Notes On Connor McDavid’s Next Contract
The Edmonton Oilers got a major piece of work done earlier this week by signing forward Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $112MM contract to keep him in Alberta through his age-37 season. They will have to visit a similar situation in a year with captain Connor McDavid as he will be eligible to sign an extension with the Oilers on July 1, 2025.
McDavid may very well break Alex Ovechkin‘s record of $124MM total salary on his next deal as the expectation is that he will become the highest-paid player in the league at the very least. The salary cap for the 2025-26 NHL season is expected to land around $92MM which would theoretically allow Edmonton to pay McDavid a maximum of $18.4MM a season. McDavid would only have to receive $15.5MM a year over an eight-year term to match Ovechkin’s record.
It doesn’t sound like McDavid is interested in receiving the maximum 20% of the total cap as he avoided that salary during his last negotiations with the Oilers. On his most recent episode of the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “The story I always heard about Connor McDavid’s last negotiation, Jeff Jackson is now the President of the Oilers, he was the agent at the time, and, you know, one of the things they said was, the maximum any player can be paid at the cap is 20% and at the time, they said, we’re not going to ask for 20% and the Oilers are like, ‘Oh, Thank God.’ And because if he would have asked for 20% they would have paid it. But McDavid wasn’t interested in that“.
McDavid’s desire to win likely plays a part in his avoiding a record-setting salary up to this point. If the former sought the max salary, the Oilers would only have around 65% of their cap space left to put together a competitive team around McDavid and Draisaitl.
As much fun as it would be to see McDavid become an unrestricted free agent in two years, there is no reason to doubt his commitment to Edmonton. All signs are pointing to the Oilers extending McDavid as quickly as they can, especially after making such a strong commitment to Draisaitl. He won’t come cheap though as McDavid will likely become the highest-paid player of all time on his next contract.
Possible Comparables For Dawson Mercer’s Contract
One of the more prominent remaining free agents is Devils forward Dawson Mercer. While he’s coming off a down season, he has had enough success over his first three NHL seasons that New Jersey would likely want to work out a long-term deal with them. Whether they can afford to, however, might be a different story.
The 22-year-old had the lowest output of his career last season but still managed 20 goals and 13 assists while playing all 82 games for the third straight year. But with a 42-point effort in his rookie season and a 56-point showing in his sophomore campaign, there’s enough of a track record for a long-term deal to potentially make sense.
Looking at some potential comparables, one of their division rivals has a couple of them in Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny (his current deal, not the extension he just signed). Both were post-entry-level pacts, checking in at $5MM and $5.5MM respectively. Mercer’s numbers are better than Farabee’s so it’s likely to come in above that while Mercer’s best year was better than Konecny’s at that point. If we use cap percentages (to reflect the increase in the salary cap at that time), the range of the two deals moves to between $5.333MM and $5.94MM.
Other possible comparable players in that range are Florida’s Anton Lundell ($5MM signed this year) and Nick Schmaltz ($5.875MM). Notably, none of those contracts were for the maximum eight years either; three were six-year agreements while Schmaltz was the exception at seven seasons. At this point, something in the high-$5MM area might be the right fit on a six-year deal for Mercer, one that would buy out two years of UFA eligibility. Going longer (adding on more UFA years) would only push that price tag higher.
But even affording the six-year contract would appear to be a challenge at first glance. At the moment, the team projects to have $4.976MM in cap space for the upcoming season, per PuckPedia, with a projected 22-player roster. They could increase that wiggle room by not carrying a full-sized roster but that leaves them vulnerable to injuries.
It’s also worth mentioning that they have more than $5MM in potential performance bonuses for Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes so they may want to leave themselves some wiggle room to absorb some of those – if earned – on the 2024-25 cap instead of rolling them over to their 2025-26 cap. Additionally, they will almost certainly want to leave themselves some room for in-season movement.
Put it all together and a long-term contract simply isn’t doable, not without moving someone of consequence off their current roster. And while something like that isn’t impossible, a lot of teams are now tight to the cap ceiling so it’s not as easy as it was six weeks ago to move money; let’s face it, it wasn’t all that easy then either.
That squarely pushes the contract needle in the bridge direction for Mercer. A two-year agreement would only cover one arbitration-eligible season but should check in around the $3.5MM per season mark, one that would leave GM Tom Fitzgerald at least $1MM in flexibility heading into the fall. That’s not a lot – especially if there’s an early injury – but that would still have them in reasonable shape. With him being four years away from UFA eligibility, something in the three-to-five-year range would be a bit riskier so it’s less likely to be one of those lengths.
While it might sound simple enough in theory, this is the type of contractual situation that can drag out. If Mercer’s camp wants to hold out for the possibility of a long-term agreement, they’ll need to wait to see if something happens in terms of roster movement over the next six weeks or so. And if both sides are resigned to a short-term agreement, Mercer could simply opt to wait until closer to camp to see if there’s an injury that gives him a bit more leverage and perhaps gives him a chance at a bit more money. Neither of those scenarios are any reason for concern, that’s just sometimes how things play out with players coming off entry-level deals if they’re not signed at this point.
Despite the down year, Mercer is quite likely to be viewed as a key piece of New Jersey’s plans for the foreseeable future. But with how their roster looks, it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to give him the type of contract commensurate with a core player. Barring a change, that contract will have to come after they get through a bridge deal first.
Flyers Notes: Johansen, Kolosov, Znarok
While the Flyers were hoping to get some confirmation on the Ryan Johansen situation in the near future, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that it may take until closer to the start of the regular season before they get a resolution on that front. Philadelphia has run the veteran through termination waivers citing a breach of contract, one that his representation intends to grieve citing Johansen’s hip injury. However, the actual termination has not yet taken place, meaning his $4MM cap charge remains on their books in full. At the moment, the team would need to dip into LTIR, per PuckPedia, an outcome that wouldn’t be necessary if the Flyers are indeed able to get Johansen’s deal off their books entirely.
More from Philadelphia:
- Also from Kurz, a team source notes that Alexei Kolosov’s situation remains “in limbo” after a late-August meeting between the club and the goaltender’s representatives. His situation has been well-documented with Kolosov’s desire being to play in the KHL this season on loan, something that the Flyers don’t want to do. While Calvin Petersen (pending waiver clearance in the preseason) will be at AHL Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia’s preference is to have Kolosov developing down there as their third-stringer with the potential to see NHL action at some point in the season. We’ll find out in the coming weeks which side gets their way.
- While not announced by the team, they have hired long-time international coach Oleg Znarok as their European Player Development and Scouting Consultant, according to their hockey personnel page. The 61-year-old coached in Latvia and Russia for the better part of two decades, including multiple stints at the World Championship and the Olympics. Out of coaching since late 2022, it appears that Znarok has given up on going back behind a bench and will now serve as an advisor to a Philadelphia team that is getting Matvei Michkov this season while having Ivan Fedotov for an entire year after he got his feet wet in the NHL late in 2023-24.
Chase De Leo Expected To Sign In KHL
September 7: De Leo has officially signed with Barys Astana, per a team announcement. He receives a one-year deal.
August 24: After spending the last two full seasons in the minors, it appears that UFA forward Chase De Leo is opting to try his hand overseas. Sport-Express’ Ivan Bohun reports that De Leo is expected to sign a one-year contract with Barys Astana of the KHL.
The 28-year-old has been a quality producer in the AHL for the past nine seasons, including 2023-24 when he put up 15 goals and 33 assists in 52 games with San Diego, good for third on Anaheim’s farm team in scoring despite missing 20 games. However, despite the solid production, none of those games missed were due to an NHL opportunity but rather an injury.
For his career, De Leo has 135 goals and 214 assists in 494 AHL appearances. But that level of production hasn’t yielded much of an opportunity at the top level. While he has seen NHL action in five seasons (most recently in 2021-22 with New Jersey), his total number of NHL contests is only seven where he wasn’t able to hit the scoresheet.
De Leo has been subject to the AHL veteran rule for the past three seasons, a restriction that often makes it difficult for older players to find another opportunity at that level. Whether that’s the reason for De Leo’s expected signing with Astana or whether he just wants to try another league, it appears his time in North America is coming to an end for the time being.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Nashville Predators
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 begin with a look at the Central Division; next up is Nashville.
Nashville Predators
Current Cap Hit: $84,904,199 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Luke Evangelista (one year, $797.5K)
Evangelista’s first full NHL campaign was a good one as he notched 39 points after putting up 15 points in 24 games in 2022-23. That isn’t a statistical profile that suggests a long-term agreement will be forthcoming but if he can have a similar offensive showing this season, Evangelista could approach the $3MM mark on a bridge agreement.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Dante Fabbro ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Gustav Nyquist ($3.15MM, UFA)
Nyquist came to Nashville in the middle of a down season which hurt his market last summer. However, his first full season with the Preds was his best as he set new career bests in assists (52) and points (75). A repeat showing could give him a shot at a fair-sized raise, albeit on a short-term deal as he’ll be 36 when the 2025-26 season kicks off.
Fabbro has shown flashes of being a key secondary piece on Nashville’s back end in the past but has settled into more of a depth role in recent years. That said, he’s still just 26 and as a right-shot player, he should still command a fair bit of interest next summer in free agency. Even if he stays in the role he’s had lately, he should push past the $3MM mark on his next contract.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Mark Jankowski ($800K, UFA)
D Jeremy Lauzon ($2MM, UFA)
F Michael McCarron ($900K, UFA)
D Luke Schenn ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Cole Smith ($1MM, UFA)
F Colton Sissons ($2.857MM, UFA)
D Spencer Stastney ($825K, RFA)
G Scott Wedgewood ($1.5MM, UFA)
Sissons’ seven-year contract drew some ire at the time for someone whose role was somewhat limited at the time but it has held up relatively well in most of those seasons. He has provided enough secondary scoring to give them some value on that front while being a key defensive player. He should land another multi-year deal above $3MM if that holds up the next two years. Smith has emerged as a viable fourth-line physical winger over the last two seasons. Those players tend to do well on the open market still so if he can push past the double-digit goal mark, he could double his price tag in 2026. McCarron and Jankowski have been depth players throughout their careers and are likely to see their future contracts check in relatively close to the league minimum.
Schenn had a resurgent season in 2022-23, moving him from someone making around the minimum salary to someone making nearly four times that much. He had a limited role with the Preds last season; it’s fair to suggest they were expecting him to cover more than 15 minutes a night. Continuing with that level of ice time could land him back near the minimum in 2026.
Lauzon was counted on to play a bigger role last season, ranking fourth among Nashville blueliners in ATOI while leading the NHL in hits by 60 over the next closest player. Two more years like that would give him a strong market heading to free agency where doubling his current price tag could be doable. Stastney split last season between Nashville and AHL Milwaukee and might be in a similar role this season. He’ll need to crack the lineup full-time before having a shot at passing the $1MM mark.
Wedgewood had a good run as the backup in Dallas which allowed him to get a 50% raise on this deal with Nashville. Barring injury, he won’t be counted on to play as many games as a top-level backup and if that winds up being the case, that will prevent him from getting closer to the top backup money ($3MM or more) that many netminders have received in recent years.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Alexandre Carrier ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Thomas Novak ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Ryan O’Reilly ($4.5MM, UFA)
The decision to sign O’Reilly as their top center last summer was a bit of a curious one considering that he hadn’t been in that role for several years and the fact he was coming off his lowest point-per-game rate since he was a teenager. However, he showed that he still had a high level of offense in his game while continuing to be an above-average player at the faceoff dot and a strong defender. Even if there’s a bit of a dip in his production given some of the extra firepower brought in this summer, this is still a good price tag if O’Reilly ultimately settles in as more of a second liner. There may be some concern for the final year of the deal when he’s 36 but right now, this has worked out quite well for the Preds.
Novak was a feel-good story in 2022-23, putting up 43 points in 51 games after being recalled from the minors. He showed last year that the performance wasn’t just a mirage, surpassing the 40-point mark again, earning himself this new deal in the process. As long as Novak continues to stay around the 40-point range, Nashville will get at least a reasonable return on this contract.
Carrier bounced back well after a rough 2022-23 season, spending a lot of time in Nashville’s top four which gave him some leverage heading to the open market. He opted not to test it, instead accepting a 50% increase in his cap hit, not a bad outcome for someone who only became a regular NHL player in 2021-22.
Snapshots: Laine, Lankinen, CBA Talks
While Patrik Laine was eventually traded to Montreal, it appears as if that wasn’t the originally planned destination for the winger. La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported earlier this week that the Wild had been in discussions to acquire the 26-year-old with GM Bill Guerin acknowledging to him that he thought he had a chance to get Laine. However, Guerin indicated that Laine didn’t want to go to Minnesota which implies that the Wild were one of the teams on his partial no-trade list. Considering his $8.7MM cap hit and Minnesota’s particularly tight cap situation, it would have been interesting to see how Guerin was going to make it work in terms of fitting in Laine’s contract on their books.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While the Canucks have been linked to veteran goaltender Kevin Lankinen on the tryout front as they look to get some insurance for training camp, Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston relays that the veteran’s intention is to secure a full contract offer and not go the PTO route. The 29-year-old has been a backup for the last four seasons, posting a respectable 3.05 GAA with a .905 SV% over stints with Chicago and Nashville but with so few teams needing goalie depth at the moment, a guaranteed deal at this point will be hard to come by for Lankinen.
- Marty Walsh, executive director of the NHLPA, told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that there have not yet been any major discussions pertaining to the next CBA, noting it’s still a bit early to get into those talks. The current agreement is set to expire following the 2025-26 season. This will be Walsh’s first CBA that he works on after taking over for Don Fehr back in 2023. While it was recently noted that there is an uptick in signing bonus money for 2026-27 as insurance against a possible work stoppage, Walsh indicated that it shouldn’t be construed as a sign of possible concern.
PHR Mailbag: Blue Jackets, Deferred Contracts, Perfetti, Raymond, Rangers, Ducks, September Moves
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include a discussion on deferred contracts, Anaheim’s interest in moving out a pair of long-time veterans, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag.
User 1773920983: With Johnny Gaudreau passing away, what will happen to CBJ’s salary cap? They will fall below if it is removed.
vh33: I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I was wondering: due to the death of Johnny Gaudreau, what happens with the cap hit for the Blue Jackets and the salary? Will the cap hit be reduced? Or in the books for the remainder of his contract? And will the heirs receive his remaining salary? What are the rules for these tragic occasions?
Gaudreau’s contract comes off the books in full for Columbus which does indeed put them under the Lower Limit of $65MM for the upcoming season. Per PuckPedia, they’re around $62.3MM with a 22-player roster at the moment so they do have a bit of work to do on that front.
It’s possible that they ask for some sort of waiver from the league to start the season below that amount given the circumstances but I think the NHLPA would need to sign off as well. Their preference would obviously be that Columbus goes and signs a couple of free agents to make up the difference which is an option. I expect the Blue Jackets will go the trade route and take on a player or two from teams needing or wanting to clear salary, picking up some draft picks in consideration for doing so. Given that they’re a team that’s likely to sell at the trade deadline, I could see $67MM being a soft target, giving them a path to stay above the Lower Limit even if they move a player or two during the year.
As for what is and isn’t paid out, let’s start with the contract itself. To the best of my understanding, the family won’t receive any of the remaining payments. Assuming the $2MM signing bonus in his contract was already paid, that’s the last direct payment in the deal.
However, the family will receive some money. Article 23 of the CBA provides some information on the insurance of contracts which is relevant here. From my interpretation, there should be a $1MM life insurance policy as well as an accidental death policy valued at the base salary for that season which in this case is $7.75MM (it excludes the signing bonus). There’s also a six-month extension of benefits for the family (added in the 2020 CBA extension) with an option to elect (purchase) continuation of coverage beyond that.
aka.nda: Deferred payments in contracts… how many can be in place, and for how much and what duration? How do they count against the cap if they’re paid out the day the season ends vs. some other time?
There are no restrictions on deferred payments in terms of how many can be in place, for how much, or for how long.
As for the second question, the end of the season still falls within the League Year so the quickest way to answer it is to go right to the CBA – Sec. 50.2(ii)(A):
Player Salary denominated as “Deferred” but payable within the term of the SPC shall be counted in the League Year in which the Player Salary is paid and shall not be treated as Deferred Salary.
That covers the day after the season ends but let’s look at another time. More specifically, a deferral that is payable outside the term of the contract and payable outside the League Year (let’s say July 1st). At that point, the value of the deferral is discounted to the present value of that compensation in the year it was earned. Logically, the further out the payment of the deferred money, the lower the present value and therefore the lower the cap hit. That’s my attempt at a simple explanation for a concept that isn’t all that simple. PuckPedia has a nice breakdown with some more details of contract deferrals if you’re interested in reading up on it further.
I’m going to quickly comment on the idea of deferred salary in general having seen a lot of general speculation that the two deals Carolina did could lead to a spike in these types of agreements. I don’t think that will be the case. With escrow stabilizing, there’s going to be more effort into front-loading contracts as much as possible, especially for established top players. They then get more money sooner which is the key objective.
Deferred contracts are more or less the opposite as players have to wait longer to get paid. Presumably, they’re getting more in the end to make up for the deferral but they have to wait. That’s how Carolina got around the perceived internal ceiling of Seth Jarvis’ deal being the $7.75MM that Andrei Svechnikov has. The AAV based on total earnings is higher at $7.9MM but the cap hit is only $7.42MM based on the three deferred payments to the day after the contract officially expires. It’s a creative solution but while we might see a few more of these deals (to be fair, Carolina’s two weren’t the first of its kind; they’ve happened before albeit rarely), this isn’t going to be the start of a new trend.
Cla23: What does a Cole Perfetti and Lucas Raymond contract look like?
For Perfetti, I think the two sides are going to hone in on a bridge deal. He only has 75 career points under his belt so I have a hard time believing that the two sides can find a number that they’ll be happy with on a long-term agreement. Perfetti wouldn’t lock in close to a max term for less than $6MM as he undoubtedly feels he has another level to get to offensively while given his performance so far, I doubt the Jets would go that high. I expect a two-year term will be the target which should check in around $3MM per season, perhaps backloaded slightly to secure a higher qualifying offer. That also fits nicely within Winnipeg’s current cap situation, giving them a chance to bank some in-season cap space.
As for Raymond, it looks like a long-term agreement is the goal and GM Steve Yzerman made sure to leave enough cap space to afford one. His platform season was strong (31 goals, 41 assists) and there’s probably a belief that he can beat those numbers down the road. I could see Raymond’s camp looking to best Cole Caufield’s contract (eight years, $7.85MM AAV) as he has better numbers now than the Montreal winger did at the time while Detroit is probably hoping to get that into the high-six range which lines up more with the cap percentage on Dylan Larkin’s post-entry-level deal. I’ll go with seven years at $7.8MM or eight years at $8MM as the end result.
sha44ron! Due to the cap limits, the Rangers were unable to improve their bottom six so do you think that will hurt them this year?
I’ll start with this general thought. If the bottom six is the biggest issue that a team has heading into the regular season, that’s a pretty good spot to be in. And that’s where the Rangers are.
I’m not sure I agree that they haven’t been able to improve their bottom six. As long as Filip Chytil stays healthy (granted, that’s far from a given), that’s a big improvement right there as he’s not passing Mika Zibanejad or Vincent Trocheck on the center depth chart. If Reilly Smith’s addition pushes Kaapo Kakko onto the third line as well, now you have a third line that should be a capable secondary scoring trio.
I also think there’s room for internal improvement in the bottom six. Will Cuylle should take a step forward while if they get a chance, Brennan Othmann and Adam Edstrom could contribute.
With New York’s overall talent, they’re in good shape for the season so they can be patient with their bottom six. If the things I mentioned above happen and it’s a better group than expected, great. If not, they can try to address it at the trade deadline. If it’s still a problem going into the playoffs, then I’d be a bit more concerned but for now, I don’t think it will hurt them too much.
Pacific Notes: Flames, DeAngelo, Brisebois
With the Flames heading into what looks to be a longer-term rebuild, there has been speculation that some of their remaining veterans might want a change of scenery. However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), GM Craig Conroy appears to be taking more of a wait-and-see approach with his current roster:
His plan is to start the year, see how it goes, and then decide what he’s going to do with some of these players. He’s asked his players to keep an open mind, see how this year goes, and then he’ll start looking at what he might need to do or what they want to do.
While some rebuilding teams have been okay with tearing it down and enduring some rough losing seasons, Conroy has talked about staying competitive during this stretch. Accordingly, it makes sense that he’d like to hold onto his remaining veteran core for the time being. Projected to operate just $3MM above the cap floor per PuckPedia, if the time comes to move a high-priced veteran, Conroy will have to make sure any move wouldn’t put them below that lower limit.
More from the Pacific:
- Unrestricted free agent Tony DeAngelo expressed an interest in attending Oilers camp on a PTO deal but it appears the team has said no, suggests Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. The 28-year-old is a right-shot defender, the side the team appears to be prioritizing but while he has a track record of some offensive success (with two 50-plus-point seasons), last season was a struggle for DeAngelo who managed just 11 points in 31 games while being a frequent healthy scratch. That certainly hasn’t helped his market so far in free agency.
- Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has fully recovered after dealing with a recurrence of concussion symptoms that cost him most of last season, relays Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. The 27-year-old only played in eight late-season games in the AHL in 2023-24 due to the symptoms. Brisebois has 27 career NHL appearances under his belt, all coming with Vancouver as he is the longest-contracted player in the organization having been signed to them since late in 2015.
Four Teams Have Interest In Mark Giordano
The Score’s Kyle Cushman wrote that the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs have maintained interest in veteran defenseman Mark Giordano. The oldest player in the NHL last year has spurned any interest in retirement and is again looking for an NHL opportunity next year.
He is destined for bottom-pairing responsibilities next year after averaging his lowest average time-on-ice since the 2008-09 season. He’s spent the last two-and-a-half years with the Maple Leafs organization where he’s recorded nine goals and 45 points in 144 games while averaging 18:14 a game.
Calgary represents more of a ‘feel good’ landing spot as the other three interested parties have internal expectations of contentions next season. He’s spent 15 years of his career in southern Alberta where he recorded 143 goals and 509 points in 949 games including a Norris Trophy in the 2018-19 season.
He’s seen his possession quality dip in the last several years after finishing the 2023-24 season with a 48.4 CorsiFor% compared to a 53.0% career average. He’s still a formidable bottom-pairing veteran presence and could provide a bonus to any team.
At the end of his career, the expectation is that Giordano will look to maximize his opportunity to win the Stanley Cup which would trim his potential teams down to Edmonton and Toronto. Without needing to shoulder top-level responsibility anymore at this stage in his career; he should have a ready opportunity in both organizations.
Snapshots: Sharks, Shesterkin, Perfetti, Clutterbuck
The San Jose Sharks have rounded out their kinesiological staff with the hiring of Will Leonard as head athletic trainer, Ryan Ledwon as assistant athletic trainer, and Patrick Dugan as assistant strength and conditioning coach according to beat reporter Max Miller.
Leonard will take over as the team’s second athletic trainer for the team since the 1997-98 season. The position was previously held by Ray Tufts who was relieved of duties the same day as former-head coach David Quinn on April 24th of this year. Leonard had previously served as the head athletic trainer for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda before working under Tufts for the last two years with the Sharks as an assistant athletic trainer.
Ledwon and Dugan are rookies to the organization with the former having experience in his role with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls of the Anaheim Ducks organization. Dugan’s new role with the Sharks will be marked as his first position in professional hockey.
Other snapshots:
- All signs point to Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin eclipsing the retired Carey Price to become the league’s highest-paid goalie, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast. If that’s the case, his inevitable extension to keep him off the free agent market in 2025 will check in with a cap hit north of $10.5MM. The Rangers already have over $58MM tied up for 2025-26 with only 10 players signed, per PuckPedia.
- Jets RFA Cole Perfetti may still be without a contract, but the young forward has returned to Winnipeg to train before hopefully signing a new deal before training camp, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Dreger adds that Perfetti, 22, still intends to represent the Jets at next week’s player media tour in Las Vegas, even if he doesn’t have a deal. Multiple Winnipeg-based pundits have posited a two-year bridge deal is the most likely outcome. However, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said yesterday that Perfetti’s camp is still awaiting a firm offer from the Jets.
- Free agent winger Cal Clutterbuck has spurned PTO offers as he continues to search for guaranteed employment next season, reports James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Clutterbuck, who turns 37 in November, is on the open market after spending the last 11 years in an Islanders uniform, plying his trade as a valuable fourth-line checking presence. The 2006 third-round pick of the Wild played in all 82 games last season for the first time in his 17-year NHL career, posting seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article.