PHR Originals: 9/1/25 – 9/7/25
The waning days of summer yielded plenty of original content over the past seven days here at PHR as we eagerly wait for an uptick in transactions with training camps on the horizon. In case you missed them earlier, we’ll run through the pieces here. And if you have suggestions for content or features for the upcoming season, please note them here.
As is always the case, last season saw some players have breakout years and other long-time producing veterans wound up struggling. Josh Cybulski took a look at some of the players who could be in line for bounce-back seasons with Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry, Vancouver center Elias Pettersson, and Los Angeles winger Andrei Kuzmenko among the candidates to see their performance tick back up in the right direction.
Josh Erickson held his usual weekly chat plus an extra one on Labor Day. In the first, topics included the state of the Devils and the Luke Hughes negotiations, whether St. Louis should look into moving Jordan Binnington, and Filip Chytil’s potential as he’s set to begin his first full season in Vancouver. In the second, discussion points including Wyatt Kaiser remaining unsigned in Chicago, Berkly Catton’s potential to make Seattle’s roster next season, and who the first head coach to be fired might be this season.
Our Summer Synopsis continued as I examined Seattle’s offseason while Brennan McClain and I did the same for San Jose. The Kraken were busy early on with the hiring of a new coach and the promotion of Jason Botterill to GM but there wasn’t a lot of roster turnover although they added some grit on the wing in Mason Marchment and some defensive depth in Ryan Lindgren. Meanwhile, the Sharks were quite active this summer, swinging five trades while bringing in several veterans on short-term deals, including Dmitry Orlov, Jeff Skinner, and John Klingberg. San Jose isn’t expected to be in contention for a playoff spot but with so many short-term contracts on their books, they could be active on the trade front over the coming months as well.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic wasn’t expecting to be in this summer’s free agent class but he was among the few players who were bought out in June, sending him to the open market for the first time. Josh Cybulski looked at the veteran blueliner’s options while noting that a guaranteed NHL deal is going to be difficult for him to come by at this time. Vlasic made it clear he intends to keep playing but at this time, he’ll either have to settle for a PTO or look at overseas opportunities.
Among the changes that the NHL and NHLPA would like to bring in for the upcoming season is an exemption that would allow each NHL team to assign one 19-year-old CHL player to the minors. That amendment is pending an agreement between the NHL and CHL that is not yet in place at this time. If something can be worked out, Josh Erickson previewed some of the candidates to start in the AHL, including several top prospects.
Our tour of the Central Division continued in our annual Salary Cap Deep Dive series as I profiled Minnesota. The Wild had ample cap space at their disposal this summer for the first time in several years but wound up largely staying quiet aside from the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko and the signing of Nico Sturm. They left themselves ample flexibility to re-sign Marco Rossi and now, barring any late-summer activity, will be in a spot to bank plenty of cap space over the course of the season.
The Islanders brought in a new GM this summer with Mathieu Darche taking over. He made one significant trade by moving Noah Dobson to Montreal but has made it clear that he’s not intent on beginning a rebuild despite adding three lottery picks to his prospect pool in June. Josh Cybulski wonders what the team will be able to do this season; there’s a viable path for them to get back to the playoff picture but if some of their veterans struggle, they could find themselves outside the postseason once again with the odds of another draft lottery win being rather low.
While Matthew Tkachuk’s surgery will give Florida some LTIR flexibility heading into the season (though not as much as expected with the new LTIR rules coming into play this year instead of next), that will only allow them to kick the can down the road for a little bit when it comes to getting into cap compliance upon Tkachuk’s eventual return. Josh Erickson went through the roster for the Panthers to see what players could be the odd ones out when Florida gets back to full health midseason.
Kris Letang has been a mainstay on Pittsburgh’s back end for the better part of two decades; he’s set to play his 20th season with them this season. But his offensive output dropped sharply last season to 30 points, his lowest total since 2013-14 when he missed more than half the season due to injury. Josh Cybulski asked whether the 38-year-old can rediscover his game or if the decline is a sign of things to come. With three years left on his contract heading into this season, the Penguins are certainly hoping that he’ll be able to rebound from his tough 2024-25 showing.
Summer Synopsis: San Jose Sharks
With training camps now just a couple of weeks away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at San Jose.
Expectations weren’t particularly high for the Sharks heading into last season as their extended rebuild continued with their struggles to land another top draft pick. This summer saw GM Mike Grier be quite active overall, although expectations for the upcoming season will once again be low, as the bulk of their summer activity was adding short-term veterans who could potentially be flipped later in the season.
Draft
1-2 – F Michael Misa, Saginaw (OHL)
1-30 – G Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George (WHL)
2-33 – D Haoxi Wang, Oshawa (OHL)
2-53 – F Cole McKinney, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
3-95 – F Teddy Mutryn, Chicago (USHL)
4-115 – D Ilyas Magomedsultanov, Yaroslavl (MHL)
4-124 – D Zack Sharp, Western Michigan (NCHC)
5-150 – F Max Heise, Penticton (BCHL)
7-210 – F Richard Gallant, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
Arguably the best forward, if not the best player, heading into the 2025 NHL Draft, Misa adds to an already elite group of Sharks forward prospects. In his third season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Misa recorded 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games with a +45 rating. Displaying a skating ability reminiscent of former MVP Nathan MacKinnon, San Jose could have one of the scariest forward cores in the league with Misa, Celebrini, and Smith headlining.
Despite having mixed results throughout the 2024-25 season, Ravensbergen is a prototypical goalie prospect, standing at 6’5″ and having the movement between the pipes as if he’s a foot shorter. Throughout his rookie campaign with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, Ravensbergen managed a 26-4-1 record in 38 games with a .907 SV% and 2.46 GAA, along with six shutouts. Although it’s difficult to project him as a consistent threat for the Vezina Trophy, Ravensbergen has the size and ability to be an above-average netminder at the NHL level.
Outside of their top two selections, the Sharks’ next four picks are all projected to play NHL minutes throughout their careers. It’s a fool’s errand to accurately project the players beyond the first four rounds in any year of the draft, but most pundits consider San Jose’s 2025 draft to be an overwhelming success.
Trade Acquisitions
F Shane Bowers (from New Jersey)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (from Pittsburgh)
F Oskar Olausson (from Colorado)
G Carey Price (from Montreal)
F Ryan Reaves (from Toronto)
Acquiring some insurance for Askarov, the Sharks will become the fourth team of Nedeljkovic’s career. After failing to become an everyday goalie for the Detroit Red Wings, Nedeljkovic spent the last two years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, managing a 32-22-12 record in 76 games with a .898 SV% and 3.05 GAA. While that production doesn’t exhibit much stability, it’s worth noting that Nedeljkovic nearly led the Penguins to the postseason in the 2023-24 campaign, with an 8-2-2 performance to end the season.
Outside of Nedeljkovic, San Jose didn’t add too much on the trade market. Reaves holds nearly zero value as an everyday player, but will add some protection for the Sharks’ crop of young talent. Meanwhile, although each used to be an above-average prospect, Bowers and Olausson have a lot of work cut out for them should they become consistent NHL talents.
One of the Sharks’ biggest trades of the summer came only yesterday, when they acquired Price’s contract from the Montreal Canadiens. Although he’ll never play with San Jose, he affords them a $10.5MM salary cushion should they hope to trade any current veterans for prospects or draft capital. The best part is, despite having a $10.5MM cap hit, the Sharks only owe Price $2MM throughout the regular season since much of his salary was paid out via a signing bonus on September 1st.
UFA Signings
D Cole Clayton (one year, $775K)*
F Adam Gaudette (two years, $4MM)
F Jimmy Huntington (one year, $775K)*
D John Klingberg (one year, $4MM)
F Philipp Kurashev (one year, $1.2MM)
F Samuel Laberge (one year, $775K)*
D Dmitry Orlov (two years, $13MM)
F Pavol Regenda (one year, $775K)*^
G Jakub Skarek (one year, $775K)
F Jeff Skinner (one year, $3MM)
F Colin White (one year, $775K)*^
*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing
Heading into the summer months, the Sharks had the cap space to supplement their young roster. In doing so, the team added Klingberg and Orlov to expensive deals to bolster the blue line, while also adding depth forwards like Gaudette, Kurashev, and Skinner.
After scoring one goal and four points in 19 postseason games for the Oilers during the 2024-25 Stanley Cup playoffs, Klingberg doesn’t appear to be the health question mark he was heading into last season. Regardless of his limited availability over the past several years, Klingberg immediately becomes the Sharks’ top option on the right side.
Meanwhile, Orlov lands in the Bay Area after four solid seasons split between the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, and Carolina Hurricanes. Throughout that stretch, Orlov scored 31 goals and 125 points in 300 games with a +57 rating, averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per night. Although he did have a shaky performance with the Hurricanes last postseason, he’s now one of the most accomplished defensemen on the Sharks.
Along with the youngsters who will undoubtedly compete for a roster spot during training camp, the trio of Gaudette, Kurashev, and Skinner should make up for the exodus of depth forwards the team sustained this offseason. Even if they don’t have career years, they’ll raise the Sharks’ floor at the very least, and keep some stability in the bottom six of the forward core.
RFA Re-Signings
F Egor Afanasyev (one year, $800K)
G Gabriel Carriere (one year, $795K)*
D Shakir Mukhamadullin (one year, $1MM)
D Jack Thompson (one year, $800K)*
*-denotes two-way contract
There wasn’t a lot of work to be done on this front this summer. With Mukhamadullin and Thompson still adjusting to the NHL, a short-term contract was the best option for both parties while the team evaluates their potential roles in the future. Meanwhile, the return of Afanasyev from the KHL was a little unexpected. He’ll have a chance to push for a roster spot in training camp and will be waiver-eligible for the first time this fall.
Key Extension
F William Eklund (three years, $16.8MM)
It’s not very often that a team will sign a player to a bridge contract a year before their contract actually expires, but that’s the route Eklund and the Sharks took this summer. The 22-year-old forward has shown lots of promise in his first two full NHL seasons, including putting up 58 points in 2024-25, good for second on San Jose in team scoring. Eklund, the seventh overall pick in 2021, remains a big part of their long-term plans and will be pencilled into a top-six spot once again this season. But he’ll have to wait a little while longer to secure the long-term contract that some thought might have been coming his way next year, while both sides will have more time to assess his long-term upside.
Waiver Claim
D Nick Leddy (from St. Louis)
For the second straight summer, the Sharks executed a rare waiver claim to add a veteran, this time on the back end after getting Barclay Goodrow last year. Leddy dealt with some injury issues last season and didn’t fare particularly well when he was in the lineup. Still, he adds some veteran depth on the back end, and if San Jose can get his game back on track, he could become a viable trade candidate late in the season.
Departures
F Carl Berglund (signed in Czechia)
F Thomas Bordeleau (trade with New Jersey)
F Nolan Burke (unsigned)
F Brandon Coe (unsigned)
F Walker Duehr (signed with Winnipeg, one year, $775K)*
G Alexandar Georgiev (unsigned)
F Noah Gregor (unsigned)
F Daniil Gushchin (trade with Colorado)
F Klim Kostin (unsigned)
F Nikolai Kovalenko (signed in KHL)
D Gannon Laroque (trade with Montreal)
F Andrew Poturalski (contract termination, signed in KHL)
G Georgi Romanov (PTO with New Jersey)
F Mitchell Russell (signed in ECHL)
D Jan Rutta (signed in Switzerland)
D Scott Sabourin (signed with Tampa Bay, one year, $775K)*
D Jimmy Schuldt (signed with Vancouver, two years, $1.55MM)*
D Henry Thrun (trade with Toronto)
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (bought out, unsigned)
*-denotes two-way contract
Although the Sharks weren’t in a position to lose any big names this offseason, they lost plenty of depth. Still, given the number of additions and influx of young talent, San Jose was in a comfortable position to sustain every departure.
The most notable, if any, will undoubtedly be Vlasic. Becoming a shell of himself since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, Vlasic had only scored 17 goals and 68 points in his last 358 games as a Shark with a -90 rating while averaging 17:09 of ice time per game. Still, giving 19 years of his life to the organization, Vlasic will always be remembered as one of the best defensemen to ever wear the teal.
Outside of Vlasic, the combination of Bordeleau, Duehr, Gregor, Gushchin, Kostin, Kovalenko, Poturalski, Rutta, Sabourin, Schuldt, and Thrun provided the Sharks with 11 goals and 45 points in 223 combined games last season. Arguably, San Jose should be able to replicate, if not improve upon, that production with their additions and promotions this summer.
Salary Cap Outlook
Even with taking on a $10.5MM cap charge with Price, the Sharks still have plenty of cap flexibility heading into the season, with more than $9MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. With them being widely expected to sell at some point, the addition of Price should help keep them comfortably above the $70.6MM salary floor. Meanwhile, with just over $41MM on the books beyond the upcoming season and only one player signed beyond 2027-28 (Eklund), San Jose has arguably the most cap flexibility of any team moving forward.
Key Questions
How Much Will Askarov Play In His First Full NHL Season? When Grier acquired Yaroslav Askarov from Nashville last offseason, he secured what he hopes will be their long-term solution between the pipes. However, he will enter the year with just 16 NHL appearances under his belt, and generally speaking, throwing a young netminder to the wolves on a team that’s not expected to be particularly competitive is risky from a development standpoint. The addition of Nedeljkovic gives them some insurance, but how they split the starts will be interesting to see. Do they try to push Askarov with more of a traditional starting workload, or will it be more of a split so that they don’t throw too much at the young player too quickly?
What Will Happen With Ferraro? For the last two years, defenseman Mario Ferraro has been a speculative trade candidate leading up to the trade deadline, but no move has come to fruition. Now, the 26-year-old is entering the final season of his contract, one that carries a respectable $3.25MM AAV. Grier will need to decide in the coming months leading up to the March 6th trade deadline if he views Ferraro as a longer-term building block, meaning that contract extension talks will be needed. Otherwise, perhaps the third time will be the charm on the trade front.
How Big Of A Next Step Will Celebrini Take? While he didn’t win the Calder Trophy last season (he finished third in voting), 2024 top pick Macklin Celebrini had an impressive rookie year, leading the Sharks in scoring with 63 points (25 goals and 38 assists) in 70 games. Widely viewed as an elite two-way center of the future, can Celebrini take a step forward offensively while also shoring up his defensive play? The sooner he becomes the all-around player he has been touted to become, the sooner one of the hardest positions to fill in a rebuild will be in place. A significant leap could prompt Grier to transition from rebuilding to acquiring long-term additions for the team.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire and David Gonzales-Imagn Images.
PHR’s Brennan McClain also continued to this post.
West Notes: Golden Knights, Kravtsov, Murphy
With Alex Pietrangelo’s playing career likely over, the Golden Knights have a big hole to fill on their back end but beyond swapping Nicolas Hague for Jeremy Lauzon (and center Colton Sissons), Vegas hasn’t made any other moves on the blueline. It doesn’t appear that will change either. In an interview for The Athletic with Pierre LeBrun (subscription link), GM Kelly McCrimmon indicated that he thinks his roster is set for the upcoming season. He feels confident that Kaedan Korczak is now ready to step up and be a full-time regular after being more of a depth player through his first few NHL seasons. He also singled out veteran Ben Hutton, a frequent scratch last season, as someone who is capable of stepping up into a bigger role. More than $7.6MM over the cap already (before factoring in Pietrangelo’s eventual LTIR placement) per PuckPedia, there just isn’t much wiggle room for the Golden Knights to try to add to their back end even if McCrimmon was inclined to try to make another move.
More from the West:
- After a successful KHL season, winger Vitali Kravtsov surprised some with his decision to sign a two-way deal with the Canucks over the summer. Speaking with Alexey Shevchenko of Sport-Express, he discussed his departure from Traktor while also noting that he won’t be looking to return home should he make it through waivers unclaimed and be sent to the AHL. Kravtsov had 27 goals and 31 assists in 66 KHL contests last season.
- After spending last season on a two-way deal with the Flames before being non-tendered back in June, goaltender Connor Murphy will remain in the organization on a different contract. Their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, recently announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year deal. The 27-year-old struggled in limited action with the Wranglers last season but had a 2.54 GAA and a .922 SV% in 15 outings with them in 2023-24. He’ll battle for a spot with them in training camp but could also land with ECHL Rapid City for the upcoming season.
Islanders Won’t Pursue Extension With Anders Lee Yet
Winger Anders Lee has been a fixture in the lineup for the Islanders for more than a decade now. He’s entering the final year of his contract which makes him eligible to sign a contract extension. However, in an interview for The Athletic with Pierre LeBrun (subscription link), GM Mathieu Darche indicated that their plan is not to pursue a new deal with the captain just yet:
I said to him, ‘Let’s start the year and see where it goes.’ No urgency on his side, on my side. He’s the captain of our team, and I really like the individual. But I’m new to the team, right? There’s no one that’s on an expiring deal, that has one year left, that I’ve re-signed. It’s not because I don’t want to, I had enough on my plate this summer. I’ve got a great relationship with Anders.
The 35-year-old is entering the final season of a seven-year, $49MM contract that has held up okay over the life of the agreement. He signed it not too far removed from a career-best 40-goal season, a mark that he hasn’t come close to reaching since then. However, Lee has scored at least 20 goals in five of the first six seasons of the agreement with the one year he didn’t get there being 2020-21 when he was limited to just 27 games.
After a tough showing in 2023-24, Lee rebounded quite nicely last season, collecting 29 goals and 25 assists in 82 games. Notably, his goal and point totals were the highest he has put up on this contract, suggesting that he still has plenty left in the tank and that he’s someone the Isles should want to keep around a little longer.
Earlier this summer, AFP Analytics projected that an extension for Lee could cost around $6.275MM per season on a two-year deal. That would represent a small cut from what he’s making now but within the context of a quickly changing salary cap environment, that would seemingly represent a reasonable deal for both sides.
But at the same time, it makes sense for Darche to hold off for now. He’s still getting to know his new team and if things don’t go well in the early going this season, he might have to pivot from his current approach of not rebuilding. In that scenario, Lee could potentially become one of their better trade chips so keeping their options open makes sense from an organizational standpoint. Meanwhile, if things are looking up a few months in, that would still leave plenty of time for Darche and Lee’s camp to start discussions to keep him in New York even longer.
Snapshots: Formenton, Kostin, NCAA
After being found not guilty of sexual assault earlier this summer, Alex Formenton has decided to resume his playing career. While he and the others who were on trial remain ineligible to play in the NHL at this time pending review and consideration of the judge’s findings in the case, Formenton is once again heading overseas as Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland announced that they’ve signed the winger to a three-month contract with a team option to convert it to a full-season deal. Formenton spent two seasons with them in 2022-23 and 2023-24, collecting 20 goals and nine assists in 46 games before leaving the team once charges were laid.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Veteran winger Klim Kostin is still looking to secure a contract for the upcoming season. He told Alexey Shevchenko of Sport-Express that his desire is to return to Edmonton, where he spent the 2022-23 campaign. He notched 11 goals and 10 assists in 57 games that season, both career bests; he managed just 21 points in the last two years combined between Detroit and San Jose. With the Oilers having limited cap flexibility, he’d likely have to settle for a PTO deal and then try to force his way into a roster spot from there.
- The change to allow CHL players to become NCAA-eligible has made waves across the hockey world this offseason. But there is another small wrinkle now in play, as Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike observes (Twitter link). In the past, NCAA-bound players were ineligible to take part in NHL rookie and training camps, even if they weren’t enrolled for the upcoming season. That is no longer the case. While players actively enrolled in college still won’t be eligible to participate, those committed to college hockey but only for next year will be able. Pike notes that Flames prospect Mace’o Phillips is poised to benefit from the change; he’ll play with USHL Green Bay this season but is committed to the University of Minnesota for 2026-27. Because of that, he’s eligible to take part in training camp with Calgary this month.
Two Teams Remain In The Running To Sign Evgeny Kuznetsov
After making his intention to return to North America known, it was expected that free agent center Evgeny Kuznetsov would be snapped up relatively quickly in a UFA market that wasn’t exactly deep this summer. But instead, his market has been slow-played as he remains unsigned.
However, it appears that he may not be without a contract for much longer. His agent Shumi Babaev told Sports Daily’s Mikhail Nyukhin that his client has now identified two NHL teams that he’ll sign with; he didn’t specify who they were, however. Both of those teams are now in the process of trying to open up salary cap space to sign Kuznetsov. When asked about him signing a minimum-salary contract worth $775K, Babaev indicated that there have been no talks about that.
Last summer, the 33-year-old signed a four-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL which strongly suggested that his days of playing in the NHL had come to an end. But after a solid season that saw him record 12 goals and 25 assists in 39 games, the final three seasons of the agreement were terminated back in April but instead of looking for another team in Russia to sign with, he set his sights on returning to North America.
Kuznetsov last played in the NHL in 2023-24, starting that year with Washington, the only NHL team he had known after they drafted him in the first round in 2010. However, he re-entered the Player Assistance Program in February of that season and upon being cleared to return, the Capitals subsequently waived him. After he cleared (an unsurprising outcome given his $7.8MM cap charge), he was dealt with 50% retention to Carolina for a third-round pick.
Kuznetsov went on to pick up seven points in 20 games with the Hurricanes before tallying six more in 10 playoff outings, looking as if he could be a useful secondary contributor for them. However, he requested and was granted the termination of the final year of that contract to allow him to return to Russia; one year later, the opposite has happened.
In his prime, Kuznetsov was a legitimate number one center, allowing him to amass 173 goals and 402 assists in 743 games at the top level. But toward the end of that time, his production was starting to slow down and it’s fair to question how much of an impact he’ll have on a lineup now. However, it appears that there was enough of a market for him to be at least a little selective on where he’ll play at a salary higher than the minimum. It looks as if we’ll know somewhat soon where Kuznetsov will be suiting up in 2025-26.
Prospect Notes: Iginla, Kindel, Konyushkov
Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla’s 2024-25 campaign was cut short after needing to undergo surgery on both hips back in early December. However, he told reporters including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he has now fully recovered and been cleared for contact, meaning he will be a full participant in training camp later this month. The 19-year-old was the sixth overall pick in 2024 and had gotten off to a strong start with WHL Kelowna before the injury where he notched 14 goals and 18 assists in just 21 games. Still too young to play in the AHL full-time (unless the NHL and CHL can reach an agreement on allowing one 19-year-old per NHL team to play in the minors, something that hasn’t happened yet), his options will either be to play with Utah or return to the Rockets with the latter being the likeliest scenario.
Other prospect news from around the NHL:
- The Penguins selected Benjamin Kindel with the 11th pick in the draft back in June, a pick that came as somewhat of a surprise given that most rankings had him safely in the back half of the first round. But Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that there were whispers that Pittsburgh was so sold on Kindel’s upside that they actually looked to move up into the top ten to make sure they landed him. Kindel had 35 goals and 64 assists in 65 games with WHL Calgary last season while adding 15 points in 11 playoff games which certainly would have helped his draft stock.
- Back in July, Canadiens prospect Bogdan Konyushkov signed a one-year extension in the KHL, keeping him under contract through 2026-27. However, as he told Denis Klesarev of Sport-Express, the blueliner acknowledged that he still wants to try his hand in North America, suggesting that he will eventually sign with Montreal. The 22-year-old logged nearly 23 minutes a game last season with Torpedo while collecting 17 points in 67 games and could be an intriguing option for the Canadiens if and when he decides to come to North America.
Senators Expected To Trade Max Guenette
After re-signing Donovan Sebrango earlier this week, the Senators are down to one remaining restricted free agent, defenseman Max Guenette. However, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll actually be signing with Ottawa. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the expectation is that the Sens will move the blueliner before training camp begins.
The 24-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Ottawa back in 2019, going 187th overall and he has carved out a respectable career thus far for someone picked that late. He has gotten into eight NHL games between 2022-23 and 2023-24 where he has been held off the scoresheet in a little over 13 minutes per night of playing time. Between that time, he has been a key contributor in the minors, including a 40-point campaign with AHL Belleville in 2022-23.
Last season, Guenette was waiver-eligible for the first time and passed through unclaimed in late September, allowing him to return to Belleville. He suited up in 58 games for them, picking up nine goals and 14 assists. He received a recall to Ottawa in early January but didn’t see any action with them over the week he was with the team.
The Senators have reshaped the right side of their AHL back end for the upcoming season. Top prospect Carter Yakemchuk is now AHL-eligible, prospect Lassi Thomson was brought back after he spent last season in Sweden, and Cameron Crotty received a two-year deal in late August. Those three will likely comprise the right side of Belleville’s back end, leaving Guenette without a spot.
Given his status as a depth defender who will once again have to pass through waivers to return to the AHL, Guenette isn’t likely to command much of a return in a trade. Instead, a swap for a player at a different position in a similar situation seems like the logical conclusion here. Given that the teams would want their players to be at camp to learn their systems, it stands to reason that a resolution on this front should come over the next ten days or so.
Ken Dryden Passes Away At 78
Early Saturday morning, the Canadiens announced that their long-time goaltender and Hall of Famer Ken Dryden passed away Friday at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer. Team owner Geoff Molson released the following statement:
Ken Dryden was an exceptional athlete, but he was also an exceptional man. Behind the mask he was larger than life. We mourn today not only the loss of the cornerstone of one of hockey’s greatest dynasties but also a family man, a thoughtful citizen and a gentleman who deeply impacted our lives and communities across generations. He was one of the true legends that helped shape this Club into what it is today.
Drafted by Boston back in 1964, he was traded to the Canadiens that same offseason. He spent three seasons at Cornell, posting a sterling 76-4-1 record before turning pro and entering Montreal’s farm system, a place he didn’t spend much time in before getting the call to the NHL.
Dryden was a crucial member of Montreal’s dynasty in the 1970s. He played in eight seasons with the Canadiens during that stretch, compiling a 2.24 GAA and a .922 SV% in 397 games, winning the Calder Trophy in 1972 along with five Vezina Trophies for the NHL’s best goaltender. In the playoffs, he was similarly dominant, helping lead Montreal to six Stanley Cup victories in that span. Dryden was also a key contributor in Canada’s victory over the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.
But hockey wasn’t Dryden’s only passion. He was in law school in the early part of his career and famously didn’t play in 1973-74 while articling at a Toronto law firm after the Canadiens wouldn’t rework his contract. Then, following the 1978-79 season, he decided to retire altogether at the age of 31.
Dryden got into broadcasting and wrote multiple books to stay involved in the game of hockey and then joined the Maple Leafs in 1997, serving as their team president through 2004. Toronto had a pair of Conference Final appearances during that stretch, a plateau they have not reached since.
Dryden then stepped away from hockey to serve in politics, becoming a Canadian Member of Parliament from 2004 through 2011. Soon after, he was awarded the Order of Canada for contributing to the sport of hockey and to public life.
We here at PHR join the hockey world in mourning Dryden’s passing and send our condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.
Summer Synopsis: Seattle Kraken
With training camps now less than a month away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Seattle.
When the Kraken promoted Dan Bylsma to take over as head coach last summer, Seattle was hoping that he’d be able to get them going back in the right direction after taking a big step back. Unfortunately for them, they instead took another step back, prompting not only a coaching change again with Lane Lambert taking over but even a new front office structure with Jason Botterill being elevated to general manager. His first summer at the helm saw the team make a few moves but the primary core of this group remains largely unchanged.
Draft
1-8 – F Jake O’Brien, Brantford (OHL)
2-36 – D Blake Fiddler, Edmonton (WHL)
3-68 – D Will Reynolds, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
5-134 – D Maxim Agafonov, Ufa (MHL)
7-205 – D Karl Annborn, HV71 (Sweden U20)
7-218 – F Loke Krantz, Linkoping (Sweden U20)
There’s a saying that a team can’t have enough centers. Seattle’s draft history might yet put that theory to the test as the selection of O’Brien made it four middlemen taken with their top pick in five years, all of those coming no later than eighth overall. O’Brien had a breakout season with OHL Brantford, finishing as one of the league’s top assist and point leaders, an impressive feat for a player in his draft-eligible season. He has already signed his entry-level contract taking a possible NCAA detour off the table but he doesn’t have a lot left to prove in junior either. He might not push for a spot with Seattle this season but next fall, he could legitimately get a look.
Fiddler was a nice pickup in the early second round as a player ranked by some in the late teens. The son of long-time center Blake Fiddler, he’s a strong skater on the back end with a bit of secondary offensive upside and showed well at the World Under-18s back in May. Size-wise, he’s already big enough to fit in on an NHL back end but he’s probably a few years away from getting that chance. The Kraken stayed in the junior ranks with Reynolds, another big defender but whose profile is much different than Fiddler’s. He’s more of a true physical shutdown player, a profile they don’t have a lot of in their system.
Among the late-round selections, Agafonov showed well at the Russian junior level last season with his mobility standing out in particular. He’s someone who will need a couple of years to work up to the KHL and then likely a year or two from there before being NHL-ready. Annborn, their fourth straight rearguard, got a brief taste of SHL action but spent most of the year at the Under-20 level where he notched 21 assists in 39 games. Under contract through 2027-28 back home, he won’t be on the radar for a while. The same can be said for Krantz, though not necessarily because of his contract. He has a strong shot that made a big impact in Sweden’s Under-18 level but it didn’t translate to the Under-20 division. He still has some work to do there and is a multi-year project as well.
Trade Acquisitions
F Frederick Gaudreau (trade with Minnesota)
F Mason Marchment (trade with Dallas)
With Dallas needing to free up some money this summer, Seattle was there to take advantage, acquiring Marchment and his $4.5MM contract for the low cost of a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round selection. For a player who has put up 100 points over the last two seasons while also bringing some physicality to the table, that’s a nice bargain acquisition for them. If things go well, he’s someone who plausibly could be offered a deal to stick around beyond this season. If not, he’s someone that they should be able to flip closer to the trade deadline as a rental player for a return that’s better than what they gave up to get him. Either way, the Kraken should come out of this trade a winner.
Very quietly, Gaudreau has put up solid offensive numbers for a secondary producer in recent years, tallying at least 14 goals and 37 points in three of the last four seasons while also being a regular killing penalties and respectable at the faceoff dot. The Wild decided that they’d rather try someone else in that role and again, while Seattle has a lot of center depth already, the acquisition cost of a fourth-round pick is quite reasonable, especially since he has three years left on his contract. That said, his role might be a bit lower on the depth chart than it was in Minnesota.
UFA Signings
D Cale Fleury (two years, $1.78MM)^
F John Hayden (two years, $1.55MM)^
D Ryan Lindgren (four years, $18MM)
D Josh Mahura (two years, $1.815MM)^
G Matt Murray (one year, $1MM)
F Ben Meyers (one year, $775K)^
*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing
For the second straight summer, Seattle’s biggest free agent splash came on the back end although Lindgren’s deal isn’t anywhere near as significant as the seven-year, $50MM contract given to Brandon Montour. Lindgren has largely been the same player for most of his career, a second-pairing defensive-minded player whose possession metrics aren’t the prettiest while he doesn’t bring much to the table offensively; last season was the first time he reached 20 points. His addition gives the Kraken one of the more expensive bluelines in the NHL for the upcoming season but with the team allowing an extra 30 goals compared to 2023-24, it’s not much of a surprise that their top signing was someone who they hope can help on the defensive side of things.
Most of their other three signings were more of the depth variety, aside from Mahura who spent most of the year on the third pairing and should be in that sixth or seventh battle once again. Murray will be given a shot to battle for the backup job but could be ticketed to start the year with AHL Coachella Valley. Fleury has seen NHL action in each of the last four years, albeit in a limited role as he spent the bulk of last season with the Firebirds, a role he’ll likely have once again. As for Meyers, he had five recalls in 2024-25 although that only led to eight appearances with the Kraken. He’s also likely heading for the minors where he’ll be one of their veteran recall options when injuries arise as will Hayden.
RFA Re-Signings
D Ryker Evans (two years, $4.1MM)
F Kaapo Kakko (three years, $13.575MM)
F Tye Kartye (two years, $2.5MM)
*-denotes two-way contract
Kakko had a rough start with the Rangers last season and New York decided that the time was right to move him. As they did with their two trade pickups this summer, the Kraken were there to take advantage of a buy-low pickup. The change of scenery certainly seemed to work as Kakko collected 30 points in 49 games following the swap, allowing him to set new career bests in assists and points. After filing for arbitration back in July, the two sides settled on this deal soon after. Considering his overall struggles in his young career, it’s a deal that carries some risk but if Kakko is able to keep up the same type of production he had following the swap, he could become an important part of their top six.
Seattle had enough cap space to try to do a long-term deal with Evans but they instead elected to do a bridge. He impressed in his first full NHL campaign last season, notching 25 points in 73 games while logging over 19 minutes a night before getting a look with Canada at the Worlds in May. He projects to be a big part of their long-term plans defensively but the big pay day will have to wait a little while longer. Kartye made a name for himself when he debuted in the 2023 playoffs but since then, he has been limited to primarily fourth-line duty. A short-term pact accordingly made sense for both sides as he’ll look to grab hold of a spot higher on the depth chart over the next couple of years.
Departures
F Brandon Biro (signed in Russia)
D Nikolas Brouillard (signed with San Diego, AHL)
F Andre Burakovsky (trade with Chicago)
F Michael Eyssimont (signed with Boston, two years, $2.9MM)
F Luke Henman (signed in Finland)
D Maxime Lajoie (signed in Russia)
D Gustav Olofsson (signed with Coachella Valley, AHL)
G Ales Stezka (signed in Czechia)
*-denotes two-way contract
After acquiring Marchment, the Kraken quickly moved out Burakovsky to Seattle, taking back Joe Veleno who was promptly bought out. Brought in on the heels of a career year with Colorado that saw him score 61 points in 2021-22, Burakovsky only managed 92 points over his three seasons with the Kraken, two of which were plagued by a significant injury. On top of that, he dropped under the 15-minute-per-game mark over the last two seasons, not ideal for one of their top-paid forwards. Still, they managed to clear out his $5.5MM AAV with only needing to eat a $379K cap charge for the next two seasons with the Veleno buyout so with them deciding the time was right to part ways, it could have gone worse.
Eyssimont was acquired at the trade deadline as part of the return for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand and played well in limited action following the swap. However, Gaudreau could ultimately wind up taking his place in the lineup. Most of their other departures had at least a little bit of NHL experience over the years but those players were primarily regulars at the AHL level and in Olofsson’s case, he remains with the organization, just not on an NHL contract.
Salary Cap Outlook
By electing to do a bridge contract for Evans, Botterill has left himself plenty of flexibility heading into the season with the team projected to open up with just under $4.6MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That gives them more than ample coverage should injuries arise while if they find themselves in the mix by the trade deadline, they’ll have more than enough room for a couple of additions. On the other hand, if they’re not in the playoff picture, they’ll be able to retain on some of their pending unrestricted free agents or act as a third-party facilitator (which is still legal for this season before becoming much more restrictive for 2026-27).
Key Questions
Will Beniers Take The Next Step? When Seattle drafted Matty Beniers second overall in 2021, they thought they had their top center of the future in place. After putting up 57 points in his rookie season, it looked like he was on his way to being that player. But production has been harder to come by over the last two years with point totals of 37 and 43. Those are still decent for a player who is still only 22 but they’re not top-end either. Right now, he looks more like a second option than a first; if he can get to that top level, the trajectory of this offense changes considerably.
Can Grubauer Deliver NHL-Level Goaltending? Last season was an unmitigated disaster for goaltender Philipp Grubauer and frankly, that still might be an understatement. He struggled out of the gate and never really got going after that. The end result was him clearing waivers midseason and posting a career-worst .875 SV% in 26 starts, leading to some buyout speculation this summer. With Murray in the mix now, Grubauer will simply be fighting to keep a roster spot in training camp, an outcome few thought possible when he signed a six-year contract with them back in 2021.
Will The Special Teams Improve? Botterill indicated recently that one of the goals for this season will be to improve on special teams. Both units struggled last season with the power play checking in 23rd overall (18.9%) while the penalty kill came in 21st (77.2%). Neither of those numbers are at the level of a playoff-caliber team and with the Kraken electing not to rebuild but merely to tinker with their core, it’s clear they envision themselves as a group capable of making the postseason. Can they get the desired rebound on special teams? If not, their goal of getting back to the playoffs is going to be even tougher.
Photos courtesy of Sergei Belski and Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.