Free agent center Brian Boyle had a nice comeback season with Pittsburgh in 2021-22, recording 11 goals and 10 assists in 66 games with Pittsburgh after not playing at all the year before. Despite that, he wasn’t tendered an offer to remain with the Penguins when free agency opened up. However, Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now notes that the 37-year-old is hoping to play again next season and is hoping that a return to Pittsburgh isn’t out of the question. After playing on a deal for the league minimum a year ago, it’s likely that Boyle’s market value would be at that level again so he’s likely to remain on the open market for a little while longer until those types of contracts start to be signed closer to the beginning of training camp.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- With Dallas likely only having enough cap space to commit a long-term deal to just one of winger Jason Robertson and goalie Jake Oettinger, both Mike Heika and Bruce LeVine of the Stars’ team website suggest that Oettinger should be the one to receive a bridge deal. The 23-year-old had a strong year with a .914 SV% and a 2.53 GAA in 48 games but there isn’t much history of young goalies bypassing bridge contracts and going straight to a long-term pact. With just 77 career NHL appearances under his belt, a bridge deal certainly makes sense. He has four seasons of RFA eligibility left so there would still be ample time to work out a long-term agreement before Oettinger is eligible to hit the open market.
- Max Domi wasted little time signing with the Blackhawks in free agency, inking a one-year, $3MM deal. Choosing to go to a team that has entered an extended rebuild may seem surprising but the 27-year-old told reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, that their decision to hire Luke Richardson prompted Domi to tell his agent that Chicago was where he wanted to go with a deal being agreed to just before free agency opened up. Richardson was on the coaching staff with Montreal for Domi’s two seasons with the Canadiens and clearly, the new bench boss made a positive impression.
Luke Richardson may be the lone bright spot for the ‘Hawks rebuild. He’ll need to pedal hard to keep it at 60W, or better. Not many are made of the stuff to plow through that kind of adversity. And, whether it’s PIT or somebody else, how about some love for “Boyler”?