Back in May, winger Kyle Okposo indicated that he wasn’t sure if last season would be his final one. Now three weeks into free agency and his first Stanley Cup title under his belt, the veteran told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen that he still hasn’t decided if he’ll return for an 18th NHL season. The 36-year-old played in 67 games last season between Buffalo and Florida, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists in 13:21 per night, the second-lowest ATOI of his career. Playing time was harder to come by in the playoffs as he averaged just 8:33 per contest in 17 appearances. After playing on a $2.5MM salary last season, Okposo would likely need to take a sizable pay cut if he wants to continue his NHL career in 2024-25.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Unrestricted free agent Evgeny Kuznetsov is expected to meet with SKA St. Petersburg next week to discuss a possible contract, his agent Shumi Babaev told Sport-Express’ Konstantin Belov. The 32-year-old asked for and was granted a contract termination from Carolina earlier this month but soon had some interest from other NHL teams. However, at the time of his termination, it was widely anticipated that he’d return home; SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg stated earlier this week that Kuznetsov would definitely be returning to the KHL.
- Sharks prospect Carson Wetsch has been added to Canada’s roster for the upcoming World Junior Summer Showcase, Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link). The winger was a third-round pick last month, going 82nd overall after a quality sophomore year with WHL Calgary, one that saw Wetsch record 25 goals and 25 assists in 67 games before a stint with Canada at the World Under-18s.
- The Senators announced that they’ve hired Josh Mallory as an assistant video coach. This is the first NHL opportunity for the 27-year-old. Mallory spent the last three seasons as the video coach and manager of hockey operations with WHL Edmonton.