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Elias Lindholm Poised For Bounce-Back Season

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After an injury-affected first season with the Boston Bruins, center Elias Lindholm is looking forward to a productive 2025-26 season, per Ronnie Rönnkvist of The Daily Faceoff.

Despite playing all 82 games last season, Lindholm revealed during his exit interviews in April that he had been dealing with a back injury since the previous August. The issue caused him to miss time in training camp and limited him offensively throughout the year. After signing a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with Boston last summer, both Lindholm and the team were expecting more than just 0.57 points per game.

“I didn’t get off to a strong start, had problems with my back, and missed the entire camp. To be able to play from the beginning, I had to take an injection, and it took a few weeks before it helped. I couldn’t do anything for a month or two, so I felt behind and had to catch up. It wasn’t a great start, but I hope this coming season can be better,” Lindholm said.

Selected fifth overall in the 2013 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, Lindholm has long been recognized as a defensively responsible center, earning Selke Trophy votes in five of his 12 NHL seasons, including a second-place finish following the 2021–22 campaign with the Calgary Flames. That same season, he also showcased his offensive potential by recording a career-high 42 goals and 82 points. That is the type of production the Bruins were hoping to get from the 30-year-old native of Sweden. But Lindholm, who noted that last season was full of “distractions,” is confident he can turn things around in year two with Boston.

“We’ve brought in some players, more hardworking types, so the feeling is that we’ve added more of a Boston style to our game,” Lindholm said. “A lot went wrong, but hopefully, things will go better this season and allow us to make the playoffs at least.”

 

The Canadiens Likely To Move Carey Price’s Contract

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Despite not having played since the 2021-22 season, goaltender Carey Price and his contract continue to weigh down the Montreal Canadiens’ salary cap flexibility. With just one year remaining on his deal, which carries a $10.5 million cap hit, the franchise may be close to moving the contract in the coming days, per Marco D’Amico of RG.org.

While Price’s playing days are long behind him, the Canadiens will look to trade his contract to a team looking to hit the salary cap floor. That market may be thinning out, but the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks may fit the bill. If the Habs can swing a deal, they too would become cap compliant, as they currently sit approximately $6 million over the limit, according to PuckPedia. Moving Price’s contract could also provide the team with the flexibility needed to make another move to solidify the current roster. While Price carries a $10.5 million cap hit, he is set to receive just $7.5 million in actual salary for the final year of his contract. Of that amount, $5.5 million will be paid out as a signing bonus on September 1.

As D’Amico notes, TVA Sports’ Jean-Charles Lajoie reported that Habs are in the market for a center, and the cap savings from Price’s deal could help facilitate that addition. However, a slow market could force the Canadiens to wait well into the season before pulling the trigger on this kind of addition. Canadiens Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton noted as much, previously stating, “We don’t look at it like opening day as the end of when you can change your roster.” As D’Amico notes, there seems to be a standoff between GMs trying to add quality forwards and those unwilling to budge on steep return demands.

For his part, Price’s legendary career came to an end due to lingering knee issues. Price appeared in just 30 games over his final two seasons and unofficially retired following the 2021-22 season to focus on his overall quality of life. Over his 15-year career, Carey Price recorded 361 wins and 19,304 saves, both of which are all-time records for the Canadiens. He also ranks first in minutes played and third in shutouts with 49. Selected fifth overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, Price consistently proved why he was taken so high and is widely expected to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Calvin De Haan Likely To Sign In Europe, Linked To SHL’s Brynas IF

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Veteran defender Calvin de Haan’s NHL days appear to be behind him. His agent has been pitching offers from European clubs to him for the past couple of weeks, and he’s being pursued aggressively by Swedish club Brynäs IF, Johan Svensson of Expressen reports.

Brynäs, the reigning SHL regular-season champions, have de Haan as their “absolute main target” to add defensive depth with two weeks before their regular-season schedule begins, Svensson writes. Their early offseason moves didn’t leave them with a lot of defensive depth to start with, an issue that has been exacerbated by a knee injury to veteran Simon Bertilsson, which will keep him out past New Year’s.

De Haan has no desire to stay in North America if it means a minor-league role, Svensson reports. If he’s only open to a one-way deal with a clear path to an NHL roster spot, his options are slim to none as a result. Svensson didn’t mention his willingness to stake things out on a PTO agreement, but if stability is the reason he’s spurned two-way and AHL offers so far, it stands to reason he wouldn’t have any interest in a tryout, either.

That means an everyday role in a top European league will be the next step in the 34-year-old’s career after 13 NHL seasons and nearly 700 games. Last season was a tough one for the 2009 No. 12 overall pick. He was a frequent healthy scratch and only made 47 appearances, his lowest total since the COVID-shortened 2021 season. He had eight assists with a -4 rating and averaged 14:58 per game while playing a No. 7/8 role for the Avalanche and Rangers, moving between clubs in the Ryan Lindgren trade.

De Haan was clearly displeased with how his tenure in New York went, using some colorful language to articulate his lack of usage down the stretch despite the team continuing to slide out of the playoff picture. He only got into three games for the Blueshirts – his first three after being acquired – and was then benched for the last month-plus of the schedule.

If the move to Brynäs is solidified, he’ll join a club that already likely has the most games of NHL experience on its roster in all of Europe. He would become the seventh player on their roster with at least 200 games of NHL time, joining Nicklas Bäckström, Robert Hägg, Michal Kempný, Johan Larsson, Oskar Lindblom, and Jakob Silfverberg.

Jets’ Josh Morrissey Fully Recovered From Knee Injury

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Jets star defenseman Josh Morrissey has recovered fully from the knee injury he sustained in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and will not have any restrictions heading into training camp, he told Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press last week.

Morrissey, 30, had to battle through quite a bit of physical adversity in the postseason after finishing fourth in Norris Trophy voting in the regular season – his third straight top-10 finish and the highest placement of his career. He sustained an upper-body injury early in Winnipeg’s come-from-behind Game 7 win over the Blues in the first round that caused him to miss the first game of their second-round tilt against the Stars. While he played the bulk of the Dallas series, he couldn’t finish what ended up being their final contest of the season in Game 6 after sustaining an injury to his left knee while getting tangled up with Stars forward Mikko Rantanen.

Most were expecting Morrissey to be able to go for camp when he said that he wouldn’t require surgery following their elimination, shortening his recovery timeline. All in all, he was only off the ice for around a month while rehabbing. “I’ve been skating for two months now and it feels as good or better than it did before,” he told Wiebe. He also said that he sustained a similar injury in his right knee two years ago during their first-round series against the Golden Knights, meaning he “knew the protocol” and “knew the plan.”

Having Morrissey at full availability out of the gate will be a crucial step for a Winnipeg roster that will need to rely heavily on its defense after losing a key top-six forward piece in Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency. Luckily for them, their group of defenders remains almost entirely unchanged from last year’s Presidents’ Trophy win. Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Neal Pionk, and Dylan Samberg will continue to comprise one of the league’s most competent two-way top-four groups after Pionk signed a massive six-year extension midseason and Samberg inked a three-year settlement with the Jets this summer to avoid an arbitration hearing.

The lefty now enters his 11th year in Winnipeg after being taken 13th overall in the 2013 draft. He has three years left on his deal with a $6.25MM cap hit – part of an eight-year deal signed in 2019 that ranks among the league’s most team-friendly deals. Over the last three years, only Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar have produced more assists among defensemen than Morrissey’s 167.

Why Was The Summer Frenzy Such A Flop?

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Many NHL fans entered this summer expecting a flurry of transactions as teams anticipated a rise in the NHL salary cap after years of it remaining flat. On the surface, that expectation made sense; aggressive NHL general managers would finally have wiggle room to make bold moves after the pent-up frustration of having to pinch pennies to stay under the threshold.

However, that frenzy never materialized, and this summer was mostly a flop. Most moves were completed by July 1, and the summer blockbusters never materialized. So, where did it all go wrong, and what happened to the supposed bold moves that were expected this summer?

Many folks had expected the additional cap space to lead to trades, as aggressive teams would aim to use that room to strengthen their rosters. However, the extra space actually had the opposite effect, since most teams finally had enough cap room and didn’t need to spend the summer offloading bad contracts. This had been a common theme in previous years, as teams often had to dump one or two poor contracts to stay under the salary cap. This year, only a few cap dump trades have occurred, with defensemen Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton being traded separately to the Penguins.

The mere mention of the Penguins brings up another factor in the summer of silence: most teams entered this summer looking to improve, with the glaring exception being the Penguins, who were the only team firmly in seller territory. Pittsburgh came into the summer with three major trade chips—Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson. So far, they haven’t been able to move any of them, despite many NHL teams holding salary cap space and being eager to get better.

This restraint is unusual in NHL circles, as general managers often rush to overpay for veterans. This summer, they haven’t been knocking on the Penguins’ door to acquire their available veterans. That could be due to Penguins GM Kyle Dubas holding firm on a high asking price, but with Pittsburgh’s apparent desire to rebuild, one would think there’s a middle ground that could facilitate a trade.

Rust and Rakell are both on bargain contracts with three years remaining, so it’s hard to believe they can’t be moved for close to what’s being asked. Yet, to this point, nothing has happened on the trade front. In fact, only a handful of trades have been completed since July 1, and with training camp just a few weeks away, it will be interesting to see if the pace picks up.

The trading market was clearly tight, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but there could be a few factors at play besides high asking prices. Teams with cap space, such as San Jose, Chicago, and Utah, clearly weren’t eager to spend big on win-now players and opted to look at free agency for minor improvements or, in the case of Utah, trade for younger pieces.

Meanwhile, teams aiming to make big moves couldn’t because they lacked the assets to trade. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, and Tampa Bay Lightning would have likely loved to get better, but they all lacked first-round picks from previous big trades and just didn’t have the assets to make moves.

Now, speaking of those teams, and you could also include the Dallas Stars here, these contending teams were already close to being “capped out” even with the salary cap increase. Dallas had to make the aforementioned Dumba trade to stay compliant after re-signing their free agents, while Colorado had to send Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle to Columbus. Those teams were eventually able to create salary cap room, but even then, they used it to re-sign their own RFAs and UFAs, as well as find depth on the free agent market, rather than making trades.

Another factor was that no one was surprised by the salary cap increase, as teams had known for a while that it was going to rise after being flat for so long following the COVID-19 pandemic. This led teams and players to assume that the salary cap would go up, which is why players like Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, and eventually Leon Draisaitl managed to set new records as the NHL’s highest-paid players. Instead of having a bonus room this summer, teams like the Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers had already used the extra space to cover raises they had already given their players. Signing superstars to groundbreaking contracts is not new, but it explains why the summer frenzy never really took off.

Handing out those contracts to stars kept players with their current teams and also contributed to the thin free agent market this summer. Besides Mitch Marner and Nikolaj Ehlers, most stars who were potential UFAs stayed with their former clubs rather than testing the market. This meant that teams with cap space didn’t spend large just for the sake of spending; instead, they chose to hold onto their cap space for future moves or to be aggressive in 2026 free agency when bigger names might be available.

Finally, some teams may have learned from their mistakes during the flat salary cap era. There’s an old saying that NHL general managers tend to make more errors on July 1st than at any other time of the year, which might have prompted GMs to think more carefully about their moves to avoid repeating those mistakes.

Dubas in Pittsburgh serves as a prime example, as his decisions on July 1st, 2023, have essentially saddled the Penguins with multiple bad contracts (Tristan Jarry, Ryan Graves, and Noel Acciari) for years to come. The Ottawa Senators are under new management, but even they handed out an ill-advised two-year $8MM deal to David Perron last year that they might want to redo. It appears that at least for this summer, GMs chose to be cautious with their new cap space, and it will be interesting to see if they maintain that careful approach into the NHL Trade Deadline—especially if the race for playoff spots remains tight and many teams stay in the hunt.

To summarize, there wasn’t just one reason why this summer was a flop for fans hoping for a frenzy. A weak UFA class, cautious management, and money being spent on retaining players ultimately derailed those plans. The NHL Entry Draft was busy, as were moves around July 1st, but since then, it’s been a quiet summer. The coming weeks might not bring much more news until teams start playing, injuries happen, or players don’t meet expectations, which could put teams in a tough spot, especially if they fall short of expectations.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Devils, Luke Hughes At An Impasse Regarding Contract Length

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Aug. 30th: Speaking directly about the negotiations with Hughes in a recent interview with James Murphy of RG Media, Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald was quoted as saying, “Eventually, this will get done. The 11th hour is training camp. Right? A lot of times, a lot of the stuff doesn’t get done until the 11th hour. We’re hoping we can get something done here in quick fashion, and both sides are working hard at it; that’s for sure.”

Although he didn’t indicate that this was something that Hughes’ camp was directly threatening, Fitzgerald did acknowledge the possibility of a holdout, saying, “At the end of the day, when really the only leverage the player has at this point in their career is holding out, that stinks. I don’t think anyone wins, quite honestly, when that happens. So Pat and I are trying hard to get this thing to come to some common ground.”

Aug. 29th: Aside from Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks, defenseman Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is objectively the highest-profile restricted free agent remaining from this summer’s class. Unfortunately, according to Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com, Hughes is expected to remain an RFA unless heavy concessions are made on either side regarding the length of his next contract.

According to Novozinsky’s report, the Devils are focusing on either a two-year bridge deal or a longer-term eight-year extension for Hughes, while the defenseman is requesting a five-year contract. A five-year contract would walk Hughes into unrestricted free agency after the 2029-30 season, the same time that his brother, Jack Hughes, would also become a UFA.

That would only escalate the speculation this offseason regarding the brothers’ desire to play together at some point during their NHL careers. Still, the eldest brother, Quinn Hughes, would have already signed an extension with the Vancouver Canucks, or joined a different organization via free agency by that time.

Regardless of the contract length, New Jersey has some work to do regarding Hughes’ eventual salary. If the Devils acquiesce to Hughes’ contract length demands, it’s unrealistic to assume he would sign for a $6MM AAV, which would be the maximum salary the Devils could afford at the time being. Theoretically speaking, New Jersey can exceed the upper limit of the salary cap by 10% over the summer months, but it would only kick the can down the road to the start of the regular season.

That’s likely why the Devils are prioritizing a shorter-term bridge deal for Hughes, which will likely become the eventual compromise between the two sides. Hughes could pursue a three-year deal in a few years, aligning his request to become an unrestricted free agent with Jack’s timeframe. New Jersey would certainly like to keep both players in the Garden State throughout their careers, but their negotiating power will be significantly restricted once Luke becomes eligible for arbitration.

At any rate, the clock is ticking for both sides. Training camp is only a few weeks away, and this isn’t something that either side will want to drag into the regular season. Ultimately, one side will have to become flexible so that Hughes can start the year on time.

Summer Synopsis: St. Louis Blues

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With training camps now less than a month away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective.  Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled.  Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason.  Next up is a look at St. Louis.

Last summer, the Blues were relatively quiet early on before striking with a pair of successful offer sheets to bring in a couple of potential core players.  A second-half push helped propel them into the playoffs, and in his final summer at the helm as GM, Doug Armstrong largely elected to keep the status quo with only a few moves of consequence.

Draft

1-19 – F Justin Carbonneau, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
5-147 – F Mikhail Fyodorov, Magnitogorsk (MHL)
6-179 – G Love Harenstam, Skelleftea (Sweden U20)

If this section feels a little light, there’s a good reason for that.  The silver lining for St. Louis is that most of the missing draft picks turned into established players.  The second rounder went in the offer sheet for Philip Broberg after being reacquired from Pittsburgh.  Broberg showed lots of promise in his first full NHL season.  The third rounder went in the offer sheet for Dylan Holloway.  He finished third on the team in scoring.  Even the fourth rounder yielded a roster regular as it went for Alexandre Texier.  His first year wasn’t great, but he still has one more year left on his contract to turn things around.  With the thought that a draft class should ideally yield two NHL players, they already got there before even drafting anyone.  Not too shabby.

Carbonneau was one of the better offensive wingers in this year’s class and isn’t just a one-trick pony as he’s a deft playmaker with an above-average shot.  There was some talk that he might make the jump to college hockey this season, but he decided to return to QMJHL Blainville-Boisbriand, although he notably hasn’t signed his entry-level deal yet, keeping his NCAA options on the table.  Carbonneau is a few years away from being NHL-ready, but he has legitimate top-six upside.  Fyodorov is a late-round project as he finds himself still in the Russian junior ranks, while Harenstam did okay in Sweden’s junior level last season and will now look to make the jump to the second-tier Allsvenskan.  Both players are longer-term development pieces.

Trade Acquisitions

D Logan Mailloux (trade with Montreal)

While there was a lot of trade speculation surrounding the Blues, including one of their top-paid players in Jordan Kyrou, there was only one trade made.  And while the Canadiens were one of the teams believed to be interested in Kyrou, the two sides made a much different deal, one that we don’t see occur too often with the teams swapping fairly recent first-round picks, with St. Louis dealing from their winger surplus to bring in an intriguing blueliner.

Mailloux has played the bulk of his two-year professional career in the minors, where he has been quite productive for a blueliner, recording 80 points in 135 regular-season games.  With five points in eight NHL contests, he has done well in the offensive zone at the top level as well.  There remain questions about his overall defensive game and how he’ll adapt to playing against tougher competition, but Mailloux should be able to be a capable secondary producer from the back end while likely starting in a depth role as he gets his first taste of extended NHL action this season.  The ceiling is enticing, though if he can put everything together.

UFA Signings

F Nick Bjugstad (two years, $3.5MM)
F Milan Lucic (signed to PTO)
F Matt Luff (one year, $775K)*
F Pius Suter (two years, $8.2MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

Shoring up their center depth was the theme of Armstrong’s summer signings.  Suter picked the perfect time for a breakout year last season, really boosting his stock heading into a free agent period that was lacking in terms of impactful middlemen.  After being more of a middle-six player for the first few seasons of his career, Suter was able to produce at a much better rate, earning himself a near-permanent spot in Vancouver’s top six on the heels of a 25-goal, 46-point effort.  While there are some reasonable questions as to whether he can repeat that performance, the Blues aren’t necessarily paying him to be that player.  If he settles in behind Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn and helps anchor the third line while helping out on the penalty kill, he’ll fit in pretty well even if the production reverts closer to the usual high 20-point mark.

Bjugstad is only a year removed from a 45-point effort in Arizona, but he wasn’t able to sustain that production following the move to Utah.  His playing time fell by more than five minutes per game as he was deployed pretty much exclusively in their bottom six.  That’s about the same role he’ll have with St. Louis, but having him as a fourth center is a nice luxury to have, while he could also move up and play alongside Suter on the third line, where the two could only focus on strong-side draws, with their overall faceoff success rate being limited.

Lucic is one of the more intriguing PTO candidates this fall.  Between injuries, charges that were later dropped, and a stint in the Player Assistance Program, he hasn’t played in the better part of two years.  While he’s far from the top-six power forward he was in his prime, he could come in and give St. Louis some extra grit on the fourth line if all goes well, giving them a bit more depth to work with.

RFA Re-Signings

F Nikita Alexandrov (one year, $775K)*
G Joel Hofer (two years, $6.8MM)
D Hunter Skinner (one year, $775K)*
G Vadim Zherenko (one year, $775K)*

*-denotes two-way contract

Despite the lack of prospect pedigree, Hofer is quickly becoming the heir apparent to netminder Jordan Binnington, making him the most important RFA for the Blues this summer. The new two-year pact will run through the 2026-27 season, the same time that Binnington’s six-year, $36MM extension expires.

As Binnington ages the next two years, Hofer should have access to additional playing time. In the past two years, Hofer has achieved a record of 31 wins, 20 losses, and 4 overtime losses in 61 games, with a .909 SV%, a 2.65 GAA, and 11.0 goals saved above average while serving in a backup role.

Outside of Hofer, Alexandrov is the only recent RFA that should feature on the Blues’ roster next season. Throughout the past two years, although he has typically played in the AHL, Alexandrov has scored three goals and nine points in 51 games in a bottom-six role.

Departures

F Corey Andonovski (unsigned)
F Zachary Bolduc (trade with Montreal)
F Tanner Dickinson (signed in Slovakia)
F Radek Faksa (signed with Dallas, three years, $6MM)
D Nick Leddy (waivers, claimed by San Jose)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (signed with Vancouver, two years, $1.55MM)*
D Anton Malmstrom (signed in Sweden)
D Ryan Suter (unsigned)

*-denotes two-way contract

St. Louis didn’t lose too much on the offensive side of the puck this offseason, but the jury is still out on whether they’ll be kicking their butts about trading Bolduc. In their defense, the Blues have sufficient depth in their top six, and prospects like Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsky are ready to make an impact.

Still, Bolduc is one year removed from a solid sophomore campaign, scoring 19 goals and 36 points in 72 contests, typically situated in a middle-six role. In contrast, Mailloux is the same age as Bolduc, and although it usually takes defensemen longer to develop, he only has eight games of NHL experience.

Outside of Bolduc, the Blues lost solid, albeit replaceable, veterans in Leddy and Faksa. It didn’t take long for the team to replace either, as Leddy’s minutes will be replaced by one of the multiple young defensemen on the roster, while the Blues signed Suter and Bjugstad to balance out their center depth.

Salary Cap Outlook

As things stand, St. Louis projects to have around $625K in cap space to start next season, per PuckPedia.  That doesn’t make for much wiggle room when the minimum salary is $775K.  However, that number does not include potential LTIR flexibility.  After missing all of last season due to an ankle injury, Armstrong noted this offseason that he doesn’t expect Krug to play again, meaning his $6.5MM is eligible to land on LTIR.  The exact amount of cap space that would provide depends on their roster at the time they place him on there, but it’s safe to say they’d be able to use around $6MM of that if they have to go that route.  There’s more wiggle room here than it might appear at first glance.

Key Questions

How Will Snuggerud Fare In His Rookie Season? As one of the more exciting prospects coming up through the Blues’ system, Snuggerud will have every opportunity to make a positive impact on St. Louis this season. Finishing off the 2024-25 campaign, Snuggerud scored one goal and four points in seven contests before matching that total (two goals, two assists) in seven games in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. There were a few instances, especially during the postseason, where Snuggerud’s lack of experience showed. Still, if Snuggerud can match his brief scoring pace from last season, he may compete for the Calder Memorial Trophy by the end of the campaign.

Will The Penalty Kill Improve? Without a doubt, one of the biggest weaknesses for the Blues last year was their penalty kill. St. Louis finished with a 74.35% kill rate, ranking 27th in the NHL, and was the second-lowest among playoff teams. Retaining most of their team from last season, it begs the question of whether the additions of Suter and Bjugstad will be enough to change their fortunes. Suter has maintained an impressive on-ice save percentage throughout his career, while Bjugstad displays his skill in the faceoff dot and with his physicality. Hopefully, for the penalty kill’s sake, the combination of the two can prove beneficial.

Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images (Suter).

Photo courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images (Snuggerud).

Sabres Face Difficult Decision With Isak Rosen

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It was only a few years ago that the Buffalo Sabres selected forward Isak Rosen with the 14th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Unfortunately, since then, he’s earned very little playing time at the NHL level, despite achieving successful AHL campaigns.

In a recent mailbag from Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, a question was answered on Rosen, to which Lenzi argued that the Sabres could be better off trading Rosen rather than trying to make him work in the top six. Although Rosen has shown considerable talent with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, he’s unlikely to beat out any of Buffalo’s forwards for a top-six role as the roster is currently constructed.

Still only 22, Rosen has spent the last three years in North America after departing from the SHL’s Leksands IF. Since then, Rosen has recorded 62 goals and 142 points in 194 regular-season games with Rochester, along with 11 additional goals and 16 points in 27 playoff contests.

Despite that track record, the Sabres have only given Rosen 15 opportunities in Buffalo, leading to only one assist while averaging 9:09 of ice time per game. Not having the skill set for a bottom-six role, the Sabres are left with very few options for Rosen if they’re unwilling to give him more ice time.

There are a few teams that could have interest in Rosen for a top-six role, with the Edmonton Oilers standing out as an interesting fit. Given that winger Zach Hyman is unsure if he’ll start the regular season on time, Rosen could be a sufficient stopgap in the Oilers’ top-six, especially if Isaac Howard’s transition to the NHL is less than ideal.

Although it’s been quiet on the trade front for a few weeks, the Sabres could conceivably get quite the haul in a deal, especially if they’re willing to include Rosen in a Bowen Byram trade. There’s no indication a deal is close, or still being considered, but Buffalo may now have another arrow in its quiver.

There’s certainly no rush for the Sabres to trade Rosen, as they hold his contractual rights for the next few years. Still, they’re getting dangerously close to Rosen simply being a very good AHL piece, without ever having developed the necessary skill to play at the game’s top level.

PHR Mailbag: Maple Leafs, Senators, Breakout Player, Playoffs, Salary Floor

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag including a prediction for a breakout player, potential teams to make and miss the playoffs, and more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in our last two mailbag columns.

Spaced-Cowboy: Who do you expect to be the top 6 forward group for the Leafs come opening night or perhaps the deadline?

Let’s get the easy ones out of the way first.  The top two centers will continue to be Auston Matthews and John Tavares.  On the wing, William Nylander and Matthew Knies, fresh off a new deal this summer, are sure bets to play similar roles as they did last season.

But then it starts to get interesting.  I’d pencil in Matias Maccelli for one of the remaining winger spots.  It’s not that Toronto paid a high price to get him that warrants a look in a key role, nor does his performance from last season which left a lot to be desired.  But he’s a pure playmaker and with Mitch Marner departing, Maccelli could plausibly slide into that same role alongside Matthews and Knies to try to keep the same general line structure intact.  He showed enough skill in Arizona to make me think that he can have some success in that role.

The other winger might be Max Domi, more by process of elimination.  I expect head coach Craig Berube to put a third line together that will have some size and defensive acumen with a trio of newcomers Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy with possibly Bobby McMann on the other wing.  Domi doesn’t fit on that line, nor is he a great fit on the fourth line either.  At this point, Toronto’s preference is probably to keep him on the wing anyway so his spot on the second line feels like a mixture of fit and convenience.  Easton Cowan could play his way into the mix but starting with the AHL Marlies feels like the likeliest outcome.

Forecasting the trade deadline is a little difficult as like many, I don’t think Toronto is done yet this summer.  We know they want to move out David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok and doing so would greatly change their salary cap forecast, unless that money is going to Jack Roslovic who has been linked to them for a while now (but might not supplant Domi in that top-six spot anyway).  If they wind up opening up more room before the season and hold it heading into the deadline, they could afford a top-end acquisition while if they can only move one and spend those savings plus more on Roslovic, they could be shopping in more of the secondary market.  How they operate these next few weeks could materially impact their plans in March.

sluggersdad: What is Ottawa’s next move in upgrading their roster? Thanks…

This is a hard one to project.  They have nearly $4.3MM in cap space per PuckPedia which has them in a good spot in theory to add before the season starts.  However, we also know that they are a ‘cash over cap’ team as owner Michael Andlauer alluded to back in June.  Why that matters is that because of that status, GM Steve Staios acknowledged that he wasn’t going to have the green light to spend to the cap ceiling this summer.  So, while they have close to $4.3MM in cap room, how much budget room do they have left?

There’s also the matter of bonuses, of which they have $3.75MM between Claude Giroux and Lars Eller.  Some of them are pretty easy to reach based on games played while others will require some playoff success as well.  But for a cash over cap franchise, any achieved bonuses become payable when reached.  Honestly, I’m not sure they have much, if any, wiggle room in the budget right now to upgrade their roster.

I’d like to give you a specific answer here but in the short term, I don’t think they’re going to do anything.  I could see them sniffing around the PTO market a little bit, especially on the back end if it looks like Nick Jensen is indeed going to miss some time to start the season even though he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery and maybe there’s a minimum-salary contract that comes out of that.  But beyond that, their next move might be at the trade deadline when they have a better sense of their revenue situation that will dictate if they can actually go ahead and add to their player cost budget.  At that point, it would be assess the team’s biggest need and go from there.

NhaTrang: Training camp looms soon, so it’s time for me to come out with my annual “Tage Thompson” question for Brian: who is the guy who comes out of absolutely nowhere to be a significant impact player this season?

Unfortunately, my track record continues to go in the wrong direction.  Thompson was a great pick the first time.  Taylor Raddysh had 20 goals the year I picked him but wasn’t a big breakout player.  I was a year early on Morgan Geekie as it turns out; I picked him in his 39-point year, not his 33-goal effort last season.  And last year’s was arguably the worst one as Kirby Dach battled injuries, as did his projected linemate in Patrik Laine.  The end result was 22 points in 57 games so that one’s a whiff.

For 2022-23, I put in a self-imposed criterion that a player couldn’t be in the top 300 in scoring.  Otherwise, that player wouldn’t exactly be coming out of nowhere.  Given my recent track record, it’s tempting to change it but I’ll continue to stick with it for this year.

I had my best pick with Buffalo so it’s time to go back to that well with winger Zach Benson.  Yes, his sophomore year wasn’t really any better on paper than his rookie campaign but 28 points in 75 games is still respectable for someone who still could have been playing at the major junior level.  And the underlying numbers were pretty solid.  Benson should have a top-six role this season (possibly even playing with Thompson) and I expect him to have a breakout effort.  If all goes well, doubling last year’s point total could be doable and that would be a nice rebound after last year’s pick.

Breakaway: 4-in and 4-out.

Name one team from each division that made the playoffs last year that will not make the playoffs this year. And what four teams replace them?

Atlantic: I would say Toronto and Tampa Bay remain safe bets to get back in.  Florida should be unless Matthew Tkachuk’s absence proves to be a big problem and they start out how they played down the stretch last season before flipping the script in the playoffs.  Ottawa is more or less the same and on the way up so I’m pretty comfortable penciling them in as well.  By process of elimination, that would mean my pick would be Montreal.  They had some good luck on the injury front last year and their underlying numbers weren’t great.  I could see a scenario where they actually play a bit better this season but instead of just making the playoffs, they just miss them.

The challenge is that I have to pick one of the other three to replace them, something I’m not overly confident in.  I expect Boston’s lack of offense to be their downfall and as much as I think Buffalo is capable of improving, their annual self-destruction makes it hard to actually predict that happening.  So I guess it’s Detroit by default with John Gibson giving their goaltending enough of a boost.  But really, this side of the bracket could largely remain the same next season.

Metropolitan: Carolina is always a top regular season team and they’ve improved so they’re in.  New Jersey slipped down the stretch due to injuries but I still think they’re on the way up so I’d have them in.  On the one hand, Washington won the division last year and didn’t change their roster up much but on the other hand, many felt they were a bubble team at best heading into last season.  Did they overachieve?  I guess since I have to pick one to fall out of the race, it’s them.

On the other end, I don’t expect Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or the Islanders to be real threats.  Columbus is on the way up but as I noted in a recent mailbag, I don’t trust their goaltending to be good enough to get them in there.  That leaves the Rangers.  Things have to be better for them this season, doesn’t it?  Odds being odds, some of their underachievers will turn things around which might be enough to get them back in.

Central: I see no reason to take Dallas or Colorado out.  Winnipeg may very well drop a bit but as long as Connor Hellebuyck remains one of the top netminders, they should be fine.  That leaves St. Louis and Minnesota.  I could make a case for either one making or missing but I’ll go with the Blues continuing their strong play under Jim Montgomery and getting a Wild Card spot and the Wild missing.  For all the cap space they had this summer, they didn’t get a whole lot better unless Vladimir Tarasenko has a resurgence.  A full season from Kirill Kaprizov would help but given Jesper Wallstedt’s struggles in the AHL last year, their goaltending is more of a question mark than they probably hoped.

As for who gets in, Chicago is a safe no.  I think Nashville will be better than last year and they have the veteran talent to surprise and get back in.  But I’ll go with Utah, a team that’s slowly getting better and just added a top-six talent in JJ Peterka.  That, coupled with continued improvement from their young core, means that this could be the year for them to get back in.

Pacific: There’s no reason to think Edmonton and Vegas won’t get back in.  I have no reason to think the Kings won’t get back in either but since I have to pick one who made it to miss, I guess it’s them as the third-place team.

San Jose isn’t ready to push for a playoff spot yet.  Anaheim is better and a bit of a Wild Card but I think they’re still on the outside for one more year.  Seattle can’t stop treading water with a core group that’s not good enough so they’re probably in the same boat as a year ago.  That leaves Calgary and Vancouver.  I feel Dustin Wolf made the Flames more competitive than they actually were so them taking a step back wouldn’t surprise me.  That would mean Vancouver, a team that struggled mightily last year, finds a way to turn it around.  Having said that, five Central teams and three Pacific teams might be what happens again.

SirCobblestone: How do you think teams with low cap hits (San Jose, Chicago) will navigate the ELC of players worthy of staying in the show while respecting the cap floor? (23 roster player limit also.)

This cap part of this question shouldn’t be overly difficult this season.  All 32 teams are already above the $70.6MM floor and once Anaheim eventually signs Mason McTavish, every team should be $5MM clear of that floor.  Eventually, once they start selling, they’ll open up some space but there will surely be salary retention on some players while if they wait until closer to the trade deadline to make those moves, they should be able to comfortably stay above the floor.  Any achieved bonuses from their entry-level players would also count on the books this season, also helping them stay above that minimum spending amount.

As to the roster element, most of the lower-spending teams have veteran fillers on their roster that aren’t really part of their plans.  They’re placeholders, if you will, until those entry-level prospects show they’re ready.  And when they’re ready, they’ll get the spot and the veteran will either be traded or waived and demoted to the minors.

I’ll use a San Jose example since you brought them up.  Let’s say Sam Dickinson shows in training camp that he’s ready for NHL duty, or at least a look with the Sharks to start.  Yes, they already have eight blueliners on their roster but someone like Vincent Desharnais is clearly not part of their long-term plans.  He was acquired as a low-cost roster filler before they knew they’d be adding three veteran blueliners over the summer.  If they have to trade or waive him to open up a spot for Dickinson, they’re not going to think twice about it, they’ll just do it.  And if it’s the latter with him passing through unclaimed, the net savings to San Jose would only be just over $200K, barely enough to make a difference from a cap perspective while a player in and a player out keeps them in compliance with the roster limit.

I think you might be ahead of the game with this question.  A few years from now when the cap is much higher and more teams are operating with an internal budget that’s closer to the floor than the ceiling, I could see this question being asked as those teams might not have pricey placeholder veterans anymore but rather lower-cost ones.  Perhaps at that point, this could be an issue but for the upcoming season, teams should be able to navigate through this just fine.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

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