Here is a rundown of some of the original content here at PHR over the past seven days.
The Looming Seguin Saga: As things currently stand, Stars center Tyler Seguin projects to be next year’s John Tavares in terms of being a franchise player that could potentially hit the open market. Gavin looked at the differences and similarities between the two situations. It should be noted that earlier in the week, Dallas GM Jim Nill expressed optimism that they’d be able to get a new contract for Seguin done but cautioned that it wouldn’t be cause for concern if one isn’t reached before the start of 2018-19.
More Moves For Minnesota? When the Wild fired Chuck Fletcher and named Paul Fenton as their new general manager, many expected changes were on the horizon. Zach reviewed the moves that they have made (which don’t exactly amount to much in the way of impact additions) and wonders if there are still further changes to come.
Free Agency: Our look at the remaining free agents around the league continued with a pair of profiles. I examined defenseman Alexei Emelin’s situation as he looks to catch on with a new team while Holger went through winger Tommy Wingels’ case. He has bounced around lately so while there is usually interest, it’s typically short-lived which makes him a potential PTO candidate.
Polls: While defenseman Erik Karlsson draws all the headlines in Ottawa, the team is on the verge of a similar situation with top forward Mark Stone if they can’t get a long-term pre-arbitration deal done. Gavin asks the question that surprisingly isn’t getting a lot of play yet – do the Senators need to be looking at moving him as well? Plus, which playoff team will fall short next season and which non-playoff squad from last year is most likely to get in next season?
Bad Contracts: Even the top teams at managing the salary cap typically have one or two cumbersome contracts that they’d like to move. Zach analyzed (Part One, Part Two) those deals from Anaheim through Ottawa with the rest of the league to come in the coming days.
More Extensions In Tampa? Tampa Bay has been busy already this summer, inking defenseman Ryan McDonagh and winger Nikita Kucherov to long-term contract extensions. Gavin provided an overview of the Lightning’s situation and how they have several other players that could be in line for extensions of their own. However, given their salary cap situation beyond next season, it’s likely that they will want to clear out some payroll room before making too many more long-term commitments.