Hartnell, 36, got a chance last season to return to the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2000 and suited up for 62 regular season games for the Nashville Predators. Finding a way to contribute 13 goals—cracking double digits for the 15th time in his career—he was nevertheless held out of all but four postseason contests and not retained at the end of the year. Those 62 games raised his career total to 1,249 which actually puts him 89th on the all-time list and just ahead of other legendary forwards like Sergei Fedorov, Daniel Alfredsson and Patrik Elias. Hartnell was never quite the offensive player that those three were, but still will finish his career with 707 points and an incredible resume of consistency.

Drafted because of his mix of physicality, leadership and offense for the Prince Albert Raiders, Hartnell assumed a limited role for the Predators right away and played in 75 games as an 18-year old in 2000-01. Though he registered just two goals and 16 points, it would be the only time he would be kept under 12 goals or 24 points in a full season for his entire career. In fact, other than his rookie season, his final season and the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Hartnell would recorded at least 33 points each year while reaching a career-high of 67 in 2011-12 with the Philadelphia Flyers. Those consistent point totals were accompanied by consistent penalty minutes, as the in-your-face forward will finish with 1,809.

With stops in Nashville, Philadelphia and Columbus, Hartnell quickly became a fan favorite and an easy to hate enemy for rival teams all around the league. Getting under the opponent’s skin and riling up a fan base came natural to him, but there is little doubt that he was well respected around the league for his all-out play style.

The veteran forward signed a one-year, $1MM deal to return to Nashville last season after being bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hartnell had a solid campaign acting as a bottom-six forward for the team who can incite energy and hustle in his play. No longer a constant 20-goal scorer, he posted 13 goals for a second year in a row to go with 24 points in 62 games this season.

Due to Nashville’s depth at forward and the youth they are bringing in, Hartnell was no longer a logical option there, but there should be other teams on the lookout for a veteran bottom-six forward. Even though he only played in four games for the Predators in the playoffs, he showed his value against the Winnipeg Jets. In three games, he produced eight hits and was instrumental in helping the Predators to a Game 4 victory. Regardless, he shouldn’t have too much trouble finding another year of work.

Where Button’s list may vary from others is where he lists his top two center prospects, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Barrett Hayton. The two young pivots are fifth and seventh respectively, ahead of top defensive prospects like Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard and Adam Boqvist. Button is also high on towering power forward Serron Noel (#13) and shifty winger Akil Thomas (#17). Joe Veleno, once expected to be selected at the very top of the first round, is way down at #28.

• Scott Hartnell has begun training for the 2018-19 season, but as Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes in his recent profile on the Nashville Predators free agent, if the 36-year old forward doesn’t find a contract he’s okay with that too. After registering 24 points in 62 games this season there is still reason to believe that Hartnell can be an effective bottom-six player, but it was just a year ago that he was bought out by the Blue Jackets and had to settle for a $1MM contract. If it is the end of his career, he’ll go out with 707 points in 1,249 games—a great career to say the least.
• Toronto Maple Leafs fans were up in arms last night questioning what it could mean when James Mirtle of The Athletic reported that Auston Matthews had changed agencies. Matthews has followed his agent from CAA to the Orr Hockey Group, with many pointing to the fact that they also represent Connor McDavid and negotiated his league-leading eight-year $100MM extension. Matthews can sign an extension on July 1st, and could be the league’s next highly-paid young star. While it may not match the $12.5MM/year that McDavid will start earning next season, Jack Eichel’s eight-year $80MM deal is certainly within reach.

Emelin was brought in last summer in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights, after the team had selected him in the expansion draft. Nashville sent a third-round pick back to the Golden Knights, adding Emelin to help while they dealt with an injury to Ryan Ellis. Unfortunately, Emelin wasn’t all that effective in his one season in Nashville and would see his minutes reduced dramatically in the postseason. In 76 regular season games he registered just nine points, but did continue to be a physical presence racking up 181 hits (second on the team to only Austin Watson).

The 32-year old defenseman is coming off the final season of a four-year $16.4MM contract he signed in 2013, and will likely have to settle for something much smaller this summer. Though there will certainly be interest in him as a depth defenseman with experience playing against top competition, it doesn’t look like he can any longer be the minute-munching top-4 option he once was.

For Hartnell, it may be getting close to the end. The 36-year old winger did register 24 points in 62 games in his return to Nashville, but was essentially unused in the playoffs and doesn’t have a clear future. Bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer, there may be some interest from around the league on another one-year deal, but there isn’t much evidence he can be an impact player anymore. The former 37-goal scorer could have to settle for an incentive-based contract for 2018-19, if he decides to keep playing.

• The St. Louis Blues have swapped backup goaltenders, sending Ville Husso back to San Antonio while calling up Jordan Binnington from the Providence Bruins. The Blues of course don’t have a primary affiliate this season, which explains why their prospects are scattered throughout the league. Husso had been up to fill in for the injured Carter Hutton, but needs playing time of his own to continue his development. Enter Binnington, who can backup Jake Allen for the time being.
• The Nashville Predators have sent Frederick Gaudreau back to the AHL according to Adam Vingan of the Tenessean meaning that Scott Hartnell or Ryan Johansen are likely back tonight. Gaudreau has three points in 17 games this season.
• Ville Pokka has been recalled by the Chicago Blackhawks while Cody Franson is moved to injured reserve. The Blackhawks have been waiting for Pokka to make his mark in the NHL since acquiring him in 2014, but he’s continued to struggle with defensive miscues throughout his career. If he does get into the lineup, it would be his NHL debut and a chance to prove that his offensive value can overcome any lapses in his own end.
• Ben Harpur has been sent back to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, though it’s not clear why yet. Head coach Guy Boucher recently said that Mark Borowiecki wasn’t close enough to return yet, and Chris Wideman is still out long-term. Harpur’s assignment leaves the Senators with just six healthy defensmen on the active roster, meaning another move is likely to follow. In the meantime the team has called up forward Nick Paul, bringing him back after his latest stint in the AHL. Paul, a 22-year old winger, has played four games with the Senators this season but has been held scoreless.
• Arizona has recalled Joel Hanley from the AHL, bringing the 26-year old back for the third time this year. Hanley has played four games for the club this year, and is eligible to be brought up and down as he cleared waivers just a week ago. The team had sent Kyle Capobianco back to the minor leagues to keep him in game action, but needed another defenseman with Niklas Hjalmarsson still not ready to return.
• The New Jersey Devils have brought Nick Lappin up from the AHL to replace Marcus Johansson, who ends up on injured reserve for the second time this year. Lappin had been tearing up the minor leagues with 12 goals in 23 games, continuing his pattern of finding the back of the net with ease. Johansson is out with an ankle bruise suffered on Saturday.
• Duncan Siemens has been reassigned to the San Antonio Rampage, as the Colorado Avalanche continue to try and spark something in the first-round pick. Siemens was selected 11th-overall in 2011, but hasn’t been able to crack the NHL for any length of time. In five career games, he has zero points.

More injury news from around the NHL:

• Predators winger Scott Hartnell has returned to practice and could be ready to return to the lineup on their upcoming three-game road trip, reports Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. He has been out since November 11th due to a lower-body issue.  The veteran had gotten off to a good start with Nashville prior to the injury, collecting seven points in 16 games.
• Rangers center Mika Zibanejad will not be able to return tonight against the Devils, notes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. He is dealing with concussion-like symptoms sustained from a hit on November 24th although they were late to appear as he actually suited up in their next game before missing four straight.  There’s no timeframe for when he might get the green light to return.
• It appears that Florida could get winger Evgenii Dadonov back sooner than expected. He has resumed on-ice workouts and head coach Bob Boughner told Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team site (Twitter link) that Dadonov will be back sooner than later.  The 28-year-old is dealing with a shoulder injury, one that was originally expected to keep him out four-to-six weeks.  He’s just two weeks into that so it appears that he is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
• Jets goaltender Steve Mason has passed through concussion protocol, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun (Twitter link). Head coach Paul Maurice said that the earliest he will be activated off injured reserve will be on Monday and that depends on how Mason’s workout goes later today.

MacArthur came back for the Senators just before the playoffs last year, and was an integral part of their run to game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. His career was derailed by head injuries, but he was once a consistent offensive producer and reliable top-six winger. In 552 games he scored 304 points. Dorion did admit that they’d look at bringing him back in should he want to play next season, as he’s under contract for $4.65MM per season through 2019-20. More likely he’ll spend the next few seasons on long-term injured reserve.

• The Nashville Predators also have some bad news when it comes to injuries, as the team announced Yannick Weber and Scott Hartnell would each be out several weeks with their respective injuries. While Nick Bonino is back from his injured reserve stint, losing Weber and Hartnell will put some more stress on the Predators’ depth chart. Luckily, the team already relies so heavily on their top three defensemen that Weber’s role shouldn’t be too difficult to fill. While Hartnell is a bit tougher, there are several young wingers ready to step into the situation.
• The New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs could each get a boost to their forward group when they meet on Thursday night, as both Travis Zajac and Auston Matthews have a chance to play. Zajac was back at practice centering the top line for the Devils today, while Matthews was on the ice for an hour with a few teammates despite being given the day off. The Devils and Maple Leafs each have 24 points through the first part of the season, and it should be a good matchup on Thursday especially if both get their top centers back.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Nashville Predators

Current Cap Hit: $68,913,333 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Kevin Fiala (Two years remaining, $863K)
G Juuse Saros (One year remaining, $693K)

Potential Bonuses

Fiala: $500K
Saros: $183K

Total: $683K

A team that is designed for a Stanley Cup run probably shouldn’t have too many players on entry level contracts and the Predators have just the two. Fiala is the team’s top young potential star as the former 2014 first-rounder found himself getting called up to the Predators and logged 54 games last year, scoring 11 goals. He even managed to cement himself in the starting lineup and played in five playoff games, scoring two goals, but then broke his femur and his playoffs were cut short. Nevertheless, the team is expecting a big year from the young wing and some even have him penciled in on the team’s second line. As for Saros, the 22-year-old goalie had a pretty good showing last year, playing in 21 contests (19 starts) and putting up a 2.35 GAA and a .923 save percentage. He should be able to shoulder the load as the backup and right now looks to be Nashville’s goaltender of the future.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Alexei Emelin ($3MM, UFA)
F Scott Hartnell ($1MM, UFA)
F Cody McLeod ($800K, UFA)
D Yannick Weber ($650K, UFA)
D Matt Irwin ($650K, UFA)
D Anthony Bitetto ($613, UFA)
F Miikka Salomaki ($613K, RFA)

The team, already immersed in quality defenders, picked up another veteran defender in Emelin this offseason in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, who picked him from the Montreal Canadiens in the expansion draft. A solid veteran, Emelin, should fill in for the injured Ellis until he returns in December and then provide some veteran depth throughout the rest of the season, which should keep Nashville’s defensive corps as strong as it had always been and he will likely be allowed to move on when his contract expires next year.

Hartnell returns to Nashville after 10 years. Originally drafted in the first round by Nashville in 2000, the 35-year-old forward played six years for the Predators before being traded to Philadelphia. He has scored 314 goals, but only managed 13 in his last year in Columbus. The team hopes his presence will spark the team for another Stanley Cup run. The rest, including Weber, Irwin and McLeod

Read more

Hartnell then moved on to Philadelphia and stayed there for another seven years before ending up in Columbus for the past three campaigns. He has had a steady career until he struggled this past year. His 13 goals and 24 assists are his lowest numbers (not including 2012-13) since the 2002-03 season when he was with Nashville. To make matters worse, Hartnell scored no points in four playoff games this year. One reason for his declining production was the fact that Columbus began giving more playing time to their younger players, cutting his own.

Now the 35-year-old wing will rejoin Predators’ head coach Peter Laviolette, who he worked with in Philadelphia from 2009-2013. Hartnell has never won a Stanley Cup championship, but went to the Stanley Cup finals once, back in 2010 with Laviolette as his coach. Hartnell will try to rebound from an underwhelming season, despite scoring 51 goals combined in the previous two years with Columbus.

• 2017-18: $1.5MM
• 2018-19: $3.0MM
• 2019-20: $1.25MM
• 2020-21: $1.25MM

Our own Seth Lawrence listed Hartnell as a potential buyout option last month—along with Antti Niemi who has already been bought out and Kevin Bieksa who remains under contract—and explained why the team needed to move on from the forward, mostly pointing to expansion draft concerns. Hartnell was never asked to waive his NMC for the draft because the team had a deal worked out with Vegas for quite some time to take David Clarkson’s contract off their hands. Clearing him now is just making even more room for the Blue Jackets to make an impact in this summer’s free agency.

Rumored to be interested in everyone from Joe Thornton to Ilya Kovalchuk, the Blue Jackets will now have just under $13MM in cap space this summer, though much of it will be accounted for with internal options. Both Alexander Wennberg and Josh Anderson need new contracts as restricted free agents, and though neither of them have arbitration rights yet both deserve large raises. The team needs every penny of room, thus the buyout.

For Hartnell, it’s a tough ending to what was a pretty excellent start in Columbus. Scoring 60 points in his first year with the team, he fell all the way down to 37 this year as his role was diminished due to the emergence of some young players. Still one of the better 5-on-5 players in the league, his salary can be better used elsewhere. With the team already making a huge splash to bring in Artemi Panarin, it’s clear that they want to compete right now.

It’s rough timing for Hartnell, just a few months after turning 35. Now any contract he signs with another team will come with certain restrictions that will lower his leverage. Not expected to sign anywhere long-term, he does instantly become an interesting option for many teams on the open market at a reduced price. A player who 20+ goals in nine different seasons doesn’t come along every day, and even if he’s not a 50+ point player any longer he can still help a team’s bottom six.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The non-waiver is significant because Columbus is one of the few teams who may lose a significant piece in the expansion draft. Portzline believes that the non-move implies Columbus has either agreed to a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, or that Columbus will buy out Hartnell’s contract.

Right now Columbus has three forward slots tied up in Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, and Hartnell. Assuming Columbus protects 7F / 3d / 1G (because of Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, and David Savard), the team only has four spots for Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner, Matt Calvert, William Karlsson, Alexander Wennberg, and Josh Anderson. The consensus is that absent any sort of deal, Josh Anderson represents the best bet to go to Vegas. However, if Columbus and Vegas have a deal worked out, the Blue Jackets may be able to either keep Anderson, or receive some assets for him.

The other option is that Columbus buys out Hartnell, making the veteran a free agent. Buying him out would give Columbus an extra protection slot to use on one of its young forwards. According to Portzline, buying out Hartnell would save Columbus $2.5MM over two seasons, and open up $3.25MM in cap space next year. Hartnell scored 13G and 24A in 78 games this year.

The Blue Jackets are likely to use the seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie option for their protection list. At forward, it’s expected the team will protect Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno, Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner and, at the moment, Hartnell.

The team might have to expose several young players with potential in winger Josh Anderson and center William Karlsson. The team especially doesn’t want to lose Anderson, who scored 17 goals in his first full season of NHL action, and at 23 years old is likely to keep improving and give the team a consistent 20-goal scorer for many years.

Karlsson, 24, hasn’t come on as quickly as Anderson with just 15 goals in two full seasons, but the Blue Jackets believe he is capable of putting up big offensive numbers. While the team has made it clear it doesn’t want to lose him, he may end up being expendable with the development of center prospects Pierre-Luc Dubois (the third overall pick in 2016) and Kevin Stenlund (second-round pick in 2015).

No matter what, Hartnell’s NMC will force the team to protect the 35-year-old declining veteran and that could lead to the team exposing one of those prospects. Hartnell still has two more years on his contract at $4.75MM and his numbers keep going south. Since acquiring the veteran in 2014, Hartnell scored 28 goals in his first season with Columbus, 23 seasons in 2015-16 and just 13 goals this past season.

The scribe writes that there are many reasons that Hartnell might not agree to waive his no clause, including his love for the city, that he plans to be married this summer and has stated he’d like to settle down in Columbus. At 35, Hartnell would also like a chance at a Stanley Cup as well, which is more likely to happen in Columbus than in Las Vegas in the next few years.

Hartnell, however, could agree to waive his NMC as it’s unlikely that Las Vegas would opt to take a declining veteran with a large contract and the Blue Jackets’ chances of long-term success might be damaged if Las Vegas takes one of those young players. It’s also possible, Columbus could just buy out Hartnell to avoid losing Anderson.

Portzline also suggests that GM Jarmo Kekalainen and George McPhee might have already worked out an agreement with the Las Vegas Golden Knights to avoid some of those prospects as that is a common practice before expansion drafts.

Sedlak will be making his NHL playoff debut after a rookie season that saw him contribute 13 points in 62 games. The 24-year old was a huge part of the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters’ Calder Cup win last year, with 16 points in 17 AHL playoff games. Perhaps he can provide some of that magic as the Blue Jackets attempt to stave off elimination for one more game.

• Karl Alzner won’t play in game four of the Capitals-Maple Leafs series according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The pending unrestricted free agent sat out their game three overtime loss and was a noticeable absence. Though Nate Schmidt skated well, Alzner had previously been tasked with shutting down the Auston Matthews line, and without him they had their way with the Capitals. Scoring two goals and dominating possession—shot attempts were an insane 23-5 when William Nylander was on the ice—the Capitals need to find a way to slow down that line even without Alzner in the lineup.
• Roman Polak will undergo surgery today to repair a broken right leg suffered on Saturday night. While there is no timetable for his return, he’ll likely try to make it back for the start of the 2017-18 season. Where he’ll be playing is still undecided, as he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. After an up-and-down season with the Leafs, he’ll be hard pressed to secure the same $2.25MM salary he earned this year.

Cale Makar from the AJHL has made his way into the top five, an impressive feat for someone playing in a “lesser league”. Button doesn’t consider this a problem, as he is focused on evaluating where they will be at the next level, not their current competition. Makar has 75 points in 54 games as a defenseman, and has received many comparisons to Erik Karlsson in the way that he handles the puck.

• Columbus extended three restricted free agents yesterday when they inked Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak and Scott Harrington to two-year deals. The team still has three RFAs left for this summer, and according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch the Blue Jackets aren’t worried about signing them. Alexander Wennberg, Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo all require new deals, and the Jackets are going to be tight on money once again. Depending on who is taken at the expansion draft, they may have to consider some sort of salary dump—like Scott Hartnell, who will be scratched tonight in favor of Sedlak—in order to keep their cap structure in tact.
• The Montreal Canadiens experienced a heartbreaking loss last night to one of the worst teams in the conference when they fell 2-1 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. Again their expected top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov was broken up in the third period, something that has become far too common. Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes about how Galchenyuk in particular had a rough night, and doesn’t seem to mesh well with Radulov in terms of play style. The young forward had a breakout 30-goal campaign last season, but has struggled all year with his consistency and defensive play. With just nine games remaining until the playoffs, most first-place teams don’t have the kind of doubt Montreal is feeling with their #1 centerman.

Still with the Blues, center Paul Stastny is expected to travel with the team to Buffalo in advance of their games against the Sabres tomorrow, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  He remains day-to-day for the time being with a lower body injury.  If Stastny is ready to return, another player will have to be sent back to the AHL to make room for him.

Other injury updates from around the league:

• Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is day-to-day as a result of a shoulder injury sustained on Wednesday in Columbus, notes Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press. However, he hasn’t been ruled out of the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Senators.  Marner is tied for first overall in rookie scoring (with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine) this season with 48 points (15-33-48) in 56 games.  Still with Toronto, winger Nikita Soshnikov is nearing a return from his upper body injury and could be in the lineup against Ottawa.
• Columbus left winger Scott Hartnell will miss his second straight game tonight with a lower body injury, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The injury was originally sustained on Monday night against the Rangers.  That means that right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will get at least one more game after being recalled on an emergency basis on Tuesday.  Hartnell has spent a lot of time on the fourth line for the Blue Jackets this season but has been rather productive in that role, picking up 30 points (13-17-30) in 55 games.
• The Penguins continue to get tough news from the infirmary. After it was noted earlier today that Olli Maatta will miss six weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, the team announced via Twitter that blueliner Justin Schultz is dealing with a concussion and is in concussion protocol.  There’s no timetable for his return to the lineup.  Schultz is having a career year in his first season with Pittsburgh with 39 points (9-30-39) in 56 games.  That point total ranks sixth overall among NHL defenders.
• Ducks netminder Jonathan Bernier is dealing with an illness, reports Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he will still be able to serve as the backup tonight to John Gibson as Anaheim takes on Florida.