It’s the busiest day of the year for hockey fans and writers alike. The unrestricted free agent market opens at 11 a.m. CT and will see a flurry of action, including some star power changing hands. PHR’s Josh Erickson is kicking off today’s festivities with a live chat beginning at 7 a.m. CT. You can view the transcript using this link.
Rangers Sign Sam Carrick To Three-Year Deal
The New York Rangers are expected to sign forward Sam Carrick to a three-year, $3MM contract per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The deal was first reported by St. Louis Blues rinkside reporter Andy Strickland (Twitter link).
Carrick continued to improve his stat line this season – though he wasn’t focused much on scoring. Instead, Carrick recorded 111 penalty minutes in 77 games this season, a career-high in the NHL and the most he’s recorded since the 2014-15 AHL season. 90 of those penalty minutes came in 61 games with the Anaheim Ducks, though Carrick dialed things back a bit after moving to the Edmonton Oilers are the Trade Deadline. He recorded a much more modest 12 penalty minutes in 16 regular-season games with Edmonton, though he added 12 more penalty minutes in 10 postseason games. Between the two teams, Carrick also posted a meager 10 goals and 16 points.
Carrick is certainly not known for his scoring, with his career totals up to 53 points and 316 penalty minutes in 240 games after his eighth season in the NHL. But Carrick makes up for the lack of scoring with grit and intangibles, boasting a dazzling 63.1 faceoff-percentage in his brief stint with Edmonton – bringing his success rate at the faceoff dot up to 50.7 percent across his career. He’s served as a stout, bottom-line centerman with the ability to play penalty-killing minutes, when it’s not his own penalties that are being killed. He’ll offer depth down New York’s depth chart, following the loss of Alexander Wennberg to the open market.
Hurricanes Sign Eric Robinson
The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to sign forward Eric Robinson to a one-year deal with a cap hit of $950K, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). Robinson spent last season with the Buffalo Sabres, where he recorded nine points across 40 games.
Buffalo acquired Robinson in December, dealing a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick back to the Columbus Blue Jackets – though Columbus would only receive the pick if Robinson played in 45 games. He fell just shy of that mark and is now moving on from Buffalo, effectively giving the Sabres a trial run of his services.
Columbus originally signed Robinson as an undrafted free agent in 2018, following the end of his tenure at Princeton University. He spent the 2018-19 season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he scored an evenly split 24 points in 45 games. The strong AHL year was enough to earn Robinson 13 appearances in the NHL that year, though he’d go without a point. Still, he caught the ice of someone in Columbus, and would earn a consistent role as the team’s extra forward in 2019-20. Robinson served that role proudly, and even managed a career-high of 10 goals and 27 points in the 2021-22 campaign.
Robinson couldn’t hang onto his modest scoring in Buffalo, as he faced hefty pressure for his role on the team’s fourth line. He should receive some relief with the Hurricanes, who sit three forward spots shy of a full roster with $23.874MM in cap space. Carolina still needs to re-sign or replace restricted free agents Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis, and Jack Drury – with the latter offering the most competition for Robinson’s spot on the bottom line.
Blackhawks Sign Tyler Bertuzzi To Four-Year Deal
Multiple reports overnight indicate the Blackhawks are expected to land winger Tyler Bertuzzi when the UFA market opens at 11 a.m. CT today, although Daily Faceoff’s Jay Rosehill was on it first. It’ll be a four-year, $22MM deal ($5.5MM AAV), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
Chicago will be Bertuzzi’s first turn after a one-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bertuzzi joined Toronto on a one-year, $5.5MM deal last summer and proceeded to have a fine year, netting 21 goals and 43 points in 80 games. He also added four points in seven postseason games. It was a middling performance, though still a step up from Bertuzzi’s 2022-23 campaign.
He kicked off that year with 14 points in 29 games with the Detroit Red Wings before being traded to the Boston Bruins at the 2023 Trade Deadline in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Bertuzzi managed a modest 16 points in 21 regular season games with Boston, though he found his spark when the team needed him – tallying 10 points, split evenly, in seven games during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bertuzzi looked comfortable in Boston after spending the previous six seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit originally drafted Bertuzzi in the second half of the 2013 NHL Draft’s second round, promoting him to the NHL in the 2016-17 season. And while he was able to set a trend of topping 45 points each season in Detroit, there were concerns about how his rough-and-tumble style would translate to a new scene. That made a strong performance with the Bruins imperative – and Bertuzzi held up enough to convince Toronto that they were missing his top-of-the-lineup grit.
But Bertuzzi wasn’t able to carve out too comfortable of a role with the Leafs. He spent the year bouncing around the team’s top six as they looked for how to best deploy their new additions of Bertuzzi and Max Domi. In the end, it was Domi who found more comfort next to stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner – ultimately kicking Bertuzzi down to the second line. Toronto, amidst their typical cap crunch, was only expected to keep one of these new additions and made their choice by delivering a four-year extension to Domi.
That leaves Bertuzzi free to join an up-and-coming Blackhawks club. He joins the lineup as, presently, their highest-paid forward, speaking to the leadership role he’ll have over a group of young forwards, headlined by star youngsters Connor Bedard and Artyom Levshunov. Bertuzzi could vie for a role on Bedard’s line, sat opposite Taylor Hall, though it seems more likely that the Hawks keep Philipp Kurashev next to their star and use Bertuzzi to offer a punch on the second line. If that is the role he finds himself in, Bertuzzi will instead be supporting top prospect Frank Nazar, who’s poised for his rookie season after signing an entry-level contract this summer.
A four-year deal will carry Bertuzzi through his age-33 season in 2027-28. With Bertuzzi signed, Chicago now has $23.4MM in cap space, with one forward spot and three defense spots still open. Some of those roles could go to prospects like Nick Lardis, Ethan Del Mastro, or Nolan Allan – though Chicago still has plenty of budget for other free-agent additions.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Stars Re-Sign Sam Steel
July 1, 6:08 a.m.: While the team hasn’t announced it, CapFriendly reflects that Steel’s deal has been signed.
June 30, 10:40 p.m.: Although he wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer earlier today, it looks like Sam Steel will be staying in Dallas. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports (Twitter link) that the center is expected to ink a one-year, $1.2MM contract to remain with the Stars.
The 26-year-old has actually been non-tendered in three straight years to avoid giving him arbitration eligibility which could have pushed the price tag higher than his previous teams wanted to pay. That resulted in Anaheim letting him go in 2022 while Minnesota did the same last summer, paving the way for him to sign a one-year, $850K deal with the Stars on the open day of free agency last summer.
Steel had a quality year with Dallas in their bottom six, recording 24 points in 77 games while averaging a little over 13 minutes per game including nearly two minutes per night shorthanded. He also suited up in all 19 playoff contests, picking up a goal and four helpers.
For his career, Steel has played in 339 NHL games between the Ducks, Wild, and Stars. While he was a high-end scorer in junior, that hasn’t translated to the pros as he has just 43 goals and 74 assists in those appearances; the fact that he has become a capable defensive forward will help extend his career as it makes him a better fit to play in the bottom six.
In the end, Steel will wind up with a $350K raise, a pretty good outcome as it will be the first seven-figure contract of his career. Meanwhile, the Stars were able to avoid the risk of going to arbitration while ensuring they can keep him at a rate they can afford. With at least seven more players needed to fill out their roster, expect Dallas to be busy in the coming days.
Kraken Sign John Hayden, Others To Extensions
July 1, 6:03 a.m.: The Kraken also re-upped veteran depth winger Max McCormick on a two-year, two-way deal last night with a $775K cap hit. McCormick, 32, has been in the Seattle organization since its inception. He’s spent his time with the Kraken primarily in the minors, where he’s captained the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds to back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances. The feisty, 5’11”, 187-lb forward has continued to be a solid offensive presence on the farm, coming off a strong 2023-24 campaign with 32 goals and 60 points in 68 games. He’s made 11 NHL appearances with Seattle over the past three years, going without a point.
June 30, 4:00 p.m.: The Seattle Kraken have signed forward John Hayden to a one-year, one-way contract extension (Twitter link). The deal will carry an average annual value of $775K, the league minimum. Seattle has also signed the inaugural Kraken, Luke Henman, to a one-year, two-way extension, also carrying league minimum pricing (Twitter link). Continuing the string of signings, Seattle also inked goaltender Ales Stezka to a one-year, two-way, league-minimum contract (Twitter link).
It will mark Hayden’s third straight year in the Kraken organization as he’s begun seeing his time wane at the NHL level. After playing in 55 contests for the Buffalo Sabres during the 2021-22 NHL season, Hayden has only played in nine games in Seattle since the start of the 2022-23 NHL season. Primarily playing for the AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Hayden has been a big part of the young team securing back-to-back Western Conference Final Championships.
The now-veteran forward has appeared in 112 regular season games for the Firebirds as he’s collected 32 goals and 59 points in the process. During the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Hayden was one of the more effective players on the roster as he scored nine goals and 13 points over 18 games. Due to his efforts both on and off the ice in Coachella Valley, the Kraken made an easy call of re-upping him for another year.
Seattle also extends the first official player of the Kraken organization in Henman. Since signing his entry-level contract with the team on May 12th, 2021, Henman has played 162 games at the AHL level with Coachella Valley and the Charlotte Checkers. As more of a depth piece even in the AHL, Henman has only put up 20 goals and 43 points throughout his three-year tenure in the Kraken organization.
Lastly, Stezka represents a good bit of organizational depth in the goaltender position as he served in a backup role with the Firebirds last year. In 27 games played, Stezka produced a record of 18-6-2 with a 2.48 goals against average and a .914 save percentage in addition to two shutouts. Unfortunately, Stezka would fail to collect any minutes during the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs as the team elected to run with veteran option Chris Driedger through the spring contest.
Snapshots: Murray, Canucks, Studenic, Lomberg
Defenseman Ryan Murray has had a long history when it comes to chronic back injuries. He played just 13 games in 2022-23 and didn’t play anywhere this past season. However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Murray had surgery which he believes has solved his chronic back troubles and he will be looking to land a PTO with an NHL team this summer. The 29-year-old was the second-overall pick back in 2012 and has played in 445 career contests at the top level so far, recording 15 goals, 116 assists, and 716 blocked shots. PTO agreements often take longer to materialize so Murray will likely have to wait a while to see what opportunities might become available closer to training camp in September.
More from around the hockey world:
- Although the expectation was that the Canucks would go with Arturs Silovs as Thatcher Demko’s backup next season, that might no longer be the case. Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report (subscription link) that Vancouver will be shopping for a veteran netminder on the open market and it appears that they’re willing to spend around $1.5MM for that player. Casey DeSmith served as the second-string option this past season but does not appear to be an option at this time. Silovs still has one year of waiver exemption remaining so there’s a case to be made that he’d be better served playing as the starter in the minors over seeing second-string duty with Vancouver.
- Kraken free agent winger Marian Studenic has inked a two-year deal with SHL Farjestad, per a team release. The 25-year-old spent most of the year with AHL Coachella Valley, recording 15 goals and 29 assists in 64 games, earning him a two-game recall to Seattle. Studenic also added 11 points in 18 playoff contests for the Firebirds. However, rather than stick around in the minors, he’s opting to try his hand overseas.
- Pending UFA winger Ryan Lomberg appears to have priced himself past what the Panthers can afford, relays David Dwork of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 29-year-old put up 12 goals and 20 points in 2022-23 but was limited to just five goals and two assists in 75 games this past season although he added a career-high 175 hits. Lomberg played on an $800K AAV for the last two years and Florida will need to have several players at that price point again next season. If Lomberg believes he can beat that on the open market – a reasonable assumption – then he’ll have to go elsewhere to get it.
Free Agent Notes: Reinhart, Ekman-Larsson, Joseph, Lafferty
Contract discussions between the Panthers and Sam Reinhart appear to be going down to the wire, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old is coming off a career year, one that saw him score 57 goals and 37 assists while playing in all 82 games, setting new personal bests in goals and points. He didn’t produce at quite the same rate in the playoffs but still managed 16 points in 24 games to help lead Florida to their first Stanley Cup title. Reinhart is in line for a significant raise on the $6.5MM AAV he had over the last three seasons while getting a max-term agreement. However, the length of that max-term contract is about to change. Unless a contract is agreed to by 11 PM CT, Florida will be capped at offering only seven years. If a deal is reached before that time, they can make it an eight-year agreement.
More free agent news:
- While the Panthers are hoping to keep Reinhart in the fold, it looks like they won’t be re-signing Oliver Ekman-Larsson, at least not yet. Rick Dhaliwal of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the veteran blueliner will be testing the open market. After being bought out by Vancouver last summer, the 32-year-old signed a one-year, $2.25MM deal with Florida to try to rebuild his value. The move worked as Ekman-Larsson had a solid season, notching 32 points in 80 games while logging over 18 minutes a night. He also recorded six points in 24 playoff contests.
- Although the Penguins non-tendered defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph earlier today, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are still discussing a new deal. The 24-year-old had more of a limited role in 2023-24, getting into 52 games where he had 11 points while logging a little over 15 minutes a night. Joseph was arbitration-eligible and Pittsburgh didn’t want to give him that option, resulting in him not getting his qualifying offer. It’s a tactic we’re seeing more of lately with teams then sometimes circling back to work out a deal after. We’ll see if this is one of those cases.
- While the Blackhawks asked for the negotiating rights to Sam Lafferty to be added in the Ilya Mikheyev trade earlier this week, Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the veteran will test the market. Lafferty spent parts of two years with Chicago and had discussions on a new deal with them following his rights being acquired but instead will see what’s out there. The 29-year-old had 13 goals and 11 assists in 79 games with Vancouver after being acquired late in training camp from Toronto.
Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks
Free agency is now less than a week away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Blackhawks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Taylor Raddysh – In his first full season with the Blackhawks during the 2022-23 NHL season, Raddysh led the pack after Chicago parted ways with Patrick Kane at the trade deadline. In 78 games, Raddysh scored 20 goals and 37 points and appeared to be locking down a position in the Blackhawks’ top six. Unfortunately, his production dropped precipitously this past season as Raddysh only mustered five goals and 14 points in 73 contests. Because of the roster flexibility, Chicago will likely give Raddysh one more chance on a one-year contract to determine his staying power with the organization.
D Isaak Phillips – As a strong performer for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs over the last several years, Phillips was beginning to look like a rising prospect in the Blackhawks’ farm system. Those same talents have been able to transfer to the NHL level, however, as Phillips has struggled to one goal and 11 points in 53 games over the last three seasons. Similarly to Raddysh, Chicago may give Phillips one more chance at the NHL level on a one-year pact to determine if they want to keep Phillips for the long haul. If he is unable to make the cut, the Blackhawks will have several prospects to pick from to graduate to the NHL.
Other RFAs: F Mackenzie Entwistle, F Joey Anderson, F Reese Johnson, F Michal Teply, D Louis Crevier, D Filip Roos, G Jaxson Stauber
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Tyler Johnson – It has been quite some time since Johnson has been worthy of a $5MM salary at the NHL level. Before the 2017-18 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Johnson to a seven-year, $35MM contract and he only managed two quality seasons under that extension. Once his play completely came off the rails during the 2020-21 NHL season, the Lightning dealt Johnson and his contract to Chicago for the contract of defenseman Brent Seabrook. Outside of an injury-riddled 2021-22 season, Johnson has combined for 29 goals and 63 points over the last two years. Johnson could garner some interest as a bottom-six option on the free-agent market this summer but all signs indicate it will not be with the Blackhawks.
F Colin Blackwell – If Blackwell had it his way, he would already be under contract with the Blackhawks next season as he has already publicized his desire to stay with the organization. However, with the amount of prospects in Chicago, the forward core may become too saturated to defend re-signing Blackwell. Even though he is a defensively-minded forward and can help prevent pucks from going in Chicago’s net, the Blackhawks will likely look for a younger option internally to replace Blackwell’s minutes.
Other UFAs: F Rem Pitlick, F Mike Hardman, F Luke Philp, F David Gust, D Nikita Zaitsev, D Jarred Tinordi, D Jaycob Megna
Projected Cap Space
The Blackhawks could go in a lot of different directions this summer as they own the fourth-most cap space of any team in the league. Heading into tomorrow’s action, Chicago has approximately $28.9MM to work with. With the team making notable noise in the past two drafts, the Blackhawks should have a clear vision of their short and long-term plans.
It will be important to stay mindful though as Chicago will not want to put itself into a bloated future. The team is only two years away from being able to offer rookie phenom Connor Bedard an extension and it will be important for the team to build their cap structure around him. Whatever direction they ultimately take this summer, the Blackhawks have a superb amount of freedom to operate compared to other teams around the league.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Oliver Kylington To Test Free Agency
For the past several weeks, the Flames and Oliver Kylington had been talking about a new contract with a mutual desire to get something done. Early in the day, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported that Calgary hadn’t given up hope on getting a new deal in place. However, TSN’s Salim Valji reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner will indeed hit the open market tomorrow.
Kylington is one of the wild cards of this year’s free agent class. In 2021-22, he had a breakout campaign, collecting nine goals and 22 assists in 73 games while logging over 18 minutes a night. It looked like he had arrived as a legitimate full-time NHL blueliner, resulting in Calgary giving him a two-year, $5MM agreement.
However, the 27-year-old hardly played on that contract. He took all of 2022-23 away from the team and missed half of this season to focus on his mental health. When he did return in January, the Flames were cautious with him, easing him in. Overall, Kylington played in 33 games, picking up three goals and five assists while averaging 17:15 per contest.
For his career, Kylington has played in just 201 games, recording 55 points. That’s not a significant body of work for a typical unrestricted free agent to be negotiating off of but TSN’s Darren Dreger relays (Twitter link) that Kylington’s camp is hoping for a two-year deal with a small increase off his $2.5MM AAV from the last two years.
Contending teams might be looking for more certainty when it comes to distributing their largely limited free agent dollars around. However, teams with more flexibility might be intrigued by the potential upside if they feel Kylington can get back to the level he was at back in 2021-22. If a few of those feel that way, he might be able to get the type of commitment he’s looking for.