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Flyers Place Ryan Johansen On Unconditional Waivers For Contract Termination

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Aug. 21: Johansen has cleared waivers, and the Flyers may terminate his contract, per Friedman. Johansen’s camp has up to 60 days to file a grievance.

Aug. 20: The Flyers announced they’ve placed center Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract following a “material breach.” Johansen is expected to clear waivers and file a grievance with the NHLPA following his termination, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Philadelphia acquired Johansen from the Avalanche before the trade deadline, taking on his reduced $4MM cap hit to provide relief in the deal that sent defenseman Sean Walker to Colorado. From the start, it was clear the Flyers never intended for Johansen to play a game for the club. The Flyers promptly waived Johansen after the trade in an attempt to send him to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and potentially flip him before the deadline passed. But there were no takers, and days later, the league reversed Johansen’s AHL assignment after he failed his physical following the trade due to a nagging hip injury.

Johansen’s injury prevented him from being bought out by the Flyers in June, giving them a bit of a salary cap headache. That will be solved after he clears waivers tomorrow, and his termination will at least temporarily wipe his $4MM cap charge from Philly’s books. However, the Flyers may still be hit with a cap charge if his expected grievance proves successful.

His contract termination will also have an immense cap benefit for the Predators, who had retained 50% of his initial $8MM cap hit when they traded him to the Avalanche last summer. Their $4MM cap penalty for the retention will be wiped out, just as the Capitals’ $3.9MM cap charge for retaining money on Evgeny Kuznetsov was wiped out when the Hurricanes mutually terminated his contract a few weeks ago.

Johansen, 32, would have become an unrestricted free agent after next season upon completing the eight-year, $64MM deal he signed with Nashville in 2017.

The 2010 fourth-overall pick has struggled with inconsistency in the latter stages of his career, and Nashville decided to get out of half of his deal after he was limited to 12 goals, 16 assists, and 28 points with a -13 rating in 55 games in the 2022-23 season. The Avs, who had been struggling to fill their second-line center vacancy after Nazem Kadri departed in free agency following their Stanley Cup win in 2022, took him off Nashville’s hands.

Unfortunately for the Avalanche and Johansen alike, his play faltered even more in Denver. His offensive production dropped to 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games, with his 0.37 points per game marking his worst output in over a decade. He averaged 13:39 per game, his lowest figure since his rookie season. While he was still effective in the faceoff dot, winning 53.1% of his draws, he wasn’t the answer in Colorado.

The now-revealed injury likely contributed to his overall struggles. Friedman adds that his delay in reporting it is the source of the breach mentioned above.

Johansen will become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow after clearing waivers. He’ll technically be eligible to sign with any team, but he won’t be able to until he can pass a physical.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report Johansen had landed on waivers.

Yaroslav Askarov Requests Trade From Predators

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10:34 a.m.: Trotz issued a statement on Askarov’s reported request (via John Glennon of the Nashville Post):

We are aware of the report today and our expectation is for the player to report to training camp and compete for a job in September.

8:21 a.m.: Predators goaltender Yaroslav Askarov has requested a trade, according to Kevin Weekes of ESPN. As per Weekes, Askarov has also informed the team that he won’t report to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, if he remains with the team at the end of training camp and is sent to the minors.

Askarov has been a sought-after trade candidate for the past few seasons as a top-10 prospect at his position without a clear path to a starting role in Nashville. They’ve already used him as trade bait twice, putting him in play to acquire a top-five pick at the 2023 and 2024 drafts. Askarov is one year away from restricted free agency and is entering the final season of his entry-level contract at a $925K cap hit. He remains waiver-exempt for this season and next.

The 22-year-old has been in North America for two seasons, during which he’s put together a pair of All-Star campaigns for the Admirals. He made over 40 appearances each year, a heavy workload for the minor leagues, and posted a combined 2.55 GAA, .911 SV%, nine shutouts, and a 56-29-6 record in 92 games.

After being picked 11th overall by the Predators in 2020, Askarov has only made two NHL starts and one relief appearance since coming over from his native Russia. He had a tough showing in his debut in 2022-23 but rebounded with solid numbers in limited action last year, totaling a .914 SV% across 140 minutes of play across the two campaigns.

But Askarov’s path to the starter’s crease in Nashville evaporated when the Preds signed Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $61.92MM extension on July 1. There was still a chance he’d crack the team out of camp for the first time in 2024-25 as Saros’ backup, but that also went away after Nashville inked veteran Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal a few hours later.

While the trade request is a significant development, it’s not surprising. Askarov’s agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein, said in an interview last month that he was “working with the club on different options” regarding his future and that Askarov feels he’s established himself as an NHL-ready talent. The Preds’ moves this offseason also firmly state general manager Barry Trotz’s intentions to exit rebuild mode, signing three of the top names on the UFA market in Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos.

When Nashville shopped Askarov in the past, the Canadiens consistently came up as his most likely destination. But reporting indicated it was Nashville putting Askarov in play to land the No. 5 pick both times, not the Habs displaying interest in prying him away. Montreal has Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau signed to one-way contracts this season, so if Askarov ends up in Montreal, he may have to wait for a roster spot until Primeau reaches restricted free agency next summer unless the Habs make a corresponding trade.

Even with his draft pedigree and strong development track so far, Askarov’s limited NHL action makes it unlikely that any team will take a chance on him as their starter as soon as this fall. Thus, look for teams with expandability and uncertainty at the backup position to insert themselves into trade talks. The Lightning, a frequent trade partner for Nashville in recent years, would likely want an upgrade on Jonas Johansson and his career .880 SV%, far below the league average. Whether they have the assets to acquire him is entirely different. At the draft, Trotz preferred to land an established NHLer or a similarly touted prospect in return, but that was before his free-agent spending spree.

But Askarov, who’s still five years from being eligible for unrestricted free agency, has little say in where he ends up without trade protection. However, given his six-figure AAV, there likely won’t be any trades extinguished by a lack of cap space on behalf of the acquiring club.

Predators Trade Cody Glass To Penguins

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The Nashville Predators have traded centerman Cody Glass to the Pittsburgh Penguins, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Penguins have confirmed the deal, sharing that they’ve acquired Glass, a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for minor-league forward Jordan Frasca.

Glass was the sixth-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and the first draft pick for the Vegas Golden Knights franchise, though injuries have kept him from making too much of a big-league impact just yet. Glass scored 22 points in 66 games across two seasons with Vegas, filling a menial role and never doing much to reap the opportunity given to him. The lagging opportunity sparked a 2021 trade to the Nashville Predators, who were much more willing to give Glass a commendable role in the lineup. He vindicated that recognition with 14 goals and 35 points in 72 games during the 2022-23 season. That scoring pace carried into this past season, though one upper-body injury and one lower-body injury were enough to limit Glass to just 13 points and 41 games.

Nashville has quickly filled most of their notable roles on offense with summer additions of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault – and the emergence of depth pieces like Thomas Novak. That’s left Glass on the outside looking in, and now catalysts a move to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he’ll be one of just three forwards under the age of 26. Glass might not get much more lineup certainty with the Penguins, who also added Kevin Hayes and Blake Lizotte this summer. The crowd created by those additions could inspire Pittsburgh to instead deploy Glass at right-wing, where their depth is shallow behind Bryan Rust. That change would put Glass in a much more manageable competition with Jesse Puljujarvi, Rickard Rakell, and Valtteri Puustinen. Winning that position battle could land Glass a lucrative spot next to Evgeni Malkin – potentially enough to revitalize his former offensive prowess, or so Pittsburgh will hope.

Meanwhile, Frasca will join the Predators organization as minor-league depth. He earned a promotion to the AHL after scoring 33 points in 40 ECHL games last season, though he’s still without a point through 11 career AHL games. Pittsburgh signed Frasca as an undrafted free-agent in 2022, inking him to a three-year, $2.8MM entry-level deal set to expire after next season.

Central Notes: Faber, Wood, Hemming, Buchinger

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The Wild’s franchise-record extension for rising sophomore defenseman Brock Faber turned some heads yesterday, but general manager Bill Guerin believes the deal is “worth the risk,” he told Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscriber link).

Smith adds that Guerin has acknowledged the league-wide trend of banking on potential core pieces early in their careers, getting the cost certainty that comes with rich, long-term deals compared to bridging players through their prime and then overpaying for their twilight seasons.

“This is a different game now, a different generation, a different way of doing business,” Guerin said. “It’s really important you have to do a lot of work to make sure who you’re identifying as your foundation guys… I’d much rather have a guy Brock’s age on an eight-year deal than a 31-year-old guy. It makes sense. [Faber’s] shown he’s mature enough to handle it.”

More out of the Central Division:

  • As the Predators’ No. 1 forward prospect, winger Matthew Wood is looking to be more efficient at filling out his 6’4″ frame, he tells Robby Stanley of NHL.com. “I feel a lot stronger on my feet. I think I’m starting to use my body a bit better and starting to learn about that. Strength is definitely something I’m working on, and that’s going to take my game to the next level,” Wood said. The 19-year-old is transferring from UConn, where he had 27 goals and 62 points in 70 games over the first two seasons of his collegiate career, to Minnesota for his junior season in 2024-25.
  • The new-look Stars have been built on the back of expert player development, a pattern they’re hoping to repeat with 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming. Dallas already has the Finnish winger signed to his entry-level contract, and he’ll be closer to the Stars this season by moving from his home country to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. It’s part of an attempt to strike gold yet again and work more directly with the 6’1″, 205-lb forward on developing his all-around game, writes Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside on his personal blog (subscriber link).
  • In an interview with Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (subscriber link), Blues defense prospect Michael Buchinger says he’s ready to make the jump to the pros this fall after wrapping up his junior career with the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm. “I just think making the first decision, not trying to overthink, not trying to make a fancy pass,” Buchinger said. “Obviously at the pro level, everyone’s in that right position. Just understanding the systems and where guys are going to be and making a really quick, smart decision. I think the rest will take care of itself.” The No. 88 pick in 2022 will have his entry-level contract go into effect this year, and he’s expected to start the campaign on assignment to AHL Springfield, where DeFranks notes he should have ample power-play opportunity thanks to roster turnover.

Predators’ Depth Pieces Will Sway Stanley Cup Aspirations

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The Nashville Predators have built a strong case for the most productive summer in the NHL by adding top defenseman Brady Skjei, scoring winger Jonathan Marchessault, and Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos. Each of the trio are set for a pivotal role in Nashville – headlined by the premier-scoring Stamkos’ rounding out of the team’s top line, next to Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg. The moves cost Nashville $20.5MM and could easily be enough to earn them a top-three spot in the Central after picking up a Wild Card spot last season. But the throes of the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown that teams can’t go far on the backs of just a few stars, and even with illustrious spending this summer, Nashville’s run to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup will ultimately sit with a largely unchanged depth.

That depth is most notably led by centerman Thomas Novak, who found consistency in Nashville’s third-line center role last season, after rivaling second-line minutes in 2022-23. The small decrease in ice time didn’t phase him, as Novak managed 18 goals and 45 points in 71 games – career-highs in all three stats, though a slight dip in per-game scoring from two seasons ago. He found a way to stick in the lineup through health and challenge last season – and now gets a chance to break his way into the team’s top six, assuming they choose to use Stamkos as a winger. If so, Novak would likely be flanked by productive wingers Gustav Nyquist and Marchessault, who could both provide a spark to Novak’s methodical style. While Nyquist’s longevity, and Marchessault’s change of scenery, will be notable storylines of their own this season – it will be Novak’s capability as a second-line center that will determine Nashville’s ability to deploy a top-line of superstars.

While Novak is fighting to round out the second line, Nashville’s bottom six will sit as a land of opportunity for a young core that, so far, hasn’t jumped off the page. Each of Cody Glass, Luke Evangelista, and Philip Tomasino have shown promise at the top flight but struggled to carve out a consistent role. Their place in Nashville is quickly being challenged by minor-league risers Juuso Parssinen, Zachary L’Heureux, Joakim Kemell, and Fyodor Svechkov. The quartet stands as the prospects to watch in Nashville’s upcoming training camp and could each vie for a hardy shot at the NHL this fall. Which young forwards win out the competition for ice time will underline the conversation of Nashville’s ‘X-factors’ – especially as Tomasino and Parssinen sit as unsigned restricted free agents. But it will be how the young corps blend with hardened vets like Colton Sissons and Cole Smith to form a stout bottom-six that will shape their playoff durability.

There’s a lot of hope sitting with Nashville’s inexperienced forwards, but they seem a more surefire bet than the team’s defensive group. While Skjei’s addition provides much-needed star-power behind Roman Josi, it doesn’t address the team’s lack of depth on the right-hand side –unless Skjei plays on his off-hand, which he’s done in the past. Even then, Nashville will be forced to ice at least one of Dante Fabbro, Alexandre Carrier, or Luke Schenn in their top four. Like the Predators’ depth forwards, each of these defenders have shown promise at the top flight, but sit a ways back from a confident role. Top prospects Ryan Ufko and Andrew Gibson seem to have the wind behind their sails after the end of the 2023-24 season, and could provide more depth than expected down the stretch, though both still sit multiple steps back from a real NHL chance, leaving Nashville with a defense much skinnier than its starring names would suggest.

A wide-open defense is nothing new for the Predators, and they luckily have the dazzling pair of Juuse Saros and Yaroslav Askarov mitigating most of the concerns from the crease. But over $20MM in spending this summer, and the addition of a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in Stamkos, should be enough to jolt Nashville into the conversation of Stanley Cup contenders from the Western Conference. That’s certainly the goal for new general manager Barry Trotz, though the impact of his star additions will ultimately sit with the performance of the up-and-coming depth pieces behind them.

Nashville Rated As Best Goaltending Situation In NHL

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  •  In a group effort, The Athletic ranked (Subscription Required) the Nashville Predators with the best goaltending situation in the National Hockey League. The Predators have one of the best goaltenders in the league in Juuse Saros who has maintained a .917 save percentage in 333 starts. Even after signing Saros to an eight-year, $61.92MM extension, the Predators arguably have one of the best goaltending prospects too. Yaroslav Askarov played 44 games for the organization’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee this past season while earning a 30-13-1 record with a .911 SV%.

    [SOURCE LINK]

2024 Salary Arbitration Tracker

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It has been a quieter year on the salary arbitration front across the NHL.  After 23 players filed last summer, just 14 did this time around.  As expected, most have settled so far with a few hearings still pending.  Here’s a rundown of who has settled and who still needs to sign.

Updated 7/30/24, 1:07 p.m.

Contracts Settled

D Jake Christiansen (Blue Jackets) – one year, $775K (two-way agreement)
F Connor Dewar (Maple Leafs) – one year, $1.18MM
F Jack Drury (Hurricanes) – two years, $3.45MM
D Ty Emberson (Sharks) – one year, $950K
G Jet Greaves (Blue Jackets) – two years, $1.625MM (two-way in 2024-25, one-way in 2025-26)
F Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sabres) – five years, $23.75MM
F Beck Malenstyn (Sabres) – two years, $2.7MM
D J.J. Moser (Lightning) – two years, $6.75MM
F Joe Veleno (Red Wings) – two years, $4.55MM
F Oliver Wahlstrom (Islanders) – one year, $1MM
F Kirill Marchenko (Blue Jackets) – three years, $11.55MM
F Martin Necas (Hurricanes) – two years, $13MM
D Ryan Lindgren (Rangers) – one year, $4.5MM

Contracts Awarded

D Spencer Stastney (Predators) – two years, $1.675MM (two-way in 2024-25, one-way in 2025-26)

Scheduled Hearings

none

A reminder of some of the arbitration rules for the upcoming potential hearings:

  • A player and team can settle on a deal at any point before the hearing starts.
  • Once the hearing has taken place, the arbitration decision must be issued by email within 48 hours.
  • Arbitration awards can only be one or two years in length. (Players who are in their final year of restricted free agency are only entitled to a one-year agreement from an arbitrator.)
  • The team decides on the awarded term as these were all player-elected filings.
  • The team can walk away from the arbitration decision if a contract with an average annual value of more than $4.74MM is awarded.

Worth noting is that teams who have someone file for arbitration will receive a second buyout window three days after their final contract is settled or awarded.  The window lasts for 48 hours and the only eligible players to be bought out in this timeframe are those who have an AAV of $4MM or more and were on that team’s reserve list at the trade deadline back in March.

NHL Teams Facing Fall Cap Crunches

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There’s still plenty of time for NHL teams to sort out their active rosters and salary cap pictures this summer. After all, teams can exceed the $88MM upper limit by up to 10% during the offseason, and training camps are still nearly two months away.

Still, this year’s early July rush means that all the notable contracts for this season, at least in terms of salary cap impact, have likely already been handed out. It’s left a handful of teams with projected rosters that sit over the cap or, in one very peculiar case, right at it.

These teams must use a mix of long-term injured reserve placements, trades, and waivers to become cap-compliant before opening night. Per PuckPedia, here are the teams currently pacing to boast a projected cap hit above $88MM.

Washington Capitals

($98.27MM projected cap hit, $10.27MM above upper limit)

The Capitals have been one of the league’s most active teams this summer, making a pair of impact additions up front with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane. They also reshaped their blue line, shipping out serviceable veteran Nick Jensen as part of a package to the Senators to pick up the younger, higher-upside Jakob Chychrun while also replacing Jensen’s shutdown role in free agency with the signing of Matt Roy.

They also went for cost-effectiveness with their goaltending duo, shipping out Darcy Kuemper and his $5.25MM cap hit to the Kings in the Dubois trade before acquiring serviceable tandem netminder Logan Thompson from the Golden Knights, who carries a cap hit of just $767K.

These moves have still left them with a handful of bloated deals for their veterans. But the biggest one of them all won’t be an issue. 36-year-old Nicklas Bäckström is entering the final season of his five-year, $46MM deal with a $9.2MM cap hit, but he’s not expected to play again due to lingering hip issues.

While many teams will look to avoid using LTIR to be cap-compliant to start the season, the Caps won’t be one of them. Bäckström will remain there as he did last season, but placing him on LTIR won’t be enough on its own to bring Washington’s total projected cap hit back under $88MM.

They’d still need to clear a little over $1MM in space, which begs the question of T.J. Oshie’s health. The 37-year-old winger is also entering the final season of his contract at a $5.75MM cap hit, and a wide variety of injuries limited him to 52 games last season. As of earlier this month, Oshie said he hasn’t found a long-term solution to his recurring back issues that would allow him to comfortably play in 2024-25.

If nothing changes between now and September, Oshie could also land on LTIR, making them cap-compliant for opening night. But Washington would need to be reasonably confident that he’ll miss the entire campaign to avoid making any other cap-shedding moves, as they’d need to have space to activate him off LTIR if he becomes healthy enough to return to play.

Vegas Golden Knights

($91.64MM projected cap hit, $3.64MM above upper limit)

Unlike the Capitals, the Golden Knights were conservative in their offseason moves. Their cap crunch forced them to walk away from key offensive contributors Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, among others, and their UFA pickups were limited to reclamation project-type pickups such as Victor Olofsson and Ilya Samsonov.

But like Washington, LTIR is Vegas’ only clear path to cap compliance in September. The status of 33-year-old netminder Robin Lehner remains a relative mystery as he enters the final season of his contract with a $5MM cap hit. He hasn’t played the last two seasons after undergoing hip surgery and hasn’t been seen with the team during that time.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said in May that it’s likely Lehner will return to LTIR this fall. This would give the Knights about $1.36MM in space in an LTIR pool with a full 23-man roster, as projected by PuckPedia.

Philadelphia Flyers

($88.83MM projected cap hit, $830K above upper limit)

LTIR is a good safeguard for teams who need it to be cap-compliant, but it’s not ideal. Teams who utilize it don’t accrue cap space throughout the season, significantly limiting their flexibility come deadline day.

The Flyers have one LTIR-eligible contract in defenseman Ryan Ellis ($6.25MM cap hit through 2027). They also have Ryan Johansen signed at a $4MM cap hit next season, and his playing status is in doubt due to a hip injury that surfaced after they acquired him from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. Unfortunately for them, if Johansen remains injured, they also can’t send him to the minors to knock $1.15MM off his cap hit. They attempted to do so last year, but it was reversed by the league after his injury came to light.

But notably, they don’t have any league-minimum contracts projected on their active roster to start the campaign, per PuckPedia. Their cheapest one is Tyson Foerster’s entry-level contract, which boasts a cap hit of $863K. Thus, just one AHL assignment would be enough to make them cap-compliant without placing either Ellis or Johansen on LTIR. There aren’t any obvious candidates, though, as Foerster is coming off a 20-goal campaign and was one of their top two-way forwards last season.

The trade of a depth forward, such as 25-year-old pivot Ryan Poehling ($1.9MM cap hit through 2026), could be something to watch for if general manager Daniel Brière decides he wants to stay out of LTIR.

Edmonton Oilers

($88.35MM projected cap hit, $354K above upper limit)

Unlike the other teams on this list, the Oilers still have some offseason business to handle. RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway need new deals, meaning this projected cap hit is artificially low.

Also unlike the others, Edmonton doesn’t have an LTIR-bound contract next season. Considering PuckPedia’s projection above uses a roster size of 21, warranting them only one extra skater, a cap-clearing trade is coming for Edmonton sometime before the puck drops in October.

The most obvious candidate to move is defenseman Cody Ceci, who’s on an expiring contract with a $3.25MM cap hit. It would cost fewer assets to ship out than oft-injured winger Evander Kane, who’s locked in at a $5.125MM price tag for two more years. And with Ceci averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the last three seasons in Edmonton, they might be able to dump him for future considerations without attaching a draft pick to get out of his deal.

Others to watch

  • The Islanders are currently at the $88MM upper limit after settling on a one-year, $1MM contract with Oliver Wahlstrom yesterday, PuckPedia projects. That figure comes using a roster size of 22, forcing international free agent signing Maxim Tsyplakov and his $950K cap hit on an entry-level deal to the minors.
  • The Canucks are within just $16K of the cap after signing Daniel Sprong to a one-year, $975K contract last weekend. But that figure comes with a full 23-player roster projection, giving them a decent amount of flexibility in the case of short-term injuries. They can also place the final season of defenseman Tucker Poolman’s $2.5MM cap hit contract on LTIR if necessary.
  • The Predators are within $600K of the cap with a bare minimum 20-player roster and still have RFAs Juuso Pärssinen and Philip Tomasino to sign. After their big UFA spending spree, they’ll likely move out one of their depth defenders to open up space for an expanded roster, potentially 26-year-old Dante Fabbro (signed at $2.5MM through this season).
  • The Lightning have $730K in projected cap space with one open roster spot. That’s tight, but with room for two healthy extras, they’ll probably start the season with no changes to their projected roster.
  • The same can be said about the defending champion Panthers, who have $767K in space with a roster size of 22.

Arbitrator Awards Predators’ Spencer Stastney Two-Year Deal

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Predators RFA defenseman Spencer Stastney has a contract for the next two seasons after his arbitration case reached a hearing Monday, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It carries a cap hit in the $837.5K neighborhood and is a two-way deal in 2024-25 before converting to a one-way pact in 2025-26 at “$850K-ish.” The breakdown for this season is a $825K NHL salary and a $400K AHL salary.

Stastney, 24, is the first to have his arbitration case settled by a hearing this offseason. Out of the 14 players who initially filed for salary arbitration, only five are still awaiting contracts (Ryan Lindgren, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Kirill Marchenko, Martin Nečas, Oliver Wahlstrom).

A 2018 fifth-round pick of the Preds, Stastney worked his way up the depth chart last season after making his NHL debut in an eight-game stint in 2022-23. The Illinois native looked at home in a bottom-pairing role, posting four points (two goals, two assists) and a +9 rating in 20 appearances while averaging nearly 16 minutes per game. The 6’0″, 184-lb defender was rarely involved physically, registering just two hits, but he did control play well with a 51.9 CF% and 59.3 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference.

Those advanced numbers, plus the trust of head coach Andrew Brunette to utilize him for three of Nashville’s six playoff games before exiting with injury, is likely why he filed for a one-year, one-way deal worth $950K. The Predators asked for a two-year, two-way deal with a league-minimum cap hit in the NHL and AHL salaries below the $200K line each season. The cap hit falls a bit closer to Nashville’s filing, but the overall guaranteed cash awarded to Stastney in this deal is much more in line with the player’s request.

Despite the two-way structure next season, there’s a strong chance Stastney is on Nashville’s opening night roster. They have less than $600K in cap space with a bare-minimum roster after their free agency spending spree, per PuckPedia, meaning they don’t have any flexibility to recall an extra skater from the AHL for last-minute absences. The Preds will likely move out one of their NHL-rostered depth defensemen, all of whom cost at least $2MM against the cap, for added flexibility. Stastney’s six-figure cap hit as a replacement would give Nashville the flexibility they need to effectively manage their roster in-season.

Latest On Spencer Stastney's Arbitration Hearing

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Predators RFA defenseman Spencer Stastney is indeed having his arbitration hearing today, Nick Kieser of the team’s radio network confirms. The NHLPA is deviating from past tradition this year by not releasing a calendar of hearing dates, but arbitration figures are always exchanged two days before the hearing. When Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the filings on Saturday, it was clear Stastney’s hearing was slated for Monday.

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