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Morning Notes: Red Wings, Hakanpää, Smith

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The Red Wings may have the third-most projected cap space in the league three weeks into free agency (PuckPedia), but that’s an artificially high number. That’s because left winger Lucas Raymond and right-shot defenseman Moritz Seider, each the top RFAs remaining at their respective positions, still need new deals and could take up almost all of their $17.65MM left to spend. In a Tuesday morning mailbag, The Athletic’s Max Bultman examined why the duo remain unsigned.

Long-term deals are likely the preferred outcome for both, Bultman writes, but a lack of solid recent comparables could be plugging up the works. That’s because many of their peers signed long-term extensions in a flat-cap environment, while Raymond and Seider are presumably pushing for increased cap hits with more certainty regarding a rising upper limit over the life of their deals. Bultman writes there’s “still some potential for sticker shock on the team side,” a reasonable prediction considering Evolving Hockey projects eight-year deals for both to fall in the $8MM range.

Other things worth keeping an eye on as the NHL’s offseason continues:

  • Out of the flurry of signings reported on July 1, a notable one has yet to be made official. That’s defenseman Jani Hakanpää, who presumably has a two-year, $3MM deal agreed upon, per multiple reports. But the Finnish blue-liner is still dealing with the effects of a knee injury that sidelined him for the last month of the regular season plus the entirety of the Stars’ playoff run. It required arthroscopic surgery, which Dallas general manager Jim Nill confirmed the defender underwent before reaching the open market. There hasn’t been anything new on the Hakanpää front since a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger two weeks ago that there were “growing concerns” about his health. Expect more clarity on his contractual situation closer to training camp.
  • After a tough season with the Penguins, veteran winger Reilly Smith could find himself in a top-line role with the Rangers come opening night, writes NHL.com’s David Satriano. The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners have a demonstrable hole at right wing in their top six and were on the hunt for a more offensively-inclined partner for Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad at even strength. Smith, 33, was limited to 13 goals and 40 points in 76 games last season in Pittsburgh. That’s likely not the high-octane punch the Blueshirts are looking for, but it would be an upgrade over the rotating cast of Kaapo Kakko, Jack Roslovic and Blake Wheeler that held the role last season. Smith “probably will be given the first chance” to fill that vacancy after being acquired via trade, Satriano posits, but it could end up being their top trade deadline wish list item should he fail to make an impact.

Snapshots: Jarry, Flames, Zadorov

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Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now poured cold water on the trade rumors circulating around Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry. The 29-year-old Jarry has seen his name being floated in trade rumors since he sat on the bench for the final 13 games of the regular season. Jarry had an uneven season in Pittsburgh after he signed a five-year $26.875MM contract last summer and eventually lost the net to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.

Many expected the Penguins to try and trade Jarry this summer, but a deal never came to fruition. Jarry’s trade value isn’t particularly high at the moment and the Penguins have a likely goalie of the future in the AHL in Joel Blomqvist. The Athletics’ goaltender rankings don’t look too kindly on Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation, and at nearly $8MM annually for Jarry and Nedeljkovic for the next two seasons, it’s easy to see why the trade rumors around Jarry have been so popular.

In other news around the league:

  • Wes Gilbertson of The Calgary Herald wonders if the Calgary Flames will be a contender when their new arena opens. The Flames are going through a dramatic roster overhaul that has seen them move Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, and Jacob Markstrom out for future assets. The Flames haven’t gone through a change like this since the early 2010s when they moved on from veterans Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester and they seem better equipped for this rebuild off the ice as they have a larger management team and development staff than they had a decade ago.
  • Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov sat down with RG.org’s Daria Tuboltseva to discuss free agency and his move to the Eastern Conference. Zadorov said that returning to the Vancouver Canucks was his first choice in free agency, but ultimately, he went to Boston because it gave him the best chance to win and the best situation for his family. Zadorov also revealed that the Canucks and Bruins made offers and one of his former teams, the Colorado Avalanche entered the fray as well. Zadorov signed a six-year $30MM deal with the Bruins on July 1st and figures to play in their top four alongside either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo.

Evening Notes: Flames, Demidov, Strome

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The Calgary Flames announced today that their new arena will be called Scotia Place. The downtown building and culture and entertainment district will replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome which has been the Flames home since 1983. The Flames released a first look at the new building today, showing drawings of the building that is expected to house the team beginning in the 2026-27 season.

The Scotia Place arena deal is expected to keep the Flames in Calgary for the next 35 years and will include upgrades to the infrastructure in the surrounding areas. The design plans currently show a capacity limit between 18,000 and 18,400 fans which will mark a small downsize from the current capacity limit of 19,289 at the Saddledome.

In other evening notes:

  • Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette believes that Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov will play out the final season of his contract with St. Petersburg but concedes that there is a slim chance he will make the jump to the NHL this season. The fifth overall pick in this year’s entry draft is contractually bound to the KHL for this season but if SKA opts not to hold onto him, his situation could mirror that of Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov. However, Szymon Szemberg the Managing Director of the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs doesn’t believe that is a possibility. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has been non-committal about where Demidov will play next season, saying simply that the KHL would be a good place for him to play for the upcoming season and that the team would keep their options open if he doesn’t play there.
  • Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey is reporting that forward Matt Strome has re-signed with the Hershey Bears. Strome signed a two-year AHL contract with the Bears that will keep him with the reigning Calder Cup champions through the 2025-26 season. Strome scored the championship-clinching goal in the AHL finals to help Hershey secure their second consecutive AHL title. The 25-year-old is the brother of NHLers Ryan Strome and Dylan Strome and was a fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2017. The two-time AHL champion posted seven goals and 13 assists in 50 games last season and is expected to play a depth role again next year.

West Notes: Stastney, Sprong, Lorentz

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Predators RFA defenseman Spencer Stastney is indeed having his arbitration hearing today, Nick Kieser of the team’s radio network confirms. The NHLPA is deviating from past tradition this year by not releasing a calendar of hearing dates, but arbitration figures are always exchanged two days before the hearing. When Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the filings on Saturday, it was clear Stastney’s hearing was slated for Monday.

The Preds are down to $595K in projected cap space with a bare-minimum roster of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies, per PuckPedia. Even though Stastney’s cap hit will come in under $1MM after arbitration (the player filed at $950K), a league-minimum $775K deal would still put Nashville slightly over the cap for now.

Even without Stastney’s arbitration hearing, a cap-clearing move would likely be coming for the Preds this offseason for the sake of roster flexibility. One has to think a cap dump would come from the blue line, where none of Nashville’s six rostered defensemen cost less than $2MM against the cap. Dante Fabbro is the only pending UFA of the bunch, and his $2.5MM cap hit is fair value for his services. He’ll be a likely trade candidate, given his cap hit could be replaced by three league-minimum players – Stastney being one of them.

They’ll get exact clarity on Stastney’s cap hit next season within the next 48 hours.

Elsewhere out West:

  • In his latest for The Athletic, Thomas Drance took a deep dive into the Canucks’ signing of Daniel Sprong over the weekend. Among other points, Drance articulates that Sprong is likely viewed internally as a lower-cost replacement for Andrei Kuzmenko, who was dealt to the Flames in last season’s Elias Lindholm blockbuster. If so, it seems the Canucks will be more willing to utilize Sprong in top-six spot duty, likely on Elias Pettersson’s right flank, than his recent homes. His offensive success with the Kraken and Red Wings the past two seasons has come despite receiving solidly bottom-six minutes.
  • It’s bottom-of-the-barrel time for teams still looking to add depth from the UFA market. Thus, the next few weeks will be the time for cap-strapped teams who were rather quiet around July 1 to shine. The Avalanche are one of those squads, and if they’re looking to replenish some fourth-line depth, it’ll need to be a league-minimum pact. Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal names ex-Panther Steven Lorentz as a candidate who fits that bill. Lorentz, 28, had three points in 16 playoff games for the Cats in their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup and would provide competition for veteran Chris Wagner and youngster Jean-Luc Foudy for fourth-line center duties in Denver.

Blue Jackets Name Dean Evason Head Coach

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At long last, the Blue Jackets have found their next head coach. Dean Evason is heading to Columbus on a multi-year deal to fill the league’s last remaining vacancy at the position this summer, the team announced.

Technically, there were no head coaching vacancies in the league for a few days earlier this summer after the Sharks promoted Ryan Warsofsky. But Columbus, which had been without a full-time general manager for months until hiring Don Waddell in late May, fired Pascal Vincent after one season behind the bench on June 17. Vincent has since landed a new job as the head coach of the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

Evason, 59, lands his second NHL head coaching gig after being fired by the Wild less than two months into last season. He was one of two reported finalists for the Columbus vacancy alongside ex-Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, both of whom interviewed last week, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The Blue Jackets also had documented interest in former Kings, Oilers, and Sharks bench boss Todd McLellan, but McLellan’s still being under contract with L.A. next season caused complications that led Columbus to back away.

Evason’s ousting in Minnesota around Thanksgiving wasn’t much of a surprise. The Wild had limped out of the gate while hampered by injuries and poor goaltending, posting a 5-10-4 record through 19 games before firing Evason and replacing him with John Hynes. It was a damper on an otherwise successful tenure in the State of Hockey for Evason, who guided the Wild to a 147-77-27 regular-season record (.639 points percentage) in parts of five seasons behind the bench.

Playoff success was a different story, though, much like throughout the Wild’s existence. Following a franchise record of 53 wins and 113 points in 2021-22, Minnesota was dispatched by the Blues in six games in the first round. Evason’s Wild made the postseason in all four attempts, but they never won a series and went a combined 8-15.

He’ll now get his second chance behind an NHL bench, joining Minnesota’s expansion brother as their third head coach in the past three seasons (and fourth if you count Mike Babcock, who was slated to replace Brad Larsen before last season but resigned during training camp). The Blue Jackets haven’t made the playoffs since John Tortorella was at the helm, a streak that’s expected to continue next spring.

So Evason’s poor playoff track record won’t be a major factor in Columbus, at least not early on. Instead, he’ll be tasked with guiding Columbus’ young core of Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson and David Jiříček, among others, to new heights next season and demonstrate evidence that they’re close to exiting their rebuild.

Evason’s other professional coaching roles include serving as an assistant with the Wild from 2018 to 2020, head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals from 2012 to 2018, and an assistant with the Capitals from 2005 to 2012. A fifth-round pick of the Caps in 1982, Evason’s NHL career as a player spanned 803 games from 1983 to 1996, posting 139 goals and 372 points for Washington, Hartford, San Jose, Dallas and Calgary.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

AHL Notes: Hayes, Luukko, Weeks

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The Laval Rocket have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with defenseman Zack Hayes, per a team announcement. The Canadiens’ top minor league affiliate will play host to Hayes’ return to North America after he spent last season in Finland, suiting up for Vaasan Sport in Liiga.

Now 25, Hayes has a cup of coffee under his belt in the NHL. He suited up for the Golden Knights three times in the 2021-22 campaign when their blue line was decimated by injuries, posting a -2 rating and one shot on goal while averaging 10:53 per game. He spent all of the following season in the minors, traded to the Hurricanes and then the Devils before being non-tendered and heading to Europe. The 6’3″ undrafted free agent signing by Vegas in 2021 is a physical, stay-at-home defender with 25 points, 121 PIMs and a +25 rating in 132 career AHL games. He had nine points and 119 PIMs in 53 games with Sport last season, leading the league in penalty minutes by a wide margin.

Hayes will compete to play an enforcer role on a Laval blue line that’s expected to include top Canadiens defense prospects Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher this season. A two-way deal indicates he may be demoted to their ECHL affiliate in Trois-Rivières, though.

Other minor-league items of note:

  • The Penguins have hired Nick Luukko as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the team announced Monday. He’ll complement NHL veteran Sheldon Brookbank as an assistant on head coach Kirk MacDonald’s staff, the latter of whom was hired for the role last month. Luukko, 32, had spent the last three seasons as head coach and director of hockey operations for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen, where he compiled a 126-73-17 record (.623 points percentage) and notched a franchise-best 44-win season in 2022-23. The Pennsylvania native was a Flyers sixth-round pick in 2010, playing four seasons for their ECHL affiliate in Reading from 2015 to 2019.
  • The Rockford IceHogs have re-signed goaltender Mitchell Weeks to a two-year contract, CHGO Sports’ Mario Tirabassi reports. Weeks, 23, remains in the Blackhawks’ system after compiling a .902 SV%, 2.74 GAA, one shutout and an 8-4-3 record in 17 appearances for the IceHogs over the past two seasons. Most of the Ontario native’s playing time since turning pro in 2021 has come at the ECHL level with the Indy Fuel, where he has a slightly better 2.59 GAA and .905 SV% in 55 showings. Rockford is due to receive prospects Drew Commesso and Arvid Söderblom from the Blackhawks to serve as their primary tandem next season, so Weeks will likely be heading back to Indy, at least for the first year of his new deal.

Utah Signs First-Rounder Cole Beaudoin

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11:12 a.m.: Utah has made Beaudoin’s signing official.

8:26 a.m.: The Utah Hockey Club has signed its second of two first-round picks from last month’s draft, inking center Cole Beaudoin to his three-year entry-level deal, per PuckPedia. The contract carries a $975K cap hit, broken down into an $877.5K NHL salary, $97.5K signing bonus and $85K minors salary each season. Utah has already inked top selection Tij Iginla.

Beaudoin, 18, was selected 24th overall out of the OHL’s Barrie Colts. Utah didn’t enter draft day with the pick, though – they acquired it in a pick swap with the Avalanche that sent the No. 38 and No. 71 overall selections, plus the Rangers’ 2025 second-rounder, to Colorado. The Ottawa-area native appeared in 67 games for the Colts last season, tying for second on the team in scoring with 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 67 games.

Utah snagged Beaudoin in the early range of where most expected him to go, but still within expectations. NHL scouts polled by TSN’s Bob McKenzie had him at No. 23. He was also ranked by TSN’s Craig Button at No. 28 and Elite Prospects at No. 29. While his ceiling certainly isn’t among the highest in the draft, his projectable two-way game was universally praised and could lead to him playing a regular NHL role sooner rather than later. At 6’2″ and nearly 210 lbs, he already has NHL-ready size entering his post-draft season.

Elite Prospects says Beaudoin “eats up the boards, grinds them, spins off opponents, drags the puck out of traffic, and gets it to the middle of the ice” on a typical play. Beaudoin making his NHL debut as soon as this season seems far-fetched, but he could see professional ice in 2025-26. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games this upcoming season, his ELC will slide to 2025-26, notably at a slightly reduced cap hit since his $97.5K signing bonus will be paid out regardless. Since he’s an April 2006 birthday, Utah could again slide his ELC to 2026-27 if he plays fewer than 10 games in 2025-26.

Utah RFA Victor Söderström Changes Representation, May Sign In Europe

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Utah RFA defenseman Victor Söderström is switching representation as he tries to land a contract for next season. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports he’s dropped his agent, which PuckPedia shows was Darren Ferris at Quartexx Management. Morgan also reports that Söderström, whom the Coyotes drafted with the 11th overall pick in 2019, may opt to play in a top-level European pro league this season rather than re-sign with Utah.

Last week, Morgan reported that Utah was also examining trade options for Söderström’s signing rights. Like his other Coyotes teammates last season, Söderström’s contract was bought as part of the deal that saw the Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group officially acquire all of the Coyotes’ hockey operations assets last month.

It’s the second time Söderström has changed representation. The Swedish blueliner was originally represented by JP Barry at CAA when he signed his entry-level contract five years ago but switched to Ferris at Quartexx early last year.

Söderström, 23, failed to land a full-time NHL role with the Yotes despite having ample opportunity over the past few years. Arizona had one of the league’s thinner blue lines in its final years of existence, but Söderström actually saw his NHL time dwindle last season. He played a career-high 30 games in 2022-23, all coming in the back half of the campaign, leading most to believe he’d at least work his way up to steadier bottom-pairing duties in 2023-24. However, he was demoted to AHL Tucson to begin the season and was recalled just twice throughout the year, logging three appearances with a -1 rating while going without a point.

The 6’0″, 190-lb defender has been a stable offensive presence in Tucson since coming to North America. He had a career-high 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 62 games with the Roadrunners last year, but it wasn’t a big breakout. His 0.52 points per game average was in line with what he’s put up since arriving in 2021.

Once projected to be a defensively sound, cerebral talent, Söderström’s unexpected one-dimensionality has largely been what’s kept him from landing more NHL minutes. He’s posted a career -47 rating in 170 games with Tucson, and while that differential has improved every season since joining the Roadrunners, it only culminated in a career-high -8 last season. It was still the worst rating among Tucson defenders and second-worst on the team behind right-winger Austin Poganski’s -11.

But if he believes he’s ready for regular NHL action and will get buried by Utah next season, it makes sense why he’d look for more minutes in Europe or prefer a trade elsewhere (although an official trade request hasn’t been reported). After general manager Bill Armstrong traded for John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev and picked up Ian Cole in free agency, Söderström likely won’t have a spot in Utah’s opening night lineup. He’d have to leapfrog one of Michael Kesselring or Juuso Välimäki during training camp, which is an unlikely scenario.

Because they issued him a qualifying offer last month, Utah would retain Söderström’s NHL rights if he opted to head overseas. They’ll control his rights until his 27th birthday, which isn’t until February 2028. He could likely find a home with Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League, whose system he played in from 2015 to 2020.

Devils Re-Sign Santeri Hatakka To Two-Way Deal

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The Devils announced Monday that they’ve re-signed defense prospect Santeri Hatakka to a one-year, two-way deal with a $775K cap hit. He was an RFA after receiving a qualifying offer last month and will earn $125K at the AHL level with a $150K guarantee.

Hatakka, 23, has appeared in parts of two NHL seasons, logging a career-high 12 games played with the Devils last year. He didn’t see any NHL action in 2022-23, limited by injuries to just eight AHL games after receiving a nine-game trial with San Jose in 2021-22.

In 21 overall appearances in the NHL, Hatakka has four assists and an even rating while averaging 13:47 per game. A 2019 sixth-round pick of the Sharks who was acquired in 2023’s Timo Meier blockbuster, he has eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 97 AHL games over the past three years. He’s coming off a career-best five goals and 20 points in 48 games while on assignment to Utica last season.

Hatakka was solid when called upon for NHL minutes in his first full campaign in the New Jersey organization. The smooth-skating left-shot Finn had a 49.8 CF% at even strength, 1.9% better than his teammates’ average in games he played in. He still has some room to grow, but he checks in as a reliable No. 8/9 option on the Devils’ depth chart entering 2024-25.

He won’t be in contention for an opening night roster spot after New Jersey brought in Brenden Dillon and Brett Pesce in free agency and Johnathan Kovacevic via trade, but he should be one of their first call-up options when injuries strike. He’ll compete for that right with veteran Nick DeSimone, who played a career-high 34 NHL games split between the Devils and Flames last season. 20-year-old right-shot defender Seamus Casey, who’s entering his first professional season after posting 45 points in 40 games at Michigan last season as a sophomore, will also be considered for call-ups.

Hatakka will require waivers to head to Utica to begin the season. He’ll be an RFA again upon expiry.

Morning Notes: Blue Jackets, Laatsch, Canadiens

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The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, Sean McIndoe and Scott Wheeler are taking a deep dive into each team’s goaltending situation league-wide, ranking clubs’ “current and future goaltending outlooks” via a combination of current aptitude, prospect strength, and the effectiveness of their NHL tandem’s contracts. In their first installment, detailing the bottom 10 teams in their ranking, the Blue Jackets took home the honor of having the worst overall situation between the pipes.

Columbus does have some decent up-and-comers, namely Jet Greaves. The 23-year-old checks in as one of the more intriguing third-string options in the league entering 2024-25, posting strong AHL numbers and sporting a .912 SV% in 10 appearances behind a subpar CBJ defense the last two seasons. Wheeler shouts out 2022 fifth-round pick Sergei Ivanov, who posted a .928 SV% in 33 games for the Kontinental Hockey League’s Admiral Vladivostok last season, as a bright spot too. But de facto starter Elvis Merzļikins carrying a $5.4MM cap hit through 2027, despite posting a cumulative .889 SV% and -32.7 GSAA the past two seasons, led McIndoe to list Columbus as having the worst contractual situation in the league among netminders. On straight-up current skill, Granger ranked their tandem of Merzļikins and Tarasov at 30th in the league.

Other notes as the NHL’s offseason continues:

  • The Penguins are optimistic about the future of defense prospect Daniel Laatsch, who’s entering his senior season at Wisconsin after being selected by Pittsburgh in the seventh round back in 2021. Speaking to Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review, Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos implied that the team considered signing Laatsch to his entry-level contract this summer but said the “decision was made for him to go back” for his final season with the Badgers. Kostopoulos praised the 22-year-old as having “the best defensive stick in college hockey.” He added that Laatsch has to “get stronger and keep working on the meanness to his game, but we think there is an NHL role for him.”
  • Also in The Athletic today, Arpon Basu looks at what needs to go right for the Canadiens to play meaningful games late this season, jumping out of the consistent bottom-five finishes that have plagued them the past few years. Montreal has been one of the quieter teams this offseason, with only minor trades in store and depth forward Alex Barré-Boulet standing as their most consequential UFA pickup. A healthy Kirby Dach, jumps in production from first-line wingers Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, and a “meaningful” rookie season from at least one of top prospects Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher on the blueline are a few of the keys Basu articulates.

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