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Lightning Nearing Extension With Victor Hedman

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According to Kevin Weekes of ESPN, the Tampa Bay Lightning are nearing a contract extension with all-star defenseman Victor Hedman. The news comes shortly after the report indicating that Jake Guentzel will be signing with the organization after the team traded for his signing rights earlier this afternoon. Because he is already signed to a contract in Tampa Bay, Hedman will have to wait until tomorrow to sign a new agreement.

Hedman is set to wrap up his current eight-year, $63MM extension after the 2024-25 NHL season concludes, and would have become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career at 34 years old. With an average annual value of $7.875MM since the start of the 2017-18 NHL season, there is an argument to be made that Hedman has been playing on a bargain of a contract for some time.

Over the life of his current contract, Hedman has appeared in 503 regular season games for the Lightning while scoring 91 goals and 427 points. The Lightning have made the postseason in each year of the deal while Hedman has assisted the team with 17 goals and 80 points over those seven years. Hedman has also won one Norris Trophy, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and two Stanley Cup rings in hardware.

The former second-overall pick can still be counted on to log heavy minutes on the ice but may see his workload increase after the team parted ways with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev on the second day of the 2024 NHL Draft. Hedman appeared to handle the workload fine with Sergachev out for much of the regular season this past year but it will be interesting to see if he can keep up that fortitude over the life of the expected extension.

The full terms of the deal will likely break tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how long the Lightning go on a Hedman extension. The team was recently willing to give a similarly-aged Steven Stamkos an eight-year agreement to keep the AAV down towards a team-friendly level.

Predators Nearing Agreement With Alexandre Carrier

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Defenseman Alexandre Carrier won’t be hitting the open market on Monday after all.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are close to finalizing a new contract.  Terms of the potential agreement have not been disclosed.

After a rough 2022-23 showing, the 27-year-old had a nice bounce-back effort this past season.  Carrier played in 73 games, scoring a career-best four goals while adding 16 assists and a career-high 137 blocked shots while logging a little under 19 minutes a night.  He was one of their most-used penalty killers, averaging more than two minutes a night shorthanded.  He added a goal and two assists with 19 blocks in six playoff contests where his ATOI jumped to over 21 minutes per game.

For his career, Carrier has played in 217 NHL games, all with Nashville who drafted him in the fourth round (115th overall) back in 2015.  He has just 10 goals and 52 assists to his name but has become an effective shot blocker and defensive blueliner, even earning a spot on the All-Rookie team back in 2021-22.

Carrier played on a one-year, $2.5MM deal in 2023-24, an agreement that gave him a nice raise based on his play the past couple of years while giving the Preds a chance to walk away if he couldn’t get back to his form from a couple of years ago.  Since he was able to rebound nicely, Carrier should be in line for a nice raise and a multi-year pact this time around.

Lightning Reportedly Reach Contract Agreement With Jake Guentzel

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According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to terms on a contract with pending UFA forward Jake Guentzel. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed and may take until tomorrow to fully develop. The news comes a few hours after the Lightning acquired Guentzel’s rights from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The reported deal will likely check in at an eight-year term with the Lightning owning enough cap space to give Guentzel nearly $10MM annually. Because the team acquired Guentzel’s signing rights earlier today, Tampa Bay became the only team able to sign Guentzel to an eight-year contract. If Guentzel made it to free agency tomorrow, the Lightning would have only been able to offer him a max of seven years — the same as all other suitors.

After being acquired by the Hurricanes at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Guentzel proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he could thrive without playing next to Sidney Crosby. However, by inking a contract with the Lightning, Guentzel may arguably have better linemates. The team will likely start him next to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point on the top line, with the former finishing up a season in which he led the league in assists and points.

Guentzel will land in Tampa Bay having already played 520 regular season games at the NHL level while scoring 227 goals and 491 points through eight years. Largely known for his postseason contributions; Guentzel is a one-time winner of the Stanley Cup as he’s scored 38 goals and 67 points in 69 career games in the playoffs. After being knocked out in the first round of back-to-back postseasons, the Lightning will surely be looking for Guentzel to help turn around the team’s most recent fortunes.

Depending on the financial terms of the agreement, the contract between Guentzel and the Lightning organization may have some collateral damage. With longtime captain Steven Stamkos hitting the free agent market tomorrow, Tampa Bay may not have the cap flexibility to re-sign him after all.

Blues Hoping To Extend Pavel Buchnevich

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In a recent post-draft interview, the General Manager of the St. Louis Blues, Doug Armstrong, indicated that he and the organization will be aggressive in signing forward Pavel Buchnevich to an extension this summer (X Link). The news marks a sharp pivot for the Blues organization as Buchnevich’s name had begun popping up in the rumor mill before the trade deadline.

Any potential Buchnevich extension in St. Louis will likely clock in somewhere between four-to-seven years with the AAV checking in below the identical $8.125MM salaries given to Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou on their current extensions. An extension offer would not be a surprise for Buchnevich, however, as the forward has finished top-three in team scoring in each of his three seasons with the organization.

Over three years with the Blues, Buchnevich has already surpassed his scoring total over five years with the New York Rangers. Suiting up in 216 games since the start of the 2021-22 NHL season, Buchnevich has scored 83 goals and 206 points while wearing the blue note with another one goal and 11 points in 12 playoff contests. Buchnevich also racked up impressive possession metrics this past season by leading the team with a 52.8% CorsiFor%.

Given his internal value to the Blues organization, it was always going to be difficult for Armstrong to find an adequate return for Buchnevich’s service on the trade market. Instead, the team appears set on continuing the relationship and keeping Buchnevich in the mix for the next several years.

Shane Pinto Hoping To Be Offer-Sheeted

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Offer sheets are a rarity in the NHL and it’s even rarer that there is word of a player believed to be trying to solicit one on the opening day of free agency.  However, that appears to be the case in Ottawa as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link) that Shane Pinto’s camp will be looking to get an offer sheet when the market opens up on Monday.

[Related: Offer Sheet Thresholds for 2024]

The Senators and Pinto haven’t had much success with contract talks.  Last year, the two sides weren’t close to an agreement for most of the summer and just when it looked like they were closing in on an agreement, the 23-year-old was suspended for the first half of the season for a violation of the league’s gambling policy.  Upon being reinstated, he didn’t have much choice but to accept a pro-rated deal for the minimum salary of $775K.

To his credit, Pinto was rather productive for the Sens down the stretch, notching nine goals and 18 assists while logging over 18 minutes a night.  That brought him up to 30 goals and 40 assists in 140 career NHL appearances.

Both sides were believed to be interested in a long-term agreement but a report in mid-May suggested that they were far apart on money with Pinto’s camp believed to be seeking around $5MM on that contract.  The report that he’s now seeking an offer sheet indicates that they remain far apart in discussions.

A $5MM asking price pegs the required compensation at a first-round pick and a third-round pick.  Both of those must be 2025 selections and the offer-sheeting team must have their own picks to use; they can’t substitute one from another team.  That means that 16 teams are ineligible to attempt to give Pinto an offer sheet at that threshold, per CapFriendly, unless they’re able to re-acquire their own selections first.

Once the market officially opens up at 11 AM CT on Monday, there will generally be a free-for-all when it comes to unrestricted free agent signings so if Pinto is to get his way and get an offer sheet, he may have to be patient and wait for the dust to settle before assessing if there is a viable option out there.  Unlike many restricted free agents, salary arbitration isn’t an option as he is ineligible for one this summer so if he wants to show the Sens that he’s worth the money he’s seeking, an offer sheet is the only route he can take.

Panthers Sign Rasmus Asplund To One-Year Deal

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During parade day for the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers, the organization got a minor item of work completed. PuckPedia reports that the organization has signed forward Rasmus Asplund to a one-year, two-way agreement that will pay $775K at the NHL level and $400K at the AHL level. The reported deal was later confirmed by David Dwork of The Hockey News.

After being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Nashville Predators during the 2022-23 NHL season, Asplund became an unrestricted free agent last offseason after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Predators. A few days after free agency officially opened, Asplund signed an identical contract with the Panthers paying him $775K at the NHL level and $400K in the AHL.

As things would turn out, Asplund would never see a dime of his salary in the NHL as he spent the entire year with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. As an effective playmaker in the minor leagues, Asplund scored nine goals and 35 assists in 67 games which led the team in the latter category.

It will be interesting to see how high the Panthers play Asplund up the depth chart next season as the team could lose several players up front to unrestricted free agency in the next 24 hours. If Florida can bring back a generous amount of their forward depth from last year, expect Asplund to spend most if not all of his time back in the AHL.

Blues Re-Sign Hunter Skinner

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The Blues took care of one of their potential restricted free agents today, announcing that they’ve re-signed defenseman Hunter Skinner to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract pays $775K in the NHL and $80K at the AHL level.

The 23-year-old was originally a fourth-round pick by the Rangers back in 2019 and joined St. Louis as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko trade back in February 2023.  Skinner split his playing time that season between their two AHL affiliates plus New York’s ECHL squad.

This past season, Skinner was a full-timer in the AHL, getting into a career-best 50 games with Springfield.  He picked up three goals and seven assists along with 94 penalty minutes, bringing his career totals at that level to 33 points and 151 PIMS in 132 contests.

Skinner will be waiver-eligible for the first time next season so he’ll have to pass through unclaimed during training camp to make it back to the Thunderbirds.

List Of Players Not Receiving A 2024 Qualifying Offer

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The window to issue a qualifying offer to pending restricted free agents closed at 5 pm CT today, making any player who did not receive an offer eligible to become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow. Below are the players who will not be issued a qualifying offer, listed by team. Players with an asterisk next to their name carry arbitration eligibility.

This is a complete list as of 6:00 a.m. CT, the morning after the deadline.

Anaheim Ducks

F Benoit-Olivier Groulx, F Max Jones, F Brett Leason, D Gustav Lindstrom, F Blake McLaughlin, F Brayden Tracey, D Urho Vaakanainen

Boston Bruins

F Joey Abate, F Jesper Boqvist, F Curtis Hall

Buffalo Sabres

D Jacob Bryson, D Calle Sjalin, D Riley Stillman

Calgary Flames

F Riley Damiani, F Dillon Dube

Carolina Hurricanes

F Max Comtois, F Tuuka Tieksola, F Blake Murray, D Griffin Mendel

Chicago Blackhawks

F Filip Roos, F Michal Teply, F Joey Anderson, F Reese Johnson, G Jaxson Stauber

Colorado Avalanche

(none)

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Tyler Angle, F Alexander Nylander, D Jake Bean

Dallas Stars

D Nils Lundkvist, F Sam Steel, F Max Ellis, G Matthew Murray

Detroit Red Wings

D Jared McIsaac

Edmonton Oilers

G Ryan Fanti, F Carter Savoie

Florida Panthers

(none)

Los Angeles Kings

F Blake Lizotte, F Tyler Madden, G Jacob Ingham

Minnesota Wild

F Mason Shaw, F Sam Hentges, F Dmitry Ovchinnikov, D Simon Johansson, G Hunter Jones

Montreal Canadiens

F Lias Andersson, F Filip Cederqvist, D Mattias Norlinder, F Jesse Ylonen

Nashville Predators

(none)

New Jersey Devils

F Michael McLeod, D Michael Vukojevic, D Callan Foote

New York Islanders

F Reece Newkirk

New York Rangers

(none)

Ottawa Senators

F Parker Kelly, F Boris Katchouk, D Erik Brannstrom

Philadelphia Flyers

G Carter Hart, D Mason Millman, D Will Zmolek

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Pierre-Oliver Joseph

San Jose Sharks

D Calen Addison, F Jacob Peterson, F Jack Studnicka, F Filip Zadina

Seattle Kraken

F Kailer Yamamoto

St. Louis Blues

F Keean Washkurak

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Logan Brown, F Felix Robert

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Noah Gregor

Utah Hockey Club

(none)

Vancouver Canucks

F Aiden McDonough, D Filip Johansson, D Nick Cicek

Vegas Golden Knights

F Ivan Morozov, F Mason Primeau, D Layton Ahac, G Akira Schmid

Washington Capitals

(none)

Winnipeg Jets

D Artemi Kniazev, G Oskari Salminen

Devils Acquire Johnathan Kovacevic

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The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic from the Montreal Canadiens in return for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick, per Amanda Stein of NHL.com. Both the Canadiens and Devils have confirmed the move.

The conditions on the draft pick have already been made public, as the Devils will send the best of the three fourth-round picks they currently own in the 2026 NHL Draft. New Jersey owns their fourth-round pick, the Winnipeg Jets’ fourth-round pick, and the Dallas Stars’ fourth-round pick for that draft.

It’s a low-risk move for the Devils as they’ve spent the last 48 hours re-working their defensive core. The team already shipped out defenseman John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club yesterday morning, and have been heavily linked to defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon heading into tomorrow’s action. By adding to a core group of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and Luke Hughes, and factoring in new goaltender Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey is looking to improve upon their 3.43 GA/G average during the 2023-24 NHL season.

As the Canadiens look to graduate several prospects to the majors, Kovacevic became one of the odd men out even though he is set to make $766K for the 2024-25 NHL season. After being claimed from the Jets organization shortly before the 2022-23 NHL season, Kovacevic quickly became a flexible defenseman in Montreal. Effectively averaging 17 minutes of ice time per night during his tenure with the Original Six organization, Kovacevic scored nine goals and 28 points in 139 games while averaging an on-ice save percentage of 90.6%

Kovacevic is likely destined for a bottom-six role in New Jersey regardless of how much the team shakes up their defensive core. However, if the defensive core succumbs to injury for a second straight season, Kovacevic could always move up the depth chart.

Ducks Sign Isac Lundestrom To One-Year Extension

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed winger Isac Lundestrom to a one-year, $1.5MM extension, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Anaheim drafted Lundestrom 23rd-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, taking him as part of what’s become a first-round to remember. He briefly returned to the SHL following his draft, before stepping into 15 games with the Ducks and 12 in the AHL in the year’s second half. That kicked off Lundestrom’s career in North American pros, though he wouldn’t earn an everyday role until the 2020-21 season when he tallied just nine points in 41 games. But with the everyday role came a bout of confidence, and Lundestrom would go on to score 16 goals and 29 points in 80 games in 2021-22.

But Lundestrom couldn’t maintain the growing scoring, falling back to just four goals and 14 points in 61 games last season. To make matters worse, he suffered a torn Achilles that required surgery last August, holding him out until January of this year. Lundestrom tallied five goals and 11 points in 46 games during the year’s second half, though his struggles were evident. He’ll now get a chance to work out of those struggles with a fully healthy season in 2024-25, though he’ll have to fight for his role among a crowded Anaheim bottom-six. He’ll be competing for a role with rookies Cutter Gauthier and Sam Colangelo, stout depth pieces like Ross Colton, and any potential free agents the Ducks choose to add. That could be a tall order – and one that Anaheim will be ready to judge when Lundestrom is eligible for a new deal next summer.

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