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NHL’s Top 50 Highest-Paid Players For 2024-25

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Many of the NHL’s highest cap hits don’t match those players’ actual salaries, mainly as front-loaded deals enter their later stages. That’s why a player like Connor McDavid remains among the highest cap hits in the league at $12.5MM despite signing his deal seven years ago. Still, his actual compensation from base salary and signing bonuses has dropped to an unremarkable $10MM compared to some of the NHL’s other elite talents.

When a player signs a long-term deal, it’s up to the team and player to structure it. In some cases, teams will prefer to spread cash out evenly throughout the contract, meaning the total salary being paid out matches or very nearly matches their cap hit. In some cases, though, deals will be front-loaded with excess money paid to the players in the first few seasons of the contract. This, assuming the deal isn’t paid out primarily in signing bonuses, makes a potential buyout much more palatable if needed near the end of the agreement.

With some help from PuckPedia’s player dashboard, listed below are the top 50 highest-paid NHL players for the 2024-25 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the largest contracts out there in terms of total value remaining, and some of them may have wildly lower or higher cap hits than their total salary this season indicates. This top 50 only considers the current league year with the players’ 2024-25 combined base salary and signing bonuses listed.

Here are the NHL’s highest-paid players for the 2024-25 season, with the cutoff point closest to the $10MM mark than ever before:

  1. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs: $16.7MM
  2. Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche: $16.5MM
  3. Elias Pettersson, Canucks: $14.5MM
  4. William Nylander, Maple Leafs: $13.5MM
  5. Jake Guentzel, Lightning: $13.26MM
  6. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres: $13MM
    David Pastrňák, Bruins: $13MM
  7. Dougie Hamilton, Devils: $12.6MM
  8. Seth Jones, Blackhawks: $12.5MM
    Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights: $12.5MM
  9. Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes: $12MM
    Aleksander Barkov, Panthers: $12MM
    Adam Fox, Rangers: $12MM
    Darnell Nurse, Oilers: $12MM
    Brayden Point, Lightning: $12MM
  10. Charlie McAvoy, Bruins: $11.5MM
    Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets: $11.5MM
  11. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals: $11.25MM
    Roope Hintz, Stars: $11.25MM
    Matthew Tkachuk    , Panthers: $11.25MM
  12. Timo Meier, Devils: $11.1MM
  13. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah: $11.05MM
  14. Drew Doughty, Kings: $11MM
    Miro Heiskanen, Stars: $11MM
    Erik Karlsson, Penguins: $11MM
    Dylan Larkin, Red Wings: $11MM
    Alex Ovechkin, Capitals: $11MM
    Sam Reinhart, Panthers: $11MM
    Mark Stone, Golden Knights: $11MM
  15. Jordan Kyrou, Blues: $10.9MM
    Robert Thomas, Blues: $10.9MM
  16. Cale Makar, Avalanche: $10.6MM
  17. Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames: $10.5MM
    Brady Tkachuk, Senators: $10.5MM
    Mika Zibanejad, Rangers: $10.5MM
  18. Tomáš Hertl, Golden Knights: $10.25MM
  19. Thomas Chabot, Senators: $10MM
    Jack Eichel    , Golden Knights: $10MM
    Filip Forsberg, Predators: $10MM
    Connor Hellebuyck, Jets: $10MM
    Kirill Kaprizov, Wild: $10MM
    Elias Lindholm, Bruins: $10MM
    Connor McDavid, Oilers: $10MM
    Artemi Panarin, Rangers: $10MM
    Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs: $10MM
    Mark Scheifele, Jets: $10MM
    Brady Skjei, Predators: $10MM
    Nick Suzuki, Canadiens: $10MM
    Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning: $10MM
  20. Cole Caufield, Canadiens: $9.975MM

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Penguins Notes: Robertson, O’Connor, Line Combinations

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Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes about a potential link between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nicholas Robertson. It’s not the first time rumors have surfaced about a potential Robertson to Pittsburgh trade, as Kingerski wrote back in May that the Penguins, specifically general manager Kyle Dubas, should target the undersized Maple Leafs forward. However, Robertson remains a Maple Leaf despite asking for a trade in June, and the Penguins have just under $900K in available cap space. While a move seems unlikely at this point, it should be noted that the Penguins have 15 forwards on their active roster and could likely bury an additional $1.7MM in the minors.

Kingerski writes that the Penguins could offer sheet Robertson for below $2.29MM, and the cost would only be a third-rounder, but the Maple Leafs would likely match that number and shut the door on the Robertson-to-Pittsburgh talk. It appears that the Penguins’ best option, should they want to acquire Robertson, would be to make a hockey trade using a roster player with value and perhaps a draft pick to try and pry the 22-year-old loose.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Kingerski also wrote about the Penguins’ lack of a winger for superstar Sidney Crosby. The Penguins have spent the summer trying to find someone to play with Crosby after trading Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, and with the summer coming to an end, Kingerski believes that Drew O’Connor is likely the Penguins’ best option for the first-line left winger role. O’Connor finished last season playing with Crosby and showed glimpses during that time. The 25-year-old finished the year with 16 goals and 17 assists in 79 games, including seven goals and five assists in the final 19 games when he played alongside Crosby.
  • The Penguins acquisition of young forward Rutger McGroarty has changed the potential makeup of their forward lines (according to Dan Kingerski). The Penguins boast as many as 19 potential NHL forwards, including newly acquired Kevin Hayes, Cody Glass, and Anthony Beauvillier, and it could make for an interesting training camp in the Steel City. McGroarty could get a look alongside Sidney Crosby on the first line, but he could also slide into a third-line role alongside Hayes and Beauvillier. It isn’t even clear which side of the ice McGroarty will play on, but one clear thing is that his presence in Pittsburgh makes things very interesting when it comes to the Penguins’ forward ranks.

Evening Notes: Islanders, Ducks, Wild

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Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News wonders if the New York Islanders would benefit from bringing in a player like Filip Zadina before training camp. The Islanders badly needed a top-six forward this summer but didn’t have the cap space or assets to make a move towards improving their forward group. Zadina has been linked to the Buffalo Sabres and has potential interest from a handful of other teams. He is also reportedly close to signing with an NHL team.

The 24-year-old hasn’t been able to live up to his draft status as a sixth overall pick and will now join his third NHL team in just seven seasons. The Pardubice, Czech Republic native, scored a career-high 13 goals last season and tallied 23 points in 72 games with the San Jose Sharks. But, despite being on the worst team in the NHL, he failed to play more than third- and fourth-line minutes and given the current state of his game, it’s unlikely he would help out the Islanders’ top six forwards. However, he could carve out a depth role in their bottom six.

In other evening notes:

  • The Anaheim Ducks announced that they’ve partnered with A Parent Media Co. Inc. to stream all of their regional games this season free of charge. The games will be available on the soon-to-launch Victory+, allowing Ducks fans in the Los Angeles regional market to watch Ducks games for free. The app for Victory+ will be available for fans outside the Ducks’ television region as well, but the games will not be free. However, the app will allow fans in other parts of the country to view the extra content that the team produces outside of their games.
  • Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin spoke with KFAN FM 100.3 today and discussed the upcoming season, where his expectations are for the Wild to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup. Guerin has had to navigate some very rocky waters the past couple of summers regarding the salary cap, as the Wild have had to account for $14.74MM in dead cap space for two years due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. However, he has managed to keep the team competitive and believes that if his current group stays healthy, they will be in the mix come playoff time. Minnesota didn’t make many changes this summer and will count on many internal improvements from young players if they hope to improve on the disappointment of missing the playoffs last season.

Prospect Notes: Skinner, Morello, Armstrong

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Former pro Brett Skinner has stepped into the role of general manager for the USHL’s Fargo Force, succeeding Cary Eades, who has held the position since 2015. Eades will stay as Fargo’s assistant general manager, while Skinner will continue his duties as Fargo’s head coach.

Eades has a storied career through USA Hockey, serving in various coaching and managerial roles across Minnesota high school, college, and the USHL. He’s spent 15 years with the University of North Dakota, 11 years at Warroad High School, and now nine years with Fargo. He’ll pass the torch to Skinner, who’s found his groove as a coach after a pro career that took him through 12 different pro leagues and spanned 410 career AHL games and one Calder Cup Championship. His championship tendencies followed into his coaching career, with Skinner winning the 2018 USHL championship as an assistant coach with Sioux Falls, then winning the 2023 NAHL championship and 2024 USHL championship as a head coach. He’s proven successful thus far and will now take on even more responsibilities for a Fargo team coming off a 50-10-2 performance last season.

Other notes from around the prospect world:

  • Boston Bruins prospect Jonathan Morello has de-committed from Clarkson University just ahead of the start of the school year and will instead join the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2024-25 season, the team’s training camp roster confirms. Morello spent the last two seasons with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the OJHL, posting 97 points in 101 games. That was enough to earn him the 154th-overall selection in the 2024 Draft – and Morello will now look to climb the ranks of Boston’s depth chart with a step up in the juniors hockey world.
  • The Nashville Predators have signed left-winger Easton Armstrong to an amateur try-out and included him on their rookie showcase roster. Armstrong is one of six right-handed wingers on the roster. He’s coming off a long career in the WHL, spanning five seasons and 210 games. He scored 60 goals and 99 points across those appearances, finding a promising edge as a power forward thanks to his six-foot-three, 205-pound frame. Armstrong is an unrestricted free agent after going undrafted through the 2022, 2023, and 2024 draft classes.

Leafs’ Nicholas Robertson Still Hoping To Be Moved

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Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson is still pushing for a move before the season starts, even despite the chance at a growing role in the lineup, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston shared on the latest  ’First Up’ podcast with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo. Robertson has been in trade talks since early February, though it doesn’t seem any discussions have made it far down the line.

Robertson will be entering his fifth professional season in the upcoming year; impressive experience for someone still a few weeks away from age 23. He’s garnered 87 games of NHL experience in that span – and while his performances haven’t been very inspiring, his 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games last season suggested Robertson’s goal-scoring days weren’t all behind him.

His junior career – three years with the Peterborough Petes from 2017 to 2020 – was defined by a dazzling shooting ability. Robertson posted 27 goals and 55 points in 54 games during his draft year, good enough to land 53rd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, even amid concerns about his skating and drive. Robertson quieted critics quickly with an outstanding 55 goals and 86 points in just 46 games in the following season. He’s shown flashes of that scoring ability at the top level, most notably scoring 16 goals and 28 points in 28 games during the 2021-22 AHL season, but the production has been far from consistent.

Part of that can be chalked up to Robertson’s minimal role in the lineup. The 2023-24 campaign was the first time that Robertson averaged over 11 minutes of ice time and the first time that he managed a point on special teams. The Leafs have had the privilege of icing wingers like Michael Bunting and Matthew Knies ahead of Robertson but still haven’t provided their young prospect any favors in his competition for bottom-six minutes. That could be attributed to former head coach Sheldon Keefe, who moved on to the New Jersey Devils. His successor, Craig Berube, could prove a more supportive option after leading the initial success of shoot-first winger Jake Neighbours’ last season – but only if Robertson can hold his own.

Should he return to Toronto, Robertson will step back into competition with players like Knies, Max Domi, and Pontus Holmberg for space on the team’s left wing. That position battle could lead to promising minutes next to Auston Matthews or John Tavares, though Domi and Knies had the advantage of building chemistry with their centers last season. Should Robertson instead be on the move, he’ll be one of the trade market’s only active names entering September and could offer tantalizing upside for teams unhappy with their scoring depth.

17 goals and 34 points in 87 career games should be enough to sway interested teams, especially with the Leafs not in a position to ask for much for a former second-rounder who’s yet to pay off. With Patrik Laine recently traded, it seems Robertson will become the market’s next shoot-first winger looking for greener pastures.

Hurricanes Sign Seven Players To PTOs

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Today, the Hurricanes announced their roster for this year’s regional rookie camp, the 2024 NHL Rookie Showcase hosted by the Predators. Seven of their 22 players weren’t previously in the organization. They will attend via professional tryout agreements, some of which may last to training camp or end after the showcase.

Carter Kowalyk, the lone defenseman of the group, will look to make an impression before returning to the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets for his final season of junior hockey. The 19-year-old has been passed over in back-to-back NHL drafts, marred by injuries and stuck on basement-dwelling teams. Last season, a trade sent him to the playoff-bound Rockets from the lowly Edmonton Oil Kings, boosting his stock. The 6’3″, 196-lb stay-at-home defender ended the season with seven points, 25 PIMs and a +13 rating in 26 games in Kelowna, and he’ll look to factor into heavy minutes there in 2024-25. A strong showing with the Canes now could earn him an invite back to development camp next summer or earn him an entry-level contract.

Zakary Lavoie, 20, is a diminutive right-winger who plays much larger than his 5’10”, 179-lb frame would suggest. The Ottawa native is a skilled shooter, posting 31 goals in 67 Ontario Hockey League games last season, split between the Niagara IceDogs and Brantford Bulldogs. If he returns to Brantford, he’ll take up one of their three overage slots, so he could be on the hunt to land a professional deal in the coming weeks. Whether that’s an entry-level agreement with Carolina or an AHL deal with their affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, remains to be seen if the Canes opt to keep him in the organization.

Connor Lockhart, 21, has his junior days behind him now after completing what would have been his fifth OHL season if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. A sixth-round pick of the Canucks in 2021, he became a free agent over a year ago when his signing rights lapsed on July 1, 2023. Lockhart has produced over a point per game over the last two years, ending his season with 52 points in 45 contests for the Oshawa Generals after an early-season trade from Peterborough. The 5’9″ center was suspended by the league for eight games in February following an investigation into unspecified conduct by the Durham, Ontario Regional Police, which has since been closed.

Skyler Brind’Amour, 25, is already signed to an AHL pact for next season with the Charlotte Checkers, the Panthers’ affiliate. But Florida doesn’t own his NHL rights, making him eligible to attend rookie and training camps leaguewide as offers come in. The Raleigh native and son of Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour won an NCAA championship with Quinnipiac in 2023 but has had trouble adjusting to the pro game, posting just three goals and eight points in 54 contests with the Checkers last season. His chances of landing an NHL deal are slim, but they won’t be better anywhere else than in Carolina, an organization synonymous with the Brind’Amour name.

Braydon McCallum, 18, was draft-eligible for the first time this year but wasn’t selected. Briefly a teammate of Lockhart’s with the Peterborough Petes, the 5’10”, 165-lb forward finished third on the team in scoring last season with 41 points (18 G, 23 A) in 62 games and led them (and the OHL as a whole) with 128 PIMs. He’s a tenacious forechecker with a good shot and has a decent chance of landing an ELC with Carolina before heading back to the Petes for 2024-25.

Luca Testa, 18, fits a similar profile to McCallum. Also draft-eligible for the first time in 2024 and passed over, he’s a physical center but takes fewer penalties with slightly less offensive upside. In 48 games for the Bulldogs last year, he had 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points with a +6 rating.

Rounding out the group is 20-year-old left-winger Antonin Verreault, an explosive but undersized offensive talent who’s now been passed over three drafts in a row. The 5’8″, 163-lb forward led the QMJHL in assists (71) and points (107) last season in 68 games with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. He’s the type of talent the Hurricanes often take swings on and is perhaps the likeliest of the group to end up with a contract as a result of their tryout.

Maple Leafs Unlikely To Register Jani Hakanpää’s Contract

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It doesn’t appear that the Maple Leafs will be signing defenseman Jani Hakanpää after all. After nearly two months without registering his reported two-year, $3MM agreement, TSN’s Chris Johnston said on First Up 1050 on Tuesday that “the writing doesn’t appear to be too encouraging” on the Leafs getting Hakanpää to ink a deal.

Hakanpää, 32, was still recovering from the knee injury that truncated his 2023-24 campaign with the Stars when his deal with Toronto was reported on July 1. It was his first time on the open market since 2021 when he inked a three-year, $4.5MM deal to join Dallas. The Finnish veteran still thinks he can play through the injury, which Johnston says has left his knee “basically bone on bone.” The Leafs’ medical team and some other outside medical opinions contradict that sentiment, leading to his continued free agency.

Even if he doesn’t sign with Toronto, Hakanpää’s options will likely be limited if he elects to play through the injury. Only a few, if any, teams will sign him if he can’t pass a physical. The 6’6″, 225-lb right-shot defender was a valuable presence on the Dallas blue line for the past few seasons, averaging north of 18 minutes per game and totaling 40 points, a +29 rating, 136 PIMs, 363 blocks and 668 hits in 226 games. He had decent possession quality numbers, controlling 47.7% of expected goals at even strength despite being used heavily in shutdown situations.

It’s a tough break for the Leafs, who were hoping to either utilize Hakanpää as a defensive anchor on a pairing with Morgan Rielly or Oliver Ekman-Larsson, or potentially even in a stay-at-home pair with Jake McCabe. They would have needed to clear cap space to add him to the roster, though. Toronto has just over $1.25MM in projected cap space with a roster size of 21, not enough to fit Hakanpää in at his reported $1.5MM cap hit.

West Notes: Nabokov, Sumpf, Pilling

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Last season was a banner one for 21-year-old netminder Ilya Nabokov. He took home three pieces of hardware as the Kontinental Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year, Playoff MVP and champion with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. His stellar .930 SV% in 43 games of KHL regular-season action made him the first goalie off the board in this summer’s draft despite his age, going at No. 38 to the Avalanche.

Colorado may have hoped Nabokov, who’s entering the final season of his contract with Metallurg, would be available to them as soon as 2025-26. That seems unlikely, however, as Metallurg general manager Sergei Gomolyako said the team is working on a one-year extension for Nabokov to keep him in Russia for another season (via Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now).

His strong performance in a top professional league so early in his career indicates he’ll likely be an NHL option whenever he comes from his home country. As a player drafted out of a Russian league, the Avalanche hold Nabokov’s signing rights indefinitely. They don’t risk losing him to free agency if they wait too long to sign an entry-level contract.

Other updates from the Western Conference:

  • The Sharks are set to invite a pair of centers to next month’s Rookie Faceoff in Los Angeles on amateur tryouts, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports. The first is 19-year-old German pivot Julius Sumpf, who’s been passed over for selection in the past two NHL drafts. Sumpf, who hails from Munich, came over to North America last season to suit up in junior hockey for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. He fit in seamlessly, finishing sixth on the team in scoring with 55 points (21 G, 34 A) in 60 games. He also posted three points in five games for Germany at the 2024 World Juniors, earning some consideration from NHL teams as a potential overage pick earlier this summer, but it didn’t come to fruition. Sumpf has a good two-way game and good size at 6’2″ and 185 lbs, but he’ll likely need to bulk up a bit to make a mark in the pros.
  • Joining Sumpf is 20-year-old Calgary native Nathan Pilling. Pilling, who stands at 6’3″ and 205 lbs, has played a somewhat limited role for the last three years in the Western Hockey League. He split last season between the Edmonton Oil Kings and Seattle Thunderbirds, putting up his best offensive totals yet with 18 goals, 14 assists and 32 points in 56 games. He’s a much lower-ceiling option offensively than Sumpf should he end up parlaying his ATO into an entry-level contract, but he does have a more well-rounded physical game.

Jets Notes: Perfetti, Ehlers, Yager

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The Jets will likely ink RFA center Cole Perfetti to a bridge deal to conclude contract negotiations this summer, writes Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press. Perfetti is arguably the top RFA center left on the market, although he spent a good chunk of last season on the wing after being bumped from the No. 2 center spot for Vladislav Namestnikov and later Sean Monahan. The 2020 10th overall pick is coming off his entry-level contract and set career highs with 19 goals and 38 points in his platform season.

Winnipeg will be looking for more out of the 22-year-old next season after losing Monahan and a few other depth forward pieces to free agency. But while he’s been an effective depth presence, he hasn’t been able to demonstrate his ceiling as an everyday top-six forward with much consistency to date. This season could be transformative for Perfetti, who has a chance to reclaim that second-line spot down the middle and prove himself as a capable secondary option behind Mark Scheifele. That could lead to the two sides agreeing on a one-year deal to get Perfetti signed before training camp and resuming discussions on a longer-term extension to begin with the 2025-26 season, Wiebe posits.

Turning to another notable top-six piece for the Jets, it’s been relatively quiet on the Nikolaj Ehlers front. Murat Ates of The Athletic reported back in May that Winnipeg would explore trading the winger entering the final season of his contract. A month later, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta said that Ehlers wasn’t interested in beginning extension talks with the club and intended to test free agency next summer, barring a trade. The Hurricanes were believed to be in pursuit of Ehlers, potentially in a swap for then-unsigned RFA Martin Necas, but that deal never came to fruition.

But with a different coaching regime led by Scott Arniel, The Winnipeg Free Press’ Mike McIntyre wonders if there may be a path toward an Ehlers extension after all. As McIntyre points out, both Arniel and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff have been public in their praise of Ehlers’ play this summer, and it’s likely he’ll see an uptick on the sub-16 minutes per game of ice time he’s seen the last couple of years. The 28-year-old Dane is coming off a 25-goal, 61-point campaign in 2023-24 – a down year by his standards. But the organization’s messaging may have made Ehlers more open to sticking around, and McIntyre believes they’re still trying to get him signed before the start of the season.

Could this all get resolved before the season begins, the way Connor Hellebuyck and Scheifele’s situations did last year? I wouldn’t rule that out.

Pivoting back to that second-line center vacancy, there are a few dark horses to land the job come opening night outside of Namestnikov and Perfetti. Wiebe believes 2023 14th overall pick Brayden Yager, acquired from the Penguins last week, will get a nine-game trial in the role before being returned to the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors for the remainder of the campaign.

“It wouldn’t shock me to see him get a chance in that role before a final decision is made,” Wiebe said of Yager. “He’s still going to need an excellent training camp in order to force his way into this discussion, given the aforementioned contenders. But Yager is someone who could do just that and earn himself an extended look, given the skill set he brings to the table and his ability to play a dependable two-way game to go along with his talent, vision and heavy shot.”

Yager, 19, had 95 points in 57 games for the Warriors last year. The 5’11”, 179-lb pivot could at least provide a taste of things to come, and depending on his early returns, could influence whether the Jets want to put resources into developing Perfetti as a center or winger long-term.

Filip Zadina Linked To Sabres, In Talks With Other Teams

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9:45 a.m.: There are as many as three clubs in discussions for Zadina’s services, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports.

8:34 a.m.: It appears the Buffalo deal may be a fallback option for Zadina. His agent, Darren Ferris, tells Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he’s “in the process of completing a contract for Zadina with another team.”

8:24 a.m.: Right-winger Filip Zadina is expected to attend training camp with the Sabres on a professional tryout agreement, reports Pavel Barta of Deník Sport.

Zadina, 25 in November, has never made the impact most expected when the Red Wings selected him sixth overall in the 2018 draft. Until 2023, Zadina had mediocre results in a bottom-six role with Detroit, consistently shooting well below 10% and posting average possession metrics. Over those five seasons, he made 190 appearances for Detroit with 68 points, 0.36 per game. His -51 rating, 7.4% shooting rate and 0.62 hits per game were nothing to write home about, although he did manage to keep his head above water defensively with a 0.2 relative CF% at even strength.

After being released by the Red Wings last summer via a mutual contract termination, walking away from over $4.5MM in salary, he landed a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Sharks. Nothing changed for the Czech winger in San Jose, though. Without much of a supporting cast, he did manage to score a career-high 13 goals in 72 games, but his 23 points fell one short of his best mark with Detroit, and his -44 rating was the worst of his career while averaging a conservative 13:20 per game. Most blame can be placed on the team’s porous defense and inconsistent goaltending, but Zadina’s 43.3 CF% and 39.0 xGF% at even strength was below the team average.

As such, the Sharks opted not to issue him a qualifying offer when his deal expired this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent for the second year. Still, without a contract, Zadina isn’t giving up on an NHL dream, fishing for PTO offers rather than heading to Europe.

For the Sabres, it’s a sensible low-risk option for some depth scoring with professional experience. He has strong numbers in the minors, last posting 16 points in 21 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in 2019-20. He also had a strong showing with Czechia’s HC Oceláři Třinec in 2020-21 while on loan during the pandemic, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 17 games. His shooting percentage continuously drying up upon reaching the NHL remains an enigma.

If Zadina lands a deal out of camp, it’ll likely be a two-way pact. After the Sabres reshaped their forward corps this summer with a specific eye on filling out their bottom six, there isn’t a clear roster spot for him if he signs. He’ll likely land on waivers and begin the season with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. There, he’ll play alongside Buffalo’s crop of next-wave players and compete for call-ups with other depth wingers like Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen and Lukáš Rousek.

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