Monday: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports there are visits scheduled for Los Angeles, Detroit and San Jose, while two other clubs are still involved but don’t have any meetings on the books. One of those could be the Dallas Stars, as Sean Shapiro of The Athletic confirms that they’re still in the running. McKenzie adds that the finalists are all US-based clubs, and Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that the Minnesota Wild didn’t make the final cut.
Sunday: Minnesota State defenseman Daniel Brickley is the top player available in college free agency and it appears he is getting closer to picking his new team. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link) that the 22-year-old has narrowed his list of NHL teams to sign with down to five with a decision expected to come in the next few days.
Brickley is coming off of another stellar season with the Mavericks, collecting ten goals and 25 assists in just 40 games. He is eligible to return for his senior year but with it being reported earlier this month that 30 NHL teams had expressed an interest in his services, the timing is certainly right for him to make the jump.
He will be limited to signing a two-year, entry-level contract which carries a maximum base salary of $925K (including a 10% signing bonus). It’s all but a foregone conclusion that Brickley will get that wherever he lands so the next question becomes how many performance bonuses will be in the deal. Those are also capped at a maximum of $2.85MM.
As several top college players do each year, it’s likely that Brickley will sign a deal that burns the first year of his contract this season, allowing him to get to restricted free agency one year earlier. However, even if he does that, he will not be eligible to play in the postseason so his NHL exposure this season will be limited to just the next two weeks.
Any relation to Andy Brickley?
Andy is his uncle.
So count the Bruins in
I’ll take him in NYR blue.
You know he wants to join the Bs
I wish Detroit was a better designation for players to come and play like they used to be. Wings need this guy desperately and he won’t come even tho he would make the roster.
Dog, I am with you. Detroit desperately needs a defenseman with his potential. There is not a first pairing defenseman on the roster while most are bottom pairing. How does a team expect to win with this D-corps? The Wings need all the help that they can get beginning with their defense.
Detroit should tank rest of games to get better odds for drafting Rasmus Dahlin, who has the potential to be another Lidstrom (he’s Swedish, too)
They seem to be lost in Detroit with no plan in place to turn themselves around.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up with the Pens, given that the organization’s depth at D is extremely thin and they don’t have a 1st round pick this year. From Brickley’s perspective, signing with the Pens would not only land him with a perennial cup contender, he’d also have a realistic opportunity to make next year’s roster.