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Predators Recall Matt Murray, Juuse Saros Out Day-To-Day

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11:09 a.m.: Saros has officially been listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, per Daugherty. He hasn’t been officially ruled out for tomorrow’s game, however.

10:47 a.m.: The Predators have recalled netminder Matt Murray from AHL Milwaukee, per a team release. It’s a sign there may be an undisclosed injury bothering either Juuse Saros or Scott Wedgewood before tomorrow’s home opener against the Stars – perhaps the former after taking a maintenance day yesterday, as pointed out by Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean. Either way, the Preds have two open roster spots and ample cap space, so no corresponding transaction is required.

Murray, 26, enters the season as Nashville’s No. 3/4 option between the pipes after he inked a two-way deal with the Preds over the offseason. He’d spent the entirety of his NHL career up to that point in the Stars organization, where he landed as an undrafted free agent out of UMass in 2022. The Alberta native made four NHL starts for Dallas over the past two seasons, posting a 2-2-0 record with one shutout, a 2.53 GAA, and an .885 SV%.

Not to be confused with two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray, this Murray fared well in the AHL with the Texas Stars up until last year. His numbers fell off a cliff, limited to a .896 SV% and 3.02 GAA in 31 games after logging a .911 SV% in 34 appearances the year prior. He lost the starters’ crease to 23-year-old Rémi Poirier and, unsurprisingly, wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer by Dallas, allowing him to head to Nashville as a UFA.

Murray will battle for starts this season in Milwaukee alongside 24-year-old Magnus Chrona, who was acquired from the Sharks in this offseason’s Yaroslav Askarov trade. He passed through waivers unclaimed on Sep. 30 and can be on the NHL roster for up to 30 days (or play 10 games) until he needs them again to return to the minors.

Kraken Extend Joey Daccord

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The Kraken announced they’ve put pen to paper with goaltender Joey Daccord on a contract extension. It’s a five-year deal worth $25MM, adds Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, keeping him in Seattle through the 2029-30 season. The 28-year-old will earn an average of $5MM per year.

Daccord was slated to hit unrestricted free agency next summer for the first time, but this deal will keep him off the open market until shortly before his 34th birthday. That means he’ll spend most, if not all, of his prime in Seattle, where he broke out as a legitimate tandem option last season after spending the overwhelming majority of his first four professional seasons in the minors.

Daccord entered the 2023-24 season as the Kraken’s backup option behind Philipp Grubauer, set to be promoted to full-time NHL duties for the first time after guiding AHL Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup Final in its first season. It’s hard to imagine a better first year for Daccord, who not only established himself as a legitimate NHL option but pushed himself ahead of Grubauer on the depth chart.

His .916 SV% tied Boston’s Jeremy Swayman for seventh in the league among goalies with at least 20 appearances, and he added three shutouts and stopped 16.8 goals above average while making 46 starts and four relief appearances. He had a .926 SV% at even strength, second in the league among starters behind Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck. His strong showing didn’t result in any outside Vezina consideration, but he did earn a couple of third-team All-Star votes at the end of the year.

It’s been a lengthy road to NHL relevancy for Daccord, who was a seventh-round pick of the Senators all the way back in 2015 out of the Massachusetts prep school ranks. Two years later, he was in the NCAA, playing a key role in helping the formerly independent Arizona State to Division I relevancy. He was named to the West region’s Second All-American Team in his junior outing in 2018-19 when he backstopped the Sun Devils with a 21-13-1 record and .926 SV% in 35 appearances. That was enough for the Sens to sign him and bring him to the pros.

Daccord posted decent numbers in minor-league action for the Sens, but injuries and COVID limited his total playing time. After nine NHL appearances in Ottawa, logging a 1-4-1 record and a .894 SV%, he was left unprotected in the 2021 expansion draft and was claimed by Seattle. He was viewed as a high-ceiling option but cleared waivers at the beginning of 2022-23, even after posting a .925 SV% in his first year in the Kraken organization in 34 games with AHL Charlotte.

Now, Daccord’s AHL days are behind him after posting a .918 SV% in 98 appearances at the second-tier level. A $25MM deal is certainly a significant commitment from the Kraken to a netminder with fewer than 70 NHL games under his belt, but his robust workload last year gave them enough confidence to ink the contract.

Unfortunately, it also means Seattle will be carrying an expensive tandem of Daccord and Grubauer totaling $10.9MM against the cap for the next two seasons after this one. Grubauer, who’s struggled heavily with a .893 SV% and -39.0 GSAA in 131 appearances for the Kraken since their inaugural season, still has three years left on his deal at a $5.9MM cap hit. He has a 10-team no-trade list, but the cap-strapped Kraken might be able to unload him next summer with only two seasons left on his contract if they’re willing to attach a sweetener. That would allow them to land a more cost-effective option to partner with or back up Daccord.

The Kraken now have $79.15MM tied up in 15 players for next season, leaving them roughly $13.35MM in flexibility for eight players, assuming the cap rises as expected to $92.5MM. Notable pending UFAs include Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, William Borgen, and Josh Mahura, while notable RFAs include Ryker Evans and Tye Kartye.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report that Daccord and the Kraken were nearing an extension. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the terms of the contract.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner

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The Avalanche announced yesterday that forward Chris Wagner has been reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He had previously cleared waivers on Sunday but wasn’t sent down, remaining with the club and appearing on their opening night roster. However, it looks like he won’t be with the team for tonight’s season opener in Vegas, leaving the Avs with an open spot on the 23-man roster.

Wagner, 33, signed a two-way deal to join Colorado last summer and remained in the organization after inking a two-way extension in April. A fifth-round pick of the Ducks back in 2010, he’s seen NHL ice in parts of 10 seasons with the Avs, Bruins, Ducks, and Islanders, albeit in more limited fashion over the past few years. He’s made just 15 appearances combined in the past three seasons after years of being a fourth-line regular, instead logging significant time in the AHL.

His offensive performance has never stood out, averaging eight goals and 14 points per 82 games over his career. His minor-league production has never jumped off the page, either, with his 97 goals and 81 assists in 384 AHL appearances working out to 0.46 points per game. But he has shown to be an effective physical presence, recording over 100 hits in a season four times and posting unimpressive but acceptable possession numbers in traditionally defensive usage at even strength. Last year, he posted two points and a +3 rating with 30 hits in 13 appearances for Colorado, averaging 7:27 per game.

Wagner has spent significant time at center and on both wings, and while he’s a natural right-winger, he has posted a 49.2 FOW% in nearly 1,500 draws at the NHL level. He was a candidate to open the season as Colorado’s fourth-line center after Pierre-Édouard Bellemare was released from his tryout, but it appears that job will now go to offseason pickup Parker Kelly.

The Avs have no extra forwards on the active roster after sending Wagner down, confirming that Ivan Ivan and Nikolai Kovalenko will make their regular-season debuts tonight after being recalled early yesterday.

Senators Sign Linus Ullmark To Four-Year Extension

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The Senators have signed goaltender Linus Ullmark to a four-year, $33MM extension, the team announced today. TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the news. It will carry a cap hit of $8.25MM and keep him in Canada’s capital through the 2028-29 season.

Per PuckPedia, Ullmark’s contract contains a full no-move clause. It’s also paid out entirely in base salary with no signing bonuses. He’ll earn $7MM in 2025-26 and $8MM in 2026-27 before earning $9MM annually in the final two years of the deal.

The deal closes a brief period of uncertainty for the Sens, who parted ways with the No. 25 pick in this year’s draft, Joonas Korpisalo, and Mark Kastelic to bring the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner in from the Bruins over the offseason without any assurances the pending free agent would sign an extension. Instead, the 31-year-old will avoid becoming a UFA for the second time in his career and play out the remainder of his prime years in Ottawa.

However, Ullmark isn’t doing his new team any favors with a discount on his market value. His $8.25MM cap hit is identical to the eight-year deal his former tandem partner Jeremy Swayman signed to remain in Boston long-term. He’s much older, though, and while he’s been a decidedly above-average netminder for five years in a row now, he likely couldn’t have commanded a more prosperous deal on the open market. That does offer some explanation for why he’s opted to sign this agreement so soon into extension talks, which were nonexistent as recently as two weeks ago, per reports.

But it’s also quickly coming into view that Swayman has already accomplished his self-stated goal of resetting the goalie market with his contract. Before he signed, it would have been hard to imagine Ullmark landing a contract just $250K shy annually of the recent long-term extension that Connor Hellebuyck, a more established bona fide No. 1, signed in Winnipeg not too long ago. Now, however, Ullmark easily becomes the fourth-highest-paid goalie in the league next season, although he’ll drop to fifth at some point. He was the second-best goalie atop the 2025 UFA class, outmatched by Rangers star Igor Shesterkin. But after reportedly rejecting an eight-year, $88MM offer to keep him in New York, the latter remains without a deal.

After spending his entire career until the 2021 offseason in the Sabres organization, Ullmark cashed in with a four-year, $20MM deal with the Bruins. The Swede had posted solid numbers in limited action in Buffalo but emerged as an outright star in Boston, delivering a rock-solid .917 SV% and 11.0 GSAA in 41 appearances in his first season as the Bruins dealt with the retirement of franchise netminder Tuukka Rask. He split the net evenly with the rookie Swayman that year, a sign of things to come.

Not many goalies can win the Vezina in a full season with fewer than 50 appearances to show for it, but if there will ever be an exception to the rule, it was Ullmark’s 2022-23 campaign. His play was astounding and one of the biggest factors fueling the Bruins’ record 65-win regular season, posting a 40-6-1 record in 49 appearances with a league-leading .938 SV%, 1.89 GAA, and eye-popping 48.5 GSAA. He took home the Vezina, shared the Jennings Trophy with Swayman (who was solid in his own right with a .920 SV%), and finished 10th in Hart Trophy voting.

Even in a regression season, Ullmark was still among the league’s premier goalies in 2023-24. He finished sixth in Vezina voting after logging a .915 SV%, a 2.57 GAA, and two shutouts with a 22-10-7 record. But his level of play was just slightly bested by Swayman, who started a slim majority of Boston’s games for the first time and took over completely in postseason play. With Swayman reaching restricted free agency this offseason and Ullmark set to hit the open market the following year, the writing was on the wall for Boston to part ways with the veteran and his bargain $5MM cap hit to make room for the younger netminder and to upgrade other areas of their roster, which had relied too heavily on elite goaltending in recent years.

For the Senators, acquiring Ullmark already addressed their biggest weakness. Extending him only gives them further runway with this core to finally return to playoff contention amid a seven-year drought. In nearly every sense, last year’s Ottawa team should have taken a step forward, controlling the majority of scoring chances, shot attempts, and high-danger chances at even strength. Horrid showings between the pipes from Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg doomed them, though, as their combined -30.9 GSAA tanked the Sens’ record back below the .500 mark and far away from a wild card spot.

With Ullmark instead of Korpisalo last season, there’s a very real argument that Ottawa would have ended its playoff drought already. The only question mark will be whether Ullmark can handle an increased workload with diminished support in the form of Forsberg as his backup. He’s never made more than 50 appearances in a season and has made more than 40 starts just once, during his Vezina-winning campaign.

Looking at the 2025-26 season, Ottawa now has $75.4MM wrapped up in 13 players after Ullmark’s extension, per PuckPedia. Assuming the cap jumps to a reported $92.5MM ceiling, the Sens have just over $17MM to fill 10 roster spots, including an extension for pending RFA Ridly Greig.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rangers Make Nine Roster Moves

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After submitting a cap-compliant roster for Monday’s opening-night deadline, the Rangers have shuffled their group to get to their actual game roster for tonight’s season opener against the Penguins. As expected, William Cuylle, Adam Edstrom, Victor Mancini, and Matt Rempe were recalled from AHL Hartford yesterday, making the team in effect, reports Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today Sports. Five players – forwards Anton Blidh, Jake Leschyshyn, and Adam Sýkora, as well as defensemen Ben Harpur and Matthew Robertson, were sent down to create roster and cap space.

The Rangers opened up a roster spot with the moves, but that’s not why they made them. Having the extra salary on the technical opening night roster allowed them to maximize their capture when placing winger Jimmy Vesey and his $800K cap hit on long-term injured reserve. They now have $792K in their season-opening LTIR pool, per PuckPedia. After yesterday’s moves, they’re sitting with north of $600K in cap space.

All four of yesterday’s recalls are expected to slide into the lineup against Pittsburgh tonight. Veteran Jonny Brodzinski appears to be on the outside looking in as the 13th forward to start the year, while Mancini will slide in for Ryan Lindgren, who’s on IR with an upper-body injury. It’ll be his NHL debut.

It’s an impressive feat for Mancini, who appears to have usurped veteran No. 7 option Chad Ruhwedel in the pecking order, at least for now. He’s also pushed himself up on the Blueshirts’ depth chart past other veteran defensive depth options with NHL experience like the aforementioned Harpur. The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick just two years ago out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where the 6’4″, 220-lb stay-at-home defender had four goals and 23 points in 110 games with a +4 rating. He’s entering his first full season of pro hockey but did close out last year with six assists in 17 combined regular-season and playoff games for Hartford.

Edstrom, listed at 6’6″, and Rempe, listed at 6’9″, are back to reprise their roles on one of the tallest combined forward lines in league history. They got spot duty together last season when they were both on the roster, getting seven games of action flanking Barclay Goodrow. The line has lost a couple of inches with the 6’2″ Goodrow now replaced by a 6’0″ Sam Carrick, but an opening night look is still promising for the younger duo of Edstrom and Rempe.

Edstrom, 24 on Saturday, had two goals in his first 11 NHL appearances last year. Rempe, meanwhile, scored a goal and an assist in 17 games. Only the 22-year-old Rempe saw playoff action, though, drawing into 11 of New York’s 16 postseason games en route to the Eastern Conference Final.

Cuylle was always a near-lock to make the team, only being sent down briefly for cap purposes, as mentioned earlier. The 22-year-old left winger had a promising rookie season in 2023-24, scoring 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 81 games while averaging 11:08 per game. He played a frequent third-line role at even strength but received little to no special teams usage. The 6’3″, 212-lb former second-rounder also finished fourth on the team in PIMs (56), tied for sixth in even-strength goals (12), and led them in hits (249).

Florida Panthers Extend Carter Verhaeghe

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The Florida Panthers have come to terms on an extension with one of their best forwards from their run to a Stanley Cup championship a season ago. The team announces they have agreed to an eight-year extension with forward Carter Verhaeghe beginning next season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Verhaeghe will earn $7MM each year of the deal with $46MM of the $56MM being paid out in bonuses. Friedman also adds that Florida gave Verhaeghe a six-year no-move clause that will begin this season and last the first five years of his new deal.

Verhaeghe had an odd pathway toward becoming one of the most consistent forwards on a Stanley Cup championship team. The Toronto Maple Leafs originally drafted him with the 82nd overall pick of the 2013 draft but he would only play two games in the organization by way of two appearances with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2013-14. The Maple Leafs moved on quickly from Verhaeghe despite two solid years with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs as he was moved in the trade that brought Michael Grabner to Toronto.

His time in the New York Islanders organization was eerily similar to his time with the Maple Leafs playing exclusively in the AHL or ECHL. He failed to move his way up the Islanders’ depth chart and the team moved him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a minor 2017 trade for Kristers Gudļevskis. His offensive potential was beginning to blossom upon his arrival in Tampa Bay scoring 51 goals and 130 points in 134 games for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch from 2017-19.

Verhaeghe made his NHL debut over six years after being drafted on October 3rd, 2019. He skated in 52 games for the Lightning that season scoring nine goals and 13 points while averaging 9:22 of ice time. He also played sparingly in Tampa Bay’s run to the Stanley Cup Final that season tallying two assists in eight games while getting his name on the Cup for the first time in his career.

The Bolts were seemingly unimpressed by Verhaeghe’s pedestrian scoring output in his rookie campaign and non-tendered him over the offseason. Their interstate rivals, the Panthers, acted quickly by signing Verhaeghe to a two-year, $2MM contract.

His major breakout happened almost instantaneously with the Panthers. He scored 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games for Florida in the Covid-shortened 2020-21 campaign and quickly became one of the best bargain contracts in the league. Verhaeghe followed up his breakout campaign with another solid year with 24 goals and 55 points in 78 contests which firmly cemented him in the Panthers’ top six.

The last two years have been Verhaeghe’s best with 76 goals and 145 points in 157 games since the start of the 2022-23 NHL season. He’s also been one of Florida’s best playoff performers in the team’s back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final scoring 18 goals and 38 points in 45 postseason contests.

General manager of the Panthers, Bill Zito, spoke highly of Verhaeghe by saying, “Carter is one of our most trusted players. South Florida has watched him evolve into one of the NHL’s most elite goal scorers while also being a relentless forechecker. His willpower and perseverance have allowed him to repeatedly succeed as a critical performer on the biggest stages. He is an integral part of our team now and into the future, and we are thrilled to see him remain a part of our core group“.

Florida is making a major push to lock in their core for the foreseeable future and keep their contention window wide open. Verhaeghe’s extension marks the sixth Panthers’ player with at least six years left on their contract including Gustav Forsling, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Anton Lundell.

Evening Notes: Boqvist, Katchouk, Megna

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The Florida Panthers have announced that defenseman Adam Boqvist will not return to tonight’s game due to injury after he was hit in the face by a clearing attempt in the first period. The 24-year-old signed a one-year two-way deal with the Panthers on July 9th after he was bought out of his contract by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the end of June.

Boqvist was hoping to rebuild his value with the Panthers after he struggled with health and consistency during his first five NHL seasons. The eighth overall pick in 2018 was a central part of the Seth Jones trade to Chicago in 2021 but has never been able to play more than 52 games in an NHL season. Boqvist’s ailment will likely remind people of his long injury history, but there is no news yet on his status going forward.

In other evening notes:

  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed forward Boris Katchouk to an American Hockey League contract for the upcoming season. The former second-round pick spent the majority of last season in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks, posting seven goals and six assists in 59 NHL games. The 26-year-old has played 176 NHL games over the past three seasons but will have to battle his way back to the NHL after he was unable to secure an NHL contract this summer.
  • The Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League have announced that their captain for the upcoming season will be veteran forward Jayson Megna. The 34-year-old has spent parts of 10 seasons in the NHL but played in just one NHL game last year with the Boston Bruins. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native is very familiar with the Eagles having spent four seasons in the organization, shuttling back and forth between the Eagles and the Colorado Avalanche.

Metro Notes: Engvall, Seeler, Pesce

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New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall will be reporting to the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL after he went through waivers unclaimed (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). The news is hardly surprising given that failure to report could lead to contract termination and Engvall has six years and $18MM remaining on his contract.

Although he will make his full $3MM salary in the AHL, Engvall will count just $1.85MM against the Islanders salary cap while in the AHL. The 28-year-old’s play fell off a bit last season but wasn’t far off from his production in the two seasons prior. He posted 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games last season, which was the first year of the seven-year deal he signed with the Islanders in July 2023.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Philadelphia Flyers are taking defenseman Nick Seeler’s injury day by day as the ailment is taking longer to heal than the team originally expected (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philly). Seeler could miss the Flyers season opener on Friday against the Canucks as he deals with numbness in his leg. The 31-year-old took a shot to the knee last Wednesday in a preseason game against the Bruins and he still doesn’t have the feeling back a week later. If Seeler is unable to play on Friday it seems likely that veteran Erik Johnson will take his place in the lineup.
  • New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce skated today with the team in a regular jersey but remains unlikely to play on Thursday night  (as per Devils reporter Gabriel Trevino). The 28-year-old missed the Devils first two games of the season in Prague but the team had hoped he’d be ready for October 10th. However, given the words of head coach Sheldon Keefe, it does seem like Pesce won’t be available. Keefe told the media that neither player is ready to play at this point, leaving New Jersey without one of their big summer additions for a third straight game.

Penguins Notes: Rust, Nedeljkovic, Nieto

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust participated in the team practice today wearing a white (non-contact) jersey (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Rust has been dealing with an injury that he likely suffered in a preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and may not suit up for the Penguins opener this week.

Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas told the media yesterday that the team was taking extra precautions with Rust, who will certainly be a key cog for the Penguins this season alongside Sidney Crosby on the top line. Anthony Beauvillier has been taking Rust’s spot on the Penguins top line alongside Crosby and Drew O’Connor, however, Rust appeared to be getting reacclimated with his linemates today which likely means he is close to returning.

In other Pittsburgh Penguins notes:

  • Penguins’ goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic returned to the ice today prior to Pittsburgh’s practice (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). The Penguins backup is considered week to week due to an undisclosed injury and landed on injured reserve earlier this week. His injury will force the Penguins to rely heavily on starter Tristan Jarry to start the year after Jarry didn’t play in Pittsburgh’s final 13 games of the regular season last year. If both netminders post similar results to last season, its possible that Nedeljkovic could become the Penguin’s starter this season.
  • Penguins forward Matt Nieto also skated today before Penguins practice (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). The 31-year-old had surgery on his right knee in January and was slated to return to the lineup but missed the remainder of the season and then required left knee surgery in May. Nieto has been skating infrequently with his other injured teammates and is reportedly still two months away from returning to the lineup (as per Rorabaugh). The Penguins have a stockpile of bottom-six forwards available to them making it unlikely that Nieto will receive much playing time when he does return to health.

Central Notes: Rantanen, Nichushkin, Hellebuyck, Crouse

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All signs indicate the Colorado Avalanche will enter the 2024-25 regular season without an extension ironed out with one of their star forwards, Mikko Rantanen. The organization isn’t concerned about Rantanen reaching unrestricted free agency next summer with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports reporting general manager Chris MacFarland isn’t worried about the negotiations.

Rantanen has been one of the most underappreciated players in the league over the last several years scoring 242 goals and 579 points in 486 games since 2017-18 with an additional five goals and 25 points in 20 games during Colorado’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2022. He hasn’t received as much attention as teammates Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar on the national stage but he’s become an integral part of the Avalanche’s success.

His camp will likely use Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl’s new eight-year, $112MM extension as a starting point and work down from there. Draisaitl has averaged 0.16 more points a game than Rantanen since the 2017-18 season with an Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award. He will certainly increase his current $9.25MM salary but Colorado will attempt to keep him under MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.

Other Central notes:

  • MacFarland also gave a small update on Valeri Nichushkin who is still away from the team due to his six-month suspension last season (X Link). Nichushkin can return to the ice with the Avalanche on November 13th, 2024 but general manager MacFarland shares that he expects Nichushkin to return to Denver sometime toward the end of October. The team continues to work through his reintegration process back to the NHL but all signs have been positive up to this point.
  • Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been away from the Winnipeg Jets because of personal reasons. The absence isn’t expected to carry over into the regular season with TSN’s John Lu reporting he will return to practice with the team on Wednesday and will be the opening night starter tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has already laid out its leadership hierarchy to start the year by naming Clayton Keller the first captain in franchise history. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported earlier the team has named Lawson Crouse an ’associate captain’ for the 2024-25 regular season which is an interesting designation. Most teams refer to players wearing an ’A’ on their jerseys as ’alternate captains’ unlike what Utah has done with Crouse.

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