NHL Snapshots: Kadri, Sanheim, Matheson, Jaros
Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri is entering his ninth season of playing NHL hockey and for the first time ever, the 27-year-old broke the 30-goal plateau last year. Yet the center who feeds Patrick Marleau and Leo Komarov, believes he can do it again, according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic (subscription required).
Siegel analyzes whether Kadri can, in fact, accomplish his boast. He writes that Kadri has one major asset that’s in his favor — to have a key role on one of the best power play units in the league, which he does. He scored 12 of his 32 goals last year on the power play, which was eighth in the league. Now with Marleau around added to the team’s arsenal, Kadri could very likely accomplish that feat.
However, one other thing that Siegel points out is that Kadri has learned a lot after having played in more than 400 games. His experience has taught him where to set up in front of the net, how to anticipate a scoring opportunity and quick reactions.
- Sam Cardichi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Sanheim will likely stick with the Flyers for the time being after a bounce-back game against the Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately, that means that 22-year-old defenseman Samuel Morin will likely be sent down to Lehigh Valley soon, despite a strong preseason and receiving three healthy scratches in the team’s first three games.
- NBC Sports Adam Gretz breaks down the Florida Panthers future salary cap situation after the team locked up defenseman Michael Matheson to an eight-year, $39MM contract Saturday. He writes the team now has nine players who are signed through the next four seasons, of which six are 25 years or under and they total $47.3MM combined. The group of Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, and Nick Bjugstad lead their youth movement, while they also have Keith Yandle, Roberto Luongo and James Reimer locked up. However, Gretz writes that since the team doesn’t have any upcoming big contracts to hand out, the team will have a significant amount of cap space to fill out their roster with even more talent, suggesting that the Panthers are heading in the right direction.
- Along with the recall of Thomas Chabot, the Ottawa Senators also recalled defenseman Christian Jaros on Sunday. The 21-year-old defenseman came over from Sweden just this year and has played in just two games for the Belleville Senators, picking up one assist. He and Chabot will fill in for all the team’s defensive injuries.
Snapshots: Brouwer, Kostin, LTIR
With the addition of Jaromir Jagr to the Calgary Flames (which has still yet to actually be announced), there is something of a log jam for bottom-six wingers. Troy Brouwer, the most expensive one of the bunch, has now been rumored to be on his way out according to Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver. While Dhaliwal makes it clear that nothing is imminent, a Brouwer trade would make sense for the Flames.
Last year, Calgary spent a second-round pick to acquire Curtis Lazar with the hope that he could develop into more than just a fourth-line player. Mark Jankowski, another first-round pick who the Flames have been waiting on impressed in camp and has earned a spot on the team. When added with Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg and Freddie Hamilton the team clearly has enough bodies to handle a trade. Whether they swing a deal for Brouwer and his hefty salary ($4.5MM for each of the next three seasons) is still unclear, but Calgary is definitely a team to watch in the coming days.
- Klim Kostin was on track to make the St. Louis Blues team out of camp but has suffered an injury according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. The young forward is set to miss 7-10 days and could start in the AHL to get his legs back under him before making an impact with the team. The Blues are without so many of their forwards to start the year that Kostin and other young players will likely have to play a role earlier than the team had wanted.
- Speaking of the St. Louis Blues and young players, the team has announced an entry-level contract for Tanner Kaspick after spending some time with the club in camp this year. Kaspick is already back playing with his Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, where he has four points in four games. Kaspick was a fourth-round pick of the team in 2016 but has shown that there may be more upside to his game than originally thought. In 49 games with the Wheat Kings last year he registered 45 points, and should be given even more responsibility this season as the new captain.
- Chris Johnston of Sportsnet asked Lou Lamoriello of the Toronto Maple Leafs if his team had been given any sort of decision from the league on the Joffrey Lupul situation, to which the GM said no. The league is set to decide whether Lupul and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa can be placed on long-term injured reserve, a decision that should be made before long. If they are, both Toronto and Chicago could get more salary cap relief. The Blackhawks did place one player on LTIR today, moving defenseman Michal Rozsival there to free up another roster spot. Rozsival signed a contract last season in order to help the Blackhawks become expansion draft compliant, but did not pass his physical at the beginning of training camp.
Detroit Red Wings To Start Season With Just 22 Players
The Detroit Red Wings have been right up against, or projected over the salary cap all offseason. Since bringing in Trevor Daley and Luke Witkowski in free agency, the team has admitted they would likely have to make a move to become cap compliant on day one of the season. Injuries could have solved that for them, but now according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press the team plans on carrying just 20 skaters and two goaltenders into the start of the regular season. That’s leaving one empty roster spot in order to become cap compliant.
Detroit currently projects to be $3.72MM over the cap according to CapFriendly, but will be placing Johan Franzen and his $3.95MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve. That will allow them to get under the limit, but still doesn’t give them much room to work with, especially if a deal is made with Andreas Athanasiou at some point. The Red Wings don’t project to have much success this year already, and now it seems like they’re starting behind the eight ball to begin the year.
With Tyler Bertuzzi and Evgeny Svechnikov both on injured reserve as well after sustaining injuries in camp, it looks like newly signed David Booth will be in the lineup to start the year despite being placed on waivers this afternoon. After adding his $700K, the team doesn’t have any room to bring up another roster player. While none of this affects the way the Red Wings will ice a lineup each night, it’s a hard way to start the year. Chasing the cap all season puts them at a disadvantage in trade negotiations, while also making it difficult to bring back Athanasiou even if an agreement is reached. The team still could need to make a trade to help them out in the coming days.
The Red Wings start their season Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild.
2017-18 Primer: Edmonton Oilers
With the NHL season now just a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Edmonton Oilers.
Last Season: 47-26-9 record (103 points), second in Pacific Division (lost to Anaheim in second round)
Remaining Cap Space: $8.33MM per CapFriendly
Key Additions: F Ryan Strome (trade, New York), F Jussi Jokinen (free agency, Florida),
Key Departures: F Jordan Eberle (trade, New York), F Benoit Pouliot (buyout), F Matt Hendricks (free agency, Winnipeg), F Tyler Pitlick (free agency, Dallas), F David Desharnais (free agency, New York), D Griffin Reinhart (expansion, Vegas)
[Related: Edmonton Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F Jesse Puljujarvi – While most of the eyes will still be focused on Connor McDavid no matter where the Oilers are playing, Puljujarvi should command some attention as well. The fourth-overall pick from 2016 won’t turn 20 until next May, and seems to be in a dogfight to even make the roster out of camp. Kailer Yamamoto, the team’s top pick from the most recent draft is giving Puljujarvi all he can handle as he tries to prove that he’s ready to take the next step in the NHL.
That next step is an important one, as Puljujarvi had an up-and-down season a year ago. Starting the year with the Oilers, he rarely saw enough minutes to really make an impact and was eventually sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Once there, he slowly found his game before going on a tear to prove that he could dominate in the minor leagues. The 18-year old scored 28 points for the Condors, which actually ranked fifth among forwards despite playing in only 39 games.
The training wheels are off now though, and if Puljujarvi is to make this team he’ll have to perform. While there is no chance of him being labelled a bust this early in his career, a breakout would go a long way to helping the Stanley Cup contending Oilers reach that next level.
Key Storyline: When the Oilers committed $168MM to two players this offseason, they locked themselves into the same yearly salary cap struggles the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks have endured. While obviously both franchises have experienced immense success, they each took home their first Stanley Cup while at least one of their “Big Two” was still on a more reasonable contract. That’s this year and this year only for the Oilers, as McDavid’s record-setting $12.5MM cap hit kicks in next summer.
It’s not to say that the team won’t be able to compete once it does—Pittsburgh and Chicago have both won subsequent Cups while paying big prices—it’s that this theoretically should be one of the best chances they’ll ever have. While McDavid is sure to be among the handful of top players for the next decade, he’s already there and earning only $925K (plus bonuses) in salary. The question will be have the Oilers done enough to build a team around him for this season in order to take advantage of that.
The Oilers have $66.7MM committed to this season, and just over $60.7MM on the books for next. The difference is that this year that’s projected out from 24 roster players, while next there are only 13 under contract. The $8.33MM in cap space this year is one of their greatest assets, and no one should be shocked if they’re aggressive in-season going after rentals. While they can’t take on money for the future, they should be as close to the cap as their budget allows this year when it’s all said and done.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Early Extension Talks Between Maroon, Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers locked up restricted free agent Leon Draisaitl, and inked an eight-year extension with Connor McDavid, but still have more work to do to keep this team together. One of the players they’d like to keep is big winger Patrick Maroon, and as Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports, the two sides have had early conversations on a potential extension.
Maroon broke out playing alongside McDavid last year, scoring 27 goals and registering 45 points. While those totals look minuscule next to McDavid’s 100-point season, they’re easily career-highs for the 29-year old power forward.
In training camp it looks like Maroon will get another crack at the shotgun seat on McDavid’s line, which will likely result in another strong season. What that means in terms of an extension is tricky though. Could anyone post those numbers with one of the best players in the world? Does Maroon compliment McDavid’s speed and finesse game especially well? Would his production fall off a cliff if put lower in the lineup? These are all questions the Oilers will have to answer before handing out any long-term money.
The team must also be mindful of their salary cap structure going forward. Next year, when McDavid’s $100MM extension kicks in, the team will have four forwards making $33MM each season. That’s nearly half of the salary cap already, without including the hefty contracts they’ve given out on defense and some new deals that are required for restricted free agents.
If Maroon is negotiating like a true 27-goal man, the Oilers may not be able to fit him in. If it’s more a good-faith, perfect-fit conversation, perhaps they can come to an agreement that keeps the “Big Rig” in Edmonton long-term.
Joffrey Lupul Accuses Maple Leafs Of Cheating System
Over the last few years, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made a habit out of using the long-term injured reserve list more than almost any other team in the league. Players like David Clarkson, Nathan Horton, Joffrey Lupul, and Stephane Robidas have all spent full seasons away from the team, apparently too injured to continue their career. While there has never been proof that an injury didn’t exist, Lupul has made it clear in the past that he wants to continue his playing career and once again took to social media to call out the Maple Leafs’ salary cap practices.
In an Instagram comment last night (via Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star), Lupul wrote that he was ready and just waiting for a call to play hockey again, and then subsequently said that the Maple Leafs’ “cheat” and “everyone lets them.” Fans and media alike have used the term “Robidas Island” to describe where Toronto sends their injured players, a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that they may just be more unwanted than unhealthy.
All of this has been speculation and rumor, though Jared Cowen leveled similar complaints towards the team after being bought out last summer. Now, Darren Dreger of TSN asked NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to comment, which he declined:
We aren’t in a position to comment right now. That may or may not change when we know more.
That at least does sound like the league will be looking into it, a stance they also took when similar skepticism was shown at the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa situation. Hossa has developed a skin condition because of prolonged exposure to the equipment, one that will prevent him from playing this season. His $5.28MM contract and Lupul’s $5.25MM deal will not count towards the salary cap this season.
Carolina Lacking Roster Flexibility In 2017-18
With the start of the 2017-18 season just a month away, teams are starting to entertain some options to fill out their rosters. PTO season is in full swing, several teams have made recent free agent signings with more surely to come, and even trade whispers have picked up someone. One team not expected to join the late off-season excitement are the Carolina Hurricanes. With a cap hit of $57.8MM, more than $17MM below the salary cap, the Hurricanes have more than enough space to work with. In fact, Carolina has the third lowest payroll in the league. The ‘Canes have plenty of cap flexibility, but what they lack is roster flexibility.
The NHL imposes limits on each and every roster. Of course, the active roster is held to just 23 players, but the issue facing the Hurricanes is instead the 50-contract limit. Each squad is only allowed to have 50 players at a time signed to one-way and two-way NHL contracts; it’s a mark that few teams approach. Yet, Carolina is already committed to a league-high 49 players for next season. The team has added Scott Darling, Justin Williams, Marcus Kruger, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Josh Jooris, and Brenden Kichton to the mix this summer, without losing any notable names. With those new additions, the Hurricanes hope to build upon their surprising success in 2016-17 and use their impressive depth and youthful energy to reach the postseason this season. With those aspirations, GM Ron Francis and company will surely want to leave some space for a possible trade acquisition if the team is in position for a playoff run. While trades, especially in-season, more often than not include players going both ways, all other teams are held to the same limits as Carolina and won’t be willing to take on a handful of contracts just to accommodate the ‘Canes roster restraints. The team has to be careful not to back themselves into a corner.
For that reason, Carolina will likely march toward the season without making any further moves. That won’t stop the rumors of their interest in Colorado’s Matt Duchene to stop, particularly with Duchene pushing for a resolution in prior to puck drop, but it seems more likely that the Hurricanes stand pat in the coming weeks. With little flexibility as is, adding another player by any means could put Carolina in a hard-to-manage roster spot that could be even harder to get out of.
Detroit Red Wings Still A Possibility For Thomas Vanek
We’ve heard it all summer, but Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Red Wings are still in contact with Thomas Vanek about a potential return. Vanek’s agent Steve Bartlett told St. James that the team remains in the “possibility range” though other teams have increased interest recently. The team will likely have to make a roster move of some sort to get under the salary cap if Andreas Athanasiou does eventually sign—something that many of our readers doubt at this point—and would need to work even harder to fit Vanek in.
Vanek remains one of the more inexplicable free agent cases this summer, still without a job despite scoring 48 points in 68 games last season. His defense and lack of foot speed is clearly a sticking point, but many teams could use his offensive punch in various situations. The fact that he remains one of the better shootout specialists in the league is just a bonus, but one that can be worth real points in the standings.
If Vanek did return to Detroit, you’d have to expect he would be a trade candidate at the deadline again. With the Red Wings unlikely to really compete for a Stanley Cup, Vanek could net them another draft pick this year. As we’ve discussed previously, Vanek has no Olympic motivation since Austria did not qualify for the tournament last summer.
The Oldest NHL Rosters, Looking Forward
The average age of a team is a stat which gets thrown around rarely, but it can be quite telling when it comes to salary cap planning and drafting. The youngest teams tend to have exceptionally talented stars under the age of 25 (Oilers, Blue Jackets), or find themselves out of contention entirely, banking on the rebuilding process (Arizona, Colorado). At the opposite end of the spectrum are the most aged teams, some past their windows of contention and almost all struggling with an identity crisis. However, there are outliers in the group – for instance, Florida is the 5th oldest team at present, while most of the top talent is still in their primes. Still, the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Los Angeles Kings all have Father Time looming ominously above their franchises. All of these teams could re-structure themselves and find themselves back on the right track, if their drafting improves and their general managers cut loose harmful contracts while able.
Ottawa Senators
The most recently successful of the three, Ottawa fans likely aren’t expecting another Conference Finals finish. The team lost Marc Methot in expansion, and their largest move in the off-season was the signing of 35-year-old Johnny Oduya. With an average age of 29.73, they should be see the effects of age start to impact their performance. Although 36 year-old Craig Anderson was pivotal in their 2016-17 success, he has one year remaining on his contract and Marcus Hogberg will be looking for an opening in the mid-term future. If Anderson’s workload drastically increases, he could find difficulty in maintaining his above average numbers, and that could spell trouble. By re-signing the steady Mike Condon, however, they at least alleviated that concern.
The team had a chance to unload 30 year-old Bobby Ryan to Vegas, but opted against it. They’ll now have his contract on the books until he’s 35. 36 year-old Alex Burrows has two years remaining on his deal, while 32 year-old Clarke MacArthur has three. 32 year-old defenseman Dion Phaneuf has hard mileage on him with his physical style of play, and has four years remaining on his deal. Outside of Colin White, Cody Ceci, and Fredrik Claesson, everyone on the roster is over the age of 25. If Logan Brown pans out, he should go a long way in rejuvenating the forward corps. Filip Chlapik of Charlottestown is certainly no slouch either. On the defensive side, Thomas Chabot has the talent to make a significant impact, but there’s a logjam of older veterans in his way. While Ottawa obviously doesn’t need to entertain a full rebuild, they need to allow their prospects a chance to make the NHL squad and embrace a youth infusion. Signing the Oduyas of the world only prolongs that necessity.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings have paid out far too much money to mediocre talent, and it has been death by a thousand papercuts for Ken Holland. The team now finds itself $3.9 MM over the salary ceiling, desperately trying to find a way to shed salary and slip under before year’s start while still signing RFA Andreas Athanasiou. This is another franchise who opted to go with an established veteran on the backend this summer, Trevor Daley (33), when the team was in desperate need of younger legs. The team finds itself second oldest league-wide, with an average age of 29.27. Part of the reason Detroit consistently finds itself among the oldest franchises in the league is that the organization places extreme value on fully maturing its prospects, usually in the AHL, before regularly dressing for the big club. This is a fine ideal, but it usually results in more expensive contracts for RFAs, as the totals posted by well-groomed players are usually superior to those of untested rookies. In the Salary Cap era, having productive players on ELCs is a huge contributor to success.
Henrik Zetterberg, 36, has four more years on his deal, and logs exceptionally taxing minutes. Johan Franzen, 37, is already burning cap space, as his LTIR will be on the books for another 3 seasons. Once the year begins, its not a great issue, but it complicates matters in the off-season. Frans Nielsen, 33, is no spring chicken himself and also takes on greater responsibility in Detroit than he ever did in Long Island. With 5 years remaining on his deal, it begs the question of whether he will be performing at a Selke-caliber when he’s turning 38. Only Xavier Ouellet and Danny DeKeyser are under the age of 30 on defense, with Daley, Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall, and Jonathan Ericsson all having no-trade clauses. The Wings have some enticing prospects on the horizon, but with so many immovable and long-term contracts, it will be difficult for them to find places on the team in the short-term. Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha are both ready for larger roles, but true talents like Michael Rasmussen should get the opportunity to shine in a top-six role. Detroit is in no position to seriously compete, and perhaps it’s time to embrace the necessary partial rebuild. Trading some of the dead-weight contracts would be a solid start.
Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles is only a few years removed from a Stanley Cup win, but it seems like ages past. They have the third-oldest roster on paper at the moment, with an average age of 29.14. The Kings don’t actually have any players over the age of 35, so in that sense, they’ve avoided serious headaches. Marian Gaborik (35) and Mike Cammalleri (35) are the team’s greybeards, and while both had down seasons, they could each realistically rebound under new leadership. The problem for Los Angeles is that they don’t have any bonafide prospects pushing the issue. Adrian Kempe is the surest best to make the roster this year, as he could slot into a bottom-six role quite easily. Defenseman Paul LaDue should see his fair share of work this year as well. Beyond that, they’ll have no players playing on entry-level contracts. It’s simply unsustainable to draft in such a poor manner for so long, and Los Angeles is seeing the hurt now. If Jonny Brodzinski, a former 5th-rounder, could make the leap permanent, it would be a great help.
The Kings are over $6.8 MM under the cap ceiling, so unlike the Wings and Senators the franchise isn’t overly concerned about money. Dustin Brown‘s contract is particularly egregious, but there’s not much to be done about it. Los Angeles can still turn things around, but they’ll need more recent draft picks to find a way to contribute going forward. Gabriel Viladri will head back to Windsor for the season, but he could inject a serious shot of youthful speed and creativity into the roster in 2018-19. There’s just not a ton of excitement when it comes to Kings prospects, and considering that Vilardi was the first first-round pick since 2014 (Kempe), it’s easy to see why. Still, Tanner Pearson (25) and Tyler Toffoli (25) should have more prominent offensive roles this year, while some older defensemen were abandoned, so management seems to be righting the ship.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 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.
Boston Bruins
Current Cap Hit: $64,848,335 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry Level Contracts
D Charlie McAvoy (two years remaining, $917K)
D Brandon Carlo (two years remaining, $789K)
F Frank Vatrano (one year remaining, $792.5K)
F Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (two years remaining, $917K)
F Anders Bjork (three years remaining, $925K)
Boston has one of the deeper prospect pipelines in the NHL with upwards of a dozen players in the system on entry-level deals who could earn a call-up before that deal expires. However, this group of five stands the best chance of having a major impact on the Bruins right away in 2017-18.
Carlo, of course, already has a full year under his belt in which he skated in all 82 regular season games and played in over 20 minutes per night, all under the tutelage of one of the best defensive players of his generation: Zdeno Chara. Carlo has already made his #37 overall draft slot look like a steal, but with two more years at under $800K as he develops into a shutdown NHL defender, he could be one of the best blue line bargains in the league.
McAvoy is certainly ready to give Carlo a run for that title though. One of the Calder Trophy favorites for the upcoming season, McAvoy was thrown into the fire last season, making his NHL debut in the Bruins opening round playoff series. McAvoy performed admirably among a ragtag group of replacement players on Boston’s battered blue line and showed that he is more than ready for NHL action. Burning a season off of McAvoy’s ELC was a tough call for GM Don Sweeney and company, but giving McAvoy a taste last year could pay off this year. The former Boston University star and 2016 first-rounder will have all eyes on him in 2017-18.
Burning a year off of Forsbacka Karlsson’s entry-level deal for just one late-season game may have been ill-advised however. The Bruins love “JFK” and his two-way ability and cerebral play at center, with some in the organization and outside observers comparing him to Boston’s own Patrice Bergeron, widely considered the best two-way forward in the game. Those are big expectations to meet, but the Bruins will give Forsbacka Karlsson every chance to earn a regular role this season as they work to develop him into a well-rounded pro. JFK may not have the immediate impact, and expected pay day, of Carlo or McAvoy, but in two years he will certainly be worth more than $917K.
Vatrano has been a revelation for Boston since he was signed as an undrafted free agent, leaving UMass Amherst early in 2015. Vatrano led the AHL in goal scoring in 2015-16 with a stunning 36 goals in 36 games, while tallying 29 points in 83 NHL games along the way as well. Injury and inconsistency slowed down Vatrano’s rapid ascension last season, making 2017-18, his final ELC season, a major year in his career.
Finally, the Bruins were able to convince Bjork, a superstar at Notre Dame and the team’s 2014 fifth-round pick, to leave school early and sign on in Boston. The maximum three-year, $925K per ELC was nice motivation, but the team likely had to promise some play time as well. While Bjork’s spot on the team this season is not set in stone, with fellow high-end prospects Jake DeBrusk, Zach Senyshyn, Peter Cehlarik, and Danton Heinen clamoring for NHL play time, it seems that he’ll certainly get a chance. If the 2016-17 Hobey Baker candidate can find even remotely similar success in the big leagues compared to his past two NCAA seasons, his three-years of production at under $1MM will look mighty nice on the Bruins’ payroll.
One Year Remaining
D Zdeno Chara ($4MM, UFA)
F Ryan Spooner ($2.825MM, RFA)
F Riley Nash ($900K, UFA)
G Anton Khudobin ($1.2MM, UFA)
While it is a relatively painless 2018 free agency class for Boston, the end of Chara’s contract does loom large. The NHL’s tallest man has been the Bruins top defenseman since he signed with the team originally back in 2006 and very well could continue to be next season. It is possible that the Bruins re-sign Chara, whose cap hit drops from nearly $7MM to just $4MM this year, to a more affordable, short-term contract, but the more likely scenario is that the 40-year-old simply retires. He’ll leave the Boston blue line in much better condition than he found it back in ’06, with Torey Krug ready to lead the next wave of McAvoy, Carlo, and prospects like Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon, Ryan Lindgren, and Uhro Vaakanainen, but his size, strength, experience, and most of all, leadership, will not be easy to replace. The captain’s absence will be felt before the team even takes the ice for 2018-19 and could lead to the Bruins using the cap space Chara leaves behind to explore the free agent market.
Spooner and the Bruins nearly went to salary arbitration this summer, agreeing to terms on a one-year extension the morning of the hearing. Next year could be a very similar situation, whether Spooner performs or not. If Spooner can bounce back from a down 2016-17 season and prove that he is more than just a one-dimensional power play asset, then the Bruins will have to give him a raise on his new $2.825MM deal. If Spooner yet again struggles with the two-way and positional aspects of the game and is overshadowed by the Bruins’ younger talent, Sweeney will have to decide between bringing Spooner back again at a similar price and using up a roster spot or instead trading him away.
Nash and Khudobin, both signed on July 1st, 2016 to affordable two-year deals, also had incredibly similar seasons last year. Both were very disappointing for much of the year before their play picked up toward the end of the season. Going into 2017-18, Nash faces more pressure as he could take on the full responsibility of being the veteran presence on the checking line with Dominic Moore now gone. If Nash rises to the occasion, the Bruins have shown a fondness and loyalty toward their veteran fourth-liners and could reward Nash with an extension and a raise. If not, he’ll be gone. Khudobin also needs to have a big year, with starter Tuukka Rask in need of more rest than he got last season, but if Khudobin flops or if 24-year-old Zane McIntyre continues to light up the AHL, it seems very unlikely that he will re-sign.