Who Will Be The NHL’s Next Highest Paid Player?
Auston Matthews recent extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs has earned him the title of highest-paid player in the NHL. His new deal doesn’t kick in until 2024-25, but at that point, he will make an average annual salary of $13.25MM (CapFriendly) per season for four years. Prior to his new deal, Matthews was the fourth highest-paid player in the game behind Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Artemi Panarin.
MacKinnon’s new eight-year $100.8MM deal kicks in this season which will make him the highest-paid player in the league at $12.6MM for this year. His actual salary is much higher than his cap hit at $16.5MM, but the final four years of his deal will back-dive to $9.9MM in salary. McDavid has three years left on his current deal with a cap hit of $12.5MM while Panarin’s deal also concludes in three seasons and pays him $11.642MM annually.
With Matthews having topped MacKinnon’s new extension by over $600K annually the question now becomes, who will be the NHL’s next highest-paid player?
Connor McDavid – McDavid is the obvious answer. He is arguably the best player in the game and undoubtedly the best player in the world with the puck on his stick. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native will be 29 years old when he reaches unrestricted free agency and could essentially ask teams for a blank check and fill in the maximum salary under the salary cap. That is if he remains the best player in the world. While it seems hard to believe there is a world in which McDavid isn’t the game’s most explosive player, three years is a long time, and in hockey, it can be an eternity. There is also another Connor who could be the one to top Matthews’ extension.
Connor Bedard – It seems crazy that Bedard has yet to play a minute in the NHL and he could conceivably be the next highest-paid player in the NHL. But it could happen. Bedard signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 17th and should be a lock to make their opening night lineup. He will become a restricted free agent in 2026, the same time that McDavid becomes a UFA. It is fair to wonder how Bedard will produce once he is playing against men in the NHL, especially given that he will be playing on a bad Blackhawks team that will have its struggles. But he dominated the WHL with 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 games and obliterated the competition at the World Junior Championships with nine goals and 14 assists in 7 games. He’s a phenom, and in three years he could be paid like one.
Leon Draisaitl – Draisaitl has been one of the best bargains in the NHL since signing his eight-year $68MM contract back in August of 2017. All he has done during his six years under this contract is score 50+ goals three times, top 100 points four times, and win a Hart Trophy as well as an Art Ross Trophy. At 27-years-old Draisaitl is coming off the best season of his career having posted 52 goals and 76 assists in 80 games.
All things considered, it seems likely that Draisaitl will top Matthews’ contract two seasons from now when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The native of Cologne, Germany will be 29 years old, and the salary cap should go up substantially between now and then positioning him to cash in big with any team of his choosing. Draisaitl will likely hold onto that distinction for just one season as McDavid and Bedard will be following right behind him and could top Draisaitl to earn the title of the highest-paid player in the NHL.
Arizona Coyotes Extend Bill Armstrong
The Arizona Coyotes announced this morning that they have extended the contract of general manager Bill Armstrong. Financial terms and the length of the multi-year agreement were not released. The deal comes on the heels of what was a very busy summer for Armstrong and the Coyotes as they have added a lot of talent to their NHL roster including veterans Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Sean Durzi, Alexander Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad.
PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan later reported Armstrong is now under contract for six more seasons – Armstrong signed a four-year extension, while the team picked up a previously existing option for 2024-25. He’s now under contract through the 2028-29 campaign.
The 53-year-old has been the Coyotes general manager since the 2020-21 season and has overseen a rather large rebuild during that time. Armstrong essentially stripped the Coyotes roster down to the studs and rebuilt it through drafting, trades, and free agency. Prior to joining Arizona, the Richmond Hill, Ontario, native worked in the St. Louis Blues’ scouting department from 2004-18. It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season that he earned a promotion to assistant GM before eventually joining Arizona.
The Coyotes have not qualified for the playoffs since Armstrong took over, and the team has only made the playoffs a total of four times since 2004. While they are once again going through a lean period, Arizona looks to be on the verge of a good run of hockey in the desert. Should they stay there.
The team will likely get a jolt from this summer’s signings and trades as well as top prospect Logan Cooley, who could be a difference-maker in Arizona as early as this season.
The signing of the coaching staff, Armstrong, and the player acquisitions this summer show stability within the hockey operations of Arizona, even if the team’s future off the ice is up in the air.
Jake Debrusk Wants To Stay With Boston Bruins
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.
Free Agent Profile: Zack Kassian
Zack Kassian had one of the lowest-scoring seasons we’ve seen in quite some time as he put up just two goals last season in 51 games with the Arizona Coyotes. This prompted Arizona to buy out the 32-year-old forward prior to free agency in a move that made sense, given the lack of production from the former 13th overall pick. Kassian lasted just a single season in the desert and never really seemed comfortable playing on a very bad Coyotes team.
This is Kassian’s first crack at free agency and unfortunately for him he is coming off a season in which he posted career lows in many statistical categories. As mentioned earlier, he had just two points on the season, and posted a -18. His hitting was way down, which is one of the facets of the game he typically excels in. Kassian threw just 32 hits in 51 games last season, a dramatic drop from the 158 he threw the year prior with the Edmonton Oilers in 58 games. It’s not uncommon for physical players to see a decline in their 30’s, but the decline generally isn’t that steep.
Kassian deserves a ton of credit for battling several off-ice issues and resurrecting his career when it looked like it could be in trouble. At one point in 2015 Kassian bounced from Vancouver to Montreal to Edmonton in less than six months and looked like he could be out of the league. But, to his credit, he turned it around and even managed to post career highs in 2019-20 when he potted 15 goals to go along with 19 assists in 59 games. This run of good play prompted the Oilers to sign Kassian to a four-year contract extension in January 2020 worth $3.2MM annually. Unfortunately for the club and the player, Kassian struggled through the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season and hasn’t regained his footing ever since. Over the past three seasons combined Kassian has posted just 10 goals and 16 assists in 136 games, a drastic decline from his 2019-2020 numbers. The other issue that will work against Kassian is that he is strictly a 5 on 5 player. He has never been a regular contributor on the power play and hasn’t been a regular part of a penalty kill since 2018-19.
In a normal cap world, Kassian would have played out the final season of his contract with a salary that is well below his cap hit but given how poor his play was Arizona opted to move on and spread out that cost over two seasons.
Despite his struggles last season, it is still likely that Kassian will get an opportunity when training camps open in a few weeks. Teams are always looking for physical players, especially ones who can take a regular shift and will play under a reduced cap hit. Kassian checks all those boxes, which is a good indication that someone will give the Windsor, Ontario native a look to see if he still has anything to offer.
Stats
2022-23: 51 GP, 2-0-0, -18 rating, 50 PIMS, 25 shots, 37.5% faceoffs, 38.4% CF, 9:09 ATOI
Career: 661 GP, 92-111-203, -55 rating, 913 PIMS, 798 shots, 31.0% faceoffs, 48.2% CF, 12:37 ATOI
Potential Suitors
Kassian is still chasing hockey’s ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup. And after spending a dozen years in the league, he would probably prefer to spend his time chasing a championship with a Stanley Cup contender. However, given his status as a fringe NHLer at the moment, he likely won’t have the opportunity to be choosey. That doesn’t mean he won’t have a suitor, but it could mean that he would be playing on a weaker team, or a team that has a borderline chance of making the playoffs. But anything can happen, and even players that are past their best before date can catch on with good teams when it is least expected.
Let’s start out West in Edmonton. Kassian found his game almost eight years ago when it looked like his career was hanging on by a thread. It was there that he turned his intensity and physicality into effective NHL minutes on a team that was competitive for most of his run there. Kassian brought an edge that the Oilers severely lacked and gave them an option that they could plug almost anywhere in their lineup. But that was then, and this is now, and Kassian isn’t that player anymore. His body has broken down, as per normal with physical players when they hit the wrong side of 30. But Kassian could still help Edmonton, and it feels like the Oilers are always looking for bodies up front. Kassian couldn’t play in Edmonton’s top-9, but he could be a could fill-in for their fourth line if they aren’t able to find help between now and the start of the regular season.
Sticking with the West, the Colorado Avalanche were riddled with injuries last season. So much so that it looked like they might miss the playoffs entirely, however, a late-season rally secured their spot in the round of 16. But it was there that they were physically dominated by the Seattle Kraken and ousted in an exhilarating seventh game. The Avalanche were one of the lightest-hitting teams in the NHL last season, which on the surface isn’t the big of a deal given how skilled they are. However, the regular season and the playoffs are two different things and Colorado didn’t have an answer for Seattle in the postseason and really missed some of the grit they lost when Nazim Kadri departed last summer. Now, Zack Kassian is far from the answer to that problem, but he can offer Colorado something that is in short supply in their group, and it wouldn’t cost them more than a contract slot and a league minimum contract.
Finally, in the East, one team that could use a depth physical forward is the Buffalo Sabres. Coincidently, the team that took Kassian in the first round of the NHL entry draft some 14 years ago. The Sabres have a competent fourth line at the moment with Tyson Jost centering Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons, but injuries happen (see Jack Quinn), and Kassian could provide insurance to their Sabres if they were to lose any additional depth up front. The Sabres were also a team that didn’t throw the body around all that often-last year and with the talent that they have up front, they could likely place Kassian into a role that wouldn’t overextend him and could allow him to perhaps resurrect his career once again.
Projected Contract
Kassian enters free agency at a time when his free agent stock is very damaged. And while he has his shortcomings, he still offers a rare combination of physicality mixed with a bit of skill and could find success when he is sheltered in the right situation.
At this point in his career Kassian would be lucky to get a one-way contract for the league minimum of $775K. The most likely outcome for him will be a PTO with a team that is looking to add a 13th forward that offers some sandpaper and can chip in on the fourth line when a regular falls out of the lineup. A role like that would allow Kassian to play to his strengths and would offer longer windows of recovery for an aging player who has been banged up from years of throwing his body around with reckless abandon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Arizona Coyotes Extend André Tourigny
August 23: Arizona has confirmed Tourigny’s extension, which lasts for three years.
August 22: Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports is reporting that the Arizona Coyotes have officially signed head coach André Tourigny to a contract extension. It was reported earlier this month that the two sides were involved in negotiations and that a deal was close, but sources now tell Morgan it is completed.
At the time of the negotiations, Morgan reported that the holdup was Tourigny’s desire to get extensions in place for his coaching staff as well as himself – something that has reportedly been accomplished as the Coyotes have also locked up John Madden, Mario Duhamel and goalie coach Corey Schwab to extensions.
A native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Tourigny is about to embark on his third season at the helm of the Coyotes. And while his 53-90-21 record with Arizona is ugly on the surface, he has been guiding a roster that largely consists of prospects and castoffs. But record aside, Tourigny has done a good job keeping the group competitive on most nights and fostering a culture that must be positive given that several players who have been traded away previously have elected to return when they hit free agency.
No terms of the new contract have been released, but it should make the upcoming season more comfortable for Tourigny and his staff as they start a season where there will be expectations on the club to win some games. Arizona has been one of the busier teams in the off-season, swinging a trade for Sean Durzi and signing Jason Zucker, Alexander Kerfoot, Matt Dumba, and Nick Bjugstad.
Tourigny hasn’t had pressure to win thus far in his reign as the head coach of the Coyotes, but with a new contract in hand, and some serious depth added to the lineup, the pressure will begin to mount for Tourigny and Arizona to win some games.
Can The Pittsburgh Penguins Actually Sign Tomas Tatar?
There aren’t many impact unsigned free agents remaining at this point in the offseason, but one name of note is forward Tomas Tatar. Tatar has been linked to several teams, including the Buffalo Sabres as an inexpensive replacement for the injured Jack Quinn. One team that popped up in the rumor mill last week was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rob Rossi of The Athletic wrote that the Penguins were keenly interested but it all came down to whether Tatar would get a guaranteed contract offer elsewhere as the Penguins appeared to be offering a PTO for training camp in Pittsburgh with the expectation of a contract after. But can the Penguins realistically fit in another contract for a player coming off a season in which he scored 20 goals and 28 assists in 82 games?
In most off-seasons, the answer to that question would be an emphatic no. But the summer of 2023 has been unlike any other offseason. Players like Blake Wheeler have signed for less than $1MM annually. Matt Duchene took a one-year contract for $3MM despite being a year removed from topping 80 points, and Tatar remains unsigned despite providing consistent secondary scoring.
But all of this doesn’t necessarily mean the answer is a resounding yes, the Penguins would need to do some cap gymnastics to fit Tatar into the sliver of room they have under the salary cap ceiling. Currently, the Penguins have just north of $220K, which is obviously well below the NHL minimum.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has said previously that he would use waivers as a means of becoming cap compliant, and the Penguins have plenty of players who could be placed on waivers to open up room for Tatar. Alexander Nylander and Rem Pitlick are two players that could be exposed and sent to the AHL to open up the room, but would that be enough to sign Tatar? The answer is a giant unknown at this time, but as we inch closer to training camp it becomes more and more possible.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now explored another idea in an article as he wondered if a potential Jeff Carter trade would be possible. The 38-year-old London, Ontario native is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $3.125MM and is coming off a season in which he scored just 13 goals and 16 assists in 79 games and looked lost at times both offensively and defensively. Kingerski provides options in the article, the most interesting of which would have the Penguins retain 50% of Carter’s contract and staple a second-round pick to him to facilitate a move. While this scenario seems possible, the biggest caveat to a potential deal would be Carter’s full no-movement clause. Given all these moving parts, it seems unlikely any contending team would have room to take on even half of Carter’s cap hit and even less likely that Carter would waive his no-move to make it happen. Kyle Dubas has worked one miracle this summer in moving out Jeff Petry and Mikael Granlund for Erik Karlsson, but can he make another one happen?
Much like the Karlsson situation it feels like the longer this drags out the likelier it becomes the player ends up with the Penguins. But to make it happen Tatar is going to have to take a massive pay cut and perhaps accept just a one-year contract. A far cry from the $3.3MM annually that Daily Faceoff projected he would get on a three-year deal when free agency opened.
Trade Market Quiet For Noah Hanifin
It appears that the holdup for a potential Noah Hanifin trade has been due to an underwhelming trade market. This comes from Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg who also reported a few days ago that the trade market had been soft this summer for one of the Calgary Flames’ other trade chips Mikael Backlund.
Both Backlund and Hanifin will be free agents next summer, and while Backlund expressed an interest in seeing the season play out before signing an extension, Hanifin has said he doesn’t plan to sign a deal to extend his stay in Calgary.
Under normal circumstances, a 26-year-old first-pairing defenseman would be highly coveted, but as Steinberg reports, the Flames just haven’t received any strong offers. The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly had interest earlier in the summer, but nothing ever materialized on the trade front, and given their pursuit of Erik Karlsson one must wonder if Penguins general manager used Calgary as leverage to get a better deal for Pittsburgh.
Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News wrote today that when the deal for Karlsson happened there was an expectation that there would be movement on the Hanifin front, but it has yet to materialize. He also speculates that perhaps the Flames will keep the rearguard until the March trade deadline when more teams will have accrued cap space due to injuries.
On the ice, Hanifin has been everything Calgary could have hoped for when they acquired him from the Carolina Hurricanes in a 2018 trade. He has averaged over 21 minutes a night during his time in Calgary and has put up 31 goals and 125 assists in 359 games with the Flames. Any potential team that acquires the Boston native would be getting a player capable of playing first-pairing minutes or being an exceptional second-pairing defenseman. Hanifin is an excellent skater and can generally be counted on for 35-40 points per season. He is in the final year of a contract that carries a $4.95MM cap hit and reportedly has an 8-team modified no-trade clause, meaning that Calgary has quite a few options to facilitate a potential move.
At the beginning of the summer, it looked as though the Flames would be busy in the trade market with several players approaching free agency. But, thus far general manager Craig Conroy has been quiet and may just start the season with several prominent free agents. It will make for interesting theatre as Flames fans don’t have to look back far to remember the exodus of top-end talent in the summer of 2022 that saw Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk take their talents south of the border. Calgary can ill afford to lose more high-end players for nothing and will likely be looking to make a flurry of moves in-season unless something materializes in the upcoming weeks.
All Reserve List Expirees On August 15th
Originally published August 8. Updated to reflect Harrison Blaisdell is returning to the University of New Hampshire for a fifth season, meaning the Winnipeg Jets will retain his rights until August 15, 2024.
Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the National Hockey League and its Players Association, every year on August 15th, certain players (if parameters are met) become unrestricted free agents at 5 pm ET. If a college-drafted player has not received a bona fide offer, and graduates from a four-year university, that player will have the freedom of pursuing a different organization via unrestricted free agency.
This does not typically happen for some of the higher-profile college-drafted prospects around the league, but has happened before most notably in the case of Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey. This year, nine players find themselves headed for unrestricted free agency a week today:
F – John Farinacci (Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall, 2019)
F – Demetrios Koumontzis (Calgary Flames, 108th overall, 2018)
F – Kevin Wall (Carolina Hurricanes, 181st overall, 2019)
F – Jake Wise (Chicago Blackhawks, 69th overall, 2018)
F – Robert Mastrosimone (Detroit Red Wings, 54th overall, 2019)
F – Jay O’Brien (Philadelphia Flyers, 19th overall, 2018)
D – Ryan O’Connell (Toronto Maple Leafs, 203rd overall, 2017)
G – Jared Moe (Winnipeg Jets, 184th overall, 2018)
These players are seeing their NHL signing rights expire but have signed ECHL, AHL, or European contracts for the 2023-24 season:
D – Robbie Stucker (Columbus Blue Jackets, 210th overall, 2017) – Signed with ECHL Iowa
F – Skyler Brind’Amour (Edmonton Oilers, 177th overall, 2017) – Signed with AHL Charlotte
D – Christian Krygier (New York Islanders, 196th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Bridgeport
F – Jacob Pivonka (New York Islanders, 103rd overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Bridgeport
F – Jakov Novak (Ottawa Senators, 188th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Laval
D – Jonny Tychonick (Ottawa Senators, 48th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Toronto
D – Arvid Henrikson (San Jose Sharks, 187th overall, 2016) – Signed with Västerviks IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan
An abundance of these individual players are destined for AHL or ECHL agreements for the 2023-24 season if they are able to play anywhere, but there are several that should garner some significant interest on the market leading up to training camp in September. The immediate being O’Brien, a recent graduate from Boston University, who tore up his United States Preparatory High School league in his draft year. Originally committing to Providence College, O’Brien would transfer to Boston for the last three years of his collegiate career.
In 79 total games with the Terriers, O’Brien put up 26 goals and 44 assists, nothing to shake your head about in the NCAA. O’Brien may not be ready for NHL minutes just yet, but there should be plenty of rebuilding clubs ready and waiting to give him a shot for next season.
Wise will also be another interesting name to keep an eye on in a week’s time. Originally committing to Boston University, his collegiate career did not get off to a great start with the club, and Wise transferred to Ohio State University for the remainder of his collegiate career. In his final season in the NCAA, Wise had a tremendous season, scoring 12 goals and 27 assists in 39 games. Garnering Second-Team All Big 10 honors for the 2022-23 season, Wise helped OSU make it all the way to the Frozen Four quarterfinals, losing to the eventual champions, Quinnipiac University.
Lastly, Mastrosimone is likely the player on this list most ready to crack an NHL roster next season. Originally looking to be a solid draft pick by the Red Wings back in 2019, the beginning of his college career with Boston University soured any chance of the team offering up a contract. In his final year of NCAA eligibility, Mastrosimone excelled, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists in 38 games for the Arizona State University Sun Devils.
One of the biggest knocks on Mastrosimone is his size, standing at 5’10” and 170 pounds, but his skill is apparently ready. The NHL is not as big on size as it had been previously, but some clubs may want him to fill out a bit more before giving him meaningful minutes.
Free Agent Profile: Jaroslav Halak
Jaroslav Halak has been on quite the journey since he led the Montreal Canadiens to back-to-back playoff upsets of the President’s Trophy winning Washington Capitals and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2010. Halak was so effective in that run to the Conference Finals that many Canadiens fans wanted the team to keep him and trade his partner, Carey Price. Montreal opted to keep Price and shipped Halak to the St. Louis Blues for a package that included Lars Eller.
The early returns in St. Louis were good as Halak was solid in his first season with the Blues and even better in year two when he and Brian Elliott won the William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals against in the league. That year Halak also garnered Vezina Trophy votes and ultimately finished sixth in voting as he sported a stellar .926 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average.
Eventually, the shine wore off in St. Louis and Halak lost the net to Elliot and was traded to the Washington Capitals midway through the 2013-14 campaign. He played well for the Capitals in limited action but the team ultimately missed the playoffs.
That summer, the Bratislava, Czechoslovakia native signed a four-year deal with the New York Islanders with an annual cap hit of $4.5M. The Islanders received excellent goaltending from Halak in his first season with the team as he went 38-17-4 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average. In fact, through his first three years on Long Island Halak posted a save percentage above .910 every year, and kept his quality starts percentage over 50%, which means his save percentage was above the average more often than not.
It was in the final year of his contract with the Islanders that the cracks started to show in Halak’s game as he struggled in 2017-18 and posted the worst numbers of his career up to that point with a .908 save percentage and a 3.19 goals-against average.
Understanding that his days as a starter were likely ending, Halak signed a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins to back-up Tuukka Rask. Halak ended up playing in almost half of Boston’s games that year and outplayed Rask for large portions of the season in what was one of the best years of Halak’s career as he went 22-11-4 with a save percentage of .922 and a goals-against average of 2.34. Halak would win another Jennings Trophy the following year posting a .919 save percentage in what was another fantastic campaign for the netminder. That season in Boston, the 2019-20 campaign is the last time that Halak has posted a save percentage over .910.
Since the 2019-20 season, Halak hasn’t been able to be counted on to provide consistent play. Halak hasn’t started more than 25 games in the past three seasons, and although that isn’t entirely his fault thanks to injuries and a pandemic, he has been a tick below average when he has played.
At 38-years-old Halak and 17 seasons into his career, Halak has a lot of miles on his body, but he did indicate a month ago that he would like to continue playing. Halak reportedly talked about an extension with the New York Rangers prior to free agency, but ultimately the Rangers decided to sign Jonathan Quick to be their backup, which is a definite downgrade from Halak at this point. Halak needs just five wins to reach 300 and given his track record he should be presented soon with an opportunity to be a backup next season.
Stats
2022-23: 25 GP, 10-9-5, 2.72 GAA, .903 SV%, 1 SO
Career: 581 GP, 295-189-69, 2.50 GAA, .915 SV%, 53 SO
Potential Suitors
At Halak’s age he probably isn’t looking to get pummeled with fifty shots every night which means we can likely filter out any rebuilding teams. At first glance, the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues are two teams who have a need for depth in net.
The Devils are a team that feels like they are on the cusp of building something great, their defense is mobile and quick, they can push the pace and defend. Their forward group is skilled, fast, and comes at you in waves. But goaltending is their Achilles heel. The Devils have reportedly shown interest in several goaltending options including Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson, but both of those goaltenders would require large commitments that the Devils might not want to make. But the Devils do need some help in the crease as they will once again enter this season relying on the tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid. Both goaltenders are relatively inexperienced, and while they backed the Devils to the second round of the playoffs last season, they might need an extra set of hands to get the club there again. Neither Schmid, nor Vanecek have a history of playing at a high level in the NHL for an extended period, which means that even a league-average goaltender like Halak could give a big boost to the team’s depth chart and offer up a solution should either man falter.
For the St. Louis Blues, they’ve made some interesting moves over the past year but haven’t done much to address their goaltending. It’s fair to say that the Blues goaltending was porous last season. Jordan Binnington, now in the third year of a six-year $36MM contract, hasn’t been good in two seasons posting a 45-41-10 regular season record, with a 3.24 goals-against average and a .897 SV%. If you take a deep dive into his numbers the picture gets even worse, in the last two seasons Binnington has posted a minus-26.6 GSAA, meaning that he gave up almost 27 goals more than the average NHL goalie would on the same number of shots. Couple this with St. Louis deciding to run with rookie Joel Hofer as a backup and you have a potential recipe for disaster for the Blues. No disrespect to Hofer, who had a terrific year with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season in the AHL, but he is inexperienced and is no guarantee to step up should Binnington falter for a third year in a row. Adding a netminder like Halak might give the Blues a good safety net in case one of their two goaltenders were to struggle or get hurt. He wouldn’t cost anything in the way of assets and could give the Blues some peace of mind.
Projected Contract
A month ago, it seemed like a sure thing that Halak would get a one-year NHL deal for a bit over $1MM. Now a month into free agency, I’m not so sure. I think that barring an off-season training injury before training camps open, Halak will have to settle for a number three role on a team with good depth in net, or a PTO. The experienced veteran would provide a good fallback option in a pinch and can give guidance to younger goalies who might be ahead of him on the depth chart.
I’d be surprised at this point if Halak got over $1MM on his next contract, however, with that being said, injuries can create urgency quickly, especially in net. Halak could be the first netminder who gets a call from a team with thin goalie depth after they get stung by the injury bug. Even if this were to happen, Halak is like to end up with a six-figure deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Profile: Paul Stastny
The height of free agency ended a little less than a month ago and once again veteran center Paul Stastny finds himself without an NHL contract heading into next season. Unlike, most younger players Stastny probably isn’t too concerned about financial security as he has made nearly $85MM during his career (CapFriendly). Stastny has also been here before, having waited until August 23rd to sign last summer with the Carolina Hurricanes. Stastny may find himself unsigned late in the offseason once again but given that he is just a year removed from a 45-point season, there is reason to believe he will find an NHL job next year.
Stastny began his career as a perennial 70-point player on a talented but inconsistent Colorado Avalanche team that could never seem to get over the hump. He remained an important top-six piece as his career progressed, but as injuries started to impact his body, he began to descend into a 50–60-point scorer. By the time he signed a four-year $28MM contract as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues in 2014, he had settled in as a 40–50-point contributor that could post solid faceoff results and contribute in other ways. Stastny put up 40 or more points in each of his three and a half seasons with the Blues and was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline in 2018.
After a cup of coffee in Winnipeg, Stastny signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in the summer of 2018. He spent two years with the team and failed to meet the expectations that came with his three-year $19.5MM contract. Stastny put up 80 points in 121 games with Vegas, but his production didn’t live up to his $6.5MM cap hit and he was traded back to Winnipeg in the 2020 offseason.
Stastny remained a solid center option in his two seasons in Winnipeg and continued to be a consistent 40-point threat despite being in his mid-30’s. Last summer, Stastny was coming off the aforementioned 45-point season and seemed like a good bet to sign a decent one-year deal, but as the height of free agency came and went, Stastny was left without a dance partner and eventually signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes for $1.5MM. The deal was good value, although probably a tad below expectations for Carolina as Stastny centered both the third and fourth line at different points during the season.
At the end of the season, the Hurricanes opted to let Stastny go and that’s where we find the 37-year-old today, unsigned and coming off a season in which he put up nine goals and 13 assists in 73 games while averaging a career-low 11:52 of ice-time per game.
Stastny has had a terrific career up to this point, but he is still chasing that elusive Stanley Cup. He seems to have a knack for leaving organizations just as they are on the cusp of winning Lord Stanley as evidenced by his former clubs Colorado, St. Louis, and Vegas all winning championships shortly after his departure.
Now, the Quebec City, Quebec native is in the twilight of his career and is likely looking to sign with a contender. He showed last year that he could be a solid contributor on the bottom two lines and probably has more to give. Teams aren’t going to be lining up like they once were for Stastny’s services, but with two months left until opening night, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic that he will find a landing spot before the first week in October.
Stats
2022-23: 73 GP, 9-13-22, +4 rating, 16 PIMS, 80 shots, 57.6% faceoffs, 60.9% CF, 11:52 ATOI
Career: 1145 GP, 293-529-822, +43 rating, 500 PIMS, 2326 shots, 54.2% faceoffs, 52.2% CF, 18:27 ATOI
Potential Suitors
It seems that teams are always looking for help at center, which makes Stastny’s status a bit surprising this late in the offseason. While he is hardly the only pivot that is unsigned, he is probably the best of the leftovers. For Stastny, if he does choose to continue his career, he will be looking for a situation where he is a good fit. He never quite found a groove in Carolina, and despite playing on an excellent team, he did seem frustrated at times. He also fell out of favor with the coaching staff for brief periods, evidenced by his benching when the team opted to use Derek Stepan in his spot.
Let’s start in the East. The Buffalo Sabres have several players that are over the age of 35 and while Stastny isn’t going to push the team into the next stratosphere, he could be a nice stopgap for the team as they wait for more of their young prospects to develop into everyday NHLers. The Sabres also need to navigate the injury to Jack Quinn, and while this version of Stastny is no replacement for the youngster, he could be a part of a solution until he returns. Stastny would add a lot of experience and leadership to the Sabres dressing room and could also provide the team with a center who can win most of the draws he takes and will generally help his team control the play when he is on the ice.
In the West, the Edmonton Oilers still need a solid fourth-line center. The club does currently have a few options that they can slot into the lineup in a pinch, but ideally, they would have a pivot that can bring similar skills to that of Stastny. The Oilers don’t need a player that will drive the offense, but they do need capable bottom six players who can play a responsible brand of hockey and dictate play when they are on the ice. Stastny fits the bill having won 57% of his faceoffs last season, and having terrific possession numbers as Carolina controlled the puck 60% of the time Stastny was on the ice. His offense dried up last season, but Edmonton doesn’t need an offensive juggernaut, they need smart bottom six players that can chip in on offense from time to time.
Projected Contract
Many of the remaining unrestricted free agents are likely going be forced to take contracts that are around the league minimum of $775K, however, I don’t believe that will be the fate for Stastny. As mentioned earlier, he waited until the end of August last year and still secured a seven-figure AAV on a one-year deal. This year is different for Stastny though as he is coming off his lowest offensive output in his 17-year career, so a contract approaching what he made last season might be off the table. I would venture a guess that Stastny will get a one-year deal in the range of $1MM to $1.25MM which could also include a small bonus. Several teams have utilized bonuses for players over 35 years of age signing one-year contracts and Stastny could be the next in line to receive it. Regardless of where he winds up, he will likely be able to give the team that acquires him good value on a short-term deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.