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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals

October 12, 2024 at 4:03 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

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 that 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 heading into the 2024-25 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 is the Capitals.

Washington Capitals

Current Cap Hit: $98,665,965 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Hendrix Lapierre (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses
Lapierre: $445K

Lapierre spent the bulk of last season with Washington with some short stints with AHL Hershey mixed in. Most of that time was in a bottom-six role, one he’s likely to have this season as well which means his bonuses are unlikely to be met, aside from possibly any games-played ones. A bridge agreement should be the outcome for Lapierre who, if he stays in the bottom six for most of this season, could possibly double his current price tag next summer.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Alexander Alexeyev ($825K, RFA)
F Nicklas Backstrom ($9.2MM, UFA)
D Ethan Bear ($2.0625MM, UFA)
D Jakob Chychrun ($4.6MM, UFA)
F Nic Dowd ($1.3MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Andrew Mangiapane ($5.8MM, UFA)
D Dylan McIlrath ($775K, UFA)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM, UFA)
F Taylor Raddysh ($1MM, UFA)
G Logan Thompson ($766.7K, UFA)
F Jakub Vrana ($775K, UFA)

Let’s get Backstrom and Oshie out of the way together as they’re in the same situation. Backstrom remains on LTIR where he was for most of last season while it’s unlikely that Oshie will be able to suit up this season either. GM Chris Patrick’s early-offseason spending was a strong indicator that the team doesn’t believe Oshie will be cleared to play.

Mangiapane was one of the additions through that early spending. After scoring 35 goals in 2021-22 (yielding this contract), he has just 31 in the two years since then although he has reached at least 40 points each time. At this point, a small pay cut could be coming but if he can even get back to 30 goals with his new team, Mangiapane could push past $6MM next summer.

Dowd has gone from being a regular fourth liner a few years ago to a regular third liner, pushing past 20 points in three straight years now. A center who can kill penalties, he’s in line to potentially add another million per season or so to that number, albeit on a short-term deal as he’ll be 35 next summer. Raddysh was non-tendered this summer, resulting in him looking for a short-term rebound deal. Only a year removed from a 20-goal campaign, he could double this next summer if he can get back to the 15-goal mark or so. Vrana had to earn a deal the hard way through a PTO but landed one earlier this week. After bouncing around a bit in recent years, it’s hard to see him commanding much more than the minimum unless he has a big season offensively.

Chychrun was brought in via an early July trade to help bolster the back end. He doesn’t produce enough to be a high-end threat offensively but he has reached the double-digit goal mark in three of the last five years and reached the 40-point plateau last season as well. If he stays in that range while continuing to play heavy minutes, his next deal could surpass $7MM on a long-term agreement.

Bear was a midseason signing last year that hasn’t panned out yet. After exiting the Player Assistance Program over the offseason, he wound up not making the team and cleared waivers earlier this month. He’ll carry a pro-rated $912.5K cap charge while with AHL Hershey and if he’s there all season, he’ll be looking at something closer to the minimum next summer. Alexeyev has had a limited role so far in his NHL action, primarily playing part-time on the third pairing. His qualifying offer checks in just below $920K with arbitration rights next summer but Washington won’t be able to afford that roster spot costing much more than that. McIlrath, meanwhile, has primarily been in the minors in recent years and accordingly, his next deal should come in at or near the minimum salary again.

Lindgren was a late bloomer but since joining Washington two years ago, he has established himself as at least a capable NHL netminder. Last season, he wrestled away the number one job from Darcy Kuemper which will only help his cause in negotiations. Still, with a limited track record (just 110 career NHL appearances heading into the season), an early extension isn’t likely – both sides probably want to wait and see what happens – but if he has a similar year to this one, he should earn at least $3MM on a multi-year agreement next summer. If it’s another year as a true starter, the recent five-year, $25MM contract given to Joey Daccord could come up in talks.

Thompson also has somewhat of a limited track record in terms of experience but is also a few years younger with better career numbers after three strong seasons in Vegas. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be shocking if his camp is already eyeing something close to Daccord’s new deal if and when extension talks get underway. The cheapest goalie in the NHL, Thompson’s next deal will certainly change that soon enough.

Signed Through 2025-26

D John Carlson ($8MM, UFA)
F Brandon Duhaime ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Martin Fehervary ($2.675MM, RFA)
F Connor McMichael ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Sonny Milano ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Alex Ovechkin ($9.5MM, UFA)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk ($3MM, UFA)

Ovechkin is one of the top scorers in NHL history and even with a very high AAV for most of his career, he has lived up to it. That might be ending soon strictly from a bang-for-buck perspective. The 39-year-old had the lowest full-season production of his career and players generally don’t have a resurgent year at that age. That said, with all he has done for them and the chase for the all-time record, the Capitals won’t be too concerned if they’re not getting top value here.

McMichael received a bridge deal which was a pretty obvious outcome considering he spent most of 2022-23 in the minors. But if he can stay in the top six regularly, he could double that next time out with arbitration eligibility and if it looks like he’s a core piece for the future by then, a long-term deal could push past $5MM. Milano managed 15 goals in 49 games last season which isn’t bad production for that price tag but the book on him in recent years is that he can be effective only in a limited role. That has hindered his market before and probably will next time out unless something changes over the next couple of years. Duhaime is a crash-and-bang winger who only managed five goals last season, making this price tag seemingly a bit high for that role but perhaps a change of scenery will allow him to contribute a bit more offensively which would set him up to pass $2MM next time out.

While Carlson didn’t light up the scoresheet as much as he has in the past, he did reach the double-digit goal mark for the sixth time in the last seven years last season and logged a career high in ice time at nearly 26 minutes a night. That type of playing time is unsustainable for a 34-year-old but he doesn’t need to play that much to justify this deal. He remains an all-situations type of player which should give this contract a good chance to hold up value-wise over the final two seasons. It’s not inconceivable that he lands a small raise next time out although the likelier outcome is more of a medium-term agreement that would allow the AAV to be a bit lower.

As for van Riemsdyk, he has found a home in Washington, going from being a player toward the end of the depth chart to spending a lot of time on the second pairing. This price tag for someone in that role is good value. He’ll be entering his age-35 year on his next contract so he might be hard-pressed to get much more than this in 2026. Fehervary, meanwhile, is on his bridge deal and has similarly played a lot on the second pairing. Given that he’s still 25, he could push past the $4MM mark if things go well, perhaps $5MM on a long-term pact. His current deal is front-loaded, carrying just a $1.075MM qualifying offer two years from now.

Signed Through 2026-27

None

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Pierre-Luc Dubois ($8.5MM through 2030-31)
F Aliaksei Protas ($3.375MM through 2028-29)
D Matt Roy ($5.75MM through 2029-30)
D Rasmus Sandin ($4.6MM through 2028-29)
F Dylan Strome ($5MM through 2030-31)
F Tom Wilson ($6.5MM through 2030-31)

Washington surprised many by taking a swing on Dubois who had a tough year with Los Angeles in the first season of that agreement. It’s a contract that looked to be above-market from the moment it was signed but the hope that he could become a consistent top-two center with size is tantalizing and likely led to the move. It could work out or it could become a big anchor on their books. It was a high-risk, high-reward play. The same can’t be said for Wilson. Power forwards get above-market contracts and this is certainly that, especially for someone who is starting a seven-year deal at 30. There’s a lot of risk in this move and the reward potential isn’t particularly high unless he can get back to being at least a 20-goal scorer.

It took Strome a while to establish himself as a reliable top-six forward but he has done just that since joining the Capitals. This contract looked a bit risky when it was signed as it was coming off just one strong season but now, after slightly besting those numbers last season, it might hold up as one of their better deals in a hurry. Protas’ pact was a bit surprising given that he has just 13 career goals in 169 games but he took a step forward offensively last season and has the size to make an impact. It’s a bit of a leap of faith but even if he stays around the 30-point mark (which he nearly reached last year), they’ll do fine with this contract.

Roy was Washington’s big splash in free agency to help shore up the back end. He’s someone who flew under the radar a bit in Los Angeles but now with a pricey contract to play top-pairing minutes most nights, that should change. He’s no longer a bargain as he was the last couple of years but this is a good deal for a number two defender as long as he can have success in that role with the Caps. Sandin’s contract is one where it will serve as a bit of an overpayment at the beginning with the hope that it will flip to a club-friendly agreement within a year or two. The addition of Chychrun seems likely to limit his playing time which could keep this contract on the pricey side for a little while longer but eventually, he should get back to playing in a top-four role.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None – they retained $3.9MM on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s deal in last season’s trade with Carolina but that came off the books when he agreed to mutually terminate the agreement with the Hurricanes this past offseason.

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Thompson
Worst Value: Dubois

Looking Ahead

Having over $14MM on LTIR gives the Capitals a cushion to work with even though they’re well over the salary cap. As things stand, they’re around $3.8MM below their revised spending ceiling. Notably, that doesn’t get larger as the season progresses so they have that much now or at the trade deadline if their roster stays as is. Still, that gives them ample insurance against injuries and if they’re in mix for the stretch run, they should have an opportunity to add a piece.

Looking to next season, they have $62.75MM in commitments, giving Patrick some room to work with. However, a good chunk of that will go toward re-signing their goalies, a new deal for Chychrun, and either re-signing or replacing Mangiapane, a top-six forward. Still, they’re not in too bad of shape. Ovechkin and Carlson are up the following summer, opening up more flexibility although the concern of Dubois and Wilson’s deals potentially not aging well will linger.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Active Roster Tracker

October 8, 2024 at 9:34 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 6 Comments

For the first time in our site’s history, Pro Hockey Rumors will keep a full listing of teams’ active rosters that will be updated as all moves, minor and major, come in each day.

If you have any questions, comments, or corrections, please send us a message through the Contact Us tab.

Anaheim Ducks

Last updated April 17, 7:30 p.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (13): Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Jansen Harkins, Ross Johnston, Alex Killorn, Brett Leason, Isac Lundeström, Mason McTavish, Ryan Strome, Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano, Tim Washe, Trevor Zegras

Defensemen (8): Radko Gudas, Drew Helleson, Oliver Kylington, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, Ian Moore, Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger

Goaltenders (3): Lukáš Dostál, John Gibson, Ville Husso

IR: F Robby Fabbri (upper body, week-to-week), F Brock McGinn (ACL surgery, out for season)

Boston Bruins

Last updated April 17, 5:50 p.m.
Roster size: 17

Forwards (10): John Beecher, Morgan Geekie, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Cole Koepke, Jakub Lauko, Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrňák, Pavel Zacha

Defensemen (5): Henri Jokiharju, Mason Lohrei, Andrew Peeke, Parker Wotherspoon, Nikita Zadorov

Goaltenders (2): Joonas Korpisalo, Jeremy Swayman

LTIR: D Hampus Lindholm (lower body, day-to-day), D Charlie McAvoy (shoulder, week-to-week)

Buffalo Sabres

Last updated April 15, 2:01 p.m.
Roster size: 25

Forwards (16): Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, Tyson Kozak, Peyton Krebs, Jiri Kulich, Sam Lafferty, Beck Malenstyn, Ryan McLeod, Joshua Norris, Noah Östlund, John-Jason Peterka, Jack Quinn, Isak Rosen, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker

Defensemen (7): Jacob Bernard-Docker, Jacob Bryson, Bowen Byram, Connor Clifton, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson

Goaltenders (2): Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, James Reimer

Calgary Flames

Last updated April 24, 8:00 p.m.
Roster size: 22

Forwards (12): Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Matthew Coronato, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Ryan Lomberg, Martin Pospisil, Kevin Rooney, Yegor Sharangovich, Connor Zary

Defensemen (8): Rasmus Andersson, Kevin Bahl, Jake Bean, Joel Hanley, Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal, Zayne Parekh, MacKenzie Weegar

Goaltenders (2): Daniel Vladař, Dustin Wolf

IR: F Justin Kirkland (ACL, out for season), F Anthony Mantha (ACL, out for season)

Carolina Hurricanes

Last updated April 19, 12:00 p.m.
Roster size: 25

Forwards (14): Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, William Carrier, Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski, Seth Jarvis, Tyson Jost, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Martinook, Eric Robinson, Jack Roslovic, Jordan Staal, Logan Stankoven, Andrei Svechnikov

Defensemen (8): Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, Alexander Nikishin, Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, Riley Stillman, Sean Walker

Goaltenders (3): Frederik Andersen, Ruslan Khazheyev, Pyotr Kochetkov

LTIR: F Jesper Fast (neck, out for season)

Chicago Blackhawks

Last updated April 24, 5:50 p.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (15): Connor Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jason Dickinson, Ryan Donato, Nick Foligno, Ryan Greene, Philipp Kurashev, Pat Maroon, Ilya Mikheyev, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, Lukas Reichel, Landon Slaggert, Teuvo Teräväinen, Joe Veleno

Defensemen (7): T.J. Brodie, Louis Crevier, Wyatt Kaiser, Alec Martinez, Connor Murphy, Sam Rinzel, Alex Vlasic

Goaltenders (2): Spencer Knight, Arvid Söderblom

IR: G Laurent Brossoit (knee, indefinite), D Shea Weber (lower body, out for season)

Colorado Avalanche

Last updated April 21, 2:10 p.m.
Roster size: 26

Forwards (15): Ross Colton, Charlie Coyle, Jonathan Drouin, Jack Drury, Parker Kelly, Joel Kiviranta, Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Nečas, Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin, Logan O’Connor, Jimmy Vesey, Miles Wood

Defensemen (8): Samuel Girard, Erik Johnson, Ryan Lindgren, Cale Makar, Sam Malinski, Josh Manson, Keaton Middleton, Devon Toews

Goaltenders (3): Mackenzie Blackwood, Kevin Mandolese, Scott Wedgewood

LTIR: D Tucker Poolman (head, out for season)

Columbus Blue Jackets

Last updated April 10, 8:25 p.m.
Roster size: 28

Forwards (16): Zach Aston-Reese, Yegor Chinakhov, Justin Danforth, Adam Fantilli, Christian Fischer, Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, Luke Kunin, Sean Kuraly, Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, Mathieu Olivier, Cole Sillinger, James van Riemsdyk, Dmitri Voronkov, Jack Williams

Defensemen (9): Jake Christiansen, Dante Fabbro, Erik Gudbranson, Jordan Harris, Jack Johnson, Denton Mateychuk, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Zach Werenski

Goaltenders (3): Jet Greaves, Elvis Merzļikins, Daniil Tarasov

IR: F Kevin Labanc (shoulder, out for season)

Dallas Stars

Last updated April 18, 2:29 p.m.
Roster size: 25

Forwards (14): Oskar Bäck, Jamie Benn, Colin Blackwell, Mavrik Bourque, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Mason Marchment, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin, Sam Steel

Defensemen (8): Lian Bichsel, Cody Ceci, Mathew Dumba, Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, Ilya Lyubushkin, Alexander Petrovic, Brendan Smith

Goaltenders (3): Casey DeSmith, Ben Kraws, Jake Oettinger

LTIR: D Miro Heiskanen (knee, week-to-week), D Nils Lundkvist (shoulder, out for season)

Detroit Red Wings

Last updated April 4, 11:06 a.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (13): Jonatan Berggren, J.T. Compher, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Marco Kasper, Dylan Larkin, Tyler Motte, Michael Rasmussen, Lucas Raymond, Craig Smith, Elmer Söderblom, Vladimir Tarasenko, Austin Watson

Defensemen (8): Ben Chiarot, Simon Edvinsson, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, Albert Johansson, William Lagesson, Jeff Petry, Moritz Seider

Goaltenders (3): Alex Lyon, Petr Mrázek, Cam Talbot

IR: F Andrew Copp (left pectoral tendon, out for season), F Carter Mazur (upper body, day-to-day)

Edmonton Oilers

Last updated April 15, 7:05 p.m.
Roster size: 28

Forwards (16): Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown, Leon Draisaitl, Adam Henrique, Quinn Hutson, Zach Hyman, Mattias Janmark, Max Jones, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Corey Perry, Noah Philp, Vasily Podkolzin, Derek Ryan, Jeff Skinner

Defensemen (10): Evan Bouchard, Connor Carrick, Cam Dineen, Mattias Ekholm, Ty Emberson, John Klingberg, Brett Kulak, Darnell Nurse, Troy Stecher, Jake Walman

Goalies (2): Calvin Pickard, Stuart Skinner

IR: F Trent Frederic (lower body, week to week)

LTIR: F Evander Kane (hernia/hip/knee, proj. return Feb. 19 – Mar. 19)

Florida Panthers

Last updated April 18, 2:31 p.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (14): Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Jesper Boqvist, Jonah Gadjovich, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Brad Marchand, Tomáš Nosek, Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm, Carter Verhaeghe

Defensemen (7): Uvis Balinskis, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulikov, Jaycob Megna, Niko Mikkola, Nate Schmidt

Goaltenders (3): Sergei Bobrovsky, Evan Cormier, Vítek Vaněček

LTIR: F Matthew Tkachuk (groin, week-to-week)

Suspended: D Aaron Ekblad (20 games, eligible to return Game 3 of Round One)

Los Angeles Kings

Last updated April 21, 2:18 p.m.
Roster size: 27

Forwards (16): Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala, Warren Foegele, Samuel Helenius, Tanner Jeannot, Adrian Kempe, Anže Kopitar, Andrei Kuzmenko, Alex Laferriere, Trevor Lewis, Jeff Malott, Trevor Moore, Akil Thomas, Alex Turcotte, Taylor Ward

Defensemen (8): Michael Anderson, Kyle Burroughs, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Joel Edmundson, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jacob Moverare, Jordan Spence

Goaltenders (3): Pheonix Copley, Darcy Kuemper, David Rittich

Minnesota Wild

Last updated April 21, 7:54 p.m.
Roster size: 31

Forwards (18): Matt Boldy, Travis Boyd, Justin Brazeau, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Frédérick Gaudreau, Brendan Gaunce, Hunter Haight, Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Marcus Johansson, Ben Jones, Kirill Kaprizov, Gustav Nyquist, Liam Ohgren, Marco Rossi, Yakov Trenin, Mats Zuccarello

Defensemen (10): Zach Bogosian, Jonas Brodin, Zeev Buium, Declan Chisholm, Cameron Crotty, Brock Faber, Carson Lambos, Jonathon Merrill, Jacob Middleton, Jared Spurgeon

Goaltenders (3): Marc-André Fleury, Filip Gustavsson, Samuel Hlavaj

SOIR: G Troy Grosenick (ACL, out for season)

Montreal Canadiens

Last updated May 3, 9:15 a.m.
Roster size: 22

Forwards (13): Josh Anderson, Joel Armia, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, Emil Heineman, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Michael Pezzetta, Juraj Slafkovský, Nick Suzuki

Defensemen (7): Alexandre Carrier, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, David Savard, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj

Goaltenders (2): Jakub Dobes, Sam Montembeault

IR: F Kirby Dach (knee, out for season)

LTIR: G Carey Price (knee, out for season)

Nashville Predators

Last updated April 21, 10:19 a.m.
Roster size: 19

Forwards (12): Michael Bunting, Luke Evangelista, Filip Forsberg, Zachary L’Heureux, Jonathan Marchessault, Michael McCarron, Ryan O’Reilly, Colton Sissons, Cole Smith, Steven Stamkos, Jakub Vrána, Matthew Wood

Defensemen (5): Justin Barron, Nick Blankenburg, Andreas Englund, Jordan Oesterle, Brady Skjei

Goaltenders (2): Justus Annunen, Juuse Saros

IR: D Roman Josi (upper body, week to week), D Jeremy Lauzon (lower body, out for season), D Adam Wilsby (upper body, out for season)

New Jersey Devils

Last updated April 24, 7:05 p.m.
Roster size: 35

Forwards (20): Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Paul Cotter, Justin Dowling, Nolan Foote, Cody Glass, Brian Halonen, Mike Hardman, Erik Haula, Nico Hischier, Curtis Lazar, Nathan Legare, Kurtis MacDermid, Marc McLaughlin, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, Stefan Noesen, Ondřej Palát, Daniel Sprong, Tomáš Tatar

Defensemen (11): Seamus Casey, Dennis Cholowski, Brenden Dillon, Brian Dumoulin, Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, Johnathan Kovacevic, Simon Nemec, Brett Pesce, Topias Vilen, Colton White

Goaltenders (4): Jake Allen, Nico Daws, Jacob Markström, Isaac Poulter

LTIR: F Jack Hughes (shoulder surgery, out for season), D Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body, out for season)

New York Islanders

Last updated April 13, 7:45 p.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (13): Casey Cizikas, Anthony Duclair, Pierre Engvall, Hudson Fasching, Marc Gatcomb, Simon Holmström, Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Kyle MacLean, Matt Martin, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Palmieri, Maxim Tsyplakov

Defensemen (9): Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo, Noah Dobson, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, Scott Perunovich, Ryan Pulock, Mike Reilly, Alexander Romanov

Goaltenders (2): Marcus Högberg, Ilya Sorokin

LTIR: F Mathew Barzal (kneecap, proj. return March 20), G Semyon Varlamov (lower body, indefinite)

New York Rangers

Last updated April 1, 8:01 p.m.
Roster size: 26

Forwards (16): Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Brett Berard, Jonny Brodzinski, Sam Carrick, William Cuylle, Arthur Kaliyev, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafrenière, J.T. Miller, Brennan Othmann, Artemi Panarin, Juuso Pärssinen, Gabe Perreault, Matt Rempe, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad

Defensemen (8): William Borgen, Calvin de Haan, Adam Fox, Zachary Jones, K’Andre Miller, Braden Schneider, Carson Soucy, Urho Vaakanainen

Goaltenders (2): Jonathan Quick, Igor Shesterkin

IR: F Adam Edstrom (lower body, proj. return April 17 – May 17)

Ottawa Senators

Last updated April 19, 12:00 p.m.
Roster size: 25

Forwards (14): Michael Amadio, Drake Batherson, Nick Cousins, Dylan Cozens, Adam Gaudette, Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, Matthew Highmore, Hayden Hodgson, David Perron, Shane Pinto, Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk, Fabian Zetterlund

Defensemen (8): Thomas Chabot, Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic, Nick Jensen, Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo, Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub

Goaltenders (3): Anton Forsberg, Leevi Merilainen, Linus Ullmark

Philadelphia Flyers

Last updated April 15, 11:40 a.m.
Roster size: 23

Forwards (13): Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, Nicolas Deslauriers, Karsen Dorwart, Tyson Foerster, Garnet Hathaway, Devin Kaplan, Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, Jakob Pelletier, Ryan Poehling, Owen Tippett

Defensemen (7): Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Cameron York, Yegor Zamula

Goaltenders (3): Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, Aleksei Kolosov

IR: D Ryan Ellis (pelvis, out for season)

Pittsburgh Penguins

Last updated April 18, 2:31 p.m.
Roster size: 23

Forwards (14): Noel Acciari, Sidney Crosby, Connor Dewar, Kevin Hayes, Danton Heinen, Bokondji Imama, Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Rutger McGroarty, Matthew Nieto, Thomas Novak, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino

Defensemen (7): Ryan Graves, Matt Grzelcyk, Erik Karlsson, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Kris Letang, Ryan Shea, Conor Timmins

Goaltenders (2): Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic

IR: D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (upper body, week-to-week)

San Jose Sharks

Last updated April 17, 7:30 p.m.
Roster size: 23

Forwards (14): Thomas Bordeleau, Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea, William Eklund, Barclay Goodrow, Noah Gregor, Carl Grundström, Klim Kostin, Nikolai Kovalenko, Cameron Lund, Zack Ostapchuk, Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Alexander Wennberg

Defensemen (7): Vincent Desharnais, Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Jack Thompson, Henry Thrun, Marc-Édouard Vlasic

Goaltenders (2): Alexandar Georgiev, Georgi Romanov

IR: F Logan Couture (groin, indefinite), D Jan Rutta (lower body, week-to-week)

Seattle Kraken

Last updated April 13, 7:45 p.m.
Roster size: 23

Forwards (13): Matthew Beniers, André Burakovsky, Jordan Eberle, Michael Eyssimont, John Hayden, Kaapo Kakko, Tye Kartye, Jared McCann, Jani Nyman, Jaden Schwartz, Chandler Stephenson, Eeli Tolvanen, Shane Wright

Defensemen (7): Vince Dunn, Ryker Evans, Cale Fleury, Adam Larsson, Josh Mahura, Brandon Montour, Jamie Oleksiak

Goaltenders (3): Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer, Victor Ostman

St. Louis Blues

Last updated April 18, 2:29 p.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (14): Zachary Bolduc, Pavel Buchnevich, Radek Faksa, Dylan Holloway, Mathieu Joseph, Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours, Brayden Schenn, Jimmy Snuggerud, Oskar Sundqvist, Alexandre Texier, Robert Thomas, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker

Defensemen (8): Philip Broberg, Justin Faulk, Cam Fowler, Matthew Kessel, Nick Leddy, Colton Parayko, Ryan Suter, Tyler Tucker

Goaltenders (3): Jordan Binnington, Will Cranley, Joel Hofer

LTIR: D Torey Krug (ankle, out for season)

Tampa Bay Lightning

Last updated May 1, 7:57 p.m.
Roster size: 22

Forwards (13): Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Mitchell Chaffee, Anthony Cirelli, Zemgus Girgensons, Luke Glendening, Gage Goncalves, Yanni Gourde, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov, Nick Paul, Brayden Point

Defensemen (7): Erik Černák, Victor Hedman, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, Ryan McDonagh, J.J. Moser, Nicklaus Perbix, Darren Raddysh

Goaltenders (2): Jonas Johansson, Andrei Vasilevskiy

Toronto Maple Leafs

Last updated April 20, 6:45 p.m.
Roster size: 24

Forwards (13): Max Domi, Pontus Holmberg, Calle Järnkrok, David Kämpf, Matthew Knies, Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann, William Nylander, Nicholas Robertson, John Tavares

Defensemen (8): Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev

Goaltenders (3): Artur Akhtyamov, Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll

IR: F Max Pacioretty (undisclosed, day-to-day)

LTIR: D Jani Hakanpää (knee, indefinite)

Utah Hockey Club

Last updated April 16, 5:50 p.m.
Roster size: 25

Forwards (14): Nick Bjugstad, Michael Carcone, Logan Cooley, Lawson Crouse, Josh Doan, Dylan Guenther, Barrett Hayton, Clayton Keller, Alexander Kerfoot, Matias Maccelli, Jack McBain, Liam O’Brien, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Stenlund

Defensemen (8): Robert Bortuzzo, Ian Cole, Nick DeSimone, Sean Durzi, Michael Kesselring, Olli Määttä, John Marino, Mikhail Sergachev

Goalies (1): Karel Vejmelka

IR: G Connor Ingram (upper body, indefinite)

Vancouver Canucks

Last updated April 17, 7:30 p.m.
Roster size: 20

Forwards (12): Nils Åman, Teddy Blueger, Brock Boeser, Filip Chytil, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Nils Höglander, Dakota Joshua, Drew O’Connor, Elias Pettersson, Kiefer Sherwood, Pius Suter

Defensemen (6): Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek, Quinn Hughes, Tyler Myers, Elias Pettersson, Marcus Pettersson

Goalies (2): Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen

IR: D Noah Juulsen (hernia surgery, out for season)

Vegas Golden Knights

Last updated April 24, 7:05 p.m.
Roster size: 34

Forwards (20): Ivan Barbashev, Callahan Burke, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Tomáš Hertl, Alexander Holtz, Brett Howden, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, Tanner Laczynski, Raphael Lavoie, Victor Olofsson, Tanner Pearson, Jonas Rondbjerg, Nicolas Roy, Brandon Saad, Matyas Sapovaliv, Cole Schwindt, Reilly Smith, Mark Stone

Defensemen (10): Nicolas Hague, Robert Hagg, Noah Hanifin, Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, Dysin Mayo, Brayden McNabb, Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud

Goaltenders (4): Adin Hill, Carl Lindbom, Ilya Samsonov, Akira Schmid

Washington Capitals

Last updated: May 1, 7:40 p.m.
Roster size: 26

Forwards (14): Anthony Beauvillier, Nic Dowd, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brandon Duhaime, Lars Eller, Ethen Frank, Ryan Leonard, Andrew Mangiapane, Connor McMichael, Alex Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas, Taylor Raddysh, Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson

Defensemen (9): Alexander Alexeyev, Ethan Bear, John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun, Martin Fehérváry, Dylan McIlrath, Matt Roy, Rasmus Sandin, Trevor van Riemsdyk

Goaltenders (3): Mitchell Gibson, Charlie Lindgren, Logan Thompson

LTIR: F Nicklas Bäckström (hip, out for season), F Sonny Milano (upper body, indefinite), F T.J. Oshie (back, indefinite)

Winnipeg Jets

Last updated: April 13, 7:45 p.m.
Roster size: 27

Forwards (16): Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Mason Appleton, Morgan Barron, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, David Gustafsson, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, Adam Lowry, Vladislav Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter, Cole Perfetti, Mark Scheifele, Brandon Tanev, Dominic Toninato, Gabriel Vilardi

Defensemen (9): Dylan DeMelo, Haydn Fleury, Ville Heinola, Colin Miller, Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Dylan Samberg, Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley

Goaltenders (2): Eric Comrie, Connor Hellebuyck

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Pittsburgh Penguins

October 5, 2024 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Pittsburgh Penguins

Current Cap Hit: $88,037,434 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Rutger McGroarty (three years, $950K)

Potential Bonuses
McGroarty: $500K

McGroarty was recently acquired from Winnipeg after the winger told the Jets he wouldn’t sign with them. He should have an opportunity to push for a roster spot right away (or at least be the first recall from the minors). Bonus-wise, the exact structure of the $500K isn’t publicized but it’s likely two ‘A’ bonuses ($425K in total) and $75K in games played. If he’s a regular, he should get the games played one at a minimum while his role will go a long way toward determining if he has a shot at one of the ‘A’ bonuses.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

F Anthony Beauvillier ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Lars Eller ($2.45MM, UFA)
F Cody Glass ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Matthew Nieto ($900K, UFA)
F Drew O’Connor ($925K, UFA)
D Marcus Pettersson ($4.025MM, UFA)
F Jesse Puljujarvi ($800K, UFA)
D Matt Grzelcyk ($2.75MM, UFA)

Glass was acquired from Nashville in a cap-clearing move from them this summer. He’s only one season removed from a 35-point effort but struggled last year. He’ll need to get back to his 2022-23 level if he has a shot at getting a qualifying offer, one that would carry arbitration rights. As things stand, he’s a non-tender candidate. Eller remains a serviceable third-line center most nights, a role he has held for most of his career. However, he’ll be 36 when this deal is up and with offensive production usually under 35 points, he’s probably going to be going year-to-year moving forward at or slightly below this price tag. Beauvillier is also coming off a rough year between three separate teams, resulting in a $2.75MM pay cut. There’s room for him to rebound and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him land a multi-year deal next summer with a price tag above $2MM at a minimum.

O’Connor is coming off of his best season offensively by far after notching 33 points in 2023-24. While both sides will want to see if this is repeatable before approaching extension talks, if he can maintain those numbers, he could triple that price tag heading into next season. Nieto missed most of last season due to injury and is month-to-month heading into the start of the season, meaning he could land on LTIR to get the Penguins cap compliant. Given the injuries, he’ll probably be looking at a contract close to this price tag again next summer. Puljujarvi was a later-season signing last year and at this point, is simply looking to establish himself as a full-time NHL player once again. A small raise could be doable if he does that.

Pettersson is now the most notable pending UFA on the roster. He logged over 22 minutes a game last season while reaching 30 points for the first time, certainly a positive heading into early negotiations. He’ll be entering his age-29 year next season so his next deal could push past the $5MM mark on a longer-term agreement. Grzelcyk is looking to rebuild some value after a tough season in Boston. If he does, he could get back to the near-$3.7MM AAV from his past deal.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Noel Acciari ($2MM, UFA)
D Sebastian Aho ($775K, UFA)
F Michael Bunting ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Kevin Hayes ($3.571MM, UFA)*
F Blake Lizotte ($1.85MM, UFA)
F Evgeni Malkin ($6.1MM, UFA)
G Alex Nedeljkovic ($2.5MM, UFA)

*-Philadelphia is retaining an additional $3.571MM on Hayes’ contract.

Malkin’s contract went to the wire two years ago and it wound up being a case of term being used to keep the cap hit down. So far, he has provided a very strong return on the deal but he’s now 38 and showing signs of slowing down. That could make the final couple of seasons a bit tougher to deal with from a value perspective.

Bunting was acquired at the trade deadline as part of the Jake Guentzel trade and seemed to fit in better with the Penguins than he did in Carolina, coming close to averaging a point per game following the swap. Part of the challenge last summer for him was trying to argue that he could produce away from Toronto’s top line where he had spent the bulk of his still-limited NHL career (his first two full seasons at the top level). But Bunting managed to produce at a similar rate last year and if he has a couple more seasons around that level of production (he had 55 points in 2023-24), he should have a case at a longer-term deal next time out at a price tag closer to the $6MM mark.

Hayes was a faceoff ace for St. Louis last season but saw his point total nearly cut in half compared to 2022-23, resulting in the Blues parting with a second-round pick to shed the rest of the contract. Assuming he stays in a bottom-six role, his Pittsburgh portion of the contract is about what his market value might be in 2026. Acciari had a quiet first season with the Penguins on their fourth line. He’ll need a bounce-back effort to have a shot at matching this price tag even though he’s above average at the faceoff dot. Lizotte, meanwhile, was non-tendered by the Kings after a quiet season but his track record as an effective bottom-six piece helped earn this agreement. He’ll need to get back to scoring double-digit goals per season if he wants to cross the $2MM mark.

Aho came over from the Islanders in free agency, getting a one-way salary for the fourth and fifth straight seasons. Until he locks down a full-time top-six spot, however, he’s likely to stay close to the league minimum moving forward.

Nedeljkovic took over the starting job down the stretch last season, helping him earn this deal to avoid testing free agency. He has been hit or miss throughout his still relatively brief NHL career and will need two more seasons like last year to have a shot at getting back to that upper echelon of platoon options.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Sidney Crosby ($8.7MM, UFA)
D Erik Karlsson ($9.999MM, UFA)*

*-San Jose is retaining an additional $1.5MM on Karlsson’s contract.

Many expected Crosby to sign a contract extension on July 1st but it wound up taking more than two full months before he put pen to paper on this deal, maintaining the same cap hit he has had since 2008. He’s entering the final season of a now-illegal 12-year contract and at the time it was signed, some wondered if those last couple of years could be tough from a value perspective given that he’s entering his age-37 season. Considering he’s coming off yet another season of averaging more than a point per game (something he’s done in all 19 years), those concerns were unfounded, helping him earn this extension.

Karlsson, as expected, wasn’t able to match the 101 points he put up in his final season with San Jose. However, with 56, he was still well above average in that regard. It’s going to be next to impossible for the 34-year-old to provide surplus value on his cap hit but as long as he’s still one of the higher-end offensive players among NHL blueliners, they’ll do okay value-wise. He’s not a $10MM player at this point but he’s not necessarily too far off that mark either.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

D Ryan Graves ($4.5MM through 2028-29)
G Tristan Jarry ($5.375MM through 2027-28)
D Kris Letang ($6.1MM through 2027-28)
F Rickard Rakell ($5MM through 2027-28)
F Bryan Rust ($5.125MM through 2027-28)

Rust has become a consistent and dependable secondary scorer, notching at least 20 goals in five straight years including a career-best 28 last season. Someone with that type of offensive track record would be passing at least $6MM on the open market although it’s worth noting he’ll be 36 when this deal ends. Rakell’s first full season in Pittsburgh (the first on this contract) was a strong one but he took a step back last season, dropping to 37 points. He has only passed 50 points twice in the last seven years which makes this deal a bit on the pricey side unless he can get back to that level of production.

Letang has been a strong offensive producer from the back end for most of his 18-year NHL career and getting that at this price tag is pretty good, for now at least. However, he’ll be turning 41 when this deal ends. At some point, Pittsburgh will have to scale back his minutes with his production dropping accordingly which will turn this into a bad-value contract. That point isn’t coming this season, however. Graves had a particularly rough first season with the Penguins. Signed to stabilize their back end, he struggled while playing a more limited role. He’ll need to find his form again or this could be a drag on their books for a while.

Jarry’s price tag is reasonable for a starting goalie. However, he found himself benched down the stretch last season, leading some to wonder if he’ll be in more of a platoon situation with Nedeljkovic (when he’s able to return from injury). This would be an above-market deal for a platoon netminder but if he can reclaim the outright starting job and make 50 or so starts per season, this deal should hold up okay.

Buyouts

D Jack Johnson ($917K through 2025-26)

Retained Salary Transactions

D Jeff Petry ($1.563MM in 2024-25)
F Reilly Smith ($1.25MM in 2024-25)

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Crosby
Worst Value: Graves

Looking Ahead

It won’t be hard for the Penguins to get into cap compliance with Nieto moving to LTIR or the team returning to carrying two goalies when Nedeljkovic returns. However, the fact that an injury puts them this tight to the cap means they’ll be hard-pressed to bank any sort of significant in-season cap space unless they elect to carry fewer than the maximum of 23 players.

They project to be one of the teams with above-average flexibility after that. While they have nearly $69MM on the books for next season already, Pettersson is the only contract of significance to contend with. More than $23MM comes off the books the following summer and they only have five players that are truly signed long-term. GM Kyle Dubas has one of the oldest rosters once again heading into this season but the opportunity to reshape it further is coming fast.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PHR Mailbag: Nurse, Maple Leafs, Swayman, LTIR, Preseason, Metropolitan Division

October 5, 2024 at 2:19 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the Jeremy Swayman contract drama, handicapping the Metropolitan Division, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back next weekend for part two.

wreckage: Everyone knows and even Edmonton fans admit, they need to upgrade on Nurse as their 3D but it’s impossible at his contract, especially with his NMC. And now some certain ESPN guy is saying Seth Jones to EDM makes sense, despite the fact the time Caleb was there was tumultuous with their mother’s claims on the old Twitterverse. Does any of that rumor make sense? Even in the slightest?

First, let me say that I’m blissfully unaware of those claims from the Twitterverse which allows me to actually ponder the idea on its merits. Before getting into that, I’ll note that only six players remain from Caleb’s tenure with Edmonton with a different head coach, GM, president, and much more. The culture is different, the team is mostly different; if there were concerns before, those same concerns might not be around anymore.

On the surface, the idea of a swap with Darnell Nurse and Jones makes a lot of sense in theory if there’s a desire to make a change there. Nurse’s contract ($9.25MM through 2029-30) makes it incredibly difficult to swap him for an upgrade as a lot of teams will view the price tag as a negative. With Jones making similar money ($9.5MM through 2029-30), the cap charge isn’t the issue. It’s one overpaid blueliner for another. If both teams think that they’re better off with the other overpaid player, a swap would make sense. I don’t think it’ll happen though. I’d say Chicago says no given the left-defense organizational depth they have, making Nurse a bit redundant compared to the right side where they’re much thinner. But value-wise, it’s not a bad framework for a swap.

gowings2008: Is it crazy to think the Leafs are primed for a step back this year? There are so many question marks. Can Matthews, Nylander, and Marner repeat career years? Will Tavares continue to decline and how fast? Will Chris Tanev’s body hold up? Are they getting Florida OEL or Vancouver OEL? Are Knies and McMann legit? Do they even have an NHL fourth line? Is Woll really the answer with just 34 career starts? I really think if just a couple of these things don’t bounce in the Leafs’ direction, they’ll be on the outside looking in come playoff time. The Atlantic is no walk in the park, especially this year.

It’s not crazy to think that Toronto could take a significant step back this season. We know of them being a top regular season team under former coach Sheldon Keefe but will things be different under Craig Berube? They’re now built with an eye on being more effective in the playoffs. Will the uncertainty around Mitch Marner’s final year of his contract turn into a distraction? I don’t think so but it could. I’m not as worried about the defense and some of the other forwards that you mentioned but there is one giant wild card.

The goaltending isn’t just a question about Joseph Woll but also Anthony Stolarz. Neither player has even been a 1B option in the NHL. They each made career highs in starts last season, making 23 and 24 combined. There are 82 games in the regular season. How will they hold up under the bigger workload? And with oft-injured Matt Murray and Dennis Hildeby as the in-house options to turn to if injuries or general fatigue arise, they’re taking a risk.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the approach they’re taking. There’s upside to both Woll and Stolarz and if they even provide average goaltending, they’ll be fine. But if they falter, they could very well be in trouble.

But that said, I don’t see much reason to think they won’t be a top-three team in the Atlantic this season. While they have questions, no doubt, so do a lot of other teams not named Florida. In that case, I’d back the team with the track record of winning a lot of regular season games to continue doing so.

Johnny Z: So did Neely make the $64M contract offer to Jeremy Swayman and his agent sat on it and did not tell his client? Does Swayman take this offer and fires his agent? Will Neely take the offer off the table? Will Swayman end up on the trade block? What a mess!

First, let me say that this has turned into a bit of a bizarre situation. With the various reporting that’s out there, I get the sense that the $64MM might not have been offered but $62MM or $63MM might have been. So while Swayman’s agent is technically correct from a semantics perspective, the last offer compared to Cam Neely’s stated number is pretty close and probably wasn’t going to be the difference-maker in getting something done or not.

Enough time has passed since this was revealed so if the offer was going to be taken, it would have been taken by now. It sure seems like there’s still a pretty sizable gap to bridge which, evidently, is going to take some time. I don’t think we’re at the point of a more ‘nuclear option’ being an agent change, an offer revocation, or a trade demand. By all accounts, Swayman’s desire is to be in Boston and the Bruins clearly want him as their long-term starter which is why shorter-term agreements haven’t been discussed in much detail yet.

There are various pressure points that help to spur things, be it a trade (the deadline) or a contract (arbitration hearing, training camp, etc). The next one is the start of the regular season early next week where things get more complicated cap-wise as his cap charge for 2024-25 would be higher than his overall AAV (as long as it’s a multi-year deal). Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli explains that more in detail if you’re interested. Assuming something isn’t done by then, then there might be a waiting game to see if the leverage shifts. If Boston starts strong without him, that might lower Swayman’s price while if they falter, the Bruins might decide they have to go a bit higher to close a contract. Things took a turn for the worse this week with the public comments but I expect a deal will still get done…eventually.

rule78.1: How long do you think it will take for the NHL/NHLPA to address LTIR? Because someone within the Vegas organization has found all the holes and is taking full advantage of them.

For those who haven’t seen it, the latest LTIR situation saw Vegas remove the cap hit of Robin Lehner. Technically, Vegas was within their rights to attempt to terminate his contract because he didn’t (or couldn’t) report for his physical. I think in the end, the Golden Knights were prepared to do so, the NHLPA fully intended to grieve and this time, instead of just doing it and waiting to see the outcome of the hearing (like the Flyers are doing with Ryan Johansen, for example), they just worked out the compromise here.

One of the few things we know about this is that there’s a lot we don’t know. As ESPN’s Emily Kaplan relayed earlier this week, there was a specific reason why Lehner was unable to attend, one of a sensitive nature. Due to that, the NHL and NHLPA agreed that this is an “unprecedented and highly unique” case. So is this circumvention? I can definitely see the argument that it is but given how rarely in-season grievances involve restoring a cap charge, I think they might have just done the settlement early instead of reaching it in November or December or whenever the hearing would have happened.

As to your question, it’s a CBA matter since it’s related to salary cap accounting. It’s not something that can unilaterally be changed beforehand. The NHL has been doing its due diligence in terms of speaking to owners, presidents, and GMs to get a sense of the appetite for change. How many want to make a change and how big of one do they want? I think more want to change something than don’t but the extent of the change is up in the air.

The next CBA starts in 2026-27 and while both the NHL and NHLPA would probably like to have an agreement done before then, it’s unlikely any significant cap changes (including LTIR) would come into play until the new document is in effect. So for the next two years, the status quo is probably going to continue to be in place.

PyramidHeadcrab: Why is it that, during the preseason, teams will cut and send a few players down to the A, only to recall them literally the next day? I see this happen every year, and it’s always perplexing. I don’t really understand the purpose of this move – why not hold on to these players for a couple more days if the plan is to just bring them back anyway?

And what is the real-world implication of this? Do they get a call halfway to Charlotte to make a U-turn and head back to Sunrise?

Generally speaking, the timing of the recalls usually aren’t the next day although there are some exceptions. But the really short-term ones could be related to waivers (wanting to get a player through early at a more advantageous time – goalies, in particular), some of it could be money-related (players in training camp get per diems so shuffling players back, or a coaching staff simply having a change of heart as to how many regulars they want to play in an upcoming game.

In your scenario, it’s possible that they get the call partway on their trip to the minors but it wouldn’t shock me if some of the players were told they were being sent down but also to stay in town for a day or two before making the trip in case they’re needed. Maybe not for ones where the AHL team is close but in your Florida scenario, I’d hope they didn’t actually have someone make a U-turn partway.

The more common ones are those who are sent down for a few days and then return. The bulk of the heavy cuts typically line up with the start of AHL training camps. They’re sent down to line up with the start of those practices to get ready for the start of AHL preseason (which is now underway) and then if the NHL team wants to dress fewer regulars, they get recalled for spot duty for that game and go back after. We’ve seen a lot of those already including several today (with probably more to come).

schaefman21: Almost everyone picking NYR to win Metro, however, didn’t the NYR set an NHL record for most come-from-behind wins in 2023-24 en route to their division title? If so, shouldn’t we expect some “regression to the mean” this year meaning the Metro is wide open to NJD, CAR, and NYR?

First, yes, the Rangers did set this record last season with 34 come-from-behind victories in the regular season plus six more in the playoffs. I can see the logic in the argument that they may have had some good fortune in that but a lot of those comebacks were when they were down 1-0 or 2-1 early in the game. Quite a few teams were in the 20s in that category last season; it’s not as if New York was miles ahead of everyone else in that regard. But yes, some of those could be flipped.

However, the Rangers are largely running back the same team that won the division last season. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, lost several players this summer with replacements that aren’t as impactful. I think many would suggest that they’ve taken a step back or two talent-wise. I think that more than offsets a handful of comebacks that could go the other way for the Rangers this season.

Could New Jersey make a run at the division? I’d say it’s possible if they can stay healthy as they have improved considerably and looked pretty good in their two games in Prague. But teams generally don’t miss the playoffs one year and win the division the next. It’s not impossible but if I had to pick between them and the Rangers, the safer and more logical bet would be the team that did it a year ago and had little turnover. It wouldn’t shock me if the Devils took the Metropolitan Division but I’d say the Rangers being the preseason speculative favorite makes sense to me.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers

October 3, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Philadelphia Flyers

Current Cap Hit: $84,829,763 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Tyson Foerster (one year, $863K)
F Matvei Michkov (three years, $950K)

Potential Bonuses
Michkov: $3.3MM

Michkov was able to get out of his contract two years early to the surprise of many, enabling him to come to North America this season. Projected to be a key cog of their rebuild, he’s likely someone they’ll want to sign long-term by the time this deal is up. From a bonus perspective, he has $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses, four at $250K apiece. If he plays the prominent role it looks like he will this season, those could be reachable although the ‘B’ bonus is highly unlikely to be met. Foerster’s first full NHL campaign was a solid one with 20 goals. That said, he’d need a significant breakout to bypass a bridge deal, especially with this management group generally leaning toward using those. In that case, something around the $3MM mark is where his next contract might land.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

F Noah Cates ($2.625MM, RFA)
F Morgan Frost ($2.1MM, RFA)
D Erik Johnson ($1MM, UFA)
G Cal Petersen ($5MM, UFA)
D Cam York ($1.6MM, RFA)

Cates was someone who received a recent bridge contract, a move that looks wise on Philadelphia’s part given his struggles last season. He’ll need to get back to at least his rookie-season numbers (38 points in 82 games) to have a shot at a qualifying offer when he’ll have arbitration rights as well. Frost was no stranger to the rumor mill last season but still wound up with his second straight season of more than 40 points. If he hangs around that number again, he could double his $2.4MM qualifying offer on his next deal, one that likely will buy out some UFA-eligible years.

York finished off last season on a high note, providing plenty of optimism heading into this season. Yet another player who is on a bridge agreement, if he plays at the level that he finished at last year, tripling this price tag wouldn’t be out of the question while quadrupling it on a long-term deal could be doable as well. Johnson was picked up at the deadline to give them a serviceable veteran at the back of their lineup and was extended to fill that role for this season. He’ll be going year to year from here and considering he’s best served as a sixth defender, it’s unlikely he could command much more than this next time around.

Petersen has already cleared waivers and he’ll once again play in Lehigh Valley where he’ll carry a slightly reduced cap hit of $3.85MM. It’s safe to say he won’t come anywhere near that next time around; a six-figure deal is more likely.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Bobby Brink ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Jamie Drysdale ($2.3MM, RFA)
G Samuel Ersson ($1.45MM, RFA)
G Ivan Fedotov ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Scott Laughton ($3MM, UFA)
F Ryan Poehling ($1.9MM, UFA)
D Yegor Zamula ($1.7MM, RFA)

When Laughton signed this contract at the 2021 trade deadline (taking himself out of trade talks in the process), it seemed like somewhat of a team-friendly deal at the time. It still is today. The 30-year-old isn’t the biggest offensive threat (only reaching 40 points once in his career) but is a solid defensive player. He should be able to add at least $1MM to this next time out on another multi-year agreement. Poehling accepted this deal as a midseason extension back in January, giving him a bit of stability after starting the year on his third team in as many seasons. He’s coming off his best offensive output (28 points) but will need to show that’s repeatable if he wants to get into that next tier of money.

Deslauriers got more money and term than many expected for an enforcer but his track record of scoring a bit more than a typical tough guy helped his marketability. That’s a harder sell now at this point of his career coming off a one-goal, four-point campaign. He still can fill that role but with the decline in production and the fact he’ll be 35 when this contract expires, it’s hard to see him getting this on his next deal. Brink is yet another player on a bridge deal after a season that saw him establish himself as a regular. He’ll have arbitration rights next time out and between that and ideally two more years of being a full-timer, he should at least get past $2MM, obviously more if he becomes more of a contributor offensively.

Drysdale was the key piece coming to Philadelphia in the Cutter Gauthier trade but as was the case at times in Anaheim, injuries limited him. He’s someone who has shown flashes of being an above-average player at the NHL level and if he puts it together and stays healthy, pushing past $6MM isn’t out of the question. But, if injuries continue to be an issue, a second one-year bridge agreement might be the safest play, one that would eclipse $3MM with arbitration rights. Zamula inked this bridge deal in early July after locking down a regular role last season. He’ll need to at least move past being more of a fifth or sixth defender over the next two seasons since his offensive game is somewhat limited (which will hurt him in an arbitration hearing). Notably, his qualifying offer in 2026 is only $1.4MM since signing bonus money doesn’t count in calculating those offers.

After a long battle to get him to North America, Fedotov debuted late in the season (although he struggled in limited action) and quickly received this two-year agreement, a sign of the faith the team has in him. He’ll need to establish himself as at least a 1B type of goaltender to hang around this price tag but if he plays up to expectations, this deal will be a team-friendly one for Philadelphia. The early extension to Ersson raised some eyebrows but after becoming their starter, it’s a move that looks great for the Flyers already. He will have one RFA-eligible season remaining once this deal expires and if he’s still in the starting role, it stands to reason that his next contract should be at least three times this one.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Ryan Ellis ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($2.375MM in 2024-25, $2.4MM in 2025-26 and 2026-27, UFA)
D Rasmus Ristolainen ($5.1MM, UFA)

Hathaway had a good first season for the Flyers while splitting time between the third and fourth lines. Rather than see what his market value would be this coming summer, he accepted an early extension at pretty much the same money. That gets him under contract through his age-35 season and at that point, it would be tough predicting that he’d get more than that if he’s still in that role. Ellis, meanwhile, will remain on LTIR, giving the Flyers the ability to spend above the cap if needed.

Ristolainen remains one of the more polarizing defensemen in the league. He’s someone who has played big minutes in all situations in the past and his contract is one where the price tag suggests that he should be in a second or third role. However, that wasn’t the case last year. His ice time – when healthy – was much more limited than usual and he responded with a decent performance in that role. It’s probably not enough to give him any standalone trade value but if it’s a case where less is more for Ristolainen, the Flyers could still get at least a bit of value on this contract, albeit on an above-market price point relative to last season’s ice time.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Sean Couturier ($7.75MM through 2029-30)
F Joel Farabee ($5MM through 2027-28)
F Travis Konecny ($5.5MM in 2024-25, $8.75MM from 2025-26 through 2032-33)
D Travis Sanheim ($6.25MM through 2030-31)
D Nick Seeler ($2.7MM through 2027-28)
F Owen Tippett ($6.2MM through 2031-32)

Konecny has turned the corner offensively over the last two seasons. He averaged just over a point per game in 2022-23 (though he missed 22 games) and then followed that up with career bests in goals (33) and points (68) last season, giving him some leverage in negotiations. His new deal is on the high side for someone who hasn’t reached 70 points yet but there’s an expectation that he should reach that point soon. If he can find another gear offensively, this should hold up relatively well. Otherwise, it’ll be an overpayment.

When Couturier signed this contract, he was coming off a quality season offensively (although he missed nearly half of it due to injury). The hope was that he could at least maintain an above-average level of offensive production for a few years and that coupled with his strong defensive game would give them at least a few seasons of value on this deal. That hasn’t happened so far. In the first three years, he has missed more games than he’s played and last season (when he was largely healthy), he struggled, was moved down the lineup, and became the first captain to be healthy scratched (not for rest) in a decade. He’s still a serviceable player, no doubt, but this price tag is on the high side for someone trending toward being more of a middle-six piece than a top-liner.

Farabee signed his old deal when Chuck Fletcher was still in charge and considering the promise he showed in his first two seasons, the move made sense. His development has had some ups and downs since then but after putting up 50 points last year, the contract is trending towards a team-friendly one if he even maintains that type of production. Tippett, meanwhile, is one of the few long-term deals given out by GM Daniel Briere. Power forwards, given their level of scarcity, tend to get bigger money relative to their production and that’s where things fall for him now. But he’s not far off the 30-goal mark and at 25, there’s still a runway to improvement production-wise. It might be a short-term slight overpayment but in the end, this should be a team-friendly pact fairly quickly.

Sanheim took a big step forward offensively last season, one that skews the evaluation of this deal to an extent as he struggled in that department in the first year of the contract in 2022-23. Philadelphia is counting on him to play big minutes, especially on the penalty kill and that isn’t going to be in question moving forward. If he can stay at this level (44 points) offensively, it’ll be a very team-friendly deal quickly. If he reverts to 2022-23 (17 points), it’ll be an overpayment. The likeliest outcome is that his production lands somewhere in the middle, making it a pretty fair deal overall. Seeler’s price tag seemed a bit high for someone strictly on the third pairing although some of the comparable contracts handed out in free agency arguably make this a team-friendly pact relative to those. If he can have the same impact as last year moving forward, they’ll do alright with this contract.

Buyouts

F Cam Atkinson ($2.358MM in 2024-25, $1.758MM in 2025-26)
D Tony DeAngelo ($1.667MM in 2024-25)

Retained Salary Transactions

F Kevin Hayes ($3.571MM through 2025-26)

Pending Grievances

F Ryan Johansen

The Flyers terminated Johansen’s deal citing a material breach but didn’t go into any specifics from there. The NHLPA has formally filed a grievance to contest it. For the time being, his $4MM cap charge (and Nashville’s $4MM) is off their books but all or part of that could be restored pending the outcome of the hearing. Depending on what happens there, that could materially affect their cap situation for this season.

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Ersson
Worst Value: Couturier

Looking Ahead

For now, the Flyers enter the season with ample cap space and flexibility pending the Johansen situation. If it holds (or there’s a lower-cost settlement), Philadelphia should be able to absorb any of the bonuses that Michkov earns, avoiding the overage penalty like they have this season ($245K) while having some flexibility for in-season movement. If Johansen’s cap hit gets restored, they at least have the Ellis LTIR room available to them, giving them some security on that front although they’d face the bonus overage if they can’t get out from under it.

Philadelphia already has over $73MM in commitments for 2025-26 on the books although that leaves them ample space to re-sign their pending RFAs without much issue. 2026-27 sees them with only $51.35MM in commitments so that might be the summer that Briere will be able to take a bigger swing at improving the roster, one that should coincide with them exiting their current rebuild.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers

September 30, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

New York Rangers

Current Cap Hit: $87,376,524 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F William Cuylle (one year, $828K)
F Adam Edstrom (one year, $847K)
F Matt Rempe (one year, $820K)

Potential Bonuses
Cuylle: $57.5K (games played)

Cuylle’s first full NHL season was a solid one for someone who primarily played on the fourth line. It’s unlikely that he’ll play much higher up this year and with New York’s long-term cap situation, it’s safe to say they’ll be looking for a bridge deal, one that should check in around the $1.4MM mark. Edstrom is someone who could bounce back and forth this season and in that case, New York will probably ask him to accept closer to the $775K minimum in exchange for a one-way contract. Rempe quickly became a fan favorite for his pugilistic skills but will need to be trusted to play more than six minutes a night if he’s to push for any sort of pricey second contract. As things stand, he’s likely to land around $1MM on a bridge agreement if he stays up full-time in 2024-25.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Zachary Jones (813K, RFA)
F Kaapo Kakko ($2.4MM, RFA)
F Alexis Lafreniere ($2.325MM, RFA)
D Ryan Lindgren ($4.5MM, UFA)
D K’Andre Miller ($3.872MM, RFA)
G Jonathan Quick ($1.275MM, UFA)
D Chad Ruhwedel ($775K, UFA)
G Igor Shesterkin ($5.67MM, UFA)
F Reilly Smith ($3.75MM, UFA)*
F Jimmy Vesey ($800K, UFA)

*-Pittsburgh is retaining an additional $1.25MM of Smith’s contract.

Potential Bonuses
Quick: $25K (20 starts plus a save percentage of .915 or more)

Smith was acquired on the opening day of free agency as New York’s free agent plans seemingly didn’t pan out. On the surface, they probably only wanted someone on a one-year deal so the pivot to this made sense. Smith is coming off a down year with Pittsburgh but is only a year removed from a 56-point effort. If he can get back to that, he could maintain his full $5MM salary for a few more years but the likelier scenario is something in the $4MM range. Kakko accepted his qualifying offer early to take one more run at things in New York. Until he can become more than a third liner, however, it’s hard to foresee him getting much more than this. Vesey, meanwhile, had one of his best years last season and a repeat performance could allow him to potentially double his price tag but the Rangers will need to keep that salary slot closer to where it is now.

Lafreniere is one of the more intriguing pending restricted free agents from the 2025 class. After struggling through his entry-level contract (resulting in this bridge deal), he was much more impactful last season, showing the skill that made him a top pick before following it up with a strong playoff run. Still just 22, there’s cause for optimism that Lafreniere could still beat his numbers from a year ago which will only send the price tag up even more. Assuming that he can at least maintain his 2023-24 output, Lafreniere’s next contract should push past the $6MM mark at a minimum; it wouldn’t be surprising to see it go to a seven.

Lindgren settled for a one-year deal earlier this summer, one that will grant him unrestricted free agency at 27. However, his offensive numbers are rather limited; he has yet to reach the 20-point mark. That should limit him on the open market although a small raise from this price tag could be doable. Miller is another player who had to settle for a bridge deal given New York’s cap situation at the time. He wasn’t quite as impactful statistically last season but still played top-pairing minutes, putting him on track for a fair-sized raise. His qualifying offer checks in at $4.546MM, already a sizable jump but he could also command $6MM or more on a long-term agreement.

Jones hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time spot in the lineup which won’t help his case in contract talks. His qualifying offer goes up to just over $866K next summer and if he’s not more established by then, he could be a non-tender candidate with an eye on filling that spot with someone making the minimum. Ruhwedel has been a capable seventh defender for several years now but isn’t likely to make much more than the league minimum moving forward.

While Shesterkin is coming off a quieter year by his standards, he still was one of the top netminders in the league last season and has been for the past four seasons. Accordingly, he is believed to be looking for what would be a record-breaking contract; Carey Price ($10.5MM) is the holder of the priciest deal given to a goalie in NHL history. Doubling his current AAV could be doable in the process. Quick had a bounce-back year after a tough 2022-23 showing, earning himself a small raise in the process. With Shesterkin being more of a workhorse, they will only need Quick to play 25-30 games which he should be capable of doing. Given his age (38), it’s fair to suggest he’ll be on one-year deals from here on out.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Jonny Brodzinski ($788K, UFA)
F Artemi Panarin ($11.643MM, UFA)
D Braden Schneider ($2.2MM, RFA)
D Jacob Trouba ($8MM, UFA)

Panarin set and still holds (for now, at least) the record for the highest cap hit for a winger. It’s hard to say the contract has been a bargain but it’s fair to say he has lived up to it so far. Panarin has the fourth-most points of any player over the past five seasons (since he signed in New York) so they’ve gotten a solid return so far. That said, he’ll be entering his age-35 year when his next contract starts so it’s reasonable to think the cap hit will be coming down and it will be a question of how long the deal becomes with the longer the term, the lower the AAV. Brodzinski started last season off strong in the minors to earn a recall and never went back, earning this contract in the process. If he stays in a depth or reserve role, it’s unlikely he’d command a big raise but even securing more one-way deals at this point of his career (he’s 31) would be a nice outcome for him.

Trouba was shopped around over the summer although no trade came to fruition. He’s on an expensive contract for the role he fills (a third defender) but he’s still a more than capable player in that role. Still, even if he rebounds over the next two seasons, he’ll be looking at a multi-million dollar pay cut although a multi-year pact should still be doable. Schneider was the latest player to take a bridge contract this summer. He has been held under 16 minutes a game in each of his first three seasons; it’s safe to say they’ll be expecting him to take a step forward in that regard. His qualifying offer checks in at $2.64MM with arbitration rights in 2026 so if he’s still on the third pairing by then, that could be a problem.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Sam Carrick ($1MM, UFA)
F Filip Chytil ($4.438MM, UFA)
F Chris Kreider ($6.5MM, UFA)

Kreider didn’t produce much in the first season of this contract but since then, he has 127 goals over the last three years, putting him seventh among all NHL players over that span. Given his physical playing style, it’s possible that injuries could be an issue toward the end of the deal when he’ll be 36 and potentially going year to year after that.

Chytil has battled concussion issues at times, including missing most of last season which makes him a bit of a wild card. This is a high price tag for someone projected to play on the third line although if he’s healthy, he should be more productive than a typical third liner. But with the injury history, it’s hard to foresee him getting this type of commitment unless he has three seasons of good health. Carrick came over in free agency to anchor the fourth line after a good showing between Anaheim and Edmonton last season. If he can maintain that for the next three years, a late-career raise could come his way even though he’ll be 35 on his next contract.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

D Adam Fox ($9.5MM through 2028-29)
F Vincent Trocheck ($5.625MM through 2028-29)
F Mika Zibanejad ($8.5MM through 2029-30)

Zibanejad has had some of his best offensive seasons over the past three years and at 31 and still playing a prominent role, there’s little reason to think he’ll take a big step back on that front over the next few years. By the time this contract ends, it’s unlikely he’ll be playing nearly 20 minutes a game but that’s not a concern that they’ll have to worry about for a while. Trocheck has found another gear offensively since joining the Rangers two years ago and is coming off a season where he put up low-end number one center production while making considerably less than that. That might not be maintainable over the remaining four years of the deal but even if he settles back in around the 50-point mark by then, they’ll get good value here.

Fox has been quite consistent offensively over the past three seasons, ranging between 72 and 74 points over that span, putting him fourth among NHL blueliners over that time. He makes a bit more than the three ahead of him but sits $2MM below the top-paid rearguard league-wide. There’s little reason to think that Fox shouldn’t be able to at least stay around that type of production for the bulk of the remainder of his contract. While it’s unlikely he’ll set a record-breaking deal next time out (others might surpass the current benchmark by then), he could make a case to add a couple million per season on his next agreement, one that could be a max-term deal as well.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Lafreniere
Worst Value: Trouba

Looking Ahead

As is the case with a lot of contenders this year, cap space is going to be hard to come by for the Rangers who will be hard-pressed to afford an injury recall as things stand. With that in mind, they’ll have to get creative if they’re going to add to their roster before the March trade deadline.

The greater concern is beyond the upcoming season. They already have more than $58MM in commitments to just 10 players for 2025-26 with Shesterkin, Miller, and Lafreniere all heading for significantly pricier contracts. Those three alone should cost more than $20MM combined, potentially closer to $25MM if they all have big seasons. They can afford that but that would be it for big spending while potentially needing to move Trouba out as well. Panarin and Trouba (if he is still around) are up in 2026, giving them a bit more wiggle room at that time but things could be dicey for 2025-26 at a minimum.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Who Will Win The Central Division In 2024-25?

September 29, 2024 at 8:27 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 9 Comments

The top of the Central Division has been among the league’s toughest gauntlets over the past few seasons, and there’s little reason to expect that to change this year. There could be some new faces atop the list, however.

The Stars line up for this season with much of the same forward group that’s taken them to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. Yes, veteran top-line fixture Joe Pavelski announced his retirement, but his role alongside Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson is set to be filled by 21-year-old Wyatt Johnston, who’s coming off a 32-goal, 65-point sophomore season. 2024 AHL MVP Mavrik Bourque is projected to replace Johnston’s vacant middle-six spot, so there are no worries there.

Some will raise their eyebrows at Dallas’ defensive depth after losing Jani Hakanpää, Ryan Suter, and Chris Tanev, though. And rightfully so – their right defense depth chart is now headed off by free-agent signings Mathew Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin, both of whom are likely safe bets for bottom-pairing roles on a lot of other contending teams. They’re hoping a three-headed monster of Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Esa Lindell on the left side is enough to keep them atop the Central Division’s regular season pecking order.

The Jets were a solid possession team last year, but make no mistake – the franchise’s second-ever 110-point season can be attributed almost entirely to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who posted a .921 SV% in 60 games en route to his second Vezina Trophy win. Aside from losing mid-season pickup Sean Monahan to the Blue Jackets in free agency, their forward corps remains identical and will likely finish near the middle of the pack again after finishing 15th in goals last season.

Like Dallas, defensive depth is where Winnipeg’s alarm bells begin to sound. They managed to keep Dylan DeMelo off the free agent market, signing him to a four-year, $19.6MM extension to keep one of the league’s better top pairings last season with Josh Morrissey intact. However, they bought out Nate Schmidt, who, while overpaid, was one of their best even-strength possession players last year. Losing top-four fixture Brenden Dillon on the open market also stings and leaves a struggling Neal Pionk, arguably the Jets’ worst defensive player last season, with more responsibility than they’d like.

The Avalanche will again begin the season with a notable list of absences. Captain Gabriel Landeskog won’t be in the opening night lineup for the third season in a row as he continues to recover from multiple knee surgeries, but unlike in the past two years, they’re expecting him back at some point. That’ll be a huge boon to an offense that still managed to lead the league in goals last season despite pre-deadline depth concerns, as will be the return of Valeri Nichushkin from a six-month suspension and stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in November. Their wing depth looks dicey to start, but last year’s acquisition of Casey Mittelstadt at the deadline gives them the best center depth they’ve had since winning it all in 2022.

Their defense is also improved with a new-look third-pairing of low-cost free agent pickups Erik Brännström and Oliver Kylington, both of whom should thrive in an up-tempo Colorado system. Goaltending remains a concern, with Alexandar Georgiev coming off a subpar season, but backup Justus Annunen is pushing for more responsibility after logging a spectacular .928 SV% in 14 games. All indications point to the Avs replicating last year’s 107-point performance, if not improving on it.

The Predators’ offseason needs no introduction. They enter 2024-25 with their most star-studded forward corps since the mid-2000s (remember Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya’s days in Tennessee?) after adding 2023 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault and future Hall of Famer Steven Stamkos to their ranks. They’ll give much-needed depth to an offense that miraculously managed to finish 10th in scoring last season thanks to resurgences from Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist, the latter of whom erupted for a career-high 75 points at age 34 in top-line minutes.

Their defense lost Ryan McDonagh after he was traded to the Lightning but gained one of the better left-shot options on the UFA market in Brady Skjei. With those moves largely canceling each other out and Juuse Saros still manning the pipes, Nashville’s team defense should still finish above average but doesn’t look like it’ll be among the league’s best, with players like Jeremy Lauzon and Luke Schenn still projected to be a bit over-taxed. Still, there’s an opening for them to climb back into a divisional playoff spot and potentially win their first Central title since 2019.

For last year’s playoff misses in the Central, this season’s aspirations are conservative. That’s especially true for the Blues, who missed out on a playoff spot by six points and proceeded to have one of the league’s most eventful offseasons. Their offer sheets of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway completed a summer that saw St. Louis have some of the largest roster turnover league-wide. Their bottom six has more new faces than returnees – only prospect Zach Dean and Alexey Toropchenko were on the team’s roster last season among their current projected opening-night third and fourth lines. They’re hoping some more offensively-inclined talent like Holloway, Mathieu Joseph, and Alexandre Texier can add a little bit of juice to last year’s 24th-ranked offense.

Their defense will feature Broberg starring in the role of veteran Torey Krug, who’ll miss the entire season after undergoing left ankle surgery. If they have any hope of closing the gap for a postseason berth, they’ll also need more of the same from Jordan Binnington between the pipes. His .913 SV% in 55 showings last year was his best since guiding the Blues to a Cup in his rookie season in 2019.

The Wild’s biggest offseason addition comes from inside the house. Captain Jared Spurgeon’s presence on the blue line will be their biggest X factor after back and hip surgeries ended his 2023-24 season in January. The rest of the roster is mostly familiar faces, but they are projected to carry three goalies, with top netminding prospect Jesper Wallstedt showing he’s ready for full-time NHL minutes. He could churn out numbers that exceed those of Marc-André Fleury and Filip Gustavsson, who are back for a third season in Minnesota as a tandem after struggling to a combined .897 SV% last year.

Then there’s perhaps the conference’s biggest dark horse in its new garb – the Utah Hockey Club. The continuation of the defunct Arizona Coyotes franchise picked up right where they left off at the end of the dark days of their rebuild. With greater financial resources, general manager Bill Armstrong showed extreme confidence that Utah is ready to contend for a postseason spot, reshaping their blue line by acquiring John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev in a pair of trades around the draft. A full season of emerging youngsters Josh Doan and Dylan Guenther, the latter of whom scored at a 64-point pace in last season’s 45-game call-up, will help boost a promising offense squarely into the league’s upper half. But whether the pickup of Marino and Sergachev (who’s not necessarily known for his stay-at-home presence) can help get the league’s eighth-worst defense up where it needs to be for playoff contention remains to be seen.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are just looking to be relevant once again. After four straight seasons below 70 points, that demarcation is likely the goal for Chicago, with Connor Bedard beginning his sophomore season. They have a decent shot at doing so after being one of the league’s bigger players in free agency, reshaping their top-six forward group with the pickups of Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen. The additions of veterans T.J. Brodie and Alec Martinez on defense won’t likely have a ton of impact on their record but should give their younger defenders more runway for growth, and they shored up their goaltending by adding one of the league’s premier backups in Laurent Brossoit.

So, we ask you, PHR readers: after an offseason of significant changes, who do you think is best primed to take home the Central Division title? Tell us by voting in the poll below:

Mobile users, click here to vote!

Summer Synopsis: New York Rangers

September 28, 2024 at 8:03 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 2 Comments

A tight cap squeeze and minimal draft picks forced the New York Rangers into a quiet summer, focused largely around the extension of four pending RFAs and a looming deal for superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin. With those moves in mind, the Rangers were only able to bring in one notable new face, otherwise spending their summer rounding out depth and hoping to carve out meaningful roles for top prospects. They’ve seemingly done just that, though it’ll now be on their few stars and promoted depth pieces like William Cuylle and Alexis Lafreniere to carry New York back to Stanley Cup aspirations.

Draft

1-30: D EJ Emery / U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)
4-119: F Raoul Boilard / Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
5-159: F Nathan Aspinall / Flint Firebirds (OHL)
6-191: F Rico Gredig / HC Davos (National League)

The Rangers clearly prioritized size in this year’s draft, selecting players at every height between six–foot-one and six-foot-three, then putting the cherry on top with six-foot-seven Nathan Aspinall. New York gets everything they could have wanted out of their newly-added giants, with Emery boasting plenty of upside as a mobile and effective defensive-defenseman, while Raoul Boilard and Rico Gredig have shown a clear ability to outperform opponents with size and skill. The latter is a particularly interesting draft pick, having established a bottom-line role in Switzerland’s top league last season – but only managing four points in 28 games. 2024 marked his second year of draft eligibility – part of the reason he fell so low despite pro experience – and Gredig will now use the pick as inspiration to find a stronger scoring streak this year.

None of the new additions seem set for pro roles in the next few seasons, but they each offer well-rounded skillsets and clear paths to a pro role. Aspinall will be the wariest of the bunch, largely thanks to a lanky frame, though even he could find success in a Rangers organization that’s made good worked of players like Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom.

Trade Acquisitions

F Reilly Smith (acquired from Pittsburgh)

New York’s trade action was limited to a draft-day swap of late-round picks, and a July 1st acquisition of Reilly Smtih. The Rangers gave up a second and fifth round draft pick for the scoring-winger, but could find the answer to their missing piece in the top-six. Smith has continued to be effective in his minutes, recording 26 goals and 56 points on Vegas’ second-line two seasons ago, then notching 13 goals and 40 points in a mixed role with Pittsburgh last year. The step down in scoring may be sign of the 13-year pro’s age, though New York should offer better linemates than a declining Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, where Smith spent most of last season. When he wasn’t with that tandem, he was playing alongside Lars Eller and Valtteri Puustinen – again, weaker company than New York should provide. That could set Smith up for a bounce-back year as he gets ready to play for the sixth team of his career.

UFA Signings

F Sam Carrick (three-years, $3MM)
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx (one-year, $775K)*
D Casey Fitzgerald (two-years, $1.6MM)*
D Chad Ruhwedel (one-year, $775K)*

New York’s cap sinch forced them to be quiet in the free agent market, with their biggest splash coming through the multi-year signing of fourth-liner Sam Carrick. Carrick served dutifully in Anaheim for the last six seasons, though he stayed limited to a career-high of just 19 points recorded in 2021-22. He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers alongside Adam Henrique at this year’s Trade Deadline, where he continued to serve his responsible but unproductive role to the tune of six points across 26 games.

Carrick will step into competition for one of New York’s final roster spots, a situation shared by the rest of the team’s UFAs. That includes Chad Ruhwedel, who will return to competition for the Rangers’ seventh-defender role, after joining the team via trade at the 2024 deadline. Ruhwedel has only recorded nine points across his last 99 games, though he continues to offer stout, veteran depth.

RFA Re-Signings

F Kaapo Kakko (one-year, $2.4MM)
D Braden Schneider (two-years, $4.4MM)
D Matthew Robertson (one-year, $775K)
D Ryan Lindgren (one-year, $4.5MM)

The Rangers’ off-season was entirely focused around their RFA signings – none more important than the extension of Kaapo Kakko. It’s now been five years of disappointing play for the former second-overall pick, with 18 goals and 40 points in 2022-23 standing as his sole career-year. He failed to reach even half that scoring last season, and received a measly extension as a result. Kakko signed just a one-year deal, seemingly getting a message from New York that it’s time to show-up or shut-up. He recorded 22 goals and 38 points in 45 Liiga games in his draft season, and could be at risk of losing an NHL role if he can’t return to that production this season.

Luckily, New York found a silver lining by quickly solidifying their defense depth. Ryan Lindgren will return to the team on a big raise – set to be paid $1.5MM more than he did last season – though a one-year deal will give him the chance to earn even more. He’s emerged as the de facto partner to superstar Adam Fox, serving as a reliable physical presence and shutdown-defender that lets Fox jump into the rush. Braden Schneider – the partner of locked-in #2 defender K’Andre Miller – was placed in the same spot, receiving a notable raise but on a short-term deal that should help him earn more soon. He and Lindgren have their roles cut out for them, and now need to prove they can stay on their feet for a full 82-games.

Meanwhile, Matthew Robertson signs a deal that returns him to the mix of depth defenders fighting for time, after serving as a top option on the Hartford Wolf Pack blue-line last year. Robertson has yet to make his NHL debut, though he’s considered by many as one of New York’s next up and could even win out an opening-day spot, if he’s able to outperform competition like Ruhwedel and Zachary Jones.

Departures

F Oliver Tarnstrom (AIK, HockeyAllsvenskan)
F Karl Henriksson (Vaxjo, SHL)
G Olof Lindbom (Lahti, Liiga)
F Barclay Goodrow (claimed off waivers by San Jose)
F Bobby Trivigno (Brynas, SHL)
F Alexander Wennberg (San Jose, two-years, $10MM)
F Blake Wheeler (unsigned)
D Erik Gustafsson (Detroit, two-years, $4MM)
F Jack Roslovic (Carolina, one-year, $2.8MM)
D Mac Hollowell (Pittsburgh, one-year, $775K)*
F Nic Petan (Kazan, KHL)
D Nikolas Brouillard (Seattle, one-year, $775K)*
F Tyler Pitlick (unsigned)

A quiet summer often means teams lost more than they gained, but that may not be entirely true for New York – who’s biggest departures come through depth pieces like Roslovic, Wennberg, and Goodrow. The Rangers traded for the former two at the 2024 Trade Deadline, collectively giving up a second-round pick and two third-round picks. That’s a hefty price to spend for a duo that only spent half of a season in the lineup, though Roslovic provided some assurance with eight points across 16 playoff games. Wennberg couldn’t provide that same support, instead recording just two points in 16 postseason games and five points in 19 regular season games. Despite their feature in the rotating door that is New York’s middle-six, both Roslovic and Wennberg managed to earn confident deals this summer, and should continue to earn ice time with effective depth scoring.

Erik Gustafsson carries a similar story on the back-end, joining the Rangers for a brief 76 games last season but ultimately moving on this year. He was productive when he did play, recording six goals and 31 points – the third-highest scoring season of his career. He’s now headed for a Red Wings defense that should provide all of the ice time he needs, especially with his offensive upside.

Outside of that trio, New York’s departures largely feature moves to Europe, headlined by Nic Petan’s signing in the KHL. Petan is a veteran of nine NHL seasons, totaling 170 games and 35 points across four different clubs. He never managed any ice time in New York, instead spending all of his time in the Rangers organization in Hartford, where he scored eight points in 15 games. He stands alongside Goodrow, Pitlick, and Wheeler as notable departures from down New York’s depth chart, though none so big that they can’t be replaced.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Rangers have been bound by the cap all summer long, and will now enter the season with a stressful $623,476 remaining per PuckPedia. That’s narrowly enough to handle the day-to-day cost of running a team, though the Rangers could be forced into some cap gymnastics in the event of injury or call-up. That could quickly be tested, as Ryan Lindgren continues to struggle with an upper-body injury.

Key Questions

Did Enough Change? The Rangers have been stuck in a bit of perpetuity over the last few seasons, routinely cycling out pieces of their middle-six but yet to find an impact that’ll stick. That forced them to give up draft capital for Roslovic and Wennberg last Trade Deadline, but that tandem quickly walked out of the door they came in, only replaced by Reilly Smith. The return of Filip Chytil could be enough to support New York’s vacant roster spots, though it still seems one of Edstrom, Jimmy Vesey, William Cuylle, or prospect Brennan Othmann will need to step up to keep New York’s third-line dangerous. Both Vesey and Cuylle topped 20 points last season – scoring 26 and 21 respectively – though the latter seems much more likely to be the one to earn a bigger role. Their progress will be the focus of training camp, as New York asks the question of if they’ll need to beef up their depth at the Deadline once again.

Can Lafreniere’s Growth Continue? In a year headlined by Kaapo Kakko’s one-year contract, it will be Alexis Lafreniere under the most scrutiny. He scored a career-high 28 goals, 29 assists, and 57 points last season – his first year playing in all 82 games. It was an impressive step up for the young winger – nearly 20 points more than his 2022-23 totals (39) – but he needs to keep going if New York wants to rival the top-end depth of teams like Carolina and Toronto. Lafreniere looked significantly more poised on the puck last year, and could finally vindicate his first-overall selection in 2020 with a breakout year this season. He’ll have every chance at ice time, ahead of a Rangers depth with plenty of question marks.

What Will Shesterkin Get Paid? The Rangers’ focus is undoubtedly on the postseason, but they also face the daunting task of finding a value for perhaps the top goaltender in the league. Igor Shesterkin has managed a save percentage above .910 in all five of his NHL seasons to date, including a .935 in 53 games during the 2021-22 season, which earned him both the Vezina Trophy and a finalist spot for the Hart Trophy. That’s an impressive statline, eerily close to the peak years of Montreal Canadiens star Carey Price, who currently stands as the most expensive goalie in the leauge with a $10.5MM cap hit. Price’s playing days are behind him, but his eight-year, $84MM extension will be the bare minimum for Shesterkin’s looming extension. He could even earn more, and will effectively set the precedent for players like Jake Oettinger and Linus Ullmark as they prepare for extensions of their own.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Islanders

September 28, 2024 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

New York Islanders

Current Cap Hit: $88,000,000 (at the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Maxim Tsyplakov (one year, $950K)

Potential Bonuses:
Tsyplakov: $1MM

The Isles beat out a long list of suitors to secure Tsyplakov’s services after a breakout year in the KHL that saw him score 31 goals. He projects to play in the bottom six, however, meaning he shouldn’t have a goal total anywhere near there. If Tsyplakov stays in that role, he likely won’t reach any of his ‘A’ bonuses either. Worth noting is that he will be arbitration-eligible next summer even though he’s exiting his entry-level deal.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Samuel Bolduc ($800K, RFA)
D Noah Dobson ($4MM, RFA)
F Hudson Fasching ($775K, UFA)
F Simon Holmstrom ($850K, RFA)
F Brock Nelson ($6MM, UFA)
F Kyle Palmieri ($5MM, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Alexander Romanov ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Oliver Wahlstrom ($1MM, RFA)

Nelson has been somewhat of a late bloomer. His last three seasons have been the best of his career, reaching at least 34 goals and 59 points in each of them. If he can extend that streak to four, he could land a small increase, an outcome that didn’t seem likely early on in this deal. Palmieri didn’t fare well over his first two seasons in New York but did return to form last season, matching his career-high in goals with 30. He’ll need to stay around that level to have a chance to stay around this price tag as three seasons between 21 and 33 points before 2023-24 will hurt him in negotiations.

Wahlstrom struggled considerably last season, leading to speculation about his future with the team (which hasn’t really changed heading into this year). Assuming he doesn’t take a big leap forward this season, he’s likely to stay around this price point and could be a non-tender candidate given his arbitration rights. Holmstrom’s first full NHL season was a good one with 15 goals, including five on the penalty kill but took a bit less than his qualifying offer to secure a one-way salary. A similar showing could get him closer to double that next summer. Fasching has had a limited role over the past couple of seasons and is likely to stay in that spot in 2024-25 which means he should stay around the league minimum mark next summer.

When Dobson signed his current deal, it was a situation where the Islanders had more of the leverage. That’s not the case anymore. He showed that his breakout 2021-22 performance wasn’t a fluke and built on it last season, recording 70 points and logging more than 24 minutes a night. Essentially, he performed like a true number one defender. With arbitration rights this time around, Dobson gets the leverage in that if early talks don’t go well, he could file for arbitration where he’d make a very strong case for a substantial raise. Assuming neither side wants it to get to that point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dobson’s camp pushing for $10MM or more on a long-term deal at this stage.

Romanov has emerged as a legitimate second-pairing option in his first two seasons with the Isles while producing a bit more offensively than he did with Montreal. Like Dobson, he’s also now arbitration-eligible and if he puts up a similar performance this season, Romanov could land closer to $4.5MM on his next contract.

Reilly re-signed after playing a regular role following his early-season waiver claim. What will hurt him in future talks is how much he has bounced around which will give some teams pause in free agency when it comes to offering him a contract. Accordingly, there’s a good chance he sticks around this price tag on more short-term deals over the next little while. Bolduc has been in the seventh defender role over the past two seasons and is likely to stay in that spot this season. Arbitration rights could give him a small raise but with the raises coming to Dobson and Romanov, they might need to keep this salary slot at the minimum.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Anders Lee ($7MM, UFA)
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5MM, UFA)

Lee managed to reach the 20-goal mark for the seventh time in the last eight years last season but with just 37 points, that was his lowest full-season total since 2015-16. Now 34, the captain is showing signs of slowing down which means the last couple of years of this deal could be an issue from a value perspective. If that happens, his next deal will be closer to half of this amount. The same can be said for Pageau who is a luxury they can no longer afford on the third line which is where he’s best utilized. But with that type of playing time, he won’t put up the production to justify the price tag. It wouldn’t be surprising to see New York try to move him at some point but that won’t be easy.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Casey Cizikas ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Kyle MacLean ($775K, UFA)
G Semyon Varlamov ($2.75MM, UFA)

Cizikas is halfway through a six-year deal, a term rarely given to a player his age who plays exclusively in the bottom six. With an uptick in production the last two seasons, they’ve done alright with it so far but he’ll be 36 when this contract ends so things could change quickly. His next contract, if there is one, should come in below that. MacLean was a career minor leaguer until partway through last season. This deal was a nice one for both sides in that it gives him some financial stability while New York gets a player at the minimum for a few seasons which they’ll need given the pricey contracts they have (and will soon be adding to).

Varlamov is still an above-average second goaltender and getting that at this price point is good. What could be problematic down the road is that he’s already 36 with three years left on his contract. But goalies can still be serviceable into their late 30s so there’s a chance that this deal will work out well for New York.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Mathew Barzal ($9.15MM through 2030-31)
F Anthony Duclair ($3.5MM through 2027-28)
F Pierre Engvall ($3MM through 2029-30)
F Bo Horvat ($8.5MM through 2030-31)
D Scott Mayfield ($3.5MM through 2029-30)
D Adam Pelech ($5.75MM through 2028-29)
D Ryan Pulock ($6.15MM through 2029-30)
G Ilya Sorokin ($8.25MM through 2031-32)

Barzal got back to the point-per-game mark last season for the first time since his rookie year while also setting a new career best in goals. This is more the minimum level of production that will be needed to justify the contract but at 27, that is still doable. GM Lou Lamoriello’s comment when Horvat’s deal (“It’s too long, and it’s too much money”) is memorable but by no means is it a steep overpayment either. He’s not a true top center but has been deployed as one and has three straight 30-plus-goal seasons. If he was hitting the open market last summer, he likely would have come in pretty close to this amount and term.

Duclair was New York’s biggest splash in free agency this summer. He’s coming off a mixed year that saw him struggle in San Jose but thrive down the stretch with Tampa Bay. He has reached at least 20 goals in three of the last five seasons, however, and if he can stay at that level, the Islanders should get a good return on this agreement. Engvall’s contract was an eye-popper last summer, not so much for the $3MM price tag but for the fact he received a seven-year deal, a term few players in his role typically get. He’s someone who can be moved around the lineup and play in a few different roles while chipping in with some depth scoring. This isn’t necessarily the best usage of a long-term deal but it’s not a big overpayment either.

Until recently, Pulock had been New York’s top defender in what was more of a by-committee approach at the top but with Dobson’s emergence last season, that should change moving forward. This price tag is certainly reasonable for someone who should fill the number two role although he won’t produce as much offensively as a lot of players in this range do.

Pelech has logged more than 20 minutes a night in five straight years, playing a big role in New York’s defensive committee as well although his offensive production is even more limited than Pulock’s. That makes the price tag a little harder to justify, especially for a second-pairing player but his strong defensive game eases that concern a bit. It’s an above-market deal but a manageable one. Mayfield also received a surprisingly long-term agreement for the role he plays, one that’s more of a fifth option when everyone is healthy. But injuries often moved him into the top four and that price for someone in that role is manageable. It could be an issue towards the end of the agreement but they’re not going to be at that point for a while.

Sorokin enters the season with a bit of a question mark which is something few expected this time a year ago. After three strong years to start his NHL career, he battled inconsistency last season, even losing the starting job to Varlamov late in the year and in the playoffs. That’s not ideal for someone who is now the fifth highest-paid goalie in the league (fourth if you don’t count Carey Price who will be on LTIR again this season). That said, his track record is good enough that they can realistically count on Sorokin at least returning to close to his previous form which he will need to do to live up to this contract.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Dobson
Worst Value: Lee

Looking Ahead

While the Islanders project to be right at the Upper Limit to start the season, there is some work to do. They’ll need to create space to get Tsyplakov onto the roster and they will want to leave some wiggle room for injuries and any in-season movement. With that in mind, Lamoriello is going to need to find a way to trim a couple million off the books and even with that, they’ll be close to being a cap-in, cap-out team in 2024-25.

They have nearly $66MM in commitments on the books for 2025-26 already with Dobson and Romanov in line for pricey new deals that will probably cut half of their remaining cap space right there without even approaching new agreements for Nelson or Palmieri (or their replacements). At this point, it’s hard to see the Islanders being able to keep their current core group around much longer let alone add to it for a couple more years at least.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New Jersey Devils

September 27, 2024 at 7:36 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

New Jersey Devils

Current Cap Hit: $87,023,897 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Luke Hughes (one year, $925K)
D Simon Nemec (two years, $918K)

Potential Bonuses
Hughes: $1.85MM
Nemec: $3.25MM
Total: $5.1MM

Hughes had a strong rookie season offensively, notching 47 points while maxing out his $850K of ‘A’ bonuses in the process. Even with that being his only full season of experience, with the way young blueliners have been locked up lately, a max-term agreement could be coming his way, one that could run past $8MM. However, an injury to start the season won’t help his cause. Nemec, meanwhile, spent most of last season in New Jersey, acquitting himself well to the NHL. He doesn’t have quite the offensive upside that Hughes does but he could be an all-situations player; that, coupled with his lofty draft status (second overall in 2022), could have him surpassing $8MM on his next contract if he progresses as expected.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

G Jake Allen ($1.925MM, UFA)*
F Nathan Bastian ($1.35MM, UFA)
D Nick DeSimone ($775K, UFA)
D Johnathan Kovacevic ($758K, UFA)
F Curtis Lazar ($1MM, UFA)
F Tomas Tatar ($1.8MM, UFA)

*-Montreal is retaining an additional $1.925MM on Allen’s contract.

Tatar returns to New Jersey after a particularly rough season between Colorado and Seattle but he’s only a year removed from putting up 48 points with the Devils. It’s possible that he’s on the decline but it’s reasonable to think he’ll produce enough to warrant this price tag. He hasn’t fared well lately in free agency so even if he rebounds, he probably won’t command a huge jump in salary. Bastian is a capable fourth liner who showed some offensive upside in 2021-22 but will need to get back to that level if he wants to match this deal next summer let alone beat it. Lazar is coming off a career year offensively which is an outlier relative to the rest of his career. If he can repeat the 25 points he had, he could double this price point or even more. However, if he goes more to his career averages, a small increase is about the best he could hope for.

DeSimone was a midseason waiver claim from Calgary and held his own in a depth role. It’d be surprising to see him advance past that this season so he’s likely to stay around the minimum salary moving forward. Kovacevic came over in a trade from Montreal over the summer after largely holding down a spot on the third pairing the last two years. While a lot will depend on if he can play a regular role this season, the fact he’s a right-shot defender with some experience under his belt could give him a shot at doubling his current rate next summer.

Allen also was acquired from Montreal, this time back at the trade deadline where he stabilized things between the pipes down the stretch. Stabilizing is a fitting description for what Allen’s best role is at this point of his career. He can handle a starting workload for brief stretches but is best utilized in a platoon type of role or as a high-end backup which is where he’ll be this season. The market for those types of netminders has flattened out somewhat in recent years, however, while the fact he’ll be 35 heading into 2025-26 will also hurt him. It’s possible that he can get a two-year deal but a possible comparable might be the two-year, $5MM pact that Cam Talbot received from Detroit this summer.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Paul Cotter ($775K, RFA)
F Erik Haula ($3.15MM, UFA)
G Jacob Markstrom ($4.125MM, UFA)*

*-Calgary is retaining an additional $1.85MM on Markstrom’s contract.

Haula hasn’t been able to get back to the level of production he had when he started with Vegas in 2017-18 but he has settled in nicely over the last three seasons as someone who will play around a 15-goal, 40-point pace. That price point for a center is solid value but he’ll also be 35 when this deal is up which could limit his shot at a raise in 2026. Cotter was acquired from Vegas this summer as a way for the Devils to add some more grit to their lineup. Part of the reason the price was relatively high (Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid) is the fact he’s signed for two more years at the league minimum. Cotter could triple that or more on his next deal if he plays at a similar rate for the next two seasons.

It took a little longer than first expected to get Markstrom to New Jersey but they got the deal done before the draft. He’s a solid starter although he’s also getting closer to the end of his career as he’s already 34. Accordingly, even if the starting goalie market goes up (depending on what contracts Jeremy Swayman and Igor Shesterkin get), Markstrom is likelier to stay closer to his current price point if he can maintain his current level for two more seasons.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Brenden Dillon ($4MM, UFA)
F Nico Hischier ($7.25MM, UFA)
F Kurtis MacDermid ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Dawson Mercer ($4MM, RFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Ondrej Palat ($6MM, UFA)

At the time that Hischier’s contract was signed, he had just two seasons under his belt so there was certainly some risk to a max-term commitment at the time. However, it has worked out rather well so far for the Devils as it is already below market value at the time he’s entering his prime years. (The success of this contract provided a road map for other teams to take similar approaches with their top youngsters as well as these types of contracts are much more prevalent now.) Hischier probably won’t produce enough to be viewed as a true number one center but his two-way game is strong enough that there will be teams that treat him as one. Accordingly, between that and the fact he’ll hit free agency at 28, Hischier could command a double-digit AAV on his next contract.

Palat hasn’t been able to produce at the levels he did with Tampa Bay over his first two seasons with New Jersey with injuries being an issue at times as well. Already 33, if he’s not able to turn things around, this is a deal that could be problematic for them as GM Tom Fitzgerald continues to try to add to his roster. Mercer was all but guaranteed to land a bridge contract given New Jersey’s current cap situation but the fact they got a third season at that price point will help. However, it takes him to within a year of UFA eligibility so it’s not without its risk. Mercer will be owed a $4.25MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights and if he can get back to his 2022-23 production (56 points), he could add a few million per year to that number.

Noesen proved to be quite a bargain for Carolina for the last two seasons, recording 36 and 37 points for a cap hit below the league minimum. That helped earn him this deal, well above the six-figure price tags he was accustomed to getting. Is this his new baseline performance? He’ll need it to be if he is going to stay around this price moving forward. MacDermid signed this deal back in May to avoid free agency. It’s a reasonable price tag for an enforcer and falls within the range of some of the more established options. It’s also fully buriable in the minors if they decide a tough guy is something they can no longer afford to carry.

Dillon was part of the defensive makeover this summer, coming over from Winnipeg. This will be seasons 11 through 13 that he makes more than $3MM with this price tag being the highest. He’ll be 36 when he tests the market again and if he’s still a fourth or fifth blueliner at that time, that streak could be extended though potentially on a year-to-year basis moving forward.

Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Jesper Bratt ($7.875MM through 2030-31)
D Dougie Hamilton ($9MM through 2027-28)
F Jack Hughes ($8MM through 2029-30)
F Timo Meier ($8.8MM through 2030-31)
D Brett Pesce ($5.5MM through 2029-30)
D Jonas Siegenthaler ($3.4MM through 2027-28)

Meier was Fitzgerald’s biggest splash on the trade front in the 2022-23 campaign but he hasn’t had the same type of offensive success that he did with San Jose over his last two years with them. It’s possible that those seasons are the outliers and if it is, this will be a burdensome contract. However, there is still legitimate cause for optimism that he can improve and if he does, while it still won’t be a good contract, he’ll come closer to providing reasonable value on it.

When healthy, Hughes is a legitimate top-liner and having that type of player locked in for that long at a below-market price tag is a nice piece of business. The deal should only get more team-friendly as the salary cap continues to go up in the years to come. He’ll be eyeing a significant raise in 2030. It took a while for Bratt and the Devils to get a long-term agreement done but they did so last offseason. He’s one of the more unheralded top-six wingers out there with three straight seasons of 73 or more points. As long as he stays at that rate, they’ll do well with this deal.

Hamilton’s 2022-23 performance showed the type of impact he can have offensively when healthy but staying in the lineup has been a challenge in two of his three seasons. It stands to reason that the younger Hughes will start to cut into Hamilton’s offensive minutes which could make him more of a second or third option. That cost for that role will be above-market although they’re a year or two from probably getting to that point.

Pesce was the other addition of note on the back end this summer, signing after a strong nine-year run with Carolina. Best served as a second-pairing player, he could be slotted in that role with the Devils. He doesn’t generally produce a lot of points so it’s possible that he winds up as a high-priced shutdown defender. If that happens, the value won’t be great but that’s still a valuable player to have on a roster. Siegenthaler has become a quality secondary regular since being acquired from Washington but again, his offensive game is limited. That said, if he’s in a shutdown role at this price point, they’ll still get a reasonable return on this deal while they’re hoping he’s still young enough that there’s room for improvement in the offensive end.

Buyouts

None

Salary Cap Recapture

F Ilya Kovalchuk ($250K in 2024-25)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) J. Hughes
Worst Value: Palat

Looking Ahead

Fitzgerald was quite busy in the offseason, checking off most of the items off what was an ambitious checklist. As a result, they’re going to be operating close to the cap ceiling, probably putting them in a spot where they’re dealing with a bonus carryover penalty once again for next season. They’ll be a cap-in, cap-out team for any in-season movement as a result.

With nearly $77MM in commitments for 2025-26 already, it’s fair to say that it’s unlikely that New Jersey will be adding as much next summer but they do have enough expiring deals over the next couple of seasons to put them in a spot where they won’t need to subtract from their core to keep the rest of the team intact. Clearly operating in a win-now mode, that’s a pretty good spot for them to be in overall though their flexibility will be somewhat limited for a while.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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