As the calendar turns to June, activity around the league is set to pick up in the near future. Though there weren’t many transactions of note this past week, there were still several newsworthy stories.
State Of The Union: As is the annual tradition, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke in advance of the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final, providing updates on several things. While expansion to Seattle is on the horizon, it won’t be a topic at the next Board of Governors meetings but could be discussed before the end of 2018. Meanwhile, they acknowledged that Houston has expressed an interest in a team as well; however, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll want to expand past 32 for a while. Daly also confirmed that the salary cap for next season should fall between $78MM and $82MM. (The exact amount won’t be known until all hockey-related revenues are calculated and the NHLPA decides on how much, if any, of the 5% inflator they have at their disposal.)
Ekman-Larsson’s Offer: Although nothing can officially be signed until July 1st, there’s nothing stopping teams from having discussions on extensions with players set to enter the final year of their contracts next season. That’s the case with the Coyotes and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the team has made a substantial offer to their franchise player. Arizona has offered an eight-year, $66MM contract and at this point in time, the ball is in Ekman-Larsson’s court. The 26-year-old has averaged 45 points and nearly 25 minutes of ice time over the past five seasons and has become a legitimate number one defender. If they can’t agree to terms, then GM John Chayka will have to decide on whether or not they should look into shopping Ekman-Larsson to avoid the risk of potentially losing him for nothing a year from now.
Kings, Doughty Progressing On Extension: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is in the same situation as Ekman-Larsson and it appears little time is being wasted. Signs point to progress being made on a long-term contract extension that could eclipse $10MM per year, the cap hit for captain Anze Kopitar. This past season, Doughty made some headlines when he stated publicly that he expected both himself and Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson (also a UFA in 2019) to both surpass Predators blueliner P.K. Subban’s $9MM AAV on their next deals.
Penguins Interested In Domi: After paying a significant price tag for Derick Brassard back at the deadline, more center depth wouldn’t appear to be too high on the priority list for Pittsburgh. However, they are among the teams to have shown an interest in Coyotes pivot Max Domi (who also spent time on the wing this past season). The pending RFA is coming off of a bit of a quiet year; although he posted 45 points, just nine of those were goals. There’s no word on what the Pens may be willing to move for the 23-year-old.
Draft Rights Expire For 33 Prospects: June 1st is an important day on the NHL calendar as it’s the signing deadline for CHL players drafted two years earlier or international selections from four drafts earlier. For the second straight year, a total of 33 prospects went unsigned. Most notable among the bunch was Florida’s 2016 second-round pick Adam Mascherin, who went 38th overall that year. While the Panthers offered him a contract, it appears he wants to try his hand at going through the draft again. Coming off another strong season offensively with 40 goals in 67 OHL games, it will be interesting to see where he gets picked this time around.
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