The Toronto Maple Leafs are pushing on to sign some of their pending free agents, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic, who breaks down each UFA and RFA in the group. Mirtle suggests that both Ilya Mikheyev and Jack Campbell will be elsewhere next season, and examines the tricky situations that Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Kase represent as arbitration-eligible restricted free agents.
One thing he notes, and something that we wrote about recently, is the recent deal for Denis Gurianov and how it and Jack Roslovic’s extension will affect some of these older RFA negotiations. Gurianov signed a one-year, $2.9MM deal (equal to his qualifying offer) after scoring just 11 goals and 31 points this season. Kase had 14 goals in fewer games and Engvall had 35 points this season.
- It was reported yesterday that the Chicago Blackhawks requested permission to speak with Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Luke Richardson, and today Eric Engels of Sportsnet confirms that the team has granted it. They will also allow Richardson to pursue any other head coaching opportunities that could arise this summer.
- Engels also spoke to Carey Price, who confirmed that he is currently preparing as if he will be playing in 2022-23. Price recently had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his injured knee, though it’s not clear yet how his body will respond when training ramps up. With the uncertainty surrounding the netminder’s $10.5MM cap hit, this offseason will be a difficult path to navigate for rookie general manager Kent Hughes.