Canadiens Place Alex Barre-Boulet On Waivers
The Montreal Canadiens have placed winger Alex Barre-Boulet on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL. Barre-Boulet signed a one-year, two-way contract with Montreal on July 1st and made the team out of training camp. He’s since filled a fourth-line role for Montreal’s first two games of the season, though he failed to record a point and served as a health scratch on Saturday.
Barre-Boulet has played in the AHL in each of the last six seasons, kicking his career off on an undrafted free-agent deal with the Syracuse Crunch in 2018. He potted a dazzling 68 points, split evenly, in 74 games as an AHL rookie, quickly earning a confident top-six role. He continued his hot scoring through the 2019-20 season, netting 56 points in 60 games and earning the first NHL contract of his career. But Barre-Boulet wasn’t able to find the same production through appearances with Tampa Bay in 2020-21 and 2021-22, ultimately scoring just eight points in his first 29 NHL games.
Seattle claimed Barre-Boulet from the Lightning early into the 2021-22 season but only iced him in two scoreless games before waiving him themselves, allowing Tampa to reclaim him. He was a Kraken for just 10 days, and would proceed the vacation with his first point-per-game season in the AHL, netting 63 points in 58 games. That point-per-game scoring continued through 2022-23, earning Barre-Boulet the first extended NHL stay of his career last season. But he stayed in his rut, netting just nine points in 36 games. A deal with Montreal this summer was supposed to bring a change of scenery capable of sparking Barre-Boulet’s career – which seemed possible when he made the Canadiens roster out of camp – but instead he finds himself on waivers for the sixth time in his career. He’s scored 302 points in 294 career AHL games and brings exciting upside to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, should he clear waivers.
Red Wings Place Ville Husso On Waivers
The Detroit Red Wings have placed goaltender Ville Husso on waivers for the purpose of a loan to the AHL, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Husso is in the final year of a three-year, $14.25MM contract signed with Detroit in the summer of 2022. His $4.75MM cap hit is tied for the eighth-highest in Detroit.
Detroit’s plan to carry three goaltenders has been clear since they signed Cam Talbot to a two-year, $5MM contract on July 1st. Talbot joined a room already rife with competition between Alex Lyon and Husso. Lyon has been the odd-man-out in the early going, standing as the only Wings goalie to not yet start a game. Husso wasn’t inspiring in the matchup he received, allowing four goals on 14 shots and getting pulled for Talbot. That weak performance seems to be the spark behind his waiving today, despite Husso’s .940 save percentage through three pre-season games suggesting some upside.
The Red Wings will now move forward with Cam Talbot as their clear-cut starter, rewarding his 54 saves on 56 shots (.964) through two games so far. Lyon will step up as the team’s backup just a few months removed from winning the starting role over Husso, recording 21 wins and a .904 in 44 games last season. Meanwhile, Husso’s path to ice time won’t become any clearer if he heads to the minor leagues, with Grand Rapids currently led by top prospect Sebastian Cossa. Cossa managed one win and 64 saves on 68 shots (.941) through Grand Rapids’ first two games of the season this weekend, and has posted a .913 save percentage in each of the last three seasons. Even pitted against the near-$5MM man that is Husso, it’d be hard to award starts to any other Griffins goalie – only increasing the excitement around Detroit’s crowded goalie room.
Red Wings’ Christian Fischer Out Day-To-Day
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that forward Christian Fischer will miss the team’s Monday game as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He left Detroit’s Saturday matchup after the first shift of the second period, seeming staggered after a sandwiched hit from Nashville’s Jeremy Lauzon and Mark Jankowski. Fischer recorded one shot through six shifts prior to his exit. Head coach Derek Lalonde shared that the team is considering calling up a forward, though they may instead opt to run 11 forwards and seven defenders, per Ansar Khan of MLive.
Fischer has returned to his role as a go-to depth forward for the Red Wings, playing in 13:34 of ice time in Detroit’s first game. A pair of shot attempts and a -1 represent the only changes to his statline so far. Fischer recorded five goals and 19 points in 79 games from Detroit’s fourth line last year. That was enough to earn him another one-year deal in Detroit, though he’s still searching for the third-line role and hot production he earned through a seven years with the Coyotes. Fischer managed a career-high 15 goals and 33 points with Arizona in 2017-18, and rivaled that mark again with 13 goals and 27 points in 2022-23.
Fischer is a hard-nosed and effective depth forward, making his absence notable even in a minor role. Detroit doesn’t have an extra forward on the roster as it stands, though they’ll have their pick of hardened depth forwards, like Joe Snively or Sheldon Dries, or top prospects, like Nate Danielson and Marco Kasper, should they opt to call someone up from Grand Rapids. The Griffins kicked off their regular season this weekend, with Kasper, Carter Mazur, and Dominik Shine the only forwards to record a point through their first two games.
Oilers Among Teams Interested In Kevin Shattenkirk
The market of free agent defenders is still surprisingly strong despite the NHL season’s kick-off, with multiple tenured veterans still making their case for a new deal. While providing updates on some of the top remaining UFAs, Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston of The Athletic shared that the Edmonton Oilers are among the teams interested in Kevin Shattenkirk. The Athletic crew added that Shattenkirk is staying patient with signing a new deal, waiting for the right fit to come along. While he waits, Shattenkirk continues to work out daily with Connecticut-based hockey trainer Ben Prentiss – owner of Prentiss Hockey Performance, a popular performance company for the NHL’s top names.
Shattenkirk spent last season, his 14th in the NHL, with the Boston Bruins, netting six goals and 24 points in 61 games. He was an impactful piece of the Bruins blue line, showing strengths on both sides of the puck and earning routine time on both special teams. Those were the same traits that carried Shattenkirk through a successful tenure with the Anaheim Ducks from 2020 to 2023 – though he carried a much more substantial role in Anaheim, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time and ranking second on their defense in scoring over his three seasons. He scored 70 points in 212 games as a Duck, scoring half of those points in the 2021-22 season – his highest-scoring season since 2016-17.
Shattenkirk was a strong depth option for a Ducks defense in flux, largely thanks to his ability to control transition through the neutral zone. That’s been his defining skill since he made his NHL debut with Colorado in 2010. He was immediately impactful, netting 43 points in 72 games as a rookie despite a trade just 46 games into his career. His hot scoring continued through the next seven seasons, as Shattenkirk established a firm grip on his second-pair role in St. Louis. He capped the run off with a career-high 56 points in the 2016-17 season, the same year that he faced another trade, this time to Washington. That kicked off the journeyman phase of his career, with Shattenkirk playing for five clubs over the last eight seasons. That includes a stop with the 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning, who helped lead Shattenkirk to his first career Stanley Cup.
Edmonton would add yet another stop to Shattenkirk’s list, and extend his career into its 15th year. It’s no secret that Edmonton is in need of some help on the right-hand side, with Ty Emberson standing as the only true backup to top right-defender Evan Bouchard. The Oilers have been icing Travis Dermott on his off-side to mitigate that lack of depth. Shattenkirk would stand as a sure upgrade towards a handicapped Dermott, and bring a winner’s mentality to an Edmonton team hoping to make a proud postseason run this season.
Morning Notes: Eriksson Ek, Roy, Aston-Reese
Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t travel with the team to Winnipeg for tonight’s game against the Jets after he suffered an apparent injury in last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken (as per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). Eriksson Ek was left bloodied after a second-period hit from Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson caught him on the nose. Larsson’s elbow appeared to catch the 27-year-old up high, forcing him to leave the game for the remainder of the second period.
Eriksson Ek attempted to return to the game in the third period and took one shift while wearing a bubble shield on his helmet. He left after one shift and didn’t return or get on the team’s flight after the game. Minnesota head coach John Hynes did not provide a post-game update.
In other morning notes:
- Newly acquired Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy left the game last night during his Capitals debut (as per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News). The 29-year-old played his last shift about three minutes into the second period and didn’t appear to suffer any obvious injury. He ended the night playing just 8:39 and Washington announced he would not return near the end of the second period. Roy signed a six-year $34.5MM with the Capitals on July 1st and was expected to be a regular in the team’s top four. He missed just one game over the past two seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Zach Aston-Reese left last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury (as per Blue Jackets reporter Jeff Svoboda). The 30-year-old appeared to suffer the injury when he was hit up high during his first shift of the night. Aston-Reese was acquired off waivers last week from the Vegas Golden Knights and started the season on the Blue Jackets’ fourth line. The eight-year NHL veteran was hoping to secure an NHL role once again this season after spending almost all of last season in the AHL. Aston-Reese played just three games last year in the NHL with Detroit and remains a strong defensive forward, but brings very little in the way of offense. If he can’t play on Tuesday when Columbus takes on Florida, Dylan Gambrell will likely take his spot.
Atlantic Notes: Barkov, Tavares, Power, Greenway, Peterka
7:00 PM : Toronto Maple Leafs centerman John Tavares missed the team’s Saturday matchup with illness.
10:00 AM : Imaging has revealed that Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov‘s lower-body injury did not involve an ankle fracture (per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). That’s in line with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period’s report yesterday that Barkov avoided the worst-case scenario after crashing into the boards near the end of Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Senators and is out a few weeks with a lower-body injury.
It’ll still be a while before we see Barkov back on the ice, but it’s at least confirmation that he should be expected back around the end of the month. He also hasn’t been moved to long-term injured reserve (or injured reserve at all) yet, although that could come if the Panthers need more roster flexibility. They’ve already recalled Patrick Giles from AHL Charlotte in response to his injury and moved Tomáš Nosek to LTIR to create cap room to accommodate Giles.
In the meantime, Barkov’s absence provides plenty of opportunity for usual middle-six pivots Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to see some more ice time. That could benefit Bennett’s point totals in a contract year, while Lundell is looking to prove he can shoulder heavier usage after inking a six-year, $30MM deal this summer.
Barkov, 29, had an assist and a -1 rating in two contests this year. He was his usual dominant self in the faceoff circle, winning 30% of his draws.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Maple Leafs center John Tavares didn’t practice with the team this morning due to illness, the team said. He’s now likely questionable for tonight’s game against the Penguins. If he can’t go, line rushes indicate that Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann will slide up to the second line to play with William Nylander while Max Domi drops down from second-line left wing to third-line center, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Enforcer Ryan Reaves would also re-enter the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Devils. Tavares, 34, has a goal and a +1 rating in two appearances thus far.
- Any concerns about Sabres Jordan Greenway and Owen Power missing tonight’s game after taking maintenance days yesterday have been quelled after they returned to practice this morning, relays Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Winger John-Jason Peterka is also once again on the ice, marking the fourth straight day he’s been with the team while recovering from a concussion sustained during the Global Series earlier this month. He missed the home opener against the Kings on Thursday but appears to be an option to return tonight.
Injury Updates: Barkov, Woll, Peterka, Rust
7:00 PM : After originally being labeled a game-time decision, Penguins winger Bryan Rust has made his return to the lineup. It’s his season debut, returning him to his role on Sidney Crosby‘s wing, where he recorded 28 goals and 56 points in 62 games last season.
2:00 PM : The lower-body injury to Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov won’t keep him out for long. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that the center is expected to miss two to three weeks and is expected to be ready to play by the time Florida heads overseas in early November for games in Barkov’s native Finland, if not before then. That means he shouldn’t miss any more time relative to his original week-to-week designation. The 29-year-old has been a high-end two-way top center for several seasons now and has put up at least 78 points in each of the last three seasons. Harrington also noted that Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk won’t play tonight against Buffalo although his absence isn’t injury-related but rather due to illness.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is progressing from his lower-body injury but still has not returned to the ice, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). The netminder was expected to get the start on Wednesday’s opener but was scratched earlier in the day, landing on IR retroactively to his last preseason appearance to make a roster spot for Dennis Hildeby. Woll is entering his second full NHL season and posted a 2.97 GAA with a .904 SV% in 25 games last season and added a 0.86 GAA with a .963 SV% in three playoff appearances.
- While the Sabres were hoping that winger J-J Peterka would be able to suit up tonight, the team announced that won’t be the case as he’ll miss his second straight game due to a concussion. However, head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that he’s hopeful Peterka will be able to suit up on Wednesday.
- Penguins winger Bryan Rust is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Toronto, notes Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now. The veteran has been listed as day-to-day for the last couple of weeks with a lower-body injury, landing him on IR to start the season but he was a full participant in Pittsburgh’s morning skate. Rust had 28 goals and 28 assists in 62 games for the Penguins last season. The team has an open roster spot so they won’t have to send someone down if Rust is indeed cleared to play.
Pacific Injury Notes: Vlasic, Karlsson, Myers
Veteran San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic told media that he’s hoping to return to action in a few weeks, and described his injury as “upper-body-ish”, shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Vlasic has been facing the ailment since the start of training camp, missing the bulk of camp activities and getting placed on injured reserve on October 7th. That’s the same day that he returned to the team’s practices, though he’s made it clear that he’s still a ways out.
Vlasic fell out of the Sharks lineup last season, missing time to both injury and routine healthy scratches. That includes an upper-body injury suffered in February that held Vlasic out for two weeks, though he was able to play in 24 more games before the season ended. He’s popping up on the injury report more and more in his golden years, with multi-week absences in every season since 2019. Once a core fixture of the Sharks blue-line, the 37-year-old Vlasic now sits on the outskirts of the lineup – even when healthy. He’ll first focus on getting back to full health, and then faces a battle with youngsters Jack Thompson and Henry Thrun for depth minutes.
Other notes from out West:
- Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters that centerman William Karlsson won’t travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, shares Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His next chance to return will most likely come when the Golden Knights return home on October 22nd, though Cassidy didn’t rule out the possibility of Karlsson joining the team midway through the trip. He was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury on October 8th. He started training camp healthy, but was quickly bumped out of the lineup by injury and now hasn’t skated since September 26th. Karlsson recorded 60 points, split evenly, in 70 games with the Golden Knights last season. He’ll stand as a pivotal piece of the lineup when he’s back to full health, especially after Chandler Stephenson moved to Seattle and Jonathan Marchessault moved to Nashville this summer.
- Vancouver Canucks defender Tyler Myers seems to have avoided the worst of things after having his ankle landed on awkwardly in Friday night’s matchup with Philadelphia. Myers needed helped off the ice. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet designated the defender as day-to-day and shared that he will travel with the team on their upcoming four-game road trip, shares Canucks Army’s Jeff Paterson. Vancouver dodges a blow to their shallowest position group with this news, though Canucks Army’s Clarke Corsan lists Mark Friedman and Erik Brannstrom as potential fill-ins while Myers nurses his ankle.
Riley Sheahan Announces Retirement
Longtime Detroit Red Wings forward Riley Sheahan has announced his retirement from professional hockey, per an article from Bill Potrecz of BP Sports Niagara. Sheahan was a 2010 first-round pick and went on to play in 637 NHL games and 120 AHL games across a 12-year career, spanning six NHL franchises. Sheahan hasn’t played since the 2022-23 season when he left a middling role with the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans for 12 games with EHC Biel-Bienne of Switzerland’s top league.
Sheahan’s was drafted after his freshman season at the University of Notre Dame, and played through his junior year before turning pro at the end of the 2011-12 season. His 66 points across 114 games with the Fighting Irish quickly translated to the pro flight, with Sheahan scoring 38 points across his first 79 games in the AHL. He was up to an NHL role by 2013-14, scoring 24 points in 42 games as a rookie – just enough to solidify an everyday spot on Detroit’s fourth line. The responsible and hard-nosed winger supported Detroit through the next four seasons before a 2017 trade sent him to Pittsburgh in a swap for Scott Wilson and draft picks. Sheahan’s role didn’t grow much in Pittsburgh, and he was flipped roughly one season later in Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann from Florida. That second trade kicked off Sheahan’s journeyman tenure – as he’d go through moves north to Edmonton, east to Buffalo, and west to Seattle over the course of the next three seasons. He served as a depth forward everywhere he went, only surpassing the 25-point mark three times in his career – the 2014-15 (36), 2015-16 (25), and 2017-18 (32) seasons.
Sheahan struggled with injuries through his later career, landing on IR in 2019, 2021, and 2022. The final designation – a move to IR on October 7, 2022 – was the result of an undisclosed injury, and Sheahan would only play in eight more games in North American pros before his career came to a close. He’ll now hang up his skates having scored 194 points in the NHL and 61 in the AHL. Sheahan shared with Potrecz that he’s now supporting Sunday night development skates with the Niagara North Stars, and said he hasn’t closed off the idea of trying to grow his coaching role one day – though he emphasized that his wife and two young children will come first.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, next up is the Capitals.
Washington Capitals
Current Cap Hit: $98,665,965 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Hendrix Lapierre (one year, $863K)
Potential Bonuses
Lapierre: $445K
Lapierre spent the bulk of last season with Washington with some short stints with AHL Hershey mixed in. Most of that time was in a bottom-six role, one he’s likely to have this season as well which means his bonuses are unlikely to be met, aside from possibly any games-played ones. A bridge agreement should be the outcome for Lapierre who, if he stays in the bottom six for most of this season, could possibly double his current price tag next summer.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Alexander Alexeyev ($825K, RFA)
F Nicklas Backstrom ($9.2MM, UFA)
D Ethan Bear ($2.0625MM, UFA)
D Jakob Chychrun ($4.6MM, UFA)
F Nic Dowd ($1.3MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Andrew Mangiapane ($5.8MM, UFA)
D Dylan McIlrath ($775K, UFA)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM, UFA)
F Taylor Raddysh ($1MM, UFA)
G Logan Thompson ($766.7K, UFA)
F Jakub Vrana ($775K, UFA)
Let’s get Backstrom and Oshie out of the way together as they’re in the same situation. Backstrom remains on LTIR where he was for most of last season while it’s unlikely that Oshie will be able to suit up this season either. GM Chris Patrick’s early-offseason spending was a strong indicator that the team doesn’t believe Oshie will be cleared to play.
Mangiapane was one of the additions through that early spending. After scoring 35 goals in 2021-22 (yielding this contract), he has just 31 in the two years since then although he has reached at least 40 points each time. At this point, a small pay cut could be coming but if he can even get back to 30 goals with his new team, Mangiapane could push past $6MM next summer.
Dowd has gone from being a regular fourth liner a few years ago to a regular third liner, pushing past 20 points in three straight years now. A center who can kill penalties, he’s in line to potentially add another million per season or so to that number, albeit on a short-term deal as he’ll be 35 next summer. Raddysh was non-tendered this summer, resulting in him looking for a short-term rebound deal. Only a year removed from a 20-goal campaign, he could double this next summer if he can get back to the 15-goal mark or so. Vrana had to earn a deal the hard way through a PTO but landed one earlier this week. After bouncing around a bit in recent years, it’s hard to see him commanding much more than the minimum unless he has a big season offensively.
Chychrun was brought in via an early July trade to help bolster the back end. He doesn’t produce enough to be a high-end threat offensively but he has reached the double-digit goal mark in three of the last five years and reached the 40-point plateau last season as well. If he stays in that range while continuing to play heavy minutes, his next deal could surpass $7MM on a long-term agreement.
Bear was a midseason signing last year that hasn’t panned out yet. After exiting the Player Assistance Program over the offseason, he wound up not making the team and cleared waivers earlier this month. He’ll carry a pro-rated $912.5K cap charge while with AHL Hershey and if he’s there all season, he’ll be looking at something closer to the minimum next summer. Alexeyev has had a limited role so far in his NHL action, primarily playing part-time on the third pairing. His qualifying offer checks in just below $920K with arbitration rights next summer but Washington won’t be able to afford that roster spot costing much more than that. McIlrath, meanwhile, has primarily been in the minors in recent years and accordingly, his next deal should come in at or near the minimum salary again.
Lindgren was a late bloomer but since joining Washington two years ago, he has established himself as at least a capable NHL netminder. Last season, he wrestled away the number one job from Darcy Kuemper which will only help his cause in negotiations. Still, with a limited track record (just 110 career NHL appearances heading into the season), an early extension isn’t likely – both sides probably want to wait and see what happens – but if he has a similar year to this one, he should earn at least $3MM on a multi-year agreement next summer. If it’s another year as a true starter, the recent five-year, $25MM contract given to Joey Daccord could come up in talks.
Thompson also has somewhat of a limited track record in terms of experience but is also a few years younger with better career numbers after three strong seasons in Vegas. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be shocking if his camp is already eyeing something close to Daccord’s new deal if and when extension talks get underway. The cheapest goalie in the NHL, Thompson’s next deal will certainly change that soon enough.
Signed Through 2025-26
D John Carlson ($8MM, UFA)
F Brandon Duhaime ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Martin Fehervary ($2.675MM, RFA)
F Connor McMichael ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Sonny Milano ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Alex Ovechkin ($9.5MM, UFA)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk ($3MM, UFA)
Ovechkin is one of the top scorers in NHL history and even with a very high AAV for most of his career, he has lived up to it. That might be ending soon strictly from a bang-for-buck perspective. The 39-year-old had the lowest full-season production of his career and players generally don’t have a resurgent year at that age. That said, with all he has done for them and the chase for the all-time record, the Capitals won’t be too concerned if they’re not getting top value here.
McMichael received a bridge deal which was a pretty obvious outcome considering he spent most of 2022-23 in the minors. But if he can stay in the top six regularly, he could double that next time out with arbitration eligibility and if it looks like he’s a core piece for the future by then, a long-term deal could push past $5MM. Milano managed 15 goals in 49 games last season which isn’t bad production for that price tag but the book on him in recent years is that he can be effective only in a limited role. That has hindered his market before and probably will next time out unless something changes over the next couple of years. Duhaime is a crash-and-bang winger who only managed five goals last season, making this price tag seemingly a bit high for that role but perhaps a change of scenery will allow him to contribute a bit more offensively which would set him up to pass $2MM next time out.
While Carlson didn’t light up the scoresheet as much as he has in the past, he did reach the double-digit goal mark for the sixth time in the last seven years last season and logged a career high in ice time at nearly 26 minutes a night. That type of playing time is unsustainable for a 34-year-old but he doesn’t need to play that much to justify this deal. He remains an all-situations type of player which should give this contract a good chance to hold up value-wise over the final two seasons. It’s not inconceivable that he lands a small raise next time out although the likelier outcome is more of a medium-term agreement that would allow the AAV to be a bit lower.
As for van Riemsdyk, he has found a home in Washington, going from being a player toward the end of the depth chart to spending a lot of time on the second pairing. This price tag for someone in that role is good value. He’ll be entering his age-35 year on his next contract so he might be hard-pressed to get much more than this in 2026. Fehervary, meanwhile, is on his bridge deal and has similarly played a lot on the second pairing. Given that he’s still 25, he could push past the $4MM mark if things go well, perhaps $5MM on a long-term pact. His current deal is front-loaded, carrying just a $1.075MM qualifying offer two years from now.
Signed Through 2026-27
None