Vegas Signs Shea Theodore To Seven-Year Contract
The stand-off between restricted free agent defenseman Shea Theodore and the Vegas Golden Knights is over and ended in a way that few expected after all this time. Late last night – or early this morning for many – Theodore ended his holdout by signing a seven-year extension worth $36.4MM, per a team release. It is a flat structure without any salary fluctuation or bonuses, but does include a modified No-Trade Clause in the final two years, as reported by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Theodore will now re-join the Knights at training camp and is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.
The new contract carries a $5.2MM AAV, higher than Theodore’s reported comparable contracts of Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse. However, those two players each signed two-year bridge deals, whereas Theodore was able to land long-term security, as well as eat into unrestricted free agency years, with five extra years at a salary of close to $2MM more. The cap hit for a long-term deal is also commensurate with Theodore’s experience relative to those two, comparable to recent deals signed by the likes of Toronto’s Nikita Zaitsev, Florida’s Michael Matheson, and the Rangers’ Brady Skjei. It turns out that term was actually the bigger factor in negotiations than salary, according to GM George McPhee, speaking to the media following the Knights’ preseason game last night. “I don’t know that we were ever really far apart; it was more what’s the right term. They were more interested in going shorter, we were more interested going longer,” McPhee said, adding that “When it was all laid out and explained” to Theodore, there was finally a resolution. McPhee stressed the importance of cost certainty when negotiation a long-term deal with a player they see as a major core piece moving forward, balancing cap space with commitment, and stating that he is “confident” with the long-term core they have put together.
Not long ago it seemed there was no resolution in sight between Theodore and the Golden Knights, only for a surprise long-term deal to be announced overnight. Could another contract negotiation break the same way? With Theodore signed, only the Maple Leafs’ William Nylander and the Ducks’ Nick Ritchie remain unsigned and the news out of both cities has been equally pessimistic. Yet, if Theodore can agree to deal with just some small tweaks and some inside information from management, others can too. With the regular season set to open next week, the clock is ticking for these two remaining RFA’s to make a deal.
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights Not Close On Contract
Though Darnell Nurse and Josh Morrissey have both ended their contract negotiations the last few days and signed with their respective organizations, John Shannon of Sportsnet cautions any optimism that Shea Theodore could follow suit. Shannon reports that the Vegas Golden Knights and Theodore are not close to a deal currently, though obviously that could change at a moment’s notice.
Theodore, 23, is in a slightly different situation than his contemporaries, given that he has just 114 NHL games under his belt through three seasons. Even in 2017-18 he began the year in the minor leagues due to Vegas roster constraints, and ended up playing in just 61 games with the club. That obviously changed in the playoffs, where Theodore was a core piece of the blue line led all Golden Knights defensemen with 10 points in 20 games, but the team can still point to a relative lack of experience in negotiations in order to keep his cap hit down.
It’s not clear what exactly Theodore is looking for, but with the Golden Knights already without Nate Schmidt for a quarter of the season due to suspension the young defenseman does hold a fair bit leverage even in a situation where the free agent is normally at a disadvantage. Without Schmidt or Theodore in the lineup the Golden Knights really lack a puck-moving option on the left side, and could struggle to get it quickly out of their end and up to the talented forwards. Nick Holden could potentially fill part of that role, but has a ton of experience playing on the right side despite his left handedness.
Unlike Morrissey and Nurse, the Golden Knights do have the financial situation to extend Theodore long-term if they choose. While the Oilers are pushed right up to the cap already, and the Jets will be a year from now when they have to re-sign Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba, the Golden Knights have plenty of cap room to work with going forward even after the recent Max Pacioretty extension. If the team wanted to buy out unrestricted free agent years—something that is by no means certain—they could afford the extra bump in cap space in the short term.
Still, Theodore may have cause to prefer a bridge deal himself. After putting up 29 points in those 61 regular season games last season, and knowing that Schmidt will be out for the first part of the season, there is reason to believe that Theodore could easily come close to or even eclipse a 50-point season given ample powerplay usage. That kind of output would set him up for a much bigger deal down the road after he’s proven he can stay healthy and productive for a full season, an opportunity he may not want to give up by signing long-term right now.
Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Darnell Nurse
After a lengthy negotiation that has led to several missed days of training camp, the Edmonton Oilers and Darnell Nurse have reached a conclusion. The two sides have reached an agreement on a two-year, $6.4MM contract. Nurse will earn just slightly more than fellow restricted free agent defenseman Josh Morrissey, who signed a two-year deal worth $6.3MM just yesterday.
Nurse, 23, is one of the most important players on the Oilers this season given their struggles on defense last year. With Andrej Sekera already dealing with a long-term injury, other options like Jakub Jerabek and Kevin Gravel not inspiring much confidence, starting the season without Nurse in the lineup could have been devastating. As it turns out, he’ll miss just a few days of training camp and be able to get into form before the season begins.
The Oilers meanwhile were almost forced into signing a bridge deal with Nurse, whether they wanted to or not. The team had approximately $3.9MM in cap space for the upcoming season, meaning they’re now down to under $1MM as we approach the year. Though there is some flexibility to be gained by moving Sekera to long-term injured reserve if they choose, signing a longer deal with Nurse would have put them in a much more difficult situation. The young defenseman broke out last season with 26 points in a full 82 game schedule, and likely would have demanded a healthy raise if he was going to sign away any of his unrestricted free agent years.
For Nurse too though, a long-term deal didn’t really make sense. Just skimming the surface of his potential as a top-four defenseman, he has the potential over the next two seasons to prove that he deserves a huge raise during the next negotiation. Just like Morrissey in Winnipeg and the still unsigned Shea Theodore in Vegas, there just isn’t a long enough track record to really demand a cap hit of $5MM or more on a long-term deal. That will certainly be possible in the summer of 2020 though, when he is a 25-year old that could potentially be the best defenseman on the Edmonton roster. When this contract ends, Nurse will have just two years of restricted free agency remaining and will have arbitration rights, something he lacked this time around.
That step towards becoming a top-pairing defenseman is what Nurse is working towards, but it’s also what Edmonton desperately needs over the length of this deal. With Connor McDavid currently one of the very best players in the world, the Oilers can’t afford to throw away seasons of his prime without an appearance in the playoffs. That’s what happened last season even while McDavid led the league in scoring, and could happen again this year without a significant bounce back from the blue line. Edmonton’s roster is much the same as it was a year ago, save for some fringe changes up front and a new backup goaltender. If the team is going to get into the playoffs, it will be on the back of an improved effort from players like Nurse.
This contract leaves just five restricted free agents left unsigned, with Theodore in Vegas already mentioned above. William Nylander (TOR), Miles Wood (NJD), Nick Ritchie (ANA) and Sam Reinhart (BUF) are the others, and will need a contract before suiting up with their respective teams this preseason. Morrissey and Nurse getting deals done might push along Theodore’s negotiations, but we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for the others to end their holdouts.
John Shannon and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet were first to report the contract details.
Winnipeg Jets, Josh Morrissey Agree To Two-Year Bridge Deal
The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to a two-year bridge deal with restricted free agent defenseman Josh Morrissey, according to Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe. It will be a two-year deal with $6.3MM with an AAV of $3.15MM. That’s impressive value for Winnipeg, who have finally wrapped up their offseason signings.
The team has already signed a host of players this offseason, including goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (six years, $36MM), forwards Adam Lowry (three years, $8.75MM), Brandon Tanev (one year, $1.15MM), Marko Dano (one year, $800K), defensemen Jacob Trouba (one year, $5.5MM), Tucker Poolman (three years, $2.33MM), Joseph Morrow (one year, $1MM). They also extended Blake Wheeler to a five-year, $43.25MM deal.
Morrissey, who has been in the league for two years, posted solid numbers for the Jets as the partner of Trouba on the team’s top line. The 23-year-old has been solid on defense and showed some offensive spark, posting 13 goals and 46 points in two seasons. He was also paired more and more against their opponents’ top line, especially in the playoffs. The two-year deal allows the Jets to look into a long-term option then when he still will be a restricted free agent. That gives both sides more opportunity to see if Morrissey can continue to develop into legitimate No. 1 defender down the road.
The signing could also spark other restricted free agents as both Edmonton Oilers’ Darnell Nurse and Vegas Golden Knights’ Shea Theodore were both waiting to see what Morrissey would do. The deal could affect the negotiating leverage that both have as neither player had better offensive numbers than Morrissey.
Oilers Notes: Criticism, Nurse, Lucic
TSN insider Bob McKenzie has begun previewing the 2018-19 seasons for the NHL’s Canadian clubs on his podcast, “The Bobcast”, and dropped some bombs about the Edmonton Oilers. McKenzie most newsworthy claim is that the Oilers have been criticized by executives around the league for failing to reach the postseason last year. McKenzie was honest in his assessment of the team, saying “I think the way most people look at it, every year you have a Connor McDavid-led team that misses the playoffs, that is a crime against hockey humanity. I think that would be especially true this season after they didn’t do it last season… McDavid’s game is on its own level and it would be absolutely criminal if the Edmonton Oilers cannot find a way to surround him with enough talent to get this team back into the playoffs.” McKenzie, and anyone who has been critical of the team, are absolutely in the right to wonder how a team with arguably the best player on the planet can not only miss the playoffs, but finish in the bottom ten of the league. It is also fair to question, as McKenzie did, whether the team has done enough to add more talent to the roster. Outside of backup goalie Mikko Koskinen, two-way winger Tobias Rieder, and checking center Kyle Brodziak, the Oilers are more or less relying on the same group as last season to put together a major turnaround. Even with some positive regression, Edmonton will need to step it up this season – the players, coaches, and front office included.
- McKenzie also put Edmonton fans on edge by blowing up the narrative that negotiations were going well with restricted free agent defenseman Darnell Nurse. “By all accounts Nurse’s contract negotiations are not going well at all”, McKenzie said, “so we’ll just have to wait and see on that.” Nurse remains unsigned with training camp soon to open and there is no way to know how long it will take to get him under contract. Even before the Andrej Sekera injury, the Oilers needed Nurse around to play a key role on the blue line, but now it is imperative that they get him signed and ready to be a major top-four contributor this season. Edmonton can’t afford to let these negotiations last too far into the regular season, but their cap crunch and messy trade history also mean that they need to remain cautious. It isn’t an easy situation for the team or player.
- McKenzie also refuted the report that Milan Lucic never requested a trade this summer, returning to the previous assumption that he did want out of Edmonton. McKenzie said “Can Milan Lucic rebound from an abysmal season that was punctuated by him asking for a trade, one which he didn’t get? If you talk to the right people by all accounts his mind, his spirit, his body are all fully ready to embrace the challenge.” While this was one of McKenzie’s more positive remarks, it does throw another dig at the Oilers that one of GM Peter Chiarelli‘s big free agent acquisitions not only played poorly last season, but now wants out. Perhaps Lucic walking back trade rumors earlier this summer is a sign that he has moved on, but that interest in leaving existed at one point and could return if Edmonton suffers through another disappointing season.
Snapshots: Nurse, Karlsson, Crawford, Seattle
Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse is one of the more prominent remaining restricted free agents and the belief for quite some time has been that he will inevitably sign a short-term bridge contract. However, there is nothing imminent on the contract front for the 23-year-old, agent Anton Thun told Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. A two-year deal with a cap hit around $3MM has been the expected outcome but it wouldn’t be shocking to see the sides change gears and look at a one-year contract if they can’t bridge the gap on the two-year pact in the coming days. Matheson adds that Nurse will not be at training camp next week without a deal in place.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Senators have received a trade offer for defenseman Erik Karlsson that features six elements in it, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (audio link). The offer is believed to consist of a pair of roster players, two prospects, plus a pair of draft picks although it’s contingent on Karlsson agreeing to a long-term contract extension. Dreger notes that the offer came in several weeks ago without a deal happening but that at least provides a better idea of what Ottawa is looking for in order to move their franchise player.
- The health of Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford has been in question for a while dating back to last season. While he has made progress, team president John McDonough acknowledged to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times that he hopes the netminder will be ready when training camp opens up next Friday. Crawford is believed to have not taken part in on-ice sessions since mid-February so even if he is physically ready to practice, it will take a while for him to get game ready.
- While the Seattle group secured additional investors and completed negotiations on multiple arena agreements yesterday, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly cautioned that this doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be ready to begin playing in 2020-21. Instead, he told reporters, including ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, that the Board of Governors is eyeing 2021-22 as the potential start date, assuming Seattle eventually goes through the approval process. He added that there won’t be a vote from the board at their next meeting with Seattle’s representatives on October 2nd.
Sergey Tolchinsky Signs With KHL’s CSKA Moscow
Sergey Tolchinsky is an enigma, but one commonly found among Russian players. The young forward has loads of talent and ability, but for some reason struggled to put it all together at the pro level in North America. Likely frustrated by the disconnect between his skill and his production over three years with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, Tolchinsky signed a try-out deal back in June with CSKA Moscow of the KHL, the parent club of his former junior team. Today, the league announced that Tolchinsky has earned a roster spot, signing a one-year contract with CSKA.
Tolchinsky, 23, may not be entirely done with the NHL, but at the very least he won’t be suiting up in 2018-19. However, a comeback can never be ruled out for player with so much natural talent who has previously shown a commitment to the North American game. Although undersized at 5’8″ and 170 pounds, Tolchinsky has proven to be a very capable scorer, albeit streaky in the AHL. Tolchinsky made the trek across the Atlantic early in his development, joining the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2012-13 after being selected 12th overall in the CHL Import Draft. In his first North American junior season, the then-17-year-old notched 51 points in 62 games, outscoring teammates like Jared McCann, Darnell Nurse, and Tyler Gaudet. Yet, Tolchinsky went undrafted in 2013. The Hurricanes were quick to jump on the free agent, inking him to an entry-level deal, although he played two more years for the Greyhounds. Tolchinsky led Soo in scoring in each of those seasons, amassing 186 points in 127 games. He entered the pro ranks with high expectations, but struggled to score at the same rate, finishing his first campaign with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers with 36 points in 72 games and a -16 rating. With point totals and games played totals even lower than that in each of the past two seasons since, Tolchinsky simply couldn’t replicate his success in the AHL. Although he managed to contribute a pair of assists in four games with the Hurricanes, his inconsistency in Charlotte prevented any full-time promotion and the disgruntled Russian did not see any NHL action in 2017-18.
Now, Tolchinsky looks re-establish himself back home in Russia. There has never been a question of how skilled the young winger is, but rather can he put it all together. Skating for a CSKA squad that has been almost dynastic in its success this decade, he stands a good chance of producing plentiful points and boosting his image. Tolchinsky will be re-united with Hurricanes teammate Klas Dahlbeck and will also call the likes of Mikhail Grigorenko, Linden Vey, Jannik Hansen, Sergey Kalinin, Anton Slepyshev, Kirill Kaprizov, Nikita Nesterov, Alexey Marchenko, and Ilya Sorokin his teammates. Moscow looks to be dominant again this season and Tolchinsky will be one of many members of the team keeping an eye out for NHL offers next off-season. The Hurricanes chose not to qualify Tolchinsky, a restricted free agent, after he chose to sign with CSKA, meaning he is free to sign with any NHL team when his new contract in the KHL expires.
Darnell Nurse Optimistic About Contract Negotiations
Among the remaining unsigned restricted free agent, Darnell Nurse sticks out as one of the most important. The Edmonton Oilers are already without Andrej Sekera for a good portion of the season (if not the entire thing), and need Nurse to take another step forward and become a leader on the blue line for the team. His contract though brings quite a bit of complication, given that the team only has around $4MM in cap space to play with for this season. That’s including Sekera, who could be placed on long-term injured reserve at some point but doesn’t take into account the extra cost for a 23rd roster player to replace him. A long-term deal with Nurse that buys out any unrestricted free agent years could easily clear $4MM per season, meaning the Oilers will have to make some extra room in one way or another.
That complication isn’t giving Nurse any doubt on whether he’ll be with the team to start the season, as he indicated to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that he has “faith” he’ll be joining the team in training camp. The defenseman is apparently optimistic about his contract situation, which should give at least a bit of relief to fans that were worried the negotiations could leak into the start of the regular season. The Oilers are expected to compete for the Stanley Cup with Connor McDavid leading the offense, but after failing to even make the postseason last year there is a ton of pressure on the roster to bounce back.
One other option to help replace some of the burden that Sekera carried is top prospect Evan Bouchard, who Ryan Dixon writes about in his latest piece for Sportsnet. Bouchard has a real shot at breaking camp with the Oilers this season, if only for a few games to get a taste of the NHL before heading back to the London Knights to try and compete for a Memorial Cup. If the Nurse contract situation ever did push into the first part of the season, Bouchard would be another potential recipient of the available minutes.
Now 23, Nurse is coming off his best offensive season with 26 points in 2017-18 but more importantly played all 82 games. The Oilers couldn’t say that about any of their other defensemen, with Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson and Sekera all missing big chunks of the season. Improved health on the blue line is extremely important for Edmonton this year, and while they haven’t gotten off on the right foot with Sekera’s injury, they can look to Nurse for a repeat effort and example among his partners. He’ll have to get a contract signed before he can show any of that durability off though, and needs to have a deal by December 1st to play this season at all.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Edmonton Oilers
Current Cap Hit: $75,521,166 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jesse Puljujarvi (one year, $925K)
F Kailer Yamamoto (three years, $894K)
D Ethan Bear (two years, $798K)
Potential Bonuses
Yamamoto: $230K
Puljujarvi: $2.5MM
Bear: $70K
Total: $2.8MM
One major need is for the Oilers to get some help from their young players. Perhaps the most intruiging prospect is Puljujarvi, the team’s fourth-overall pick in 2016. After struggling in his rookie season, Puljujarvi showed some promise last year, scoring 12 goals in 65 games, but the 20-year-old still hasn’t proved that he can be a top-six winger yet. Regardless, the Oilers have resisted trading the prospect as they have received quite a bit of attention from other teams. Yamamoto also struggled in a early-season tryout last season as he played in nine games (tallying just three assists) before being sent back to juniors. However, after scoring 21 goals in 40 games with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, the speedy Yamamoto might be ready to claim a spot on Edmonton’s roster this season.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
G Cam Talbot ($4.17MM, UFA)
G Mikko Koskinen ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Tobias Rieder ($2MM, RFA)
G Al Montoya ($1.03MM, UFA)
D Jakub Jerabek ($1MM, UFA)
F Ty Rattie ($800K, RFA)
D Kevin Gravel ($700K, UFA)
F Jujhar Khaira ($675K, RFA)
F Pontus Aberg ($650K, RFA)
The team has many decisions to make with their goaltending next season. All three goaltenders are on one-year deals and will have to prove their value to the franchise for a new contract. Talbot will be the chief goaltender who must prove that last year’s disappointing season was a fluke as the 21-year-old went from a 2.39 GAA in 2016-17 to a dismal 3.02 GAA last year. His .919 save percentage in the 2016-17 season dropped to a .908. So which is he? If Talbot can rebound and show that he’s closer to the 2016-17 season, the team will likely lock him up for several more years, but if not the team may look elsewhere for goaltending help.
Another factor could be Koskinen’s presence. Brought over from the KHL, the 30-year-old veteran has been one of the top goalies in the KHL for the past six seasons, but whether he can make the conversion to the NHL is a whole new question. However, a good showing could change the way Edmonton looks at Talbot and his contract in one year. If neither is capable of locking down the No. 1 job, the team should find quite a few interesting names in the free agent market next season.
The team does have hopes that they can properly develop the speedy Rieder, who signed a one-year “prove it” deal, which could turn into a two-year deal considering that he’ll still be a restricted free agent next year. The 25-year-old has scored 12 or more goals for four seasons, but has never been able to take his game to another level and now is on his third organization in one year, which suggests that two organizations have given up on him. However, with his speed, he could be the perfect complement to the team’s top speed line.
Two Years Remaining
F Ryan Strome ($3.1MM, RFA)
F Zack Kassian ($1.95MM, UFA)
D Matt Benning ($1.9MM, RFA)
F Drake Caggiula ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Kyle Brodziak ($1.15MM, UFA)
D Keegan Lowe ($675K, UFA)
Strome was the key piece in the Jordan Eberle deal last offseason, but while he posted moderate numbers, he hasn’t yet proven that he will be a significant part of the future of the Oilers. The forward’s production continues to decline. The 25-year-old posted 13 goals, the same he did a year ago, but he also played a full season this year, as opposed to just 69 games in 2016-17. However, no one is quite sure what his role will be going forward although the team has two years to figure it out. Is he a top-six winger, who can put up a large number of goals or a bottom-six center? Caggiula has a similar issue. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota, Caggiula has improved, posting 13 goals himself last year, but hasn’t been able to provide the breakout season the Oilers are looking for out of their youth. The 24-year-old struggled with consistency throughout the year as he had several significant streaks where he didn’t even register a point and disappeared on the ice, but again, the team has two more years to figure out what it has in him.
The team did add Brodziak to its roster to provide veteran depth to their roster. The 34-year-old center had a impressive year last year, posting 10 goals and 33 points, his best season since the 2011-12 season. In just his second season, Benning received a significant uptick in minutes played after several teammates went down with injuries. The 24-year-old blueliner, known for his big checks, played well, but is not likely ready for a top-four role as yet. However, with injuries already mounting, that may become inevitable.Read more
Fourteen Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned
We’re now just a few weeks away from the start of training camp, and there are still 14 restricted free agents without contracts. Many of those who remain unsigned are key players for their teams, and starting training camp without them isn’t a desired situation for either side. That means early September should be filled with new contracts, including several that should be quite substantial.
The full list of unsigned RFAs, thanks to CapFriendly:
Nick Ritchie (ANA)
Marek Langhamer (ARZ)
Sam Reinhart (BUF)
Noah Hanifin (CGY)
Matt Puempel (DET)
Darnell Nurse (EDM)
Michael McCarron (MTL)
Miles Wood (NJD)
Jordan Schmaltz (STL)
William Nylander (TOR)
Shea Theodore (VGK)
Eric Comrie (WPG)
J.C. Lipon (WPG)
Josh Morrissey (WPG)
As CapFriendly points out, there is still technically a possibility of an offer sheet for these players given their status as restricted free agents but it seems extremely unlikely at this point. Offer sheets are so rarely used in today’s NHL and would require a team to have ample cap space this late in the summer. Remember too that an offer sheet is not something a team can do without the player’s consent, and none of these situations seem contentious currently.
Instead, these contracts are taking a long time because they have real impact on their team’s cap situations going forward. William Nylander wants a long-term deal from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Jake Gardiner and others needing new contracts within the next year there are plenty of reasons to think a bridge deal could be more beneficial. Nylander’s cap hit is extremely important for the Maple Leafs going forward, and given that it will likely fall somewhere around Dylan Larkin‘s $6.1MM and David Pastrnak‘s $6.67MM it takes time to work out.
For a team like Edmonton, locking up Darnell Nurse provides perhaps even more challenges. The team needs Nurse desperately this season given their already ailing blue line, but also has to worry about how they’ll add to the team down the line if they buy out any of his free agent years. That would send his cap hit skyrocketing, and the team has just $3.9MM left for this season and more than $62MM already committed for 2019-20. A bridge deal in Edmonton might be the only possible contract, but it might not be what Nurse is looking for.
The same could be said in Calgary, where the Flames can’t be exactly sure what they have in Noah Hanifin. While he has a high draft pedigree and has been a fine player in Carolina through the early part of his career, there’s no indication yet that he can be a franchise defenseman capable of leading their blue line down the road. With many of their other defensemen closing in on unrestricted free agency and the back half of their careers, the Flames have to be careful where they commit the most dollars.
Overall, this is a very talented group that is still unsigned as we inch closer to September and should make for some fireworks just before camp. In the worst case scenario some of them will miss camp and perhaps even hold out into the season, at which point we’ll be looking at a December 1st deadline instead of mid-September. That’s when every RFA needs a contract by or else they forfeit the entire 2018-19 season.