The regular season is in full flight and while things have predictably been quiet on the trade front, there has still been plenty of news of note around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Potential For Early Cap Increase? The expectation has long been that there will be at least one more season after this one where the salary cap increase would be limited to $1MM as the players continue to pay off the COVID-related escrow to bring the split back to 50/50. However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman expressed some optimism that the balance could be paid off this season, allowing for an increase that could be closer to $4MM for next season. With 13 teams already needing LTIR to be cap-compliant and six others with less than $1MM in cap space at the moment, that extra bump would be welcome news for them.
Early Extension: Flames backup goaltender Daniel Vladar had a good first season with Calgary and would have been eligible for salary arbitration this summer. Instead, he took a pass on that, instead agreeing to a two-year, $4.4MM contract extension. The 25-year-old played his first full season in 2021-22, serving as Jacob Markstrom’s backup while getting into 23 games. Head coach Darryl Sutter has indicated a desire to have Vladar play once a week which could have boosted his value had the Flames decided to wait until the summer to work this deal out. However, Vladar will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when this deal expires in 2025.
Knee Surgery For Landeskog: It was known back in training camp that Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season. However, he was expected to start skating about a week and a half ago, providing some optimism that he’d be back soon. That idea was kiboshed quickly as the team revealed that the winger underwent knee surgery that will keep him out for roughly the next 12 weeks. It’s certainly a big loss for Colorado as the 29-year-old has been a key part of their attack for more than a decade and was coming off his best season in terms of points per game. Now, what looked like a short-term injury to start the year will now keep Landeskog out for at least the first half of the season.
More Key Injuries: The Panthers don’t have the deepest of back ends and their depth will be further tested for a little while as the team placed Aaron Ekblad on LTIR with a lower-body injury. Fortunately for Florida, it appears their top defender will be out somewhere from four-to-seven weeks although they’ll certainly miss him in the short term. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be without winger Tyler Bertuzzi for four-to-six weeks due to an upper-body injury. Missing a top liner is hardly ideal for Detroit nor is it ideal for the 27-year-old who is eligible to reach unrestricted free agency next summer for the first time. On top of those, the Coyotes will be without one of their top scorers from last season as center Nick Schmaltz will miss six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury of his own. Arizona isn’t exactly a deep offensive team as they look to bottom out in the standings and now they’re without a top threat until sometime in December.
Vrana Enters Player Assistance Program: Bertuzzi isn’t the only key winger that the Red Wings are without as the league announced that Jakub Vrana has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. No further details were provided and there is no set timeline for when the 26-year-old might be able to return. Vrana is in his third season with Detroit after being acquired back at the 2020 trade deadline but due to injuries, had only played in 39 games with them before this announcement.
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