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RFA Notes: Brannstrom, Yamamoto, Ylonen, McDonough, Shaw

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The Senators will soon have a decision to make on pending RFA defenseman Erik Brannstrom who is owed a $2MM qualifying offer on Sunday, one that carries arbitration rights.  However, they’re hoping to not be the ones to have to make that decision in the end as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays (Twitter link) that Ottawa is continuing its efforts to try to trade the 24-year-old.  Being a strong offensive threat in Sweden helped make Brannstrom the 15th overall selection back in 2017 but he hasn’t been able to become a consistent threat at that end in the NHL.  This season, Brannstrom had 20 points in 76 games, a handful of which were spent as a winger.

Other news surrounding pending restricted free agents:

  • The Kraken have given winger Kailer Yamamoto permission to speak to other teams, GM Ron Francis told team broadcaster Alison Lukan (Twitter link). Yamamoto signed with them as an unrestricted free agent after he was non-tendered by Detroit last summer just after his rights were acquired from Edmonton.  The 25-year-old had a quiet season, notching eight goals and eight assists in 59 games while averaging less than 12 minutes a night after logging at least 16 in each of the last four years.  Yamamoto’s qualifier comes in at $1.5MM but carries arbitration rights where his past production could push the price tag past the $2MM mark.  It appears that’s a price they don’t want to pay as it looks like he’ll be non-tendered once again on Sunday.
  • Canadiens winger Jesse Ylonen will be non-tendered this weekend, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played his first full NHL campaign this season but recorded just four goals and four assists in 59 games after putting up 17 points in 36 appearances with Montreal in 2022-23.  His qualifying offer would have cost just over $813K but the team has determined they’re better off giving someone else a chance in that spot.
  • The Canucks will be parting ways with winger Aidan McDonough, reports Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link). This decision comes as somewhat of a surprise given how hard they worked to sign him in 2023, burning the first year of the deal right away when he got into six games with Vancouver.  However, the 24-year-old had a quiet rookie year with AHL Abbotsford, notching 11 goals and eight assists in 58 games, a performance they’ve deemed not good enough to give him a two-way qualifying offer.
  • The Wild have informed Mason Shaw that he’ll be non-tendered for the second straight year, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Shaw battled back from a torn ACL to earn a new deal with Minnesota back in February and he got into 20 games with the big club, recording three points and 29 hits while averaging just over eight minutes a night.

Offseason Checklist: Florida Panthers

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After this year’s Stanley Cup champion was crowned, the offseason has arrived for everyone. It’s time to examine what teams will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Last up is a look at the Cup champion Panthers.

After reaching the Cup Final last year before bowing out fairly quickly to Vegas, there was only one way Florida could improve on their fortunes.  They did just that, surviving losing three straight to Edmonton to erase a 3-0 series lead to win their first title in franchise history.  Now, GM Bill Zito has a lot to contend with concerning his roster for the summer and not a lot of time to do it.

Try To Keep Key UFAs

The Panthers have a sizable list of pending unrestricted free agents, many of which are core pieces.  How successful their offseason ultimately is will be determined by how many they’re able to keep or how well they’re able to replace them with the roughly $19.5MM in cap room they have, per CapFriendly.

Up front, the biggest name is Sam Reinhart.  After a quieter second season in Florida, the 28-year-old turned things around, putting together a career year that saw him put up 57 goals and 94 points during the regular season while adding 16 points in the playoffs.  A strong defensive player, Reinhart can also play down the middle if called upon which would only boost his value.  After making an average of $6.5MM over the last three years, Reinhart is well-positioned to earn a significant raise and a long-term deal.  He could conceivably cost up to half of Florida’s remaining cap room.

Then there’s Vladimir Tarasenko.  After his market didn’t materialize as planned, he settled for a one-year, $5MM deal with Ottawa, who flipped him to the Panthers at the trade deadline.  Notably, the 32-year-old made it known he’d only waive to go to Florida.  With 23 goals and 32 assists, he should be able to command a similar-sized price tag which could price him out of their range unless he’s willing to take a team-friendly deal.

On the back end, they took care of one key pending free agent when they signed Gustav Forsling to an eight-year, $46MM extension to keep him away from the open market.  But they have the top blueliner from this year’s class in Brandon Montour as well.  The 30-year-old broke out with Florida, living up to the high-end potential many felt he had.  He posted a career-best 73 points in 2022-23 but only managed 33 in 66 games during the regular season which will likely lower his overall price.  Having said that, he could still more than double the $3.5MM AAV he had over the past three years which could make it hard to keep him around.  Oliver Ekman-Larsson also had a nice bounce-back year and is set to hit the open market where he should command more than the $2.275MM he made this season.

Early Extension Talks

If those pending free agents weren’t notable enough, the Panthers have three key pieces that will be entering the final year of their respective contracts on July 1st, making them extension-eligible at that time.  While getting them locked up early isn’t necessary, Zito at least needs to get a sense of what those players are looking for as that will likely impact how many of their current free agents (who should all command multi-year contracts this time around) they’re able to try to re-sign.

One of those players is Carter Verhaeghe.  When he first arrived with Florida, he had yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player.  Now, just four years later, he has been one of the better bargains in the NHL while his offensive game has taken off.  In 2022-23, he potted 42 goals and 31 assists and followed that up with 34 goals and 38 helpers this season.  Those are top-line numbers that will have him positioned to command a long-term agreement and a significant raise.  For context, Verhaeghe made just $1MM in his first two seasons with the Panthers and currently has a cap charge of $4.167MM.  Next time out, he could potentially double it with an AAV that should check in around the $8MM range.

Meanwhile, Aaron Ekblad will soon be in need of a new deal on the back end.  The agreement that he’s on now was a record-setting deal at the time for a defenseman coming off his entry-level contract as he took an eight-year deal that carried a $7.5MM AAV.  While he never really took off offensively (aside from the 2021-22 campaign), the Panthers have still done rather well with that contract as Ekblad has been a workhorse for most of that time.  However, he dealt with some injury issues this season while his playing time was more limited; his 20:52 per game was a career-low.  It’s possible that Florida will try to get him to take a bit less this time around which makes it more challenging to see a deal get done in the coming weeks.  Those discussions will come with a new agent as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that he’s now represented by Newport’s Craig Oster.

Then there’s Sam Bennett.  His regular season numbers don’t jump off the page (his career-high in points is 49) but he’s coming off two strong playoff performances that saw him produce at a better rate, something that doesn’t generally happen.  On top of that, he’s a power forward who also plays center.  That’s a combination that will have a lot of teams gearing up to put in offers so it stands to reason that he’s in line for a considerable raise on his current $4.425MM AAV.

Again, they don’t have to get these players signed just yet.  Simply knowing what the asking prices are likely to be should give Zito enough information to formulate his plan for his pending free agents.

Knight Decision

With Spencer Knight spending a good chunk of 2022-23 away from the team while being in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Zito decided he needed some insurance between the pipes, inking Anthony Stolarz to a one-year, $1.1MM contract, a deal that couldn’t have worked out any better for them.  With Knight being young enough to get to the minors without waivers, he entered the season as Florida’s third-string option.

From a games-played perspective, things worked out relatively well for Knight as he played 45 times, his highest amount of appearances since his draft year.  However, his numbers with AHL Charlotte weren’t dominant by any stretch the way you’d hope someone making $4.5MM would be able to put up.  While he finished eighth among qualifying netminders in GAA (2.41), his SV% (.905) was only good for a tie for 28th place.  He got to play but management was probably hoping he’d have been more effective.

At this point, Stolarz is likely to price himself out of what Florida can afford as he’s slated to be one of the better options in a UFA goaltending class that is relatively weak.  Accordingly, Zito needs to decide if Knight is ready to re-assume the second-string duty behind Sergei Bobrovsky.  If so, then he has his very expensive tandem in place.  If not, then he’ll need to find a replacement.

And if the decision is made that Knight isn’t going to be the backup next season, Florida will need to contemplate a buyout.  He’s young enough that the buyout cost would only be $750K for four years.  If he’s buried in the minors again (he remains waiver-exempt), the cap charge would be $3.325MM.  That $2.575MM difference could be enough for a lower-cost backup on a deal similar to the one Stolarz received a year ago while freeing up funds to up an offer to one of their core free agents.

Knight didn’t play a single second for Florida during the regular season or playoffs but he could still play a big role in what the Panthers can and can’t do in the coming days and weeks.

Add Low-Cost Depth

Last summer, Zito had to make some low-cost acquisitions, bringing in Kevin Stenlund, Steven Lorentz, Dmitry Kulikov, Mike Reilly, Uvis Balinskis, and Stolarz on cheap deals worth $1.1MM or less.  For the most part, they did quite well with those pickups.

Now, Zito will be trying to repeat that level of success on what’s likely to be a mostly new group (only Balinskis is still signed) while also trying to replace some other veteran UFAs including Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins.  They could be looking at signing five or six forwards and a couple of defensemen with their remaining cap space while keeping in mind how much some of those top players are likely to command on the open market.

It’s quite possible that the $1.1MM line might be too steep for the Panthers this time around.  Now, they might have to shop for options much closer to the league minimum if not right at the $775K minimum salary to stretch every dollar.  Zito will have to find a way to find veterans who can provide a similar level of performance as his group from last summer while being even more constrained financially, assuming he’s able to keep at least one of his key free agents.  That will be a tough needle to thread for a second straight year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Capitals Acquire Andrew Mangiapane

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After adding Pierre-Luc Dubois to shore up their center depth, the Capitals have struck a deal to add an upgrade on the wing.  The team announced that they’ve acquired Andrew Mangiapane from the Flames in exchange for Colorado’s 2025 second-round pick (previously acquired).

The 28-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22, scoring 35 goals after putting up 35 in the previous two seasons combined.  Hoping that this was a sign of things to come, Calgary inked Mangiapane to a three-year, $17.4MM contract, buying out his final RFA year plus two more years of club control.

However, Mangiapane hasn’t quite been able to replicate his output from that season.  In 2022-23, his output dipped to 17 goals and 26 assists while this season, it went down a bit more as he noted 14 goals and 26 helpers although it’s worth noting that he missed seven games due to injury.

With Calgary committing to a rebuild after being sellers during the season along with moving starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey earlier this month, it makes sense that they were looking to move Mangiapane.  They now have two first-round picks and two second-round selections in the 2025 draft while they now sit with just under $29MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  That positions them to be aggressive in free agency or on the trade front if they so desire as only four teams have more space to work with.

Meanwhile, Washington, who is picking up his full salary, was one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league this season and only had three players put up more points than Mangiapane did with the Flames, center Dylan Strome, winger Alex Ovechkin, and defenseman John Carlson.  Clearly, GM Brian MacLellan correctly identified that if the Capitals are going to take a step forward and try to push for a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division, improvements offensively are going to be needed.  An expected late second-round pick is a reasonably low enough cost to pay for a short-term upgrade.

With taking on additional salary in the Dubois trade and now adding nearly $6MM with Mangiapane, the Capitals are now technically over next season’s salary cap with just over $90MM in commitments, per CapFriendly.  However, with Nicklas Backstrom and his $9.2MM AAV expected to remain on LTIR next season, Washington still has some flexibility to work with although some of that will be needed to re-sign RFA forwards Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn at a minimum.  T.J. Oshie’s availability for next season is also in some question and if it’s determined that he won’t be able to play, Washington would be able to add another $5.75MM to its LTIR pool.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nathan MacKinnon Wins 2023-24 Hart Trophy

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After opening Awards Night with the Ted Lindsay Award as the MVP as voted by the players, Avalanche winger Nathan MacKinnon capped off the festivities with another victory.  The league announced that MacKinnon has won the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

It’s a fitting award for someone who blew past his career highs offensively, notching 51 goals and 89 assists, recording only the fifth 140-point campaign across the NHL over the last 30 years.  MacKinnon became the sixth player in franchise history (including its time in Quebec) to reach the 50-goal mark while he comes in second in club history in assists, checking in three behind Peter Stastny back in the 1981-82 campaign.  MacKinnon recorded at least one point in 69 of 82 games played during the regular season.

MacKinnon took home 137 of 194 first-place votes and appeared on all but one ballot.  That helped get him a margin of victory of more than 500 voting points over Tampa Bay winger Nikita Kucherov, who had more assists and points than MacKinnon did this season.  After Auston Matthews beat out Connor McDavid to be the third finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, they were reversed for the Hart with McDavid coming in third and Matthews in fourth.  A total of 14 players received at least one top-five vote.

It’s the fourth time MacKinnon has been a finalist for the award but his first time as the winner.  He joins Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic as the only players in franchise history to win league MVP.

Connor Hellebuyck Wins 2023-24 Vezina Trophy

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Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had one of the best seasons of his career in 2023-24, helping lead the Jets to a playoff appearance.  He was rewarded for his efforts as the league announced that he has won the Vezina Trophy, awarded “to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position,” as selected by NHL general managers.

The 31-year-old also won the Jennings Trophy, going to the team that allowed the fewest regular-season goals.  Technically, that one is a shared award but it carries a games-played requirement of 25 games, a threshold that backup Laurent Brossoit didn’t reach.

That’s because Hellebuyck has been one of the NHL’s workhorses between the pipes, playing in at least 60 games in each of the last three years.  He posted a 2.39 GAA with a .921 SV% in 2023-24, his best numbers since the 2017-18 campaign, a year that saw him finish as the runner-up for the Vezina.  Hellebuyck allowed three or fewer goals in 50 of his 60 total appearances, including a pair of 10-game streaks with two or fewer allowed, becoming the third goaltender in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to post multiple stretches like that in a single season.

As a result of his performance, Hellebuyck was a near-unanimous, selection, taking 31 of 32 first-place votes.  Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky was the only other player to get a first-place vote although he finished third in voting points behind Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko, who was on all but two ballots.  A total of nine netminders appeared on at least one GM’s ballot.

Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s first-ever Vezina winner when he took home the prize in 2020.  He joins Bobrovsky as the only active netminders with multiple wins under their belts.

Quinn Hughes Wins 2023-24 Norris Trophy

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After a breakout showing in 2022-23, Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes took another step forward this season.  He was recognized for his efforts on Thursday as the league announced that he’s the winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position”.

Vancouver’s captain led all NHL defensemen with 75 assists and 92 points, setting franchise records in both categories; he bested his team records from the year before at 69 and 76, respectively.  He had plenty of success on the power play, leading all rearguards in assists in that situation with 33 while finishing second in points at 38.  That helped pace Vancouver to their first playoff appearance since 2019-20 and their first division title since 2012-13.  Hughes also reached the 300-point mark for his career, becoming the eighth-fastest in league history to do so.

That helped give Hughes a significant margin of victory.  He took home 172 first-place votes out of 194 and was a top-three selection on every ballot.  He was also the only player to appear on every ballot.  A total of 15 players received votes, each of which appeared on at least three ballots.  Nashville’s Roman Josi and Colorado’s Cale Makar finished second and third, respectively.

Hughes is the first Canucks defenseman to win the award.  He’s also the fourth U.S.-born player to capture the award, the others being Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch, and Adam Fox.

Connor Bedard Wins 2023-24 Calder Trophy

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After being the first-overall pick last year, Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was considered the preseason prohibitive favorite to win the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.  He did just that as the league announced that Bedard won the voting.

The 18-year-old led or co-led all NHL rookies and Chicago in goals (22), assists (39), and points (61) despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw.  Bedard was the second-youngest player in NHL history to finish his year as the rookie scoring leader in all three categories, only Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon was younger.  Meanwhile, he is the second-youngest rookie in league history to lead his team in each category, only Sidney Crosby finished his rookie year at a younger age.

Despite Bedard’s success, there was one other viable contender for the award, that being Minnesota’s Brock Faber.  After quickly becoming an all-around number one blueliner for the Wild, he garnered 42 out of 194 first-place votes.  That said, Bedard got the other 152, allowing him to win the voting by more than 300 ranking points.  New Jersey’s Luke Hughes finished third in voting while a total of 17 players appeared on at least one ballot.

Bedard becomes the tenth player in Blackhawks history to win the award.  He’s the first Chicago player to win since 2015-16 when Artemi Panarin took home the trophy.

Nathan MacKinnon Wins 2023-24 Ted Lindsay Award

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While the NHL has already revealed many of its award winners, there are still five awards being handed out today.  The first of those is the Ted Lindsay Award which the league announced was won by Avalanche winger Nathan MacKinnon.  The award is presented annually to “the most outstanding player in the NHL,” as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.

This was the third time that the 28-year-old was a finalist for the award (2017-18 and 2019-20 were the others) but he is a first-time winner.  MacKinnon blew past his previous career bests this season, scoring 51 goals and 89 assists; his 140 points were second-most in the NHL while setting a franchise record in the process.  Not surprisingly, he led all Avalanche forwards in ice time.

MacKinnon had a 35-game home point streak, the second-longest streak in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky.  He also led all scorers in even-strength points (92) and shots on goal (405), also new career highs.  He becomes the second player in franchise history to win the award, joining Joe Sakic, who won back in 2000-01.

The other finalists for the award were Toronto’s Auston Matthews (who led the NHL in goals) and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (who tied for the league lead in assists while recording the most points).  Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won the award last year but didn’t quite make the top three in player balloting.

Canucks Sign Tyler Myers To Three-Year Extension

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Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin continues his slew of moves over the past 24 hours. He’s gotten another one of his pending UFAs locked in, now signing defenseman Tyler Myers to a three-year extension worth $9MM ($3MM cap hit). The deal breaks down as follows, per TSN’s Darren Dreger:

2024-25: $3.8MM base salary, no-move clause
2025-26: $2.9MM base salary, no-move clause
2026-27: $2.3MM base salary, 12-team no-trade list

It’s the third player slated to hit the open market this summer that Vancouver has retained thus far. They’ve also re-upped center Teddy Blueger (two years, $1.8MM AAV) and Dakota Joshua (four years, $3.25MM AAV) to continue boasting solid scoring depth among their bottom six forwards.

Under this deal, Myers will return for his sixth, seventh and eighth seasons in Vancouver. The 34-year-old Texas native joined the Canucks in free agency five years ago, inking a deal that was criticized at the time for its $6MM cap hit. His extension represents a pay cut of 50 percent, but it’s about what his market value would have likely been if he became a free agent next week.

He’s likely best used as a bottom-pairing anchor at this stage of his career. That’s where first-year head coach Rick Tocchet deployed him this season, yielding arguably the best results Myers has put up in a Canucks jersey. The veteran put up 29 points in 77 games, his highest point total since his final season with the Jets in 2018-19, and posted a career-high +16 rating with slightly improved possession metrics in more defense-oriented usage. Correspondingly, it was the first time in his 15-year career that he’d averaged under 20 minutes per game.

Whether Myers will still be worth his new cap hit in the final year of his deal, during which he’ll be turning 37, is a fair question to ask. But with the salary cap expected to jump significant amounts each season as the league is in a strong post-COVID financial state, it shouldn’t be too much of a drag as Allvin continues to try and build out a Cup-contending roster in British Columbia.

Since being selected 12th overall by the Sabres in 2008, the hulking 6’8″ defender has 93 goals, 278 assists, 371 points and a +9 rating in 995 career games. Assuming there’s no freak offseason or early-campaign injuries, he’ll become the 395th (or 396th, looking at Luke Schenn) skater in NHL history to hit 1,000 games played.

After this deal, the Nucks have just over $12MM in projected cap space for next season, per CapFriendly. They have four roster spots to fill, notably those of pending UFAs Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov.

Utah Expected To Sign Miko Matikka To Entry-Level Deal

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The Utah Hockey Club is expected to sign right-wing prospect Miko Matikka to his entry-level contract this offseason, reports Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald.

Matikka, 20, was one of the bevy of reserve list players transferred from the Coyotes to Utah when their hockey operations were officially sold to Smith Entertainment Group earlier this month. He was a third-round pick of the Coyotes (67th overall) in 2022, the draft that landed them Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie and Maveric Lamoureux in the first round.

The big-bodied Finn (6’3″, 201 lbs) had spent his draft year in the Finnish top junior league, recording 19 goals and 33 points in 30 games. That was it for him in his native country, though, as he came over to North America in 2022-23 to play for the USHL’s Madison Capitols and Waterloo Black Hawks after a midseason trade. After one season in U.S. juniors, he made the jump to the collegiate ranks, suiting up as a freshman for the University of Denver. He won a national championship on his first try with the Pios, playing a key depth scoring role with 20 goals and 33 points in 43 games.

It’s a tad surprising to see a day-two pick be one-and-done in college, but the organization and the player likely believe there will be more opportunity for development with Utah’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, next season. As indicated by Schlossman’s report, he projects to suit up there should he turn pro and ink his ELC this summer.

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