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Trade Deadline Primer: Dallas Stars

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Although we’re just two months into the season, the trade deadline is already less than a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Dallas Stars.

The simple truth is that the Dallas Stars cannot be true buyers at the deadline. Yes, the team currently has $4MM in unused LTIR space, but that will disappear when starting goalie Ben Bishop returns to action. Without any cap space, any trade that the team makes will have to be a hockey deal with a salary going out in order to bring a salary in. With those types of deals more unlikely this season than in most years, the Stars might not have much choice at the deadline.

True, they are within reach of a playoff spot and could certainly stand to improve their roster. However, this is a team that just won the Western Conference last season and hopes to have Tyler Seguin and Bishop back this year. Those internal additions may be enough to get them to the postseason and make them a potential threat. Even then, the Stars likely face a Stanley Cup rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning right away. There simply isn’t enough upside to be buyers, even if there was flexibility.

Could they be sellers? Possibly, but they don’t have much to offer. The team would likely gain more from keeping their roster together in hopes of making the playoffs and even re-signing some of their impending free agents rather than dealing them for minor returns. Again, Dallas could try to peddle some of their impending UFA’s in order to clear space for an addition, but most teams aren’t looking to add salary this year unless it is attached to a top quality player. Those are in short supply among the Stars’ expiring contracts.

They likely won’t touch their term contracts, either. This is a team that found success in the postseason last year and returned virtually the same roster this year and will be back together again next year. Injuries and a start slowed by COVID Protocol has impacted Dallas this season and, while their team isn’t perfect, they could be an off-season piece or two away from getting back to Stanley Cup Final in no time.

So for now, they should probably just stand pat.

Record

9-9-7, .500, 4th in Central Division

Deadline Status

Stand Pat

Deadline Cap Space

$0MM in full-season space (LTIR), 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: DAL 1st, DAL 2nd, DAL 3rd, DAL 4th, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th
2022: DAL 1st, DAL 2nd, DAL 3rd, DAL 4th, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th

Trade Chips

In deciding whether or not to move players off of their current roster, the Stars have options but lack upside. With only a handful of impending free agents, most of whom are merely bottom of the lineup players at best, Dallas may be better off keeping their group together and hoping to sneak into the playoffs.

If Dallas does decide to sell, their most valuable piece will be defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. A big, physical defender – the team’s current hits leader – who skates well and can play big minutes, Oleksiak is a solid addition to any team looking to stabilize their blue line with a strong defensive presence. In a rental market that is severely lacking in defensive talent, Oleksiak could return a nice package, especially given his reasonable price tag. The caveat though is that Dallas has traded Oleksiak once before, only to bring him back and have both sides realize that he is a great fit as a reliable defensive complement to the Stars’ offensive-minded blue line. If there is mutual interest in an extension and Dallas remains close to a playoff spot, they likely hold on to Oleksiak.

Versatile defenseman Mark Pysyk makes more sense to move. In his first season in Dallas on a one-year “show me” deal, Pysyk has failed to do just that. The Stars’ No. 6 defenseman spot has been split between Pysyk and Hanley this season, with neither doing enough to seize the consistent role. Both have been unproductive on offensive and largely invisible on defense while playing minimal minutes. Pysyk at least brings more experience playing in a regular role and has also experimented with lining up at forward, which could be especially valuable to teams down the stretch and in the postseason who want to avoid depth issues caused by possible COVID-19 restrictions. At $750K, Pysyk is affordable in cap terms and should be cheap to acquire as well.

Up front, the Stars may be willing to part with veterans Andrew Cogliano and Blake Comeau, but there may not be much interest in the duo. Both have been consistent and dependable two-way players throughout their careers, but their play this season has lacked offensive upside. The pair have totaled just four goals and 13 points in 46 combined games. In a cap-strapped climate, Cogliano’s $3.25MM and even Comeau’s $2.4MM may be too rich for players that would have to fight for top-nine jobs on a contender. They are more likely to move if Dallas is just swapping contracts to bring in new blood for the stretch run.

Given that Dallas was a Stanley Cup finalist just last year, the team is unlikely to make any drastic moves this season with their core players, all of whom have term remaining on their respective comments. Names like John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov are occasionally bandied about, but trading either in-season is both unlikely and ill-advised for the Stars. If they were to make a surprise move, it could be in goal. With young Jake Oettinger holding his own in net, the Stars could decide to move current starter Anton Khudobin if actual starter Bishop is healthy before the deadline. Khudobin is set to be exposed in this summer’s Expansion Draft and should be a strong candidate for selection. With both Landon Bow and Colton Point satisfying the goalie exposure requirement, the Stars could instead trade Khudobin to a team with needs in net this season rather than potentially lose him for nothing in expansion. A healthy Bishop backed up by Oettinger should be enough for the Stars the rest of the way this season and moving forward.

Others to Watch For: D Joel Hanley ($700K, UFA), D Taylor Fedun ($737.5K, UFA), F Tanner Kero ($762.5K, UFA), F Justin Dowling ($750K, UFA)

Team Needs

1) Defenseman – If the Stars can find a way to move contracts around and open up cap space, it will likely leave room for just one acquisition. While they are only middle-of-the-road when it comes to scoring and could use a spark up front, that might come in the form of a healthy Seguin. There is no one coming to take over their No. 6 defenseman role, a spot where Dallas has received no production from this season. A reliable blue liner to improve the starting defensive corps would be a key addition. If they can find a defenseman with some offensive upside and power play experience, that would be even better.

2) Term Forward – While it would again require shuffling salaries, which may make it a more likely move in the early off-season, the Stars at some point could look to add a forward who they can expose in the upcoming Expansion Draft. Currently, with the assumed protection scheme, the Stars are short both forwards that meet the games played and term requirements that the expansion quota demands. Their options to fill those spots internally are to re-sign UFA’s Cogliano and Comeau (unlikely) or RFA Jason Dickinson. RFA Nick Caamano will also be eligible with eight more games played. However, extending Dickinson or Caamano will only make them more attractive to the Seattle Kraken. Either of the players, the arbitration-eligible Dickinson specifically, may also not want to rush into an extension before the drat. As a result, the Stars could choose instead to add another eligible forward to expose.

Bruins Could Re-Sign Tuukka Rask And Jaroslav Halak

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The Boston Bruins have one of the better goalie tandems in the NHL right now and have for several years in the veteran duo of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. The defending Jennings Trophy winners have shown no signs of slowing down either; Rask finished second in Vezina Trophy voting last season while leading the league in goals against average and Halak currently has a sub-2.40 GAA of his own for his third straight season in Boston. Yet, when the 2020-21 season comes to a close, the Bruins will no longer have either under contract as the tandem are slated for unrestricted free agency. That is unless they re-sign one or both during the season. Appearing on NBC Sports, Bob McKenzie reported that the Bruins are open to extending both Rask and Halak and would considering doing so in-season as well, “if they get the sense from the goaltenders that’s what they want to do.”

Breaking down McKenzie’s report into two pieces, it certainly makes sense that the Bruins would entertain re-signing Rask and/or Halak. Rask, 33, is the player McKenzie acknowledges as the “key” to the future in net in Boston. The Bruins starter is quietly on his way to a Hall of Fame career with a top-five all-time mark in save percentage and the leading save percentage and GAA among all active goalies. Yet, even more important to this conversation is that he is still among the best in the game. While Rask has received criticism throughout his career, he remains one of the more difficult goalies in the NHL to replace. Even with names like Jordan Binnington, Frederik Andersen, and Petr Mrazek potentially available on the open market this off-season, there is no sure thing that the Bruins could confidently replace the play of Rask. Fortunately, Rask is not much of a threat to follow the money to another club. Well-compensated throughout his career and having previously stated that he does not want to play anywhere but Boston, it seems that if Rask wants to keep playing the Bruins will re-sign him.

As for Halak, 35, he may be more valuable to Boston than any other team in the NHL. There is a strong correlation between proper rest and elite performance in Rask’s career and having a dependable backup behind him in Halak these past few years has been an incredible asset for the Bruins. The team’s trust in the aging but productive net minder may just lead to another contract. With plenty of cap space, Boston can afford to pay for a top-dollar backup for another year or two. Of course, the counter-argument to a Halak return is that it would be easier for the Bruins to find another reliable backup in free agency than and they could potentially save money in looking elsewhere. Bringing back such a proven commodity in Halak will also once again block top goalie prospects Dan Vladar and Jeremy Swayman, who each rank in the top ten in the AHL in save percentage so far this season. As the Bruins continue to inject youth into their lineup, the question becomes whether they can give opportunity to the prospects and still provide sound play from the backup position or if the safer route is to simply stick with the tandem that has worked so well.

As for McKenzie’s statement that the Bruins could re-sign Rask or Halak during the season, there is more reason to be more skeptical of that assertion. With Rask and Halak both on expiring contracts, there is no need to protect either in the impending NHL Expansion Draft. Especially given the number of attractive options on the Boston roster available to the Seattle Kraken, the team would not select a UFA goalie. In their current contract state, the Bruins can instead protect Vladar from Seattle while exposing impending RFA fifth-string Callum Booth. Vladar, 23, would otherwise become a potential selection risk if Rask or Halak are re-signed and thus require protection. The young goaltender is enjoying another elite season in the AHL and could very well be the Bruins’ goalie of the future if he can outplay Swayman. Why would the Bruins leave Vladar exposed when they don’t need to?

Well, as McKenzie points out, if there is pressure from Rask or Halak to sign a new deal before the end of the season then that could change the status quo. Additionally, Vladar will drop his waiver exemption next season, meaning that the Bruins could lose him anyway if he is not ready for the NHL. (This is exactly what happened with Malcolm Subban and the Vegas Golden Knights following the last Expansion Draft.) The Bruins may also look at Vladar as worthwhile bait for Seattle to take over one of their many established roster players at forward and defense who will also be exposed. In that case, there is no reason to hold off on an extension for Rask or Halak if the plan would be to protect them as a UFA anyhow in order to expose Vladar.

It remains to be seen what exactly will happen to Boston’s situation in goal, but timing aside it is a safe bet that Rask will be back between the pipes for the Bruins next season and beyond and Halak could be right there with him. If one or both don’t return, it will make for an intriguing off-season in Boston.

Vancouver Canucks “Have To Figure This Out From Within”

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The Vancouver Canucks beat the top team in the North Division last night, but they still sit second last ahead of only the Ottawa Senators. That’s a long way from the team that came within a game from the Western Conference Finals last summer and has many wondering what’s next for the organization. GM Jim Benning, himself the target of much speculation, spoke to the media today about many subjects, including the upcoming trade deadline.

In just over a month, teams will no longer be able to make trades to help them for this year’s playoffs, meaning decisions will have to come relatively soon on whether a club is buying or selling. Though Benning hasn’t made his final decision, noting there are still quite a few games before the deadline, he did say the club would “have to figure this out from within,” pointing to the long quarantine period that Canadian teams face on anyone coming up from the U.S.

The front office executive also put his confidence behind head coach Travis Green and the rest of the staff, saying they have “done a good job” with the group. Green, notably, does not have a contract past this season, though both sides have signaled their intent to get something done.

The biggest question that many have about the Canucks is how they will sign Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes this offseason, given the money that is already committed to depth players all over their roster. Benning grouped a third player with those two, saying they have “three really good young players” to sign. Thatcher Demko, the man who held the Maple Leafs to just one goal on 32 shots last night, is the other pending RFA that will need a substantial raise.

With money still owed to Loui Eriksson and bottom-six names like Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle—not to mention a recapture penalty for Roberto Luongo’s retirement—it’s not going to be an easy task to fit those three in and still put together a competitive team.

Snapshots: Stempniak, Pettersson, Dubois

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The Arizona Coyotes announced a pair of front office additions today, including one name familiar to fans. Joining the ’Yotes in the hockey operations department are Matt Perri, hired as Director of Analytics, and long-time NHLer Lee Stempniak as Hockey Data Strategist. While Perri will oversee the team’s analytics, Stempniak’s role is to translate that data into something that coaches and players can understand and use. In a capacity that is the first of its kind, Stempniak will combine his experience as a player in the NHL for 14 seasons with his Ivy League education in Economics from Dartmouth College to become a valuable communicator between analytics and those involved in the actual on-ice product. After elevating the “journeyman” role during his playing days as an effective player for ten different organizations, Stempniak may now be forging a new path for former players with a knack for analytics.

  • Looking ahead to negotiating his next contract this off-season, young Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson has switched agents, reports Patrick Johnston of The Province. Pettersson has joined CAA Sports and is now represented by super-agent Pat Brisson. Not only does Brisson’s track record lend some leverage to Pettersson’s side, but he is also the agent for Quinn Hughes, who will also be a crucial RFA for Vancouver this summer. Brisson will undoubtedly tie the two contracts together and ensure that both are well-compensated for a long time. In fact, the main beneficiary might actually be Hughes, who as a 10.2(c) free agent lacks the leverage of an offer sheet possibility, but gains the leverage of being linked to Pettersson. The two are the clear leaders of the Canucks and the club was unlikely to play hardball anyhow, but now Pettersson and Hughes are in even better shape this off-season (and so too will be Brisson).
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois is now a member of the Winnipeg Jets and as such we may never get an answer as to why he was unhappy being a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubois requested a trade out of Columbus, but never gave any of his teammates, coaches, or management a valid explanation, something that head coach John Tortorella publicly resented even before Dubois’ departure. While some speculated that this past off-season’s contract talks were the cause, GM Jarmo Kekalainen refuted that idea on TSN 1050 today, again begging the question of what drove Dubois out of town:

    That’s just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that, because that’s not true… There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly and I thought what we signed was a fair deal for both sides…Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process… It took all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table… I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me; he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that.

RFA Deadline Approaching Quickly

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In a normal season, even restricted free agents that miss all of training camp have plenty of time to sign. To be eligible to play, they must have a contract signed and filed with the league by December 1, nearly two months after a normal NHL season begins. Two years ago we saw a negotiation go down to the witching hour between the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander, with the young forward eventually signing a six-year, $45MM deal just before the deadline. Nylander was in the lineup by December 6, though he never seemed to get comfortable and ended up having arguably his worst season as a professional.

With a few notable restricted free agents still unsigned, now less than a week before the season begins, it’s important to note that they don’t have that two-month in-season window anymore. In fact, it’s less than a month between the start of the regular season and the RFA signing deadline of February 11 in this unique, shortened campaign.

That means for Jack Roslovic, Jesper Bratt, and, most importantly, Mathew Barzal, the clock is ticking. If they are not signed by that date, they cannot play this season at all.

In Roslovic’s case, the negotiations have led to a formal trade request. That doesn’t mean the only way he plays this season is with another team, but it certainly should inspire confidence that he’ll be inking a deal with the Winnipeg Jets anytime soon. The 23-year-old forward hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time in Winnipeg’s deep forward group but did generate 12 goals and 29 points last season in 71 games. Selected 25th overall in 2015 he obviously believes a change of scenery would be beneficial to his career, and it’s hard to argue that at this point given where he’ll still slot in on the Jets depth chart. If Winnipeg doesn’t give in or doesn’t receive an acceptable offer though, that signing deadline will put a lot of pressure on Roslovic to take whatever deal he can get just so he doesn’t spend an entire year away from NHL ice.

For Bratt, it doesn’t seem as contentious, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported recently that the New Jersey Devils forward is still in Sweden and there is a “bit of a gap” between the two sides. New Jersey just spent another $2MM on Sami Vatanen in free agency and, like in all of these situations, every day that passes gives another player a chance to show what they can do at camp. Perhaps playing in the SHL would be an option for the 22-year-old Bratt, but after a 32-point season in 2019-20 you would think he’d want to be part of what they’re building in New Jersey. He has just over a month to get something done if he wants to be there this season.

There are technically some other restricted free agents, including names like Henrik Borgstrom and Aleksi Saarela of the Florida Panthers, but they are already playing overseas and don’t have the kind of track record of the three mentioned.

That brings us to Barzal, who is one of the most fascinating stories of training camp so far. He was listed on the New York Islanders camp roster, but hasn’t appeared on the ice as the negotiations continue. Like any other situation that includes GM Lou Lamoriello, there is little information coming out, but Friedman discussed it today on the radio, explaining that this situation is not like some of the other high profile RFAs that have been in the news lately:

I don’t look at this situation here and see—like we know obviously there is a issue with [Pierre-Luc] Dubois in Columbus and we know there is an issue with [Patrik] Laine in Winnipeg, I don’t get any sense there is an issue with Barzal and the Islanders.

That doesn’t mean they have forever though, as not only has Barzal now missed a chunk of the already-shortened training camp, he’ll need a new deal before that February 11 deadline if he wants to play at all. For the Islanders, who have their eyes fixed squarely on a playoff spot in the tough East Division, missing Barzal even for a single game would have grave repercussions. The heartbeat of their offensive attack, the 23-year-old has 207 points through his first 234 NHL games and is expecting quite the salary bump on any contract.

The deadline isn’t two months into the season anymore. It’s just about a dozen games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Pierre-Luc Dubois

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2:05pm: Well that’s one way to negotiate. The Blue Jackets have signed Dubois to a two-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $5MM. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released this statement:

Pierre-Luc is a talented, young player with great potential, and we look forward to his continued growth and development, and the valuable contributions he will bring to our team. I’d like to thank my staff, as well as Pat Brisson and his group, for their professionalism and efforts to finalize this agreement prior to the start of training camp to ensure that the focus moving forward is on our team and achieving its goals for the upcoming season.

The contract will pay Dubois $3.35MM for the upcoming season and $6.65MM for 2021-22. The bridge deal will leave him a restricted free agent once again at its expiry and allows Dubois to join Columbus training camp on Sunday. Though there still may be rumblings about his future, this appears to have been the last gasps of a long negotiation leaking out. The Blue Jackets now have him signed for two seasons and under control for at least two more after that through restricted free agency and arbitration.

As noted, Columbus still has plenty of cap space to work with this offseason if they wanted to bring in any additional players.

12:00pm: Training camp for the Blue Jackets is just a few days away, but Pierre-Luc Dubois isn’t in Columbus. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports today that Dubois has left the area and remains unsigned, also noting that there are “rumblings” the star forward could be looking for a change of scenery. Still, even LeBrun notes that those rumblings could be “wishful thinking” from other teams.

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweets that for weeks and as recently as yesterday, the team and Dubois’ representatives had been optimistic a deal would be done for camp. Dubois had even been skating in Columbus preparing for the season but has now left (Portzline reports he has not gone back to Canada). Of course, leaving Columbus does not necessarily mean he will not be signing a contract or that he will miss training camp, but it certainly doesn’t seem like a positive indicator that he’ll be there when things open next week either.

Dubois, 22, registered just 49 points in 70 games last season but showed exactly the kind of game-changing force he could be in the playoffs for the Blue Jackets. With ten points in ten postseason games he easily led the club, often appearing as the most dangerous player on the ice. That was true even when skating against some of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ high-priced talent, who received huge pay raises when they hit restricted free agency. That’s exactly the situation Dubois is in and though he may not have quite the same history—plus is negotiating in a unique, financially depressed year—he is likely still looking for a huge contract given his performance so far.

It’s not to say that the Blue Jackets won’t pay that, but remember they have had standoffs with successful young RFAs in the past. In 2017, Josh Anderson missed training camp before signing a three-year deal with the Blue Jackets in early October. When he was set to reach the market again this offseason, the Blue Jackets traded him to the Montreal Canadiens, where he promptly scored a seven-year deal.

The Blue Jackets do have plenty of cap space if they eventually get a contract done with Dubois. The team currently sits about $9MM under the $81.5MM ceiling, with Gustav Nyquist expected to miss most of, if not all of the upcoming season after shoulder surgery. Brandon Dubinsky is also not expected to play again thanks to a chronic wrist problem, meaning if the team ever needed long-term injured reserve flexibility, they could have plenty.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jets RFA Jack Roslovic Won’t Attend Camp Without New Contract, Seeking Trade

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The Winnipeg Jets and restricted free agent Jack Roslovic have been unable to come to terms on a new contract and the young forward will not be in attendance when training camp opens as a result. Claude Lemieux, Roslovic’s agent, tells Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press that Roslovic continues to wait for either a trade or a suitable contract offer. Without either, his season remains on pause.

Roslovic, 23, is coming off of a career season with 12 goals and 29 points, a top-six mark among Jets forwards on both counts. Yet, that hasn’t produced any more job security for Roslovic. The versatile forward continues to be penciled in for a bottom-six role, has been the long-time subject of trade talks, and has not received a long-term offer to his liking. For some time now, it has been reported that Roslovic has bought in to his own trade speculation and lack of an identifiable role and would prefer a change of scenery. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun even relays that a trade has been formally requested.

It is now up to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to make the call on Roslovic’s future. He can trade the young forward or he can finally make an offer that Roslovic and his side feel is fair. Even for a promising player who can play center and wing and has proven his ability to score without much power play opportunity, Roslovic’s trade value should be low right now given the cap crunch climate and the publicized contract standoff. Considering the injury absence of Bryan Little and David Gustafsson as well, at least to begin the year, the Jets could use the depth, making a short-term resolution with Roslovic the best option unless an ideal trade can be found.

In the meantime, Roslovic remains at home in the U.S., which raises other issues. If and when a new deal is reached, Roslovic would need to travel to Winnipeg and then quarantine for seven days. That gives the Jets a week at most to get Roslovic under contract and through quarantine without him missing regular season games. Quarantine rules also impact the feasibility of a trade, especially the longer that Cheveldayoff waits to pull the trigger. One way or another, the Jets need to solve this situation as quickly as they can.

Latest On Vince Dunn

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The St. Louis Blues have some gymnastics to pull off at the start of the regular season, moving players to long-term injured reserve and finalizing contract details with Mike Hoffman, who agreed to a professional tryout for the time being. They also have another contract to finish, this time with restricted free agent Vince Dunn who remains unsigned currently.

On the Dunn front, progress is being made according to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest, who tweets that the negotiation will get done in time for training camp. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports something similar, tweeting that Dunn’s agent told him that the defenseman would be in training camp when it opened.

Technically Dunn too could sign a tryout agreement to get into camp with the Blues if they need to wait out the cap complexities, but it’s great news for St. Louis fans that were worried about their young RFA. The 24-year-old has turned into quite the player over the last few seasons, recording at least 23 points in each of his three years in the NHL despite averaging just over 17 minutes a night.

That number could increase with Alex Pietrangelo gone, though newcomer Torey Krug figures to take over the PP1 duties for the Blues. Ten of Dunn’s points (including four of his nine goals) came with the man advantage last season.

Coming off his entry-level contract, Dunn was still not eligible for salary arbitration and doesn’t have a ton of leverage if he wants to play this year.

Snapshots: Strome, Hallander, NHLPA Update

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The last few days have come with a few new contracts in the NHL, with restricted free agents like Justin Bailey and Oliver Kylington inking new two-way deals. We’re still waiting on the big RFA dominoes to fall though, with one of those being Chicago Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome who remains unsigned. This morning, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman told reporters including Brandon Cain of NHL.com that the team has had conversations with Strome’s representatives and is optimistic something will get done, but couldn’t provide any timeline on the process.

Strome, 23, was included in our look at the mid-tier restricted free agents still waiting on contracts, but for Chicago, he’s all that really matters right now. The team’s roster appears largely set for the upcoming season, given that Strome’s eventual deal will likely eat up a good chunk of the remaining cap space. The young forward hasn’t lived up to the third-overall pick that Arizona used on him in the 2015 draft but does have 89 points in 106 games since coming to Chicago. As the team inevitably moves away from aging franchise icons like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane over the next few years, a player like Strome could step up and be a leader for the Blackhawks.

  • When the Toronto Maple Leafs dealt Kasperi Kapanen to the Pittsburgh Penguins, much of the focus was on the first-round pick coming the other way. The Maple Leafs actually acquired another piece in that deal though, 20-year-old center Filip Hallander, who had been drafted in the second round in 2018. Hallander was expected to come to North America this winter to take part in training camp with Toronto but is now going to stay in Sweden where he plays for Lulea HF in the SHL. Hallander has 10 points in 21 games this season and is an intriguing prospect for the Maple Leafs, whose system didn’t have much center depth beyond the NHL.
  • In his daily update, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweeted this morning that there is a call scheduled for this evening between the executive board of the NHLPA to update the player reps on where things stand. LeBrun does not expect the call to include a vote as the documentation for the upcoming season is not yet completed. While there seemed like some momentum for things to be finalized this weekend, it does not appear as that will happen tonight.

Mid-Tier Restricted Free Agents Still Waiting On Contracts

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According to many of the reports that have surfaced over the past few days, an NHL season is expected to start on January 13. That means training camp is just a few weeks away and teams only have that time—which includes the holiday season—to get deals done with their restricted free agents. Sure, everyone knows about the negotiations with Mathew Barzal, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Anthony Cirelli, three players who have grown into NHL stars, but there are many other mid-tier RFAs that are still waiting on contracts too.

Dylan Strome should perhaps have more ink spilled over his ongoing negotiations, given he is a third-overall pick that has scored 89 points in 106 games since coming to the Chicago Blackhawks. For some reason—perhaps because of the stardom of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews or the up-and-coming status of Kirby Dach—Strome seems to get lost a bit when writing about the Blackhawks. That’s a mistake. The 6’3″ center is still only 23 years old could very well still become the difference-maker that many believe he would when he was picked so high in 2015. Even if he doesn’t ever reach that first-line role, Strome is still an extremely valuable player to the Blackhawks and needs a new deal.

Think back to the start of the 2017-18 season and remember, when a barely 19-year-old sixth-round pick made his entrance. Jesper Bratt, a late-round flier for the New Jersey Devils, played so well in training camp that he earned a roster spot and then scored six points in his first three NHL games. It’s a few unspectacular years later, but Bratt is still not one to be completely overlooked. Now just 22, he has 100 points in 185 career games including a strong 16-goal effort in 60 games last season. It’s not just Bratt either, the Devils also have Mackenzie Blackwood to sign, their goaltender of the future.

One of the more interesting mid-tier names to follow is Ethan Bear, who really stood out as a potential star on the Edmonton Oilers blueline last season. The 23-year-old doesn’t have a lot of leverage after playing just 89 games to this point in his career, but the Oilers would do well to lock him up before a true breakout. Of course, Edmonton doesn’t have any cap space at the moment and will need to make a transaction of some sort to even fit Bear in. Oscar Klefbom’s status likely has a lot to do with the holdup, as the veteran defenseman is expected to miss a good chunk of the season. Placing him on long-term injured reserve would give the Oilers room to sign Bear, but the team could be waiting for the mechanics of the cap in a shortened COVID-19 season to be sorted out before making any moves.

Perhaps most interesting (at least to this writer), is the situation with Casey Mittelstadt and the Buffalo Sabres. Picked eighth overall in 2017, this is a make-or-break year for the young forward, who hasn’t at all established himself at the NHL level to this point. Mittelstadt did play in 77 games during the 2018-19 season but was often overwhelmed by more experienced players at even-strength and ended up with just 25 points—ten of them on the powerplay. This year he split the season between the NHL and AHL, and though he did find some success in the minor leagues, he wasn’t the dominant playmaking force that many expected. Instead, he scored just 25 points in 36 games, finishing close to the very bottom of the roster at -15.

For a player like Mittelstadt, what is the answer here? The AHL isn’t even guaranteed to have a season at this point and a full year of taxi service—traveling but rarely playing with the improved Sabres—seems counterproductive for his development. It’s not often that a trip overseas is a good thing for a high draft pick three years into his professional career, but it’s easy to see how a full year playing abroad could have been more beneficial to Mittelstadt than whatever this season holds. Given his complete lack of leverage, you would expect him to be signed already, but alas, he’s now nine months from his last competitive game and it’s not clear when his next one will be.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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