Week In Review

While there were some big signings over the past seven days, there were also some notable injuries that are also featured in our key stories.

Signing Middlemen: In the span of a few hours, the Bruins shored up their center situation for next season.  They first signed Patrice Bergeron for what will be his 19th season with the team, giving him a one-year, $2.5MM deal with an additional $2.5MM in bonuses that will be earned once he plays in ten games.  Next up was a reunion with David Krejci after a season overseas as he received a one-year pact worth $1MM in base salary and $2MM in bonuses, three-quarters of which will be earned once he gets to 20 games.  Lastly, they inked Pavel Zacha to a one-year, $3.5MM deal to avoid salary arbitration.  Boston now has strong depth down the middle but while all three are on one-year pacts, they’ll likely be paying a good chunk of that money in 2023-24 through a bonus overage penalty.  That deferral will allow them to take one more run at contention with their veteran core.

Big Money For Crouse: The Coyotes have talked about winger Lawson Crouse being a big part of their future plans.  They demonstrated their faith in the 25-year-old as they signed him to a five-year deal that carries a $4.3MM AAV.  Crouse is coming off of his first 20-goal season while he has led the Coyotes in hits for four straight years.  Power forwards are hard to come by and often command pricey deals and that was the case here as Arizona bought out the final two years of Crouse’s RFA eligibility plus his first three UFA-eligible campaigns, ensuring they’ll have him for the prime of his career.

Lehner Out For The Year: The Golden Knights will be without their starting goalie for the entirety of the 2022-23 season after it was announced that Robin Lehner will need hip surgery.  This comes on the heels of the shoulder surgery he had back in May on an injury that ended his season prematurely.  Vegas will now add his $5MM to their LTIR pool which will also feature Shea Weber ($7.857MM) and perhaps Nolan Patrick ($1.2MM).  That gives Vegas some flexibility to try to add a replacement netminder and re-sign defenseman Nicolas Hague.  With the availability of backup Laurent Brossoit for the start of the season also in question after his hip surgery, youngster Logan Thompson is currently set to be their opening night starter.

Five For Roy: This past week wasn’t just bad news for Vegas as they agreed to a five-year, $15MM deal with center Nicolas Roy.  The 25-year-old established himself as a capable third-line center last season, notching 15 goals and 24 assists in 78 games while logging over 16 minutes a night.  For context, he had just 25 points in 85 games heading into the season.  It’s a bit of a risky agreement given Roy’s lack of a proven track record but there is also plenty of upside with this deal as if he’s able to play even at a similar level over the next few years, this should become a bargain contract for the Golden Knights.  On a veteran-laden team that doesn’t have many below-market value deals, Roy’s should be one of the exceptions before too long.

Achilles Injuries: A pair of players suffered torn Achilles tendons during offseason training and have undergone surgery.  The first was Hurricanes winger Max Pacioretty, one of their key summer acquisitions.  Instead of him helping to offset the losses of Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter, they’ll now have to wait until closer to the trade deadline for him to make his Carolina debut.  They won’t have any short-term cap issues with his $7MM AAV becoming eligible for LTIR but that’s not much consolation.  Meanwhile, after missing all of last season with a core muscle injury, Sharks blueliner Nikolai Knyzhov also sustained the injury and will be out for six months.  The 24-year-old was a regular for San Jose back in 2020-21 but it will be quite a while again before he’ll have a shot at reclaiming his spot on their back end.

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With the UFA market slowing to basically a halt, most of the news around the league from the past seven days has come from restricted free agency although there was a significant contract extension as well.

Four For Ferraro: It’s not very often that a player coming off an entry-level deal signs a medium-term contract but that’s exactly what the Sharks and defenseman Mario Ferraro did with the two sides agreeing to a four-year deal that carries a $3.25MM AAV.  The 23-year-old has become a key cog on their back end and averaged 23 minutes a game last season.  The most notable part about this contract might be that it walks Ferraro right to UFA eligibility while not buying any extra years of team control.  Cap space is limited in San Jose which likely took a long-term agreement off the table but it’s still a little surprising that new GM Mike Grier preferred this route.  At any rate, the Sharks have a key defender locked up for four years at an affordable rate.

Devils Settle: New Jersey had a pair of wingers that were set to make it to an arbitration hearing and while both cases got to the point of making their filings, both were settled soon after.  First, the Devils worked out a one-year, $5.45MM contract with winger Jesper Bratt.  It was a well-earned significant raise for the 24-year-old who nearly doubled the AAV of his bridge deal after leading the team in scoring with 73 points in 76 games.  He’ll once again be arbitration-eligible next summer.  Meanwhile, after opting for club-elected arbitration with winger Miles Wood, the two sides settled on a one-year, $3.2MM agreement.  The 26-year-old was limited to just three games last season after undergoing hip surgery but was valued enough by New Jersey to still be qualified last month.  Wood actually took a $300K pay cut compared to his salary from last season and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Huberdeau Extension: While Brady Tkachuk wasn’t willing to sign a long-term extension with Calgary, one of the players he was traded for was open to doing so.  Jonathan Huberdeau opted to not test free agency next summer, instead signing an eight-year, $84MM extension that will begin in 2023-24.  The 29-year-old is coming off a career season that saw him put up 115 points, 85 of which were assists to set an NHL record for assists by a left winger.  More than 73% of the money is paid out in the form of signing bonuses while Huberdeau receives a full no-move clause for all eight years with a 19-team no-trade clause in the final two seasons.  The contract could very well be an overpayment in the final few seasons but it ensures Calgary will have a premier playmaker in the fold for the long haul.

Flames Sign Two More: Huberdeau’s contract wasn’t the only contract the Flames finalized as they managed to avoid arbitration with a pair of players as well.  Defenseman Oliver Kylington received a two-year deal with a $2.5MM AAV.  He became a regular part of Calgary’s back end for the first time last season and he made the most of it, recording 31 points in 73 games.  Notably, this contract only buys out his final years of RFA eligibility.  Meanwhile, Andrew Mangiapane’s career year earned him quite a raise as well as he was given a three-year deal that carries a $5.8MM cap charge.  After previously having a career-high of 32 points, the 26-year-old notched 35 goals last season, becoming a core producer for the Flames in the process.  His deal covers this last RFA-eligible year plus two seasons of UFA eligibility.

Yamamoto Re-Signs: The Oilers were hoping to sign Kailer Yamamoto to a longer-term deal than the one-year contract they gave Jesse Puljujarvi.  They were able to do that although not by much as the team signed the winger to a two-year deal that carries a $3.1MM AAV.  The 23-year-old is coming off a nice 2021-22 campaign that saw him pick up 20 goals and 21 assists, both career highs which helped him more than double the $1.175MM price of his last deal and he’ll be owed a $3.2MM qualifying offer in 2024, his last summer of RFA eligibility.  With this signing, GM Ken Holland now has Edmonton’s last ten first-round picks under contract (including prospects).

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With arbitration hearings on the horizon, most of the top news from the NHL over the past week came on the RFA side although one prominent unrestricted free agent made some headlines to get into the key stories from the past seven days.

Puljujarvi Settles: The Oilers were able to avoid salary arbitration with winger Jesse Puljujarvi as they agreed to a one-year, $3MM contract.  The 24-year-old had a career year, notching 36 points in 65 games which allowed him to more than double the AAV of his previous contract.  Puljujarvi has been in trade speculation for a while now and this deal isn’t going to change that.  Instead, it might actually help move discussions along as now other teams will have certainty over how much he’s going to cost for 2022-23 and how much cap space (if any) will need to be created to make a move work.  Edmonton still has some work to do with their restricted free agents with Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan McLeod, and Tyler Benson all needing new deals.

Four For Joseph: After having a limited role in his first three seasons in Tampa Bay, Mathieu Joseph made the most of his extra ice time with the Lightning.  So much so, in fact, that he was the key element of the trade that brought Nick Paul from Ottawa to Tampa at the trade deadline, leading to a strong playoff run and a long-term extension.  To his credit, Joseph was even better with the Senators, picking up 12 points in 11 games to finish his season on a high note.  Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion had seen enough, opting to work out a four-year deal worth an AAV of $2.95MM.  For context, $2.95MM is more than he has made the rest of his career combined.  It’s a nice reward for the 25-year-old while the Sens pick up two extra years of team control in the process.

Klingberg To Anaheim: Clearly, John Klingberg didn’t get the contract he was looking for at the start of free agency.  That resulted in him leaving his long-time agent Peter Wallen to join Newport’s Craig Oster.  Oster clearly took a different approach to Klingberg’s free agency as not long after taking over, the veteran defenseman signed a one-year, $7MM contract with Anaheim.  It’s a soft landing for the 29-year-old who will have an opportunity to play a big role with the Ducks and then will be able to try his hand again in free agency next summer.  Worth noting is that his full no-trade clause is only in place until January so if Anaheim is out of playoff contention, it’s quite possible that he’s flipped at the trade deadline which could also help bolster his value on the open market next summer.

Bridge For Kakko: After another quiet season, one that was also mired by injuries, there was an expectation that the Rangers would be working out a bridge contract with RFA winger Kaapo Kakko.  They did exactly that as he inked a two-year deal that carries a $2.1MM AAV.  The second-overall pick in 2019 has 26 goals in 157 career regular season contests while he was a healthy scratch in their final playoff game.  The contract gives him more time to try to secure a full-time spot in the top six while also guaranteeing him a higher cap hit on his next deal as Kakko will be owed a $2.4MM qualifying offer in 2024 when he’ll also have salary arbitration eligibility.

Five Years For Siegenthaler: After playing a very limited role in his first few NHL seasons with Washington, Jonas Siegenthaler has become a legitimate top-four blueliner since joining New Jersey in 2021.  The Devils have seen enough to hand him a five-year contract that carries a $3.4MM AAV in a move that also buys out his first three seasons of UFA eligibility.  The 25-year-old had 14 points in 70 games last season while averaging over 20 minutes a game and will clearly now be a part of their long-term plans on the back end.

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While the free agent frenzy has slowed down, there was still plenty of notable news around the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Sharks Zeroing In On Quinn: The Sharks appear to have found their next head coach with multiple reports suggesting that David Quinn will be their new bench boss with an official announcement expected sometime this week.  This will be Quinn’s second stint running an NHL bench after he was in charge with the Rangers for three seasons from 2018-19 through 2020-21 with the team posting a 96-87-25 record during that stretch.  Last season, Quinn coached Team USA internationally at the Olympics and World Championship with the team not medalling in either event.  He’ll now be tasked with helping to turn around a San Jose franchise that has fallen off in recent years and traded away their top defenseman in Brent Burns to Carolina earlier this month.  Toronto’s Spencer Carbury and Pittsburgh’s Mike Vellucci were believed to be the other finalists for the position.

Nino To Nashville: The free agent market for winger Nino Niederreiter didn’t exactly develop quickly but the 29-year-old has found a new home after signing a two-year, $8MM contract with Nashville.  The deal actually represents a pay cut after playing on a $5.25MM AAV the past five seasons, a sign of how stingy the market has become very quickly.  Niederreiter is coming off a solid showing that saw him put up 24 goals and 20 assists in 75 games despite averaging less than 15 minutes a night of ice time.  He has reached the 20-goal mark in six of the last eight seasons, consistent production that Nashville will certainly enjoy as they look to augment an offense that finished 12th in the league last season.

Tkachuk To Florida: After informing Calgary that he wouldn’t sign a long-term contract with them, Matthew Tkachuk has a new home as the Flames traded the winger along with a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick to Florida for winger Jonathan Huberdeau, center Cole Schwindt, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, and a top-ten protected 2025 first-round pick.  Right before the swap, Calgary inked Tkachuk to an eight-year, $76MM agreement, making it the first-ever true sign-and-trade in NHL history.  Tkachuk is one of the premier power forwards in the league and will be Aleksander Barkov’s new running mate for the foreseeable future but the Panthers gave up one of the top point-getters last season in Huberdeau and a quality defenseman in Barkov (plus the prospect and draft pick).  Calgary did well to recover plenty of talent for Tkachuk but it’s worth noting that both Huberdeau and Weegar are a year away from unrestricted free agency.  GM Brad Treliving will certainly be hoping to get both of his newcomers locked up on long-term deals by next summer.

Blue Jackets Make Moves: From the moment he was acquired, there have been questions about whether or not Patrik Laine would be willing to stay with Columbus past his RFA years.  The answer to that question was yes as the winger signed a four-year, $34.8MM contract, a deal that bought out three years of UFA eligibility.  That will ensure that the Blue Jackets have two high-end wingers for the foreseeable future after they added Johnny Gaudreau in free agency.  However, those two contracts put them well over the salary cap which resulted in them moving winger Oliver Bjorkstrand to Seattle for a 2023 third-round pick and a 2023 fourth-rounder.  Bjorkstrand finished second on the Blue Jackets in scoring last season with 28 goals and 29 assists and he’ll immediately step into a key role for the Kraken at a low acquisition cost.  The 27-year-old has four more years on his contract with a $5.4MM AAV which means that Columbus dealt with their cap issues with this one move and is now set to be cap-compliant for next season.

Three Years For Vanecek: After acquiring Vitek Vanecek to give them another option between the pipes, the Devils worked quickly to give the netminder a three-year contract worth $10.2MM.  The deal, which allowed the two sides to avoid salary arbitration, buys out two years of UFA eligibility.  Vanecek has just 79 career NHL appearances under his belt but had two quality seasons with Washington (playing for the league minimum) before the Capitals decided they wanted a more proven option between the pipes which led to the addition of Darcy Kuemper this summer.  New Jersey, meanwhile, will bring back Mackenzie Blackwood while Jonathan Bernier hopes he’ll be ready for training camp after missing the bulk of last season after undergoing hip surgery.  It’s rarely ideal for an NHL team to carry three goaltenders but after the injury trouble the Devils had between the pipes in 2021-22, it’s certainly understandable that they’re taking no chances this time around.

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While the big roster shuffle will come next week as free agency opens up, it was still a very busy week around the NHL with the draft and some big trades among the key stories.

Draft Day Splashes: The Canadiens were hosting the draft, the first held in-person since 2019.  GM Kent Hughes make a pair of notable decisions on the opening day of the festivities.  First, he opted to take winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the first-overall pick, staying away from Shane Wright, long viewed as the consensus top pick who instead went fourth to Seattle.

Before Wright’s pick was announced, however, Montreal swung a pair of trades to find a new center.  First, they traded defenseman Alexander Romanov along with a fourth-round pick to the Islanders for the 13th selection and then flipped that with a third-rounder to acquire Kirby Dach.  Dach, the number three pick in 2019, has struggled so far in his career which led to Chicago dealing him away and taking Frank Nazar with the first-rounder but Montreal believes the 21-year-old still has top-six upside.  Romanov, meanwhile, is a nice addition to New York’s back end and will certainly give them a boost in terms of physicality.  Both Dach and Romanov are restricted free agents this summer.

Day Two Also Busy: Sometimes, the second day of the draft can come and go without much fanfare.  This wasn’t one of them as Detroit swung a move to get a head start on their free agent shopping, acquiring the rights to Ville Husso from St. Louis for a third-round pick and then quickly signed him to a three-year, $14.25MM extension.  It’s a nice raise for the 27-year-old who was on a league minimum contract the last two seasons but a well-earned one as he impressed in 40 games this past season.  The Flyers then added to their back end, picking up Anthony DeAngelo from Carolina for a trio of draft picks, quickly agreeing to a two-year, $10MM contract after.  The 26-year-old impressed in his only season with the Hurricanes, notching 51 points in 64 games, effectively pricing himself too high for what they can afford with several other notable free agents.  Meanwhile, the Oilers could soon be adding some cap space as reports surfaced that veteran defenseman Duncan Keith is expected to retire this week after a 17-year career that featured two Norris Trophies and three Stanley Cups.  The move will give Edmonton more than $5.5MM in cap space for next season while removing that amount from Chicago’s cap due to salary cap recapture penalties.

DeBrincat To Ottawa: Prior to the start of the draft, the Senators made a big splash on the trade front, acquiring winger Alex DeBrincat from Chicago in exchange for the seventh and 39th picks.  The 24-year-old is coming off his second career 41-goal season and has one year left on his deal with a $6.4MM AAV.  However, it’s worth noting that he’ll be owed a $9MM qualifying offer in 2023; GM Pierre Dorion indicated an intention to try to work on a long-term extension with DeBrincat in the coming weeks and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to push for a number that comes in a little below that amount.  Meanwhile, Chicago used the picks on defenseman Kevin Korchinski and center Paul Ludwinski as they continue to sell off pieces as they embark on a full-scale rebuild.

Sharks Hire Grier: It took until just before the draft but the Sharks found their next general manager, appointing long-time NHL winger Mike Grier to the position.  That makes him the first Black general manager in NHL history but not the first GM in his family as his brother Chris is currently the GM of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.  Grier spent three of his 14 NHL seasons in San Jose and will now be tasked with trying to shed some onerous contracts and bring in some extra young depth to the organization.  His first move was to trade down from the 11th selection, swapping with Arizona for picks 27, 34, and 45.

Forsberg Sticks Around: While it took a lot longer than many expected, the Predators and winger Filip Forsberg were eventually able to work out a new eight-year, $68MM contract that carries a full no-move clause for the first six seasons.  The 27-year-old has spent his entire ten-year NHL career with Nashville and has been a fixture on their front line for many of those.  Forsberg is coming off a season that saw him hit new benchmarks in goals (42) and assists (42) despite missing 13 games which gave him plenty of leverage heading into discussions.  He used it well as he gets a $2.5MM increase compared to the AAV of his previous deal and the maximum term of an agreement, ensuring he’ll remain the Predators for a long time to come.

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With Colorado beating Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup, the offseason is officially underway.  Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of news over the past seven days which is recapped in our top stories.

Boston Gets Their Guy: While it took a lot longer than anyone really expected, the Bruins agreed on a multi-year contract extension with GM Don Sweeney.  Soon after, Sweeney found his next head coach as Boston hired Jim Montgomery as their new bench boss.  It will be Montgomery’s second time running an NHL bench as he was in charge for parts of two years in Dallas before being let go due to “unprofessional conduct” which Montgomery himself revealed was a battle with alcohol abuse.  The Bruins will be dealing with several key injuries to start next season including Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand so Montgomery will have his work cut out for him early on until those players return.  Dallas did well with Montgomery at the helm with a .579 points percentage but expectations will be high after they let Bruce Cassidy (who had a .672 points percentage with the Bruins) go earlier this offseason.

Tampa Makes Early Moves: Just days after falling to the Avalanche, the Lightning were back in the news.  First, they found a way to keep Nick Paul around, handing the forward a seven-year contract that carries an AAV of $3.15MM with some trade protection.  The 27-year-old fit in quite well after being acquired at the trade deadline from Ottawa, spending time on the second and third lines both down the stretch and in the playoffs.  Knowing they needed to fit in that contract and their desire to keep winger Ondrej Palat, GM Julien BriseBois then convinced defenseman Ryan McDonagh to waive his no-trade clause and moved him to Nashville for blueliner Philippe Myers and AHL forward Grant Mismash.  The move frees up $4.2MM in cap space as it stands but if Tampa Bay was to have a change of heart and buy out Myers, that could jump to $7.3MM as buying out the 25-year-old would actually give the Lightning a cap credit for next season.  Nashville gets a solid veteran blueliner in McDonagh to bolster their top four and take on the remaining four years of his deal at a $6.75MM cap hit.

Fiala To Los Angeles: Minnesota’s salary cap situation is well-known.  The increased dead cap charge stemming from the buyouts on Ryan Suter and Zach Parise was going to force their hand with Kevin Fiala.  While they wanted to keep him, everyone knew they couldn’t afford to.  That situation worked out well for the Kings as they acquired the 25-year-old in exchange for their first-round pick in next week’s draft (19th overall) along with the rights to prospect defenseman Brock Faber.  Los Angeles wasted little time signing Fiala to a seven-year, $55.125MM extension that carries some form of trade protection in each year that he’s eligible for it.  Fiala is coming off a career year that saw him pick up 85 points in 82 games and he immediately bolsters a Kings attack that was 20th in goals scored this past season.  Minnesota, meanwhile, gets some quality future assets and the cap flexibility that should allow them to fill out the rest of their roster this summer.

Boeser Signs: Saturday was a quiet deadline for Vancouver to reach a new contract with pending RFA forward Brock Boeser as it was the first deadline for club-elected arbitration, one that would have allowed the Canucks to offer 85% of his $7.5MM qualifying offer.  But that would have been a contentious process, one that both sides wanted to avoid.  They were able to do just that as they agreed on a three-year, $19.95MM contract.  The deal provides a small increase on his previous $5.85MM AAV, gives Vancouver a lower price tag than what his qualifier would have been, plus an extra two years of team control as Boeser had just one RFA year remaining.  It’s a tidy piece of business for both sides with the Canucks needing all the cap space they can get to keep as much of their core intact as they can.

Coaching Carousel: For a while, it looked like the NHL’s annual coaching carousel was set to come to an end.  Chicago officially hired Luke Richardson on a four-year contract while Detroit wasted little time following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final to make Derek Lalonde their new bench boss in another first-time hire.  At that point, there was just one opening left but before it could be filled, another one opened up as the Sharks surprisingly parted ways with Bob Boughner to allow their eventual new GM to pick their next head coach.  Not long after that, the other vacancy was filled as Winnipeg named former Dallas head coach Rick Bowness as their new head coach, giving him a two-year deal.  San Jose’s vacancy is now the only one around the league.

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With the offseason frenzy nearly upon us, activity around the league is starting to pick up.  Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the past seven days.

DeBoer To Dallas: The Stars have found their new head coach as they hired Peter DeBoer, signing him to a four-year deal worth roughly $4.25MM per season.  It took a little while for him to enter the coaching market with Vegas taking their time to make a decision on his future before ultimately letting him go.  DeBoer has bounced around as this will be his fifth NHL team behind the bench but his best years came with the Golden Knights as he helped lead the team to a 98-50-12 record in 160 regular season games plus a 22-17 record in the playoffs.  He’ll take over for Rick Bowness who agreed to step away after the Stars were eliminated in the opening round of the postseason.

Smith To Return: While the deal isn’t expected to be announced for a little while due to salary cap and tagging reasons, the Golden Knights have reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with winger Reilly Smith to keep him around.  The agreement is believed to carry an AAV of around $5MM which also happens to be the AAV he has had for the last five years.  The 31-year-old has been a key piece for Vegas through their first five years of existence and actually sits third in scoring in their brief franchise history.  Smith is coming off a bit of a bounce-back season after a tough showing in 2020-21 as he collected 38 points in 56 games.  If he can stay healthy and put up close to 50 points (he played at a 56-point pace this year), he’ll provide the Golden Knights with a decent return on this deal but GM Kelly McCrimmon still has a lot of work to do this summer to get this team cap-compliant.

Maurice To Florida: Andrew Brunette did well taking over from Joel Quenneville early in the season, helping to lead the Panthers to a 51-18-6 record while Florida took home the Presidents’ Trophy.  That helped earn him a Jack Adams Award nomination but it didn’t help him keep his job as the team announced that they’ve hired Paul Maurice as their new head coach, signing him to a three-year deal worth just under $4MM per year.  Maurice stepped away from the Jets midseason but his time away from the game was rather short.  He has 24 years of NHL head coaching experience under his belt and will now be tasked with trying to get the team over the playoff hump after they were swept in the second round by Tampa Bay.  As for Brunette, it remains to be seen if he’ll go back to being an assistant as he was at the beginning of the season or if he’ll look to join another organization.

News From Winnipeg: Early on in their coaching search, it was clear that Winnipeg’s preference for their next head coach was Barry Trotz, a Manitoba native.  Trotz gave the job offer serious consideration but decided to decline it and will not be behind the bench to start next season.  Meanwhile, there could be changes coming to their forward group as well.  The team is believed to be exploring the trade market for captain Blake Wheeler.  The 35-year-old overcame a slow start to pick up 60 points in 65 games but with two years left on his deal with a cap hit of $8.25MM.  Between that and a trade-to list of just five teams, however, the market for him might not be too strong.  Then there’s center Pierre-Luc Dubois.  The pending restricted free agent has informed the team that his intention is to test unrestricted free agency when he’s eligible in 2024.  Dubois, who was acquired for another player whose willingness to sign long-term was in question (Patrik Laine), had 60 points of his own this season with a new career-high in goals with 28.  His hesitancy to sign a long-term agreement could ultimately dictate their plans for Mark Schiefele as it’s unlikely they’d part with both of their top centers in the same summer.

Richardson To Chicago: While an agreement hasn’t been made official yet, the Blackhawks have found their next head coach as they will be hiring Luke Richardson away from Montreal, where he had served as an assistant coach for the last four years.  The 53-year-old played more than 1,400 games in the NHL as a defenseman and has been a coach basically ever since then; he kicked off his coaching NHL career in the same season that he played his final two games.  Chicago is about to embark on a sizable rebuild so it’s not surprising they went with a first-time head coach with a reputation for being player-friendly.  The contract is expected to be finalized sometime this coming week.

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Things are starting to pick up across the NHL with most of the league now firmly in offseason mode with the league providing a key cap figure for their summer planning.  Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the past seven days.

Tortorella To Flyers: Philadelphia has their new head coach in place as they hired long-time bench boss John Tortorella, giving him a four-year deal that’s believed to be worth $4MM per season.  The Flyers have made it clear that even though they missed the playoffs this season, they are in win-now mode and Tortorella’s hiring certainly cements that line of thinking.  Philadelphia is Tortorella’s fifth NHL team as a head coach and ranks 13th all-time in games coached with 1,383 and sits 14th for most wins with 673.  Even with this move, many believe GM Chuck Fletcher will try to shake up his core so the Flyers will continue to be a team to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.

Cassidy To Vegas: Tortorella wasn’t the only head coach to be hired as Bruce Cassidy’s time on the unemployment line didn’t last very long with the Golden Knights naming him as their new bench boss.  Boston decided to part ways with Cassidy earlier this month despite a very strong regular season showing that saw the team go 245-108-46 under his watch although they had a losing record (36-37) in the playoffs.  The Golden Knights are now on their third coach in franchise history and while they have some work to do to fill out their roster and be cap-compliant next season, Cassidy will have high expectations immediately as Vegas looks to get back into the playoff picture.

Montreal-Vegas Trade: The first notable trade of the summer was made as the Golden Knights dealt winger Evgenii Dadonov to the Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Shea Weber.  Or, to be more specific, Weber’s contract.  The blueliner has four years left on his deal with a $7.857MM AAV but isn’t expected to play again due to injuries.  The move will lock Vegas into LTIR for the foreseeable future but they’re certainly quite comfortable operating in there with how things went this season.  Meanwhile, Vegas is able to shed Dadonov’s $5MM cap charge for next season after unsuccessfully moving him to Anaheim at the trade deadline.  While his contract was unwanted around the league (Vegas attached a second-rounder to move Dadonov in the failed move with the Ducks), he’ll give the Canadiens some extra depth on the wing and as an expiring contract, it’s possible Montreal could look to flip him with retention closer to the 2023 deadline.

Calling It A Career: Veteran goaltender Carter Hutton isn’t waiting to see if a contract offer materializes in free agency next month as instead, he has decided to retire.  This past season was a tough one for the 36-year-old as after signing with Arizona last summer, he suffered a lower-body injury early in the season and as soon as he was ready to return, he went through waivers unclaimed and was traded to Toronto as injury insurance but never suited up with the team.  Overall, Hutton had a fairly strong career for an undrafted goaltender, getting into 235 games over parts of 10 NHL seasons with his best year coming with St. Louis in 2017-18 when he led the league in both GAA (2.09) and SV% (.931).

Surgery For Backstrom: Following their playoff exit, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan indicated that Nicklas Backstrom continuing to play through his hip injury would be unsustainable.  On Saturday, it was announced that the veteran has undergone hip resurfacing surgery.  While no timetable was provided for a return, based on the limited track record of other NHL players who have had the procedure, there’s a very good chance that the 34-year-old could miss the entire season.  That’s certainly a big blow for Washington as Backstrom has been a focal point of their attack for 15 years but they will have to approach the 2022-23 season as if he won’t be available.

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As we get closer to the start of free agency, things are starting to pick up a little bit on the transactions front with several of those being among the top stories of the past seven days.

Driedger Undergoes Surgery: This was a tough season for Kraken netminder Chris Driedger as things didn’t go as planned with his new team with the 28-year-old putting up a save percentage of just .899 in 27 games.  But he had a chance to finish up on a high note with Canada at the World Championship.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as instead, Driedger tore his ACL in the Gold Medal Game and has undergone surgery that will keep him out between seven and nine months.  On the short end of that, he’d miss a little more than months but on the longer end, he could be out for half the season.  Fortunately for Seattle, they have a third-string option in Joey Daccord that has some NHL experience so they may not have to look outside the organization to fill Driedger’s spot to start next season.

Bishop To Buffalo: Dallas decided to make a move to get out of the final season of Ben Bishop’s contract, sending the veteran along with a seventh-round pick to Buffalo for future considerations.  The 35-year-old tried to come back this season but pulled the plug after one appearance in the minors, instead announcing the end of his playing career.  The Stars free up a contract slot with the move and also, for now at least, reduces the potential for a carryover bonus penalty as teams in LTIR all season don’t accrue any cap space so any achieved bonuses that put a team past the Upper Limit roll over to the following season.  Dallas will be in that situation next season thanks to Bishop being on LTIR this year.  Meanwhile, the Sabres don’t have much to lose with this pick as they’re well under the cap and pick up an extra draft pick for doing the Stars the favor.

Two Years For Roslovic: It has been an interesting season and a half for Jack Roslovic in Columbus.  After impressing following the trade from Winnipeg, he struggled for a good chunk of this year before finishing on a high note with 19 points over the final six weeks of the campaign.  After taking a bridge deal upon being acquired by the Blue Jackets, the two sides effectively agreed on another one as the 25-year-old signed a two-year, $8MM contract.  The deal buys out Roslovic’s two remaining RFA seasons, gives him a nice raise on the $1.838MM AAV from last season, and will give him the opportunity to hit the open market in 2024 in the prime of his career.

Gurianov Gets One: While qualifying offers aren’t issued for several more weeks, Denis Gurianov decided to take his early, agreeing on a one-year, $2.9MM deal.  The 25-year-old looked to have a breakout year two goals ago when he reached the 20-goal mark but his output has dipped since then, notching just 23 goals over the last two seasons combined in 128 games.  He was a possible non-tender candidate as a result but this will give Gurianov one more chance to make his mark with the hopes that a new coaching staff will help unlock his offensive potential on a more consistent basis.

Cassidy Fired: There’s a late entrant into the coaching shuffle this summer as the Bruins decided to part ways with Bruce Cassidy.  Boston had plenty of regular season success after Cassidy took over partway through the 2016-17 season with the team posting a .672 points percentage in 399 contests.  However, things weren’t as good in the playoffs with the Bruins being a game below .500 in 37 games.  Cassidy’s recent track record has made him a hot commodity as he is believed to have spoken with several teams as there are now seven confirmed openings around the league with two others (Edmonton and Florida) with decisions to make on their interim bench bosses.

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With just four teams still playing, the majority of the biggest news of the week came away from the ice and is recapped in our key stories.

Prospects Released: June 1st is one of the dates to watch for when it comes to signing deadlines for certain prospects.  That came and went with teams parting ways with a total of 28 different youngsters who, depending on their age, will either re-enter the draft next month or become unrestricted free agents.  Dallas and Montreal both parted ways with players that were picked in the second round while Minnesota took the rare step of opting not to sign a first-rounder from that draft class in defenseman Filip Johansson, who went 24th overall in 2018.  As a result, the Wild will receive the 24th pick of the second round this year (56th overall) as compensation; unsigned players picked outside the first round do not yield compensatory picks.

Minnesota Surgeries: It was revealed that Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon underwent core muscle surgery after the playoffs while winger Mats Zuccarello will need the same procedure done.  The recovery time for the procedure is six to eight weeks.  Spurgeon played through the injury for more than half the season but still managed to put up 40 points in 65 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night.  Zuccarello, meanwhile, had a career year with 79 points in 70 contests and was also playing through a leg fracture.  However, that one is expected to heal with rest and he won’t need surgery for that injury.

Gardiner Cleared: Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner missed all of the 2021-22 season with hip and back injuries and with how much time he has missed lately, some had wondered if his playing days were over.  That won’t be the case as GM Don Waddell indicated that the veteran has now been fully cleared to return next season.  Carolina went into LTIR this season with Gardiner and his $4.05MM AAV but they won’t have that avenue moving forward.  He has one year left on his deal and with him being cleared, he could become a buyout candidate when the window opens up after the Stanley Cup Final.  The team has roughly $19MM in cap room for next season, per CapFriendly, but they have several core players on expiring deals including blueliner Tony DeAngelo, center Vincent Trocheck, and winger Nino Niederreiter.

St. Louis Signs: Martin St. Louis was surprisingly named as Montreal’s interim head coach midseason when Dominique Ducharme was let go and while it didn’t result in any sort of big turnaround, the Canadiens were more competitive down the stretch.  He did well enough to convince management to remove the interim tag as St. Louis signed a three-year contract to officially become their head coach.  The team went 14-19-4 after he took over but it was the offensive improvement from several of their players – particularly Cole Caufield – that stood out.  With Montreal expected to be rebuilding for another couple of years at least, St. Louis is an understandable choice to continue on for now with an emphasis on player development.

Kadri Out, Kane Suspended: The Avalanche suffered a big blow when Nazem Kadri was injured in the third game of the Western Conference Final on a hit from behind on Evander Kane.  He has already been ruled out for the rest of the series and potentially longer according to head coach Jared Bednar.  The 31-year-old has had a strong postseason thus far with 14 points in 13 games, carrying on his strong play from the regular season.  As for Kane, he received a five-minute major penalty on the play and was issued a one-game suspension that will keep him out of a must-win contest on Monday as Edmonton looks to stay alive in the series.

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