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Offseason Keys 2020

Offseason Keys: Tampa Bay Lightning

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The offseason is now upon us with the Stanley Cup being awarded last week.  Having covered all of the teams that missed the postseason or were eliminated before the Stanley Cup Final, let’s take a look at the teams in that final matchup.  After covering the Stars on Sunday, we wrap up our annual series with the Lightning.  The full series can be found here.

After being swept by Columbus last season, no one really knew what to expect from Tampa Bay this year.  Sure, on paper, they were just as strong as ever but look where that got them the year before.  GM Julien BriseBois added some sandpaper and some veteran defensemen and it worked out perfectly as they took out the Blue Jackets, Bruins, Islanders, and Stars to take home the title.  After a few days of celebration, it’s all about tearing things down as the key to their offseason is simply freeing up cap space while keeping as much of the roster intact as they can.  Not surprisingly, each of the following keys revolves around that one element.

Navigate Trade Protection

There are some teams that rarely hand out any form of trade protection.  Tampa Bay is not one of them.  Of their seven highest-paid forwards, only one doesn’t have the ability to at least block a trade to some teams and that’s Brayden Point because he’s simply too young to have one.  On defense, their top-three paid players have either a full no-trade clause or a full no-move clause.  One advantage of being in the market they’re in is no state taxes which has allowed the Lightning to sign some of those players below market value.  The trade-off, however, is players getting some security in the form of trade protection.

Let’s look at their cap situation quickly.  At the moment, they have just over $76MM in commitments to 16 players for next season.  However, they have several key restricted free agents to re-sign and have to fill out the rest of their roster as well.  One, if not two, high-salaried players will need to go.  Here’s the listing of their veterans making $4MM or more and their trade protection:

F Nikita Kucherov – $9.5MM through 2026-27, NMC
G Andrei Vasilevskiy– $9.5MM through 2027-28 (too young for trade protection yet)
F Steven Stamkos – $8.5MM through 2023-24, NMC
D Victor Hedman – $7.875MM through 2024-25, NMC
D Ryan McDonagh – $6.75MM through 2025-26, NTC
F Brayden Point – $6.75MM through 2021-22 (too young for trade protection yet)
F Ondrej Palat – $5.3MM through 2021-22, NTC
F Yanni Gourde – $5.166MM through 2024-25, NTC
F Tyler Johnson – $5MM through 2023-24, NTC
F Alex Killorn – $4.45MM through 2022-23, 16-team NTC

Trying to convince one (likely two) of these players to waive their trade protection to leave a Cup-winning team to go somewhere where the tax situation may not be as favorable is where BriseBois finds himself right now.  This is something that’s going to be much easier said than done in this cap environment.

Avoid Offer Sheet Risk

There are two notable restricted free agents that Tampa Bay has to try to re-sign with their limited cap space in defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and center Anthony Cirelli.  With their cap situation and limitations on moving money with all of the trade protection in place, both players are prime offer sheet targets if someone wants to try to force their hand.

Sergachev has been steady offensively in his three seasons with the Lightning and wasn’t asked to jump into a big role right away.  This allowed him to slowly develop his defensive game and the results were certainly promising this season.  He had a career-best 10 goals during the regular season while logging more than 20 minutes a night for the first time.  In the postseason, he chipped in with 10 more points and saw his playing time jump up to more than 22 minutes a game.  He’s already a top-four defender and at 22 years of age, there is still plenty of room for continued improvement.  Sergachev is someone that should be a fixture on their back end as long as they can afford to keep him.

Meanwhile, Cirelli had a breakout year offensively with 16 goals and 28 assists in 68 games but that’s not the only reason he’ll be highly coveted.  The 23-year-old has already become a high-end defensive player and finished fourth in Selke Trophy balloting this season.  The various injuries throughout the season gave Cirelli a chance to showcase himself as a top-six forward and he made the most of it, sending notice around the league that he’s ready for that role on a full-time basis.  Assuming Stamkos shifts to the wing more permanently next season, the Lightning should be able to give him that spot.

Even defenseman Erik Cernak could be someone that’s targeted.  He doesn’t have the best of offensive numbers but if there’s a team that wants him in their top four, Tampa Bay may be hard-pressed to match.  Talks for offer sheets can begin on Friday so freeing up that cap space is something they’ll want to do sooner than later if they can in order to give themselves a bit of leverage in talks with their youngsters.

Plan Ahead For Point

Point’s three-year deal last offseason gave the Lightning some short-term flexibility and to their credit, they made the most of it, utilizing that space to add several key depth players that helped them win the Stanley Cup.  But he’ll be eligible for a new deal starting next offseason and if an extension can’t be reached, he’ll enter the 2022 offseason one year away from UFA eligibility.

Needless to say, that’s not a spot that they’re going to want to be in with him.  Getting an early extension done will be a top priority a year from now but for them to be able to afford it (it should check in close to Kucherov’s price tag), they’re going to have to free up some cap room to have three players making that much money.

That’s something that BriseBois will have in mind as he tries to navigate this tricky salary cap situation.  There are two windows to try to open up cap space for.  One is to simply be in compliance for next season but there will be even more motivation to try to clear out players signed beyond 2021-22 to give them the space needed to lock up Point as early as a year from now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Dallas Stars

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The offseason is now upon us with the Stanley Cup being awarded earlier this week.  Having covered all of the teams that missed the postseason or were eliminated before the Stanley Cup Final, let’s take a look at the teams in that final matchup, beginning with the Stars.

The Stars managed to qualify for the seeding portion of the NHL’s Return to Play on the backs of solid defensive play and goaltending as only three teams scored fewer goals than they did before the pandemic hit.  While their offensive scuffling continued for parts of the playoffs, they were able to get past Calgary, Colorado, and Vegas before ultimately falling to Tampa Bay and did so with their backup goalie in net for the overwhelming majority of the postseason.  Accordingly, GM Jim Nill’s keys to a successful offseason largely revolve around taking care of his own players (while he waits on Rick Bowness to decide if he wants the full-time coaching job) rather than trying to make any significant splashes in terms of adding top talent from elsewhere.

Re-Sign Or Replace Khudobin

With Ben Bishop only able to make three playoff starts, Anton Khudobin was forced to carry the load.  While he had struggled in the undisputed number one role in previous opportunities over the years, he made the most of it in the playoffs, posting a 2.69 GAA with a .917 SV% in 25 games played.  He already was on his way to being one of the more intriguing unrestricted free agents between the pipes.  With this performance under his belt, he certainly has cemented himself as one of the top free agents available which is great news for him, but not so much for Dallas.

Bishop has been limited in recent years in terms of starts, making no more than 51 in any of his three seasons with the Stars.  Part of that is due to injury but part of it is also managing his workload.  He turns 34 next month and still has three years left on his contract.  Khudobin, a backup that is capable of playing more of a 1B role, was a perfect fit in that sense.  But now the Russian has a chance to command a cap hit that could be close to the $4.916MM AAV that Bishop carries on his deal.  With several other players to re-sign (more on them later on), they may not be able to afford to keep Khudobin, especially if they want to try to add least add another forward to give them a bit more scoring depth.

The good news for Dallas here is that there is no shortage of free agent options available and by all accounts, there are a few netminders available in trades as well.  But they’re not their first choice – they’ve made it clear already that keeping Khudobin is their priority – so if they have to pivot elsewhere, they will have other options to consider.  If they can find a way to keep Khudobin at a rate that works for them though, that’d be even better.

Work On Heiskanen Extension

Last season, Miro Heiskanen narrowly missed out on being a finalist for the Calder Trophy.  This year, he was even better before the pandemic hit before taking his game to another level for most of the playoffs to the point where he’d have been a strong candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy had the Stars defeated the Lightning.  With two years out of three now completed on his entry-level deal, he’s now eligible to sign a contract extension.  It’s safe to say that this is going to be high on Nill’s priority list.

There aren’t a lot of great comparable options for Heiskanen as, quite frankly, there aren’t many highly-drafted defensemen that have done what he has this early in his career.  The best options are probably Thomas Chabot (9.82% of the cap at the time of signing) and Aaron Ekblad (10.27%).  In current-year figures, that’s an approximate range of $8MM per year and $8.37MM.  For someone that can play upwards of 25 minutes a night (he logged nearly 26 per game in the playoffs) and contribute significantly at both ends of the ice, a price tag in that range makes sense, even with the cap being flattened out.  There’s no point in working on a bridge contract one year out from the deal being up; it’s a long-term pact or nothing.

Getting something done now would take the pressure off both sides for next season and give Nill some extra certainty of his 2021-22 cap situation which could come in handy depending on whether or not he’s interested in adding a player or two signed beyond next season.  It’s something that’s easier said than done but getting Heiskanen’s extension done sooner than later would be a big accomplishment.

Re-Sign Key Youngsters

The list of their restricted free agents isn’t the longest but each of their three young regulars present intriguing cases that will need to be addressed.

Radek Faksa’s bridge deal has come to an end and the center is now a year away from unrestricted free agency.  While his offensive game hasn’t progressed like they would have hoped, he has become a capable checking pivot at the very least that can still chip in with a few goals here and there.  He can opt for arbitration which would take him to UFA status next offseason so if Dallas wants to keep him on a multi-year deal, they’ll have to deal with this case before too long.

Denis Gurianov’s presence on the roster to start the season was uncertain after spending most of his first two seasons in North America in the minors.  By the time the pandemic hit, he led the team in goals with 20.  In the playoffs, he was even better with 17 points (9-8-17) in 27 games.  All of a sudden, he has gone from a player on the fringes to a key part of their attack.  Still, given the small track record, how willing will either side be to commit to a long-term deal?  A one-year deal could be the safer play here and would also give them a bit more cap room to try to add someone in the coming weeks.

As for Roope Hintz, he was their breakout performer in the 2019 postseason and carried that into this year where he had 33 points (19-14-33) in 60 regular season games before going quieter in the playoffs with just two tallies.  His track record is a little longer than Gurianov’s overall but they may not be willing to lock him up long-term yet either.  Both he and Gurianov aren’t arbitration-eligible so these could linger if not dealt with quickly.

It would be difficult for Nill to try to add to this group without knowing what these three will cost along with signing another goalie so getting these done in the near future would certainly be ideal for the Stars.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: New York Islanders

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The offseason is now upon us with the Stanley Cup being awarded earlier this week.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round and the first two official rounds, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the Conference Finals.  Next up is a look at the Islanders.

Even though the Islanders made it to the second round of the playoffs last season, many dismissed them as an afterthought heading into this year, putting them as a bubble team at best.  That wound up holding true as they were sixth in the Metropolitan Division before the pandemic hit (out of a spot in the postseason) but the expanded format in the Return to Play put them in.  New York certainly made the most of it as they took out Florida, Washington, and Philadelphia before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in Tampa Bay.  GM Lou Lamoriello will now turn his focus towards trying to help them take that next step.  Here’s what he will need to accomplish in order to have a shot at accomplishing that.

Free Up Cap Space

Yes, this again.  It’s hardly the first time this has been a key in this series and even though we’re near the end, it won’t be the last either.  The Islanders have nearly $9MM in cap room which doesn’t seem bad but when you consider that their list of restricted free agents includes their leading scorer and two regulars on the back end (Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews) that logged over 20 minutes a game, it’s clearly not going to be enough to keep them in the fold let alone try to add to their core group.

The back end may be where Lamoriello tries to trim from.  Nick Leddy ($5.5MM) and Johnny Boychuk ($6MM) have two years left on their respective contracts and of the two, Leddy is the easier to move.  While his point production has dipped in recent years relative to how he performed upon being acquired, he’s still trusted by head coach Barry Trotz to log over 21 minutes a night.  The list of free agent defensemen that can play that many minutes is low so there should be some trade value here.  Boychuk, meanwhile, has a buyout-proof contract due to signing bonuses and front-loading and is more of a depth defender at this stage of his career.  Finding a taker without significant retention would be difficult.

Things aren’t any easier up front either.  Andrew Ladd also has a buyout-proof deal (it’d count more on the cap to buy him out over merely sending him to the minors) while Leo Komarov and Cal Clutterbuck are overpaid for their roles but won’t have much of a trade market as well.  Casey Cizikas is also overpaid for his role but on an expiring deal, there could be some interest.

It’s unlikely that Lamoriello will want to subtract from his core.  Finding a way to do that, re-sign his players, and still add to his roster is going to take a lot of creativity.

Re-Sign Barzal

Mathew Barzal has played three years in the NHL.  He has led the Islanders in scoring in all three of those seasons.  In doing so, he has replaced former captain John Tavares as their franchise player.  With his entry-level deal now concluded, he stands to land a massive raise on the $863K he earned in each of the last three years.  In a normal market, simply adding a zero to the end of that dollar amount might be a rough idea of what his next deal may cost.

Of course, this isn’t a normal market.  While Barzal has been their top point producer in his three seasons, his point total has been in the low 60s the last two seasons (the pandemic playing a part in that this year).  That should be enough to keep him out of the top end of the post-ELC price points at the very least.  It’s fair to at least wonder if it’s enough to get Lamoriello to see if Barzal is willing to take a bridge deal as well.  Doing so would lessen the amount of cap room to free up and would position the 23-year-old to take another run at restricted free agency with arbitration rights a year or two from now with the potential of the salary landscape being more favorable.

However, other teams are certainly aware of New York’s cap situation.  There’s a reason that Barzal has been a speculative offer sheet candidate for a while now.  Lamoriello has already said that the Islanders will match any offer made but if Barzal wants a long-term deal, he can try to leverage it through that route and force their hand to match.  The odds of Barzal being in an Islander uniform next season are high but the deal he gets could go a few different ways.

Add Offensive Help

This past season, the Islanders were 23rd in scoring and 24th on the power play.  The year before, when they had 101 points, they were 21st in goals scored and 29th with the man advantage.  Barzal was the lone player to reach 60 points (right on the dot) while Brock Nelson (26) and Anders Lee (20) were the only Islanders to get 20 goals.  Again, the pandemic played a role in that but even so, goal production has been an issue.  With a gritty, defense-first roster, this isn’t that surprising of a stat but for them to take that next step, they’re going to have to add.

With their cap situation and who still needs new deals, shopping at the top of the free agent market almost certainly isn’t going to happen.  Instead, they’ll have to look in the bargain bin and try to find someone that can contribute in a middle-six role.  Basically, something like they tried with Derick Brassard last summer who picked up 32 points for a $1.2MM price tag while adding eight points in 18 playoff games.

Retaining him could be an option but that would still only keep the offense from 2019-20 intact without really adding to it.  It’s unlikely that Lamoriello will be active in the early going in free agency but as the weeks progress, he would be wise to see if there’s a bargain or two to be had to give them a bit more offensive firepower.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Vegas Golden Knights

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The offseason is now upon us with the Stanley Cup being awarded earlier this week.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round and the first two official rounds, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the Conference Finals.  Next up is a look at Vegas.

This past season was an interesting one for the Golden Knights.  They surprisingly fired Gerard Gallant midseason and brought in Peter DeBoer (who coached the Sharks to a first-round upset over Vegas the year before) as his replacement.  They were quite sharp in the early going in the playoffs despite a rather public goaltending controversy before they were ousted by Dallas in the Western Conference Final.  On the surface, it would seem like GM Kelly McCrimmon only has some tinkering to do but if they want to make a splash, they’ll have some work to do to make that happen.

Clear Up Cap Room

It’s a familiar refrain for many teams this offseason but with Vegas being a speculative option for pending top free agent Alex Pietrangelo, they would need to free up some cap space first.  If they want to keep Robin Lehner, that will also require some financial flexibility to be opened up.  Even if they simply want to retain their pending free agents, you guessed it, they’ll need to free up some money.

As things stand, Vegas has just over $76.5MM in commitments for next season to 18 players, per CapFriendly.  Considering they’ll need most of that remaining room simply to fill out the rest of their forwards and back end, that means that any significant acquisition (or re-signing) is going to require a notable player heading out the door.

With Cody Glass likely to push for a bigger role next year and a weak free agent class down the middle, the time may be right to explore a Paul Stastny trade.  The veteran has a $6.5MM AAV for one more year and only a 10-team no-trade list which could make him appealing to some teams looking for more of an impact player.  Winger Alex Tuch is coming off of a down year which has him in early speculation as well although he’s still just 24 and has six years left on his deal with a $4.75MM price tag.  The late-season addition of Alec Martinez could give them some flexibility to deal from their back end as well.

On the one hand, it’s hard to believe that a team that’s three years old is facing salary cap difficulty already but when you look at the talent on their roster, it’s not so surprising.  If they want to add another impact player though, they’ll also have to subtract from their core to make it happen.

Make A Goaltending Decision

When Lehner was brought in at the trade deadline, the original thought was that he’d allow them to give Marc-Andre Fleury a bit of rest down the stretch and give them starter-caliber goaltending in the stretch run.  That’s not exactly how things played out.  After the post-stoppage training camp, Lehner emerged as the front-runner for the starting job and that’s how it played out as he made 16 of their 20 playoff starts, leading Fleury’s agent Allan Walsh to post a since-deleted tweet depicting a sword bearing DeBoer’s name stabbing Fleury in the back.

Not surprisingly, that has led to plenty of speculation about Fleury’s willingness to stick around for next season although he has indicated that his preference is to stay.  Meanwhile, there was speculation last month that Vegas and Lehner were nearing a long-term contract extension although that hasn’t yet materialized.

Notwithstanding the controversy in the early going in the playoffs, it’s difficult to envision Vegas keeping both around.  Both want to be starters and, again, they’d need to clear out a fair bit of salary to make it happen.

From a win-now perspective, keeping Lehner would seemingly be the way to go.  At 29, he’s still in the prime of his career while Fleury turns 36 next month.  He’s still a quality goaltender but his days of being a 60-game starter are likely over.  However, trading him would carry some challenges as he still has two years left on a contract that carries a $7.5MM AAV.  They can retain up to 50% of that in a trade but is that something they’re going to want to do?  A buyout would give them some short-term flexibility but add more than $2MM onto the cap for two years after the deal is set to expire.  Meanwhile, Lehner isn’t interested in another short-term contract so taking a short-term pact with an agreement to do something more lucrative when Fleury’s deal is up isn’t in the cards.

They’d like to keep both but doing so may be too pricey.  In that case, McCrimmon has a week to decide which one he’d like to keep with Lehner set to be one of the top goalies available on the open market.

Add Defensive Depth

With Deryk Engelland playing a minimal role down the stretch and not at all in the playoffs, it seems as if he may be on his way out as a free agent.  Jon Merrill is also set to hit unrestricted free agency as well.  While Zach Whitecloud held his own in the playoffs, he’s still relatively inexperienced and although they have some youngsters with some promise including Nic Hague, more development time would certainly be beneficial.

With that in mind, looking to add a depth free agent or two is something McCrimmon may be looking to do independent of any of his other potentially bigger plans.  Finding someone that can serve in a sixth or seventh role would be ideal but they’ll need to find someone who is willing to play for close to the league minimum to give them as much flexibility to re-sign their pending restricted free agents (headlined by Chandler Stephenson who had 22 points in 41 games after being acquired by Washington).  On top of that, a veteran that could start in the minors but be recalled in case injuries arise may also be needed with Jaycob Megna set to hit the open market as well.

It’s not a particularly exciting type of player to target but it certainly appears that their in-season flexibility is going to be limited.  If they can get a veteran or two on the cheap now, that might be enough to keep them from needing to add more blueline help when the 2021 trade deadline rolls around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Philadelphia Flyers

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The offseason has arrived for most squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round and official first round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the second round.  Next up is a look at Philadelphia.

The Flyers were a playoff team for most of the season but really found their stride down the stretch and pushed themselves into the seeding games for the playoffs and avoided the Qualifying Round.  From there, they jumped to the top spot and were able to get by Montreal in the first round before their offensive struggles were too much to overcome against the Islanders.  Despite the weakened production, Philadelphia was one of the better offensive teams during the regular season so GM Chuck Fletcher may opt to not do too much there.  Instead, the things on their to-do list this offseason revolve around the back end and between the pipes and largely involve small tweaks at most instead of big changes.

Re-Sign Myers

There aren’t many restricted free agents of note in Philadelphia, particularly with Nolan Patrick missing all of this season with lingering migraine issues.  (While the team is optimistic he’ll play next season, he’ll almost certainly wind up with a cheap one-year deal.)  But defenseman Philippe Myers is one whose case carries some importance.

The 23-year-old still hasn’t played a full season with the Flyers but he appears to be on his way towards becoming an important piece of their defensive core.  He played in 50 NHL games this season, picking up a respectable 16 points while averaging 17 minutes a night.  His workload increased in the playoffs, however, as he was bumped up to more than 20 minutes per game and into a spot in their top four.  Myers even chipped in with three goals in those 16 contests.

While it’s a small sample size, it’s likely that Myers is back in that role for next season, especially with Justin Braun set to become an unrestricted free agent next week.  A short-term contract would be easy enough to do and should come in fairly cheap given that he has less than 90 games of experience but if he plays well, the price of a long-term deal would go up considerably.  As a result, Fletcher may want to kick the tires on what a longer pact would cost; even if it was a slight overpayment in the short term, it would have the potential to be a bargain down the road.  That makes this case a bit more important than it might seem at first.

Move Gostisbehere

For a while now, it has seemed like an eventuality that defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere would be made available.  That is now indeed the case as just a few days ago, it was reported that they are willing to move the 27-year-old.

Gostisbehere is only two years removed from a breakout 65-point season that made it appear as if he was on his way to becoming a top-notch offensive defender,  Even though he’s not the best defender, that type of production would make up for it.  Even the years that sandwiched that 2017-18 showing weren’t bad either with outputs of 39 and 37 points.  Those certainly weren’t as good but that’s still well above average for a defenseman.  Had 2019-20 even come close to that, this probably wouldn’t even be close to being considered at this point.  But with only a dozen points in 42 games that saw him scratched down the stretch in the regular season and for most of the playoffs, his value has cratered quite quickly.

Further complicating things is his contract which has three years left at a $4.5MM price tag.  That’s justifiable if he can get back to the mid-to-high 30s in points in a normal cap environment but his ability to bounce back is going to be in question and this is anything but a normal cap environment.  If Fletcher can find a taker for Gostisbehere, he’s going to have to consider it.  Selling low is never ideal but moving him out would at least give them some cap space to work with if they want to try to add to their forward group this offseason.  It’s quite the fall from grace for Gostisbehere and it just goes to show how quickly things can change.

Pick A Backup Goalie

The Flyers are among the many teams that have a vacancy to fill between the pipes with Brian Elliott being eligible for unrestricted free agency next week.  The team could opt to bring him back in a familiar mentoring role for Carter Hart while Alex Lyon waits in the wings as a cheap option as well but is almost certainly better off as a third-string option.  There are plenty of options in free agency and the trade market, however, that will also be worth considering.

There are a couple of questions that Fletcher will need to answer in order to determine which goalie he wants to sign: How comfortable is he with Hart playing back-to-backs and how much do they want to spend in that spot?

While next to nothing is known about the schedule for next season, the current expectation is that the schedule will be somewhat compressed in an effort to get as many games in as possible.  Having starting goalies play in both ends of a back-to-back is something that teams have been shying away from doing in recent years and while Hart is young enough that he could probably handle the role, it’s worth noting that he only has 88 career games under his belt (regular season and playoffs combined).  Adding the extra pressure of frequently playing back-to-backs is something that they may not want to do.

That will take a bargain-priced goalie off the table which helps shape the answer to that second question.  Even so, there is still a sizable gap price-wise between someone like Elliott and the top backup options available.  They have a bit of cap room but most of that will go to Myers, Patrick, and rounding out the roster.  If they want an upgrade at backup, they probably would need to free up a bit of cap room first.

As things stand, it certainly seems like re-signing Elliott would make the most sense.  While his days of being one of the better backups may be gone, he’s someone that accepts his role and works well with Hart.  He also won’t need a multi-year commitment in a marketplace where quite a few backups should get an extra year to satisfy expansion exposure requirements.  Philadelphia shouldn’t be in that situation as they could qualify Felix Sandstrom and expose him next offseason.  Fletcher has a bit of time to think about this but the annual game of musical chairs in free agency often doesn’t last more than a couple of days so, within the next seven-to-ten days, he’ll need to make a decision on this situation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Vancouver Canucks

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The offseason has arrived for most squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round and official first round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the second round.  Next up is a look at Vancouver.

After a relatively quiet 2018-19 season, expectations weren’t that high for the Canucks heading into this year.  They were a team that was definitely in the mix for a Wild Card spot but not many were expecting them to do a lot of damage.  Then came the bubble where Vancouver was one of the bigger surprises.  Following their victory over Minnesota in the Qualifying Round, they ousted the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round and took Vegas all the way to seven games before they were eliminated.  Now, GM Jim Benning’s key goals for this summer will be helping the team take that next step forward.  However, accomplishing that primarily means taking care of some of their own.

Clear Contracts

The list of notable free agents is fairly long and their cap situation, while not entirely dire, isn’t good enough for them to keep everyone that they want to.  Yes, they have about $14MM to spend but need to sign a starting goalie, two defensemen, and three forwards with a pair of notable skaters in defenseman Chris Tanev and winger Tyler Toffoli among those that are slated to hit the open market next month.  There’s enough room to keep some but certainly not enough to keep everyone.

That makes freeing up cap space extremely crucial for Benning.  While he has stated on multiple occasions that he doesn’t want to part with future assets to free up cap space, he may have to do so as if he doesn’t, an impact player is probably going to leave.

Who could they try to move to free up that space?  There are plenty of options.  Loui Eriksson has two years left at a $6MM AAV (tied for the highest on the team) but only $5MM left in money owing with his signing bonus already paid for next season.  Brandon Sutter is entering his final year with a $4.375MM price tag on the cap and $3.5MM in salary still owed.  Both players can still play in the NHL, albeit in limited roles.

A little farther down the list are winger Antoine Roussel and center Jay Beagle who both signed four-year, $12MM contracts just two summers ago.  They had the cap room to make those veteran additions now but shedding one of those deals would also give them a bit of flexibility.  Beagle is primarily a faceoff specialist at this point while Roussel, if healthy, can be an effective energy player in a bottom six.

At this point, it probably doesn’t matter which one of those veterans gets moved out to give them some extra wiggle room to keep their core players.  The priority simply has to be freeing up cap space.  It may not be something that Benning wants to do but he likely will have to bite the proverbial bullet here.

Goaltending Decision

Toffoli and Tanev aren’t the only UFAs of note that the Canucks have to contend with as starting goalie Jacob Markstrom is also less than two weeks away from hitting the open market.  While it has taken some time going back to his days with Florida, the 30-year-old has blossomed into a capable number one netminder and will be entering the market as one of the top options available.

While he wasn’t able to get to 60 games for the third straight season due to the pandemic and a knee injury, Markstrom still managed to put up a .918 SV% which was the highest of his career.  He did a bit better in the playoffs with a .919 mark in 14 games before a groin injury took him out and put Thatcher Demko into the starting role.

Demko was nothing short of spectacular and nearly single-handedly dragged Vancouver past Vegas before the Golden Knights edged them in that seventh game.  That presents a bit of a question for Benning.  Demko has long been viewed as their goalie of the future and might be ready for a bigger workload which is something that can’t happen as long as Markstrom is in the fold.  And while it may be a bit early for teams to really be worrying too much about the expansion draft for the Kraken next year, Vancouver can only protect one goalie.  If Markstrom re-signs, it puts them in a likely situation of losing one of them for nothing a year from now.

While Markstrom won’t be commanding the money that Sergei Bobrovsky did a year ago (seven years, $70MM), he should still be in line for a sizable raise on the $3.67MM AAV he had on this most recent deal.  It’s possible that he could command somewhere between $5.5MM and $7MM which would take up a big chunk of that remaining cap room.  Benning will have to decide in the very near future if Demko is ready to be the starter and if not, he’ll have to re-sign or replace Markstrom.

Extension Talks

The window to sign players to contract extensions has opened up and Vancouver has a pair of young stars that are a year away from needing new deals.  With how well both have performed already, there’s certainly a case to be made that Benning should be looking to get deals done with defenseman Quinn Hughes and center Elias Pettersson before the price tag gets even potentially higher next offseason.  Doing so would also give them a better idea of their long-term financial picture which could come in handy when it comes to forecasting what they can spend on their current pending UFAs.

Hughes had a phenomenal rookie campaign and finished tied for fourth overall in league scoring by defensemen and was just two points behind Norris finalist Victor Hedman for the third spot.  That performance helped him finished second in Calder Trophy voting and he was even better in the playoffs when he finished third in scoring with 16 points (2-14-16) in 17 games.  Hughes isn’t eligible for an offer sheet but that shouldn’t affect things much.  On his next deal, he’ll be setting the new benchmark for Vancouver’s defensemen as he’ll come in well ahead of Tyler Myers and Alexander Edler ($6MM each).

As for Pettersson, he has back-to-back 66-point seasons to start his career and has established himself as a capable front liner.  He has split time between center and the wing and that versatility will only make him more valuable down the road.  He may still have another level to get to offensively and it’s safe to say he will be a forward that they will build around.  Like Hughes, he’ll undoubtedly be setting the new high point for Vancouver’s forwards as he’ll surpass Eriksson’s $6MM price tag.

Both players are franchise cornerstones so locking them up is going to be high on Benning’s to-do list even though they don’t necessarily have to sign new deals until 2021.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Colorado Avalanche

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The offseason has arrived for most squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round and official first round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the second round.  Next up is a look at Colorado.

Things were looking up for Colorado for most of the year.  They had a strong regular season and were dominant against Arizona in the first round.  However, by the time they got through the second round against Dallas who eventually eliminated them, they were down to their third-string goalie and had several other injuries which ended their year on a sour note.  Still, they’re a team that’s largely viewed as being on the rise and as a result, GM Joe Sakic’s list of tasks this offseason has almost as much to do with the long-term outlook of the team as it does building for 2020-21.

Add Short-Term Help

As far as contenders go, Colorado is in great shape salary cap-wise for next season.  While they do have several regulars to re-sign, they have more than $22MM in cap room at the moment and won’t come close to using all of it to re-sign their restricted free agents.  However, with some prominent players in need of new deals the following year (more on them momentarily), Sakic should be looking to prioritize adding expiring contracts to augment his roster for 2020-21.

That doesn’t present a great situation when it comes to attracting free agents as most impact players won’t want to sign a one-year deal and forego the stability that comes with a long-term contract even with it being a depressed marketplace.  In order to lure someone on a one-year pact, they’d likely have to pay higher than market value to bring that player in which is something they should be able to afford.

However, they may be better off taking advantage of the teams that need to clear out money and look to acquire a veteran or two with an expiring deal for a cheap return.  Colorado already has a top-five offense and defense based on goals scored and allowed so there aren’t any glaring holes to try to fill.  Instead, shoring up their depth to better insulate them against another rash of injuries may be the smarter play.  If Sakic wants to go that direction, there should be some quality players available for bargain prices which would make an already strong team even better for next season.

Work On Long-Term Extensions

There are two top-end players for the Avalanche that will be entering the final year of their respective contracts next season in winger Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Cale Makar.  Getting a deal done with one or both of them would give Sakic some much-needed certainty when it comes to planning for 2021-22 and if he can get one done in the next couple of weeks, it would even give him a bit more clarity as to whether or not he could try to add someone on a multi-year deal this offseason.

Landeskog saw his production dip this season although injuries and the pandemic certainly played a role in that.  Even so, he managed to put 21 goals and 23 assists in just 54 games which would put him at a 67-point pace over a full 82-game campaign.  Although he probably won’t command as much as linemate Mikko Rantanen ($9.25MM), Landeskog still should get a sizable bump on his current $5.571MM price tag.  He’s also still only 27 years old despite the fact that he already has nine NHL seasons under his belt so a max-term contract (eight years) is certainly a possibility.  It’s going to cost a lot to keep that top line intact (which also features Nathan MacKinnon) but it’s a price that they should want to pay to keep one of the best trios in the league around.

As for Makar, he’s already entering the final year of his deal with only one season under his belt; the first season was burned in the 2019 playoffs when he got into ten games.  The Calder Trophy winner has very quickly become a significant part of their back end and with 50 points in 57 games this season, the offensive potential is quite tantalizing while he has the mobility to lead the rush at any time.  The 21-year-old certainly looks that the type of defenseman that franchises will want to build around so a long-term contract will certainly be the priority.  It might be a bit cheaper to sign it now as if his sophomore campaign sees him take a big step forward like many think he can, the price tag will only be higher next summer.

Goaltending Decision

On a team that allowed the fifth-fewest goals in the league this season, it’s hard to say that there are questions regarding Colorado’s goaltending but there are.  Philipp Grubauer set a new career high in starts this season but still only played in 36 games which is the workload of a platoon goalie on most teams, not a starter.  Pavel Francouz had a strong year but looked to wear down at times when he was asked to shoulder the lion’s share of the workload.  Both are more than capable netminders but is this a tandem that can take them all the way?

There isn’t much more time to find out either.  Grubauer is another player that’s eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2021 and even though he hasn’t quite cemented himself as a starter, he’s probably going to be looking for a raise on his $3.33MM price tag.  Francouz, meanwhile, is only signed for one more year than Grubauer and will be unrestricted in 2022.  Internally, there isn’t anyone that’s expected to be an NHL starter within two years to plausibly fill one of those spots.  They have high hopes for Justus Annunen but he’s a few years away from being ready.

This offseason has the feeling of musical chairs when it comes to the goaltending market.  There are free agents that will be changing teams while some teams have a netminder to trade.  If an opportunity to upgrade presents itself (or least provide a bit more long-term stability from a contractual standpoint), it may be wise for the Avalanche to get involved.  It would mean more money committed for 2021-22 when Makar and Landeskog’s new deals will come into play but it would also give them some more stability at a position that has been somewhat in flux lately.  It’s not something that has to be done but even with how well Grubauer and Francouz did this season, those questions about whether they can go deep in the playoffs with that tandem will only persist.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Boston Bruins

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The offseason has arrived for most squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round and official first round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the second round.  Next up is a look at Boston.

Things didn’t go according to plan for the Bruins this season.  While they were the team to beat for most of the year before the pandemic hit, they never really found their stride after that.  They scuffled through the seeding games and while they were able to beat an upstart Carolina team in the first round, they were eliminated somewhat quickly by Tampa Bay in the second.  To be fair, they were without Tuukka Rask as he left the bubble early so GM Don Sweeney shouldn’t be looking at any big shakeups but there are a few things he should be looking to accomplish in the coming weeks and months.

Shore Up The Left Side

There have been two fixtures at the top of the pecking order on the left side of Boston’s back end for the past several years.  Torey Krug has been in that role for seven years while Zdeno Chara has spent the last 14 years in a Bruins sweater.  That consistency is about to change, however.  At this point, Krug is likely to test free agency where he’ll be the top left-shot blueliner available and will garner plenty of interest with his offensive consistency.  Meanwhile, a return for Chara certainly isn’t ruled out but he’s 43 years old and his days of being a full-time player in the top four are over.  There’s still a role that he can play in an NHL lineup but he’s probably best utilized on the third pairing.

There aren’t really any internal candidates that they should feel comfortable about when it comes to filling a high-minute role.  Matt Grzelcyk is serviceable and may be able to take on a slightly bigger workload but he’s not going from 18 minutes a night to a top-pairing spot.  John Moore still has three years left on his contract but he hasn’t been able to lock down a regular spot in the lineup since joining them two summers ago.  Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril were first-round picks but neither of them has been able to crack the NHL roster on a full-time basis so asking them to step into a big role isn’t ideal either.

This is an area that will need to be addressed but free agent options are limited.  There are only six left-shot defenders that averaged over 20 minutes a night this season that will become unrestricted free agents and of those, Chara and Krug rank first and third on that list respectively in terms of ATOI.  Of the other four, two are role players in Ron Hainsey and Dmitry Kulikov.  Erik Gustafsson has shown some offensive prowess over the last two seasons but his output dipped sharply relatively to his 2018-19 campaign.  T.J. Brodie is the other one in that group and while he’ll undoubtedly garner interest from Boston (and plenty of other teams), he has spent a lot of time lately on the right side of the back end.  Washington’s Brenden Dillon just missed out on that minutes cutoff but he’ll get consideration as well.  Beyond those players though, pickings are slim.  As a result, Sweeney may have to turn to the trade market to fill at least one of these two potential spots.

New Deal For DeBrusk

Winger Jake DeBrusk is Boston’s most notable restricted free agent and also happens to be one of the more intriguing ones out of this class.  Statistically, his point total has dropped with each season from 43 points to 42 to 35 this year where his point-per-game average was the lowest of his three NHL seasons.  That’s one way of looking at it.  The other is that he stepped into an NHL lineup at 20 and has scored at least 16 goals every year despite not seeing time on the front line.  There’s a case to be made that the best is yet to come given his age and consistency; give him better linemates and the production should improve.  On the other hand, 200-plus games of statistically similar production is a notable sample size.  Management could certainly argue that he’s shown that he’s a capable secondary scorer but at this point, he’s not worth getting paid more than that.

DeBrusk’s agent has made it known that his client has no interest in taking any sort of hometown discount but this isn’t really a situation where Boston is likely to look for one.  If they have eyes on making a big addition (or finding a way to get something done with Krug), they’ll have to push for a short-term deal.  DeBrusk doesn’t have arbitration rights so that’s one piece of leverage that the team has.  On the other hand, if they think that he’s a part of their long-term future, a small overpayment based on his current numbers to get him to buy out some UFA years could be justified if they think he can get to another level.

There is one other option, of course.  A 23-year-old with his offensive track record should catch the eyes of some teams looking to add to their depth up front.  With Boston’s veteran core unlikely to be changed beyond their situation on defense, it’s plausible to think that DeBrusk could wind up being one of their best trade chips (if not their biggest one) if Sweeney opts to go in that direction.  Over the next few weeks, the GM will have to figure out what he wants to do with his young winger.

Improve Secondary Scoring

This one has been pretty much an annual fixture on their to-do list but it isn’t for a lack of trying.  In recent years, they’ve brought in Charlie Coyle, Nick Ritchie, and Ondrej Kase who all remain on the roster.  Before landing more controllable players, they tried Rick Nash, Marcus Johansson, and Drew Stafford as rental players near the trade deadline.  All have had varying degrees of success but the need persists.

Three forwards had at least 20 goals this season.  Those same three were the only ones to have more than 50 points.  They’ve been first through third in team scoring in each of the last three years.  Yes, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron have been quite good for quite a while but they were responsible for over 47% of Boston’s goals this past season.  That’s certainly an impressive performance on their part but it underscores the lack of secondary scoring.

Kase and Ritchie didn’t exactly light it up upon being acquired but given that they were transitioning to a new team and had a lengthy stoppage in between, it wouldn’t be fair to infer that they won’t be able to produce once they’ve had a full training camp under their belts.  But at the same time, they can’t be counted on to fill that void either.  The good news is that there are more of those types of forwards available than there are impact defensemen so this is something that Sweeney will have more options to address.  Getting a blueliner has to take top priority but adding more scoring depth up front is something else he should be trying to do before the puck drops on 2020-21.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: St. Louis Blues

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As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the official first round.  Next up is a look at St. Louis.

During the regular season, it looked like the Blues were in good shape to repeat their Stanley Cup title as they were first in the Western Conference (second in the whole league) before the pandemic hit.  However, they scuffled during the seeding games and wound up facing off against Vancouver who upset them in seven games with Jordan Binnington having a rough showing in the postseason.  Most of their team is already signed for next season but there are still a few things that GM Doug Armstrong needs to accomplish.

Clear Out Contracts

St. Louis was a team that was hit hard by the pandemic causing the salary cap to flatten out.  All of a sudden, instead of either trying to add to their roster or at least keep it intact, they’ve already had to move out one veteran on the cheap after sending Jake Allen to Montreal for a relatively low return of a third-round pick.  In doing so, they’ve handed the keys between the pipes to Binnington and will quite likely have a rookie as his backup in Ville Husso who is 25 and has yet to play in an NHL game.  That was the easy move as Allen did well enough this season to at least have some positive value.  The other cost-cutting moves may be a bit more challenging.

At the top of this list has to be Alex Steen.  He has been with the team for 12 years and has been productive for about 10 of those.  The last two are the ones where he hasn’t been.  Instead, his role has diminished considerably and for a $5.75MM price tag, that’s not good.  It’s difficult to part with someone that has been around that long and is as well-respected as he is (and optically, paying him to not play via a buyout or trading an incentive to get out of the contract stings) but it’s a move they’re going to have to make if they want some flexibility this offseason.

Tyler Bozak is another pricey player on an expiring contract that isn’t providing full value.  He’s still capable of winning faceoffs and providing some offense and with the center market being limited in free agency, they should have some interest in him but it will still likely require an inducement of sorts to get out of his $5MM price tag.  Until they find a taker for him or Steen, they’re going to be quite limited in what they can try to do in the coming months.

Re-Sign Pietrangelo

I know things aren’t looking good on this front right now.  When reports surface that talks have broken off and the team has advised him to hit the open market, it’s hard to be optimistic about a deal getting done.  But finding a way to get a contract in place with their captain still has to be their top priority and is the key to having a successful offseason or not.

They don’t have enough cap space to do so at the moment (more than $76MM in commitments already) so some work needs to be done (such as moving out another contract) but they do have the ability to go over the cap by 10% during the summer so there are ways they can get this done.

Beyond the AAV of the contract, the structure will play a big role in whether or not something can get done.  While the team has shown a willingness to frontload deals, they have avoided handing out signing bonuses in any pact that they’ve made with a player.  That’s a big carrot for players and an unwillingness to offer that to Pietrangelo won’t help their chances of signing him.

Yes, the free agent market is likely to be deflated with the salary cap flattening out at $81.5MM.  Many teams are like the Blues in that they need to free up some money but in spite of that, there will be enough teams with cap room (or the willingness to go over to get Pietrangelo and figure it out after) that it shouldn’t drastically affect what he’ll get.

Pietrangelo has worked his way into being a capable number one defenseman in a league that isn’t exactly loaded with them.  To lose a player like that for nothing would be a huge blow even though they have Justin Faulk that is capable of taking on a bigger role than he had with St. Louis this past season.  Somehow, someway, Armstrong needs to find a way to get something done.

Re-Sign Dunn

While Pietrangelo gets all of the attention, there is another defenseman that needs to be re-signed and that’s Vince Dunn.  After a strong sophomore year offensively, his numbers took a step back as he dipped from 35 points in 78 games to just 23 in 71 while his ice time was the lowest of any of his three NHL seasons.  That doesn’t give him the best case to work with while he’s not eligible for arbitration either.

However, he still has himself in line for a decent raise on his $775K salary from this season.  Even with the lowered offensive numbers, he could triple that amount without too much difficulty.  But as things stand, he’d be looking at a short-term contract to help keep the AAV down.  That could change depending on what happens with Pietrangelo.  If they don’t re-sign him and are able to clear out at least one of their bigger deals, then it may make sense to try to lock Dunn up on a longer-term deal, one that may be a little high in the early going but provide some value on the back end.

Given the dominoes that have to fall one way or the other – Pietrangelo’s fate has to be determined first as well as seeing what other money Armstrong can free up – this is something that shouldn’t be on the front burner.  Without arbitration, this is a contract that should be able to be pushed aside until later this fall but it is something that they will need to accomplish before 2020-21 begins, likely at some point in December.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Montreal Canadiens

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As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the official first round.  Next up is a look at Montreal.

The regular season was not a good one for the Canadiens who were sellers at the trade deadline.  However, the expanded postseason format gave them the final spot and they went on to make the most of it, upsetting Pittsburgh in the Qualifying Round before putting up a good showing against Philadelphia before ultimately being eliminated.  GM Marc Bergevin has already started his offseason work with the acquisitions of goaltender Jake Allen and defenseman Joel Edmundson but they still have some things to accomplish over the coming months if they want to get back into playoff contention.

Add Scoring Wingers

With Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi showing some positive signs in their young careers, the Canadiens now have some depth down the middle which gives them an opportunity to try to work on upgrading their scoring on the wings for the first time in a while.  They’re a team that’s built on trying to score by committee but as their series against Philadelphia showed, they don’t have a go-to option when they need a key goal.

Brendan Gallagher has been Montreal’s closest thing to a top goal scorer in recent years.  He had surpassed the 30-goal mark in the past two years and while he didn’t get there this season, he scored at that pace (22 in 59 games).  Tomas Tatar led the team in points during the regular season and was second the year before.  After that, however, it thins out in a hurry; no other winger had more than 16 goals this year.

Jonathan Drouin has underwhelmed for the most part since joining the team from Tampa Bay while Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, and Paul Byron are more known for their play in the defensive end.  One of their better offensive contributions from a winger this season came from Ilya Kovalchuk after his contract was terminated by the Kings but he was also thrust onto the top line quickly which played a role in his brief success.

While they’ve spent a good chunk of their cap space already, Bergevin would be wise to look for another reliable scorer on the wing.  The odds of being able to afford and acquire a front liner are slim but there are some players in free agency who would give them a lift offensively and at least deepen their by-committee approach towards scoring.

Domi Decision

When Montreal acquired Max Domi from Arizona two years ago, he was coming off of a tough year and a bridge deal made some sense.  Since then, he had a breakout 72-point campaign in 2018-19 but had another tough year this season as his output dipped to just 44 points.  While there is still some uncertainty surrounding what type of offensive player he can be, a short-term contract doesn’t make as much sense now that he’s arbitration-eligible and two years away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency unless they do a contract that’s three seasons or longer to buy a bit more team control.

Further complicating things for Bergevin is the presence of Suzuki and Kotkaniemi, their hopeful top two centers of the future.  Committing a long-term deal to Domi if they envision him as a third liner doesn’t make a lot of sense and Phillip Danault (more on him in a bit) is also in the picture as well.  There’s the possibility of moving him to the wing but Domi has made it known that his preference is to remain down the middle.  It’s also worth noting that he has changed agents as well, moving from Pat Brisson to Darren Ferris.

A year ago, it looked like Domi was going to be part of Montreal’s long-term core but now, that’s not as certain.  If their inclination now is that he won’t be, this may be the right time to try to move him even though his output dipped this season.  There are no impact centers available in unrestricted free agency and quite a few teams will be looking to trade for help down the middle so Bergevin should be able to still yield a good return if he wants to go that route.

One way or another, a decision is soon pending for the 25-year-old.  Getting to arbitration is an outcome that they likely will want to avoid because of Domi’s 72-point campaign which means that they’ll have to do something in the near future and choose what their plans are for him.

Extension Talks

There aren’t many teams that have as much cap room for 2021-22 as Montreal does but there’s a reason for that.  They have just three forwards signed for that year with Gallagher, Tatar, Danault, and Armia among those set to become unrestricted free agents.  So will defenseman Jeff Petry.  While this gives them some potential flexibility for Seattle’s expansion draft (it’s unlikely a pending UFA would be protected), having that many core players enter their walk years is certainly risky.

Petry and Gallagher are the likeliest to have early extension talks.  Petry has become a strong number two defender over his time with Montreal and should be in line for a raise on his current $5.5MM price tag.  Gallagher, meanwhile, has been one of the better bargains in the league at $3.75MM while other 30-goal players are getting closer to $6.5MM to $7MM on the open market.  That’s probably the price range that would be needed to get an early extension done.  Tatar’s quiet showing in the playoffs likely hurts his chances of getting a new deal done this offseason.

Then there’s Danault.  He indicated after the season that his role in 2020-21 would play a factor in deciding whether or not to re-sign.  He has been a fixture on Montreal’s top line the last two seasons but with their youngsters potentially ready for more ice time, Danault’s spot on the depth chart is probably going to change.  If they can find a role that he’s comfortable with and the right price point (his cap hit is just under $3.1MM currently), it’s possible that they could get a deal done now which would further put Domi’s future into question.

After Montreal’s elimination, Bergevin indicated that he intended to be careful this offseason knowing that this situation was on the horizon.  Getting one or two of these players signed would go a long way towards giving them some certainty in cap planning even if it winds up hurting them a bit when it comes to who they lose to the Kraken.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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