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Senators Sign David Perron, Michael Amadio, Three Others

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The Senators have picked up forward Noah Gregor on a one-year deal worth $850K, per Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor. He became a UFA after being non-tendered by the Maple Leafs yesterday. Additionally, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch announces the Senators are nearing an agreement with David Perron that will likely check in around $4MM a season. Furthermore, the Senators continue to round out their forward core as Darren Dreger of TSN reports the team has also agreed to terms with Michael Amadio on a three-year, $7.8MM contract.

Attacking the middle and bottom six of their forward core, the Senators made several improvements without having to dish out much capital. As the most sizeable addition regarding salary figures, Perron brings a good work ethic and leadership capabilities to a young Ottawa roster.

Over the last two years spent with the Detroit Red Wings organization, Perron scored 41 goals and 103 points in 158 games, with 39 of those points coming on Detroit’s powerplay. The veteran forward also elevated his physical play as he amassed 218 total body checks in a top-six role. In Ottawa, the Senators can move Perron up and down the lineup depending on team needs and matchups as he enters the twilight years of his career.

Amadio and Gregor will both improve Ottawa’s bottom six this upcoming season. As one of the more underrated bottom six players in the league over the last few seasons, Amadio scored 41 goals and 72 points over 193 games for the Vegas Golden Knights while averaging 11:25 minutes of ice time per night. Gregor has shown flashes of 20-point campaigns in the past but only managed to score six goals and 12 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.

The team also announced they’ve inked minor league forward Garrett Pilon to a two-year, two-way contract with a $775K cap hit. Lastly, there’s another minor-league signing in the form of defenseman Jeremy Davies, who joins on a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K NHL/$350K AHL.

Leafs Sign Oliver Ekman-Larsson To Four-Year Deal

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a four-year, $14MM contract per TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). Dreger adds that the deal will carry a $3.5MM cap hit and a 16-team modified-no-trade clause.

Ekman-Larsson makes out nicely after seeing his previous eight-year, $66MM contract bought out by the Vancouver Canucks only a year ago. Approaching unrestricted free agency for the first time, Ekman-Larsson inked a one-year, $2.25MM contract with the Florida Panthers for the 2023-24 regular season. The Swedish blue-liner put up nine goals and 32 points in 80 games for the Panthers with most of his production coming in the first part of the season with the team dealing with injuries to Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad.

In a more limited role compared to his time with the Canucks and Arizona Coyotes, Ekman-Larsson excelled. He appeared comfortable on an elite Florida defense and saw nearly all of his possession and defensive metrics improve as he finished the season with the lowest xGA average of his career according to HockeyReference.

The Maple Leafs will be looking to take advantage of a career turnaround of Ekman-Larsson on a modest $3.5MM cap hit over the next four seasons. Ekman-Larsson should slot behind Morgan Rielly in the top four of the team’s defensive pairings and will likely slot next to Timothy Liljegren as a Swedish counterpart.

Free Agent Rumors: Stamkos, Bennett, Verhaeghe, Stolarz, Ekman-Larsson, Grzelcyk, Martinez

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The Devils are in the market for a top-six forward today, and they may end up as one of the finalists for Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.

They’ll be one of many teams making Stamkos’ agent’s phone ring off the hook today. TSN’s Bob McKenzie also expects the Ducks, Hurricanes, Predators and Red Wings to make aggressive pushes for the future Hall-of-Fame forward.

A return to Tampa Bay is extremely unlikely for Stamkos, whose 555 career goals and 1,082 games played have all come in a Lightning uniform. They weren’t close to an extension as of last weekend, and their signing of top UFA left winger Jake Guentzel to a seven-year, $63MM deal this morning has all but completely boxed him out.

More from around the Eastern Conference amid an already busy morning:

  • The Panthers are working hard on extensions for forwards Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe as they become eligible to sign at 11 a.m. CT today, sources tell David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. They’ve already gotten one big piece of business done today by keeping Sam Reinhart away from the open market on an eight-year, $69MM deal, but Bennett and Verhaeghe are two crucial pieces of their top-six forward group that remain unsigned past next season. It’s unclear what these deals may look like, but Reinhart taking a considerable discount on market value to remain in South Florida is surely a good indicator that Panthers GM Bill Zito can get them locked into deals that won’t break the bank.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger adds the Panthers are also trying to re-sign UFA netminder Anthony Stolarz, but they have some competition. The Blackhawks and Maple Leafs are also in the mix for the veteran’s services. While a career backup, he’s one of the best options on the market in a UFA class devoid of starters. He was electric when used in Florida last year, posting a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA in 27 appearances.
  • After making Chris Tanev’s six-year deal official, expect the Leafs to add another veteran blue liner in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dreger says. OEL is coming off a Stanley Cup win in Florida after putting up 32 points in 80 regular-season games, averaging 18:24 per night. He’d likely anchor a third pairing in Toronto on the left side behind Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe.
  • The Penguins are among the teams linked to defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reports. Grzelcyk is likely on his way out of Boston after spending the entirety of his eight-year, 445-game career there. He had 11 points and a +13 rating in 63 games last season while logging 17:36 per night.
  • Alec Martinez could continue his NHL career with the Blackhawks on a one-year deal, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The three-time Cup winner fell down the Golden Knights’ depth chart last year, limited to 55 games due to injuries and healthy scratches. He still managed 17 points, though, his most offense in three years, but had a -2 rating while averaging 19:03 per game.

Leafs Sign Chris Tanev To Six-Year Contract

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year, $27MM contract. The deal carries an annual cap hit of $4.5MM. This signing vindicates Toronto’s acquisitions of Tanev’s rights following the draft, with the Leafs sending a 2026 seventh-round back to the Dallas Stars.

Tanev has become one of the league’s most sought after defensive-defensemen, making his looming free agency headlining news when it was learned that he wouldn’t re-sign with the Dallas Stars. Dallas paid a pretty penny for Tanev at the Trade Deadline, dealing away prospect Artem Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick used on Jacob Battaglia, and a 2026 third-round pick. But Tanev quickly vindicated their efforts, seamlessly stepping onto the team’s top line. He only managed five points in 19 regular season games, bleak scoring that dropped to just two points in 19 postseason games, but Tanev made sure to find other ways to be effective. He recorded 30 hits and 73 blocked shots during the postseason, leading the league in the latter stat even despite being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals.

The defiant showing in Dallas continued the legend around Tanev’s defensive impacts. He began his career as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Vancouver Canucks in 2010 following the end of his freshman year at R.I.T. Vancouver put Tanev to quick work, awarding him the first 29 games of his NHL career in the 2010-11 season. He’d record just one assist as a rookie, adding two more in 25 NHL games during his sophomore season, while still searching for an everyday role in the NHL. He’d find his first two NHL goals in year three, posting seven points in 38 games, and finally command an everyday role in the lineup in year four.

Tanev quickly found his way to Vancouver’s top pairing in his first full year, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time a game and scoring 17 points in 64 games during the 2013-14 campaign. He found the style that works for him that year, holding firmly to it in the 10 seasons since. Now 34, Tanev has accumulated 792 games and 157 points in the NHL, spread across three teams.

Toronto will soon become Tanev’s fourth organization, with this deal returning him to his hometown club and finally awarding Toronto a top-line defender they can trust. It’s been a grueling few years for the Leafs, who have had to lean on players like T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe to fill top-pair minutes next to stout offensive-defenseman Morgan Rielly. Tanev’s addition should form a much more natural pairing with Rielly. The two are opposites in the best way – and Tanev’s control over the back end could give Rielly a chance to once again chase high-scoring, after posting 58 points this year and 68 points two seasons ago.

With the Tanev deal in place, Toronto is down to just $7.58MM in cap space, with one forward spot and two goalie spots yet to be filled. They’re likely to prioritize adding a backup goalie next, after extending Joseph Woll and expressing interest in Anthony Stolarz.

Maple Leafs Sign Joseph Woll To Three-Year Extension

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07/01: The Leafs have made Woll’s three-year extension official. The deal will carry a formal cap hit of $3.66MM, giving the deal a total value just shy of $11MM. Woll becomes Toronto’s first goalie under contract this summer.

06/24: The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly closing in on a three-year contract extension with goaltender Joseph Woll (as per Kevin Weekes of ESPN). The extension can’t be formally announced until Woll is eligible for an extension after July 1st, but Weekes indicates that the contract is expected to fall in the range of $ 3.5MM – $4MM annually. The 25-year-old has one year left on his current deal that will pay him $775K next season and will be a restricted free agent on July 1st, 2025. If Weekes’ report is true, the Maple Leafs would be wasting no time in locking up their potential goaltender of the future.

Woll has shown himself to be capable during his brief time in the NHL, compiling a 22-13-1 record with a .915 save percentage in parts of three NHL seasons. He stepped into the net for Toronto in Game 4 of the first round of this year’s playoffs and led the Maple Leafs to victories in Games 5 and Game 6 to force a seventh and deciding game.

Therein lies the risk in signing Woll to an extension, the Dardenne Prairie, Missouri native, while capable, hasn’t been able to stay healthy and that is certainly a cause for concern with any young goaltender.  Toronto management surely considered the risk and reward when it comes to Woll’s health and is hoping that the youngster is just scratching the surface of his potential.

Toronto is in the market for another goaltender as they are likely to let Ilya Samsonov walk into free agency and with Woll’s services secured for the next handful of seasons, they will need a capable goaltender to supplant Woll should he run into injury troubles once again.

Tyler Bertuzzi Won't Return To Toronto

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  • While the Maple Leafs were hoping to re-sign winger Tyler Bertuzzi, that won’t be the case according to TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link) who notes that the contract he’s expected to get is more than what Toronto can afford. The 29-year-old couldn’t get a multi-year deal at his asking price last summer, instead settling for a one-year, $5.5MM agreement with the Maple Leafs.  Bertuzzi picked up 21 goals and 22 assists in 81 games during the regular season.  That, coupled with his production in the past (three other years of at least 20 goals) has Dreger feeling that Bertuzzi will land a deal around four years at more than $5MM per season.

Nicholas Robertson Requests Trade From Toronto

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TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that former second-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nicholas Robertson, has no intentions of signing a contract with the organization this offseason and has requested a trade. Robertson will become a restricted free agent tomorrow as his entry-level contract is set to expire.

Robertson made the full-time jump to the NHL level during the 2020-21 NHL season as he suited up in six games for the Maple Leafs. He only managed one assist at the NHL level and put together a strong performance with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL as he scored 11 goals and 16 points in only 21 contests. The organization gave him another mild chance the following season with 10 games for the Maple Leafs but Robertson once again spent a large part of the season with the Marlies in a year that saw him put up 16 goals and 28 points in 28 games.

It would not be until this past season that Toronto would give Robertson a longer look with the Original Six franchise. Robertson didn’t disappoint either as he scored 14 goals and 27 points for the Maple Leafs in 56 games while only averaging around 11 and a half minutes a night.

All signs indicate that Robertson is disgruntled with the Maple Leafs organization inconsistently shuffling him back and forth from the minors to stay under the salary cap. The 22-year-old still has considerable promise at the NHL level and believes he has earned a larger role with an organization than Toronto is willing to give. Given his age and the fact he will not demand too much as an RFA, Robertson should have plenty of suitors on the trade market willing to give him an established role in the NHL.

Maple Leafs Sign Timothy Liljegren To Two-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are continuing to chip away at their pending free agents, signing defenseman Timothy Liljegren to a two-year, $6MM extension, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). The deal will carry an annual average value of $3MM and carry Liljegren through his remaining years of RFA eligibility.

The Maple Leafs drafted Liljegren 17th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, taking him as part of what’s turned into a first-round to remember. Liljegren moved to North American pros immediately following the draft, making his NHL debut in 2019 and earning a daily role by 2021. He recorded 23 points in 61 games as a rookie, though his two years since have been limited by a hernia and high ankle sprain respectively. Liljegren still managed a strong year this season despite missing games, tying his rookie scoring of 23 points in just 55 games. He also played in a much more commanding role, averaging 19:40 in ice time after spending the last two seasons on Toronto’s third pairing.

More ice time helped Liljegren avoid the traffic jam that formed at the bottom of Toronto’s depth chart. The Leafs leaned on a long list of depth defenders in the year’s second half, including Simon Benoit, the reacquired Ilya Lyubushkin, William Lagesson, Conor Timmins, and more. Luckily things should clear up quickly, with both Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson set to enter free agency. But Liljegren will feel the pressure of whoever wins out the role behind him. Now on a deal that will carry him to his UFA years, Liljegren can focus solely on establishing as much of a lineup role as he can.

Maple Leafs Sign Max Domi To Four-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly signed forward Max Domi to a four-year, $15MM contract extension, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic (Twitter link). Johnston mentions that the deal will carry an annual cap hit of $3.75MM. These reports come shortly after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman alluded to a deal coming soon (Twitter link). The new deal will carry Domi through 2028, his age-32 season.

Domi, the son of former Leafs second-round pick and era-defining enforcer Tie Domi, found his groove late into the year, posting 16 points in the last 19 games of the regular season and adding four points in seven playoff games. The inspiration for the scoring came while Domi was filling a top-line role next to superstar Auston Matthews. The two were a great pair of grit and talent – a duo that Toronto is likely set on returning next year.

Domi made quick work of what was his first year brandishing his dad’s old logo, having joined Toronto on a one-year, $3MM contract nearly a year ago today. But Domi could still have untapped upside. He’s proven to be a perennial scorer at the top level, recording 20 goals and 56 points in 80 games between the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars in 2022-23; and boasting a career-high of 28 goals and 72 points scored in 2018-19. The roles that led to that scoring often placed Domi in much more of a spotlight role, giving him room to showcase strong puck skills and shooting. But he had to lean into a grittier style with the Leafs, supporting the stars rather than standing next to them. That could begin to change if Domi holds on to a top-line next season. A smash season would quickly earn Domi the price of his extension, and give Toronto the top-end, high-scoring utility winger that they’ve been needing.

Maple Leafs Could Sign Tanev To Six-Year Deal

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that the Nashville Predators have told teams interested in goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov that they would like to get a current NHLer back in a trade or another highly touted forward or defensive prospect.

The 22-year-old Askarov appeared to be the Predators goaltender of the future, but with Juuse Saros expected to sign a long-term extension in Nashville, Askarov will not have a path to a starter job in the NHL until he is in his 30s. Given his pedigree as an 11th overall pick and his solid AHL numbers, Askarov figures to be an NHL goalie sooner than later, but it appears likely that it will happen in a different market than Nashville.

In other morning notes:

  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is guessing that the Toronto Maple Leafs will look to sign recently acquired defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year, $24MM contract extension. Toronto acquired Tanev’s rights yesterday and early reports indicated that they could offer a deal of five to eight years in length. The 34-year-old Tanev wasn’t likely to sign in Dallas and the team elected to get something for him rather than letting him walk for free. Toronto has long sought after a defenseman like Tanev, and now that they’ve jumped the line to negotiate with him, they are expected to get a deal done.
  • Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic write that the Minnesota Wild have had talks with the Columbus Blue Jackets about potentially acquiring scorer Patrik Laine. The 26-year-old Laine hasn’t been the goal-scorer he was when he broke into the league with the Winnipeg Jets back in 2016-17 but hasn’t had much support in Columbus and was limited to just 18 games last season. A change of scenery could be just what Laine needs as he tries to get his career back on track. The Wild struggled to score last season and with limited cap space, they will be looking for bounce-back seasons from several current players. Acquiring Laine might provide a safety net for Minnesota if they aren’t able to get depth scoring from their current roster of players.

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