The final full week of August is in the books and with training camps now just a few weeks away, there was some important news around the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.
Bridge Deals: A pair of core young players signed short-term contracts, reducing the number of remaining restricted free agents to nine. The Rangers inked Alexis Lafreniere to a two-year, $4.65MM deal which carries a $2.65MM qualifying offer in 2025. The 2020 first-overall pick posted career bests in assists (23) and points (39) last season but three years into his career, it’s fair to say New York was expecting more. This gives both sides more time to see if he can become the top liner they were hoping for. Meanwhile, the Oilers agreed to a two-year, $7.8MM pact with blueliner Evan Bouchard which carries a $4.3MM qualifier in 2025.
Eight For Hagel: In a move that might be fair to call as a surprise, the Lightning signed winger Brandon Hagel to an eight-year, $52MM extension which will begin in the 2024-25 campaign. The AAV of this contract ($6.5MM) is worth more than four times his current $1.5MM AAV. The 25-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22, prompting the Lightning to trade a pair of first-round picks to acquire him. Last season, he took another big step forward, notching career highs in goals (30), assists (34), points (64), and ATOI (18:39). Tampa Bay is certainly banking that this type of production will be the new norm for Hagel who now will be part of their long-term future.
Record-Setting Deal For Matthews: Auston Matthews made it clear that he wanted to sign a new contract with Toronto and did just that as the two sides worked out a four-year, $53MM extension that begins in 2024-25. The $13.25MM AAV is the highest in NHL history, surpassing Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM mark. Matthews is coming off a quiet year by his standards but still picked up 40 goals and 45 assists in 74 games last season, marking the fifth straight campaign that he has averaged more than a point per game. The 25-year-old has a pair of Rocket Richard trophies as the NHL’s leading goal-getter and is a true franchise center for the Maple Leafs. Notably, the contract is almost completely paid by performance bonuses so if the minimum salary across the NHL by the end of this agreement is higher than $900K, Matthews could wind up with a bit more money and a higher cap hit before all is said and done before getting another shot at a big-ticket contract at 31.
No Extension For Pettersson: While Hagel and Matthews signed early extensions, one player who won’t be doing so is Canucks center Elias Pettersson. Instead, he revealed that he doesn’t want any stress around the idea of in-season negotiations while his agent Pat Brisson stated that the decision to hold off allows both sides to evaluate before restarting discussions next spring. The 24-year-old is coming off a career season that saw him surpass the 100-point mark for the first time, the first time he has ever surpassed the point-per-game mark. At this point, an extension for Pettersson was likely to land somewhere in the $10MM to $10.5MM range; that number would certainly be higher if he can put up another campaign like his 2022-23 performance.
Hanging Them Up: Veteran goaltender Jonathan Bernier has officially called it a career at the age of 35. The 2006 first-round pick (11th overall) wasn’t quite able to become a true franchise netminder but still carved out a quality career for himself, playing in more than 404 games over 14 NHL seasons while posting a 2.78 GAA along with a .912 SV%. Unfortunately, Bernier’s playing days ended back in the 2021-22 campaign as he missed the majority of that season and all of this past one due to a hip injury. Meanwhile, free agent winger Joonas Donskoi also hung up his skates at the age of 31 after missing all of last season with a concussion. He suited up in seven NHL seasons with three different organizations and was a capable secondary scorer, collecting 208 points in 474 career appearances.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.