Golden Knights winger Brandon Pirri made quite an impact upon being recalled from the AHL partway through the season and finished up with an impressive 18 points in 31 games. Accordingly, he indicated to SinBin.vegas’ Ken Boehlke that he will be looking to sign with a team that’s willing to give him a full-time NHL opportunity. While that’s certainly justifiable given how he performed with Vegas, it also increases the likelihood that he’ll be looking elsewhere for next season considering he still spent time as a healthy scratch in both the regular season and the playoffs. Considering their cap situation for next year, it’s also likely that Pirri – who made the league minimum $650K salary this season – will get a contract richer than what Vegas can afford.
More from the West:
- It appears some changes are on the horizon in Colorado. On top of planning to be more aggressive in adding via free agency, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that all five Avalanche unrestricted free agents are unlikely to return for next season. Their list of UFAs is headlined by goaltender Semyon Varlamov who lost the number one role to Philipp Grubauer and he will certainly be looking for an opportunity elsewhere. Up front, Derick Brassard and Colin Wilson appear to be on the way out with some young forwards close to making the jump while blueliner Patrik Nemeth is in a similar situation. Gabriel Bourque is the other regular on the roster that could walk and while he could re-sign at a rate close to the $950K he made this season, it’s also quite possible that they opt to try someone else in his role.
- It appears that the Oilers are hoping to be active on the international free agent market. Postmedia’s Jim Matheson notes that Edmonton is eyeing a few European free agent forwards. As their cap space is limited for next season, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to afford some impact wingers so it’s not surprising to see them look overseas in the hopes that someone can potentially step in and play right away while likely being on an entry-level deal; any European player aged 27 or younger is subject to the entry level system.
I feel like Pirri might make a lot of sense for the Sens. He seems like he kind of in the same position as Duclair and it’s a perfect place to get a last chance (and guarantee an NHL spot)