final season of his deal. One of them will likely be earmarked for 2019 first-round pick Ville Heinola, who’s primed for more extended NHL minutes next season after three years of quality top-pairing play for their AHL affiliate. Outside of Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg also project to be regulars, with Logan Stanley in the mix as well, although the hulking 26-year-old was a healthy scratch for most of last season.

If they can’t extend DeMelo, that leaves a hole alongside Morrissey that will need to be filled either via free agency or via an Ehlers trade. Other than Pionk, they don’t have any other NHL-ready right-shot defenders, and he’s not suited for top-pairing duties. Brandon Montour, Brett Pesce and Matt Roy are the top right-shot options on the UFA market. Expect Cheveldayoff to engage with most, if not all of them, if they still have a vacancy along Morrissey come July 1.

Back-Up Hellebuyck

The Jets don’t need to worry much about “the other guy” when Hellebuyck is consistently throwing up save percentages north of .920 while starting 60-plus games, even as the league average for both dwindles. But Winnipeg has also been able to bank a few extra points in the standings each season thanks to strong play from Hellebuyck’s backups, which have been a rotating cast of Laurent Brossoit, Eric Comrie and David Rittich over the past few seasons.

Brossoit has done so with the most consistency lately, returning to the organization in free agency last summer after a brief stop (and a Stanley Cup win) in Vegas. He was excellent in his limited action this season, posting a 15-5-2 record with a .927 SV% in 22 starts and one relief appearance. He’s unlikely to return as he searches for a chance at more starts on the open market this summer, though.

Winnipeg doesn’t have any young internal options ready for promotion yet, so that means they’ll be hunting for Hellebuyck’s backup on the UFA market for the third summer in a row. Casey DeSmith, Kevin Lankinen and Scott Wedgewood are the best/most consistent options with experience that would likely settle for 20-25 starts next year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers Notes: Fox, Trouba, Vesey, Wheeler, Wennberg

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With any team’s end-of-season media availability, especially after a long run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, a slew of injuries are typically revealed to the public. During the media availability for the New York Rangers, injuries were reported for defensemen Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, while the injury keeping Jimmy Vesey out of the Eastern Conference Finals was brought to light.

In the team’s Round One series against the Washington Capitals, Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today reports Fox reaggravated his knee injury during a knee-on-knee collision with Capitals’ defenseman Nick Jensen. After only one month into the 2023-24 NHL season, Fox was placed on the Rangers’ long-term injured reserve due to a knee injury, keeping him out of the lineup from November 2nd to November 29th. The change in play was noticeable, as Fox only tallied six assists in 12 games following the series against Washington, a stark dropoff compared to his previous postseason play.

Staying on the blue line, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported that defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba dealt with a broken ankle. However, later reports suggested that the fractured ankle fully healed by the end of March, and Trouba was largely healthy for New York’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Still, Trouba set a career-high in postseason points with seven in 16 games but still led the team with 22 PIMs during the playoffs.

Lastly, Dan Rosen of the NHL mentions that Vesey was dealing with a separated shoulder during the penultimate series which would keep him out of the lineup. Thankfully, the report suggests that Vesey will not require surgery to repair his shoulder, and should return after a few weeks of rehab.

Other Rangers notes:

  • Playing on a team not named the Winnipeg Jets for the first time in 12 years, the 2023-24 NHL season may have been the last for forward Blake Wheeler. Mercogliano of USA Today relayed that a decision regarding his future has not been made, but he will talk it through with his family this summer. It would not be surprising to see Wheeler hang up his skates, as the soon-to-be 38-year-old veteran suffered a gruesome leg injury on February 15th against the Montreal Canadiens — an injury that would keep him off the ice for nearly four months.
  • Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported that Alexander Wennberg would like to return to the team this offseason after being acquired by the Rangers at this year’s trade deadline. Wennberg was originally acquired from the Seattle Kraken for New York’s second-round pick in 2024 and Dallas’ fourth-round pick in 2025. Brought in to fill the void in the team’s third-line center position, Wennberg put up two points in 16 postseason games for the Rangers while averaging nearly 16 and a half minutes of ice time.

New Jersey Devils Willing To Trade First-Round Pick

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After hiring Sheldon Keefe to take over head coaching duties for the New Jersey Devils, the General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald is now moving on to the next item on his docket for the offseason. Earlier today, Josh Gold-Smith of TheScore reported that Fitzgerald is entertaining moving on from the team’s 10th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to acquire a top-tier goaltender.

Speaking with Mike G. Morreale of the NHL on Monday, Fitzgerald was quoted, “If we feel it helps us now and in the foreseeable future, then, yes, I’m listening. I haven’t gotten anything yet, but the more I talk to teams, I say ’Listen, I’m open to moving No. 10, but it’s going to have to be something (significant)“. If the Devils do end up trading the 10th overall pick it should be a high enough return to acquire the likes of Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames, Juuse Saros from the Nashville Predators, or Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, assuming the Devils can sign one of the latter two to an extension this summer.

Specifically in New Jersey, there is precedent from the organization in trading a top-10 pick for an established goaltender. After making it to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, the Devils cratered in the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, earning the ninth overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft. To soften the blow of the eventual departure of franchise legend Martin Brodeur, New Jersey traded the ninth overall pick (which would be used to select Bo Horvat) to the Vancouver Canucks to acquire Cory Schneider.

Although the Devils only made the playoffs once during Schneider’s seven-year run in the Garden State, the team acquired a 26-year goaltender coming off a .927 save percentage over 30 games in the prior year for a top-10 selection. Factoring in trades for goaltenders over the last several years, the 10th overall pick should satisfy the desired return for all three goaltenders listed.

Joe Pavelski Expected To Retire

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Speaking to members of the Dallas Stars in their end-of-season media availability, radio host of the Stars, Owen Newkirk, reports that Joe Pavelski is likely done with his career in the National Hockey League. Although Pavelski was adamant that it was not an official announcement of retiring, he mentioned that he had expected this to be his last season.

If Pavelski has ultimately played his last game, it will mark the end of a career that spanned almost two decades. Drafted in the seventh round of the ever-famous 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski has not only beat the odds of making it to the NHL but will now be regarded as one of the most consistent American-born players in league history.

One of the major reasons Pavelski was able to procure such lasting power in the NHL is his hand-eye coordination. With most current All-Stars combining elite skill and speed, Pavelski never brought the same kind of mobility as the rest of his peers and instead became a menace in front of the opposing team’s nets.

For the first 13 years of his career, Pavelski became a staple of the San Jose Sharks organization, missing the playoffs in only one season. Pavelski played in 963 games for the Sharks, scoring 355 goals and 761 points, with 121 of those goals coming on an elite powerplay. Finishing the last four years of his tenure in San Jose as the team’s captain, Pavelski also helped the team to four division titles, four Conference Finals appearances, one President’s Trophy, and one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

With the Sharks entering a rebuilding phase towards the end of Pavelski’s career with the organization, he left for greener pastures in the 2019-20 offseason. Over the summer, Pavelski signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Stars, marking an end to his tenure in San Jose.

If anything, Pavelski almost became a more effective player in Dallas, scoring on a nearly point-per-game pace from his age 35 to age 39 season. Pavelski added another 121 goals and 307 points to his career totals while playing 369 regular season games in the Lone Star State.

During his first year with the Stars organization, Pavelski would get another crack at the Stanley Cup, this time losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite scoring 74 goals and 143 points in 201 combined postseason games with the Sharks and the Stars, Pavelski was unable to capture the elusive trophy throughout his career.

If this is indeed the end for Pavelski, he will have finished his 18-year career with 1,332 games played while scoring 476 goals and 1,068 points. Compared to other American-born players throughout league history, Pavelski would finish his career seventh in games played, sixth in goals, 12th in assists, and sixth in points.

Ottawa Senators Round Out Coaching Staff

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Having already committed to Travis Green as head coach for the next four years, the Ottawa Senators rounded out their coaching staff this morning with a pair of hires. According to a team announcement, the team has hired Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner as assistant coaches for the 2024-25 NHL season.

Coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in a lateral move, Yeo brings over two decades of coaching experience to the Senators’ bench. Yeo started his professional coaching before the 2000-01 AHL season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as an assistant coach before taking the same role with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2005-10. After being a part of a successful run with the Penguins, Yeo spent one season as the head coach of the Houston Aeros in the AHL before taking over the head coach position with the Minnesota Wild after the organization fired head coach Todd Richards after the 2010-11 regular season.

In four and a half seasons with the Wild, Yeo coached the team to a 173-132-44 record over 349 games but failed to take the team beyond the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Minnesota moved on from Yeo during the 2015-16 season which led the coach to an assistant coaching role with the St. Louis Blues for the 2016-17 season. Since then, Yeo briefly served as the head coach of the Blues for two seasons and spent time with the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant coach before finally landing with the Canucks organization in his most recent role.

Focusing primarily on Vancouver’s penalty kill throughout his tenure with the organization, Yeo helped raise the team’s success percentage from 71.60% in the 2022-23 season to 79.13% this past year. For the Senators, after finishing last year with the 29th-ranked penalty kill across the league, Yeo will likely once again be tasked with elevating the team’s play during a man disadvantage.

On the other hand, Baumgartner’s only coaching experience at the NHL level came during a five-season run as an assistant coach in Vancouver from 2017-22. In a fascinating twist, once Baumgartner was eventually let go by the Canucks, the opening created a vacancy that Yeo would ultimately fill. In a short gap, Baumgartner spent two years as an assistant coach for the Manitoba Moose, the top affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets.

In the same announcement, Ottawa also relayed the team would be retaining franchise legend Daniel Alfredsson while also bringing back Ben Sexton as an assistant coach, Justin Peters as the goaltending coach, Mike King as the video coach, as well as keeping Jacques Martin as a Senior Advisor to the coaching staff.

Canadiens Sign Connor Hughes To One-Year Deal

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Carving an unexpected path to the National Hockey League, goaltender Connor Hughes has signed a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens according to a team announcement. Already carrying sufficient depth for next season at the NHL level, Hughes should start next season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

Failing to make it out of the Junior A level in Canada by the team he became 18 years old, Hughes continued his professional career in the National League over in Switzerland. In his initial three years, Hughes did not play any games in the NL, as he primarily played in the relegated Swiss League for HCB Ticino Rockets. Eventually, Hughes would make his NL debut during the 2020-21 season, suiting up in seven games for HC Fribourg-Gottéron.

Bouncing around different organizations throughout his tenure, Hughes finally landed with Lausanne HC for the 2023-24 season. In his best professional season, Hughes produced a 10-6-1 record in 19 games while also carrying a .940 save percentage and 1.73 goals against average. Hughes kept that momentum for the 2024 National League playoffs, leading his team to Game 7 of the Championship series on the backs of a .933 SV% and 1.91 GAA in 18 postseason contests.

Due to his superb season overseas, the Canadiens were more than willing to take a flyer on the now 27-year-old undrafted free agent. Hughes should enter as the backup to goaltender Jakub Dobes next season, and could even take a share of the starts if the quality of his play continues to improve.

Free Agency Notes: Raymond, Perron, Kane, Zamula, Chinakhov

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With plenty of news coverage surrounding free agency this time of year, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Subscription Required) spoke to a trio of players expected to hit free agency in the upcoming weeks for the Detroit Red Wings and where things currently stand with each. LeBrun notes that all three of Lucas Raymond, David Perron, Patrick Kane, and their respective agents are set to meet with General Manager of the Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, at some point this week.

As the only restricted free agent of the players mentioned, Raymond does not have the same bargaining rights as Perron and Kane, as he is still unable to file for arbitration, let alone hit the open market. Having managed a 14-goal and 13-assist jump on his scoring from the 2022-23 NHL season, Raymond could have earned himself a long-term deal with Detroit this summer. However, considering how the contract negotiations played out between Yzerman and captain Dylan Larkin last year, the savvy General Manager will stay prudent with his available cap space. Regardless of Raymond taking a bridge or max-term contract, his cap hit should take a decent chunk out of the Red Wings’ cap for next season.

In Perron and Kane, the former has demonstrated more of a public desire to keep his career going in the Motor City. As LeBrun mentions in the article, Yzerman may want Raymond’s contract settled before pivoting to Perron. On the other hand, Kane has been much more vague about continuing his career in Detroit and may look for a multi-year deal after an impressive rebound season with a team closer to top-tier contention.

Other free agency notes:

  • Late last night, the agency group for defenseman Yegor Zamula of the Philadelphia Flyers, Shumi Babaev Agency, indicated that the player and team would commence contract negotiation talks shortly. Zamula, hitting restricted free agency for the second time in his career, has earned arbitration rights this summer, giving him and his agency more leverage in negotiating salary. Furthermore, Zamula’s play over the 2023-24 NHL season has also increased the defenseman’s leverage this summer, scoring five goals and 21 points over 66 games, which is far and away the best production of his career up to this point.
  • In the same announcement from the Shumi Babaev Agency — the Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to begin contract talks with forward Yegor Chinakhov. Unlike Zamula, Chinakhov has not yet earned arbitration rights but is coming off a 16-goal campaign, good for fourth on the team in goal-scoring. Chinakhov’s production from this past season could be an outlier, as he saw his average time on ice jump nearly two minutes under current head coach Pascal Vincent. Nevertheless, with the Blue Jackets being desperate for offensive production, there should be plenty of motivation for a new deal on both sides of the negotiation.

Central Notes: Drouin, Goligoski, Blackhawks

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Colorado Avalanche writer Adrian Dater is reporting that the Avalanche and pending unrestricted free agent Jonathan Drouin have yet to begin talks on a potential extension, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic is reporting that the two sides are expected to meet later this week. The 29-year-old Drouin played on a prove-it contract this past season for $825K and was terrific for Colorado registering 19 goals and 37 assists in 79 games.

Dater believes that both sides want to sign an extension and it makes sense given the positive results last season. The former third-overall pick struggled through his final four seasons in Montreal and seemed comfortable in Colorado playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon. Money will become a significant factor in the negotiations given the precarious salary cap situation Colorado is currently in, but the belief seems to be that a deal will get done.

In other Central Division notes:

  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski is reportedly still mulling over the decision about whether he should retire or keep playing (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). The 38-year-old hasn’t made the final decision about what the future may hold as he explores every potential option. The former Stanley Cup Champion has struggled the past two seasons, tallying just two goals and 14 assists in 82 total games. He was a regular healthy scratch this past season but still managed ten assists in 36 games. Goligoski may generate interest as a seventh defenseman on a team that is looking for someone who can fill in on a second powerplay unit and provide a veteran presence.
  • Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jeff Agrest writes that a new sports network will launch this October in Chicago and will be home to the Chicago Blackhawks as well as the White Sox and Bulls. The Chicago Sports Network will replace NBC Sports Chicago where the Blackhawks have played for almost 20 years. The network will reportedly have agreements with over-the-air providers as well as cable and streaming services but has yet to name any potential partners. The joint venture will see the three teams partner with Standard Media in an effort to try and expand their distribution to the Midwest. The deal is pending approval of the leagues.

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