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Metro Notes: Tarasenko, Perreault, Hurricanes

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a contract offer to free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Fresh off the second Stanley Cup of his career and his first with the Florida Panthers, Tarasenko passed through the first day of free agency unsigned. It’s familiar territory for the 32-year-old as he didn’t sign a contract last summer until July 27th.

Tarasenko is no longer a perennial 30-goal scorer, but he remains a solid option on the wing, particularly for the Penguins who are looking for short-term options to play alongside Sidney Crosby. Tarasenko had a good year for Ottawa and Florida, tallying 23 goals and 32 assists in 76 regular season games.

The Penguins have just $3.5MM in available cap space (as per CapFriendly) at the moment but could bury salary in the AHL to open up room should they decide to do so. They also have a stockpile of fourth-line options and could presumably trade Lars Eller or Noel Acciari to open up room for Tarasenko.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today tweeted that New York Rangers forward prospect Gabe Perreault will be going back to Boston College for his sophomore season in the NCAA. The Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick (23rd overall) isn’t sure what direction he will go after the season but given his numbers last year in the NCAA (19 goals and 41 assists in 36 games) it’s fair to wonder if he’ll turn pro. Perreault is the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault and shares many of the same on-ice traits as his father, right down to their height at 5’11”. He has yet to sign his entry-level contract but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be an issue that is bothering Rangers management.
  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes will be hiring a new president for the organization with an announcement coming in the coming weeks. Former president and general manager Don Waddell resigned back in May and his GM duties were eventually handed off to Eric Tulsky. Waddell oversaw the Hurricanes’ business operations for nearly ten years after he was hired back on July 1st, 2014. There are no indications as to who the Hurricanes new president could be, and it will add another layer of change to an organization that has seen quite a bit of it over the past six weeks. Carolina was busy in the first two days of free agency as they looked to replace the losses of Brett Pesce and Jake Guentzel who both signed elsewhere.

Penguins Sign Sebastian Aho To Two-Year Deal

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The Penguins have signed UFA defenseman Sebastian Aho to a two-year deal carrying the league minimum $775K AAV, per a team announcement. Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News was the first to report the signing Tuesday afternoon.

Aho, 28, isn’t related to the Hurricanes star center of the same name. The left-shot Swede had been a career Islander up to this point, playing in parts of five NHL seasons after being drafted by them in the fifth round in 2017.

He’d wanted to stick around with the Islanders, per Rosner, but either wasn’t offered an extension or felt he could land a better deal elsewhere. While he doesn’t get a ton of cash in his agreement with Pittsburgh, it is a one-way deal and gives him some stability through 2025-26.

Aho is in his prime and isn’t much more than a run-of-the-mill third-pairing defender, but he has proved he can handle regular NHL action. He was a regular on the Isles’ blue line one season ago, recording a career-high 23 points in 71 games with a +9 rating. He’s a solid puck mover with good defensive instincts who hasn’t seen minor-league action since before the pandemic, frequently giving New York solid depth minutes in his fringe role.

Signing Aho signals a preference for more offensively-inclined depth on defense than Pittsburgh had last year. He, along with recent UFA signing Matt Grzelcyk, has more ceiling and upward mobility than the rotating cast of John Ludvig, Ryan Shea and John St. Ivany that the Pens used in-depth roles last season. For now, he and Grzelcyk project as a potential bottom pairing on opening night. The aforementioned trio will also be in contention for roster spots.

Aho also marks a cheaper replacement with a similar skillset to Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who was left unqualified over the weekend and became a UFA. Joseph, 25, has had similar production to Aho the past two years but was due a slightly richer qualifying offer of $892.5K and was eligible for salary arbitration.

Minor Free Agent Signings: Metropolitan Division

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With over 180 deals signed during the first day of free agency yesterday, some smaller names may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here’s a list of names that have inked two-way deals with Metropolitan Division clubs since the market opened yesterday, per CapFriendly. Some of these may have been included in our main coverage yesterday, while others went under the radar. All contracts carry the league-minimum $775K cap hit unless stated otherwise). Those listed here are likely to begin 2024-25 with each team’s AHL affiliate.

Carolina Hurricanes

none

Columbus Blue Jackets

D Cole Clayton (one year, $950K entry-level cap hit)
F Owen Sillinger (one year)

New Jersey Devils

F Mike Hardman (two years)
D Colton White (two years)

New York Islanders

none

New York Rangers

none

Philadelphia Flyers

none

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Nathan Clurman (one year)
D Mac Hollowell (one year)
F Jimmy Huntington (one year)
F Bokondji Imama (one year)
D Ryan Shea (one year)

Washington Capitals

G Mitchell Gibson (one year)
D Chase Priskie (one year)

Penguins Sign Anthony Beauvillier, Blake Lizotte; Three Others

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The Penguins have signed winger Anthony Beauvillier to a one-year contract in a deal that will pay him $1.25MM next season per a team announcement. Additionally, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the team has also come to a contract agreement with Blake Lizotte on a two-year, $3.7MM contract.

Pittsburgh also announced they’ve signed forward Jimmy Huntington to a one-year deal. His pact carries the league minimum $775K cap hit. They’re also bringing in 26-year-old right-shot defenseman Nathan Clurman on a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K NHL/$125K AHL, per PuckPedia. They also re-signed 25-year-old forward Emil Bemstrom to a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K after not issuing him a qualifying offer yesterday, PuckPedia reports.

Beauvillier finds a new home after a tough 2023-24 season that saw him bounce between three different clubs. In 60 games with the Canucks, Blackhawks and Predators, the 27-year-old had only five goals and 17 points with a -8 rating. That’s a far cry from the 15-goal form he consistently flashed with the Islanders from 2017 to 2023 until his involvement in the Bo Horvat trade sent him to Vancouver.

Pittsburgh will bank on a bit of a rebound from Beauvillier on a deal that’s almost fully buriable in the minors. After moving out Reilly Smith to the Rangers today, there could be an opening for him in the top nine and on the second power play to help him rediscover some offense. He’ll challenge players like Drew O’Connor and Rickard Rakell for a potential top-six spot but should be relatively guaranteed a third-line wing spot at worst unless more additions are coming.

Lizotte slots in nicely to the fourth-line center position, taking away some responsibility from Noel Acciari, who struggled in his first campaign with Pittsburgh last year. The former King has had good possession metrics throughout his six-year, 320-game career and is coming off a solid 15 points and +11 rating in 62 games last year. Interestingly, he’s only one year removed from a breakout campaign that saw him post 34 points in 81 games – if he can recapture that kind of offensive production, that would be a major jolt of energy into a Pittsburgh bottom six that was abysmal offensively in 2023-24.

Bemström should likely stick around on the NHL roster after inking a one-way deal, but whether he opens the season in the lineup or as an extra forward is a different question. The 25-year-old Swede has been a prolific offensive producer in the minors but hasn’t carried it over to the NHL on a consistent basis, finishing the year with a mediocre three goals and five points in 24 games with Pittsburgh after they acquired him from the Blue Jackets. There are certainly worse options to insert into the lineup in a pinch, though, and there’s always hope he can rediscover his rookie season form (10 goals, 20 points in 56 games with Columbus in 2019-20).

Huntington and Clurman will head to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and are highly unlikely to see NHL action next season. Neither has any major league experience to their name thus far in their professional careers. Huntington, 25, spent last season on a minor-league deal with the Hershey Bears, where he finished the season with 14 points in 20 playoff games en route to a Calder Cup win. Clurman, a stocky 6’2″, 205-lb defender, is 26 years old and played only 37 games for the Colorado Eagles last season, recording a goal and four assists with a +5 rating.

Rangers Acquire Reilly Smith From Penguins

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The Rangers are expected to acquire winger Reilly Smith in a trade with the Penguins, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Pittsburgh is receiving a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick in return, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman reports. The teams confirmed the second-rounder is in 2027 and the fifth-rounder is a conditional 2025 selection. The Penguins are retaining 25% of Smith’s salary, bringing his cap hit down from $5MM to $3.75MM for New York. The conditional 2025 fifth-rounder will be the worse of the two picks New York owns in that round – theirs and the Wild’s.

The Penguins are moving on from Smith after just one season, having acquired him in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick during the 2023 NHL Draft. Smith went on to total 13 goals and 40 points, failing to translate his strong scoring upside to a shakier role with the Penguins. He was much more robust in Vegas; one of many players to see a breakout year in Vegas’ inaugural season, scoring 22 goals and 60 points in 67 games and adding 22 points in 20 postseason games. He held onto the scoring through his next five years with the Golden Knights, consistently rivaling 50-point pace and even twice topping 25 goals.

Smith has developed into a capable middle-six scorer, whose offense held up even amidst an inconsistent role in Pittsburgh. What’s better, he’s an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving the Rangers a chance to test out his roster fit before committing to him long-term. The Rangers have rotated through veteran scorers over the last few seasons, cycling in players like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Blake Wheeler. Smith will be the latest iteration, set for the same role in the lineup as his predecessors.

But unlike those before him, Smith offers the perk of playoff consistency, having totaled 26 goals and 79 points across 106 postseason appearances, including 14 points in 22 games during Vegas’ 2023 Stanley Cup run. The Rangers have boasted some of the best offenses in the league over the last few seasons, only to fall short in the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2022 and 2024. A lack of goal-scoring depth has proven the fault both times, forcing New York to lean on, and quickly tire out, their stars.

Smith could also provide a good shot to match Alexis Lafreniere’s quick playmaking, with the pair likely bound for New York’s second line. Lafreniere was among the most polarizing Rangers late in the season, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games after netting a career-high 28 goals and 57 points in the regular season. Veteran additions like Smith could point towards New York’s investment in yet another young star, though that will ultimately sit with how Peter Laviolette chooses to deploy his top-six.

Penguins Sign Matt Grzelcyk, Mac Hollowell, Ryan Shea

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed free agent defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year, $2.75MM contract. Additionally, agent Dan Milstein reports his client Mac Hollowell has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Penguins which will pay $775K at the NHL level and $250K in the AHL. They’ve also re-upped defenseman Ryan Shea to a one-year, league-minimum contract, per a team announcement.

A few years ago, Grzelcyk was a key piece on Boston’s back end.  However, the 30-year-old saw his ice time dip below the 18-minute mark for the last two seasons.  To make matters worse, after being a consistent secondary contributor who had put up at least 20 points in four straight years, Grzelcyk was limited to just two goals and nine assists in 63 games last season, leading to some time as a healthy scratch.

That said, he’s still an intriguing pickup for the Penguins as someone who should start on their third pairing but could move up to the top four when injuries arise.  On a one-year term, it’s also a relatively low-risk contract compared to some of the pricier multi-year contracts handed out throughout the day.

Hollowell is coming off his best professional season.  The 25-year-old joined the Rangers as a Group Six free agent last summer and had a productive campaign with AHL Hartford, tallying 44 points in 64 games.  However, that wasn’t enough to get him a recall to New York.  A Group Six free agent once again this year, he has opted to sign for a GM who has plenty of familiarity with his game as he previously was in Toronto’s system under then-GM Kyle Dubas.

As for Shea, the decision to sign with Pittsburgh last summer was a fruitful one.  The 27-year-old got his first taste of NHL action, playing in 31 NHL games where he had his first career NHL goal while logging more than 12 minutes a night.  Shea also got into 23 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, picking up six points.  He’ll likely be in a similar role this season as one of the first recalls when injuries strike on the back end.

Free Agent Rumors: Stamkos, Bennett, Verhaeghe, Stolarz, Ekman-Larsson, Grzelcyk, Martinez

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The Devils are in the market for a top-six forward today, and they may end up as one of the finalists for Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.

They’ll be one of many teams making Stamkos’ agent’s phone ring off the hook today. TSN’s Bob McKenzie also expects the Ducks, Hurricanes, Predators and Red Wings to make aggressive pushes for the future Hall-of-Fame forward.

A return to Tampa Bay is extremely unlikely for Stamkos, whose 555 career goals and 1,082 games played have all come in a Lightning uniform. They weren’t close to an extension as of last weekend, and their signing of top UFA left winger Jake Guentzel to a seven-year, $63MM deal this morning has all but completely boxed him out.

More from around the Eastern Conference amid an already busy morning:

  • The Panthers are working hard on extensions for forwards Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe as they become eligible to sign at 11 a.m. CT today, sources tell David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. They’ve already gotten one big piece of business done today by keeping Sam Reinhart away from the open market on an eight-year, $69MM deal, but Bennett and Verhaeghe are two crucial pieces of their top-six forward group that remain unsigned past next season. It’s unclear what these deals may look like, but Reinhart taking a considerable discount on market value to remain in South Florida is surely a good indicator that Panthers GM Bill Zito can get them locked into deals that won’t break the bank.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger adds the Panthers are also trying to re-sign UFA netminder Anthony Stolarz, but they have some competition. The Blackhawks and Maple Leafs are also in the mix for the veteran’s services. While a career backup, he’s one of the best options on the market in a UFA class devoid of starters. He was electric when used in Florida last year, posting a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA in 27 appearances.
  • After making Chris Tanev’s six-year deal official, expect the Leafs to add another veteran blue liner in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dreger says. OEL is coming off a Stanley Cup win in Florida after putting up 32 points in 80 regular-season games, averaging 18:24 per night. He’d likely anchor a third pairing in Toronto on the left side behind Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe.
  • The Penguins are among the teams linked to defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reports. Grzelcyk is likely on his way out of Boston after spending the entirety of his eight-year, 445-game career there. He had 11 points and a +13 rating in 63 games last season while logging 17:36 per night.
  • Alec Martinez could continue his NHL career with the Blackhawks on a one-year deal, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The three-time Cup winner fell down the Golden Knights’ depth chart last year, limited to 55 games due to injuries and healthy scratches. He still managed 17 points, though, his most offense in three years, but had a -2 rating while averaging 19:03 per game.

Penguins Trying To Re-Sign Joseph Despite Non-Tender

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  • 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.

Lightning Acquire Lukas Svejkovsky From Penguins

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins have swapped depth forwards, with Pittsburgh receiving Bennett MacArthur and Tampa receiving Lukas Svejovsky (Twitter link).

MacArthur, 23, spent the season in the ECHL, totaling 32 points through 55 games. It was his second year in the league, after playing through his first pro season to the tune of 28 points in 53 games last year. Tampa signed MacArthur as an undrafted free agent in 2022, following the end of his season with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. MacArthur only played in parts of three seasons in the QMJHL, though he always found his way to strong scoring, recording 42 goals and 77 points in 54 games during his final year in the league. He’ll spend the final year of his entry-level contract pushing for a consistent role in the AHL, before setting his sights on the Penguins roster.

Meanwhile, Svejovsky, 22, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, after a strong year in the WHL. He went on to play two more seasons in the WHL, potting 76 points in 57 games in his final year. Svejovsky totaled a stout 162 points in his 196 career WHL games – seeming like a potentially lucrative prospect for Pittsburgh when he signed his entry-level contract in 2022. But Svejovsky had a slow start in pros, with just 15 points in 47 AHL games last year followed by four points in 19 games this year. Those low totals contributed to Svejovsky’s move to the ECHL partway through this year. He was able to rediscover his spark in the third-tier pro league, scoring 37 points in 30 games. That should be enough to earn him a move back to the AHL, though he’ll have to keep up his scoring if he wants to push any higher.

Penguins Unable To Trade Reilly Smith And Tristan Jarry

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TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the New York Rangers are willing to retain up to $2.5MM per season if it helps them facilitate a trade for defenseman Jacob Trouba. The Rangers captain has two years remaining with a cap hit of $8MM annually and was reportedly shocked to find his name on the trading block and linked to the Detroit Red Wings.

Trouba’s play has fallen off in recent seasons and while he remains a physical presence on New York’s blueline, his lack of discipline and poor defensive work isn’t justifying his large cap hit. Trouba posted just three goals and 19 assists in 69 games last season and was a -4. While he has never been an analytics darling, Trouba’s CF% cratered last season to 47.2% at even strength.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas remains open and willing to trade Reilly Smith but according to sources, the team has been unable to find a dance partner. Smith never settled into Pittsburgh after coming over in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights for a third-round pick but did have a better second half of the season finishing with 13 goals and 27 assists in 76 games. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas told the media on Friday that he hoped to collect draft picks and prospects this summer while maintaining a competitive NHL roster, but if that is the ask for Smith it’s difficult to see a team stepping up with that kind of offer until after free agent options have dried up.
  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic also spoke about Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry saying that Pittsburgh was willing to move the 29-year-old but weren’t able to find any interested parties. Jarry has four years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.375MM and has struggled with consistency throughout his career, fading in the second half of several seasons in a row. A number of goaltenders have moved in recent days, but with Jarry’s spotty record and large financial commitment, it’s hard to imagine a team stepping up unless Pittsburgh is willing to retain a large portion of salary to facilitate a deal.

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