NHL Rumors - ProHockeyRumors.com

Free Agent Focus: Seattle Kraken

June 10, 2023 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 14 Comments

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 Seattle Kraken.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Vince Dunn – Dunn, who will be 27 next season, is by a wide margin the most significant pending free agent the Kraken have on their roster.

The left-shot blueliner is set to receive a sizeable raise from the $4MM AAV he played this season on after scoring 14 goals and 64 points this past season, a total that tied him for tenth in the NHL in scoring by a defenseman.

Dunn has quickly emerged as a dominant force in transition and the type of blueliner that can make a significant impact in the offensive zone.

He’s not a sheltered, offense-only contributor either as he logged nearly 24 minutes per night for the Kraken, the highest average on his team. It seems as though it’s only a matter of time before Dunn becomes the highest-paid player on Seattle’s books.

F Daniel Sprong – While not quite to the same degree as Dunn, Sprong had an impressive breakout 2022-23 campaign. Despite averaging just 11:25 time on ice per night, Sprong finished his season with 21 goals and 46 points in 66 games, which is a 26-goal, 57-point 82-game pace. There aren’t many players who could manage those types of numbers with such little ice time, yet Sprong, owner of a lethal shot, managed to do exactly that.

A former top prospect of the Pittsburgh Penguins, it had been long believed that Sprong held some untapped offensive upside but until this year he had failed to show more than sporadic flashes of offensive brilliance. The question for the Kraken to answer, then, is whether they believe Sprong’s breakout is sustainable.

If they think he can repeat this performance as a productive bottom-sixer, he’ll easily earn a sizeable raise from his $750k AAV. But if Seattle is more uncertain about his future, perhaps weary to invest too greatly into a player with a track record of inconsistency (who didn’t have a good playoffs despite Seattle making it to the second round) then these negotiations could get dicey, especially since Sprong is arbitration-eligible.

D Will Borgen – Borgen took a major step forward in his career in 2022-23, playing in all 82 games for the Kraken as well as all 14 of their playoff contests. He was a steady presence on the Kraken’s second and third pairings who also pitched in on the team’s second-unit penalty kill, and his play this season likely merits a decent raise from the $900k he cost the team on his last deal.

Other RFAs: F Morgan Geekie, F Kole Lind, D Cale Fleury

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Carson Soucy – Operating in a similar role to Borgen, Soucy managed to play nearly all of the Kraken’s games this past season and averaged just over 16 minutes time on ice with nearly two minutes each night spent on the penalty kill.

His offensive production declined slightly (from 21 points in 64 games last season to 16 in 78 games this year) but overall his play remained steady. He was a dependable defensive defenseman and offers the type of size and muscle on the blueline that many teams covet.

The Kraken are likely to want to keep Soucy around to maintain the quality of their defense, but given how well he’s done in Seattle the team may have a tough time matching the outside offers that come his way.

With 2021 35th overall pick Ryker Evans a breakout star in his first AHL campaign (he has 19 points in 20 playoff games at the time of writing for the Coachella Valley Firebirds) and likely to be pushing for an NHL spot in training camp, perhaps the Kraken feel comfortable letting Soucy walk and opening the door for Evans to claim his vacated spot on the left side of the team’s defense.

G Martin Jones – 33-year-old netminder Martin Jones’ numbers weren’t much to write home about, with his .887 save percentage in 48 games an especially weak mark, he does have one number really working in his favor: 27. That’s the number of games Jones won for the Kraken, and he posted an overall 27-13-3 record. He gave Seattle enough to take home two points in the vast majority of the games he played, and in a backup role there’s a lot of value in that.

With Chris Driedger and Philipp Grubauer already on their books and Daccord also in the mix, it seems relatively unlikely that Seattle will opt to bring Jones back. But although his save percentage was quite poor, he did win far more often than he lost and therefore put forth a solid argument to receive a new contract similar to the $2MM one he received last summer.

G Joey Daccord – Like the aforementioned Evans, Daccord has played extremely well with AHL Coachella Valley and his current performance likely places him firmly in the NHL conversation heading into next season. He could possibly end this season as a Calder Cup-winning goalie and he has posted a .927 save percentage through 20 games for the Firebirds. He was solid in the regular season as well, and at 26 years old looks ready to take the next step and become an NHL backup.

Whether he takes that step in Seattle is an open question, as Driedger remains on the books at a $3.5MM cap hit next season and Grubauer firmly re-established himself in Seattle by leading the franchise to their first-ever playoff series win.

In any case, he looks to be this year’s Charlie Lindgren, as Lindgren placed himself in a similar circumstance a year ago via strong performances for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and that summer earned himself a $1.1MM AAV deal to become the backup for the Washington Capitals. Perhaps that’s what’s in store for Daccord should he hit the open market.

Other UFAs: F Ryan Donato, F Joonas Donskoi, F Jesper Froden, F John Hayden, F Austin Poganski, F Alex True, F Carsen Twarynski, D Gustav Olofsson, D Brogan Rafferty, G Christopher Gibson

Projected Cap Space

This is where Seattle are in decent shape. CapFriendly projects them to have over $20MM in cap space, though that figure will be eaten into considerably by an extension for Dunn. With significant dollars set to expire in the near future (Jordan Eberle has one year and $5.5MM left on his deal, and Alexander Wennberg has one year and $4.5MM left on his contract, to give two examples) the Kraken are in a prime position to invest significant dollars in their team this summer. So far they’ve opted to build a team that prioritizes balance and depth, but maybe the significant financial flexibility they have this summer will lead them to chase some stars, similar to what the Vegas Golden Knights did following their first experience of playoff success.

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

Snapshots: Pesce, Third Overall Pick, Florida Everblades

June 10, 2023 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 5 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the NHL’s most consistently competitive franchises in recent years and a major reason for their success has been the fact that they’ve thus far avoided giving out the types of inefficient, expensive contracts that eat up too much salary cap space and have sunk other team’s competitive hopes. A byproduct of that tendency to stick to their own valuations of players and not let the market dictate their plans has been that they’ve seen some talented players leave, players other clubs might have found a way to retain. Players such as Dougie Hamilton and Vincent Trocheck are examples of this, and perhaps the next player to be added to that list could be defenseman Brett Pesce.

Per a report from The Athletic, “If Pesce’s demands aren’t realistic to what Carolina had in mind” for his next contract, the Hurricanes “may very well trade him this summer.” (subscription link) Pesce, 28, will see his $4.025MM AAV contract expire next summer and could be looking to secure a significant raise after seeing himself go underpaid due to that contract relative to the immense on-ice value he’s provided. Pesce set a new career high in points this past season and is widely respected as a top-of-the-line defenseman in his own end. He’d likely fetch a significant return if traded, so it seems the Hurricanes may consider trading Pesce this summer in order to recoup some value rather than risk retaining him through the expiry of his contract next summer, only to see him leave for another team with Carolina receiving no compensation in return.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

With the Blue Jackets aggressively pursuing upgrades to their roster that will help them win in the short-term, many have wondered if the Blue Jackets would consider trading the third overall pick in this year’s draft in order to get a quality, established player. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen spoke on the prospect of trading the pick, according to the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger. Kekalainen said it would take “an awful lot” in order to convince the team to trade that pick, and although they’ve received trade calls nothing yet has come close to being enough for the team to consider making that deal. The Blue Jackets have long sought after a true first-line center to build their forward corps around, and with promising pivots such as Leo Carlsson and Will Smith expected to be available for Columbus to draft, it seems Kekalainen would need to be truly wowed by an offer in order to move the third pick.
The ECHL’s Florida Everblades secured their second consecutive Kelly Cup championship last night, sweeping the league’s finals against the Idaho Steelheads, a team that went on a historic run during the regular season. The Steelheads went 58-11-3 and stormed to the Kelly Cup finals but couldn’t find an answer to former University of North Dakota netminder Cam Johnson and the Everblades. Former Merrimack College captain Tyler Irvine scored the championship-clinching goal midway through the third period of the contest, leading the Everblades to the third title in their franchise history.

Devils Notes: Wood, Bahl, Boqvist

June 10, 2023 at 5:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

With two major restricted free agents to negotiate contract extensions with in Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt, it’s no surprise that the New Jersey Devils may be forced to say goodbye to some familiar faces. Damon Severson, a quality blueliner with over 600 games played as a Devil, was traded yesterday and, according to recent reporting, another veteran Devil could follow him out the door: Miles Wood.

The Hockey News’ Kristy Flannery relays word from Wood’s agent, Peter Fish, “that there has been no communication” with Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald on a possible Wood contract extension. While it’s likely that the Devils would ideally like to keep Wood, their salary cap situation and other existing needs are likely to force his exit in free agency. As a result, Fish and Wood are preparing to hit the open market on July 1st. Wood will hope to find the right contract in his first trip to unrestricted free agency, and after scoring 13 goals and 27 points this past season his rare combination of size and speed could be of interest to other teams.

Some other notes about the Devils:

Flannery’s article also contained updates on the status of restricted free agent defenseman Kevin Bahl, whose $795k contract is set to expire. The soon-to-be 23-year-old emerged as a lineup regular for the Devils later in their season and is widely expected to be a part of the team’s blueline mix next season. Given that he has just 66 games of NHL experience, Bahl’s next contract shouldn’t break the bank, though the defensive upside the hulking six-foot-six Bahl possesses could be factored into the equation as well, potentially raising the price tag of any new deal. Bahl’s agent, David Gagner, confirmed to Flannery that he and Fitzgerald “are engaging in preliminary talks,” and it could be that the Devils would prefer to get some cost certainty on Bahl’s next deal before finalizing the Meier/Bratt contracts.
24-year-old forward Jesper Boqvist’s agent Peter Wallen relayed to Flannery that “there has been no communication with Fitzgerald and the Devils” on any new contract as of five days ago. Boqvist emerged as a lineup regular this past season scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 70 games. The 2017 36th overall pick has scored well at lower levels and the Devils are likely hoping to retain him on an affordable deal so they can fill out some depth roles in their lineup with young, energetic homegrown players such as Boqvist on cheaper contracts.

Panthers Notes: Hornqvist, Luostarinen, Gaber

June 10, 2023 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While Panthers winger Patric Hornqvist hasn’t played since early December before being shut down with post-concussion symptoms, the veteran told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link) that isn’t ruling out trying to play next season. Instead, he’ll think about it during the summer and decide after that time. Hornqvist is participating in some on-ice activities with the team but won’t be back in this series while he also sits in on coaching meetings. The 36-year-old is a veteran of 901 career NHL appearances over 15 seasons and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer when his five-year, $26.5MM contract comes to an end. It seems that it will take a while yet before he decides if he’ll try to play a 16th campaign.

Minor Transactions: 6/10/23

June 10, 2023 at 2:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Transaction activity around the hockey world is starting to pick up with free agency now just three weeks away. Among the activity are some minor moves; we’ll keep tabs on the NHL-related ones here.

Rangers prospect Cooper Zech has signed a one-year with HC Kosice of the Slovak Extraliga, per a team announcement on Instagram. The 24-year-old defenseman split the season between AHL Rockford and two ECHL teams, getting into just 22 games in total. A pending restricted free agent, New York can retain his rights by issuing a qualifying offer later this month but given his limited success in North America thus far, they might just opt to relinquish his rights.
Wild prospect Matvei Guskov is on the move in the KHL as Salavat Yulaev announced that they’ve acquired the center from CSKA Moscow. The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2019 (149th overall) and is coming off a year that saw him pick up seven goals in 16 games at the second-tier VHL level while recording nine points in 37 KHL contests. As Russia doesn’t have a signed Player Transfer Agreement with the NHL, Minnesota holds Guskov’s NHL rights indefinitely.
There was a big trade at the QMJHL draft today as Sherbrooke announced (Twitter link) that Ethan Gauthier was moved to Drummondville for a package of draft picks, including three first-round selections. Gauthier, the son of long-time NHL defenseman Denis Gauthier, had 69 points in 66 games with the Phoenix this season, a performance that could give him a shot at being picked in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft later this month.
2017-18 AHL MVP Phil Varone has signed a one-year deal with Dusseldorf EG of the German DEL. The 32-year-old forward is entering his third season in the European pro hockey circuit and has played in Russia, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan. This past year Varone ranked third on KHL side Spartak Moscow in scoring (behind two players who also have NHL experience in Shane Prince and Alexander Khokhlachev) with 30 points in 57 games. Varone has 415 career points in 521 career AHL games and if he’s remotely as successful in Germany as he has been in North America’s minor leagues, he’ll be a major addition to Dusseldorf for the playoff run they’ll hope to go on next season.
26-year-old center Dante Salituro, an ECHL All-Star in 2017-18, has signed a contract with EC Hannover Indians, a club in Germany’s third tier of pro hockey. Salituro has scored 134 points in 169 career ECHL games and was among the league’s top scorers just a few years ago. It’s been quite an adventure for him since that point, though. After scoring 61 points in 66 games for the Allen Americans in 2018-19 Salituro, a former top OHL prospect, earned a one-year contract with SaiPa in the Finnish Liiga. That deal contained a tryout period, though, and Salituro played just three games in Finland before leaving the club. He was then traded twice in the 2019-20 ECHL campaign and played for three clubs, failing at each stop to regain his All-Star form. Salituro then spent 2020-21 playing in Norway’s second division with Narvik Hockey before splitting 2021-22 between France and Slovakia. After scoring 25 points in 34 games in his debut season in Slovakia Salituro earned a one-year extension, though this past January he transferred to HC Presov. Now, he’s off to Germany to play third-division hockey with the hope of helping his club advance up the highly competitive German hockey ladder.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Pacific Notes: Kahkonen, Bear, Lavoie

June 10, 2023 at 2:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

It has been a bit of a rough go so far for goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen in San Jose. When then-GM Doug Wilson picked up the 26-year-old at the 2022 trade deadline, he was hoping that the Sharks might have their goalie of the future. The results haven’t been great, however, as Kahkonen had a 3.85 GAA with a SV% of just .883 in 35 games this season. Despite that, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that there are a few teams around the league that view him as a worthwhile reclamation project which could give him some trade value this summer. Kahkonen has one year left on his deal with a $2.75MM cap charge but at the moment, he is the only goaltender with meaningful NHL experience under his belt so it’s not a guarantee that GM Mike Grier will be open to moving him. If he is though, it appears that there will be some suitors.

Connor Hellebuyck Reportedly Unwilling To Sign Extension With Jets

June 10, 2023 at 1:02 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 24 Comments

It’s shaping up to be a summer of potential big change in Winnipeg. With Pierre-Luc Dubois’ camp indicating that the center does not want to come back next season, one move of note could potentially be made sooner than later. Meanwhile, it appears Connor Hellebuyck could also be in play as Pierre LeBrun, Eric Duhatschek, and Michael Russo of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the ship has sailed on the idea of the goaltender signing a new contract with the Jets.

The 30-year-old is entering the final season of a six-year, $37MM contract signed back in 2018, one that has worked out quite nicely for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck has established himself as a premier netminder in the NHL in recent years but finds himself well below the top earners in the NHL – Carey Price ($10.5MM), Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM), and Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5MM). That’s expected to change next summer when he’s set to reach unrestricted free agency for the first time.

Hellebuyck led the NHL in games played this season for the fourth time out of the last six years. Despite the heavy workload, he posted his lowest GAA in five years (2.49) while finishing tied for fourth in SV% (.920). On top of that, this was the first time since 2017-18 that he didn’t lead the NHL in shots faced and saves, finishing third and second respectively in those categories. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, he wasn’t as sharp in the playoffs which helped play a role in their quick elimination at the hands of Vegas.

In his exit meeting with the media back in April, Hellebuyck indicated that his primary goal is to go after a Stanley Cup. Based on this report, the veteran has determined that it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to do so with Winnipeg, especially with the future of several core players in the air. On top of Dubois, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler are also one year away from unrestricted free agency which means the turnover could come quickly.

There are a few routes that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could elect to take here. One is to wait out the summer market and go with Hellebuyck between the pipes to start next season with an eye on moving him closer to the trade deadline. Such an approach isn’t without its risks but if a few teams feel that a goalie of his caliber could be the final piece of the puzzle, there could be a strong bidding war for his services. At that point, Winnipeg might be more willing to retain salary to help facilitate a swap which would only help his value. On the flip side, if they’re in contention, they could opt to keep him although the odds of that happening at this point seem fairly low.

Alternatively, if the Jets opt to move him now, they can either move him strictly as a rental or as part of an extend-and-trade agreement where Winnipeg could presumably resume a slightly better return in exchange for allowing the acquiring team to work a new deal out with him. While there will be some teams interested in both options, there could be others who might prefer Hellebuyck as a strict one-year rental to avoid paying top dollar for a netminder in 2024-25 and beyond. Similarly, other teams might not want to pay the top price in a swap unless it’s not a one-year rental. Either way, the interest is certain to be strong.

If Cheveldayoff does opt for a move this summer, it will need to come fairly soon. While the position player market can sometimes drag out, that typically isn’t the case for goalies as by the time the second day of free agency rolls around, most teams have their goaltenders set while many teams won’t have enough cap room remaining to bring in a pricey contract. If that holds true, that would mean that the window for a Hellebuyck trade is within the next three weeks. With a Dubois swap also seeming likely to take place within that timeframe, the Jets are certainly going to be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Dubois, Stars, Blues Assistants

June 10, 2023 at 11:58 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

The Pierre-Luc Dubois situation in Winnipeg is certainly far from desirable with reports indicating his camp has told the Jets that he has no desire to re-sign with them for his final year of RFA eligibility next season. To that end, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests that the team needs to look inward to determine why a player in the prime of his career with an opportunity for an even bigger role next season (if Mark Scheifele is moved) is so fixated on leaving. It was a rough season for the Jets this season who went from leading the Central Division to barely squeaking into a Wild Card spot before being the first team out of the playoffs, leading to head coach Rick Bowness publicly calling the team out at the end of the series. In essence, moving out Dubois is only one part of the picture while determining and fixing the root causes of the discontent could be the biggest part of the summer for Winnipeg.

Elsewhere in the Central:

When he met with the media earlier this week (video link), Stars GM Jim Nill indicated that he’s hoping to leave himself some more cap flexibility to start next season. Dallas was among the teams that shuffled players to and from the minors to bank a few extra thousand dollars in cap room here and there which didn’t leave them much flexibility to work with at the trade deadline. Acknowledging that free agency isn’t the deepest this summer, Nill feels that a trade is their best chance at making an impact addition which would require them to bank a lot more cap room in-season than they have been. That said, it’s a lofty goal as they have a little over $7MM in space at the moment per CapFriendly with likely five forward spots to fill including RFA Ty Dellandrea.
The Blues are hoping to fill their two assistant coach vacancies by the end of the month, notes Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM Doug Armstrong recently indicated that the process is now in the hands of head coach Craig Berube to pare down the candidates. It’s expected that they will hire a defense coach to take the place of Mike Van Ryn but Armstrong suggested that St. Louis could look to take a different route when trying to fill Craig MacTavish’s open spot and are considering a skills or development coach for that role. Assistant Steve Ott and goalie coach David Alexander remain in their roles from this season.

Offseason Checklist: Boston Bruins

June 10, 2023 at 10:29 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 11 Comments

The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams that still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. It’s time to examine what those eliminated squads will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Boston.

It was an all-in year for the Bruins as they structured some contracts to buy them more flexibility this year at a high cost for next season. That flexibility allowed them to make two significant additions at the trade deadline, setting the Presidents’ Trophy-winning club up for what they thought would be a long playoff run. Instead, they weren’t able to pick up the final victory of their first-round series against Florida, providing an early exit and questions about what comes next. If GM Don Sweeney intends to keep this team in contention, he’ll have some work to do in the coming weeks.

Create Cap Space

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The Bruins are carrying over a significant bonus overage penalty into next season from the bonus-laden deals they handed Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci last summer. David Pastrnak’s AAV jumped up by more than $4.5MM while Pavel Zacha added $1.25MM on his new deal compared to 2022-23.

What’s the end result of this? They have over $78.5MM in commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly, and that’s with at least six roster spots needing to be filled. If all of those players signed for the minimum, they could squeak by from a cap perspective. However, one of their restricted free agents alone could basically gobble up the less than $5MM in space they have left.

As a result, Sweeney is going to have to find ways to clear up space and might need to move multiple players to do so. We’ll look at some of those options throughout this article but if there isn’t a move to be made with some of those players, they’ll have to look at moving other pieces out. They simply don’t have a choice, Boston has to free up money in the next few weeks.

Goaltending Decisions

Lost in the fact that Linus Ullmark had quite the season in goal for Boston was the fact that Jeremy Swayman also had a very strong year as well, improving upon his numbers from 2021-22. Frankly, that might be underselling it as he finished fourth in the NHL in both GAA (2.27) and SV% (.920). That’s a nice way to head into his first trip through restricted free agency. To make matters better for him, the 24-year-old is also eligible for salary arbitration.

The market for second contracts for young goalies without a lot of NHL experience has shot up in recent years. Carter Hart received three years at $3.979MM after just 101 games. Jake Oettinger received three years at $4MM after only 77 regular season games (plus a strong showing in the 2022 playoffs). Spencer Knight received three years with a $4.5MM AAV after only 36 games played. Oettinger and Knight’s contracts were signed within the last year so these are recent comparables to work with. On top of things, it’s also worth pointing out that Swayman’s career numbers are better than what any of these three had at the time they signed their bridge contracts.

Those three contracts should give Sweeney a good idea of what Swayman will cost on his next contract. Basically, all their cap space, give or take a few hundred thousand. Can Boston afford that? Not really as things stand.

As a result, there are some decisions to be made. When determining who to trim from the roster to create cap space for, is it worth doing it to maintain an elite tandem with Ullmark, even though it would cost around $10MM for the two of them? Considering that top goaltending can help overcome some offensive challenges, there’s certainly a case to be made that doing so would be wise.

But if the answer to that question is no, then the question becomes who moves? It’d be hard to move on from Ullmark, the likely Vezina Trophy winner. He’ll turn 30 late last month so is he their goalie of the future? Or should Swayman, who has three years of control left, be the one to keep? Both would command strong interest but losing one of them would certainly hurt their short-term fortunes. The amount of cap space could also be limited since a decent backup would cost at least $2MM, likely more. Considering the goaltending market typically shakes out quickly, the Bruins will need to decide which path they plan to take fairly quickly.

Get Center Help

This season, Boston had strong depth down the middle led by veterans Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who returned to the NHL after spending a season back home. Bergeron finished third in the team in scoring and Krejci fifth, a nice return on a combined base cap hit of $3.5MM. Of course, there were $4.5MM in bonuses, all of which were easily met and with the Bruins spending the season over the cap, that triggered the carryover penalty. Both veterans are set to become unrestricted free agents once again this summer and while there’s little concern that they’ll sign elsewhere, it remains to be seen if one or both are willing to return for another year, 20 for Bergeron and 17 for Krejci.

If both decide to give it another go, they’re likely to sign similarly-structured contracts to the ones they played on, allowing Boston to kick some of the cost over to 2024-25. However, it’d only be kicking the problem down the road as organizationally, they need to add at least one longer-term middleman. Pavel Zacha had a career year this season and could slide back to center but when he was with New Jersey, he struggled to produce so it’s hardly a guarantee he’ll be able to back up his 57-point campaign. Charlie Coyle is a capable secondary center but not a true top-liner at this stage of his career so he shouldn’t be the solution on the top line either.

If the Bruins want to look outside the organization, it will be tricky to land a replacement with their inability to afford a market-value contract. There aren’t any true top options in free agency and if they want to look to the trade market (perhaps to Winnipeg for one of their middlemen), they don’t have much in the way of top picks at their disposal. Their first available first-round pick is in 2025 while their next second-rounder is in 2026. Prospect-wise, their pool isn’t the strongest thanks to moving out several good draft picks to help keep them in contention.

It won’t be easy to acquire one and it will be hard to afford it in their cap structure but there is a definite need down the middle to address this summer whether it’s bringing back their long-term veterans or looking elsewhere. One way or the other, Sweeney is going to have to try to find a way to accomplish this.

Move A Blueliner

One way that Boston can try to create some cap space is to move a defenseman or two. As things stand, they have nearly $31MM committed to seven rearguards for next season. No other team has that much money committed to their back end. By the time you add in Ullmark’s $5MM AAV and Swayman’s likely number near that amount, it looks like the Bruins could have half of next year’s cap committed to non-forwards. That would certainly be a risky proposition.

Beyond Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, it’s plausible that any of their other defensemen could be in play. Mike Reilly is someone they’d certainly want to move after he spent most of the year at AHL Providence although they’ll likely have to incentivize a team to take him or take a similarly-sized contract back which wouldn’t help their cap situation. He has one year left at $3MM. Derek Forbort is another pending UFA who can still hold his own on the third pairing but $3MM for someone in that slot is on the pricey side given their cap situation. Even moving Jakub Zboril, another 2024 UFA, for someone making the league minimum would free up a little over $300K.

As for the other pending UFA out of this group, Matt Grzelcyk is one to watch for. He was a top-four piece not long ago but has dropped into more of a depth role and found himself on the bench at times in the playoffs. He’s still a capable blueliner but again, he’s on the pricey side for the role he was in down the stretch. The expected departure of Dmitry Orlov could put him back on the second pairing but it still wouldn’t be surprising to see Sweeney try to find him a new home.

Brandon Carlo is the other regular that hasn’t been mentioned. With four years left at $4.1MM, his contract is certainly reasonable for a second-pairing defender although he’s not exactly the type of blueliner that’s going to jump in the play and contribute much offensively. In an ideal world, Boston would probably want to keep him but if they find themselves having to trade for a center, Carlo would be one of their more asked-about trade chips in such a scenario so moving him can’t be ruled out either.

For now, the Bruins have the costliest defense in the NHL. It seems unlikely that will still be the case in October when the 2023-24 campaign gets underway.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canadiens Notes: Montembeault, Hart, Monahan, Galipeau

June 10, 2023 at 9:28 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

A year ago, Samuel Montembeault was just getting through his first full NHL season, one that didn’t go all that well with the Canadiens finishing dead last. As a result, he didn’t have much leverage in contract talks, ultimately signing a two-year, $2MM deal, one that takes him straight to UFA eligibility in 2024. Now, following an improved campaign and a strong showing at the World Championship last month, his trajectory is on the upswing. The 26-year-old is eligible to sign a contract extension as of July 1st and speaking with reporters earlier this week (video link), GM Kent Hughes indicated that he’s open to trying to work out a new deal quickly with his netminder. Montembeault posted a 3.42 GAA with a .901 SV% in 40 games this season so his next contract shouldn’t break the bank but he has positioned himself to at least double his $1MM AAV whenever he signs his next deal.

Headlines