Predators Optimistic In Extending Juuse Saros
Star Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros has been deeply entrenched in trade rumors for much of the season, largely thanks to the emergence of top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov in the minor leagues. But the two sides might not be set for the departure many are expecting, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sharing that, “the player wants to stay and the team wants him to say,” in the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Friedman added that a source close to the team has expressed optimism in Nashville’s chances of extending Saros.
But despite the strong stats, Nashville has shared they’re not in a rush to re-sign the former Vezina Trophy finalist. Instead, they’ll monitor how the goalie market develops under a growing cap, specifically watching for how extension talks between the New York Rangers and Igor Shesterkin play out. That patient approach should give time for trade candidates like Jacob Markstrom, John Gibson, and Linus Ullmark to be moved as well, giving the Predators a sense of what a return for Saros may look like.
Juuse Saros Likely To Wait To Sign Extension
Andrew Fantucchio of Boston Hockey Now writes that in his opinion the Boston Bruins have no reason to be in a hurry to trade goaltender Linus Ullmark as he has one year left on his deal and the Bruins could conceivably keep the netminder for the remainder of his deal. Ullmark has a lot of contractual control over where he is traded and could nix trades to nearly half of the league.
Goaltenders have been traded in recent years for a minimal return, including recent Vezina Trophy winners. However, as Fantucchio writes, the Ullmark situation is different than that of Marc-Andre Fleury who was dealt in July 2021 in what amounted to a salary cap dump. Fantucchio theorizes that if the Bruins are patient with the Ullmark trade it could drive up the asking price as teams might become desperate for goaltending as the market dries up.
In other morning notes:
- It appears that Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros is prepared to let the goaltender market develop before signing his next deal. Jonathan Bailey of Nashville Hockey Now writes that Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet made his weekly appearance on 102.5 The Game on the Caroline, Willy, and D-Mase show to discuss the future of the Predators netminder. On the show, Friedman said that Saros is willing to see what kind of a contract New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin signs before he signs a new contract. Shesterkin figures to sign the richest goalie contract ever, and while Saros won’t reach the same kind of money, he can likely command a large percentage of that.
- Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes that he doesn’t think the Pittsburgh Penguins will offer restricted free agent Emil Bemstrom a contract before the June 25th deadline to submit a qualifying offer. Bemstrom was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets and struggled to carve out a role in Pittsburgh despite the Penguins having a very poor bottom-six forward group. The 25-year-old is due a $945K qualifying offer and given the Penguins’ shortcomings it would be reckless to allocate that kind of cap space on a player that would be a 13th forward.
Dylan MacKinnon Traded In QMJHL
- Predators prospect blueliner Dylan MacKinnon has been traded in the QMJHL. Moncton announced that they acquired the 19-year-old from Halifax in exchange for a trio of draft picks, one in each of the first three rounds. MacKinnon was a third-round pick in 2023, going 83rd overall and is coming off a three-goal, 16-point campaign. Nashville holds his rights until June 1, 2025 so MacKinnon will be hoping for a big year to secure a contract.
Maple Leafs, Predators Linked To Brett Pesce
Expect the Maple Leafs and Predators to be two of the top suitors for Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce if he hits the open market next month, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports.
The Hurricanes are still attempting to extend Pesce after general manager Don Waddell resigned last month, but they haven’t been close to a deal since discussions started last summer. In fact, most believed he would be traded last summer to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of this season, but they took him off the trade block during training camp and decided to continue negotiations.
Recent reports around Pesce’s pending free agency suggest more of the same. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believed the Canes were holding firm at an offer of around $5MM annually on a five-year deal that Pesce wasn’t willing to accept.
Nashville was one of the teams interested in acquiring him when he was made available for trade last summer, Pagnotta notes, so it’s of no surprise to see them linked to Pesce again. They’re looking for a top-four defender to replace Ryan McDonagh, whom they traded back to the Lightning last month after acquiring him from Tampa in the 2022 offseason.
Pesce would be a similar stylistic fit, but unlike McDonagh, he’s a right-shot. That gives him a greater potential of sliding upward in the lineup to play alongside captain Roman Josi, also a left-shot, on the team’s top pairing.
He’s used to heavy usage, averaging over 20 minutes per game for eight straight seasons. The 29-year-old is coming off a down year offensively with only three goals and 13 points in 70 games, but his career averages suggest the two-way blue-liner is more of a 25-to-30-point producer over a full season.
The New York native has earned sparse Norris consideration in the past, receiving votes in 2018 and 2020. His possession numbers are still strong, controlling 54.4% of shot attempts at even strength throughout his career. He’s also had an expected goals share north of 50% for the past four years, per Hockey Reference.
It’s no surprise to see Toronto engaged in Pesce rumors, either. They’ll be in on nearly all of the top defensemen on this summer’s UFA market, but especially right-shots. Ideally, second-year GM Brad Treliving is looking for a stable partner for top offensive blue liner Morgan Rielly, who’s had a rotating cast of shutdown partners over the past few seasons.
The Leafs lack puck-movers outside of Rielly among their defense corps, and while it’s not a hallmark of Pesce’s game, he would be a small upgrade over Jake McCabe and the outgoing T.J. Brodie in that regard. He’s eclipsed 20 assists four times in his career, including a career-high 25 helpers in 2022-23.
Evolving Hockey’s contract projections peg Pesce to land a six-year, $5.5MM AAV deal on the open market, slightly lengthier and richer than his rumored extension offer in Carolina. That would be feasible for both the Leafs and Preds, who enter the offseason with a decent amount of salary cap flexibility.
Latest On Martin Necas’ Trade Market
Martin Nečas‘ availability in a potential trade has been one of the dominant early storylines of the 2024 offseason. The Hurricanes have been considering moving his signing rights as contract negotiations with the pending restricted free agent remain in a stalemate, and while there was a sense they may make one last pass at re-signing him with interim GM Eric Tulsky now at the helm temporarily, that seems unlikelier with each passing day.
To that end, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said on the site’s podcast today that a Nečas trade may come over the wire as soon as this week. Previously, we’ve covered reports that the Canucks, Flames and Canadiens have displayed some level of interest in his services. Recently, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period confirmed that at least 12 teams have Nečas “on their radar” and added the Flyers, Kraken and Predators to the existing list of teams that have dictated their interest to Carolina.
Notably, no single team has been named a frontrunner throughout the reporting process over the last few weeks. It’s also been quiet about what the Hurricanes might be able to get in return for their 2017 12th-overall pick, who has 52 goals and 124 points in 159 games since the 2022-23 season.
Nečas, 25, still has another offseason of RFA status ahead of him, but it’s clear he wants to ink a long-term deal this summer. Contract projection models indicate his value is likely in the $7.5MM area on a max-term deal, a figure the Hurricanes don’t seem willing to oblige with the younger Seth Jarvis surpassing him on the depth chart and also needing a new deal this summer. They have a multitude of UFAs to try to retain this summer as well, including one of the best forwards available in Jake Guentzel, who Pagnotta also reported Monday will likely test the market next month before deciding whether to return to Carolina.
Afternoon Notes: Jeannot, Parekh, Bourque
Winger Tanner Jeannot is once again facing trade rumors, as the Tampa Bay Lightning look to clear enough cap space for a serviceable off-season. The team is facing the loss of their franchise player Steven Stamkos with just $5MM in cap space – not nearly enough to afford the services of the future Hall-of-Famer. That could push them to try and move Jeannot’s $2.665MM cap hit, though Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times shares that there’s been no legitimate discussions of a move just yet. Though Encina did speak to the idea being a tantalizing one for the Lightning, with many teams around the league still interested in acquiring Jeannot.
The Lightning acquired Jeannot from the Nashville Predators ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline, sending the Music City defenseman Callan Foote, the picks that turned into Dylan MacKinnon (2023 third-round, 83rd-overall), Jayson Shaugabay (2023 fourth-round, 115th-overall), and Kevin Bicker (2023 fifth-round, 147th-overall), as well as a second-round pick in 2024 and a first-round pick in 2025 in return. Nashville traded the Shaugabay pick back to Tampa four months later, in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick, and moved the Bicker pick to the Detroit Red Wings to move up in the 2023 second-round.
Jeannot scored just four points in his 20 games with Tampa after the trade, though that didn’t dissuade their faith in him, with the Lightning signing Jenanot to a two-year, $5.3MM contract last summer – a deal that avoided the arbitration hearing Jeannot filed for. The rough-and-tumble winger wasn’t able to rekindle his spark on the new deal, though, scoring just 14 points in 55 games this season. He added 75 penalty minutes and a -10 – and tallied just one assist in four postseason games.
There’s still reported interest in Jeannot around the league despite his lacking scoring. Teams like the Calgary Flames have been looped into trade rumors, though Encina emphasized that a trade isn’t likely Plan A. Tampa will need to get a hefty return in any Jeannot trade, if only to hedge their losses from a costly 2023 move.
Other notes from around the league:
- Saginaw Spirit defenseman Zayne Parekh has won the CHL’s Defenseman of the Year Award, beating out Memorial Cup Finals competition Sam Dickinson. Parekh was dazzling this season, posting a position-leading 33 goals and 96 points in just 66 games this season. He’s just the second OHL defenseman to top 95 points since 2000, joining Ryan Ellis’ 100-point season in 2010-11. But while Ellis was already an NHL draftee, Parekh is headed into his first year of eligibility in the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s seen as one of the top defensemen in the class and should rival a top 10 selection.
- The Dallas Stars are swapping talented young forwards, with Ty Dellandrea stepping out of the Game 6 lineup in favor of Mavrik Bourque, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Bourque won the AHL’s ‘Les Cunningham’ MVP Award this season after posting 26 goals and 77 points in 71 games this season. Bourque formed a dynamic duo with Stars standout Logan Stankoven in the first half of the season. Dallas will look to use that pairing as their X-factor, as they face elimination at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.
Predators To Part Ways With Assistant Coach Dan Hinote
The Predators have elected to make a change behind the bench for next season. The team confirmed to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean that they will not renew the contract of assistant coach Dan Hinote when it expires at the end of June.
Hinote was an energetic winger over his nine-year NHL career split between Colorado and St. Louis. He opted to play in Sweden for one final season in 2009-10 before hanging up his skates.
However, Hinote wasn’t out of a job for long as after retiring, he was named an assistant coach with Columbus. The 47-year-old spent four seasons in that role before moving into scouting where he spent four more years with the Blue Jackets. From there, he spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program before former Nashville GM David Poile brought Hinote onto their staff back in 2020. After four years in that job, Hinote will now be on the lookout for another job.
While Hinote won’t be returning, their other assistants will. Daugherty added that Nashville’s two other assistant coaches, Tom Richards and Derek MacKenzie, are expected to return next season so there will only be one new voice behind the bench on Andrew Brunette’s staff.
Notable Moves From The NCAA Transfer Window
The NCAA Transfer Window is nearing its June 4th closing date, after staying open for 45 days rather than 30 for the first time following an October rule change. Collegiate athletes across all sports pushed for the increased window, naturally leading to much more eagerness to move schools. That’s shined through in men’s hockey, where many top players have left their posts in favor of a new role somewhere else. We’ll walk through some of the most notable moves today, as well as their impact on both the 2024-25 collegiate season and long-term effects on the NHL.
Breaking Down the Top Moves of the NCAA Transfer Window
Eric Pohlkamp (RD): Bemidji State to University of Denver
If there were ever an equivalent to Boston College’s ‘Goalie U’ for defensemen, it’d be David Carle’s Denver Pioneers. They just stomped their way to a second National Championship in the last three years, largely thanks to a blue-line that featured top NHL prospects Shai Buium, Zeev Buium, and Sean Behrens. Shai and Behrens, both winners of the 2022 National Championship, have since signed their entry-level contracts in the NHL, leaving two massive holes atop the team’s depth chart. Zeev will likely assume his brother’s role atop the lineup – should he not be persuaded to turn pro by the team that drafts him – but Denver had to look externally to find the second half of their next top pair. And, true to the ‘Defender U’ persona, they’ve found an absolutely perfect fit in San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp.
Pohlkamp had a breakout season in his final year in the USHL, boasting 16 goals and 51 points through 59 games with the 2022-23 Cedar Rapids Roughriders. It was the most a RoughRiders defender has scored since 2010 and Pohlkamp certainly looked the part, combining powerful and smooth skating with his hefty frame to blow through opponents and support the offensive rush. The performance was enough to convince San Jose to draft him in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, after he went undrafted in his first year of eligibility. He’s vindicated their decision, posting 11 goals and 24 points in his first 32 collegiate games.
After facing skepticism in his first year of draft eligibility, Pohlkamp has since firmly planted his feet as a top NHL prospect. He’ll now move to a red-hot University of Denver with the wind behind his sails. Pohlkamp’s ability to battle for possession and carry the puck out of the zone should be very welcome in a Carle lineup that thrived in the neutral zone last season – while his heft will be a nice balance for the fleeter Buium. Pohlkamp should be set up for a big season with the Pioneers, who will be looking to challenge the National title once again.
William Whitelaw (LW/RW): University of Wisconsin to University of Michigan
The University of Michigan lost a lot of talent following the end of their season. Each of Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, Dylan Duke, and eventually Seamus Casey signed with their respective NHL club, leaving substantial holes throughout the lineup. Some of those will be filled in by Michigan’s impressive recruitment class, including 2024 first-round hopefuls Matvei Gridin and Michael Hage, who will join in 2025. But the Wolverines were still in need of added bite in their top six during the transfer window.
And while they didn’t find as ideal of a match as Denver found in Pohlkamp, they’ve embraced
similar potential, bringing in Columbus Blue Jackets prospect William Whitelaw after a slow freshman season at the University of Wisconsin. Whitelaw was one of many young players to transfer away from Wisconsin this Spring, and now seems set for a top role on a much more explosive Michigan offense. Whitelaw was the star forward of the Clark Cup-winning Youngstown Phantoms in 2022-23, recording a combined 41 goals and 70 points across 71 regular season and playoff games that year. The performance earned him a third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, though he was slow to follow it up, posting just 10 goals and 17 points in 37 games as a Wisconsin freshman.
Whitelaw’s game is rooted in his strong toolkit, boasting very sharp and aware stickhandling, agile skating, and a powerful shot that each make him a threat in the offensive zone. He’s certainly still working on how to use those skills cohesively with his teammates on the forecheck – growth that should be supported very well by the strong linemates Whitelaw will inherit in Michigan. Whether he play with McGroarty, Hage, or Gridin – any of the trio should help Whitelaw better find and maintain his tempo, while showing off how his raw skill can lead to goals. Whitelaw is a proven scorer when he’s in the right setting, but didn’t seem to have that setting in Wisconsin. He’ll look to remedy that on one of the most explosive offenses in college, in a what could be looked back on as a very lucrative move.
Matthew Wood (LW/C): University of Connecticut to University of Minnesota
The Pohlkamp and Whitelaw moves represent talented players moving to environments that should give their skillsets more room to shine. That’s not necessarily the case for Predators prospect Matthew Wood, who’s commanded a top-line role at UConn for each of the last two seasons. He’s been fantastic in his first two collegiate seasons, scoring 27 goals and 62 points over a combined 70 games and serving as the Huskies’ leading scorer in both years. Wood has been a dominant scorer since his days in youth hockey and even posted a combined 98 points in just 64 games during two seasons in the BCHL. He’s a tough and rugged winger who plays hard on the puck and puts plenty of power behind his shot. Many criticized his slow skating and lack of direction during his draft season, though his consistent scoring has always made him tough to doubt.
Wood will now move to a Minnesota lineup coming off the loss of top-line forward and team captain Jaxon Nelson, who signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins. Wood should be set up to be Nelson’s direct fill-in, serving in tandem with Chicago Blackhawks prospect Oliver Moore. The duo seem perfectly matched, with Moore boasting very speedy playmaking while Wood brings power and grit. Moore posted 33 points in 39 games as a freshman this season, despite scoring just nine goals on the year. He’ll be the perfect pointman for Wood, who should only continue scoring at a high rate on a Minnesota team looking to take back the Big Ten.
Tim Lovell (LD): Arizona State University to University of Michigan
Michigan headlined what was a very active Transfer Window for the Big Ten. In a corresponding 
move to Whitelaw’s addition, the Wolverines also brought in top Arizona State defender Tim Lovell to try to fill the hole left by Seamus Casey’s move to the NHL. But while Whitelaw is supplemented by a strong offensive recruiting class, Lovell could be in line to take on the lion’s share of Casey’s minutes. He’ll be one of the most experienced, and certainly the highest-scoring, collegiate defenseman on Michigan’s lineup next season, and while he could cede some ice time to 2024 NHL Draft prospect Will Felicio, Lovell’s ability to drive the puck down the ice should give him a strong advantage. That’s the trait that made Casey so dominant in college and was likely exactly what the Wolverines were looking for on the open market.
They’ve certainly found it in Lovell, who’s shown no fear in carrying the puck through his first three seasons with Arizona State. He’s subsequently posted 12 goals and 79 points across 119 collegiate games, boasting an offensive awareness that should blend well with Michigan’s style. But Lovell has faced criticism for his ability to keep up with defending the rush and holding his position when his team is off of the puck. Casey – who certainly faced similar concerns – was much more stout at controlling both ends of the ice, especially towards the end of his collegiate career. Michigan has found a similar offensive style and skillset in Lovell, but they may need to balance out his aggression with strong defense elsewhere in the lineup. This move is high-risk, high-reward; particularly for a Wolverines team that faced challenges with controlling high-tempo offenses last season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Predators, Anthony Beauvillier Have Had Extension Talks
Trade deadline pickup Anthony Beauvillier is interested in signing an extension with the Predators, per a report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. An agreement doesn’t appear imminent, but they’ve had positive initial discussions.
It’s no surprise that Beauvillier wants to stick in one place this summer. He was traded twice this season, splitting 2023-24 between the Canucks and Blackhawks before heading to Nashville a day before the deadline. Overall, he’s suited up for four teams over the past two years, as he headed from the Islanders to Vancouver in last season’s Bo Horvat blockbuster swap.
Also unsurprisingly, his unsteady campaign yielded some disappointing numbers on the scoresheet. The former 20-goal scorer lit the lamp only five times in 60 games this season, a career-low. He added 12 assists for 17 points with a -8 rating, a difficult showing for the pending unrestricted free agent. He turns 27 early next month.
It’s not like he had a late-season turnaround with the Preds, either. After general manager Barry Trotz sent Chicago a 2024 fifth-round pick to acquire the longtime Islander, he averaged 12:17 per game through 15 contests and had a goal and two assists with a -6 rating. He played a similarly limited top-nine role in the postseason, logging a goal and an assist in their six-game loss to the Canucks while playing just over 13 minutes per game.
Coming off a tough year, he shouldn’t cost too much to extend. Evolving Hockey projects a three-year, $2.8MM AAV deal for Beauvillier to remain in Nashville. That could be a solid bet for a player whose career numbers suggest a rebound campaign is on the way in 2024-25.
His biggest outlier this season was his shooting percentage. Beauvillier’s reduced usage did mean he wasn’t generating as many shots on goal, averaging 1.75 per game compared to 2.15 last season. But he finished at just 4.8% in 2023-24, far below his 10.9% career average. He also shot over 13% three times with the Isles, although he hasn’t finished at that rate since 2020-21.
Beauvillier isn’t exactly a two-way force, but his possession numbers haven’t been close to liability territory, either. His career 47.6 CF% at even strength is exactly in line with the averages of the teams he’s played on, and his career 49.2 xGF% is subpar but not awful.
Over his eight-year, 550-game career, Beauvillier has accumulated 116 goals and 130 assists for 246 points. That works out to a 17-goal, 37-point average in an 82-game season – fine numbers for a run-of-the-mill third-line winger. He did have a career-high 40 points split between the Isles and Canucks just one year ago.
He doesn’t move the needle much for a Predators team that struggled with impactful depth scoring this season, but he is a rebound target that wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive to retain and has more offensive upside than some of their other currently projected third- and fourth-line wingers. With $26MM in projected cap space this offseason (CapFriendly), a lack of funds won’t be an issue if they decide to kick extension talks into high gear.
Predators Hire Mitch Korn As Director Of Goaltending
The Predators have hired Mitch Korn to be their new director of goaltending, the team said in a statement Wednesday. Korn, the team’s goalie coach for its first 15 seasons from 1998 to 2014, had been working as the Islanders’ director of goaltending and was previously expected back with the team next season.
Korn, 66, began his coaching career at the low collegiate level with Kent State University in 1979. He worked his way up the ranks over the next decade before being named the Sabres’ goalie coach in 1990. After being hired by the expansion Predators under head coach Barry Trotz in 1998, Korn and Trotz were nearly inseparable. He’s followed him to subsequent coaching jobs with the Capitals and Islanders, winning a Stanley Cup in Washington in 2018. He re-joins Trotz, now the Preds’ general manager, in Nashville.
The New York native is arguably one of the best goalie specialists in league history despite not having played professionally. He played a significant role in the development and success of all-time great Dominik Hašek in Buffalo before doing the same with All-Stars Pekka Rinne and Tomáš Vokoun in Nashville. He also presided over the best years of Braden Holtby‘s career in Washington and helped Ilya Sorokin become one of the best goalies in the league with New York.
Predators fans hope Korn can have the same effect with 2020 11th-overall pick Yaroslav Askarov, who’s set to challenge for full-time NHL duties after back-to-back All-Star seasons with AHL Milwaukee. Korn will have direct reports in Preds goalie coach Ben Vanderklok, who’s held the role since 2014, goaltending development coach Jason Barron, and Rinne, their European development coach and scout.