Snapshots: Boucher, McDavid, Kraft Hockeyville
Former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Guy Boucher was hoping to be much more of a contender in the team’s head coaching search, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Toronto parted ways with Boucher on Saturday, ending his tenure in Toronto after just one year with the team. Boucher mainly presided over Toronto’s power play, which posted a 23.95 percent success rate this season, down two percent from last year though still a top-10 unit in the league. They lost that special-teams spark in the playoffs, though, scoring on just one of the 21 power plays they received in their first-round loss to the Boston Bruins.
The Leafs were rumored to be interested in a long list of candidates for their head coaching vacancy – including Todd McLellan, Gerard Gallant, and even Rod Brind’Amour prior to his extension in Carolina. Toronto’s assistants were never among the rumored candidates, with the team even overturning Manny Malhotra, who left for an AHL head coaching role and was replaced by Lane Lambert. Boucher may need to follow in Malhotra’s path to the minor league if he’d like another head coaching role, with seemingly no vacancies in the NHL following Ryan Warsofsky’s hire in San Jose. There are currently three head coach vacancies in the AHL – with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Hartford Wolf Pack, though the latter could opt to promote interim head coach Steve Smtih
Other notes from around the league:
- Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid has broken Wayne Gretzky’s record for assists in a single postseason, now at 32 after recording three assists in Game 4. McDavid and Gretzky are the only two players to record 30 assists in a single postseason, with Gretzky managing the feat in both 1985 and 1988. McDavid is now up to 38 points in 22 playoff games this year, more than any other player in NHL history save for Gretzky and Mario Lemieux – though 38 points still ranks McDavid as just the fifth-highest scoring postseason, with Gretzky breaking 40 points three separate times, including a record-holding 47 points, and Lemieux once scoring 44. Those will be the records that McDavid is chasing as he looks to will Edmonton to a Game 7 Stanley Cup.
- The Ottawa Senators will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2024 Kraft Hockeyville Preseason Game, set to take place in Elliot Lake, Ontario. Elliot Lake will also receive $250K to support arena upgrades and $10K in hockey equipment from the NHLPA Goals and Dreams fund. The matchup will bring Canadian superstars Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang to Northern Ontario, and mark Pittsburgh’s first time playing guest to the Senators since a 2-1 overtime loss in March.
Offseason Checklist: Carolina Hurricanes
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 Carolina.
For the first time in a while, the Hurricanes were aggressive making moves in-season. After largely staying quiet at the past few trade deadlines, they acquired arguably the top name on the market in forward Jake Guentzel from the Penguins – without having to give up a first-round pick. While he performed well, it didn’t get them over the playoff hump, and they were dispatched in the second round by the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. Now, they’re headed for an offseason of major turnover both on the ice and off it, thanks to a late GM change.
Jarvis Extension
The Hurricanes’ entire offseason plan seems to revolve around prioritizing a limited amount of pending free agents instead of trying to retain as many as possible. Aside from defense fixture Jaccob Slavin, who’s under contract next season anyway but is still getting an extension next month, their other priority is a new deal for pending RFA Seth Jarvis. The 2020 13th overall pick has exhausted his entry-level contract and is in line for a significant pay bump over his previous $894K cap hit.
It’s not clear whether the Canes’ front office, led by interim GM Eric Tulsky, prefers to go the bridge deal or the long-term route with Jarvis. The difference in cap hit would likely be significant. Evolving Hockey projects a $5.15MM cap hit for a two-year deal, for example, but an $8.5MM cap hit if they wanted to lock him up to a maximum eight-year deal right away.
It’ll depend on how much cap space they want to reserve for everybody else next season. They’ve got nearly $24MM to spend after signing defenseman Jalen Chatfield to a three-year, $3MM deal this week. It also looks like they’ve made their peace with letting trade Guentzel walk, as they’ve started shopping around his signing rights for a mid-round pick. But after signing Jarvis, they still need to re-sign or replace Jordan Martinook, Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teräväinen – and that’s just among forwards. Tony DeAngelo, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei are all headed toward the UFA market on defense, although the Hurricanes do have some young players – particularly blue liner Scott Morrow – who are ready to challenge for spots.
Still, they’ve got to get some cost certainty on Jarvis before going free-agent hunting. As much as a $3MM range in cap hit, depending on the term, would surely be the difference between them landing or not landing someone high on their wish list.
Trade Nečas
Of course, in order to re-sign Jarvis, they need to figure out a game plan for the other big-name RFA forward they’re reportedly sacrificing to make room for him. Now arbitration-eligible after completing his two-year, $6MM contract, Martin Nečas finds himself on the block after seeing an 18-point decrease this season from 2022-23’s career-high mark of 71.
And it’s a move that should happen relatively soon, hopefully making this a short-lived unchecked box for all parties involved. An amicable departure via trade is the outcome both sides still prefer, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier this month. The beginning of the Stanley Cup Final came and went without a move, as Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff suggested may have been in the works, but all indications still point toward a deal getting done before or on draft day.
The Hurricanes are expecting a rich return package, though. While he’s still 25, that may be tough to swallow for teams picking up a player who’s only truly challenged for first-line minutes at sparing moments during his seven-year, 362-game NHL career. The 2017 12th-overall pick has eclipsed the 50-point mark just twice, each coming in his last two seasons.
His back-to-back 20-goal campaigns and his ability to shift to center if needed do position his value at a bit of a high point, though. He’s still projected to garner $7.5MM annually on a seven-year extension, per Evolving Hockey. That puts him relatively in line (if not more expensive) than some other comparable top-six-caliber but inconsistent forwards on the UFA market, such as Elias Lindholm.
Refill Wing Depth
As mentioned earlier, the Canes will be dealing with some major roster turnover on offense outside of their core forward pieces via their pending UFAs. Add Nečas into the mix, and it’s clear they’ll need to make some moves to replenish their scoring depth – especially on the wings.
Pulling off a Nečas deal could potentially solve some of that problem. By all accounts, they’re looking for NHL-ready talent in return, not draft picks and prospects. The purpose of such a deal is twofold: one, helping keep their contention window alive with a similarly valued Nečas replacement, and two, making it easier to get a trade across the finish line by opening up some roster flexibility for the acquiring team.
That leaves everybody else. Of course, Martinook, Noesen and Teräväinen could still – theoretically – all be back before or after July 1, and this is no longer much of a conversation. There’s still a question to be had about who might replace Guentzel at the top of the lineup, though. Yes, the Canes finished second in the Metropolitan Division without his services aside from the last few weeks of the season. But he was a force in a Carolina sweater, racking up 25 points in 17 games to end the campaign.
It could certainly be a by-committee approach in terms of depth scoring, and Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov would still round out a spectacular Aho-centered first line. But it does draw their secondary scoring into question, as outside of Nečas and their first line, their leading scorer from last season would be captain Jordan Staal and his 30 points. They’ll need some cost-effective, high-ceiling UFA options to help plug those holes.
Worry About The Future
It’s the last item on this list, but it’s also one they’re likely to start figuring out quickly. It appears they’ve already shifted a good portion of their attention here, reportedly agreeing in principle to an extension for Slavin. He’s not eligible to put pen to paper until July 1 with one season still left on his contract, though.
But even with the news, the Hurricanes still face a similar situation on defense in the summer of 2025 as they do now. Only Chatfield and Slavin are signed to one-way contracts for 2025-26, although Morrow will still be on his entry-level deal as a likely regular contributor. However, a replacement for the still-effective-but-aging Brent Burns will be needed, and Dmitry Orlov will also be an unrestricted free agent after next year.
Things are mostly stabilized offensively, with the brunt of the turnover expected this summer. A long-term extension for Jarvis “resets the window” for their forward corps, and no major pieces will be due for new deals within another few years.
They’ll also need to find a partner for the up-and-coming Pyotr Kochetkov in the crease. Barring a goalie trade, the Hurricanes will bring him back in tandem with established veteran Frederik Andersen next season. If both stay healthy and play to the potential they showcased this season, it’s a top-10 duo in the league. But Andersen will be 35 in October, and his injury history has given Carolina fits at inopportune times. It seems likely this will be his last season in Raleigh.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens
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 Canadiens.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Jesse Ylonen – Hoping to build on a solid depth scoring season in 2022-23, Ylonen failed to boost his production in any meaningful way. In fact, he took a step or two back during the 2023-24 campaign while seeing his ice time dip towards the back half of the season. Ylonen saw his point-per-game average drop from 0.43 P/G to 0.14 P/G in only one year. Luckily, this should allow Montreal to keep him close to his previous league-minimum salary of $775K in hopes that he will rebound for the 2024-25 NHL season.
D Arber Xhekaj – Not much of a point producer from the back end, Xhekaj has become a valuable presence on the Canadiens’ blue line. Over the last two years, Xhekaj has scored a total of eight goals and 23 points over 95 games while also delivering 284 hits. However, because of his physicality, Xhekaj has lost quite a few games to injury in his first two years with Montreal, and the team will be hoping he can maintain better health moving forward. He should be able to get a modest raise on his most recent salary of $828K at the NHL level this summer, as Evolving Hockey projects a 2-year, $3MM contract for Xhekaj. 
D Justin Barron – Acquired in the trade that sent Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche during the 2022-23 NHL season, Barron could potentially be crowded out of the Canadiens defensive core this summer. Shuffled back-and-forth between Montreal and their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, Barron failed to build on his production this season despite seeing his ice time increase by an average of two minutes. It’s unlikely that the Canadiens will choose not to tender Barron a contract this offseason, but he may start the season in Laval with the team already having a crowded blue line.
Other RFAs: F Lias Andersson, F Filip Cederqvist, D Mattias Norlinder
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Tanner Pearson – After suffering through injuries during the 2022-23 campaign with the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal acquired Pearson last offseason for some much-needed depth scoring. However, Pearson would have one of his worst seasons to date in northeastern Canada, scoring five goals and 13 points through 54 games this year. A few weeks ago, it was announced the Canadiens have no intentions of re-signing Pearson, confirming he will hit the open market this summer.
Other UFAs: F Colin White, D Chris Wideman, F Arnaud Durandeau, F Philippe Maillet, F Mitchell Stephens, D Brady Keeper
Projected Cap Space
Heading into the summer months, the Canadiens organization will have around $9.4MM of cap space to work with, with the ability to go 10% over the upper limit. Once the 2024-25 season starts, the team will place goaltender Carey Price on long-term injured reserve which will open up another $10.5MM to work with during the year.
Unless Montreal can somehow facilitate a trade of Price’s contract this summer, they will have a little wiggle room to add an impact piece in free agency. Defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Juraj Slafkovsky took major steps forward this past season and the organization’s prospect pool should add complimentary pieces shortly. Because of this, Montreal’s sole focus should be moving out bloated but moveable contracts in Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia to increase the organization’s cap flexibility despite Price’s massive salary.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Mapping Out The Blackhawks’ Offseason Plans
Once again mired as one of the worst teams during the regular season in 2023-24, the Chicago Blackhawks have an interesting offseason ahead. With a major piece set in stone now that Connor Bedard has confirmed he’s the real deal, the Blackhawks have a lot of flexibility to improve the team this summer.
After failing to win back-to-back draft lotteries, Chicago will start their offseason with the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. It is common knowledge that the San Jose Sharks will select Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick. Still, the Blackhawks will likely select defenseman Artyom Levshunov or forward Ivan Demidov with the next selection, both of which will project as elite-level players in their own right.
After the NHL Draft, the next significant date in the offseason will be July 1st. This is where Chicago can shake things up in a major way. For their roster in 2024-25, the Blackhawks have 10 forwards, four defensemen, and two goalies already signed to contracts. The team will likely re-up on most of their restricted free agents and graduate prospects to the majors, but they will have a ton of cap flexibility to fill in the other holes.
Having nearly $33MM to play with this summer, General Manager Kyle Davidson could have practically any player on the market, assuming those players would want to come to the Windy City. In fact, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has already alluded to Chicago poking around Jake Guentzel‘s camp, with the latter having roots in the American Midwest. If the Blackhawks can convince Guentzel to sign a long-term deal with the organization this summer, that would be a foundational building block to put next to Bedard for the first half of his career.
Nevertheless, even if Chicago makes serious investments this summer, they will still be hard-pressed to earn a playoff spot next year. The Central Division is still projected to be led by the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Winnipeg Jets next season. Still, the Blackhawks may be able to move past the Utah Hockey Club, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues if nearly everything goes positively.
Landing a big fish or two should make the Blackhawks more competitive for the 2024-25 NHL season, and aid in developing the youngsters that now inhabit the roster. Unlike other rebuilding clubs, the presence of Bedard has allowed Chicago to accelerate their rebuild quicker than normal.
Snapshots: Byfield, Necas, Ehlers, Helenius
The Los Angeles Kings are set to face the consequences of their drafting this summer, with each of Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Jordan Spence, and Alex Turcotte set to enter restricted free agency. Of the quartet, only Byfield has emerged as a legitimate NHL option, stamping that sentiment with 20 goals and 55 points in 80 games this season. Byfield held onto a role on the team’s second-line and second power-play unit, and will now be paid accordingly per John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor, who projects a $6MM cap hit and eight years of term on Byfield’s next deal.
Hoven explained that Byfield’s lack of multi-season success likely holds him from too hefty of a price tag and makes the interim cost of a bridge deal hard to gauge. The Kings are also face at least one major free agent in every year between 2026 and 2030 – and likely wouldn’t be too keen on circling back to Byfield’s negotiations on top of it. Through Hoven’s projections, Byfield would earn an admirable salary – thanks to a strong season and his 2020 second-overall selection – and gains the confidence of a long-term deal without signing into his 30s. The deal also works for the team, who have $20.2MM in projected cap space to sign 10 pending free agents this summer. Byfield earning $6MM would leave plenty of room for the Kings to re-sign strong lineup pieces like Matt Roy, Viktor Arvidsson, and Cam Talbot.
Los Angeles had to wait for Byfield’s breakout but seems to have finally situated him in a role he’s comfortable with. They’ll hope he can build on his commendable scoring on a new deal next season, though with negotiations could become complicated with no recent comparable contract for Byfield’s delayed breakout.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Carolina Hurricanes will be looking for like-value players in their search for a Martin Necas trade, shares Chris Johnston on the Chris Johnston Show. Johnston went on to mention Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers as a situation where a swap could make sense. Ehlers is in a similar situation to Necas – tentatively on the trade block after a successful season and capable of holding down a confident top-six role. Necas is a pending restricted free agent this summer, due for his first major pay raise following the end of a two-year, $6MM bridge contract. Ehlers’ already makes $6MM each season, though he’s set to enter unrestricted free agency next summer. Both players are due for lofty salaries on their next deals after each showing the potential to reach 60 or more points in one season. Johnston was hesitant to speak too confidently about a swap happening, though it could certainly make sense for a Hurricanes team in the midst of their Stanley Cup window and a Jets team still a few years away.
- Star 2024 NHL Draft prospect Konsta Helenius expressed a desire to move to the NHL as quickly as possible in an interview with Adam Kimelman of NHL.com. Helenius told Kimelman, “I played against NHL guys. Of course it gives me confidence because I think I did a great job against them – I think I’m very closet to the NHL.” Kimelman went on to explain that Helenius is not just pushing himself to be an NHL player, but to be one of the best Finns to ever appear in the league. That kind of enthusiasm should boost the excitement around him ahead of the draft, though he’s already a top 10 pick on many public scouting boards. Regardless of where he goes, though, it seems Helenius is much more focused on seizing the opportunity of his first NHL training camp.
Oilers Open Extension Negotiations With Leon Draisaitl
The Edmonton Oilers have a stressful summer ahead, with 12 pending free agents currently a part of their Stanley Cup run and just $10MM in projected cap space. That’s enough of a headache – but to add to it, the team will have to keep in mind the major paychecks due to their superstars over the next two summers. Both Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard will need new deals in 2025, while Connor McDavid will challenge contract records once again in 2026. Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff recently joined Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer to discuss the looming payday, projecting that the trio of stars will cost a total of $40MM when all is said and done. Seravalli broke that down to $16MM going to McDavid, $14MM going to Draisaitl, and $10MM going to Bouchard.
Seravalli went on to discuss Draisaitl’s looming negotiations in-depth, sharing that the star German forward is interested in signing a long-term deal near the league maximum – as opposed to a short-term and relatively cheaper deal like Auston Matthews‘ four-year, $53MM contract. At 28, a long-term deal would take Draisaitl through the majority of his remaining career and cement his place as career batterymate of McDavid. Seravalli believes the Oilers have already opened discussions of an extension with Draisaitl’s camp, as they look to both lock up their core and chip into their looming bills as quickly as possible.
Should these projections hold true, the Oilers would need to ensure they had $24MM to go to Draisaitl and Bouchard next summer. The league salary cap is projected to reach $92MM ahead of the 2025-26 season, per CapFriendly, after seeing a record-tying $4.5MM increase to $88MM this summer. Another increase would go a long way toward helping Edmonton’s budgeting. The Oilers don’t have many players entering free agency in 2025, and get a bit of a boost by Cody Ceci‘s $3.25MM cap hit coming off the books, but they’ll again have to look towards the future, with Evander Kane, Stuart Skinner, Mattias Ekholm, and Brett Kulak set to join McDavid in 2026’s free agency class.
Edmonton boasts an exciting opportunity to lock in three franchise cornerstones as career Oilers. It’s hard to argue a case against any of them – the trio currently leads Edmonton in postseason scoring and would likely compete for the Conn Smythe Trophy should Edmonton turn the series around. Bouchard’s emergence as a true top defenseman, capable of playing upwards of 25 minutes a night, has propelled Edmonton into a team capable of being carried by their star talent, while Draisaitl has emerged as one of the few players in the NHL capable of rivaling McDavid’s scoring. The Oilers seem plenty aware of those accolades and are now taking the first steps towards securing their future by kicking off contract talks with Draisaitl.
PHR Mailbag: Ullmark, Rangers, Trouba, Marner, Tkachuk-Huberdeau Trade, Laine, Holl
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Jacob Trouba’s future with the Rangers, Patrik Laine’s situation in Columbus, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, we’ll have two more of these columns between now and next weekend so watch for it in one of those.
@JJFlip1995: What is the likelihood that the Bruins trade Ullmark and what is a likely return from said trade?
GM Don Sweeney has made it clear that he’d love to keep both netminders. I think he’s speaking truthfully about that desire. But I would be absolutely stunned if it actually happened. Jeremy Swayman is heading for a pricey long-term contract which would push Boston’s spending on goaltenders near the top of the NHL. Given that they have some needs to fill while having some rare spending flexibility this summer, I’m not sure that spending big between the pipes is the best way to do it. It’ll help during the regular season but come playoff time, we saw how little having Ullmark as a high-end second option mattered.
As for a return, I don’t think it’s going to be a huge one. With what’s believed to be multiple other veteran starters available this summer, the market isn’t going to be too strong beyond the top option (and that’s not Ullmark). I don’t see the high-end picks being in play over the next couple of weeks.
A lot will depend on if the Bruins are taking a contract back as part of the swap. If they’re just moving him straight up, they might get a late first-round pick and even that might be on the high side if other dominoes fall first. I think their preference might be to try to swap Ullmark for a skater to fill one of their other holes with a minimal cap effect. At that point, you’re probably looking at a second-pairing defender or a second-line winger. If they can do that and then back-fill with Brandon Bussi taking over behind Swayman, that would be a solid outcome for them.
@RamonesFan41: Who will the Rangers buy out? Trouba, Goodrow, or someone else???
Can I pick none of the above? I don’t think they buy out anyone, to be honest.
I’ll talk a bit more about Trouba shortly but a buyout costs them $4MM for the next two years and then $2MM for two more years after that. Can the Rangers get a better defenseman for $4MM or less? I don’t think they can. So if you’re not able to upgrade that position, why buy him out and make the team worse? He didn’t have a great playoff showing but he can still be a contributor so I don’t think they even consider the possibility of a buyout for him.
As for Barclay Goodrow, you could sell me on the idea, at least. The buyout price tag isn’t crazy. They’d have a cap credit next season of $200K followed by a $1MM cap charge in 2025-26 before ballooning to a $3.5MM charge in 2026-27. From there, it’s a little over $1.1MM for three more years. If they need extra money now, they could buy him out and pre-spend some of the expected cap increase in 2026-27 to cover the higher cost at that time.
But Goodrow is coming off a strong postseason showing where he was one of their leaders in goals with six. He’s a player who is more effective in the playoffs and I think some might suggest they need more of those players, not less. I wouldn’t be shocked if they bought him out but I’m leaning no right now.
Looking at the rest of the roster, I don’t see a viable candidate. If they have reservations about Filip Chytil being able to stay healthy moving forward, they could try to buy him out at one-third of the cost but with the concussion issues he had, I suspect that’s a grievance waiting to happen. That’s really about it for options so I don’t expect them to go that route in the next couple of weeks.
met man: Do the Rangers stand pat or make moves to improve the team via trades or free agent signings?
With a little over $9MM in cap room per CapFriendly, New York has enough cap space to re-sign Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider and round out the roster so they don’t have to necessarily do anything. They wouldn’t be able to do much else but starting next season with the bulk of this core intact isn’t a bad way to go. We are, after all, talking about the team that had the most points during the regular season so it’s a good group.
Kaapo Kakko feels like a possible trade chip even with his new deal. Maybe there’s a winger at a similar price tag that they feel is a better fit on the roster or if they want a free agent in that price range, perhaps you look at moving him for a draft pick. I wouldn’t be shocked if they looked at some lower-cost free agents as well. In general, I expect a fairly quiet offseason from them.
But if it were up to me, I’d look to try to go into next season with a couple million in cap space. They have some waiver-exempt players who could be shuffled back and forth on off days to add to that amount. Maintaining that to the trade deadline is worth around $9MM to $10MM in full-season salaries, giving them the ability to add multiple players. If they make a move now, it probably caps them out. I’d rather try to get two pieces in-season than one during the summer, especially on a team that is already somewhat of a contender.
Schwa: Do you see the Rangers moving on from Trouba? What could you see as the additional assets given to get him off the books?
Maybe a team like Utah could be a fit given they have no D under contract for next season. $8MM for two seasons isn’t too bad for a team to get a physical player who offers leadership. They need to spend some money and he likely won’t provide a cap crunch for them by the time the contract expires.
Let’s talk about Trouba a bit more now. As I already noted earlier, I don’t see a buyout happening. It’s fair to say that he underachieved this season and that doesn’t help his short-term trade value. Neither does an $8MM price tag. Yes, two years remaining makes it more manageable but how many teams can realistically afford that? Perhaps more importantly, how many good teams can afford that?
You identified Utah as a possible landing spot and your logic is certainly sound. That’s definitely a team that could benefit from a shorter-term veteran add to try to stabilize things and they can certainly afford the contract. But they’re not a playoff team. Trouba has a 15-team no-trade clause as of July 1st (with a full no-move before then). Personally, I think it stands to reason that he’d have some non-playoff teams on that list which probably takes Chicago and San Jose, other weaker teams with ample cap room, off the table as well.
If you look at the list of playoff teams this year that can probably afford to take on an $8MM contract without it materially affecting what else they might try to do this summer, Nashville comes to mind. The problem is they might be the only team on that list.
Without many viable options for a cap dump, they might have to look at trying to move him for another player. But in doing that, they’re mitigating the cap savings and if I’m being honest, I don’t think they’d get the best player in the move. If you’re a contender, how much is it worth it to take a lesser player back (one that won’t log 20-plus minutes a night on the right side of the back end) and only get a bit of cap savings? That doesn’t seem like a great idea to me. Never say never but I think he stays put.
frozenaquatic: Panarin straight up for Marner. NTCs notwithstanding, who says no? Fills organizational holes for each, and opens up first-line LW for Lafreniere. Panarin’s a little better but Marner is a little younger. Similar contracts.
Trouba to Hockey Club Sibir Novosibirsk Oblast for two pucks and a mouthguard. Who says no? The mouthguard?
I think we’ve covered Trouba more than enough by now but let’s talk about the first proposal. In a vacuum, I don’t dislike the offer for either side; your quick logic makes sense. I do think both sides would say no, however.
From Toronto’s perspective, the idea of trading Mitch Marner would be to change up the composition of their roster. Maybe it’s for a prominent blueliner, a power forward, a future center to possibly replace John Tavares, or a combination of the three. Artemi Panarin does none of that. He gets them an extra year of club control at a slightly higher price tag which isn’t nothing but that’s not the type of roster shakeup I think they’d be looking to do.
Meanwhile, for the Rangers, while they save a bit of money for next season, it could cost them considerably for 2025-26. If they can’t re-sign Marner, then they’ve lost a year of a player who just put up 120 points. And if they can re-sign him, it’s probably going to be at a price tag that’s higher than Panarin’s which could be notable as they potentially look to reshape their roster. Having said that, I think they’d be the likelier of the two teams to say yes even though I think they’d say no in the end.
PyramidHeadcrab: Since hindsight is 20/20, who won the Tkachuk-Huberdeau trade? I gotta imagine Florida wins that one by a mile, but can we prove it with numbers? I distinctly remember the Florida fanbase having an absolute meltdown, “Tkachuk is just a mid power forward without Gaudreau!” But in watching this guy the past couple years, I personally think he’s become my favourite player since Paul Kariya.
Still gotta get me a Kariya #9 Ducks jersey…
And speaking of the other casualty of Calgary’s cap crunch, what does Johnny Gaudreau need to be successful going forward in Columbus?
Right now, it’s Florida by a considerable margin in that trade. Matthew Tkachuk has outscored both Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar combined since the swap (197 points to 190) and makes $7.25MM less. I think that’s all the numbers that are really needed.
Tkachuk has proven himself to be a legitimate top-line power forward whose style fits in perfectly with a grittier group that the Panthers have. And while a $9.75MM price tag certainly isn’t cheap, he’d get considerably more than that if he was hitting the open market next month.
Meanwhile, Huberdeau has struggled immensely under two different head coaches now over his first two years in Calgary. He’s one of the highest-paid wingers in the league and is producing like a second-liner with two years of a little over 50 points. That can’t be spun as a positive. They need a whole lot more from him and barring an influx of offensive talent, I’m not sure he can be counted on to produce anywhere close to the level he was with Florida.
I will say this, however. Weegar had a great season, scoring 20 goals and 52 points while logging nearly 23 minutes a night. He’s a legitimate top-pairing player and at $6.25MM on a long-term deal, they’ll get some good value out of that for a while, either with the Flames or as part of a trade if they opt for a rebuild.
It’s hard to say Florida will lose this deal, especially if they’re able to close things out against Edmonton. Right now, it looks pretty lopsided but if Huberdeau can return to a top-line level, Calgary could still do relatively well here.
As for Gaudreau, he needs higher-end linemates. Boone Jenner is a very good center, one of the more underrated ones even. But he’s not a true top-line option, especially offensively. A well-rounded offensive middleman to play off of would make a big difference. I think they have that in their system, it’s just a matter of getting Adam Fantilli more development time. In an ideal world, a big winger on the other side to do some of the board work would also help. So, too, would a more free-flowing system. In other words, Gaudreau needs a lot to go right if he wants to get back to the point-per-game level.
Senators Sign AHL Head Coach David Bell To A Two-Year Extension
Earlier today, it was noted that the Senators were turning their focus toward getting their AHL coaching staff finalized for next season. It didn’t take long to get the first piece of the puzzle in place as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Belleville head coach David Bell to a two-year contract extension. His deal was set to expire at the end of the month.
Bell has spent the last five seasons with Belleville. He started as an assistant coach with them in 2019-20 and was elevated to the interim head coaching role in February 2023. While they missed the playoffs that season, the interim tag was still lifted, a move that worked out well. Belleville finished fourth in the North Division this season and then won the opening round of the playoffs over Toronto (their first series win in franchise history) before falling to Cleveland.
Bell has never worked at the NHL level but is certainly experienced behind a bench. He has ten years of OHL coaching experience under his belt while he had four years of being an AHL assistant before joining Ottawa’s system. While he’ll have to wait a little longer for his first opportunity at the top level, he now has a bit of stability while looking to build on a strong finish from this past season.
Maple Leafs Fire Assistant Coach Guy Boucher
Guy Boucher’s time behind the bench in Toronto will be short-lived. The team announced today (Twitter link) that the assistant coach will not return to the team next season.
Boucher had been out of coaching since 2019 before GM Brad Treliving hired him last July to serve as an assistant for the Maple Leafs. More specifically, they were eyeing him to fill the void created when Spencer Carbery left the team to become the head coach in Washington.
With the firepower that Toronto has, there were high hopes that Boucher could help turn what was already one of the top power play units into an even better one. Instead, the team suffered a bit in that regard during the season, dropping from second-best to seventh while their success rate dropped a little more than two percent to 23.95% overall. Things were even worse in the playoffs when they scored just once in 21 opportunities against Boston, playing a big role in their first-round exit.
Boucher has parts of six years of head coaching experience at the NHL level, spending parts of three years each with Tampa Bay and Ottawa. His teams played to a record of 191-186-46 overall.
It has been a busy few weeks for Treliving and the Maple Leafs when it comes to their coaching staff. Craig Berube took over as head coach following the dismissal of Sheldon Keefe at the end of the first round. Meanwhile, Lane Lambert was hired as an associate coach earlier this month, taking the place of Dean Chynoweth who was let go. Manny Malhotra was also an assistant last year but has since been hired as AHL Abbotsford’s head coach. Now, they have a second vacancy to fill with Boucher leaving the team. As things stand, Mike van Ryn will be the only assistant from last season to remain on Berube’s staff.
Blues Have Potentially Made Brandon Saad Available
As Blues GM Doug Armstrong looks to shake up his roster, it appears one player who could be in play is Brandon Saad. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that there are rumblings that St. Louis has made the veteran available.
The 31-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Blues after inking a five-year, $22.5MM contract back in 2021. After a strong first year with them which saw him put up 24 goals and 25 assists in 78 games, Saad took a step back in 2022-23, seeing those numbers drop to 19 and 18 in 71 appearances respectively despite a small uptick in ice time. That had him in some trade speculation last summer although coming off a down year, nothing came to fruition.
It’s a slightly different situation this time around. Saad bounced back with 26 goals this past season while playing in all 82 games for the first time since 2017-18. On the surface, it might seem strange that St. Louis would be open to the possibility of moving him after that productive of a season, especially being a team that finished in the bottom ten league-wide in goals scored. However, it’s also fair to say that his trade value should be a lot higher now than it was a year ago which has to also be taken into consideration.
It’s worth noting that Saad is one of many Blues players to have some form of no-trade protection in their contracts. In this case, Saad has a full no-trade clause so even if Armstrong finds a trade to his liking, it could be vetoed as Torey Krug did last summer when he scuttled a trade to Philadelphia.
With free agency on the horizon, several pending UFA wingers will be seeking long-term agreements in what could be the busiest market over the last few years. If a team doesn’t want to make that type of commitment to someone but wants to add to their top-six winger group, someone like Saad could be an intriguing fallback plan, making him someone to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.