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Winnipeg Jets Sign Rasmus Kupari

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The Winnipeg Jets and forward Rasmus Kupari have agreed to a two-year deal worth $1MM per season, according to a team release today.

Winnipeg acquired Kupari’s signing rights from the Los Angeles Kings just over a month ago as part of the trade return for center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Kupari was due a $874,125 qualifying offer from Winnipeg after completing his entry-level contract, which the Jets issued him a few days after the trade.

Los Angeles selected the now-23-year-old with the 20th overall pick in 2018, but he hasn’t quite yet panned out into an everyday NHLer. He got awfully close this past season, though, skating in just 11 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign while playing in 66 NHL games with the Kings. Kupari also played in all six playoff games for the Kings during their first-round playoff loss against the Edmonton Oilers.

After recording a career-high 15 points last year, though, it’s now obvious Winnipeg envisions him as an everyday player in their lineup after dishing out a seven-figure deal. A natural center, Kupari is likely penciled in for fourth-line duties behind Mark Scheifele, former Kings teammate Gabriel Vilardi, and Adam Lowry, so he may not see a significant uptick on the 10:05 of ice time he averaged per game last season. However, a potentially looming Scheifele trade could elevate Kupari in the lineup.

The Finnish youngster will be a restricted free agent in 2025 and eligible for arbitration.

Previewing The Top 2024 Unrestricted Free Agents

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This year’s free agent class was underwhelming. There’s no disrespect intended here to players like Alex Killorn, Dmitry Orlov and Vladimir Tarasenko. However, we’ve grown accustomed to at least one true star being available on the market every year – at least a top-ten player at their position. But a flurry of extensions took some potential game-breakers, such as Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak off the market, limiting the amount of star power available.

With the salary cap finally expected to jump significantly by about $4MM next offseason, some NHL general managers will undoubtedly look to spend that extra cash on a shiny new toy on the UFA market. As 2023 is mainly in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at some of the best players slated to hit the open market next summer, whether or not they may extend, and offer some way-too-early contract projections in the process:

F Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) – The unquestionable crown jewel of the 2024 free agent class might also be one of the least likely to hit the market. Matthews is more than just a superstar – he’s a season removed from back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophies, he’s led the league in even-strength goals in four out of his seven NHL seasons, and he’s coming off a “down season” in which he still managed 40 goals despite a career-low 12.2 shooting percentage. Toronto is still plugging away at an extension with Matthews, a process that was surely elongated by a change at the GM position earlier this offseason. While multiple reports suggested it likely won’t be a long-term deal to keep Matthews in Toronto, seeing his name available for anyone to pursue next July would be shocking.

Extension Likelihood: Very Likely
Projected Contract: Five years, $62MM ($12.4MM AAV)

F William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs) – Another star in Canada’s largest city is also headed for the open market next season. Nylander is coming off a strong season with a career-high 40 goals and 87 points, but multiple reports indicate contract talks are currently at an impasse between the two sides. The Swedish winger reportedly wants an eight-figure cap hit on his next deal, one he’s increasingly unlikely to receive after sub-$10MM extensions for players like the Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho. He will be in his prime at 28 years old next summer, though, and he currently holds the undisputed title of the best pure winger slated to hit the market. Given the slated cap increase, Nylander may be able to garner the money he desires elsewhere if Toronto isn’t willing to fork over another eight-figure deal.

Extension Likelihood: Somewhat Unlikely
Projected Contract: Seven years, $70MM ($10MM AAV)

F Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) – Including Stamkos on this list seems like more of a formality than anything else. The captain of back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in Tampa and likely to go down as the greatest player in franchise history when he retires, it’s nearly impossible to imagine him wearing another jersey. Barring an unforeseen breakdown in communication, Stamkos will be re-upping with the Bolts on what could potentially be the final contract of his NHL career as he enters his mid-30s. After yet another point-per-game season, Stamkos will undoubtedly be sticking around in Tampa as long as they’ll have him, likely at a slight discount to help them replenish their depth reserves.

Extension Likelihood: Very Likely
Projected Contract: Four years, $31.5MM ($7.875MM AAV)

F Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh Penguins) – The Penguins have exhibited a strong tendency toward keeping the band together in recent seasons, but it’s a trend that may change under the front-office leadership of Kyle Dubas. Still, it’s hard to imagine the Penguins won’t field a competitive offer to keep Guentzel in the fold. He’s been one of the most successful and consistent linemates to Sidney Crosby in the entire illustrious career of the future Hall-of-Famer, he’s a two-time 40-goal scorer, and he’s an incredibly clutch playoff performer. While contract extension talks haven’t begun between the two parties yet, reporting indicates the Penguins’ core shares the public’s view of Guentzel and would like to keep him around.

Extension Likelihood: Likely
Projected Contract: Eight years, $75MM ($9.375MM AAV)

F Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets) – The first of two Jets on this list hasn’t been in trade rumors quite as much as his netminding counterpart, but there’s still a very good chance Scheifele is sporting a different jersey by the 2024 trade deadline. Speculation has immediately run rampant about Scheifele as a stop-gap fix down the middle for the Boston Bruins, who are without their number-one center after captain Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement last week. There are plenty of question marks about how highly Scheifele is actually valued around the league, given his significant defensive lapses, but he’s consistently produced the offense you’d want out of a number-one center. Despite scoring a career-high 42 goals last season, 2022-23 was actually Scheifele’s first campaign falling short of a point per game since 2015-16, when he was just 22 years old.

Extension Likelihood: Unlikely
Projected Contract: Seven years, $66MM ($9.4MM AAV)

D Devon Toews (Colorado Avalanche) – Toews may be the most unheralded defenseman in the league thanks to his partner, Cale Makar. On almost any other team, Toews would be a legitimate number-one defender with very few holes in his game. Little has been made of his impending free agency, but he’ll be due a major raise on his current bargain-bin $4.1MM cap hit. Combined with the potential loss of captain Gabriel Landeskog’s LTIR relief should he return to play in 2024-25, it could be incredibly difficult for Colorado to retain him even with the cap going up. Not only does Toews consistently rank among having some of the best defensive impacts in the league, but he’s also coming off back-to-back 50-point campaigns and has finished top-15 in Norris voting during each of his three seasons in Colorado.

Extension Likelihood: 50/50
Projected Contract: Seven years, $61MM ($8.7MM AAV)

D Brandon Montour (Florida Panthers) – A pair of prominent Panthers defenders are up for UFA status next season in Montour and Gustav Forsling, but Montour’s the one we’ll cover more in-depth here after he led the Panthers’ defense in playoff scoring with eight goals and 13 points in 21 games despite playing through a shoulder injury which will cost him the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign. His stock has never been higher after exploding for 73 points in 80 regular season games, along with a career-high 107 penalty minutes. While he’s still a rather one-dimensional player and likely to be somewhat of a liability defensively, he’s finally shown legitimate top-pair ability at 29 years old. Committing any term to Montour as a UFA may be a case of buyer beware, however, as his track record is far from consistent.

Extension Likelihood: Somewhat Unlikely
Projected Contract: Four years, $26MM ($6.5MM AAV)

G Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) – It seemed very unlikely a few months ago that Hellebuyck would be on this list today. While there’s no chance he’ll be signing an extension with the Jets, a trade followed by an extension with a new team seemed rather likely this offseason. However, some outlandish financial demands from Hellebuyck’s camp dried up trade interest, and there hasn’t been a lot of movement on that front lately. While small, the possibility that Hellebuyck lands on the open market next season seems to be increasing without a trade or extension any closer to fruition.

Extension Likelihood: Very Unlikely
Projected Contract: Seven years, $61.25MM ($8.75MM AAV)

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Troy Terry To Seven-Year Deal

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed winger Troy Terry to a seven-year contract, per the team, avoiding an arbitration hearing with the young forward set for today. The Athletic’s Eric Stephens reports the contract carries a $7MM average annual value. With the news, all pending arbitration cases this offseason are now concluded.

Terry’s career in Anaheim began rather unceremoniously, selected 148th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Elite offensive production at the University of Denver, plus some memorable international appearances for the United States, quickly boosted his stock as a prospect, however. Although he didn’t make the Ducks full-time immediately after turning pro in 2018, it took just a year and a half of seasoning in the minors for Terry to transform into a legitimate NHL talent.

At 23 years old in 2020-21, Terry played in 48 out of 56 games during the COVID-shortened campaign but largely played bottom-six minutes on a Ducks team that finished with a .384 points percentage and failed to do much of anything well. Despite that, he managed to finish fifth on the team in scoring with 20 points, providing some very solid two-way play in the process. That performance set the basis for the following two seasons, which have seen Terry develop into a top-flight, All-Star caliber winger for the struggling Ducks.

Now 25, the Denver native exploded for 60 goals, 68 assists and 128 points in 145 games since 2021. He’s maintained his status as a possession monster, too, posting a career-high relative Corsi For percentage of 7.9 at even strength last season. His 23 goals in 70 games last year tied Trevor Zegras for the team lead, and his average ice time of 19:22 ranked first among Ducks forwards. Needless to say, Terry has transformed into a franchise pillar for Anaheim in the span of a few years, and he’s now been rewarded with the highest cap hit on the team. That’s a stat that could change in the coming days, however, as Zegras remains without a deal for next season.

While Anaheim has indeed struggled over the past few campaigns, that’s not an indication of Terry’s inability to lift the team around him. The team’s patchwork defense and subpar scoring depth have limited their ceiling, all the while, Terry has managed to continue developing undeterred. He’s become a prototypical first-line winger without many weaknesses in his game, possessing an accurate shot while building out his playmaking ability to a high-end level.

Now, Anaheim looks to Terry to keep it up over the rest of the decade as their next wave of prospects begins to hit the NHL. They already had a promising one-two punch at center led by Zegras and Mason McTavish but now also have Swedish phenom Leo Carlsson as the second overall pick in this year’s draft. The team has one of the better goalie prospects in the sport in Lukas Dostal, who’s set to make the jump to the NHL full-time this season in a backup role. Consider a very strong defense pool led by Jamie Drysdale, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and Jackson LaCombe, and it doesn’t seem like Anaheim will be in the throes of a rebuild much longer.

Terry’s long-term extension accentuates an offseason in which the Ducks tried to fill out their developing core with seasoned depth, inking two-time Stanley Cup champion winger Alex Killorn and bruising right-shot defenseman Radko Gudas in free agency. His contract, which keeps him in a Ducks jersey through 2030, carries an even $7MM salary spread in each season and a ten-team no-trade list beginning in 2025-26, per PuckPedia.

Despite the strong list of names in the system, most of them aren’t ready to make the jump to full-time impactful NHLers next season. Expect a marginal amount of improvement from the Ducks under new head coach Greg Cronin next season, but the first season of Terry’s massive extension figures to be another forgettable one for the 2007 Stanley Cup champions.

CapFriendly projects the Ducks with upwards of $20MM in cap space for next season, a solid chunk of which will go to new deals still needed for Drysdale and Zegras.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Toronto Maple Leafs Had Interest In Milan Lucic, Radko Gudas

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were active this summer in trying to add some toughness to their roster in the form of enforcers and multi-dimensional players, eventually settling on Max Domi, Ryan Reaves and Tyler Bertuzzi. Those weren’t the only players they contacted of that ilk, however. Both forward Milan Lucic (YouTube link) and defenseman Radko Gudas (link to iSport.cz) revealed in separate interviews that Toronto general manager Brad Treliving had pursued them in unrestricted free agency.

Lucic hadn’t been previously connected to the Leafs throughout this summer’s rumor cycle, but it makes sense they’d have interest given their pursuit and acquisition of Reaves to play a similar role. He told Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Whitney of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast yesterday, though, that he’d turned down interest from Treliving because of his previous stint with the rival Boston Bruins. The 35-year-old would end up returning to Boston after an eight-year absence, inking a one-year, $1MM contract with the Bruins on July 1.

In terms of offense, Lucic would’ve been a higher-upside (and potentially cheaper) addition to the Leafs’ roster than Reaves. In fact, the only advantage Reaves arguably has between the two players is fighting skill – something the Leafs would end up paying a premium for with a three-year, $4.05MM commitment. Of course, Toronto would end up getting some higher-octane offensive players with the gritty element they were looking for in Bertuzzi and Domi.

Gudas, on the other hand, is pretty much the antithesis of the right-shot defender Toronto did end up signing, John Klingberg. A hulking, physical defensive specialist, Gudas told an outlet in his home country that he’d turned down offers from three teams (Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton) to avoid playing in front of a Canadian media market. While he did sacrifice playing on a competitive team in his twilight years, Gudas did get compensated nicely by the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks with a three-year, $12MM deal carrying trade protection.

The 33-year-old Czech was a large reason why his former team, the Florida Panthers, advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final for just the second time in franchise history. He quickly immortalized himself in Leafs lore in the process, going semi-viral for an image that showed him screaming at Toronto goalie Joseph Woll after the Panthers knocked the Leafs out of the playoffs in the Second Round thanks to a Game 5 overtime win.

While Toronto ended up paying slightly more in terms of cap hit for Klingberg ($4.15MM compared to Gudas’ $4MM in Anaheim), they were able to get him at just a one-year commitment, absolving themselves of any long-term consequences should the signing not pan out.

Gudas has topped 100 penalty minutes three times throughout his career and has consistently posted standout advanced defensive metrics over the past number of seasons. He recorded 17 points in 72 games for the Panthers last season while averaging 17:22 of ice time per game.

Minor Transactions: 08/02/23

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The few notable NHL signings that remain are set to wrap up in the next few days with the conclusion of arbitration hearings. It may bring the North American major pro news cycle to a halt briefly, but junior, minor pro and European teams are still making waves daily as their seasons loom. Today’s notable minor transactions can be found here:

  • The OHL’s Oshawa Generals are bringing over Minnesota Wild center prospect Rasmus Kumpulainen for the 2023-24 campaign after selecting him 13th overall in this year’s CHL Import Draft, according to a release from his team in the Finnish Liiga, Pelicans. Minnesota selected Kumpulainen with the 53rd overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft after he notched 11 goals, 23 assists and 34 points in 41 games with Pelicans’ junior team in the U20 SM-sarja. Kumpulainen had a strong finish to the 2022-23 campaign at the IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship, recording five points in five games for Finland. A prototypical two-way center, Kumpulainen will continue to build on his offense and fill out his 6-foot-3 frame during his time in Oshawa. Pelicans also mentioned they’d reached an agreement to retain Kumpulainen’s Liiga rights through 2026.
  • Former Arizona Coyotes and Boston Bruins defense prospect Mitchell Miller is continuing his hockey career, but as expected, it’s not in North America. His 2016 assault conviction of a Black classmate with developmental disabilities has now cost him two NHL roles – including Boston parting ways with him just two days after signing him in free agency back in November. Late last month, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks reported the contract between Miller and the Bruins had officially been terminated via settlement. He’s now signed a one-year deal with HK 32 Liptovský Mikuláš in the Slovak Extraliga, per NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.
  • Long-time Buffalo Sabres organizational farmhand Sean Malone is heading overseas, signing a two-year deal with NL club SCL Tigers. Malone had spent five of his six pro seasons in the Sabres organization after graduating from Harvard but got into just one NHL game with Buffalo during that time. He’d been an important top-six fixture for the AHL’s Rochester Americans, though, helping along Buffalo’s young prospects as they developed through their system. The 28-year-old center now heads to Switzerland, where he joins an offense led by Florida Panthers prospect Aleksi Saarela and former New Jersey Devil Harri Pesonen.
  • Forward Daniel Walcott is returning to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch on a one-year deal, according to NHL.com’s Patrick Williams. A 2014 draft pick of the New York Rangers, they dealt Walcott to the Tampa Bay Lightning just a year later after signing his entry-level contract. He’s spent eight seasons with the Crunch since then, amassing 111 points across 378 games. Walcott does have one NHL appearance to his name, coming with the Lightning in 2020-21. The physical winger, who’s also played defense at times during his career, mustered a personal record of 13 goals, 32 points, and 103 penalty minutes in 67 games for Syracuse last season.
  • The OHL’s Niagara IceDogs acquired Montreal Canadiens defense prospect Daniil Sobolev from the Windsor Spitfires in exchange for three late-round 2024 OHL Draft picks today, according to a team release. Montreal drafted the physical shutdown defender with the 142nd overall pick in 2021 after he didn’t play at all in his draft year – the 2020-21 OHL season was canceled entirely due to COVID-19. Since, he’s registered three goals, 23 assists, 26 points, 92 penalty minutes, and a +37 rating in 110 games across two seasons with the Spitfires. To finish off his junior career, Sobolev joins an IceDogs team that’s finished at the bottom of the league in each of the last three seasons, winning just 12 of 68 games last season.
  • Kumpulainen isn’t the only NHL-affiliated European prospect heading to the CHL today. Carolina Hurricanes goalie prospect Jakub Vondras has committed to the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves for next season after they selected him 22nd overall in this year’s CHL Import Draft, per the league. Vondras, a sixth-round pick of Carolina in 2022, posted a sparkling .929 save percentage and 2.19 goals-against average in 29 games with HC Plzen’s U20 club in the Czech junior Extraliga last season.
  • The AHL’s Chicago Wolves have re-signed defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald to a one-year AHL contract. This move confirms that Fitzgerald, 26, will play a fourth consecutive season with Chicago. The undrafted left-shot blueliner scored 10 points in 30 games for the Wolves last season and played 17 playoff games during the team’s Calder Cup Championship run in 2022. He has 250 games of AHL experience under his belt, meaning he is just ten games away from no longer qualifying under the first tier of “development players” according to the AHL’s rules. As a result, 2023-24 is an extremely important season for Fitzgerald as he’ll need to provide consistent value for the Wolves in order to prove he’s worthy of a non-developmental player slot moving forward. AHL clubs are limited in that they can only dress five skaters who do not qualify as development players under either of the two pro games played thresholds.
  • Former Coyotes prospect Lucas Lessio has signed a one-year contract with the ICEHL’s Bolzano Foxes, making Italy the eleventh different country he’ll have played professional hockey in. Lessio, 30, has played around the world, from Croatia to China to Latvia to Germany, and spent last season playing for Klagenfurt in Austria. He didn’t score as well for Klagenfurt (14 goals, 28 points in 47 games) as he did the year before in the DEL for the Krefeld Penguins (25 goals, 41 points in 56 games) but wasn’t useless either, and will likely play an important role for the ICEHL finalists in Bolzano.
  • The Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears have signed defenseman Colin Swoyer to a one-year AHL contract. The 25-year-old spent most of last season playing AHL hockey for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, scoring 11 points in 36 games. Swoyer was a pending RFA for the Penguins but did not receive a qualifying offer from the organization. He did also play six games in the ECHL for the Wheeling Nailers, although those games all came in early December and after being called up for a December 17th contest against the Bears Swoyer didn’t return to the ECHL. 2022-23 was Swoyer’s first full season playing professional hockey, as he concluded his four-year NCAA career at Michigan Tech last spring and only got a five-game trial run with the Penguins before the season ended. Now he’ll head to Hershey looking to continue to establish himself in the AHL.
  • The AHL’s San Diego Gulls have signed two players to one-year AHL contracts: veteran forward Eddie Matsushima and rookie Anthony Costantini. Matsushima, 29, scored 28 goals and 47 points for the Tulsa Oilers last season, earning ECHL All-Star honors. He played NCAA Division-III hockey at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and worked his way into professional hockey starting with the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the SPHL. He produced well enough there to earn a few cameos in the ECHL before breaking in full-time with Tulsa. Now, he’ll get a chance to continue his climb up the pro hockey ladder and skate in some AHL games. As for Costantini, he’s a 20-year-old right-shot blueliner who scored 36 points in 67 games for the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL and could now be making his pro debut with the Gulls.
  • The AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds have added some depth, signing 26-year-old Jacob Hayhurst to a one-year AHL contract. Hayhurst split last season between the ECHL’s Worcester Railers (22 points in 35 games) and AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, where he played in a depth role and scored six points in 24 games. He’ll likely end up on the AHL/ECHL bubble for the Firebirds as well next season, serving as valuable depth as well as some veteran competition for prospects entering their first AHL campaigns such as Ryan Winterton and Tucker Robertson.
  • Rihards Bukarts, the leading scorer of the Latvian team that won the hockey-mad country their first-ever medal at an IIHF Men’s World Championship earlier this summer, will not be returning to his club of last season, Klagenfurt of the ICEHL. Bukarts, 27, scored 13 goals and 25 points in 28 games in Austria and as mentioned finished his season on a very high note, leading the Latvians with 11 points in 10 games. Bukarts has experience as a scorer in ICEHL, DEL, KHL, and Czechia, and last played in North America in 2016-17, when he scored 33 points in 37 games for the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs.
  • Longtime University of Wisconsin forward Dominik Mersch and former Barrie Colts captain Luke Bignell have each signed ECHL contracts with the Jacksonville Icemen. Mersch, 24, concluded a five-year, 164-game career with the Badgers in March and got a two-game cameo in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, his first taste of pro hockey. He’ll make his full-time debut as a professional player with the Icemen, as will Bignell. The 22-year-old left-shot defenseman played nearly 200 games in the OHL for the Colts and has spent the last two seasons playing on the Canadian university circuit for the University of Guelph.
  • Undrafted OHL blueliner Lleyton Moore, the former captain of the Oshawa Generals, will begin his pro career with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder. He signed a one-year contract with the team and will look to translate his impressive numbers from major junior (he scored 54 points in 67 games in 2021-22) to the pro game in Kansas.
  • Bruising ECHL defenseman Josh Thrower, a veteran of nearly 250 games in North America’s third-tier league, has signed a one-year ECHL contract with the Norfolk Admirals. The 27-year-old played in 39 games with the Atlanta Gladiators last season and has spent three of the past four seasons with the club. Now he’s off to play for the Admirals where he will contend to lead the team in penalty minutes having already racked up 389 in the ECHL.
  • Former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Stephen Desrocher has signed with the Fife Flyers of the EIHL. The six-foot-four defenseman and former Kingston Frontenacs captain heads to Scotland having played just 31 total games of pro hockey. He played four seasons and spent five years at the University of Western Ontario before signing in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. He made his pro debut there and lifted the Kelly Cup with the team. He played 10 games in the AlpsHL last season with Merano HC and now heads to the United Kingdom to continue his young pro career.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Islanders Notes: Nelson, AHL Goalie Depth, Salo

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The past few seasons have been a bumpy ride for the New York Islanders, plagued by injuries and inconsistency. It’s kept them from making any deep playoff runs, something they did with relatively high frequency throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s.

One player who hasn’t let any outside noise affect him is center Brock Nelson. He’s recorded career-best offensive totals in each of the last two seasons, eclipsing the 35-goal mark for the first time in 2021-22 and the 70-point mark for the first time in 2022-23. With Nelson locked in for just two more seasons at a rather affordable $6MM cap hit, some had wondered if his name could be in trade talks with the Islanders’ roster tight to the salary cap. Today, however, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz shut down all speculation of a move in his latest mailbag, calling any trade rumors involving Nelson “utter nonsense.”

Many people didn’t have Nelson transforming into a number-one center overnight in his 30s on their bingo cards, but that’s exactly what’s happened. He’s one of the team’s most valuable forwards, often overlooked in favor of higher-profile names like Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. His role next season will be to help boost the production of the team’s better secondary scorers like Kyle Palmieri and Pierre Engvall, a line that was rather effective down the stretch of the 2022-23 regular season.

More from Kurz on some pressing Islanders topics today:

  • The Islanders’ weakest position when it comes to organizational depth is inarguably goaltending. While the team boasts one of the best NHL-level tandems in Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, their minor-league netminding leaves much to be desired, and Kurz notes the Islanders are absolutely still in the market for a veteran third-string goaltender. Currently, the starting job in AHL Bridgeport is slated for 23-year-old Jakub Skarek, who’s yet to post above a .896 save percentage throughout four seasons in the minors. Kurz names Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott, Martin Jones, and Alex Stalock as options with notable NHL experience still looking for a home who may have to settle for a minor-league role.
  • One player who went into last season with high expectations was defenseman Robin Salo, the team’s 2017 second-round pick. He made the Islanders out of camp but didn’t stick, recording four points in 11 games throughout the first part of the season before the team assigned him to Bridgeport permanently in January. He posted just 14 assists in 38 games with Bridgeport, though, failing to score a goal throughout the entire season. After a rough year, Kurz says he’d be surprised to see Salo make the opening night roster again next season and thinks he’s slipped pretty far down the team’s depth chart of left-shot defenders. He also went so far as to call Salo a trade candidate and that if he’s not moved, the team may not issue him a qualifying offer next offseason.

Anaheim Ducks’ Isac Lundeström Sustains Achilles Injury

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Anaheim Ducks center Isac Lundeström sustained an Achilles injury during offseason training in Sweden earlier this month and will miss the start of next season as a result, according to a report from Swedish outlet NSD translated by The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee.

Lee notes Lundeström suffered the injury about three weeks ago and has already undergone surgery, meaning he’s still got five to six months of recovery time ahead of him. That puts Lundeström’s season debut around mid-January 2024, potentially keeping him out for over half the season.

It’s a tough break for the 23-year-old Swede, who the Ducks hoped could take a major step in his development, at least offensively. Selected 23rd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, Lundeström has been a star defensively on a team that’s struggled heavily to keep the puck out of their own net. He’s also averaged nearly two minutes per game on the penalty kill over the past three years and posted good results in the process.

If he stops developing now, he’s a perfectly fine third-line center, even on a contending team. That being said, Anaheim would love for him to display point production more in line with the 16 goals he put up in 2021-22, not the four goals and 14 points he posted in 61 games last season.

He’s a young player that often flies under the radar when talking about Anaheim’s next-generation core, which includes players like Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson. Still, he’s a promising long-term piece for the Ducks. It’s not like Lundeström’s received terribly sheltered minutes, either – he skated an average of 14:20 per game last season and still managed to keep his head above water defensively.

His absence opens up a hole for some other prospects, potentially Benoit-Olivier Groulx or Nikita Nesterenko, to get some more ice time with the Ducks out of the gate. Groulx, who’s posted double-digit goal totals on the AHL’s San Diego Gulls for three consecutive seasons, was selected 31 picks after Lundeström in the 2018 draft.

Lundeström is in the second season of a two-year, $3.6MM contract signed following an arbitration filing in 2022. He’s eligible for arbitration once again next offseason, though missing a good chunk of the year due to injury certainly won’t help his case.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Drew O’Connor, Avoid Arbitration

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed winger Drew O’Connor to a two-year deal worth $925K per season, according to a team announcement Wednesday morning.

O’Connor was Pittsburgh’s last unsigned RFA and one of two unsettled arbitration cases remaining league-wide. Anaheim Ducks winger Troy Terry, whose hearing is scheduled for today, is now the only unsettled case. Pittsburgh and O’Connor were headed for a hearing on Friday, August 4, the last day on this year’s arbitration calendar.

The 25-year-old forward continues working toward a full-time NHL role, which the team hopes he can achieve in 2023-24. Many expected O’Connor to lock down an everyday role in the team’s bottom six last season, and while he did skate in a career-high 46 games with Pittsburgh, he didn’t avoid AHL assignment either. O’Connor started last season in the minors, recording 22 points in 20 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before he was permanently called up to Pittsburgh in December 2022.

Those scoring totals in WBS are closely aligned with what he posted the previous two seasons, meaning he clearly has nothing left to prove in the minors after scoring at around a point-per-game clip for three years. His five goals and 11 points in 46 games in Pittsburgh last season seem more impressive when you consider he was playing just 9:49 per game.

O’Connor also had quite a strong end to the 2022-23 season, doing well with the United States at the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Finland and Latvia. He was among the team’s best offensive players, ranking fourth with eight points in ten games.

Since signing in Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent out of Dartmouth College at the end of the 2019-20 season, O’Connor’s posted eight goals, nine assists and 17 points in 78 games with the Pens. They’re totals he’ll undoubtedly build significantly on next season, with him currently penciled in on the team’s fourth line.

While Pittsburgh may have their last necessary signing done, their offseason is far from over. Per CapFriendly, the team currently sits roughly $3.2MM over the $83.5MM salary cap Upper Limit after signing O’Connor. However, their roster projection at the time of writing includes 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies – putting them one player over the maximum 23-player roster. Some of that cap overrun will be cleared by assigning one of Casey DeSmith or Alex Nedeljkovic to the minors, depending on who wins the backup spot to starting goalie Tristan Jarry out of training camp.

This won’t fix everything, though, as neither of their cap hits ($1.8MM and $1.5MM, respectively) are fully buriable in the minors. That means they’ll still carry some cap penalty if they’re not on the active roster. Given the maximum buriable threshold next season is $1.15MM, this would mean Nedeljkovic would still carry a $350K cap hit if assigned to the AHL, while DeSmith would carry a $650K cap hit.

Don’t forget the Penguins remain deep in trade rumors to acquire San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, who’s fresh off a Norris Trophy-winning season and a 100-point campaign. While getting O’Connor locked into a six-figure contract for two years is a nice bit of work for interim general manager Kyle Dubas, the team is far from having their ducks in a row ahead of next season.

Some cap relief could come soon, though. Settling with O’Connor has opened up a second buyout window for Pittsburgh, which opens in three days and will last for 48 hours. As a reminder, post-arbitration settlement buyouts are subject to strict regulations: the player must have been on the team’s reserve list at the time of the 2023 trade deadline, and they must have a cap hit of at least $4MM. Two potential targets for Pittsburgh are forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Jeff Petry, who are both locked in through the next two seasons at rather extravagant cap hits of $5MM and $6.25MM, respectively.

Signing O’Connor to a two-year deal buys up his remaining RFA years and walks him directly to unrestricted free agency in 2025, as CapFriendly notes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Edmonton Oilers Reach Deal With Ryan McLeod

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Ryan Rishaug of TSN is reporting that the Edmonton Oilers have reached an agreement with restricted free agent center Ryan McLeod. The Oilers and McLeod were set to go to arbitration on August 4th, but have now reached a settlement without the help of an arbitrator. Rishaug is reporting that the deal is a two-year contract worth $2.1MM per season.

Last night, it was reported that the Oilers and McLeod were close to a deal but some recent developments around the league had changed the calculus. It is not yet known what changed today, but the Oilers took care of a big piece of business as they look to sign their final restricted free agents to new deals for the 2023-24 season.

McLeod just finished his third season in the NHL and has established himself as a good depth center who can provide some offense and play up in the lineup if needed. McLeod just finished a year in which he produced 11 goals and 12 assists in 57 games and posted good analytics as well. McLeod will still be a restricted free agent when his contract expires in two seasons and will remain in the driver’s seat if he continues to improve from year to year.

With this deal in place, it gives both sides certainty and security. For the Oilers it allows them to have a better understanding of the cap space they have available while they negotiate with defenseman Evan Bouchard. For McLeod, he gets to cash in on his first contract in the seven figures and gets the added security of having next year’s money guaranteed.

Examining The Boston Bruins Salary Cap Situation

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Earlier today, an independent arbitrator settled the contract for goaltender Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins, awarding the young goaltender a one-year, $3.475MM contract for the 2023-24 NHL season. Now that Swayman has a contract for next year and much of the heavy lifting of the offseason is already concluded, the Bruins currently find themselves with roughly $429k in cap space to start the season.

Boston has already used one buyout this offseason, buying out the final one-year, $3MM left on the contract of defenseman Mike Reilly’s contract. The team will now have a second buyout window opening in three days, which the team may utilize, but is incredibly unlikely due to the eligible player requirements. The player must have been on the team’s reserve list at last year’s trade deadline, and must also have a cap hit of $4MM or more on their current contract. Of the current roster on the Bruins currently carrying a cap hit of $4MM or more, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, and Linus Ullmark are the only ones that make the cut.

Given that Boston is unlikely to cut ties with one of the players listed above for absolutely nothing in return, the team might have to look to the trade market to free up more salary. This notion has already been backed up by recent reporting, given that General Manager Cam Neely has already mentioned the team would be looking to bolster their center depth after legendary center Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement and a similar outcome is expected for center David Krejci.

In a creative solution, the Bruins’ best trade partner may be the Calgary Flames, with both Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund available for the right price. After already moving forward Tyler Toffoli this summer, and Lindholm and Backlund unsure about their future in Alberta, the Flames may take a similar approach with those two players as well.

If the Bruins do land an impact center such as Lindholm, they may have to become more amicable about moving out the contract of Coyle or Carlo. It will be difficult, given Coyle’s leadership in the postseason as well as Carlo’s incredible defensive play over the last several years, but it may be the prudent move going forward for this organization.

Similar to last year’s true ’hockey’ trade involving Matthew Tkachuk, a swap of Coyle and Carlo to the Flames for Lindholm and possibly Nikita Zadorov may be the wise decision for both teams. Coyle and Carlo would fill in roster spots for Calgary without totally eliminating their winning potential for next season, as well as give them some contract term to hang on to. For the Bruins, it would likely be a wash, as Lindholm fills a top-six role much better than Coyle, but Zadorov would be a downgrade from the play of Carlo. Given that both Lindholm and Zadorov will be UFA’s at season’s end, and with the expected salary cap increase at the same time, the Bruins will have more financial flexibility to sign these players to extensions as well.

If anything, given the Bruins’ free agent signings this offseason, they should have the defensive depth to absorb the loss of Carlo with both Kevin Shattenkirk and Ian Mitchell joining the roster as well. However, they will need to make an upgrade at the center position before next season starts if they have any hope of competing in the Atlantic Division. The division already holds the defending Eastern Conference Champion Florida Panthers, as well as the extremely talented Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs. A team led by Pastrnak, Marchand, and McAvoy should never be counted out of contention, but the growing sense is that Boston will need to make a move to cut salary, as well as find a center in hopes of replacing the production vacated by Bergeron and Krejci.

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