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Free Agent Focus: Seattle Kraken

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free-agent situation for the Kraken.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Matthew Beniers – Beniers took a step back this past season after being asked to carry the offensive load for a team that lacks a high-end offensive threat. Beniers dropped from 24 goals and 33 assists in 80 games during the 2022-23 season to just 15 goals and 22 assists in 77 games this past season. While it was a disappointing campaign for the 21-year-old, Beniers remains on track to become an elite scorer in the NHL. The former second overall pick seemed like a lock to get a long-term deal this summer, but given his struggles last year, and his iffy work in the defensive zone, it might hurt his earning potential in the short term. Seattle may still elect to lock Beniers up long-term while he’s coming off a down season, but a bridge deal could be likely as well. Beniers figures to earn $4-5MM on his next deal if he goes for a short-term deal and would likely have a higher AAV if he goes for max term.

F Eeli Tolvanen – Tolvanen has been a very different player since arriving in Seattle from the Nashville Predators during the 2022-23 season. The 25-year-old had shown glimpses in Nashville but was never able to put it all together and struggled in his last two seasons with the Predators. With the Kraken, the former first-round pick has played a physical game, keeping plays alive with his physicality and being a force in board battles. On the offensive side, Tolvanen had 16 goals and 25 assists last season in 81 games and continued to trend upwards. He made $1.45MM last season in the final year of a three-year deal and figures to double that number on his next deal which should come with a similar term.

F Kailer Yamamoto – Yamamoto’s offensive game dropped another level this season as he fell to just eight goals and eight assists in 59 games. The former first-round pick signed with Seattle last season after being traded and bought out of the final season of his contract. With his qualifying offer set at $1.5MM, Seattle may elect to run it back one more time with the talented 25-year-old to see if he can post similar results to the ones he saw in Edmonton two seasons ago. Yamamoto is undersized and is average defensively if you are being generous, but he is very effective on the power play and plays with good pace, something that Seattle could use more of.

Other RFAs: C Luke Henman, F Ville Petman, D Peetro Seppala

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Pierre-Édouard Bellemare – Bellemare signed with the Kraken last July for the league minimum on a one-year contract and playing sparingly, producing four goals and three assists in 40 games. At 39 years old, Bellemare might be ready to hang up his skates; however, given that he was 29 years old when he made his NHL debut, he might choose to extend his career if he can find an NHL contract. The native of Le Blanc-Mesnil, France, played just under 10 minutes per game last season, but his underlying numbers at even strength were quite good, as his CF% was 54.9%. Bellemare doesn’t provide much offense and never really has, he also isn’t particularly physical, but he could be a good 13th forward for a team that is looking for a veteran presence.

D Justin Schultz – Schultz is well removed from his days in Pittsburgh when he quarterbacked the Penguins power play to a Stanley Cup. However, he remains a talented offensive defenseman who doesn’t offer much defensively. Schultz is still very good at skating pucks out of the defensive zone and offering a solid first pass, but he struggles when pinned in the defensive zone and doesn’t play with much physicality. Schultz should find work on a multi-year deal due to his right shot status as well as his ability to man a power play.

F Tomas Tatar – Tatar had to wait until September 12th last summer to find an NHL contract, signing a one-year $1.5MM contract with the Colorado Avalanche. He then proceeded to have a forgettable season that saw him score just nine goals and 15 assists in 70 games. The 33-year-old is unlikely to do better this summer, given that his game is built largely on offense, and he wasn’t able to provide much of it last year. A knock-on Tatar has been his consistency year to year, but he is still a good buy-low candidate for a team that needs to add secondary scoring but doesn’t have much in the way of cap space.

Other UFAs: D Connor Carrick, G Chris Driedger, F John Hayden, F Cameron Hughes, F Kole Lind, LW Max McCormick, C Andrew Poturalski, D Mitch Reinke, D Jimmy Schuldt, F Devin Shore, G Ales Stezka, F Marian Studenic

Projected Cap Space

The Kraken enter the offseason with a tad over $23MM in available cap space and several pending needs to address. A chunk of that space will go to re-signing restricted free agents, but after their internal business is complete, Seattle will have some cap space to make improvements. The Kraken have good depth up front, but lack high-end talent which could lead them to make a pitch to a player such as Sam Reinhart even though it would eat most of their available room under the cap. Seattle will also need to address their defensive core and will be in the market for an offensive defenseman with the likely departure of Justin Schultz. Seattle will feel pressure to have a strong summer after taking a step back and missing the playoffs this past season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Avalanche’s Casey Mittelstadt Filled A Role Worth Re-Signing

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The 2024 Trade Deadline was dominated by the Vegas Golden Knights, who weren’t satisfied with just one blockbuster trade when they acquired Noah Hanifin, so they doubled down by acquiring Tomas Hertl, ending his 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. Their antics helped suppress a lot of other big moves around the Deadline, including what could go down as the biggest deal of the season: the swap of Bowen Byram and Casey Mittelstadt between the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres. It’s rare to see two former top-10 picks traded before the age of 26, much less in a one-for-one swap, and with such major implications. In this move, the Sabres fought to find Rasmus Dahlin’s dynamic partner of the future, while the Avalanche hoped to solidify their top-six.

Thus, Byram immediately rivaled top pairing minutes in Buffalo, while Mittelstadt was awarded the role of Nathan MacKinnon’s understudy on Colorado’s second line. And through the fog of trade debate, the move seemed like a strong recognition of Mittelstadt’s potential. He posted a career-high 59 points in the 2022-23 season, finally living up to his eighth-overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft after years of bouncing around the Sabres offense. The Avalanche chose to bite on that upside, while also moving out their own promising-but-inconsistent youngster, and they’ve been richly rewarded early on.

Mittelstadt was quickly a great match in Jared Bednar’s system, posting 10 points through 18 regular season games following his trade to Colorado. He looked much more confident and consistent than during his time in Buffalo, even reasonably elevating wingers Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin when deployed alongside them. After finding his footing in the NHL with the Sabres, Mittelstadt seemed to take off with the Avalanche – a sentiment he stamped with a powerful postseason performance, scoring nine points in 11 games.

The strong performance was undoubtedly exciting for the Avalanche, who’ve struggled to find consistent center depth behind MacKinnon since losing Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames in 2022’s free agency. The duo of Evan Rodrigues and Alex Newhook platooned in the role during the 2022-23 season, to mostly good effect, with Rodrigues posting 39 points in 69 games. That tandem now pales in comparison to Mittelstadt, who totaled 57 points in 80 games this season and could be poised to top the 60-point mark for the first time in his career next year. But nothing can come too easily in the NHL, and the Avalanche will now face re-signing Mittelstadt before they can boast their second-line center of the future.

 

Mittelstadt is likely Colorado’s most expensive free agent entering the summer, though he’ll be rivaled by defenseman Sean Walker, who’s role in the top-four will command a high price tag in itself. Colorado has roughly $15.92MM in cap space entering the summer, with just nine players facing free agency. That should be enough for them to re-sign their choice of pending free agents. But the importance of inking Mittelstadt can’t be understated. Kadri broke out in Colorado’s second-line role during the 2021-22 season, recording 87 points in 71 games – a mark that remains his career-high. He’s since moved to the Calgary Flames on a commendable seven-year, $49MM contract.

After spending the last two seasons without a consistent man in the role, Mittelstadt could finally be the one to succeed Kadri’s strong performance. The Avalanche will certainly hope that’s the case, as they face uncertainty about the future of both Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin. Mittelstadt and veteran winger Jonathan Drouin could be a convenient – albeit unexpected – fill-in for those absences, though both players are in need of new contracts.

The Colorado offense isn’t in need of much help. Superstars MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar have shown an ability to lead the team through anything – made evident by the Avalanche leading the league in scoring this season. But the team can’t rest on laurels, even if their current core has already won one Stanley Cup. Mittelstadt offers a chance for the Avalanche to fill a much-needed role in the lineup for the forseeable future – which would come well-timed as the team faces a Rantanen extension next summer and a new contract for Makar in 2027. With lucrative contract negotiations, the swap of Byram and Mittelstadt could add yet another pillar to the Colorado lineup – with the added perk of making Landeskog and Nichushkin’s returns a boost, rather than a necessity.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Network.

Free Agent Focus: St. Louis Blues

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Blues.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Kasperi Kapanen – The Blues took a flyer on Kasperi Kapanen when they claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline. He’s since muddled around the team’s middle-six, posting a combined 36 points in 96 games in St. Louis. His role has varied throughout those games, playing as much as 16 minutes or as little as eight minutes any night. That flexibility helped the Blues fill up their bottom-six, though he may now need to cede minutes to the NHL hopefuls like Zachary Bolduc, Zach Dean, and Dalibor Dvosrky. Kapenen hasn’t been necessarily bad for the Blues – and that could be enough to sign him to a cheap deal – but he could just as easily find his way back to the open market, as the Blues look to prioritize younger talents.

F Adam Gaudette – Gaudette may be St. Louis’ most interesting pending-free agent, after leading the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds in scoring with a commanding 44 goals and 71 points in 67 games this season. It was a tremendous encore to his breakout year last season, when Gaudette posted a combined 51 points in 65 games between the Toronto Marlies and Thunderbirds. The last two seasons were the first two full AHL seasons of Gaudette’s career, after serving an NHL role from 2017 to 2022. And he’s made good work of the easier competition, not only scoring more but showing much more drive and creativity in his offense. Gaudette established himself as a top prospect during his years at Northeastern University, far exceeding his fifth-round draft selection after posting 142 points across 116 games with the school. But that hot scoring didn’t translate into the NHL, and Gaudette instead spent the first five years of his career battling for ice time on various teams’ bottom-six. He’s seemingly rediscovered his offense in the minor leagues – though he did go without a point in two NHL games this year. He represents a high-upside minor leaguer, who shouldn’t cost too much; unless he pushes to test the open market.

D Marco Scandella – Marco Scandella gradually lost his role with the Blues this season, ultimately falling to the fringe of the lineup in favor of players like Tyler Tucker and Matthew Kessel. He’s posted just 10 points across his last 85 games with the Blues, dating back to the start of last season, and has only managed to play in 50 or more games in two of his four seasons in St. Louis. Scandella won’t command much money on a new deal, especially at the age of 34, but he seems to be getting pushed out of the Blues’ lineup by younger and more promising talent. He may headline the free agents most likely to leave the Blues this summer.

Other pending UFAs: F Sammy Blais, F Will Bitten (Group 6), F Matthew Peca, F Jakub Vrana

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Nikita Alexandrov – Alexandrov has been an important utility player for the Blues over the last two seasons, stepping in when needed but also content to spend time in the press box or AHL. The 23-year-old centerman posted just two points in 23 NHL games this year – a small step down from his eight points in 28 games last year. Alexandrov has added 45 points in 48 AHL games over the last two seasons, showing his scoring upside, despite his role on St. Louis’ fourth line usually pitting him in the defensive end. The structure of St. Louis’ offense likely won’t change much this summer, with the team possessing both limited free agents and the money to re-sign their choices among them. That should limit Alexandrov to a minor role – and its associated cheap contract – against next season, though a new deal would represent a chance to play his way out of St. Louis’ press box.

D Scott Perunovich – If there were any one play that St. Louis had to re-sign this summer, it’d be Perunovich, who played through the first mostly-healthy season of his career this year. And after years of anticipation, Perunovich’s mostly-healthy year mostly lived up to expectations. He posted 17 points in 54 games, on an 82-game pace of a modest 26 points, while making noticeable strides in his ability to keep up with and beat NHL talents. Perunovich now boasts 27 assists across 77 career NHL games, including the postseason, and should be hungry for a bigger role – and his first NHL goal – as he approaches next season. Solidifying the 25-year-old in the daily lineup will be an important step for a Blues team carrying five NHL defenseman aged 30 or older.

G Colten Ellis – The emergence of Joel Hofer as a legitimate NHL talent – made evident by his 15 wins and .913 save percentage in 30 games this season – has given St. Louis a stability at goaltending that they haven’t had since the days of prime Brian Elliott and Jake Allen. But they can’t be quick to forget the depth chart. Colten Ellis was drafted in the top 100 of the 2019 NHL Draft, one year after the Blues selected Hofer. He’s fallen down St. Louis’ ranks a bit since then, with Malcolm Subban and Vadim Zherenko the de facto tandem for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Ellis curbed that this season, earning his way into an AHL role with 12 wins and a .923 in 21 ECHL games. And he stood tall in his AHL minutes, posting seven wins and a Springfield-leading .924 save percentage.

Other pending RFAs: F Mikhail Abramov, F Mathias Laferriere, F Keean Washkurak, D Hunter Skinner

Projected Cap Space

The Blues aren’t entering the summer wealthy by any means – but their projected $15.64MM in cap space should be more than enough for them to  bring back any and all of the pending free agents they’d like to keep. The team seems prepared to part with at least a few options, if only to make room for the nine entry-level contracts they’ve signed since March. Those signees include prospects like Juraj Pekarcik, Simon Robertsson, Otto Stenberg, and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki – each options to rival top ice time with the Thunderbirds and maybe even an NHL call-up. The Blues fell just six points back from the postseason this year, though their roster didn’t seem to tilt the needle in any one direction. An influx of young talent – and potentially one or two lucrative free agents – could be the perfect pieces to move St. Louis’ roster forward.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Lightning.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Steven Stamkos – An unrestricted free agent for the second time in his career, the Lightning should be able to find a way to keep their captain this offseason. Earlier in the year, Stamkos was publicly upset with Tampa Bay’s management due to not having an extension before the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, but those tempers should have cooled. At 34 years old, Stamkos should still command a multi-year contract from the Lightning (or any team), which should lower his yearly AAV for the cap-strapped organization. Stamkos is a veteran of 1082 regular season games with two Stanley Cup rings under his belt and is coming off the seventh 40-goal season of his career. If he were to entertain the idea of leaving Tampa Bay this summer, plenty of teams would come calling.

F Anthony Duclair – After coming to the organization at the trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks, Duclair quickly became one of the better trade pickups this season. His trade value increased slightly in his last 10 games in the Bay Area, scoring seven goals and 10 points leading up to the trade with the Lightning. After being acquired by the organization, Duclair became a solid offensive contributor, scoring eight goals and 15 points in only 17 games in Tampa Bay. Although he carries plenty of value as a complimentary offensive piece, Duclair may be unable to extend his stay with the Lightning unless he takes a slight pay cut on his recent $3MM salary.

D Matt Dumba – Much like Duclair, Dumba was also acquired at the trade deadline, this time from the Arizona Coyotes. Unfortunately, with another change of scenery failing to bring out anything in his game, it appears the Lightning and Dumba will not continue their relationship. After being acquired from the Coyotes, Dumba suited up in 18 games for Tampa Bay, only tallying two assists while averaging 18:39 of ice time per night. On the open market, Dumba should be able to fetch a guaranteed contract from a team desperate for defensive depth, but it will not be anywhere close to his $3.9MM AAV after a tough 2023-24 season.

Other UFAs: F Tyler Motte, F Austin Watson, D Calvin de Haan, D Haydn Fleury, G Jonas Johansson

Projected Cap Space

This is where things have been tricky in Tampa Bay for the last several years. The team was already a little tight on cap flexibility heading into the offseason and then acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh and his $6.75MM AAV from the Nashville Predators with no money going the other way. Thanks to the trade for McDonagh, the Lightning will have a little over $5MM to work with unless another move is made to free up space. Since the trade for McDonagh, and the team’s noted desire to keep Stamkos, trade rumors have circled over the past few days around Tanner Jeannot and his $2.665MM salary for the 2024-25 NHL season, although nothing is concrete at this point. Ultimately, Stamkos could surprise us all and take a well-below-market contract to keep the team competitive through his twilight years in the NHL, but that seems unlikely at this point. However, if the Lightning do end up freeing some cap space this summer, they have players to move without completely shaking the integrity of the lineup.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Offseason Checklist: New York Islanders

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The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at the Islanders.

For most of the season, the Islanders were teetering on the edge of the postseason and eventually, GM Lou Lamoriello opted to make a change, hiring Patrick Roy to take over behind the bench.  New York got on a bit of a hot streak toward the end of the year to get into the playoffs but they were quickly eliminated by Carolina.  Now, the Isles need to try to add to their group in the hopes of grabbing a firmer hold of a playoff spot next season.  Here’s what they should be looking to accomplish in the coming months.

Create Cap Space

Let’s run the numbers first.  Per CapFriendly, New York has a little over $6MM in cap room for next season and a handful of roster spots to fill.  If they did nothing, they could ice a cap-compliant lineup but it wouldn’t necessarily be any better than the one that struggled for most of the regular season and went out quickly in the playoffs.  If they want to make an impactful addition, they need to find a way to get the money to make that happen.

Anders Lee had a tough year, seeing his output dip to 37 points which isn’t a great return on a $7MM price tag through the 2025-26 campaign.  While it would be hard to see Lamoriello move his captain, it’s worth noting his full no-trade protection drops to a 15-team one on July 1st.  Jean-Gabriel Pageau has two years left at $5MM and is more of a third liner at this point.  Meanwhile, Kyle Palmieri is entering the final year of his deal at a $5MM price tag.  That said, he’s also coming off a 30-goal campaign so while moving him would open more flexibility, it’d also create a bigger gap to try to fill offensively.

The good news for a possible Palmieri move is that his value has gone up to the point where they could move him without retaining or needing to incentivize a team to take him on.  The bad news is that this likely can’t be said for Pageau or Lee.  This is where adding the extra second-round pick in a rare May swap of draft picks with Chicago is notable.  While it’s possible that it was done to give them a chip to dangle to add someone, it’s also possible that they wind up using it as the incentive for a team to take on a player, similar to what they did to move Josh Bailey last summer.

Regardless of how they get it done though, if Lamoriello wants to add to his team, he needs to find a way to add some cap space first.

Extension Talks

Lamoriello is known to like to use the leverage when he has it which resulted in both Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov signing below-market contracts back in 2022.  They’ve benefited from that the last two seasons and will again in 2024-25 but they’ll have to pay the piper after that as both players will be restricted free agents with arbitration eligibility next summer.  With the way both have progressed, it might make sense for the Isles to look into potentially extending one or both players this summer.

Dobson’s is the more prominent case.  After narrowly missing out on the 50-point mark for the second straight year in 2022-23, the 24-year-old blew past that and then some, putting up 70 points in 79 games.  Perhaps more importantly, he grabbed hold of the number one spot on the depth chart and ran with it, logging over 24 minutes a night.  He has established himself as a legitimate top-pairing defender at a minimum and with another year or two like this one, he could become a true number one blueliner.

These are the types of players that are extremely hard to come by, particularly right-shot defenders.  Accordingly, messing around and trying to low-ball in negotiations probably won’t fly so expect New York to put their best foot forward pretty quickly.  His current salary and AAV is $4MM and it’s safe to say that his next deal will at least double that and likely more.  If they wait on doing this now and Dobson has another big year, it’s possible that he could surpass Mathew Barzal’s $9.15MM AAV to become the most expensive player on the team.

Romanov won’t be getting anywhere near that level but he has become an important part of their top four after being acquired at the 2022 draft from Montreal.  He doesn’t have the offense to command top dollar like Dobson will but as someone who logs around 20 minutes a night, kills penalties, and brings a physical edge to the table, he’ll still be well-positioned for a fair-sized raise on his current $2.5MM AAV and should be in the $4MM range on his next contract.  This is a case where there isn’t as much risk in waiting as there might be with Dobson but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lamoriello try to get this one done early as well.

Add Scoring Help

Scoring goals has been an issue for the Islanders in recent years.  The last time they were better than 20th in goals was back in 2017-18 and their roster as currently constructed doesn’t have a lot of firepower outside their top six.  (And if Palmieri ends up being the cap casualty, they’ll lose another scoring threat.)  Finding a way to add to that will be critical.

They’re hoping that Maxim Tsyplakov will help somewhat on that front after a 31-goal breakout year in the KHL that saw him get interest from at least a dozen teams before signing with New York.  But asking him to step in and play in the top six right away would be putting a lot of pressure on him.  Playing in the bottom six and ideally shoring up the offensive potential of that group would certainly help, however.

But that’s probably a small improvement at most.  A legitimate top-six option is needed to give this group enough firepower to have a chance to stay in the playoff mix next season.  If they’re confident they can extend Brock Nelson (who’s also extension-eligible this summer) which would allow them to keep Barzal on the wing, they wouldn’t necessarily have to look at options down the middle which is ideal since the depth on the wing in this free agent class is better than the center group.

But again, with barely $6MM in cap space, that can easily be spent on one impactful player on the open market without doing anything about filling out the rest of their roster.  Accordingly, they’ll have to get creative to add the scoring depth they need.

Shore Up Defensive Depth

This was a tough year for the Islanders from an injury perspective, especially when it came to their back end.  Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield (three of their top five blueliners) all missed at least 24 games due to injuries which put their defensive depth to the test.  After some early struggles, Lamoriello added veterans Robert Bortuzzo and Mike Reilly to try to stabilize things, moves that worked out relatively well considering the low acquisition price.

However, their depth is about to get thinned out.  Both Bortuzzo and Reilly are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer as are Sebastian Aho and Robin Salo (who has seen NHL action in two of the last three years).

It’s possible that Reilly returns if he’s willing to sign for around the $1MM he made this season.  Aho has earned a raise from the $825K he made for the past two years which could price his way out of what the Isles can afford to pay a seventh defender.  In the minors, Salo joins Paul LaDue as veterans on expiring deals so work needs to be done there as well.

Lamoriello might need to sign three or four blueliners in the coming weeks to ensure he has sufficient depth in case injuries strike once again.  As a result, expect to see several blueliners added early in free agency or on the trade front in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Toronto Maple Leafs

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Maple Leafs.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Timothy Liljegren – Liljegren would best be served to play on a team’s third pairing but given the lack of right-handed defenseman for the Maple Leafs this season he was thrust into second-pairing duty quite often and averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game. That number dwindled to just 17 minutes per game in the playoffs as Liljegren appeared to lose the trust of former Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe. Liljegren draws a lot of criticism for his lack of detail with the puck on his stick as evidenced by his giveaway numbers (40 giveaways in 55 games), but he plays in all situations and is a good offensive producer on the powerplay. The 25-year-old will be looking for a sizeable raise on his previous $1.4MM AAV and should easily double that figure on a multi-year agreement.

F Nicholas Robertson – Robertson was a victim of Toronto’s cap crunch last season on more than one occasion and found himself playing in the AHL despite being one of the Maple Leafs’ better offensive producers in the bottom six. The 22-year-old registered 14 goals and 13 assists in 56 games despite playing just 11:23 a game and could be in line to see time in the top six next season if the Maple Leafs are unable to slide another high-priced forward into the lineup. Robertson is a good forechecker despite being on the small side at just 5’9” and 178 pounds, and he is also a strong play driver who can create scoring opportunities off the rush. Robertson will be looking at a bridge deal this summer and could come in at a figure around $1.5MM per season.

Other RFAs: F Connor Dewar, F Max Ellis, F Noah Gregor, D Maxime Lajoie, G Keith Petruzzelli, F Alex Steeves

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Tyler Bertuzzi – Bertuzzi had some struggles adjusting to life with the Maple Leafs and was much better in the second half of the season. The Sudbury, Ontario native finished with 21 goals and 22 assists in 80 games while providing solid work in the dirty areas of the ice-extending shifts along the boards and going to the net for rebounds. The 29-year-old settled for a one-year $5.5MM contract last summer and will be looking for term this time around. While he has shown that he can provide better than secondary scoring and is a decent skater with a physical element to his game, it’s hard to imagine him receiving a raise on a multi-year deal, but he could receive a similar AAV on his next deal. It’s also difficult to see him re-signing in Toronto given their laundry list of needs and pending salary cap crunch.

D T.J. Brodie – It’s hard to project what T.J. Brodie’s next contract will look like given that last season was a tale of two wildly different trajectories. Brodie was very good in the first half of the season, but appeared to lose a step down the stretch and only found his way into one playoff game for the Maple Leafs. During the regular season, the 33-year-old tallied a goal and 25 assists in 80 games while playing almost 22 minutes a night, but his finish to the year mirrored the previous season where his play also dipped, largely due to injury. Given the fact that the Chatham, Ontario native has lost some foot speed and has shown signs of wearing down the last couple of years, it’s hard to envision him being back with Toronto or topping his previous $5MM AAV. Brodie is still a capable third-pairing NHL defenseman and will likely get a multi-year deal this summer.

F Max Domi – Domi was another new addition to the Maple Leafs who struggled to fit in this past season. He started the year on Toronto’s third line but worked his way into the top six as the season inched on and injuries began to pile up. The 29-year-old fit in well with the Maple Leafs’ elite scorers as his quick pace and ability to distribute the puck allowed him to give Toronto’s scorers some good looks. Domi seems like the likeliest to return to Toronto as he has expressed an interest in doing so and figures to fit in the Maple Leafs’ salary cap structure. Domi posted nine goals and 38 assists last season in 80 games while playing up and down the lineup and should be in line for a multi-year deal above $4MM per season.

G Ilya Samsonov – Samsonov did not provide the Maple Leafs with consistent NHL goaltending this season and was barely able to hold onto an NHL spot. However, he was a much different goaltender in the second half of the year and finished the season sporting a 23-7-8 record with a 3.13 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage. Despite his better results in the backend of the season, Samsonov was still prone to giving up bad goals and had a hard time tracking pucks in traffic. He is simply not a goaltender the Maple Leafs can count on as a number-one netminder and will find an NHL job elsewhere this summer on a short-term deal.

Other UFAs: F Kyle Clifford, D Joel Edmundson, C Dylan Gambrell, D Mark Giordano, G Martin Jones, D John Klingberg, D Ilya Lyubushkin, G Matt Murray

Projected Cap Space

The Maple Leafs project to enter the offseason with roughly $18.5MM in available cap space which looks like a sizeable amount on paper given that the team’s top stars are already locked into contracts for next season. However, Toronto has a big hole to fill in their top-6 forward group as well as two holes in the top-4 of their defensive unit (one of which could be filled by Liljegren). The Maple Leafs also need to address their goaltending situation which has been a letdown in many of their early playoff exits. All of that will take up most of the remaining cap space available and could make it difficult to add depth to the bottom of Toronto’s lineup, which has been another area of concern for a top-heavy lineup. The team will also have to factor in several pending extensions to forwards John Tavares and Mitch Marner as they are both a year away from unrestricted free agency and have to consider Matthew Knies and Joseph Woll who will be restricted free agents next summer as well.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Free Agent Focus: NHL Utah

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Sean Durzi – Arizona took advantage of Los Angeles needing some cap space, flipping a second-round pick to land Durzi.  The move worked out extremely well for the then-Coyotes.  Durzi was thrust into a much bigger role than he had with the Kings and acquitted himself rather well, setting new career highs in assists (32), points (41), blocks (160), and ATOI (22:43).  He’s owed a qualifying offer of $2MM but stands to land considerably more than that, especially with salary arbitration rights.  A one-year deal could push past the $4MM mark but if Utah GM Bill Armstrong wants to try to lock him up to a long-term agreement that buys multiple years of club control, Durzi’s next contract could surpass $6MM per year.

F Barrett Hayton – After a breakout 2022-23 campaign, expectations were high for Hayton coming into this season.  However, things didn’t go as planned.  The 23-year-old missed 49 games due to a pair of injuries (hand and lower body) and when he was in the lineup, he wasn’t producing anywhere near the level that he was the year before, scoring just three goals while adding seven assists in 33 appearances.  His qualifying offer checks in at $2.13MM with arbitration rights which should allow him to get more than that based on his 2022-23 performance.  However, the long-term agreement that seemed likely a year ago probably won’t be coming this summer.

D Michael Kesselring – After getting a taste of NHL action last season, Kesselring played his way into a more prominent role in 2023-24.  He started the year in the minors but was recalled less than a month in and was up with Arizona the rest of the way.  Kesselring recorded a respectable 21 points in 65 games while averaging less than 16 minutes a night of ice time.  Although this is his first trip through restricted free agency, he’s already arbitration-eligible which could push his next contract higher than it might seem at first glance.  Without arbitration, his bridge deal could have been pegged around the $1.3MM mark but it should push past $1.5MM with his eligibility to go to a hearing where his 2023-24 performance would make a big difference in the award.

D J.J. Moser – Moser wasn’t counted on to play quite as many minutes this season but he still logged more ice time than everyone but Durzi.  A rare player to go from being drafted in the second round to being an NHL regular the following season, the 23-year-old is now entrenched as a key part of Utah’s back end for the foreseeable future.  He still has three years of club control remaining so Armstrong could opt for a second bridge contract which could still quadruple his $874K qualifying offer.  If they do look to work out a long-term agreement, it should check in closer to the $4.5MM mark.

D Juuso Valimaki – After being waived out of Calgary back in 2022, Valimaki has settled in as a quality regular on their back end.  However, he wasn’t able to match the 34 points he put up in his first season with the Coyotes who claimed him off the waiver wire, seeing his output cut in half this year.  Still, his qualifying offer checks in at only $1MM and while he has arbitration rights, the award shouldn’t be high enough to have Armstrong thinking about a non-tender.  He should at least double his salary from this season over the summer.

Other RFAs: F Curtis Douglas, F Jan Jenik, F Milos Kelemen, D Vladislav Kolyachonok, F Ben McCartney, D Victor Soderstrom

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Travis Boyd – When healthy, Boyd has been a decent secondary scorer.  Heading into this season, he was coming off two straight years of 34 points but he wound up clearing waivers in training camp although he was never sent down.  This year, he was limited to just 16 games due to a torn pectoral muscle although he still managed eight points despite averaging less than 10 minutes a night.  He also has plenty of experience playing down the middle which should help his value in theory.  That said, coming off a long-term injury, he’s likely heading for a contract around the league minimum.  However, of the many players who will find themselves in that situation in the coming weeks, he’s one with a bit more upside than most.

D Josh Brown – After being in and out of the lineup at times, Brown signed with Arizona in 2022 with the hopes of establishing himself as a full-timer.  While he played more than he sat both years, the 30-year-old was the seventh defender fairly frequently this season.  He’s a capable shot-blocker and plays with some snarl which will get him some interest in the summer but it’s likely to be for a depth role.  Those players will mostly be around the league minimum of $775K but Brown could check in slightly higher than that.

F Liam O’Brien – O’Brien led the NHL in penalty minutes this season while setting a new personal best in points (14) and hits (229).  There is still a role for some fourth line fighters across the league and as someone who can produce a little bit while playing that role, he should be able to garner some interest if Armstrong doesn’t re-sign him.  Having said that, this particular spot in the lineup is one that teams won’t want to spend much on so O’Brien might not be able to command too much more than the $800K salary he received this season.

Other UFAs: F Travis Barron, D Cameron Crotty, D Travis Dermott, D Steven Kampfer, F Justin Kirkland, D Patrik Koch, F John Leonard, F Bryan Little, F Ryan McGregor, F Nathan Smith, G Matt Villalta

Projected Cap Space

No team has more cap space than Utah this summer, checking in at over $43MM, an amount that could jump past $51MM if they were to fully utilized Shea Weber’s LTIR deal.  That doesn’t seem likely to happen but the days of this franchise being at the bottom of spending in terms of salary should be over now.  Their restricted free agents will take up a fair-sized chunk of this cap room but they’ll still have plenty of room to add multiple impact players this summer.  They could be players in free agency and on the trade front as a result.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Offseason Checklist: Tampa Bay Lightning

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The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Tampa Bay.

The Lightning managed to make the postseason for a seventh year in a row, but further confirmation that their contending window is coming to a close came swiftly via their cross-state rivals. The Panthers, now just one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, dispatched them in a quick five-game series, their first win in three playoff series against the Bolts. Now, with back-to-back non-elite regular seasons and a pair of first-round eliminations, general manager Julien BriseBois needs to pull off some tricks to keep the franchise from spiraling into mediocrity after its greatest stretch of success in franchise history.

Re-Sign Stamkos

BriseBois already checked one major item off his offseason checklist, acquiring some much-needed defensive help by acquiring former Bolt Ryan McDonagh from the Predators. Unfortunately, that’s created a temporary cap crunch that makes contract extension negotiations with captain Steven Stamkos much more difficult.

It isn’t the first time the future Hall-of-Famer has gotten dangerously close to becoming a UFA. Negotiations were testy after a five-year bridge deal expired in 2016, and he waited until 48 hours before the market opened to sign an eight-year, $68MM extension. With that deal now run out, Lightning fans will hope it doesn’t take that long again. It wouldn’t be a good sign for a player who, despite expressing a strong desire to remain in the only NHL market he’s ever known, was disappointed with the lack of extension talks last summer.

He’d likely take a discount on his market value, somewhere in the $8MM range annually, to stay in Tampa. But their current projected $5MM of cap space with a minimum of one other roster spot to fill likely won’t cut it, especially since he’s not eligible for performance bonuses.

They’ll need to free up space to get it done, something the rest of this checklist examines in more detail. But even as Stamkos’ even-strength numbers begin to dip, he’s a bonafide top-six winger that they don’t have the offensive depth to shoulder the loss of. He still managed to rack up over a point per game this season, recording yet another 40-goal campaign with 81 points in 79 contests. The 34-year-old was also their goal leader in the playoffs, lighting the lamp five times in five games.

Offload Bloated Forward Contracts

The Lightning reached three straight Stanley Cup Finals largely because of their cost-effective depth scoring. BriseBois has failed to continue that trend in the past two years thanks to a pair of ill-advised acquisitions.

One was much more harmful than the other, and he’s already on the trade block. BriseBois gave up five draft picks, including a first-rounder, to pick up grinder Tanner Jeannot from Nashville in a trade last year. He’s managed just eight goals and 18 points in 75 games for the Bolts since the deal and spent a good portion of the 2023-24 campaign on the shelf. Averaging fringe third-line minutes, they can’t afford to keep him at his $2.67MM cap hit next season. There’s still optimism around the league that he can rebound to his 24-goal form with the Preds two years ago, but with a 16-team no-trade list kicking in on July 1, they’ll need to move on from him in short order.

There’s also the matter of Conor Sheary, who BriseBois inked to a three-year, $6MM deal with trade protection in free agency last summer. He managed only four goals and 15 points in 57 games this season and was a healthy scratch for most of the stretch run, including all five of their playoff games. His spot in the lineup was replaced by minor-league call-up Mitchell Chaffee, who’s already inked a cost-effective extension with an $800K cap hit. His $2MM cap hit can’t be afforded for a player who provided league-minimum value this season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see BriseBois offload him in a pure cap-dump transaction. He has a full no-trade clause at the moment, although it downgrades to a 16-team no-trade list on July 1.

Combined, the moves would bring the Lightning’s cap space to nearly $10MM, enough to re-sign Stamkos and add a low-cost depth scoring forward on the free agent market to help replace Jeannot and Sheary.

Get Another LTIR Contract

Having retired defenseman Brent Seabrook’s contract on the books for the past two seasons was beneficial to the Bolts. After confirming he wouldn’t play again due to injury, Tampa acquired the Cup-winning defenseman’s $6.875MM cap hit from Chicago, placing him on long-term injured reserve for the past three seasons to help give them in-season spending flexibility.

That contract has now run out, though, and they’re entering the summer without anybody available to help fudge their spending limit. That doesn’t mean they can’t pull off another trade to acquire a dead contract, though. As part of their purchase of the Coyotes’ hockey operations, NHL Utah is picking up the final two seasons of injured center Bryan Little’s contract, which carries a $7.86MM cap hit. With Utah GM Bill Armstrong having full permission from ownership to spend to the salary cap, unlike years past in Arizona, Little’s deal becomes an inhibition for Utah rather than a benefit to help them hit the cap floor.

If they have interest in selling the final two seasons of Little’s contract, expect the Lightning to engage. It wouldn’t mean much for their off-season spending, but placing him on LTIR once the season starts could give them some slight in-season recall and trade flexibility. The few other LTIR-bound contracts around the league are proving advantageous to their current clubs, such as the Golden Knights’ Robin Lehner, so Little might be BriseBois’ only option if he wants to go that route.

Upgrade Backup Goaltending

Tampa struggled defensively, ranking below average in goals against, but it wasn’t all on their skaters. Star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy had a remarkably pedestrian season after recovering from preseason back surgery, allowing more goals than expected based on the shot quality he faced for the first time since 2015-16, per MoneyPuck. His .900 SV% was also right in line with the league average.

The four-time Vezina finalist could easily return to form after a healthy offseason, but relying on him to carry elite numbers through 60-65 appearances as he enters his 30s will become unrealistic. Throwing league-minimum backup Jonas Johansson to the wolves to start the season didn’t have good results, and he finished the campaign with a poor .890 SV% (that was still above his career average) in 26 appearances.

Waiving Johansson and spending even just $500K more on a more proven backup option in free agency could make a major difference in the standings for Tampa next season in an increasingly competitive Atlantic Division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Full 2024 List Of Expiring Draft Rights

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When drafting a player out of North America or any European country with a transfer agreement, a team acquires exclusive negotiating rights for a set amount of time. Each year on June 1, a long list of players see those rights expire and become unrestricted free agents (or choose to re-enter the draft, depending on specific circumstances).

With the deadline in a matter of days, it’s time to examine which players may become UFAs (data courtesy of CapFriendly). Some of the players listed below have already signed overseas, and others will have agreements announced soon after their current rights expire.

Anaheim Ducks

LW Connor Hvidston (139th overall, 2022)
C Ben King (107th overall, 2022)
C Albin Sundsvik (160th overall, 2020)

Boston Bruins

G Reid Dyck (183rd overall, 2022)

Buffalo Sabres

C Jakub Konecny (216th overall, 2020)
LD Mats Lindgren (106th overall, 2022)
RD Albert Lyckåsen (193rd overall, 2020)

Carolina Hurricanes

RW Zion Nybeck (115th overall, 2020)

Chicago Blackhawks

RD Michael Krutil (110th overall, 2020)

Colorado Avalanche

LD Graham Sward (146th overall, 2022) rights acquired from Predators via trade
G Ivan Zhigalov (225th overall, 2022)

Dallas Stars

C Daniel Ljungman (154th overall, 2020)

Detroit Red Wings

G Jan Bednar (107th overall, 2020)
LD Tnias Mathurin (137th overall, 2022)
C Theodor Niederbach (51st overall, 2020)

Edmonton Oilers

LW Jeremias Lindewall (200th overall, 2020)

Florida Panthers

C Liam Arnsby (214th overall, 2022)
C Elliot Ekmark (198th overall, 2020)
RD Kasper Puutio (153rd overall, 2020)

Los Angeles Kings

G Juho Markkanen (112th overall, 2020)
C Kasper Simontaival (66th overall, 2020)

Minnesota Wild

C Servác Petrovský (185th overall, 2022)

Montreal Canadiens

C Jared Davidson (130th overall, 2022) (has since signed with Montreal)
C/LW Cédrick Guindon (127th overall, 2022)
LD Petteri Nurmi (194th overall, 2022)
RD Miguël Tourigny (216th overall, 2022)

New Jersey Devils

C Jaromír Pytlík (99th overall, 2020)

New York Islanders

LW Alexander Ljungkrantz (90th overall, 2020)
LD Matias Rajaniemi (183rd overall, 2020)

New York Rangers

LW Maxim Barbashev (161st overall, 2022)
C Oliver Tärnström (92nd overall, 2020)

Pittsburgh Penguins

RD Nolan Collins (167th overall, 2022)
RD Thimo Nickl (104th overall, 2020) rights acquired from Ducks via trade

San Jose Sharks

G Mason Beaupit (108th overall, 2022)

Seattle Kraken

C Kyle Jackson (196th overall, 2022)

St. Louis Blues

RW Landon Sim (184th overall, 2022)

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Nick Malík (160th overall, 2022)

Toronto Maple Leafs

LW Brandon Lisowsky (218th overall, 2022)

Utah all players selected by the Arizona Coyotes franchise, rights transferred to Utah in sale of hockey operations in April

C/LW Filip Barklund (173rd overall, 2020)
RW Elliot Ekefjärd (192nd overall, 2020)
LD Jérémy Langlois (94th overall, 2022)

Vancouver Canucks

RD Viktor Persson (191st overall, 2020)

Vegas Golden Knights

LW/C Patrick Guay (145th overall, 2022)

Washington Capitals

C Jake Karabela (149th overall, 2022)
C/RW Oskar Magnusson (211th overall, 2020)

Winnipeg Jets

LD Anton Johannesson (133rd overall, 2020)

Offseason Checklist: Washington Capitals

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The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Washington.

The Capitals were able to pull off a late-season comeback to reach the postseason but they were quickly dispatched in a four-game sweep by the Rangers, ending their year on a low note.  Washington is a team that’s more or less stuck in the middle so GM Brian MacLellan will need to figure out how to get this team moving in a more concrete direction.  There are a couple of different paths to take obviously and their checklist will reflect both routes accordingly.

Examine Goalie Trade Options

This season was somewhat of a changing of the guard for Washington’s goaltenders.  Darcy Kuemper was signed to be the long-term starter while Charlie Lindgren was brought in during the 2022 offseason as a low-cost backup.  They flipped roles this year with Lindgren cementing himself as the starter while Kuemper struggled, landing in the second-string role as a result.

While both netminders are under contract for next season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see MacLellan try to shake things up.  However, the route they take – retool or rebuild – will indicate which netminder would be the right one to move.

If they’re looking to win now, they might want to look at the market for Kuemper to see if there’s a taker for a swap of underachieving goalies.  This could be an offseason that sees more musical chairs than usual this summer when it comes to goaltenders and there are a handful of teams with veterans who have multiple years left on their contracts with a price tag in the range of Kuemper’s $5.25MM.  Since Kuemper (who does have a 10-team no-trade list as of Saturday, down from 15) doesn’t have positive trade value on his own, perhaps taking a flyer on someone else in a swap of bad deals could help their situation between the pipes.

On the flip side, if they pivot to a rebuild, then the idea of moving Lindgren stands out.  Signing him to an extension now would carry some risks considering he’s coming off a career year but here’s a goalie who’s underpaid even by backup standards with a cap hit of just $1.1MM.  With one year left on that contract, he could have some decent trade value for a team looking for a low-cost option in goal.  With both Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson dominating at AHL Hershey, the Capitals could move forward with one of them splitting time with Kuemper or his replacement (they could look at the first swap idea in either route) and assess from there.

MacLellan suggested earlier this offseason that he’s planning as if both netminders will be back for next season.  He should at least be exploring what other options might be out there in the coming weeks.

Re-Sign McMichael

After taking care of Aliaksei Protas earlier in the season, the Capitals got one of their young forwards signed early.  They didn’t do that with Connor McMichael and therefore will need to get him signed over the next few months.

It has been an interesting first three years for the 2019 first-round pick.  McMichael held his own in his rookie year in a fourth-line role but then in 2022-23, he was dispatched back to the minors for most of the season where he had a chance to play the offensive role he’s more suited to, not to mention getting in a long playoff run with the Bears.  That helped propel him back to the NHL for this season and the 23-year-old was more impactful, notching 18 goals and 15 assists in 30 games while averaging just under 16 minutes a night.  That goal total was good for a tie for fourth, a pretty good outcome for someone who played all of six NHL games the year before.

Generally speaking, this is the type of player profile where it makes a lot of sense to do a bridge contract.  Here’s a player who only has a couple of years of NHL experience under his belt and likely hasn’t reached his offensive ceiling.  More often than not, a short-term second contract is a straightforward solution.  However, they gave Protas five years at $3.375MM per season with even less experience and less of a track record offensively and he would have been a logical bridge candidate as well.  That means the potential for McMichael to sign a longer-term agreement certainly is there.

If it winds up being a conventional bridge contract, it should check in somewhere around the $2MM range, perhaps slightly backloaded to guarantee a higher qualifying offer at the end.  That would also give them more money to work with if they’re looking to add to their roster this summer.  Conversely, a bridge contract that buys up some UFA time likely pushes past the $4MM mark.  If he develops as they hope, that would be a team-friendly pact before long but it would take away from their cap space this summer.  If they decide to retool though, they may look more favorably on a longer-term agreement as they won’t need as much cap space for next season so they can more comfortably pay more now to potentially save later.

Utilize LTIR

This time last year, Nicklas Backstrom had done relatively well finishing up 2022-23 after returning from hip resurfacing surgery and while his $9.2MM price tag was high for the role he could fill, he could still fill a role.  However, just eight games into the season, he shut it down, missing the rest of the season due to ongoing issues with his hip.  At this point, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be able to return.  Accordingly, the Capitals can go into offseason LTIR and use that money either in free agency or on the trade front.

There’s also the potential for that number to go up.  T.J. Oshie has been playing through some significant back pain and mused about the potential of not trying to play through it next season given the issues it gives him in his day-to-day life.  If the determination is made that he won’t play either, that’s another $5.75MM that could be added to the LTIR pool.  Given the potential that he could return, it’s unlikely that money would be utilized this summer (it might be more of an in-season decision) but it’s something that will need to be considered.

Now, how they use LTIR will be influenced by their direction.  If they want to add win-now pieces, they can utilize it that way; we’ll get to some possible needs on that front shortly.  But if the focus is on the future, then they can try to become a broker and take on a contract along with some future assets to help in the long term.

How much they have to spend remains to be seen with Oshie’s situation.  But they will have LTIR at their disposal this summer if they want to use it.

Add Scoring Help

While this obviously is more of an issue if Washington is trying to push for another playoff spot next season, it’s an area that’s going to need to be addressed at some point.  It wasn’t that long ago that the Capitals were one of the higher-scoring teams in the NHL.  However, they only managed to finish 28th in that regard this season and with Backstrom likely not returning, Oshie’s status in jeopardy, and even long-time middleman Evgeny Kuznetsov now gone in a late-season trade, a good chunk of the previous core isn’t going to be around anymore.

This is something that Backstrom’s LTIR situation should help them with.  By the time they re-sign McMichael and their other free agents, they’re basically going to primarily have just Backstrom’s (and maybe Oshie’s) money to play with.

How should that money be spent?  They’re not in a spot where they need to be picky.  While Dylan Strome has fared rather well in his two seasons with the Caps, he’s not a true number one center in an ideal world.  McMichael still isn’t overly proven at the NHL level.  With Backstrom and Kuznetsov out of the picture, there’s a definite need to add an impact piece down the middle.  Ideally, that would be someone with some offensive creativity which could help unlock some of the sluggish scoring on the wing.

Speaking of that, the Capitals had just three wingers surpass the 15-goal mark last season.  One is Alex Ovechkin who overcame a terrible start to put up 31 tallies but age is catching up with him.  Another is Tom Wilson, a player who hasn’t reached 25 goals in a season in his career; he’s more of a secondary contributor from a points perspective.  The third was Anthony Mantha who put up 20 goals before being moved to Vegas a little before the trade deadline.  Suffice it to say, there’s a definite need for a scoring winger or two.

If MacLellan has any designs on trying to get back to the playoffs in 2024-25, he will need to find a way to add multiple impact point producers to this roster.  If the plan is to retool, they can push that down the road temporarily but it’s an area that will still need to be addressed sooner than later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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