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NHL Announces 2022-23 Regular Season Schedule

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The news continues to break during what’s been a busy pre-draft week. The NHL has released the full 82-game schedule for the 2022-23 campaign, marking a return to normal dates and length for the first time since 2018-19.

2022-23 will see its curtains open overseas, where the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will open the season at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8, 2022. The regular season will begin on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, with a classic doubleheader. The puck will drop at Madison Square Garden for an Eastern Conference Final rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, followed by a Pacific Division showdown in Southern California between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.

The Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony will be the following night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The season will wrap up on April 13, 2023.

Some key events throughout the season include the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland, where the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a pair of games on November 4 and 5, 2022. The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic is slated for January 2, 2023, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, and the 2023 NHL Stadium Series is set for February 18, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes will host the Washington Capitals. All-Star Weekend will be February 3-4, 2023, hosted by the Florida Panthers.

Florida Panthers, Florida Everblades Sign Affiliation Agreement

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A partnership that always seemed to make sense has finally returned, as the Florida Panthers and Florida Everblades of the ECHL have signed a multi-year affiliation agreement. The deal brings the clubs back together for the first time since 2010 and comes on the heels of a Kelly Cup championship from the minor league club.

Brett Peterson, assistant general manager of the Panthers, released a statement:

We are pleased to announce a new affiliation with the Florida Everblades. We want to thank the Swamp Rabbits for two great seasons and look forward to beginning a new partnership just down the road in Estero, Fla. We look forward to the development of our young players in Florida and many opportunities together with this new pipeline plan.

As Peterson references, this will be the end of the Panthers’ agreement with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, who will now have to find a new NHL partner. Perhaps that could be the Nashville Predators, who were previously affiliated with the Everblades before this change.

The ECHL club took home the league championship this season, winning the Kelly Cup for the second time. An exceptionally consistent organization, they have made the postseason in 23 of 24 years, and gone to the finals five different times.

Florida Panthers Sign Aleksi Heponiemi

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The Florida Panthers have inked Aleksi Heponiemi to a one-year, two-way contract extension for the 2022-23 season. CapFriendly reports that the deal will be worth $750K at the NHL level, $100K at the AHL level, and comes with a minor league guarantee of $175K. The young forward was scheduled for restricted free agency but is still not eligible for salary arbitration.

Heponiemi, 23, was the 40th overall selection in 2017 and has had an interesting route to the NHL. The Tampere, Finland native was picked out of the WHL, where he had come over to play for the Swift Current Broncos, and absolutely dominated that league after going back for his draft+1 season. With 118 points in 57 games (and another 30 in 26 postseason matches) he helped the Broncos win the WHL championship, taking home the CHL Sportsman of the Year award in the process.

The following season he returned to Finland to play at the professional level, and had no problem carrying over his offense to Liiga play. In 50 games for Karpat he scored 16 goals and 46 points, while also attending the World Juniors and winning gold. The next year was spent in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds, before COVID restrictions kept the AHL from playing through the early part of 2020-21. That led to a loan to Sweden where he played for MODO, scoring nearly a point-per-game through the first half.

A recall to North America led to his NHL debut but he wouldn’t stay at that level. In fact, this past season he once again was limited to the AHL–this time scoring 39 points in 56 games for the Charlotte Checkers.

Now, it’s time for Heponiemi to try and make the Panthers on a full-time basis. No longer waiver-exempt he will be risked to the rest of the league if they try to send him to the minor leagues, giving him at least a bit of a head start over some other young prospects. That doesn’t guarantee him a spot though, especially on a team that already has plenty of offensive weapons and might prefer more physical players in the bottom-six.

Anthony Duclair Suffers Achilles Injury

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July 2: The Panthers have announced that Duclair has undergone successful surgery with an anticipated return of midseason.

June 29: The start of the 2022-23 season isn’t going well for the Florida Panthers. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Panthers forward Anthony Duclair suffered an Achilles tendon injury during offseason training and will likely require surgery. Though Friedman notes that the current timeline is unclear, surgery would mean a lengthy recovery.

In 2018, for instance, Jean-Gabriel Pageau suffered a torn Achilles during the first day of training camp with the Ottawa Senators and was given a six-month recovery timeline. Panthers fans will be happy to know that it took nowhere near that long for him to actually return. Pageau was activated less than four months later and was in the lineup in early January.

Of course, there are other instances that weren’t so successful. Michal Kempny of the Washington Capitals underwent Achilles surgery in October 2020 and ended up missing nearly the entire 2020-21 season.

For Duclair, this is brutal timing given his recent performance. The 26-year-old winger is coming off a 31-goal season with the Panthers–the best of his career–and is finally an important member of a team’s attack. The 2013 third-round pick worked his way through the New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ottawa Senators before arriving in Sunrise but has found a home with Florida.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers

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With the offseason in full swing, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at the Panthers.

In some ways, it was a year of success for Florida.  They overcame an early-season coaching change with Andrew Brunette helping to lead the Panthers to the Presidents’ Trophy.  However, they were then swept by Tampa Bay in the second round, resulting in GM Bill Zito making another coaching change, bringing in former Jets bench boss Paul Maurice.  With that change done, his focus can shift to the roster which will need some work despite finishing first in the regular season.

Add Defensive Help

Back at the trade deadline, Zito opted to prioritize bolstering his back end before getting in on the Claude Giroux sweepstakes.  Beyond Aaron Ekblad, most of Florida’s defenders are players that have largely gone under the radar with players like MacKenzie Weegar, Brandon Montour, and Gustav Forsling rounding out their top four.  The offensive production they provided was certainly top-notch but Zito wanted a defensive focus.

That led to them paying a fairly high price tag to pick up Ben Chiarot a few days before the trade deadline with an eye on giving them some more grit and a shutdown presence.  Then, when Ekblad went down, freeing up some LTIR room which opened up the ability to add Robert Hagg, another physical blueliner.

But both of those players aren’t expected back this summer as they’re likely to move on in free agency unless something changes with their salary cap situation.  As a result, the deficiencies that Zito identified still exist.  As a result, he will likely be looking to add in at least a shutdown defender that can kill penalties and take some of the defensive pressure off Ekblad.

In an ideal world, that player will also come with some team control.  Weegar and Radko Gudas are entering the final year of their contracts with Forsling and Montour up a year later.  With a prospect pool that has taken some hits and is missing several high draft picks in the years to come, a bit of longer-term stability defensively would certainly be beneficial.

Huberdeau Extension Talks

As far as picking the ideal timing for a career year, winger Jonathan Huberdeau certainly did just that.  The 29-year-old led the NHL in assists this past season with 85 while finishing tied with Johnny Gaudreau for second in the league in points with 115.  On July 13th when the new league year starts, Huberdeau will be eligible for a contract extension and he certainly made a strong case for a very pricey one.

Internally, it stands to reason that Zito will try to cap Huberdeau’s price tag at or slightly below the $10MM given to Aleksander Barkov, whose eight-year, $80MM extension signed last year will begin next season.  Even in a flat cap environment, two players with an AAV in that range can be manageable.

Meanwhile, Huberdeau’s camp will certainly be keeping an eye on what happens with Gaudreau later this month.  The Calgary winger will hit the open market this summer and is only two months older than Gaudreau.  Whatever contract he winds up with will serve as a strong comparable, especially if an extension is worked out this summer.

With one year left on his deal, Florida doesn’t have to do an extension as soon as he’s eligible; Barkov’s extension came just before the start of the regular season.  From a roster planning standpoint, the sooner a contract gets done, the better which is why Zito will likely push to try to get something done as close to the 13th as possible but this is something that could just as easily drag out into next season as well.

Find A Taker For Bobrovsky

While teams can find a way to make the cap work with two players making $10MM, it’s a lot harder with three.  Sergei Bobrovsky also carries a $10MM AAV and if Huberdeau does wind up signing for that amount on his next contract, Florida’s cap situation becomes a whole lot harder to manage.  It’s a simple process of elimination as to which one goes.  It’s certainly not going to be Barkov and if they re-sign Huberdeau, it’s not to turn around and move him.  That leaves Bobrovsky.

The 33-year-old had a bit of a bounce-back year in 2021-22, posting a .913 SV% and a 2.67 GAA in 54 games.  Those numbers aren’t elite by any stretch but they were a sizable improvement compared to his first two seasons.  Unfortunately for the Panthers, that type of performance isn’t worth $10MM, not even close.

Between this, their cap space situation, and the fact that Spencer Knight is clearly Florida’s goalie of the future, it’s clear that Zito is going to have to retain a sizable chunk of Bobrovsky’s cap hit or take a fairly hefty contract back in order to facilitate a move.  They’re also going to have to work with the veteran to find a suitable home as Bobrovsky, who still has four years left on his deal, also has a no-move clause.

It’s possible that Florida can afford to bring Bobrovsky back for next season but it will come at the expense of adding to the back end or a veteran up front.  Knight will need to start playing more so while Bobrovsky is someone they could keep around, it doesn’t mean they should.  His name is likely to be in trade speculation as a result.

Free Up Cap Space

This one certainly involves Bobrovsky but he won’t be the only trade candidate.  As things stand, the Panthers have around $4MM in cap space for four or five players thanks to the new contracts for Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe and a $3MM increase in dead cap on Keith Yandle’s buyout.  That’s doable but it would just be depth additions, not impact ones.  If they want to add an impact piece or have a shot at re-signing someone like winger Mason Marchment (or Giroux, who will cost considerably more), they need to clear some salary.

Florida will get some short-term cap relief with Anthony Duclair starting the year on LTIR.  However, since the winger is expected to return from his Achilles tear, they’ll need to have cap space to activate him midseason.  That means they can utilize his LTIR to call up a player or two from the minors and carry a full roster but they won’t be able to spend that on a more prominent replacement.

Winger Patric Hornqvist ($5.3MM) and Gudas ($2.5MM) each have one year left on their contracts and have roles that can be filled by cheaper players so at least one of those two could be on the move to free up some cap flexibility.  Hornqvist has an eight-team no-trade clause while Gudas doesn’t have any form of trade protection.  Both players have played useful roles for the Panthers but the value of some extra cap space may very well outweigh the benefits of keeping one or both of them in the lineup for next season.

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

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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Free agency is now less than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Next up is a look at the Panthers.

Key Restricted Free Agents:

F Eetu Luostarinen – Acquired in the trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to the Carolina Hurricanes, Luostarinen established himself as a quality option for the Panthers this year, scoring nine goals along with 17 assists over 78 games. This season was the 23-year-old’s third in the NHL, but only his first full season, playing 44 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, in addition to eight the year prior for Carolina. Now an RFA at the conclusion of his ELC, Luostarinen may not see much of a raise over his previous salary. However, with the Panthers in a difficult position relative to the salary cap, and his solid contributions last season, he may find himself in a somewhat elevated role with increased ice time and responsibility which could, if he can continue to build on his game, go a long way to his next contract.

Other RFAs: F Henry Bowlby, F Aleksi Heponiemi, F German Rubtsov, D Lucas Carlsson, G Evan Fitzpatrick, G Jonas Johansson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents:

F Claude Giroux – One of the most sought after players at the 2021 trade deadline, Giroux is now one of the most prized free agents in the 2021 class. The Philadelphia Flyers legend was dealt to the Panthers at the trade deadline where he immediately clicked with an already stellar Florida offense, producing 23 points in 18 regular season games and another eight in 10 playoff games. Giroux will have his pick of teams this summer, and should have the freedom to choose his destination based on his priority. At age 34, having just finished an eight-year, $66.2MM contract that carried an AAV of $8.275MM, Giroux won’t again see that amount of term, but a contract with a salary close to his previous may not be out of reach. The issue for Giroux, specifically in the flat cap era, will be balancing whether or not he wants to maximize the financial commitment on this contract or go to a particular situation, perhaps a team with a real chance to win a Stanley Cup. If he wants to stay with the Panthers, who figure to be one of those teams with a real chance to win the Cup, not only will Giroux have to take a pronounced discount, but the organization itself may need to conduct some roster-reconstruction to make it happen.

F Mason Marchment – Amongst the most interesting breakout players in the NHL this year was Mason Marchment, a longtime member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization who was dealt to Florida in February of 2020 for Denis Malgin. A large, imposing, physical forward, Marchment was never a major offensive weapon until this season, where he put up 18 goals and 29 assists in just 54 games, all career-highs by a wide margin. At age 27, Marchment hits unrestricted free agency coming off not only his best NHL season to date, but arguably his best season since he debuted in the OHL in 2014-15 with the Erie Otters. Given his recent and somewhat unprecedented breakout, Marchment may have trouble finding a long-term, big-money contract on the free agent market, but his blend of physical play with offensive production should provide him with plenty of options. Though Florida will have to make some tough financial decisions, a reunion with Marchment at a lower price may make sense, giving the forward another season in the middle of a dynamic offense to show that his impressive 2021-22 was his standard, and not a fluke.

F Joe Thornton – The future Hall of Famer turns 43 on July 2nd and despite battling injuries this season has not ruled out another year in the NHL. Thornton has seemingly had several different NHL careers, most recently playing the role of a bottom-six veteran willing to do what’s asked of him. Still without a Stanley Cup, Thornton signed with the Panthers prior to the 2021-22 season in the hopes of winning his first Cup, but fell short when Florida lost in four games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. Despite decreased production the past few seasons, Thornton has played well in his role and could very well join a competitive team, including Florida, on a league minimum salary, bringing valuable intangibles to the team’s dressing room.

D Ben Chiarot – Similar to Giroux, Chiarot found himself as one of the most sought after targets at this year’s trade deadline as a reliable shutdown defenseman. Also like Giroux, Chiarot found himself traded to Florida at the deadline with a first-round draft pick going the other way. At the conclusion of the three-year, $10.5MM contract that brought him to Montreal, the 31-year-old Chiarot probably won’t find the same salary Giroux is about to on the open market, but his play for the Canadiens and Panthers, which includes 42 playoff games, should earn him at least a similar deal from a team looking for a solid and sturdy left-handed defenseman.

Other UFAs: F Noel Acciari, F Maxim Mamin, D Robert Hagg, D Petteri Lindbohm, D Markus Nutivaara, D Chase Priskie, G Christopher Gibson

Projected Cap Space:

According to CapFriendly, the Panthers enter this offseason with $3.074MM in projected salary cap space. The flat salary cap has put a number of NHL teams in a bind, meaning Florida is not alone and the limited space is understandable, however that does not make the number any easier to work with. This figure may be enough to bring back one or two of the players discussed, but won’t be enough to retain a marquee player like Giroux. Even aside from those players, Florida is likely faced with losing at least a couple of Acciari, Mamin, Hagg, Lindbohm, Nutivaara and Priskie, all of whom would have been expected to take on some of the responsibilities of those the team may already lose.

There are several options to create additional cap space, including a potential trade of Patric Hornqvist, who will be an UFA after 2022-23 and carries a cap hit of $5.3MM. Florida could also explore the trade market for former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, but it may require them to retain as much as half of Bobrovsky’s $10MM salary over each of the next four seasons, not to mention necessitating a replacement to back-up 21-year-old Spencer Knight, who has just 36 NHL games under his belt.

Florida Panthers Extend Matt Kiersted

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The Florida Panthers have signed Matt Kiersted to a two-year contract extension, keeping him from restricted free agency. CapFriendly reports the deal will be a two-way contract in 2022-23 worth $750K at the NHL level and a one-way contract in 2023-24 worth $775K. General manager Bill Zito released a short statement:

Matt made great strides this year in his first full professional season, showing his skill as an exciting young defenseman. We are looking forward to his continued growth within our organization.

Kiersted, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota in 2021, and had a very strong debut season in the Panthers system. Playing mostly for the Charlotte Checkers, he racked up 20 points in 63 AHL games and added two more in ten NHL contests. The puck-moving defenseman is a very nice depth piece for the team to carry, especially given the tight cap situation the team will soon find itself in.

With Ben Chiarot, Robert Hagg, Markus Nutivaara, Chase Priskie, and Petteri Lindbohm all scheduled for unrestricted free agency, much of the team’s defensive depth may be on its way out the door. Bringing Kiersted back as the seventh or eighth option was a no-brainer, especially given he will still be waiver-exempt at the start of next season, able to go up and down between levels without issue.

The two-year deal will walk him directly to Group VI unrestricted free agency if he fails to get a substantial opportunity in Florida, meaning Kiersted is setting himself up nicely for the next few years as well. He even may compete for a full-time role depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out, or potentially help replace some of the outgoing talent in 2023-24. MacKenzie Weegar and Radko Gudas both only have one year left on their current contracts, and while the former is an obvious candidate for extension, the latter may be getting closer to the end with the club, opening up another roster spot down the line.

Maxim Mamin Linked To KHL

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After returning to the Florida Panthers this season, Maxim Mamin appeared to have re-established himself as a legitimate NHL option. The Russian forward is a pending unrestricted free agent and could have been an interesting pickup for teams looking to add a bit of scoring punch on an inexpensive contract. That might not be happening, at least for anyone in North America, as Russian news agency TASS is reporting that Mamin has signed a new three-year contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.

Originally selected by the Panthers in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, there always was worry about whether Mamin would ever come to North America. He was a born-and-bred CSKA player, a top program in the KHL, but Florida managed to convince him in 2017, adding him to the NHL roster. That stint lasted just 33 games though, as he returned to Russia partway through the 2018-19 season after failing to get regular ice time.

Three years later and he was back, though it still wouldn’t be exactly what he envisioned. Not only would he start the year in the minor leagues but Mamin would find himself on the taxi squad again partway through the year, and deal with an injury that cost him nearly a month. That led to just 40 NHL appearances, scoring seven goals and 14 points. He did also get into four postseason matches but was held scoreless.

With the Panthers facing more important free agent negotiations, it seemed likely that Mamin would end up on the open market either way. Now, if the report from TASS proves true and he’s heading home, it could essentially end his time in the NHL. In 73 career games, he scored ten goals and 18 points.

Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup

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With the round-robin set to close tomorrow at the 2022 Memorial Cup, one team already knows its fate. The WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings are out of the top Canadian junior tournament, dropping their third game of the round-robin 4-2 against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

The host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL will play their league champion, the Shawinigan Cataractes, tomorrow. The winner of that game will advance directly to the 2022 Memorial Cup Final on June 29, while the loser will face Hamilton in the semi-final on Monday.

Edmonton bows out of the tournament without a regulation win. Their two points in the standings came courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win against Saint John.

It’s a shocking exit for the WHL champion, who terrorized the league with a 50-14-4 record during the regular season. But their offense was stricken heavily when it was announced that leading scorer Dylan Guenther, a 2021 first-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes, would miss the tournament due to injury. Still, the squad had a strong core with NHL prospects Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) in goal, Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens) and Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) on defense, and Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers) rounding out an all-star lineup. The team’s depth was nothing to scoff at either, with multiple other NHL prospects and WHL veterans playing big roles.

The WHL’s streak of Memorial Cup losses, which dates back now to 2014 with the Oil Kings, will continue.

Vancouver Canucks Announce Hockey Ops Changes

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced several changes to the hockey operations department, as general manager Patrik Allvin continues to overhaul the front office. Ryan Johnson has been promoted to assistant to the general manager, but retains his status as GM of the Abbotsford Canucks. Scott Young will now be director of player personnel, while Frank Golden has joined as a college free agent scout.

The big addition that will grab headlines is Dale Tallon, who is joining the organization as a senior advisor and professional scout. Notably, he is returning to where it all began, as Tallon was the Canucks’ very first draft selection, second overall in 1970. The 71-year-old executive has several decades of experience in high-leverage front office roles, including most recently as general manager of the Florida Panthers.

Johnson, who continues to rise up the organizational depth chart, has been praised at length by Allvin and team president Jim Rutherford at every chance for his work with the AHL squad and other duties. A clear candidate to become an NHL general manager at some point in the future, he’ll take on this new role that works “closely with Allvin on all hockey-related matters.”

Young is coming over from the Penguins, where he worked with Allvin and Rutherford previously as the director of player development. He has extensive international experience, having played in three Olympics and coached in the past two for Team USA. Young also hoisted the Stanley Cup twice during his long playing career, which spanned more than 1,100 games at the NHL level.

The organization continues to expand and change the front office, as they look to turn the page on the last group and start a new chapter of Canucks success.

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