Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks
Free agency is now just a bit more than 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 Canucks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Filip Hronek – Talk about an ideal contract year. After an injury-plagued stint in Vancouver to end last season following his acquisition from the Red Wings, Hronek began the season on the team’s top defense pairing alongside Quinn Hughes and never looked back. He recorded career highs with 43 assists, 48 points and a +33 rating, although, as critics point out, most of that production came on an early-season tear. The 26-year-old had three assists in 16 games after the trade deadline and was limited to a goal and an assist in 13 postseason games, both coming in Games 6 and 7 of their second-round loss to the Oilers. With reports indicating his ask is in the $8MM neighborhood annually, the Canucks are likely to shop his signing rights around with an unwillingness to dole out that kind of cash with the way he ended his season.
G Arturs Silovs – A couple of months ago, Silovs wouldn’t have had anything to do with a “key restricted free agents” moniker after serving as the club’s AHL starter for most of the campaign. However, injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith forced him into action for Game 4 of the first round against the Predators, and the 23-year-old Latvian remained in the crease for the rest of their playoff run. While Demko would have been an upgrade if available, Silovs was serviceable, posting a .898 SV%, one shutout and allowed 0.2 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. After posting a .898 SV% and 6-2-1 record in nine regular-season appearances over the last two seasons, he’s in line for a cheap deal to make him Demko’s full-time backup moving forward. Silovs, who led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championship, had a 2.74 GAA, .907 SV%, four shutouts and a 16-11-6 record in 34 games for AHL Abbotsford this season.
Other RFAs: D Nick Cicek, D Filip Johansson, F Linus Karlsson, F Aidan McDonough, D Cole McWard, D Jett Woo
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Ian Cole – While Cole had some notable individual blunders in the playoffs, he had a solid regular season in Vancouver that proved he’s still a fringe top-four blue liner as he enters his mid-30s. Much like his showing last season with the Lightning, he was a strong shutdown force, controlling 53% of expected goals at 5-on-5 despite 63.6% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end. Adding 11 points in 78 games as well, Cole is in line for a deal similar to the one-year, $3MM pact that brought him to the Canucks last summer. He turned 35 in February, so he can take a 35+ contract with performance bonuses to lower his cap hit artificially if Vancouver wants to bring him back but runs out of space. However, if he meets his performance bonuses and the Canucks can’t afford to accommodate them, they’ll be applied as a cap penalty in 2025-26.
F Dakota Joshua – A Maple Leafs draft pick back in 2014, Joshua has been on a steady rise since they moved his rights to the Blues shortly before the pandemic. He parlayed that into an everyday role with the Canucks upon reaching Group Six UFA status in 2022 and had a career year this season, posting 18 goals and 32 points in only 63 games while costing just $825K against the cap. He averaged solid third-line minutes at 14:23 per game and had nearly all of his production come at even strength, notching only one power-play point. The 28-year-old had positive relative possession numbers, too. Unfortunately, that means he’s one of the likelier candidates to have priced himself out of Vancouver, earning himself a multi-million dollar raise wherever he signs this summer.
F Elias Lindholm – The Canucks gave up quite a haul for Lindholm at the end of January, giving the Flames a large package that included a first-round pick and middle-six sniper Andrei Kuzmenko to acquire the 2022 Selke Trophy finalist. His performance in the regular season left much to be desired, potting only six goals and 12 points in 26 games after the deal. Still, he exploded back to form in the postseason with 10 points and a +4 rating in 13 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a night, tying for third on the club in scoring. That’s likely repaired a good chunk of his market value after having an extremely underwhelming contract year. After finishing the campaign with 44 points and a -14 rating in 75 games, he won’t command the upward of $8MM per season he left on the table for an extension in Calgary, but he should still get something in the $6MM-$7MM annually on a longer-term deal. Whether that comes in Vancouver or with one of his other expected suitors, namely the Bruins, remains to be seen.
D Tyler Myers – The final season of Myers’ bloated five-year, $30MM deal was his best hockey in Vancouver. He dropped down to a second/third-pairing role, averaging under 20 minutes per game for the first time in his lengthy career, but responded with 29 points and a 49.8% expected goals share at 5-on-5, his best as a Canuck. Vancouver and Myers would both like to see him back in a Canucks uniform next season, something they should be able to get done at a significant pay cut from his previous $6MM cap hit as he enters his age-34 season.
D Nikita Zadorov – Also an in-season trade pickup from Calgary, Zadorov quickly became a fan favorite in Vancouver and was, bar none, their second-best defenseman in the playoffs behind Quinn Hughes. The towering Russian rattled off four goals and eight points in 13 postseason contests, averaging over 20 minutes per game after logging 17:04 per game in the regular season after the trade. Reports indicate his camp is asking for a six-year deal at $6MM annually – likely too rich for the Canucks’ taste (or anybody’s taste, for that matter). If his camp gets the sense that he won’t be able to achieve that figure on the open market, it wouldn’t surprise anybody to see this generation’s Big Z end up back in Vancouver.
Other UFAs: F Teddy Blueger, G Casey DeSmith, F Sheldon Dries, D Mark Friedman, D Matt Irwin, F Sam Lafferty, G Zach Sawchenko
Projected Cap Space
The Canucks enter the summer with roughly $23.75MM in cap space. However,h they’re likely operating with an internal figure closer to $26.25MM with the final season of defenseman Tucker Poolman‘s contract slated for long-term injured reserve again in 2024-25. It’s a solid chunk of change – they’re still below the $64.7MM floor for next season – but the space will disappear quickly as they have likely $13-15MM committed to either re-signing Hronek and Lindholm or for their replacements.
Take another $5MM out for what Zadorov will likely command for an extension at this stage, and it’s clear not everyone on this list will be back next season. They have a solid chance of retaining most of their expiring talent, but whether they want to pay market value for someone like Lindholm or look for a more undervalued replacement on the open market remains to be seen. Expect General Manager of the Year Award finalist Patrik Allvin to be one of the busier GMs this offseason as he navigates what could be a fair amount of roster turnover for the defending Pacific Division champions.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Offseason Checklist: St. Louis Blues
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 St. Louis.
The St. Louis Blues entered a new era this season, firing Stanley Cup-winning head coach Craig Berube and replacing him with rookie head coach Drew Bannister, who the team has since signed to a two-year head coach contract. The move away from Berube has meant a move away from the rough-and-tugged, dump-and-chase style of hockey that Berube adores. That was great news for St. Louis’ skill players, with each of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Pavel Buchnevich seeing a significant uptick in their scoring under Bannister. But the scoring didn’t trickle down the lineup, with even the most offensive defensemen like Justin Faulk and Torey Krug being held to moot point totals. The Blues were helped along by strong goaltending down the stretch, but they’ll need to bolster their offense throughout the lineup and maintain the momentum of their top names, should they want to make their return to the postseason next season.
Play The Field At Forward
The Blues are in a rare position of not needing to re-sign many NHL talents. They have just five pending free agents on their NHL roster, while many other teams deal with 10 or more. Of St. Louis’ pending names, none should command too high of a price tag – with defenseman Scott Perunovich’s looming cap hit of a few million likely their most expensive free agent. That means the Blues will be able to dedicate most of their $15MM available cap space to the free-agent market.
The Blues are noticeably lacking a second-line center after losing Ryan O’Reilly. That role was meant to be filled by Kevin Hayes, though he needed the support of Brayden Schenn after posting a career-low 29 points in his first 79 games in St. Louis. Schenn and Hayes are both fine depth centers, and each offer valuable veteran experience, but the Blues’ top-six doesn’t bring the same punch with them involved. St. Louis needs to instead target a player who can live up to the spotlight Robert Thomas brings to the Blues top-end.
St. Louis could prioritize the stout two-way play brought by O’Reilly
through market options like Chandler Stephenson, who’s spent the last three seasons serving as the fundamental base from which the Vegas Golden Knights stars can spring from. Stephenson is a skilled and diligent centerman with Stanley Cup-winning precedent who could beautifully fill St. Louis’ second-line vacancy. The team could also look to prioritize scoring and take a run at free agents Jonathan Marchessault or Elias Lindholm – or even dip into the Martin Necas trade market. All three players looked more comfortable on the wing at points of this season, though St. Louis’ lineup flexibility should let them construct an impactful middle-six around any new addition.
Revamp The Defense
St. Louis will face a similar order on defense. They have just one NHL defender under 30 currently signed – depth defenseman Tyler Tucker. That’s a precarious spot to position a blue-line, especially with evidence of age catching up to Faulk, Krug, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy. The Blues got a breath of fresh air with Scott Perunovich, who played in his first healthy professional season after making his NHL debut in 2021. He recorded 17 assists in 54 games – modest scoring but still the third-highest assists-per-game of any Blues defenders, behind Faulk and Krug.
Perunovich should be poised for a bigger role next season, helping to
support the decreasing play of Leddy, but St. Louis still seems absent one defiant piece on their blue-line. The free agent market is luckily full of talented defenders, with each of Shayne Gostisbehere and Dylan DeMelo likely to offer value on the open market. St. Louis could also be a fantastic landing spot for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek, who posted a career-high 48 points in 81 games this season. He’s due for a hefty increase from his $4.4MM cap hit this season, potentially pricing him out of what’s bound to be an eventful summer for Vancouver. Hronek would provide invaluable depth ahead of Krug and Parayko in the lineup, while also masking St. Louis’ near neglect of right-shot defensemen in the draft under Doug Armstrong’s reign.
Bringing in Hronek, or another top-end right-defenseman, would also make Parayko much more expendable. The Blues have danced around Parayko trade rumors for much of the last few seasons, though no official offer has come to fruition. Parayko, 31, is set to begin the third season of an eight-year extension signed in 2022. The deal carries an annual cap hit of $6.5MM and a full no-trade clause through its first six seasons. The pricey cap hit, trade protection, and Parayko’s history with injuries all contribute to challenging trade negotiations. His role in St. Louis’ top-four has been just as important of a variable – something that a new signee would alleviate, though the Blues may still face an uphill battle in dealing Parayko’s contract.
Embrace The Youth
St. Louis brought in a wave of talented young players in the early 2010s – welcoming Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Jake Allen all in the same swoop. Those additions carried the Blues through the mid-2010s, and the additions of Thomas and Kyrou in 2018 refreshed the lineup well enough to carry things now into the mid-2020s. But time is getting away from the Blues lineup, and they’re in need of yet another wave of young talent.
Luckily, Armstrong has built up one of St. Louis’ best prospect pools in recent memory. The list is headlined by forward Dalibor Dvorsky, who posted 45 goals and 88 points in 52 OHL games this season – making an incredibly loud statement in his first season in North America. The 2023 10th-overall selection should get every opportunity he can to crack the NHL lineup this summer, and will be eligible to play in the AHL next season should he not be fully ready. If they can’t get Dvorsky, St. Louis can relish in Zachary Bolduc as a second choice. Bolduc played through his official rookie season this year, posting five goals and nine points in 25 NHL games. He added 25 points in 50 AHL appearances – a slow start to his professional career, but one that was filled with exciting moments where Bolduc’s skill, strength, and shot really shined through. He’ll continue working alongside Zach Dean to vie for an everyday role on the NHL lineup.
The Blues won’t have that same enthusiasm for their defense, which is significantly more thinned out behind their aging core. Matthew Kessel showed a stout defensive ability in his rookie season this year, adding seven points in 39 NHL games, though his ability to make an impact every shift seemed a bit limited. He should headline St. Louis’ defensive prospects looking for opportunity, while Leo Loof and Theo Lindstein hope to make strong impressions at training camp.
Consistent additions of talented youth has underlined St. Louis’ success throughout this century. They’re clearly in need once again, missing any sort of X-factor outside of their top line last season. The Blues have the pieces to refresh things once again, though they’ll have to hope their top prospects can live up to the opportunity.
Free Agent Focus: Vegas Golden Knights
Free agency is now just a bit more than 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 Golden Knights.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Pavel Dorofeyev – Dorofeyev made his long-awaited jump to the NHL this season, spending the entire year on the Golden Knights roster for the first time in his career. And while he missed five weeks of action in February and March due to an upper-body injury, Dorofeyev was still able to slot into a career-high 47 NHL games this season. He made the most of the opportunity, posting 13 goals and 24 assists and working into a routine role on the team’s power-play. The Russian winger has been a go-to pick for the top breakout candidate on Vegas’ lineups since he moved to North America in 2020. He fell just a bit shy of a true
“breakout” this season, but he showed an impressive goal-scoring ability and seemed much more adjusted to the NHL. That likely sets him up for a cheap, short-term deal, though also likely due for a slight raise from the $925,000 salary he carried on his entry-level contract. In a year where Vegas’ cap space is as slim as can be, Dorofeyev seems to be the closest they have to a surefire re-signing. He’ll look to really stamp his mark in Vegas with a healthy year next season.
D Kaedan Korczak – Korczak was Vegas’ go-to call-up when they needed defensive help this season – something that happened plenty frequently, with each of Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, Nicolas Hague, and Zach Whitecloud missing significant time with injury. Those absences paved the way for Korczak to appear in 26 games. Playing through his official rookie season, Korczak scored one goal and nine points – recording identical scoring through 26 AHL games as well. Korczak stood tall when he was called upon this season but didn’t do much to warrant an everyday role. That should lead him to another cheap and short-term contract, though he could be the beneficiary of added ice time should any of Vegas’ seven NHL defensemen not return.
Other RFAs: F Ivan Morozov, G Isaiah Saville, F Mason Primeau, D Layton Ahac
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Jonathan Marchessault – Marchessault signed a hefty six-year, $30MM contract with the Golden Knights in 2018, after a dazzling 75-point sesaon in his first year with the team. He’s spent the six seasons since that signing establishing himself as one of Vegas’ first true icons, finding a way to make a strong impact in every season and earning the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy during Vegas’ in first Stanley Cup win. But even after all of those accolades, Marchessault still saved his best for last – recording a career-high 42 goals on his way to 69 points in 82 games this season. He’s just the second Golden Knight to hit the 40-goal mark, joining William Karlsson‘s 43-goal season in 2017-18. That fact maintains Marchessault’s value, even at the age of 33, and should set him up for a hardy raise from his previous $5MM salary. Vegas would need to make some cap-clearing moves if they wanted to bring Marchessault back. But with such an intricately-crafted lineup, Marchessault could be set to finally leave the franchise where he’s built a legacy.
F Chandler Stephenson – Vegas will watch with pain as they pay out the final cheque of Stephenson’s four-year, $11MM contract signed in 2020. The deal priced Stephenson at a $2.75MM cap hit – a price that quickly became one of the most team-friendly contracts in the NHL, as Stephenson solidified his strong role in the team’s middle-six. He’s stayed consistent in every aspect of the game – posting 51 points in 75 games this season after netting 64 and 65 in each of the last two years and remaining a dominant presence on the defensive side of the puck. There’s no telling what price tag he’ll ask on a new deal. At 30 years old, Stephenson still has plenty of hockey ahead of him. That, plus his strong scoring and two-way presence, could warrant a cost as expensive as $5MM, though he could be okay with another team-friendly deal for the sake of sticking with the team where he’s made his mark. But a free agency market is already building for Stephenson – and the promise of a flashier salary could entice him away from Sin City. He’ll be one of Vegas’ biggest losses, should he make that decision.
F Anthony Mantha – Mantha was seemingly an afterthought as the Trade Deadline approached. Even after posting 20 goals and 34 points through 56 games with the Washington Capitals, Mantha couldn’t warrant too rich of a trade return. He was dealt to Vegas for a 2024 second round pick and 2026 fourth round pick just ahead of the Deadline – making his debut with Vegas on March 7th. Mantha proceeded to record 10 points across the final 18 games of the regular season. That brought his scoring up to 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games, Mantha’s highest scoring since his 25 goals and 48 points in the 2018-19 season. That’s not necessarily phenomenal scoring but it was enough for Mantha to look comfortable among a Bruce Cassidy-led offense encouraged his power-forward, shoot-first style. Mantha’s chemistry with the team’s style, and ability to produce in an inconsistent third-line role, could be enough for Vegas to invite Mantha back – though he’ll need to settle for a price cheaper than his previous $5.7MM cap hit. His style may also clash a bit too much with Dorofeyev – the younger, and likely cheaper, option. Mantha will have to market his value to teams, should he enter an open market full of moderately-priced goal-scorers.
G Jiri Patera – Jiri Patera is Vegas’ sole Group VI free agent this summer, after being leaned on for six NHL games this season. He posted a modest .893 save percentage in those appearances, bolstering his 11 wins and .903 save percentage in 25 AHL games. Those stats should be enough for Patera to earn a deal close to league-minimum, to once again serve as an AHL starter vying for an NHL roster spot. That could come with Vegas, though the team already has Adin Hill, Logan Thompson, Jesper Vikman, and Carl Lindbom signed to their goalie room. That room could be just a bit too crowded for Patera, who would otherwise be bound for unrestricted free agency.
Other UFAs: F Michael Amadio, F William Carrier, D Alec Martinez, F Sheldon Rempal, F Byron Froese
Projected Cap Space
The story of Vegas’ offseason is a story of slim-to-no cap space. They’re entering the summer with just shy of $900K in available cap space. That’s largely thanks to Noah Hanifin‘s eight-year, $58.8MM contract extension kicking in, increasing his cap hit by nearly $6MM from his prorated $1.2375MM cap hit with Vegas this season, after 75 percent of his salary was retained in his Trade Deadline move. It seems the endless adding of expensive, star talent is finally catching up to Vegas – though fans have been fooled into thinking that many times before. The Golden Knights are likely set to lose one of their two notable UFAs – Marchessault and Stephenson – though they could move a depth defenseman like Brayden McNabb, or a pricey forward like Nicolas Roy, to build enough cap space to sign the other.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Offseason Checklist: Detroit Red Wings
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 Detroit.
Amid a seven-year postseason drought, the Red Wings performed admirably during the 2023-24 NHL season, playing meaningful hockey until the last game of the regular season. Detroit is on the cusp of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs as early as next year but will have to make some changes to realize that goal after taking a major step forward in their rebuild. General Manager Steve Yzerman is now at a point to put the finishing touches on a playoff-caliber roster this summer after completing much of the heavy lifting already.
Re-Sign The Youngsters
One of the major themes of the 2023-24 season for Detroit was the emergence of winger Lucas Raymond as a legitimate top-line player and confirmation that defenseman Moritz Seider can lead a defensive core. The Red Wings will have the opportunity to keep both in the Motor City until the 2031-32 NHL season with both players seeing their entry-level contracts expire on July 1st.
Even though the team carried big names up front such as Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat, Raymond still led the way offensively for Detroit, scoring 31 goals and 72 points over a full 82-game season. Raymond was irreplaceable down the stretch, scoring 14 goals and 21 points in his last 18 games, keeping the Red Wings afloat in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
On defense, claiming that Seider has shouldered a heavy load through his first three seasons is an understatement. Seider has not missed a game and has averaged 22:51 of ice time over his entry-level deal since his debut in the 2021-22 season. Even though Seider passes the eye test; his advanced numbers have been more than subpar throughout his career. According to Natural Stat Trick, Seider carried a CorsiFor% of 45.64% which is not a sustainable metric for a top defenseman. However, to push back on Seider’s dismal possession numbers, at even strength, 61% of Seider’s shift starts came in the defensive zone which has made shot creation much more difficult on his part.
Seider’s numbers are reflective of the fact that he is one of the only members of Detroit’s defensive core that can be trusted in the defensive zone against other teams’ top lines and his numbers have suffered from it. If the Red Wings can procure another defenseman to take the pressure off of Seider, his game should flourish in the aftermath.
If the Red Wings are going to sign either player to a long-term deal this summer it is most likely going to be Seider as right-handed defensemen of his caliber do not necessarily grow on trees. For Raymond, a bridge deal seems advantageous for both sides as Raymond would set himself up for a bigger payday in the future and Detroit can confirm that Raymond is the player shown throughout the 2023-24 regular season before doling out serious cash.
Assuming the Red Wings follow that method, Seider’s next contract should check in just south of Owen Power‘s seven-year, $58.45MM contract signed with the Buffalo Sabres last year, while Raymond’s should check in at $6MM-$6.5MM on a two- or three-year deal.
Find Another Star
For each team that narrowly missed the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs the season will be full of several “what ifs?”. For the Red Wings in particular, that question revolves solely around Larkin and how the team performs when he is and isn’t in the lineup.
In the 68 games that Larkin suited up for Detroit this season, the team held a 37-22-9 record while carrying a strong 3.54 GF/G with a 3.24 GA/G. In his absence, however, the team produced a 4-10-0 record and only a dismal 2.64 GF/G and an even worse 3.87 GA/G. This season made clear that given how the team plays without Larkin, the Red Wings must procure a player who can drive the team to wins even when Larkin cannot be in the lineup.
On the unrestricted free agent market this summer, an ideal candidate for this role would be the current captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning Steven Stamkos. For the past 16 years, Stamkos has been a foundational part of the Lightning organization as he’s won two Stanley Cup Championships in four total appearances. From 2010-2018, Yzerman formerly served as General Manager of the Lightning and signed Stamkos to two separate contracts worth a combined total of $105.5MM over the last 13 seasons. Yzerman may look to poach his former player from the Lightning to fill this void for Detroit given their previous history over much of Stamkos’ career in the NHL.
Outside of the free agent market this summer, Yzerman may even feel confident procuring this player via trade with the Red Wings stockpiling so much young talent over his tenure in the front office. As with any team coming out of a rebuild, there will still be some untouchables in the prospect pool for Detroit. Still, Yzerman may be willing to part with Jonatan Berggren, Marco Kasper, William Wallinder, or the 15th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft if the price is right.
Stabilize The Defensive Core
Surprisingly, even at 23 years old, Seider represents the longest-tenured member of the Red Wings on defense already. Over the last two offseasons, Detroit has brought in Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl, Olli Maatta, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jeff Petry, with Jake Walman coming a little over two years ago via trade.
With the emergence of Simon Edvinsson, and the eventual call-up of Axel Sandin-Pellikka, the Red Wings are once again in a position to thin out their defensive unit. Not only do they need to thin out the saturation but they also need to procure a solid top-four defenseman to lighten the burden on Seider.
As good as he was during the regular season, it is likely in Detroit’s best interest to let Gostisbehere walk this summer as well as scan the trade market for both Holl and Petry. By doing that the Red Wings would be able to keep the top unit of Walman and Seider together, shift Chiarot and Maatta into the bottom pairing, and sign a top-four right-handed defenseman this summer to put next to Edvinsson. 
Outside of the players mentioned, young defenseman Albert Johansson is also expected to compete for a roster spot in training camp after back-to-back solid seasons for Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. As a left-handed shooting defenseman, Johansson’s play at the beginning of next year could conceivably allow the Red Wings to move Chiarot to the press box on most nights.
One player not necessarily on the trade block but who could become available for Detroit this offseason at the right price is St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich. Perunovich is a solid puck-moving defenseman who has accrued 23 assists in 73 career games for the Blues. The Red Wings could give Perunovich much more responsibility in a future role as he appears blocked from ever receiving top-four minutes in St. Louis.
Complete The Tandem In Net
Lastly, Detroit is once again in a position to iron out their goaltending tandem before top prospect Sebastian Cossa can make his debut at the NHL level. Not only does Detroit have Cossa waiting in the wings but netminder Trey Augustine of Michigan State University has become a legitimate goaltending prospect in his own right.
Over the last three offseasons, Detroit has taken flyers on the likes of Alex Nedeljkovic and Ville Husso; neither of which have turned out too positively for the franchise. However, the team did see solid play from Alex Lyon this year which has given the organization some hope that he can be a regular part of the goaltending tandem once again.
Because of their goaltending prospects, Detroit is not in a position to go out and acquire a goalie such as Juuse Saros or Jacob Markstrom this summer but they do need to improve upon their tandem. As far as the options available on the free agent market, Detroit could look to give Laurent Brossoit a larger role than what he has been used to or take a flyer on Ilya Samsonov, hoping for a bounce-back season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Minnesota Wild
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 Minnesota.
After making the playoffs last season, expectations were relatively high for the Wild this season. They weren’t quite supposed to be at the top of the division but were squarely expected to be in the mix. That didn’t happen, resulting in an early-season coaching change. While they rebounded somewhat under John Hynes, they still came up short of making it back to the postseason. Now, GM Bill Guerin will be looking to make some tweaks to his roster although the bigger swings may have to come a little farther down the road. Here’s what should be on his checklist this summer.
Examine Gustavsson Trade Options
What a difference a year can make. This time last year, Filip Gustavsson was coming off finishing second in the NHL in GAA (2.10) and SV% (.931), albeit in just 39 games. Still, he did well enough to earn a three-year, $11.25MM contract after filing for salary arbitration and it looked like their goalie situation was relatively settled, at least for the short term.
This season, it was a different story. The 25-year-old saw his GAA jump by nearly a full goal per game, going to 3.06 while losing 32 points off his save percentage. He still picked up a few extra starts but simply failed to lock down the number one job as they were hoping for. That likely played a role in their decision to give Marc-Andre Fleury a one-year, $2.5MM extension last month for his 21st and final NHL campaign.
By all accounts, it appears that they feel Jesper Wallstedt, long viewed as their goalie of the future, is ready for full-time NHL duty. Clearly, they’re not trading Fleury (who has a no-move clause) after just signing him. Accordingly, unless they plan to carry three goalies (or shuttle Wallstedt) back and forth between Minnesota and AHL Iowa, it appears that Gustavsson may be the odd man out.
Early indications are that this could be a summer where there is more activity than usual on the trade front when it comes to goaltenders which is good news and bad news for the Wild. It’s good in that there will be more teams looking for options but with a larger supply of netminders potentially available, they’ll be hard-pressed to command a return of some significance, especially with Gustavsson coming off a down season. Guerin will need to determine what the best offer will be in the coming weeks and if that’s worth making a move now or potentially carrying three goalies into next season and see what the market looks like as the year goes on.
Work On Faber Extension
Last season, Brock Faber joined Minnesota for the final two games of the regular season and then suited up in all six playoff games in their opening-round loss to Dallas. He had a limited role in the postseason – perfectly understandable for someone just coming out of college – but showed enough to make it look like he could hold his own over a full NHL season in 2023-24.
Let’s just say he did better than that. A lot better, in fact. Instead of just holding his own, he became the Wild’s top defenseman pretty quickly. Not having Jared Spurgeon for most of the year due to injury certainly expedited that ascension but Faber more than earned the extra work as well. The end result was the 21-year-old leading all Minnesota blueliners with 47 points, 20 more than second-place Jonas Brodin. He logged nearly 25 minutes a night which not only led all Minnesota players but he had the sixth-highest ATOI in the entire NHL. He played big minutes on both special teams units as well. This is not the type of workload you’d expect a rookie who is now barely a year removed from playing college to be carrying.
The fact that he did so while playing on an entry-level deal was huge for the Wild. It’s great news for next season as well. But after that, the price tag is going to skyrocket and justifiably so.
The final year of Faber’s contract begins on July 1st, making him eligible to sign an extension at that time. While there is definitely some risk in handing out what would be one of the richest extensions in franchise history to a player with one full season under his belt, there’s also some risk in not signing him now and then Faber going and having an even better effort in 2024-25 in which case the price would go even higher.
Minnesota’s camp will likely try to use recent deals that Jake Sanderson ($8.05MM) and Owen Power ($8.35MM) signed as comparables but Faber has been more impactful in his early career which means his camp could push for $9MM or more, especially knowing that the deal won’t kick in until 2025-26 when the salary cap could be higher than $90MM. A new agreement doesn’t necessarily have to get done in the coming months but it stands to reason that this will be one of the higher priorities for Guerin.
Free Up Cap Space
The Wild have been operating well below the salary cap for the past several years thanks to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise back in 2021. It was an outcome that Guerin knew he was getting into but he wanted to reshape the roster. While there are still five years left on their respective buyout charges, next season is the last of the whopping charges with each player carrying a dead cap charge of $7.371MM. (That number drops to $833K starting in 2025-26 which is much more manageable although a good chunk of the savings will be going to Faber.)
Guerin was aggressive with signing some veteran players to early extensions last season which has left Minnesota with minimal space to work with this summer assuming none of them are moved. Per CapFriendly, they have less than $6MM left in cap room with a handful of roster spots to fill. While it’s worth noting that of their pending free agents, none project to command a pricey contract, they also won’t have a lot of flexibility to work with to add to their roster.
Accordingly, finding a way to open up a bit more flexibility would certainly help. If they move Gustavsson and promote Wallstedt, that would free up $2.825MM to work with. Could they find a home for the final year and $2MM left on Marcus Johansson’s deal? Even flipping Jonathon Merrill’s $1.2MM elsewhere and carrying a cheaper seventh defender would give them some extra room. Every little bit is going to make a difference if they want to try to add an impact piece in the coming months.
Add Top-Six Forward
Speaking of impact pieces, they need one up front. After being in the top five in scoring in 2021-22, the Wild haven’t cracked the top 20 in that department over the last two seasons. While Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek gave them a solid 105 goals combined, the rest of their forwards tallied just 108 combined. That means the secondary scoring wasn’t there consistently enough.
Minnesota will be hoping there will be some internal growth to help bridge some of that gap. Marco Rossi had a solid rookie year and they’ll be counting on more from him. They’ll hope that Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov can become capable producers in their first full seasons in North America and if that happens, their offense could get back toward the middle of the pack.
That said, they could certainly benefit from a more proven addition to the lineup. At a minimum, that player would serve as a bridge piece for some of the youngsters (a group that also includes Danila Yurov who could debut late in the 2024-25 campaign) to have some time to step up. If some of those younger pieces are ready sooner than later, then the veteran helps create a third scoring line which could only help things.
The good news is that there are plenty of these types of players available in free agency. Someone like David Perron would fit if they want just a short-term addition to let the youngsters get a bit more time to develop. Same with Adam Henrique if they want to add down the middle. If they want to aim higher, Tyler Toffoli, Teuvo Teravainen, and Vladimir Tarasenko stand out on the wing while someone like Chandler Stephenson would help at center.
The challenge, of course, is most of the players in this group will take up the majority (if not all of) Minnesota’s current cap space. That makes it a bit more important to open up some more flexibility on that front before the calendar flips to July and free agency opens up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Focus: Washington Capitals
Free agency is now just a bit more than 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 Capitals.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Connor McMichael – Former first-round pick McMichael finally found consistent playing time and offensive success at the NHL level after bouncing back and forth between Hershey and Washington. Two years ago, the Ajax, Ontario native was a regular in the Capitals lineup, but last year he found himself back in Hershey. During the 2023-24 season, McMichael dressed in 80 NHL games tallying 18 goals and 15 assists while playing almost 16 minutes a night. The 23-year-old appears likely to start next season as the Capitals third line center and should receive a healthy bump in pay from the $832,500 he made this past year. Given his offensive breakout, it seems reasonable to guess that McMichael will find himself on a short bridge contract in the range of $2MM-$3MM per year.
F Beck Malenstyn – Malenstyn had a breakout season this past year dressing in 81 games while posting six goals and 15 assists. The 26-year-old was a fifth-round pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft and spent four years in the AHL with Hershey before finding full-time duty this season in Washington. Malenstyn might not have posted much in the way of offense, but he appeared to earn the trust of the Capitals coaching staff with his speed and work ethic. The Delta, British Columbia native started a whopping 92.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone (per Hockey Reference), a strikingly high number, especially for a younger player. As you might expect from that kind of deployment, Malenstyn posted terrible possession numbers with a CF% of 33.8% (per Hockey Reference). Malenstyn figures to get a good bump from the $775K this past season as he is arbitration-eligible and could be looking at a salary that doubles what he took home last season.
Other RFAs: C Ethen Frank, G Mitchell Gibson, D Hardy Häman Aktell, F Alex Limoges, F Riley Sutter
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Max Pacioretty – The hope when Pacioretty signed with the Capitals was that he would get healthy and provide some offensive depth. While he suffered some serious setbacks, he did manage to dress in 47 games for Washington, his highest total since the 2020-21 season when he played 48 games. Pacioretty’s comeback was heroic after suffering back-to-back Achilles injuries, but his speed was badly diminished and he struggled at times to keep up with the pace of his counterparts. Pacioretty still managed to post four goals and 19 assists last year while collecting $2MM in salary and another $2MM in bonuses, however, his CF% fell to a career-low 46.9% at even strength. At 35, he will still find work in the NHL, but it likely won’t be with Washington given that the Capitals have so many younger (and faster) players pushing for NHL jobs.
F Nicolas Aubé-Kubel – The 28-year-old Aubé-Kubel had the second-best offensive season of his career this past year with six goals and 10 assists in 60 games while playing a career-high 12:12 per game. On the surface, it looks like a terrific season for the Slave Lake, Alberta native, but his increase in ice time was largely due to the Capitals’ injury struggles and his extra playing time was more of a necessity than anything else. Aubé-Kubel’s underlying numbers fell to a career-low as his CF% was just 43.4% and his FF% fell to 42.5% (per Hockey Reference). While he performed better than his fellow fourth-liners it seems highly unlikely that the Capitals will look to extend Aubé-Kubel and may opt to chase a replacement in free agency or find an internal one.
F Matthew Phillips – Phillips has been a solid AHL scorer for several seasons and finally got an extended look in the NHL this past year. It didn’t go as hoped for the 26-year-old as he posted just a goal and four assists in 31 games while being claimed off waivers twice. Phillips is in a unique position as a Group 6 UFA (meaning he is 25 years or older and has completed three or more professional seasons in which he’s played one or more professional games). At 5’8” and just 160 lbs, Phillips is very undersized by NHL standards, however, teams will be intrigued by his offensive skill and will likely offer him a two-way contract at the NHL minimum, with a healthy downside salary at the AHL level.
Other UFAs: D Lucas Johansen, D Chase Priskie, F Joe Snively
Projected Cap Space
The Capitals will head into the summer with around $6.7MM in cap space but could have upwards of $16MM depending on the status of center Nicklas Bäckström who appears likely to remain on LTIR for the remainder of his contract. The Capitals could also explore a trade for goaltender Darcy Kuemper who carries a $5.25MM cap hit for three more seasons, although that might be a tough task given his struggles last season. Up front, the Capitals have some holes to fill, particularly at center. Given his recent history, it seems likely that general manager Brian MacLellan will explore a short-term deal for a veteran or take a chance on a bounce-back candidate as they did with Dylan Strome in the summer of 2022. The Capitals could also be in the market for a depth defenseman as they have some uncertainty on the backend with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s struggles. A versatile veteran, van Riemsdyk can play on both sides of the ice, but adding another blueliner would give Washington some options heading into next season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Offseason Checklist: Pittsburgh Penguins
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 Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Penguins came into the 2023-24 season with playoff expectations after turning over nearly half of their roster last summer and acquiring reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. However, things didn’t go as planned as the power play and poor team defense were the Penguins’ undoing, leading them to miss the playoffs for a second straight season and just the third time since Sidney Crosby’s arrival in 2005. General manager Kyle Dubas made a lot of moves last summer after arriving from Toronto and has now had a full season to evaluate the team’s needs and how he can help get the group back into the playoff picture. The Penguins have one of the oldest rosters in the league and Dubas has expressed interest in getting younger which will make for a busy summer in Pittsburgh.
Extension Talks
The Penguins have plenty of holes to fill on their roster but all the talk over the next month will be about Crosby’s potential extension that he is eligible to sign on July 1st. It seems likely that the Penguins will be extending Crosby as both he and the team have expressed strong interest in him ending his career in Pittsburgh. Until that deal is done and sealed, the talk in Pittsburgh will be about the future of 87. Crosby had a season for the ages at 36 years old and could command any number he wanted on the open market. However, he has taken a hometown discount on each of his last two extensions and has had an $8.7MM average annual value since 2008-09. With his next deal, Crosby may finally elect to carry a cap hit north of $10MM for the first time in his career, although it wouldn’t be shocking to see him take less once again so the Penguins can add to their lineup. Much of the chatter has been about Crosby inking a short-term extension in July, one that could take him to the end of Kris Letang’s current contract.
The Penguins also have a few other players of note that will become extension-eligible on July 1st. Marcus Pettersson is the most defensively consistent player on the Penguins roster and has developed into a very effective shutdown defender for Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old posted career highs this past season tallying four goals and 26 assists while registering a plus-28 rating. He plays a quiet responsible game and has been asked to play alongside both Karlsson and Letang, leading to both players showing more effectiveness when paired with the big Swede. Karlsson struggled when he wasn’t paired with Pettersson and showed a noticeable decline when flanked by Ryan Graves. Pettersson is slated to make just $4.025MM in the final year of his five-year deal and could command upwards of $6MM on a long-term deal should he reach unrestricted free agency. The Penguins have reportedly already initiated contract talks with Pettersson, which makes sense given that they don’t have many effective defenders in their lineup. The team could explore a potential offseason trade, but it would leave a massive hole in their top four and provide another issue for Dubas to solve.
Drew O’Connor is another Penguins player who will be eligible for an extension this summer and is coming off a career year. The 25-year-old has been on the cusp of becoming an NHL regular for a number of years and finally lived up to the potential that many pundits thought he had when the Penguins signed him out of the NCAA back in March 2020. O’Connor had 16 goals and 17 assists in 79 games this season while finally using his speed and size to become a disruptive force on the Penguins forecheck. O’Connor spent the final few weeks of the regular season paired with Sidney Crosby and didn’t look out of place on the Penguins’ first line scoring six goals in the Penguins final 12 games. A contract extension with O’Connor would carry a great degree of risk, but plenty of upside as well depending on the version of O’Connor the Penguins could get long-term. He has proven himself to be a solid third-line winger on the Penguins, but if he were their answer on Crosby’s wing, it would open up an opportunity to extend him at a discount for the foreseeable future. At this stage it seems likely the Penguins will wait to see the kind of player that have in O’Connor this season before extending him long-term.
Add/Replace Depth Scoring
The Penguins don’t have many pending free agents as most of their top-end players are already signed for the 2024-25 season. However, they don’t have many impact players in the bottom of their lineup at the moment and desperately need to inject some offensively gifted players into their bottom-six forward group.
The Penguins don’t have much in the pipeline in terms of young NHL-ready forwards, but a few prospects could challenge for roles next season. Valtteri Puustinen appears ready for full-time NHL work and could see time on the Penguins’ third line, as well as recent trade acquisitions Ville Koivunen and Vasili Ponomarev, both of whom were acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade.
Last summer Dubas opted for a defensive first bottom six in hopes that the Penguins top six forwards could carry the weight offensively. While the likes of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Letang and Karlsson provided the offensive punch, the bottom six didn’t offer much help in the scoring department, particularly the fourth line that had several long stretches without a single goal. Lars Eller had a good season as the Penguins’ third-line center, but given his skill set and age he would probably be better suited as the Penguins’ fourth-line center, a move that would push current center Noel Acciari to the wing. 32-year-old Acciari struggled in his first year in Pittsburgh posting just four goals and three assists in 55 games and would benefit from an easier assignment on the wing. Acquiring a third-line center would have a positive ripple effect on the bottom two lines and could be enough to create some additional scoring throughout the Penguins lineup. Pittsburgh’s limited cap space will make an addition like that a challenge, but a few names to keep an eye on would be free agents Chandler Stephenson and Jack Roslovic.
If the Penguins are unable to add a third-line center, a speedy winger such as Anthony Duclair would be a good addition under head coach Mike Sullivan’s system.
Add Top-Six Winger
The Penguins will have roughly $13MM in cap space this summer when free agency opens and they have a need for another top-six winger, particularly if they trade Reilly Smith. The Penguins made a sound move in acquiring Smith last summer from the Vegas Golden Knights, however, the 33-year-old didn’t fit with Pittsburgh and struggled to 13 goals and 27 assists while playing primarily with Evgeni Malkin. If the Penguins are able to move Smith and his $5MM cap hit, it would open up a lot of options in free agency, or potentially the trade market.
A name that has been thrown around has been former Penguin Jake Guentzel who was Crosby’s running mate since breaking into the NHL in the 2016-17 season. Crosby and Guentzel have remarkable chemistry and in theory, the move is a no-brainer. However, the Penguins never fully engaged Guentzel on an extension when he was with the team and signing him would run against Dubas’ comments about the team getting younger.
Another potential reunion that would be available for the Penguins could be Jason Zucker who split last season between Arizona and Nashville. The 32-year-old had 14 goals and 18 assists in 69 games, a steep drop from his final season in Pittsburgh when he tallied 27 goals and 21 assists in 78 games. Zucker had good chemistry with Evgeni Malkin in his final season with the Penguins and his speed would be a good fit in Sullivan’s system.
Outside of former Penguins, one winger that Pittsburgh could target would be Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins. DeBrusk is one of the younger free-agent wingers at just 27 years old and would be a great addition to Pittsburgh’s top-6 forward group. A solid two-way forward, DeBrusk had a down year this season posting just 19 goals and 21 assists in 80 games. The former first-round pick has the talent to be a 40-goal scorer in the NHL but has never topped 27 goals in a season, despite hitting the 25-goal mark on three separate occasions. DeBrusk could be a cheaper option for the Penguins to slide in alongside Sidney Crosby and could provide Crosby with a solid scoring winger during the twilight of his career.
Make The Goalie Splash
The Penguins coaching staff didn’t show much trust in starter Tristan Jarry down the stretch as backup netminder Alex Nedeljkovic started Pittsburgh’s final 13 games and nearly willed the club into the playoffs. Nedeljkovic steadied the Penguins goaltending situation at the end of the season but is a pending unrestricted free agent and likely priced himself out of Pittsburgh with his solid play down the stretch. That leaves Jarry and youngster Joel Blomqvist as the Penguins’ top two options heading into next season and could become a real issue as the Penguins look to get back to the playoffs.
Jarry was signed to a five-year deal last July in a move that was a necessity for the Penguins since there weren’t many better goaltending options available. The 29-year-old started the season well and had some solid stretches of play, but overall, his numbers were pedestrian as he finished the season 19-25-5 with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Jarry remains a talented netminder and could probably generate some interest on the trade market but he has a history of playing poorly when the games matter the most and also has a long injury history as well.
Dubas has stated that the Penguins could start next season with Jarry and Blomqvist as their top two netminders but haven’t exactly shown a lot of confidence in Jarry given his lack of play in April of this past season. If the Penguins do opt to move on from Jarry it would not be easy as goaltender trades have been complicated in recent seasons as evidenced by the Flames’ inability to move netminder Jacob Markstrom. The Penguins could look to swap contracts with another club that has a struggling goaltender or attempt to go after a bigger fish such as 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, but that would require additional resources that Dubas may not be willing to commit.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Philadelphia Flyers
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 Philadelphia.
It was a season of extremes for the Flyers. Expected to be a bottom-five team in the league at the beginning of the year, they were well above .500 and in solid playoff position come mid-January. A 13-14-5 stretch after the All-Star break ultimately cost them their first postseason berth since 2020, though. It was still a step forward overall under head coach John Tortorella, who ended up getting some outside consideration for the Jack Adams Award and helped the Flyers to an over-.500 season after two seasons below the demarcation line. They played good defensive hockey for most of the season, helping support overmatched and overworked rookie Samuel Ersson between the pipes after he was forced into starting action in January with Carter Hart facing sexual assault charges. Now, they need to figure out how to keep the forward momentum in the rebuild going.
Make A Call On Konecny
Travis Konecny currently projects to be one of the better right wings available on the unrestricted free-agent market in 2025 after leading the Flyers in scoring for three straight seasons. He didn’t hit the point-per-game mark in 2023-24 like he did last season, but he did up his scoring with a career-high 33 goals. The 2015 24th overall pick has now spent eight seasons in a Philly jersey, giving them 400 points in 564 appearances.
He becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1, but it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride for Konecny with the Flyers. While he’s largely remained in Tortorella’s good graces, he was pushed down the lineup at times earlier in his career despite being one of their better producers. Has two seasons of roughly 20 minutes per game of ice time erased those memories?
Philly isn’t a bonafide playoff team next season, but they’re expected to be in the conversation again. General manager Daniel Brière needs to make a call on whether to begin extension talks with Konecny this summer or if he wants to wait until further into the 2024-25 season to handle it. If things go off the rails early, Konecny could net them quite a favorable trade haul, even as a rental.
Entering his age-27 season, Konecny likely is what he is at this point. Evolving Hockey projects him to receive an eight-year deal at roughly $8.75MM per season if he signs an extension upon becoming eligible this summer. It would make him their highest-paid player and seems to be fair dollar value for his recent point production, but if he feels he may be able to land more on the open market with the salary cap set to increase again in 2025, he may bet on himself and wait until further into the season to sign or reject an extension offer.
Add Defensive Depth
The Flyers got some of their offseason work done closer to the trade deadline, inking serviceable shutdown man Nick Seeler to a four-year, $10.8MM extension. But elder statesmen Erik Johnson and Marc Staal are both set to be UFAs and unlikely to be back.
Even with RFA Yegor Zamula penciled in for a spot next year, that leaves a couple of openings on the Flyers’ roster for defensive adds. One of them could be filled internally – both Emil Andrae and Ronald Attard had strong seasons with AHL Lehigh Valley and will be in consideration for spots on next year’s opening night list.
A big UFA splash is unlikely, given where they’re at in their rebuild, but a decent second or third-pairing depth add should be expected. They have their puck-moving core set up well for the present with Jamie Drysdale, Travis Sanheim and Cameron York, but a defensive depth name like Calvin de Haan, Jani Hakanpää or Ilya Lyubushkin could make sense to help round out their D-corps.
Get Johansen Clarity
Brière was likely planning on buying out the final season of Ryan Johansen‘s albatross contract when he took it off the hands of the Avalanche in the Sean Walker trade at the deadline, but that likely won’t be possible. Medical testing after the trade (which wasn’t made contingent on Johansen passing a physical) confirmed he was dealing with a hip injury, and he didn’t play for the Flyers or their AHL affiliate after the trade while rehabbing.
There’s no indication he’s recovered from the ailment, and he can’t be bought out if he’s not cleared to play. Expect them to maintain contact with Johansen and have him undergo testing in the coming weeks so they can attempt to buy him out during the first available window, which opens 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends (or June 15, whichever is later).
Otherwise, they’ll be on the hook for half of his $8MM cap hit – the Predators retained $4MM when trading him to Colorado last summer. Ideally, if he can’t be bought out, he won’t be cleared to play in the fall either and can be placed on long-term injured reserve to begin the season. After the acquisition, Brière confirmed he didn’t envision Johansen ever suiting up for the squad. The 13-year vet had just 23 points in 63 games for the Avs prior to the trade, not missing any time with his proclaimed hip injury.
Don’t Backslide
After exceeding expectations last year, 2024-25 will be key in proving the Brière/Tortorella rebuild doesn’t involve a “one step forward, two steps back” path back to contention.
Continued playoff contention next season could be made much easier by the arrival of 2023 seventh-overall pick Matvei Michkov. Underdrafted largely due to concerns about his contract in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League – he was signed through the 2025-26 season with SKA St. Petersburg – there’s now talk of him buying out the remainder of his contract and joining the Flyers this summer.
Michkov, 19, is likely NHL-ready. He had 41 points in 47 games last season while loaned out to KHL bottom-feeder HK Sochi, finishing second on the team in scoring despite only playing about two-thirds of the season.
A season with a record similar to this year is likely acceptable, given where most of the Flyers’ prospects are in their development, but steps forward from hopeful long-term ancillary pieces like Drysdale on defense and Ivan Fedotov in the crease will be major boxes to check off.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets
Free agency is now just a bit more than 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 begin our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Jets.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Ville Heinola – This season didn’t quite go as planned for Heinola. Hoping to earn a roster spot in training camp, he instead fractured his ankle late in camp, keeping him shelved until January. Upon his return, he was assigned to AHL Manitoba and while he was quite productive with the Moose, he never got the call. The best news for Heinola is that he’ll be waiver-eligible next season and it’s hard to see a scenario where he clears waivers. Accordingly, instead of signing a two-way deal worth the minimum in the NHL with a higher AHL salary, he could simply elect to accept his $874K qualifying offer (even though it’d carry a $70K AHL salary) knowing that he’s highly unlikely to be in the minors next season.
F Cole Perfetti – Perfetti took a step forward offensively this season, notching 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 regular season games, not bad numbers for someone in his sophomore year. However, he found himself in the press box most nights when it counted the most, ending his campaign on a bit of a low note. At this point, it’s unlikely that either side would want to work out a long-term agreement; a bridge deal makes much more sense especially with him tailing off toward the end of the year. That deal should check in somewhere around the $3MM range depending on how many years it goes for.
D Logan Stanley – In 2022-23, Stanley was a frequent healthy scratch and rarely played which led to some wondering if he’d be tendered a qualifying offer with arbitration rights. Things really didn’t change this year. The 25-year-old was limited to just 28 games (including playoffs) while averaging less than 14 minutes a night. The qualifying offer is just $1MM and arbitration eligibility shouldn’t be too much of a concern here but if they see him squarely in seventh defenseman territory, how deep into seven figures do they want to go for that role? Regardless of what happens, another one-year deal around this price point should be coming his way, either from Winnipeg or somewhere else.
Other RFAs: F David Gustafsson, D Artemi Kniazev, D Simon Lundmark, G Oskari Salminen
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
G Laurent Brossoit – The decision to return to Winnipeg certainly worked out well for Brossoit. After spending most of 2022-23 in the minors, he was one of the top backups in the league this season, posting a 2.00 GAA along with a .927 SV% in 23 games. He’s played well enough to earn a fair-sized raise on the $1.75MM he made this year which will price him out of what the Jets can afford. That said, he has just 140 NHL appearances under his belt which might stop him from getting top-end backup money. Still, he could push for closer to $3MM and potentially a multi-year deal, a solid outcome for someone who was in the minors not too long ago.
D Dylan DeMelo – The 31-year-old has shown slow but steady improvement throughout his career and is coming off his best performance so far, notching 31 points while averaging nearly 22 minutes a night during the season, both career-bests. He also finished second in the league in plus/minus, checking in at +46. Being a right-shot defender will certainly help bolster DeMelo’s market as well. Four years ago, the four-year, $12MM deal looked a bit risky for someone who had exclusively been on the third pairing. In the end, it was a bargain and DeMelo is now well-positioned to land another contract that long while adding at least a million per season more to that price tag.
D Brenden Dillon – Dillon isn’t going to hit the scoresheet very often but as far as dependable physical blueliners go, he’s a good one. He has had that role for the past three years with the Jets, logging around 19 minutes a game while logging some big minutes shorthanded. It appears that Winnipeg is leaning toward moving on (his leaving opens up a spot for Heinola) but Dillon should have a solid market this summer. His set-to-expire contract carries a $3.9MM AAV and on a blueline market that isn’t the deepest in July, he should check in around that amount again on another multi-year agreement.
F Sean Monahan – The Jets parted with their first-round pick to bring in Monahan back in February and the fit was nearly seamless as he slotted in on their second line. After several injury-riddled seasons, the 29-year-old actually led the NHL in games played with 83 which will certainly help his case, as will his 26-goal, 33-point showing. His market will be an interesting one as there likely will be some teams still wary given Monahan’s injury history. That likely takes a long-term agreement off the table. However, he’s among the top few centers available and the market for those players can go up quickly. A multi-year agreement past the $4MM mark should be achievable and if the demand is fairly high, $5MM or more shouldn’t be impossible to reach.
F Tyler Toffoli – After a breakout year with Calgary last season, it was fair to expect a drop-off in production. Having said that, while his assists dropped by 17, he only went down by one goal, going from 34 to 33, putting him fourth among UFAs in that department. His last trip through free agency didn’t go as well as he hoped, resulting in a four-year, $17MM contract that wound up being a team-friendly agreement rather quickly. Now 32 and having shown he can produce with several teams, he should have a stronger market this time around. That should give him a chance for another deal around the length of his last one with a price tag that pushes the $6MM mark.
Other UFAs: D Kyle Capobianco, G Collin Delia, F Jeff Malott, D Colin Miller, F Kristian Reichel, D Ashton Sautner, F Jeffrey Viel
Projected Cap Space
The Jets head into the offseason with a little over $13MM in cap space which clearly isn’t enough to bring back everyone. They can likely afford to keep one of the two defensemen and it seems like DeMelo is their preferred option. Up front, they might be able to keep one of Monahan or Toffoli but not both and that assumes that Perfetti winds up on a shorter-term contract. They’ll also likely opt for a low-cost backup behind Connor Hellebuyck whose new seven-year, $59.5MM deal begins in July. If they keep a forward and a defenseman, re-sign their RFAs, and add a cheaper backup, that might just about be it for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff this summer.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 5/22/24
Starting today, weekly PHR Live Chats are back on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Central Time!
For today’s chat with PHR’s Josh Erickson, you can read the transcript here.