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Maple Leafs Have Discussed Contract Extension With John Tavares

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The Maple Leafs have two prominent pending unrestricted free agent forwards in winger Mitch Marner and center John Tavares.  While it appears that there haven’t been many discussions with Marner, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported in a recent TSN Insider Trading segment that Toronto has engaged in talks with Tavares though obviously, the two sides aren’t in agreement on a new deal just yet.

Tavares signed a seven-year, $77MM contract with his hometown team back in 2018 and while the $11MM price tag was among the league leaders at the time, the 34-year-old has delivered.  Tavares has three seasons of at least 76 points over that span and overall, has 440 points in 462 games with the Maple Leafs.  That 0.952 points-per-game average is actually slightly better than the 0.928 he put up with the Islanders.  His playoff performance hasn’t been as strong, however, as Tavares has collected 24 points in 38 postseason outings with Toronto.

But while Tavares has produced at or near the level of a top-line center for the majority of his time with Toronto, it’s also fair to assume it’s unlikely this will be the case much longer; he’ll be entering his age-35 season in 2025-26.  While he could still put up above-average production for a little while longer, he’s certainly not going to be able to command $11MM on the open market at this stage of his career.  Accordingly, a drop in pay is a near certainty.

How much of one is the big question.  At this point, he’s still producing as a top-six forward at a minimum so it’s not as if Toronto can conceivably ask him to cut that price tag in half (or by even more) even though, as Johnston noted, Tavares has made it clear he doesn’t want to test free agency and wants to remain with the Maple Leafs.  His value on the open market might still be in the $7MM to $8MM range if he were to actually make it there.

One way around that might be to utilize deferred compensation.  Carolina utilized that with a pair of contracts over the summer while the Maple Leafs also took advantage of it on the recent Jake McCabe extension.  Using deferred salary would allow the cap hit to go a bit lower while still giving Tavares’ camp the total compensation it might be seeking.  How long he’d have to wait for that deferred salary would ultimately dictate how much cap savings Toronto could receive.

At his age, it’s quite possible that this is the final contract that Tavares receives so there is a bit of incentive to consider deferred salary when he’d be in a lower tax bracket and potentially a jurisdiction with lower tax rates.  We’ll see in the coming weeks if that’s enough to bridge the current gap between the two sides to keep Tavares in Toronto a little longer.

Hurricanes Recall Riley Stillman, Assign Yaniv Perets To AHL

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The Hurricanes have made a pair of roster moves leading up to Tuesday’s game against Seattle.  The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Riley Stillman from AHL Chicago while they returned goaltender Yaniv Perets to the Wolves.

Stillman signed a one-year, two-way deal with Carolina early in free agency back in the summer.  However, the 26-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in training camp that kept him out of the lineup for the first 14 games of the season.  He was waived upon being cleared to return and has gotten into six games with Chicago since then, picking up a pair of assists.

Stillman has 158 career NHL appearances to his name so far between four different organizations.  Over that stretch, he has 26 points, 197 blocks, and 318 hits while averaging a little under 16 minutes a night.  However, he didn’t see any NHL action last season, instead playing exclusively with AHL Rochester where he had six points and 49 penalty minutes in 47 games before being non-tendered by Buffalo in June.

As for Perets, he served as Carolina’s backup in recent days with Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov both banged up.  However, the team is hopeful that Kochetkov can return against the Kraken, allowing him and Spencer Martin to be the tandem.  Perets stopped six of seven shots in relief on Saturday for his first NHL appearance of the season.  He has a 3.67 GAA and a .825 SV% in three games with the Wolves so far this year.

Canadiens Assign Joshua Roy To Laval

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A week after recalling him, Joshua Roy is back in the minors.  The Canadiens announced on Monday that the winger has been re-assigned to AHL Laval.

The 21-year-old played in 23 games with Montreal last season, notching nine points in that stretch which had him as a presumptive favorite to land a roster spot coming out of training camp.  However, Roy struggled in the preseason, resulting in him being one of the final cuts in October.

Roy got off to a nice start with the Rocket this season, tallying eight goals and eight assists in 17 games to earn a recall to the big club.  But the offensive success didn’t follow him to the Canadiens as he was held off the scoresheet in four appearances with Montreal while he was limited to just under 11 minutes of action per game.

With the assignment, the Canadiens now have two open roster spots and are only carrying the minimum number of forwards.  However, Roy’s re-assignment could signal that Patrik Laine is ready to return to the lineup.  He sustained a knee injury during the preseason and while he was able to avoid surgery, he has missed the better part of two months rehabbing from it and it appears as if he may be in line to make his Montreal debut on Tuesday.

Snapshots: Kucherov, Pageau, Red Wings, Ehlers, Hinds

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Prior to their game against Toronto tonight, the Lightning found themselves without their top scorer.  Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relayed (Twitter link) that winger Nikita Kucherov is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.  The 31-year-old led the league in scoring last season, notching 44 goals and 100 assists, both career highs, in 81 games.  While Kucherov isn’t producing at quite that level this year, he came into the night tied for fifth in scoring with 12 goals and 22 assists in 34 games, a 127-point pace.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Islanders didn’t have center Jean-Gabriel Pageau in their lineup tonight against Buffalo. Ethan Sears of the New York Post notes (Twitter link) that the veteran is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.   The 32-year-old has five goals and five assists in 23 games so far this season while averaging 17:47 per game, his highest ATOI since the 2019-20 season.  A specialist at the faceoff dot, Pageau is winning just over 60% of his draws early on, a mark that would be his best if he can maintain it.
  • Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon won’t accompany the team on their two-game road trip, mentions Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). He’s dealing with a lower-body injury with no timeline for his return.  Lyon has a 2.74 GAA and a .911 SV% in nine appearances so far.  Meanwhile, St. James notes that winger Patrick Kane will miss his fourth straight game on Sunday due to an upper-body injury but there is a chance he’ll be available to return on Tuesday in Boston.  The veteran is off to a quiet start by his standards, collecting just three goals and seven assists in 20 games.
  • Though he left Friday’s game with a lower-body injury, Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers is listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest in Dallas, per team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 28-year-old is off to a solid start in the final year of his contract, with nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games.  With 25 points, Ehlers sits third on Winnipeg in scoring.
  • The Ducks announced that they’ve re-assigned defenseman Tyson Hinds back to AHL San Diego. The 21-year-old was brought up twice by Anaheim over the last couple of weeks but didn’t see any game action.  Hinds, a third-round pick in 2021, has two goals in 13 games so far this season for the Gulls.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Seattle Kraken

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Kraken.

Seattle Kraken

Current Cap Hit: $90,108,465 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Ryker Evans (one year, $898K)
F Tye Kartye (one year, $859K)
F Shane Wright (three years, $887K)

Potential Bonuses
Kartye: $57.5K
Wright: $3.0625MM
Total: $3.12MM

Seattle was slow-playing Wright’s development in his first couple of seasons and even into his first full NHL campaign, his ice time is being managed carefully.  Accordingly, he’s not on track to reach any of his bonuses and is probably heading for a bridge contract barring a big offensive breakout over the next year or two.  If he stays on the slower development path, that bridge agreement should come in around the $3.5MM range.  Kartye had a solid rookie season in the bottom six and is in that same role this year.  His bonuses are based on games played so that’s something he should be able to reach if he stays healthy.  Given his role and limited offensive numbers, he’s also looking at a short-term second contract, one around the $1.5MM mark.

Evans is in his first full NHL season after impressing in partial duty last season.  He has locked down a spot in Seattle’s top four and is tied for the team lead in scoring among blueliners.  If that holds up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Ron Francis try to work out a long-term deal, one that would check in a bit below their top veterans who are making a little over $7MM per season.  A bridge agreement, meanwhile, would likely fall in the $4MM range.  Either way, a big raise is coming his way this summer.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D William Borgen ($2.7MM, UFA)
F Yanni Gourde ($5.167MM, UFA)
D Josh Mahura ($775K, UFA)
F Daniel Sprong ($975K, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($3.5MM, UFA)

For most of his contract, Gourde has been well worth the contract, generally producing above a 40-point pace.  But he struggled last season and is off to a similar start offensively this year which will hurt his value.  Now that he’s being deployed as more of a third-line option, it would be difficult to see him command a similar price tag at 33.  But a multi-year deal around $4MM per season should still be within reach.

Tanev’s contract felt like a steep overpayment at the time for someone who had only reached 20 points once at the time it was signed.  However, he has produced enough offensively (when healthy) on this deal to at least reasonably justify the cost while providing plenty of physicality and enough defensive acumen to make it a fair deal overall.  While most teams want to cut salary from their bottom six, he could be an outlier and land another contract around this price point.  Sprong didn’t have much luck on the open market last summer despite his second straight year of over 40 points and things haven’t gone well for him this year.  Accordingly, another dip might be coming his way.

Borgen had two straight seasons of at least 20 points coming into this one but his production and playing time have slipped through the first quarter of this year.  Heading into the year, a jump to the $3.75MM range seemed possible, especially as a right-hand shot but that might come down more toward the $3.5MM level on a multi-year deal now.  Mahura was only able get a minimum contract after being non-tendered by Florida and with the limited role he has had so far, he’s unlikely to command more than that next summer.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5.4MM, UFA)
F Jordan Eberle ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Jamie Oleksiak ($4.6MM, UFA)
F Jaden Schwartz ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Eeli Tolvanen ($3.475MM, UFA)

Schwartz was one of Seattle’s first free agent additions, a move that hasn’t panned out as well as they hoped.  When healthy, he’s a capable second-line forward but staying healthy has been a serious challenge thus far.  He’ll be 34 when his next contract starts and it’d be surprising if he came in at this price tag next time.  Something in the $4MM range on a medium-term deal might be more likely.  Bjorkstrand was acquired as a cap dump from the Blue Jackets in 2022 and he has given Seattle two straight 20-goal seasons plus a 59-point effort last year.  If he can keep near 60 points, he could land another million or so on his next deal.  But if he reverts to a point total more in the 40s, Bjorkstrand might have to settle for a bit less than his current salary in 2026.

Eberle signed this deal last season, taking himself off the trade block in the process.  He’s still a capable secondary scorer but considering he’ll be 36 on his next deal (subject to 35-plus provisions on a multi-year contract), it wouldn’t be surprising if he went year-to-year from here on out, allowing for the possibility for a lower base salary with reachable performance bonuses to allow the signing team more flexibility.  Tolvanen has turned into one of the better waiver claims in recent memory, picking up 41 points last season while being on pace for 20 goals this year.  Still, he’s a bit inconsistent which has kept him out of a full-time top-six role.  If that continues and he settles in as more of a middle-six option, his open market value will take a hit although he could still get a small increase if he stays in that 40-point range.

There was definitely some risk in the contract the Kraken gave Oleksiak after selecting him in expansion.  He had been a third-pairing player up to that point with the exception of one year, the one that landed him this agreement.  But Oleksiak has been able to maintain a top-four slot throughout his time with Seattle while even chipping in with a career year offensively in 2022-23.  Of course, his offensive numbers don’t land him this role or this type of money but rather his defensive game (and being one of the tallest players in the league).  The market isn’t as strong for the more stay-at-home type of players and Oleksiak will turn 34 early in the 26-27 season but even so, a small boost to the $5MM range on a medium-term pact could still be doable.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Andre Burakovsky ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Philipp Grubauer ($5.9MM, UFA)
D Vince Dunn ($7.35MM, UFA)
F Jared McCann ($5MM, UFA)

Burakovsky was another notable splash in free agency that hasn’t worked out particularly well thus far.  Signed off a career year, he hasn’t been able to produce close to those numbers since then, nor has he stayed healthy.  Lots can still change in the back half of the deal but he looks like someone heading for a cap hit closer to the $4MM range, if not less next time out.  McCann, on the other hand, averaged 30 goals and 62 points over his first three seasons in Seattle, two of which were played on this contract.  That’s a solid return for this price point and if those numbers continue, he could land closer to $7MM next time out, especially with the ability to play center.

Dunn is the other player who could challenge McCann as being the best of their original expansion picks.  With a bigger role than he had with St. Louis, he has emerged as one of the better offensive blueliners league-wide while playing in all situations.  In essence, he has the numbers of arguably a number one defender, if not a top-pairing piece.  He’ll be turning 31 early in the 2027-28 season so a max-term contract is a very realistic possibility and if Dunn remains as impactful as he has been, he could add a couple million per season on that next deal.

Grubauer was a free agent acquisition that carried some risk given that he was coming off a breakout year with a career-high in games played of 40.  Paying him to be the undisputed starter for that long had the potential to bust.  And bust it has.  After putting up a .922 SV% in his best year with Colorado, he has yet to reach the .900 mark since then.  Along the way, Grubauer has gone from being their number one goalie to a part-time backup and is off to a dreadful start this season.  Barring a change in fortunes, Seattle will need to seriously consider buying out the remainder of this deal this summer, even with it carrying close to a $2MM dead cap charge next season, nearly $3.1MM the following year, and close to $1.7MM for two years after that.

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Kraken Recall Mitchell Stephens, Activate Vince Dunn Off LTIR

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Prior to their game tonight against San Jose, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that forward Mitchell Stephens was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.  Additionally, defenseman Vince Dunn has been activated off LTIR according to the NHL’s media site.

Stephens is in his first season with Seattle after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them early in free agency back in July.  The 27-year-old is a veteran of 95 career NHL appearances between Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Montreal.  Stephens got into 23 appearances with the latter last season, notching three points while winning over 55% of his faceoffs in a little over nine minutes a night of playing time.

It’s his first recall of the season and it comes following somewhat of a slow start to his season.  Stephens has three goals and an assist in 11 games so far with the Firebirds.  By comparison, he had 35 points in 49 games with AHL Laval just last season.

Meanwhile, the return of Dunn is a welcome one for the Kraken.  He has been one of the more impactful blueliners league-wide in recent years, especially on the offensive side of things after putting up 110 points in 140 games between 2022-23 and 2023-24 while logging over 23 minutes of ice time each night.  Prior to suffering an upper-body injury that kept him out for nearly six weeks, Dunn was off to a good start on that front this season as well, notching three points in his first four outings.

Dunn’s return gives Seattle now three above-average threats from the back end which will help an offense that’s near the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored.  Brandon Montour is off to a solid start in his first season with the Kraken while Ryker Evans has helped pick up the offensive slack in Dunn’s absence.  Both players enter tonight’s action with 15 points, good for a tie for third in team scoring.

While there has been no announcement from the team, the only way that Seattle could have activated Dunn and recalled Stephens was by transferring winger Jordan Eberle to LTIR.  The captain is expected to be out for at least the next three months after undergoing pelvic surgery a little more than a week ago.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest in Nils Hoglander

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It wasn’t long ago that Canucks winger Nils Hoglander looked like an important part of Vancouver’s long-term plans.  But things haven’t gone as well this year for him and it appears that teams are starting to kick the tires to see if he’s available.  ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the Capitals, Penguins, and Blue Jackets are among the teams who have explored the possibility of acquiring Hoglander.

Hoglander made an early impact with Vancouver, picking up 13 goals and 14 assists in 56 games in the shortened 2020-21 season.  However, his output dipped in the next two seasons, capped off by him spending the bulk of the 2022-23 campaign in the minors with AHL Abbotsford.

However, Hoglander took a big step forward last season.  The 23-year-old set new career highs in goals (24) and points (36) despite playing almost exclusively in the bottom six, averaging just 12:06 per game.  Still, he was a regular throughout the season and the playoffs, restoring some value along the way.

That was enough for the Canucks to hand him a three-year, $9MM contract extension that will begin next season.  While it walks Hoglander right to UFA eligibility at 27 in the 2028 offseason, it looked as if he was going to be a capable bottom-six option for them for a while.

But things haven’t gone anywhere near as well this season.  He has been limited to just two goals and three assists in 21 appearances so far despite basically having the same role.  Along the way, his shooting percentage has dropped from 20%, a mark that’s hard to maintain, down to 8.7% which is a little below league average.

While Hoglander’s price tag will be $3MM next season, it’s a much more manageable $1.1MM this season as he wraps up his bridge deal.  That’s especially important for Washington, a team that is effectively capped out and well into LTIR.  Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has ample cap space after moving Lars Eller to the Caps earlier this month while Columbus is at the bottom of the league in spending this season.  All three teams make some sense for Hoglander’s services as a player to potentially help their bottom six group while being young enough to still be in the plans if those teams wind up having to pivot to a rebuild down the road.

Despite his slow start, there still should be a fairly strong market for his services beyond those three Eastern Conference teams should GM Patrik Allvin decide to make him available which could make his trade value higher than it might seem.  If the Canucks decide to try to shake things up, Hoglander is a potentially viable candidate to move.

Injury Updates: Stanley, Arvidsson, Kochetkov, Kylington, Chinakhov

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The Jets welcomed back Logan Stanley to their lineup tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that the blueliner has been activated off injured reserve.  The 26-year-old has been banged up this season, missing time with a knee issue and most recently a mid-body injury that kept him out for the last eight games.  Between those, Stanley has three points, 17 blocks, and 12 hits in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night, the second-highest ATOI of his career.  With his activation, Winnipeg now has a full 23-player roster.

Other injury updates from around the NHL:

  • Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link) that winger Viktor Arvidsson won’t suit up on their current road trip, meaning he’ll miss the next three games. The 31-year-old has missed the last six games due to an undisclosed injury and is currently on injured reserve.  Arvidsson is in his first season with Edmonton after signing a two-year, $8MM contract over the summer.  However, he’s off to a quiet start with just two goals and three assists in 16 games.
  • Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game against Florida, team reporter Walt Ruff reports (Twitter link). Kochetkov remains in concussion protocol but head coach Rod Brind’Amour wants to get him in a practice before getting him back into a game.  Kochetkov has a 2.42 GAA and a .909 SV% in 13 games so far this season.  With him and Frederik Andersen out, Spencer Martin and Yaniv Perets are Carolina’s tandem between the pipes for the time being.
  • The injuries continue to pile up for the Avalanche. Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Oliver Kylington is dealing with an injury and isn’t with the team in Dallas.  The 27-year-old has had a quiet start to the season for Colorado, missing time due to illness and being healthy scratched at times.  Overall, Kylington has suited up in eight games so far, picking up a goal and an assist but his playing time is just 12:10 per night, more than five minutes below his ATOI with Calgary last season.
  • Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov was scratched in today’s victory over Calgary due to an upper-body injury, notes team reporter Jeff Svoboda (Twitter link). After a breakout performance last season that saw him record 16 goals and 13 assists in 53 games, the 23-year-old is on pace to beat those numbers as he has seven goals and seven helpers in 21 appearances so far, good for fourth on Columbus in scoring.  Cole Sillinger returned from his upper-body injury to take Chinakhov’s spot in the lineup.

Golden Knights Recall Victor Olofsson From Conditioning Loan, Assign Two To AHL

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The Golden Knights have made a trio of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Winnipeg.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Victor Olofsson has been recalled from AHL Henderson with his conditioning loan now complete.  Meanwhile, winger Mason Morelli and blueliner Robert Hagg have been re-assigned to the Silver Knights.

Olofsson signed with Vegas in free agency over the summer, inking a one-year, $1.075MM deal in the hopes of rebuilding his value after a tough final couple of years in Buffalo.  The 29-year-old got off to an impressive start with two goals in the season opener while adding another tally in his fourth outing.  However, that was his last appearance with them thanks to a lower-body injury that landed him on LTIR.

Olofsson was sent down on November 18th but didn’t see any game action with Henderson.  That trend will continue for the time being as he’s not expected to suit up against the Jets.

Morelli, meanwhile, has been recalled three times recently but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time as he has just one appearance with Vegas this season, one that saw him play just 7:31.  He has been productive with the Silver Knights though, notching five goals and four assists in 13 games thus far.

As for Hagg, he also has been shuffled back and forth quite frequently over the last week and a half.  The veteran has suited up twice for the Golden Knights this season, making it nine straight years with appearances at the top level.  However, he’s averaging just over 11 minutes per game while also recording 11 hits in those outings.  He has gotten off to a nice start offensively in the minors, however, picking up eight points in 14 games with Henderson.

With the moves, Vegas has once again exited LTIR and is back to banking a small amount of cap room.  Ben Hutton is presently on LTIR so if the Golden Knights need to bring anyone up later on, they will have the flexibility to do so by using Hutton’s $975K buffer.

Flames Place Ilya Nikolaev On Unconditional Waivers

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Nov. 29: The Flames announced Friday that Nikolaev has been released from his contract, confirming that he cleared unconditional waivers. They now have five open contract slots.

Nov. 28: It appears that the Flames will be parting ways with one of their prospects.  James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the team has placed forward Ilya Nikolaev on unconditional waivers, a move that is generally made to pave the way to terminate a player’s contract.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Calgary back in 2019, going 88th overall.  Nikolaev spent the next two seasons in Russia before coming to North America for the 2021-22 campaign where he joined USHL Tri-City.  A strong showing there that saw him record 23 goals and 49 assists in 58 regular season games helped earn him an entry-level deal soon after.

However, things haven’t gone well for Nikolaev since then.  He spent his first two professional seasons split between AHL Calgary and ECHL Rapid City.  In 2022-23, he played the bulk of his outings with the latter while last season, it was the other way around.  The hope was that he’d at least be able to move up to the AHL level full-time this year but that didn’t happen.  Nikolaev got into a pair of games with the Rush plus nine more with the Wranglers where he had four assists but clearly, he hadn’t cemented a full-time spot with them yet.

Nikolaev is in the final season of his entry-level contract and with how things had been going to this point, he was likely heading for a non-tender in June.  Assuming that he clears waivers on Friday, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and will likely look for another opportunity overseas.  Once the deal is terminated, he’ll come off Calgary’s contract list which will bring them down to 45 out of the maximum of 50.

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