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Lightning RFA Waltteri Merela Signs In Switzerland

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After one season in the Lightning organization, forward Waltteri Merela is headed back overseas. The Finnish winger has signed a one-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss National League, per a team announcement.

Merela, 25, is a pending restricted free agent. Tampa can retain his NHL rights until July 1, 2026, by issuing him a qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline.

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois signed Merela as an undrafted free agent a little over a year ago, inking him to a one-year, two-way deal with an $870K cap hit. The 6’2″ right wing had been a two-way force in his native Finland in the preceding years, capping off his 2022-23 season with 14 points in 14 playoff games for Tappara as he helped the club win back-to-back Liiga championships.

Merela then made the Bolts out of camp, and while it wasn’t a huge surprise, he was far from a lock. While that indicated Tampa may have found a diamond in the rough, Merela struggled to produce, logging just one goal through 19 games before being sent to AHL Syracuse for the majority of the season. He wasn’t much of a factor possession-wise in his fourth-line minutes, posting a -2 rating and average shot attempt numbers while averaging 9:49 per game.

On the farm in Syracuse, Merela performed much better, potting 15 goals and 34 points in 55 games. Still, without a dedicated path back to NHL minutes with the Lightning next season, it’s unsurprising to see him try his luck overseas again. He’s still young enough that an NHL return may be in the cards someday.

Merela joins a Bern roster next season with a handful of former NHL talent, including Dominik Kahun and Patrik Nemeth.

Maple Leafs Linked To Laurent Brossoit

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The Maple Leafs and netminder Laurent Brossoit will have mutual interest in a deal should he reach unrestricted free agency on July 1, The Athletic’s James Mirtle reports.

Brossoit, 31, is likely headed to market in search of a bigger role after making 22 starts last season behind Connor Hellebuyck with the Jets. He’s coming off a great season in his limited relief action, putting up a .927 SV%, 2.00 GAA and three shutouts, but without any history in a tandem role, he won’t command too much cash.

Those 22 starts were remarkably a career-high for the veteran netminder, who just completed his 10th NHL season. His career numbers (.911 SV%, 2.64 GAA) rival the other top options slated for the open market, like Anthony Stolarz and Cam Talbot, and he’s arguably been the best pure backup in the league over the past 18 months.

A member of the Cup-winning Golden Knights last season, Brossoit started the year on the injured list and was sent down to the minors upon his return to health in November. But he worked his way back to the Vegas roster later in the year, posting a .927 SV% in 10 starts and one relief appearance. That earned him the start in Game 1 of their postseason run against the Jets, and while an injury eventually forced him out of the crease and opened the door for Adin Hill, he’d re-established himself as a major-league talent.

As Mirtle posits, a short-term deal in the neighborhood of $3MM annually is a realistic bet for Brossoit. It’s similar to what Stolarz, who’s coming off a .925 SV% in 27 appearances behind Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida, should garner as well.

He would be Toronto’s replacement for Ilya Samsonov, who will hit free agency next month and isn’t expected back. He’d been serviceable but inconsistent in tandem action for them over the past two seasons, although he did backstop them to their first playoff series win of the Auston Matthews era against the Lightning in the first round in 2023.

In Toronto, Brossoit would nearly guarantee himself a new career-high in starts, assuming he avoids injuries. He’d serve in a tandem role with the younger Joseph Woll, who is slated to eventually take over as the Leafs’ long-term starter. Injuries limited him to 25 games last year, posting a respectable .907 SV%, but he’s also been excellent in brief playoff action over the last two seasons.

Five Key Stories: 6/3/24 – 6/9/24

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The Stanley Cup Final is now underway and although there typically isn’t a lot of activity around the NHL during the final series, there was still some notable news and notes from the past week which is recapped in our key stories.

Salary Cap Set: With the players’ share of the overage they received during the pandemic-shortened season now repaid, the salary cap is getting a nice boost heading into next season.  The league has set the Upper Limit of the cap at $88MM, an increase of $4.5MM from 2023-24’s number.  The cap had been going up by just $1MM per year while the escrow portion was paid off.  Meanwhile, the increase at the top end means that the minimum cap expenditure is also going up, from $61.7MM this season to $65MM in 2024-25.  Many teams have been cap-strapped in recent years and while this increase won’t solve all of that, it will provide at least a bit of flexibility moving forward.

Kekalainen Linked To Hurricanes: With Don Waddell leaving Carolina for Columbus, the Hurricanes now have a GM vacancy to fill.  It appears one of the contenders for the role is former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen.  While Columbus didn’t fare well over the last few years of his tenure, Kekalainen would add some experience to an organization that’s planning to go with a by-committee approach when it comes to decision-making, a process that will also involve owner Tom Dundon.  In the meantime, one of the decisions the Hurricanes have to make is what to do with pending UFA winger Jake Guentzel who appears intent on testing free agency.  For the time being, it appears Carolina has made his negotiating rights available for a draft pick.

Pavelski Expected To Retire: While he stressed that this was not an official retirement announcement, Stars forward Joe Pavelski said that he believes that he has played his final NHL season.  The 39-year-old spent the first 13 years of his career in San Jose before moving to Dallas in 2019-20 after not being able to secure a multi-year agreement with the Sharks.  The change of scenery worked out quite well for both sides as Pavelski had his two best seasons with Dallas and even managed 67 points this season.  If this is indeed it for him, Pavelski finishes up with 476 goals and 592 assists in 1,332 regular season games while chipping in with 143 points in 201 playoff contests.  He reached the top-25 in all-time playoff appearances last round against Edmonton.

Lottery Picks Available: Teams looking to move up in the draft order could have some options in the coming weeks as reports suggest that the Devils and Sabres are open to moving their first-round selections, slotted at 10th and 11th respectively.  Both teams are looking to rebound from disappointing seasons and aren’t believed to be looking for a pick swap but rather are dangling the selection to make an impact addition that can help them win now.  We’ll find out over the coming weeks if they get an offer to their liking to part with a lottery selection.

Ehlers Not Interested In Extension: Nikolaj Ehlers has been a key part of Winnipeg’s forward group for the past nine years but it appears he would like his time with them to end sooner than later.  He is believed to have indicated that he is not interested in signing an extension with the Jets and would welcome a trade.  Ehlers has one year left on his contract at $6MM and will be UFA-eligible in 2025.  Coming off a 25-goal, 61-point campaign, he’s likely in line for a raise on that price tag and if Winnipeg is open to allowing extension talks to occur prior to a trade, they could get a better return for Ehlers over dealing him strictly as a rental player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Domi, Girgensons, Escrow, Draft

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Maple Leafs forward Max Domi told Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun that he knows his agent Judd Moldaver has been in discussions with GM Brad Treliving but declined to comment on the status of negotiations.  Domi signed a one-year, $3MM deal with Toronto last summer but saw his goal total drop from 20 a year ago to just nine this season.  However, his 38 assists were his best since the 2018-19 campaign.  That could still put him in line for a raise this summer on a multi-year agreement.  Toronto has a little less than $19MM in cap room per CapFriendly but they have multiple key pieces to try to sign into that space which could make fitting in a raise for Domi a little harder.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Sabres are interested in re-signing pending unrestricted free agent Zemgus Girgensons, relays Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 30-year-old has spent the last ten seasons with Buffalo after they drafted him in the first round back in 2012.  However, Girgensons hasn’t reached the 20-point mark since his sophomore year and while he provides some value in a limited checking role, it could make sense for both sides for the forward to ultimately move on.
  • After years of losing money to escrow, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that players could receive the full 6% escrow payment back plus potentially a small top-up to their salary to balance the players’ share at 50% of Hockey Related Revenues. If that happens, it will be the first time the players receive a top-up since the 2011-12 campaign.  Any top-up would not affect salary cap calculations for the 2023-24 season.
  • In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that some agents feel the draft needs to be shortened to as little as four rounds. Most of the players who ultimately don’t sign with the teams that drafted them come from the final few rounds so some believe they should have the opportunity to be free agents earlier compared to waiting for their rights to be relinquished.  The last time the draft was cut was back in 2005 when it went from nine rounds to the current seven.  This is a collectively bargained issue so no changes will be on the short-term horizon.

Offseason Checklist: Nashville Predators

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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 Nashville.

It looked like Nashville was pivoting to a rebuild with the moves they made last summer but instead, it wound up being more of the same even with some core pieces gone and other new core players in place.  The Preds went on a major hot streak in the second half of the season, recording at least a point in a franchise-record 18 straight games which helped secure them a Wild Card spot.  However, they weren’t able to muster up much offense in the playoffs, resulting in a first-round elimination.  Now, assuming they’re not looking to rebuild now, GM Barry Trotz will have several objectives to try to accomplish this summer.

Replace McDonagh

Trotz made one notable move this offseason, sending Ryan McDonagh back to Tampa Bay, fulfilling a request from the blueliner.  In doing so, he took one of their more notable defenders out of their lineup.  While they offloaded his full $6.75MM cap hit and got a second-rounder, they didn’t get anything back that could help the current roster while creating a big hole to fill.

This past season, McDonagh was second on the team in ice time behind only Roman Josi.  He was also second in points by a blueliner and blocked shots while leading all Nashville players in shorthanded ice time.  Suffice it to say, they need to find an impactful replacement.

Brandon Montour is the only pending unrestricted free agent who averaged more than McDonagh’s 21:47 per game in 2023-24.  Having said that, veterans like Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce can also fill that void.  Chris Tanev would be a shorter-term addition to cover some hard defensive minutes while Matt Roy could be more of an under-the-radar fit.  Alternatively, they could look to the trade market.

With Alexandre Carrier and Tyson Barrie also set to hit the open market next month, the Preds will also have some work to do in terms of adding some depth.  But on top of that, they’re going to need to find a top-three defender if they want to hang around the playoff picture.

Decide Saros’ Future

This time a year ago, there was speculation that the Predators were open to moving Yaroslav Askarov with an eye on making a splash either at the draft or to upgrade their roster.  Clearly, that never materialized and the young netminder had a strong season with AHL Milwaukee and remains their goaltender of the future.

How close the future is remains to be seen, however.  Veteran goaltender Juuse Saros is set to enter the final year of his contract next season, one that carries a below-market $5MM AAV.  The 29-year-old’s numbers for the year weren’t spectacular but he was much better in the second half of the year and had a strong showing in the playoffs.  That has him well-positioned to earn a considerable raise on his next deal.  On the surface, he could make a case for a contract similar to the seven-year, $59.5MM pact ($8.5MM AAV) that Connor Hellebuyck signed with Winnipeg last season.

With Askarov in the picture, is it advisable for them to commit that type of deal to Saros?  If they feel they should do that, then it’s possible that Askarov could be in play once again.  On the flip side, if Trotz feels that it’s not worth paying that type of contract, then the decision becomes about trading him now or keeping him into next season and re-assessing closer to the trade deadline.

If they look to move him in the coming weeks, it might be tough to elicit top value with Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark (among others) believed to be available as well.  While that means there could be more demand for starting goalies, the higher supply could lower the offers coming Nashville’s way.  Generally speaking, teams typically get better returns if they move a goalie in the offseason but it’s certainly possible that this isn’t the case this year with the other netminders in play.

On the surface, this could be Nashville’s biggest decision of the summer.  Is it time to hand the reins to Askarov?  They’ll have to determine the answer to this question probably within the next few weeks.

Add Scoring Depth

Under Andrew Brunette, the Predators went from 27th in goals scored in 2022-23 to 10th this season, gaining 40 extra goals in the process.  However, they struggled considerably in that department in their opening-round loss to Vancouver, scoring just a dozen times in six games even with the Canucks playing most of that series without starting goaltender Thatcher Demko.

To that in, despite their improvement in the regular season, Trotz told Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (subscription link) that he’s looking to add up front, particularly in their top nine so they’re not as reliant on the top line as they were at times.  Before looking at the external options, they will need to consider some internal ones, however.

Youngsters Juuso Parssinen, Philip Tomasino, and Egor Afanasyev all spent time in the minors this season (the latter almost the entire year) but are all now waiver-eligible moving forward.  Parssinen and Tomasino have had some success in Nashville at times but haven’t been the most consistent so far.  Trotz will need to identify which ones are in the plans for 2024-25 and if any aren’t, this might be the time to try to move them before running the risk of having to sneak them through waivers.  But one (or more) of them establishing themselves as regulars next season should help their offensive depth at a minimum.

As for free agent options, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them take a run at re-signing Jason Zucker who fit in pretty well after being acquired at the trade deadline.  Beyond that, since their focus seems to be on improving their depth, they’re probably not going to be targeting the top end of the UFA class.  But veterans like Tyler Toffoli and Vladimir Tarasenko could appeal as multi-year veteran options while Jake DeBrusk and Teuvo Teravainen could be longer-term fits.  With $26MM in cap space per CapFriendly, they will have room to add a forward or two even after addressing their defensive situation.

Improve Penalty Kill

During the regular season, Nashville’s penalty was a trouble spot.  Their success rate dropped to just 76.9%, good for 22nd in the league.  For comparison, they were at 82.6% in 2022-23, good for a three-way tie for fourth in the NHL in that regard.  The slippage shorthanded likely played a role in their decision to let assistant coach Dan Hinote go late last month as one of his responsibilities was running the penalty kill.

For starters, they’ll need to find a replacement for Hinote behind the bench who will likely take on his old role.  That’s something they’d probably like to have in place before free agency opens up next month.

It wouldn’t be surprising if penalty killing acumen will be among the priorities that Nashville uses to round out their back end to replace Carrier (assuming he doesn’t re-sign) and Barrie.  There are plenty of depth defensemen available on the open market, several of which can handle heavy penalty killing roles while the lower-end blueliners are typically easier to get on the trade market.  They should be able to address this in the coming weeks.

Things get a little harder when it comes to their forwards.  They already have ten returning forwards, not including the three now-waiver-eligible ones mentioned earlier.  If they bring Zucker back and/or add another offensive forward, that fills one hold but probably doesn’t address the penalty killing element unless they’re bringing in a notable two-way player.  It might require shaking up the fourth line that was quietly effective or moving out someone already there to open up a roster spot to bring in more of a penalty killing specialist to help get this unit back on track.  It’s not a must-fix priority but it’s one that Trotz will likely try to address nonetheless.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Evening Notes: Saros, CapFriendly, Dillon

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Star Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros has been deeply entrenched in trade rumors for much of the season, largely thanks to the emergence of top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov in the minor leagues. But the two sides might not be set for the departure many are expecting, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sharing that, “the player wants to stay and the team wants him to say,” in the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Friedman added that a source close to the team has expressed optimism in Nashville’s chances of extending Saros.

Saros has one year remaining on the four-year, $20MM contract he earned following a breakout 2020-21 season. Manning the net in the last year of Pekka Rinne’s career, Saros posted 21 wins and a .927 save percentage through just 36 appearances. Saros has fully taken the reigns from Rinne on his new deal, recording at least 64 games in each of the three seasons he’s played on the deal so far. He’s posted a combined 106 wins and .915 save percentage in 195 games since 2021. Saros has remained an unquestioned starter in Nashville, even as he posted a career-worst .906 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against-average in 64 games this season.

But despite the strong stats, Nashville has shared they’re not in a rush to re-sign the former Vezina Trophy finalist. Instead, they’ll monitor how the goalie market develops under a growing cap, specifically watching for how extension talks between the New York Rangers and Igor Shesterkin play out. That patient approach should give time for trade candidates like Jacob Markstrom, John Gibson, and Linus Ullmark to be moved as well, giving the Predators a sense of what a return for Saros may look like.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Washington Capitals have moved to purchase the website CapFriendly, per Friedman. CapFriendly has become a central repository for information on NHL player and staff contracts, fantasy hockey tools, and lineup information among many other uses. The move will give Washington full access to CapFriendly’s extensive toolkit, though it will also force the site to publicly shut down on July 5th – keeping it active through the NHL Draft and beginning of free agency. Friedman shared that other NHL teams who had access to CapFriendly’s data were recently told their contracts would be termminated, suggesting a buyout was imminent.
  • Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon is expected to test free agency, shares Friedman in 32 Thoughts. Dillon concluded his third year with the Jets this season, joining the team via trade in 2021 – with Winnipeg sending the Washington Capitals the draft picks used to select Seamus Casey and Carson Rehkopf, though neither player was drafted by Washington. Dillon, 33, will be looking for a new home after recording 63 points across 238 games with the Jets.

Blues Sign Mathias Laferriere To One-Year, Two-Way Extension

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The St. Louis Blues have signed depth forward Mathias Laferriere to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal will carry a league-minimum $775K cap hit. Laferriere was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st, following the end of his three-year entry-level contract signed in 2019.

Laferriere took a bit of a lateral step this season, posting seven goals and 25 points in 68 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. His scoring came one point shy of his career-high posted in 18 fewer games last season. It’s been a slow start to the 23-year-old’s pro career, totaling just 60 points across his first 174 games in the AHL. Laferriere originally joined the Blues through the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, amidst a QMJHL career that stretched across 238 games. He proceeded his draft selection with a career-high 28 goals and 74 points in 68 games with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, though it’d mark his only time breaking the 50-point mark across his five seasons in the league.

Despite the measly regular season scoring, Laferriere showed an impressive ability to show up when it mattered during his juniors career – posting 19 points across the last 20 playoff games of his CHL career. The intangibles that earned him those postseason points are now earning him a serviceable role with the Springfield Thunderbirds. But on a one-year deal, his focus next season will be much more on maintaining that role than it will be rivaling the Blues lineup. Still, an NHL contract will make him eligible for a call-up should St. Louis need the depth. That will put him in competition with players like Zachary Bolduc, Zach Dean, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Juraj Pekarcik for St. Louis’ fringe lineup roles.

Latest On Jacob Markstrom

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The Calgary Flames are trying to move former Vezina Trophy runner-up Jacob Markstrom as discretely as possible, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman adds that the team was aware of the theatrics brought on by Markstrom’s trade rumors earlier this season. Markstrom publicly expressed his frustration with the team over his pre-Deadline speculation, amidst rumors of a pending move to the New Jersey Devils being reversed after Calgary went 9-3-0 throughout February. Markstrom posted a .928 save percentage while appearing in 10 games during the hot streak. He’d go on to post a measly .869 save percentage in 10 games following the strong stretch, floundering on a Flames lineup that went on to miss the postseason by 17 points.

The second half of season felt like an encapsulation of Markstrom’s play over the last few years – with dramatically up-and-down stretches culminating in a modest stat line. He posted 23 wins and a .905 save percentage in 48 games this year – finding the same number of wins and a stronger save percentage than he did last season, despite playing in 11 fewer games.

Markstrom has been a no-doubt starter for much of the last eight seasons, after joining the Vancouver Canucks in 2014 in the trade that sent Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers. Markstrom would make his first stand as a full-fledged starter in the 2017-18 season, posting 23 wins and a .912 save percentage in 60 appearances with Vancouver. He’s played in 40 or more games in every season since, totaling a .910 save percentage in 376 games. And while last season’s sub-.900 save percentage – and a tally this year that came close –  have caused some to pause, it’s hard to think Markstrom isn’t bound for the lion’s share of games with whoever he may suit up for next season.

That could be the New Jersey Devils, who have Markstrom as one of their top trade targets this summer, but Friedman notes they’re not the only teams involved. Friedman specifically named the Toronto Maple Leafs as a strong candidate for trade, largely thanks to Toronto now being manned by Brad Treliving, the general manager who signed Markstrom to the six-year, $36MM contract he’s currently on with the Flames. The price of a Markstrom trade could quickly test Toronto’s budget – especially as they approach a summer with just $18.83MM in cap space and 12 pending free agents. The Leafs are also woefully juxtaposed by a Devils team willing to move the 10th-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for lineup improvements. That offer could be tantalizing for a Calgary team looking for a breadth of young talent. At the very least, it’s an exciting bar in a goalie market that, per Friedman, has plenty of invested teams.

Marco Sturm “Deep In the Process” Of Becoming Sharks Head Coach

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According to a report from Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now a few days ago, the San Jose Sharks were believed to be closing in on Ryan Warsofsky as their next head coach. However, Max Miller of The Hockey News reports that Marco Sturm is also thought to be deep in the interview process, which has been delaying the eventual announcement of the new bench boss.

At the very least, despite numerous candidates being rumored for the role, Sturm and Warsofsky are separating themselves from the pack. Jeff Blashill is the only other candidate confirmed to have gotten a second interview but it is believed that his chances of becoming the next head coach in San Jose have dropped significantly.

The hiring of Sturm would represent a homecoming of sorts, as he started his professional career as a player with the Sharks organization back in 1997-98 after being signed out of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Sturm spent nearly eight years in San Jose before he was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for the eventual Hart Memorial Trophy winner of the 2005-06 season, Joe Thornton.

After his playing career ended after the 2011-12 NHL season, Sturm bounced around as a head coach at the international level for Team Germany, coaching the country’s World Junior Championship team, World Championship team, and Deutschland Cup team, among others. It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season that Sturm returned to the NHL as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings. Sturm would spend four years in that role before finally becoming the head coach of the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, a position which he still holds.

Sturm has coached the Reign to a 76-55-8-5 record over the last two years and has coached the team as far as the Second Round of the Calder Cup playoffs. If the Sharks hire Sturm as the organization’s next head coach, it would be the highest role Sturm has achieved at the professional level as a coach.

Nevertheless, no decision has been made up to this point, and Warsofsky still has a legitimate chance of being the team’s next head coach. Having plenty of experience with the organization, Warsofsky has spent the last two years as an assistant coach for the Sharks and almost became the head coach before San Jose ultimately chose David Quinn.

Free Agent Focus: Ottawa Senators

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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 Senators.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Shane Pinto – After a contract holdout over the summer and a 41-game suspension from the NHL for violating the league’s gambling policies, Pinto settled for a one-year, $775K contract with the Senators when everything was said and done. Pinto rewarded Ottawa’s loyalty, proving that his 2022-23 NHL season was not a fluke. In 41 games, Pinto scored nine goals and 27 points, finishing 11th on the team in scoring despite playing in half as many games as his peers. The Senators organization has much more financial flexibility, unlike last year. Infamously, the Senators former front office signed free agent Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5MM contract, eliminating any room to retain Pinto. As a legitimate top-six forward, Ottawa should be able to give Pinto a four- to five-year deal between $4MM-$5MM annually this summer.

D Erik Brannstrom – As the headlining prospect in the deal that landed Mark Stone with the Vegas Golden Knights, Brannstrom had high expectations attached to him in the Senators organization. At the AHL level with the Chicago Wolves and the Belleville Senators, Brannstrom showed flashes of being a top-four puck-moving defensive prospect. Unfortunately, Brannstrom has been able to sustain any offensive production at the NHL level, topping out with 20 points achieved this past year. A few days ago, it had been reported that Ottawa is undecided about issuing Brannstrom a qualifying offer this offseason, which would allow the young defenseman to sign with any team in the league.

Other RFAs:  F Parker Kelly, F Boris Katchouk, F Angus Crookshank, D Lassi Thomson, G Kevin Mandolese, G Mads Sogaard

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Dominik Kubalik – Included in the return package in the trade that sent Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings, Kubalik primarily served as a middle-six scoring option for the Senators this season. Kubalik finished the 2023-24 NHL season with 11 goals and four assists in 74 games while posting some of his career-worst defensive and possession metrics. Now that Ottawa has some flexibility to improve upon Kubalik in the middle-six of their forward core, he will most likely head for a different organization this summer. Kubalik could look for an open role with any of the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, or Chicago Blackhawks organizations — as each will be scouring the market for any goal-scoring talent they can find.

Other UFAs: F Rourke Chartier, F Josh Currie, F Matthew Highmore, F Bokondji Imama, F Jiri Smejkal, D Dillon Heatherington

Projected Cap Space

Now that the upper limit of the 2024-25 NHL salary has officially been set at $88MM, we now have a clear picture of what each team will be working with this summer. The Senators organization owns just under $12.5MM in cap space this summer without any relatively pricey restricted or unrestricted free agents to worry about.

With this being the first offseason for Steve Staios at the helm of Ottawa’s front office, he should have the flexibility to bring in two to three NHL-caliber talents to round out the team’s depth. Furthermore, if Staios can move out the contracts of Jakob Chychrun or Mathieu Joseph before free agency opens up on July 1st, the Senators could acquire a top-level goaltender for the organization via trade.

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

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