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Dmitry Orlov

Jake Debrusk Wants To Stay With Boston Bruins

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Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk reportedly wants to stay with the team beyond this season as he is set to become a free agent on July 1st of next year. NHL.com Staff Writer Derek Van Diest writes that the 26-year-old told reporters at the Perry Pearn 3 vs. 3 Hockey Camp that he is hoping to stay with the team that he grew up with.

It’s a departure from how the former first-round pick felt about his future just a short time ago. DeBrusk requested a trade from the Bruins in November of 2021 after he was benched by former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. He eventually had a change of heart and rescinded his request in 2022. Through all the ups and downs Bruins management supported DeBrusk, as did his teammates.

Last year DeBrusk rewarded the team’s support with the best season of his NHL career. He set career highs with 27 goals and 23 assists in 64 games while posting a +26. It was night and day with his 2020-21 season where he posted career lows with just five goals and nine assists in 41 games.

The Bruins have seen a lot of players depart from the team that won an NHL record 65 games last season. Gone are Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov, and while most teams would struggle to overcome those kinds of losses, the Bruins should be able to remain competitive.

Part of remaining competitive will be to extend their upcoming free agents starting with DeBrusk. The Edmonton, Alberta native has made it clear he wants to stay, but what will his extension look like? A lot of comparisons to Brandon Hagel have been thrown around since he signed his new deal last week. However, Hagel is almost two years younger and put up 30 goals and 34 assists this past season in 81 games. On the flip side, DeBrusk has a longer track record of success and is set to hit unrestricted free agency.

While the players aren’t a mirror image of one another, Hagel’s contract is a pretty good comparison for the Bruins and DeBrusk to utilize as a framework for an extension that both sides appear eager to sign.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Dmitry Orlov

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed arguably the top defenseman available on the free agent market, inking former Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals rearguard Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $7.75MM AAV deal.

As a leading free agent defenseman, Orlov securing just a two-year term on his deal comes as a bit of a surprise. IF any defenseman was going to get a maximum-term seven-year deal, it would be Orlov.

But instead, he follows the lead of countryman and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who secured his own pricey two-year deal earlier this offseason.

Orlov is an all-situations minutes-eating top-four defenseman who averages over 20 minutes of ice time per night for his career, including this past season where he averaged over 22.

Not only is Orlov a capable defensive defenseman and a penalty-kill contributor, he’s also a valuable offensive defenseman as well.

After a mid-season trade to the Boston Bruins, Orlov scored 17 points in just 23 regular-season games as well as eight points in seven playoff games.

That put Orlov in his peak range which has been around 35 points, though his scorching hot run with the Bruins suggests there’s more offensive potential in Orlov’s game than he may have shown as a Capital.

Orlov will be turning 34 when this contract with the Hurricanes ends, meaning one has to wonder if he’ll truly be in line to cash in on a significant long-term deal. That being said, there are few better places for him to land than Carolina. Adding to incumbent left-handers Jaccob Slavin and Brady Skjei, Orlov gives the Hurricanes easily the NHL’s best left side of their defense.

He’ll be leaned upon heavily by head coach Rod Brind’Amour and be a major help to the Hurricanes’ hopes for a Stanley Cup championship, all without the long-term commitment that can bite teams in later years.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Bruins Free Agents, Duclair, Keefe

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The Boston Bruins had a historic regular season in 2022-23, and now in the aftermath of their disappointingly early playoff exit GM Don Sweeney has some difficult problems to solve this summer. Perhaps the team’s most pressing problem is one team president Cam Neely spoke on today, stating that the Bruins are operating under the assumption that their top two centers from last season, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, will not be returning for next year.

Both Bergeron and Krejci took below-market-rate contacts to remain Bruins, and now as each of them are 37 years old it appears Boston is going to head into this offseason preparing for life without either of them occupying their top-two center spots. Another soon-to-be Bruins free agent is Dmitry Orlov, and Sweeney said that he was unlikely to be re-signed by Boston, via The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. Orlov was acquired in a mid-season deal with the Washington Capitals and with Hampus Lindholm already occupying a spot on the left side of Boston’s defense at a high price there simply may not be the cap space to afford an Orlov extension.

Some other notes from across the Atlantic Division:

  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Florida Panthers are “actively shopping” 28-year-old winger Anthony Duclair. The Panthers are widely rumored to be seeking defensive upgrades this summer and are likely dangling Duclair in large part due to his contract, which carries a $3MM AAV and is set to expire in one year. Duclair re-invented himself as a member of the Panthers and reached new heights of production, so despite an injury-plagued regular season he should have a wide range of interested teams on the trade market.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving confirmed to the media today, including The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, that Sheldon Keefe will remain behind the bench for next season, going so far as to say the team is “excited for him to do so.” Keefe has led Toronto since taking over for Mike Babcock in 2019-20 and won at an extremely high rate in the regular season. While he has just one playoff series victory to his name, Keefe has shown himself to be a capable bench boss. With his immediate future now clear, Keefe will look to build on the momentum started by their elimination of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

East Notes: Maple Leafs, Lightning, Sabres

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs did finally win a playoff series this season, a five-game loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers in the second round erased most of the team’s forward momentum and goodwill with the fanbase. Team president Brendan Shanahan and new general manager Brad Treliving seem content to keep the team’s core intact, so any answers from outside the organization are likely going to come through free agency.

The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel today speculated defenseman Dmitry Orlov should be the team’s top target on the unrestricted free agent market, citing a need for a more puck-moving inclined defender to replace Jake Muzzin and Rasmus Sandin. He’ll likely cost more than $6MM per season on a multi-year deal, one that may not age particularly well given he’s already 31, but he showed with both Washington and Boston this season that he can still handle big minutes and big competition with strong results on both sides of the puck.

Among forwards, Siegel listed Connor Brown, Evan Rodrigues, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Lars Eller as potential adds on the open market.

Also in the Eastern Conference news cycle today:

  • Stealing the Ottawa Senators’ thunder from earlier this week, Sportico reports the Tampa Bay Lightning are selling a minority stake in the club to Arctos Sports Partners at a massive $1.4 billion valuation. It’s over a ten-fold rise in franchise valuation in 13 years – majority owner Jeff Vinik purchased the team in 2010 for just $170MM. He’ll retain his majority stake in the team, so this won’t lead to any notable changes at the top of the franchise’s organizational pyramid.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have mutually agreed not to extend their affiliation with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reported Thursday. Per Lysowski, the team is close to an agreement with a new affiliate at that level. Since 2017, two netminders with playing time in Cincinnati had advanced to Buffalo’s NHL lineup: Michael Houser and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

East Notes: Killorn, Orlov, Rangers

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The Lightning are believed to have made a long-term, low AAV offer to pending unrestricted free agent winger Alex Killorn, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column.  The 33-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him put up 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games and has the most points of any player set to hit the open market.  After playing on a $4.45MM AAV deal that has been team-friendly the last couple of seasons, Killorn will have a chance at a sizable increase in free agency.  Tampa Bay would undoubtedly love to keep him in the fold but with minimal cap space to work with this summer, they can’t afford to pay market value.  Accordingly, their most realistic chance to keep him is a long-term agreement that would almost certainly be an overpayment by the time it expires but a low enough AAV that they can squeak him in under the Upper Limit.  Even so, that will be a tough sell.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • While the Bruins would likely want to keep defenseman Dmitry Orlov in the fold if they could free up enough cap space to do so, the veteran told Sport-Express’ Alexey Shevchenko that he’s looking forward to seeing what’s available in free agency. The 31-year-old is coming off another strong season, notching 36 points in 66 games between Washington and Boston while logging 22:33 per night, the second-highest ATOI of his career.  Orlov, who also indicated that he’s not planning to sign in the KHL, is coming off a contract that carries a $5.1MM AAV and is likely to get a fair bit more than that on the open market with a long-term agreement.
  • The Rangers have not yet interviewed Patrick Roy for their coaching vacancy, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. However, it’s worth noting that Roy is still coaching with his QMJHL team, Quebec, set to play the final game of the Memorial Cup on Sunday so perhaps at that time, GM Chris Drury might reach out to his former teammate.  Roy has some NHL experience under his belt having spent three seasons behind the bench in Colorado before abruptly resigning in 2016.  Among coaches still available New York has already interviewed Peter Laviolette and Jay Leach and the team is set to do so soon with John Hynes if they haven’t already done so.

Afternoon Notes: Bruins, Samsonov, Sprong

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Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub is reporting that Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is hinting that the Bruins will go into a re-tool this offseason. What that will be remains to be seen but the long-time GM was quoted as saying, “roster changes are likely coming.” Sweeney continually referenced Boston’s dire salary cap situation as well as integrating younger players into the lineup. Sweeney’s words are no surprise given that Boston has less than $5MM in cap space entering the offseason and have just seven of their current forwards signed to contracts for next year. Boston will also need to work out a new contract for backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman who will be a restricted free agent this summer.

On top of needing to work out a deal with Swayman, Boston has many other key free agents who will likely need to move on given the Bruins lack of cap space. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí are both unrestricted free agents who played on low cap hits last season and hit bonus clauses that will cause Boston to carry bonus overages of $4.5MM into 2023-24. Trade deadline acquisitions Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway are also all unrestricted free agents this summer and are likely to seek employment elsewhere. Given everything going on in Boston they will have a very different looking team than the one that lost in the first round to the Florida Panthers.

In other notes from around the NHL:

NHL Insider Chris Johnston tweeted today from Toronto Maple Leafs practice that Ilya Samsonov was not at Toronto practice and that goalie coach Curtis Sanford was working with Joseph Woll and Matt Murray. The Leafs have yet to offer an update on their netminders status for game 4. Samsonov is expected to have an MRI and some additional tests prior to the team offering an update on their starter for the elimination game on Wednesday. Woll would be the likely starter for Toronto should Samsonov be unable to play. The 26-year-old Samsonov was injured in a collision with teammate Luke Schenn in game 3 and was unable to return to action.

The Seattle Kraken have announced that forward Daniel Sprong has been ruled out of game 4 against the Dallas Stars. The 26-year-old is dealing with an upper body injury and won’t dress tonight as they Kraken look to take a 3-1 stranglehold on their second round series. Sprong has just two points in 10 games in these playoffs and is currently mired in a six-game pointless streak. He played just 6:36 in Seattle’s 7-2 game 3 victory and has been largely relegated to fourth line minutes during his recent stretch of poor play.

Bruins Notes: Krejci, Orlov, Foligno

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The Boston Bruins season ended abruptly earlier this week. Their record regular season saw them win 65 games and set an NHL record, and they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers before losing three straight and being eliminated in overtime of Game 7. You can expect players to need some time to decompress after such a shocking series loss, and David Krejci is one who will need to take some time to think about his future, according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.

The 37-year-old center returned to the NHL after spending one season in Czechia and scored 16 goals and 56 points in 70 games for the Bruins. Benjamin reports that the veteran is already close to making a decision on next season but wants to ensure he takes the proper time before making an announcement. It should not be long before we hear from the pending free agent, but there are only two options as he will either return to the Bruins or retire.

  • Matt Porter of the Boston Globe reports Dmitry Orlov also is considering his options for next season already. The 31-year-old defenseman played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals before being dealt to the Bruins at the trade deadline. He fit in extremely well in Boston, but Porter suggests Orlov is looking to return to Washington next season when he becomes a free agent in July.
  • One player who sounds more ready to stay in Boston is veteran forward Nick Foligno. He just wrapped up the final year of his two-year contract with the Bruins but Porter reports Foligno is interested in returning. The 35-year-old winger feels he still has a lot left to offer and is a big part of the team. He would have to take a significant pay cut after earning $3.8MM the past two seasons and scoring twn goals and 26 points in 60 games, but he can still contribute in a fourth line role.

Evening Notes: Senators, Toews, Hall

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TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that an interesting detail has emerged in the sale process for the Ottawa Senators. Johnston says that the Algonquins of Ontario are part of the First Nations group bidding on the Senators, and they currently have a land claim on the piece of property at LeBreton Flats that could be the future site of the next Ottawa Senators arena.

LeBreton Flats is the property in downtown Ottawa that has long been discussed as the most desirable spot to put the Senators next building. The land is currently run federally, meaning that should the First Nations group win the bidding for the Senators, some interesting opportunities could open up. Graham Robertson and the group he is partnered with met with Senators management today and remain in pursuit of the club in what is now the second phase of the sale process.

In other news around the NHL:

  • Chris Johnston is also reporting that Jonathan Toews is attempting to make a comeback this season for the Chicago Blackhawks. Toews is an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and has hinted at retirement as he has dealt with several health issues the past few seasons. Toews has played just 46 games this season, but has been effective when in the lineup with 28 points. Should Toews be able to dress for Chicago it would be an uplifting story to end what has been an otherwise nightmarish season for both player and team. Chicago is mired in one of its worst seasons in decades as they begin what is sure to be a painful rebuild over the next few seasons. For Toews, he would get what is likely to be a final send off after an era of Chicago hockey that saw the captain raise the Stanley Cup on three separate occasions.
  • An interesting conundrum is developing with the Boston Bruins as Taylor Hall is getting closer to returning from injury. Hall has already been skating with Boston for a few days and TSN Insider Darren Dreger has said that sources indicate he is close to a return. The issue is that the Bruins don’t have any cap space for Hall to get back into the lineup. Boston loaded up at the trade deadline with the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway and have precious little cap space left to facilitate Hall’s return to the ice. This is sure to be an something to keep an eye on these next few days, and it is something other teams will certainly take notice of as we are less than three weeks away from the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, a time in which Boston no longer must be salary cap compliant.

Morning Notes: Bruins, Senators, Salary Cap

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Over the past couple of seasons, the Boston Bruins haven’t made big trade deadline splashes for rentals. Their two significant acquisitions in 2021 and 2022, Taylor Hall and Hampus Lindholm, signed extensions with the team and remain in Boston today.

In his latest for The Athletic, Fluto Shinzawa explains how that will be a tricky trend to repeat this season with Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Tyler Bertuzzi. Although general manager Don Sweeney has expressed an interest in re-signing all three, signing an extension with only one would require multiple cap-dump trades. Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, and Mike Reilly would likely all see their way out of Boston this offseason, with the team likely to fetch far below market value on trades for Grzelcyk and Forbort if backed into a salary cap hole. Per CapFriendly, Boston has just over $10.5MM in projected cap space for 2023-24, not including potential performance bonus penalties carrying over from Patrice Bergeron’s and David Krejci’s contracts this season.

Other items dotting the league rumor wire this morning:

  • On last night’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Chris Johnston noted that an ownership group led by The Hockey News owner Graeme Roustan, in conjunction with Canadian First Nations groups, has advanced past the first round of bidding to purchase the Ottawa Senators. Johnston reports that the group notably has an interest in developing the land around LeBreton Flats, realizing a long-time hope for a more centrally located arena in Ottawa.
  • Also on Insider Trading, Johnston says that the NHLPA is likely dead set against increasing escrow payments next season to accommodate for a larger salary cap increase. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman noted earlier this week that such an exchange would be necessary to increase next year’s salary cap past the projected $1MM bump to an Upper Limit of $83.5MM.

Boston Bruins Acquire Garnet Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov

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A few moments after announcing that Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway would be held out of the lineup for tonight’s game for trade protection purposes, the Washington Capitals have sent both players to the league-leading Boston Bruins.

Heading back to the Capitals is forward Craig Smith, Boston’s first-round pick in 2023, Boston’s third-round pick in 2024, and Boston’s second-round pick in 2025. Washington will retain 50% of Orlov’s remaining salary, while the Minnesota Wild will retain 25% of Orlov’s contract, sending the rights to Andrei Svetlakov to Washington (who actually flipped those rights to Boston in the other part of the deal), and acquiring Boston’s fifth-round pick in 2023.

The NHL’s best team just became much better. With the acquisition of Orlov and Hathaway, the Bruins have cemented themselves as a top Stanley Cup contender and an odds-on-favorite for Lord Stanley. In his 11 seasons in Washington, Orlov became one of the more underappreciated defensemen in the league. Being able to do a little bit of everything, averaging over 100 shots, 100 hits, and over 20 minutes a game, Orlov is a complete player that Boston will now be able to supplant into their already talented defensive core.

Joining him on the New England juggernaut is Hathaway, who is a near-perfect example of what Bruins fans have come to love from their players over the years. A hard-nosed forward, Hathaway can provide depth goal scoring, sufficient work on the penalty kill, and amassing almost 200+ hits every year of his career. If they weren’t already hard enough to play against, Orlov and Hathaway turn Bruins into an even more frustrating opponent for the rest of the league.

Although they only find themselves two points out of a playoff spot, the Capitals’ recent stretch of play has sent them into a bit of a spiral. Losing their last five games in a row, the Capitals seemed to have made a pivot toward selling during this deadline. Still carrying the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson, it is not likely that this will lead to a full-tear down in D.C. However, with so many players headed for unrestricted free agency after this season, and falling further out of the playoff picture, it is only natural that the Capitals recoup some assets from this group.

Having already traded away this year’s third-round selection and next year’s second-round selection in separate trades, the Capitals looked to restock their draft capital in this deal with Boston. After falling out of favor in Boston and clearing waivers earlier this season, Smith can slot into the Capitals’ bottom six for the remainder of the season.

Much like the trade sending Ryan O’Reilly to the Maple Leafs, the Wild were able to involve themselves in this trade as well. With ample deadline cap space, the Wild have now used 2/3 of their retention slots in the last six days to help facilitate deals around the league.

Boston will also receive the rights to Svetlakov, though his inclusion will be overshadowed by the two NHLers. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Svetlakov has spent the last several seasons playing for CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that Hathaway and Orlov were headed to Boston, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic first reported Smith and picks would be the return to Washington.

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