Week In Review

With it being so early in the season, teams are hesitant to make any moves as they get a feel for what they currently have on their rosters.  With that in mind, some of the bigger news of the week has come from other fronts.

COVID Trouble: A handful of teams have had players enter COVID protocol in the early going this season.  There were quite a few more this past week with Winnipeg forwards Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, St. Louis winger Brandon Saad, Pittsburgh blueliner Kris Letang, and Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane among those missing time due to being in the protocol.  While there have been suggestions that the league might tone down the testing, weeks like this could put those plans on hold fairly quickly.

Gourde Returns Early: When Seattle selected Yanni Gourde from Tampa Bay in expansion, the enthusiasm was tempered down when it was revealed that he’d miss four months due to shoulder surgery.  Instead, he only missed four games as he was activated off IR which is well before even the most optimistic of timelines for recovery.  Gourde isn’t getting eased into action either as he has logged more than 22 minutes per game in each of his two appearances so far.

Kane Suspension: Following a series of investigations by the NHL into Sharks winger Evander Kane, the league levied a 21-game suspension to the 30-year-old for an established violation of, and lack of compliance with, the NHL/NHLPA COVID-19 Protocol.  The league didn’t identify what the exact violation was but there were reports earlier this month that he was being investigated for using a fake vaccination card.  Also in the announcement from the league was a statement that allegations regarding domestic abuse could not be substantiated.  Kane, who is not appealing the ban, is now ineligible to play until November 30th.

Heading Overseas: Veteran center Artem Anisimov was unable to catch on with another NHL team following being released from his PTO with Colorado so he has elected to go back to the KHL, inking a one-year deal with HC Lokomotiv.  That’s the program that Anisimov started out going back to his junior-aged days and he last suited up there during the lockout in the 2012-13 season.  If it’s the end for Anisimov in North America, he’ll wind up with 376 points in 771 career NHL contests, a pretty good return on a late second-round pick which is where the Rangers selected him back in 2006.

Hughes Injured: The strong start for Devils center Jack Hughes has been put on hold for a while with the announcement that the 20-year-old has suffered a disclosed shoulder and is out indefinitely.  Hughes had three points in his first two games including an overtime winner but will not need surgery.  It’s a contract year for the 2019 top pick so there is a lot on the line when he’s able to return as a long-term pact similar to the one Nico Hischier signed back in 2019 could be a possibility if he winds up not missing much time and has a productive 2021-22 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the regular season fast approaching, there was some significant news around the NHL which are included among the top stories of the past seven days.

Price Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program: While it was unknown if the Canadiens would have Carey Price available to them on opening night as he works his way back from offseason knee surgery, they now know he won’t be available for at least the next 30 days after he voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  GM Marc Bergevin expressed confidence that Price would return at some point this season although there is obviously no timetable for when that might happen.  Jake Allen and recent waiver claim Sam Montembeault will handle the goaltending duties for Montreal in the meantime.

Eichel Talks Pick Up: With both the Sabres and Jack Eichel’s camp firmly entrenched on their plans for what the preferred neck surgery is, things have largely been at a standstill lately.  However, there could finally be some progress on the trade front with talks picking up following Eichel’s medical information being shared and Buffalo being open to a conditional part of the return.  At the moment, Calgary and Anaheim are among the teams believed to still be in the mix for the 24-year-old who will miss a sizable chunk of this season when he eventually goes under the knife.

Big Money For Barkov: The Panthers didn’t want to let their franchise player get to the open market where he’d have been highly sought after next summer.  Mission accomplished as they agreed to an eight-year, $80MM extension with Aleksander Barkov.  The deal is heavily loaded in signing bonuses as the base salary for each year is only $1MM while the 26-year-old receives significant trade protection as well.  Barkov has been on one of the best bargain deals in the league over the past five seasons, emerging as one of the premier two-way centers in the league while basically being paid second-line money.  Florida will benefit from that bargain for one more year before this deal kicks in for the 2021-22 campaign.

White Out Long-Term: It was supposed to be a bounce-back campaign for Senators center Colin White.  After struggling at times to even get in the lineup last season, 2021-22 was going to be an opportunity for him to try to re-establish himself as part of Ottawa’s young core.  So much for that goal as the 24-year-old suffered a dislocated shoulder that requires surgery which will keep him out for four-to-six months.  While it’s possible that White is able to return late in the year, it will likely be in a limited role with how much time he will have missed.  The good news for him is that he still has three years left on his deal after this season so he’ll have another shot at reclaiming a full-time spot in the lineup in 2022-23.

Zibanejad’s Staying: Rangers center Mika Zibanejad had made it clear that he wanted to stay in New York and he got his wish as the two sides worked out an eight-year, $68MM extension that begins next season.  The 28-year-old has blossomed into a number one center since coming over from Ottawa in 2016 and has seen his production increase significantly over the past three seasons, averaging just over a point per game over that stretch.  The deal ensures that their top center will be sticking around and will likely take them out of any further discussions for Eichel as it’s unlikely they’ll be able to afford both of them on their books with so many youngsters in need of second contracts over the next two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Training camp is already well underway and we’re now less than two weeks from the start of the regular season. Things are heating up all around the league, plus a few key restricted free agents finally sign.

Back To Work: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety had to get back to work, suspending Ridly Greig of the Ottawa Senators and Dylan McIlrath of the Washington Capitals for preseason and regular season games. Notably, Greig was loaned to junior today, meaning whenever he’s ready to start his NHL career he’ll have to sit out a game.

More Investigations: When the NHL announced that Evander Kane had been cleared of any allegations related to gambling on his own games, they also indicated that he was involved in another investigation into “potential wrongdoing.” The league then changed that press release, including an explanation that Kane was actually involved in two different new investigations. One of those, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, had to do with a potential breach of COVID protocol. Kane remains away from Sharks camp for the time being.

Atlantic Extensions: An executive that has won a pair of Stanley Cup championships and a head coach that hasn’t won a playoff series each received an extension this week, as the Tampa Bay Lightning gave Julien BriseBois a multi-year deal and the Toronto Maple Leafs added two years onto Sheldon Keefe’s contract. BriseBois was a dream candidate for several other teams but will stay with the powerhouse he built in Tampa for the time being. Keefe meanwhile is heading into his first 82-game season with the Maple Leafs and has plenty of pressure to get the team deeper into the postseason.

Waiver Bait: Nearly 100 players have been put on waivers since they opened on Thursday, with a few claimed by new organizations. The Montreal Canadiens have added Sam Montembeault as an extra goaltender, while the New Jersey Devils added some size by grabbing Mason Geertsen. With the season approaching even more players will be exposed in the coming days and could get their chance with a new team.

Breathe, Vancouver: The Vancouver Canucks can get back to preparing for the regular season with their full complement of talent, after signing both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson to multi-year deals. Hughes landed a six-year, $47.1MM deal, while Pettersson is now on a three-year bridge worth $22.05MM. The team is tight to the salary cap now, but can easily get under the upper limit for the start of the season and now have everyone back together. Brady Tkachuk now sits as the only major restricted free agent without a contract.

The start of training camp often brings about a small flurry of transactions and this time was no exception as several notable moves highlight the top stories of the week.

Goalie Extensions: With Columbus set to have both Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo entering the final year of their contracts before being eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, it felt like only a matter of time before one of them was extended.  That’s what happened as Merzlikins inked a five-year, $27MM extension, his $5.4MM AAV representing a small raise on his current $4MM deal.  Merzlikins has played in just 61 career regular season games but he has played well for the Blue Jackets over his two NHL campaigns.  With his deal now done, Korpisalo is likely to be involved in plenty of trade speculation over the next few months unless he’s able to agree to a new deal of his own as well.

Meanwhile, the Kings also signed netminder Cal Petersen to a three-year, $15MM extension, ensuring he’ll be sticking around beyond the upcoming year.  The 26-year-old has just 54 career appearances in the NHL, the bulk of which came last season.  It’s a high price tag for someone that isn’t all that proven but with Jonathan Quick now 35 and not a true starter anymore, this move allows Los Angeles to keep their goalie tandem intact a little longer while being short enough to not cripple their cap situation if they have to go in a different direction later on.

Calling It A Career: Veteran center Travis Zajac has decided to retire but wanted to do so as a member of the Devils.  He did just that, signing a one-day contract before officially hanging up his skates.  Zajac played in over 1,000 games with New Jersey over his 15-year career with his only time away from them coming near the 2021 trade deadline when he was moved to the Islanders to help in their playoff run.  Overall, he sits third in Devils history in games played and points while making more than $60MM in career earnings.

Kaprizov Signs: It took a lot longer than the Wild had hoped for but they eventually were able to sign top winger Kirill Kaprizov to a five-year, $45MM contract.  It’s a significant sum for someone with just one NHL season under his belt – a pandemic-shortened one at that.  However, Minnesota is clearly banking on the hope that the 24-year-old, who led the team in scoring last season, still has some room to improve and that he’ll be the focal point of their attack for the next five seasons.  Kaprizov received a full no-move clause in the final two seasons of the deal; those were the only ones he was eligible to receive trade protection for as those were the UFA-eligible years.

Two Months For Malkin: When Penguins center Evgeni Malkin underwent knee surgery this summer, there was no firm timeline for his return, only an indication that an update would be coming at training camp.  That update has arrived and the news isn’t great for Pittsburgh as it was revealed that Malkin will miss the first two months of the season as he continues his recovery.  This comes on the heels of Sidney Crosby having wrist surgery that will see him missing some time to start the season as well.  The Penguins will turn to veteran Jeff Carter in the top center role for the time being.

Bridge For Dahlin: While the Sabres weren’t able to sign Rasmus Dahlin to a long-term contract, they did manage to get a bridge deal in place, signing the 2018 top pick to a three-year, $18MM pact.  Dahlin struggled considerably last season which certainly didn’t help his bargaining power in negotiations but over his first three NHL campaigns, he has shown flashes of a strong offensive game.  The term of the deal means that the 21-year-old will be a restricted free agent at its expiration, giving the two sides another shot at working out a long-term agreement.  His qualifying offer at that time will be $7.2MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

There weren’t anywhere near as many big stories as there were a week ago around the NHL but there were still some notable ones which are highlighted in our top stories of the week.

Dorion Extension: While Senators GM hasn’t been able to work out a new contract yet for top RFA winger Brady Tkachuk, he did get one contract done this past week – his own.  Set to enter the final year of his deal, Dorion and the Sens agreed on a three-year contract extension with a club option for 2025-26.  (Those options aren’t legal in player contracts but are still allowable for non-playing personnel.)  Dorion has been with Ottawa since 2007 when he joined them as their Director of Amateur Scouting, eventually moving up the ranks before becoming GM for the 2016-17 season.

Mikheyev Requests Trade: Maple Leafs winger Ilya Mikheyev reportedly requested a trade earlier this offseason although the team clearly hasn’t granted that request.  The 26-year-old has spent his two NHL seasons in Toronto but is coming off somewhat of a disappointing year that saw him post just seven goals and ten assists in 54 games.  Mikheyev is entering the final year of his contract and has a $1.645MM AAV.  Considering he’s likely to play either on their second or third line, the Maple Leafs would be hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement at that price tag which likely has played a role in them not moving him elsewhere yet.

Surgery For Crosby: The Penguins likely won’t have their captain available for the start of the regular season as Sidney Crosby underwent wrist surgery.  The expected recovery timeline is six weeks which would run through to the third week of October where Pittsburgh would have played a handful of games on their regular season schedule.  GM Ron Hextall indicated that Crosby has played through the injury for several seasons now and that after trying less invasive options, they opted to have the surgery done.  Crosby is entering his 17th NHL season and has averaged more than a point per game in every one of them, even with the recent wrist issues.

Calgary Adds Defensive Depth: There is typically one common element on teams coached by Darryl Sutter – grit.  The Flames have already added plenty of it this offseason and added even more with the signing of veteran Erik Gudbranson to a one-year, $1.95MM contract.  The 29-year-old split last season between the Senators and Predators, who added him at the trade deadline.  Gudbranson, whose AAV was cut by just over half of his previous deal, had four points in 41 games along with 64 blocks and 111 hits and should be on the third pairing in Calgary.  The Flames also brought back Michael Stone on a one-year, one-way contract for the league minimum.

Backes Signs And Retires: Veteran winger David Backes received one final contract as he inked a one-day deal with the Blues and immediately announced his retirement.  The 37-year-old played in 965 career NHL contests, 727 with St. Louis before stints in Boston and Anaheim.  In his prime, he was one of the more productive power forwards in the game, recording six seasons of more than 20 goals and 200 hits while finishing in the top five in Selke Trophy voting from 2011-12 through 2014-15.  Overall, his career comes to an end with 561 points along with over 2,600 hits and 1,148 penalty minutes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

As the calendar flipped to September, activity around the NHL started to pick up with several signings of note plus some big news on the international front which are included in the key stories of the week.

Making It Official: The Islanders took their time announcing some of their offseason signings and decided to do most of it in one press release.  They confirmed the re-signings of UFA winger Kyle Palmieri (four years, $20MM), UFA center Casey Cizikas (six years, $15MM), RFA winger Anthony Beauvillier (three years, $12.45MM), and RFA goaltender Ilya Sorokin (three years, $12MM).  Palmieri’s retention will help replace the lost production of Jordan Eberle who went to Seattle in expansion while Cizikas has been a very effective energy forward for several years now.  Beauvillier has been a consistent secondary scorer for the last four years and the 24-year-old got a term that walks him to unrestricted free agency while Sorokin will continue to partner with Semyon Varlamov between the pipes.  Though not announced yet, veteran winger Zach Parise also confirmed he has an agreement with the Isles.

Early Extensions: A pair of veteran defensemen opted to forego a shot at testing the open market next season to stay where they are.  First, the Blackhawks inked Connor Murphy to a four-year, $17.6MM contract.  The 28-year-old has been a reliable stay-at-home defender over his four seasons with Chicago which helped him earn a $550K raise on his current deal.  Then, the Blues locked up Colton Parayko on an eight-year, $52MM extension.  Parayko has been a key piece on the back end in St. Louis for the past five seasons but is coming off a quiet year where he battled recurring back issues.  Even so, he’s arguably their best defender when healthy and locking up a top pairing player for that price tag has the potential to be a bargain down the road.

Offer Sheet Success: Offer sheets are infrequently used and even more infrequently do they actually result in the player actually changing teams.  That wasn’t the case this time as the Canadiens declined to match Carolina’s one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, receiving 2022 first and third-round picks in return.  Montreal wasted little time finding his replacement, acquiring center Christian Dvorak from Arizona for a 2022 first-rounder plus a 2024 second-round selection.  Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick in 2018, is expected to play on the wing in Carolina for now with the hope that the change of scenery will help him to reach his offensive potential.  Meanwhile, Dvorak represents a capable replacement for Kotkaniemi and he will likely step onto Montreal’s second line behind Nick Suzuki while giving them some cap certainty with four years remaining on his deal at $4.45MM.  As for the Coyotes, they’re up to eight picks in the first two rounds in next year’s draft as their rebuild continues.

Olympic Confirmation: It had been expected for a while now but the NHL and NHLPA made it official with the announcement that NHL players will be permitted to play in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing next year.  As they skipped the 2018 Games, it will be the first time since 2014 that NHL players participate in the event.  There is a clause in the agreement that could stop them from participating if the NHL is forced to postpone several games due to COVID outbreaks which would require them to reschedule them during that time period.

Winger Deals: A pair of young wingers bypassed their bridge contracts and instead worked out long-term agreements with their teams.  First, the Flyers signed winger Joel Farabee to a six-year, $30MM extension that will begin in 2022-23.  Farabee’s sophomore season was a good one with 20 goals and 18 assists in 55 games and if he can carry that type of production over a full 82-game campaign, the deal has the potential to be a very good one for Philadelphia.  The next day, the Senators re-signed winger Drake Batherson to a very similar contract, six years at a total of $29.85MM.  The 23-year-old played his first full NHL season in 2020-21, collecting 17 goals and 17 assists in 56 games.  Similar to the Farabee deal, if Batherson can take another step forward and establish himself as a consistent scorer, this has a chance to be a bargain down the road for Ottawa.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Even though arbitration-bound cases have all been settled, there were still some signings of note around the NHL over the past seven days which are highlighted in the key stories of the week.

Hayes Passes Away: Unfortunately, the week got off to a tragic start with former NHL winger Jimmy Hayes passing away at the age of 31.  The cause of death is still unknown after an autopsy was performed later in the week.  Hayes spent parts of seven years in the NHL, suiting up in 334 games between Chicago, Florida, Boston, and New Jersey; he last suited up in the NHL during the 2017-18 season.  PHR extends its condolences to Hayes’ family.

Eichel Changes Agents: It hasn’t been a fun summer for Jack Eichel.  It’s more than clear at this point that he wants out of Buffalo and the ability to have the procedure that he wants done to repair his neck injury than the one the team wants.  Public pressure from his agents last month didn’t help facilitate a trade so Eichel is trying a new tactic as he has switched agents.  Pat Brisson of CAA Sports will now take over from Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli of Global Hockey Consultants.  Brisson has the richest portfolio of existing player contracts at over $1 billion, per PuckPedia, and will now be tasked with helping to find a way for Eichel to be moved and get the surgery he’s looking for.

Svechnikov Signs: One of the more prominent restricted free agents is now under contract as the Hurricanes and winger Andrei Svechnikov agreed on an eight-year, $62MM contract.  The deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause in the final four years of the deal, the only ones that are allowed to have any form of trade protection.  Svechnikov, the second-overall pick in 2018, has quickly become a capable top winger for Carolina and this type of commitment from the team – it’s the largest contract in terms of total money spent in franchise history – certainly demonstrates that they envision him being a long-term cornerstone and that they think he has another level he can still reach.

Offer Sheet For Kotkaniemi: With Svechnikov signed, Carolina had a more concrete idea of how much they had left to spend.  They decided to try to either add some extra depth down the middle or to exact some revenge on Montreal for their offer sheet of Sebastian Aho two years ago as they tendered RFA center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year offer sheet worth just over $6.1MM.  The 21-year-old was the third-overall pick in 2018 but hasn’t made as quick of an impact as some others from his draft class have and is coming off a season that saw him notch just 20 points in 56 games.  He’s clearly not yet worth that high of a price tag so the Canadiens now need to decide to pay the above-market contract or accept first and third-round picks in 2022 as compensation.

Signing Centers: The Flyers were busy in terms of some activity down the middle.  First, they inked veteran Derick Brassard to a one-year, $825K deal, giving them a veteran center on a low-cost deal.  The bigger news came just hours after Svechnikov signed his deal as Philadelphia revealed that center Sean Couturier signed for the same money the Carolina winger did, inking an eight-year, $62MM extension that keeps him under contract through 2029-30.  The deal also contains a full no-move clause in the first seven seasons.  It took a few years for Couturier to find his offensive footing but in recent years, he has been a strong offensive producer while continuing to be one of the stronger defensive pivots in the league.  With the deal, the Flyers now have a franchise cornerstone locked up long term.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the UFA market slowing down, the majority of the top news of the week came from the RFA side as players managed to avoid getting to an arbitration hearing.

Big Money For Goalies: Monday was a good day for goaltenders.  First, Flyers netminder Carter Hart signed a three-year, $11.937MM contract, a payday that certainly reflected his performance over his first two years in the NHL over his struggles in 2020-21 that saw him post a 3.67 GAA with a .877 SV% in 27 games.  Later that day, Rangers starter Igor Shesterkin landed a bigger deal, a record-breaking one even as his four-year, $22.6MM contract is the richest payday for a goalie coming off his first contract.  Shesterkin has just 47 career NHL contests under his belt but has long been viewed as New York’s goalie of the future.  With this deal, he’s certainly the goalie of the present as well.  Shesterkin’s contract bought out two years of UFA eligibility while Hart will be RFA-eligible one final time in 2024.

Vrana Avoids Arbitration: Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana was the first to get to the point of actually having to make an arbitration submission but it never got to that point as he and the Red Wings were able to agree on a three-year, $15.75MM contract the day before the hearing was scheduled to occur.  The 25-year-old was acquired from Washington at the trade deadline and had a strong finish to his year, picking up eight goals and three assists in 11 games which certainly didn’t hurt his negotiating position for this deal.  The contract takes care of his two remaining RFA years plus one season of UFA eligibility.

Jets Re-Sign Two: There were questions about whether or not Winnipeg would be able to afford to re-sign both of their prominent restricted free agents and stay cap-compliant.  They were able to accomplish that in the end, albeit barely.  First, defenseman Neal Pionk inked a four-year, $23.5MM contract, buying out his final two RFA years plus two seasons of UFA eligibility.  He nearly doubled his previous AAV in the process but deservedly so as he has put up 77 points in 125 games since joining the Jets two years ago.  That meant that Andrew Copp had to settle for a one-year deal to keep his price tag as low as possible and he was able to do so at $3.64MM.  If Winnipeg carries a 22-player roster instead of the maximum of 23, they should be able to stay under the cap.

Surgery For Matthews: Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews played through most of last season with a wrist injury, still managing to lead the league in goals with 41 in 52 games in spite of that.  However, the rest and rehab approach wasn’t fixing the problem and after reporting some discomfort as he increased his off-ice training, it was decided that surgery was the best approach.  Matthews has gone under the knife and will be out for at least the next six weeks.  It’s still early enough in the summer that Matthews shouldn’t miss any regular season action (barring any setbacks) but it’s likely he will be very limited in training camp and the preseason.

Panthers Sign A Pair: The Panthers inked a pair of forwards, one in the prime of his career and the other not so much.  First, they avoided arbitration with Sam Reinhart, inking their key summer acquisition to a three-year, $19.5MM contract, buying out two UFA-eligible years in the process.  The 25-year-old has put up at least 40 points in each of his six full NHL seasons and has tallied between 22 and 25 goals in the last four campaigns.  They then added some veteran depth with the signing of Joe Thornton to a one-year, $750K contract.  The 42-year-old has seen his production dip sharply in recent years but he still managed 20 points in 44 games with Toronto last season though the bulk of that came early in the year.  He’ll serve as a veteran mentor while giving them some extra depth in the bottom six.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

To call this past week a busy one would be a significant understatement.  On top of a frantic first day of free agency (the full recap of which is here while some moves will also be covered below), there were plenty of significant signings and trades.  The biggest ones are recapped here in the key stories of the week.

Avoiding The Market: While it may have taken a little longer than anyone really expected, two captains managed to avoid making it to free agency.  First, Alex Ovechkin re-signed with Washington, inking a five-year, $47.5MM contract, ensuring he remains with the team that he has spent the past 16 years with.  He’ll now take aim at Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record as he sits 165 away from setting the new standard.  Meanwhile, Gabriel Landeskog had to wait until mere minutes before the deadline for eight-year deals but in the end, he was able to secure a max-term eight-year, $56MM deal to stick around in Colorado.  He has been with the Avs for the past 10 years and while he won’t be able to set the franchise record for games played (Joe Sakic holds that title), Landeskog should have second place comfortably locked down by the time this deal ends.

Fleury To Chicago: The Marc-Andre Fleury era in Vegas came to a rather abrupt end as he was traded to Chicago in a cap dumping move with only minor leaguer Mikael Hakkarainen coming back in return.  Fleury was the first face of the franchise for the Golden Knights and he saved his best performance for last, posting a 1.98 GAA with a .928 SV% on his way to winning the Vezina Trophy for Goalie of the Year.  However, his $7MM cap hit was deemed too expensive for them to carry.  Fleury took some time to ponder his future but ultimately will report while Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon didn’t waste much time spending the freed-up cap space.  First, he added winger Evgenii Dadonov from Ottawa for defenseman Nick Holden and a third-round pick to try to bolster their attack and then brought in goaltender Laurent Brossoit on a two-year, $4.65MM deal to serve as Robin Lehner’s new backup.

Hamilton Gets Paid: When Carolina gave Dougie Hamilton permission to speak with other teams and basically test the market early, they were hoping that Hamilton wouldn’t be able to command the money he was hoping to get which could have paved the way towards him re-signing.  That didn’t happen.  Instead, the top player to hit the open market was able to land a bigger contract than some expected, inking a seven-year, $63MM contract with New Jersey.  The 28-year-old is now tied with Cale Makar and teammate P.K. Subban for the fourth-highest cap hit among all NHL defensemen and gives the Devils the top-pairing defender they’ve been trying to acquire for several years.  New Jersey has had cap room to spend in the past but hadn’t been able to land a big fish on the open market.  They have now.

Seattle Splashes: Considering that the Kraken spent closer to the minimum amount than the cap ceiling in expansion, they had plenty of money at their disposal heading into free agency and opted to use a big chunk of it on a trio of players.  They added the top goalie on the market in Philipp Grubauer on a six-year, $35.4MM contract (that was originally rejected) plus one of the top wingers in Jaden Schwartz on a five-year, $27.5MM pact.  They also brought in center Alexander Wennberg on a three-year, $13.5MM contract, a nice reward for a strong season in Florida after being bought out by Columbus last fall.  Going back to Grubauer, his surprise signing sparked a pair of goalie trades.  Seattle flipped Vitek Vanecek back to Washington for a 2023 second-round pick while Colorado paid a steep price to acquire Darcy Kuemper (with $1MM of his $4.5MM price tag retained), sending defenseman Conor Timmins, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2024 conditional third-rounder to the Coyotes to bring in the 31-year-old who is in the final year of his contract.

Jets Add Defensemen: The back end was a big issue for Winnipeg over the past two seasons and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff knew that needed to be addressed.  He didn’t wait for what wound up being a fairly light free agent market in terms of impact blueliners so he turned to the trade market instead.  First, he sent second-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to Washington for defenseman Brenden Dillon, then added Nate Schmidt from Vancouver for a third-round selection after Schmidt eventually agreed to waive his trade protection to facilitate the move.  With the moves, Winnipeg has added nearly $10MM to the cost of their back end but the two veterans are significant additions to a blueline core that also consists of Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk.

Big Extension For Point: With too many things to cover in just five stories, we’ll add an extra one.  Tampa Bay was relatively quiet in terms of impact free agent signings due to salary cap reasons but they still had the biggest contract on the first day of free agency.  That went to Brayden Point who was eligible to sign as soon as the calendar flipped to the new league year and he did just that, inking an eight-year, $76MM extension that matches the recent ones handed out to Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy when they were eligible to sign them.  More cap challenges lie ahead for Tampa Bay following this deal – they have over $80MM in commitments for 2022-23 already per CapFriendly – but their star center will now be in the fold for the long haul.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Usually, by this point in July, activity around the NHL has cooled off considerably.  But this isn’t a normal offseason and the festivities kicked off over the past seven days including a pair of drafts.  Those are among the items covered in the key stories of the week.

Drafts: There were plenty of notable names available for Seattle in expansion.  Some were expected, others not so much.  However, GM Ron Francis avoided any possible temptation for taking on pricey deals, instead prioritizing salary cap flexibility.  They signed a trio of unrestricted free agents in goaltender Chris Driedger plus defensemen Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larsson.  Up front, Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde were their richest acquisitions while blueliner Mark Giordano was their most expensive player taken; the full results can be found here.  Only one player selected was flipped in Tyler Pitlick.  Seattle will now enter free agency with enough room to make a splash or two if they so desire.

Meanwhile, the Entry Draft was also held on Friday and Saturday.  As expected, Owen Power went first overall to Buffalo while Matthew Beniers went second to Seattle.  In fact, four of the top five selections either played at Michigan or have a college commitment there for next season.  A total of 223 players were selected with Carolina making the most picks with 13.  The full draft results are here.

Vancouver Makes A Splash: The Canucks finished last in the North Division in 2020-21 but they believe they can win with that core and doubled down on that belief with the acquisition of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and winger Conor Garland from Arizona.  Heading the other way were forwards Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, and Antoine Roussel as cap-clearing pieces plus a trio of draft picks including the ninth-overall pick (Dylan Guenther).  Ekman-Larsson has six years remaining on his contract and even with the Coyotes paying down $990K per year, he’ll still be on their books for $7.26MM while Garland, who should help their top six, is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.  It’s a big win-now move for a team that struggled this past season but there’s enough talent on Vancouver to turn things around quickly.

Jones To Chicago: When Seth Jones informed the Blue Jackets that he wasn’t interested in signing a contract extension with them, it forced their hand into trying to find a suitable trade fairly quickly.  Columbus was able to do that, moving Jones along with the 32nd pick (Nolan Allan) and a 2022 sixth-rounder to Chicago for defenseman Adam Boqvist, the 12th pick (Cole Sillinger), the 44th pick (Aleksi Heimosalmi), and a 2022 first-round pick (top-two protected).  As part of the move, the Blackhawks have agreed to an eight-year, $76MM contract extension although that can’t be officially announced until Wednesday when the calendar flips to the 2021-22 season.  Jones gives Chicago a prominent blueliner to build around while with these young pieces going the other way, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has added to the foundation of their ongoing rebuild.

Flyers Dealings: The Flyers were busy on the defensive front.  In a cap-clearing move, they sent Shayne Gostisbehere along with second and seventh-round picks in 2022 to Arizona for no return.  Those savings were then applied to Rasmus Ristolainen who was acquired from Buffalo before the draft in exchange for the 14th pick in the draft (Isac Rosen), a 2023 second-rounder, and blueliner Robert Hagg.  Factoring in their big splash a week ago with the acquisition of Ryan Ellis, their back end will look a lot different next season.  GM Chuck Fletcher wasn’t done there, however, as he flipped Jakub Voracek to the Blue Jackets on the second day of the draft in exchange for Cam Atkinson in a swap that freed up nearly $2.4MM in cap room.

Re-Signings: On top of the big trades, there were also some notable re-signings.  Taylor Hall didn’t hide his desire to make his stay in Boston a longer one and that wish came to fruition as he agreed to a four-year, $24MM contract.  After scoring just twice with Buffalo, he scored eight times for the Bruins who brought him in at the trade deadline and he should help bolster their scoring beyond the top line.  Meanwhile, Miro Heiskanen’s record of having the highest AAV for a defenseman coming off his entry-level contract lasted all of a week.  The new mark has been set by Cale Makar of the Avalanche as the rearguard inked a six-year, $54MM contract.  The 22-year-old has 94 points in 101 career games and was the runner-up for the Norris Trophy this past season.  Even at that $9MM price tag, if his production continues to improve, this could wind up being a team-friendly deal by its conclusion.

Reinhart To Florida: A week like this deserves an extra move to recap as the Panthers made a big move of their own, acquiring Sam Reinhart from Buffalo in exchange for their 2022 first-round pick plus goaltending prospect Devon Levi.  Reinhart had expressed a hesitance in committing to Buffalo long term so they secure an extra first-rounder already plus an intriguing young netminder in Levi.  Meanwhile, Florida adds an impact forward as they look to take another step forward after an impressive 2020-21 campaign.  Worth noting, captain Aleksander Barkov is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer so assuming they can get a long-term deal done with Reinhart (a pending RFA), he’ll represent some insurance if they can’t get Barkov extended.  In the meantime, a long playoff run should help their chances of extending Barkov and the addition of Reinhart will certainly give them a better chance to get beyond the first round.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.