PHR Mailbag: CHL-NCAA Movement, Salary Cap, Goaltending, Bruins, August 15 Free Agents
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include a look at salary cap spending, several goaltending questions, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in one of our next two columns.
BlackAce57: I don’t know if it’s something that’s been happening for a while or a growing trend, but are more Canadian junior players going to US colleges when they turn 18 now that NIL is a factor? Do you think this will keep increasing?
This isn’t something that has been going on for very long now. It’s actually the first year where CHL players are no longer viewed as professionals by the NCAA, thereby making players from those leagues eligible to go to college. NIL money aside, simply changing the eligibility to allow major junior players to go play Division I hockey was going to create a big group of people wanting to make the change. The ability to potentially be paid much more than what the CHL-allowable stipend is (between $50 and $150 in Canadian dollars per week) only intensified that interest.
I don’t expect this to be something that keeps increasing to any sort of significant degree. In reality, there are only so many spots available each year as there are only so many Division I teams and there will still be USHL and USHS players vying for some of those. That means there has to be some sort of a limit on the movement in the grand scheme of things.
Having said that, I suspect we will see even more turnover in the NCAA than we’ve seen in recent years since the transfer portal came into play. There will still be activity there while more players than we normally see will graduate to the pros after a year or two of eligibility. Then, there will be efforts to try to get that top recruit which could result in some players getting cut.
I think what we’ve seen this year is the start but there shouldn’t be a huge jump next year. I expect we’ll see an incremental jump in transfer activity over the next couple of years, a good chunk of which will probably come from the CHL before the volume of annual movement starts to settle. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see if the CHL is able to do anything to retain some of its top talent or if it will settle in as a league that skews a little younger age-wise compared to what it has been in the past.
yeasties: With the cap going up so much and many teams apparently choosing to maintain a working reserve this year, do you think GMs will maintain this discipline over the long term, or will teams eventually spend up to the cap again?
I’m not sure how much of the underspent cap is something that came from a choice or rather just from a lack of options. This wasn’t a great UFA class and it’s that market that has a tendency to drive prices upward. Not every team has had to contend with it yet either. If you had a team with a lot of core players on long-term deals already, the bulk of the heavy lifting cap-wise is already done, making it easier to have that cushion. We’re only a few months into this higher Upper Limit projection so a lot can and will change.
It’ll be interesting to see how many teams are able to keep those reserves. Per PuckPedia, there are 13 teams with $2.1MM or less of cap space already. For teams near the higher end of that, even one injury can derail a lot of those plans and odds being odds, there will be injuries. The ones with a million or two more (of which there are four) should have more wiggle room on the injury front while the rest should have ample cap room no matter what. That is a little abnormal compared to what we’ve seen.
I do think it’s a sign of things to come, however. The reality is that not every team is going to be willing to spend to the max as that’s a pretty significant year-over-year increase in player costs. Ideally, profits should be going up as well to offset that but some teams are much more profitable than others; not all will increase revenues at a rate that matches or exceeds the increase in costs. I can see a scenario a few years from now where we’re talking about budget room more often as fewer teams aim to spend to the ceiling and instead will work within a budget with potentially room to spend if they find themselves in contention.
I’m also curious to see what the impact of significantly restricting double-retention trades in the new CBA will be. As a refresher, right now, teams can trade a player with retention with that player getting immediately rerouted with further retention to another team. That type of trade has become quite common leading up to the trade deadline in recent years. But this season will be the last of those as starting in 2026-27, there will be a 75-day in-season requirement before a player whose contract has already been retained on once can be moved with retention again.
Knowing that the double-retention option is going to largely be off the table, teams will need to have considerably more cap space banked by the trade deadline. I expect that some squads will place a higher target on their cap room to start the season to account for that, meaning fewer will spend so tight to the cap. So, I don’t think this is an outlier but rather the beginning of a new shift in spending policy, one that will take a few years to really establish itself.
PyramidHeadcrab: Now that rosters have settled a bit, who has the…
– Worst goaltending roster?
– Best goaltending roster?
– Best goaltending prospects?
– Goaltender most likely to find an extra gear in 25-26?
1) I’m going to go with Columbus, especially as a team that feels it has playoff aspirations. Elvis Merzlikins has shown that he’s not a capable starter and hasn’t been for several years now. While they re-signed Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro, they haven’t actually improved the back end which could have been a way to improve the goaltending. Meanwhile, Jet Greaves had quite the finish to last season but before that, he had merely been okay in limited action while his AHL numbers are decent but not necessarily dominant. Is he the solution? I’m not certain about that yet and if you have questions about both goalies heading into the season, that’s not ideal. There are teams with similarly iffy goaltending (especially in that division) but playoff hopes breaks the tie here.
2) This might be a surprise on paper but I’m going to go with Toronto. Anthony Stolarz showed that his 2023-24 breakout wasn’t a fluke and he was quite impactful when healthy. Joseph Woll wasn’t quite as impactful but was above average as well. Both were in the top 11 league-wide in Goals Saved Above Expected, per MoneyPuck. The fact that they’re among the lowest-spending teams at the position makes things more impressive. There are teams with a better starter but also a much weaker backup. An injury to the top dog would be a huge issue but for the Maple Leafs, going to Woll as a near-term starter wouldn’t be a massive drop-off. Add to that a roster that looks more inclined to play a defensive game and it bodes well for them for the upcoming season.
3) For the single-best goalie prospect, I’ve seen no reason not to pick Yaroslav Askarov. He has been highly touted for quite some time now and while he’s in for a rough year in San Jose this season, I think he can still be a franchise netminder. But you said prospects, as in plural. The Sharks would still be up there with Joshua Ravensbergen getting added in the draft but I might lean ever so slightly to the Red Wings who are headlined by Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa. Cossa is coming along well in the minors while Augustine has been a strong NCAA goalie with a solid showing internationally as well. Michal Pradel was one of the better goalies in this draft class and he’s in the mix too. Goaltending has been an issue for Detroit for a while but the future looks bright there.
4) I’m going to pick Spencer Knight in Chicago. This is his first season as being an undisputed number one goalie and he’s still relatively unproven with fewer than 100 appearances in the NHL. It’s also a contract year in which he’ll be looking to cement the notion that he is their starter of the future. I don’t think the Blackhawks will be particularly good this year but I expect Knight to steal some games and make the team a lot more competitive night in and night out than they have been the last couple of years. I think that will qualify as finding that extra gear.
VonBrewski: Again with Boston….no direction by MGT.
They have the draft capital to go and get a McTavish or Rossi. They might need to move some salary (hello, Korpisalo) to get it done.
I think you’re making an incorrect assumption on this one. Boston’s draft capital is better than what it was but assuming you don’t want them moving their own first-round picks, having an extra Toronto and Florida first-rounder isn’t good enough to be the foundation of an offer for either player, at least one that Anaheim or Minnesota might be inclined to take. And with $2MM in cap space per PuckPedia, it would take much more than clearing Joonas Korpisalo’s $3MM to afford the players on the deals they’re looking for. They’re not willingly signing long-term deals around the $5MM mark.
Let’s look at each situation a little closer. Despite plenty of speculation, there remains no credible reporting that Anaheim has the slightest bit of interest in moving Mason McTavish or that McTavish is looking to be traded. The absence of a contract isn’t evidence of that but rather the reality that an offer sheet isn’t coming and with no arbitration rights, it becomes a staring contest. We see it every year with several players and they all wind up re-signing. The Ducks have been active this summer in terms of trying to upgrade their roster with the hopes of making the playoffs. They also have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL. Accordingly, moving McTavish for a futures-based return doesn’t make much sense on either front. If he’s moving, they’re getting a young core player back; they have no reason to accept less.
As for Marco Rossi, it has been reported that the Wild already declined a trade package that included a late-lottery first-round pick and that was before the few decent free agent center options had all re-signed or signed elsewhere. So, why would they go that route now with a package that’s probably going to have a lesser pick going the other way? (Again, assuming that you’re not suggesting the Bruins move their own first-round selections.) Minnesota has been consistent in feeling that if they were to move Rossi, they’d want an impact center coming the other way if they couldn’t land one in free agency. I don’t see a Boston middleman that fits. Elias Lindholm’s contract isn’t great, Pavel Zacha only has two years left, and the rest are either unproven or are more bottom-six pieces. For what they’re believed to be looking for in a possible trade for Rossi, I don’t think the Bruins are a match. Ultimately, it’s going to be a staring contest between Rossi and the Wild for a little while longer before Minnesota probably gets its way with a bridge deal.
Dale M: How many August 15th expiring rights were either signed, or set adrift by their drafted teams?
Did Boston sign anybody?
If we look at our list of August 15th free agents from early July, not a lot has changed. Chase McLane (Nashville) and Ryder Donovan (Vegas) remain with their respective organizations under technicalities but neither of them would qualify as notable prospects at this stage. The other 29 players all saw their NHL rights lapse yesterday.
At this point, no one has signed yet which isn’t much surprise. Players technically didn’t become free to sign until today and, well, it’s a Saturday in the middle of August; it’s not exactly a prime day for transactions. There isn’t going to be flood of signings. Honestly, I’m not sure there are going to be many signings period from this group, especially around half of them are on minor-league deals already.
There’s basically one headliner from this list that feels like a safe bet to land an NHL contract and that’s Dominic James. He spurned an offer from Chicago on the heels of a 14-goal, 30-point campaign with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and his doing so suggests he thinks he can find an entry-level pact from a team with possibly a better shot at getting to the NHL quicker. Beyond that, there are some possible AHL deal candidates (Red Savage and Aidan Hreschuk) but not much more. It’s not a great group of players to get too excited about.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Pittsburgh Penguins
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, next up are the Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Current Cap Hit: $82,466,429 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Rutger McGroarty (two years, $950K)
D Owen Pickering (two years, $886.7K)
Potential Bonuses
McGroarty: $500K
Pickering: $250K
Total: $750K
The hope was that McGroarty would lock down a full-time spot last season but it didn’t happen. Instead, he spent most of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but showed well down the stretch which could give him a chance amidst a fairly deep group of depth forwards. Even if he does play regularly, he’s unlikely to hit his two ‘A’ bonuses.
Pickering might be in the mix on the back end but their offseason defensive depth additions make it likely as things stand that he starts in the minors. With 25 NHL games last season, he’s tracking towards a bridge deal, especially if he spends a good chunk of the year in the AHL.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Noel Acciari ($2MM, UFA)
D Alexander Alexeyev ($775K, RFA)
D Connor Clifton ($3.333MM, UFA)
F Connor Dewar ($1.1MM, UFA)
D Mathew Dumba ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Kevin Hayes ($3.571MM, UFA)*
F Danton Heinen ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Blake Lizotte ($1.85MM, UFA)
F Evgeni Malkin ($6.1MM, UFA)
F Anthony Mantha ($2.5MM, UFA)
D Ryan Shea ($900K, UFA)
G Arturs Silovs ($850K, RFA)
F Philip Tomasino ($1.75MM, RFA)
*Philadelphia is retaining an additional $3.571MM on Hayes’ deal.
Potential Bonuses
Mantha: $2MM
Let’s face it, this is quite the long list and that’s by design for GM Kyle Dubas who is setting up for maximum flexibility over the next couple of summers.
One part of that flexibility will be the end of Malkin’s contract. A deal that took way longer than expected to hammer out, giving him four years at the age of 35 seemed to carry some risk but it has held up alright as he has notched 200 points in 232 games over that stretch although he is slowing down now. With that in mind, he might not provide a particularly strong return on this final season but overall, they did reasonably well on this contract. Malkin’s future with Pittsburgh and the NHL in general will be in question after this as the Penguins might not want to keep a player who would be 40 on a team that’s trying to rebuild while Malkin may not want to go elsewhere after spending what will be 20 years with the Penguins. If he does, a one-year pact with lots of performance bonuses will be the deal other teams will offer.
The hope was that a change of scenery for Hayes might get him going after a tough year in St. Louis but instead, his role was reduced further and his performance dipped more. It’s hard to see that changing but his track record is still good enough that he could land around $3MM or so on another short-term deal as long as this season is around how he did last year. Mantha comes over from Calgary following an injury-riddled year that caused him to miss the final 69 games due to ACL surgery. When he’s on, he can be an effective top-six piece but has done so sporadically to the point where he needed a one-year deal last summer coming off an inconsistent season. If he rebounds, he could get back to the $4MM range but that’s far from a given. His bonuses are fairly simple; he’ll receive $250K at every ten-game increment he plays from 10 to 80.
Heinen was acquired from Vancouver as part of the Marcus Pettersson trade last season and did okay with his new team. He’s capable of putting up decent production from a bottom-six role which earned him this contract last summer but he’s not far removed from having to take a PTO either. If he hovers around the 30-point mark again, he could command a similar price tag to this on the open market next summer. Acciari’s first two seasons in Pittsburgh haven’t lived up to expectations. More of an impactful player offensively in 2022-23, his production the last two years hasn’t added up to that mark. He’s still a physical fourth liner who can kill penalties and win faceoffs but barring an uptick in output this season, Acciari is likely heading for a small dip in pay.
From a point-per-game perspective, last season wasn’t bad for Lizotte but the injury bug got him again for the second straight year. While he can be a 30-point player when healthy, he needs to show he can stay in the lineup for closer to a full 82 games to have a shot at besting this deal next summer. Tomasino had some decent moments after being picked up from Nashville. It’s too early to say that he could be part of their longer-term plans which is why the one-year pact made sense for both sides. He was non-tendered to avoid arbitration rights in June before re-signing and that could be his fate again unless there’s an uptick in his production. Dewar also went through the non-tender process six weeks ago but, like Tomasino, quickly re-signed. After seeing low minutes in Toronto, he fared better down the stretch but will need to be more of a third liner than a fourth if he wants to get to another level in terms of his contract instead of going year-to-year at only a bit above the league minimum.
Dallas signed Dumba last summer, feeling that he could still be a serviceable second-pairing player. That didn’t happen. Instead, he struggled in a very limited role before being scratched entirely in the playoffs and traded away with draft compensation for taking on the final year of his deal. It’s possible that he rebounds but it’s also possible that he has a very limited role again. At this point, he’d be hard-pressed to reach half of what he’s making now. Clifton wasn’t able to establish himself as more of a third-pairing option with Buffalo in his two seasons with them before being moved in an offseason swap as well. He’s a more reliable option than Dumba at this point and his market should be okay next summer, just with a price tag closer to the $2MM mark instead of more than $3MM once again.
Shea is a success story from Group Six free agency. While not many of those players find better opportunities elsewhere, he did just that, going from never seeing NHL action in Dallas to playing in 70 games with Pittsburgh over the last two seasons, landing him two straight one-way deals. With still a limited role, it’s hard to see him going much higher than this but it’s still a nice turnaround for someone earmarked as a full-time AHLer just a couple of years ago. Alexeyev hardly played at all last season, leading to a non-tender from Washington. He’ll need to at least establish himself as more of a viable sixth option or he could be heading toward two-way offers moving forward. He’s still arbitration-eligible but unless he breaks out and has a big year, he’s a safe bet to be non-tendered again next offseason.
Silovs was brought in via a recent trade with Vancouver to take a run at a full-time NHL backup spot. He had that going into last season with the Canucks but struggled mightily. However, he had a solid year with AHL Abbotsford before playing a key role in their Calder Cup victory, making it unlikely he’d slip through waivers. If he can establish himself as being at least a suitable full-season backup, doubling this price tag with arbitration rights is doable.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Justin Brazeau ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Sidney Crosby ($8.7MM, UFA)
D Erik Karlsson ($10MM, UFA)*
F Thomas Novak ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Parker Wotherspoon ($1MM, UFA)
*-San Jose is retaining an additional $1.5MM on Karlsson’s contract.
Crosby is quietly beginning a new contract with the Penguins this season although it’d be easy to miss that considering he has had the same cap hit since 2008, a price tag he has provided significant surplus value on. At 38, he might still provide plenty of value on this contract coming off a 91-point season which shows he still has plenty left in the tank. He’s been featured in plenty of trade speculation given that he’s nearing the end of his career and the Penguins aren’t close to contention but with full trade protection, Crosby will get to decide his fate. But no matter where he winds up (and staying in Pittsburgh remains the overwhelmingly likely outcome), he’s a safe bet to continue to provide positive value money-wise.
Novak was brought over near the trade deadline in a trade with Nashville. He didn’t come close to reaching the 40-point mark for the third straight year, instead barely amassing half of that despite some solid underlying numbers. If he can even get into the mid-30s offensively, this deal should hold up well given the high demand for centers. Brazeau was a full-time minor leaguer just a couple of years ago and only has one full NHL season under his belt. However, he did well enough to land this deal in free agency. If he puts up another couple of double-digit goal campaigns, he should be able to push past $2MM in 2027.
Karlsson hasn’t been able to come close to reaching 100 points again as he did in his final season in San Jose but he has remained one of the better offensive blueliners in the NHL. His defensive warts notwithstanding, he’s someone who can still handle big minutes and while his price tag is an overpayment for his current performance, it’s probably only a few million above market value at most. If he’s still an above-average offensive threat two years from now, a two-year deal even at 37 could be doable, albeit at a significantly lower price tag. Wotherspoon had his best showing last season with Boston, holding his own in 55 games with the Bruins to earn the first seven-figure deal of his career. If he can remain a capable third-pairing player over his time on this contract, doubling this price tag could be doable.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
We are effectively near the midway point of the NHL’s summer season. Free agency has slowed down with teams looking for bargains while the last few players of note are holding out hope that a team will improve their offer or find a way to make a trade to open up extra cap space. Meanwhile, the trade market has stayed cool but that could change at any time.
So, with a general lull in the summer period, it’s a good time to reopen the mailbag to talk about what has happened and what could still be coming. Our last call for questions saw enough submissions to fill three columns. The first included discussion about Bowen Byram’s future in Buffalo, the state of goaltending, and the K’Andre Miller trade. Topics in the second included Washington’s potential forward logjam, tanking in professional sports, and the best and worst summers so far. Lastly, the third covered what’s next for Montreal, why the Devils haven’t been able to clear Ondrej Palat’s deal, contenders for the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes, and more.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend.
Did The Rangers Improve This Summer?
The New York Rangers surprised a lot of folks last season, and not in a good way. An Eastern Conference Finalist in the 2023-24 season, the Rangers failed to make the playoffs last year, falling apart in the second half of the season amidst a string of controversial roster moves and underperforming veterans. The poor play and negativity surrounding the team led to a string of roster moves that saw New York move on from several long-serving veterans and pivot to younger players and new veterans, as well as a new voice behind the bench in head coach Mike Sullivan. All of the moves point to the Rangers trying to compete for the playoffs this season and get back to the top of the Eastern Conference standings, but have they done enough to get there? The Rangers are effectively hoping to redeem themselves this upcoming season after letting last year get away from them due to a litany of factors, and it’s always difficult to bet against a group seeking redemption, especially when a two-time Stanley Cup Champion is leading them.
The Rangers swung for the fences in their coaching search and landed one of the best in the business in Sullivan. The former Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss is a proven winner and has always garnered the respect of his players, especially his stars. Sullivan effectively navigated some prominent personalities during his time with the Penguins, but was able to get the best out of almost all of his players. The Penguins were a dumpster fire when Sullivan took over in 2015, and it appeared as though Pittsburgh was well on its way to squandering the primes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Phil Kessel. However, once Sullivan took over, the Penguins went on an unprecedented run of dominance that saw them win two Stanley Cups in his first 19 months on the job.
Sullivan can hardly be blamed for the ending of his time in Pittsburgh, as the Ron Hextall years took the Penguins from legitimate Stanley Cup contenders to a team that has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. Those final three seasons saw Sullivan nearly guide some bad Penguins rosters to the playoffs, only to fall just short of the postseason. However, in New York, the Rangers are built to win now, even if they have spent the last nine months moving on from many veterans. Sullivan will be tasked with getting the most out of Mika Zibanejad and several other Rangers who had a down year last season.
The coaching change was hardly the only move New York made this summer, as the Rangers shipped out longtime veteran forward Chris Kreider and a 2025 fourth-round pick for Carey Terrance and a 2025 third-round pick. Kreider was an effective forward for a lot of years in New York, but the writing was on the wall for the past year that he would be shown the door. He could flourish again in Anaheim alongside some of their young stars, but the Rangers did well to get back two future assets in exchange for the aging veteran. The move didn’t do much to improve this season’s roster; however, it opened up valuable cap space that allowed the Rangers to make other moves.
Aside from Kreider, the Rangers also moved on from defenseman K’Andre Miller in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. Miller figured to be a top-four fixture in New York, but the Rangers opted to cash in on the two-way defender and did okay to get back defensive prospect Scott Morrow in the trade, along with a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick. While the trade weakened the Rangers for the next season, they did immediately turn around and sign Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year deal, which should improve their shutdown defense and help on the penalty kill. Now, the move to essentially replace Miller with Gavrikov will improve team defense. It does come at an offensive cost as Miller is the far superior offensive contributor; however, his defensive game leaves a lot to be desired.
Overall, it’s hard to call the Rangers’ defense improved, given that they are currently constructed to deploy Carson Soucy and William Borgen as their second pairing behind Gavrikov and Adam Fox. Now, no disrespect to either man, but that pairing isn’t likely to scare too many opponents, and it could allow teams to matchup favorably against that second pairing, exposing what can best be described as an average defensive core.
Upfront in the forward group, the Rangers didn’t do anything other than re-sign Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom and Juuso Parssinen. The Rangers do have Gabriel Perreault in the fold now, but it’s hard to say whether or not he is ready to make an impact at the NHL level.
The Rangers do still have a solid top line with Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. Still, outside of that, it’s hard to say what they will get from J.T. Miller, Zibanejad and the second line. If Miller and Zibanejad play the way they have in the years leading up to last year, the Rangers should see improvement as a team. However, if Zibanejad and Miller can’t reach previous levels, it will handcuff the Rangers and put a ton of pressure on their top line.
In the end, Igor Shesterkin’s play will likely decide the fate of the Rangers as it did last year. If Shesterkin can get back to his Vezina Trophy-winning level of play, the Rangers will probably be good enough to come out of the Metropolitan Division. But if he plays the way he did last season, the Rangers could fall to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings in a hurry. New York is not built to win with average goaltending and will likely require a Vezina-caliber season from Shesterkin to get a sniff at the playoffs.
Ultimately, the Rangers are banking on significant internal improvement as well as the rub from Sullivan’s coaching and a bit of youth being injected into the lineup. It’s not what you would call a foolproof plan, but there is a remote possibility that the Rangers are better thanks to the minor tweaks and Sullivan’s coaching. That being said, there is also a possibility of a learning curve for Sullivan in New York, and perhaps the pressure of the Big Apple brings a more challenging environment for Sullivan to pad his resume.
In any event, the Rangers roster is worse than the one that left the ice at the end of last season, and Sullivan is going to have to find a way to light a fire under the holdovers who performed poorly last season. He’s done it in the past and gotten career years out of many players, so it remains to be seen just how much Sullivan can extract from this poorly constructed roster.
Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
What Happens If The Penguins Can’t Move Veterans?
The Penguins find themselves in a strange position as a franchise. Management appears to have embraced the need to rebuild. Yet, they still have three franchise icons on the roster in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, along with several veterans who can still perform at a high level.
Pittsburgh entered this summer as an obvious seller at a time when it seemed there were no sellers, but they have yet to trade any of the veteran candidates and are just over a month away from starting training camp with those players still on the team. So, what will happen if forwards Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and defenseman Erik Karlsson are still with the team when the season begins? That is where things could get very interesting.
With those players in the lineup, the Penguins can field one of the stronger top-nine groups in the NHL, led by Crosby, Rakell, and Rust, who were the only bright spots for the Penguins last season. Additionally, Malkin can still center a second line despite an apparent decline in his play, and he might get some help this season after a carousel of low-scoring depth wingers flanked him last year. Recently signed Anthony Mantha is a capable option to play with Malkin, along with trade deadline acquisition Thomas Novak, who only played a few games last season with Pittsburgh before suffering an injury.
If the Penguins decide to use Novak as a third-line pivot, they could look to rookie Ville Koivunen, who appears NHL-ready and might already be a top-six winger alongside Malkin. In any case, a top six like that is good enough to help the Penguins win some games, which might not be what Penguins fans are hoping for, especially with Gavin McKenna available in the NHL Entry Draft.
Beyond the top six, the Penguins have many potential options for their bottom six, including some costly depth veterans who might not make the lineup. If Novak ends up as Pittsburgh’s third-line center, he could be flanked on the wings by young players Rutger McGroarty and Philip Tomasino. Both are former first-round picks and have the ability to generate offense from the third line, something the Penguins haven’t seen from their bottom two lines in quite some time.
On the fourth line, the most likely lineup would be Blake Lizotte centering newcomer Justin Brazeau and Connor Dewar. That isn’t a bad fourth line, but the Penguins could also run Noel Acciari, Danton Heinen, or Kevin Hayes, who are all veterans making north of $2MM in the final year of their contracts and will be motivated to prove they still belong in the NHL.
The bottom line is that if Rust and Rakell aren’t traded, the Penguins have a forward group capable of getting a team to a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. However, their defensive unit is where it gets messy and might be the worst in the NHL.
General manager Kyle Dubas opted for quantity over quality this summer on the backend, which makes sense given the Penguins’ current situation as an organization. Dubas decided to buy low on a group of defensemen who badly needed a fresh start. Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton have both been effective in the past, but have recently fallen on hard times and were essentially traded to Pittsburgh along with assets as a cap dump. Their presence congests an already deep right side for the Penguins, as they currently have Kris Letang and the aforementioned Karlsson still in the top four, as well as 2024 second-round pick Harrison Brunicke, who could be NHL-ready, along with Jack St. Ivany and Philip Kemp.
The left side has even more players, but none of them are likely capable of top-pairing minutes for Pittsburgh, and they might not even have a solid second-pair option either. The Penguins’ left side is mediocre, with Ryan Graves and Owen Pickering as the most likely players to see time on the top two pairs. Beyond that, it is truly anyone’s guess, as Pittsburgh also brought in Caleb Jones, Parker Wotherspoon, and Alexander Alexeyev in free agency to join holdovers Graves, Pickering, Ryan Shea, and Sebastian Aho.
All in all, Dubas has assembled 14 potential NHL defensemen for the Penguins to use this season, with only two or possibly three capable of playing on the top two pairs. It’s a bold strategy and certainly a unique idea that will either end in total disaster or be a surprise of the season.
None of this will matter if Pittsburgh gets goaltending like they did last season, when Tristan Jarry struggled for most of the year before a late-season turnaround after two AHL demotions and a waiver wire pass. Jarry can win NHL games, as shown by his two All-Star Game appearances. However, if he plays like he did last season, Pittsburgh won’t be able to outscore the problem. But if Jarry can be league average next year and the Penguins keep the likes of Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson, that might be enough to put them in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
The other variable in net is 24-year-old Arturs Silovs, who was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in mid-July. The reigning MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs last season will suit up as an Olympian next year for Latvia and has the potential to make an impact in the NHL. Whether or not he makes an impact next season remains to be seen, but again, if he is league average as a backup for the Penguins, it would be an improvement on last season’s goaltending.
If Pittsburgh gets some goaltending and scores the way they are capable of, it could turn into a feel-good story for the Penguins, especially if Malkin’s NHL swan song is near. Having Letang and Crosby there for it would be pretty special.
Now, a lot would have to go right for Pittsburgh to make the postseason, and it would be nearly impossible if they move on from the veterans on the trade block. However, if their asking price isn’t met and the Penguins are left holding onto Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson, they might surprise some people, even if they remain flawed and older. The talent is there to make some noise; it’s just not guaranteed that the talent will still be present when the season begins.
Photo by Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, next up are the Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers
Current Cap Hit: $95,129,762 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Alex Bump (three years, $950K)
F Nikita Grebenkin (one year, $875K)
F Jett Luchanko (three years, $942.5K)
F Matvei Michkov (two years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Luchanko: $400K
Michkov: $3.3MM
Total: $3.7MM
Michkov was able to come to North America two years earlier than expected and didn’t disappoint. While there were some ups and downs, that’s to be expected from a rookie while his 63 points led all rookie forwards (though he finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting). Michkov appears to be well on his way to becoming the type of franchise winger Philadelphia hoped he’d be when they drafted him in 2023 and if he lives up to the hype, a long-term contract could run the Flyers upwards of $9MM. He maxed out on his four ‘A’ bonuses worth $250K apiece last season and as long as he stays healthy, he should be able to do so again this season. The rest of the bonuses are ‘B’ ones and those are unlikely to be reached.
Luchanko surprised many by making the roster out of training camp last season and with at least one forward spot likely up for grabs this time around, he could be in the mix again this year although that nine-game threshold will loom large. That won’t apply for Bump and Grebenkin who should also be in the mix. Luchanko (technically) and Bump haven’t started their contracts yet so it’d be foolhardy to project their next ones while Grebenkin is likely heading for a bridge deal. A one-way pact that keeps the cap hit a little lower – somewhere a little above what he’s making now – would make sense.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Rodrigo Abols ($800K, UFA)
F Bobby Brink ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Jamie Drysdale ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Christian Dvorak ($5.4MM, UFA)
G Samuel Ersson ($1.45MM, RFA)
G Ivan Fedotov ($3.275MM, UFA)
D Dennis Gilbert ($775K, UFA)
D Noah Juulsen ($900K, UFA)
D Egor Zamula ($1.55MM, RFA)
F Trevor Zegras ($5.75MM, RFA)
The Ducks decided to pull the plug on Zegras, allowing Philadelphia to step in with an offer that many would qualify as underwhelming but it was enough to get him. He is coming off another injury-riddled season while producing at a 46-point pace, well below the two seasons of 60-plus points he has under his belt from earlier in his career. That, coupled with a high-priced bridge deal, hurt his value. Owed $5.75MM for a qualifying offer with arbitration rights, another season like his last two will make him a non-tender candidate or a club-elected arbitration candidate where they could offer a 15% cut in pay. Dvorak comes over from Montreal in one of the bigger overpayments of the summer for a player who has yet to reach 40 points in his career. However, getting him just on a one-year deal as a bridge veteran required the overpayment. If he can play at a similar level as last season, a multi-year pact in the $4MM range shouldn’t be out of reach if he opts not to do another above-market one-year agreement.
Deslauriers played quite sparingly last season and when he was in the lineup, playing time was rather hard to come by. He was an every-game player when he first joined Philadelphia but that’s no longer the case. Enforcers can still generate some open-market interest but he should check in closer to the minimum salary next summer. Year one of Brink’s bridge deal went quite nicely as he upped his production to 41 points. Assuming he stays around that number, he’ll have a chance at doubling his current price tag with arbitration rights. Abols got his first taste of NHL action last season and the Flyers saw fit to hand him a small raise on a one-way deal, suggesting that they view him as a roster regular this year. At 29, it’s a bit late for a breakout year but if he can grab a full-time spot and have some success, getting a seven-figure pact next summer might be achievable.
Drysdale managed to stay healthier last season compared to the previous two seasons but staying in the lineup on an every-game basis continues to be a challenge. He still has three more RFA years left which presents an opportunity for effectively a second bridge deal next summer. If that happens, he could land in the $3.5MM per season range with arbitration rights. Alternatively, if the sides want to work out a longer-term agreement, it might take closer to $6MM per year on the AAV to get that done. Barring a breakout year, another short-term deal might make the most sense for both sides.
Juulsen came over in free agency this summer after spending the last four seasons in Vancouver. He has largely filled the seventh spot over that span and is likely to have a similar role with the Flyers, ensuring that he’ll stay relatively close to the minimum next summer as well. Gilbert was also brought in via free agency after splitting last season between Buffalo and Ottawa. Like Juulsen, his role has largely been limited at this stage of his career so unless he can establish himself as a full-time regular, he should be staying in this price range as well.
At the time Ersson signed his contract, it seemed a little strange with it being a bridge deal that came a year early. But since then, he has become their undisputed starter. He hasn’t necessarily thrived in that role but he’s gaining enough experience to put together a decent case as he becomes arbitration-eligible next summer. It would be surprising to see GM Daniel Briere hand him a long-term deal but a short-term pact with a price tag at more than double his $1.6MM qualifying offer is realistic. Fedotov quickly signed this deal soon after coming over from Russia, an agreement that seemed to be in place when he first came to North America. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out. He struggled in his first full NHL campaign as a backup and it’s quite possible that he’s waived in training camp and sent to the minors where his cap hit would drop to $2.125MM if he clears. Given his previous track record, there might be a team or two who wants to give him a look next summer on a cheaper deal but it would likely fall closer to the $1MM mark.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Ryan Ellis ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Tyson Foerster ($3.75MM, RFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($2.4MM, UFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($3.35MM, UFA)
Foerster has reached the 20-goal mark in his first two full NHL seasons and finished one behind Michkov for the team lead in that department last season. But the Flyers elected to kick the can down the road on a long-term pact, working out this bridge deal that gives him a $4MM qualifying offer and arbitration rights at the end of it. If he stays on this trajectory, he could land closer to $7MM on his next deal. Hathaway got a small raise to sign an early extension last summer. An impactful fourth liner, he ultimately might have left a bit of money on the table doing so but he stays in a spot he’s comfortable with. Given he’ll be 35 when he begins his next contract, it would be surprising to see him land more than another two-year agreement in 2027, one that should land around this price point.
Ellis hasn’t played since November 2021 due to ongoing back trouble and isn’t expected to play again. He’s LTIR-eligible but if he winds up on there, the Flyers will have to contend with a bonus carryover penalty for whatever bonuses their youngsters (like Michkov) achieve, one that would count against their 2026-27 cap. Of course, keeping him on the books in full this year limits their flexibility. Neither outcome is particularly appealing but they’ll have to decide what’s the lesser of two evils.
Vladar came over in free agency from Calgary with Briere trying to do something to shore up a goaltending position that has been a big weak spot. He showed some flashes at times with the Flames although he’s not the most proven player either, allowing the Flyers to get him at a backup-level price tag. If he can establish himself as being part of the solution, pushing past $5MM next time is feasible. If he remains more of a mid-level backup, then he’s likely to remain more in this range.
Will Calvin De Haan Get Another NHL Job?
Carp, Ontario native Calvin de Haan is currently navigating his fifth stint as an unrestricted free agent, four of which have occurred over the past four summers. Since signing a four-year contract in 2018, the 34-year-old defenseman has agreed to three consecutive one-year deals at or just above the NHL minimum.
It’s common for veteran depth players to wait until late in the summer to secure free agent contracts. However, considering de Haan signed early in free agency on July 1 and 2 in the previous two summers, it is surprising to see him still unsigned. This raises the question: will de Haan find an NHL team this summer, or will he need to explore options elsewhere?
Despite a decline in play after turning 30, de Haan has remained a low-maintenance depth defenceman who generally produces solid underlying stats in limited minutes. In 47 games last season, split between the Rangers and Avalanche, de Haan recorded eight assists, despite starting a staggering 65.9% of his shifts in the defensive zone, yet he still posted a decent Corsi share of 50.7%. Some will scoff at eight assists in 47 games, but offense has never been de Haan’s calling card. He has only surpassed 20 points in a season once, back in 2016-17, when he scored five goals and 20 assists in 82 games.
Those 82 games also marked a career high for the 2009 12th overall pick. It’s the only time he has played over 80 games in a season, and in fact, it’s one of only three occasions where the 13-year NHL veteran has played more than 70 games.
And therein lies another obstacle for de Haan: his inability to perform consistently over a full season. Considering his age and the mileage on his body, de Haan isn’t likely to become an ironman in his mid-30s, and teams are aware of this. That’s why de Haan has played for less than $1MM in three consecutive seasons despite showing good on-ice results.
Aside from health and availability, many other factors work against a player like de Haan. The NHL tends to favor younger players, and teams aim to add youth to their lineups. If a team is rebuilding, it might prefer not to have a veteran blocking prospects from gaining vital playing time.
The opposite side of that is veteran teams chasing a Stanley Cup might not view de Haan as a player who can realistically fit into their top six. This was probably true in Colorado last season, where de Haan signed for $800K on a one-year deal in early July but was ultimately traded to the Rangers as part of the Ryan Lindgren trade.
Two other issues work against de Haan. The first is his playing style. He is a throwback defenseman who plays a safe, responsible game and can kill penalties. General managers still like to employ such defensemen, but they also look for other qualities like size, physicality, or the ability to thread breakout passes to jumpstart the transition game. Unfortunately for de Haan, he isn’t overly big, and his hitting has declined as he has aged. He also isn’t an excellent passer, often relying on quick outs of the zone or deferring to his partners with better passing skills.
The second challenge facing de Haan this summer is that he was very vocal about his exit from the Rangers this past offseason, voicing his displeasure with how he was treated in New York and how little he played down the stretch. While some teams might value the veteran’s candour and transparency, others could see de Haan’s honesty as a red flag and a potential problem in the dressing room. It’s difficult to determine if this is a factor, as de Haan has historically been a good teammate in the NHL and has a solid reputation as a team player.
All in all, de Haan is in a situation that many NHL depth players have faced over the past decade: struggling to extend their NHL careers with one-year contracts and PTOs.
If this is the end for de Haan, he has already laid the groundwork for a potential shift to his post-playing career. He owns a brewery/restaurant in his hometown of Carp, which has become a fixture in the small village located west of Ottawa.
At 34 years old, it’s hard to imagine de Haan walking away, especially with the passion he displays when talking about playing hockey. He could follow former teammate Jimmy Vesey overseas to extend his career, but with roots in the Ottawa area and a solid 13-year NHL run, he might value being at home more than life abroad. Time will tell with de Haan, but given his skill level, he should find an NHL job for at least one more season.
Photo by Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Is Fabian Lysell Poised For A Breakout Season?
Few prospects in recent memory have caught as much ire from Boston Bruins fans as Fabian Lysell. Selected with the 21st overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, Lysell has failed to carve out a full-time role at the NHL level and hasn’t performed well when given even a small opportunity.
To be fair to the Bruins, it was a smart pick at the time. Lysell was ranked as the 9th-best European skater by NHL Central Scouting after playing with the J20 Nationell’s Frölunda HC J20 and the SHL’s Luleå HF. Lysell had an impressive performance at the 2020-21 U18 World Junior Championships for Team Sweden, tallying three goals and nine points in seven games, which enhanced his prospect rating.
The Göteborg, Sweden native transitioned to North American hockey quickly, joining the WHL’s Vancouver Giants a year later. He excelled, validating Boston’s decision to draft him, scoring 22 goals and 62 points in 53 games, along with another four goals and 21 points in 12 playoff contests. That performance influenced Bruins management to promote him to the AHL beginning in the 2022-23 season.
He didn’t earn any All-Rookie honors, but Lysell put together a quality season, finishing fifth on the AHL’s Providence Bruins in scoring with 14 goals and 37 points in 54 games. Boston may have hoped for more scoring from Lysell, but finishing fifth in scoring on a team that won the Atlantic Division in the regular season is significant. The Bruins got what they were hoping for the following year.
Lysell finished fourth in scoring on the AHL Bruins, with nearly a point-per-game performance, netting 15 goals and accumulating 50 points in 56 games. Unfortunately, Lysell did not make the Bruins roster after training camp due to a disappointing preseason performance and the strong depth on the team at that time.
Outside of debuting in late December during the 2024-25 campaign, Lysell received a much larger opportunity after the mass exodus from Boston’s lineup at the trade deadline. Still, he didn’t make the most of that opportunity.
He finished the season with one goal and three points in 12 games, averaging 13:27 of ice time per game. His possession metrics were subpar with a 42.9% CorsiFor% at even strength, and an on-ice goals% of 35.7%. Granted, 12 games are nowhere near long enough to make an honest judgment of long-term quality at the NHL level, but the Bruins were hoping for more from a recent first-round pick.
Lysell has the tools to be an effective and even good top-six winger in the NHL. He is arguably the best pure skater from the 2021 NHL Draft and possesses good vision on the ice, making him an above-average playmaker. The Bruins added a lot of forwards this offseason, but most are destined for bottom-six roles, even on a retooling Boston team. Assuming he makes the roster out of training camp, although there are no guarantees that will be the case, Lysell has the opportunity to earn a top-six role.
The Bruins would have to remain cautious with Lysell’s deployment, and could even have him start the year at the AHL level. He’s only 22 years old, so there is still time for him to refine his skills before losing any credibility as a prospect. Still, given that Boston is in a retooling stage, they may be safe to give Lysell a top-six role out of the gate to start the 2025-26 season and see if he flourishes.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, next up are the Rangers.
New York Rangers
Current Cap Hit: $94,722,024 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Scott Morrow (one year, $916.7K)
Potential Bonuses
Morrow: $350K
Morrow was part of the return for K’Andre Miller earlier this summer and he will look to establish himself as a full-time NHL player with his new team after playing sparingly with the Hurricanes. Unless he can become a regular inside the top four, it’s unlikely his bonuses will be reached. A bridge deal is likely down the road with a good showing this season potentially pushing that price past the $2MM mark.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Jonny Brodzinski ($787.5K, UFA)
F Artemi Panarin ($11.643MM, UFA)
G Jonathan Quick ($1.55MM, UFA)
D Braden Schneider ($2.2MM, RFA)
D Carson Soucy ($3.25MM, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Quick: $300K
Panarin’s pending free agency is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing ones. Signed to a record-setting deal the last time he hit the open market back in 2019, that won’t be the case next summer but he should still have strong value. Panarin has produced more than a point per game in each of his six seasons with the Rangers, while he’s fourth among all NHL players in points over that stretch, behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Nathan MacKinnon. Pretty good company to be in. However, he’ll also be 34 and nearly 35 when his next contract starts so his best days will soon be behind him. A more medium-term agreement (three or four years) makes sense here and it’s possible such an agreement could land around the $10MM mark per season.
Brodzinski has done well the last couple of years, establishing himself as a back-of-the-roster player with a bit of offensive skill as he’s coming off a double-digit goal season. Capable of playing center and the wing, he’s the type of lower-cost role player that could get a bit more interest next summer, giving him a chance to push past the $1MM mark for the first time in his career.
Soucy was acquired near the trade deadline in a move GM Chris Drury might already be regretting as he played limited minutes down the stretch. He’s pricey for a sixth defender, especially with the team being tight to the Upper Limit. That said, Soucy might still land close to this amount on the open market next summer. Schneider had a solid first season of his bridge contract while locking down a top-four role for the first time. He’s someone they’d probably like to sign to a longer-term deal next time out but that might run them closer to $6MM. If they can’t afford that, then a one-year pact closer to $4MM might be the short-term fix.
Quick is back for his third season with the Rangers on his third one-year deal, an agreement that keeps going up in price each year. His base salary isn’t likely to go too much higher, at least with New York as they look to keep the second-string spot affordable. His bonuses are games played and performance-based but none of them are freebies; he’ll have to play with some regularity and perform well to get some of them.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Sam Carrick ($1MM, UFA)
F William Cuylle ($3.9MM, RFA)
F Justin Dowling ($775K, UFA)
F Adam Edstrom ($975K, RFA)
F Juuso Parssinen ($1.25MM, RFA)
F Taylor Raddysh ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Matt Rempe ($975K, RFA)
D Urho Vaakanainen ($1.55MM, UFA)
With the Rangers concerned about a possible offer sheet for Cuylle, they were able to get this done quickly enough to avoid the chance of that happening. It’s on the higher end for a player who only has 66 career points under his belt but power forwards get paid early and often and this deal should hold up fine. A long-term pact with arbitration rights next time out could come close to doubling this cost. Raddysh came over in free agency from Washington where he managed a respectable 27 points in largely a limited role. He’s not that far removed from a 20-goal campaign back with Chicago either but he’s likely to fill a regular spot in the bottom six. Unless he can get back to that offensive form he briefly showed with the Blackhawks, Raddysh is likely to remain in this price range.
Parssinen’s stock has dropped after a season that saw him slide down the depth chart in Nashville and Colorado before being moved to the Rangers at the trade deadline where he still didn’t reach 10 minutes a night of playing time. On the other hand, he’s still just 24 and has some room to stabilize. He’ll be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights so he’ll need to show he can lock down a full-time role over the next two years or become a potential non-tender candidate as New York will want to keep its back-of-roster spots cheap. Carrick was a low-cost add in free agency last summer and fared pretty well in a depth role, picking up 20 points and winning over 54% of his faceoffs. If he can do that for two more years, he could set himself up for a jump closer to the $1.75MM mark.
Edstrom and Rempe both had brief stints with Hartford last season in between seeing largely fourth-line minutes with the Rangers, making bridge deals the obvious way to go. They received identical contracts that buy the team more time to assess how much upside there still is. If they progress, something in the $1.5MM after arbitration rights could be doable. Dowling comes over from New Jersey after playing in a career-high 52 NHL games last season. He’s someone whose roster spot could be a little tenuous while history has shown that he’s likely to stay at the minimum salary moving forward.
Vaakanainen came over from Anaheim as part of the Jacob Trouba trade and got an opportunity to play largely a regular role upon returning from an injury. The 2017 first-round pick has been more of a depth player throughout his career but had arbitration rights which was enough to land him a small raise to avoid the risk of going to a hearing. He’ll need to show he can be more than a depth option if he wants to get more than this moving forward.
Summer Synopsis: Vegas Golden Knights
Now more than a month into the new league year, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Today, we’ll take a look at Vegas.
The Golden Knights enjoyed a strong regular season last year, posting 50 wins en route to a Pacific Division title. They carried that momentum into the playoffs with a decisive first-round victory over the Minnesota Wild. However, their postseason run came to an abrupt end in the second round, where they fell to the Edmonton Oilers in just five games.
Not content with regular-season accolades or modest postseason success, the Golden Knights were aggressive to start the offseason, pulling off arguably the biggest acquisition by locking up star forward Mitch Marner. General Manager Kelly McCrimmon also made several depth moves to fortify the lineup, and on paper, Vegas appears poised to contend for the Stanley Cup once again.
Draft
2-55 – F Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, Luleå HF (Sweden J20)
3-85 – F Mateo Nobert, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
6-186 – F Alexander Weiermair, Portland (WHL)
6-187 – D Gustav Sjoqvist, AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
One common downside for Stanley Cup contenders is a depleted prospect pool, often the result of trading away draft picks in pursuit of immediate success. That was the case for the Golden Knights at last month’s draft, where they lacked a first-round pick and made just four selections overall.
They made the most of the situation, starting with the section of Ihs-Wozniak, a forward with high offensive upside. He produced 57 points in 40 games during the 2024-25 season with Luleå HF J20, but truly showcased his talents on the international stage. At the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he helped Sweden to a bronze medal while tying for the tournament high of four goals. He then helped Sweden to a silver medal in the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, where he recorded seven points in seven games.
Nobert, 17, produced 67 points in 57 games for Blainville-Boisbriand in the Q, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. Known for his playmaking abilities, the Quebec native took his game to another level last season, nearly tripling his production from the year before. His continued development will be something Golden Knights fans can watch and look forward to.
Trade Acquisitions
F Mitch Marner (from Toronto)
F Colton Sissons and D Jeremy Lauzon (from Nashville)
Arguably, the biggest move of the offseason was Vegas acquiring Marner from the Maple Leafs with a sign-and-trade, resulting in an eight-year, $96MM deal ($12MM AAV). Joining a star-studded group that already features Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Shea Theodore, the move signals that the franchise is all in with their efforts to secure another Stanley Cup. While things ended unceremoniously for Marner in Toronto, he has done nothing but produce in his time in the league. Since debuting for the Maple Leafs in the 2016-17 season, Marner has scored 221 goals and 741 points in 657 games, averaging 20:03 of ice time per night. That production was no different last year, as Marner, 28, produced 102 points in 81 games. He added 13 points in 13 playoff contests. The Golden Knights finished the 2024-25 campaign with the fifth-best goals scored average (3.34), third-best goals against average (2.61), second-best powerplay (28.34%), and the 13th-best shooting percentage (11.0%), and those numbers should only improve with Marner in the mix.
Perhaps lost in the shuffle of the Marner deal, adding Sissons and Lauzon as part of the deal that sent Nicolas Hague to Nashville provides Vegas with solid veteran experience and productivity.
UFA Signings
F Tuomas Uronen (three years, $852.5K)*
F Reilly Smith (one year, $2MM)^
F Brandon Saad (one year, $2MM)^
D Dylan Coghlan (one year, $775K)
D Jaycob Megna (two years, $800K)
F Cole Reinhardt (two years, $812.5K)
*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing
The Golden Knights got to work before July 1, locking up veteran forwards like Smith and Saad before they could test free agency. Smith returned to Vegas following a mid-season trade with the Rangers, recording 11 points in 21 games. Now 34, his best seasons came during his first stint with the Golden Knights, and he remains a reliable depth option who can still contribute in the top six when needed. Saad, 32, produced 13 goals and 30 points last season, split between Vegas and St. Louis. Like Smith, Saad was dealt to Vegas mid-season and made a strong enough impression that McCrimmon re-signed him before he could reach free agency. The two-time cup champion with Chicago offers quality depth in the bottom six.
The remaining signings add organizational depth. The team announced the deals for Coghlan, Megna, and Reinhardt simultaneously on July 1. While each player received a one-way contract, a spot on the opening night roster is far from guaranteed.
Uronen, who was signed to an entry-level deal back on May 20, offers intriguing upside. Vegas selected Uronen with the 192nd pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. At the time, he was playing for HIFK’s U20 program, but he quickly transferred to the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s after being drafted. A native of Finland, Uronen showcased his offensive abilities last season with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, posting 38 goals and 90 points in 63 games. Internationally, Uronen scored two goals and three points in seven games for Team Finland during the 2024-25 U20 World Junior Championship.
RFA Re-Signings
F Raphael Lavoie (one year, $775K)*
F Jonas Rondbjerg (one year, $775K)*
F Cole Schwindt (one year, $825K)
D Lukas Cormier (one year, $775K)*
Lavoie had an interesting path last season and will no doubt hope for more stability for the 2025-26 year. Last season, he was waived by Edmonton, claimed by Vegas, waived by Vegas, re-claimed by Edmonton, waived again by Edmonton, and finally re-claimed by Vegas before being sent directly to AHL Henderson in a matter of days last October. Injuries limited Lavoie’s effectiveness somewhat in 2024-25, but he still put together a decent 17-10–27 scoring line in 42 games on an underwhelming Henderson squad. When healthy, the 6’4″ winger can provide key organizational depth and quality scoring possibilities. He potted 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games for AHL Bakersfield in 2023-24.
Rondbjerg, a Golden Knights draft pick in the third round of their inaugural 2017 class, has topped out as a serviceable fringe NHL forward, recording 10 points in 76 games for the Knights over the past four years. Schwindt, perhaps the likeliest of the group to make an impact in Vegas next season, appeared in 42 games last season with Vegas after being claimed off waivers from the Flames during training camp last year. In that time, he produced eight points in a bottom-six role but did provide quality defense and holds a career 51 percent win rate in the faceoff circle. Meanwhile, Cormier will look to get back on track after an injury detailed his 2024-25 season.
Key Extensions
D Kaedan Korczak (four years, $3.25MM)
On the second day of free agency, Vegas locked up one of their own blueliners long-term, giving Korczak a four-year, $13MM contract extension. Despite having just one career goal in 77 games, Korczak clearly earned the confidence of the organization last season, which served as his first full year at the NHL level. He was often a healthy scratch over the course of the season, but still managed to record 10 assists, one penalty, and a plus-15 across 40 games. He added 59 hits and 40 blocked shots while averaging 15:04 of ice time per night. With the loss of Hague and the presumed retirement of Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas may have felt it was key to extend Korczak.
Departures
D Nicolas Hague (trade with Nashville)
F Tanner Pearson (Winnipeg, one-year, $1MM)
F Nicolas Roy (trade with Toronto)
The Golden Knights sit with a heap of unsigned free agents, including goaltender Ilya Samsonov and winger Victor Olofsson. That group is unlikely to re-sign with a cap-strapped Vegas lineup, but the Golden Knights will still leave the summer with minimal exits. Hague stands as the biggest subtraction in size and lineup role – vacating an impactful, third-pair role for a surprisingly rich extension with the Predators. He has posted 12 points and a negative plus-minus in each of the last two seasons, but led Vegas’ blue-line in hits-per-game in both seasons. The Golden Knights will lose similar physical prowess in Pearson and Roy – two depth forwards who both managed encouraging scoring from routine roles in the bottom. Roy finished the year with 15 goals and 31 points, while Pearson scored 12 goals and 27 points. Vegas will need to find internal replacements for all three players, and may be hobbled by their departure – but nonetheless found a way to add more talent than they lost this summer.
Salary Cap Outlook
A summer of strategic spending hasn’t yet come to fruition for the Golden Knights. They currently sit $7.64MM over the cap ceiling, per PuckPedia. Placing top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve will give the team just over $1MM in available cap space, though they’ll likely settle square-even with the cap floor after re-signing RFA Alex Holtz. It will be another season of cap gymnastics for the Golden Knights. Luckily, that’s a game they’re plenty experienced with by this point.
Key Questions
How Will Marner Look Outside of Toronto? The brightest spotlight in the league will be trained on Marner as he pursues his first season with the Golden Knights. The 28-year-old winger had a career-year last season, crossing the century mark for the first time with 102 points in 81 games. He’s paced for at least 100 points in each of the last four seasons, but often missed a handful of games for one reason or another. Still, that will be an incredible talent to join a Golden Knights offense already featuring Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. While he’s already played next to some of the best in the world, Marner could find the best setting of his career on Vegas’ top-line. If he does, the Golden Knights could find the X-factor they need to will to another Stanley Cup. If not, they’ll be strapped with a contract that pushes them against the cap ceiling, and a winger who commands attention in roster construction.
What’s Next For Pavel Dorofeyev? The Pavel Dorofeyev breakout was long-coming, and Golden Knights fans finally saw the payoff when the Russian winger chased a massive 35 goals and 52 points last season. The 24-year-old will enter the 2025-26 season with a strong argument for routine top-six minutes, and seemingly plenty of ramp to one-up on his hot-shooting season last year. Dorofeyev recorded a 13.8 shooting percentage last season, well within range of the 13.4 shooting percentage he posted in 47 games in the 2023-24 season. That could shed positive light on his chances to repeat his lofty goal total, especially as Vegas’ offense continues to load up. Dorofeyev is still due for a new contract next summer. It will be the deal that carries him through his prime years, and a price tag set by how well he’s able to maintain his performances this season.
Who Will Emerge As The Top Right-Defender? Vegas has suffered one major blow this summer. Pietrangelo will miss the entirety of the season, leaving the team without a clear-cut, top-pair right-defender. They’re loaded up on the left-side, with Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin vying for top minutes and Jeremy Lauzon and Zach Whitecloud sparring for the rest. But opposite of them, it seems Zach Whitecloud – who scored just 13 points and averaged 17:31 in ice time last season – sits as the most poised for hefty minutes. He’ll compete with Kaedan Korczak, who just cracked into the lineup last year, and Dylan Coghlan from the minor leagues. But in the end, Vegas could opt to play Hanifin on his off-hand side over all three options. Hanifin finished last season with 10 goals and 39 points in 80 games – six more goals and points than Pietrangelo. Next to the shifty Theodore, the consequences of playing on his backhand could be mitigated. That will be the test Vegas faces, as they tweak the bolts of the defense behind a loaded offense.
Photo courtesy of Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports and Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.