Atlantic Notes: LeBreton Flats, Norris, Anderson
There’s no clear timeline for the Senators’ move to a more centrally-located arena in the LeBreton Flats neighborhood in Ottawa. Team ownership announced Friday they’d finally reached an agreement to purchase the land from the National Capital Commission, with the final sale expected to go ahead in 2025, but details past that were sparse.
That means a move out of Kanata’s Canadian Tire Centre is at least five years away. Majority owner Michael Andlauer said Saturday that the soonest he could see Senators hockey coming to the LeBreton Flats development would be for the 2029-30 season, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.
“I honestly, if I could, I would drop the puck tomorrow,” Andlauer said. “It’s a process. I’m going to be diligent and transparent when you ask me what the status and where our hurdles are. But, I think, the sooner, the better. I like to underpromise and overdeliver so once this process gets started, we’ll probably have a better idea as the year goes along.”
More out of the Atlantic Division:
- Josh Norris hasn’t quite been a full participant in Senators scrimmages after reports claimed he’d be fully cleared from yet another shoulder injury when camp started. But the team told Garrioch today that there are no lingering effects from the injury and that they’re just being cautious by easing him back into game-like action. A trio of shoulder procedures have limited him to just 58 appearances over the past two seasons.
- Canadiens winger Josh Anderson was busier than usual this summer, working closely with Canadiens staff over the past few months to try and bounce back from a horrific 2023-24 campaign, writes Arpon Basu of The Athletic. His nine goals and 20 points were his lowest totals in a fully healthy season since breaking out as a full-time fixture with the Blue Jackets back in 2016. “I think in a week, I watched 40 of my games, or something like that,” he told Basu. Just my shifts. It doesn’t take that long, just 12 or 15 minutes, and really pay attention to yourself when you don’t have the puck or have the puck, are you doing the right things?“
Pacific Notes: Oilers, Tocchet, Mantha
The Oilers announced multiple hockey operations promotions and additions today, chief among them confirming Zack Kassian‘s return to the organization as a pro scout, as previously reported. But that wasn’t the only notable hiring.
They’ve also promoted former NHLer Warren Rychel to their director of pro scouting. Edmonton didn’t have that role in the organization last year – it was included in assistant general manager Brad Holland’s responsibilities. But they needed to fill Holland’s duties by committee after mutually parting ways with him on Tuesday. Rychel had served as a pro scout with the Oilers since the 2022-23 season and will have his job filled by Kassian.
Edmonton also added Dominik Zrim, a co-founder of the now-defunct CapFriendly, as their director of hockey strategy. He’s held similar roles with the Blackhawks and Sharks over the past few years as well.
More from the Pacific Division:
- 2024 Jack Adams Trophy winner Rick Tocchet has no worries about his future in Vancouver despite not having a contract past this season. He said on a radio appearance today that his “strong relationship” with GM Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford leaves him “not at all concerned” (via Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor). The 60-year-old worked closely with the pair as an assistant coach with the Penguins from 2014 to 2017. He’s guided the Canucks to a 70-35-13 record (.648%) since taking over for Bruce Boudreau midway through the 2022-23 season.
- The Flames expect Anthony Mantha to be one of their top scoring chance generators this season after inking him to a one-year, $3.5MM contract in free agency. He said to reporters today that head coach Ryan Huska told him he’ll likely be among Calgary’s leaders in ice time among forwards and wants him to “shoot almost 300 pucks,” per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Mantha, 30, had 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games between the Capitals and Golden Knights last season and has started camp in Calgary on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil.
West Notes: Lehner, Perfetti, Jarventie
Robin Lehner’s absence from Golden Knights training camp to take (and not pass) his physical has led to the team reportedly considering its options. However, the netminder told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that his absence wasn’t unexpected:
All I can say at this time is everyone knows why I couldn’t be there. I am waiting calmly for things to be sorted out.
Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon has already indicated that Lehner won’t be reporting to the team this season. The 33-year-old hasn’t played the last two years after undergoing hip surgery and clearly, that will be three years based on McCrimmon’s statement. He’ll be LTIR-eligible once again as a result but Friedman notes that the team, Lehner, and the NHLPA are working through the unique circumstances of this situation so it might not quite be as simple as it has been the last couple of seasons.
More from out West:
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Cole Perfetti’s camp is believed to be using Ottawa’s two-year, $7.5MM agreement as a comparable in contract discussions, one that the Jets would likely want to avoid. The numbers between the two are quite close; Perfetti has 75 points in 140 career NHL games while Pinto checks in at 70 in 140. While Pinto’s agreement was actually his third contract, he wasn’t arbitration-eligible which still makes it a legitimate comparable agreement. Clearly, Winnipeg is looking for this deal to come in below that price point.
- New Oilers prospect Roby Jarventie will have to wait a little while longer to make his case for a roster spot. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal notes that while the 22-year-old has recovered from his midseason knee surgery, he overcompensated on the other knee while recovering, leading to him needing to shut things down for a couple of weeks to recover. Jarventie played in seven games with Ottawa last season while adding 20 points in 22 AHL games and was acquired from the Sens this summer in mid-July.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/21/24
While training camps have just gotten underway, some teams are already starting to pare down their rosters. We’ll keep track of today’s cuts here.
Colorado Avalanche (per team announcement)
F Max Curran (to WHL Tri-City)
D Garrett Pyke (released from PTO to AHL Colorado)
F Neil Shea (released from PTO to AHL Colorado)
F Briley Wood (released from PTO to AHL Colorado)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
D Caeden Carlisle (released from ATO, to OHL Soo)
F Justin Cloutier (released from ATO to OHL Soo)
F Cooper Foster (to OHL Ottawa)
D Donovan McCoy (released from ATO, to OHL Sudbury)
D Emil Pieniniemi (to OHL Kingston)
G Charlie Schenkel (released from ATO, to OHL Soo)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)
F Marshall Finnie (released from ATO, to WHL Edmonton)
F Miroslav Holinka (to WHL Edmonton)
D Nathan Mayes (to WHL Spokane)
F Sam McCue (to OHL Owen Sound)
F Maxim Muranov (released from ATO, to WHL Calgary)
This post will be updated if/when other cuts are announced.
Canucks Sign Kevin Lankinen To One-Year Deal
The Canucks have been searching for some goalie depth for a while now with Kevin Lankinen being an early target. While it took a while, the two sides have reached an agreement as the team announced (Twitter link) that the netminder has signed a one-year, $875K contract.
Vancouver made an offer to the 29-year-old last month, one that was below the $1MM mark as this contract is, but it was rejected with the belief that Lankinen was seeking more money. However, with opportunities across the league largely dried up at this point, it appears he decided to take the guaranteed deal that was on the table.
Lankinen spent the last two years in Nashville, posting a 2.79 GAA and a .912 SV% in 43 games. Those numbers were certainly above-average for a second-string option which makes it a bit surprising that a better offer didn’t materialize for him over the past couple of months. For his career, he has a 3.07 GAA with a .895 SV% over four NHL seasons, the other two coming with Chicago.
Starting goaltender Thatcher Demko is still working his way back from a knee injury although he is making good progress in recent weeks. That said, his availability for the start of the regular season remains in question. That means that Lankinen will have an opportunity to battle Arturs Silovs for the starting role if Demko isn’t available on opening night. If he is able to play, the two will try to secure the backup role.
Management made it known earlier this summer that their goal is to avoid using LTIR even though Tucker Poolman won’t play this season. That’s particularly noteworthy as the team is now $694K over the cap with this signing per PuckPedia. If Demko isn’t available on opening night, they’ll have to remove a skater from the roster to fit in Lankinen’s contract. Meanwhile, one of him or Silovs will have to come off the roster once Demko is cleared to return. That could work in Lankinen’s favor as Silovs has one more season of waiver exemption remaining which could give the veteran a leg up on securing a full-time spot.
Either way, while it took longer than they would have liked, Vancouver now has the goaltending insurance that they’d been seeking for most of the summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We wrap up our look at the Central Division with Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Jets
Current Cap Hit: $82,223,691 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None for players projected to be full-time regulars.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
F Mason Appleton ($2.167MM, UFA)
F Morgan Barron ($1.35MM, RFA)
F Nikolaj Ehlers ($6MM, UFA)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby ($775K, UFA)
G Kaapo Kahkonen ($1MM, UFA)
F Rasmus Kupari ($1MM, RFA)
F Alex Iafallo ($4MM, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($2MM, UFA)
D Neal Pionk ($5.875MM, UFA)
D Dylan Samberg ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Gabriel Vilardi ($3.4375MM, RFA)
Ehlers has been in trade speculation for a while now but nothing has happened on that front and he’ll start the season with the Jets. While he is a bit of a streaky player and has had some injury woes, he has averaged at least 0.74 points per game (a 61-point pace per 82 games) in five straight years. That type of overall consistency should earn him another long-term deal with an extra million or so on the cap hit. Iafallo was part of last summer’s Pierre-Luc Dubois trade but wasn’t able to provide the same level of scoring despite spending a lot of time in the top six. If he has another stat line like that in 2024-25, he could be looking at a small dip but if he gets back to the 40-point range, he could check in a bit higher than his current cost.
Vilardi was arguably the key piece of the Dubois trade. A 2017 first-round pick, he had shown flashes of being a top-six piece in Los Angeles but struggled to do so consistently and dealt with injuries. With Winnipeg, he was consistently productive but the injury struggles continued as he missed 35 games. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old showed that he can be a core piece for the Jets and is someone who they’ll want to have around for the long haul although the injury history will be a complicating factor. Even so, there’s a good chance his next contract will start with at least a six which will come in well past his $3.6MM qualifying offer.
Appleton stayed healthy last season after battling injuries in 2022-23, reaching a new career-high in points in the process with 36. A true middle-six winger who moves up and down the lineup, he should be able to add at least $1MM to his current price tag on a multi-year deal; it could approach $4MM if he puts up a similar point total this season. Namestnikov hasn’t had much success on the open market in recent years as he has struggled to find a long-term fit. While he’s coming off his best point total since 2017-18 with 37, he’d need another season like that to get to the $3MM mark. As things stand, another two-year deal around $2.5MM per season might be where he winds up.
Barron was limited to primarily fourth-line ice time last season and he’s likely to have a similar role this season which won’t help his cause. He’s owed a $1.4MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights so if his production dips a bit in 2024-25, he could become a non-tender candidate. Failing that, a small raise to around $1.5MM to $1.75MM could be achievable. Kupari was also brought in from Los Angeles last summer but struggled mightily with his new team. Owed a $1.1MM qualifying offer next summer, that seems on the high side unless he’s able to secure a full-time roster spot and have a bit of success this season. Jonsson-Fjallby has been up and down in recent years while holding a fringe role when he has been in the NHL. Accordingly, it’s likely that he’ll stay at or near the minimum moving forward.
Pionk’s best season was his first with Winnipeg back in 2019-20. Since then, he has still shown flashes of being an above-average blueliner but has struggled somewhat with consistency. Having said that, he can still log over 20 minutes a night without much issue, has passed 30 points in five straight years, and is a right-shot player. That’s a strong combination heading into free agency, positioning himself for likely another long-term deal with a price tag starting with a six. Samberg has been limited to third-pairing duty thus far but has fared well in that role. Still, he’ll need to take on a bigger role if he wants any sort of significant raise from the $1.5MM offer he’ll be owed in the summer with arbitration rights.
Kahkonen struggled last season with San Jose but did well in a small sample size with New Jersey to finish the year. Still, the lasting memory of his time with the Sharks didn’t help his cause in free agency, resulting in this one-year deal at a sizable pay cut. Given Winnipeg’s recent track records with backups, this could be a good landing spot for him but he’ll need to come closer to maintaining his numbers with the Devils to get back to the $2.75MM of his last contract.
Signed Through 2025-26
G Eric Comrie ($825K, UFA)
F Kyle Connor ($7.143MM, UFA)
F David Gustafsson ($835K, RFA)
D Ville Heinola ($800K, RFA)
F Adam Lowry ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Colin Miller ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Logan Stanley ($1.25MM, UFA)
Connor will be the next big-ticket contract that the Jets have to contend with relatively quickly. The 27-year-old has emerged as a legitimate top-line threat, averaging more than a point per game over the past five seasons combined while passing the 30-goal mark in four of those. If that continues over the next two years, he will make a strong case to become Winnipeg’s highest-paid player with a price tag in the $9MM range.
Lowry doesn’t put up the offensive numbers to necessarily be worth this money but as a strong defensive player as well, he’s well worth the contract. Best suited as a third-line pivot, we’ve seen some of those players push past $4MM lately and it stands to reason that he’ll be able to do so as well. As for Gustafsson, he’s still working on securing himself a full-time role in the lineup. He’ll need to do that to have a chance at pushing past the $1MM threshold on his next agreement.
Miller didn’t play much with Winnipeg after they acquired him at the trade deadline but it didn’t stop them from re-signing him. It’s the second straight contract in which he has accepted a pay cut, a reflection of his diminishing role. At $1.5MM, they don’t need him to do much but they’ll be hoping he can at least get back to the 15-20-point range.
Stanley and Heinola have seemingly been on shaky ground for a while now but they’re still in Winnipeg. Stanley has been a frequent healthy scratch, especially the last two years which led to a trade request that went unfulfilled. The two years is a small showing of faith but if he’s still in this role at the end of this contract, it’d be shocking to see him re-signed. Heinola made the team in training camp last year but was injured in the final preseason game and once he was cleared to return, he stayed in the minors the rest of the way. Playing time was hard to come by when he was healthy and he’s likely on the fringes again although he’s now waiver-eligible. Still, this is a low-risk move that buys more time to evaluate and if Heinola can produce like he did in the minors (and stay healthy which is already an issue again), this could be a team-friendly pact quite quickly.
Comrie is back for his third stint with the team. The second one saw him put up his best performance before going to Buffalo in free agency where he struggled. It’s possible that he pushes for the backup spot but considering that he cleared waivers last season, they may view him as a third-string option. Until Comrie can re-establish himself as a regular backup, this is more the price range he’s likely to stay in.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Nino Niederreiter ($4MM, UFA)
Niederreiter has settled in as a player who should hover around 20 goals and 35-40 points per season. At this price point, that’s neither a bargain nor a bad value deal as reliable secondary scoring can be hard to come by. He’ll be 35 when this contract is up, however, which means he might be going year-to-year from there.
Snapshots: Krebs, Karlsson, Pitlick
Sabres center Peyton Krebs was one of several players earlier this week who signed contracts before training camp got underway. The 23-year-old told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he had been following his agent’s advice throughout the process but eventually relented, telling his agent to get a deal done while prioritizing getting a two-year agreement. He was able to do just that, landing a two-year, $2.9MM pact. Buffalo was busy over the summer reshaping their bottom six with the additions of Ryan McLeod, Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel so Krebs will have his work cut out for him to hold onto a regular spot in the lineup after getting into 80 games last season.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson skated on his own today before practice, relays Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). The veteran has yet to take part in any team activities during training camp due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Karlsson’s offensive numbers took a big dip last season after putting up 101 points in his final year with San Jose but he still managed 11 goals and 45 assists, good for a tie for third in team scoring.
- Former Montreal prospect Rhett Pitlick has found a new place to play as Minnesota State University announced that the forward has enrolled with them for his senior season. The 23-year-old spent the last three years at the University of Minnesota, putting up 36 points in 39 games last season. However, he deregistered earlier in the offseason, allowing him to become a free agent in the process. Clearly, there wasn’t an offer to his liking so he’ll now play out his NCAA eligibility and will look to secure an NHL deal after that.
Central Notes: Faksa, Appleton, Stastney
The Blues acquired veteran center Radek Faksa from Dallas earlier this summer, giving the 30-year-old a new team for the first time in his NHL career. It turns out that Faksa was looking for a change of scenery at the time. He told Lou Korac of The Hockey News that he went to Stars GM Jim Nill after the season to communicate that he wasn’t happy with his role and ice time. Faksa was viewed as a two-way player early in his career but hasn’t been able to get past the 20-point mark in five straight years, resulting in him being deployed in more of a shutdown role with more limited minutes. He’s entering the final year of his contract, one that carries a $3.25MM AAV. He’ll likely need to show at least a bit more offensively with St. Louis to get a raise on the open market next summer.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Jets winger Mason Appleton is entering the final year of his contract, making him eligible for a contract extension. The 28-year-old told reporters including Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press that the perfect world scenario is that he remains in Winnipeg. Appleton has spent most of his six-year NHL career with them aside from one season in Seattle after being picked in expansion. Appleton is coming off a career year that saw him produce 14 goals and 22 assists, putting him in line for a raise on his current $2.167MM cap charge.
- Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney is not with the team in training camp for personal reasons and there is no word yet on when he’ll return, relays Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean. The blueliner split last season between Nashville and AHL Milwaukee, getting into 20 games with the big club where he had two goals and two assists in just under 16 minutes a night. Somewhat surprisingly, the two sides went to salary arbitration this summer with the 24-year-old being awarded a two-year, $1.625MM contract, the second season of which is a one-way salary.
Metropolitan Notes: York, Jenner, Carrier
Flyers defenseman Cam York is entering the final year of his contract and is therefore eligible to sign a contract extension. Speaking with reporters including Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the blueliner indicated he wasn’t worried about getting a deal done at this point knowing that eventually something will work out. The 23-year-old potted 10 goals along with 20 assists while playing all 82 games last season. He also notably logged 22:37 per contest, second to only Travis Sanheim. With that in mind, it might make sense for York to wait a little while yet before signing an extension as a repeat of last year’s performance will only bolster his value heading into next summer when he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility, owed a $1.6MM qualifying offer.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While Boone Jenner has arguably been the Blue Jackets’ most reliable center in recent years, he won’t be lining up there to start the season. Instead, Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch relays that the captain will instead line up on the left wing on the top line. Jenner has been a reliable faceoff specialist over the years but with Sean Monahan being added in free agency and Adam Fantilli now fully recovered from a calf laceration that caused him to miss the second half last season, new head coach Dean Evason wants to see how Jenner fares in Johnny Gaudreau’s old spot, hoping that his forechecking will lead to some additional opportunities.
- Hurricanes winger William Carrier is only expected to miss a couple of days with the lower-body injury that held him out of practice yesterday, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Head coach Rod Brind’Amour noted that they’re merely being extra cautious with the newcomer. Carrier signed a six-year, $12MM contract with Carolina over the summer after spending the last seven years with Vegas where he averaged three hits per game while chipping in with 99 points in 372 appearances.
Morning Notes: Shesterkin, Ovechkin, Chychrun, Clifford
Superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin spoke highly of the Rangers organization, but added that you never know what can happen, when asked about his looming contract year shares Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Talks around Shesterkin’s next deal will be the contract negotiations to watch this season, likely to be the deal that sets the bar for goalie salaries.
That’s an apt responsibility for Shesterkin, perhaps the best goalie in the NHL. He’s coming off yet another strong season, posting 36 wins and a .913 save percentage in 55 starts – a stat line that ranked second, eighth, and 10th among the league’s goalies respectively. Those are dazzling numbers, but actually marked a career-low year for the 28-year-old, who managed a higher save percentage in each of his previous four seasons. That includes his Vezina-winning 2021-22 campaign, when Shesterkin set the second-highest save percentage since 2000 – a .935 in 53 games, then only behind Tim Thomas’ 2010-11 campaign, though Linus Ullmark has since split the bunch.
Either way, the down year is much more a testament to Shesterkin’s greatness than a sign of decline. Even at his worst, he sits among the absolute best goalies in the league. The Rangers will have the dreaded task of paying for that value next summer. They may need to prepare for a deal north of $10MM annually – which would put a second eight-figure man on the Rangers roster, next to Artemi Panarin.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Washington Capitals returned forward Alex Ovechkin and defender Jakob Chychrun to the practice ice early this morning, looking to catch both players up after Ovechkin missed parts of training camp with a small injury, while Chychrun faced an illness shares NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Both players could be headed for top-line roles this season, making their conditioning a top priority for the playoff-hopeful Capitals. Ovechkin in particular will be the focus of the hockey world this year, sitting just 42 goals back from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record. He’s hit that scoring mark on 13 different occasions, including as recent as the 2022-23 campaign. That record, and their role in Washington’s long-term success, will make Ovechkin and Chychrun two names to watch closely through the rest of the Capitals training camp.
- Veteran bruiser Kyle Clifford has been designated as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Clifford signed a minor-league deal with the Toronto Marlies last month, giving him room to join yet another Maple Leafs training camp. He’ll be working towards his 15th professional season when he returns from injury. Last season marked the first year of that career where Clifford didn’t earn NHL ice time, though he stayed true to form with 140 penalty minutes in 53 AHL games.