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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Boston Bruins

Current Cap Hit: $78,517,314 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Trent Frederic (one year, $925K)
D Urho Vaakanainen (two years, $894K)
F Jack Studnicka (two years, $769K)

Potential Bonuses:
Vaakanainen: $425K
Frederic: $300K
Studnicka: $108K

Young players on entry-level deals are hard to find, but the team does have three prospects drafted high back in 2016 and 2017 who look to be ready to step into the Bruins’ lineup or at least should find their way onto the taxi squad at the very least in Frederic, Studnicka and Vaakanainen. Frederic and Studnicka are battling for middle-six roles, while Vaakanainen is fighting for one of the third pairing roles available on the defense. All have the potential to be solid role players for the team down the role. The question is, when will that happen?

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F David Krejci ($7.25MM, UFA)
G Tuukka Rask ($7MM, UFA)
D Brandon Carlo ($2.85MM, RFA)
F Ondrej Kase ($2.6MM, RFA)
G Jaroslav Halak ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Nick Ritchie ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Sean Kuraly ($1.28MM, UFA)
D Kevan Miller ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Par Lindholm ($850K, UFA)
D Steven Kampfer ($800K, UFA)
F Greg McKegg ($700K, UFA)
F Anton Blidh ($700K, RFA)

Quite a few names are on their final year and Boston will have to make some key decisions with the flat salary cap likely remaining the same for the moment. At the top of the list, is their goaltending situation with both netminders, Rask and Halak, ready to hit unrestricted free agency. Rask has said recently that he would like to remain with the Bruins for the rest of his career, but there also has been questions on how much longer the 33-year-old wants to play as retirement has been an option too. Rask was dominant last year during the regular season with a 2.12 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Unfortunately he opted to leave the bubble during the playoffs due to concerns to tend to a family emergency. A long-term deal wouldn’t make sense, but the team could offer him a three-year pact, if he’s willing to take it. Halak is in a similar situation and was solid with a 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage and also could see a similar extension.

Krejci is another veteran the team will have to make a decision on. The veteran is completing a six-year, $43.5MM contract. The belief is that the two sides are expected to begin talks of a potential extension, likely less years and less money, considering he’ll be 35 when his contract expires. However, he has been a solid second-line center for years, although he only scored 13 goals last season, a disappointing season for him. Carlo, however, could see a significant raise next year as the blueliner has developed into a solid top-four pairing defenseman over the last few years.

Two other key decisions will be Kase and Ritchie, both acquired from Anaheim before the trade deadline last season. The speedy Kase struggled once he got to Boston, and didn’t register a goal in six regular season and 11 playoff games. Ritchie was brought in to add some muscle to their bottom-six, but he also hasn’t stood out yet. Both will get long looks this season before the team decides whether to offer them new contracts.

Two Years Remaining

F Patrice Bergeron ($6.88MM, UFA)
D Charlie McAvoy ($4.9MM, RFA)
F Jake Debrusk ($3.68MM, RFA)
D Jeremy Lauzon ($850K, RFA)
F Karson Kuhlman ($725K, RFA)

The Bruins’ first line has been dominant for years and Bergeron’s contract will be the first to expire. The 35-year-old veteran hardly plays his age, but will be 37 years old when his deal expires. He continues to dominate, scoring 31 goals in 61 games last year and doesn’t look like he’s slowing down, but the team will have no choice but to wait and see how he progresses over the final two years in his deal.

The team likely will have to pay up in a couple years for two of their restricted free agents as both McAvoy and Debrusk will likely be taking on bigger roles this season and could take that next step, which suggests that much of their available cap room at this point will be going to both these players. McAvoy had 32 points in 67 games last year, but will likely become the key to the first power play with Torey Krug gone and could see a big jump in his offensive numbers. Lauzon is an interesting name as he currently is playing next to McAvoy on the first pairing, although that may not remain that way. Regardless, he’s pushed his way into what looks like a top-four pairing role and could be a valuable commodity down the road.

Three Years Remaining

F David Pastrnak ($6.67MM, UFA)
F Craig Smith ($3.1MM, UFA)
D John Moore ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Anders Bjork ($1.6MM, RFA)
F Chris Wagner ($1.35MM, UFA)
D Connor Clifton ($1MM, UFA)

Pastrnak is likely to get a long-term deal in three years. He’ll be 27 and an unrestricted free agent, meaning it could cost the Bruins a great deal to lock him up to a long-term deal considering other teams could bid on him too at that time. The team has to hope they can sign him to an extension before he hits UFA status in 2023. Regardless, he has developed into one of the top scorers in the league, posting 48 goals and 95 points in 70 games. Of course, he is currently out of the lineup after he underwent a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on September 16. He should return at some point in the season, but no word yet on his return.

Smith was brought in this offseason on a reasonable three-year deal in hopes of adding some scoring to their third line, something that has been a trouble-spot for the team in recent years. He tallied 18 goals last season and has scored 64 goals over the past three seasons with Nashville. Bjork has struggled with injuries over the years, but looks ready to contribute this year. He finally played a full season, scoring nine goals in a bottom-six role and should get more opportunities this year.

Of course, the five-year, $13.75MM deal handed to Moore continues to look bad. The veteran blueliner has struggled earning a full-time role on defense and currently looks like the team’s seventh defenseman when the third pairing role is completely in the air.

Four Years Remaining

D Matt Grzelcyk ($3.69MM, UFA)

Grzelcyk’s role with the team has been a diminished one as the defenseman mainly has seen third-pairing minutes. However, with Krug gone, many of those minutes will be given to Grzelcyk, including some power play time, suggesting this could be a big season for him. The team anticipated that and rewarded his hard work with a four-year deal and believe that he will take off, especially offensively this year and be a big contributor for many years, which could make his contract look like a bargain if he does take that next step.Read more

New Jersey Devils Sign Jesper Bratt To Two-Year Deal

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It took a bit longer than everyone hoped for the two sides to find common ground, but the New Jersey Devils announced they have signed restricted free agent Jesper Bratt to a two-year, $5.5MM deal, with a $2.75 AAV. With the start of the season days away, Bratt will miss at least the first three games of the season as he now must apply for a work visa, travel from Sweden to New Jersey and then quarantine for seven days before he can join the team.

The breakdown of the deal is as follows (via Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta):

2020-21: $2,050,000
2021-22: $3,450,000

Bratt, 22, will still be a restricted free agent when this two-year deal expires, but the forward will then have arbitration rights, something he didn’t have here, which is what forced the holdout.

It’s a big signing for the Devils, who are putting together quite a bit of talent on their top-six. Bratt is a key piece to their youth movement. He put up solid numbers last year, scoring a career-high 16 goals and 32 points in 60 games and could be ready to take that next step. He led the team with 15 even-strength goals last season and didn’t spend much time on the power play, something that could change this year. Bratt was a sixth-round pick in 2016, but needed just one year before surprising many when he made the Devils’ roster for the 2017-18 season as a 19 year old, scoring 13 goals in his rookie campaign. His numbers dipped a bit in his sophomore year, but now is beginning to look like a key piece to the Devils’ rebuild.

With Bratt signed, there are only four remaining RFA’s unsigned, including Winnipeg’s Jack Roslovic, New York Islanders’ Dmytro Timashov and Florida’s duo of Henrik Borgstrom and Aleksi Saarela. The deadline for RFA’s to sign for this year is Feb. 11.

NHL beat writer Brennan Klak was the first to report the signing.

Training Camp Cuts: 1/10/21

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With the start of the season just days away, more teams should be starting to trim their rosters. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here and update this post throughout the day.

Colorado Avalanche (via team release)
D Kyle Burroughs (to Colorado, AHL)
C Sheldon Dries (to Colorado, AHL)
RW Nick Henry (to Colorado, AHL)
D Jacob MacDonald (to Colorado, AHL)
C Jayson Megna (to Colorado, AHL)
D Dan Renouf (to Colorado, AHL)
RW Miikka Salomaki (to Colorado, AHL)
D Peter Tischke (to Colorado, AHL)
C T.J. Tynan (to Colorado, AHL)
RW Mike Vecchione (to Colorado, AHL)
G Adam Werner (to Colorado, AHL)

East Notes: Zibanejad, Islanders, Devils, Voracek, Marchand

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The New York Rangers have been trending upwards as they look forward to the upcoming season. However, one troubling aspect of training camp is the fact that their team leader and MVP Mika Zibanejad has missed the entirety of training camp with no explanation for his absence (standard league policy).

However, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that Zibanejad did skate Saturday before the team’s practice, suggesting he might be close to returning to the team. Head coach David Quinn said that Zibanejad has “had a couple of good days.”

The 27-year-old center had a breakout season last year, scoring 41 goals in 57 games and will be looked upon to lead the team once again.

  • The New York Islanders and general manager Lou Lamoriello signed Mathew Barzal to a three-year deal early Saturday, but there was hope that the two sides could agree to a six-year pact instead, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required). The two sides were discussing a deal similar to the six-year, $9.25MM contract that Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen signed last year, but the Islanders could not make that work. The hope was the team could unload the contracts of Leo Komarov and/or Thomas Hickey to free up the necessary cap room, but no team was willing to take either contract.
  • The New Jersey Devils could be looking the trade route to fill its backup goaltending spot on the roster after veteran Corey Crawford announced his retirement. The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes that they might be looking towards the Arizona Coyotes, who have quite a bit of goaltending depth, including Adin Hill, who Arizona would have to pass through waivers to get on the taxi squad. That could give New Jersey a chance to trade for Antti Raanta, who is in the last year of his contract and is earning $4.25MM.
  • Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault is completely focused on a long playoff run this season and has sent a message to veteran Jakub Voracek, who was moved off the first-team power play in practice and was told to step up, according to Philadelphia Enquirer’s Marcus Hayes. Voracek scored just 12 goals during the regular season, but especially struggled during the Flyers’ seven-game playoff series against the New York Islanders in which he had just one point. “I talked to Jake about this. I challenged him about this season. There’s a man who’s been in the league for a long time,” Vigneault said. “Basically, he’s won two playoff rounds.” Other young players are ready to take bigger roles on the team, including Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick and Joel Farabee, which could put even more pressure on Voracek.
  • Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who is coming off sports hernia surgery, left practice early Sunday, according to Boston Globe’s Matt Porter. The 32-year-old was given a four-month recovery window in September, but Marchand returned early from that prognosis. While there is no word on why he left practice early, head coach Bruce Cassidy said he was getting treatment and doesn’t believe the injury is serious. He is a game-time decision for Monday’s scrimmage.

Ben Hutton To Join Anaheim Ducks On PTO

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After losing some of their depth when the Detroit Red Wings claimed defenseman Christian Djoos on waivers Saturday and the injury to Brendan Guhle, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Anaheim Ducks are expected to sign unrestricted free agent Ben Hutton to a professional tryout agreement.

The 27-year-old blueliner, who spent last year with the Los Angeles Kings, has been a full-time player in the league for five years, four with the Vancouver Canucks. However, the Canucks opted not to offer Hutton a qualifying offer in 2019, prompting him to sign with the Kings and now leaving him on the free agent market. While hardly a top-four paring defenseman, Hutton provides solid depth as a third-pairing defenseman with both power play and penalty kill experience.

Regardless, Hutton has remained on the market through the offseason and training camp. Rumors that New Jersey and Boston were both interested in bringing the defenseman on board, but neither team pulled the trigger. Now Hutton will challenge for a spot on the Ducks roster.

Anaheim is set at the top four with Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk on the first pairing and Josh Manson and Cam Fowler on the second pairing. The third pairing is wide open with Jacob Larsson the leading candidate to take one of the final spots, while Hutton will likely fight it out with Jani Hakanpaa, Kodie Curran, Simon Benoit and Josh Mahura. Hutton also could eventually be put on waivers to be put onto the taxi squad, like the Ducks had hoped to do with Djoos. Considering no one was interested in signing Hutton to a PTO before, it would make sense that no one would claim him then.

Minnesota Wild’s Marco Rossi Out Indefinitely

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Troubling news on the Wild front as Minnesota announced that the team will be without 2020 first-round pick Marco Rossi indefinitely with an upper-body injury. The 19-year-old just returned from captaining Team Austria in the World Junior Championships.

“They tell me he’s unavailable,” Wild coach Dean Evason said when asked how long he might be out for (via NHL.com). “He’s unavailable for me.”

It’s a tough blow for Rossi. While most first-round picks usually need more seasoning after being drafted, many predicted that Rossi had a legitimate chance to earn a spot in the Wild’s lineup this season. Despite being just 5-foot-9, the centerman has elite skills and is believed to be close to NHL ready. Unfortunately, while the severity of the injury is unknown, this likely doesn’t help Rossi force his way into the lineup.

Rossi dominated the OHL last season with 39 goals and 120 points and has little to prove if the league ever gets going, suggesting that he might still get a chance to earn playing time in Minnesota. He was loaned to ZSC Lions in the NL, but only appeared in one game before play was shut down there.

Many now will suggest that it was a mistake of general manager Bill Guerin to allow Rossi to play for his home country during the World Juniors (since that could very well be where he was injured). Chicago has been faced with a similar situation when it lost Kirby Dach to a fractured wrist and will be without him for at least four months. Unfortunately, Rossi was unable to make much of an impact at the WJC, playing with little elite talent on the Austrian team. He did not score a point in the four games with most of the games being blowouts.

43 Players Placed On Waivers

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As teams begin to make their final camp decisions with the 2020-21 season getting started this week, the ramifications are apparent in today’s waiver wire group. All nine players from Saturday’s waivers cleared, but that is less likely to occur Sunday with a much longer list, including some more notable names. The following players have been placed on waivers today:

Buffalo Sabres
D Brandon Davidson
F Steven Fogarty
F C.J. Smith
G Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames
G Louis Domingue
F Byron Froese
F Justin Kirkland
D Alex Petrovic
F Buddy Robinson

Colorado Avalanche
F Kiefer Sherwood

Edmonton Oilers
F Adam Cracknell
F Seth Griffith

Florida Panthers
G Philippe Desrosiers
F Scott Wilson

Los Angeles Kings
D Daniel Brickley
F Boko Imama

Minnesota Wild
D Matt Bartekowski
D Louie Belpedio
F Joseph Cramarossa
F Gabriel Dumont
G Andrew Hammond
F Luke Johnson
F Gerald Mayhew
D Dakota Mermis
D Ian McCoshen
F Kyle Rau

Montreal Canadiens
F Brandon Baddock
F Alex Belzile
F Joseph Blandisi
F Laurent Dauphin
D Noah Juulsen
G Charlie Lindgren
D Gustav Olofsson
D Xavier Ouellet
F Jordan Weal

New York Islanders
F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Mason Jobst

Ottawa Senators
D Maxime Lajoie

Pittsburgh Penguins
D Kevin Czuczman
F Josh Currie
F Frederick Gaudreau
G Maxime Lagace
D Zach Trotman

Among the names likely to receive attention on the wire are a trio of intriguing young players. Defensemen Noah Juulsen and Maxime Lajoie and forward Josh Ho-Sang have all seen NHL action in the past and have shown promise but for different reasons are now available to claim. Juulsen in particular looked like a long-term permanent piece on the Montreal blue line, but vision issues brought on by head injuries knocked him out of the 2018-19 season after 21 games with the Habs and limited him to just 13 AHL games in 2019-20. The Canadiens clearly want to see him get in some game action before returning him to the NHL roster, but another club may have more faith in the young defenseman, who allegedly is back at full strength. After 56 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19, including a hot scoring start, Lajoie was somewhat inexplicably reduced to just six games with the team this past season. A versatile all-around defenseman who has already shown in a small sample size that he can hack it in the NHL, Lajoie could certainly draw interest from a team more willing to give him another chance. Ho-Sang, a first-round pick of the Islanders back in 2014, is on the outs with his club. A future in New York seems non-existent for a player whose effort and attitude have been called into question. His limited action last season also doesn’t help his case.  Yet, Ho-Sang’s skill is apparent and that alone is a cause for pause for teams scouring the waiver wire.

As for a more polished possible pick-up, Jordan Weal leads the pack as a veteran of over 200 NHL games who has posted an 82-game scoring pace of 25 points or more in three straight seasons. Seth Griffith is also no stranger to being passed around via waivers and Frederick Gaudreau is coming off a career-high 55 NHL appearances last season and has strong scoring numbers throughout his AHL career.

This waiver group could also provide goalie depth for a team in need (see: New Jersey Devils). Andrew Hammond, Louis Domingue, Dustin Tokarski, and Charlie Lindgren are all veteran net minders with NHL experience who could provide some stability in net.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Michael Del Zotto

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Another PTO has resulted in a contract for the coming season. Veteran defenseman Michael Del Zotto, in camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a tryout basis, is now under contract, the team announced. It is a one-year, two-way contract for Del Zotto, who is set to play a depth role for Columbus. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline adds that the deal carries the minimum $700K NHL salary and a $400K AHL salary.

As Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen states in the team’s release, “the blue line is a real strength for our team, but you can never have enough good defensemen.” Although Columbus appears set with their top six, the off-season departures of Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara clearly left the team wanting to recoup some of their depth. Del Zotto will likely compete for a roster spot with the likes of Andrew Peeke (who is waiver-exempt), Gavin Bayreuther, Gabriel Carlsson, and Adam Clendening. If Del Zotto does not crack the 23-man group, he is an ideal candidate for the Blue Jackets’ taxi squad.

Del Zotto, who previously played under Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella when the pair were with the New York Rangers, is entering his 12th NHL season and officially joining his seventh NHL team. A short-term hired gun for much of his career, Del Zotto is set to play the same role in Columbus. Although he no longer plays with the same offensive prowess he displayed early in his career, Del Zotto is still a solid two-way option who can skate and check. Del Zotto led the Anaheim Ducks in plus/minus last season and finished third among Ducks defensemen in scoring, showing that he is still capable of playing significant minutes and making a positive impact. The 30-year-old should have no problem stepping into the Blue Jackets’ starting lineup if called upon and could be an asset on the power play in a pinch as well. Del Zotto should work out nicely as a depth option for Columbus in 2020-21.

North Notes: Oilers, Pettersson, Heinola, Kerfoot

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It appears that the Oilers will be without a pair of forwards to start the season.  Head coach Dave Tippett told reporters Friday, including Reid Wilkins of 630 CHED (Twitter link), that he doesn’t expect winger James Neal or center Gaetan Haas to be available anytime soon.  Neal is skating while Haas hasn’t started to do so.

Neal had somewhat of a bounce-back year in 2019-20, notching 19 goals in 55 games.  While that’s not great production for a $5.75MM AAV, it was still certainly a step up from his seven-goal output the year before while finishing fourth on the team in that regard.  Haas, meanwhile, spent most of last season on Edmonton’s fourth line, tallying five goals and five assists in 58 games and was going to be in a battle for one of the final spots up front had he been healthy.

Elsewhere in the North Division:

  • The Canucks have yet to engage in extension talks with Elias Pettersson, reports Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040 and The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s entering the final year of his entry-level deal and with two straight 66-point seasons under his belt already, he will be in line for a huge raise on his current $925K price tag (before bonuses).  Today’s agreement with Mathew Barzal, a three-year, $21MM deal that guarantees a qualifying offer of $8.4MM at its expiration, could very well be used as a comparable whenever negotiations get underway.  While Vancouver has roughly $25MM in cap room for next season, more than half of that will be eaten up by new deals for Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.
  • Last season, defenseman Ville Heinola made Winnipeg’s roster out of training camp but it appears unlikely he’ll be able to do so this season, especially since he’s in quarantine until Thursday. Jets head coach Paul Maurice acknowledged to Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun that he’s unsure of what the plans will be for the 19-year-old.  It looks like the team could enter the season with eight blueliners on the active roster which would make it difficult for Heinola to earn a spot and it may not be ideal for him to hang around on the taxi squad either although Maurice stated that keeping him up with that group is being considered.
  • Although he has resumed skating, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe noted that Alexander Kerfoot’s availability for Wednesday’s opener against Montreal remains uncertain, relays TSN’s Kristen Shilton (Twitter link). The 26-year-old had a career-low nine goals and 19 assists in 65 games with Toronto last season and will likely reprise his role as their third-line center when he is cleared to return.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Winnipeg Jets

Current Cap Hit: $83,015,356 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

David Gustafsson (two years, $818K)

Potential Bonuses:
Gustafsson: $132.5K

The 20-year-old made the team out of camp last year as a fourth liner but was eventually moved to the minors.  He’s probably in a similar situation this season and shouldn’t be looking at a costly second deal.  Kristian Vesalainen (two years, $894K plus $850K per year in bonuses) could also be heard from at some point but he may be more of a midseason recall.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Laurent Brossoit ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($2.24MM, RFA)
D Derek Forbort ($1MM, UFA)
F Patrik Laine ($6.75MM, RFA)
F Adam Lowry ($2.916MM, UFA)
F Mathieu Perreault ($4.125MM, UFA)
D Neal Pionk ($3MM, RFA)
D Tucker Poolman ($775K, UFA)
D Luca Sbisa ($800K, UFA)
F Paul Stastny ($6.5MM, UFA)
F Nate Thompson ($750K, UFA)
F Dominic Toninato ($700K, UFA)

Let’s start with the biggest name on the list in Laine.  His preference for a trade doesn’t matter a whole lot for this exercise and knowing it’s a contract year with plenty on the line, even if he isn’t thrilled about his situation, it shouldn’t affect his play.  There’s no denying that he is one of the better pure goal-scorers in the league but there’s also no denying that he’s one of the streakiest scorers in the league either.  With a $7.5MM qualifying offer on the horizon, Laine will need to improve on his consistency if he wants to land more than a nominal bump on that if it goes to arbitration.  A long-term deal may not be as lucrative as it could have been a couple of years ago given the current financial landscape but Laine should be one of the highest-paid wingers in the league next year if one can be reached – with Winnipeg or someone else.

Stastny was brought in as a cap dump from Vegas but this is a good landing spot for him.  He’s familiar with the system and could see a small uptick in minutes.  While he’ll re-enter the market subject to 35+ caveats in July, he’s still a capable middle-six center and should be able to command longer than a one-year deal although it will have to come with a notable dip in pay.  Perreault is still a serviceable player that can move up and down the lineup but someone with that skillset should be making about half of what he currently is and that should be his market rate this summer.

Lowry is a player who could very well be hit hard by the current financial situation.  The hope that he’d be able to provide more offense has largely faded and instead, he’s someone that should be between 20-25 points in a normal year while winning a fair share of faceoffs and providing some physicality.  That’s definitely an effective role player but teams will be trying to squeeze their lower-line options for financial savings which doesn’t bode well for his chances of a raise.  Copp saw a lot of time in the top six last season and the offensive results weren’t really there.  He’ll need to be better at that end if he wants to get much more than his $2.3MM qualifying offer.  Thompson and Toninato were brought in for extra depth down the middle and their spots will be filled by similarly-priced depth players if they don’t re-sign for next season; neither should be expected to command much more than the minimum on the open market.

On the back end, Pionk vastly exceeded expectations in his first season in Winnipeg and appears to be well-positioned to land a long-term deal this offseason and if his point per game rate this season is similar to 2019-20, doubling his AAV isn’t out of the question.  Forbort had a rough year injury-wise a year ago which cratered his market this fall but before that, he was a 20-minute per game player.  He should have the opportunity for similar ice time and if he can stay healthy, he could re-enter free agency in July with a considerably larger number of suitors.  Poolman’s progression has been slow and steady so far.  He already has shown himself to be capable of handling a third-pairing workload which on its own should help earn him a small raise.  If he can work his way into number four minutes though, he could be one of the more intriguing unheralded options in free agency next summer.  Sbisa was an effective depth player last season but it’s hard to anticipate his market growing substantially after having to wait until 2019-20 started before he could get a deal last season.

Brossoit’s second year with the Jets wasn’t anywhere near as good as his first as he went from high-end backup numbers to low-end.  Nevertheless, he got a small raise but will need to be closer to his 2018-19 numbers for that to happen again next offseason.

Two Years Remaining

F Mason Appleton ($900K, RFA)
D Nathan Beaulieu ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Jansen Harkins ($725K, RFA)

Appleton has been in and out of Winnipeg’s lineup the last couple of years in a limited role.  If he remains primarily a fourth liner, he won’t have much leverage in securing a bigger deal two years from now with his arbitration eligibility potentially working against him at that time.  Harkins made his NHL debut last season and did enough to convince the Jets to give him a one-way deal at the minimum for both seasons.  He’ll need to work his way into a regular role for his arbitration eligibility to work in his favor in 2022.

Beaulieu hasn’t lived up to his first-round draft billing but since joining the Jets, he has been a serviceable option on the third pairing.  That earned him this two-year guarantee but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to land much more than that on the open market unless he can step into a spot inside their top four.

Three Years Remaining

The Jets don’t have anyone on their roster whose contract expires in 2023.

Four Years Remaining

D Dylan DeMelo ($3MM, UFA)
G Connor Hellebuyck ($6.166MM, UFA)
F Bryan Little ($5.292MM, UFA)
F Mark Scheifele ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Blake Wheeler ($8.25MM, UFA)

Wheeler has been one of the faces of the franchise since the team moved from Atlanta and was recognized for it by this deal, one that takes him through his age-37 season.  There is definitely some risk in the last year or two but he is still a top-line player and even acquitted himself well having to play down the middle for extended periods last season.  Scheifele’s deal seemed like a bit of a risk at the time considering that he only had one 20-goal campaign under his belt at the time it was signed but it has turned into one of the better bargains in the league as he has emerged as a legitimate front-line center.  Little, another long-time Jet, played just seven games last season and has been ruled out for the season as he continues to recover from a perforated eardrum after taking a shot to the head.  He’ll be eligible for LTIR which will get Winnipeg into cap compliance.

DeMelo has certainly seen his stock rise.  He was only two years removed from a non-tender by San Jose, only to re-sign for $900K a week into free agency.  He hit his stride after being traded to Ottawa and fit in quite well with Winnipeg after they acquired him before the deadline.  This was certainly a big raise but he’s worth the price if he plays at a similar level throughout this contract.

Hellebuyck has had a heavy workload the past three seasons and has held up quite well overall, even taking home the Vezina Trophy in 2019-20.  Without a top goalie prospect in the system, this is going to be his spot to hold for a while and at a price tag that’s barely $1MM above the median above starting goaltenders, this has become another bargain for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.

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