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Lightning’s Ilya Usau Clears Waivers, Has Contract Terminated

May 26, 2024 at 3:47 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

05/26: Ilya Usau has cleared waivers and will have his contract terminated, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). His contract has now been mutually terminated

05/25: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed centerman Ilya Usau (Usov) on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Usau had one year remaining on a three-year, $2.8MM entry-level contract signed in 2022. He earned the deal following a three-game appearance with Belarus at the 2022 Olympic Qualifiers – an appearance he made in the midst of a 26-point season in the KHL. Usau has since spent the last two seasons with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, recording 30 points across 99 games with the team.

Usau was first draft-eligible in the 2020 NHL Draft. He spent his season with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, recording 22 goals and 52 points in 58 games in his first season in Canada – after growing up through the USA youth hockey system and even appearing in four USHL games in 2019. His scoring in Western Canada drew the attention of scouts, finishing the year as the 101st-ranked prospect in TSN’s Craig Button’s final rankings. But Usau went unclaimed in the draft and decided to move back to his native Minsk, Belarus, signing with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk.

That’s likely where Usau is bound for with this move, shares James Mirtle of The Athletic (Twitter link). If that’s the case, he’ll be returning to a KHL career just four games shy of 100 career games and, presumably, a Dinamo Minsk club that extended their playoff streak to four seasons this year.

Evening Notes: Vesey, Henrique, Rutta

May 25, 2024 at 8:08 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

New York Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey has been designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, head coach Peter Laviolette shared with Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). Vesey took a hard hit from Florida Panthers’ forward Ryan Lomberg in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, leaving the game after just 5:47 in ice time.

Vesey has played in all 12 of New York’s postseason games this season, recording three points while averaging third-line minutes. It’s just the third time in his career that Vesey has received considerable playoff ice time, appearing in seven games and scoring one point last year and scoring five points in 12 games in the 2017 playoffs. He’s receiving the ice time after a slight resurgence this season, with Vesey recording 13 goals and 26 points in 80 games and improving his consistency throughout the season.

Vesey’s absence will likely make way for Kaapo Kakko to return to the lineup, after being healthy scratched in Game 2. It was the second time in the last three years that Kakko was scratched in the Eastern Conference Finals, coming after he managed just two points through New York’s first 11 playoff games. Vesey’s injury will also provide a bit more lineup security to bruiser Matt Rempe, who stepped back into the lineup for Game 2 – though the Rangers were very deliberate with his ice time. If not Rempe, then New York will likely turn to veteran Blake Wheeler, who’s been out since February with a leg injury. Wheeler posted 21 points in 54 games this season – his first year away from the Winnipeg Jets since 2010-11.

Other notes from around the league:

Edmonton Oilers forward Adam Henrique sat out of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals after being named a game-time decision and taking warmups with the team, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Henrique has now missed Edmonton’s last seven games with an ankle injury. He continues to be replaced by Sam Carrick and Connor Brown, the latter scoring Edmonton’s first goal of Game 2. Henrique appears to be nearing a return to the lineup, though it’s becoming less clear who will step out to make way.
Team Czechia and San Jose Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta has been suspended for one game of the 2024 IIHF World Championship for elbowing Team Sweden and Anaheim Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom. Rutta was not penalized for the hit during the game. He will miss Czechia’s gold medal matchup against Team Switzerland. He’ll conclude his tournament with one goal and eight penalty minutes through nine games, while Team Czechia will likely turn towards David Spacek to fill Rutta’s second-pair ice time. Spacek has five assists in Czechia’s nine games.

Penguins Working To Hire Jaromír Jágr

May 25, 2024 at 5:16 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly working on hiring legendary winger Jaromír Jágr to their front office, shares Rob Rossi of The Athletic in an interview with Penguins’ President of Business Operations, Kevin Acklin. Acklin shared that the team is ready to enter a “new chapter” after Jágr’s retirement ceremony in February. The team has been working on recruiting Jágr ever since, recently making an extra push while visiting Prague for the World Championship.

Pittsburgh doesn’t yet have a clear idea of Jágr ’s role, though Acklin shared that it would center around Jágr spending most of his time in his hometown Kladno, Czechia. That’s where Jágr’s been since the 2017-18 season, serving as a player and owner for the Czechia Extraliga’s Rytíři Kladno. He’s continued defining his legacy with Kladno, elevating the team to the Czechia Extraliga in 2019, helping keep them afloat on the brink of relegation in 2022, and setting the record for the oldest player to score in professional competition with a goal in April. Jágr ’s age of 52 years and 63 days narrowly topped Gordie Howe’s long-standing record of 52 years and nine days.

Jágr’s return to Czechia has continued building out his memory as one of the greatest hockey players of all time – a legend he built across a 24-year career in the NHL. He played in 1,733 career NHL games – the fourth-most games played in NHL history – scoring 1,921 points, the most of any NHL player not named Wayne Gretzky. Jágr formed an all-time duo with Mario Lemieux in the first 11 seasons of his career, pitting the Penguins against the legacy lineups of the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, and Detroit Red Wings and leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cups. He was just as good when he kicked off a solo career around the NHL, playing with eight clubs in the final 13 years of his career, including four years with the New York Rangers. Jágr was productive until the very end, recording 16 goals and 46 points in the 2016-17 season, the most any NHL player 44 or older has scored or played in one season. He left the NHL following a knee injury in the subsequent season, taking his talents through the KHL before settling in Czechia. He continues to bring a positive impact to the lineup, recording four assists in 15 games during the regular-season and two points, one goal and one assist, in three postseason games.

The Penguins are now looking to reignite Jágr’s story in the NHL, while also solidifying their presence in central Europe. Acklin spoke gingerly about Jágr’s daily lift with the team, acknowledging just how busy his schedule has become in Czechia. Thus, Rossi acknowledges that Jágr would likely carry a minimal day-to-day role, adding that getting him in Pittsburgh just a few times a year would be a success for the Penguins. That could mean the legend is set for a modest scouting role, though Acklin praised Jágr’s understanding of the business side of the sport throughout Europe – built up over his time with Kladno. No timeline has been laid out for Jágr’s return to the Penguins organization, and President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas will have a final say on what his exact role will be. But there’s no doubting that any return to Pittsburgh – and reunion with Mario Lemieux – would add yet another layer to Jágr’s neverending legacy in the hockey world.

Photos courtesy of USA Today.

Offseason Checklist: Minnesota Wild

May 25, 2024 at 3:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

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 Minnesota.

After making the playoffs last season, expectations were relatively high for the Wild this season. They weren’t quite supposed to be at the top of the division but were squarely expected to be in the mix. That didn’t happen, resulting in an early-season coaching change. While they rebounded somewhat under John Hynes, they still came up short of making it back to the postseason. Now, GM Bill Guerin will be looking to make some tweaks to his roster although the bigger swings may have to come a little farther down the road. Here’s what should be on his checklist this summer.

Examine Gustavsson Trade Options

What a difference a year can make. This time last year, Filip Gustavsson was coming off finishing second in the NHL in GAA (2.10) and SV% (.931), albeit in just 39 games. Still, he did well enough to earn a three-year, $11.25MM contract after filing for salary arbitration and it looked like their goalie situation was relatively settled, at least for the short term.

This season, it was a different story. The 25-year-old saw his GAA jump by nearly a full goal per game, going to 3.06 while losing 32 points off his save percentage. He still picked up a few extra starts but simply failed to lock down the number one job as they were hoping for. That likely played a role in their decision to give Marc-Andre Fleury a one-year, $2.5MM extension last month for his 21st and final NHL campaign.

By all accounts, it appears that they feel Jesper Wallstedt, long viewed as their goalie of the future, is ready for full-time NHL duty. Clearly, they’re not trading Fleury (who has a no-move clause) after just signing him. Accordingly, unless they plan to carry three goalies (or shuttle Wallstedt) back and forth between Minnesota and AHL Iowa, it appears that Gustavsson may be the odd man out.

Early indications are that this could be a summer where there is more activity than usual on the trade front when it comes to goaltenders which is good news and bad news for the Wild. It’s good in that there will be more teams looking for options but with a larger supply of netminders potentially available, they’ll be hard-pressed to command a return of some significance, especially with Gustavsson coming off a down season. Guerin will need to determine what the best offer will be in the coming weeks and if that’s worth making a move now or potentially carrying three goalies into next season and see what the market looks like as the year goes on.

Work On Faber Extension

Last season, Brock Faber joined Minnesota for the final two games of the regular season and then suited up in all six playoff games in their opening-round loss to Dallas. He had a limited role in the postseason – perfectly understandable for someone just coming out of college – but showed enough to make it look like he could hold his own over a full NHL season in 2023-24.

Let’s just say he did better than that. A lot better, in fact. Instead of just holding his own, he became the Wild’s top defenseman pretty quickly. Not having Jared Spurgeon for most of the year due to injury certainly expedited that ascension but Faber more than earned the extra work as well. The end result was the 21-year-old leading all Minnesota blueliners with 47 points, 20 more than second-place Jonas Brodin. He logged nearly 25 minutes a night which not only led all Minnesota players but he had the sixth-highest ATOI in the entire NHL. He played big minutes on both special teams units as well. This is not the type of workload you’d expect a rookie who is now barely a year removed from playing college to be carrying.

The fact that he did so while playing on an entry-level deal was huge for the Wild. It’s great news for next season as well. But after that, the price tag is going to skyrocket and justifiably so.

The final year of Faber’s contract begins on July 1st, making him eligible to sign an extension at that time. While there is definitely some risk in handing out what would be one of the richest extensions in franchise history to a player with one full season under his belt, there’s also some risk in not signing him now and then Faber going and having an even better effort in 2024-25 in which case the price would go even higher.

Minnesota’s camp will likely try to use recent deals that Jake Sanderson ($8.05MM) and Owen Power ($8.35MM) signed as comparables but Faber has been more impactful in his early career which means his camp could push for $9MM or more, especially knowing that the deal won’t kick in until 2025-26 when the salary cap could be higher than $90MM. A new agreement doesn’t necessarily have to get done in the coming months but it stands to reason that this will be one of the higher priorities for Guerin.

Free Up Cap Space

The Wild have been operating well below the salary cap for the past several years thanks to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise back in 2021. It was an outcome that Guerin knew he was getting into but he wanted to reshape the roster. While there are still five years left on their respective buyout charges, next season is the last of the whopping charges with each player carrying a dead cap charge of $7.371MM. (That number drops to $833K starting in 2025-26 which is much more manageable although a good chunk of the savings will be going to Faber.)

Guerin was aggressive with signing some veteran players to early extensions last season which has left Minnesota with minimal space to work with this summer assuming none of them are moved. Per CapFriendly, they have less than $6MM left in cap room with a handful of roster spots to fill. While it’s worth noting that of their pending free agents, none project to command a pricey contract, they also won’t have a lot of flexibility to work with to add to their roster.

Accordingly, finding a way to open up a bit more flexibility would certainly help. If they move Gustavsson and promote Wallstedt, that would free up $2.825MM to work with. Could they find a home for the final year and $2MM left on Marcus Johansson’s deal? Even flipping Jonathon Merrill’s $1.2MM elsewhere and carrying a cheaper seventh defender would give them some extra room. Every little bit is going to make a difference if they want to try to add an impact piece in the coming months.

Add Top-Six Forward

Speaking of impact pieces, they need one up front. After being in the top five in scoring in 2021-22, the Wild haven’t cracked the top 20 in that department over the last two seasons. While Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek gave them a solid 105 goals combined, the rest of their forwards tallied just 108 combined. That means the secondary scoring wasn’t there consistently enough.

Minnesota will be hoping there will be some internal growth to help bridge some of that gap. Marco Rossi had a solid rookie year and they’ll be counting on more from him. They’ll hope that Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov can become capable producers in their first full seasons in North America and if that happens, their offense could get back toward the middle of the pack.

That said, they could certainly benefit from a more proven addition to the lineup. At a minimum, that player would serve as a bridge piece for some of the youngsters (a group that also includes Danila Yurov who could debut late in the 2024-25 campaign) to have some time to step up. If some of those younger pieces are ready sooner than later, then the veteran helps create a third scoring line which could only help things.

The good news is that there are plenty of these types of players available in free agency. Someone like David Perron would fit if they want just a short-term addition to let the youngsters get a bit more time to develop. Same with Adam Henrique if they want to add down the middle. If they want to aim higher, Tyler Toffoli, Teuvo Teravainen, and Vladimir Tarasenko stand out on the wing while someone like Chandler Stephenson would help at center.

The challenge, of course, is most of the players in this group will take up the majority (if not all of) Minnesota’s current cap space. That makes it a bit more important to open up some more flexibility on that front before the calendar flips to July and free agency opens up.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Sharks, Stauber, Hintz

May 25, 2024 at 2:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Considering where the Sharks are in their rebuild, it might not make sense on the surface for them to be buyers this summer. However, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now suggests in a piece for NBC Sports Bay Area that it would be advisable for San Jose to be buyers in certain circumstances, such as adding insurance down the middle with some uncertainty surrounding Logan Couture which could also take a bit of pressure off expected top pick Macklin Celebrini.

Additionally, there’s a case to be made that the Sharks should add multiple defenders to a group that struggled considerably this season. That would allow someone like Mario Ferraro to play in a more optimal spot on the depth chart which could help from a possible future trade standpoint while ideally creating a more competitive environment. With more than $38MM in cap room this summer per CapFriendly, GM Mike Grier can look to be active in free agency, take on some unwanted contracts while adding more future pieces or, more likely, a combination of both options will be utilized in the coming weeks.

Tyler Toffoli Expected To Test Free Agency

May 25, 2024 at 1:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Jets will be now turning their focus to their roster after Scott Arniel was elevated to the head coaching position on Friday. With several free agents of note and not a lot of cap space to work with, they’ll face a situation of trying to pick between who to keep and who to let go. It appears that winger Tyler Toffoli will be among the ones that move on as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the veteran is expected to hit the open market in July.

The 32-year-old has moved around in recent years. This time a year ago, he was with Calgary before being moved to New Jersey after early extension talks went nowhere. Then at the trade deadline, he was on the move again with Winnipeg flipping a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-rounder to get him as a rental to give their offense a boost in the tight Central Division.

The change of scenery bolstered Winnipeg’s attack but Toffoli saw his numbers dip somewhat. After putting up 26 goals and 18 assists in 61 games with the Devils, the veteran recorded seven goals and four helpers in 18 regular season games with the Jets. Like many of Winnipeg’s key forwards, Toffoli was somewhat quiet in their five-game loss in the opening round, recording just two goals.

Toffoli was one of the more prominent scorers available in his last trip through free agency back in 2020. However, in a deflated market, he wound up settling for a four-year, $17MM agreement with Montreal. Despite playing for four years on that contract, Toffoli wound up being pretty consistent, notching at least 20 goals each time while tallying 115 times in 287 games; that works out to an average of 33 goals per 82 contests. With a lot of teams looking to add scoring this summer, this should work out in Toffoli’s favor.

While the fact he has bounced around so much lately may raise some eyeballs (he played for two different teams in 2019-20 before signing with Montreal the following summer), Toffoli has shown that he can produce in a new system quite quickly. Accordingly, he should be well-positioned to earn another multi-year agreement and could push to land a contract in the range of last year’s top-paid forward Alex Killorn, who inked a four-year, $25MM agreement with Anaheim. That would be a nice improvement after how things went for Toffoli last time out.

Rangers Recall 13 Players

May 25, 2024 at 12:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With the Rangers seeing their AHL team eliminated in the Atlantic Division Finals earlier this week, they were free to recall some players to the big club to serve as their ‘Black Aces’ squad. After taking a few days, they’ve made their choices on who to bring up. AHL Hartford announced that the Rangers have promoted goaltender Dylan Garand, defensemen Ben Harpur, Connor Mackey, Victor Mancini, Matthew Robertson, and Brandon Scanlin, and forwards Alex Belzile, Brett Berard, Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick, and Adam Sykora from the Wolf Pack.

Garand was briefly up with the Rangers earlier in the playoffs when third-stringer Louis Domingue was unavailable but didn’t see any game action. The 21-year-old didn’t have a particularly strong regular season with a 3.03 GAA and a .898 SV% in 39 regular season games but was quite sharp in the playoffs, improving those numbers to 2.59 and .922 respectively in nine appearances.

Among the blueliners, only Mackey and Scanlin saw action with the Rangers during the regular season, getting into one game apiece; one of them would likely be the first from this group to get the call to play if necessary. Harpur has the most experience with 198 career appearances (including 42 with New York in 2022-23) but missed most of the season due to injury which likely takes him off the table. Mancini, meanwhile, is eligible to practice but not play as his entry-level contract doesn’t officially begin until next season.

As for the forwards, all but Belzile, Berard, and Sykora got into at least one NHL contest in 2023-24. Pitlick led the way on that front with 34 appearances but was limited to just a goal and three assists while averaging a little over 10 minutes a night. That said, he’d be the safest player to put in the lineup if necessary given his familiarity. Othmann is one of their top prospects and had a strong year in Hartford with 49 points in 67 games. While it would be riskier to put him in, his style of play fits in with the physicality of the postseason while Othmann could provide some potential offensive upside if Peter Laviolette has to shake things up.

Atlantic Notes: Perron, Domi, Sobolev

May 25, 2024 at 11:40 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Red Wings winger David Perron is slated to reach unrestricted free agency this summer after two seasons with Detroit. However, as he told Sebastien Lajoie of La Tribune, his preference would be to avoid hitting the open market and simply stick around with the Red Wings. The soon-to-be 36-year-old was a productive secondary scorer this season, notching 17 goals and 30 assists in 76 games, finishing just a point shy of cracking the top five in team scoring. Perron added that he plans to play for at least two more years which means he’ll likely be looking for a multi-year deal this summer. His set-to-expire deal carried an AAV of $4.75MM and it’s possible he could land a bit more this time around.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

While there is believed to be mutual interest in an extension for Maple Leafs forward Max Domi, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (subscription link) that no numbers have been exchanged yet which suggests that talks haven’t really begun yet. The 29-year-old managed just nine goals this season after putting up 20 in 2022-23 but he did record 37 assists, the second-highest total of his career. Having played for six teams in the last five years, it seems safe to suggest that Domi will be looking for a multi-year after playing on one-year, $3MM contracts the last two seasons.
Canadiens prospect Daniil Sobolev has signed a two-year deal with Spartak of the KHL, per a team release. The 21-year-old blueliner was a fifth-round pick by Montreal back in 2021, going 142nd overall. Sobolev split this season between OHL Niagara and Brantford, notching seven goals and 18 assists in 64 games. The Canadiens have until June 1st, 2025 to sign Sobolev so he’ll need a big year overseas to have a chance at landing an entry-level deal.

Morning Notes: Vesey, Guentzel, Skjei

May 25, 2024 at 10:15 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

Sportsnet is reporting that New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey left Game 2 last night against the Florida Panthers after taking a high hit from Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg. Vesey was ruled out of the game with an upper-body injury before the start of the third period. The Boston, Massachusetts native has dressed in 11 playoff games this season, tallying a goal and two assists.

Vesey’s injury could allow forward Blake Wheeler to return to action. Wheeler skated in the pre-game last night but ultimately did not dress. The 37-year-old Wheeler has been out of action since he suffered a scary lower-body injury back on February 15th. There is no word yet on Vesey’s status as he is being evaluated.

In other morning notes:

Despite the movement in their front office with Don Waddell’s departure, the Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly engaged in contract extension talks with trade deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel (per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic). The forward was a seamless fit in Carolina and has expressed an interest in staying with the Hurricanes long-term. LeBrun says that the Hurricanes initiated the contract talks with the star forward but it remains to be seen if they will be able to meet his asking price which could hover around $9MM annually on a long-term contract. Guenzel has averaged 36 goals per 82 games during his career and will be in high demand should he reach the open market.
The Hurricanes have also reportedly continued contract discussions with defenseman Brady Skjei (as per Pierre LeBrun). The 30-year-old has been with Carolina for five seasons and has been in extension talks with the Hurricanes intermittently since last summer. Skjei is coming off a career year in which he posted 13 goals and 34 assists in 80 games and has become an exceptional two-way defenseman playing alongside Brett Pesce. Skjei does a bit of everything and his offensive outburst this past season isn’t outside of the norm for him given that he had 18 goals during the 2022-23 season. He will be in high demand if he reaches free agency on July 1st.

Free Agent Focus: Washington Capitals

May 25, 2024 at 8:52 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

Free agency is now just a bit more than 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 Capitals.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Connor McMichael – Former first-round pick McMichael finally found consistent playing time and offensive success at the NHL level after bouncing back and forth between Hershey and Washington. Two years ago, the Ajax, Ontario native was a regular in the Capitals lineup, but last year he found himself back in Hershey. During the 2023-24 season, McMichael dressed in 80 NHL games tallying 18 goals and 15 assists while playing almost 16 minutes a night. The 23-year-old appears likely to start next season as the Capitals third line center and should receive a healthy bump in pay from the $832,500 he made this past year. Given his offensive breakout, it seems reasonable to guess that McMichael will find himself on a short bridge contract in the range of $2MM-$3MM per year.

F Beck Malenstyn – Malenstyn had a breakout season this past year dressing in 81 games while posting six goals and 15 assists. The 26-year-old was a fifth-round pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft and spent four years in the AHL with Hershey before finding full-time duty this season in Washington. Malenstyn might not have posted much in the way of offense, but he appeared to earn the trust of the Capitals coaching staff with his speed and work ethic. The Delta, British Columbia native started a whopping 92.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone (per Hockey Reference), a strikingly high number, especially for a younger player. As you might expect from that kind of deployment, Malenstyn posted terrible possession numbers with a CF% of 33.8% (per Hockey Reference). Malenstyn figures to get a good bump from the $775K this past season as he is arbitration-eligible and could be looking at a salary that doubles what he took home last season.

Other RFAs: C Ethen Frank, G Mitchell Gibson, D Hardy Häman Aktell, F Alex Limoges, F Riley Sutter

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Max Pacioretty – The hope when Pacioretty signed with the Capitals was that he would get healthy and provide some offensive depth. While he suffered some serious setbacks, he did manage to dress in 47 games for Washington, his highest total since the 2020-21 season when he played 48 games. Pacioretty’s comeback was heroic after suffering back-to-back Achilles injuries, but his speed was badly diminished and he struggled at times to keep up with the pace of his counterparts. Pacioretty still managed to post four goals and 19 assists last year while collecting $2MM in salary and another $2MM in bonuses, however, his CF% fell to a career-low 46.9% at even strength. At 35, he will still find work in the NHL, but it likely won’t be with Washington given that the Capitals have so many younger (and faster) players pushing for NHL jobs.

F Nicolas Aubé-Kubel – The 28-year-old Aubé-Kubel had the second-best offensive season of his career this past year with six goals and 10 assists in 60 games while playing a career-high 12:12 per game. On the surface, it looks like a terrific season for the Slave Lake, Alberta native, but his increase in ice time was largely due to the Capitals’ injury struggles and his extra playing time was more of a necessity than anything else. Aubé-Kubel’s underlying numbers fell to a career-low as his CF% was just 43.4% and his FF% fell to 42.5% (per Hockey Reference). While he performed better than his fellow fourth-liners it seems highly unlikely that the Capitals will look to extend Aubé-Kubel and may opt to chase a replacement in free agency or find an internal one.

F Matthew Phillips – Phillips has been a solid AHL scorer for several seasons and finally got an extended look in the NHL this past year. It didn’t go as hoped for the 26-year-old as he posted just a goal and four assists in 31 games while being claimed off waivers twice. Phillips is in a unique position as a Group 6 UFA (meaning he is 25 years or older and has completed three or more professional seasons in which he’s played one or more professional games). At 5’8” and just 160 lbs, Phillips is very undersized by NHL standards, however, teams will be intrigued by his offensive skill and will likely offer him a two-way contract at the NHL minimum, with a healthy downside salary at the AHL level.

Other UFAs: D Lucas Johansen, D Chase Priskie, F Joe Snively

Projected Cap Space

The Capitals will head into the summer with around $6.7MM in cap space but could have upwards of $16MM depending on the status of center Nicklas Bäckström who appears likely to remain on LTIR for the remainder of his contract. The Capitals could also explore a trade for goaltender Darcy Kuemper who carries a $5.25MM cap hit for three more seasons, although that might be a tough task given his struggles last season. Up front, the Capitals have some holes to fill, particularly at center. Given his recent history, it seems likely that general manager Brian MacLellan will explore a short-term deal for a veteran or take a chance on a bounce-back candidate as they did with Dylan Strome in the summer of 2022. The Capitals could also be in the market for a depth defenseman as they have some uncertainty on the backend with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s struggles. A versatile veteran, van Riemsdyk can play on both sides of the ice, but adding another blueliner would give Washington some options heading into next season.

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

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