In some years, teams wait until the end of the Stanley Cup Final before announcing big news. This is clearly not one of those years as there were several key moves made around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Three-Way Trade: The first big trade of the 2023 offseason is in the books in a three-team swap involving the Flyers, Kings, and Blue Jackets. Needing to clear salary, Los Angeles moved goaltender Calvin Petersen and defenseman Sean Walker to Philadelphia, sending them a 2024 second-round pick and defensive prospect Helge Grans as an incentive for them to do so. Meanwhile, Ivan Provorov is on his way to Columbus in exchange for a first-round pick and a second-rounder with the Kings retaining $2.025MM of Provorov’s contract for the next two years. Los Angeles also picked up a pair of AHLers in the swap, Hayden Hodgson and Kevin Connauton.
For Columbus, they added a top-four blueliner that started off his career strong but has plateaued as of late. Defense was an issue for the Blue Jackets last season and they feel his addition will go a long way toward fixing that under eventual head coach Mike Babcock. Philadelphia, meanwhile, adds three good draft picks to aid in their rebuild plus an intriguing prospect in Grans while they’ll hope to rebuild Petersen’s value. As for Los Angeles, the purpose of the trade was to free up cap space and they spent it quickly, re-signing defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a two-year deal that carries a $5.875MM AAV and a full no-move clause. Gavrikov became a key cog in their back end after coming over from Columbus at the trade deadline – for the first-round pick that was flipped for Provorov, no less – but his preference was a short-term contract to allow him to test the market a couple of years from now in a more favorable cap environment.
Severson To Columbus: The Blue Jackets weren’t done adding to their back end with Provorov’s addition. After receiving permission from the Devils to negotiate with pending UFA Damon Severson, a contract was agreed upon. New Jersey inked the blueliner to an eight-year, $50MM contract and then traded him to Columbus for a third-round pick. The move was done as a true sign-and-trade, just the second of those in history (the other being the Matthew Tkachuk trade last summer). Severson saw his offensive numbers dip a bit this season but he still managed 33 points in 81 games despite a near-four-minute drop in playing time. He’ll give Columbus another capable offensive player on the back end, joining Provorov, Zach Werenski, and Adam Boqvist as defensemen that are capable of putting up some offense.
Eight For Caufield: One of the top restricted free agents was taken off the board as the Canadiens signed winger Cole Caufield to an eight-year contract that carries an AAV of $7.85MM and has partial no-trade protection in the final three years, the only ones he was eligible to receive that protection. The deal is the second-highest given to a forward in franchise history and checks in just $200K total behind captain Nick Suzuki. Caufield got off to a strong start offensively this season with 26 goals in 46 games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. The 22-year-old has just 123 regular season games under his belt so it’s a contract that certainly carries some risk. However, if Caufield is able to become a consistent 40-goal scorer, the deal could become a team-friendly one down the road as well.
Ducks Hire Cronin: The Ducks have found their new head coach as the team announced the hiring of Greg Cronin. The 60-year-old has plenty of experience behind the bench and got his start in the NHL back in the 1998-99 season with the Islanders. Cronin also has lots of experience working with younger players, highlighted by six seasons as the head coach at Northeastern while spending the last five in charge of Colorado’s AHL team. This will, however, be his first crack at running an NHL bench. Anaheim is a team that is embarking on a full-scale rebuild and is a team that will be integrating several prospects into an already young core group. Accordingly, going with a coach that is well-versed in working with younger players makes a lot of sense for GM Pat Verbeek.
Trouble In Winnipeg: Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois has one year of RFA eligibility remaining but he has made it known that he doesn’t want to spend it in Winnipeg as he has requested a trade. His desire to not sign with the team long-term is well-known but it seemed possible that he’d wind up on another one-year contract and at least start 2023-24 in Winnipeg but his camp has made it clear that doing so is not a desirable outcome. Accordingly, with the draft less than three weeks away, expect his name to come up frequently in trade speculation.
Meanwhile, he won’t be the only one in that situation following a report that goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a year away from being UFA-eligible himself, also appears to be unwilling to sign an extension. The veteran has been one of the top goalies in the league for the past several years and would undoubtedly command strong interest on the trade front should Winnipeg decide to make him available now. Hellebuyck is signed for next season at a $6.167MM AAV.
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