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Jesse Puljujarvi

Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Cassidy, Marner

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Another day, another controversial translation regarding Jesse Puljujarvi and his future with the Edmonton Oilers. This time the unhappy restricted free agent spoke to Finnish television station Lamari, saying (through a translation of a Sporten article) that he wants a chance at playing a top-six role in the NHL with another team where he could get 15 minutes of ice time every game.

Despite the Oilers changing both their front office and coaching staff this offseason, it seems as though Puljujarvi and agent Markus Lehto have dug in and won’t return to the club regardless of potential contract offers. The 21-year old has played in 139 NHL games since being drafted fourth overall in 2016 but has just 37 points and failed to secure a top-six role in Edmonton even with their lack of talent on the wing. He will likely play in Finland if he can’t find a new club in the NHL or reach some agreement with the Oilers.

  • Bruce Cassidy has done an excellent job since taking over as head coach of the Boston Bruins, leading the team to a 117-52-22 record. Now Joe McDonald of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the team has started negotiating a contract extension that would keep him in Boston past the end of his current deal. Cassidy’s contract is set to expire after the 2019-20 season. While the team failed to secure the Stanley Cup this year after reaching the finals against the St. Louis Blues, there’s no doubting Cassidy’s influence and success so far. It seems almost inevitable that a deal will get completed to keep him with the Bruins at some point.
  • Though today’s news that Mitch Marner has spoken to the Zurich Lions of the NLA came with plenty of suspicion that the representatives for the Toronto Maple Leafs forward are simply trying to move things along, Igor Eronko of Sport-Express rightly points out that the winger’s rights were never drafted in the KHL meaning he could potentially sign with any team there. That could potentially mean a bigger payday than the Lions could ever offer if Marner was really set on playing overseas, though obviously he has not been linked to the KHL at this point. James Mirtle of The Athletic was on TSN radio to discuss the restricted free agent situation, and still maintained that the Zurich news is likely “posturing.”

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. 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 2019-20 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: $79,066,999 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Joakim Nygard (one year, $925K)
F Cooper Marody (two years, $925K)
F Kailer Yamamoto (two years, $894K)
D Evan Bouchard (three years, $894K)
F Tyler Benson (two years, $808K)
D Caleb Jones (one year, $720K)
D Ethan Bear (one year, $720K)

Potential Bonuses

Bouchard: $850K
Yamamoto: $230K
Marody: $75K
Jones: $70K
Bear: $20K

The team have a number of young players on entry-level deals, but so far while there is a ton of potential here, not one player has stepped up and established themselves as a full-time player on the Oilers roster. Yamamoto, the team’s 2017 first-rounder, was expected to provide the speed that the team needed to develop a fast-paced offense, but after 26 NHL games, he’s provided just one goal and four assists. Marody has appeared in six games with no points, while Benson, despite quite a bit of success in the AHL, hasn’t gotten a chance at the NHL level, although that’s likely to change this season. The team also has high hopes in Nygard, who is a speedy winger, who is coming off a 21-goal campaign in the SHL, but remains a mystery.

On defense, the team might get their 2018 first-round pick, Evan Bouchard, to make the team and contribute quickly, but he also must prove to the team that he’s ready for that opportunity. However, Bouchard already has seven games of experience with the Oilers (scoring one goal), while posting three goals and eight points for the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL in eight playoff games. Other defenseman might also be ready, including Bear and Jones. Bear has played two seasons now in the AHL, while Jones got 17 games with the Oilers last season and might be the most NHL-ready.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Darnell Nurse ($3.2MM, RFA)
F Sam Gagner ($3.15MM, UFA)
D Brandon Manning ($2.25MM, UFA)
G Mike Smith ($1MM, UFA)
F Zack Kassian ($1.95MM, UFA)
D Matt Benning (1.9MM, RFA)
F Markus Granlund ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Kyle Brodziak ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Josh Archibald ($1MM, UFA)
D Joel Persson ($1MM, RFA)
F Tomas Jurco ($750K, UFA)
F Colby Cave ($675K, RFA)

The bulk of the Oilers contracts seem to be one-year deals, which means that many players will have to prove to the Edmonton front office that they deserve a new contract. The team will likely unload the contracts of both Gagner and Manning after this season, which should free up $5.4MM of cap space. The Oilers traded for the veteran Gagner near the trade deadline and he contributed five goals and 10 points in 25 games for Edmonton, but he likely will take a bottom-line role with Oilers this season, while Manning has never been a good fit after being acquired from the Blackhawks in December last season. Smith is another veteran the Oilers have high hopes for, but the team will reassess its goaltending situation at the end of the year and whether to bring the then 38-year-old back for another season. The same can be said for players like Archibald, Granlund and Jurco.

The team will have pay up next season for Nurse, a restricted free agent, who put up career-high numbers last season with the Oilers. The 24-year-old put up 10 goals and 41 points and averaged 23:49 of time on the ice. He also blocked 146 shots, while adding 162 hits as well, making him a solid all-around player despite seeing his plus-minus drop from a plus-15 in 2017-18 to a minus-five last year. The team must decide whether to keep Benning, who will also be a restricted free agent. Benning saw his playing time drop by almost three minutes since the previous year and might lose his job to some of the team’s young defensive prospects.

The team also have a number of veteran players, who will hit unrestricted free agency, including Kassian, who saw career highs in ATOI (14:48) and goals (15) and also put up 191 hits as a bottom-line forward for the team. At 28, he could be considered an important keeper for the Oilers. Unfortunately, Brodziak’s success in Edmonton wasn’t as impressive as the veteran center averaged just 11:42 of ATOI, while scoring career low six goals and nine points.

Two Years Remaining

F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6MM, UFA)
D Adam Larsson ($4.17MM, UFA)
D Kris Russell ($4MM, UFA)
F Alex Chiasson ($2.15MM, UFA)
F Jujhar Khaira ($1.2MM, RFA)

This could be an interesting year for Nugent-Hopkins, who has always been an excellent defensive player, but now has established himself as a solid offensive player as well with a career-high 28 goals and 69 points. However with his contract coming up in two years, the Oilers might want to decide whether he is worth handing a long-term, expensive deal to. If they aren’t ready to lock him up, the Oilers might get the most value for Nugent-Hopkins at the trade deadlines. After all, top-six centers rarely come available and considering that any team that trades for him automatically gets another full season out of him, he might become quite a valuable trade chip.

The Oilers must also decide what they want to do with two of their highly-paid defensemen in Larsson and Russell. Both blueliners receive more than 20 minutes a night, but neither provides much offensive talent and haven’t been that helpful lately on defense either and between the two of them, the Oilers are giving them $8.17MM. Larsson put up comparable offensive numbers last year, but saw his defensive numbers drop as his minus-28 plus-minus was his lowest in his career by far. Russell also had comparable numbers from the last couple of years and kept his plus-minus in the positive, but the team may look to find a taker for either of them at the trade deadline.

Chiasson earned his two-year deal after posting a career-high 22 goals last season after winning a job in training camp on a PTO. The team hopes that the 28-year-old can duplicate that season. Khaira scored just three goals last season and will have to prove that he belongs on the roster next season.

Three Years Remaining

G Mikko Koskinen ($4.5MM, UFA)

Edmonton surprised many when former general manager Peter Chiarelli signed Koskinen to a three-year, $13.5MM extension last season despite a small sample size as an NHL goaltender. Koskinen didn’t fare that well in the second half of the season after signing the extension, putting up a 3.07 GAA and a .902 save percentage, which could make this a rocky relationship if Koskinen can’t prove to Edmonton that he is a No. 1 goaltender. The 31-year-old goaltender has spent most of his career in the KHL and may not be the answer that the Oilers were hoping for.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Connor McDavid ($12.5MM through 2025-26)
F Leon Draisaitl ($8.5MM through 2024-25)
F James Neal ($5.75MM through 2022-23)
D Oscar Klefbom ($4.17MM through 2022-23)

The team has a couple of stud players in McDavid and Draisaitl and most would suggest that they are worth their contracts and they might even be bargains considering how well they were playing. Both have proven to be top-line players and they both broke the 100-point barrier last season and combining for 91 goals. The fact that both are locked up for at least another six years (seven for McDavid) shows that Edmonton already has a base of two franchise players and just need to fill out the rest of their roster with solid players who can fill out the rest of the team.

Neal is an interesting gamble by new general manager Ken Holland. The team was looking for a way to unload the untradeable contract of Milan Lucic, but managed to get the long-term deal of Neal, who is coming off 10 straight seasons of 20 goals or more, before his seven-goal performance last year in Calgary. The team hopes that the 31-year-old can prove that last year’s egg was just a fluke and the veteran can bounce back and provide some scoring on the wing for a team that really needs it.

Klefbom is another interesting defenseman, who the team hopes can improve, especially offensively. The 26-year-old managed 38 points back in the 2016-17 season, but has hasn’t been able to break 30 points since then. While his minutes are impressive, Edmonton needs to get more from one of their defensemen, who they signed assuming he would develop into a top-line defender.

Buyouts

D Andrej Sekera ($2.5MM in 2019-20 & 2020-21; $1.5MM in 2021-22 and 2022-23)
F Benoit Pouliot ($1.33MM per year through 2020-21)
D Eric Gryba ($300K in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

F Milan Lucic ($750K per year through 2022-23)

Still To Sign

F Jesse Puljujarvi

Much has already been written about the impasse between the Oilers and Puljujarvi, who has demanded to be traded because he believes he can’t become a top forward in Edmonton. Holland has received no viable offers from other NHL teams and it looks likely that Puljujarvi might have to stay overseas for a season and hope that he can develop his game overseas with Karpat of the Finnish League and come back in a year with a new sense of purpose. However, nothing has happened yet and there’s always a possibility that he opts to come back to Edmonton and tries it again. The only problem: he’s not waiver exempt anymore, meaning he must stay on Edmonton’s roster or be placed on waivers and undoubtedly would be claimed by another team.

Best Value: Draisaitl
Worst Value: Koskinen

Looking Ahead

The team has its franchise players and with plenty of cap space freeing up next season, the team might have a way to add even more talent. However, what Edmonton needs more than anything is to see some of their young talent take that next step and begin making some major improvements. The Oilers have a dearth of talent on defense that should slowly be trickling in over the next few years, but more than anything Edmonton needs scoring. While McDavid and Draisaitl cost the franchise a great deal, the team must find the wingers that can get the team back into the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Jesse Puljujarvi

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The fourth overall pick from 2016 is still without a contract for the 2019-20 season. Jesse Puljujarvi has made it clear he wants a fresh start somewhere other than with the Edmonton Oilers and is willing to wait for that opportunity. Today Finnish outlet MTV Uutiset reports (via Google translate) that if Puljujarvi can’t find a deal in the NHL he will play for Karpat this season. According to his agent Markus Lehto, several NHL clubs have expressed interest but he would not speculate on whether a trade will actually happen.

Puljujarvi has ties to Karpat going back years, as he was developed in their junior system and played two seasons for the Liiga club before joining Edmonton. Playing there likely wouldn’t be as financially rewarding, but it could get the 21-year old back onto a solid development path. That has to be the biggest worry for any interested NHL clubs right now. Puljujarvi hasn’t shown enough to indicate he’s ready for full-time NHL action, but he also can’t go to the minor leagues without first clearing waivers. There’s no way anyone wants to give up something of value just to risk him to the entire league afterwards, meaning the offers for the young forward are likely underwhelming for Oilers GM Ken Holland.

In fact, letting him play in Finland for a year may not actually be the worst course of action for the Oilers. While he won’t be helping their club try to get back to the playoffs, he may be able to build up a little more value by having a solid season. He’s already shown in the past that he can compete at the Liiga level, and he’s still young enough that playing overseas wouldn’t get him a year closer to unrestricted free agency.

There is of course always a chance that he ends up signing with Edmonton after this game of chicken ends. If that happens, it will be extremely interesting to see if new head coach Dave Tippett can turn around his career or if the bridges have already been burned to the ground through this holdout.

Puljujarvi Doubles Down On Promise To Play In Europe If Not Traded

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After reports just days ago that new Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland was unlikely to give in to the trade demands of Jesse Puljujarvi, the young forward has fired back. Puljujarvi took part in a charity game in his hometown of Oulu, Finland today and spoke with the media during the event. Finnish sports reporter Jouni Nieminen translated his comments as follows:

I want a new start with some other team. Playing in North America is still my goal. I will stay in Oulu until I have a contract. I will find a place to play somewhere.

This echoes what Puljujarvi has been saying all summer long and he is well within his right to remain in Europe if he chooses. While technically still a member of the Oilers, the 21-year-old is an unsigned restricted free agent under no obligation to return to Edmonton if he doesn’t want to. However, he is not free to sign with another NHL team and will require a trade to continue his goal of playing in the NHL. While the Oilers have been listening to offers from other clubs, they have reportedly been underwhelmed and are not willing to trade Puljujarvi away at rock bottom price. By no means has the 2016 fourth-overall pick showed that he is worthy of a great return; in three pro seasons he has split time between the NHL and the AHL, recording just 37 points in 139 NHL games and another 37 points in 53 games in the minors. However, the young winger still has the size and skill to be a special player if he can put it all together and Holland is not ready to give up on that potential, especially so early into his tenure as Oiler’s GM.

However, will that mindset change if Puljujarvi really does hold true to his promise to play in Europe? It’s a very reasonable option for the Finnish forward, as he won’t have to go very far. Oulu is home to the Liiga’s Karpat, the team whose system Puljujarvi grew up in and a club that he played in 71 games with before moving to North America. The league’s defending regular season champs and a perennial contender, Karpat is a team that Puljujarvi could play a major role for and could continue his development with, while also being fairly compensated. And at 21, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t spend multiple seasons with Karpat if things are going well and the Oilers are unwilling to change the status quo. So is Edmonton really willing to ride that potential career arc out on principal? Or will the team simply cut ties with a player who has only brought disappointment and frustration to the club thus far? There is still far more to the trade demand saga between player and team this summer and possibly longer.

Jesse Puljujarvi Trade Increasingly Unlikely

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When young Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi asked for a trade this summer and threatened to play in Europe if he was not moved, it seemed all but certain that he would be dealt before the start of the new season. However, it has been more than a month since agent Markus Lehto told the media of Puljujarvi’s ultimatum and there has been no move and really no concrete rumors either. The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that the trade offers for Puljujarvi have have been underwhelming and if that trend continues, he believes new GM Ken Holland seems willing to take the risk of holding on to Puljujarvi.

Puljujarvi, 21, has failed to live up to his draft billing as the No. 4 overall pick in 2016, to say the least. The big Finnish winger has recorded 37 points in 139 games since coming over to North America three years ago and his per game production dropped to a new low last season with just nine points in 46 games. Although Puljujarvi showed elite offensive upside before he was drafted, he has failed to capitalize on ample opportunity in Edmonton. Clearly, he and his representation feel a change of scenery could be the key to getting him back on track and one would expect teams to still be intrigued by his potential. However, if the offers have indeed been less than expected, perhaps other teams have been turned off by the young right wing’s showing so far. If that is the case, no one can blame Holland for holding on to his asset rather than giving him away at a discount rate.

With a new head coach in Dave Tippett also in the fold, Staples believes that Puljujarvi can find his change of pace without leaving the team and can still be an effective player for the Oilers, especially considering the opportunity still available in Edmonton for him to be a top-six player. The team has brought in their fair share of new faces up front this off-season, but Puljujarvi still seems likely to slot in on the right side of the second or third line, at least to begin the campaign. If he starts cold yet again, Staples admits that Puljujarvi could head back to the trade block, particularly since the team could use a third-line center.

What Staples doesn’t discuss though is the “what if” of Puljujarvi backing up his claim of jumping to Europe. Staples simply assumes that if he is not traded, Puljujarvi will show up and camp and again try to prove that he is an NHL-caliber player. However, the risk the Oilers are taking is that Puljujarvi simply is not willing to play in Edmonton again and will indeed follow through on his threat to play abroad. Two teams in his native Finland, the KHL’s Jokerit and the Liiga’s Karpat, have previously been linked to Puljujarvi, so if the Oilers do intend on not trading him in the coming months, he very well could suit up outside of the NHL next season.

Pacific Notes: Rittich, Bennett, Puljujarvi, Archibald

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After signing a two-year deal Saturday, Calgary Flames goaltender David Rittich is now ready to prove to Flames’ fans that he is ready to take over the full-time duties in net this year. While he more than doubled his appearances last season, the 26-year-old lost his job to Mike Smith in the playoffs as Rittich faded in the stretch run.

Rittich started the season strong last season. Before the all-star break, he had a 19-4 record in 30 games, posting a 2.47 GAA and a .918 save percentage, but saw those numbers fall off after the all-star break. Rittich instead appeared in just 15 games after the break as it looked as if he wore down, putting up a 2.85 GAA and a .898 save percentage. Rittich didn’t appear in any of the team’s playoff games after that.

The goaltender, however, has changed his workout regimen this summer with the intention of being able to endure the long season and starting even more games this season than the 45 he played in last season, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Rittich no longer has Smith to lean back on. Calgary instead brought in veteran Cam Talbot, who has struggled significantly over the past two years. The Flames need Rittich now more than ever.

“I would like to play more than last year, but it’s up to how I play,” said Rittich. “I’m working really hard so I think I can play more than 60 games.”

  • The Athletic’s Darren Haynes (subscription required) writes now that Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett, who recently signed a two-year deal, could get an increase in minutes on the ice this year. The 23-year-old averaged just 13:17 of ATOI on the left wing, but with so many left wingers on the roster, someone may have to move over to the right side. Haynes writes that Bennett might be the perfect player who might even be able to crack the top-six this year and perhaps have the breakout season that everyone has been waiting for since Calgary selected Bennett with the fourth overall pick in 2014.
  • Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes that the chances that Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi returning to Edmonton is starting to improve. Despite the restricted free agent’s request to be traded away from Edmonton in hopes of a fresh start, a deal hasn’t happened as it’s believed that Ken Holland hasn’t received a suitable offer for Puljujarvi and with training camps already underway in Europe, his chances of returning there is lessening by the day. He writes the only place Puljujarvi can go to get decent pay at this point is with the Oilers. Still just 21 years old, Puljujarvi must show more offense no matter where he plays after finishing with just four goals in 46 games.
  • Leavins also added that he wouldn’t be surprised if recent signee Josh Archibald should play a big role throughout the Oilers lineup as new head coach Dave Tippett is quite familiar with him. Tippett, a resident of Arizona, spent quite a bit of time watching Archibald last season when he was with the Coyotes and could be an instant favorite of the coach and could see playing time up and down the lineup next season. Archibald finished with 12 goals and 22 points in 68 games, but also finished with 161 hits.

Latest on Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi

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Despite forward Jesse Puljujarvi’s desire to get an opportunity to start over with a new team, the young winger still remains with the Edmonton Oilers. Now Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes that Puljujarvi’s agent, Markus Lehto, had a verbal agreement with former Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli about options for Puljujarvi if things didn’t work out. Problem is, Chiarelli is no longer in charge and new general manager Ken Holland didn’t make that agreement.

However, Leavins writes that Lehto proceeded to put pressure on Holland in hopes of forcing the newly-minted GM to trade him at the draft several weeks ago, requesting that his client doesn’t see the new front office or coaching staff as the change that he needs to find his game. However, Lehto’s demands didn’t work as Holland didn’t get one quality offer for the 21-year-old and former fourth-overall pick in 2016 and the veteran GM called Lehto’s bluff. No team would be willing to give up a significant amount of assets for a player who scored four goals last season and underwent hip surgery that ended his 2018-19 season prematurely.

With training camps in Europe about to open up and most rosters already full on most top-level teams, Puljujarvi’s options continue to decrease as the only teams that likely would give the talented youngster a contract are secondary teams that likely would pay less than the $874K that he could make with Edmonton’s qualifying offer. His options are dwindling and it’s looking more and more likely that he might have to accept the team’s qualifying offer which could force him to play a full season in the AHL or find himself in a secondary league in Europe, neither being the answer he’s really looking for.

Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Broberg, Aho, Eriksson

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A return to the Edmonton Oilers for restricted free agent Jesse Puljujarvi is getting less and less likely. Despite hope that new general manager Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett might be able to give the 21-year-old a fresh start, Puljujarvi hasn’t shown much interest in returning to the team since he requested the team trade him to give him a new start elsewhere.

“Although the Oilers have a new well-respected GM and a new coach the team is still pretty much the same,” said Puljujarvi’s agent Markus Lehto (in a Finnish publication via Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins. “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit. This seems to be the case here. Nothing radical about it.”

While Leavins leaves the quote open to interpretation, especially the part where he said, “… the team is pretty much the same.” However, it’s clear that Puljujarvi has little interest in returning to Edmonton, leaving him with two options, waiting for Edmonton to find a trade partner or allowing him to leave and play overseas next season. Finding a trade partner has been challenging as the team wants good value back for a player who has just 17 goals over three full seasons.

  • A Swedish website, Hockey Svervige (translation required) reports that Edmonton Oilers first-round pick Philip Broberg, who recently signed his entry-level deal, will play for Sweden’s Skelleftea in the SHL this year alongside fellow Oilers’ prospect Filip Berglund, rather than come over to North America immediately. The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples adds that Holland’s main objective was to put him in a position to get the most minutes possible, which was the main reason for wanting him to come to North America and play in the OHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. However, while there is no guarantee of playing time with Skelleftea, the team could always send him down to the Allsvenskan and have him return to his old team, AIK Stockholm.
  • In a tweet sent out by Carolina Hurricanes newly signed forward Sebastian Aho, the 21-year-old makes it clear that he only hoped to settle his restricted free agency as quickly as possible and had no interest in leaving Carolina. “I am grateful for the offer from the Montreal Canadiens, but it was always my hope to return to the Hurricanes,” Aho said. “As a restricted free agent, I had limited options for moving along the process to get a deal done. It was always important to me to be on the ice for the first day of training camp. This entire situation has been difficult for me and my family, and I am happy it is at an end.”
  • Patrick Johnston of The Province writes that it is becoming less and less likely that the Vancouver Canucks will be unloading the contract of veteran Loui Eriksson this offseason. The scribe writes that general manager Jim Benning has not been able to reach Eriksson to talk to him about the situation, it is clear he doesn’t intend to request a trade and isn’t planning on retiring. There are fewer and fewer options to find a team with the salary cap needed to take on his three years and $6MM AAV and with a full no-trade clause, he doesn’t have to accept a deal anywhere either. So unless, Benning can make an impressive maneuver, it looks like the Canucks are stuck with him.

Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Myers, Smith

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Jesse Puljujarvi might have no plans of playing for the Edmonton Oilers this season, but that doesn’t mean the team is simply going to give up his rights. Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports that the Oilers will issue Puljujarvi a qualifying offer before tomorrow’s deadline in order to retain his rights even if the young forward plays in Europe. This is obviously the expected move as even though he hasn’t worked out in Edmonton the Oilers invested quite a bit of draft capital in Puljujarvi when the selected him fourth overall in 2016.

A qualifying offer for Puljujarvi would only amount to $874,125 in NHL salary, but would still be a two-way deal because he has played so few games for the Oilers the last three years. It seems very unlikely that he would accept it at this point, even if he does still need to prove his worth at the NHL level. Puljujarvi has recorded 37 points in his 139 NHL games, including just nine last season.

  • Tyler Myers is expected to be one of the top defensemen available this offseason now that Erik Karlsson has re-signed, and the Winnipeg Jets free agent may be in line for a huge contract. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports was on Sportsnet radio today and suggested that Myers may get a seven-year deal somewhere between $6-8MM per season. The 29-year old is coming off a seven-year, $38.5MM deal ($5.5MM AAV) originally signed with the Buffalo Sabres, and has the added benefit of being arguably the top right-handed defenseman left in free agency. Myers recorded 31 points in 80 games last season for the Jets, while averaging more than 20 minutes a night.
  • Goaltender Mike Smith has spoken to several teams now that the free agent interview period has opened according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, who notes that the “door isn’t completely closed” on a potential return to the Calgary Flames. Seravalli suggests that the Carolina Hurricanes could be a team to watch however, a team whose own goaltenders—Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney—are also pending free agents.

Pacific Notes: Myers, Kings Qualifying Offers, Puljujarvi, Thompson

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With reports that the Vancouver Canucks intend to focus their sites on adding a top-level defenseman in free agency, its looks like general manager Jim Benning has made it clear who is at the top of his wishlist as Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Vancouver expects to meet with unrestricted free agent Tyler Myers today, the first day teams can speak to unrestricted free agents.

Myers, who has played with the Winnipeg Jets for the past five years, is one of the top three unrestricted free agent defensemen along with Toronto’s Jake Gardiner and Montreal’s Jordie Benn. The 29-year-old could add some offense as he tallied nine goals and 31 points last season in Winnipeg. The 6-foot-8, 229-pound blueliner would give the team a solid top-four defenseman for the Canucks, who have lacked a solid top-four for years. Myers, along with a full season of 2018 first-rounder Quinn Hughes, could help bolster the team’s defense for a long time if the Canucks can convince him to sign with them.

  • The Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke reports that the Los Angeles Kings will tender qualifying offers to Alex Iafallo, Adrian Kempe, Michael Amadio, Daniel Brickley, Calvin Petersen, Sheldon Rempal and Matt Roy. No surprises there. He adds the team also does not intend to make qualifying offers to Nikita Scherbak, Alex Lintuniemi, Matteson Iacopelli and Pavel Jenys. Scherbak, who was claimed off waivers from Montreal, struggled after coming over to the Kings, while Lintuniemi has been passed by a number of Kings defenseman on their depth chart after the former second-round pick finished the season in Ontario in the AHL with a minus-30 rating.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins reports that the Edmonton Oilers haven’t had much success so far in trying to trade winger Jesse Puljujarvi, who has asked for a trade, and had been shopped at the NHL Entry Draft Friday and Saturday. Edmonton has already made it clear they do not intend to trade him away for nothing and supposedly are asking for quite a bit. Leavins writes that they did talk to Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, but he balked at the asking price, which was winger Bryan Rust. Puljujarvi, a restricted free agent, has made it clear if he isn’t traded, he will play in Europe.
  • Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs are considering Chicago Wolves head coach Rocky Thompson to join Mike Babcock’s staff this upcoming season. Thompson, who led Chicago to the Calder Cup Finals in the AHL this season, has been considered a candidate to move to the NHL. Toronto has lost two assistant coaches this offseason. D.J. Smith was hired as the Ottawa Senators head coach, while Jim Hiller left the team to join Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz with the New York Islanders. No word on whether the Vegas Golden Knights will release him from his contract.

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