Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for June 2023

Blue Jackets Notes: Third Overall Pick, Coaching Staff, Voronkov

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With phenom Connor Bedard effectively a lock to go first overall to the Chicago Blackhawks and Hobey Baker winner Adam Fantilli widely expected to be pick number two, many believe that the first pick with major intrigue at the draft later this month is the third pick, held by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus has long sought after a star number-one center, and with this third pick they have an excellent opportunity to draft a player who can fill that role.

According to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, that’s exactly what they’re going to do. Portzline writes: “We know this much: the Blue Jackets will spend the No.  3 pick on a center.” (subscription link) While there is always room for a surprise, the two players widely expected to be available for the team to select are Orebro HK’s Leo Carlsson and Boston College commit Will Smith. It seems likely that Columbus will end up with one of those two players, and it’s difficult to go wrong picking either one. Carlsson was extremely impressive playing largely at left wing for Orebro, scoring 25 points in 44 regular-season games and nine in 13 playoff games. He also showed well at the IIHF Men’s World Championships, serving as Sweden’s first-line center. Their other expected option, Smith, is an extremely intelligent player who plays the style of a deceptive and creative playmaking center. Operating in between two other top prospects (Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault) Smith had one of the most productive seasons in U.S. National Team Development Program history. So while we may not know exactly who Columbus will draft in 10 days, we do know they’re going to get an impactful center prospect.

Some other notes about the Blue Jackets:

  • Portzline also reported today that the Blue Jackets are expected to retain the assistant coaches they had under former coach Brad Larsen to fill the staff of reported new head coach Mike Babcock. Those assistants are Pascal Vincent, who was a candidate for the team’s head coaching job in their past two searches, Steve McCarthy, Kenny McCudden, and Jared Boll. They each have one year remaining on their contracts with Columbus, according to Portzline.
  • One last bit of information from Portzline’s piece today regards center Dmitri Voronkov, who the team signed to an entry-level deal in May. Per Portzline, Voronkov’s contract contains a stipulation that would allow him to “return to Russia if he’s not on the Blue Jackets roster by the end of December.” The hope is, of course, that the 22-year-old Voronkov can seize an NHL job in training camp and make an instant impact in Columbus. He had an impressive final season in the KHL with 26 goals and 43 points in 78 combined regular season and playoff games. But if he can’t manage to hold down a spot in Babcock’s lineup and ends up playing with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters by the end of 2023, we now know he’ll have the option to head back to Russia.

Minor Transactions: 06/18/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While teams are still readying themselves for the true beginning of the NHL offseason at the draft later this month, a few teams have gone ahead and made a few moves, namely the Columbus Blue Jackets. But although we’re still in the early stages of the NHL offseason and the AHL postseason is still underway, teams in numerous minor and foreign leagues are hard at work preparing for next year. We’ll keep track of their transactions here.

  • One-time Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Igor Ozhiganov has reportedly been traded by his KHL team, SKA St. Petersburg, to league rival Dynamo Moscow. If true, it’s a significant move in the KHL as Ozhiganov, 30, ranked ninth in KHL scoring among blueliners with 37 points in 62 games. Ozhiganov is under contract in the KHL until 2026, making an NHL return highly unlikely. But given his recent form, it seems Dynamo Moscow is getting a one-time KHL All-Star and one of the league’s more accomplished defensemen.
  • Former Florida Panthers third-round pick Jonathan Racine has played pro hockey in seven countries over the past four seasons: The United States, Canada, Finland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Now, he’s set to make that number eight. Racine, 30, has signed with Grenoble in Ligue Magnus, the top pro league in France. Racine split last season between the Danish and Norwegian leagues, and he ended his season losing in the Danish championship series. Grenoble will hope to help Grenoble qualify for the Champions Hockey League once again after the club lost out on Ligue Magnus’ one allocated spot when Rouen beat them for Ligue Magnus’ championship.
  • 25-year-old Jake Ustorf was playing hockey in Germany’s third division just a few years ago, and today now he’s earned another contract extension to remain in Germany’s top league, the DEL. The 25-year-old Ohio native has re-signed with the Nurnberg Ice Tigers, the team he helped reach the DEL playoffs in two consecutive seasons. He’s not the highest scorer with just 17 points in 90 career games in the DEL but he’s been a regular in Nurnberg’s lineup for the past two years and will continue to be one thanks to today’s contract extension.
  • Defenseman August Hansson helped his boyhood club Ostersunds IK earn promotion from Sweden’s third-tier HockeyEttan to their second tier, HockeyAllsvenskan. Now, he’s secured his place on their roster for another season, signing a contract extension per a team social media announcement. Hansson has been with Ostersunds for more than the past half-decade, rising from their youth development system to their main squad. Now, Hansson will patrol the first team’s blueline looking to help them retain their place in Sweden’s second division for years to come.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Free agency is just around the corner and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Winnipeg Jets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Pierre-Luc Dubois – Whether the Jets like it or not, Dubois is going to be the pending free agent set to have the most consequence on the Jets’ offseason. One year away from hitting unrestricted free agency, the soon-to-be 25-year-old center had a solid season in Winnipeg and has continued to establish himself as a top-six center who plays a valuable, powerful game.

Does he have the profile of a top-of-the-lineup, face-of-the-franchise first-line center? Maybe not, although he has shown the ability to play like one at certain moments, such as the 2019-20 Stanley Cup playoffs.

He’ll certainly get paid like a top-of-the-lineup first-line center, though, with media reports indicating that he’s seeking a long-term deal around the $9MM range.

The issue for Winnipeg is that Dubois has no interest in signing that type of contract for the Jets.

As a result, he’s pretty much guaranteed to be traded this summer. As they have one year of team control over Dubois, the Jets have reduced leverage in any trade negotiation. So, it’s unlikely GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is going to be able to get the type of high-end young player in return for Dubois similar to what he surrendered to acquire him. (He sent Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic to the Winnipeg Jets in his original Dubois trade)

That being said, the scarcity of quality top-six centers across the NHL dictates that the Jets still should get a solid return for Dubois, especially if they can sign him to an eight-year extension and then trade him, similar to what the Calgary Flames did last year with Matthew Tkachuk. In any case, it seems the 2016 third-overall pick’s time in Winnipeg is coming to an end.

F Morgan Barron – While Dubois’ maneuvering to work his way out of Winnipeg has soured his reputation among Jets fans, Barron is a player who became more and more of a fan favorite over the course of his rookie NHL season this past year. Now 24 years old, Barron was a trade acquisition from the New York Rangers as part of the Andrew Copp deadline deal last season, and he’s settled in nicely on the Jets.

The former Cornell star has shown himself to be a top-six caliber player in the AHL and this past season moved past that level to spend most of the year as a bottom-six NHLer. He scored 21 points in 70 games and skated over a minute-and-a-half per game on the team’s penalty kill. He’s unlikely to receive any sort of massive pay raise over the $925k cap hit he played on this past year, though it would be no surprise to see him hit or cross the $1MM mark.

While a long-term bet is certainly possible, he’ll likely receive a shorter-term deal with the hope that he can continue to develop his game and unlock some of the promise in his six-foot-four frame.

D Logan Stanley – A hulking six-foot-seven blueliner, Stanley is someone who hasn’t quite unlocked the promise many have projected he’d have due to his combination of size and strength.

The Jets drafted Stanley 18th overall at the 2016 draft and took a patient approach to his development. He first reached the NHL in 2020-21, and has now played a total of 114 games at the NHL level.

While he has had a few promising moments at the game’s highest level, he took a step back this past year, skating in just 19 games and seeing his average ice time decline from 15:39 to 13:43. He’s still not an expensive proposition and unlikely to be in the immediate future, but with promising young left-shot blueliners such as Samberg, Chisholm, and Ville Heinola in their pipeline, one wonders if Stanley has a future in Winnipeg.

D Dylan Samberg – The 24-year-old Samberg concluded his first season as a full-time NHLer in 2022-23, skating in 63 games with an average ice time just a shade under 15 minutes.

Samberg was a regular face on the Jets’ penalty kill and is a well-rounded defense-first defenseman offering size and stability from the back end. He impressed for Team USA at the IIHF Men’s World Championships last month and is likely to remain a regular part of the Jets’ defensive lineup.

If they believe in Samberg’s promise as a long-term NHL blueliner, the Jets could always seek out a long-term pact with Samberg this summer, though it does seem more likely that a shorter-term deal would be the more palatable route in order for Samberg to put another season or more on his NHL resume before really looking to cash in.

Other RFAs: F Kevin Stenlund, F Alex Limoges, D Declan Chisholm, D Leon Gawanke (signed a four-year contract with DEL’s Adler Mannheim), G Arvid Holm.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G David Rittich – Rittich has been a well-traveled backup goalie for the past few seasons, dressing for four teams in three seasons. Now 30 years old, he’s seemingly declined since his early days as a tandem leader for the Calgary Flames, though he did have a bit of a bounce-back season in Winnipeg.

He acquitted himself well on a team used to playing in front of one of the best goalies in the NHL, posting a 2.67 goals-against-average and a .901 save percentage.

Rittich’s advanced metrics were a little bit below average but he went 9-8-1 and is capable of surprises, such as during his run of games to start 2023 where he won three straight starts including an impressive 4-1 road victory in Pittsburgh.

There is some concern to the fact that Rittich lost his final five starts, but at a $900k price tag he provided solid value to the Jets. He provides some degree of insurance thanks to the years on his resume of playing over 40 games, and while he has never quite been a leader on the stat sheet there are far worse backup options to have than Rittich.

He may not receive the $1.25MM he made as a member of the Nashville Predators last year, but another deal around what he made this past season would be a reasonable investment for a team looking for an affordable, experienced option in net.

With Arvid Holm fresh off of an impressive season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and still not waiver eligible for another season, perhaps Rittich spends another year with the Jets.

F Vladislav Namestnikov – A mid-season trade acquisition by Winnipeg, Namestnikov provided secondary scoring, versatility, and valuable veteran experience to the Jets’ lineup. He finished with 10 points in 20 games for the Jets, with nine of those points coming at even strength despite Namestnikov frequently playing on the team’s power play.

If one includes his totals with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Namestnikov had 25 points in 77 games, a totally respectable number for a versatile veteran forward. His improved play as a member of the Jets has likely helped his standing heading into the open market, though even with that improvement in form he could have a difficult path to matching the $2.5MM he earned in 2022-23.

Other UFAs: F Sam Gagner, F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, F Karson Kuhlman, F Saku Maenalanen, D Ashton Sautner, G Mikhail Berdin, G Evan Cormier

Projected Cap Space

The Jets are currently projected to have nearly $13MM in cap space, but that’s not a truly relevant number at this time. That’s because the Jets are widely expected to deal Dubois as well as netminder Connor Hellebuyck, and other highly-priced veterans such as Blake Wheeler could be traded as well. So the financial wiggle room the Jets have is dependent on who they manage to move out and what sort of money Winnipeg takes on as part of those trades.

The Jets have some contracts that lag behind in terms of efficiency, such as the $5.95MM they’re paying Nate Schmidt for the next two seasons, though the inefficiency of the Schmidt deal is somewhat balanced out by the fact that the team is paying point-per-game number-one blueliner Josh Morrissey just $6.25MM on a long-term deal.

Morrissey is actually the only Jet signed beyond 2025-26 season, meaning there’s quite a bit of long-term financial space in Winnipeg. The question of this offseason is whether the Jets will be in a position to devote any of that space to valuable, motivated players who want to commit to Winnipeg for a significant chunk of their playing career.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Poll: Where Will Pierre-Luc Dubois Play Next Season?

at CDT | by 24 Comments

During the Stanley Cup Final, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reported that Pierre-Luc Dubois and his agent had requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets. This will be the second time Dubois has done that throughout his young career, already having his request granted once after being traded for Patrik Laine back in 2021.

Since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the former third-overall selection has become a valuable offensive piece for Winnipeg. This season, in a similar fashion to last year, Dubois finished with 27 goals and 36 assists in 73 games played. With plenty of teams in need of depth up the middle of the ice, the Jets could receive a decent haul for Dubois.

A native of the province of Quebec, the probable landing spot for Dubois would be the Montreal Canadiens. A team that is rebuilding through the draft and acquiring prospect capital, Dubois would be a natural fit behind captain Nick Suzuki. The Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins could both use a young second-line center, and Dubois’ style of play would certainly fit both lineups. Lastly, although severely limited by the salary cap, the Los Angeles Kings had an interest in Dubois, dating back to his time in Columbus.

Where do you think Dubois will play next season?

Free Agent Focus: Washington Capitals

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Washington Capitals. 

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Martin Fehervary – Besides missing some time due to an injury in December of this season, Fehervary still had a decent year with the Capitals. Primarily focused on the defensive side of the puck, Fehervary scored six goals and 10 assists in 67 games for Washington this season.

He repeated his physical campaign from last year, blocking 128 shots and throwing 217 hits from the back end. Even though the Capitals are likely to re-tool their team this upcoming offseason, Fehervary still factors into Washington’s blue-line top six.

Fehervary is likely to factor more into the penalty-kill during the 2023-24 season, after already averaging 20 minutes a night with the Capitals this past year. For a player that does not accrue very many penalty minutes himself, Fehervary is turning himself into a stable defensive defenseman for Washington.

Other RFAs:  F Kody Clark, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Riley Sutter, D Gabriel Carlsson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Conor Sheary  – During the 2020-21 offseason, Sheary surprisingly was unable to find a guaranteed contract. It wasn’t until December 2020 that the Capitals were one of the only teams to give Sheary another shot at NHL minutes. Sheary rewarded them in kind and was able to sign a two-year, $3MM contract extension with Washington before his first season with the team was even finished.

For the last two years, Sheary has become one of the better depth scorers in the NHL, scoring 43 points during the 2021-22 campaign, and following that up with 37 points this season. Seemingly destined for the third line on most competitive teams, Sheary could become a sneaky buy-low candidate this summer.

Throughout his career, Sheary has always been a plus forward when it comes to puck possession and has always shown flashes of being a 20-goal scorer. He is in a good position to secure a multi-year deal this offseason, but his playing time over the next few years will likely finish below 15 minutes a game.

F Connor Brown – Acquired last summer from the Ottawa Senators for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Brown was set to factor into Washington’s top-six forward group. Unfortunately, due to an ACL injury early on in the season, Brown was only able to play four games.

In the past, both with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators, Brown has shown the ability to score 20 goals a season, doing so during the 2016-17 and 2020-21 seasons. However, he has been wholly unable to play a complete season since his time with the Maple Leafs.

Benefiting tremendously from playing on the same line as Connor McDavid during his time in the OHL for the Erie Otters, Brown has not been the difference maker that he was expected to be. Fortunately for the Capitals, who are, when healthy, one of the better offensive teams, should have the talent around Brown to aid in his success if they wish to give him another shot.

Other UFAs:  F Craig Smith, D Matt Irwin, F Carl Hagelin, F Garrett Pilon, F Mike Vecchione, D Dylan McIlrath, D Bobby Nardella, G Zachary Fucale, G Hunter Shepard

Projected Cap Space

Given recent reporting, the Capitals’ cap space is more than likely to expand before the beginning of the 2023-24 offseason. As of right now, Washington only has around $7.3MM to work with, quite a low number for a team in need of big changes.

Long-time Capital forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and his $7.8MM cap hit are likely to be moved this summer, as well as forward Anthony Mantha along with the one-year, $5.7MM remaining on his deal.

Being a bona fide 2C in the NHL, Kuznetsov will surely be easier to move for Washington, but both players will likely find their exit in some form or another this offseason. Given that Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson are all in the back half of 30 years old, Washington will have quite the task ahead to get younger this summer.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Minor Transactions: 06/17/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s been a quiet day for news in the NHL, with perhaps the most significant development being a report that the Seattle Kraken are looking to move on from former backup goaltender Chris Driedger. But while the NHL slowly moves into its offseason, pro teams across the hockey world are hard at work trying to add players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable moves here:

  • Former Minnesota Wild center Tyler Graovac could be headed to the KHL’s Admiral Vladivostok, according to a rumor out of Russia. The 30-year-old with 84 NHL games on his resume has played the last two seasons in the KHL, one in Belarus with Dynamo Minsk and this past year with Podolsk Vityaz in Russia. He’s played decently well at each stop, and has a combined 20 goals and 46 points in 93 career KHL games. Should this rumor prove true he’ll head to the third team of his KHL career looking to aid Vladivostok back to the Gagarin Cup playoffs.
  • Alex Ierullo, a star forward in the ECHL, has signed a three-year contract with Asiago Hockey, a club in the Central European ICEHL. It’s a significant development for Ierullo, as pacts with a three-year term aren’t exactly common in the European pro hockey circuit for import players, especially for those who have never played in Europe. Asiago is likely comfortable making such a significant investment due to just how strong Ierullo’s season was. He ranked third in the East Coast league with 87 points in just 60 games, leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in points with a whopping 35-point lead over the next-highest scorer on his team. Ierullo has played in the AHL for a total of nine games but hasn’t been able to translate his ECHL success to the next level, which has likely been what’s paved his way to Europe.
  • After his first full season as a professional hockey player, former Arizona State University star Johnny Walker has decided to head overseas. He’s signed a contract with the Dundee Stars of the EIHL, the top professional hockey league in the United Kingdom. Walker was once an above-point-per-game scorer in the college ranks but availability issues have mired his more recent seasons. In 2022-23 he played 33 games with the Utah Grizzlies in the ECHL, scoring a respectable 12 goals and 18 points. He added on a whopping 171 penalty minutes in that span of games, and will now bring his hard-nosed play to Scotland.
  • Gretsky has signed a contract extension in Russia. Well, Vyacheslav Gretsky that is. The 26-year-old Belarusian forward saw his first extended action in the KHL this past year for Amur Khabarovsk, scoring five points in 43 games. With Gretsky on their squad for at least another year, Khabarovsk will hope that lineup continuity from last season will help them reach the playoffs after finishing second-to-last in their conference last season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Decision Time Approaches For Oilers With Kailer Yamamoto

at CDT | by 4 Comments

It has been an eventful first few NHL seasons for Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto.  He first made his mark in the NHL late in the 2019-20 campaign, averaging nearly a point per game in 27 contests and it looked like Edmonton had found a homegrown, cost-controlled offensive forward.  However, the cost is getting higher and Yamamoto hasn’t been able to rediscover that level of production.  With the team set to be tight to the salary cap again next season, GM Ken Holland is going to need to decide soon whether he can still afford to carry the 24-year-old on his roster.

After filing for arbitration last summer, Yamamoto and the Oilers agreed on a two-year, $6.2MM contract, a deal that was slightly backloaded, paying $3.2MM in salary next season.  For someone in a middle-six role with some perceived upside still, it’s a price point that seemed quite reasonable.

However, things didn’t go as planned this past season.  Yamamoto tried to play through some injuries before eventually being placed on LTIR in mid-January and in the end, his final numbers weren’t the strongest at 10 goals and 15 assists in 58 games, not the best bang for their buck.  In the playoffs, Yamamoto managed just a single goal along with three helpers in their 12 contests despite still logging nearly 15 minutes per game which, again, fell below expectations.

As things stand, Edmonton enters this summer with around $5MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, but they have at least three forward spots to fill with that money.  Two of those spots will go to Ryan McLeod and Klim Kostin, restricted free agents that they’d like to keep around and combined, they’ll cover more than half of that cap space.  There’s also RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard to contend with who alone will take up a big chunk of that.  There just isn’t any flexibility for them to work with.

More importantly, they don’t have the ability to make any sort of material improvement to their roster.  That’s where Yamamoto potentially comes in.  Clearing his cap charge off the roster opens up another spot to fill but gives them a bit more flexibility in how they choose to allocate those funds, allowing them to potentially shop for more of an impact player in free agency.

Of course, teams are well aware of Edmonton’s salary cap situation and Yamamoto’s struggles so it’s not as if the Oilers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the idea of a trade.  It’s possible that there could be teams willing to take a flyer on him – particularly one closer to the bottom of the standings hoping that a new team and bigger role could him going – but they’re not going to be offering up big assets to get him.  Some might even ask for a sweetener to simply take the contract on, that’s how tight things are going to be cap-wise once again next season.

If a trade doesn’t materialize, then a buyout could be on the table.  Yamamoto is young enough that the standard two-thirds cost doesn’t apply here; instead, the cost is one-third.  As a result, his cap hit would only be $433K in 2023-24 while they’d add $533K in dead cap space for 2024-25.  That would free up a little under $2.7MM in savings for GM Ken Holland to work with, albeit with another roster spot to fill.  The buyout window is now open and lasts until June 30th.  That then represents a potential deadline for Edmonton to decide the path they’re going to take with Yamamoto.

It’s possible that Holland decides to go a different route entirely, keeping Yamamoto and trying to move out other mid-tier salaries such as Brett Kulak (three years, $2.75MM), Warren Foegele (one year, $2.75MM), or Cody Ceci (two years, $3.25MM).  Frankly, it’s not a case of one or the other; it’s quite possible that two or more from this group get shopped.  However, none of those players have the cheaper buyout option available and in a market that isn’t likely to look kindly on mid-tier pieces on arguably above-market contracts, it’s hardly a guarantee they’ll be able to move any of those for the value they want either.

Is it a sure bet that Yamamoto’s days in Edmonton are numbered?  Not at all.  But if the Oilers want to try to add anyone of significance this summer, they’re going to need to free up some money and Yamamoto’s contract is probably the easiest to clear out.  Not that long ago, Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi represented hopes for the future for the Oilers as some homegrown, cost-controllable talent.  Fast forward to today and Puljujarvi is now in Carolina while Edmonton has already given up the rights to the player they got in return and it feels like there’s a good chance Yamamoto will soon be heading out the door for a similarly underwhelming return, if they’re able to get one at all.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Zucker, Red Wings, Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Jason Zucker had a strong showing for the Penguins this past season, notching 27 goals and 21 assists while, perhaps most importantly, staying healthy after a pair of injury-plagued years.  Despite that, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that the prudent move for Pittsburgh would be to not bring the pending unrestricted free agent back for next season.  The 31-year-old is likely to be seeking a contract similar to the $5MM AAV he has played on the last five years and with the team needing to eventually transition toward becoming a younger and quicker team, locking up another player well into their thirties won’t exactly accomplish that objective.  Not bringing Zucker back would also give Kyle Dubas more flexibility to work with this summer, albeit with an extra opening of significance on his roster.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • It appears that the Red Wings won’t bring back any of their pending unrestricted free agents, suggests Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now. Duff adds that Detroit is believed to have made a one-year offer to center Pius Suter who declined in the hopes of securing a multi-year commitment while winger Alex Chiasson has passed on a two-way offer, hoping to land a one-way deal on the open market this summer.  Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and winger Adam Erne are among the other players set to hit the open market in a couple of weeks.
  • It’s extremely unlikely that the Maple Leafs bring back forward Alexander Kerfoot or defenseman Justin Holl, reports Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. Kerfoot has been a capable secondary producer over his four seasons in Toronto but cap space will be at a premium and they wouldn’t be able to offer him the $3.5MM he made on his set-to-expire contract.  As for Holl, he has shown himself to be a serviceable role player on the back end but it appears that Toronto is trying to re-sign Luke Schenn to fill that spot, pushing the 31-year-out out of a place in the lineup.  Both players will hit the open market two Saturdays from today.

PHR Mailbag: Flyers, Rangers, Golden Knights, Ullmark, Draft, UFA Leverage

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include finding a way for Vegas to try to re-sign Ivan Barbashev, goalies to watch for in the upcoming draft, and much more.  With so many questions being submitted (thanks, as always, for sending them in), we’ll run two more mailbags from our recent callout.  They’ll be run between now and the end of next weekend so if your question doesn’t appear here, be sure to check those ones when they come out.

Emoney123: Petersen making $5MM as a backup to Hart’s $3MM? Two #1 picks this year and next with Gauthier, Brink, Foerster hopefully coming up and a relatively young roster, are brighter days right around the corner? Flyers back in the Playoffs next season!

I’m intrigued to see if Cal Petersen gets a real shot to be Carter Hart’s backup or if they’ll treat him as a sunk cost and bury him in Lehigh Valley.  I think he can be a lot better than he was this past season and if they are able to get him performing at the NHL level next season, perhaps there’s a chance to salvage a bit of value from him in 2024-25.

Are brighter days ahead?  Sure.  Their prospect pool is improving and as you noted, they’re getting two more first-rounders in a week and a half that’s going to make it stronger.  If they choose correctly with those selections, they could have a good foundation to work off of in a few years.

But making the playoffs next season feels like a bit of a pipe dream.  They just moved one of their better defensemen in Ivan Provorov for futures.  By all accounts, Travis Konecny is in play, their leading scorer.  Kevin Hayes seems like a strong trade candidate.  Hart has been drawing interest.  These are not statements that should be associated with a team looking to make the playoffs next season.  These are statements about a team that’s looking to finish at or near the bottom of the standings.

jchancel: Given the NY Rangers’ cap issues, what are the alternatives? Give up Goodrow, Mikkola, Motte. Keeping one of Kane or Tarasenko?

Promote Othmann and Cullye? Does that alleviate some of the problem?

I mentioned the importance of moving Barclay Goodrow in their recent Offseason Checklist.  It’s not that he’s a bad player, he’s just a luxury they can no longer afford at just over $3.64MM for the next four seasons.  They have around $11.7MM in cap space per CapFriendly but more than half of that is going to be allocated to re-signing Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller.  That leaves enough to sign a bunch of players for close to the minimum to round out the roster but that is also going to result in a significant talent drain.

Among the UFAs, I expect Niko Mikkola will go elsewhere to a team that will be able to afford him.  I’m not certain Tyler Motte walks though.  His market wasn’t great last summer which frankly surprised me.  His performance this past season wasn’t significantly better either so it stands to reason his market won’t be the strongest this time either.  If that’s the case, would he accept a multi-year deal around the $1MM range, getting some stability after being on the move a lot in recent years?  I think New York could find a way to make that work.  I’d be stunned if either of Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko return unless a significant contract is on the way out.

I do expect both Brennan Othmann and William Cullye to see regular action next season.  Othmann had a nice playoff and Memorial Cup run and plays a rugged style that makes him work in the bottom six to start, allowing him to potentially ease into a more important role over time.  Cullye had a fine rookie year in Hartford and also fits nicely into a bottom six group that I anticipate will have a physical edge to it.  Perhaps they’re not full-timers (especially if GM Chris Drury wants them to see some time in scoring roles) but they’ll be factors on the roster next season.

@HolgerStolzen1: Hey Brian,

I’m trying to figure out a way for the Golden Knights to re-sign Ivan Barbashev in the off-season, but not sure it’s possible. I’m already going with the assumption that they re-sign Adin Hill and find a way to move out Lehner. Any chance we can bring back Barbashev?

Hey Holger, always nice to hear from a former PHR teammate.

Let’s dig into those assumptions first.  Adin Hill’s strong playoff run is going to earn him a nice raise.  Let’s peg him at $4MM.  I’m not as optimistic as you are that they’ll find a way to move Robin Lehner but I’ll play along.  Him coming off the books saves them $5MM which gives them a little over $4MM in cap room, per CapFriendly’s numbers.  That’s not going to be enough to keep Ivan Barbashev.

However, there are two options where they can trim payroll.  The first is trying to incentivize a team to take on Alec Martinez’s contract.  The 35-year-old can still play but his days as a core blueliner are probably done.  His trade protection dips to eight teams on July 1st so there might be a move to be made on that front.  That would more than free up enough cap space to re-sign Barbashev and pending RFA Brett Howden between his $5MM and their existing space.  That’s Plan A.

Plan B might come as a bit of a surprise but I’d kick the tires on the trade market for Nicolas Roy.  $3MM for a third center isn’t bad by any stretch but it is a luxury in this cap environment.  Some teams can afford it and with the market for middlemen not being great, I think Vegas would get a good return in a trade.  Take half of that money added to their cap room and that might get Barbashev done.  The other half goes to Howden with Ben Hutton being waived in training camp to make up the rest of Howden’s money.  Kaedan Korzcak then near-daily appearances on this site in shuffles to and from Henderson to bank some cap space and give them a bit of in-season room.  They’d be carrying a minimum-sized roster, however, though they’re certainly used to that.

So, yeah, I think there’s a chance they can bring him back and the fact they can offer an eighth year certainly helps on that front.  I’m not sure I’d predict that particular outcome but there’s a pathway to do it.

aka.nda: Semi-related.. thinking about Logan Thompson.. // Brossoit.. Hill. What’s Vegas gonna do with their goalie situation?

Let’s do the easy ones first.  Logan Thompson stays.  He’s on a contract that’s below the league minimum AAV making him arguably the best bargain contract for any NHL goalie next season.  They’re not moving him.  As for Laurent Brossoit, I don’t think he comes back.  Has he really helped his value since joining them two years ago?  I don’t think so.  There are teams that will view him more as a third-string option and while he might get a one-way deal backing up somewhere, I think Vegas needs someone more capable of playing a heavier workload.

Let’s talk about the one not on this list, Lehner.  If he’s going to be ruled healthy to play next season, I think he stays in Vegas and that his trade market would be next to non-existent.  Generally speaking, if a goalie misses the entire year and is suddenly declared healthy, I think teams are going to react one way – ‘prove it’.  To have trade value, he needs to play and if he’s on their active roster, there’s no possible way that they can afford to bring Hill back.  At that point, you’re pivoting to an above-average third-stringer and paying him $1MM to start in Henderson and be available in case Lehner isn’t healthy.

But if Lehner can’t recover and is heading for LTIR, then I suspect the Golden Knights will take a serious run at trying to keep Hill.  I mentioned $4MM as a rough price point in the previous question so I’ll stick with that here.  Maybe three years at that cost gets it done?  With just 101 regular season games under his belt, he doesn’t have a long-term track record that will push him into true number one money and that deal feels like a reasonable one for both sides.  It would give Hill some stability while allowing Vegas to keep their goalie costs in check knowing that Chandler Stephenson is heading for a big-ticket deal next summer while Thompson will need a new contract as well.

SkidRowe: What could the Bruins get for Linus Ullmark? A soon to be 30 yo Vezina trophy winner signed for 2 more years at a reasonable $5 million?

The additions of Connor Hellebuyck and even John Gibson to the trade market don’t help Boston here if this is the route they’re going to go.  Ullmark had a great year, no question and is absolutely well-deserving of the Vezina should he get it as expected.  But will teams call his performance a byproduct of their system?  If so, he won’t be viewed as highly.

Will teams view Ullmark as a top-ten goalie in their system?  I’m not certain they will and the offers will be lower accordingly.  Could they get a first-round pick for him?  Possibly, but it would be at the back of the first round.  Not a lot of netminders have fetched first-round picks recently.  They’d probably need to take a goalie back which would limit the cap savings.  Maybe there’s a prospect involved but it wouldn’t be an ‘A’ player.

In a follow-up comment, you noted you wouldn’t move him unless you were getting a pair of first-rounders or a young top-six center.  As well as Ullmark played this season, I don’t think he gets that.  I don’t think Jeremy Swayman would yield a pair of first-rounders either (and I feel he’d have the higher trade value being younger with more years of team control).  I don’t expect an extended Hellebuyck to bring that type of return and even though his cap hit will be higher, his track record would look better in the eyes of interested teams which might make him more sought-after than Ullmark.

I like the player and I like the contract.  But it has been a long time since a goalie has yielded a return that makes people go ‘wow’ in terms of the haul being significantly strong.  I don’t think Ullmark will buck that trend if he’s made available.

joebad34: Who are the next potential goalies coming into this year’s draft that may be targeted as a future starter?

Let’s get this out of the way first.  I’m not a particularly strong scout when it comes to watching skaters.  When it comes to goalies, it’s even worse.  Just keep that in mind as you read this answer.

I’m not sure there is a true number one goalie in this draft class.  By number one goalie, I mean a 50-plus game starter year after year that is the undisputed go-to guy in the playoffs.  But, frankly, how many of those are around nowadays?  As teams gravitate more toward platoons as cost-saving options, they will find value in those netminders.  And I think there are certainly a few of those platoon/1B players in this draft.

At the top, there’s Michael Hrabal, a very tall goalie, one element scouts really love in their netminders.  His stock has steadily been on the rise but I think his development path will be a bit slower than others on this list.  Adam Gajan is a re-entry player that hasn’t gone a traditional route but I really liked him at the World Juniors and I could see him having some pro success.  Trey Augustine is on the smaller side for a goalie (6’1) but based on how he has fared in the US NTDP, I see no reason to think he can’t succeed in the NHL.  Carson Bjarnason is probably the top option from Canada after a decent showing in his first season as a full-fledged starter.

Hrabal, Augustine, and Bjarnason should all go in the second round; I’ve seen some speculate that Hrabal could crack the late first round.  Gajan is a bit of a wild card given his second-time status but he should go fairly early among the goalies.  I’m curious to see where Scott Ratzlaff goes, he wound up as the backup in WHL Seattle this season behind Thomas Milic (a third-year eligible who’s also on the smaller side for a goalie) but I could see him being a value pick as Ratzlaff will take over as the starter next season on a team that’s likely to allow a lot of shots as a lot of their Memorial Cup roster will move on.  but I think he could be one of the better goalies from this class even though he’s not among the top few options on most lists.

Read more

Kraken Looking To Move Chris Driedger

at CDT | by 10 Comments

Add another netminder to a trade market for goalies that started out thin but has seen several players added to it in recent weeks.  This time, it’s Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger being made available as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link) that Seattle is looking to move the veteran.

It has certainly been an eventful few years for the 29-year-old.  A journeyman for the bulk of his career, Driedger had a stellar showing as the backup in Florida in 2020-21, posting a 2.06 GAA and a .927 SV% in 23 games, setting him up nicely for unrestricted free agency.  However, Seattle opted to make him their selection in expansion, signing him to a three-year, $10.5MM contract, quite a price tag for someone that never had a seven-figure AAV before.

Driedger wasn’t able to repeat that level of success in Seattle’s first season, putting up a 2.96 GAA with a .899 SV% in 27 games but still earned himself an invitation to play for Canada at the World Championship that spring.  Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the tournament, causing him to miss the first half of the season.

With the Kraken bringing in Martin Jones as Driedger’s replacement this season, they quickly waived Driedger when he was cleared to return, sending him to AHL Coachella Valley.  Driedger had a decent showing during the regular season with them, compiling a 2.61 GAA with a .908 SV% in 14 games.  However, he hasn’t seen a second of ice time during the Firebirds’ run to the Calder Cup Finals with Joey Daccord, a pending UFA, seeing all the action.

Driedger has one year left on his contract with a $3.5MM price tag that is on the high side with how things have gone for him over the last two seasons.  Notably, his salary jumps to $4.5MM with the deal being a back-loaded one.  Seattle would certainly like to free up some extra cap flexibility this summer and moving him would be one way to accomplish that.  However, given the number of teams needing to open up cap space, clearing his contract outright could be a challenge.

If Seattle is willing to move on from Driedger, one other option over the next couple of weeks could be a buyout.  Doing that would drop his cap charge to just $500K for next season but would add $1.5MM in dead cap space for 2024-25.  Alternatively, taking a contract back in the swap to help balance the money could help facilitate a move.  Either way, the fact they’re in this situation isn’t ideal, especially when it looked like Driedger’s career was on the rise just a couple of years ago.  Now, they just have to hope that another team thinks he’ll be able to recover his form from his final season in Florida.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top