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Pierre-Luc Dubois

Snapshots: Dubois, Ferland, Girardi

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The headlines were already dominated today by Pierre-Luc Dubois news, but even with the new two-year bridge deal, it doesn’t appear like the conversation is over. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic joined TSN Radio in Vancouver this afternoon, explaining that even though the contract is inked, Dubois’ desire to stay in Columbus isn’t.

I think there is a desire from the player, I don’t think it is an imminent move, but it appears—Pierre LeBrun the first to report this—that there is a desire by the player to move on, to have a change of scenery. Which is a nice way of saying get the heck out of town, he wants to play somewhere else. My first inclination was, I’m sure like yours, that this was just a ploy to move things along here and get this done so the young man could enjoy some bubbly and not have to worry about his contract tonight, but I think this is bigger than that. I think he wants a short-term contract in Columbus, I think he’s willing to let Jarmo Kekalainen to have some time to make a deal, because it is certainly going to be a major trade if it includes Pierre-Luc Dubois. But it is a short-term deal too because apparently unless something changes, there is a feeling with Pierre-Luc Dubois is that he does not want to be locked down in Columbus, Ohio long-term. 

For now, Dubois is signed and part of the Blue Jackets family. But his situation is obviously still one to keep an eye on as things continue, especially given how expensive he will likely become after this bridge deal expires. In 2021-22 he will already carry a heavy salary on his back-loaded contract, a number he will probably be looking to eclipse on any long-term deal.

  • Micheal Ferland will not be in Vancouver Canucks training camp when it starts in a few days, as his agent Jason Davidson told Rick Dhaliwal of TSN that the veteran forward is still at home trying to work through his post-concussion symptoms. Ferland played two games for the Canucks in the postseason but was forced out of the bubble due to his health complications. Though everyone is hoping that he will recover enough to play hockey again, moving Ferland’s $3.5MM cap hit to long-term injured reserve would help the Canucks get out of the tricky situation they find themselves in as the season approaches.
  • The Buffalo Sabres will be hiring Dan Girardi in a player development role, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The 36-year-old played 927 regular season games in the NHL over a long career, quite the impressive total for a player who was never drafted. Add in 143 postseason games and Girardi has a wealth of knowledge that he can pass off to Sabres prospects and players.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Pierre-Luc Dubois

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2:05pm: Well that’s one way to negotiate. The Blue Jackets have signed Dubois to a two-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $5MM. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released this statement:

Pierre-Luc is a talented, young player with great potential, and we look forward to his continued growth and development, and the valuable contributions he will bring to our team. I’d like to thank my staff, as well as Pat Brisson and his group, for their professionalism and efforts to finalize this agreement prior to the start of training camp to ensure that the focus moving forward is on our team and achieving its goals for the upcoming season.

The contract will pay Dubois $3.35MM for the upcoming season and $6.65MM for 2021-22. The bridge deal will leave him a restricted free agent once again at its expiry and allows Dubois to join Columbus training camp on Sunday. Though there still may be rumblings about his future, this appears to have been the last gasps of a long negotiation leaking out. The Blue Jackets now have him signed for two seasons and under control for at least two more after that through restricted free agency and arbitration.

As noted, Columbus still has plenty of cap space to work with this offseason if they wanted to bring in any additional players.

12:00pm: Training camp for the Blue Jackets is just a few days away, but Pierre-Luc Dubois isn’t in Columbus. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports today that Dubois has left the area and remains unsigned, also noting that there are “rumblings” the star forward could be looking for a change of scenery. Still, even LeBrun notes that those rumblings could be “wishful thinking” from other teams.

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweets that for weeks and as recently as yesterday, the team and Dubois’ representatives had been optimistic a deal would be done for camp. Dubois had even been skating in Columbus preparing for the season but has now left (Portzline reports he has not gone back to Canada). Of course, leaving Columbus does not necessarily mean he will not be signing a contract or that he will miss training camp, but it certainly doesn’t seem like a positive indicator that he’ll be there when things open next week either.

Dubois, 22, registered just 49 points in 70 games last season but showed exactly the kind of game-changing force he could be in the playoffs for the Blue Jackets. With ten points in ten postseason games he easily led the club, often appearing as the most dangerous player on the ice. That was true even when skating against some of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ high-priced talent, who received huge pay raises when they hit restricted free agency. That’s exactly the situation Dubois is in and though he may not have quite the same history—plus is negotiating in a unique, financially depressed year—he is likely still looking for a huge contract given his performance so far.

It’s not to say that the Blue Jackets won’t pay that, but remember they have had standoffs with successful young RFAs in the past. In 2017, Josh Anderson missed training camp before signing a three-year deal with the Blue Jackets in early October. When he was set to reach the market again this offseason, the Blue Jackets traded him to the Montreal Canadiens, where he promptly scored a seven-year deal.

The Blue Jackets do have plenty of cap space if they eventually get a contract done with Dubois. The team currently sits about $9MM under the $81.5MM ceiling, with Gustav Nyquist expected to miss most of, if not all of the upcoming season after shoulder surgery. Brandon Dubinsky is also not expected to play again thanks to a chronic wrist problem, meaning if the team ever needed long-term injured reserve flexibility, they could have plenty.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Dubois, Granlund, Ducks, Lee

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With progress finally being made toward starting the 2020-21 season, the pressure is mounting back up on those teams who still have players to sign and payrolls to manage. One of those teams is the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets have plenty of salary cap space with nearly $9.25MM of remaining room for a 22-man roster, but they have yet to sign perhaps their most important forward, restricted free agent center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Coming off his three-year entry-level contract, in which he recorded 18+ goals and 48+ points each season, culminating in a point-per-game showing in the 2020 postseason, Dubois has established himself as a centerpiece for Columbus and the team hopes he will serve in that role for many years still to come. Whether Dubois signs that lucrative long-term extension this off-season or instead opts for a shorter bridge deal remains to be seen. Either way, the team needs to get the talented young pivot under contract soon before the new season begins. Fortunately, NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz reports that the Blue Jackets are not concerned about coming to terms on a new deal with Dubois. GM Jarmo Kekalainen stated that he is “confident” that Dubois will have a new contract not only before the puck drops on the new season, but even before the first day of training camp. This would likely mean that a deal is expected before the end of the month, with training camps projected to open shortly after the calendar flips to January. Kekalainen compared the situation to that of star defenseman Zach Werenski last season; Werenski went much of the off-season with seemingly little progress on a contract extension, but signed a new deal just days before training camp. Gretz notes that the Blue Jackets have shown that they are not afraid to play hardball with their restricted free agents, but will have to be careful with Dubois. The young center is a pivotal piece of the team moving forward. Columbus has the cap space to lock Dubois up long-term at a higher cap hit now, but if the two sides do agree to a shorter term deal the hope is that there is a mutual goal to sign that long-term deal down the road.

  • Gretz also reports that one of the top remaining unsigned free agents, forward Mikael Granlund, is expected to make a decision on his next team sooner rather than later. In fact, a contract could be signed in the coming days. Gretz writes that Granlund would like to get his family settled before the season, possibly even before the Christmas holiday, which could lead to an impending resolution to his free agency. Depending on the asking price, Granlund should have no shortage of suitors. The Blue Jackets have actually been cited by many as a top option for Granlund. If they do sign a more affordable, short-term deal with Dubois as many expect, Columbus could use their remaining cap space to add Granlund. The team had hoped to add at least one if not two top-six forwards this off-season which they have failed to do so far, only swapping out Josh Anderson for Max Domi. 
  • The Anaheim Ducks are another team with moves to make before the season begins. The Ducks are currently over the salary cap upper limit according to CapFriendly and that is with a roster that currently excludes a backup goalie. Anthony Stolarz is the favorite for the job behind starter John Gibson, but the team is likely to make an addition given their lack of depth behind that duo and their need for a goaltender with term on his contract beyond this season to expose in the upcoming 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. If the Ducks do not add another goaltender, the pressure will fall on Roman Durny, who Anaheim assigned to the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers today, and Olle Eriksson Ek, who started in Tulsa’s season opener this weekend. Eriksson Ek and Durny shared the net in the ECHL last season, but would be slated to do so this year in the AHL if no further moves are made and would battle to be the next man up to the NHL behind Gibson and Stolarz. Durny, 22, Eriksson Ek, 21, and Lukas Dostal, 20, are all talented prospects but their lack of experience does not inspire much confidence in Anaheim’s net depth if an addition is not made. The Ducks should be scouring the free agent and trade markets for help, even as they work to cut salary from the NHL roster.
  • Even as the NHL and NHLPA close in on an agreement to begin the new season, there hasn’t been much concrete information in the media on the actual start dates of training camp and the safety procedures leading into those camps. Perhaps the teams of those players on loan are hearing more than everyone else though. HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovakian Extraliga has announced that Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Cam Lee has been returned from his loan. In doing so, the club stated that Lee will begin his quarantine later this week and that training camp physicals will take place before the end of the month. At the very least, that makes it sound as though camps will be up and running in early January as hoped, if not sooner.

Talks Stalled Between Blue Jackets And Pierre-Luc Dubois

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When Columbus parted with defensemen Markus Nutivaara and Ryan Murray in trades and bought out center Alexander Wennberg, it looked as if the Blue Jackets were planning on making a splash.  However, it turns out that their plan was to use that to act as a deterrent to a potential offer sheet for restricted free agent center Pierre-Luc Dubois.  However, with that effectively off the table, talks aren’t progressing as GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Michael Arace of the Columbus Post-Dispatch that discussions between the two sides have effectively stalled.

The 22-year-old is coming off of a bit of a quieter year offensively although he still led the team in scoring with 18 goals and 31 assists in 70 games while logging nearly 18 minutes a night of ice time, most of which was on their top line.  Dubois was much better in the playoffs, picking up four goals and six helpers in 10 games which certainly was an encouraging way to end his year.

There’s no denying that he is the focal point of the attack for the Blue Jackets now so it stands to reason that they’d want to lock him up to a long-term deal now and buy out some UFA years.  On the flip side, this isn’t an ideal marketplace from a players’ perspective to sign long-term with the Upper Limit of the salary cap levelling out for the foreseeable future.  Financially speaking, a bridge deal to get to arbitration a couple of years from now when revenues are potentially back on the upswing may be better for him.  That would keep his price tag down now and possibly allow for Columbus to make another addition this offseason as well.

Despite not having spoken to Pat Brisson (Dubois’ agent) for a little while, Kekalainen expressed no concern about the two sides not being on the same page at this time.  With no arbitration eligibility and other top restricted free agents (such as Islanders center Mathew Barzal) still unsigned as well, it’s a waiting game as it often is; defenseman Zach Werenski was in a similar situation last year before signing a three-year deal in the days leading up to training camp.

Whichever way Columbus ultimately goes, they’ll have plenty of cap room to work with.  Following their offseason activity, they currently have a little more than $12MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, with only Dubois and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in need of new deals.  Gavrikov wasn’t eligible for salary arbitration and doesn’t have enough experience to be eligible for an offer sheet either so there’s no immediate rush to get anything done with him either.

Snapshots: HOF, Kraken, Dubois

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The Hockey Hall of Fame will not name a 2021 class, instead deciding to give the entire spotlight to the six people elected in 2020 that have yet to have an induction ceremony. Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre, Doug Wilson, and Ken Holland were all supposed to be inducted earlier this year but had their ceremony postponed when the coronavirus pandemic put things on hold. Now, the hall has decided to make sure they get their moment. Chairman Lanny McDonald:

The magic of the induction weekend from the perspective of the new inductees is participating in several days of close interaction with family, friends, former teammates, fellow legends and fans. On that premise, the Board felt that this was the right decision to bestow upon the Class of 2020 the recognition and lifetime experience they so richly deserve in all ways consistent with past induction classes.

With no new 2021 class, the debate regarding players like Alexander Mogilny, Rod Brind’Amour, and Daniel Alfredsson will have to wait another year.

  • The Seattle Kraken have loaded up their scouting department even further, hiring another dozen scouts today. The group is headlined by Robert Kron, who will serve as director of amateur scouting and also includes Mike Dawson, Darren Yopyk, Jeff Crisp, Tom O’Connor, Tony MacDonald, Trevor Steinburg, Thomas Plante, Pelle Eklund, Marcus Fingal, Aleksandr Plyushev, and Sasu Hovi. Seattle is determined to find the best players both in the NHL and abroad as they start on their journey of creating the league’s 32nd team.
  • It may be a long negotiation for the Columbus Blue Jackets and restricted free agents Pierre-Luc Dubois and Vladislav Gavrikov, but GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t worried. As he told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, “if they want to play in the NHL, we have to agree on a contract.” Dubois is arguably the team’s best forward already at age 22, and Gavrikov has grown into a valuable top-four piece for the team. Both players are due substantial raises but don’t have a ton of leverage in this negotiation. Dubois technically could be signed to an offer sheet (while Gavrikov could not), though as Portzline points out, that was likely only a threat near the beginning of free agency, not now.

Columbus Blue Jackets Issue Qualifying Offers

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced which restricted free agents will receive qualifying offers, with few surprises. Josh Anderson, Gabriel Carlsson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Vladislav Gavrikov, Matiss Kivlenieks, Ryan MacInnis, Kevin Stenlund and Calvin Thurkauf have all received qualifying offers from the team and will remain in the organization.

That means Devin Shore, Maxime Fortier, Justin Scott, Paul Bittner, Michael Prapavessis and Ryan Collins did not, making them unrestricted free agents on Friday.

The only real surprise is Shore, and only because the Blue Jackets acquired him this season in exchange for Sonny Milano. The 26-year-old Shore has not been particularly effective since the 2017-18 campaign, splitting the last two seasons between three teams and recording just 12 points in 2019-20. Add in the fact that he was due a $2.4MM qualifying offer in order to remain with the Blue Jackets and it’s not hard to see why the team decided to cut bait.

Still, Shore could represent a cheap depth signing for a team this offseason if they think he can be of use to a bottom-six. The 26-year-old forward has experience at center and on the wing and has scored double-digit goals in three different seasons.

Bittner and Collins may also bring a twinge of disappointment to Blue Jackets fans, given they were both second-round selections that never seemed to pan out. Bittner especially was hyped coming off a successful junior career but failed to score much in the AHL. Collins, the 47th pick in 2014, never added any offense to his defensive game and could only rely on his size for so long.

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

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With free agency now just a couple weeks away, teams are looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While the Columbus Blue Jackets have no UFA’s of note, they still have their work cut out for them with a laundry list of RFA’s, including several core players.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Pierre-Luc Dubois – Getting Dubois, 22, locked up long-term is the core objective of the Blue Jackets’ off-season. Over the three seasons of his entry-level contract, Dubois totaled 158 points in 234 games, including a 61-point campaign in 2018-19 and a 57-point pace this season. He also wrapped up his contract on a high note, recording ten points in ten playoff games this year. For a team that is lacking in center depth and elite scoring talent, Dubois is critical to the short-term and long-term success of the Blue Jackets.

The problem is balancing Dubois’ long-term potential and dollar value with the team’s limited cap space for next season With no unrestricted free agents departing the lineup, the Blue Jackets have limited funds to work with against the flat cap. Yet, they also don’t want to settle for a more affordable short-term contract and risk Dubois continuing to improve and increasing his price on a new contract. Negotiations are already underway and the goal stated by both sides is to stick with a lengthy term and to get the deal done before free agency opens to provide the club with some cap clarity.

If a long-term extension can be reached, don’t be surprised to see an AAV of upwards of $8MM or more. If the two sides instead opt for a short-term deal given the fiscal constraints of the current NHL economy, Dubois is still likely set to make $6.5MM or more against the cap on his next deal.

F Josh Anderson – It’s difficult to know where the status quo lies between the Blue Jackets and Anderson. The last time that these two sides sat down to negotiate a contract, it was a contentious affair that ended in a late-summer, below-market contract that left Anderson unhappy and fueled trade rumors. Those flames were stoked by a 27-goal, 47-point season for Andersson in 2018-19 in which the young power forward greatly outplayed his contract. Yet, the tables turned again this season, as Anderson missed much of the year due to injury and was unproductive even when active. The season tanked Anderson’s trade value and at least some of his bargaining power and left his future with Columbus up in the air.

The latest twist in this saga was Anderson’s recent proclamation that he hopes to sign long-term in Columbus. This runs counter to his previous sentiment, but could end up working in the Blue Jackets’ favor. Given their cap crunch this off-season, the team could benefit from deflating the AAV on an Andersson extension by extending the term. Anderson could also return to form and again be a bargain for the club. The risk of course is that his injury troubles persist or he is unable to rediscover his scoring touch. Given the uncertainty of this off-season and Andersson’s health and performance, this seems like a case that is more likely to be settled in salary arbitration than with a long-term deal. While a one-year arbitrator’s decision might risk Andersson leaving as an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Blue Jackets would likely be happy to get an affordable deal done for Anderson and to have another year to consider whether they want to re-sign or trade the big winger.

D Vladislav Gavrikov – Since joining Columbus in the 2019 playoffs, Gavrikov has done nothing but prove that he is a solid two-way defenseman. While his lack of NHL experience makes it difficult to project his long-term value, Gavrikov has at least earned a raise and some security in his next contract. It’s unclear what the expectations are for Gavrikov’s new deal, but the Blue Jackets have all of the leverage. Due to his limited experience, Gavrikov falls under Section 10.2(c) of the CBA as a restricted free agent who is not eligible to sign an offer sheet. Barring a trade, Columbus is the only NHL team that Gavrikov can play for and they can more or less dictate the terms of the next contract. With that said, Gavrikov has proven to be a reliable top-four defenseman and the Blue Jackets are not going to play games. Expect the team to work out a short-term deal with Gavrikov and potentially trade one of their other seven one-way defensemen to cement his role as a core piece on the blue line.

Other RFAs: F Paul Bittner, F Marko Dano, F Maxime Fortier, F Jakob Lilja, F Ryan MacInnis, F Justin Scott, F Devin Shore, F Kole Sherwood, F Calvin Thurkauf, D Gabriel Carlsson, D Ryan Collins, D Michael Prapavessis, G Matiss Kivlenieks

UFAs: D Dillon Simpson, D Doyle Somerby

Projected Cap Space

CapFriendly lists the Blue Jackets as having 22 of 23 roster spots already filled for next season, including 19 one-way contracts. As a result, it should not be a surprise that their cap space is limited, with CapFriendly projecting just over $7MM to spare. The concern though is that Dubois and Gavrikov – at the very least – will be on the roster and should combine for well over $7MM. And that is not even including any free agent or trade additions for a team that has vowed to be active on the forward market. Fortunately, the team will get a bit of a break in the form of Brandon Dubinsky, who is not healthy enough to play again. Dubinsky’s $5.85MM cap hit will be wiped out, bringing Columbus’ true cap space total to around $13MM. While most of that will still be taken up by RFA signings, it will give the club some more flexibility to change up the roster if they so desire.

Snapshots: Dubois, Extended Camp, Sheahan, Miller

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The Blue Jackets have started contract talks with soon-to-be restricted free agent center Pierre-Luc Dubois, reports Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated a desire to get this done relatively quickly, stating that “The sooner we get these things done, the better opportunity we have to make the team better”.  Columbus has nearly $74.5MM in commitments for next season already although that includes LTIR-bound Brandon Dubinsky which would allow them to spend up to $5.85MM over the Upper Limit.  Still, that doesn’t leave much room to re-sign Dubois who they would like to sign to a long-term deal and their other RFAs while having space left over to try to add pieces.  That’s why getting something done with the 22-year-old would be ideal for Kekalainen who would have a much better idea of his financial picture heading into free agency next month.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • A decision still hasn’t been made regarding extended training camps for the seven teams that didn’t participate in the NHL’s Return to Play, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated talks are ongoing with the NHLPA but with no firm date for the beginning of training camps to begin, it’s unlikely that there will be any concrete plans on this for a while.
  • Oilers center Riley Sheahan was believed to be seeking $2MM per year to sign an extension midseason, relays Postmedia’s David Staples. The veteran had to wait until early September to sign a one-year, $900K deal for this past season and while he took a lot of faceoffs, he only managed to pick up eight goals and seven assists in 66 games.  Between that and the flattened cap environment, Sheahan’s next contract may wind up being closer to what he made in 2019-20 compared to that previous asking price.
  • The Ducks aren’t sure yet about bringing backup goaltender Ryan Miller back for next season, GM Bob Murray told Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription link). The 40-year-old has spent the last three seasons in Anaheim and has been working out with an eye on playing in 2020-21 if it’s the right situation.  Miller had a base salary of $1.125MM this season with another $1.2MM in performance bonuses and posted a 3.10 GAA with a .907 SV% in 23 games.  Anaheim is quite tight to the Upper Limit already for next season (although Ryan Kesler will probably be on LTIR again to give them some flexibility) so if the veteran does return, another incentive-laden deal would make sense.

Columbus Blue Jackets Eyeing Big Splash This Off-Season

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Last off-season, no team took a bigger hit than the Columbus Blue Jackets. The club lost two of their franchise stars in forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency, along with expensive rental forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Panarin, Bobrovsky, and Duchene were in fact the three largest UFA contracts handed out last summer. No one expected the Blue Jackets to be able to rebound from those losses, but one year later the team knocked out a talented Toronto Maple Leafs team in the qualifying round and gave the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the NHL’s best, a run for their money in the the first round.

Columbus showed that they still have what it takes to be a contender even with last year’s major losses. The team has discovered not one but two reliable options in net, has one of the top defensive pairs in the league and solid depth behind them, and a mix of youth, experience, skill, and grit up front. If there is one thing that the Blue Jackets still lack, it is what they lost in Panarin and Duchene: elite top-six forwards. While the team has a number of young players who may grow into that role, the club does not appear content to sit in wait, instead hoping to take action this off-season. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes that whispers out of the organization is that GM Jarmo Kekalainen is preparing to add at least one if not two high-skill forwards this off-season, with a bona fide top-six center as the priority.

On the surface, this plan makes perfect sense. Portzline notes the Blue Jackets ranked second-to-last in forward scoring this season, which undoubtedly was partially the result of a rash of injuries up front but is still an indictment of the forward corps’ ability to produce. The team also has roughly $68MM committed to 20 players who were regular players this season with just a few restricted free agents to take care of, so there could be cap space to spare on the free agent market.

However, adding impact forwards will be easier said than done. While Columbus has approximately $13.5MM in cap space, should they opt for long-term contracts for budding top-six center Pierre-Luc Dubois and solid young defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, much of that space could be eaten up. On top of that, the team will have to make decisions on re-signing RFA forwards Josh Anderson and Devin Shore as well. If both return, the team will be right up against the cap ceiling without even touching the free agent market. They will also be facing a roster crunch with 17 players already signed to one-way contracts worth $1.6MM or more, including recent KHL import Mikhail Grigorenko but not any of the aforementioned RFA’s.

Even if the team does have space to explore the top names on the open market, they may find that no one fits their top-six center criteria. While the team will surely kick the tires on big names like Taylor Hall, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, and Evgenii Dadonov, none of that group is a solution down the middle. The second tier also only offers players that are not necessarily natural centers: Mikael Granlund, Carl Soderberg, or even old friend Derick Brassard. Columbus’ best bet may be to target a younger, more moldable player with some center experience, such as Vladislav Namestnikov, Erik Haula, or Alex Galchenyuk. However, there really isn’t an ideal target to sure up the center position in the top six.

For both internal and external reasons, Kekalainen seems likely to explore the trade market in his efforts to add at least one of his target top-six forwards and most likely at center. Portzline also opines that this is a likely route and that the team could deal from their depth at forward or defense to make a deal. On the blue line in particular, the team will have eight experienced NHL defenseman once Gavrikov is re-signed and will likely have to thin that group. Portzline believes that David Savard would be the easiest to move, while talented but oft-injured Ryan Murray or useful Markus Nutivaara could also draw interest. Up front, the rights to Anderson or Shore could certainly be dealt and the team will likely dangle Alexander Wennberg again this off-season. The real question is whether the team would give up on a top young prospect like Emil Bemstrom, Alexandre Texier, or Liam Foudy. Portzline also believes that teams could come calling on goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins, but dealing either one could just create another hole in the lineup.

With plenty of trade chips, the Blue Jackets could cash in on a desperate market. Given both the flat salary cap and the looming threat of the 2021 Expansion Draft, there will likely be many teams open to moving established forwards this off-season and Columbus has a much better chance of finding a true top-six center – and perhaps even another top forward – via trade. One way or another, the club has been inspired by its playoff run and has its sights set on improving immediately, so don’t be surprised to see the Blue Jackets make a big splash this summer.

Snapshots: Stars-Avalanche, Dubois, Seabrook

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The NHL hasn’t even finished the first round, with two series playing game six tonight, but they’re already moving on with at least one second-round series. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are set to start their battle tomorrow night according to several reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The league obviously wants to take advantage of a Saturday night, but also is determined to get through the bubble-playoffs as quickly as possible. Both first-round game sevens, should they be needed, are scheduled for Sunday.

  • Pierre-Luc Dubois wasn’t able to carry the Columbus Blue Jackets to a first-round victory but did show that he’s an emerging star in the NHL. That will only help him when he negotiates his next contract this fall. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic examines the young center’s situation, explaining that he believes a three-year deal would make sense. Interestingly though, LeBrun writes that “if Dubois signs longer term, it’s going to be for tangibly more than [William] Nylander.” The Toronto Maple Leafs forward signed a six-year, $45MM deal in 2018.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks are still hoping that Brent Seabrook can be an impact player for them in 2020-21, even after his major surgeries limited him to just 32 games this season and took him out of the postseason. Seabrook, who rehabbed hard to try and be a part of the team in the bubble, will have his role “figured out in training camp” according to Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, who spoke to reporters including John Dietz of the Daily Herald. The 35-year-old defenseman has four years remaining on his contract.

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