Archives for May 2024

Penguins Working To Hire Jaromír Jágr

May 25, 2024 at 5:16 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly working on hiring legendary winger Jaromír Jágr to their front office, shares Rob Rossi of The Athletic in an interview with Penguins’ President of Business Operations, Kevin Acklin. Acklin shared that the team is ready to enter a “new chapter” after Jágr’s retirement ceremony in February. The team has been working on recruiting Jágr ever since, recently making an extra push while visiting Prague for the World Championship.

Pittsburgh doesn’t yet have a clear idea of Jágr ’s role, though Acklin shared that it would center around Jágr spending most of his time in his hometown Kladno, Czechia. That’s where Jágr’s been since the 2017-18 season, serving as a player and owner for the Czechia Extraliga’s Rytíři Kladno. He’s continued defining his legacy with Kladno, elevating the team to the Czechia Extraliga in 2019, helping keep them afloat on the brink of relegation in 2022, and setting the record for the oldest player to score in professional competition with a goal in April. Jágr ’s age of 52 years and 63 days narrowly topped Gordie Howe’s long-standing record of 52 years and nine days.

Jágr’s return to Czechia has continued building out his memory as one of the greatest hockey players of all time – a legend he built across a 24-year career in the NHL. He played in 1,733 career NHL games – the fourth-most games played in NHL history – scoring 1,921 points, the most of any NHL player not named Wayne Gretzky. Jágr formed an all-time duo with Mario Lemieux in the first 11 seasons of his career, pitting the Penguins against the legacy lineups of the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, and Detroit Red Wings and leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cups. He was just as good when he kicked off a solo career around the NHL, playing with eight clubs in the final 13 years of his career, including four years with the New York Rangers. Jágr was productive until the very end, recording 16 goals and 46 points in the 2016-17 season, the most any NHL player 44 or older has scored or played in one season. He left the NHL following a knee injury in the subsequent season, taking his talents through the KHL before settling in Czechia. He continues to bring a positive impact to the lineup, recording four assists in 15 games during the regular-season and two points, one goal and one assist, in three postseason games.

The Penguins are now looking to reignite Jágr’s story in the NHL, while also solidifying their presence in central Europe. Acklin spoke gingerly about Jágr’s daily lift with the team, acknowledging just how busy his schedule has become in Czechia. Thus, Rossi acknowledges that Jágr would likely carry a minimal day-to-day role, adding that getting him in Pittsburgh just a few times a year would be a success for the Penguins. That could mean the legend is set for a modest scouting role, though Acklin praised Jágr’s understanding of the business side of the sport throughout Europe – built up over his time with Kladno. No timeline has been laid out for Jágr’s return to the Penguins organization, and President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas will have a final say on what his exact role will be. But there’s no doubting that any return to Pittsburgh – and reunion with Mario Lemieux – would add yet another layer to Jágr’s neverending legacy in the hockey world.

Photos courtesy of USA Today.

Offseason Checklist: Minnesota Wild

May 25, 2024 at 3:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

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 Minnesota.

After making the playoffs last season, expectations were relatively high for the Wild this season. They weren’t quite supposed to be at the top of the division but were squarely expected to be in the mix. That didn’t happen, resulting in an early-season coaching change. While they rebounded somewhat under John Hynes, they still came up short of making it back to the postseason. Now, GM Bill Guerin will be looking to make some tweaks to his roster although the bigger swings may have to come a little farther down the road. Here’s what should be on his checklist this summer.

Examine Gustavsson Trade Options

What a difference a year can make. This time last year, Filip Gustavsson was coming off finishing second in the NHL in GAA (2.10) and SV% (.931), albeit in just 39 games. Still, he did well enough to earn a three-year, $11.25MM contract after filing for salary arbitration and it looked like their goalie situation was relatively settled, at least for the short term.

This season, it was a different story. The 25-year-old saw his GAA jump by nearly a full goal per game, going to 3.06 while losing 32 points off his save percentage. He still picked up a few extra starts but simply failed to lock down the number one job as they were hoping for. That likely played a role in their decision to give Marc-Andre Fleury a one-year, $2.5MM extension last month for his 21st and final NHL campaign.

By all accounts, it appears that they feel Jesper Wallstedt, long viewed as their goalie of the future, is ready for full-time NHL duty. Clearly, they’re not trading Fleury (who has a no-move clause) after just signing him. Accordingly, unless they plan to carry three goalies (or shuttle Wallstedt) back and forth between Minnesota and AHL Iowa, it appears that Gustavsson may be the odd man out.

Early indications are that this could be a summer where there is more activity than usual on the trade front when it comes to goaltenders which is good news and bad news for the Wild. It’s good in that there will be more teams looking for options but with a larger supply of netminders potentially available, they’ll be hard-pressed to command a return of some significance, especially with Gustavsson coming off a down season. Guerin will need to determine what the best offer will be in the coming weeks and if that’s worth making a move now or potentially carrying three goalies into next season and see what the market looks like as the year goes on.

Work On Faber Extension

Last season, Brock Faber joined Minnesota for the final two games of the regular season and then suited up in all six playoff games in their opening-round loss to Dallas. He had a limited role in the postseason – perfectly understandable for someone just coming out of college – but showed enough to make it look like he could hold his own over a full NHL season in 2023-24.

Let’s just say he did better than that. A lot better, in fact. Instead of just holding his own, he became the Wild’s top defenseman pretty quickly. Not having Jared Spurgeon for most of the year due to injury certainly expedited that ascension but Faber more than earned the extra work as well. The end result was the 21-year-old leading all Minnesota blueliners with 47 points, 20 more than second-place Jonas Brodin. He logged nearly 25 minutes a night which not only led all Minnesota players but he had the sixth-highest ATOI in the entire NHL. He played big minutes on both special teams units as well. This is not the type of workload you’d expect a rookie who is now barely a year removed from playing college to be carrying.

The fact that he did so while playing on an entry-level deal was huge for the Wild. It’s great news for next season as well. But after that, the price tag is going to skyrocket and justifiably so.

The final year of Faber’s contract begins on July 1st, making him eligible to sign an extension at that time. While there is definitely some risk in handing out what would be one of the richest extensions in franchise history to a player with one full season under his belt, there’s also some risk in not signing him now and then Faber going and having an even better effort in 2024-25 in which case the price would go even higher.

Minnesota’s camp will likely try to use recent deals that Jake Sanderson ($8.05MM) and Owen Power ($8.35MM) signed as comparables but Faber has been more impactful in his early career which means his camp could push for $9MM or more, especially knowing that the deal won’t kick in until 2025-26 when the salary cap could be higher than $90MM. A new agreement doesn’t necessarily have to get done in the coming months but it stands to reason that this will be one of the higher priorities for Guerin.

Free Up Cap Space

The Wild have been operating well below the salary cap for the past several years thanks to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise back in 2021. It was an outcome that Guerin knew he was getting into but he wanted to reshape the roster. While there are still five years left on their respective buyout charges, next season is the last of the whopping charges with each player carrying a dead cap charge of $7.371MM. (That number drops to $833K starting in 2025-26 which is much more manageable although a good chunk of the savings will be going to Faber.)

Guerin was aggressive with signing some veteran players to early extensions last season which has left Minnesota with minimal space to work with this summer assuming none of them are moved. Per CapFriendly, they have less than $6MM left in cap room with a handful of roster spots to fill. While it’s worth noting that of their pending free agents, none project to command a pricey contract, they also won’t have a lot of flexibility to work with to add to their roster.

Accordingly, finding a way to open up a bit more flexibility would certainly help. If they move Gustavsson and promote Wallstedt, that would free up $2.825MM to work with. Could they find a home for the final year and $2MM left on Marcus Johansson’s deal? Even flipping Jonathon Merrill’s $1.2MM elsewhere and carrying a cheaper seventh defender would give them some extra room. Every little bit is going to make a difference if they want to try to add an impact piece in the coming months.

Add Top-Six Forward

Speaking of impact pieces, they need one up front. After being in the top five in scoring in 2021-22, the Wild haven’t cracked the top 20 in that department over the last two seasons. While Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek gave them a solid 105 goals combined, the rest of their forwards tallied just 108 combined. That means the secondary scoring wasn’t there consistently enough.

Minnesota will be hoping there will be some internal growth to help bridge some of that gap. Marco Rossi had a solid rookie year and they’ll be counting on more from him. They’ll hope that Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov can become capable producers in their first full seasons in North America and if that happens, their offense could get back toward the middle of the pack.

That said, they could certainly benefit from a more proven addition to the lineup. At a minimum, that player would serve as a bridge piece for some of the youngsters (a group that also includes Danila Yurov who could debut late in the 2024-25 campaign) to have some time to step up. If some of those younger pieces are ready sooner than later, then the veteran helps create a third scoring line which could only help things.

The good news is that there are plenty of these types of players available in free agency. Someone like David Perron would fit if they want just a short-term addition to let the youngsters get a bit more time to develop. Same with Adam Henrique if they want to add down the middle. If they want to aim higher, Tyler Toffoli, Teuvo Teravainen, and Vladimir Tarasenko stand out on the wing while someone like Chandler Stephenson would help at center.

The challenge, of course, is most of the players in this group will take up the majority (if not all of) Minnesota’s current cap space. That makes it a bit more important to open up some more flexibility on that front before the calendar flips to July and free agency opens up.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Sharks, Stauber, Hintz

May 25, 2024 at 2:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Considering where the Sharks are in their rebuild, it might not make sense on the surface for them to be buyers this summer. However, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now suggests in a piece for NBC Sports Bay Area that it would be advisable for San Jose to be buyers in certain circumstances, such as adding insurance down the middle with some uncertainty surrounding Logan Couture which could also take a bit of pressure off expected top pick Macklin Celebrini.

Additionally, there’s a case to be made that the Sharks should add multiple defenders to a group that struggled considerably this season. That would allow someone like Mario Ferraro to play in a more optimal spot on the depth chart which could help from a possible future trade standpoint while ideally creating a more competitive environment. With more than $38MM in cap room this summer per CapFriendly, GM Mike Grier can look to be active in free agency, take on some unwanted contracts while adding more future pieces or, more likely, a combination of both options will be utilized in the coming weeks.

Tyler Toffoli Expected To Test Free Agency

May 25, 2024 at 1:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Jets will be now turning their focus to their roster after Scott Arniel was elevated to the head coaching position on Friday. With several free agents of note and not a lot of cap space to work with, they’ll face a situation of trying to pick between who to keep and who to let go. It appears that winger Tyler Toffoli will be among the ones that move on as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the veteran is expected to hit the open market in July.

The 32-year-old has moved around in recent years. This time a year ago, he was with Calgary before being moved to New Jersey after early extension talks went nowhere. Then at the trade deadline, he was on the move again with Winnipeg flipping a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-rounder to get him as a rental to give their offense a boost in the tight Central Division.

The change of scenery bolstered Winnipeg’s attack but Toffoli saw his numbers dip somewhat. After putting up 26 goals and 18 assists in 61 games with the Devils, the veteran recorded seven goals and four helpers in 18 regular season games with the Jets. Like many of Winnipeg’s key forwards, Toffoli was somewhat quiet in their five-game loss in the opening round, recording just two goals.

Toffoli was one of the more prominent scorers available in his last trip through free agency back in 2020. However, in a deflated market, he wound up settling for a four-year, $17MM agreement with Montreal. Despite playing for four years on that contract, Toffoli wound up being pretty consistent, notching at least 20 goals each time while tallying 115 times in 287 games; that works out to an average of 33 goals per 82 contests. With a lot of teams looking to add scoring this summer, this should work out in Toffoli’s favor.

While the fact he has bounced around so much lately may raise some eyeballs (he played for two different teams in 2019-20 before signing with Montreal the following summer), Toffoli has shown that he can produce in a new system quite quickly. Accordingly, he should be well-positioned to earn another multi-year agreement and could push to land a contract in the range of last year’s top-paid forward Alex Killorn, who inked a four-year, $25MM agreement with Anaheim. That would be a nice improvement after how things went for Toffoli last time out.

Rangers Recall 13 Players

May 25, 2024 at 12:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With the Rangers seeing their AHL team eliminated in the Atlantic Division Finals earlier this week, they were free to recall some players to the big club to serve as their ‘Black Aces’ squad. After taking a few days, they’ve made their choices on who to bring up. AHL Hartford announced that the Rangers have promoted goaltender Dylan Garand, defensemen Ben Harpur, Connor Mackey, Victor Mancini, Matthew Robertson, and Brandon Scanlin, and forwards Alex Belzile, Brett Berard, Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, Brennan Othmann, Tyler Pitlick, and Adam Sykora from the Wolf Pack.

Garand was briefly up with the Rangers earlier in the playoffs when third-stringer Louis Domingue was unavailable but didn’t see any game action. The 21-year-old didn’t have a particularly strong regular season with a 3.03 GAA and a .898 SV% in 39 regular season games but was quite sharp in the playoffs, improving those numbers to 2.59 and .922 respectively in nine appearances.

Among the blueliners, only Mackey and Scanlin saw action with the Rangers during the regular season, getting into one game apiece; one of them would likely be the first from this group to get the call to play if necessary. Harpur has the most experience with 198 career appearances (including 42 with New York in 2022-23) but missed most of the season due to injury which likely takes him off the table. Mancini, meanwhile, is eligible to practice but not play as his entry-level contract doesn’t officially begin until next season.

As for the forwards, all but Belzile, Berard, and Sykora got into at least one NHL contest in 2023-24. Pitlick led the way on that front with 34 appearances but was limited to just a goal and three assists while averaging a little over 10 minutes a night. That said, he’d be the safest player to put in the lineup if necessary given his familiarity. Othmann is one of their top prospects and had a strong year in Hartford with 49 points in 67 games. While it would be riskier to put him in, his style of play fits in with the physicality of the postseason while Othmann could provide some potential offensive upside if Peter Laviolette has to shake things up.

Atlantic Notes: Perron, Domi, Sobolev

May 25, 2024 at 11:40 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Red Wings winger David Perron is slated to reach unrestricted free agency this summer after two seasons with Detroit. However, as he told Sebastien Lajoie of La Tribune, his preference would be to avoid hitting the open market and simply stick around with the Red Wings. The soon-to-be 36-year-old was a productive secondary scorer this season, notching 17 goals and 30 assists in 76 games, finishing just a point shy of cracking the top five in team scoring. Perron added that he plans to play for at least two more years which means he’ll likely be looking for a multi-year deal this summer. His set-to-expire deal carried an AAV of $4.75MM and it’s possible he could land a bit more this time around.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

While there is believed to be mutual interest in an extension for Maple Leafs forward Max Domi, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (subscription link) that no numbers have been exchanged yet which suggests that talks haven’t really begun yet. The 29-year-old managed just nine goals this season after putting up 20 in 2022-23 but he did record 37 assists, the second-highest total of his career. Having played for six teams in the last five years, it seems safe to suggest that Domi will be looking for a multi-year after playing on one-year, $3MM contracts the last two seasons.
Canadiens prospect Daniil Sobolev has signed a two-year deal with Spartak of the KHL, per a team release. The 21-year-old blueliner was a fifth-round pick by Montreal back in 2021, going 142nd overall. Sobolev split this season between OHL Niagara and Brantford, notching seven goals and 18 assists in 64 games. The Canadiens have until June 1st, 2025 to sign Sobolev so he’ll need a big year overseas to have a chance at landing an entry-level deal.

Morning Notes: Vesey, Guentzel, Skjei

May 25, 2024 at 10:15 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

Sportsnet is reporting that New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey left Game 2 last night against the Florida Panthers after taking a high hit from Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg. Vesey was ruled out of the game with an upper-body injury before the start of the third period. The Boston, Massachusetts native has dressed in 11 playoff games this season, tallying a goal and two assists.

Vesey’s injury could allow forward Blake Wheeler to return to action. Wheeler skated in the pre-game last night but ultimately did not dress. The 37-year-old Wheeler has been out of action since he suffered a scary lower-body injury back on February 15th. There is no word yet on Vesey’s status as he is being evaluated.

In other morning notes:

Despite the movement in their front office with Don Waddell’s departure, the Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly engaged in contract extension talks with trade deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel (per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic). The forward was a seamless fit in Carolina and has expressed an interest in staying with the Hurricanes long-term. LeBrun says that the Hurricanes initiated the contract talks with the star forward but it remains to be seen if they will be able to meet his asking price which could hover around $9MM annually on a long-term contract. Guenzel has averaged 36 goals per 82 games during his career and will be in high demand should he reach the open market.
The Hurricanes have also reportedly continued contract discussions with defenseman Brady Skjei (as per Pierre LeBrun). The 30-year-old has been with Carolina for five seasons and has been in extension talks with the Hurricanes intermittently since last summer. Skjei is coming off a career year in which he posted 13 goals and 34 assists in 80 games and has become an exceptional two-way defenseman playing alongside Brett Pesce. Skjei does a bit of everything and his offensive outburst this past season isn’t outside of the norm for him given that he had 18 goals during the 2022-23 season. He will be in high demand if he reaches free agency on July 1st.

Free Agent Focus: Washington Capitals

May 25, 2024 at 8:52 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

Free agency is now just a bit more 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 Capitals.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Connor McMichael – Former first-round pick McMichael finally found consistent playing time and offensive success at the NHL level after bouncing back and forth between Hershey and Washington. Two years ago, the Ajax, Ontario native was a regular in the Capitals lineup, but last year he found himself back in Hershey. During the 2023-24 season, McMichael dressed in 80 NHL games tallying 18 goals and 15 assists while playing almost 16 minutes a night. The 23-year-old appears likely to start next season as the Capitals third line center and should receive a healthy bump in pay from the $832,500 he made this past year. Given his offensive breakout, it seems reasonable to guess that McMichael will find himself on a short bridge contract in the range of $2MM-$3MM per year.

F Beck Malenstyn – Malenstyn had a breakout season this past year dressing in 81 games while posting six goals and 15 assists. The 26-year-old was a fifth-round pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft and spent four years in the AHL with Hershey before finding full-time duty this season in Washington. Malenstyn might not have posted much in the way of offense, but he appeared to earn the trust of the Capitals coaching staff with his speed and work ethic. The Delta, British Columbia native started a whopping 92.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone (per Hockey Reference), a strikingly high number, especially for a younger player. As you might expect from that kind of deployment, Malenstyn posted terrible possession numbers with a CF% of 33.8% (per Hockey Reference). Malenstyn figures to get a good bump from the $775K this past season as he is arbitration-eligible and could be looking at a salary that doubles what he took home last season.

Other RFAs: C Ethen Frank, G Mitchell Gibson, D Hardy Häman Aktell, F Alex Limoges, F Riley Sutter

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Max Pacioretty – The hope when Pacioretty signed with the Capitals was that he would get healthy and provide some offensive depth. While he suffered some serious setbacks, he did manage to dress in 47 games for Washington, his highest total since the 2020-21 season when he played 48 games. Pacioretty’s comeback was heroic after suffering back-to-back Achilles injuries, but his speed was badly diminished and he struggled at times to keep up with the pace of his counterparts. Pacioretty still managed to post four goals and 19 assists last year while collecting $2MM in salary and another $2MM in bonuses, however, his CF% fell to a career-low 46.9% at even strength. At 35, he will still find work in the NHL, but it likely won’t be with Washington given that the Capitals have so many younger (and faster) players pushing for NHL jobs.

F Nicolas Aubé-Kubel – The 28-year-old Aubé-Kubel had the second-best offensive season of his career this past year with six goals and 10 assists in 60 games while playing a career-high 12:12 per game. On the surface, it looks like a terrific season for the Slave Lake, Alberta native, but his increase in ice time was largely due to the Capitals’ injury struggles and his extra playing time was more of a necessity than anything else. Aubé-Kubel’s underlying numbers fell to a career-low as his CF% was just 43.4% and his FF% fell to 42.5% (per Hockey Reference). While he performed better than his fellow fourth-liners it seems highly unlikely that the Capitals will look to extend Aubé-Kubel and may opt to chase a replacement in free agency or find an internal one.

F Matthew Phillips – Phillips has been a solid AHL scorer for several seasons and finally got an extended look in the NHL this past year. It didn’t go as hoped for the 26-year-old as he posted just a goal and four assists in 31 games while being claimed off waivers twice. Phillips is in a unique position as a Group 6 UFA (meaning he is 25 years or older and has completed three or more professional seasons in which he’s played one or more professional games). At 5’8” and just 160 lbs, Phillips is very undersized by NHL standards, however, teams will be intrigued by his offensive skill and will likely offer him a two-way contract at the NHL minimum, with a healthy downside salary at the AHL level.

Other UFAs: D Lucas Johansen, D Chase Priskie, F Joe Snively

Projected Cap Space

The Capitals will head into the summer with around $6.7MM in cap space but could have upwards of $16MM depending on the status of center Nicklas Bäckström who appears likely to remain on LTIR for the remainder of his contract. The Capitals could also explore a trade for goaltender Darcy Kuemper who carries a $5.25MM cap hit for three more seasons, although that might be a tough task given his struggles last season. Up front, the Capitals have some holes to fill, particularly at center. Given his recent history, it seems likely that general manager Brian MacLellan will explore a short-term deal for a veteran or take a chance on a bounce-back candidate as they did with Dylan Strome in the summer of 2022. The Capitals could also be in the market for a depth defenseman as they have some uncertainty on the backend with Trevor van Riemsdyk’s struggles. A versatile veteran, van Riemsdyk can play on both sides of the ice, but adding another blueliner would give Washington some options heading into next season.

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

Offseason Checklist: Pittsburgh Penguins

May 24, 2024 at 9:03 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 4 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins came into the 2023-24 season with playoff expectations after turning over nearly half of their roster last summer and acquiring reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. However, things didn’t go as planned as the power play and poor team defense were the Penguins’ undoing, leading them to miss the playoffs for a second straight season and just the third time since Sidney Crosby’s arrival in 2005. General manager Kyle Dubas made a lot of moves last summer after arriving from Toronto and has now had a full season to evaluate the team’s needs and how he can help get the group back into the playoff picture. The Penguins have one of the oldest rosters in the league and Dubas has expressed interest in getting younger which will make for a busy summer in Pittsburgh.

Extension Talks

The Penguins have plenty of holes to fill on their roster but all the talk over the next month will be about Crosby’s potential extension that he is eligible to sign on July 1st. It seems likely that the Penguins will be extending Crosby as both he and the team have expressed strong interest in him ending his career in Pittsburgh. Until that deal is done and sealed, the talk in Pittsburgh will be about the future of 87. Crosby had a season for the ages at 36 years old and could command any number he wanted on the open market. However, he has taken a hometown discount on each of his last two extensions and has had an $8.7MM average annual value since 2008-09. With his next deal, Crosby may finally elect to carry a cap hit north of $10MM for the first time in his career, although it wouldn’t be shocking to see him take less once again so the Penguins can add to their lineup. Much of the chatter has been about Crosby inking a short-term extension in July, one that could take him to the end of Kris Letang’s current contract.

The Penguins also have a few other players of note that will become extension-eligible on July 1st. Marcus Pettersson is the most defensively consistent player on the Penguins roster and has developed into a very effective shutdown defender for Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old posted career highs this past season tallying four goals and 26 assists while registering a plus-28 rating. He plays a quiet responsible game and has been asked to play alongside both Karlsson and Letang, leading to both players showing more effectiveness when paired with the big Swede. Karlsson struggled when he wasn’t paired with Pettersson and showed a noticeable decline when flanked by Ryan Graves. Pettersson is slated to make just $4.025MM in the final year of his five-year deal and could command upwards of $6MM on a long-term deal should he reach unrestricted free agency. The Penguins have reportedly already initiated contract talks with Pettersson, which makes sense given that they don’t have many effective defenders in their lineup. The team could explore a potential offseason trade, but it would leave a massive hole in their top four and provide another issue for Dubas to solve.

Drew O’Connor is another Penguins player who will be eligible for an extension this summer and is coming off a career year. The 25-year-old has been on the cusp of becoming an NHL regular for a number of years and finally lived up to the potential that many pundits thought he had when the Penguins signed him out of the NCAA back in March 2020. O’Connor had 16 goals and 17 assists in 79 games this season while finally using his speed and size to become a disruptive force on the Penguins forecheck. O’Connor spent the final few weeks of the regular season paired with Sidney Crosby and didn’t look out of place on the Penguins’ first line scoring six goals in the Penguins final 12 games. A contract extension with O’Connor would carry a great degree of risk, but plenty of upside as well depending on the version of O’Connor the Penguins could get long-term. He has proven himself to be a solid third-line winger on the Penguins, but if he were their answer on Crosby’s wing, it would open up an opportunity to extend him at a discount for the foreseeable future. At this stage it seems likely the Penguins will wait to see the kind of player that have in O’Connor this season before extending him long-term.

Add/Replace Depth Scoring

The Penguins don’t have many pending free agents as most of their top-end players are already signed for the 2024-25 season. However, they don’t have many impact players in the bottom of their lineup at the moment and desperately need to inject some offensively gifted players into their bottom-six forward group.

The Penguins don’t have much in the pipeline in terms of young NHL-ready forwards, but a few prospects could challenge for roles next season. Valtteri Puustinen appears ready for full-time NHL work and could see time on the Penguins’ third line, as well as recent trade acquisitions Ville Koivunen and Vasili Ponomarev, both of whom were acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade.

Last summer Dubas opted for a defensive first bottom six in hopes that the Penguins top six forwards could carry the weight offensively. While the likes of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Letang and Karlsson provided the offensive punch, the bottom six didn’t offer much help in the scoring department, particularly the fourth line that had several long stretches without a single goal. Lars Eller had a good season as the Penguins’ third-line center, but given his skill set and age he would probably be better suited as the Penguins’ fourth-line center, a move that would push current center Noel Acciari to the wing. 32-year-old Acciari struggled in his first year in Pittsburgh posting just four goals and three assists in 55 games and would benefit from an easier assignment on the wing. Acquiring a third-line center would have a positive ripple effect on the bottom two lines and could be enough to create some additional scoring throughout the Penguins lineup. Pittsburgh’s limited cap space will make an addition like that a challenge, but a few names to keep an eye on would be free agents Chandler Stephenson and Jack Roslovic.

If the Penguins are unable to add a third-line center, a speedy winger such as Anthony Duclair would be a good addition under head coach Mike Sullivan’s system.

Add Top-Six Winger

The Penguins will have roughly $13MM in cap space this summer when free agency opens and they have a need for another top-six winger, particularly if they trade Reilly Smith. The Penguins made a sound move in acquiring Smith last summer from the Vegas Golden Knights, however, the 33-year-old didn’t fit with Pittsburgh and struggled to 13 goals and 27 assists while playing primarily with Evgeni Malkin. If the Penguins are able to move Smith and his $5MM cap hit, it would open up a lot of options in free agency, or potentially the trade market.

A name that has been thrown around has been former Penguin Jake Guentzel who was Crosby’s running mate since breaking into the NHL in the 2016-17 season. Crosby and Guentzel have remarkable chemistry and in theory, the move is a no-brainer. However, the Penguins never fully engaged Guentzel on an extension when he was with the team and signing him would run against Dubas’ comments about the team getting younger.

Another potential reunion that would be available for the Penguins could be Jason Zucker who split last season between Arizona and Nashville. The 32-year-old had 14 goals and 18 assists in 69 games, a steep drop from his final season in Pittsburgh when he tallied 27 goals and 21 assists in 78 games. Zucker had good chemistry with Evgeni Malkin in his final season with the Penguins and his speed would be a good fit in Sullivan’s system.

Outside of former Penguins, one winger that Pittsburgh could target would be Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins. DeBrusk is one of the younger free-agent wingers at just 27 years old and would be a great addition to Pittsburgh’s top-6 forward group. A solid two-way forward, DeBrusk had a down year this season posting just 19 goals and 21 assists in 80 games. The former first-round pick has the talent to be a 40-goal scorer in the NHL but has never topped 27 goals in a season, despite hitting the 25-goal mark on three separate occasions. DeBrusk could be a cheaper option for the Penguins to slide in alongside Sidney Crosby and could provide Crosby with a solid scoring winger during the twilight of his career.

Make The Goalie Splash

The Penguins coaching staff didn’t show much trust in starter Tristan Jarry down the stretch as backup netminder Alex Nedeljkovic started Pittsburgh’s final 13 games and nearly willed the club into the playoffs. Nedeljkovic steadied the Penguins goaltending situation at the end of the season but is a pending unrestricted free agent and likely priced himself out of Pittsburgh with his solid play down the stretch. That leaves Jarry and youngster Joel Blomqvist as the Penguins’ top two options heading into next season and could become a real issue as the Penguins look to get back to the playoffs.

Jarry was signed to a five-year deal last July in a move that was a necessity for the Penguins since there weren’t many better goaltending options available. The 29-year-old started the season well and had some solid stretches of play, but overall, his numbers were pedestrian as he finished the season 19-25-5 with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Jarry remains a talented netminder and could probably generate some interest on the trade market but he has a history of playing poorly when the games matter the most and also has a long injury history as well.

Dubas has stated that the Penguins could start next season with Jarry and Blomqvist as their top two netminders but haven’t exactly shown a lot of confidence in Jarry given his lack of play in April of this past season. If the Penguins do opt to move on from Jarry it would not be easy as goaltender trades have been complicated in recent seasons as evidenced by the Flames’ inability to move netminder Jacob Markstrom. The Penguins could look to swap contracts with another club that has a struggling goaltender or attempt to go after a bigger fish such as 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, but that would require additional resources that Dubas may not be willing to commit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Senators, Kane

May 24, 2024 at 7:22 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 11 Comments

Chris Johnston reported on his show today that former NHLer Marc Savard could be headed to the Toronto Maple Leafs to join their coaching staff just a few days after mutually agreeing to part ways with the Calgary Flames. Savard returned to the NHL this past year as an assistant coach with Calgary but previously worked with Toronto’s new head coach Craig Berube in St. Louis during the 2019-20 season. After his run with the Blues, Savard spent two seasons as the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League guiding the team to an 88-35-8-4 record during that time (.695 winning percentage).

The 46-year-old ran the Flames power play this past season, which was seventh worst in the NHL. However, when Savard ran the Blues power play under Berube, St. Louis had the third-best power play in the NHL at 24.3%.

In other Atlantic Division notes:

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that the Ottawa Senators are likely to pursue Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark prior to the NHL entry draft next month. The Bruins have received some of the best goaltending in the league over the last two seasons and are in a predicament as they want to sign Jeremy Swayman to a long-term deal but will have Ullmark’s $5MM on their salary cap for one more season. The Senators were reportedly among the teams that tried to acquire Ullmark prior to the NHL trade deadline but were unable to complete a deal. Ottawa received some of the worst goaltending in the NHL last season despite inking free agent Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year $20MM deal last summer. The goaltender position has been a revolving door for the Senators since veteran Craig Anderson left town as a free agent back in 2020.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic is reporting that it seems likelier than not that Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane will go to free agency on July 1st, but he believes that Kane’s agent Pat Brisson will talk to the Red Wings in the next couple of weeks. Kane took a one-year deal for $2.75MM this past season and will be looking for more term on his next contract after posting solid numbers coming off hip resurfacing surgery. Kane dressed in 50 games for Detroit this season, tallying 20 goals and 27 assists while averaging a career-low in ice time at just 18:23 per game.

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