Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Offseason Checklist: Montreal Canadiens

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The offseason has arrived for three-quarters of the NHL for teams that either missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Montreal.

With the Canadiens still in the build-up portion of their rebuild, expectations were still low heading into the season.  They finished in the same spot as the year before – 28th – while making marginal improvements in goals, goals allowed, and points.  With them now missing the postseason three years in a row after making the Cup Final, expectations should start to creep higher now with the team likely to try to emerge from its rebuild soon.  Accordingly, GM Kent Hughes will likely be looking to make some moves both for the future and next season.

Clear Defensive Logjam

The Canadiens have one of the deeper defensive groups in the league when it comes to team depth.  They’re only a year removed from dressing four (and sometimes five) rookies in a game but until the next wave was ready to push for playing time, they didn’t necessarily have to make a move.

That next wave is now pretty close to being ready.  Jayden Struble was expected to be in the minors this season but wound up playing 56 games with the big club.  Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux both received a taste of NHL action down the stretch and held their own.  David Reinbacher, the fifth-overall pick last spring, will play full-time in North America next season and should see a handful of games at a minimum.

A total of eight blueliners played at least 44 games for Montreal this season.  All are either under contract or controllable through restricted free agency.  Even without the prospects being on the verge of pushing for roster spots, there was already a bit of a logjam.  But if they think one of Hutson or Mailloux is ready for full-time duty or close to it, they might be inclined to look at moving two of their blueliners.

Some expect David Savard, a 2025 unrestricted free agent, to be moved but they could elect to hold him until closer to the trade deadline to keep him working with the young core as long as possible.  At first glance, Jordan Harris could be the odd one out.  The 23-year-old can play on both sides, is signed for one more year at an affordable $1.4MM, and can log upwards of 18 minutes a night.  Speculatively, Justin Barron could also be in play as he’s now waiver-eligible and can’t be returned to the minors as he was for most of the second half of this season.  A pending RFA, the 22-year-old was a former first-rounder and has close to 100 career NHL games under his belt which should give him good value if they decide to move him.

Extension Discussions

Last offseason, the focus was on Cole Caufield’s contract as he was entering RFA eligibility for the first time.  They don’t have anyone quite as impactful needing a new deal this time around which should position Hughes to turn his focus to trying to sign a pair of key youngsters to early extensions.

At the beginning of the season, Juraj Slafkovsky struggled mightily to the point where many felt he should have been assigned to the minors.  Instead, Montreal went the other way and put him on the top line and things clicked for him from there.  The top pick in 2022 went on to put up 35 points in the final 40 games of the season, moving him from a sure-fire bridge candidate to one they’ll likely try to sign long-term.  Given Montreal’s salary structure, it’s reasonable to infer they’d prefer to slot him behind Nick Suzuki whose deal checks in at $7.875MM per season.  However, with what first-overall picks typically get on long-term agreements (generally more than this), will he be amenable to that or will he push for more?  If it’s the latter, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the two sides wait until the 2025 offseason to see if his second half was an outlier or a sign of things to come.

The other notable extension-eligible candidate is Kaiden Guhle.  The 22-year-old blueliner made the jump from junior two years ago and has logged over 20 minutes a night in his first two seasons.  With a bit of a limited offensive game, his earnings ceiling will be limited but he could still push past $6MM per season on a max-term deal.  Having said that, Guhle has battled injuries both years so an extension would be somewhat of a shared risk scenario.  Guhle would be risking leaving some money on the table if he’s able to stay healthy and have a big year next season while Montreal would be risking a significant commitment to a thus-far injury-prone player but if he stays healthy, they could potentially get him at a team-friendly rate.  Seeing if there’s a number where both sides are content should be fairly high on the to-do list.

Add Scoring Help

The last time Montreal finished in the top half of the league in goals scored was back in 2018-19.  They’ve finished 26th the last two seasons and 27th the year before that.  Only two players scored more than 20 goals this season, Suzuki and Caufield.  Even if they feel the top line from the second half of the year (those two with Slafkovsky) is a legitimate top trio, they need a lot of secondary scoring behind them.

The return of Kirby Dach should help after he missed almost the entire season with a knee injury while they will bank on Alex Newhook taking another step forward in his development.  Accordingly, it’s reasonable for them to hope that some improvement will come internally.  That said, internal improvement alone won’t be enough to propel them back into a playoff race let alone the actual playoffs.

Under this management group, the Canadiens have avoided adding players in free agency, preferring to build via the trade market.  They’ve flipped a first-round pick in back-to-back years to add Dach and Newhook and, armed with an extra first-rounder again for next month’s draft, many expect them to do so again, whether that’s for another player of that ilk or as part of a bigger swing.

Beyond that, this might be the time for them to look at a shorter-term unrestricted free agent as well, one that can augment the scoring depth for a few years and serve as somewhat of a mentor to what is a fairly young group.  Having said that, they will have a decision to make before July 1st if they intend to go that route.

Escape Or Utilize LTIR

Two years ago, Montreal elected to go into offseason LTIR, giving them the flexibility to take on Sean Monahan from Calgary, receiving a 2025 first-round pick for their troubles.  That worked out well for the Canadiens considering they signed him to a cheap one-year deal last spring and then flipped him for another first-rounder earlier this season.

Last summer, they elected not to do that, instead waiting until in-season to put Carey Price on LTIR.  That move gave them more flexibility but they then didn’t do much of anything with that flexibility.

Accordingly, that might not be the best approach to take this time around.  Price still has two years left on his $10.5MM contract although his playing days are over.  Flipping him will be difficult considering there is still $11MM in signing bonuses still left to be paid on it.

So, Hughes needs to determine if he wants to go back into offseason LTIR or not.  If he does, they could be players either in free agency or perhaps taking on a short-term pricey contract as they did with Monahan two years ago.  Even with the cap set to rise by more than $1MM this time around, there will be teams looking to move out some salary.  The benefit would be more future than current as they’d likely be compensated with a draft pick but if they’re not in a spot where they think they can push for a playoff spot – which would be a lofty goal – then they wouldn’t be concerned about that.

If they don’t want to go into offseason LTIR, it might be worth them trying to dip out of it altogether.  They currently have about $78.6MM in commitments, per CapFriendly, with Barron and Arber Xhekaj being the only two RFAs on the roster who could command a seven-figure contract.  That would still leave them room to try to add a piece while also staying under the cap ceiling (meaning Price would be on regular IR), allowing them to bank money for in-season flexibility or to try to avoid incurring a seven-figure bonus overage for the third straight year, a move that would help them cap-wise heading into 2025-26.  They’ll want to have their direction picked out by the time free agency opens up.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Prospect Notes: Sjalin, Kulonummi, Ambrosio

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Sabres blueline prospect Calle Sjalin intends to return to Sweden next season, his agent Claes Elefalk told Hockeysverige’s Mans Karlsson.  The 24-year-old was acquired at the trade deadline from Florida as part of the Kyle Okposo trade.  Sjalin was brought over two years ago but has exclusively played in the AHL and doesn’t appear to be on the verge of pushing for an NHL opportunity.  However, his planned return to the SHL doesn’t mean this is it for him in North America as Elefalk indicated that Sjalin plans to sign for a year or two back home and then give it another go at trying to reach the NHL level.

Other prospect news from around the hockey world:

  • Predators prospect Kasper Kulonummi has signed with Kiekko-Espoo in Finland’s top division, per a team announcement on their Instagram page. The 20-year-old blueliner was picked 84th overall two years ago and had his first taste of extended Liiga action this year, getting into 40 games where he had four assists.  His new team has been promoted from the second-tier Mestis level so Kulonummi will likely be earmarked for a bigger role in 2024-25, the first of the two-year contract he signed.
  • Avalanche prospect Colby Ambrosio has elected to transfer for his final season. The center announced (Twitter link) he has moved to Miami University (Ohio).  The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Colorado in 2020 (118th overall) and spent the last four seasons at Boston College.  Ambrosio struggled in a limited role this season, notching just eight points in 40 games after reaching the 20-point mark the previous two campaigns.  He could have elected free agency this summer but coming off the year he had, it made more sense for him to try his hand elsewhere.  He’s now reunited with his former USHL coach who will now try to get enough out of Ambrosio to land a pro contract next year.

West Notes: Marchment, Pettersson, Henrique, Drouin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Stars have been without Mason Marchment since he suffered an undisclosed injury in the second game of the opening round.  However, he could return for the second game of their second-round series against Colorado as Joey Hayden of the Dallas Morning News relays that the winger is now close to returning and is likely to be a game-time decision on Thursday.  The 28-year-old had a career year offensively with 22 goals and 31 assists in 81 games during the regular season and is a big part of Dallas’ deep forward group so getting him back – whether it’s Thursday or soon after – would be a significant boost for them.

Other news from the West:

  • After missing Tuesday’s practice due to illness, Canucks center Elias Pettersson will play tonight in their series opener, mentions Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link). Head coach Rick Tocchet also ruled out any speculation that the illness designation was covering up an injury.  Pettersson had a strong regular season with 89 points in 82 games but was quiet in the first round, being held to just three assists in six contests against Nashville.
  • As expected, Oilers forward Adam Henrique has been ruled out of tonight’s opener, notes Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). He was listed as doubtful yesterday due to a lower-body injury.  However, head coach Kris Knoblauch added that he’s hopeful that the veteran will be able to return on Friday, continuing to list him as day-to-day.  Henrique had a pair of points in their opening-round victory over Los Angeles.
  • Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin skated today for the first time as he works his way back from a lower-body injury that caused him to miss the entire first round. Speaking with reporters including Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now (Twitter link), head coach Jared Bednar indicated that they need to ensure that Drouin’s wound heals so that it won’t bust open again which suggests he probably isn’t overly close to returning just yet.  Drouin had a strong bounce-back showing during the regular season, picking up 56 points in 79 games after managing just 29 in 58 in 2022-23.

Oilers Recall Eight Players

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

May 6: Forward Xavier Bourgault has also been added to the Oilers’ playoff roster, the team said Monday. Bourgault, 21, was the 22nd overall pick of the 2021 draft. He’s yet to make his NHL debut and struggled in his sophomore season with Bakersfield, limited to eight goals and 20 points in 55 games. He has one year remaining on his entry-level contract

May 4: After bringing up goaltender Jack Campbell and defenseman Philip Broberg earlier, the Oilers have finalized the rest of their ‘Black Ace’ recalls.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forwards Adam Erne, Raphael Lavoie, and Lane Pederson, defensemen Philip Kemp, Cam Dineen, and Ben Gleason, and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue from AHL Bakersfield.

Among the forwards, Erne played the most with Edmonton this season, getting into 24 games but was limited to just two points and less than eight minutes a night of ice time but did average nearly three hits per game.  The 29-year-old didn’t light it up with the Condors either, recording six goals and six helpers in 36 minor league appearances.  However, if the Oilers decide they want some extra physicality on the fourth line here and there, the pending UFA could get into the lineup.

Lavoie cleared waivers at the end of training camp but that didn’t deter him.  Instead, the 23-year-old had his best AHL campaign, notching 28 goals and 22 assists in 68 games while also making his first seven NHL appearances.  That should have him in the mix for a roster spot with Edmonton against next season although it would be surprising to see him get into the lineup now.

Pederson, meanwhile, failed to make an NHL appearance for the first time since 2019-20.  He did, however, have a strong year with Bakersfield, collecting 22 goals and 30 helpers in 66 contests.  He’s under contract for one more year at the league minimum on a one-way deal.

As for the blueliners, only Kemp saw NHL action this season, making his first (and only) appearance at the top level.  The 25-year-old played in 64 games with the Condors this year, recording a pair of goals and 13 assists.  He’s signed through next season on a two-way contract.

Dineen has the most NHL experience among the blueliners brought up today, having gotten into 34 games with Arizona back in 2021-22.  He had his first full year in Bakersfield this season after being acquired last year, picking up five goals and 20 assists in 58 games.  The 25-year-old will be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency for the second straight year this summer.

Gleason’s last taste of NHL action came back in 2018-19 in his first professional season back when he was with Dallas.  Since then, the 26-year-old has been one of the more consistent offensive producers from the back end in the AHL and this year was no exception as he put up 10 goals and 22 assists in 62 appearances.  His contract converts to a one-way agreement next season for the league minimum.

Rodrigue was expected to split time with Calvin Pickard this season with Bakersfield but those plans changed with Campbell struggling and Pickard taking over as the backup in Edmonton.  Still, the 23-year-old posted a 2.73 GAA with a .916 SV% in 37 games with the Condors this season, earning himself a one-year extension along the way.

Most, if not all of these players won’t see any action during the rest of Edmonton’s postseason action but will be staying ready in case injuries warrant them suiting up.

Five Key Stories: 4/29/24 – 5/5/24

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While the action was busy on the ice as the first round comes to an end (after the second round began), there was a lot of news away from the rink – particularly on the coaching front – which gets the focus in our key stories.

Michkov Arriving Earlier Than Expected? One of the reasons that Matvei Michkov slipped to seventh overall last June was the fact that he had three years left on his deal in the KHL and with no transfer agreement in place, he couldn’t be bought out of that contract with an NHL pact.  However, with still two years remaining, the chairman of Michkov’s KHL team (SKA St. Petersburg) stated that thanks to the good relationship they have with Philadelphia’s front office, they’ll consider letting Michkov out of his contract early, permitting him to come to North America earlier than expected.  They’ll decide on his fate for next season by the end of June.  Michkov spent most of this season on loan again to HK Sochi and finished second on the team in scoring with 41 points in 47 games.

Brind’Amour Extension Talks: While the Hurricanes were off for most of the week, there was certainly some intrigue off the ice.  A report surfaced that extension talks between the team and head coach Rod Brind’Amour had soured with their offer being pulled.  Then, the next day, it was reported that talks had resumed and that there was optimism that discussions would eventually get a deal across the finish line.  Brind’Amour has been behind the bench in Carolina for the past six seasons with the team playing to a .664 points percentage during the regular season while reaching the playoffs each time.  If a deal doesn’t get reached, it’s safe to say that he’ll be highly sought after on the open market.

Seattle Makes A Change: After the Kraken reached the second round last season, expectations were high heading into the franchise’s third year.  However, they dropped 19 points in the standings, missing the playoffs in the process.  As a result, they’ve elected to make a coaching change, firing head coach Dave Hakstol along with assistant Paul McFarland.  Hakstol had signed a two-year extension back in July but now has been dismissed before that new deal even kicked in with GM Ron Francis saying that the move was needed to help the team continue to improve and evolve.  Seattle played to a 107-112-27 record over Hakstol’s three seasons, a respectable record for an expansion franchise that will now join the Blues, Devils, Kings, Senators, and Sharks as teams looking for coaches or needing to make decisions on their interim bench bosses.

Cooper Reportedly Extended: After the Lightning were eliminated in the first round for the second straight year, some wondered if they could make a coaching change.  However, that won’t be the case with GM Julien BriseBois indicating it wasn’t time to think about extending Cooper since he was signed beyond next season, meaning he had already been extended.  Subsequent reporting indicated that Cooper received a one-year extension.  Cooper is the longest-tenured coach in the NHL having been behind Tampa Bay’s bench for parts of 12 seasons with his teams posting a 525-279-25 record during the regular season along with two Stanley Cup titles and two more Final appearances.  Even with the recent step back in the standings, this will be Cooper’s team for a little while longer at least.

Tampa To Work On Extensions: Despite the early exit, Tampa Bay won’t be looking to shake up its core as BriseBois stated that they’ve started preliminary talks about an extension for pending UFA forward Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman, who is eligible to sign a new deal starting in July.  Stamkos, their captain, has made it known he wants to stay and was disappointed that talks didn’t start last summer.  Coming off his sixth career 40-goal season, he has a case to earn a raise on his $8.5MM AAV although the Lightning may not be able to afford that.  Hedman, meanwhile, has been a key cog on the back end for the last 15 years and is coming off an impressive season, one that saw him post 76 points, the second-best total of his career.  He also has a strong case for a raise on his current $7.875MM AAV.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bruins Recall Patrick Brown On Emergency Basis

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Bruins will kick off the second round on Monday against Florida and have made a roster move in advance of that game.  The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Patrick Brown from AHL Providence on an emergency basis.

The 31-year-old inked a two-year, $1.6MM deal with Boston over the summer with the expectation that he’d contend for a spot on their fourth line.  It didn’t quite work out that way, however, as he cleared waivers at the end of training camp and did so again a month later.

Overall, Brown played in just 11 regular season games for Boston this season, recording just one assist while logging less than nine minutes a night.  As a result, he spent most of the year in Providence where he was much more impactful, collecting 32 points in 42 regular season games plus three more in two playoff contests thus far.

Boston had 14 forwards on its roster before Brown’s recall so the emergency designation is notable.  Danton Heinen remains injured but since they had an extra healthy skater on the roster already (Jakub Lauko), it appears as if there’s at least one other forward whose availability for Monday night isn’t assured.

Meanwhile, while not announced by the team, the Bruins have also recalled goaltender Michael DiPietro, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The 24-year-old has been serving as Boston’s emergency goaltender in recent days and had a 2.51 GAA with a .918 SV% in 30 games with Providence during the regular season.

Oskar Lindblom Expected To Sign In SHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After a tough couple of seasons in San Jose, it appears as if pending UFA winger Oskar Lindblom won’t be waiting around to see what type of offers could await him in free agency in July.  Instead, he told Gefle Dagblad’s Daniel Sandstrom that he has told his agent to solicit offers from the SHL in his native Sweden.

The 27-year-old’s journey is well-known.  After a promising start to his career in Philadelphia, Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma (a rare form of bone cancer) in the 2019-20 campaign after getting off to a promising start.  However, he was able to return in the bubble playoffs and earned a three-year, $9MM extension soon after along with a Masterton Trophy in 2021.

However, things didn’t go so well after that point.  The Flyers elected to buy out the final season of that deal but he landed with San Jose quickly, inking a two-year, $5MM agreement.  With San Jose heading into a rebuild, they were eyeing Lindblom as a young veteran with perhaps a bit of upside if a change of scenery could have kickstarted him.

Unfortunately for both sides, that didn’t happen.  While Lindblom was a regular most nights in 2022-23 with the Sharks, that wasn’t the case this year.  He cleared waivers at the end of training camp in October and spent almost the entire year with the Barracuda, save for a single NHL appearance in November.  Lindblom struggled in the minors as well, notching just eight goals and eight assists in 41 games, battling through injuries and illness along the way.

Given the disappointing season he had, there was no guarantee that an NHL offer would be coming Lindblom’s way so he’s now going to try to land one back home.  He played for Brynas coming up and asked his agent to reach out to assess if there’s mutual interest in a reunion.  Assuming he winds up signing somewhere in Sweden, Lindblom will depart the NHL with 56 goals and 56 assists in 337 games over parts of seven NHL seasons, a pretty good showing for a fifth-round pick having been picked 138th overall back in 2014.

Metropolitan Notes: Fox, Pesce, DeAngelo, Wahlstrom

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, who had missed practice recently for maintenance, skated today and indicated to reporters including USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano (Twitter link) that he will be good to go for tomorrow’s series opener against Carolina.  The 26-year-old was a point-per-game player for the first time this season, collecting 17 goals and 56 assists in 72 games while logging a team-best 23:27 per game.  In the first round against Washington, Fox picked up a pair of helpers while averaging a little under 22 minutes a night which still led all New York defenders.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While the Hurricanes are hopeful that defenseman Brett Pesce (lower body) will return at some point in the second round, it won’t be at the beginning of the series. Team reporter Walt Ruff relays (Twitter link) that the 29-year-old won’t be accompanying the team to New York and has been ruled out of the first two games of the series.  However, Tony DeAngelo, who took a slash to the arm in Carolina’s last game, has been cleared to play and should continue to suit up in Pesce’s absence.
  • Islanders winger Oliver Wahlstrom was non-committal about the prospect of returning next season, notes Ethan Sears of the New York Post. It was a rough year for the 23-year-old who struggled out of the gate as he worked his way back from offseason knee surgery.  Once he did get up to speed, he struggled, finding himself a frequent healthy scratch down the stretch; he didn’t play at all during the playoffs.  The end result saw Wahlstrom collect just two goals and four assists in 32 games.  A pending restricted free agent owed a $917.8K qualifying offer next month with arbitration rights, a change of scenery might be best for him but his trade value will be at a low point coming off the year he just had.

Offseason Checklist: Columbus Blue Jackets

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus several others who have already been eliminated.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Columbus.

After a tough 2022-23 season, there was supposed to be some reason for optimism for the Blue Jackets this year.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen picked up a pair of impactful defensemen while some younger players were expected to take the next step.  Mike Babcock was brought in as head coach to help shepherd the team back towards competitiveness at a minimum.

By now, you know what happened next.  Babcock was gone before ever coaching a game, resulting in Pascal Vincent, a first-time bench boss, taking over behind the bench.  The team then battled a litany of injuries throughout the year while there was some inconsistency in the performances from their young core, resulting in just a seven-point improvement while once again finishing last in the Metropolitan Division.  Eventually, Kekalainen was ousted with a lengthy search for his replacement underway.  That headlines a busy checklist for Columbus this summer.

Hire A GM, Make Coaching Decision: Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first.  Before the team can do any sort of heavy lifting, they need to hire Kekalainen’s replacement.  While team president John Davidson is handling the day-to-day operations for the time being, they can’t run with an interim option for too much longer.

The belief is that they’ve cast a very wide net as they look for a replacement with experience being a key characteristic they’re looking for.  However, that doesn’t have to come in the form of NHL GM experience but rather someone who has a lot of time working in an NHL front office.

Once they get that hire in place, the first decision that will need to be made is on the coaching front.  Vincent has one year left on his contract; is he going to be their coach of the future and get an extension?  Will the new GM want to make their own hire?  Or will they opt to stick with the status quo and keep Vincent in place in his walk year, allowing for extra time for evaluation with perhaps a reshaped roster?  Knowing this is the time of year when most coaching searches are completed, it’s important to get this file closed quickly which means a general manager needs to be hired sooner than later.

Upgrade In Goal: One of the ideas behind Kekalainen’s additions of Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson last summer was that an upgraded back end would go a long way toward helping stabilize things between the pipes.  Elvis Merzlikins was coming off a disastrous year while Daniil Tarasov – now the full-time backup after Joonas Korpisalo was moved at the trade deadline – didn’t have much NHL experience so there was certainly some logic in the idea that a better defense corps would benefit the goaltenders.

Despite the good intentions, the results weren’t much better.  Yes, Merzlikins improved his save percentage by 31 points this year compared to last.  However, he still checked in at .897, well below average for one of the higher-paid starters in the league.  Meanwhile, Tarasov improved his rate by 16 points to .908 but he still has just 45 career NHL appearances under his belt.  He could be part of the future plans for them but he’s not ready for the number one role.

However, Merzlikins’ performance over the past couple of years has shown that he’s not a viable option for the number one role either, at least not with Columbus.  Accordingly, it would be quite difficult to run it back with this tandem and expect any sort of material improvement in the standings.

The good news for Columbus is that it looks like this could be a summer where there is more activity than normal on the goalie transaction front with some notable names in play.  While it’s unreasonable to think they’ll be in the mix for the likes of Jacob Markstrom and possibly Juuse Saros, there should be a domino effect once the swaps begin, potentially giving them an opportunity to try another starter.

They’re not in a situation where they’ll be able to get good value for Merzlikins.  Frankly, they might not be able to get any value for him.  But if they want to try to take a step forward next season, it may very well be in the best interest of both sides to have a new starter in place working with Tarasov when the puck drops in October.

Defensive Decisions: After making some big moves last summer on the back end, whoever takes over as GM will have some decisions to make and could look to shake things up again.

Is Provorov going to be part of their long-term plans?  The change of scenery didn’t kickstart his game from an offensive standpoint although he had a decent year overall.  But he’s entering the final year of his contract with a $6.75MM AAV (the Blue Jackets are only responsible for $4.75MM of that) and will likely be looking for a long-term agreement around that price tag.  If he’s not willing to sign or the team isn’t ready to make that type of commitment, it might make sense to see what is available for him this summer over an in-season swap closer to the trade deadline.

Another decision will have to be made on the RFA front with Jake Bean.  A couple of years ago, it looked like he was going to be a key part of their future plans after putting up 25 points in 2021-22 while logging over 20 minutes a night.  However, since then, he has struggled to stay healthy and when he has played, he has had a much more limited role, predominantly on the third pairing.  The 25-year-old has one year of club control remaining but to use it, the Blue Jackets would have to tender him a $2.9MM qualifying offer and give him arbitration rights.  Would that money be better utilized elsewhere?  They’ll have to decide by the end of June.

Whoever takes over as GM will also likely pick up the efforts to move Adam Boqvist.  Brought over as part of the Seth Jones trade, the 23-year-old has shown flashes of being an above-average producer from the blueline but struggles with injuries and defensive zone issues have limited him thus far.  He played in just 35 games this season which isn’t ideal considering he’s carrying a $2MM cap charge.  With David Jiricek expected to make a full-time jump to the NHL next season and Nick Blankenburg no longer waiver-exempt, something has to give roster-wise.  Moving Boqvist would help ease the roster crunch.

On top of those, trying to upgrade the back end should also be on the to-do list if the new GM comes in and elects to keep pushing forward with this core.  It was a busy offseason last year for defensive activity and this one could be as well.

Bridge Or Long-Term Deals: The Blue Jackets have several young forwards in line for their second contracts this summer – centers Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson along with winger Kirill Marchenko.  While a long-term contract for any of them would likely be an overpayment at the beginning, it could also be a bargain later on if they pan out as expected.  With a young group, balancing things out with some long-term agreements among the short-term bridge ones makes sense from a salary cap perspective.

Sillinger had a nice bounce-back season after a rough sophomore campaign.  The 20-year-old set new career bests in assists (19) and points (32) while making strides as a two-way player.  If they think he’s poised to take a big step forward offensively next season, they could take a look at trying to work out a longer-term deal although a bridge agreement feels like the more probable outcome.

The same can be said for Johnson whose second full professional season had some struggles.  After putting up 40 points in his rookie year, he notched just six goals and ten assists in 42 games this year with a shoulder injury ending his campaign early.  Had he been able to take a step forward, he’d have been an easy candidate for a long-term pact but now, both sides need more time to evaluate things.

As for Marchenko, he very quietly led the Blue Jackets in goals this season with 23, his second straight 20-goal campaign after notching 21 in his rookie year.  Consistent scoring threats are hard to come by, particularly on a Columbus team that has underwhelmed offensively; they’ve only been better than 25th in goals once over the last five seasons.  A longer-term agreement shouldn’t break the bank with some comparables around the league checking in around the $5MM-plus range.  If that’s something Marchenko is amenable to, that’s a deal that could work out well for both sides.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Matthews, McCann, Peeke, Heinen, Cederqvist

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The status of Auston Matthews’ availability for tonight’s game seven against Boston won’t be known until closer to puck drop.  However, speaking with reporters today including Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link), head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that they are proceeding as they have been which suggests the league’s top goalscorer is on the iffy side when it comes to playing.  Matthews has missed the last seven periods in the series due to illness although the Maple Leafs have managed to win the last two games to force a deciding match.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Still with Toronto, winger Bobby McMann took part in practice today for the first time as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). However, he will not play tonight.  McMann was a bright spot for the Maple Leafs this season when it came to their secondary scoring as he picked up 15 goals in 56 games despite averaging less than 12 minutes a game of ice time.
  • While Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke skated today with the team, he has been ruled out for tonight, notes Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link). Earlier this week, it was suggested that he’d be out for multiple weeks yet but the fact he was on the ice today suggests that he could be back a little earlier than that should Boston advance to the second round.
  • Bruins winger Danton Heinen is uncertain to play in tonight’s contest, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 28-year-old missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury.  Heinen, who had 17 goals and 19 assists in 74 games this season, did see some time during power play drills during the morning skate.
  • Pending Canadiens RFA forward Filip Cederqvist has signed a three-year deal with SHL Frolunda, per a team announcement. Montreal acquired the 23-year-old back in January from Buffalo for future considerations.  Cederqvist split the season between AHL Rochester and Laval, combining for five goals and six assists in 53 games.  A strong non-tender candidate before this announcement, Cederqvist signing this early actually increases the chance of a qualifying offer.  He’s four years away from UFA eligibility so the Canadiens could actually now issue his qualifier to retain his rights in case he has a breakout showing over the next three years in Sweden.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top