Week In Review

With pretty much every team now past the first quarter of their season, activity should start to pick up around the league.  There were a few headlines off the ice over the past seven days which are highlighted in our top stories of the week.

Schneider Clears Waivers: Last year was a tough one for Devils goalie Cory Schneider although he picked up his play down the stretch and had a good showing at the World Championships which led to some renewed optimism heading into this season.  However, things have not gone well as anyone would have hoped as he posted a 4.59 GAA and a .852 SV% in six games this season.  New Jersey (or any team) isn’t going to win games with that type of performance so he was placed on waivers and cleared.  The majority of his $6MM cap hit will remain on their books for this season and if he doesn’t show considerable signs of improvement in the minors, Schneider will be a likely buyout candidate this summer.

Three For Hathaway: Capitals winger Garnet Hathaway received a three-game suspension for a spitting incident against Anaheim defenseman Erik Gudbranson.  The ruling was handed down by the Commissioner instead of the Department of Player Safety and Hathaway opted not to appeal.  The suspension created quite a challenge for Washington when it came to roster construction with injuries to forwards Carl Hagelin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Nic Dowd.  Hagelin, who was originally classified as day-to-day, wound up being transferred to LTIR in order for them to call up enough players to ice a full roster.

Babcock Fired: The start of the season has not gone well for Toronto.  They were believed to be a contender but found themselves on the outside looking in at the postseason at the one-quarter mark of the season.  With their cap situation making it difficult for any trade of note to be made, the team opted to make a change behind the bench as they fired Mike Babcock, replacing him with Sheldon Keefe, the head coach of the AHL Marlies.  Babcock was in his fifth season with the team after setting a new benchmark for coaching contracts when he signed an eight-year, $50MM deal.  He’s set to make $5.875MM each season as part of the contract (it wasn’t as frontloaded as originally believed) so if another team looks to hire him, it’s certainly possible that Toronto will still be on the hook for part of his salary even if he coaches elsewhere.

Brouwer To St. Louis: The Blues have been hit hard by the injury bug up front with three regulars out long-term.  With cap space at a premium, St. Louis turned to the free agent market to try to find some help.  They brought in veteran wingers Troy Brouwer and Jamie McGinn on tryout deals and Brouwer did enough to earn a job as he signed a one-year, $750K (pro-rated) contract while McGinn was released to pursue other opportunities.  This is his second stint with the Blues as he spent the 2015-16 season with them before signing with Calgary in free agency on a contract that was bought out.  He has not yet been able to suit up for the team, however, as he still is in the process of securing a work visa.

Grievance For Byfuglien: The strange Dustin Byfuglien saga took another turn as the NHLPA filed a formal grievance on his suspension from the Jets.  The veteran blueliner didn’t report to training camp and was suspended without pay.  At one point, it was believed that he was considering retirement but as it turns out, he was dealing with an ankle injury, one that he ultimately had surgery on but did not consult with team doctors before undergoing the procedure.  There’s no timetable yet in place for when this will be heard by an independent arbitrator.

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The past seven days featured quite a few newsworthy headlines around the league which are highlighted in the top stories of the week.

Extension For Chayka: Coyotes GM John Chayka has made several big moves since taking over as the youngest GM in NHL history back in 2016 and while some haven’t quite worked out, enough have to the point where there is optimism about the present and future in Arizona.  Team owner Alex Meruelo clearly is pleased with the direction of the franchise as the team signed Chayka to a long-term extension (the term of the deal was not disclosed).  He still had a year and a half left on his original contract.  The Coyotes haven’t made the postseason since the 2011-12 campaign but are in good shape as we approach the quarter-point of the season as they sit second in the Pacific Division.

Crosby Out For A While: The Penguins have been hit hard by injuries in the early going this season and just as they were starting to return to full health, the injury bug struck again.  This time, they’ll be without center Sidney Crosby for a while after he underwent core muscle surgery to help deal with a sports hernia that he was dealing with since training camp.  He will miss a minimum of six weeks.  His absence is a major blow to their attack as one of the top players in the league while logging over 20 minutes a night.  Evgeni Malkin will be counted on to help try to pick up the slack in Crosby’s absence.

Puljujarvi Staying Overseas: The short-term future of Oilers RFA winger Jesse Puljujarvi has been in question for a while now and with the December 1st signing deadline approaching, his name could pop up in more trade speculation before too long.  However, Puljujarvi has indicated that his intent is to stay with Karpat of the SM-liiga for the remainder of the season.  He has fared quite well offensively with them so far, posting 11 goals and 12 assists in 20 games and staying there may be the best option for his long-term development.  However, if he isn’t coming back to the NHL in 2019-20, it’s also difficult to envision a team paying full value for his services.  Unless he has a change of heart, this could drag out into next offseason.

Kovalchuk Benched Indefinitely: Year one of Ilya Kovalchuk’s NHL return didn’t go too well.   Year two isn’t going any better as the Kings have informed the veteran winger that he will be made a healthy scratch for the foreseeable future.  He will be permitted to practice with the team though.  Kovalchuk has nine points in 17 games so far this season but has struggled to keep up with the quicker pace of the NHL.  He’s owed the second half of his 2019-20 signing bonus (a $2.65MM payment) on December 15th which means all he’ll be owed after that is a pro-rated league minimum salary.  But with a $6.25MM cap hit on the books for next season as well, his trade value will be quite limited at best.

Luongo Back To Florida: Roberto Luongo’s time away from the Panthers wasn’t very long.  He has rejoined the franchise but not as a player.  Instead, he has been named as a special advisor to GM Dale Tallon.  While Florida (and Vancouver) are being charged with salary cap recapture penalties that came about when he retired with three seasons left on his front-loaded contract, they will not receive any relief even though he’s being paid by the organization that he retired from.

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The first full week of November was a relatively quiet one around the league but there were still a few stories of notes from the past seven days.

Little Back On IR: It has been a tough year for Jets center Bryan Little.  He had a concussion to start the season which cost him the first nine games.  After returning, he made an immediate impact with five points in seven games.  However, he is back on injured reserve after taking a shot to the side of the head that required a trip to the hospital and 25-30 stitches to close up.  Little is dealing with vertigo as a result as well as a perforated ear drum.  There is no timetable for his return to the lineup.

Global Series Continues: While the NHL continues to be hesitant on shutting their full season down to participate in the Olympics, they aren’t giving up on the Global Series.  In advance of puck drop in this year’s event between Buffalo and Tampa Bay in Sweden, the league announced next year’s slate of games.  The Bruins and Predators will head overseas for the preseason to Germany and Switzerland, respectively, before playing the season-opener in the Czech Republic.  Meanwhile, the Avalanche and Blue Jackets will be playing in Finland with the dates for those games yet to be determined.

Sabres, Hurricanes Shopping Defensemen: There are several teams that will be looking to bolster their back end and it appears as if Buffalo and Carolina are willing to move one.   For the Sabres, Marco Scandella and Zach Bogosian are getting closer to returning from their injuries which will create a logjam so someone will likely need to be moved unless more injuries strike between now and then.  As for Carolina, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Haydn Fleury are on the block with the Hurricanes hoping to land some scoring help in return.  While neither are top-four options, they’d bolster the third pairing of quite a few teams around the league which should help attract some interest.

Red Wings/Blues Trade: Robby Fabbri has had a limited role with St. Louis over the last couple of years due to injuries and a general lack of playing time when he was in the lineup.  They decided to give the winger a change of scenery, sending him to Detroit in exchange for center Jacob de la Rose.  Fabbri made quite the impression with his new team as well as he scored twice in his first game.  As for de la Rose, he’ll be counted on to play a checking role with St. Louis and will play an important role right away with Alex Steen out for at least a month.

Stopped Before Ten: The ten-game mark for junior-aged players is an important one as it determines if the player burns the first year of his entry-level deal.  While some teams have shown no issue with their players passing it, others remain hesitant.  We saw that with a pair of players this past week.  Jets defenseman Ville Heinola was sent back to Finland and while he’s eligible to be recalled, it’s highly unlikely he will be so he’ll come up two games short of starting his deal.  Meanwhile, the Islanders returned Oliver Wahlstrom to the minors after his ninth game.  Unless he lights it up in Bridgeport, it’s likely that he has played his final NHL game of the season and will still have three years left on his deal for next season.

There are some weeks that are relatively quiet on the injury front.  This last one wasn’t one of them as several key players are dealing with long-term injuries and highlight the top stories of the week.

Shoulder Surgery For Tarasenko: Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko has had shoulder troubles in the past and those have crept up again.  The team announced that that he has undergone successful shoulder surgery but it’s one that will keep him out long-term as he’ll be re-evaluated in five months.  That puts his availability for the remainder of the season in question.  Losing Tarasenko, their top scoring threat, is a huge blow for the defending champions.  They will have the ability to go into LTIR to replace him but if they believe that he’ll return this season, that replacement will likely just be limited to recalled players over a pricier trade acquisition.

Perlini To Detroit: After sitting in all but one game, winger Brendan Perlini had made it known that he had asked for a trade.  The Blackhawks obliged, sending him to the Red Wings in exchange for blueline prospect Alec Regula.  Perlini has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons but consistency had been an issue for him with both Arizona and Chicago.  He’ll look to get back on track with Detroit where he has already played twice.  Meanwhile, Regula is playing with London of the OHL and will need to be signed by June 1st or the Blackhawks will lose his rights.  He’s averaging over a point-per-game through 11 contests with the Knights so far this season.

Nashville Extensions: There was some surprise when a long-term extension for Predators captain Roman Josi wasn’t in place shortly after the beginning of free agency in July when his window for a new deal opened.  However, while it took longer than anticipated, the two sides agreed to an eight-year extension that carries a $9.059MM AAV.  The deal is front-loaded with signing bonuses and also contains a full no-move clause, something that Nashville rarely gives out.  Josi has been one of the biggest bargains in the league on his current seven-year, $28MM pact as he established himself as a legitimate number one defenseman in the league.  He’ll now have the third-highest AAV among all rearguards starting next season.  Meanwhile, the Predators also signed winger Austin Watson to a three-year extension that will carry a $1.5MM cap hit.  The deal represents a small raise on his current $1.1MM price tag and certainly appears to be good value for someone that can hold down a regular spot on the third line.

Byfuglien Surgery: The Dustin Byfuglien saga in Winnipeg has taken another strange turn.  Without consulting the team, the blueliner has undergone ankle surgery and is expected to miss multiple months.  He’s currently under suspension without pay for leaving the team early in training camp but if it’s determined that this was a hockey-related injury sustained while playing last season for them, the Jets may have to add Byfuglien back onto their books (where he’d be transferred to LTIR).  This is something that’s likely heading for an arbitration hearing to determine whether or not he’s entitled to his $8MM salary and further calls into question whether or not he’ll eventually return to Winnipeg when he’s fully healed.

Landeskog Out Indefinitely: Colorado is already without winger Mikko Rantanen and now they are without another member of their top line as well as captain Gabriel Landeskog is out with a lower-body injury.  While the timeframe for his return hasn’t been specified, head coach Jared Bednar indicated that the issue will keep him out “longer than week-to-week”.  Colorado is off to a strong start to their season as they sit in second place in the Central Division but the pressure on Nathan MacKinnon is going to be much higher for the foreseeable future as the last one standing from that trio.

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The final full week of October was a relatively quiet one around the league but there were still a few newsworthy notes that are covered in our top stories of the week.

Perlini Wants Out: It has been a rough start to the season for Blackhawks winger Brendan Perlini as he has played in just a single game so far.  Accordingly, he has asked for a trade and Chicago is working to find a new home for him and are believed to be seeking a draft pick in return.  While his performance has been hot and cold throughout his career, he has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three seasons.  Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are also looking to move center Zack Smith.  The veteran was acquired over the summer in a move that primarily amounted to freeing up some cap room with Artem Anisimov going the other way.  If they could move him without taking a forward back, that could open a spot for more playing time for Perlini if they need to showcase him to any potential suitors.

Wild Open To Dealing: Minnesota is off to a slow start this season and GM Bill Guerin is believed to be open to many different options to change up his roster.  To potentially get the ball rolling on that, it appears that they have made wingers Ryan Donato and Kevin Fiala plus center Joel Eriksson Ek available in trades.  Considering all three are 23 or younger and the Wild, in general, are an older team, it’s unlikely that they’d be looking for picks and prospects for these players but rather more established pieces or other young NHL forwards that are a better fit for their roster.  It’s still early in the season so it may be a little while yet before we start to see any trade activity of note but this may be a team to watch for on that front.

Gudbranson To Anaheim: The Penguins had a logjam on the back end and with their roster getting healthier, a need to clear out some salary with their players on LTIR getting closer to returning.  They took care of both of those issues with the trade of defenseman Erik Gudbranson to Anaheim in exchange for winger Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 seventh-round pick.  The return is certainly light but it clears $4MM off of Pittsburgh’s books for this season and next which gives them some much-needed flexibility.  Meanwhile, the Ducks add someone that can step into their lineup and play a decent-sized role right away without parting with anyone off of their NHL roster or picks and prospects of impact.

Kravtsov Heading Home: After playing a very limited role with AHL Hartford in the early going this season, Rangers prospect Vitali Kravtsov will trigger the European Assignment Clause in his contract to return to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL.  The move will allow him to return home to a team where he improved considerably in his post-draft season and presumably play a larger role than he did with the Wolf Pack.  This won’t affect his contract in any way and New York has the ability to recall him at any time though presumably, they’d wait until after the KHL season and playoffs end to do so.

Heading Overseas: A pair of NHL veterans have decided to give up their quest to land an NHL deal this season and have headed overseas.  Defenseman Andrew MacDonald was in training camp with Calgary but couldn’t secure a deal so he has signed a one-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA.  Presumably, he’ll try to take another run at an NHL spot next season.   Meanwhile, while winger Magnus Paajarvi posted a career-high 11 goals last season, he didn’t attract any NHL interest and has opted to go to the KHL, inking a two-year pact with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.  He’ll need to show more offensive skill if he wants to get another shot in the NHL when the deal is up.

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It was a largely quiet week around the NHL as teams are settling into the season and taking a look at what they have before pondering any significant moves.  Despite that, there were a few stories of note from the past seven days.

Defensive Depth For Detroit: Marred by several injuries early on, the Red Wings swung a deal with Vancouver to acquire some defensive depth as they picked up Alex Biega from the Canucks in exchange for prospect winger David Pope.  Biega cleared waivers at the end of training camp but with 172 NHL games played over the last four seasons, he’ll give them some much-needed insurance.  Meanwhile, Pope is in the second and final year of his entry-level deal but he hasn’t had much success in the pros yet, recording just two goals in 28 AHL games last season.

Pittsburgh Injuries: Another team that has been hit hard by the injury bug is Pittsburgh.  They now find themselves down a pair of centers for at least a month as Nick Bjugstad and Evgeni Malkin were injured in the same game with lower-body injuries.  There doesn’t appear to be a set timeline for Malkin’s return either.  Offseason acquisition Alex Galchenyuk has some experience playing down the middle but he’s not a candidate to step in for those two as he too has a lower-body issue and has been moved to injured reserve.  The three veterans join Bryan Rust as a very expensive group of injured forwards; the four carry a combined cap hit of $22MM.  Rust and Malkin have been transferred to LTIR to give them some cap flexibility in the short-term.

Marleau To San Jose: When Patrick Marleau turned down an opportunity to play for Carolina when they acquired him at the draft and accepted a buyout instead, he made it clear that he wanted to play for the Sharks.  However, the interest wasn’t mutual and instead, he remained unsigned heading into the season.  San Jose struggled out of the gate and with some injuries, they decided the time was right to bring the veteran back as they signed Marleau to a one-year deal worth the pro-rated league minimum salary of $700K (and no performance bonuses or trade protection).  Marleau spent the first 19 years of his career in San Jose and made quite the impression in his return with a pair of goals.  As he was unsigned to start the season, his league-leading ironman streak remains intact.

Senators Acquire Namestnikov: With the Rangers adding several forwards over the offseason, Vladislav Namestnikov’s spot in their lineup was tenuous at best.  The team tried to move him over the summer and found a taker for him early in the week as the Senators acquired the winger in exchange for minor league defenseman Nick Ebert and a 2021 fourth-round pick.  The Rangers also retained $750K of his $4MM cap hit on a deal that expires at the end of the season.  For New York, they free up some much-needed cap flexibility while Ottawa gets to take a look at a player that put up 22 goals and 48 points back in 2017-18.  Namestnikov is off to a strong start with his new team with two goals and two assists through his first two games.

Honka Signs In Finland: Stars defenseman Julius Honka has made it clear that he’d like to be traded but thus far, Dallas has yet to find a trade to his liking.  As a result, the blueliner has signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyvaskyla of the Finnish SM-liiga.  Notably, the deal does contain an NHL out clause if the Stars find a new home for him by the RFA signing deadline of December 1st so this could merely wind up being an opportunity for him to get some game action to showcase himself for possible suitors.  Honka won’t need to clear waivers to return to the NHL unless he signs an offer sheet.

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The 2019-20 season is now underway but several notable contract extensions helped steal the show in terms of headlines.  Here are the biggest stories from the past seven days.

Kane Suspended: An early headline came from the preseason as Sharks winger Evander Kane was suspended three games for abuse of an official in their final exhibition contest after he slashed a linesman.  While he was eligible to appeal, he’d have still had to sit out the games (unlike in other sports) so all that he would have been able to accomplish was getting back some of his forfeited salary.  San Jose had three games this past week so he’ll be eligible to suit up for their next game on Tuesday against Nashville.

Kuemper Extension: Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper had a strong showing in 2018-19 after being thrust into the number one role following the continued injury troubles for Antti Raanta.  He was rewarded for those efforts in the form of a two-year, $9MM extension; the $4.5MM AAV is quite the improvement on his current $1.85MM cap hit.  He’s off to a strong start this season (once again subbing for an injured Raanta) with a .945 SV% through his first two starts.

Eight For Schenn: Brayden Schenn saw his output dip considerably last season after a 70-point 2017-18 campaign but he was still an important part of the Blues’ Stanley Cup run.  While he would have been one of the more sought after centers on the open market next July, he has instead decided to stick around for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $52MM contract that also carries no-trade protection.  The deal represents a nice raise on his current $5.25MM cap hit and unlike some of the other big contracts signed over the past year or so, there is no signing bonus money in the deal.  St. Louis will now turn their focus towards trying to get defenseman Alex Pietrangelo signed to a long-term contract extension though with over $75MM already committed for 2020-21, they will be hard-pressed to keep him in the fold without clearing out a notable contract before next season.

Ho-Sang Requests Trade: Things have not gone smoothly for Josh Ho-Sang with the Islanders.  He has yet to make much of an impact at the NHL level and after clearing waivers earlier in the week, he has asked for an opportunity to play elsewhere.  The 23-year-old has not reported to AHL Bridgeport while waiting for a trade although he has indicated that he’s open to starting there after a move is made.  He’s coming off a 43-point season with the Sound Tigers although the 2014 first-round pick has only scored eight goals in the minors in each of the last two seasons.

Bridge For DeBrincat: Several key young forwards have inked back-loaded short-term contracts in recent weeks to avoid a holdout lasting into the season.  While Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat still has one year remaining on his entry-level contract, he’s decided to follow suit, signing a three-year, $19.2MM contract, one that will carry a $9MM qualifying offer at its expiration where he will be one year away from UFA eligibility with arbitration rights.  DeBrincat reached the 40-goal mark last season and is one of the better young scorers in the league already.  The deal gives the Blackhawks some cost certainty moving forward while setting the 21-year-old up for a really nice payday down the road.

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As is often the case, the final week leading up to the start of the regular season was a busy one in the NHL.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Bridge Deals: Short-term contracts, commonly referred to as bridge deals, have been largely avoided for top players in recent years.  This was not one of those times as a trio of players inked them to get signed for the beginning of the season.  Tampa Bay center Brayden Point signed a three-year, $20.25MM deal, one that allows the Lightning to start the season without having to make any more cost-cutting moves.  He’s owed a $9MM qualifying offer in 2022.  Meanwhile, Calgary winger Matthew Tkachuk followed suit, inking a three-year, $21MM pact to give him the highest cap hit on the Flames.  He also will be owed a $9MM qualifier in 2022.  Their contracts helped provide a framework for Winnipeg and winger Patrik Laine to agree to a bridge pact of their own as they got a two-year, $15MM pact done.  His qualifying offer will be $7.5MM at the end and he will be two years away from UFA eligibility instead of one year like the other two.

Johnson On The Move? The five-year contract that the Penguins handed defenseman Jack Johnson last summer drew some ire, especially considering their status as a team that’s perpetually tight to the Upper Limit.  It appears that Johnson could be on the move in the near future as GM Jim Rutherford has informed him that he is at the center of many of their trade discussions as they look to free up some cap space before the season gets underway.  It’s possible that Pittsburgh will need to include an inducement to get a team to take on that contract unless they take a slightly-cheaper deal in return and make it a swap of undesirable contracts over a pure money dump.  Johnson, 32, does not have any trade protection in his contract.

Faulk To St. Louis: After a reported deal with Anaheim fell through, the Hurricanes regrouped and found a new home for defenseman Justin Faulk, sending the defenseman to St. Louis along with a 2020 fifth-round pick in exchange for blueliner Joel Edmundson, winger prospect Dominik Bokk, and a 2021 seventh-rounder.  Carolina is also retaining 14% of Faulk’s contract this season.  While both defenders were in the final year of their contract, that wasn’t the case for long as Faulk quickly inked a seven-year, $45.5MM extension.  Faulk will add another offensive threat to the back end for the Blues although it calls into question the long-term future of captain Alex Pietrangelo with them now having Faulk and Colton Parayko locked up on the right side.  Meanwhile, Bokk adds to a quality group of young forwards that Carolina has while Edmundson, though coming off a down season, gives them another quality blueliner on a particularly deep back end.

Non-Bridge Contracts: While three young stars took short-term deals, two went the other way.  Colorado winger Mikko Rantanen signed the second-largest RFA deal from this class, inking a six-year, $55.5MM contract; his $9.25MM AAV checks in $1.643MM below Toronto’s Mitch Marner while making him the highest-paid player on the Avalanche by a significant margin over Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3MM).  Meanwhile, Winnipeg was able to get a seven-year, $50MM pact done with winger Kyle Connor, a deal that makes him the Jets second-highest-paid forward behind Blake Wheeler.  Connor only has two full NHL seasons under his belt but has surpassed the 30-goal mark in each of them which gave him a fair bit of leverage.  Both players will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of their deals.

Migraine Issues For Patrick: This is supposed to be a crucial third NHL season for Flyers center Nolan Patrick.  The 2017 second-overall pick is entering the final year of his contract and considering the deals that have been signed over the past couple of weeks, a strong 2019-20 campaign could position him for a significant raise.  However, he has already hit a snag before it even started as he was diagnosed with a migraine disorder and won’t be with Philadelphia to start the season.  He’s listed as week-to-week but there is no timetable for his return.  The Flyers added center Kevin Hayes over the offseason and he’ll be counted on to play an even bigger role to start the season now.

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With training camps in full swing, there was plenty of important news around the league including some big news away from the ice.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

NHLPA Declines Opt-Out: Roughly three weeks ago, the NHL decided to decline to use their reopener on the CBA which pushed the spotlight to the NHLPA.  While escrow is a big concern for the players, they’ve opted to decline their reopener as well.  This means that instead of the CBA expiring in September of 2020, it will now do so in September of 2022.  In the meantime, talks are expected to continue regarding extending the current agreement, a move that may be made with a few tweaks along the way with regards to escrow and potential Olympic participation.

Big Money For Chabot: The Senators have taken significant criticism when it has come to their spending in recent years, particularly this season where the cap hits of three forwards that are already done for the year (meaning insurance will fit most of the bill) surpass that of their entire defense corps.  However, owner Eugene Melnyk has promised to spend when the time is right and the team made a big step in that direction as they inked defenseman Thomas Chabot to an eight-year, $64MM contract.  It is the richest contract ever handed out by the Senators while also serving as the richest second contract given to a defenseman.

Byfuglien Pondering Future: Winnipeg’s announcement that defenseman Dustin Byfuglien was taking a leave of absence at the start of training camp raised some eyebrows but at the time, head coach Paul Maurice called it “nothing sinister”.  While the reason for it ultimately isn’t sinister, it’s still a big shocker as Byfuglien is pondering whether he wants to continue playing or not.  The 34-year-old battled multiple ankle injuries and a concussion last season but when healthy, he is a significant factor on the Jets’ back end, one that has taken several hits already over the offseason.  The team has suspended Byfuglien for failure to report to camp, giving them the ability to remove him off their cap if he still isn’t with them when the season gets underway.  If he does ultimately decide to walk away from the remaining $14MM on his deal (spanning the next two seasons), expect Winnipeg to quickly turn around and try to acquire a replacement.

RFA Signings: Not surprisingly, several restricted free agents agreed to new deals.  The Flyers locked up winger Travis Konecny to a six-year, $33MM deal.  The 22-year-old has scored 24 goals in each of the last two seasons and the deal buys Philadelphia two extra years of team control.  Meanwhile, Vancouver was able to agree to terms on a three-year bridge deal with winger Brock Boeser that carries a $5.875MM AAV.  Their salary cap situation largely forced their hand in this direction but it’s worth noting that the final year salary is $7.5MM which will serve as his qualifying offer three years from now.  Boston also got a deal done with their lone remaining RFA as defenseman Brandon Carlo received a two-year, $5.7MM deal that is also back-loaded with a $3.5MM second-year salary that will be his qualifier amount in 2021.

Girardi Retires: Veteran defenseman Dan Girardi has decided to call it a career.  The veteran made a significant impact at the defensive end over his career with his physicality and shot-blocking prowess as he recorded over 2,000 career blocks in his 927 games played between the Rangers and Lightning while making the playoffs in all but one of his 13 seasons.

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With training camps getting underway, the expectation was that this past week was going to be full of big contracts getting done.  That’s exactly what happened.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Bridge Deals: The movement began when Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski agreed to a three-year, $15MM contract.  Worth noting is that the salary is heavily back-loaded with a $7MM payout in 2021-22 that will also represent his qualifying offer that offseason.  It’s not the first time that GM Jarmo Kekalainen has gone this route as former Columbus center Ryan Johansen played on a similarly-structured deal before being traded to Nashville.  That structure also helped pave the way for Charlie McAvoy to get a deal done with Boston as he signed for three years and $14.7MM.  His qualifying offer in 2022 will be $7.3MM, well above his $4.9MM AAV.

Provorov Skips The Bridge: The other prominent blueliner that was still unsigned was Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov.  Instead of doing what the others did, he instead opted for a six-year, $40.5MM contract as we projected earlier this month.  He’s coming off a down season offensively but still logged over 25 minutes a night as a core part of Philadelphia’s back end.  If he can get back to the 40-point mark as he did in 2017-18, this could be a bargain before too long.  Provorov will be eligible for unrestricted free agency as a 28-year-old in the 2025 offseason.

Marner Signs: Mitch Marner’s case was the one that many were waiting to see how it played out.  Would he hold out into the season as teammate William Nylander did or would he find a way to get a deal done before the puck dropped on the regular season in October?  The two sides came to terms on a six-year, $65.538MM contract, the largest AAV given to a winger coming out of his entry-level deal in league history.  With the deal, Toronto now has more than $40MM tied up in their top-four forwards for the next five seasons.  That’s an unprecedented amount in a top forward group so many will be interested to see how GM Kyle Dubas navigates the salary cap over the years to come.  In the short-term though, they’re certainly happy that the deal is done while others around the league will see if this contract helps move the needle on some of the other RFA forwards.

Defense Extensions: A pair of key defensemen opted to sign a year earlier than they needed to.  First, the Jets inked an eight-year, $50MM extension with Josh Morrissey which will nearly double his current AAV when it kicks in next season.  Winnipeg lost three blueliners this offseason so getting Morrissey locked up long-term gives them some much-needed stability on their back end.  Meanwhile, Minnesota handed Jared Spurgeon a seven-year deal that carries a $7.575MM AAV, the largest cap hit in franchise history.  The 29-year-old is coming off a career season and has become a valuable top pairing blueliner in recent years.

Stone Back To Calgary: In the grand scheme of things, Michael Stone signing a contract for the league minimum with Calgary shouldn’t typically move the needle.  However, when it comes mere weeks after the Flames bought him out, then it raises some eyebrows.  It’s the first move of its kind since buyouts were instituted and now with one happening, it will be interesting to see if other teams consider following suit down the road.  The only type of signing after a buyout that is prohibited in the CBA is from compliance buyouts, the cap-exempt ones that teams could use on up to two players following the signing of the last agreement.

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