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Blues Re-Sign Vadim Zherenko And Hunter Skinner

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July 7: The Blues confirmed Zherenko’s and Skinner’s contracts while also confirming a two-way deal for winger Matt Luff that was reported when the market opened last week.

July 6: After getting Joel Hofer signed to a new deal late last month, the Blues have re-signed their other restricted free agent netminder.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that St. Louis has re-signed Vadim Zherenko to a one-year, two-way contract.  PuckPedia is also reporting (Twitter link) that defenseman Hunter Skinner has inked a one-year, two-way agreement as well.  Both players will receive $775K in the NHL and $125K in the minors, meaning they took less than their qualifying offers to secure more guaranteed money.

Zherenko was a seventh-round pick by St. Louis back in 2019, going 208th overall and has had a bit of a journey thus far in professional hockey.  The 24-year-old was drafted out of Russia and spent one more year at home, splitting time between the VHL and the MHL before deciding to play in Finland in 2021-22 where he spent the bulk of the year with Ilves at the top Liiga level.  His performance there helped earn him an entry-level contract that spring.

Since then, Zherenko has spent his time with AHL Springfield, save for a brief stint in St. Louis on recall in his rookie year that didn’t yield any NHL playing time.  Last season, he posted a 12-17-5 record in 32 games with the Thunderbirds along with a 3.44 GAA and a .897 SV%.  He played behind starter Colten Ellis who is now waiver-eligible moving forward, leaving his future a little murkier as he’ll have to pass through unclaimed to return to Springfield.  Zherenko, meanwhile, remains waiver-exempt for one more year so it’s safe to say that he’ll be back with the Thunderbirds next season.

As for Skinner, he was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers back in 2019, going 112th overall.  He spent the following season with OHL London before turning pro in 2020-21.  He spent parts of three seasons in their farm system, primarily with AHL Hartford before being traded to St. Louis in 2023 as part of the deal that sent rental players Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to New York to try to aid their playoff run.

Since then, Skinner has played with Springfield and is coming off his best season at the AHL level, one that saw him record eight goals and 14 assists in 69 games along with 98 penalty minutes.  That was enough to earn him a qualifying offer to get another opportunity but unless he becomes an NHL regular and plays in at least 80 games next season, Skinner will become eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency next summer.

With the signings, the Blues are down to just one remaining restricted free agent to re-sign, forward Nikita Alexandrov.

Dvorsky Could Serve As A Winger For Blues

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  • St. Louis Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky will look to earn a spot in the lineup to start next season, but he may not have to do so at the center position. President of hockey operations Doug Armstrong noted that Dvorsky can break camp as a winger, alleviating some of the pressures that come with being a young center in the league, per Lou Korac of NHL.com. With the Blues returning a deep group of centers, Dvorsky’s best path to a roster spot may be as a bottom-six winger — a role that would allow him to focus on his offensive game. The Blues selected Dvorsky 10th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. While he made his debut with the club last season, appearing in two games, he spent the majority of the year with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, where he recorded 21 goals and 45 points in 61 games.

Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade

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The St. Louis Blues are set on continuing their overhaul this season. On the heels of announcing a new logo, trading a top rookie, and waiving a long-term veteran – the Blues are now aggressively pushing to acquire Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. Rutherford adds that Byram is still a candidate to be offer-sheeted by one of many teams, but St. Louis would not be among those teams. They would have to trade for Byram, since they don’t have the draft capital to match an offer sheet.

Acquiring the former fourth-overall pick would be St. Louis’  biggest move since they kicked off the wave of offer-sheets by acquiring Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg last summer. Byram spent the 2024-25 season closely tied to star Sabres defender Rasmus Dahlin. With his help, Byram was able to reach a career-high 38 points in 82 games – while averaging a career-high 22:42 in ice time each game.

The role in Buffalo was the biggest of Byram’s career, and a hardy step up from the 21 minutes a night he averaged with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022-23 season. He recorded 24 points in 42 games that year, then followed it up with 29 points in 73 games split between Colorado and Buffalo last season.

Byram has managed an impressive 246 NHL games before the age of 25. He’s managed multiple seasons in top-line roles, on the back of high acclaim in his draft year. And yet, the instinctive offensive-defenseman has yet to manage a season with more than 40 points. He was a glowing defense partner for Dahlin — with the two managing a plus-15 goal differential in their minutes together — but struggled significantly away from the star padding — with a minus-22 goal-differential without Dahlin.

Those marks could spell reason for pessimism around the young defender. But of the many teams interested in striking a deal with Buffalo, the Blues may be the ones with the best role available for Byram. They recently lost their top left-defender in Torey Krug, who missed the entirety of last season with an ankle injury. Broberg admirably filled the top role in Krug’s absence, but only managed 29 points in 68 games on the full season. A move to St. Louis would push Byram into a direct competition with Broberg for top-pair minutes. Byram’s offensive instinct would be what wins him ice time in that battle – though losing out would mean a second-line role next to longtime pro Colton Parayko, while Justin Faulk mans the top role.

The need to lean into more offense could be the spark Byram needs, but landing the trade could be a lofty task for the Blues. They currently hold $625,150 in projected cap space – a number that will rise to just over $7MM when Krug goes on long-term injured reserve. Byram earned a $3.85MM cap hit on his last contract, and could be due double that mark after a year on Dahlin’s hip. That could take St. Louis right up to the salary cap mark, unless they can shed money in a move.

Top-end winger Jordan Kyrou has been rumored to be garnering interest from around the league, and would certainly make sense as the buy-up that Buffalo is looking for in a Byram trade. But Kyrou, 27, has reached the 70 point mark in three of the last four seasons – a streak only interrupted by his 67-point campaign last year. Should he be too rich of an asset to move, the Blues could also bank in on their wealth of high-upside prospects on the wing. They already dealt Zachary Bolduc away for a defense upgrade, and could find a similar move revolving around Jake Neighbours or Dalibor Dvorsky, packaged with additional capital.

Just over a week after claiming that the roster was “set”, Blues general manager has explored multiple ways to shake it up even further. Acquiring Byram would be another big-fish addition to a pond that’s been stocked up over the last two summers. The Blues earned a Wild Card bid last season on a regulation-wins tiebreaker. They scored the most goals of any Western Conference team in the Wild Card race, and could get an even bigger boost should Byram continue his growth through another move.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports.

Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy

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The Sharks are signing free agent defenseman Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $13MM contract, sources tell Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The team has also claimed defenseman Nick Leddy off waivers from the Blues, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

San Jose has been looking to make a big financial splash over the past few days, at least per season, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. While also serving as additions to a thin defense, Orlov’s $6.5MM cap hit and Leddy’s $4MM cap hit put the Sharks over the $70.6MM salary cap floor in 2025-26.

Orlov, who turns 34 later this month, now cashes in on a short-term, high-AAV contract for the second time in three years. The top free agent of a thin 2023 class landed a two-year, $15.5MM commitment from the Hurricanes that time around, but it was clear there wasn’t a good fit for him to return next season with the emergence of top prospect Alexander Nikishin and the sign-and-trade pickup of K’Andre Miller from the Rangers filling up the left side of Carolina’s defense.

It’s a slight pay cut for Orlov after seeing his minutes dip below the 20-minute mark per game with the Canes – he’d cost $7.75MM against the cap for the last two years. He does land trade protection from the Sharks, though, after going without it in Carolina. PuckPedia reports Orlov received a full no-trade clause in 2025-26 and a 15-team no-trade clause in 2026-27 as part of the deal. In terms of the cash breakdown, Orlov will rake in a $5.4MM base salary and a $2MM signing bonus this year and a $4MM salary with a $1.5MM signing bonus next season. That low salary compared to the actual cap hit in the back half of the deal could make him an appealing trade candidate at that time.

The 5’11” lefty immediately becomes San Jose’s top defenseman. While he wasn’t the everyday top-four threat on an exceedingly deep Carolina defense like he was for most of his earlier career with the Capitals, he’s only a couple of years removed from averaging north of 22 minutes per game and will need to prepare to resume that workload with the Sharks. Over his two-year tenure with the Hurricanes, Orlov averaged six goals, 22 assists, 28 points, and a +10 rating per 82 games while logging 18:36 per night.

Orlov was a consistent 30-point threat with good two-way acumen during his peak in Washington. It remains to be seen if his age will prohibit him from reaching that level again with San Jose, but their excess of cap room and need for veteran defensemen, combined with only a two-year term, makes this a low-risk signing for general manager Mike Grier, despite his cap hit likely coming in north of his market value.

As for Leddy, the Blues placed him on waivers yesterday with one year remaining on his contract at a $4MM cap hit. St. Louis was looking to shed salary and open up roster space after adding 2021 first-rounder Logan Mailloux to their blue line in a trade with the Canadiens, so they exposed Leddy to the wire after failing to agree on a trade to send him elsewhere.

San Jose is now nearly $2MM over the cap floor, so they can’t flip Leddy to another club while remaining cap-compliant unless they retain salary. All three of their retention slots were full last year, but with Brent Burns’ previous contract expiring, they have one open now. The same goes for frequently speculated trade candidate Mario Ferraro ($3.25MM cap hit) and other potential trade chips like righty Vincent Desharnais ($2MM).

Along with Orlov, Leddy could step into a top-four role for San Jose on the left side, although he could also flex over to the right if necessary. The 34-year-old missed most of last season due to injury and only managed five points in 31 games when healthy, but averaged over 22 minutes per game for St. Louis the year prior and had 28 points with a +14 rating.

With the pickups and the still-delicate cap math to stay above the floor, there’s a bit of a log jam on San Jose’s defense. They have eight rearguards on one-way deals for next season – Orlov, Leddy, Ferraro, Desharnais, July 1 signing John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, and youngsters Henry Thrun and Shakir Mukhamadullin. None of them are waiver-exempt, and that list doesn’t include unsigned RFA Jack Thompson or top prospect Sam Dickinson. The Sharks likely won’t be willing to waive Thrun or Mukhamadullin, so the Sharks might still be in the market to add a high-salaried forward this summer in order to help facilitate a trade to create more opportunities for Dickinson, Mukhamadullin, Thompson, and Thrun.

Images courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images (Orlov) and Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images (Leddy).

Blues Sign Pius Suter To Two-Year Contract

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The St. Louis Blues have agreed to a two-year, $8.25MM contract with center Pius Suter per insider Frank Seravalli. The move was confirmed by Cam Robinson of EliteProspects, after reports that Suter had signed from Chris Johnston of The Athletic and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News.

The contract was originally reported as carrying a $4MM cap hit through both seasons, though David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period shares that the second year will actually carry a $4.25MM cap hit. St. Louis confirmed the extra $250,000 in a team press release.

Suter is coming off a career year with the Vancouver Canucks. He reached new heights in nearly every stat category, including scoring 25 goals, 46 points, 43 blocked shots, 59 hits, and averaging north of 17 minutes a night. He made good work out of a promotion to Vancouver’s second-line following the departure of top forward J.T. Miller via a midseason trade. Suter even earned a vote for the Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the league’s best defensive-forward.

Suter has stood as a reliable middle-six center in every season since his NHL career began in 2020-21. He moved to the Chicago Blackhawks after six seasons, and one championship, with Zurich SC of Switzerland’s top league. Suter recorded 14 goals and 27 points in 55 games of his NHL rookie season – on pace for 40 points across 82 games. A Blackhawks organization in flux pushed Suter out of the door after his one-year deal ran up, prompting a two-year, $6.5MM contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Suter continued to stand up to a third-line role in Detroit, even scoring 15 goals and 36 points while appearing in all 82 games of the 2021-22 season.

His scoring fell to 24 points in 79 games in his final year with the Red Wings, sparking yet another summer move – this time on a discounted two-year, $3.2MM deal with the Canucks. A change of scenery brought a spark to Suter’s scoring, which grew to 29 points in 67 games last year and a breakout season this year.

Now, after completing another pair of seasons with his club, Suter will head for a move once more. He could find a lucrative lineup role with the Blues, who are yet to make a clear decision between who will handle center duties on their second and third lines. Suter will compete with captain Brayden Schenn and rookie Dalibor Dvorsky for minutes.

A dismal 42.7 faceoff percentage, compared to Schenn’s 52.3 percentage, could be enough to push Suter to the wings. Even then, his volume shooting and hefty presence will help the Blues make up for recently trading youngster Zachary Bolduc. Suter recorded an 18.1 shooting percentage last season – far above his career average of 13.1 percent. That could point towards his 46-point mark being a tough one to recreate, though he’ll still be a strong bet for modest production from a depth role.

Blues Waive Nick Leddy

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The Blues have placed defenseman Nick Leddy on standard waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Leddy, 34, cannot be bought out since the first window has closed. Since he’s on standard, not unconditional waivers, this move isn’t made with a contract termination in mind, either. Instead, the Blues are seeing if there are any takers for the final season of his contract, which carries a $4MM cap hit but only $3MM in actual salary, per PuckPedia.

St. Louis had been working in conjunction with Leddy to find a trade partner to give him more ice time this season, but no offers materialized, Frank Seravalli reports. Any of the league’s 31 other teams can now have him for free by submitting a claim in the next 24 hours, including the 16 teams on his no-trade list.

Leddy signed a four-year, $16MM extension with St. Louis in 2022 that had largely provided fair value until last year. The 13-year veteran missed over half the season with a lower-body injury and only had five points and a plus-six rating in 31 games when healthy, averaging 18:40 of ice time per game. He’d averaged at least 20 minutes per game for the previous 10 seasons.

It remains to be seen what happens in the event Leddy clears waivers. If the Blues have made up their minds that he won’t be on their roster next season, he could either accept an AHL assignment and take home his $3MM guaranteed salary for next season or request a mutual termination, forfeiting his money but allowing himself to pursue an NHL opportunity elsewhere in free agency.

One of the league’s consistent top-four fixtures throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, Leddy has 75 goals, 341 assists, and 416 points with a -36 rating in 1,042 career games with the Blues, Blackhawks, Islanders, and Red Wings. Before his injury-plagued 2024-25 campaign, Leddy had posted 59 points and a +21 rating in 180 games with St. Louis, who initially acquired him from Detroit at the 2022 trade deadline.

The Blues have been open to parting ways with veteran defensemen to make way for a youth movement. They opted not to re-sign Ryan Suter and will now look to offload Leddy to both free up cap space for future trade discussions this summer while also giving more opportunity for players like fresh trade pickup Logan Mailloux, Matthew Kessel, and Tyler Tucker to play more consistent NHL roles.

Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.

Two-Way Deals: 7/1/25

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As major signings come in around the NHL today with the 2025-26 league year beginning, teams are shoring up their minor-league depth as well by signing players to two-way contracts. We’re keeping track of those signings today in this article, which will be continuously updated. Deals are one year unless otherwise noted.

Boston Bruins

F Riley Tufte ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
D Jonathan Aspirot ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
G Luke Cavallin ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub

Buffalo Sabres

F Riley Fiddler-Schultz ($865K NHL/$90K SB/$35K PB/$85K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years, entry-level
F Carson Meyer ($775K NHL/$350K AHL Y1 – $375K AHL Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Mason Geertsen ($775K NHL/$425K AHL) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet // two years
D Zachary Jones ($900K NHL/$550K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Zach Metsa ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$325K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Calgary Flames

D Nick Cicek ($775K NHL) – team release

Carolina Hurricanes

G Amir Miftakhov ($775K NHL/$100K AHL/$240K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Chicago Blackhawks

F Dominic Toninato ($850K NHL) – team release // two years

Colorado Avalanche

F T.J. Tynan (unknown) – team release
D Jack Ahcan (unknown) – team release
D Ronald Attard ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Owen Sillinger (unknown) – team release
D Christian Jaros (unknown) – team release

Dallas Stars

D Niilopekka Muhonen (unknown) – team release // three years, entry-level

Edmonton Oilers

D Riley Stillman ($775K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
G Matt Tomkins ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$450 Y2 gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years

Florida Panthers

F Nolan Foote ($775K NHL/$150K AHL/$250K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Jack Studnicka ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – Chris Johnston of TSN/The Athletic
G Brandon Bussi ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia
G Kirill Gerasimyuk (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level

Los Angeles Kings

F Cole Guttman ($775K NHL/$450K Y1 – $475K Y2 AHL/$475K gt’d Y1 – $500K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years

Minnesota Wild

F Tyler Pitlick ($775K NHL/$300K Y1 – $350K Y2 AHL/$325K gt’d Y1 – $375K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Ben Gleason ($800K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia

Montreal Canadiens

F Alex Belzile (unknown) – team release
D Nathan Clurman ($775K NHL/$125K AHL/$140K gt’d) – PuckPedia

New Jersey Devils

D Calen Addison ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$400K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Angus Crookshank ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years, one-way in 2026-27

New York Islanders

F Matthew Highmore (unknown) – team release
D Ethan Bear ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$425K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole McWard (unknown) – team release

New York Rangers

D Derrick Pouliot ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$425K gt’d Y1 – $450K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years

Ottawa Senators

F Wyatt Bongiovanni ($775K NHL/$160K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Olle Lycksell ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – Darren Dreger of TSN

Philadelphia Flyers

F Lane Pederson ($775K NHL/$525K AHL) – PuckPedia

San Jose Sharks

F Jimmy Huntington (unknown) – team release
F Samuel Laberge (unknown) – team release
F Colin White ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole Clayton (unknown) – team release

St. Louis Blues

F Matt Luff ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nicholas Abruzzese (unknown) – team release
F Tristan Allard (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level
F Boris Katchouk (unknown) – team release
D Simon Lundmark ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$350K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years
G Ryan Fanti ($775K NHL/$80K AHL) – PuckPedia

Utah Mammoth

F Kailer Yamamoto ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Scott Perunovich ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia

Vancouver Canucks

F Joseph LaBate ($775K NHL/$350K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Mackenzie MacEachern ($775K NHL/$575K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
D Jimmy Schuldt ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years

Winnipeg Jets

F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Kale Clague (unknown) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Blues Sign Nick Bjugstad To Two-Year Deal

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The Blues announced they’ve signed center Nick Bjugstad to a two-year, $3.5MM contract worth $1.75MM per season.

Scouring the free agent market for a third-line center, the Blues have found their man in Bjugstad. The former first-round pick of the 2010 NHL Draft is coming off a two-year stint with the Arizona Coyotes, and subsequently the Utah Mammoth, where he recorded 30 goals and 64 points in 142 games, averaging 15:04 of ice time per game and managing a 48.8% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Still, it was truly a tale of two years for the 13-year veteran. Bjugstad had the second-highest scoring output of his career during the 2023-24 campaign, only to see it fall to his fourth-worst last season. Furthermore, his 47.4% faceoff rate was the lowest of his career since his brief 13-game stretch with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2019-20 season.

His scoring depression has certainly led to the slight drop in salary compared to his last contract. However, Bjugstad displayed strong possession metrics in his last year in Salt Lake City, maintaining a 51.5% CorsiFor% at even strength, and quality defensive metrics with a 90.8% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, the Blues will be limited by their financial flexibility. Unless another move is made, Bjugstad will likely play between Jake Neighbours and Mathieu Joseph on the team’s third line.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Canadiens Acquire Zachary Bolduc

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The Canadiens and Blues have swapped young players.  Montreal has acquired winger Zachary Bolduc from St. Louis in exchange for defenseman Logan Mailloux.  Both teams have announced the deal.

Bolduc was a first-round pick of the Blues back in 2021, going 17th overall.  Mailloux, meanwhile, was also a first-round selection in that same draft class, going 14 picks later.

Bolduc is the more experienced player of the two at the NHL level.  After getting into 25 games in 2023-24, the 22-year-old was a regular in the lineup for St. Louis last season, chipping in with some solid secondary scoring.  He notched 19 goals and 17 assists in 72 games along with 108 hits in a little under 13 minutes a night of ice time during the regular season while adding an assist in seven playoff outings in their first-round loss to Winnipeg.

As for Mailloux, he has been productive in the NHL in very limited action.  He got into seven games with the Canadiens last season, notching two goals and two assists.  Meanwhile, the 22-year-old played in 63 games with AHL Laval, tallying 12 goals and 21 assists after putting up 47 points in 72 games in his rookie professional campaign.  Mailloux also had six points in 13 playoff outings with the Rocket in their run to the final four.

Both players have one year left on their respective entry-level contracts.  Mailloux has an AAV of $894K with no performance bonuses in his deal while Bolduc checks in with an AAV of $1.276MM, including $425K in bonuses for the upcoming season.  They’ll be restricted free agents next summer.

This is a move where both teams are using their surplus depth to fill a hole.  With the Canadiens acquiring Noah Dobson last week, Mailloux’s future with the organization came more into question with Montreal also having top prospect David Reinbacher in the mix on the right side of the back end.  Meanwhile, St. Louis has a pair of right-shot veterans on the back end but Justin Faulk only has two years left on his deal, creating an opening for Mailloux to try to play his way into over the next couple of years while also potentially providing them with some extra firepower from the back end.  On the other side, St. Louis uses their forward depth to fill their hole on the back end while Montreal picks up a player who can add some grit and skill to their bottom six, replacing Emil Heineman who went to the Islanders in the Dobson trade.

Free Agent Notes: Marchand, Gavrikov, Provorov, Granlund, Faksa, Pezzetta

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If the Panthers can’t get a deal done to keep Brad Marchand in Florida before the market opens tomorrow, Darren Dreger of TSN expects the Bruins, Mammoth, and Maple Leafs to be his most aggressive suitors in free agency.

A Boston reunion would be surprising given there’s been no change in the front office that wasn’t willing to match Marchand’s cheaper requests for an extension during the season, resulting in the Bruins trading their captain to the Panthers at the deadline. Nonetheless, it’s a financially feasible move for them and one that would address their rather significant need for top-six forwards. The club still has $12.74MM in cap space after getting extensions done for names like John Beecher, Morgan Geekie, and Henri Jokiharju in the last 24 hours, per PuckPedia. Marchand would likely command a contract in the $8MM range annually if he hits the open market.

While Utah has seemed to dial back its rhetoric of making a significant free agent splash, instead placing complete trust in its young core and opting for more youthful pickups via trade, like JJ Peterka, Marchand might make more sense on a shorter-term contract. They still have nearly $15MM in cap space and enter 2025-26 with one of the youngest forward groups in the league – their only forwards 30 or older are Alexander Kerfoot and Liam O’Brien.

The Leafs also have their cap flexibility for Tuesday dialed in after getting rather affordable extensions done for Matthew Knies ($7.75MM) and John Tavares ($4.38MM AAV) in the last few days. They’d presumably be one of the more appealing fits for Marchand to remain both with a contending team and in a top-six role, potentially even seeing top-line minutes in place of the departing Mitch Marner.

Here are a few more rumors from around the NHL ahead of the official start of free agency on Tuesday:

  • Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays that the Kings are making a last-ditch effort today to reach an extension with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. While general manager Ken Holland said over the weekend he expects Gavrikov to test the market, L.A. still hasn’t heard back from Gavrikov’s camp on their final offer.
  • While things were quiet on extension talks between the Blue Jackets and defenseman Ivan Provorov for weeks, they re-engaged in negotiations yesterday, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. They presumably decided getting yesterday’s extension for Dante Fabbro done, ensuring they retain depth on their weaker right side of the blue line, was a priority over Provorov’s talks.
  • Center Mikael Granlund and the Stars continue to have mutual interest in an extension, according to LeBrun. It still looks unlikely something will get done before tomorrow with the Stars having just $980K in projected cap space for next season, but they could reach a handshake agreement if Dallas is confident they can move out other contracts to make Granlund’s money work. They’ve already been successful in retaining vets Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene on below-market-value deals.
  • Depth pivot Radek Faksa will have plenty of options tomorrow if he reaches the market, given the lack of centers available, but there’s still the possibility he stays with the Blues. The two sides remain in extension talks, says Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.
  • The Maple Leafs are among the teams expected to have interest in Canadiens enforcer Michael Pezzetta, assuming he hits the market tomorrow, reports LeBrun.

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