Week In Review

As the calendar creeps closer to September, activity around the league has slowly started to pick up.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Marner Contacts Swiss Team: Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner appears to be the one holding up the top of the RFA market with other players wanting to see what he ultimately gets before signing a deal of their own.  While the two sides continue to work towards a contract, Marner’s camp is trying to get a backup plan in place as they’ve contacted Zurich of the Swiss NLA to see if the 22-year-old could practice with them should the impasse drag on into training camp.  It’s worth noting that the request is only for practicing, not for game action with the Lions.  This has been a common tactic in recent years and there’s a good chance we’ll see it from another RFA or two in the coming weeks.

Kuznetsov Suspension: It will be a while before Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov will be able to participate in an IIHF-sanctioned event as he has been handed a four-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine.  However, this is not suspendable in the NHL and as things stand, he will attend training camp with Washington.  That situation could still change as Kuznetsov is slated to meet with league commissioner Gary Bettman in advance of camp.

Six Years For White: While Senators center Colin White wasn’t quite at the top of the current RFA class, he was coming off of a pretty good season with 41 points in 71 games and is considered to be a big part of Ottawa’s future.  Despite 2018-19 being his only full NHL season, the team decided to bypass a bridge deal, instead signing the 22-year-old to a six-year contract with a cap hit of $4.75MM.  The total value of the pact at $28.5MM is the richest contract that GM Pierre Dorion has handed out over his three years at the helm of the team although that will likely change when defenseman Thomas Chabot gets his next deal.  The Sens are now more than $10MM above the salary cap ceiling.

Minor UFA Deals: While there are still a handful of notable unrestricted free agents still looking for deals, there was some movement for some of the depth forwards still available.  The Islanders signed center Derick Brassard to a one-year, $1.2MM deal, well below the $5MM AAV he had on his last contract.  The Avalanche picked up winger Valeri Nichushkin for one year at $850K, a deal that gives them an extra couple of years of team control as well if he rebounds with his new team after failing to score a single goal last season.  Meanwhile, the Lightning landed veteran winger Pat Maroon on a one-year contract worth $900K.  He’ll give Tampa Bay some grit on the fourth line as he looks to go for a second straight Stanley Cup title.

Guerin To Minnesota: Although Wild owner Craig Leipold had suggested that his preference to replace former general manager Paul Fenton was someone with GM experience at the NHL, he opted for another first-time hire as the team named Bill Guerin as their new GM.  While this will be his first time in charge, he isn’t without front office experience as he spent the last five seasons as an assistant in Pittsburgh while also running their farm team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the past two years.  Guerin will now be tasked with turning around a Minnesota franchise that has spun its wheels in recent years as they’ve missed the postseason but haven’t shown an inclination to try to rebuild either.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

While August has been pretty quiet in terms of big headlines, there were a few newsworthy items around the league over the past seven days.

Barbashev Looking Overseas: When the Blues re-signed defenseman Joel Edmundson following his arbitration award, their salary cap picture came into greater focus.  They still have to re-sign center Ivan Barbashev but with less than $2MM in cap room to do so, things could get a little dicey.  His agent Dan Milstein muddied the waters when he indicated that the 23-year-old is “looking at options on both sides of the ocean”.  It’s believed that Barbashev is looking for a four-year deal around $2MM per season which may be difficult to get if he opted to return home to play in the KHL.  Nonetheless, it’s possible that it could him just a little bit more leverage as he and the Blues try to get a deal done.

Priskie To Carolina: When the calendar flipped to August 16th, quite a few NHL-drafted players became unrestricted free agents.  The top player in that class was Quinnipiac defender Chase Priskie, originally a Washington draft pick.  He didn’t stay unsigned for very long as the Hurricanes signed the 23-year-old to a two-year, entry-level contract.  He was one of ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award in 2018-19 and is believed to be somewhat close to being NHL-ready.  However, with four established right-shot defenders in front of him on Carolina’s depth chart, he may have to bide his time in the minors for a little while first.

Torn ACL For Valimaki: Calgary’s back end was dealt a blow as youngster Juuso Valimaki sustained a torn ACL in summer training.  No timeline for recovery was announced but these injuries typically take six months or longer to recover from.  He was expected to contend for a full-time roster spot and potentially allow them to move defenseman T.J. Brodie to free up some cap room.  Instead, the Flames will now need to keep Brodie and they are now on the lookout to acquire another blueliner.  With Calgary needing to free up cap space to re-sign wingers Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane, expect GM Brad Treliving to be discussing trades involving some forwards in the coming days and weeks.

GM Extensions: The debate around whether or not Carolina GM Don Waddell should be able to operate without a contract can be put to rest now as the Hurricanes signed him to a three-year deal.  He assumed the GM duties last year and the team quickly turned things around so the fact he’ll be sticking around for a while should come as no surprise.  Meanwhile, the Canucks have also committed to their GM for three more years as they’ve agreed to terms with Jim Benning on a three-year extension.  Benning has been in the role since 2014 and while the team hasn’t had a lot of success during his tenure, he has assembled a very strong group of young players to give them a very promising core to build around.

Erne To Detroit: The Red Wings added some depth on the wing, acquiring Adam Erne from Tampa Bay in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round pick.  The Lightning weren’t likely to be able to afford to re-sign him given their salary cap situation (they’re saving room for RFA center Brayden Point) while they only have one contract slot available which is earmarked for Point so a move needed to be made.  Meanwhile, at 24, Erne could figure into Detroit’s plans for a while for what amounts to a pretty low acquisition cost.  Shortly after the trade, the winger inked a one-year, $1.05MM contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Things have largely slowed to a crawl in recent days with the RFA market seemingly holding up most of what’s left on the UFA market.  Nevertheless, there were still a few notable headlines around the NHL over the past seven days.

Puljujarvi’s Future: It’s well-known that Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi is looking for a fresh start.  His agent Markus Lehto had stated that the RFA would stay overseas if Edmonton didn’t trade him but there was no word on where he’d actually play in that instance.  That’s no longer the case as Lehto indicated that Puljujarvi would play with Karpat Oulu in the Finnish SM-liiga.  He also noted that several teams have expressed an interest in acquiring the 21-year-old but didn’t want to speculate as to whether or not a trade would get done.  Puljujarvi was the fourth overall pick just three years ago so it’s certainly understandable that the Oilers are hesitant to move on from him.

Edmundson Award: There were three players that received salary arbitration awards with Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson being the most notable of them.  He was given a one-year, $3.1MM deal that will make him eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.  The contract is only a raise of $100K but he is coming off of a bit of a down year that saw him be a healthy scratch at times.  St. Louis still has one more player to re-sign in center Ivan Barbashev but they have less than $2MM to get him signed and leave themselves with a bit of a buffer for any in-season movement.

Shattenkirk To Tampa Bay: It didn’t take long for Kevin Shattenkirk to find his new home.  Less than a week after being bought out by the Rangers, the defenseman signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Tampa Bay.  The deal also contains a full no-trade clause.  Shattenkirk has long been viewed as a quality offensive blueliner but struggled to produce with New York to the point where he was quickly dropped down the lineup last season.  He won’t be under anywhere near as much pressure with the Lightning as he’ll likely be asked to play a more limited role with some power play time.  The veteran will wind up receiving just over $3.1MM this season between the two teams which is less than half of what his original $6.6MM salary was before the buyout.

Ristolainen Trade Request? Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has been at the forefront of trade speculation all offseason long, especially with the recent additions of Brandon Montour and Colin Miller who play the same side.  In an interview with Finland, the blueliner hinted that he has requested a trade although he wouldn’t go into any specifics and stated that he’d keep talks between him and the front office private.  Ristolainen has three years left on his contract with a $5.4MM cap hit and while his defensive play has been called into question, he has four straight seasons of over 40 points under his belt and at 24, many teams – Buffalo included – will believe that there is still some upside.

Waddell Interviews For Minnesota GM Job: The fact that people are interviewing for Minnesota’s vacant general manager position comes as no surprise.  However, when one of the people interviewing for that spot is currently working as a GM as Carolina’s Don Waddell did, it certainly raises some eyebrows.  Waddell is without a contract at the moment and if Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has his way, it will remain like that.  While Dundon is quite pleased with Waddell’s work, he’s not a big fan of contracts in general while he readily admitted that he won’t pay market value for his employees which is why he allowed Waddell to interview for the role.  However, he is expected to remain with Carolina.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Although the early part of August doesn’t typically feature a lot of activity around the league, there were quite a few newsworthy headlines over the past seven days on top of a pair of late additions to the UFA market.

Callahan To Ottawa: The Senators have seemingly become a clearinghouse for injured players.  They already have Clarke MacArthur and Marian Gaborik in the fold and they will now be joined by Ryan Callahan as Ottawa acquired the winger in exchange for goalie Mike Condon.  In doing the deal, the Sens save nearly $2MM in actual salary as they’re only responsible for 20% of Callahan’s $4.7MM salary with insurance picking up the rest while Condon’s $3MM price tag (in cash) goes to Tampa Bay.  Meanwhile, the Lightning free up $3.4MM in cap space (Callahan has a $5.8MM AAV with Condon at $2.4MM) which will help as they look to re-sign RFAs Brayden Point and Adam Erne.

Fenton Fired: It’s extremely rare that a GM is let go midway through the summer but that’s what the Wild decided to do as they relieved Paul Fenton of his duties after just over a year with the team.  Owner Craig Leipold indicated that there wasn’t one specific thing or event that led to the decision but rather an accumulation of things over his tenure.  Minnesota made several puzzling trades, highlighted by dealing Nino Niederreiter to Carolina for Victor Rask.  Niederreiter did quite well with his new team while Rask continued to struggle.  Despite the trades suggesting they’d be rebuilding, Fenton was quick to give veteran winger Mats Zuccarello a new deal.  Assistant GM Tom Kurvers will handle the GM duties on an interim basis while the team looks for a successor.

Vasilevskiy Extension: Tampa Bay has often tried to get its top players signed to extensions early and they’ve done so again.  Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy signed an eight-year, $76MM extension, making him the third-highest paid goalie (in terms of AAV) in the NHL once it kicks in for the 2020-21 season.  The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is coming off of a career season and is in his prime so there shouldn’t be a lot of concern about falling off towards the end of the deal.  However, the Lightning, who already had to move out players for cap reasons, will almost assuredly have to do so again next offseason.  The team now has over $67MM in commitments to just 13 players for 2020-21, an amount that will only go up when Point eventually signs.

Gusev To New Jersey: When Vegas signed Nikita Gusev early in the postseason, their hope was that they’d be able to get him signed for next season.  However, the salary cap made that all but impossible unless they were to clear out some other players to free up cap room.  Instead, the opted to trade the 27-year-old Russian, dealing him to the Devils in exchange for second and third-round picks.  Gusev then quickly signed a two-year, $9MM deal.  He will add another gear to New Jersey’s attack that certainly has been bolstered this offseason with the addition of top pick Jack Hughes, winger Wayne Simmonds, as well as defenseman P.K. Subban.

Seven For Girard: While Colorado remains in a waiting game when it comes to RFA winger Mikko Rantanen, they took care of some other business as they signed defenseman Samuel Girard to a seven-year, $35MM extension that will begin in 2020-21.  The 21-year-old has impressed over his first two NHL campaigns and was a key part of the return of the original Matt Duchene trade.  He’ll likely push past averaging 20 minutes per night next season while he has shown signs of a developing offensive game.  Assuming he continues to hold down a spot in Colorado’s top four, this deal should hold up well in terms of value as it progresses.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With arbitration hearings on the horizon, many of the top stories from the past seven days have involved players settling for contracts before meeting with the arbitrator.

Calgary Settlements: The Flames handed out a pair of short-term contracts to avoid arbitration.  Forward Sam Bennett received a two-year, $5.1MM deal while goaltender David Rittich inked a two-year, $5.5MM pact.  Bennett, the number four pick in 2014, has yet to live up to his draft billing and has been more of a bottom-six forward at this point of his career.  This contract will give him a chance to take another step forward but if he continues to play at the same level, it’s possible that he’ll be a trade candidate before long.  Meanwhile, Rittich had a breakout campaign in 2018-19 and ultimately wound up basically splitting starts with Mike Smith last season.  However, that was only his first full NHL campaign so he didn’t have a lot of leverage in talks.  It’s worth noting that his deal will take him to UFA eligibility, something that isn’t the case for Bennett.

New Arena Deal For Flames: The contracts weren’t the only good news for the Flames as they also reached a tentative agreement with the city on a new arena to replace the Saddledome, one of the oldest arenas remaining in the NHL.  This has been something that had been pursued for several years but each time it looked as if some progress was being made, things had fallen through but that isn’t the case here.  The new facility is expected to cost roughly $550MM with the team and city sharing the cost evenly.

Seven For Sissons: Several years ago, Nashville surprised many by giving center Calle Jarnkrok a six-year, $12MM deal.  The contract was largely unprecedented for a role player and not many have signed a deal like that since then.  The Preds are certainly happy with how that deal turned out and they have gone that route again by signing winger Colton Sissons to a seven-year, $20MM contract.  The 25-year-old is coming off of a career season with 15 goals and 15 assists although it’s the only time in his career that he has reached the double-digit mark in scoring so there is certainly some risk committing to that long of a contract.  Nonetheless, Nashville believes he can be a useful middle-six player for years to come at a price tag that is under what a lot of third line players have been getting.

Clarkson To Toronto: Back in 2015, the Maple Leafs dealt David Clarkson to Columbus for Nathan Horton with the belief that adding the injured Horton would aid their cap flexibility.  Four years later, they’ve reacquired him with the belief that adding the injured Clarkson will aid their cap flexibility.  Toronto intends to be strategic with the order of their placements of players on LTIR in an effort to maximize their in-season cap space, something that could come in handy with RFA winger Mitch Marner’s situation.  Meanwhile, the Golden Knights added goaltender Garret Sparks in the swap (while surrendering a fourth-round pick to Toronto).  Sparks will battle Malcolm Subban for the number two role in Vegas while the trade also freed up the ability for them to re-sign defenseman Deryk Engelland to a one-year, bonus-laden deal with a base salary of $700K with an extra $800K in bonuses.

Bridge Deal For Buchnevich: The Rangers avoided salary arbitration with Pavel Buchnevich, signing the winger to a two-year, $6.5MM contract.  The 24-year-old scored a career-best 21 goals last season and will look to build on that next season but with the addition of Artemi Panarin plus the presence of top prospects Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov, he may be hard-pressed to reach the 15 minutes per game mark like he has the last two seasons.  As Buchnevich was New York’s final arbitration filing, the team now has a 48-hour second buyout window that opens up on Monday.  They’re several million over the Upper Limit already so they may be taking advantage of that in the near future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Although the summer crawl is in full effect, there were still some notable headlines around the league over the past seven days.  Those are highlighted here in our top stories of the week.

Colorado Signings: The Avalanche locked up a pair of their restricted free agents.  Center J.T. Compher was rewarded for the best season of his young career as he signed a four-year, $14MM contract, effectively bypassing a bridge deal.  However, in doing so, he’s setting himself up to hit the open market four years from now at the age of 28.  Meanwhile, offseason acquisition Andre Burakovsky signed a one-year, $3.25MM deal, the amount of his qualifying offer.  Colorado certainly believes he has potential considering they dealt a pair of draft picks for him but they clearly want to see how he fits in with them before committing on a longer-term pact.  The winger will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights again next summer.

Francis To Seattle: While Seattle won’t be entering their inaugural season for two more years, they have found the person that will lead them into the NHL as they have hired former Carolina GM Ron Francis as their first general manager in franchise history.  While expectations will certainly be high considering how Vegas fared in their first year, this decision suggests that the yet-to-be-named franchise will be taking a different approach.  Francis was known for his patience during his tenure with the Hurricanes and tried to build things up slowly.  It seems reasonable to believe that he’ll take a similar approach this time around.

Neal-Lucic Trade: Milan Lucic had been part of trade speculation for two years.  James Neal didn’t even get through his first year in Calgary before being suggested as trade fodder.  However, with both players having four years left on overpriced contracts, there wasn’t much of a viable trade market for them.  Accordingly, the Oilers and Flames decided to swap those bad deals with Edmonton retaining $750K per season of Lucic’s salary plus potentially giving up a conditional 2020 third-round pick if Neal scores at least 21 goals next season and scores at least ten more goals than Lucic.  By making the trade, the Flames add some grit up front with Lucic though it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to play a bigger role than he had with the Oilers.  Meanwhile, Neal figures to get a look in a more prominent spot than he had with Calgary.  Edmonton’s depth on the wing is somewhat shallow so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him deployed in a top-six role when the puck drops on the regular season in October.

Seven Years For Trouba: After being traded to the Rangers, the expectation was that defenseman Jacob Trouba would quickly sign a long-term deal, something he wasn’t willing to do with Winnipeg.  While it took a little longer than expected, a deal was eventually reached as he inked a seven-year, $56MM deal.  The contract contains a no-move clause in years two through five (he’s not eligible in the first season) and a partial no-trade clause in the final two seasons.  While Trouba didn’t spend much time on the top pairing with the Jets, he’ll get the opportunity to serve as New York’s top defender which should give him the chance to build on his career-best 50 points last season.

Senators-Blackhawks Swap: Artem Anisimov had been in trade speculation for the last couple of seasons and once his $2MM signing bonus was paid at the midway point of July, his value was expected to go up.  Not surprisingly, a trade was agreed on shortly after the bonus was paid as the Senators acquired the center in exchange for forward Zack Smith.  Ottawa adds an offensive upgrade for a relatively low cost on two fronts.  Smith cleared waivers earlier in the season and Anisimov is only owed $5MM in total money over the final two years of his deal despite a $4.55MM AAV.  Meanwhile, Smith adds some grit to Chicago’s bottom six, something GM Stan Bowman has clearly identified as a need this summer.  The move also frees up $1.3MM in cap space in each of the next two seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The frenzy has died down but there were still a few newsworthy headlines over the past seven days which are headlined in our top stories of the week.

Cullen Retires: As expected, veteran center Matt Cullen has decided to call it a career.  The 42-year-old spent last season with Pittsburgh as a regular on their fourth line and held his own.  However, while he could still probably hold his own in a similar role, he’s moving on to his post-hockey days.  Cullen wound up playing with eight different teams over his 21-year NHL career, recording a respectable 731 points.  He cracked the 1,500 games played mark late in 2018-19 and his 1,516 career regular season games played put him 19th in that category in NHL history.

Labanc Puzzler: The fact that the Sharks re-signed winger Kevin Labanc should come as no surprise.  He’s an emerging key part of their attack and is coming off of a 56-point season.  The surprise is that he only signed a one-year, $1MM contract, a deal that is well below market value.  It’s true that he didn’t have salary arbitration eligibility which didn’t help but still, that’s a serious underpay.  It gives San Jose some extra flexibility to work with this summer as they look to fill out the rest of their roster (likely including a new contract for veteran center Joe Thornton).  There has been plenty of speculation already that he’ll be rewarded for taking one for the team when he’s eligible to sign a contract extension in January.

Sabres-Blackhawks Swap: Although Henri Jokiharju cracked Chicago’s roster to start last season, he didn’t get much of a chance in the second half and was frequently speculated as trade bait.  A trade ultimately came to fruition as the defenseman was dealt to Buffalo for winger Alexander Nylander in a swap of first-round prospects.  Nylander is coming off of his best season in the minors and the Blackhawks are hoping that a change of scenery will help unlock his offensive potential.  Meanwhile, the Sabres add another quality young right-shot blueliner to the mix and in doing so, they have ultimately increased the trade speculation around Rasmus Ristolainen as GM Jason Botterill has now brought in three notable righties over the past few months.

UFA Winger Deals: Two of the top wingers left on the open market have found new homes.  Micheal Ferland signed a four-year, $14MM deal with Vancouver.  The $3.5MM AAV is certainly a reasonable price tag for a player with back-to-back 40-point seasons but the addition has created a bit of a cap crunch with Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin still needing new deals.  Meanwhile, Carolina wasted little time replacing Ferland as they inked Ryan Dzingel to a two-year, $6.75MM pact.  He had a career year offensively with 56 points but his struggles upon being traded to Columbus certainly lowered his market value.

Binnington Re-Signs: With his rather limited NHL track record but a Stanley Cup under his belt, Jordan Binnington’s restricted free agency case was going to be one of the more interesting ones to follow in the coming weeks.  However, it won’t make it to salary arbitration as the Blues handed the 25-year-old a two-year, $8.8MM contract.  Notably, his deal comes in slightly higher than Jake Allen’s $4.35MM AAV.  Both netminders are signed for two years and will be unrestricted free agents after that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Not surprisingly, this past week was extremely busy around the NHL as there were many free agent signings around the league.  Several of those plus a notable trade are at the forefront of the top stories of the week.

Panarin To The Rangers: It didn’t come as much surprise that Artemi Panarin is on the move despite a late effort from the Blue Jackets to keep him in the fold.  The winger signed the richest contract for a winger in league history, inking a seven-year, $81.5MM contract with the Rangers that has a full no-move clause.  The 27-year-old has hovered near the point-per-game mark in his three seasons in the NHL and is coming off an 87-point campaign to lead all unrestricted free agents.  He’ll immediately step in on the top line in New York with heavy expectations as they have clearly put an end to their rebuild and are now looking to get back into contention quickly.

Bobrovsky Joins Florida: The Panthers were looking to make a big splash in free agency and they did just that as they inked goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70MM contract, the biggest deal ever handed to a netminder that actually made it to the open market.  Bobrovsky is actually coming off of a bit of a down season with a .913 SV%, his lowest mark in three seasons but he was a lot better in the playoffs, posting a .925 SV%.  He still represents a significant upgrade on what Florida had between the pipes in recent years and for a team that was 28th in the league in goals allowed last season, his addition will go a long way towards vaulting them back into the postseason discussion.

Toronto-Colorado Trade: The biggest trade on July 1st came from the Maple Leafs and Avalanche.  After months of speculation, defenseman Tyson Barrie was indeed on the move as he was dealt to Toronto along with center Alexander Kerfoot and a 2020 sixth-round pick for center Nazem Kadri, defenseman Calle Rosen, and a 2020 third-round selection.  The Avs are also retaining half of Barrie’s $5.5MM contract.  The Maple Leafs add a much-needed upgrade on the back end at a very low price tag on the cap plus a capable young pivot in Kerfoot who quickly inked a four-year, $14MM contract.  Meanwhile, in Kadri, Colorado adds a two-time 30-goal center on a team-friendly contract for three more years, giving them a big improvement down the middle while Rosen should slot in nicely in a depth role on their back end.

Offer Sheet: The last offer sheet in the NHL was back in 2013 when Ryan O’Reilly, then of Colorado, signed with Calgary.  That is until Monday came along when Montreal signed Carolina center Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27MM offer sheet.  In an effort to make it more difficult on the Hurricanes, the contract was heavily front-loaded with signing bonus money but less than 24 hours later, Carolina indicated their intention to match it but waited until Sunday to make it official.  With one team taking the plunge, will another follow suit with one of the other notable RFAs?

Duchene To Nashville: The pillaging of the Blue Jackets wasn’t limited to just Panarin and Bobrovsky as key deadline acquisition Matt Duchene is also on the move after signing a seven-year, $56MM contract with Nashville.  The Predators have made several attempts to shore up their center position in recent years with the acquisitions of Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris plus the signing of Nick Bonino but it has continued to be an area of some concern.  Nashville is hoping that Duchene, who reached the 70-point mark for the second time in his career in 2018-19, can form a one-two punch with Johansen and give the team the stability they’ve been craving down the middle for several years to come.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With free agency now just hours away, the activity around the league is about to pick up considerably.  This past week has encompassed the UFA interview period although the big news has come from the trade and retirement fronts.  Note that while some signings have already been rumored, those aren’t considered here as they’re not official yet.

Luongo Retires: While Roberto Luongo had three years left on his contract, his salary took a big dip in those seasons as part of an effort to lower the AAV down.  Accordingly, there was speculation as to whether or not he’d play again.  He put an end to those talks with the announcement of his retirement.  He leaves in third place on the all-time wins list with 489 and is a safe bet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame down the road.  He also leaves a bit of a legacy with Florida and Vancouver on the salary cap as both teams are subject to recapture penalties due to the back-diving nature of his contract.  The Panthers will carry a $1.094MM penalty for three seasons while the Canucks will be charged $3.033MM per year over that same span.

Colorado Swaps: Shortly after being eliminated from the postseason, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic said he planned to be aggressive this offseason.  He certainly has made good on that promise on the trade front after completing a pair of deals (plus a small AHL swap as well).  First, the Avs moved center Carl Soderberg to Arizona for blueliner Kevin Connauton and a 2020 third-round pick.  They then flipped that pick plus a second-rounder to Washington for Andre Burakovsky.  Burakovsky was qualified at $3.25MM so that will be the minimum that Colorado will pay him for the upcoming season; as a result, they didn’t really add or save payroll space with these moves.  No team has less in cap commitments for next season than the Avalanche so expect them to continue to be active in the coming days.

Kessel To Arizona: After weeks, months, and even a couple of years of trade speculation, the Penguins pulled the trigger on a Phil Kessel trade, flipping the winger to Arizona along with defenseman Dane Birks in exchange for forward Alex Galchenyuk and 2017 first-rounder Pierre-Olivier Joseph.  The trade reunites Kessel with former Pittsburgh assistant Rick Tocchet who he enjoyed playing for while giving the Coyotes a legitimate top-line forward that can produce on a fairly consistent basis.  Meanwhile, Galchenyuk has shown flashes of offensive upside over the years but has yet to put it all together while Joseph boosts their prospect depth on the back end.  Galchenyuk has one year left on his contract at a $4.9MM cap hit and will be UFA-eligible after the season.  That frees up a bit of short and long-term flexibility with Kessel costing $6.8MM for three more years.

Chicago Additions: A couple of months ago, the Blackhawks looked like they’d be big players in free agency.  That may not be the case anymore as they’ve instead focused on the trade route.  After bringing in Olli Maatta earlier this month, they added another piece to their back end, acquiring Calvin de Haan and prospect Aleksi Saarela from Carolina in exchange for defenseman Gustav Forsling and goalie Anton Forsberg.  All of a sudden, their defensive depth is quite strong.  After that, they brought back winger Andrew Shaw (and a 2021 seventh-round pick) from Montreal in exchange for a trio of draft picks.  Shaw is coming off of a career year and will give them a physical dimension that they’ve been lacking since they dealt him away three years ago.  The three acquisitions have added more than $12.5MM on their cap and with Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome each being a year away from restricted free agency, they’ll want to make sure they don’t take on many more multi-year commitments.

Vegas Cap Cuts: With all of the long-term contracts that Vegas handed out last season, some cuts were going to be required in order to get back into salary cap compliance.  Those moves were made with center Erik Haula being sent to Carolina in exchange for center prospect Nicolas Roy and a fifth-round pick.  Meanwhile, Colin Miller was dealt to Buffalo for a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 fifth-round selection.  The swaps save the Golden Knights a little over $6.6MM in cap room but they will still be in tough to stay under the Upper Limit, especially with Deryk Engelland closing in on a new deal as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The activity has started to pick up as the offseason is in full swing.  With the NHL Entry Draft now complete, the focus will soon turn to free agency as teams now know the salary cap for next season.  However, this past week had several notable trades mixed in among some key re-signings.

Subban Traded To Devils: The Predators have had a big four on the back end for a while now but as those players needed new deals and Roman Josi’s next contract on the horizon, eventually something had to give.  That came to fruition as Nashville dealt P.K. Subban to New Jersey in a cost clearing move, receiving depth defender Steven Santini, prospect Jeremy Davies, plus two second-round picks in return.  The Devils also take on the remainder of Subban’s contract which carries an AAV of $9MM for three more years.  Nashville now has some money to spend up front in free agency and some more money for Josi a year from now while New Jersey adds an impact defender at what amounts to a pretty low acquisition cost as they put their cap space to good use.

Flyers Sign Hayes: Philadelphia didn’t exactly hide their intentions when they flipped a fifth-round draft pick to Winnipeg for the negotiating rights to Kevin Hayes.  They targeted him as their number two center and were rewarded for the efforts when the two sides agreed to a seven-year, $50MM contract.  Hayes is coming off of a career season split between the Rangers and Jets but it was his only campaign where he had at least 50 points.  At this price point, that’s going to be the minimum expectation for him now.

Karlsson Re-Signs: The top defenseman is off the market before he even got there.  The Sharks re-signed defenseman Erik Karlsson to an eight-year, $92MM contract.  The deal is the richest for a defenseman in NHL history and also contains considerable bonuses, lockout protection, and a full no-move clause.  While the 29-year-old dealt with injury issues down the stretch, he’s still one of the more dynamic defensemen in the league.  The contract also ensures that San Jose will have two of the most prolific offensive threats from the back end in the fold for a long time to come as Brent Burns is signed for six more years.  San Jose will now turn their focus up front with veterans Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton as well as impressive young winger Timo Meier are among those still in need of new deals.

Rangers Acquire Trouba: With Karlsson off the market, the Rangers wasted little time with their backup plan as they acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from Winnipeg in exchange for the Jets’ previously-acquired first-round pick (20th overall) and blueliner Neal Pionk.  Trouba should immediately slot in as New York’s top defenseman and assuming they can get a long-term deal done, that will be another building block in place as they look to emerge from their rebuilding process.  Meanwhile, the Jets probably aren’t done trimming down the roster just yet as they look to free up enough money to re-sign RFA wingers Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor as well as take a run at bringing back pending UFA defenseman Tyler Myers.

More Draft Trades: While the first round saw nothing in terms of player movement, the second day saw more activity as Subban’s swap wasn’t the only trade of note.  Toronto paid a conditional 2020 first-round pick (top-ten protected) to get Carolina to take on the final year (and $6.25MM cap hit) of Patrick Marleau’s contract.  The Hurricanes are expected to eventually buy out that contract but as a 35+ deal, they will assume the full AAV on their 2019-20 salary cap.  Meanwhile, the host Canucks got into the fun as well, shipping first and third-round picks to Tampa Bay for J.T. Miller.  The first-rounder is lottery-protected for two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.