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Free Agent Focus: Washington Capitals

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Free agency is less 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 Washington Capitals. 

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Martin Fehervary – Besides missing some time due to an injury in December of this season, Fehervary still had a decent year with the Capitals. Primarily focused on the defensive side of the puck, Fehervary scored six goals and 10 assists in 67 games for Washington this season.

He repeated his physical campaign from last year, blocking 128 shots and throwing 217 hits from the back end. Even though the Capitals are likely to re-tool their team this upcoming offseason, Fehervary still factors into Washington’s blue-line top six.

Fehervary is likely to factor more into the penalty-kill during the 2023-24 season, after already averaging 20 minutes a night with the Capitals this past year. For a player that does not accrue very many penalty minutes himself, Fehervary is turning himself into a stable defensive defenseman for Washington.

Other RFAs:  F Kody Clark, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Riley Sutter, D Gabriel Carlsson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Conor Sheary  – During the 2020-21 offseason, Sheary surprisingly was unable to find a guaranteed contract. It wasn’t until December 2020 that the Capitals were one of the only teams to give Sheary another shot at NHL minutes. Sheary rewarded them in kind and was able to sign a two-year, $3MM contract extension with Washington before his first season with the team was even finished.

For the last two years, Sheary has become one of the better depth scorers in the NHL, scoring 43 points during the 2021-22 campaign, and following that up with 37 points this season. Seemingly destined for the third line on most competitive teams, Sheary could become a sneaky buy-low candidate this summer.

Throughout his career, Sheary has always been a plus forward when it comes to puck possession and has always shown flashes of being a 20-goal scorer. He is in a good position to secure a multi-year deal this offseason, but his playing time over the next few years will likely finish below 15 minutes a game.

F Connor Brown – Acquired last summer from the Ottawa Senators for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Brown was set to factor into Washington’s top-six forward group. Unfortunately, due to an ACL injury early on in the season, Brown was only able to play four games.

In the past, both with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators, Brown has shown the ability to score 20 goals a season, doing so during the 2016-17 and 2020-21 seasons. However, he has been wholly unable to play a complete season since his time with the Maple Leafs.

Benefiting tremendously from playing on the same line as Connor McDavid during his time in the OHL for the Erie Otters, Brown has not been the difference maker that he was expected to be. Fortunately for the Capitals, who are, when healthy, one of the better offensive teams, should have the talent around Brown to aid in his success if they wish to give him another shot.

Other UFAs:  F Craig Smith, D Matt Irwin, F Carl Hagelin, F Garrett Pilon, F Mike Vecchione, D Dylan McIlrath, D Bobby Nardella, G Zachary Fucale, G Hunter Shepard

Projected Cap Space

Given recent reporting, the Capitals’ cap space is more than likely to expand before the beginning of the 2023-24 offseason. As of right now, Washington only has around $7.3MM to work with, quite a low number for a team in need of big changes.

Long-time Capital forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and his $7.8MM cap hit are likely to be moved this summer, as well as forward Anthony Mantha along with the one-year, $5.7MM remaining on his deal.

Being a bona fide 2C in the NHL, Kuznetsov will surely be easier to move for Washington, but both players will likely find their exit in some form or another this offseason. Given that Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson are all in the back half of 30 years old, Washington will have quite the task ahead to get younger this summer.

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

Minor Transactions: 06/17/23

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It’s been a quiet day for news in the NHL, with perhaps the most significant development being a report that the Seattle Kraken are looking to move on from former backup goaltender Chris Driedger. But while the NHL slowly moves into its offseason, pro teams across the hockey world are hard at work trying to add players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable moves here:

  • Former Minnesota Wild center Tyler Graovac could be headed to the KHL’s Admiral Vladivostok, according to a rumor out of Russia. The 30-year-old with 84 NHL games on his resume has played the last two seasons in the KHL, one in Belarus with Dynamo Minsk and this past year with Podolsk Vityaz in Russia. He’s played decently well at each stop, and has a combined 20 goals and 46 points in 93 career KHL games. Should this rumor prove true he’ll head to the third team of his KHL career looking to aid Vladivostok back to the Gagarin Cup playoffs.
  • Alex Ierullo, a star forward in the ECHL, has signed a three-year contract with Asiago Hockey, a club in the Central European ICEHL. It’s a significant development for Ierullo, as pacts with a three-year term aren’t exactly common in the European pro hockey circuit for import players, especially for those who have never played in Europe. Asiago is likely comfortable making such a significant investment due to just how strong Ierullo’s season was. He ranked third in the East Coast league with 87 points in just 60 games, leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in points with a whopping 35-point lead over the next-highest scorer on his team. Ierullo has played in the AHL for a total of nine games but hasn’t been able to translate his ECHL success to the next level, which has likely been what’s paved his way to Europe.
  • After his first full season as a professional hockey player, former Arizona State University star Johnny Walker has decided to head overseas. He’s signed a contract with the Dundee Stars of the EIHL, the top professional hockey league in the United Kingdom. Walker was once an above-point-per-game scorer in the college ranks but availability issues have mired his more recent seasons. In 2022-23 he played 33 games with the Utah Grizzlies in the ECHL, scoring a respectable 12 goals and 18 points. He added on a whopping 171 penalty minutes in that span of games, and will now bring his hard-nosed play to Scotland.
  • Gretsky has signed a contract extension in Russia. Well, Vyacheslav Gretsky that is. The 26-year-old Belarusian forward saw his first extended action in the KHL this past year for Amur Khabarovsk, scoring five points in 43 games. With Gretsky on their squad for at least another year, Khabarovsk will hope that lineup continuity from last season will help them reach the playoffs after finishing second-to-last in their conference last season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Decision Time Approaches For Oilers With Kailer Yamamoto

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It has been an eventful first few NHL seasons for Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto.  He first made his mark in the NHL late in the 2019-20 campaign, averaging nearly a point per game in 27 contests and it looked like Edmonton had found a homegrown, cost-controlled offensive forward.  However, the cost is getting higher and Yamamoto hasn’t been able to rediscover that level of production.  With the team set to be tight to the salary cap again next season, GM Ken Holland is going to need to decide soon whether he can still afford to carry the 24-year-old on his roster.

After filing for arbitration last summer, Yamamoto and the Oilers agreed on a two-year, $6.2MM contract, a deal that was slightly backloaded, paying $3.2MM in salary next season.  For someone in a middle-six role with some perceived upside still, it’s a price point that seemed quite reasonable.

However, things didn’t go as planned this past season.  Yamamoto tried to play through some injuries before eventually being placed on LTIR in mid-January and in the end, his final numbers weren’t the strongest at 10 goals and 15 assists in 58 games, not the best bang for their buck.  In the playoffs, Yamamoto managed just a single goal along with three helpers in their 12 contests despite still logging nearly 15 minutes per game which, again, fell below expectations.

As things stand, Edmonton enters this summer with around $5MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, but they have at least three forward spots to fill with that money.  Two of those spots will go to Ryan McLeod and Klim Kostin, restricted free agents that they’d like to keep around and combined, they’ll cover more than half of that cap space.  There’s also RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard to contend with who alone will take up a big chunk of that.  There just isn’t any flexibility for them to work with.

More importantly, they don’t have the ability to make any sort of material improvement to their roster.  That’s where Yamamoto potentially comes in.  Clearing his cap charge off the roster opens up another spot to fill but gives them a bit more flexibility in how they choose to allocate those funds, allowing them to potentially shop for more of an impact player in free agency.

Of course, teams are well aware of Edmonton’s salary cap situation and Yamamoto’s struggles so it’s not as if the Oilers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the idea of a trade.  It’s possible that there could be teams willing to take a flyer on him – particularly one closer to the bottom of the standings hoping that a new team and bigger role could him going – but they’re not going to be offering up big assets to get him.  Some might even ask for a sweetener to simply take the contract on, that’s how tight things are going to be cap-wise once again next season.

If a trade doesn’t materialize, then a buyout could be on the table.  Yamamoto is young enough that the standard two-thirds cost doesn’t apply here; instead, the cost is one-third.  As a result, his cap hit would only be $433K in 2023-24 while they’d add $533K in dead cap space for 2024-25.  That would free up a little under $2.7MM in savings for GM Ken Holland to work with, albeit with another roster spot to fill.  The buyout window is now open and lasts until June 30th.  That then represents a potential deadline for Edmonton to decide the path they’re going to take with Yamamoto.

It’s possible that Holland decides to go a different route entirely, keeping Yamamoto and trying to move out other mid-tier salaries such as Brett Kulak (three years, $2.75MM), Warren Foegele (one year, $2.75MM), or Cody Ceci (two years, $3.25MM).  Frankly, it’s not a case of one or the other; it’s quite possible that two or more from this group get shopped.  However, none of those players have the cheaper buyout option available and in a market that isn’t likely to look kindly on mid-tier pieces on arguably above-market contracts, it’s hardly a guarantee they’ll be able to move any of those for the value they want either.

Is it a sure bet that Yamamoto’s days in Edmonton are numbered?  Not at all.  But if the Oilers want to try to add anyone of significance this summer, they’re going to need to free up some money and Yamamoto’s contract is probably the easiest to clear out.  Not that long ago, Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi represented hopes for the future for the Oilers as some homegrown, cost-controllable talent.  Fast forward to today and Puljujarvi is now in Carolina while Edmonton has already given up the rights to the player they got in return and it feels like there’s a good chance Yamamoto will soon be heading out the door for a similarly underwhelming return, if they’re able to get one at all.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Zucker, Red Wings, Maple Leafs

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Jason Zucker had a strong showing for the Penguins this past season, notching 27 goals and 21 assists while, perhaps most importantly, staying healthy after a pair of injury-plagued years.  Despite that, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that the prudent move for Pittsburgh would be to not bring the pending unrestricted free agent back for next season.  The 31-year-old is likely to be seeking a contract similar to the $5MM AAV he has played on the last five years and with the team needing to eventually transition toward becoming a younger and quicker team, locking up another player well into their thirties won’t exactly accomplish that objective.  Not bringing Zucker back would also give Kyle Dubas more flexibility to work with this summer, albeit with an extra opening of significance on his roster.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • It appears that the Red Wings won’t bring back any of their pending unrestricted free agents, suggests Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now. Duff adds that Detroit is believed to have made a one-year offer to center Pius Suter who declined in the hopes of securing a multi-year commitment while winger Alex Chiasson has passed on a two-way offer, hoping to land a one-way deal on the open market this summer.  Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and winger Adam Erne are among the other players set to hit the open market in a couple of weeks.
  • It’s extremely unlikely that the Maple Leafs bring back forward Alexander Kerfoot or defenseman Justin Holl, reports Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. Kerfoot has been a capable secondary producer over his four seasons in Toronto but cap space will be at a premium and they wouldn’t be able to offer him the $3.5MM he made on his set-to-expire contract.  As for Holl, he has shown himself to be a serviceable role player on the back end but it appears that Toronto is trying to re-sign Luke Schenn to fill that spot, pushing the 31-year-out out of a place in the lineup.  Both players will hit the open market two Saturdays from today.

PHR Mailbag: Flyers, Rangers, Golden Knights, Ullmark, Draft, UFA Leverage

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include finding a way for Vegas to try to re-sign Ivan Barbashev, goalies to watch for in the upcoming draft, and much more.  With so many questions being submitted (thanks, as always, for sending them in), we’ll run two more mailbags from our recent callout.  They’ll be run between now and the end of next weekend so if your question doesn’t appear here, be sure to check those ones when they come out.

Emoney123: Petersen making $5MM as a backup to Hart’s $3MM? Two #1 picks this year and next with Gauthier, Brink, Foerster hopefully coming up and a relatively young roster, are brighter days right around the corner? Flyers back in the Playoffs next season!

I’m intrigued to see if Cal Petersen gets a real shot to be Carter Hart’s backup or if they’ll treat him as a sunk cost and bury him in Lehigh Valley.  I think he can be a lot better than he was this past season and if they are able to get him performing at the NHL level next season, perhaps there’s a chance to salvage a bit of value from him in 2024-25.

Are brighter days ahead?  Sure.  Their prospect pool is improving and as you noted, they’re getting two more first-rounders in a week and a half that’s going to make it stronger.  If they choose correctly with those selections, they could have a good foundation to work off of in a few years.

But making the playoffs next season feels like a bit of a pipe dream.  They just moved one of their better defensemen in Ivan Provorov for futures.  By all accounts, Travis Konecny is in play, their leading scorer.  Kevin Hayes seems like a strong trade candidate.  Hart has been drawing interest.  These are not statements that should be associated with a team looking to make the playoffs next season.  These are statements about a team that’s looking to finish at or near the bottom of the standings.

jchancel: Given the NY Rangers’ cap issues, what are the alternatives? Give up Goodrow, Mikkola, Motte. Keeping one of Kane or Tarasenko?

Promote Othmann and Cullye? Does that alleviate some of the problem?

I mentioned the importance of moving Barclay Goodrow in their recent Offseason Checklist.  It’s not that he’s a bad player, he’s just a luxury they can no longer afford at just over $3.64MM for the next four seasons.  They have around $11.7MM in cap space per CapFriendly but more than half of that is going to be allocated to re-signing Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.  That leaves enough to sign a bunch of players for close to the minimum to round out the roster but that is also going to result in a significant talent drain.

Among the UFAs, I expect Niko Mikkola will go elsewhere to a team that will be able to afford him.  I’m not certain Tyler Motte walks though.  His market wasn’t great last summer which frankly surprised me.  His performance this past season wasn’t significantly better either so it stands to reason his market won’t be the strongest this time either.  If that’s the case, would he accept a multi-year deal around the $1MM range, getting some stability after being on the move a lot in recent years?  I think New York could find a way to make that work.  I’d be stunned if either of Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko return unless a significant contract is on the way out.

I do expect both Brennan Othmann and William Cullye to see regular action next season.  Othmann had a nice playoff and Memorial Cup run and plays a rugged style that makes him work in the bottom six to start, allowing him to potentially ease into a more important role over time.  Cullye had a fine rookie year in Hartford and also fits nicely into a bottom six group that I anticipate will have a physical edge to it.  Perhaps they’re not full-timers (especially if GM Chris Drury wants them to see some time in scoring roles) but they’ll be factors on the roster next season.

@HolgerStolzen1: Hey Brian,

I’m trying to figure out a way for the Golden Knights to re-sign Ivan Barbashev in the off-season, but not sure it’s possible. I’m already going with the assumption that they re-sign Adin Hill and find a way to move out Lehner. Any chance we can bring back Barbashev?

Hey Holger, always nice to hear from a former PHR teammate.

Let’s dig into those assumptions first.  Adin Hill’s strong playoff run is going to earn him a nice raise.  Let’s peg him at $4MM.  I’m not as optimistic as you are that they’ll find a way to move Robin Lehner but I’ll play along.  Him coming off the books saves them $5MM which gives them a little over $4MM in cap room, per CapFriendly’s numbers.  That’s not going to be enough to keep Ivan Barbashev.

However, there are two options where they can trim payroll.  The first is trying to incentivize a team to take on Alec Martinez’s contract.  The 35-year-old can still play but his days as a core blueliner are probably done.  His trade protection dips to eight teams on July 1st so there might be a move to be made on that front.  That would more than free up enough cap space to re-sign Barbashev and pending RFA Brett Howden between his $5MM and their existing space.  That’s Plan A.

Plan B might come as a bit of a surprise but I’d kick the tires on the trade market for Nicolas Roy.  $3MM for a third center isn’t bad by any stretch but it is a luxury in this cap environment.  Some teams can afford it and with the market for middlemen not being great, I think Vegas would get a good return in a trade.  Take half of that money added to their cap room and that might get Barbashev done.  The other half goes to Howden with Ben Hutton being waived in training camp to make up the rest of Howden’s money.  Kaedan Korzcak then near-daily appearances on this site in shuffles to and from Henderson to bank some cap space and give them a bit of in-season room.  They’d be carrying a minimum-sized roster, however, though they’re certainly used to that.

So, yeah, I think there’s a chance they can bring him back and the fact they can offer an eighth year certainly helps on that front.  I’m not sure I’d predict that particular outcome but there’s a pathway to do it.

aka.nda: Semi-related.. thinking about Logan Thompson.. // Brossoit.. Hill. What’s Vegas gonna do with their goalie situation?

Let’s do the easy ones first.  Logan Thompson stays.  He’s on a contract that’s below the league minimum AAV making him arguably the best bargain contract for any NHL goalie next season.  They’re not moving him.  As for Laurent Brossoit, I don’t think he comes back.  Has he really helped his value since joining them two years ago?  I don’t think so.  There are teams that will view him more as a third-string option and while he might get a one-way deal backing up somewhere, I think Vegas needs someone more capable of playing a heavier workload.

Let’s talk about the one not on this list, Lehner.  If he’s going to be ruled healthy to play next season, I think he stays in Vegas and that his trade market would be next to non-existent.  Generally speaking, if a goalie misses the entire year and is suddenly declared healthy, I think teams are going to react one way – ‘prove it’.  To have trade value, he needs to play and if he’s on their active roster, there’s no possible way that they can afford to bring Hill back.  At that point, you’re pivoting to an above-average third-stringer and paying him $1MM to start in Henderson and be available in case Lehner isn’t healthy.

But if Lehner can’t recover and is heading for LTIR, then I suspect the Golden Knights will take a serious run at trying to keep Hill.  I mentioned $4MM as a rough price point in the previous question so I’ll stick with that here.  Maybe three years at that cost gets it done?  With just 101 regular season games under his belt, he doesn’t have a long-term track record that will push him into true number one money and that deal feels like a reasonable one for both sides.  It would give Hill some stability while allowing Vegas to keep their goalie costs in check knowing that Chandler Stephenson is heading for a big-ticket deal next summer while Thompson will need a new contract as well.

SkidRowe: What could the Bruins get for Linus Ullmark? A soon to be 30 yo Vezina trophy winner signed for 2 more years at a reasonable $5 million?

The additions of Connor Hellebuyck and even John Gibson to the trade market don’t help Boston here if this is the route they’re going to go.  Ullmark had a great year, no question and is absolutely well-deserving of the Vezina should he get it as expected.  But will teams call his performance a byproduct of their system?  If so, he won’t be viewed as highly.

Will teams view Ullmark as a top-ten goalie in their system?  I’m not certain they will and the offers will be lower accordingly.  Could they get a first-round pick for him?  Possibly, but it would be at the back of the first round.  Not a lot of netminders have fetched first-round picks recently.  They’d probably need to take a goalie back which would limit the cap savings.  Maybe there’s a prospect involved but it wouldn’t be an ‘A’ player.

In a follow-up comment, you noted you wouldn’t move him unless you were getting a pair of first-rounders or a young top-six center.  As well as Ullmark played this season, I don’t think he gets that.  I don’t think Jeremy Swayman would yield a pair of first-rounders either (and I feel he’d have the higher trade value being younger with more years of team control).  I don’t expect an extended Hellebuyck to bring that type of return and even though his cap hit will be higher, his track record would look better in the eyes of interested teams which might make him more sought-after than Ullmark.

I like the player and I like the contract.  But it has been a long time since a goalie has yielded a return that makes people go ‘wow’ in terms of the haul being significantly strong.  I don’t think Ullmark will buck that trend if he’s made available.

joebad34: Who are the next potential goalies coming into this year’s draft that may be targeted as a future starter?

Let’s get this out of the way first.  I’m not a particularly strong scout when it comes to watching skaters.  When it comes to goalies, it’s even worse.  Just keep that in mind as you read this answer.

I’m not sure there is a true number one goalie in this draft class.  By number one goalie, I mean a 50-plus game starter year after year that is the undisputed go-to guy in the playoffs.  But, frankly, how many of those are around nowadays?  As teams gravitate more toward platoons as cost-saving options, they will find value in those netminders.  And I think there are certainly a few of those platoon/1B players in this draft.

At the top, there’s Michael Hrabal, a very tall goalie, one element scouts really love in their netminders.  His stock has steadily been on the rise but I think his development path will be a bit slower than others on this list.  Adam Gajan is a re-entry player that hasn’t gone a traditional route but I really liked him at the World Juniors and I could see him having some pro success.  Trey Augustine is on the smaller side for a goalie (6’1) but based on how he has fared in the US NTDP, I see no reason to think he can’t succeed in the NHL.  Carson Bjarnason is probably the top option from Canada after a decent showing in his first season as a full-fledged starter.

Hrabal, Augustine, and Bjarnason should all go in the second round; I’ve seen some speculate that Hrabal could crack the late first round.  Gajan is a bit of a wild card given his second-time status but he should go fairly early among the goalies.  I’m curious to see where Scott Ratzlaff goes, he wound up as the backup in WHL Seattle this season behind Thomas Milic (a third-year eligible who’s also on the smaller side for a goalie) but I could see him being a value pick as Ratzlaff will take over as the starter next season on a team that’s likely to allow a lot of shots as a lot of their Memorial Cup roster will move on.  but I think he could be one of the better goalies from this class even though he’s not among the top few options on most lists.

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Kraken Looking To Move Chris Driedger

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Add another netminder to a trade market for goalies that started out thin but has seen several players added to it in recent weeks.  This time, it’s Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger being made available as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link) that Seattle is looking to move the veteran.

It has certainly been an eventful few years for the 29-year-old.  A journeyman for the bulk of his career, Driedger had a stellar showing as the backup in Florida in 2020-21, posting a 2.06 GAA and a .927 SV% in 23 games, setting him up nicely for unrestricted free agency.  However, Seattle opted to make him their selection in expansion, signing him to a three-year, $10.5MM contract, quite a price tag for someone that never had a seven-figure AAV before.

Driedger wasn’t able to repeat that level of success in Seattle’s first season, putting up a 2.96 GAA with a .899 SV% in 27 games but still earned himself an invitation to play for Canada at the World Championship that spring.  Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the tournament, causing him to miss the first half of the season.

With the Kraken bringing in Martin Jones as Driedger’s replacement this season, they quickly waived Driedger when he was cleared to return, sending him to AHL Coachella Valley.  Driedger had a decent showing during the regular season with them, compiling a 2.61 GAA with a .908 SV% in 14 games.  However, he hasn’t seen a second of ice time during the Firebirds’ run to the Calder Cup Finals with Joey Daccord, a pending UFA, seeing all the action.

Driedger has one year left on his contract with a $3.5MM price tag that is on the high side with how things have gone for him over the last two seasons.  Notably, his salary jumps to $4.5MM with the deal being a back-loaded one.  Seattle would certainly like to free up some extra cap flexibility this summer and moving him would be one way to accomplish that.  However, given the number of teams needing to open up cap space, clearing his contract outright could be a challenge.

If Seattle is willing to move on from Driedger, one other option over the next couple of weeks could be a buyout.  Doing that would drop his cap charge to just $500K for next season but would add $1.5MM in dead cap space for 2024-25.  Alternatively, taking a contract back in the swap to help balance the money could help facilitate a move.  Either way, the fact they’re in this situation isn’t ideal, especially when it looked like Driedger’s career was on the rise just a couple of years ago.  Now, they just have to hope that another team thinks he’ll be able to recover his form from his final season in Florida.

Offseason Checklist: New Jersey Devils

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The offseason is now fully underway after Vegas took home the Stanley Cup which means that it’s time to examine what each team will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at New Jersey.

It was an interesting season for the Devils.  There were calls to fire head coach Lindy Ruff, followed by apologies from those same fans as the team embarked on a 13-game winning streak which propelled them into a battle for the top seed in the Metropolitan Division and had them making one of the biggest splashes of the trade deadline.  They made it to the second round before Carolina eliminated them but it was still a season that exceeded the expectations of many.  Now, GM Tom Fitzgerald faces a busy summer with over a third of the team needing a new contract for next season even after re-signing Jesper Bratt earlier this week; those situations feature prominently in their checklist as a result.

Goaltending Decisions

New Jersey has a couple of calls to make between the pipes.  The first involves Mackenzie Blackwood.  Just a few years ago, he was viewed as the goalie of the future for the Devils.  Things haven’t gone as well since then, however.  Injuries limited him in each of the last two seasons and when he has been in the lineup, he has struggled, posting a 3.30 GAA with a .893 SV% in that stretch.  Those are numbers that are certainly below the NHL average.  He’s owed a $3.36MM qualifying offer and while they can certainly hope that the 26-year-old will rebound, that’s a pricey gamble to take.

First things first, they need to decide if they’re going to tender that offer.  Assuming they don’t, then a decision needs to be made about potentially trying to sign him for less money.

Then, if that doesn’t happen and they cut bait, then a call needs to be made about potentially trying to add an upgrade at the position.  Vitek Vanecek had a solid regular season but struggled in the playoffs, paving the way for Akira Schmid to step in.  Schmid may very well be the next goalie of the future but he’s still on his entry-level contract; would they be better off having him play more regularly with AHL Utica for one more season?  The goalie market generally moves quickly in the summer so these are questions that Fitzgerald will need to answer within the next couple of weeks.

Re-Sign Or Move Meier

One big item was checked off when Bratt signed on Thursday but there is still one remaining restricted free agent of significance to deal with in Timo Meier.  Owed a $10MM qualifying offer, the Devils got out in front of that one on Thursday by opting for club-elected salary arbitration.  The move gives them a chance to file as low as $8.5MM but isn’t without risk as, in theory, Meier could simply accept the hearing, get what he gets, and head for unrestricted free agency next July.

The filing sets a firmer timeline for signing him.  Arbitration hearings are held between July 20th and August 4th with awards typically coming a couple of days after the hearing if no agreement is reached by then.  Instead of allowing for the potential for a later agreement, the filing locks in his contract timing by the first week of August.  Fitzgerald indicated yesterday that Meier has a desire to sign a max-term deal and they’ll have basically a month and a half to get one done, less if he winds up going early on the hearing schedule.

How much might that deal cost?  Certainly more than Bratt’s $7.875MM.  He scored 40 goals this season after putting up 35 the year before and scoring prowess certainly matters in these talks.  He’s a power forward and those players tend to wind up with contracts that seem above market value relative strictly to their production.  The track record isn’t there for a deal that’s at or past the $10MM mark – few wingers have reached that threshold – but it would be surprising to see him lock in for anything below $9MM per year.

New Jersey will need to come to the table with an offer that’s good enough to make Meier forego the right to arbitration where he could legitimately wind up with an award close to $9MM on its own for one season.  In a contract market that’s expected to start inflating once again if the Upper Limit starts to go up quicker than it has in recent years, the price tag will only go higher if he makes it to unrestricted free agency.  There’s room to make it work on the books but he will quite likely become their highest-paid player in the process, surpassing Dougie Hamilton’s $9MM AAV.

Mercer Extension Talks

Dawson Mercer has certainly had a nice start to his NHL career, quickly earning a spot in the top-six.  His sophomore year was a strong one, notching 27 goals and 29 assists while playing all 82 games for the second straight year.  Going back to that idea of a bigger cap increase in 2024-25, it stands to reason that it would be in New Jersey’s best interest to try to get him locked up now.

Mercer will have four seasons of RFA eligibility remaining when his contract expires in 2024 so the two viable options are either a short-term bridge deal or a long-term one that buys some extra years of team control.  Once in a while, a team will do an early bridge extension but that doesn’t feel like the type of move that makes a lot of sense for the Devils right now so let’s look at the longer-term options.

With a max-term agreement, the AAV is probably going to come in higher than his current value now with both sides forecasting an improvement in his production.  That, coupled with the expectation of a higher cap, could push the AAV well past the $6MM mark.  The other option is a six-year contract that provides some extra club control but would set him up for another long-term contract entering his age-30 campaign.  The price tag would be a bit lower as a result, potentially in the mid-$5.5MM area and could be a reasonable compromise considering the big tickets they already have on the books (plus potentially another to come with Meier).

The Devils historically have tried to sign some of their core young players to early extensions.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see Fitzgerald continue that trend with Mercer in the coming months.

Re-Sign Or Replace Haula

When the Devils moved out Pavel Zacha last summer, they picked up Erik Haula in a swap of players that both teams felt the newcomers would fit in better than they were on their old squad.  Zacha certainly did, eventually signing a long-term extension with Boston.  Haula also fared well, notching at least 40 points for the second straight year and only the third time in his 10-year career.  He’s set to hit the open market this summer and while he isn’t a high-end producer, he’s still one of the better options available in what is a fairly thin class.

At a minimum, the 32-year-old is in for a nice raise on the $2.375MM AAV he had this past season.  Haula should be in line to land a contract of at least three years if not four (which would be the longest of his career).  With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier entrenched as the top two middlemen for the long haul, Haula’s role is pretty much set as a third-line center with the Devils.  Is that a role they want to lock in for that long at a price tag that’s going to check in somewhere around the $3.5MM mark?  Haula has made it clear that he wants to stay in New Jersey but as the roster becomes more top-heavy in terms of salaries, it becomes harder to fit a mid-tier player on the books.

Internally, after a season that saw him score just four goals, Michael McLeod isn’t quite ready yet to step into Haula’s spot on the depth chart so they’d likely have to turn outside the roster to fill that spot, preferably on a short-term agreement.  That’s easier said than done in this free agent class.  Sometimes, it’s better to go with the devil you know and that could be the case here for Fitzgerald.  Accordingly, expect talks to pick up in the coming days on this front to try to keep Haula from hitting the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Barbashev, Bouchard

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The Kings have been linked as a legitimate suitor for Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois as the middleman has made it known that he’d like to be moved this summer.  Eric Stephens of The Athletic examines (subscription link) what the pros and cons would be if Los Angeles was to land the 24-year-old.  He’d certainly give them a big boost down the middle alongside Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault but fitting his reported asking price (suggested as being in the $9MM range on a long-term deal) would require them moving a roster player or two at a minimum plus other young players or prospects to facilitate a swap.  Making that move would also limit what they’re able to do between the pipes to find a playing partner for Pheonix Copley.  In the end, Stephens feels that the Kings would be better off not making the move, we’ll see if GM Rob Blake feels the same way in the coming weeks.

More from the Pacific:

  • The Golden Knights and winger Ivan Barbashev discussed an extension prior to the playoffs but the two sides were too far apart, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link). Now, on the heels of a strong playoff performance, that gap has likely only widened.  Friedman speculates that the 27-year-old could land a max-term contract on the open market (seven years if he doesn’t re-sign) which could push his price tag to more than double the $2.25MM AAV he has played on the last two seasons.
  • Postmedia’s Jim Matheson opines that an offer sheet for Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard could really put the team in a bind this summer. The 23-year-old broke out following the trade of Tyson Barrie at the trade deadline and found another gear in the playoffs, leading all blueliners in scoring despite the fact that Edmonton was eliminated in the second round.  Edmonton currently only has around $5MM in cap room per CapFriendly with multiple players to sign with that money.  They’ll need to get creative to afford a bridge deal let alone a longer-term one which leaves them potentially vulnerable for the time being.

Minor Transactions: 06/16/23

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The NHL offseason is beginning to ramp up now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded, and today saw the Vancouver Canucks make a major move by buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The New York Rangers also took care of business today with a defenseman of their own, Zac Jones, inking him to a two-year extension. As teams across the hockey world chip away at their offseason work, we’ll keep track of notable transactions here.

  • Former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan signed a two-year contract with Liiga runner-ups Lahti Pelicans. Jordan is fresh off of representing Czechia at the IIHF Men’s World Championships where he helped his country advance past the group stage, before being eliminated by the United States. He split this past season between the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk and Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in the Swiss National League. He scored a combined 15 points in 41 games and with the Pelicans will hope to help them go on another long playoff run.
  • 2019-20 ECHL Defenseman of the Year Alex Breton has signed a one-year contract extension with HC Kosice of the Slovak Extraliga. The 25-year-old former Gatineau Olympiques captain was an instant-impact player in the ECHL after aging out of Canadian junior hockey, but he couldn’t quite gain a foothold in the AHL in PTO opportunities with two teams. In 2020 Breton made the choice to head overseas to play in Slovakia, and in 2021 he was traded to HC Slovan Bratislava, a club in the Slovak capital. That trade was a significant opportunity for him and he ended the year a Slovak champion, paving his way back to North America with the Trois-Rivieres Lions of the ECHL. After scoring 25 points in 30 games Breton left for Slovakia once again, signing with HC Kosice in February. He won a second Slovak championship of his career this spring, and will now extend his stay in Kosice another season.
  • Cody Kunyk, a star forward in the Finnish Liiga for five of the last six seasons has decided on a new destination to continue his pro career: Germany. Kunyk signed a contract with the Frankfurt Lions, and after scoring 10 goals and 33 points in 60 games for Karpat this past season he’ll likely be a go-to offensive option for Frankfurt. Kunyk has one NHL game on his resume, a 2013-14 contest with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and last played in North America in 2017-18 with the now-defunct Alaska Aces of the ECHL and the Utica Comets of the AHL.
  • Former San Jose Sharks prospect Jake Kupsky is headed overseas for the next stop in his professional career, signing a contract with HKM Zvolen in Slovakia. Kupsky, a 27-year-old netminder who was a 2015 seventh-round pick of San Jose played in 38 games for the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL last season and made the ECHL’s All-Star game. But lost his role as the team’s main starter this past campaign as Idaho went on a historic run of regular-season success. He did earn the first AHL call-up of his career, though, and will look to carry on that momentum over in Slovakia.
  • Two-time Liiga champion Jere Karjalainen is ending his return to Finland’s top league after one year, as he’s inked a contract with the Augsburg Panthers of the DEL. Karjalainen was a staple in the top-six for Liiga’s Tappara Tampere from 2014-2020, helping them win back-to-back titles. He was a leading scorer for them in 2019-20 with 49 points in 57 games, and parlayed that success into a two-year run in the KHL. He spent this past season with Lukko in Liiga and now will head to Germany for the first time in his pro career.
  • 32-year-old defenseman Ralfs Freibergs helped lead Latvia to a historic Bronze Medal win at the IIHF Men’s World Championships last month, and now he’s signed with a new team a few weeks later. Freibergs signed a deal with HK Mountfield in the Czech league, where he has nearly 250 games of experience. Freibergs scored a crucial opening goal to help Lavtia defeat Switzerland at World’s and will hope to have similarly clutch moments in Czechia with his new club.
  • The ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears have acquired 25-year-old defenseman Chris Perna from the Tulsa Oilers. The team cited a December 2022 trade that sent forward Dante Sherriff to Tulsa in exchange for future considerations as the return for the deal, with Perna serving as the “future considerations” Orlando received for Sherriff. Perna made his pro debut this past season with the Oilers, skating in 54 games and scoring eight points. He was a regular face on a Tulsa team that had a difficult 2022-23 and is joining a Solar Bears team that, like Tulsa, is hoping to have a bounce-back season.

West Notes: Toews, Keller, Brown

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As the Chicago Blackhawks get set to welcome the new face of their franchise, Connor Bedard, at the draft later this month, they’re also preparing to say goodbye to the face of their most successful era in franchise history: Jonathan Toews. As we have previously covered, Toews is expected to make an announcement in the next few weeks regarding whether he’ll be retiring on choosing another team to sign with, and given Toews’ recent health issues it would be no surprise to see the Selke and Conn Smythe Trophy winner hang up his skates.

But if he does choose to continue playing, he could go the way of another famous Blackhawk, Duncan Keith, and choose to play for the Edmonton Oilers. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector connects Toews to the Oilers, writing that “there is some talk” in Edmonton about signing Toews to be the team’s fourth-line center, allowing recent signing Derek Ryan to take a preferred role as a right winger. In scoring 15 goals and 31 points this past season Toews showed he was still very much a valuable NHL player, but the main question for Edmonton would be availability and cost. Regardless, it seems should Toews continue his career the Oilers could be a team interested in acquiring him.

Some other notes from the Western Conference:

  • While the Arizona Coyotes rebuild will continue into the future and the team will likely be open to hearing trade offers for its established players, the player teams are likely to be most interested in is also the one seemingly least likely to be traded. Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports that the Coyotes aren’t “looking to move” star forward Clayton Keller and that they don’t have “any real interest” in parting with their franchise face. Keller, 24, continued his breakout season from 2021-22 into this campaign, finishing with 37 goals and 86 points in 82 games. He’s signed to a bargain $7.15MM AAV deal through the 2027-28 season, and according to Strickland’s report he’s unlikely to be on the move anytime soon.
  • One player who is going to be on the move is St. Louis Blues center Logan Brown. Eligible to become a restricted free agent, Strickland reports that Brown won’t receive a qualifying offer from the Blues and will therefore become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year. The 25-year-old 2016 11th-overall pick didn’t quite take the step forward in St. Louis that many might have hoped he would, and while he remains an effective AHLer he hasn’t found a way to leverage his combination of size and skill to reliably make an impact at the NHL level. With his time in St. Louis coming to an end, he’ll hit the open market where there will likely be some teams interested in seeing what their staff can do with Brown’s skillset.

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