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William Borgen

Metropolitan Notes: Carlson, Flyers, Borgen, Soucy

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Veteran defenseman John Carlson is in his 17th NHL season, all with the Capitals.  He’s in the final year of his contract, making him extension-eligible but the team informed him early that they didn’t want to engage in extension talks but rather want to see how the year plays out first.  Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti earlier this week, the 35-year-old acknowledged that he’d much rather prefer to have the security of a new contract in place but understands the business side of why they want to wait as well.  Carlson is making $8MM per season on this contract and with the likelihood of his role starting to decrease over the next few years, his next deal should come in at least a little below that price tag.  But if Washington decides not to bring him back, Carlson is already ruling out retiring and in that scenario, he’d be looking elsewhere in free agency next summer.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Long-time NHL rearguard Jay McKee wound up being a finalist for the Flyers coaching job, relays Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription link). He was linked as a speculative candidate if Philadelphia expanded its search but he wound up having a three-hour interview for the position.  McKee’s desire is not to be an NHL assistant first before moving to a head coaching role at the top level but he hasn’t ruled out going that route if an NHL head coaching job doesn’t materialize.
  • Rangers blueliner Will Borgen will play against Montreal tonight, notes Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). He has been dealing with a lingering lower-body issue that has held him out of practice and resulted in a mid-week recall of Scott Morrow but it appears that Borgen will be good to go.  The 28-year-old has an assist, seven blocks, and eight hits in six games so far this season.
  • Still with the Rangers, defenseman Carson Soucy took part in practice today in a regular (contact) jersey, mentions Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (Twitter link). The blueliner was placed on injured reserve earlier this week with an upper-body injury.  Soucy isn’t eligible to be activated until Monday but it appears that he won’t miss more time than the minimum seven days.

New York Rangers Extend Will Borgen To Five-Year Contract

at CDT | by 10 Comments

5:50 p.m: Per a team announcement, the Rangers have made the five-year contract official.

5:13 p.m: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the New York Rangers are closing in on a five-year, $20.5MM extension with defenseman William Borgen. He’s been a stable top-four defenseman for the Rangers since being acquired from the Seattle Kraken in mid-December.

It’s a significant increase over Borgen’s current $2.7 million salary. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career on July 1, but he will sign on for another five years with the Rangers.

It’s also a major vote of confidence from the Rangers organization. Borgen is only 17 games into his tenure with New York after being the main piece acquired in the Kaapo Kakko trade with the Seattle Kraken.

After primarily serving in a bottom-pairing role with the Kraken through the beginning of the season, Borgen has been thrust into a top-four role with the Rangers. He’s scored one goal and two assists in 17 games averaging 18:35 of ice time per game. He’s continued being a physical defenseman in New York, racking up 30 hits and 29 blocked shots.

His peripherals are also solid, averaging a 48.2% CorsiFor% at even strength and an 89.8% on-ice save percentage in the same situation — higher than he ever produced in Seattle. Should he continue producing at the same level in New York, his $4.1MM salary could become a steal through the expected prime years of his career.

It’ll also give the Rangers more clarity regarding their blue line. Borgen gives them three right-handed defensemen signed through next season. Braden Schneider will become a restricted free agent next year but they’ll still have two years of team control.

Unfortunately, the same doesn’t hold for the left side of the defense. Every remaining blue liner on the active roster becomes a restricted free agent or unrestricted free agent at season’s end giving the Rangers plenty of remaining work.

Seattle Kraken Re-Sign William Borgen

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The Seattle Kraken have re-signed defenseman William Borgen to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an AAV of $2.7MM and finish after the 2024-25 NHL season.

Drafted by the Seattle Kraken in their expansion draft from the Buffalo Sabres, Borgen took off significantly for the Kraken last year. Primarily used as an extra defenseman in the team’s first year, Borgen only managed eight points in 36 games, averaging just over 15 minutes a night. He did show off a decent amount of physicality, recording 89 hits in a little less than half a year. Spending time on the penalty kill and showing some true defensive prowess, Borgen was coming into his own as a defensive defenseman.

This season, the Kraken extended the leash on Borgen quite a bit, suiting him up for all 82 games. In the best statistical season of his career so far, the former 92nd overall pick scored three goals and 17 assists, averaging over 16 minutes a night. He still kept a lot of the physicality he showed off in his first season, blocking 89 shots and throwing 203 hits. Unfortunately, though, Borgen may have a difficult time moving up in the Kraken lineup.

Seattle already has Justin Schultz and Adam Larsson signed on the right side of their defensive unit, and Borgen plays a similar game to Larsson. Given that it will be a two-year pact, the Kraken may have plans for Borgen to eventually replace Larsson after he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 NHL season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the contract.

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