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Free Agent Focus: NHL Utah

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Free agency is now just 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 franchise formerly known as the Coyotes.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Sean Durzi – Arizona took advantage of Los Angeles needing some cap space, flipping a second-round pick to land Durzi.  The move worked out extremely well for the then-Coyotes.  Durzi was thrust into a much bigger role than he had with the Kings and acquitted himself rather well, setting new career highs in assists (32), points (41), blocks (160), and ATOI (22:43).  He’s owed a qualifying offer of $2MM but stands to land considerably more than that, especially with salary arbitration rights.  A one-year deal could push past the $4MM mark but if Utah GM Bill Armstrong wants to try to lock him up to a long-term agreement that buys multiple years of club control, Durzi’s next contract could surpass $6MM per year.

F Barrett Hayton – After a breakout 2022-23 campaign, expectations were high for Hayton coming into this season.  However, things didn’t go as planned.  The 23-year-old missed 49 games due to a pair of injuries (hand and lower body) and when he was in the lineup, he wasn’t producing anywhere near the level that he was the year before, scoring just three goals while adding seven assists in 33 appearances.  His qualifying offer checks in at $2.13MM with arbitration rights which should allow him to get more than that based on his 2022-23 performance.  However, the long-term agreement that seemed likely a year ago probably won’t be coming this summer.

D Michael Kesselring – After getting a taste of NHL action last season, Kesselring played his way into a more prominent role in 2023-24.  He started the year in the minors but was recalled less than a month in and was up with Arizona the rest of the way.  Kesselring recorded a respectable 21 points in 65 games while averaging less than 16 minutes a night of ice time.  Although this is his first trip through restricted free agency, he’s already arbitration-eligible which could push his next contract higher than it might seem at first glance.  Without arbitration, his bridge deal could have been pegged around the $1.3MM mark but it should push past $1.5MM with his eligibility to go to a hearing where his 2023-24 performance would make a big difference in the award.

D J.J. Moser – Moser wasn’t counted on to play quite as many minutes this season but he still logged more ice time than everyone but Durzi.  A rare player to go from being drafted in the second round to being an NHL regular the following season, the 23-year-old is now entrenched as a key part of Utah’s back end for the foreseeable future.  He still has three years of club control remaining so Armstrong could opt for a second bridge contract which could still quadruple his $874K qualifying offer.  If they do look to work out a long-term agreement, it should check in closer to the $4.5MM mark.

D Juuso Valimaki – After being waived out of Calgary back in 2022, Valimaki has settled in as a quality regular on their back end.  However, he wasn’t able to match the 34 points he put up in his first season with the Coyotes who claimed him off the waiver wire, seeing his output cut in half this year.  Still, his qualifying offer checks in at only $1MM and while he has arbitration rights, the award shouldn’t be high enough to have Armstrong thinking about a non-tender.  He should at least double his salary from this season over the summer.

Other RFAs: F Curtis Douglas, F Jan Jenik, F Milos Kelemen, D Vladislav Kolyachonok, F Ben McCartney, D Victor Soderstrom

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Travis Boyd – When healthy, Boyd has been a decent secondary scorer.  Heading into this season, he was coming off two straight years of 34 points but he wound up clearing waivers in training camp although he was never sent down.  This year, he was limited to just 16 games due to a torn pectoral muscle although he still managed eight points despite averaging less than 10 minutes a night.  He also has plenty of experience playing down the middle which should help his value in theory.  That said, coming off a long-term injury, he’s likely heading for a contract around the league minimum.  However, of the many players who will find themselves in that situation in the coming weeks, he’s one with a bit more upside than most.

D Josh Brown – After being in and out of the lineup at times, Brown signed with Arizona in 2022 with the hopes of establishing himself as a full-timer.  While he played more than he sat both years, the 30-year-old was the seventh defender fairly frequently this season.  He’s a capable shot-blocker and plays with some snarl which will get him some interest in the summer but it’s likely to be for a depth role.  Those players will mostly be around the league minimum of $775K but Brown could check in slightly higher than that.

F Liam O’Brien – O’Brien led the NHL in penalty minutes this season while setting a new personal best in points (14) and hits (229).  There is still a role for some fourth line fighters across the league and as someone who can produce a little bit while playing that role, he should be able to garner some interest if Armstrong doesn’t re-sign him.  Having said that, this particular spot in the lineup is one that teams won’t want to spend much on so O’Brien might not be able to command too much more than the $800K salary he received this season.

Other UFAs: F Travis Barron, D Cameron Crotty, D Travis Dermott, D Steven Kampfer, F Justin Kirkland, D Patrik Koch, F John Leonard, F Bryan Little, F Ryan McGregor, F Nathan Smith, G Matt Villalta

Projected Cap Space

No team has more cap space than Utah this summer, checking in at over $43MM, an amount that could jump past $51MM if they were to fully utilized Shea Weber’s LTIR deal.  That doesn’t seem likely to happen but the days of this franchise being at the bottom of spending in terms of salary should be over now.  Their restricted free agents will take up a fair-sized chunk of this cap room but they’ll still have plenty of room to add multiple impact players this summer.  They could be players in free agency and on the trade front as a result.

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

Senators UFA Jacob Larsson Signs In Switzerland

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Rather than see what a trip through unrestricted free agency in July would yield, defenseman Jacob Larsson has opted to head overseas.  The Senators’ depth defender has signed a two-year contract with Rapperswil-Jona in Switzerland, per a team announcement.

The 27-year-old was a first-round pick by Anaheim back in 2015, going 25th overall but hasn’t been able to carve out a full-time NHL role just yet.  He spent five years in their system, getting into 165 NHL games during that span.  However, in 2022, the Ducks elected not to tender a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights, making Larsson an unrestricted free agent.

Unable to secure a one-way deal on the open market, Larsson accepted a one-year, two-way deal with Ottawa that summer.  While he got into seven games with the Sens, he spent the bulk of that year with AHL Belleville.  This season, he only saw game action in the minors despite a pair of recalls in the first half of the season.  With Belleville, Larsson played in 61 games, notching a career-best 33 points while adding five assists in seven playoff contests.

Considering the year he had in the minors, Larsson likely would have had strong interest on the open market from teams looking to make him a key defender in the AHL while being a serviceable recall if necessary.  However, he instead will try his hand different where he’s likely to play a big role for the Lakers for the next two years.  A good showing there could get him back on the NHL radar in 2026 if he decides to try his hand at playing in North America again.

Predators To Part Ways With Assistant Coach Dan Hinote

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The Predators have elected to make a change behind the bench for next season.  The team confirmed to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean that they will not renew the contract of assistant coach Dan Hinote when it expires at the end of June.

Hinote was an energetic winger over his nine-year NHL career split between Colorado and St. Louis.  He opted to play in Sweden for one final season in 2009-10 before hanging up his skates.

However, Hinote wasn’t out of a job for long as after retiring, he was named an assistant coach with Columbus.  The 47-year-old spent four seasons in that role before moving into scouting where he spent four more years with the Blue Jackets.  From there, he spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program before former Nashville GM David Poile brought Hinote onto their staff back in 2020.  After four years in that job, Hinote will now be on the lookout for another job.

While Hinote won’t be returning, their other assistants will.  Daugherty added that Nashville’s two other assistant coaches, Tom Richards and Derek MacKenzie, are expected to return next season so there will only be one new voice behind the bench on Andrew Brunette’s staff.

Notable Moves From The NCAA Transfer Window

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The NCAA Transfer Window is nearing its June 4th closing date, after staying open for 45 days rather than 30 for the first time following an October rule change. Collegiate athletes across all sports pushed for the increased window, naturally leading to much more eagerness to move schools. That’s shined through in men’s hockey, where many top players have left their posts in favor of a new role somewhere else. We’ll walk through some of the most notable moves today, as well as their impact on both the 2024-25 collegiate season and long-term effects on the NHL.

Breaking Down the Top Moves of the NCAA Transfer Window

Eric Pohlkamp (RD): Bemidji State to University of Denver

If there were ever an equivalent to Boston College’s ’Goalie U’ for defensemen, it’d be David Carle’s Denver Pioneers. They just stomped their way to a second National Championship in the last three years, largely thanks to a blue-line that featured top NHL prospects Shai Buium, Zeev Buium, and Sean Behrens. Shai and Behrens, both winners of the 2022 National Championship, have since signed their entry-level contracts in the NHL, leaving two massive holes atop the team’s depth chart. Zeev will likely assume his brother’s role atop the lineup – should he not be persuaded to turn pro by the team that drafts him – but Denver had to look externally to find the second half of their next top pair. And, true to the ’Defender U’ persona, they’ve found an absolutely perfect fit in San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp.

Pohlkamp had a breakout season in his final year in the USHL, boasting 16 goals and 51 points through 59 games with the 2022-23 Cedar Rapids Roughriders. It was the most a RoughRiders defender has scored since 2010 and Pohlkamp certainly looked the part, combining powerful and smooth skating with his hefty frame to blow through opponents and support the offensive rush. The performance was enough to convince San Jose to draft him in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, after he went undrafted in his first year of eligibility. He’s vindicated their decision, posting 11 goals and 24 points in his first 32 collegiate games.

After facing skepticism in his first year of draft eligibility, Pohlkamp has since firmly planted his feet as a top NHL prospect. He’ll now move to a red-hot University of Denver with the wind behind his sails. Pohlkamp’s ability to battle for possession and carry the puck out of the zone should be very welcome in a Carle lineup that thrived in the neutral zone last season – while his heft will be a nice balance for the fleeter Buium. Pohlkamp should be set up for a big season with the Pioneers, who will be looking to challenge the National title once again.

William Whitelaw (LW/RW): University of Wisconsin to University of Michigan

The University of Michigan lost a lot of talent following the end of their season. Each of Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, Dylan Duke, and eventually Seamus Casey signed with their respective NHL club, leaving substantial holes throughout the lineup. Some of those will be filled in by Michigan’s impressive recruitment class, including 2024 first-round hopefuls Matvei Gridin and Michael Hage, who will join in 2025. But the Wolverines were still in need of added bite in their top six during the transfer window.

And while they didn’t find as ideal of a match as Denver found in Pohlkamp, they’ve embraced similar potential, bringing in Columbus Blue Jackets prospect William Whitelaw after a slow freshman season at the University of Wisconsin. Whitelaw was one of many young players to transfer away from Wisconsin this Spring, and now seems set for a top role on a much more explosive Michigan offense. Whitelaw was the star forward of the Clark Cup-winning Youngstown Phantoms in 2022-23, recording a combined 41 goals and 70 points across 71 regular season and playoff games that year. The performance earned him a third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, though he was slow to follow it up, posting just 10 goals and 17 points in 37 games as a Wisconsin freshman.

Whitelaw’s game is rooted in his strong toolkit, boasting very sharp and aware stickhandling, agile skating, and a powerful shot that each make him a threat in the offensive zone. He’s certainly still working on how to use those skills cohesively with his teammates on the forecheck – growth that should be supported very well by the strong linemates Whitelaw will inherit in Michigan. Whether he play with McGroarty, Hage, or Gridin – any of the trio should help Whitelaw better find and maintain his tempo, while showing off how his raw skill can lead to goals. Whitelaw is a proven scorer when he’s in the right setting, but didn’t seem to have that setting in Wisconsin. He’ll look to remedy that on one of the most explosive offenses in college, in a what could be looked back on as a very lucrative move.

Matthew Wood (LW/C): University of Connecticut to University of Minnesota

The Pohlkamp and Whitelaw moves represent talented players moving to environments that should give their skillsets more room to shine. That’s not necessarily the case for Predators prospect Matthew Wood, who’s commanded a top-line role at UConn for each of the last two seasons. He’s been fantastic in his first two collegiate seasons, scoring 27 goals and 62 points over a combined 70 games and serving as the Huskies’ leading scorer in both years. Wood has been a dominant scorer since his days in youth hockey and even posted a combined 98 points in just 64 games during two seasons in the BCHL. He’s a tough and rugged winger who plays hard on the puck and puts plenty of power behind his shot. Many criticized his slow skating and lack of direction during his draft season, though his consistent scoring has always made him tough to doubt.

Wood will now move to a Minnesota lineup coming off the loss of top-line forward and team captain Jaxon Nelson, who signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins. Wood should be set up to be Nelson’s direct fill-in, serving in tandem with Chicago Blackhawks prospect Oliver Moore. The duo seem perfectly matched, with Moore boasting very speedy playmaking while Wood brings power and grit. Moore posted 33 points in 39 games as a freshman this season, despite scoring just nine goals on the year. He’ll be the perfect pointman for Wood, who should only continue scoring at a high rate on a Minnesota team looking to take back the Big Ten.

Tim Lovell (LD): Arizona State University to University of Michigan

Michigan headlined what was a very active Transfer Window for the Big Ten. In a corresponding move to Whitelaw’s addition, the Wolverines also brought in top Arizona State defender Tim Lovell to try to fill the hole left by Seamus Casey’s move to the NHL. But while Whitelaw is supplemented by a strong offensive recruiting class, Lovell could be in line to take on the lion’s share of Casey’s minutes. He’ll be one of the most experienced, and certainly the highest-scoring, collegiate defenseman on Michigan’s lineup next season, and while he could cede some ice time to 2024 NHL Draft prospect Will Felicio, Lovell’s ability to drive the puck down the ice should give him a strong advantage. That’s the trait that made Casey so dominant in college and was likely exactly what the Wolverines were looking for on the open market.

They’ve certainly found it in Lovell, who’s shown no fear in carrying the puck through his first three seasons with Arizona State. He’s subsequently posted 12 goals and 79 points across 119 collegiate games, boasting an offensive awareness that should blend well with Michigan’s style. But Lovell has faced criticism for his ability to keep up with defending the rush and holding his position when his team is off of the puck. Casey – who certainly faced similar concerns – was much more stout at controlling both ends of the ice, especially towards the end of his collegiate career. Michigan has found a similar offensive style and skillset in Lovell, but they may need to balance out his aggression with strong defense elsewhere in the lineup. This move is high-risk, high-reward; particularly for a Wolverines team that faced challenges with controlling high-tempo offenses last season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Golden Knights Hoping To Re-Sign Jonathan Marchessault

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The Vegas Golden Knights could find a way to re-sign hallmark winger Jonathan Marchessault, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period a recent NHL Now segment (Twitter link). Pagnotta shared that both sides have mutual interest in signing a new deal, though Vegas’ slim cap space has kept the team from engaging in any contract talks just yet. Marchessault spoke about these negotiations at the World Series of Poker, telling the Las Vegas Review, “They said they were interested to definitely re-sign me and we’ll see. Technically they have time until June 30, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Marchessault recently concluded a six-year, $30MM contract signed with Vegas in January of 2018. He earned the deal in the midst of a breakout season with the inagural Golden Knights, scoring 27 goals and 75 points in 77 games. The new extension marked Marchessault’s first time earning a salary north of $1.0MM and he’s only become more valuable, posting 165 goals and 342 points across the 437 games he played over the course of the deal. That includes Marchessault’s career-high 42 goals this season, making him just the second Golden Knight to hit the 40-goal mark alongside William Karlsson’s breakout 2017-18 campaign.

Marchessault has managed the strong scoring while serving a stout role on Vegas’ second line – averaging roughly 17 minutes of ice time in six of his last seven seasons. His modest spot in the lineup has been supplemented by a commanding role on the team’s powerplay, with no other Golden Knight playing more power-play minutes than Marchessault since 2018. And he’s vindicated the minutes, scoring 36 power-play goals and 87 points in a collective 1121 minutes.

Marchessault’s ability to offer consistent goal-scoring from the second line has been a big factor in Vegas’ recent lineup creativity. He’s fully carved out his role in Vegas and will be hard to replace should he enter free agency. But that could be the ultimate outcome, as the Golden Knights currently boast just $897.5K in cap space. They could look into trimming their cap hit on the trade market or through LTIR relief, per Pagnotta, though they’ll likely need to make a series of to afford Marchessault’s next deal.

The same factors that’s led Vegas to their cap constraints are likely also what’s kept them from engaging Marchessault in talks of an extension up to this point. The veteran winger told the Las Vegas Review that he expressed interest to Vegas about signing an extension last summer – sharing, “I asked last summer. I was like, ‘You know what? I would rather do it in the summer before the season.’ And they said they’re not ready to do that…” 

The Golden Knights instead spent the season getting as close to the salary cap as they could, even using lucrative trading to acquire Noah Hanifin’s contract at just 25 percent of its original cap hit and even getting the San Jose Sharks to retain 17 percent of Tomas Hertl’s cap hit. Timely LTIR relief helped them make the moves without exceeding the salary cap, though Vegas is now paying for the antics with a stressful summer ahead. Pagnotta added that pending free agents William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Anthony Mantha are each expected to leave the Golden Knights for free agency.

Carrier is notably an original Golden Knight, with the Buffalo Sabres sending Vegas a sixth-round draft pick to ensure they’d select him in the 2017 Expansion Draft. He’s since played in 372 games across seven seasons with Vegas – totaling 53 goals, 99 points, and 183 penalty minutes while averaging just 10:32 in ice time.

Losing the trio of Carrier, Amadio, and Mantha will leave notable holes in the Golden Knights’ bottom-six. With such little money to go around – especially if they re-sign Marchessault – the Golden Knights are likely hoping those holes can be filled by top young players like Pavel Dorofeyev, Brendan Brisson, and Grigori Denisenko.

Offseason Checklist: Tampa Bay Lightning

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The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Tampa Bay.

The Lightning managed to make the postseason for a seventh year in a row, but further confirmation that their contending window is coming to a close came swiftly via their cross-state rivals. The Panthers, now just one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, dispatched them in a quick five-game series, their first win in three playoff series against the Bolts. Now, with back-to-back non-elite regular seasons and a pair of first-round eliminations, general manager Julien BriseBois needs to pull off some tricks to keep the franchise from spiraling into mediocrity after its greatest stretch of success in franchise history.

Re-Sign Stamkos

BriseBois already checked one major item off his offseason checklist, acquiring some much-needed defensive help by acquiring former Bolt Ryan McDonagh from the Predators. Unfortunately, that’s created a temporary cap crunch that makes contract extension negotiations with captain Steven Stamkos much more difficult.

It isn’t the first time the future Hall-of-Famer has gotten dangerously close to becoming a UFA. Negotiations were testy after a five-year bridge deal expired in 2016, and he waited until 48 hours before the market opened to sign an eight-year, $68MM extension. With that deal now run out, Lightning fans will hope it doesn’t take that long again. It wouldn’t be a good sign for a player who, despite expressing a strong desire to remain in the only NHL market he’s ever known, was disappointed with the lack of extension talks last summer.

He’d likely take a discount on his market value, somewhere in the $8MM range annually, to stay in Tampa. But their current projected $5MM of cap space with a minimum of one other roster spot to fill likely won’t cut it, especially since he’s not eligible for performance bonuses.

They’ll need to free up space to get it done, something the rest of this checklist examines in more detail. But even as Stamkos’ even-strength numbers begin to dip, he’s a bonafide top-six winger that they don’t have the offensive depth to shoulder the loss of. He still managed to rack up over a point per game this season, recording yet another 40-goal campaign with 81 points in 79 contests. The 34-year-old was also their goal leader in the playoffs, lighting the lamp five times in five games.

Offload Bloated Forward Contracts

The Lightning reached three straight Stanley Cup Finals largely because of their cost-effective depth scoring. BriseBois has failed to continue that trend in the past two years thanks to a pair of ill-advised acquisitions.

One was much more harmful than the other, and he’s already on the trade block. BriseBois gave up five draft picks, including a first-rounder, to pick up grinder Tanner Jeannot from Nashville in a trade last year. He’s managed just eight goals and 18 points in 75 games for the Bolts since the deal and spent a good portion of the 2023-24 campaign on the shelf. Averaging fringe third-line minutes, they can’t afford to keep him at his $2.67MM cap hit next season. There’s still optimism around the league that he can rebound to his 24-goal form with the Preds two years ago, but with a 16-team no-trade list kicking in on July 1, they’ll need to move on from him in short order.

There’s also the matter of Conor Sheary, who BriseBois inked to a three-year, $6MM deal with trade protection in free agency last summer. He managed only four goals and 15 points in 57 games this season and was a healthy scratch for most of the stretch run, including all five of their playoff games. His spot in the lineup was replaced by minor-league call-up Mitchell Chaffee, who’s already inked a cost-effective extension with an $800K cap hit. His $2MM cap hit can’t be afforded for a player who provided league-minimum value this season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see BriseBois offload him in a pure cap-dump transaction. He has a full no-trade clause at the moment, although it downgrades to a 16-team no-trade list on July 1.

Combined, the moves would bring the Lightning’s cap space to nearly $10MM, enough to re-sign Stamkos and add a low-cost depth scoring forward on the free agent market to help replace Jeannot and Sheary.

Get Another LTIR Contract

Having retired defenseman Brent Seabrook’s contract on the books for the past two seasons was beneficial to the Bolts. After confirming he wouldn’t play again due to injury, Tampa acquired the Cup-winning defenseman’s $6.875MM cap hit from Chicago, placing him on long-term injured reserve for the past three seasons to help give them in-season spending flexibility.

That contract has now run out, though, and they’re entering the summer without anybody available to help fudge their spending limit. That doesn’t mean they can’t pull off another trade to acquire a dead contract, though. As part of their purchase of the Coyotes’ hockey operations, NHL Utah is picking up the final two seasons of injured center Bryan Little’s contract, which carries a $7.86MM cap hit. With Utah GM Bill Armstrong having full permission from ownership to spend to the salary cap, unlike years past in Arizona, Little’s deal becomes an inhibition for Utah rather than a benefit to help them hit the cap floor.

If they have interest in selling the final two seasons of Little’s contract, expect the Lightning to engage. It wouldn’t mean much for their off-season spending, but placing him on LTIR once the season starts could give them some slight in-season recall and trade flexibility. The few other LTIR-bound contracts around the league are proving advantageous to their current clubs, such as the Golden Knights’ Robin Lehner, so Little might be BriseBois’ only option if he wants to go that route.

Upgrade Backup Goaltending

Tampa struggled defensively, ranking below average in goals against, but it wasn’t all on their skaters. Star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy had a remarkably pedestrian season after recovering from preseason back surgery, allowing more goals than expected based on the shot quality he faced for the first time since 2015-16, per MoneyPuck. His .900 SV% was also right in line with the league average.

The four-time Vezina finalist could easily return to form after a healthy offseason, but relying on him to carry elite numbers through 60-65 appearances as he enters his 30s will become unrealistic. Throwing league-minimum backup Jonas Johansson to the wolves to start the season didn’t have good results, and he finished the campaign with a poor .890 SV% (that was still above his career average) in 26 appearances.

Waiving Johansson and spending even just $500K more on a more proven backup option in free agency could make a major difference in the standings for Tampa next season in an increasingly competitive Atlantic Division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NHL Sets Arbitration, Offer Sheet Thresholds For 2024

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Offer sheets haven’t overtaken offseason discourse in three years now. Only the Canadiens and Hurricanes have gotten in on the little-used RFA acquisition technique in recent years, with Montreal unsuccessfully trying to steal star center Sebastian Aho from Carolina in 2019 and the Canes gaining 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi via an unmatched one-year, $6.1MM offer.

There are some RFAs this summer that seem less-than-likely to re-sign with their current clubs, namely Hurricanes forward Martin Nečas and Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek. While both are expected to change hands via trade if they do move teams this summer, they’re both eligible to sign offer sheets if a team presents one.

Thresholds are derived from the league’s average salary, which jumped over six percent from last season. As such, the goalposts for each draft pick compensation tier have moved toward the higher-value end of the field, with PuckPedia confirming this year’s full breakdown:

AAV Draft picks required
$1.51MM or less No compensation
$1.51MM to $2.29MM Third-round pick
$2.29MM to $4.58MM Second-round pick
$4.58MM to $6.87MM First and third-round picks
$6.87MM to $9.16MM First, second and third-round picks
$9.16MM to $11.45MM Two firsts, a second and third-round picks
Over $11.45MM Four first-round picks

It is important to note that any team trying to sign a player to an applicable offer sheet must use their own draft picks for compensation, not acquired ones. That rules several teams out already from signing high-profile RFAs unless they were to work to reacquire their picks before submitting the contract.

An offer sheet’s average annual value is also calculated slightly differently than a standard contract. If the contract is longer than five years, the total salary is still divided by five to determine the AAV. That would mean a seven-year contract worth $8MM per season ($56MM total value) would carry an AAV of $11.2MM for the purposes of offer sheet compensation. For more information about the details of offer sheets, check out CapFriendly’s FAQ.

Additionally, with the league’s average salary rebounding past its pre-pandemic figure, the arbitration award required for a team to walk away from a deal has increased for the first time since 2020. That number is now roughly $4.74MM, per PuckPedia, jumping around $200K. If an arbitrator awards a one- or two-year deal with an AAV less than $4.74MM, a team must sign the contract.

Wild Fire Assistant Coach Darby Hendrickson

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The Wild fired assistant coach Darby Hendrickson on Friday after a 14-year run behind the Minnesota bench, general manager Bill Guerin announced.

Hendrickson, 51, had served as an assistant since the 2010-11 season, a few years after retiring from a lengthy playing career that included suiting up for the Wild in their first four years of existence. He’d played or served under all seven head coaches in Minnesota history. However, as Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic write, he becomes a casualty of head coach John Hynes looking to reshape his staff ahead of his first entire season with the club. As Russo and Smith reported, Guerin also felt it was time for Hendrickson to move.

“I would like to thank Darby for all his hard work and commitment to the Minnesota Wild during his long tenure with our organization,” Guerin said. “He has done a tremendous amount of good things for our team and the State of Hockey as a player and a coach. I wish Darby and his family all the best in the future.”

Hendrickson has no other coaching experience outside of his run with the Wild. He’ll now be considered for the numerous assistant vacancies remaining around the league.

As for the Wild’s vacancy created by Hendrickson’s firing, Russo and Smith believe it could be filled via an internal promotion. They suggest longtime Rangers pivot Derek Stepan will be considered after he spent the season around the organization shadowing coaching and hockey operations staff. However, he didn’t hold an official role with the club. The 33-year-old Stepan retired last summer after a 13-year, 890-game career with the Coyotes, Hurricanes, Rangers and Senators.

Latest On Dakota Joshua

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Canucks forward Dakota Joshua could be one of the more appealing depth scoring options on the free agent market if he doesn’t sign an extension before July 1. While both he and the team have expressed a willingness to get a new deal across the finish line, they’re not close to an agreement with one month until July 1, Rick Dhaliwal said on CHEK’s “Donnie & Dhali” earlier this week.

Negotiations with all of Vancouver’s pending free agents will likely be stuck in the mud until one of them takes a massive leap forward. General manager Patrik Allvin has one of the longest offseason to-do lists in the league. He has plenty of notable players on expiring deals. A lack of cost certainty for any of them makes it difficult to know how far they’re willing to go to retain any individual.

On the open market for the second time in his career, the breakout winger had 32 points in 63 contests for the ’Nucks this season, a 42-point pace had he played in all 82. He backed that up with strong possession numbers while averaging 14:23 per game, the highest usage of his four-year, 184-game career.

A late bloomer, Joshua is unlikely to take much of a further step forward at age 28, but he’s not afraid to lay the body and has fully established himself as a capable, versatile middle-six forward. He averaged 1:50 per game on Vancouver’s penalty kill this year and boasted positive relative possession results (0.5 relative CF%) in the process. Evolving Hockey projects a conservative two-year, $2MM AAV deal on the open market, likely due to his lack of experience, but few would be surprised if he lands nearly twice that figure.

That wide range of possible deals makes it difficult for Allvin to commit, considering he also needs to save funds to re-sign or replace top-six center Elias Lindholm and most of his defense corps, including Ian Cole, Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers and Nikita Zadorov. The Canucks have $23.75MM in projected cap space with up to eight open roster spots, CapFriendly projects.

One team that could come calling if Joshua is available come July 1 is the Maple Leafs. They selected him 128th overall in 2014 but traded his signing rights to the Blues before getting him under contract.

If so, he’d be open to signing this time around, James Mirtle of The Athletic said during a podcast appearance Thursday. He’d be a logical fit to replace Tyler Bertuzzi in their top nine if they can’t manage to extend him before free agency opens.

Stars’ Chris Tanev Remains Uncertain For Game 5

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The Stars may be without their top shutdown option on defense as they attempt to take a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference Final over the Oilers. Chris Tanev will officially be a game-time decision for Game 5 after blocking a shot in the second period of Game 4, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters this morning.

DeBoer said he was “optimistic” about Tanev’s ability. The veteran blue liner was seen in a walking boot while traveling back to Dallas yesterday.

If Tanev is unable to go, he may not be the only injury-related absence for the Stars tonight. DeBoer also told reporters that multiple forwards are dealing with ailments, and he likely won’t know who’s able to play until after warmup (via the team’s Bruce LeVine).

The Stars acquired Tanev, 34, from the Flames in late February for a package that included a second-round pick and defense prospect Artyom Grushnikov. While he’s only logged one assist in 17 games of postseason play, he’s been an incredibly valuable defensive presence and has averaged over 22 minutes per game.

Tanev’s +6 rating is third on the team behind Thomas Harley and Tyler Seguin (+8). He’s logged 170 minutes with Esa Lindell as his defense partner in the postseason, controlling 50.3% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

His absence would likely result in Nils Lundkvist entering the lineup for the first time this series. Veteran defensive specialist Jani Hakanpää remains unavailable with the lower-body injury that’s kept him out since mid-March, DeBoer said (via team radio host Owen Newkirk).

Lundkvist, 23, hasn’t played since Game 5 of the second round against the Avalanche and averaged just 4:27 per game in his 12 appearances earlier this postseason. Two other options, 2022 first-round pick Lian Bichsel and minor-league mainstay Derrick Pouliot, are rostered and theoretically available to play, although it would mark Bichsel’s NHL debut and Pouliot’s first playoff game since 2016 with the Penguins. Bichsel has been told to be prepared to play if Tanev is out, though, he told EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro.

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