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CONTENTS FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021 | VOL. 74 NO. 07 COVER STORY
EVOLUTION OF GOALTENDING | 22
There’s no precise template for the last line of defense in the NHL. Sure, you need a reliable stopper, like the Montreal Canadiens have with Carey Price, but you also need a consistent backup and the cap space to make it all work. And we haven’t even brought up tall goalies yet. BY RYAN KENNEDY
52 BEHIND THE SCENES
FEATURES
18 RON FRANCIS
The Seattle Kraken GM has a quiet demeanor that oozes composure. But a competitive fire burns within.
BY GEOFF BAKER
30 UFA POWER RANKINGS
These 30 NHL stars are on their way to the open market. Not all will get there, but the ones who do will be in demand.
BY MATT LARKIN
38 TAYLOR HALL
He’s one of the biggest names on the UFA market a second straight summer. But has Hall found happiness in Boston?
BY MATT KALMAN
42 COREY PERRY
He’s getting long in the tooth, but the 2011 MVP still has plenty of bite come playoff time when games matter most.
BY KEN CAMPBELL
48 TYSON BARRIE
| 4 | TH E HOC K EY NE WS
BY KEN CAMPBELL
56 BEST VALUE UFAS
Sometimes the best free-agent signings are the under-the-radar afterthoughts. Here are 10 bang-for-buck candidates.
BY SAM MCCAIG
DEPARTMENTS
10 BUZZ
It will take the better part of a decade post-pandemic for the books to balance.
58 NHL
The 2021 off-season will be a time of uncertainty – and a 32nd NHL team.
76 INTERNATIONAL
Jaromir Jagr may be slowing down as he approaches 50, but he’s still a star.
The crafty D-man is coming off a rebound season and will try to find the right balance between a contract and kismet.
BY JARED CLINTON
The art of the deal isn’t ever a simple, cut-and-dried negotiation. It’s a process that is never the same way twice.
80 WOMEN’S HOCKEY
New Zealand’s Grace Harrison is a supreme stopper like no other.
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
84 BUSINESS
Player. Agent. GM. TV analyst. Brian Lawton has worn a lot of hockey hats.
86 REWIND
Meet history’s 10 best international D-men from outside the NHL.
90 NEXT
Riley Damiani added offense to his game and was the AHL’s top rookie.
COLUMNS
6FIRST WORD
NHL free agency: who’s going where? There’s intrigue at every position in the 2021 UFA class.
ON THE COVER
96 STRAIGHT EDGE
No OHL hockey this season meant no viewing parties for prospects – until a few players got punk-rock creative.
98 LAST WORD
Release the Kraken! Seattle is poised to make a free-agent splash that would impact teams across the NHL.
CAREY PRICE BY ERIC BOLTE/ USA TODAY SPORTS
PERRY NELSON-USA TODAY SPORTS
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
THE HO CKE Y NE WS | 5 |
THE FIRST WORD
PUZZLE PIECES AND PEPTO
W. Graeme Roustan
DEPUTY PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Erika Vanderveer
SPECIAL ADVISOR TO PUBLISHER
Caroline Andrews
SENIOR EDITOR
Brian Costello
MANAGING EDITOR
| 6 | THE H O C KE Y NE WS
WEB EDITOR
Edward Fraser
SENIOR WRITERS
Ryan Kennedy Matt Larkin
Steven Ellis
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Jared Ostroff
FEATURE WRITER Ken Campbell EDITOR AT LARGE Ronnie Shuker EDITORS Nick Emanuelli, Sam McCaig WEBSITE CONTRIBUTORS Avry Lewis-McDougall, Shannon Pakulis, Lyle Richardson, Mike Stephens NHL TEAM CONTRIBUTORS David Alter (Toronto Maple Leafs) INTERNS Kyle Drinnan, Jarrett Matthews, Ambika Sharma
REE AGENCY TENDS TO be one of the most
fraught periods of the NHL season, an equal mix of excitement and anxiety for all involved. It is often when the biggest mistakes are made, but on the other hand it’s a ϐ ϐ Ǥ This summer may not seem to have a deep pool of free agents but there are some intriguing names who could be in the mix, should they not re-sign early with their current teams. Goalies Tuukka Rask, Philipp Grubauer and Frederik Andersen are all eligible to hit the market, while 2017-18 MVP Taylor Hall is once again up for a new UFA deal – and given how he helped Boston turn around its secondary scoring, he can once again fetch a pretty penny if he should so choose (see pg. 38). On defense, Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton is the name to watch on the UFA scene (see pg. 30), but the announcement that Seth Jones told Columbus he will not be re-signing with the Blue Jackets once his contract ends next season has the Ohio franchise considering a trade sooner than later. So while Jones isn’t a free agent yet, he is going to be on a lot of wish lists. Hamilton is going to command a hefty price tag this DAVID summer, and whichever team Jones SAVARD ends up on will have to give him a substantial pay bump in a year, too. So Hamilton and Jones are great, but in this economy? You better have a good plan in place, given that the ϐ at around $81.5 million for the foreseeable future (see pg. 10). On the other hand, Tampa Bay’s David Savard is also eligible for the open market, and his sticker price won’t be as shocking. Savard may not have the big-name recognition of some of his other UFA peers, but he is the type of player with whom you win tight games. Savard has been that defensive shutdown guy who helps teams win games without drawing too much attention to himself in the process (though ask any coach or GM in the league and they’ll know exactly how valuable he is to a lineup). So, perhaps it’s not surpris-
ART DIRECTOR
Shea Berencsi
Accounting Manager Leslie Hayes General Counsel David La Salle
ǯ ǡ ǯ ϐ Savard’s name pop up a lot (see pg. 58). The Ǧ ϐ teams interested in procuring his services in the off-season. One of our main categories in the freeagency preview is a “Shopping List,” and while everyone likes to go straight to the tasty treats, you can’t forget about the meat and potatoes, either. Because often it’s the lesser names on the market who make the most impact, meaning every signing is a risk-andreward proposition. And that’s why NHL GMs always have to include some Pepto Bismol on their own free-agency shopping lists.
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
ADVERTISING: 416-840-4644, contact@roustan.media CUSTOMER CARE & SUBSCRIPTIONS: www.thn.com/subscribe, 1-800-365-9982, EMAIL: thehockeynews@kckglobal.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Minimum one-year subscription price: $39.95 including tax for print and digital; $29.95 including tax for digital. • The Hockey News (ISSN 0018-3016) publishes 16 issues per year, including Money and Power, Pool Guide, Yearbook and our Collector’s Edition. Mail In Canada: The Hockey News, C/O Roustan Media Ltd., 260 Adelaide Street East, P.O. Box 47, Toronto, ON, M5A 1N1 Mail In the US: The Hockey News, PO Box 904, Buffalo, NY 14240-9554 NEWSSTAND Minimum Single Copy Price: $6.99. Distributed by CoMag Marketing Group. Distribution Canadian publications Mail Agreement No. 43508014, Registration No. 09255 paid at Gateway, Mississauga, ON. In the US, periodical (579-540) postage paid at 13801 Walsingham Rd Ste A-130, Largo, FL 33774 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER return undeliverable US addresses to The Hockey News Circulation, Box 904, Buffalo, NY 14240-9554. THE HOCKEY NEWS OFFICES Canada: 260 Adelaide Street East, Suite 47, Toronto, ON M5A 1N1; U.S.: 13801 Walsingham Rd Ste A-130, Largo, FL 33774 PRINTING RBW Graphics, 2049 20th Street East, Owen Sound, ON N4K 5R2 PRIVACY POLICY On occasion, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened organizations whose product or service might interest you. If you prefer that we not share your name and postal address, you can easily remove your name from our mailing list by reaching us at any of the listed contact points. Review our complete Privacy Policy at TheHockeyNews.com. The Hockey News was co-founded by Ken McKenzie and W.V. Cote in 1947. Contents copyright 2021 for Roustan Media Ltd. © All rights reserved articles and photos 2021. Download The Hockey News app on the App Store and Google Play Store. Digital editions are also available on Zinio and Press Reader.
Ryan Kennedy Senior Writer @THNRyanKennedy
KENNEDY: STEVEN ELLIS/THE HOCKEY NEWS; SAVARD: KIM KLEMENT-USA TODAY SPORTS
F
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER, ROUSTAN MEDIA LTD.
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PODCAST | INSTANT ANALYSIS | PROSPECTS | FANTASY
OPENING THOUGHTS
WITH W. GRAEME ROUSTAN
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Latvia scores high with IIHF World Championship As Latvia showed this year, holding international events in ‘free’ countries is good for everyone involved at FreedomHouse.org, just showed the world that rewarding a nations with international tournaments for good treatment of their people works out extremely well both on and off the ice. For those of you into analytics, Canada scores 98/100, the United States 83/100, Belarus 11/100 and the host of the 2022 Olympic Games, China, 9/100. As I stated in the 2021 Playoff Preview Publisher’s Note: ϔ the sole host of the 2021 World Championship after the IIHF and president Rene Fasel were Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ
ϔ Ǥ ͷ;ǡ Ͷͷǡ Dz ǦͷͿǤdz As I predicted in my Publisher’s Note in the Yearbook, published in November 2020, the IIHF would perhaps sidestep the questions Ǧ Dzǥ World Championship is cancelled due to COVID-19 health concerns, but that inevitably kicks the pucks and politics of the human Ǥdz
have the World Championship hosted by one country due to COVID-19 health safety and not split between the two host countries of Ǥ
ǡ had more arenas and facilities to accommo Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǡͶͽͻ ͷͷǡͿ; ǡͺͻ ͺͽǡͷͼ ǦͷͿǤ Ͷͷ ͷǤͿ ͿǤͺ ǡ ͼͷ ͼǡͿͺͿ people while Latvia had 1,092 deaths and ͻͿǡͺͼͻ Ǥ On May 25, the IIHF put out a statement
saying, “From the team’s entry into the 2021 IIHF ice hockey world championship bubble, close to 7,000 COVID-19 PCR tests have been administered to all players, team staff and ϔ Ǥ Ǥdz Had the IIHF chosen to host the entire tournament in Belarus with the same protocols in place, the same results could be expected. Latvia had higher ratios of COVID-19 and fewer available facilities, but due only to immense public pressure it became the politically correct choice for the IIHF to make, especially after Fasel was seen around the world in a heartfelt embrace with president Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus on Jan. 11, 2021. After a couple of weeks of criticism, Fasel moved Belarus’ half of the World Championship to Latvia for DzǤǤǤ ǦͷͿǥdz with no mention whatsoever of the pressure brought on by human-rights organizations. Perhaps now that the exciting tournament has come to an end with Canada ϐ games, Fasel will come out with a fully transparent statement like:
Ǧ lations in countries when we select them to host tournaments until sponsors threaten to ϔ Ǥ ϔ ϔ -
FREEDOMHOUSE.ORG CAN
98
LAT
89
USA
Ǧ Ǥ Latvia was deserving and did a great job of hosting the World Championship. It proved that this and other international events can and should be rewarded to nations who have high scores in political rights and civil liberties (often collectively referred to as human rights) and they will be extremely successful. Organizing bodies around the ϐ experience. Wouldn’t that be nice? My grandmother taught me we should ϐ ward bad behavior. Perhaps the International Olympic Committee, the IIHF and other governing bodies should take the advice of my grandmother by awarding international events only to nations that FreedomHouse. org depicts as “free” countries. Borrowing from The Great One: “We’d be a way better world if there were so many more people like my grandma.” Congratulations Latvia! World-class country, world-class people and a worldclass host!
W. Graeme Roustan Executive Chairman & Publisher, Roustan Media Ltd. roustan.com
83
BLR
11
CHN
9
*Numbers from FreedomHouse.org
| 8 | TH E HO CKE Y N EW S
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
ROUSTAN: PHOTO BY MICHELLE VALBERG; TEAM LATVIA: ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES
L
ATVIA, WITH A SCORE of 89 out of 100
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12 JERSEY HOUND / BEHIND THE MASK 13 VIDEO-GAME-STATS-O-METER 14 COUNTDOWN: MOCK DRAFT 16 PUCK CULTURE: NHL SINGERS 17 OT RECORDS
Having fans back in arenas will stem the financial losses that teams like Carolina have seen during the pandemic.
| 10 | TH E HO CKEY NE W S
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
JAMES GUILLORY-USA TODAY SPORTS
BUZZ
FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE, VISIT THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM
BUZZ NHL
FLAT-CAP SOCIETY
The league and its teams took a financial beating through the pandemic, but now that burden shifts to the players – and the hurt could last half a decade BY KEN CAMPBELL
ERIC HARTLINE-USA TODAY SPORTS
B
ACK IN MARCH, NHL com-
missioner Gary Bettman was painting an economic picture for the future of the league, and he braced everyone for a holding pattern when it came to the amount of room that teams will have to improve their rosters. The news wasn’t grim, but it wasn’t great, either. “I think everybody is basically focusing ϐ Ǧϐ for the immediate future,” said Bettman in a videoconference. Months later, with fans slowly returning to NHL arenas to watch playoff games and the league on the precipice of essentially doubling its revenues from the U.S. television contract, one very basic mystery remains unanswered. And that ǣ ϐ Dz Ǥdz Not even the wildest optimist in the hockey world expects to see teams being able to spend more than $81.5 million ǡ ϐ cial reckoning thrust upon the NHL both last season and in the 2020-21 campaign. But it turns out that “immediate” could mean anywhere from three ϐ Ǥ Ǧ scenario, it could even stretch beyond the current collective bargaining agreement, which expires after 2025-26. “I would ϐ ǡdz senior executive with one team. “Teams have lost a lot of money. It’s going to take them that long to catch up.” The impact, of course, is potentially huge. When things
get back to normal, hopefully in time for next season, the league should be back to taking in somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 billion in revenues, a number that will almost certainly grow in future seasons. With escrow capped throughout this agreement, the players got what they wanted in terms of certainty around that issue, but those looking for new contracts ǯ ϐ with a lot of cap space. That should spur on all those roster-altering moves such as salary dumps, buyouts and using the long-term injured list to manipulate the numbers, but even then, teams will be running lean operations for the next couple of seasons. In this case, the numbers don’t lie. If there is a bump in the cap in the ϐ ǡ almost certainly be minimal. The days of the salary cap going up between $4 and $6 million a year, and the increased salaries that inevitably followed, will not be a reality for the better part of this decade. With the league’s revenues down and player salaries remaining the same, despite the fact they played only a 56-game season in 2020-21, the league has a ϐ recoup. By the end of this season, there could be more than $1 billion in escrow debt that
ultimately must be paid back by the players. There was somewhere between $250 and $300 million in escrow debt carried over from last season, and the amount carried over from this season projects to be between $750 and $800 million. With the new TV deals struck with ESPN ($410 million per year over seven years) and TNT ($225 million per year over seven years), depending upon how the deals are structured and whether they’re backloaded, teams can expect their national TV revenues to increase from between $7 and $9 million under the previous deal with NBC to between $18 and $20 million under ESPN and TNT. Other sources of revenue ϐ
One thing that will increase the time it will take for the players to pay back their employers is the fact escrow payments will be capped throughout the duration of the agreement. The escrow is capped at 20 percent this season, somewhere between 14 and 18 percent next season, 10 percent in 2022-23 and six percent in each of the ϐ Ǥ collective bargaining agreement also has a provision that states a year will automatically be added, taking it through the 2026-27 season, if the escrow debt owed by the players is more than $125 million and less than $250 million. So where the players gain in a more predictable, manageable escrow, they lose in terms of the
the continued use of helmet decals, advertising on uniforms, virtual advertising and legalized gambling. One source said that advertising on uniforms is all but assured for next season, with the advertising appearing on the sweaters the players wear and those purchased through the team store. “I don’t understand that one,” said the team executive. “You can get $5 million a team if you’re allowed to put one little logo on a jersey and everyone who is walking around town has it. And frankly, we need it. We’re not like the other sports.”
NEW REVENUE AVENUES
Bettman & Co. will see an influx of cash from the new TV deals as well as jersey ads and legalized gambling.
amount of time it will take to repay the escrow and make the league whole. In fact, there are players not even in the league right now who will be subject to escrow payments that will tie back to the revenues lost during the pandemic. “The way the veterans put the burden on the 14-year-olds doesn’t help,” said the executive.
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
THE HOCK E Y NEWS | 11 |
BUZZ
Behind the MASK
ANTTI RAANTA | ARIZONA COYOTES RAANTA IS ALL ABOUT paying tribute to Arizona wildlife. His previous mask featured a rattlesnake. This one honors
Jersey HOUND
BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS | 2021-22
NEW YORK’S AHL AFFILIATE has rebranded itself from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to the Bridgeport Islanders, giving the organizations some nice continuity. The Sound Tigers had a pretty cool logo, so the newly christened Islanders had a challenge on their hands aesthetically, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say I like it. The new crest reminds me of an old-school AHL logo from the 1980s, and that makes it fun. The ‘B’ is unique, and the tape on the stick is an easter egg – it forms the ‘N’ and part of the ‘Y’ from New York’s logo. Throw in the Isles’ iconic color scheme and you’re good to go here. – RYAN KENNEDY
| 12 | T HE H OCK E Y NE WS
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
MASK: DAVID GUNNARSSON/DAVEART.COM; JERSEY: BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS
the Gila monster, the only venomous lizard residing in the U.S. Artist Dave Gunnarsson loves to tell stories with his designs, and he’s done that here, featuring an exotically scaly Gila monster skin with the effect of “growing over the mask,” per his words, and transforming into a Coyotes logo on top of the helmet. – MATT LARKIN
BUZZ
VIDEO GAME STATS-O-METER
HOWE: DICK RAPHAEL-USA TODAY NETWORK; WOODS: BRIAN SPUROCK/US PRESSWIRE; SUZUKI: JOHN RIEGER-USA TODAY SPORTS; BONDS: BYRON HETZLER-USA TODAY SPORTS; MCDAVID: PERRY NELSON-USA TODAY SPORTS; OVECHKIN: JAMES LANG-USA TODAY SPORTS; HARDEN: BILL STREICHER-USA TODAY SPORTS
Which major-pro athletes have posted the most cartoonishly dominant numbers of the millennium so far? A pair of hockey’s stars make the grade BY MATT LARKIN
> TIGER WOODS (2000 U.S. OPEN) Tiger was simply on another planet at Pebble Beach, finishing 12 under par, 15 strokes ahead of second place. No other golfer even finished under par in the tourney.
NT THE HOMER GIA > BARRY BONDS (2001 MLB SEASON) Performance-enhancing drugs or not? Who cares. Everyone was on ’em in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Bonds’ single-season-record 73 homers were all the more impressive considering teams tried to pitch around him all year.
R SERVING PEPPE > ALEX OVECHKIN (2008-09 NHL SEASON) Ovechkin blitzed goaltenders with 528 pucks in 2008-09, the second-most ever in a season. He beat secondplace Eric Staal by 156 shots. No other player in the past 50 years has even topped 429 shots.
HIT PARADE > ICHIRO SUZUKI (2004 MLB SEASON) Ichiro arrived in the majors as a contactmaking savant and peaked in 2004. George Sisler’s single-season hits record was 257, and Ichiro blew past it to finish with 262. No other player besides him has even topped 240 hits in a season this millennium.
PRAISE MCJESU S > CONNOR MCDAVID, (2020-21 NHL SEASON) Remember when “100 points in a 56-game season” was a fun pipe-dream idea? Well, McDavid did it in Game 53, making him the fastest since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. Dominant wire to wire, McDavid added five more points to finish with 105 in 56 games.
In the CARDS
GORDIE HOWE AND BASEBALL legend Al Kaline, two of Detroit’s biggest sports stars in the 1950s and ’60s, formed a lifelong friendship that started in 1956 when Kaline attended a Red Wings game and was introduced to Howe by a mutual friend later that night. Mr. Hockey and Mr. Tiger quickly hit it off and even started a business together. Howe also participated in several Tigers practices. Upper Deck issued a baseball card that pictured Howe in a Tigers uniform in its 2004 MLB set. It’s a tough card to find, however, as it was seeded in just one of every 576 packs. – SAL BARRY
GIMME THE BAL L > JAMES HARDEN (2018-19 NBA SEASON) Players to average 36 or more points per game in an NBA season: Wilt Chamberlain (five times), Michael Jordan (once) and Harden. End of list. Harden is the only one to accomplish the feat this millennium, and he did so attempting just the 48th-most field goals ever in a season.
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
GORDIE HOWE
T HE HO CK EY NEW S | 13 |
BUZZ
COUNTDOWN THE
2021 MOCK DRAFT
In the weirdest year ever for prospect projecting, we still think we have a pretty good sense of how the first round of the 2021 NHL draft will play out BY RYAN KENNEDY didn’t feature much chaos, and that was great news for the teams at the top. With only two drawings, the last-place Buffalo Sabres would be picking, at worst, third overall. As it turns out, something went right for the Sabres during a season otherwise mired in lows, as Buffalo won the lottery and claimed the No. 1 pick. The one team that did move up was Seattle. They had the third-best odds but jumped over the Anaheim Ducks, giving the Kraken the second selection. Overall, this class is heavy on talented defensemen and a bit short on difference-making centers, though there are a couple options at the top end. The hallmark of this draft, however, is going to be the havoc that the pandemic played on the hockey world, particularly in scouting. The OHL didn’t have a season while the WHL played an abridged version of 24 games. The QMJHL had stops and starts but managed to get a playoff tournament in. The USHL was largely unaffected, so don’t be surprised if we see more picks from that circuit this time around. What we do know is that every NHL team is going to have a very different board, even more so Ǥ ǯ ϐ round could shake out. (Arizona ϔ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ ͷͷǡ Ǥ Ǧ ͷͽǦ ǤȌ
| 14 | TH E HO CK EY N E WS
1
OWEN POWER
D, MICHIGAN (BIG 10) Big, mobile and without any glaring flaws, Power has a bright future as a two-way stud for years to come.
2
SIMON EDVINSSON
D, FROLUNDA (SWE.) Edvinsson shares Power’s size, mobility and talent. He just needs more time, which the Kraken can afford to give him.
3
WILLIAM EKLUND
LW, DJURGARDEN (SWE.) Ducks can bolster their scoring future by grabbing Eklund, an incredibly talented winger with great hockey sense.
4
DYLAN GUENTHER
RW, EDMONTON (WHL) The Devils need scoring and Guenther is a beast in that regard. He competes hard and has an NHL-ready frame.
5
MATTY BENIERS
C, MICHIGAN (BIG 10) Beniers is a gifted two-way pivot, which is good because the Blue Jackets have a dearth of those right now.
6
LUKE HUGHES
D, U.S. NTDP (USHL) Michigan kid who also happens to be an incredible skater with offensive punch. Another top-end asset for Detroit.
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
7
BRANDT CLARKE
D, NOVE ZAMKY (SVK.) Loaned from OHL. Clarke is a smart, gifted offensive D-man. Sharks need everything, but a blueliner is a good start.
8
KENT JOHNSON
C, MICHIGAN (BIG 10) The collecting of high-end prospects continues with the electrifying Johnson. Great hockey sense and raw potential.
9
MASON MCTAVISH
C, OLTEN (SUI.2) McTavish had a monster U-18s, where he used his combination of physicality and high-end skill. OHLer played in Europe.
10
JESPER WALLSTEDT
G, LULEA (SWE.) Sens are loaded, so they might as well grab the best goalie in the class. Wallstedt has the size, poise and athleticism.
12
CHAZ LUCIUS
C, U.S. NTDP (USHL) An awesome goal-scorer who knows where to go. Has a great shot selection. A future 1-2 punch with Kirby Dach?
13
FYODOR SVECHKOV
C, TOGLIATTI (RUS.2) The talented two-way center has excellent details to his game. The Flames could use another pivot, too.
POWER: MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY
T
HE 2021 DRAFT LOTTERY
OWEN POWER
BUZZ
MACKIE SAMOSKEVICH
24 AATU RATY
14
COLE SILLINGER
C, SIOUX FALLS (USHL) Loaned from WHL, Sillinger was a beast, throwing his weight around and piling up points. Sounds like a future fan fave.
15
NIKITA CHIBRIKOV
RATY: OULUN KARPAT; SAMOSKEVICH: CHICAGO STEEL; CHAYKA: LUKE DURDA/OHL IMAGES
RW, ST. PETERSBURG (KHL) Addition of the super-skilled Chibrikov can soften the blow of a down year in Big D. The kid is a fierce competitor, too.
16
CORSON CEULEMANS
D, BROOKS (AJHL) What do you get the team with a stuffed pipeline? The answer is Ceulemans, a physical two-way defenseman.
17
ZACH L’HEUREUX
C, HALIFAX (QMJHL) Big, nasty and talented? Sounds like a Blue. L’Heureux crosses the line, but reining in is easier than instilling grit.
18
ZACH BOLDUC
C, RIMOUSKI (QMJHL) Bolduc is a smart two-way player with great hockey sense and offensive instincts. He can also play the wing.
19
BRENNAN OTHMANN
LW, OLTEN (SUI.2) Loaned from OHL. Brings both bite and offensive prowess to the table. Othmann looked great at the U-18s for Canada.
20
SEBASTIAN COSSA
G, EDMONTON (WHL) He’s right in town already, and the Oilers need a goaltender of the future. Cossa sports excellent size and athleticism.
21
MACKIE SAMOSKEVICH
C, CHICAGO (USHL) The Bruins of the future will need some zing, and Samoskevich can deliver. Dynamic playmaker with speed.
22
CARSON LAMBOS
D, WINNIPEG (WHL) An excellent skater who reads the play well and is great transitioning the puck. Good add for an already solid D-corps.
23
OSKAR OLAUSSON
LW, HV71 (SWE.) Swedes and Detroit usually end up making magic. Olausson is a great skater with size and puck skills.
SEAN BEHRENS
D, U.S. NTDP (USHL) More skill for the pipeline. Behrens is a new-school D-man who controls the play, competes hard and puts up points.
25
SCOTT MORROW
D, SHATTUCK-ST. MARY’S (USHS) Morrow has a ton of long-term potential thanks to his size and skating. Vegas has the luxury of waiting for such a talent.
26
30
SAMU TUOMAALA
RW, KARPAT (FIN.) Explosive skater with a ton of skill. Work ethic improved over the season. Not big, but speed compensates for that.
DANIIL CHAYKA
AATU RATY
C, KARPAT (FIN.) Raty is a great fit for a team in need of future centers. The size and work ethic are there to be a good two-way guy.
27
ZACH DEAN
C, GATINEAU (QMJHL) Nice, balanced pipeline gets even better with Dean, who’s versatile and creates offense with smarts and his speed.
28
FABIAN LYSELL
RW, LULEA (SWE.) Lysell is high-end, but can he succeed in a team setting? Carolina went for Noel Gunler last year, so they’re not scared.
29
XAVIER BOURGAULT
RW, SHAWINIGAN (QMJHL) Habs get criticized for avoiding the ‘Q’, but you can’t ignore Bourgault’s goalscoring. Quick hands, quick mind.
31
SASHA PASTUJOV
LW, U.S. NTDP (USHL) A big-time offensive driver. Pastujov has skill, high compete level and great hockey IQ. Finds a way to get open.
32
DANIIL CHAYKA
D, CSKA MOSCOW (KHL) Scouts know his potential from playing in OHL Guelph last year. Chayka has the size and skating to be a shutdown guy.
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T HE HO CKE Y NE W S | 1 5 |
BUZZ
Puck CULTURE FIVE NHL PLAYERS WHO MADE MUSIC
HOCKEY AND MUSIC HAVE always gone hand in hand, but in some cases it’s gone beyond the rink organ. Some notable NHL players had enough musical ability – or knew the right people – to cut their own records. Here are five who dropped the gloves and picked up the mic. BY SAL BARRY
1
> JIM SCHOENFELD
In 1972, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jim Schoenfeld released “Schony,” a 10-track record consisting mainly of cover songs. The longtime NHLer put his own spin on some familiar tunes, including Jerry Lee Lewis’ Great Balls of Fire, Sam Cooke’s Chain Gang and Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower. Two years later, Schoenfeld released a follow-up album entitled “The Key is Love,” this time featuring all-original material.
2
3
> KEN BAUMGARTNER
4
> THEO FLEURY
“Bomber” was a three-track EP from 1990 that featured tough guy Ken Baumgartner – aptly nicknamed ‘Bomber’ – singing lead vocals on covers of Motorhead’s (what else?) Bomber and AC/DC’s Live Wire. He had some heavy-metal muscle backing him up, too. John Bush from Armored Saint, Rocky George from Suicidal Tendencies and Joe DiBiase and Mark Zonder from Fates Warning lent their talents. The last track is another cover of Live Wire without Baumgartner, which was credited to The Hanson Brothers, an alias for the four musicians on the album.
After retiring from the NHL, former Calgary Flames star Theo Fleury has enjoyed a successful career as a motivational speaker and author. In 2010, Fleury collaborated with friend and musician Phil Deschambault to record a song called As the Story Goes. But this didn’t fully quell Fleury’s creative fire, so in 2015 he released “I Am Who I Am,” a 10-track album of ballads and upbeat country tunes.
> DARREN MCCARTY
When Detroit Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were seriously injured in a limousine accident, teammate Darren McCarty formed a rock band called Grinder to help raise money for them. McCarty – the lead singer – and his group cut a single entitled Step Outside for the 1998 compilation album “Believing in Detroit.” In 2002, Grinder released “Gotta Keep Movin,” a seven-track album that included covers of Neat Neat Neat by The Damned and No Fun by Iggy & the Stooges.
| 16 | TH E HOC KEY NE W S
5
> GUY LAFLEUR
Featuring Montreal Canadiens superstar Guy Lafleur, the eponymous album “Lafleur!” is a strange blend of disco music and hockey tutorials released in 1979. Four of the six tracks consist of Lafleur talking, not singing, about proper hockey techniques – such as how to balance on skates or effectively fire a wrist shot – over swooning backup singers and a catchy disco beat. The two Guy-less tracks, Face Off and Power Play, are legitimately fun songs that typify late-1970s disco. “Lafleur!” was issued in both English and French versions and included a hockey instruction booklet.
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BUZZ NHL
WORKING OVERTIME O
Time will literally tell if one of these playoff OT records will fall in the years to come BY NICK EMANUELLI
ERIC BOLTE-USA TODAY SPORTS
NE OF THE MANY
wonderful things about the NHL playoffs is all the “bonus hockey” to which fans are treated. There’s nothing in sports that quite matches the urgency of a sudden-death overtime. Round 1 of the 2021 playoffs saw 16 games require at least one extra frame. Only two playoff rounds in NHL history, Rounds 1 in 2017 and 2013, had more games go to overtime. So, 2021 fell just short of making history in that respect, but there was still time to break another playoff OT record. Maybe even one of these 10: Most OT Games: 28 (2 Times) Twice have there been 28 overtime games in a single playoff year. The most recent occurrence was last season. ϐ play-in round OT games – three of which were played with regular-season overtime rules. In total, 28 of last year’s 130 playoff games went long. That has nothing on 1992-93, when 28 of 85 games necessitated bonus hockey. Fewest OT Games (PostExpansion Era): 2 (1970) In its nascency, the NHL went entire post-seasons without overtime on multiple occasions. Between 1923-24 and ’25-26, no playoff games went long. But that hasn’t happened since 1963. In the post-expansion era, the leanest year was 1970 – only two of 34 games needed OT. Since the turn of the millennium, the low was 2000 when nine of 83 games went to OT.
Most OT Games By One Team: 11 (1993 Canadiens) The 1993 Canadiens are Canada’s most recent Cup champs. Those Habs lost their playoff opener in extra time before rattling off 10 overtime wins in a row. Seven different Habs scored at least one OT winner. Most OT Wins By One Team: 10 (1993 Canadiens) The ’93 Habs reign here, too. The runners-up? One champ – the 2020 Lightning – and a pair of early-aughts Cinderellas whose clocks struck midnight. The 2003 Ducks tormented East Coast viewers by sending seven games to OT. They won all seven but ultimately came one win short of a title. The previous year, Carolina went 7-2 in overtime before losing the Cup ϐ ϐ Ǥ Most OT Losses By One Team: 4 (15 Times) The Kings, Devils and Rangers have each done it twice. Three teams – the 1999 Stars, 2002 Red Wings and 2003 Devils – went on to win the Cup despite their oft-occurring heartbreaks. Those 1999 Stars went 4-4 in extra hockey and clinched three series with OT wins (two in triple overtime), including the infamous “foot in the crease” game. The 2020 Islanders did it most recently. Most OT Games In One Round: 18 (2017) A whopping 18 games in ʹͲͳ ǯ ϐ required at least one extra pe Ǥ ϐ times versus Washington and Ottawa had a quartet of overtime tilts with Boston. Fittingly, Pittsburgh beat Ottawa in double overtime to win the East.
The Penguins ultimately won their second consecutive Cup, ϐ went past regulation. Most OT Games In One Series: 5 (3 times) There are three instances of a single playoff series seeing ϐ death. The most recent was in 2017 when the Leafs and Capi ϐ six games. Only Game 4 – still a one-goal game – didn’t require any extra hockey. Shortest OT: 0:09 (1986 Canadiens vs. Flames) Montreal center Brian Skrudland scored nine goals during his 1985-86 rookie cam ǡ ϐ his fourth game. But notch ϐ ϐ Ǥ 16 playoff games, and the entirety of regulation-time in his 17th game, on May 18, 1986, without a goal. Fortunately for Skrudland, he only had to wait nine more seconds after that. Longest OT: 116:30 (1936 Red Wings vs. Canadiens) It took Detroit’s Mud Brune-
JESPERI, YES SIR!
Kotkaniemi scored the winner in Game 6 against Toronto in one of 16 first-round games that required OT.
teau the equivalent of nearly three full games to solve Montreal goalie Lorne Chabot in
ͳ ͳͻ͵ ϐ against the Maroons on March 24, 1936. The longest game since? That would be Game 4 of the second round between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in 2000. Keith Primeau ended it at 92:01 of overtime. First OT Game: 1919 We end at the beginning. ϐ playoff history occurred over a century ago, on March 26 in Game 4 of the 1919 Stanley ϐ Ǥ NHL champions, the Montreal Canadiens, against the PCHA’s Seattle Metropolitans. The game ended in a scoreless tie. Game 5 also went to OT – Montreal won – before the series was cancelled due to the Spanish Flu epidemic.
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THE HO CK EY N E WS | 17 |
RON FRANCIS
DAYS OF
FUTURE PAST DON’T LET RON FRANCIS FOOL YOU. BENEATH THE SOFT-SPOKEN, QUIET EXTERIOR STILL RESONATE, AS DOES HIS DESIRE TO BUILD OFF AN INITIAL GM STINT IN CAROLINA HE WAS FIRED FROM THREE YEARS AGO. IT ALL FUELS HIS DESIRE TO WIN WITH THE SEATTLE KRAKEN – AT ALL COSTS | BY GEOFF BAKER | | 18 | T HE HO CKE Y NE W S
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PHOTO BY SEATTLE KRAKEN
RAGES AN INEXTINGUISHABLE COMPETITIVE FIRE. GAME 7 DEFEATS AS A PLAYER
ǡ ͵ͷ ǡ ǯ ǡ SCOUTING ǯ Ǥ ϐ MISSION ished just three points behind the Francis could be taking it easy at ǡ this stage. Instead he’s doing the dirty work to help build a winner. Ǥ ͳͻͻͳ ͳͻͻʹ ǡ Dz ǡdz ͳͻͻ͵ Ǧ Ǥ Dz ǡ ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ Ǥdz ǯ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ
°
I’m extremely competitive. It may not come across that way because I tend to be more soft-spoken about things. But I’m competitive in everything I do – Ron Francis
Y
OU DON’T HAVE TO scratch deep before
the competitiveness of Ron Francis starts bleeding freely. Ask the 58-year-old Seattle Kraken GM about the second round of the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, and the competitive juices ϐ Ǥ ǡ ʹ͵ ϐ Ǧ ǡ Montreal Canadiens, only to lose on Claude ǯ Ǥ ϐ Ǥ ǣ ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǯ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz
ǡ ϐ ϐ ǡ ϐ ʹͲͳͺǤ ǡ Dz dz Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ϐ Dz dz Dz ϐ ϐ dz Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ǡ ǡ ly minted amateur scouting director Robert Kron, former Ǥ ǯ ϐ Ǥ Ǧ by-play announcer John Forslund joined the fold. Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ helping keep this burgeoning Seattle-Carolina rivalry – ͵ǡͲͲͲ Ȃ Ǧ Ǥ
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TH E HOC K EY NE WS | 19 |
RON FRANCIS
| 20 | TH E HO CKE Y N EW S
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knowing his dad worked the plant daily hoping his son chose correctly. When Ronald passed away in 2013, a former plant employee he’d supervised for 20 years approached Francis at the funeral. The man told Francis his father never said, “This guy works for me” to anyone. Francis still carries that with him today as GM of the Kraken. “The culture he wants us to embrace is about ‘we’ not about ‘I,’ ” Olczyk said. “It’s not that you work for him. It’s about the work we’re doing.” That includes work that Olczyk said someone of Francis’ Hall of Fame stature doesn’t have to do. Family is paramount to Francis, he said, and he could easily be spending
°
NO ‘I’ IN SEATTLE
According to those around him, Francis is building a culture of “we” in the Kraken’s front office.
The thing about Ron is, there haven’t been any surprises. He was an incredibly well-respected leader within the game. Detailed, thoughtful, measured – Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke more time with his wife, Mary Lou, or his three adult children. “He’s not just going to world-class events,” Olczyk said. “He’s going to junior rinks. He’s in Moose Jaw. He’s not in the best of hotels at times…he’ll call me from his car when he’s driving from one place to another because there’s another game he can catch before leaving.” Olczyk warns not to be fooled by his boss’s quiet demeanor. Francis is extremely competitive, he says. He
PHOTO BY SEATTLE KRAKEN
Hurricanes’ ranks – namely, pending UFA defenseman Dougie Hamilton and, especially, coach Rod Brind’Amour. Francis insists he’s motivated only to help the Kraken, including hiring hardworking and loyal people with whom he’s comfortable. One thing is almost certain: he will have ϐ Ǥ Kraken majority owner David Bonderman and partners, including Hollywood mogul Jerry Bruckheimer, spent $650 million to land the franchise, another $80 million on the team’s future training center and part of the $1-billion price tag for Climate Pledge Arena. They’re competing locally with the NFL Seahawks, MLB Mariners, MLS Sounders, WNBA Storm, NCAA football Huskies and likely a future NBA franchise soon. So, Francis should receive ample resources to complement a longstanding competitive nature furthered by playing 23 seasons in a Hall of Fame career. “I’m extremely competitive,” Francis said. “It may not come across that way because I tend to be more soft-spoken about things. But you don’t play in the NHL until you’re 41 without being very competitive. I hated losing a faceoff. I hated losing a puck battle behind the net. I hated losing a shift. I’m competitive in everything I do.” Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Francis played ϐ ͳͲ win. Except if he was losing. Francis instead kept upping the winning total to 15, then 20 goals, until his team prevailed. So his competitive nature comes naturally, but he gets his work ethic from his father, Ronald, who lost his dad at 15 and worked four decades in the Algoma steel plant, starting at 18, to support his family. He once walked his young son around the plant and told him he’d better achieve in school or he’d wind up working there. Francis kept his university options open until right before signing at 17 with his hometown OHL Greyhounds. He was then all-in on hockey and performed like it,
TOP: RVR PHOTOS-USA TODAY SPORTS; MIDDLE: SEATTLE KRAKEN
wants to win, and he expects the same from his staff. Competitive enough to want to prove Carolina ǯ Ǧ ϐ adequate time? Francis wouldn’t say so, but he has reason to be. After all, the Hurricanes have become Cup contenders with a largely Francisassembled core since Dundon increased payroll. ϐ cused on what is to come in Seattle, not what could’ve been in Carolina. Still, his Hurricanes past has followed Francis. He’d only been with the Kraken four months when he became ensnared in the controversy surrounding Bill Peters, his former Hurricanes coach. Peters resigned from the Calgary Flames in November 2019 after being accused of uttering a racial epithet in the AHL a decade prior. Peters was also accused by former Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan of kicking him in the back and punching a second, unnamed player, during a game in 2016-17 when Peters was coach of the Canes. Francis said he dealt with the alleged assault and took undisclosed corrective action. The incident didn’t become public, and Francis later inked Peters to a contract extension. When word leaked in 2019, former Hurricanes owner Karmanos told The Seattle Times ǯ ϐ Francis told him about the incident. Francis insisted ownership was apprised. Both ultimately agreed to disagree. Francis told The Times he extended Peters because the team improved, and the corrective action seemed enough. “Listen, it’s easy at this point to look back on things,” he said. “But when you’re in the situation, you deal with it the way you think is best at the time.”
ϐ NHL decades that Francis’ integrity had been questioned. The controversy subsided, but Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke conducted his own investigation into Francis’ actions to ensure his “gravitas” that had so impressed during the team’s GM search was real. Leiweke said he came away further convinced Francis is genuine. And nothing has changed. “The thing about Ron is, there haven’t been any surprises,’’ Leiweke said. “He was an incredibly well-respected leader within the game. Detailed, thoughtful, measured, and he’s been all of that with us.”
Leiweke referenced Francis’ work with the Kraken’s analytics department, headed by Alexandra Mandrycky. Weeks before Francis came aboard, Mandrycky had been hired away from the Minnesota Wild after Ǧ ϐ Ǧϐ was said to have not respected analytics the way predecessor Chuck Fletcher did. Mandrycky jokes about being “Ron’s handler” upon his Seattle arrival, accompanying him as he familiarized himself with people and places. Since settling into his role as GM, Francis has maintained open communication with her department, allowing her group to meld his hockey expertise FIRE STILL within their analBURNS HOT ysis. “You never The same really know competitive fire what you’re gothat pushed him ing to get with as a Hall of Fame anybody,” Manplayer drives drycky said. “We Francis as a GM.
°
knew Ron’s reputation as a hockey player and executive. But what surprised me the most was how good of a person he is, genuinely good. A straight shooter. There’s no B.S. with him, but I think that in a nice way.” If the Hurricanes were to Francis the GM what the Whalers represented in his early playing days, the Kraken are akin to the Mario Lemieuxled Penguins giving the player his second chance to win. Francis never took that chance for granted, even ϐ ͳͻͻͳǤ The following year, the Penguins
lost Lemieux and top threat Joe Mullen to injury in their second-round series against the Presidents’ Trophywinning Rangers. The Penguins could’ve folded, their previous title secured and having every reason to abandon hope with New York leading 2-1 in the series and up two goals in Game 4. But Francis almost singlehandedly saved them with a late-game hat trick that included the tying goal and overtime winner. The Penguins went on to win 11 straight and another Cup. Francis remembered phoning his father after Game 3 of the Rangers series, Pitts ǯ ϐ Ǥ Dz been the best game I’d ever played and we still lost,” Francis said. “And he said, ‘Well, you’ll just have to play better.’ ” Francis did. And now, the Kraken hope their evercompetitive leader keeps upping his game.
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THE HOC KE Y NE W S | 21 |
E V O L U T I O N O F G O A LT E N D I N G
WHAT’S THE NEXT TREND? WHERE’S THE NEXT GREAT GOALIE FRONTIER? DOES SIZE EVEN MATTER ANYMORE? THE EVOLUTION OF GOALTENDING IS AS FICKLE AS THE QUIRKY DUDES WHO GUARD THE CREASE. HEADING INTO WHAT PROMISES TO BE AN OFF-SEASON LIKE NO OTHER, THE VARYING FACTORS AT PLAY MAKE IT HARD FOR GMS TO FIGURE OUT WHO TO SIGN TO LEAD THEIR TEAM FROM THE BACK END | BY RYAN KENNEDY |
I
T’S THE MOST IMPORTANT position in the
game, and yet it’s also the hardest to nail down. The evolution of the goaltender has been dramatic in hockey, with styles, rule changes and equipment upgrades all making big impacts on how the position is played and who plays it. You can streamline their equipment and make the pace of the game faster for shooters with crackdowns on holding and slashing, but the masked men in the crease are also improving ϐ Ǧ Ǥ But there’s still often an uncertainty when it comes to goaltending that ϐ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ǯ ȋ ȌǤ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǡ into choosing which way to go in goal will make for a very interesting off-season.
SMART MONEY OR MO MONEY MO PROBLEMS?
W
HEN IT COMES TO goaltend-
ing, teams can try spending their way into comfort. But that’s no sure thing, ϐ Ǧ only accentuate the risks of going Ǥ paying Sergei Bobrovsky $10 million per season until the summer of 2026, yet their season was carried by back ȋ̈́ͺͷͲǡͲͲͲȌ top prospect Spencer Knight, who
| 22 | TH E HO C KE Y N EW S
made his NHL debut one day after his 20th birthday and went 4-0 in the Ǥ ǡ be without their own $10.5-million ǡ ǫ ȋ Ǥ ʹͻǤȌ ǡ time to breathe during the regular season and allowing the starter to be at the top of his game when the play Ǥ ǡ ̈́ͳͲǤͷ in order to defeat $40 million worth Ǥ ϐ can do the job at an elite level, why ǯ ǫ “Lou Lamoriello slept comfortably for 20 years in New Jersey because ǡdz -
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NHL
°
TOP PRICE
Dedicating a big chunk of the salary cap to a single player is fraught with risk – but sometimes it pays off.
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TH E HO CK E Y NE W S | 23 |
E V O L U T I O N O F G O A LT E N D I N G
otes GM Bill Armstrong. “If you’ve got the right guy, you pay him that money. The other train of thought is ϐ Ǧ Ǧ might be elite for a short time, but ǯ Ǥdz Ǧ tive than ever, making sure you have Ǧ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz ϐ with Nashville, our payroll was $17 ǯ ̈́ʹ ǡdz Ǧ Ǥ Dz get through the whole season where ͷ ǡ parity in the league, it’s more of a Ǧ Ǥ ǯ ͶͲǦͶͲ ǡ ͷͷǦʹͷ ǯ your top guy but also wins from your Ǥ ǯ ͳ ǡ ǯ ǯ Ǥdz
| 24 | TH E H OC K E Y N E WS
THE LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PAIN OF SHORT-TERM GAIN
T
ROTZ, OF COURSE, HAS Ǧ
ǡ ȋ ǯ Ȍ Ǥ ǯ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz Ǥ ǡ Ȃ ǡ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ
Ǥ ǡ
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ǯ ϐ Ǧ ʹͲͳͻǤ great teams before that, but they just ǯ goalies to make it all the way. ArmǦ ʹͲͳͻ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡdz Ǧ Ǥ Dz ǯ ǯ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ͵ͷǦ ͶͲ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ͳͻ ʹͲ Ǧ Ǥ Ǥdz ǡ ǡ Ǧ ϐ Ǥ
ǡ ǡ Ǥ Dz ϐ ǡdz Ǧ Ǥ Dz Ǧ
PRICE: BOB FRID-USA TODAY SPORTS; BINNINGTON: JEFF CURRY-USA TODAY SPORTS
JORDAN BINNINGTON
times they hit the high end of their range early on, and at the same time there are probably goalies that deserve to be NHLers and never get ϐ of games aren’t great and they get ϐ pean goalies. They may never get the chance again. People don’t give these guys a lot of rope because the position is so important.” What that same exec goes on to say, however, is that you cannot be too hasty when it comes to goaltenders because they do go through hot and cold streaks. He cautions against going “all-in” for a championship one year, since a goaltender may simply be off for a couple of weeks, and that would torpedo your whole plan. It’s better to build a team that can go for the title for a number of years, giving your squad a chance to survive any single-season blips. “You need good goaltending to win, but you don’t necessarily need the best goalie to win,” he said. “Those are two things people blend together when they’re actually separate ideas.”
CAMPBELL: DAN HAMILTON-USA TODAY SPORTS; BOBROVSKY: SAM NAVARRO-USA TODAY SPORTS
FINDING A SIZE THAT FITS
H
OW THIS CONCEPT AFFECTS
the free-agent market this summer will be fascinating. gible for unrestricted free agency are Boston stalwart Tuukka Rask, Nashville icon Pekka Rinne and Colorado starter Philipp Grubauer, who just ϐ ϐ Ǥ “In this day and age, how much money are you putting into that posi ǫdz Ǥ Dz ϐ der makes a fair bit, then you have your second goaltender, then are you signing a young prospect as your third goaltender? Some teams now have a veteran as your third guy.” Bobrovsky may be a cautionary tale, while on the other end of the spectrum you have Jack Campbell, who became the starter in Toronto and is still under contract for next season at a tidy $1.6 million. Play number of top goaltenders in the NHL, including Grubauer and Dal-
JACK CAMPBELL
If you’ve got the right guy, you pay him that money. The other train of thought is to find an up-and-coming guy and he might be elite for a short time, but it’s within your window to win – Arizona Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong SERGEI BOBROVSKY
las’ Ben Bishop (Roy himself played goalie at Harvard). He’s also curious about which direction the market is Ǥ Dz ʹͲͳͲ ϐ between Philadelphia and Chicago, when it was Michael Leighton ver ǡ and that really reset the market,” Roy said. “The next summer, there was the mentality that you didn’t need a true starter, a platoon works if you Ǥ affected contracts. But the year after that it was clear you needed a clearcut starter and a No. 2. “This year, if anything, has reset the size issue. You’ve got some sixfoot and below goalies having success because shooters and players watch a lot of video and smaller goalies have adjusted to play bigger. My
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T HE H OCK E Y NE W S | 2 5 |
E V O L U T I O N O F G O A LT E N D I N G
BACKUP PLANS
I
N THE SALARY-CAP ERA,
it has become imperative for teams to develop goaltenders the right way because you never know when you’ll need someone to step Ǥ ǡ ʹͲͳͻ ϐ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ at such a young age was a pleasant Ǥ these days isn’t easy unless your
| 26 | TH E HO CKE Y NE WS
THATCHER DEMKO
You need good goaltending to win, but you don’t necessarily need the best goalie to win. Those are two things people blend together when they’re actually separate ideas – NHL executive team has bottomed out and can afford to lose games now Ǥ Dz Ǧ ǡdz Ǥ Dz the GM saying these young guys need to play so they can Ǥ ǯ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥdz this season when one client’s misfortune led to opportuni ǣ
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knee surgery, which meant there was an opening for rookie Jake Oettinger, ǯ ʹͲͳ ϐ Ǧ Ǥ ʹͻ ʹǤ͵ Ǧ Ǥͻͳͳ indicated he was indeed ready for Ǥ At the other end of the spectrum, Vancouver Canucks fans were irate that one of their top young goalies, ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ǯ Comets and zero starts with the Ca Ǥ ǡ one of the best young goalies in the ǡ Ǥ ǡ it’s important for netminders to get ϐ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz driving force there, they can make mistakes, go through losing streaks Ǥ Then, when they come up, you put Ǥ ͳ Ǥdz
DEMKO: BOB FRID-USA TODAY SPORTS
guy Grubauer plays like a 6-foot-5 guy, you don’t see him giving up the top of the net very often because he ϐ Ǥdz The 6-foot-1 Grubauer has indeed Ǥ Ǧ Carolina and 5-foot-11 Juuse Saros also delivering a strong season in ǡ ǯ the idea that small goalies can’t suc Ǥ Dz in a shot that a bigger goalie would have saved, people immediately say ǯ ǡdz Ǥ Dz allow a goal mid-blocker that a smaller goalie would have saved, Ǥdz ʹͲͳ͵Ǥ And while he understands the size knock, he also had faith in his scouts ǡ Ǥ ǡ (albeit one who was half a foot taller ȌǤ ǡ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ position has evolved to be one for a Ǥ Ǥ our list and we’re rating goaltenders, one of the obvious things you talk Ǥ ǡ we had a goaltending list, and Saros was right at the top because he was Ǥ ǯ tioned whether he was as good as the Ǥ didn’t draft him is because you thought he would be too small to be effective as Ǥ for our scouts, we saw that his tal ǡ ǡ Ǥdz
THE NEXT GOALIE FRONTIER
S
ANDREI VASILEVSKIY
O WHERE ARE THE
goalies of the future coming from? It seems like certain locales get trendy at different times. For a while there, Finland was the place to scout if you wanted to unearth a gem, and the Predators certainly ϐ Ǥ ǡ Niklas Backstrom were other Suomi products who came over and found Ǥ ǡ the latest in a long line of successful stoppers that also includes the likes ǡ ǡ ǡ Miller and Jonathan Quick. ǫ ǯ Ǥ ǯ -
VASILEVSKIY: KIM KLEMENT-USA TODAY SPORTS; SHESTERKIN: ERIC HARTLINE-USA TODAY SPORTS
IGOR SHESTERKIN
kiy is one of the most consistently elite goaltenders in the game today, ǡ more years ahead of him. Behind sian stoppers from Igor Shesterkin
Ǥ ǡ ϐ ʹͲʹͲ ǡ ͳͳ Ǥ ǯ ǡ he said the Predators liked all those goalies in their draft Ǥ
ʹͲʹͳ demic and its impact on scouting the ǡ to a normal season as any country Ǥ ǯ ǡ for producing youngsters with a ton ǡ Ǥ Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǯ ǯ young ages.”
ǡ Ǧͳͺ a couple of those netminders. But the Ǧ ǡ Ǧ Ǧ ʹ ǡ ϐ ʹͳ minutes to the U.S. He never got a second chance from his coaches, scouts who had him as a potential ǦͳͲͲ Ǥ ǡ underager Sergei Ivanov to a silver Ǥ to the tournament all-star team and ͷǦ ǦͳͳǤ Ǧ ǯ ǡ ʹͲʹͳ Ǧ ǦʹǤ
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TH E H OCK EY NEW S | 27 |
E V O L U T I O N O F G O A LT E N D I N G
SHOP KEEPERS
SPENCER KNIGHT
These are the 10 goalies with the biggest cap hits who could hit the open market as UFAs this summer, listed with their current team and 2020-21 cap number (via capfriendly.com)
RASK 2020-21 CAP HIT: $7.0
2. FREDERIK
3. PEKKA
RINNE 2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.0
4. DEVAN
5. ANTTI
RAANTA 2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.3
6. JAMES
7. PHILIPP
GRUBAUER 2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.3
8. PETR
9. JONATHAN
10. CARTER
M
M
M
ANDERSEN 2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.0
M
DUBNYK 2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.3
M
REIMER 2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.4
M
ILYA SOROKIN
SIZE OF THE DOG OR SIZE OF THE FIGHT?
W
HETHER OR NOT SIZE
matters anymore, goaltending is more important than ever. And above all else, the size of a netminder’s heart can make all the difference. “You’ve got to look into the resiliency,” Armstrong said. “The Corey Crawfords, the Binning-
| 28 | T HE HO CK EY NEW S
tons, even the Michael Hutchinsons, the guys who had to keep going past ϐ Ǥ ǯ being a goalie, you drop out because it’s not an easy life.” Finding the one who can bring your team a Stanley Cup is no walk in the park, either. During a time when the NHL has been more competitive than ever, however, it’s crucial to have netminders you can believe in – and yes, it’s plural, even though you’ll probably ride one in the post-season. Whether that guy is the highest-paid player on your squad or a rising star who has come into his own, you better hope he’s got a hot hand when it matters most.
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M
BERNIER 2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.0
M
MRAZEK 2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.1
M
HUTTON 2020-21 CAP HIT: $2.8
M
KNIGHT: JASEN VINLOVE-USA TODAY SPORTS; SOROKIN: ERIC HARTLINE-USA TODAY SPORTS
1. TUUKKA
RISING TO THE
OCCASION DESPITE SUBPAR REGULAR-SEASON STATS OF LATE, CAREY PRICE CONTINUES TO BE THE GAME’S BEST WHEN IT REALLY COUNTS | BY KEN CAMPBELL |
M
ERIC BOLTE-USA TODAY SPORTS
OMENTS AFTER LEADING HIS
team to the Stanley ϐ ǡ Ǥ ͳʹͶǡ Dz dz Dz ǡdz ǯ Ǥ ͵Ͳ ǡ Ǥ ͳǤ Ǥ one ͳͻͶ ǡ Dz dz Ǥ ǡ ǯ ǯ ǯ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ϐ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ -
ǡ ǯ ̈́ͻǤͷ Ǥ ǡ ̈́ͳͷ ǡ ǯ ̈́ͳ͵ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ǡ Ǧ ǡ ̈́ͺͶǦ ǯ Ǥ ʹͲͳͺ ʹͲʹͲǡ ǯ ǯ Ȃ ʹͲʹͲǦʹͳ Ȃ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ʹͲʹͲǦʹͳǤ ǯ ǡ ǯ ǤͻͲǤ ǡ Ͷͳ ͳͷ Ǥ ʹͲͳͻǦʹͲǡ ͵ͳǤ ϐ ʹͲʹͲǦʹͳ Ǧ ǡ ǯ Ǥͻ͵ͷǤ Ǥ Dz ǯ ϐ ǯ ǯ ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡ ǯ ǡ Ǥ ǯ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ϐ ǯ Ǥdz ǡ ǡ ʹͶ Ǧ ǡ ͵Ǥͷ ǡ ͳʹ ͳʹ ȋ ȌǤ ǡ ʹǤͷͺ ǡ Ǥ ͷ͵ ǡ ʹʹ ǡ ͶǤͶʹ Ǥ ϐ ǡ ʹͶ ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz ǡdz ǡ Dz Ǥdz ǡ ʹͲʹʹǡ ǡ ǯ Ǧ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡdz ǡ Dz ȋ Ȍ ǡ Ǥdz ǡ ʹͲͳͻǦʹͲ ǡ ϐ ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ǡ Ǥ ͶʹǦͳ ǯ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ǯ Ǥ
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T HE HOCK E Y N EWS | 2 9 |
JAMES GUILLORY-USA TODAY SPORTS
UFA POWER RANKINGS
| 30 | TH E HO CKE Y NE W S
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FREE AGENT NHL
POWER RANKINGS
OVECHKIN MAY BE NO. 1 IN OUR TOP 30, BUT LET’S GET REAL: THE BEST UFA WHO MIGHT ACTUALLY MOVE IS DOUGIE HAMILTON. WILL HE STAY OR GO? WHO KNOWS. BUT WHAT YOU CAN BANK ON IS SOME TEAM OFFERING HIM AS MUCH OR MORE THAN PIETRANGELO GOT LAST YEAR | BY MATT LARKIN |
CHRISTOPHER HANEWINCKEL/ USA TODAY SPORTS
“
THE GOAL IS
Ǥ ǯ Ǥdz Dz ǡ ǯ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz eted, star-caliber, Ǧ fensemen in the months before Ǥ ϐ ǣ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ʹͲʹͲ Ǥ Ǥ ǣ Ǧ ʹͲʹͳ Ǥ Ǥ ͳʹ Ǥ ǯ ǡ ʹͶ ǡ second-team all-star nods and ϐ ϐ ǡ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ ͳ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ ̈́ͳǤǦ Ǥ
So what does that mean for Hamilton? He’s been one of the NHL’s most dominant defensemen since the Hurricanes acquired him, Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox in a blockbuster trade that sent Elias Lindholm ϐ ʹͲͳͺǤ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ
ϐ Ǧ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ton wants to come back, and the ǡ ǯ Ǥ Once we factor in that “No. 1 dz -
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T HE HO CK EY NEW S | 31 |
UFA POWER RANKINGS
°
WINDS OF CHANGE?
viously staying with the Washington Capitals, Hamilton is the runaway choice as the NHL’s top UFA in 2021. He’ll have no shortage of parties interested in him, even if he and agent J.P. Barry use Pietrangelo’s meaty contract as a comparable. Hamilton has virtually all the qualities an NHL team covets in a defenseman. He’s a mammoth 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds. He moves tremendously well for such a big man. He’s the best goal-scorer at his position, leading NHL D-men over the past four years despite the fact he missed 21 games with a broken leg last year. He’s not a classic intimidator, but he makes his long reach an asset. His under-the-hood statistics make him look even better than the eye test does. Over the past three seasons, among 219 defensemen with 1,000 or more minutes played at 5-on-5, ϐ ǡ shots and rush attempts per 60; second in individual scoring chances and rebounds created per 60; sixth in individual highdanger shot attempts per 60; and 12th in points per 60. He has been the best playdriver in the league at his position over that span, period. The Canes have outscored op-
| 32 | TH E H O CK E Y NE WS
So can Carolina afford to retain its most important defenseman? Probably, but it’s complicated ponents 140-102 at 5-on-5 with Hamilton on the ice the past three seasons, holding a scoring-chance differential of plus-429. Hamilton’s occasionally lackadaisical body language might be the only thing holding him back from being considered a better all-around UFA than Pietrangelo was in 2020. Hamilton has had a greater impact on the game in recent seasons and, at 28, is three-and-a-half years younger than Pietrangelo was in his walk year. If we’re projecting what Hamilton is worth, then, Pietrangelo’s seven year-pact at an $8.8-million AAV should be ϐ ǡ ǡ Pietrangelo’s perceived intangibles as captain of a Cup winner might draw them even. So can Carolina afford to retain its most important defenseman? Probably, but it’s complicated. On paper, the Canes
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project to have almost $28 million in cap space, but GM Don Waddell must make that money go a long way. Star left winger Andrei Svechnikov is an RFA. Even if he opts for the en-vogue bridge deal at three years, it should come at an AAV of $6 million or more. The Canes also have zero NHL goalies signed for 2021-22, as Petr Mrazek and James Reimer are UFAs and, more importantly, breakout No. 1 netminder Alex Nedeljkovic is an RFA. Checking forwards Jordan Martinook and Brock McGinn hit the open market, too. So it’s not like Carolina can throw $9 million at Hamilton without a second thought. That said, the Seattle expansion draft might be a friend to the Hurricanes. Should they opt for a 7-3-1 protection scheme and hold off on re-signing Hamilton until after the expansion draft, they could keep bluelin-
ers Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Jake Bean and leave Brady Skjei available. With his great skating and well-rounded game, he’d be an appealing building block for the Kraken, and losing him would liberate the Canes of a $5.25-million AAV, creating breathing room to re-sign Hamilton. But Hamilton, Barry and the Canes shelved contract talks early in the season and chose not to resume until after the playoffs. They’re essentially starting at square one. That means the door is open for another suitor to swoop in. Which teams might be the most aggressive? Keep a close eye on the Philadelphia Flyers, who need a proper right-shot defenseman to handle top-pair duty alongside Ivan Provorov. Their blueline wasn’t the same after Matt Niskanen unexpectedly retired before the season, and they’re hungry to return to contender status after a shockingly disappointing 2020-21 in which they missed the playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks ϐ ϐ ϐ ǡ ǯ ϐ cial retirement, which will allow them to stash Seabrook’s $6.875-million AAV on LTIR. GM Stan Bowman wants to accelerate his team’s rebuild so it can climb the Western Conference contender ladder while superstar Patrick Kane still has good years left. Considering the Blackhawks have been, statistically, the worst defensive team in hockey over the past two seasons, they might be desperate enough to outbid anyone for Hamilton’s services. So will Hamilton stay or go? If he values comfort and recognizes the Hurricanes will be a perennial Cup threat with him around, bet on him re-signing. But if his current team undervalues him in negotiations, a deep-pocketed suitor will tempt him to pull a ‘Petro.’
JAMES GUILLORY-USA TODAY SPORTS
The Hurricanes are the odds-on favorites to re-sign Hamilton, but it’s not a lock that he stays.
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ϐ ʹͺ Ǥ > ʹͲʹͲǡ ϐ Ǧ Ǥ ϐ ʹͺǤ > Ǥ ͳͺ ʹͲǡ ʹͳ ǡ Ǥ
> ϐ Ǧ ǯ Ǥ Ǧ Ǥ > Ǧ Ǥ Ǧ Ǥ > ǯ ʹͲ Ǧ Ǥ > ʹͲʹͳǦʹʹ ϐ ̈́ͺͳǤͷ Ǥ
*Ages as of July 28, 2021, the start date for NHL free agency
2. DOUGIE
AGE: 35 POS: LW
AGE: 28 POS: D
OVECHKIN 2020-21 CAP HIT: $9.54M
Concluding his 13-year, $124-million pact, Ovechkin wants to finish his NHL career as a Capital and then play his final pro season with his hometown club: Dynamo Moscow of the KHL. It’s a near certainty he returns to D.C. next season, and after the Caps’ elimination from the playoffs, he said he was confident he’d be back. Whether he wants a series of one-year deals or a longer-term pact, the Capitals will meet his needs. BEST FITS: WSH
HAMILTON 2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.75M In the past four years, no D-man scored more goals than Hamilton despite him missing time with a broken leg last season. He’s a top-tier puck-mover and play-driver with great size and a righthanded shot. He’ll command Pietrangelo money and term (seven years, $61.6 million). Will Hamilton change teams like ‘Petro’ did? He wants to remain a Hurricane, but the sides shelved contract talks during the season. BEST FITS: CAR, PHI, WPG
3. GABRIEL
4. RYAN
5. TUUKKA
6. TAYLOR
AGE: 28 POS: LW
AGE: 28 POS: LW
AGE: 34 POS: G
AGE: 29 POS: LW
LANDESKOG 2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.57M
USA TODAY SPORTS
1. ALEX
Landeskog is a revered captain who blends top-line scoring with bruising physicality. That makes him attractive to pretty much every team in the league, but it also makes him indispensable to Colorado. Landeskog’s camp recently said he wants to be an Av for life. He will command a long-term deal in the range of $8 million per year. The Avs also need to re-sign RFA Cale Makar but will make both players a top priority. BEST FITS: COL, EDM, DAL
NUGENT-HOPKINS 2020-21 CAP HIT: $6.0M
‘The Nuge’ is a tough player to appraise. He can play multiple forward positions and kill penalties, and he’s an extremely popular teammate. But one could make the case he pads his stats on the power play alongside superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. ‘RNH’ is tied for 16th in the NHL in power-play points since 2018-19, but he’s 95th in even-strength points. He also slumped badly in his contract year. BEST FITS: OTT, EDM, CLB
RASK
2020-21 CAP HIT: $7.0M
Boston’s decision to reduce Rask’s regular-season workload in recent years has paid off in his play. Has it also lowered his price tag? The impressive rise of prospect Jeremy Swayman will push one of Rask or Jaroslav Halak out. Odds are it’s Halak, who was demoted to third on the depth chart to start the playoffs. Rask only wants to play in Boston and thus might take a hometown discount, so the Bruins have leverage. BEST FITS: BOS
HALL
2020-21 CAP HIT: $8.0M
Hall’s one-and-done Sabres season played out as a true worst-case scenario, but the trade to Boston rescued him. He was instantly a great fit on the second line, where he no longer had to face the toughest defensive matchups every night. Given how well he meshed with the Bruins and how he seems to value winning over a big payday, he’s a decent bet to re-sign, even if another team is equipped to outbid Boston. BEST FITS: BOS, DAL, LA
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THE H OCK EY NE WS | 33 |
UFA POWER RANKINGS
7. PHILIPP
8. TYSON
9. ZACH
10. PHILLIP
AGE: 29 POS: G
AGE: 30 POS: D
AGE: 29 POS: LW
AGE: 28 POS: C
BARRIE
2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.33M
Talent was never in question for Grubauer, who was a Vezina finalist this season and has the fifth-highest save percentage in NHL history among goalies with at least 100 games played. The key was to prove he can stay healthy, and he did that aside from a case of COVID-19. Has he priced himself out of Colorado, though? The Avs want him back, but he’s third, at best, in the re-signing queue behind Landeskog and Makar. BEST FITS: COL, PIT, EDM
2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.75M
Seventh in points among NHL D-men since his breakout 2013-14 campaign, Barrie was set up nicely to post massive contract-year numbers in Edmonton, and that’s what happened. But do the Oilers need to bring him back? They were already a powerhouse power-play team before he signed, and he’s a bit of a drag on their defensive play. Might their money be better spent on a more impactful two-way player? BEST FITS: WPG, SEA, CHI
HYMAN
2020-21 CAP HIT: $2.25M
Hyman is an even-strength scoring dynamo who contributes in many situations. His numbers get puffed up playing with great scorers, sure, but he fills an important role on those lines with his puck-retrieval skills, and his speed is handy on the penalty kill. His wellrounded skill set makes him appealing to any team, which is bad news for the cap-crunched Leafs, as it will drive his AAV to the $6-million range. BEST FITS: TOR, EDM, LA
DANAULT 2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.08M
One of the top two-way forwards in the business, Danault is capable of shutting down elite forwards while still driving the play on a scoring line. He reportedly rejected a six-year, $30-million offer from Montreal before the season, but, with his offense regressing in 2020-21, he may want to reconsider. As one of the keys to the Habs’ playoff success, he’ll get plenty of offers from contenders or teams wanting to become contenders. BEST FITS: OTT, MTL, EDM
11. TOMAS
12. KYLE
13. JADEN
14. BRANDON
AGE: 30 POS: LW
AGE: 30 POS: RW
AGE: 29 POS: LW
AGE: 28 POS: LW
TATAR
2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.3M
PALMIERI
Danault’s linemate Tatar also drives the play extremely well but brings a superior scoring touch, averaging 24 goals and 62 points per 82 games since becoming a Hab. There’s a chance he re-signs with the Canadiens, who need his scoring, but he’s a complementary piece other contenders will covet. He could put a team like Edmonton over the top as Connor McDavid’s winger, for instance. And Ken Holland drafted Tatar in Detroit. BEST FITS: EDM, MTL, DAL
| 3 4 | T H E H O CKE Y NE WS
2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.65M
He averaged 30 goals per 82 games in his first five seasons as a Devil. That appears to be Palmieri’s ceiling, but it’s a highly useful ceiling. He struggled this season, but it was likely the product of playing with less help in New Jersey before his trade to the New York Islanders. There, his unlucky shooting percentage sat at 6.5, barely half his career mark of 12.5. Perhaps that’ll make him a bargain signing this off-season. BEST FITS: NJ, STL, NYI
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SCHWARTZ 2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.35M
Schwartz is ready to cash in as a rocksolid top-six forward who doesn’t excel in any one area but does a lot of things well and is tenacious for his size. It’s just never a given that Schwartz plays a full schedule, however. He’s missed doubledigit games in four of his past six seasons. The Blues want to re-sign him, but they’ll need to duplicate his current AAV, as his blend of secondary scoring at a second-tier price will attract bids. BEST FITS: STL, LA, EDM
SAAD
2020-21 CAP HIT: $6.0M
Saad is a desirable target for teams wanting him to fill the same role that he does in Colorado: a win-now piece, responsible at both ends of the ice, fast, able to play in the middle-six and contribute decent goal totals. He tallied 15 this season in 44 games while playing just 14-plus minutes per night, but that’s a trap: his shooting percentage was unsustainable at a league-best 22.1, almost double his career mark of 11.9. BEST FITS: DAL, EDM, LA
USA TODAY SPORTS
GRUBAUER
15. DAVID
KREJCI
16. NICK
17. BLAKE
18. MIKAEL
AGE: 35 POS: C
AGE: 33 POS: LW
AGE: 29 POS: LW
AGE: 29 POS: C
2020-21 CAP HIT: $7.25M
2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.5M
Krejci, the Bruins’ experienced longtime No. 2 center, typically played with leftover wingers in recent seasons with Boston, but signing Craig Smith and trading for Taylor Hall finally gave Krejci legit linemates and helped him explode for 21 points in 16 games after the trade deadline. Boston still badly needs him but must tread carefully given his age, so a one- or two-year pact makes sense. Two years would mean a lower AAV. BEST FITS: BOS, OTT, CLB
FOLIGNO
He was entrenched in the Columbus community thanks to his charity work and role as Blue Jackets captain. Does that mean he’ll return there after his stint as a trade-deadline rental with the Leafs? It’s tough to say, as the Jackets must focus on re-signing RFA Patrik Laine and figuring out what to do with Seth Jones. Because Foligno is such a respected leader, he could receive offers from teams looking for culture changes. BEST FITS: CLB, BUF, NYR
COLEMAN 2020-21 CAP HIT: $1.8M
2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.75M
22. ALEX
He really was the missing piece for Tampa Bay’s 2020 Stanley Cup run. Coleman can play center or the wing, he kills penalties, he forechecks aggressively and, don’t forget, on a team that needs him to play bigger minutes, he can score 20 goals. That gives him a wide range of destinations. He could join another contender or, since he already has a ring, sign with a lower-tier team that will play him more – and pay him more. BEST FITS: EDM, NYR, TB
19. ADAM
20. DAVID
AGE: 28 POS: D
SAVARD
21. ALEC
AGE: 30 POS: D
AGE: 34 POS: D
2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.25M
2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.0M
LARSSON 2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.17M
Gradually, Larsson has realized his promise as a defensive defenseman. He delivered the best season of his career in 2020-21, playing an ornery game and sacrificing his body. The Oilers might be best off keeping him. He’s become an important player for them. As a rightshot shutdown artist, however, he’ll generate lots of league-wide interest. Will the Oilers have to overpay to retain his services? BEST FITS: EDM, WSH, WPG
He’s big, rugged, shoots right-handed and is generally underrated as a shutdown defenseman, having spent his career in a relatively small market before Columbus dealt him to Tampa Bay at the deadline. Every team needs a guy like Savard. His self-sacrificing style can take a physical toll, so it would be risky to sign him for longer than four years or so, but it may take at least that much term to make a winning bid. BEST FITS: WPG, WSH, PHI
GRANLUND Granlund will never reach the ceiling he was projected to have when he ripped up the Finnish Liiga a decade ago, but that’s OK. He’s still a skilled top-six forward who makes an underrated defensive impact. He can play any forward position if needed. That broadens his list of suitors, which should be much longer this year after a 2020-21 campaign in which he was entrusted with a ton of minutes in Nashville. BEST FITS: DAL, LA, TOR
MARTINEZ Wow. What a year. Martinez, who has profiled as more of a two-way defenseman for most of his career, produced by far the best (pro-rated) offensive numbers of his career just in time for a new contract. A personal-best season at 33 makes him a shaky signing if any suitor is banking on repeat numbers, but he brings a well-rounded game and plenty of experience as a two-time Stanley Cup champion from his L.A. Kings days. BEST FITS: NYR, VEG, CHI
GOLIGOSKI AGE: 35 POS: D
2020-21 CAP HIT: $5.48M
Goligoski is durable, plays 23 minutes a night and moves the puck adequately. He’s a safe veteran pickup at this stage of his career, even if it’s on a shortterm deal. He’s expressed interest in re-signing with the Coyotes, but they’re still a lost franchise, so it would be wise for them to make the contract a short one if they bring him back. That way, he’s flippable as a rental should Arizona struggle again next season. BEST FITS: CHI, ARI, PHI
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THE HOC KE Y N EW S | 35 |
UFA POWER RANKINGS
24. MIKE
25. PAUL
AGE: 28 POS: D
AGE: 31 POS: LW
AGE: 35 POS: C
REILLY
HOFFMAN
2020-21 CAP HIT: $1.5M
Reilly was a bright spot on a rebuilding Senators team, forming a net-positive pair with rookie Artem Zub. Reilly then proved extremely useful moving the puck on Boston’s left side as a deadline pickup. He felt more like a fringe NHLer a few years ago but has established himself as a legitimate UFA target. Boston would like him back, but watch out for the Chicago Blackhawks, who need veteran help on defense. BEST FITS: CHI, BOS, WSH
2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.0M
Hoffman’s $4-million AAV felt low when he signed in January, but now it’s fair to ask if he’ll earn even less on the open market. His defensive shortcomings are beginning to overshadow his goal-scoring skills, and he was a healthy scratch at times in St. Louis. That said, he still scored at a 27-goal pace if pro-rated to 82 games this season. He can bulge the twine, but he’s a tricky fit from a team-chemistry perspective. BEST FITS: SEA, BOS, EDM
STASTNY 2020-21 CAP HIT: $6.5M
Stastny still has a toolbox that plenty of teams need: intelligent, good on faceoffs, he can center a scoring line and, as he’s shown this year, he can transition successfully to the left wing as well. As a player in his mid-30s, he’ll be hardpressed to earn a commitment longer than two or three years. Will he take less money to play in a contender’s middlesix or consider a one-year mercenary deal as a mentor on a rebuilding club? BEST FITS: NJ, ARI, COL
26. RYAN
GETZLAF
AGE: 36 POS: C
2020-21 CAP HIT: $8.25M
Would the Ducks walk away from their captain and franchise leader in games and assists? When they bought out Ducks lifer Corey Perry in 2019, it sent a message that GM Bob Murray was ready for a new era. The Ducks and Getzlaf explored the idea of renting him out to a contender at this year’s deadline, too. The guess here: he stays, but he begins his Joe Thornton Phase, re-upping on short-term deals at discounted prices. BEST FITS: ANA, TOR, EDM
27. JAMIE
28. BRANDON
29. RYAN
30. MATTIAS
AGE: 28 POS: D
AGE: 27 POS: D
AGE: 27 POS: D
AGE: 28 POS: LW
OLEKSIAK
2020-21 CAP HIT: $2.14M
MONTOUR
Sometimes big D-men take longer to find themselves in the NHL, and Oleksiak, who carries the pedigree of a firstround draft pick, fits the bill. He was much improved in his second stint with Dallas, using his strength effectively while also showcasing good mobility for a man his size. Dallas considers Oleksiak part of its top-four alongside Miro Heiskanen, John Klingberg and Esa Lindell. Re-signing him is a priority. BEST FITS: DAL, CHI, BOS
| 36 | TH E HO CKE Y N E WS
2020-21 CAP HIT: $3.85M
The Buffalo factor hurt Montour’s numbers in recent seasons, but he was hyped as a good puck-moving prospect in his Anaheim days, and a seasonending stint in Florida as a Band-Aid for injured Aaron Ekblad helped Montour recover some of his value before going to market. Plenty of teams could use a slick puck-mover on the right side, and he’ll come far cheaper than someone such as Barrie. BEST FITS: CHI, PHI, CGY
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MURRAY 2020-21 CAP HIT: $4.6M
It was a tough year for all Devils players, but it shouldn’t hurt Murray’s stock too much. He’s young for a UFA, he has a recent history as a respectable defensive defenseman and he can skate. On a better team, he could be a handy middlepair option. Crucially, he stayed relatively healthy this season, logging 48 of 56 games, or 85.7 percent of the season. Believe it or not, that’s the second-highest share of his eight-year career. BEST FITS: MTL, CHI, FLA
JANMARK 2020-21 CAP HIT: $2.25M
Like Granlund, Janmark brings a Swiss Army Knife skill set. The Golden Knights used him at all three forward positions and on both special teams. So he’s a nice complementary option if a contender needs depth. Or he could play higher in the lineup on a weaker team. A juggernaut such as Colorado likely can’t afford to keep someone like Brandon Saad but could settle on a Janmark type as a cheaper middle-six option. BEST FITS: COL, TOR, VEG
USA TODAY SPORTS
23. MIKE
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T AY L O R H A L L
FIRST OVERALL PICKS RARELY MAKE IT TO MARKET IN THEIR PRIME. TAYLOR HALL COULD DO IT FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR. BOSTON LOOKS LIKE A PERFECT FIT, BUT HE’LL HAVE TO TAKE A FEW LESS BENJAMINS IF HE WANTS TO REMAIN A BRUIN | BY MATT KALMAN |
was sinking when the Boston Bruins threw him a lifeline. Now, after thriving with the Bruins, Hall will have to decide whether to stay the course or jump ship again in free agency. For the second straight off-season Hall is set to become a UFA. And while his performance with the Bruins has raised his stock to where he should be able to navigate the waters better this time around, his enjoyment of Boston’s winning culture might make him value a chance at winning over cashing in. The day he was dealt from Buffalo to Boston at the trade deadline, Hall said, “I want to be a Bruin for a few years.” Time will tell whether that was just hockeyspeak or if Hall meant what he said. Prime-aged No. 1 overall picks like him rarely get close to unrestricted free agency. John Tavares left the New York Islanders for Toronto in the summer of 2018, but most others in the salary-cap era have chosen to stay where they were drafted. Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane all re-signed on long-term deals, and Alex Ovechkin is a slam dunk to return to Washington this summer. All seem destined to ϐ Ǥ Hall’s career has taken a different route since he was ϐ ʹͲͳͲǤ ʹͻǡ ǯ ϐ teams in 11 years and been traded twice over the past two seasons. He won the Hart Trophy with New Jersey in 2018 but struggled to recreate that magic over the subsequent season-and-a-half. With the Devils worried they would lose him as a UFA, he was eventually dealt to Arizona. Hall scored just 16 goals combined in 65 games for the Devils and Coyotes during the pandemic-shortened
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2019-20 season. So he hit the open market last summer under a cloud of doubt about his ability to produce and make those around him better. Financial instability caused by the pandemic limited what many teams were willing to do in terms of high-priced, long-term contracts. He wound up settling for a one-year, $8-million deal, with a full no-move clause in Buffalo. It was still the second-richest AAV of any deal signed in the off-season, but Hall’s time with the Sabres quickly sunk his stock. He scored just two goals in 37 games until
TIMOTHY T. LUDWIG-USA TODAY SPORTS XXXXX
T
AYLOR HALL’S STOCK
BOB DECHIARA-USA TODAY SPORTS XXXXX
I have no doubt Taylor’s stock is up significantly from before the trade deadline, and that’s a credit to him – NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton
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Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams sat him out four games before the trade deadline while working on a deal. But there was no guarantee contending teams would be willing to meet Adams’ price for a player seemingly on the decline. And in the end, they weren’t, as all the Sabres could get back Ǥ ͳ ȋ ʹͲͳ͵ ϐ Ǧ Ȍ Ǧ Ǥ Dz have had a lot of questions as to whether or not Taylor’s ǯ ǡdz
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GOLD OR GREEN?
Hall will have to decide if he’s willing to take less dough to stay with a contending Boston squad.
When Taylor’s name came up, we were one of the choices that we felt he would choose..…and then it really went from there – Boston GM Don Sweeney on acquiring Hall at the deadline ǡ Dz Ǥdz ǯ Ǧ ǯ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ ϐ ǡ ǯ ǯ Ǥ Dz Ǧ ǡdz Ǥ Dz Ǧ
lor’s name came up, we were one of the choices that we ǡ Ǥdz ͳͺͲǦ Ǥ ǯ ϐ three games for Boston and surpassed it by his seventh. Ǧ ǡ ǡ (seven at even strength) for a Bruins team that was desǦ perate for secondary scoring to complement its top line ǡ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ ǡ Bruins’ strategizing also played to his strengths and vice Ǥ ǯ ȋ ͷǦ Ǧͷ Ͳ Ȍ ͲǤʹ ͳǤ͵Ͷǡ ǡ ǡ ͲǤͷ ʹǤͺ͵ Boston, according to Stathletes. Before the trade, the Bruins were 30th in scoring off the rush but improved to ͳʹ ȋ ȌǤ Lawton, who’s also a former player, GM and agent, has a ǡ ǡ Ǧ Ǧͳͻǡ
LET'S RUSH TO JUDGMENT Boston’s style and talent led to a dramatic increase in Hall’s play on the rush (5-on-5 per 60 minutes)
BUFFALO BOSTON Cycle expected goals 0.37 0.33 -9% Cycle chances 2.00 1.98 -1% Rush expected goals 0.26 0.65 +146% Rush chances 1.34 2.83 +112% Credit: Stathletes
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TOP: BOB DECHIARA-USA TODAY SPORTS
T AY L O R H A L L
HALL: BOB DECHIARA-USA TODAY SPORTS; RASK: SARAH STIER/POOL PHOTO-USA TODAY SPORTS
even though Hall said he was asymptomatic. Lawton believes health as well as production in a winning environment in Boston are what turned things around for Hall. Dz ǡ ǡ ϐ ǡdz Ǥ Dz story is still being written on a daily basis. But I have no ϐ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz Hall might’ve found a home with Boston, but to stay ǯ ϐ Ǥ larly spend to the salary-cap ceiling, but they have their Ǥ Ǧ $20 million combined against the cap, and Boston hasn’t given out a contract with an AAV higher than $7 million
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since re-signing Krejci in 2014. The Bruins have their own decisions to GAME ON ǡ IN BOSTON Ǥ ͳ Hall increased his ȋ value dramatically by returning to bar). They also have to plan for new first-rounder form contracts for defensemen Charlie after being dealt McAvoy and Brandon Carlo over the at the deadline. next couple of years. There are teams with similar depth, tactics and culture to the Bruins that could accommodate a resurgent Hall in their lineup, so he should be more coveted this summer than last, though there are still COVID ϐ Ǥ But Hall has already let the Bruins get away once. After a couple of months of smooth sailing in Boston, he may be wise to remain onboard.
BUSY B'S
TUUKKA RASK
With so many key free agents to deal with, the Bruins face a hectic summer
IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE, Tuukka Rask’s 2020-21 campaign was right in line with recent seasons. His regular-season save percentage of .913 and goals saved above average of 3.3 were on par with what he produced in 2018-19, when he led Boston to the Stanley Cup final. From a health standpoint, however, it was one of Rask’s worst since he became an NHL regular in 2009-10, as he missed 18 games with various ailments. But if there was a silver lining to his absence – and a stretch of games where backup Jaroslav Halak was also unavailable because of injury – it was a chance for the Bruins to catch a glimpse of their future in goal. Jeremy Swayman, a first-year pro out of the University of Maine, won seven of 10 NHL starts and posted a 1.50 goals-against average in the regular season before earning the job as Rask’s backup for the playoffs. The timing of Swayman’s arrival as a legitimate option for Boston couldn’t have been more impeccable, because Rask is among a group of Bruins UFAs this offseason who could depart and accelerate GM Don Sweeney’s reboot of the roster. Centers David Krejci and Sean Kuraly, left winger Taylor Hall and defensemen Kevan Miller and Mike Reilly will also be UFAs. This leaves Sweeney with some difficult decisions about whether he has the necessary internal replacements to let the bulk of his UFAs leave or has to allocate cap space to keep them around a little longer. Rask and Krejci, in particular, have been key pieces of a Bruins team that’s been to the Cup final three times in the past 11 years, including 2011 when they won it all. But they’re both in their mid-30s. Discussions with both were tabled until after the season. “Well, we’ll have to see how we can make things work,” said president Cam Neely. Since Sweeney took over as GM in 2015, the Bruins have stressed rebooting instead of rebuilding. Their latest reboot started with last year’s departures of captain Zdeno Chara and offensive defenseman Torey Krug. Boston went with youth to replace them on the back end, with varying results from the likes of Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen. Eventually, the Bruins made a trade for Mike Reilly to complement their core group of Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk. A similar retool will have to happen up front if Krejci and Kuraly depart. Jack Studnicka could compete with Charlie Coyle to replace Krejci on the second line, with Trent Frederic in the mix to push for more bottom-six minutes. But during the Bruins’ run of success, they’ve often picked near the bottom of the first round, and twice
in the past four years Sweeney has traded Boston’s first-round selection to bolster the lineup before the trade deadline. That has left the Bruins with a prospect pool ranked by most experts (including The Hockey News’ Future Watch) in the bottom tier of the league. So within the environment of the flat salary cap, Sweeney will have to work his magic to retain his veterans, including Rask and Krejci, for another run or two. Remember, this is the GM who signed Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak to waybelow-market deals and who, as assistant GM, also played a role in inking Bergeron to a team-friendly contract. Signing his stars to the Beantown discount allowed Sweeney to build a supporting cast that would keep his top line in Cup contention without ever having to rebuild. McAvoy and Carlo, similarly, helped Sweeney out by taking shorter term on their second contracts. However, it remains to be seen how hard they’ll be to re-sign on their third deals, with Carlo becoming an RFA this off-season and McAvoy in 2022. Eventually Bergeron, who’s under contract for one more season, will probably sign another extension at a hometown discount for however much longer he wants to play, and the Bruins will hope their younger stars follow suit. Starting with Chara’s pair of one-year, incentive-laden contracts, and continuing with Bergeron and his linemates, the Bruins have established a culture of prioritizing winning over maxing out contract earnings. That’s been reflected on the ice. “We’re blessed to have the leadership group that we’ve had for the past decade, I think it starts there,” Neely said. “When you introduce new players to the organization, they either have to buy in or we’ll find others that will. It’s also character, you’ve got to have the right players with the right character that know what it means to play here.” There’s no guarantee that Swayman is Rask’s heir apparent or that the Bruins are ready to move on from the winningest goaltender in team history – or that they’ll be able to sufficiently replace any of their free agents. What is certain, though, is that after years of postponing the rebuild, the decisions Sweeney makes this off-season will determine how much longer he can put it off. – MATT KALMAN
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C O R E Y P E R RY
BORN TO
FORGET ABOUT THE BENJAMINS,
COREY PERRY IS ALL ABOUT THOSE WINS,
JUST AS HE HAS BEEN FROM THE TIME HE FIRST STRAPPED ON SKATES. AND AFTER ONCE AGAIN SHOWING HE’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES WHEN THE GAMES MATTER MOST, THIS ‘QUAINT COTTAGE’ WILL BE A HOT COMMODITY ON THE OPEN MARKET THIS SUMMER | BY KEN CAMPBELL |
I
F YOU TALK TO people in the real-estate
business long enough, they can make a woodshed at the side of an expressway sound like the Chateau de Versailles. But you have to watch for those potentially misleading catchwords, because King Louis the 14th almost always let things slide. “Cozy” often means it’s large enough to house you or your pet, but not both. “Grandma’s house” translates into it’s really old and actually smells like grandma. “Unique decor” tells you there’s felt wallpaper on the bannisters. If it’s “airy,” look for cracks in the foundation. And “it’ll go fast” could mean anything from it will sell quickly to it’s situated on a sinkhole.
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It’s almost like he’s got a bit of magic. A magic touch – Cory Vitarelli, Perry’s youth hockey linemate
ERIC BOLTE-USA TODAY SPORTS
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C O R E Y P E R RY
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He plays the game the right way, and it’s just about winning. And when the train goes off the tracks, he’s the guy who says, ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK.’ In the big moments, he just gets bigger – Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill ǯ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ Ǯ ǯ Ǥǯ dz
ǯ ʹͲʹͳǦʹʹǡ ϐ ϐ ǡ Ǥ
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ϐ Ǥ ͵Ǧͳ ϐ ǡ ǡ ǡ went out and not only won their
BOB FRID-USA TODAY SPORTS
It is indeed a case of buyer beware, just as it is ϐ Ǥ So, when a then-35-yearold Corey Perry went on the ǡ Dz Ǥdz ǡ Dz dz Dz Ǥdz Dz dz Dz dz Dz Ǥdz ϐ Dz dz Dz Ǧ Ǥdz else do you explain the fact that, after all Perry has ac ǡ ϐ ϐ was a one-year deal with the ǯ ǫ Well, you can credit Ca Ǥ ǯ ǡ to a place where he had a ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǥdz ϐ ǡ ̈́ͺ ȋ ǯ ȌǤ ϐ ǡ ǯ Ǥ
TOP: SERGEI BELSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS; MIDDLE: MARC DESROSIERS-USA TODAY SPORTS
next seven games but did not trail for a single second in any of them. This comes as no surprise to Jim Nill. The GM of the Dallas Stars watched last year through the playoffs as Perry refused to let the team Ǥ ϐ the regular season, the lowest total of his career, he matched that total in the playoffs and was a key contributor to the injury-ravaged Stars as they came two wins away from the Stanley Cup. “I’m a big Corey Perry fan,” Nill said. “And I have been even going back to his junior days. He plays the game the right way, and it’s just about winning. He’s never been the fastest guy, and, while he has skill, he’s never been the most ǡ ϐ it. And when the train goes off the tracks, he’s the guy who says, ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK. We’re going to get back on the tracks, and this is how we’re going to do it.’ And then he goes out and does it. In the big moments, he just gets bigger.”
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NORTH CHAMPS
Perry sparked the rally against Toronto and the Habs won seven straight games to win the North.
And his teams win. If it’s true that winning follows Perry around, it’s because he drags his teams into the battle. It has always been that way, and that’s why Perry is one of the most decorated NHL players this side of Scott Niedermayer, with whom he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. As one of only 29 members of the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal, World Championship gold), Perry’s winning ways
go back to long before he became an NHLer. In 2004-05, three years after the OHL’s London Knights drafted a 5-foot-9, 140-pound right winger out of the Peterborough minor hockey system, Perry led the team to the Memorial Cup. That was the same year he captured a gold medal with Canada’s world-junior team. Throw in a World Cup and you’ve got almost everything covered. But it began even before that, right around the time Constable Geoff
Perry of the Ontario Provincial Police decided it was time to move his family back to his hometown after eight years in New Liskeard, Ont. Geoff knew the hockey in Peterborough would be better and he was right. His son became the backbone of the Peterborough Jr. Petes, a smalltown team that became a big juggernaut. The Petes won AAA all-Ontario championships at the under-10 and under-13 levels before capturing the OHL Cup as an under-15 team.
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PLAYING TO WIN
Since he was a kid, Perry never shied away from getting into the greasy details of the game.
ǡ ϐ with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Ottawa 67’s, was the left winger. And the three of them apparently had a pretty high opinion of themselves. “We called ourselves the ‘MVP Line,’ ” Vitarelli said. “Moher, Vitarelli and Perry.” Mark Vitarelli also remembers Perry as a force of nature right from the beginning. Those Peterborough teams won a lot, which put something of a target on their backs. And the Corey Perry you see taking liberties and wreaking havoc in the NHL played the same way in youth hockey. “He’d turn the stick over all the time,” Mark Vitarelli said. “They’d come after him. Everybody we played would take runs at him. But Corey would initiate it, too. He’d turn the stick over and give somebody a tap to start the process.” Perry’s hockey roots run deep. His grandmother, Doro-
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thy, would billet Peterborough Petes players, and they’d often have card games going at the kitchen table while Corey and his younger brother, A.J., played ministicks in a hallway nearby. Perry’s uncle, Greg, was well-known at the Peterborough Memorial Centre for his booming voice, which was regularly used to critique both the Petes and their opponents, and perhaps sometimes referees. At one point, players and staff nicknamed him ‘Old Leather Lungs.’ Convinced his sons needed a better caliber of hockey, Geoff Perry applied for a transfer to Peterborough and got it. Actually, it’s a little ironic, given Corey’s reputation for playing on the fringes of the rulebook, that both Perry’s father and grandfather
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In eight games in the tournament, Perry led all players in scoring with nine goals and 20 points, two more than Anthony Stewart and eight more than future NHLers Brent Burns, Tyler Kennedy, Dan Carcillo and Paul Bissonnette had combined.
ϐ ǡ 2-0 in the third, Perry created a turnover on the penalty kill and dished to linemate Cory Vitarelli for a goal that started the comeback. “It’s almost like he’s got a bit of magic,” Vitarelli said. “A magic touch.” And Vitarelli should know something about that. A teacher in Peterborough, Vitarelli is also a veteran of the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse ϐ point of his career that Perry does now in the NHL. And like Perry, Vitarelli has done his fair share of winning. He played four years in the OHL for the St. Michael’s Majors, three of them against Perry, won a Minto Cup junior lacrosse championship with Peterborough in 2006 and three Mann Cups, emblematic of men’s lacrosse supremacy in Canada, and played Canadian university hockey ϐ Ǥ Mark Vitarelli, Cory’s father, coached both his son and Perry all the way through youth hockey and put them on a line where Perry played the right side, Vitarelli was
MIDDLE: JEAN-YVES AHERN-USA TODAY SPORTS; BOTTOM: ERIC BOLTE-USA TODAY SPORTS
When the time comes and the games become more important, you see him raising his game – Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme forged careers in law enforcement. ϐ ǡ with a silver spoon in his mouth, with Ǥ Dz cheque to cheque,” Geoff said. Corey Perry now. According to capfriendly.com, only 27 players in NHL history have higher career earnings ǡ ǡ Kessel and teammate Carey Price set Ǥ one ahead of him on the list is Staal, a UFA after the season. In fact, the Canadiens’ so-called fourth line of is made up entirely of pending UFAs. There’s no chance Perry will not ǡ season after that and the one after Ǥ ǡ at the NHL level until all 32 teams refuse to offer him a contract. Perhaps he spends the latter part of his career going from contender to contender on a series of one-year deals. Ǥ ǯ cause Perry is 36, and, to this point, Ǥ ǡ Ǧ ǡ ǡ for now we see a player with an edge Ǥ ͳ ϐ Ǧ ǡ ǯ ͳͲ Ǥ anteed at this point for Perry, whose passion to play is just as strong, perhaps even stronger, than it was when ʹͲͲǤ Dz ǡdz Hockey Night in Canada during Round 2. Dz ǯ ǥ is the hardest (trophy) to win and there are a lot of guys out there, and hopefully they get that chance.”
During the Canadiens’ playoff STICK IT run, Perry got TO THEM a call from his Perry began using mother, Nancy, a teammate’s who wanted to stick in the playoffs, and the was going to goals and wins soon followed. she’s eager to see him on the ice ʹͲͳͻǤ times it’s important that Nancy is at Ǥ ʹͲͳͳǡ an impromptu trip to Anaheim to watch Corey play, and while she was ǡ ͷͲ Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ȋ in the Hall of Fame. Of the Hart winners that are retired, only three have ǤȌ Dz ǡ Ǯ ǯ ǯ ǡ ǯ ǡ ǡǯ dz Ǥ Dz ǯ Ǥdz
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JEAN-YVES AHERN-USA TODAY SPORTS
TYSON BARRIE
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AHEAD OF HIM AS HE TRIES TO JUGGLE
Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ǯ his collection.
LONG-TERM SECURITY WITH THE DESIRE TO WIN NOW. IT’S POSSIBLE HE RE-SIGNS IN EDMONTON, WHERE HE GOT HIS GAME BACK ON TRACK. BUT THE SMART MONEY IS ON BARRIE FINDING ANOTHER NEW SET OF COLORS FOR RALPH TO SHOWCASE | BY JARED CLINTON |
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TYSON BARRIE
A
S FAR AS MINI
Australian Goldendoodles go, Tyson Barrie’s little buddy, Ralph, has to be among the most fashionable. Take a second to cruise Barrie’s Instagram account and that becomes apparent. In one snap, you’ll see Ralph sporting a kerchief and a to-scale Stetson. In another, Ralph has disguised himself ǡ ϐ ǡ Ǥ ǯ ǡ dating back to the earliest days of the pandemic. And ǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ season duds has become something of a tradition for the Ǥ ǯ ϐ a member of the Colorado Avalanche, Ralph has made the ǯ
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SOCIAL STAR Ralph is the furry main attraction on Barrie’s Instagram account.
Ǧ ǡ ǡ Ǥ For that, the 30-year-old cision making. By signing a single-season pact to play in the City of Champions sively gifted players gracing ǡ ǡ himself one of the hotter commodities entering free agen Ȃ Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡdz Ǥ Dzȋ ǯ Ȍ
ǯ Ǥdz
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TYSON BARRIE
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There’s a difference between getting traded and choosing your spot…..One is easier to navigate – Tyson Barrie tician who has consulted for various NHL clubs, is among those whose model isn’t particularly bullish on Barrie’s actual impact. Take this season in Edmonton, for instance. “If you take away the shooting talent of his teammates, what you’re left with is him taking quite a bit of offensive starts and his team is generating fewer good looks, as measured by (expected goals), than they are preventing looks against,” McCurdy said. “You can look at plusminus for the really clumsy way of
doing that, where you don’t try to account for goaltending at all. But if you do try to parse out goaltending there, it looks even less favorable to Barrie. It looks as though the chances that they’re giving up are much higher quality relative to the chances they’re creating.” Basically, the Oilers allowed more quality scoring chances against than they created for themselves when Barrie was on the ice. What Barrie achieved on offense was less than he gave up on defense.
PERRY NELSON-USA TODAY SPORTS
Sure, his decision can also be viewed through the prism of a pandemic-impacted off-season. It created one of the worst climates for free agents in recent memory, if not the entire history of the modern NHL. But Barrie could have gone elsewhere for more money and more term and taken his chances. Instead, he chose to gamble. That he even felt the need to take the one-year term to rehabilitate his reputation is a damning indictment of his time in Toronto. Though he scored at a near 50-point pace during his single season with the Maple Leafs, his time there bordered on Ǥ ǡ ϐ and failed to meet sky-high expectations. Despite some ϐ acquisition from the Avalanche, he found himself in the rumor mill by trade deadline day. If it wasn’t clear before, it was then: he was going to be allowed to walk when his deal expired. Fast forward a little less than a year and it appears Barrie has a knack for risk calculation that would make him the envy of the world’s leading actuaries. Did everything go according to plan? One suspects he didn’t fore ϐ Ǧ ǡ were otherwise rosier than most anyone could have hoped. Barrie’s 48 points made him the highest-scoring blueliner in the league. He also posted the second-most power-play points, fourth-most power-play goals and ϐ Ǧ Ǥ Edmonton, his play even drew honest-to-goodness comparisons to Hall of Famer Paul Coffey. It couldn’t have been any further from his experience in Toronto. “There’s a difference between getting traded and choosing your spot,” Barrie said after the season. “Sometimes, when ǡ ǯ ϐ ǡ ϐ ǯ spot and going through your options and deciding where you’re going to sign, you hold the cards. There’s a difference there. One is easier to navigate.” And now he’s about to do it all over again. Yes, there’s a possibility he returns to Edmonton. He said all the right things as he wrapped up his season with the Oilers, providing boilerplate answers about next steps and having Ǥ ǯ ϐ match given Barrie’s stated interest in a lucrative longterm deal and Edmonton’s needs and future considerations, such as depth scoring, backup goaltending, re-signing fellow UFAs Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Larsson and extending breakout star Darnell Nurse, who will be ϐ Ǥ No sweat. There are sure to be a number of suitors. As a right-shot defender, Barrie is a coveted asset based on handedness alone. He’s also seventh in scoring and has the eighth-most power-play points and tied for the eighth-highest points per game of any defender to play the equivalent of at least two full seasons since 2013-14. But there is an element of caveat emptor surrounding Barrie, more so than any of the other top-end free-agent blueliners such as Dougie Hamilton or Alec Martinez. More spe ϐ ǡ ǯ for talent evaluators and analysts alike. ϐ ǡ the analytics community often takes issue with using goals ϐ ǯ Ǥ who make their livings in the world of advanced statistics have created models to more acutely assess a player’s defensive contributions. Micah Blake McCurdy, a mathema-
RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS
There does appear to be something of an enigmatic quality to Barrie’s game, too. He showed generally good results at both ends of the ice with the Avalanche early in his career before those results dropped off. In the time since, Barrie’s underlying numbers have had considerable swings, giving McCurdy the suspicion Barrie is the type of player ϐ coaching than others. In effect, he
said. “He’ll be helped more by a good coach and hurt more by a bad coach, and so you will see different returns along those lines.” None of this, of course, will be of Ǥ ϐ ence underlying numbers will have on what comes to pass in free agency is, at this point, out of his control, and he did his part when it came to changing the perception after a forgettable campaign in the bright
OIL BOOM? NOPE Dig deeper into Edmonton’s contract situations and you’ll discover a summer spending spree won’t be easy
AT FIRST BLUSH, $22.5 million looks like a bounty for Edmonton
lights of Toronto. Rather, ϐ Barrie’s focus is going to be back the direction he’s MCDAVID on beginning the next chapbeen given. Put another EFFECT ϐ way, a coach who knows Having the ϐ how to use Barrie will lead world’s best al security, which is exactly him to good results. The player on his what most thought he was opposite will be true for a squad certainly in line for before a chaotic coach who doesn’t. helped beef up summer threw a pandemicSuch a trait could be exBarrie’s numbers. ϐ actly what will appeal to crack at free agency. And as he does some teams. Unlike a pure shutdown so, Barrie will be seeking to strike a rearguard or penalty-kill special ϐ Ǧ ist, there will be GMs and coaching middle ground between chasing big staffs who see Barrie as a malleable bucks, pursuing on-ice success and player able to absorb and execute a ϐ Ǥ Dz plan. For better or worse, there will need to take care of yourself and be a belief he can be transformed. look after your family, but you also McCurdy acknowledges a degree of want to be in a good situation where uncertainty and prefaces his comyou’re enjoying yourself and having ϐ the chance to take runs at Cups,” Barmeasuring such things before speakrie said. “It’s so tough to win in this ing to one risk that could be inherent league, and that’s the end goal. There in bidding on Barrie this summer. will be nothing that feels quite as “That tendency to follow coach Ǥ ing instructions very carefully even self in a position where you have a when unwise is going to make him chance at that.” more coach-dependent,” McCurdy
MCDAVID: ERIC BOLTE-USA TODAY SPORTS; NUGENT-HOPKINS: PERRY NELSON-USA TODAY SPORTS
°
Oilers GM Ken Holland to weaponize this off-season. That is, however, a mirage, a cap-space oasis that evaporates the closer one looks. Consider what Holland has to contend with. Among major considerations are contracts for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who finished third in scoring among Oilers forwards, and Adam Larsson, a steady second-pairing defender who has made it known he desires to return. There are pacts to work out for RFAs Kailer Yamamoto and Dominik Kahun. And that hardly scratches the surface. In all, Edmonton enters the off-season with forwards and defenders who totalled 496 man games and registered a combined 68 goals and 182 points coming to the end of their contracts. None of this is to mention that Holland has to earmark some dollars for next summer when deals come due for Darnell Nurse, Jesse Puljujarvi and Ethan Bear. It also glosses over the fact Mike Smith’s deal is up as well, and Holland made it clear he intends to re-sign the veteran keeper. So, plenty of spending space? Not quite. But frankly, that doesn’t seem to rankle Holland, to whom the big splash doesn’t appear to appeal. “It can’t be all what we’re doing in free agency and how we’re going to go out and make this massive noise,” he said at his end-of-season presser. “The good programs, the good teams in this league, a lot of what they do is from within – the drafting and developing. And then you go out and you find the finishing pieces.” Some would argue it’s time to find those so-called finishing pieces, though. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl drive the bus, and Nugent-Hopkins, who is likely to consume a healthy portion of Edmonton’s available dollars if re-signed, rounds out the key three up front. But what has been missing is a supporting cast that can shoulder the load on its own. Holland is aware. “That’s what we will explore, to try to get a little more secondary scoring,” he said. “Some of the solution is external, some of the solution is internal.” Despite the expected full-time arrival of Evan Bouchard, the Oilers will also have to address their blueline. With contracts for Nurse and Bear on the horizon, a significant signing might be unlikely (and frankly unwise), but adding a piece or two seems a necessity. The possible return of Oscar Klefbom, whose career is in jeopardy due to a shoulder injury, would mitigate that need, but his comeback is no guarantee. Attending to all of these needs – and that doesn’t even include Holland’s desire to add some veteran presence – is how an apparent $22.5-million cap windfall is slowly but surely whittled away. It should be noted, though, that Holland does appear to have one ace up his sleeve: a potential buyout and a readymade target. If the Oilers were to buyout the final seasons of James Neal’s contract, for instance, they would clear nearly $4 million in cap space. That’s significant, and when asked, Holland said exercising a buyout this summer was “very possible, not 100 percent sure, but very possible.” – JARED CLINTON
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BEHIND THE SCENES NEGOTIATIONS
°
BEERS TO BETHLEHEM
BUCKS AND
BUCCANEERS ALL THE POST-SIGNING PRESS CONFERENCES MAKE IT SEEM LIKE A POLISHED PROFESSIONAL PROCESS. BUT IF YOU GO BEHIND THE SCENES, THE FIRST DAY OF NHL FREE AGENCY IS OFTEN A FREE-FOR-ALL AKIN TO WALMART ON BLACK FRIDAY. AND EVERY GM AND AGENT HAS A STORY TO TELL, WHETHER IT’S A DEAL DONE VIA PRIVATE JET, PHONE TAG OR FACE-TO-FACE WHILE GETTING THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND AT A PIRATE BAR | BY KEN CAMPBELL | | 52 | T HE H O CK EY NE WS
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T
HE DAYS
following the 2013-14 season were heady ones indeed in d o w n tow n El Segundo. The Los Angeles Kings had just won their second Stanley Cup in three years and were spawning a league of copycats who watched in awe at how their big strong forwards controlled the puck in the offensive zone. Just a week earlier, GM Dean Lombardi stood at center ice of the Staples Center during the Cup celebration, after Alec Martinez scored in double overtime of Game 5
against the New York Rangers, and full-on kissed a reporter on the cheek. It was on these championship fumes that Lombardi and assistant GM Michael Futa were operating a week later as they set their plans for the offseason. So, when Futa received his marching orders on that June afternoon, he was full of exuberance and optimism. The way they worked it out, Futa was to negotiate with defenseman Matt Greene on a new deal, while Lombardi and assistant GM Rob Blake would tackle Marian Gaborik, an injuryplagued deadline acquisition who was an absolute beast in the playoffs, leading the team with 14 goals. Greene suggested to Futa that they meet for lunch at a pirate-themed bar. Because when you win the Stanley Cup, you’ve earned the right to negotiate a contract over pitchers of beer at a pirate-themed bar. “The pitchers were so big,” Futa recalled, “they looked like there could be ϐ Ǥdz Anyway, the two of them got the contract done in about 10 minutes, a straightforward
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL FUTA
Futa has been around the game long enough to watch deals get done in all sorts of weird ways.
GREENE: KIRBY LEE-USA TODAY SPORTS
deal that would pay Greene $10 million over the next four seasons. The whole thing went so smoothly that at one point Futa suggested throwing out another number, just so they could at least haggle a little bit. Greene had been represented by the monolithic Newport Sports agency but chose to negotiate the deal himself. He was happy and settled with his family in L.A., and he didn’t want his representatives convincing him he could get more money elsewhere. “He didn’t want them doing their jobs, in other words,” Futa said.
With a contract agreement in their back pockets before the appetizers even arrived, Futa and Greene found themselves with a bit of time to kill. So, they celebrated their accomplishment with another pitcher. Then another. There might have even been one or two after that. When Futa arrived back at the ǯ ϐ frame of mind and with a spring in his step, he was greeted by the stern faces of Lombardi and Blake, both standing with their arms crossed, looking very much like two men who did not spend the afternoon yukking it up at a pirate bar. “Theirs didn’t go quite the same as mine did,” Futa said. “They were saying,
‘Holy smokes, ‘Gabby’ wants a lot of money.’ ” The Kings ended up giving Gaborik a lot of money ($34 million), and term (seven years), devoting cap space that ultimately cost them Justin Williams. Seven years later, Gaborik’s contract is currently aging out as dead money on the books of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As for Greene, the Kings ended up
°
CONTRACT HO!
Greene was happy in Los Angeles and did his own deal, without an agent, over lunch at a pirate bar.
ϐ ǡ ing he received only $9.16 million after escrow payments. Both contracts started in the same place with the same team yet took entirely divergent paths once the negotiations began. But that should come as no surprise. The deals for UFAs or pending UFAs over the years have been done under any number of circumstances and been consummated on everything from napkins to fax machines. They’ve been completed on planes, in hotel conference rooms, over the phone and in pirate bars. And every one of them has a story. Here’s a look at a few of them from over the years.
THE GAME CHANGERS
G
OING INTO THE SUMMER of
2012, the crown jewels of a strong free-agency class were a couple of Americans, Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils and Ryan Suter of the Nashville Predators. Parise had just posted his ϐ ͵ͲǦ and had helped the Devils to ϐ ǡ er had established himself as a Norris Trophy-caliber defenseman, one capable of scoring 50 points and playing big minutes in all situations. Most observers thought the two players would be off the board minutes after free agency opened on July 1, hours at most. Then the dominoes would fall from there and teams in a league that insisted it was bleeding money, and would later that year lock out its employees for half a season, would start throwing money around like nobody’s business. Almost no one thought it would take days, but these things can get complicated.
decision that night. When July 2 presented more of the same, Sheehy sent a fax out to all the interested teams that were in the running telling them that this was going to take a while. In the meantime, Suter and Parise began to talk. The two were good friends and had a connection that went back to 2002 when they won gold with the U.S. under-18 team. They won another together at the world juniors in 2004, played for the U.S. at three World Championships and came agonizingly close to winning a gold medal at the Olympics in 2010. Parise was not terribly eager to join Suter in Nashville, nor did Suter get psyched about spending the rest of his career with the Devils. But they did have common roots in the State of Hockey. Parise grew up in Minnesota, while Suter had married a Minnesota girl who had attended the University of Wisconsin, where he swiped the former Becky Palmer’s disposable camera at a party under the guise of getting her phone number. By July 3, Sheehy had been summoned to Minneapolis on a private jet to meet with Wild owner Craig Leipold and GM
The pitchers (of beer) were so big. They looked like there could be goldfish swimming in them – Michael Futa, former Kings assistant GM Not surprisingly, Neil Sheehy’s phone blew up that day. He would have a short conversation with one GM about Suter, then check his voicemail ϐ ͳͲ messages in the meantime. “It was around then that I realized the whole NHL was stopping to wait for Ryan Suter and Zach Parise,” Sheehy said. Sheehy had so many offers to contemplate for his client that he told Suter the night of July 1 that there would be no
Chuck Fletcher. They met in the hangar at the airport, then got ϐ ǡ Wis., to meet with Suter. The ϐ American hockey heroes on the morning of July 4, identical $98-million contracts that would keep them in Minnesota for the next 13 seasons. The deals had far-reaching effects. Not only did they help inspire term limits on future contracts, they also prompted the league and NHL Players’
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THE HOC KE Y N EW S | 53 |
BEHIND THE SCENES NEGOTIATIONS
°
$98-MILLION MEN
Suter and Parise got matching mammoth contracts when the Wild decided to go big in free agency.
ϐ Ǧ Ǥ Ǧ Ǧϐ ͳǤ ȋ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ ǤȌ Dz ǡ Ǯ ǫǯ dz Ǥ Dz Ǥ ǦǦǦ Ǥdz ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ Ǧ ǡ ̈́ͶͻǦ ǡ Dz ȋ Ȍǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz
THE PANICKED GM
O
NE PERSON IN THE
hockey world who was more than happy to see ϐ Ǧ Ǧ
| 54 | T HE H OC KE Y NE W S
Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǯ Ǧ ǡ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ Dz ǡdz ǡ Dz ǯ ͳ ʹͲͳ͵Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ϐ ǡ ͵ Ǥ Ǥ Ǧ ǯ Ǥdz Walsh has sensed that many Ǥ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ
Ǥ ǡ
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I had GMs calling me saying, ‘How does it feel to have the whole league waiting for you?’ Nobody was really signing anybody. The guys were all p---ed off because it was ruining their summer – Neil Sheehy, player agent
PARISE+SUTER: BRACE HEMMELGARN-USA TODAY SPORTS; RICHARDS: KIM KLEMENT-USA TODAY SPORTS
Ǧ Ǥ ǯ Walsh knew the GM had made Ǥ ʹ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ Dz
ǡ Ǯ ǯ ȋ Ȍǡǯ dz
RAY WHITNEY
Walsh said. “ ‘Here’s the offer, ϐ ̈́Ǥͷ ǡǯ we worked through it.” ǯ ͳ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ϐ Ͷͷ Ǥ ϐ ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz ǡ Dz ǡ ǡ
ǡǯ dz Ǥ Dz ǯ ǡ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ͵ Ǥdz ̈́ͷǤͷ ̈́Ǥͷ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ ȋ Ȍ Ǥdz
THE CHOSEN ONE
WHITNEY: LOU CAPOZZOLA-USA TODAY NETWORK
I
N THE SUMMER OF
ʹͲͳͳǡ ǡ Ǥ The Godfatherǡ Ȃ ǯ Ǥ ͳǡ ǡ ǡ ϐ ǡ ǡ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ
°
OH HOLY DAY
The lineup of teams trying to sign Richards “looked like the scene in Bethlehem,” said Futa.
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
I
Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz Ǥdz Ǥ Ǥ
ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz ǯ of his houses,” Morris said. ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ ǯ ǡ the beach. ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǡ
ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ̈́Ͳ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Dz ǡ Ǯ ǡǯ dz Ǥ
ǡ ʹͲͳͷ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ was bought out after just three ǡ ̈́ͷͶ ̈́Ͳ Ǥ ʹͲͳͶ ̈́ͳǡͲͷͷǡͷͷ ʹͲʹǤ ǡ Ǥ ʹͲͳǡ Ǧ Ǥ ȋ Ǥ Ǥ ʹͲͳͺǡ Ǥ Ǥ ǯ ǤȌ
N THE SUMMER OF ʹͲͲͷǡ
Ǧ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ϐ ǡ ʹͲͲ͵Ǧ ͲͶ ǡ ǯ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǯ ǡ ǡ Ǧ ̈́ͳǤͷ Ǥ ʹͲͲ͵ǦͲͶ ǡ ̈́ͶǤͷ Ǥ
ǯ Ǥ ǯ ǡ Ǥ ʹͲͲǤ Ǧ ǡ ̈́͵Ǥ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ ̈́ ʹͲͳͲ Ǧ ̈́ͻ ʹͲͳʹǤ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz ȋ Ȍ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ǥdz
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B E S T VA L U E U F A s
NHL GMs got extra viewing time on Armia as he helped the upstart Habs advance deep into the playoffs.
NHL
FREE AGENTS THE SUPERSTAR UFAs GET THE MONEY AND ACCLAIM, BUT IT TAKES MORE THAN FIRST-LINERS TO MAKE A HOCKEY TEAM. SO, WHO TO SIGN ONCE THE BIG NAMES ARE OFF THE BOARD? | BY SAM MCCAIG | | 56 | T H E HO CKE Y N EWS
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some cheaper, alternative UFAs who might pay dividends. Call them underrated, undervalued or completely off the radar, but these 10 players have bang-for-the-buck upside, and they won’t break the bank.
JOEL
ALEXANDER
AGE: 28 POS: RW
AGE: 26 POS: C
ARMIA
HE'S A BOTTOM-SIX WINGER, so don't expect more than 15 goals and 30 points. But the versatile 6-foot-3, 210-pounder does a lot of the little things. He hits. He kills penalties. He comes out of scrums with the puck. He can move up the depth chart and play with skilled linemates. He's consistently on the positive side of the plus-minus ledger, including tying for the lead among Montreal forwards this season at plus-10. Need an effective three-zone player who boosts your depth and battles in the playoffs? Join the Armia.
WENNBERG THE LAW OF DIMINISHING returns was starting to define Wennberg’s time in Columbus. After a career-high 59 points in 2016-17, he drooped to seasons of 35, 25 and 22. A fresh start was in order, and he got one with Florida this year. The pass-first center revived his offensive game with a personal-best 17 goals while getting more ice time than every Panthers forward not named Barkov or Huberdeau. He’s a mainstay on both the power play and penalty kill, and he should slide into a third-line center role at an affordable price.
ERIC BOLTE-USA TODAY SPORTS
HIDDEN GEM W
E DUG DEEP Ȃ Ȃ ϐ
ERIK
JONATHAN
AGE: 30 POS: LW
AGE: 32 POS: G
HAULA
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, stays in Vegas? In this case, the cliche holds. Haula broke out with a 29-goal, 55-point campaign during the Golden Knights’ record-setting expansion season, but – mostly due to injuries – he hasn’t come close to approaching that output in the past three years. Since 2018, Haula has played for four different teams and scored 23 goals across 114 games, including nine in 51 outings with Nashville this season. The silver lining, though, he’s a well-rounded center/ winger with mobility and playmaking skills who will come at a budget-friendly price. He’s unlikely to push the 30-goal plateau, but 20 is within reach.
JONATHAN BERNIER
BERNIER
IT WOULD BE SHOCKING if Tuukka Rask signs anywhere other than Boston. And then once you get past Philipp Grubauer, the UFA goalie crop thins out quickly. So Bernier is in a good spot after three seasons in Detroit, where he was one of the rebuilding Wings’ few feel-good stories. His .914 save percentage this season ranked 17th among the 47 goalies who played at least 20 games (and it was better than Rask’s .913 SP, by the way). Consider this: Detroit had a .426 points percentage with Bernier in net the past two seasons (24-33-4), compared to a .265 points percentage when someone else was in the crease (12-43-11).
CASEY CIZIKAS
DEREK
FORBORT
AGE: 29 POS: D
LET’S GET THE OBVIOUS out of the
NIKITA
CASEY
AGE: 29 POS: RW
AGE: 30 POS: C
BERNIER: TIM FULLER-USA TODAY SPORTS; CIZIKAS: DENNIS SCHNEIDLER-USA TODAY SPORTS
GUSEV
CIZIKAS
THE ONE-TIME KHL MVP arrived in the
THE ISLANDERS HAVE HAD one of the
NHL as a 27-year-old in 2019-20 and posted 44 points with New Jersey, just one off the Devils’ scoring lead. Gusev is a shifty playmaker with defensive shortcomings, but his production slowed this season. He moved to Florida in April, where he was relegated to the press box in the playoffs. At 5-foot-9 and not even 165 pounds, Gusev’s challenge is to create time and space for his elite offensive ability.
best fourth lines in the NHL for the past several years, and much of the credit goes to the gritty Cizikas. He had a 20-goal blip in 2018-19, but, really, if he hits 10 goals it’s a bonus. He’s got good vision, hockey sense and passing skills, but nobody is signing him for his offense. You want him because he’s a leader and a checker and a shutdown guy who kills penalties and agitates opponents.
MICHAEL
BUNTING
AGE: 25 POS: LW
IT TOOK HIM A while to arrive in the NHL, but the 25-year-old winger made
his presence known in Arizona with 10 goals in just 21 games this season. He’s been a consistent offensive force in the AHL for several years, so he’s not exactly coming out of nowhere, and he’s drawn Brad Marchand comparisons for his blend of pest and pop. Surely there’s a fourth-line spot out there for a winger with second-line scoring potential.
way – you’re not signing Forbort to run the power play. In more than 330 NHL games across parts of six NHL seasons,
he’s registered a grand total of zero PP points. In fact, scoring in general isn’t his forte, with his two-goal, 18-point output as a rookie with L.A. in 2016-17 standing up as Forbort’s best offensive season. But if you need a physical, topfour defenseman who kills penalties, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Forbort is good for 20-plus minutes a night, and, coming off a one-year, $1-million deal with Winnipeg, he won’t kill your cap.
JANI
MIKHAIL
AGE: 29 POS: D
AGE: 27 POS: C
HAKANPAA HE’S NOT THE BIGGEST name on the Hurricanes’ defense corps, but the fact that Hakanpaa cracked Carolina’s vaunted blueline at all is an accomplishment. Not to mention, he did so as a 29-yearold playing his first full NHL season after being a trade-deadline acquisition from Anaheim. So you have to believe Hakanpaa has more to offer once he settles in. His upside? For starters, he’s huge at 6-foot-5 and nearly 220 pounds, and he uses his size and reach effectively in the defensive zone. He skates well for his size, and he’s a team-first guy who plays a solid complementary game, from blocking shots to delivering bodychecks to getting the puck up to Carolina’s forwards. Offense will never be his calling card, but he did pot a couple goals in 15 games down the stretch.
GRIGORENKO READY TO RISK IT? Take a flyer on the big and talented Grigorenko. The 12th overall pick in the 2012 draft was rushed to the NHL as a teenager by Buffalo and never found his footing. After moving on to Colorado for a couple seasons, he left the NHL for his native Russia in 2017 and was a point-a-game player in the KHL for three years. His return to North America this season raised eyebrows when he ended up with John Tortorella-coached Columbus, with some wondering how it would work between the no-nonsense bench boss and Grigorenko, who – to be kind – has never been known as the hardestworking player on the ice. How did it go? Grigorenko ended the season on the second line and could emerge a sneaky depth scorer on the cheap.
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T HE HO C KE Y NE WS | 57 |
FREE AGENCY PR E VIE W
NHL
WELCOME TO WACKY T
This summer, thanks to the pandemic and the Seattle Kraken, will be an off-season like no other in NHL history BY MATT LARKIN
HINK THE 2020 off-season was unprecedented in its ǫ ǯ somewhat normal com ʹͲʹͳǡ duce the least predictable free Ǥ ʹͲͳͻǡ ǯ Dz dz ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ϐ Ǧ ǡ | 58 | T H E H O CK EY N EW S
ϐ lective bargaining agreement Ǥ ǯ prominent player agents have Ǥ Since teams aren’t allowed to start speaking to free agents ʹͺǡ Ǧ ϐ ǡ to get caught in bidding wars Ǥ ǡ Ǧͳͻ
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FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE, VISIT THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM
pandemic keeping fans out of arenas for most of the season and decimating revenues again, the salary cap is expected to re ϐ ̈́ͺͳǤͷ Ǥ that happened last off-season, the impact was ϐ Ǥ Ǧ contracts, not wanting to be Ǧ term while teams’ spending Ǥ Ǧ ϐ cap and were forced to take less Ǥ Ǥ Ǧ ϐ gers that vaccinated fans will ϐ son, jacking revenues back up and inching the cap upward in future campaigns?
LOCK TO STAY
Ovechkin is technically the best UFA to potentially be available, but the likelihood he moves is slim to none.
2020 so abnormal are back – but ʹͲʹͳ twists to free agency thanks to the expansion draft, which will cement the Seattle Kraken ǯ ͵ʹ Ǥ early negotiation window, the Kraken could emerge as a surprise buyer this summer (see Ǥ ͻͺȌǤ ǯ ϐ the league’s approach to free ǡ Ǥ ǯ Seattle will strike side deals to swallow chunky contracts in exchange for draft picks and/ or prospects, and that means teams across the league have Dz ϐ dz ǯ
OVECHKIN: CHASE AGNELLO-DEAN/NHLI VIA USA TODAY SPORTS
NHL
LANDESKOG: BRACE HEMMELGARN-USA TODAY SPORTS; RASK: DAN HAMILTON-USA TODAY SPORTS
NHL ϐ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ϐ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ ʹͲʹͲ ̈́ͺͳǤͷ ͵ͳ ʹͲʹͳǤ ʹͲʹͳǡ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ Ǧ ǡ Ǣ ǡ ǯ Ǧ Ǣ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ Ǧ ǣ Ǧ͵Ǧͳ ȋ ǡ Ȍ ͺǦͳ ȋ ȌǤ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ϐ Ǧ Ǥ
ǡ ϐ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ʹͲʹͳ Ǧ
HAPPY AT HOME
Landeskog and Rask are also pending UFAs, but the safe bet is they’ll be wearing the same colors next year.
QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS. THE THEME OF THE 2021 NHL OFF-SEASON IS UNCERTAINTY Ǧ ǡ Ǥ ǯ ǡ ǡ ϐ Ǥ ǡ
ǯ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ϐ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ϐ ǡ ǡ
Ǥ Ǧ ǫ Ǧ ǡ ǫ ǯ ʹͲʹͲǦʹͳ ǡ Ǧ ʹͲʹͳǦʹʹǫ Ǧ ǫ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ʹͲʹͳ Ǧ Ǥ
ǯ ϐ Ǥ
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THE HOC K EY N EW S | 59 |
NHL
TEAM WHAT’S INSIDE PROJECTED CAP HITS
UFA WATCH
Whether the contract is big or small, every deal needs some negotiation. So how busy will your team’s GM be? This list includes all the UFAs and RFAs who played at least one NHL game this year and significant veterans who missed the season due to injury. We also project the salary for every free agent. Ages as of July 28.
Who are the key pending UFAs currently on the roster and what’s the likelihood they’ll be back?
RFA WATCH To bridge or not to bridge? That is the question GMs must ask themselves with key RFAs.
SHOPPING LIST
EYE ON 2022
What each team will be hunting for this summer and some of the players they may realistically target.
What’s on the horizon to deal with next season? Any major decisions to make that will impact this year?
ANAHEIM
| 60 | T HE H O CK EY NEW S
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
2021 UFAs Ryan Getzlaf, C, 36 $3M-$4M Andrew Agozzino, LW, 30 < $1M David Backes, RW, 37 < $1M Sam Carrick, C, 29 < $1M Chase De Leo, C, 25 < $1M Vinni Lettieri, RW, 26 < $1M Ryan Miller, G, 41 < $1M Carter Rowney, RW, 32 < $1M Andy Welinski, D, 28 < $1M
2021 RFAs
games last season so it’s OK to walk away from qualifying his $2.8-million RFA contract. He’s 26 and no more than a serviceable third-liner. Five other Anaheim forwards are coming off their entry-level deals, but only Maxime Comtois had the type of season that is worthy of a bridge contract in the $2-plus million range. Young forwards Sam Steel, Max Jones, Alexander Volkov and Isac Lundestrom have much more to prove.
EYE ON 2022: Right winger Rickard Rakell and defenseman Josh Manson were on a lot of teams’ shopping lists at the trade deadline but the right offer never came along to satisfy GM Bob Murray. They’re both going into the final year of their contracts so if they’re not moved this summer there will be a bidding war for them at next year’s trade deadline. Don’t expect any urgency to get them re-signed during the off-season. – BRIAN COSTELLO
Maxime Comtois, LW, 22 Danton Heinen, RW, 26 Max Jones, LW, 23 Isac Lundestrom, C, 21 Josh Mahura, D, 23 Sam Steel, C, 23 Alexander Volkov, RW, 23
$2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
COMTOIS: GARY A. VASQUEZ-USA TODAY SPORTS
play last season (8.9 percent was an historic low). The Ducks would be wise to make Nugent-Hopkins an offer to be the mentor to Zegras. UFA WATCH: Almost $13 million is cleared up with Ryan Getzlaf and David Backes aging out as UFAs. While the Ducks could do a lot worse than Getzlaf on a discounted deal in his twilight years, the team needs proven snipers to bring new life to the league’s worst offense. UFAs Mike Hoffman, Jaden Schwartz and former Duck Kyle Palmieri are first-line target wingers. Opportunity and budget is working in Anaheim’s favor. RFA WATCH: Danton Heinen scored just seven goals in 43
CAP HITS MAXIME COMTOIS
ANA SHOPPING LIST: The Edmonton Oilers are trying to sell UFA center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a hometown discount to stick around northern Alberta. The Ducks can counter with weather and whether: Southern California is a more pleasant location to spend winters and whether or not Trevor Zegras is ready to become Anaheim’s No. 1 center, the opportunity is there for RNH to sit in that chair until hockey’s top prospect truly arrives. Nugent-Hopkins did that in Edmonton until Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl passed him on the depth chart. In Anaheim, ‘RNH’ can help the Ducks rise from the ashes of the NHL’s worst-ever power
PROJECTED
NHL
ARIZONA
PROJECTED
CAP HITS CONOR GARLAND
2021 UFAs $3M-$4M $3M-$4M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
ARI
Alex Goligoski, D, 35 Niklas Hjalmarsson, D, 34 Antti Raanta, G, 32 Jason Demers, D, 33 Jordan Oesterle, D, 29 Derick Brassard, C, 33 Michael Bunting, LW, 25 Michael Chaput, C, 29 Hudson Fasching, RW, 26 Jordan Gross, D, 26 Aaron Ness, D, 31
2021 RFAs Conor Garland, RW, 25 Adin Hill, G, 25 Frederik Gauthier, C, 26 John Hayden, RW, 26 Dryden Hunt, LW, 25 Lane Pederson, C, 23
$3M-$4M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: Things could look a whole lot different in Arizona next season. The Coyotes enter the off-season with four regular defensemen and injury-prone goalie Antti Raanta set to hit the open market as UFAs. For a franchise that always takes care of its own end first, that’s a daunting step into the unknown. With almost $30 million in salary coming off the books, GM Bill Armstrong can be selective about his targets,
but expect shot-generating forwards such as Jaden Schwartz, Mikael Granlund and Brendan Gallagher as well as defensemen Jeff Petry and Tyson Barrie to be high on Armstrong’s list. The Coyotes are one of the lowest-ranking teams in shots on goal. UFA WATCH: Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers and Jordan Oesterle are UFA blueliners who won’t be back unless it’s at a greatly reduced pay grade. The Coy-
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
TUUKKA RASK
otes are more likely to fill the second and third ‘D’ pairings with support veterans on short-term deals. Raanta is a 32-year-old UFA who has had issues staying healthy since he arrived in 2017. Michael Bunting erupted for 10 goals in 21 games as a 25-year-old rookie and he’s now a Group 6 UFA who might be retained. RFA WATCH: After a pair of impressive seasons in which he broke through as a front-line top-six NHLer, 25-year-old Conor Garland is worthy of more than just a show-meagain bridge contract. Arizona should consider locking him up for four or five years at a reasonable AAV if the team believes there’s an even higher
level for him to reach. Garland is coming off a contract that paid him just $775,000 in each of the past two seasons. EYE ON 2022: Phil Kessel and Darcy Kuemper are UFAs of note in 2022. The Coyotes will almost assuredly shop Kessel around at next year’s trade deadline if the team isn’t firmly in the playoff picture. Arizona has a lean development system that needs both prospects and picks. The same thing may apply to 31-year-old stopper Kuemper. He’s coming off a spotty season, but was superb the previous two years. If he can’t be locked up to a new contract, he would command a fair return at the 2022 trade deadline. – BC
BOSTON
$8M-$9M $5M-$6M $4M-$5M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
BOS
GARLAND: DAN HAMILTON-USA TODAY SPORTS; RASK: JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs Taylor Hall, LW, 29 Tuukka Rask, G, 34 David Krejci, C, 35 Jaroslav Halak, G, 36 Sean Kuraly, C, 28 Kevan Miller, D, 33 Mike Reilly, D, 28 Anton Blidh, LW, 26 Steven Kampfer, D, 32 Greg McKegg, LW, 29 Jarred Tinordi, D, 29
2021 RFAs Brandon Carlo, D, 24 Nick Ritchie, LW, 25 Trent Frederic, C, 23 Ondrej Kase, RW, 25 Cameron Hughes, LW, 24 Zach Senyshyn, RW, 24
$4M-$5M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: In the first few months of 2020-21, the top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak scored almost half the Bruins’ goals. After the Taylor Hall trade, the top line scored 36 percent of the goals, while Hall, David Krejci and Craig Smith accounted for 33 percent. Problem solved…temporarily. Krejci and Hall are UFAs, which means, on paper, the Bruins are back to having no second-
ary scoring. Their best bets may be to re-sign Hall longterm and Krejci short-term if they can fit both under the cap. Boston also needs help on the left side of the blueline. UFA WATCH: Kevan Miller and trade-deadline rental Mike Reilly are up after this season, meaning a defense corps that lost Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara last year gets even thinner. GM Don Sweeney must be proactive pursuing help for the top-four, whether that means
re-signing Reilly, who was a great fit, or chasing a veteran left-shot UFA such as Alec Martinez. In goal, Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak finish their contracts. With rookie Jeremy Swayman looking like a future star in the 2020-21 stretch run, Halak is expendable. Rask will likely re-sign at a discount since he wants to remain a Bruin or retire. Checking center Sean Kuraly is also a UFA. He brings a skill set that can be replaced with a league-minimum type, so he’s not a must-sign player. RFA WATCH: Brandon Carlo, 24, is the crucial RFA, bringing a big body and wingspan in a shutdown role on Boston’s second ‘D’ pairing. Coming off
an injury-shortened season and not contributing offense, he will come in below $5 million. Big left winger Nick Ritchie delivered a career-high 15 goals and could double his $1.5-million AAV. What should Boston do about right winger Ondrej Kase? He’s flashed goal-scorer potential, but concussions have derailed his career. Young center Trent Frederic flourished as a rookie agitator but hasn’t played a big enough role to earn a noteworthy raise just yet. EYE ON 2022: Captain Bergeron, top defenseman Charlie McAvoy (RFA) and left winger Jake DeBrusk are up in 2022. Each is eligible to sign an extension. – MATT LARKIN
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
THE HOC K E Y NE W S | 61 |
NHL
BUFFALO
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
BUF
2021 UFAs
SHOPPING LIST: Though 6-foot-7, 220-pound Tage Thompson hikes up the team average, the Sabres don’t have size and strength on the wings. They need someone who can play a physical game on the forecheck. Would UFA Nick Foligno, who was born in Buffalo, be an ideal target? He’d also bring leadership the Sabres desperately need. Plenty of other heavy wingers are available, from Blake Coleman to former Sabre Joel Armia. After trading Eric Staal, the Sabres could use a thirdline center with the upside to play higher in the lineup should Buffalo trade Jack Eichel. Alternatively, a proven bottom-six stalwart such as Casey Cizikas,
who could handle tougher defensive assignments, also makes sense. The Sabres need a veteran top-four blueliner to take pressure and responsibility off Rasmus Dahlin and even partner with him. Someone like David Savard, for instance. UFA WATCH: Buffalo’s pending UFAs are mostly spare parts: depth forwards Tobias Rieder, Riley Sheahan and Drake Caggiula and defensive D-man Jake McCabe among them. Don’t expect goalie Carter Hutton to come back, but the Sabres intend to re-sign Linus Ullmark. There’s incentive for him to return, too, as Buffalo can offer more playing time than most markets. A mediumterm deal would make him a 1A
SAM REINHART
bridge to prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made his NHL debut this season. RFA WATCH: It’s a big summer for GM Kevyn Adams. Right winger Sam Reinhart blew up in his contract year with 25 goals in 54 games. He’s earned a long-term commitment, but it was reported he wants to play on the west coast, so he’s a trade candidate. Post-hype breakout center Casey Mittelstadt should earn a bridge deal, while Dahlin
would be wise to go that route after a down year. EYE ON 2022: Center Cody Eakin and blueliner Colin Miller are 2022 UFAs, but that makes them an appealing expansiondraft claim for the Seattle Kraken. The key 2022 UFA is big right-shot blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen. Plenty of teams desire his skill set despite his disappointing career to date, so he shapes up as a major rental piece to sell at the 2022 trade deadline. – ML
CALGARY
Jake McCabe, D, 27 $3M-$4M Linus Ullmark, G, 27 $2M-$3M Carter Hutton, G, 35 $1M-$2M Drake Caggiula, LW, 27 < $1M Brandon Davidson, D, 29 < $1M Jean-Sebastien Dea, C, 27 < $1M Steven Fogarty, RW, 28 < $1M Michael Houser, G, 28 < $1M Matt Irwin, D, 33 < $1M Tobias Rieder, RW, 28 < $1M Riley Sheahan, C, 29 < $1M C.J. Smith, LW, 26 < $1M
2021 RFAs Sam Reinhart, RW, 25 Rasmus Dahlin, D, 21 Casey Mittelstadt, C, 22 Henri Jokiharju, D, 22 Rasmus Asplund, LW, 23 William Borgen, D, 24
$6M-$7M $4M-$5M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
DEREK RYAN
SHOPPING LIST: The Flames have been in the market for right-shot topsix wingers since the day they traded franchise star Jarome Iginla more than eight years ago. Elias Lindholm fit the bill nicely for a couple seasons until Calgary realized he was better utilized as a No. 1 center. So the search resumes this summer. The Flames have had lousy fortune chasing UFA right wingers on the decline – such as Troy Brouwer and James Neal – so they might be better off trying the trade route, which is how Lindholm was acquired. The target might be another team looking to make changes – perhaps the Buffalo Sabres. RFA Sam Re-
inhart and Rasmus Ristolainen are looking for a change of scenery, so how about dangling stale center Sean Monahan, healing from hip surgery, and defenseman Noah Hanifin, who had a breakout year. UFA WATCH: Of Calgary’s 10 UFAs, versatile center Derek Ryan is the most difficult to replace even though his $3.15 million will be put to use elsewhere. The others were on deals close to league minimum. Josh Leivo and Brett Ritchie had the most impact under new coach Darryl Sutter, and it’s likely Leivo is re-signed in order for the Flames to expose the required number of players to Seattle in the expansion draft. Calgary will
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FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
2021 RFAs look to add a proven but cheap backup goalie in the $1.5-million range. Maybe David Rittich returns to be ‘Big Save Dave’? RFA WATCH: A two- or three-year bridge deal makes the most sense for promising winger Dillon Dube – and probably in the same price range of $2 to $2.5 million that Andrew Mangiapane signed for a year ago. Defensemen Juuso Valimaki, Oliver Kylington and Connor Mackey are all wellregarded but haven’t played
enough to warrant big raises. EYE ON 2022: Johnny Gaudreau is a UFA in 2022 who is looking to re-sign with the Flames. He finished strongly under Sutter and poured cold water on speculation he’d want to move east when he hits the open market, saying he likes Calgary. The Flames were looking to reshape their core after another disappointing season, so they’d consider moving Gaudreau if the right deal came along. – BC
Dillon Dube, RW, 23 Juuso Valimaki, D, 22 Glenn Gawdin, C, 24 Oliver Kylington, D, 24 Connor Mackey, D, 24 Matthew Phillips, RW, 23 Dominik Simon, LW, 26 Artyom Zagidulin, G, 25
$2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
REINHART: CANDICE WARD-USA TODAY SPORTS; RYAN: SERGEI BELSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS
CGY
2021 UFAs Derek Ryan, C, 34 $2M-$3M Josh Leivo, RW, 28 $1M-$2M Louis Domingue, G, 29 < $1M Nikita Nesterov, D, 28 < $1M Joakim Nordstrom, LW, 29 < $1M Alex Petrovic, D, 29 < $1M Zac Rinaldo, LW, 31 < $1M Brett Ritchie, RW, 28 < $1M Buddy Robinson, RW, 29 < $1M Michael Stone, D, 31 < $1M
NHL PROJECTED
CAP HITS
CAROLINA
PETR MRAZEK
2021 UFAs $8M-$9M $3M-$4M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
CAR
Dougie Hamilton, D, 28 Brock McGinn, LW, 27 Petr Mrazek, G, 29 Jordan Martinook, LW, 29 Cedric Paquette, LW, 27 James Reimer, G, 33 Jani Hakanpaa, D, 29 Max McCormick, LW, 29 Sheldon Rempal, LW, 25 Joakim Ryan, D, 28 Drew Shore, C, 30
of the best and most efficient blueliners in the NHL, and he’s in line for a big payday. No doubt the Hurricanes would like that payday to happen in Raleigh, but there will be many other suitors if Hamilton doesn’t re-sign before free agency opens. Elsewhere, GM Don Waddell must make pitches to his grit contingent, specifically forwards Brock McGinn, Jordan Martinook and Cedric Paquette. RFA WATCH: The big priority on the RFA front is Andrei Svechnikov. The talented winger’s offensive totals took a dip this season, but nonetheless he’s a rising star. Svechnikov’s slight swoon might mean a bridge deal as
2021 RFAs Andrei Svechnikov, LW, 21 $5M-$6M Warren Foegele, LW, 25 $2M-$3M Alex Nedeljkovic, G, 25 $2M-$3M Jake Bean, D, 23 $2M-$3M Morgan Geekie, RW, 23 < $1M Maxime Lajoie, D, 23 < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: With Petr Mrazek and James Reimer both pending UFAs, the Hurricanes need to think hard about what their crease will look like next year and beyond. Alex Nedeljkovic has earned his place in the lineup, but a team with such depth among its skaters needs to be stocked in net, too. What if ‘Ned’ gets hit with a sophomore slump? The Hurricanes are firmly in their championship window right now, so they have to be
CHI
PROJECTED
CAP HITS 2021 UFAs
MRAZEK: JAMES GUILLORY-USA TODAY SPORTS; SUTER: JAMES GUILLORY-USA TODAY SPORTS
Vinnie Hinostroza, RW, 27 Brandon Pirri, RW, 30 Zack Smith, LW, 33
$1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
extra-prepared. To that end, Carolina can either re-sign one of their veterans or go out and get a good soldier. Jaroslav Halak has been a consummate pro in Boston, while Antti Raanta, when healthy, has been solid in Arizona. Neither would break the bank. UFA WATCH: Along with the two netminders, the Canes have another big decision on their hands – and that involves defenseman Dougie Hamilton. He has turned himself into one
opposed to a long-term pact, but make no mistake: he’s a key part of the present and the future in Carolina. Forwards Warren Foegele and Morgan Geekie and defenseman Jake Bean also need contracts, while Nedeljkovic is the most intriguing RFA on the squad outside of Svechnikov. EYE ON 2022: The two main potential UFAs to think about are Nino Niederreiter and Vincent Trocheck, both of whom offer a lot of value in the lineup and come with moderate salaries. On the RFA front, the most prominent player is 22-year-old Martin Necas, who has already become quite valuable to the Hurricanes in his young career. – RYAN KENNEDY
CHICAGO
PIUS SUTER
2021 RFAs Nikita Zadorov, D, 26 $4M-$5M Pius Suter, C, 25 $3M-$4M Brandon Hagel, LW, 22 $2M-$3M Adam Gaudette, RW, 24 $1M-$2M David Kampf, C, 26 $1M-$2M Alexander Nylander, RW, 23 $1M-$2M
SHOPPING LIST: Given Chicago is hopeful Jonathan Toews will return for 2021-22 and that producing offense has been the least of the team’s worries the past few seasons, GM Stan Bowman has to set his sights on shoring up a porous defensive group. The wear and tear is showing on Duncan Keith, and Connor Murphy and Calvin de Haan don’t inspire much faith that a step forward is on the immediate horizon. There are youthful
defenders on the way – the organization has high hopes for Ian Mitchell, Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin – but targeting an inexpensive, experienced rearguard with some upside – such as Mike Reilly, for example – might be worthwhile. There are cap issues, however, and simply saving money as the club continues to wind through its restructuring years is a viable option. UFA WATCH: The benefit to icing one of the NHL’s young-
est squads is contract control, and the Blackhawks will have to spend little time re-signing pending UFAs. That said, Vinnie Hinostroza’s return was remarkably successful, with the 27-year-old contributing four goals and 12 points in a 17-game post-deadline run. He was on a one-year, $1-million pact, so if he wants to gamble on himself on a similar deal, he checks the depth-addition and financially viable boxes. Elsewhere, Zack Smith’s expiring contract frees up space, even if he and his $3.25-million cap hit spent the entirety of 202021 on LTIR. RFA WATCH: Pius Suter, 25, is another gem unearthed by the scouting staff. His 14 goals
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
and 27 points ranked fourth in both categories for Chicago and fifth- and sixth-best among all NHL rookies. A pact in the $3-million range isn’t far-fetched. Likewise, the play of Brandon Hagel, 22, ensures he’ll be re-upped. The toughest decision figures to be defenseman Nikita Zadorov. The 26-year-old has valuable NHL experience, but Chicago may be more interested in spending elsewhere and relying on youth to shore up the blueline. EYE ON 2022: RFAs Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Strome and Kirby Dach are concerns, but Chicago has to consider pending UFA Kevin Lankinen’s next pact if the goalie repeats his ’20-21 showing. – JARED CLINTON
TH E HO CK EY NEW S | 63 |
NHL
COLORADO
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
COL
2021 UFAs
SHOPPING LIST: Success isn’t cheap and GM Joe Sakic has his work cut out for him. A pair of important pacts – captain Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar are due new deals – are going to result in Colorado preparing to balance out the outsized contracts owed to its top stars with cost-conscious signings to fill out the rest of the roster. It’s likely Colorado will part ways with a number of free agents and attempt to find similar contributors at a fraction of the cost. Bringing in youngsters Alex Newhook and Martin Kaut will mitigate costs but won’t replace the spark-plug types who will depart. The Avalanche won’t be swinging for stars.
Instead, bit players the likes of Barclay Goodrow and Sean Kuraly are probable targets. UFA WATCH: It all starts with Landeskog. He’s one-third of one of the NHL’s best lines, the heart and soul in Colorado and due a healthy raise. Few would bat an eye at a deal north of $7 million per season. Sakic can let Brandon Saad, Carl Soderberg and Patrik Nemeth walk to make the money work. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, 36, is a bottom-six stabilizer worth re-upping if he’s willing to take a pay cut. And the Avalanche have to consider the crease. Philipp Grubauer is a Vezina Trophy finalist so it would be odd if the team let him test free agency at 29. Pavel
GABRIEL LANDESKOG
Francouz is signed for another year and Justus Annunen is the goalie of the future, but the Avs needs Grubauer next season. A lot depends on the Cup march this summer. RFA WATCH: To bridge or not to bridge? As it pertains to Makar, that is the question. There are pros and cons but short-term cost control during a time of cap uncertainty could give Colorado reason to lean toward a two- or three-year deal that allows the post-
pandemic financial picture to come into focus. Then Sakic can concentrate on inking defender Conor Timmins and pivot Tyson Jost. EYE ON 2022: UFAs-to-be who are seeking paydays – such as forwards Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin – will be squeezed out. Breakout defender Jacob MacDonald could earn a new contract, especially if he’s willing to settle into a bottompairing role. – JC
COLUMBUS
Gabriel Landeskog, LW, 28 Philipp Grubauer, G, 29 Patrik Nemeth, D, 29 Brandon Saad, LW, 28 Matt Calvert, LW, 31 P-E Bellemare, C, 36 Devan Dubnyk, G, 35 Carl Soderberg, C, 35 Kyle Burroughs, D, 26 Sheldon Dries, C, 27 Jonas Johansson, G, 25 Jayson Megna, RW, 31 Liam O’Brien, RW, 26 Dan Renouf, D, 27
$7M-$8M $5M-$6M $3M-$4M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs Cale Makar, D, 22 Tyson Jost, C, 23 Conor Timmins, D, 22 Kiefer Sherwood, RW, 26 Dennis Gilbert, D, 24
$5M-$6M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
SHOPPING LIST: The Blue Jackets desperately need goal-scoring after their pop-gun offense tied with Buffalo for 28th overall this season. Rebounds from Patrik Laine and Cam Atkinson would help, but their lack of success might speak to Columbus’ other big problem: a paucity of high-end centers. GM Jarmo Kekalainen believes in Alexandre Texier, Max Domi and Jack Roslovic, but can they keep up with the Crosbys and Barzals in the Metro? Ideally the team could snag a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the open market, though it might be a tough sell at this point. For the sake of depth, perhaps a Tyler Bozak or Artem Anisimov
(who played three seasons in Columbus early in his career) would improve the situation. In terms of good vibes, bringing back erstwhile captain Nick Foligno would be a win for the franchise and city of Columbus. UFA WATCH: It’s going to be pretty quiet on the UFA front as the Jackets don’t have to deal with too many prominent names. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto seems likely to resign after earning a supporting role after a rather nomadic existence beforehand, but the rest of the crop is take-it-orleave-it. The likes of Mikhail Grigorenko, Mikko Lehtonen and Stefan Matteau headline this group but at this point the Jackets are better served
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PATRIK LAINE
< $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs
focusing on prospects such as Yegor Chinakhov making the lineup. This team needs skill and none of those potential returnees would fit the bill. RFA WATCH: Laine is the major contract to deal with this summer, made all the more crucial since he cost the team Pierre-Luc Dubois in a trade. The gifted Finn proved he can be a lethal goal-scorer in Winnipeg, one of the best in the NHL even, but with only 10 goals in 45 games for the Jack-
ets the negotiations could get tense. Elsewhere, Texier needs a new pact, as does big winger Kevin Stenlund and defenseman Andrew Peeke. EYE ON 2022: So 2022 is going to be big in Columbus. They must deal with the Seth Jones situation, Zach Werenski is an RFA and the Jackets’ top four goalies all need new contracts. Toss in heart-andsoul Boone Jenner (UFA) and Roslovic (RFA) for good measure. – RK
Patrik Laine, RW, 23 Alexandre Texier, LW, 21 Andrew Peeke, D, 23 Kole Sherwood, RW, 24 Kevin Stenlund, RW, 24
$6M-$7M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M
LANDESKOG: DAN HAMILTON-USA TODAY SPORTS; LAINE: KIM KLEMENT-USA TODAY SPORTS
CLB
2021 UFAs Gavin Bayreuther, D, 27 Adam Clendening, D, 28 Zac Dalpe, C, 31 Michael Del Zotto, D, 31 Mikhail Grigorenko, C, 27 Mikko Lehtonen, D, 27 Ryan MacInnis, C, 25 Stefan Matteau, LW, 27
NHL
DALLAS
PROJECTED
CAP HITS 2021 UFAs
JAMIE OLEKSIAK
$4M-$5M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
DAL
Jamie Oleksiak, D, 28 Andrew Cogliano, LW, 34 Sami Vatanen, D, 30 Blake Comeau, RW, 35 Justin Dowling, C, 30 Taylor Fedun, D, 33 Stephen Johns, D, 29 Mark Pysyk, D, 29
2021 RFAs Miro Heiskanen, D, 22 Jason Dickinson, C, 26 Joel Kiviranta, LW, 25 Nick Caamano, LW, 22 Rhett Gardner, LW, 25 Julius Honka, D, 25
$7M-$8M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: The Stars’ prospects for next season look much brighter with Tyler Seguin mended following a campaign on the sidelines after last summer’s hip surgery. A healthy Seguin doesn’t solve the Stars’ most pressing concern, however, which is a rapidly aging roster in need of an injection of youth. But with three of Dallas’ elder statesmen up front likely to depart in the off-season, GM Jim Nill can target upgrades with
upside and fewer greys in their respective beards – maybe players such as Alex Wennberg or Joel Armia – to replace the likes of Andrew Cogliano, Blake Comeau and Justin Dowling. UFA WATCH: Say goodbye to the aforementioned trio of Cogliano, Comeau and Dowling. Dallas can likewise jettison Sami Vatanen. But the Stars should attempt to retain defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. The 28-year-old hit his stride and formed a solid even-
strength partnership with Miro Heiskanen. The duo logged more 5-on-5 minutes than any other pairing and ranked 21st in expected goals percentage (53.5) among 66 pairs with at least 300 minutes. D-man Mark Pysyk, 29, is a decent depth option if he’s willing to return at a similar $750,000 cap hit. But Dallas must be wary of creating a logjam that prevents prospect Thomas Harley from getting meaningful NHL reps. RFA WATCH: Forwards Jason Dickinson, Joel Kiviranta and Rhett Gardner won’t command big money, though arbitration rights could complicate negotiations. Nick Caamano is in for a short-term pact that gives him a chance to
win a more prominent role. But those four pale in importance to Heiskanen. The 22-year-old earned Norris Trophy votes last season, he’s 33rd in scoring among defensemen the past three seasons and has already been a No. 1 defender during a Cup final run. There are few apt comparisons, but Thomas Chabot’s eight-year, $64million deal with Ottawa might be a framework. No matter the final terms, Heiskanen is in for a serious payday. EYE ON 2022: Nill can’t lose sight of next summer. John Klingberg, Jason Robertson and Denis Gurianov, three key pieces, will each need new contracts in place ahead of the 2022-23 season. – JC
DETROIT
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
OLEKSIAK: DAN HAMILTON-USA TODAY SPORTS; VRANA: TIM FULLER-USA TODAY SPORTS
$2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
JAKUB VRANA
DET
2021 UFAs Jonathan Bernier, G, 32 Luke Glendening, RW, 32 Darren Helm, LW, 34 Marc Staal, D, 34 Alex Biega, D, 33 Valtteri Filppula, LW, 37 Sam Gagner, C, 31 Taro Hirose, LW, 25 Calvin Pickard, G, 29 Bobby Ryan, RW, 34
2021 RFAs Jakub Vrana, LW, 25 Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, 26 Filip Hronek, D, 23 Adam Erne, LW, 26 Michael Rasmussen, LW, 22 Mathias Brome, LW, 26 Dennis Cholowski, D, 23 Christian Djoos, D, 26 Gustav Lindstrom, D, 22 Givani Smith, LW, 23 Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, 24
$5M-$6M $4M-$5M $4M-$5M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: The Red Wings are a tough case. On paper, they need an entire top line. They could try to lure Tomas Tatar back for a reunion or overpay to swipe Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from Edmonton. The Wings don’t generate enough offense from the back end, so they also could chase a UFA like Tyson Barrie. The truth, however: Detroit plans to remain conservative. GM Steve Yzerman isn’t interested in chunky long-term
veteran contracts to accelerate the rebuild. If Detroit wades into the free-agent waters, it may mimic last year’s strategy of inking cheap vets to shortterm pacts that can be flipped at the deadline – as they did with Jon Merrill a year ago. Tyler Bozak and Erik Gustafsson are the types of players the Wings could target. UFA WATCH: Detroit sheds significant salary this summer. Between forwards Valtteri Filppula and Darren Helm and
defenseman Marc Staal, that’s more than $12 million gone. Given the Wings don’t have a can’t-miss goalie prospect on the way, they may bring back Jonathan Bernier after he delivered one of the best seasons of his career. Defensive center Luke Glendening has been a Wing for all eight of his seasons and looks like the best bet to re-sign among forwards. RFA WATCH: Shiny new toy Jakub Vrana, acquired in a blockbuster deadline-day trade for Anthony Mantha, needs a new deal. Since the Wings only had Vrana for a stupendous 11-game sample in which he delivered eight goals, a bridge contract makes sense. At least until the Moritz Seider era
begins, Filip Hronek is Detroit’s most important D-man, topping 23 minutes per game for two straight years and leading the team in scoring this season. He’s at least a $4-million player but could land slightly above or below that number depending on whether he signs a bridge deal. Left winger Tyler Bertuzzi seems likely to go the bridge route and bet on himself to rebound after a back injury cost him most of 2020-21. EYE ON 2022: The Wings gain even more financial flexibility next year, when Ken Holland-era holdovers Frans Nielsen and Danny DeKeyser and their combined $10.25 million evaporate from the books. – ML
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
T HE HO CK EY NE WS | 65 |
NHL
EDMONTON
KAILER YAMAMOTO
CAP HITS 2021 UFAs
EDM SHOPPING LIST: So, by now you’ve heard the Oilers are in the market for secondary scoring. That quest has been ongoing since the day Edmonton drafted Connor McDavid first overall in 2015. Six seasons later, it’s still the case. In 17 playoff periods during a first-round sweep at the hands of Winnipeg, the Oilers scored just three goals in which McDavid or Leon Draisaitl didn’t have a hand. That’s not enough. GM Ken Holland won’t have much disposable money if he retains his soonto-be UFAs, so he’ll likely be selling the notion of short-term discount deals such as the one Tyson Barrie signed a year ago. Does that work again? That
PROJECTED
approach might interest seasoned veterans such as Ryan Getzlaf or Paul Stastny. UFA WATCH: Before the Oilers go looking elsewhere for depth, they must try to retain important UFAs Barrie, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson and Mike Smith without spending more than their already discounted or fair-value contracts. That’s probably not going to happen with all four, but could two or three stay? That will be Holland’s biggest off-season challenge. Having scads of dead money tied to the bad contracts of James Neal, Mikko Koskinen, Kyle Turris, Zack Kassian, Andrej Sekera and Milan Lucic hurts terribly. A buyout or two seems prudent.
Tyson Barrie, D, 30 $6M-$7M Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, 28 $6M-$7M Adam Larsson, D, 28 $5M-$6M Alex Chiasson, RW, 30 $2M-$3M Dmitry Kulikov, D, 30 $2M-$3M Mike Smith, G, 39 $2M-$3M Tyler Ennis, LW, 31 < $1M Gaetan Haas, RW, 29 < $1M Slater Koekkoek, D, 27 < $1M Joakim Nygard, LW, 28 < $1M Patrick Russell, RW, 28 < $1M
2021 RFAs RFA WATCH: A year ago, it looked like Kailer Yamamoto was going to be expensive in 2021 after a breakthrough first full season. But a 2020-21 regression and questions about whether he can truly be a topsix regular at crunch time will keep him on a cheaper bridge deal. It’s not a sure thing that grinding center Jujhar Khaira will be qualified at $1.2 million, even though he plays a key grit and sandpaper role in the bottom-six.
EYE ON 2022: The Oilers would be wise to make it a priority to re-sign pending 2022 UFA Darnell Nurse as soon as he becomes eligible to do so this summer. After a season worthy of Norris consideration, his $5.6-million stipend is a bargain now. The price for his next deal will start in the $8-million-per-season range, if not more, and he’s worthy of a seven- or eight-year pact. If they dither a year, Nurse will get more expensive. – BC
FLORIDA
Kailer Yamamoto, RW, 22 Dominik Kahun, LW, 26 Jujhar Khaira, C, 26 Stuart Skinner, G, 22
$2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
SHOPPING LIST: As highlighted by Aaron Ekblad’s season-ending injury, the Panthers need another legitimate top-four blueliner to support him and breakout two-way defender MacKenzie Weegar. It’s a great summer to shop for defensemen, as pretty much every variety is available, from all-around studs like Dougie Hamilton to shutdown stoppers like Adam Larsson. The Panthers improved their forward depth behind stars Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov this season and have a deep top-nine, but they could use one more true scoring-line forward. A mid-tier contributor such as Zach Hyman or Jaden Schwartz would
do nicely. But the Panthers don’t have much cap space, projecting below $10 million. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and D-man Keith Yandle chew up $16.35 million and found themselves sitting at times in the playoffs. A lot of dead money. UFA WATCH: Do the Panthers re-sign deadline rental Brandon Montour or find a way to chase a bigger name? It could depend on whether they successfully shed some salary to the Seattle Kraken. Alexander Wennberg enjoyed a resurgent season as a middle-six center, sniping a career-high 17 goals. There’s a place for him on the Panthers if he doesn’t want too big of a raise over his $2.25-million AAV.
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FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
ALEXANDER WENNBERG
$4M-$5M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs
RFA WATCH: Second-line center Sam Bennett, acquired at the trade deadline, was a revelation, notching 15 points in 10 games, but the sample size is too small to earn him a long-term pact unless he’s willing to sign for around $3 million per season. Bet on a Bennett bridge. Same goes for defenseman Gustav Forsling, claimed off waivers in January. He became a crucial member of the top-four on defense in a shutdown role and was
playing more than 21 minutes per game by the playoffs. He was making just $700,000 this season, so his next AAV will be simultaneously a nice raise and affordable for Florida. EYE ON 2022: It’s a good thing depth pieces Anton Stralman, Frank Vatrano and Noel Acciari are slated to come off the ledger. It’s likely every penny of their salaries will go to captain Barkov, who should clear a $10-million AAV on his next deal. – ML
Sam Bennett, C, 25 Anthony Duclair, LW, 25 Gustav Forsling, D, 25 Noah Juulsen, D, 24 Juho Lammikko, C, 25 Lucas Wallmark, C, 25
$3M-$4M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M < $1M < $1M < $1M
YAMAMOTO: PERRY NELSON-USA TODAY SPORTS; WENNBERG: RUSSELL LABOUNTY-USA TODAY SPORTS
FLA
2021 UFAs Brandon Montour, D, 27 Chris Driedger, G, 27 Alexander Wennberg, C, 26 Nikita Gusev, RW, 29 Kevin Connauton, D, 31 Brady Keeper, D, 25
NHL PROJECTED
CAP HITS
ANDREAS ATHANASIOU
2021 UFAs Mark Alt, D, 29 Troy Grosenick, G, 31 Christian Wolanin, D, 26
LA
< $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs Andreas Athanasiou, LW, 26 $2M-$3M Lias Andersson, LW, 22 < $1M Kale Clague, D, 23 < $1M Blake Lizotte, C, 23 < $1M Matt Luff, RW, 24 < $1M Trevor Moore, LW, 26 < $1M Drake Rymsha, C, 22 < $1M Austin Strand, D, 24 < $1M SHOPPING LIST: The Kings won’t be chasing any high-priced UFAs this summer even though cap room isn’t an issue. It’s more about internal timing for the progression of the team’s youth. With a good blend of promising centers coming up through the system – such as Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte – and veteran Anze Kopitar leading the way, the real need is scoring wingers in their mid-20s to play on the
top two lines and bond with the centers of tomorrow. The Kings might want to dip into their deep crops of prospect forwards and draft picks – L.A. has five selections in the first three rounds this summer – to go after a marksman such as Patrik Laine in Columbus or Sam Reinhart in Buffalo, both RFAs. Barring that, the second week of free-agent season is when you’ll find GM Rob Blake out kicking tires. Jonathan Quick is 35 and has had health
issues, but the team may still be a year away from goalie shopping. Quick has two years remaining on his contract. UFA WATCH: The Kings took care of business in the spring, signing left winger Alex Iafallo and defenseman Matt Roy to extensions with moderate raises. Both were mid-term deals that take the two support players into or toward their early 30s, so there’s no concern about overhanging term by the time Los Angeles’ marquee blue-chippers are coming off entry-level or bridge contracts. RFA WATCH: The speed and versatility of Andreas Athanasiou make the Kings a perfect fit for him. The winger is in a good age bracket – he turns 27
in August – and he’s just a few years removed from a 30-goal season. Most importantly, the Kings can offer an open road to play on a scoring line as well as special-teams duty. A oneor two-year show-me contract could work well for both sides. EYE ON 2022: Dustin Brown, Olli Maatta and Cal Petersen are UFAs in 2022, but there’s no urgency or concern to get them locked up for both big money and long term. Of more interest are RFAs such as Gabe Vilardi, Mikey Anderson, Adrian Kempe, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Carl Grundstrom. You can bank on bridge deals rather than long-term pacts just to create salary-cap flexibility in 2023 and beyond. – BC
MINNESOTA
PROJECTED
CAP HITS $3M-$4M $3M-$4M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
KIRILL KAPRIZOV
2021 RFAs Kevin Fiala, RW, 25 Kirill Kaprizov, LW, 24 Joel Eriksson Ek, C, 24
$5M-$6M $5M-$6M $3M-$4M
SHOPPING LIST: The Wild’s early-season acquisition of veteran blueliner Ian Cole was indicative of Minnesota’s desire to add reliable depth on defense. The 32-year-old’s expiring deal means the Wild can search for a new – and cheaper – player to plug that hole. That should be GM Bill Guerin’s top priority, and there are several rearguards who are cap-friendly and can assimilate easily into the role while chipping in on
the penalty kill, which was one of the Wild’s weaknesses and would take some of the onus off of marathon man Ryan Suter’s shoulders. Think Zach Bogosian or Kevan Miller. UFA WATCH: Of the Wild’s many pending UFAs – Minnesota has seven who skated 12-plus games – Nick Bonino is the only who must be given re-signing consideration. Bonino, 33, is one of the league’s best two-way pivots and can be a cornerstone of
MIN
ATHANASIOU: DAVID BERDING-USA TODAY SPORTS; KAPRIZOV: HARRISON BARDEN-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs Nick Bonino, C, 33 Marcus Johansson, LW, 30 Nick Bjugstad, C, 29 Ian Cole, D, 32 Louie Belpedio, D, 25 Joseph Cramarossa, C, 28 Andrew Hammond, G, 33 Brad Hunt, D, 32 Luke Johnson, C, 26 Dakota Mermis, D, 27 Kyle Rau, LW, 28
the middle-six for a few more years. The others are replaceable, and with the emergence of a handful of young guns due new deals, Minnesota is going to need to transition to cost-effective players to plug holes. That means spends on short-term fixes such as pending UFAs Marcus Johansson and Nick Bjugstad are no longer wise or necessary. RFA WATCH: Kirill Kaprizov’s team- and rookie-leading 27 goals and 51 points means Guerin’s first order of offseason business is a no-brainer: lock up the 24-year-old, who is the first true gamechanging scoring star the Wild have had since Marian Gaborik in his prime. Next, all attention
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
has to turn to mid-20s guys Kevin Fiala and Joel Eriksson Ek. The former has settled into a star scoring role and the latter is turning into an integral middle-six shutdown center. All three will be key pieces for the future. EYE ON 2022: Opportunity was the watchword for Jordan Greenway entering 2020-21, and the 24-year-old took advantage of his newfound spot higher in the lineup. His 32 points in 56 games were a personal best, and his scoring pace indicates there’s more offense below the surface. Once the trio of Kaprizov, Fiala and Eriksson Ek is locked up, Greenway – and goalie Kaapo Kahkonen – will be next. – JC
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NHL
TOMAS TATAR
SHOPPING LIST: It can’t be a spending spree every summer. The Canadiens loaded up the payroll with Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson and Jake Allen in 2020 but don’t have the same financial wiggle room this time around, especially with so many prominent UFAs to consider re-signing. Though if GM Marc Bergevin can shed enough salary, Montreal needs a mobile defenseman for its top-four considering how much Shea Weber is slowing down at 35 (and he’s signed for five more seasons). Since Montreal won’t have the cap space to pursue an elite puck-mover, it could consider a cheapish option with upside such as Brandon
Montour or, if the team prefers to address the left side of the defense, a two-way defender such as Ryan Murray. Montreal needs a high-end playmaking center at some point, but no one on the UFA market fits that description, so Bergevin would have go the trade route. UFA WATCH: Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault and Joel Armia, a.k.a. one-third of Montreal’s top-nine forward group, are UFAs – not to mention Corey Perry and Eric Staal. Odds are, Bergevin can bring back two of them at most. Tatar, who had 30 points in 50 games, is easily the best scorer among Montreal’s UFAs, so he has a strong case to stay on. Danault has been one of the NHL’s top
CAP HITS 2021 UFAs
MTL
MONTREAL
PROJECTED
Phillip Danault, C, 28 Tomas Tatar, LW, 30 Joel Armia, RW, 28 Erik Gustafsson, D, 29 Corey Perry, RW, 36 Eric Staal, C, 36 Alex Belzile, RW, 29 Michael Frolik, RW, 33 Jon Merrill, D, 29 Jordan Weal, RW, 29
$4M-$5M $4M-$5M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs shutdown centers for several seasons but turned down a six-year, $30-million contract last off-season. After his offense dried up significantly in 2020-21, he’ll be hard-pressed to come close to that same valuation on the open market. RFA WATCH: Bergevin doesn’t have heavy lifting to do this summer on the RFA front, as Artturi Lehkonen is just a depth forward and Jesperi Kotkaniemi didn’t truly blossom during his entry-level
NASHVILLE
contract, meaning both land in bridge-deal territory rather than break-the-bank territory. EYE ON 2022: Nick Suzuki completes his entry-level deal in 2022. He’s eligible to sign an extension this summer, but he’d be wise to hold off and bet on himself breaking out over an 82-game schedule and earning a big-money contract. It’s only a matter of time before he separates himself as Montreal’s clear No. 1 center – if he hasn’t already. – ML
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, 21 Artturi Lehkonen, LW, 26 Otto Leskinen, D, 24 Ryan Poehling, C, 22
$2M-$3M $2M-$3M < $1M < $1M
PROJECTED
MIKAEL GRANLUND
CAP HITS
NSH SHOPPING LIST: The Predators are stagnating. What GM David Poile needs now is a plan to stave off a steady decline. Perhaps the best course of action, ironically, is standing pat and trending toward a rebuild. If that’s the approach, Poile needs to figure out what to do with Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen, who account for nearly 20 percent of Nashville’s cap space yet produced a combined 13 goals and 35 points in the regular season. In the event Poile wants to give this group another shot, targeting a scorer such as Mike Hoffman or Brandon Saad would be advisable. One legitimate area of need, however, is a backup
goaltender. James Reimer, Laurent Brossoit and Jonathan Bernier are realistic options. UFA WATCH: Mikael Granlund’s season was a success, but it was also likely enough for him to price his way out of Nashville. He’s going to be seeking a long-term fit and a raise. The Predators would be unwise to provide him with either. Similarly, Erik Haula played well enough to earn himself a look at middle-six duty elsewhere, and likely on better money and term than Nashville should provide. Truly, none of the pending UFAs should be of great concern to the Predators. They’re largely spare parts and bit players. The only painful goodbye will be
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FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
$5M-$6M $3M-$4M $3M-$4M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs
that of Pekka Rinne. Nashville faithful have long known this farewell was coming, however. RFA WATCH: There’s one key decision at each position, the easiest of which is in goal. Juuse Saros took the torch and ran with it. He’s the present and the future, and the 26-year-old needs to be paid as such. Given the mercurial nature of goaltending, though, the Predators would do well to find a middle ground, hedge their bets and hope to work
out a pact in the four-year range. Defenseman Dante Fabbro, 23, and right winger Eeli Tolvanen, 22, are bridge candidates. The once-hyped defender hasn’t quite hit his stride, while Tolvanen is beginning to deliver on what was outsized potential. EYE ON 2022: The next year will determine Filip Forsberg’s future as he heads toward UFA status, and blueline mainstay Mattias Ekholm finds himself in the same boat. – JC
Juuse Saros, G, 26 $4M-$5M Dante Fabbro, D, 23 $3M-$4M Ben Harpur, D, 26 $1M-$2M Eeli Tolvanen, LW, 22 $1M-$2M Frederic Allard, D, 23 < $1M Jeremy Davies, D, 24 < $1M Tanner Jeannot, LW, 24 < $1M Michael McCarron, RW, 26 < $1M Mathieu Olivier, RW, 24 < $1M Rem Pitlick, C, 24 < $1M Anthony Richard, C, 24 < $1M Cole Smith, LW, 25 < $1M
TATAR: SERGEI BELSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS; GRANLUND: JAMES CAREY LAUDER-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs Mikael Granlund, C, 29 Erik Gudbranson, D, 29 Erik Haula, LW, 30 Pekka Rinne, G, 38 Kasimir Kaskisuo, G, 27 Tyler Lewington, D, 26 Sean Malone, C, 26 Brad Richardson, C, 36 Luca Sbisa, D, 31
NHL PROJECTED
CAP HITS 2021 UFAs $4M-$5M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
NJ
Ryan Murray, D, 27 Connor Carrick, D, 27 Aaron Dell, G, 32 Matt Tennyson, D, 31 Scott Wedgewood, G, 28
RYAN MURRAY
2021 RFAs Yegor Sharangovich, LW, 23 $2M-$3M Janne Kuokkanen, LW, 23 $1M-$2M Michael McLeod, C, 23 $1M-$2M Nathan Bastian, RW, 23 < $1M A.J. Greer, LW, 24 < $1M Nick Merkley, RW, 24 < $1M Jonas Siegenthaler, D, 24 < $1M Marian Studenic, RW, 22 < $1M Colton White, D, 24 < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: The Devils were one of the NHL’s worst teams both offensively and defensively, so the off-season is going to be busy for GM Tom Fitzgerald. At the least, he has a foundation of scoring centers in Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, but those youngsters need talent to feed pucks, and things got even more dire once scoring winger Kyle Palmieri was dealt at the deadline. New Jersey has tons of cap space, so a little splurg-
PROJECTED
CAP HITS CASEY CIZIKAS
ing could be on the table, as long as the deal isn’t long-term. Mike Hoffman would be a good mercenary choice, while bringing back Blake Coleman makes a lot of sense if he wants to take on a leadership role. The Devils need help on defense, too, particularly someone steady. Ian Cole brings that sort of veteran calm, as does Alec Martinez. Either one would be a perfect partner for a rising youngster such as right-shooting Reilly Walsh.
UFA WATCH: The benefit of rebuilding is that you don’t have to stress about re-signing a bunch of veterans. Ryan Murray is the most prominent UFA, and the mobile defenseman is the perfect candidate to return. He played 48 of 56 games, and for a player who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, that’s a win. Once you get past Murray, the UFAs are all replacement-level names: Connor Carrick and Matt Tennyson on defense and backup goalies Aaron Dell and Scott Wedgewood. All are inexpensive, and though they don’t have a lot of pull, there is something to be said for continuity. RFA WATCH: Conversely, the young Devils have a boatload
of RFAs to deal with in the off-season, though none who will cause any big shifts in the salary-cap situation. Up front, Yegor Sharangovich is coming off a very pleasing rookie campaign while Mikey McLeod has found a niche as a physical two-way center who is willing to drop the gloves. On the back end, big Jonas Siegenthaler is up for renewal after coming over from Washington at the trade deadline. EYE ON 2022: Another round of RFAs are up for renewal in 2022, headlined by Hughes, Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood. As for UFAs, P.K. Subban is the biggie, but it’s hard to see him being re-signed by the Devils. – RK
NEW YORK
$4M-$5M $3M-$4M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
NYI
MURRAY: WINSLOW TOWNSON-USA TODAY SPORTS; CIZIKAS: JEAN-YVES AHERN-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs Kyle Palmieri, RW, 30 Casey Cizikas, C, 30 Andy Greene, D, 38 Travis Zajac, C, 36 Braydon Coburn, D, 36 Cory Schneider, G, 35
2021 RFAs Adam Pelech, D, 26 $4M-$5M Anthony Beauvillier, LW, 24 $3M-$4M Ilya Sorokin, G, 25 $2M-$3M Kieffer Bellows, LW, 23 < $1M Michael Dal Colle, LW, 25 < $1M Dmytro Timashov, LW, 24 < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: In terms of structural needs, the Islanders are in a pretty good place. They can definitely defend and they certainly have all the goaltending they need, while the offense was good enough during the regular season although obviously hampered by the loss of captain Anders Lee to injury. If GM Lou Lamoriello is looking to improve one area, it should be goal-scoring as New York could use another weapon
to line up with playmaking ace Mathew Barzal. Jaden Schwartz would fit the bill if the Islanders could lure him to town, but simply re-signing the guys who are up for new deals is going to be an issue as the Islanders are practically capped out already. Essentially, Lamoriello’s biggest need heading into the off-season is cap flexibility – which is something the savvy veteran executive has been pretty good at creating in the past.
UFA WATCH: It is hard to see trade-deadline rentals Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac returning since the Devils ate salary to make the deal work in the first place. The same can be said for veteran blueliner Braydon Coburn, who came over from Ottawa. Even retaining Casey Cizikas and Andy Greene will be a challenge. Cizikas is very much a heart-and-soul Islander and therefore the most likely to return, while Greene is a valued leader on defense but he also turns 39 in October. Would either, or both, take hometown discounts in order to keep a good thing going on Long Island? That’s the hope. RFA WATCH: New York’s RFA situation is even tougher than
the UFAs, with three prominent players in particular in need of new pacts. Defenseman Adam Pelech has become one of the most effective two-way rearguards in the NHL and he’s eligible for arbitration. Up front, energetic dynamo Anthony Beauvillier is in the same boat, as is soon-to-be No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin – a rising star in net whom the franchise needs to retain. Wingers Kieffer Bellows and Michael Dal Colle are also up for new deals. EYE ON 2022: It’s all about the back end in 2022, with Pelech’s partner, Ryan Pulock, eligible to become a UFA. He’s a big one. Also, veteran defender Nick Leddy will also need a new contract. – RK
FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
THE HOC K EY N E WS | 69 |
NHL PROJECTED
CAP HITS IGOR SHESTERKIN
2021 UFAs
NYR
Brendan Smith, D, 32 Phil Di Giuseppe, LW, 27 Jack Johnson, D, 34
cap space to sign Dougie Hamilton if the ace blueliner leaves Carolina. If Drury wants to go more of the shutdown route, David Savard is a perfect fit. Both Hamilton and Savard play the right side, which is perfect for the Rangers’ lefty-leaning defense corps. UFA WATCH: It’s a light load of UFAs for the Rangers this summer with few decisions to make on that front. Brendan Smith is eligible to hit the market, but considering how the Rangers put him at wing instead of his natural defense position, it’s fair to say he’s not part of their long-term plans. Jack Johnson is another defender New York will not miss on his way out in terms of
2021 RFAs Pavel Buchnevich, LW, 26 Igor Shesterkin, G, 25 Filip Chytil, C, 21 Libor Hajek, D, 23 Brett Howden, C, 23 Julien Gauthier, RW, 23 Tim Gettinger, LW, 23 on-ice contributions. Up front, bottom-sixer Phil Di Giuseppe needs a new pact, and if Drury likes him, the left winger will be an easy re-sign. RFA WATCH: With just 47 NHL appearances to his name, goalie Igor Shesterkin doesn’t have a big sample size heading into his next contract, but he has been good and he’s at very least the team’s 1A option in net. This feels like a perfect time for a bridge deal. Fellow Russian Pavel Buchnevich has
$5M-$6M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
steadily gotten better and is due for a raise, while Filip Chytil, Julien Gauthier and Brett Howden also need new deals up front. Defenseman Libor Hajek is also a pending RFA with a bright future. EYE ON 2022: Drury gets one summer of warm-ups before a big 2022 when core pieces need deals: Zibanejad and Strome will be UFAs, while promising young wingers Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov will be RFAs. – RK
OTTAWA
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
OTT
2021 UFAs
SHOPPING LIST: After a 2-12-1 start, the young, exciting Senators went 21-16-4 over their final 41 games, a stretch that comprised threequarters of the season. Does that mean it’s time for GM Pierre Dorion to start adding pieces and transition his team from rebuilder to playoff contender? The Senators have expressed interest in adding a veteran top-line center, but the UFA options fitting that description are so-so. The closest fits would be Phillip Danault and David Krejci. Ottawa may not want to block blue-chippers Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto in the top-six, however, so an alternative could be to strengthen
the bottom-six with steady two-way vets who can handle checking assignments. Casey Cizikas is an ideal fit. While Artem Zub and Erik Brannstrom showed late-season promise on defense, it feels like Thomas Chabot has to do too much every game. He could use a stabilizing right-shot partner to grind opponents – such as David Savard – to help out if youngster Jacob BernardDocker isn’t ready for highleverage work right away. UFA WATCH: Happy trails to Derek Stepan, Ryan Dzingel and Artem Anisimov, whose presumed departures unlock more than $14 million in cap space. That’s great news since the Senators have some crucial
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FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
BRADY TKACHUK
Ryan Dzingel, LW, 29 Derek Stepan, C, 31 Artem Anisimov, C, 33 Cody Goloubef, D, 31 Micheal Haley, C, 35 Matthew Peca, LW, 28
$3M-$4M $3M-$4M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs
RFA contracts to hammer out. Speaking of which… RFA WATCH: Brady Tkachuk has been every bit the power forward the Sens dreamed he would be, and he’s probably the franchise’s next captain. Ottawa will commit to him long-term for big money – for the max eight years if he wants to stay that long. His brother Matthew got a $7-million AAV for his second contract, but Matthew signed a three-year bridge. Brady will earn more if
he’s locking himself in for five seasons or more. Drake Batherson, who settled in as a twin tower playing the right wing to Tkachuk’s left on the top line, still only has 99 NHL games to his name and is thus a logical bridge-deal candidate. EYE ON 2022: Josh Norris was Ottawa’s top rookie this season. He’ll earn a new deal after 2021-22, so it’s a big contract year for him. Same goes for young puck-rushing blueliner Brannstrom. – ML
Brady Tkachuk, LW, 21 Drake Batherson, RW, 23 Marcus Hogberg, G, 26 Victor Mete, D, 23 Vitaly Abramov, LW, 23 Olle Alsing, D, 25 Michael Amadio, C, 25 Logan Brown, C, 23 Filip Gustavsson, G, 23
$8M-$9M $3M-$4M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
SHESTERKIN: TIMOTHY T. LUDWIG-USA TODAY SPORTS; TKACHUK: JAMES CAREY LAUDER-USA TODAY SPORTS
SHOPPING LIST: Assuming the kids continue to develop at an expected rate, the Rangers’ offense will be ready to go next season. And really, once Mika Zibanejad recovered from his bout with COVID-19, it was good this year, too. With Zibanejad and Ryan Strome, New York has the centers they need right now while Artemi Panarin leads the offense from the wing. The one area that new GM Chris Drury does need to work on is the defense, specifically when it comes to experience. Tony DeAngelo is technically still under contract, but it’s hard to see him ever playing for the team again. Should Drury want to make a splash, he’s got the
$1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
NHL PROJECTED
CAP HITS CARTER HART
2021 UFAs $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
PHI
Brian Elliott, G, 36 Andy Andreoff, LW, 30 Alex Lyon, G, 28 Samuel Morin, D, 26 Derrick Pouliot, D, 27 Nate Prosser, D, 35
2021 RFAs Travis Sanheim, D, 25 Carter Hart, D, 22 Nolan Patrick, C, 22 Connor Bunnaman, C, 23 David Kase, LW, 24 Carsen Twarynski, LW, 23
$5M-$6M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: Carter Hart’s terrible, no-good season was a shocker, but it happened, and the Flyers need to recalibrate as a result. No doubt Hart can recover from this adversity, but the young netminder must be supported more heavily next season as he gets his game and his confidence back. To that end, Philadelphia must go out and get a veteran goalie who can take over for long stretches if necessary but still work with
Hart for the betterment of the team. Frederik Andersen is the perfect candidate here, as his time in Toronto seems to be up and he will no doubt want to prove he still has a lot of wins left in him. If not Andersen, Arizona’s Antti Raanta can be very effective when healthy. Elsewhere, the Flyers could use another veteran defenseman, someone to steady their youthful blueline crew. Another Coyote, Niklas Hjalmarsson, fits the bill there.
UFA WATCH: When it comes to UFAs, it’s going to be an easy summer for GM Chuck Fletcher. Backup goalies Brian Elliott and Alex Lyon can hit the open market but neither are must-haves for the Flyers. The only other UFAs of note are left winger Andy Andreoff, who spent most of the season on the taxi squad, and Samuel Morin, the towering defenseman who the Flyers experimented with as a winger this year. Morin had just one point in 20 games and injury problems have throttled his development since the Flyers drafted him 11th overall back in 2013, but there’s definitely something there if Philadelphia has the patience.
RFA WATCH: Speaking of Hart, he needs a new pact as an RFA, and the negotiations will be intriguing. If the Flyers believe the kid just had an off year, then locking him up long-term would be the prudent thing to do. If there’s doubt, then a bridge deal is more likely. Another interesting situation is Nolan Patrick, who had been dogged by migraines and hasn’t found his NHL game yet, so don’t expect big term or money. Travis Sanheim is the key RFA on the blueline. EYE ON 2022: Joel Farabee, an RFA next summer, has already entrenched himself as a key contributor, but the big fish here are potential UFAs Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier. – RK
PITTSBURGH
PROJECTED
CAP HITS $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
CODY CECI
PIT
HART: JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS; CECI: VINCENT CARCHIETTA-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs Cody Ceci, D, 27 Evan Rodrigues, RW, 28 Josh Currie, RW, 28 Kevin Czuczman, D, 30 Frederick Gaudreau, C, 28 Maxime Lagace, G, 28 Colton Sceviour, RW, 32 Zach Trotman, D, 30 Yannick Weber, D, 32
2021 RFAs Zach Aston-Reese, LW, 26 $2M-$3M Teddy Blueger, C, 26 $2M-$3M Mark Jankowski, C, 26 < $1M Radim Zohorna, LW, 25 < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: If the latest post-season loss to the Islanders cemented anything, it’s that the Penguins don’t have enough talent to win anymore, even with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at the top of the pyramid. Goaltending was a big problem, and it’s hard to see the team relying on Tristan Jarry after his implosion in that series. Pittsburgh isn’t spending a lot on Jarry or Casey DeSmith, so bringing in someone else
is possible. Someone like James Reimer works, but if the Penguins are serious about continuing to try for titles, maybe they roll the dice on someone with more upside such as Boston’s Jaroslav Halak. In terms of skaters, it wouldn’t hurt to add another veteran defenseman, either. A righty is ideal, making Florida’s Brandon Montour an intriguing possibility. If they want a shutdown guy, David Savard would be a huge score.
UFA WATCH: Not a lot of sizzling decisions need to be made on the UFA front, with defenseman Cody Ceci and utility winger Colton Sceviour being the most prominent names, followed by depth forwards Frederick Gaudreau and Evan Rodrigues. Ceci actually had a bounce-back season, and he is a right-handed shot, so bringing him back with a slight raise on his $1.2-million paycheque would be a prudent move. The other UFAs are pretty random, but the Penguins don’t have many prospects on the cusp of the NHL so they’ll need a warm body or two for the bottom-six again. RFA WATCH: The RFAs are slightly more exciting, but only
to a degree. Zach Aston-Reese, originally an undrafted college free agent, headlines a group up front that also includes Teddy Blueger, Mark Jankowski, Radim Zahorna and Kasper Bjorkqvist, a talented young Finn who played for NCAA Providence but has yet to make his NHL debut. Depth goalie and Twitter star Emil Larmi is also up for his next contract. None of these negotiations should get too tense as they’re all pretty straightforward. EYE ON 2022: Malkin is a massive decision, as is Kris Letang. Both will be UFAs (along with Jeff Carter) and the future of the franchise will be telegraphed by what GM Ron Hextall does here. – RK
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THE HO CKE Y N EW S | 7 1 |
NHL
ST. LOUIS
PROJECTED
JADEN SCHWARTZ
CAP HITS 2021 UFAs
STL
Jaden Schwartz, LW, 29 Mike Hoffman, LW, 31 Tyler Bozak, C, 35 Carl Gunnarsson, D, 34 Austin Poganski, RW, 25 Mitch Reinke, D, 25 Nathan Walker, LW, 27
Saad, Tomas Tatar and Mattias Janmark are secondary scorers who might be willing to take shorter-term deals. UFA WATCH: Hoffman’s goal-scoring made his one-year pact a steal for St. Louis, but his time with the Blues was somewhat tumultuous. While he produced – third on the team in goals (17) and points (36) – his average ice time declined by two minutes and he spent time in the doghouse. It wouldn’t shock anyone if he sought a fit elsewhere. Schwartz is a great talent when healthy, but injuries are a concern. He’s missed 60 games over four seasons. Bozak and his minutes are replaceable. And consider defenseman Carl
2021 RFAs
Gunnarsson gone, too. He’s an outsider on a jammed blueline. RFA WATCH: Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas are St. Louis’ key RFAs, and they had wildly disparate seasons. Kyrou, 23, bloomed, breaking out to become a legitimate second-line scoring threat, while Thomas, 22, mustered just 12 points in 33 games after netting 75 in his first 136 games. Nevertheless, bridge deals for the pair seem likely given the Blues’ cap space
could dry up due to other notable RFAs. Included in that group is Vince Dunn, who had steady second-pairing duty. However, he’s a prime expansion-draft candidate. EYE ON 2022: Justin Faulk and Torey Krug carry twin $6.5-million cap hits, and Colton Parayko is going to command a similar contract when he becomes a UFA next summer. Will the Blues be willing to sink that much into three defenders? – JC
SAN JOSE
| 72 | T HE HO C KE Y NE WS
agents. But some stable lineup regulars are badly needed if the team is to get back into the playoff picture. UFA WATCH: Do the Sharks bring Marleau back to extend his games-played record? He says he has more to offer, but considering he turns 42 in September and San Jose really needs to focus on establishing young players who can make an impact in the middle-six, it’s probably time to tip the cap to Marleau and go in a different direction. But it was a fantastic ride, wasn’t it? RFA WATCH: Ryan Donato, Dylan Gambrell, Rudolfs Balcers and Noah Gregor showed promise at times this season, and their qualifying offers may
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$3M-$4M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M
PROJECTED
CAP HITS PATRICK MARLEAU
SJ SHOPPING LIST: San Jose had 25 forwards and 12 defensemen suit up for them at times this season. That’s enough for two teams of Sharks. No team in the league has a wider gulf between its crop of proven veteran pros – led by all-time games-played leader Patrick Marleau – and guys just looking to make a positive impression in their first NHL game. Jeffrey Viel, Ivan Chekhovich, Fredrik Handemark, Alexander Chmelevski, Alexander Barabanov, Brinson Pasichnuk, Nicolas Meloche, Josef Korenar and Alexei Melnichuk all had their NHL debuts. With so many veterans on big tickets, the Sharks have little cap room for free
Vince Dunn, D, 24 Jordan Kyrou, RW, 23 Zach Sanford, LW, 26 Robert Thomas, RW, 22 Ivan Barbashev, C, 25 Jacob de la Rose, C, 26 Dakota Joshua, C, 25
2021 UFAs Marcus Sorensen, LW, 29 Fredrik Handemark, C, 27 Kurtis Gabriel, RW, 28 Patrick Marleau, C, 41 Matt Nieto, LW, 28 Greg Pateryn, D, 31
$1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs
turn into two- or three-year bridge contracts. The Sharks don’t have a plethora of A-list prospects, so big contract demands won’t be an issue for at least a few years. Barabanov’s one-year deal signed in May may become the norm. He had a nice start with the Sharks, netting seven points in nine games after coming over from Toronto in a trade. EYE ON 2022: Tomas Hertl becomes a UFA in 2022 and he’ll require a big raise from
the $5.625 million he’s making now. The problem with that is he’ll become the seventh Sharks veteran in the $6million-plus category. To make room for Hertl’s pay raise in a year, the Sharks may consider buying out the final two years of goaltender Martin Jones’ contract. He’s getting $5.75 million through 2023-24. San Jose will need a replacement goalie to do that, however. That search may begin as soon as this off-season. – BC
Ryan Donato, LW, 25 $2M-$3M Rudolfs Balcers, LW, 24 $1M-$2M Dylan Gambrell, C, 24 $1M-$2M Joachim Blichfeld, RW, 23 < $1M Noah Gregor, LW, 23 < $1M Christian Jaros, D, 25 < $1M Josef Korenar, G, 23 < $1M Nicolas Meloche, D, 24 < $1M Alex True, C, 24 < $1M Jeffrey Viel, LW, 24 < $1M
SCHWARTZ: ISAIAH J. DOWNING-USA TODAY SPORTS; MARLEAU: JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS
SHOPPING LIST: GM Doug Armstrong has to ask himself one important question entering free agency: can he find a way to replace 30 goals? Two productive scorers, Jaden Schwartz and Mike Hoffman, can test the market, as can bottom-six pivot Tyler Bozak. The trio accounted for nearly one-fifth of St. Louis’ goals. Giving Armstrong pause will be the need to balance secondary scoring with short-term cap considerations. Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly are set to become UFAs following 2022-23, so signing high-priced UFAs this off-season is a gamble. A safer approach is bang-foryour-buck types. Brandon
$6M-$7M $5M-$6M $2M-$3M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
NHL
TAMPA BAY
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
2021 RFAs Ross Colton, C, 24 Cal Foote, D, 22 Alex Barre-Boulet, C, 24
$1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M
BLAKE COLEMAN
SHOPPING LIST: The Lightning are consistently among the least disciplined teams in the NHL, so they require strong penalty-killers to clean up their messes. Two of their best ones, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, are UFAs, and Tampa has nowhere near the cap space on paper to bring them back, so GM Julien BriseBois will have to hunt for cheap replacements. The Bolts also lack depth on defense behind
their quartet of Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak, which is why they had to rent David Savard at the trade deadline. They also need a new backup goaltender for superstar starter Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has probably played a few games too many in the past couple seasons. Could they coax late-bloomer Chris Driedger to defect from the state-rival Florida Panthers? UFA WATCH: Coleman and
TOR
$4M-$5M $4M-$5M $2M-$3M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
TB
2021 UFAs Blake Coleman, LW, 29 David Savard, D, 30 Barclay Goodrow, LW, 28 Andreas Borgman, D, 26 Fredrik Claesson, D, 28 Christopher Gibson, G, 28 Curtis McElhinney, G, 38 Anders Nilsson, G, 31 Luke Schenn, D, 31 Gemel Smith, C, 27 Ben Thomas, D, 25 Luke Witkowski, D, 31
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
Goodrow have priced themselves out of Tampa. Coleman, in particular, is capable of scoring 20 goals playing a larger role in a new team’s middle six. The only way the Lightning can keep him is if they shed Tyler Johnson’s $5-million AAV, probably to the Seattle Kraken. Savard, who will get an offer with an AAV north of $4 million, is a goner. No chance the Lightning can afford to re-sign him. Backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney is 38, and his play has declined considerably in the past couple seasons, so he’s a decent bet to retire. RFA WATCH: For the first time in what feels like forever, the Lightning don’t have to stress over a high-profile RFA
contract. Depth forwards Ross Colton and Alex Barre-Boulet flashed potential in 2020-21, but their sample sizes are small enough that they’ll need shortterm pacts to earn long-term trust. Same goes for Cal Foote. EYE ON 2022: Brayden Point’s bridge contract ends in 2022. After betting on himself with a three-year extension at a $6.75-million AAV, he’s earned his monster long-term contract. Stalwart left winger Ondrej Palat becomes a UFA after 2021-22. It’s too early to know if he’ll fit into Tampa’s cap landscape by then. The Bolts have to hope the cap increases a year from now. – ML
TORONTO
COLEMAN: KIM KLEMENT-USA TODAY SPORTS; HYMAN: JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs Frederik Andersen, G, 31 Zach Hyman, RW, 29 Nick Foligno, LW, 33 Alex Galchenyuk, LW, 27 Zach Bogosian, D, 31 Riley Nash, C, 32 David Rittich, G, 28 Wayne Simmonds, RW, 32 Jason Spezza, RW, 38 Kenny Agostino, LW, 29 Ben Hutton, D, 28 Martin Marincin, D, 29 Stefan Noesen, RW, 28 Scott Sabourin, RW, 28 Antti Suomela, C, 27 Joe Thornton, C, 42
$5M-$6M $4M-$5M $3M-$4M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs Travis Dermott, D, 24 Denis Malgin, RW, 24 Nic Petan, LW, 26 Veini Vehvilainen, G, 24
$1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M
ZACH HYMAN
SHOPPING LIST: The Leafs’ forward depth is badly depleted with so many players going to market this summer. With all the money handed out to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander, the Leafs are now a top-heavy group that must replace their depth from within via younger players on entry-level deals – such as Nick Robertson. Still, if GM Kyle Dubas can find the money for a versatile top-six
forward, be it Ryan NugentHopkins or Mikael Granlund, it would fit Toronto’s needs. The Leafs also need a 1B goaltender to work with Jack Campbell, assuming Frederik Andersen’s days in Hogtown are over. UFA WATCH: First-line left winger Zach Hyman does so many important things for the Leafs, from retrieving pucks to killing penalties, and his offense has grown year after year. He’s earned a long-term commitment similar to the
six-year, $39-million contract Brendan Gallagher got from Montreal last year. Hyman suits Toronto’s needs as much as any other UFA forward on the market, but it won’t be easy to fit him under the cap. The Leafs are staring at a potential mass exodus among their forwards, with Nick Foligno’s contract up and greybeards Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds wrapping up their one-year commitments. For Thornton and Spezza in particular, retirement is always a possibility. RFA WATCH: Travis Dermott was phased out of Toronto’s blueline plans as the Leafs groomed Rasmus Sandin to usurp him. With Dermott’s ice
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time cut so significantly, he has little leverage to score a major raise over the $874,000 he made this season. He deserves a shot to establish himself as an everyday NHL defenseman. Perhaps he’ll get it with the Seattle Kraken. EYE ON 2022: The Leafs are one of those spend-tothe-cap-and-beyond teams praying for an increase in the league-wide cap by 2022-23. Top defenseman Morgan Rielly goes to market and will be one of the NHL’s most coveted UFAs. Campbell also completes his deal, as does left winger Ilya Mikheyev, while Sandin will be an RFA to watch, especially if he experiences a breakout in 2021-22. – ML
TH E HO CK E Y NE W S | 73 |
NHL
VANCOUVER
PROJECTED
CAP HITS
VAN
2021 UFAs
VEGAS
2021 RFAs and Antoine Roussel. They each have a year remaining. RFA WATCH: Open the vault for Pettersson and Hughes. They’re well worth huge raises and eight-year contracts. The only question is where to find the available cap space. Bridge deals are out of the question, aren’t they? In order to make the numbers fit, some albatross contracts are going to have to be moved, starting with backup goalie Braden Holtby and his $4.3 million
remaining. Hello Seattle. EYE ON 2022: Boeser is an RFA in 2022, and the objective is to lock him up sometime during the coming season. It won’t be cheap, but the Canucks can take solace in the fact more bad contracts are expiring next summer, including the head-scratcher $3 million recapture penalty Vancouver is charged on Roberto Luongo in 2021-22. No more bad contracts after that one, right? – BC
| 74 | THE H OC KE Y N EWS
it can be created from within. Perhaps Peyton Krebs, Cody Glass or Jack Dugan can evolve into that type of player within a few years. UFA WATCH: The Golden Knights will miss the services of reliable all-purpose defender Alec Martinez, coming off a $4-million deal. He becomes a 34-year-old UFA and is worth more than $5 million on the open market. He ranks among the top 40 defensemen in the league in time on ice, has winning pedigree and fills a style need on the Vegas blueline. Could he stay on a hometown discount deal that includes just a slight raise? That’s his call, but he would be leaving money on the table.
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Quinn Hughes, D, 21 $7M-$8M Elias Pettersson, C, 22 $7M-$8M Guillaume Brisebois, D, 24 < $1M Jayce Hawryluk, RW, 25 < $1M Olli Juolevi, D, 23 < $1M Kole Lind, RW, 22 < $1M Marc Michaelis, LW, 25 < $1M
PROJECTED
CAP HITS ALEC MARTINEZ
SHOPPING LIST: The to-do list is short and that’s a good thing because there’s more lint than coins in the pockets of the Golden Knights for this off-season. That’s because the majority of the Vegas roster is already under contract and the team knows it won’t lose a player in the Seattle expansion draft. Scoring diversity has been a strength of this franchise since Day 1 four years ago. Having said that, the lack of a bona fide super sniper or Hart Trophy contender like other Cup contenders is a noticeable void on the roster. But even if Vegas had the cap space, it’s near impossible to find one of those guys as UFAs, so the hope is
$3M-$4M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 UFAs Alec Martinez, D, 34 Mattias Janmark, LW, 28 Tomas Nosek, C, 28 Patrick Brown, RW, 29 Carl Dahlstrom, D, 26 Oscar Dansk, G, 27 Tomas Jurco, LW, 28 Dylan Sikura, LW, 26
$4M-$5M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
2021 RFAs Dylan Coghlan, D, 23
RFA WATCH: GM Kelly McCrimmon did all his heavy lifting last off-season with the acquisition of Alex Pietrangelo, the signings of Robin Lehner and Chandler Stephenson and trade of Nate Schmidt. So only depth defenseman Dylan Coghlan remains as an RFA. No increase to the league’s $81.5 million salary cap? No sweat. EYE ON 2022: The Golden Knights will make a transition in the summer of 2022, fol-
lowing their fifth NHL season. That’s when goalie Marc-Andre Fleury becomes a UFA prior to the start of his age-38 season. Lehner will be in the third year of his five-year deal at $5 million, so does Vegas consider bringing Fleury back as a 1B or backup on a deal significantly cheaper than his $7-million pact? A lot depends upon how both goalies do next season. Reilly Smith, Ryan Reaves, Nick Holden and Brayden McNabb are also UFAs in 2022. – BC
< $1M
EDLER: BOB FRID-USA TODAY SPORTS; MARTINEZ: DAVID BERDING-USA TODAY SPORTS
shelling out for a stay-at-home defender like David Savard or Adam Larsson. But they won’t come cheap. UFA WATCH: Alexander Edler is a lifelong Canuck, and two summers ago it worked out well for both parties that he signed a two-year deal with a $6 million AAV. But he’s 35 now, and the mileage is showing. He’s best-suited to the second pairing now, and his price tag will have to come down. Losing him is a risk Benning has to take. Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi and Travis Hamonic are coming off contracts and the Canucks will go in a different direction. If only the same could be said for Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle
VEG
SHOPPING LIST: The accelerated rebuild in Vancouver went off the rails during the pandemic-shortened 56-game season. Hitting the reset button isn’t the same thing as a do-over, but after a summer of reflection, hopes will be renewed the Canucks can pick up where they left off in 2019-20. GM Jim Benning has a shopping list that begins and ends with players who can shore up play in the defensive zone. For as clever as Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes are with the puck, their commitment to their own end needs work. Hughes missed partner Chris Tanev this season. The Canucks should consider
ALEXANDER EDLER
Alexander Edler, D, 35 Brandon Sutter, C, 32 Travis Hamonic, D, 30 Jimmy Vesey, LW, 28 Sven Baertschi, LW, 28 Justin Bailey, RW, 26 Travis Boyd, C, 27 Jalen Chatfield, D, 25 Tyler Graovac, C, 28 Brogan Rafferty, D, 26 Ashton Sautner, D, 27
NHL PROJECTED
2021 UFAs Alex Ovechkin, LW, 35 Craig Anderson, G, 40 Daniel Carr, LW, 29 Zdeno Chara, D, 44 Paul LaDue, D, 28 Henrik Lundqvist, G, 39 Philippe Maillet, C, 29 Michael Raffl, LW, 32 Michael Sgarbossa, C, 29
$9M-$10M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
ALEX OVECHKIN
WSH
CAP HITS
2021 RFAs Ilya Samsonov, G, 24 Beck Malenstyn, C, 23 Garrett Pilon, C, 23
$2M-$3M < $1M < $1M
SHOPPING LIST: Based on this season’s post-mortem, the Capitals may be looking for another scoring center as Evgeny Kuznetsov seems to have fallen out of favor with the organization. If Kuznetsov is traded, Washington will have to replace his potent offensive punch, whether that be in the return or via free agency. Paul Stastny would be a perfect replacement, and the Capitals may even save a bit of money
on salary in the process. Finding a defensive defenseman to help out the back end is also paramount as the Capitals were too easy to score on this season. Cap space is tight, but someone such as Arizona’s Jason Demers is a veteran option who would bring value on a short-term deal. Rounding things out, Washington could use a third-string goaltender. Laurent Brossoit or Charlie Lindgren are inexpensive choices with the right makeup.
CAP HITS
WPG
OVECHKIN: PAUL RUTHERFORD-USA TODAY SPORTS; PIONK: JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS
2021 UFAs $4M-$5M $2M-$3M $2M-$3M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M $1M-$2M < $1M < $1M < $1M < $1M
NEAL PIONK
2021 RFAs Neal Pionk, D, 25 Andrew Copp, LW, 27 Logan Stanley, D, 23 Marko Dano, C, 26
$6M-$7M $3M-$4M $1M-$2M < $1M
RFA WATCH: Amazingly, the Capitals have only one roster player in need of a new RFA deal, and that’s netminder Ilya Samsonov. He’s yet to be the world-beater everyone expected, however, and Washington would have been in trouble without Vitek Vanecek. Samsonov is going to want a bridge deal in this instance, likely in the three-year range so he can prove he’s worth No. 1 goalie money. EYE ON 2022: In his first campaign with the Capitals, Justin Schultz posted his best offensive numbers in years. He’ll be a UFA in 2022. Vanecek and Daniel Sprong are RFAs while Nic Dowd is another UFA. – RK
WINNIPEG
PROJECTED
Paul Stastny, C, 35 Derek Forbort, D, 29 Mathieu Perreault, LW, 33 Jordie Benn, D, 34 Laurent Brossoit, G, 28 Tucker Poolman, D, 28 Eric Comrie, G, 26 Trevor Lewis, RW, 34 Nate Thompson, C, 36 Dominic Toninato, LW, 27
UFA WATCH: Oh, just a little player named Alex Ovechkin is in need of a new contract. The captain, franchise icon and greatest goal-scorer ever has finally finished his mammoth 13-year deal and, amazingly enough, he’s still worth top dollar. Since Ovechkin has already done it all in Washington, it feels like there’s a hometown discount to be had here. Ovechkin in another NHL jersey just seems wrong. On the other hand, fellow future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara may be one-and-done in Washington, though the door isn’t closed on that one. Veteran goalies Craig Anderson and Henrik Lundqvist are also eligible to hit the free market.
SHOPPING LIST: For all his brilliance, goalie Connor Hellebuyck could be even better with a more robust blueline in front of him. Alas, Winnipeg has yet to truly address the mass exodus of 2019 when they lost Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot. The defense-by-committee approach hasn’t worked, as only four teams allowed more expected goals against at 5-on-5 in 2020-21. While money is
tight, the Jets should swing for the fences. A reliable veteran rearguard such as Alec Martinez could act as a stabilizer for the top-four, while Mike Reilly, 28, is an under-the-radar candidate who would give the Jets additional depth without commanding top dollar. UFA WATCH: Long-rumored trade chip Mathieu Perreault is set to depart after seven years of loyal service, and he’s not alone. Few would be surprised if the Jets clear house. For as
well as he played, pivot Paul Stastny likely doesn’t fit given cap considerations. And when cheaper, younger options are available, it seems unlikely GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will want to spend to retain the services of forwards Nate Thompson and Trevor Lewis, blueliners Jordie Benn and Derek Forbort and even backup goalie Laurent Brossoit. Dependable depth defender Tucker Poolman, 28, seems a viable option to re-up in Winnipeg, however. RFA WATCH: Neal Pionk made quick work of his doubters upon his arrival, and the 25-year-old has made it clear that he can be a defensive pillar. The Jets have habitually played hardball
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with RFAs, particularly those with arbitration rights, and Pionk falls into that category, but locking him up long-term will be high on Cheveldayoff’s docket. Defenseman Logan Stanley, too, seems a prime candidate for a bridge deal, as the once-controversial draft selection became a fixture in the lineup this season. If he’s not snatched up by Seattle, versatile forward Andrew Copp, who posted career-best offensive totals despite the shortened season, is going to be due a well-deserved raise. EYE ON 2022: Pierre-Luc Dubois’ season had its hurdles, but he’ll be hungry as he heads toward RFA status with his sights set on big money. – JC
TH E H O CK EY NEW S | 75 |
INTERNATIONAL
Jagr is on the cusp of 50 and – despite some detractors – he’s still going strong, winning championships and keeping his hometown club in Kladno alive BY PAVEL BARTA
A
YEAR AGO, JAROMIR JAGR’S
storied hockey career balanced at the edge of an abyss. Or so it seemed. Jagr spent 2019-20 playing in the Czech Extraliga with the Kladno Knights, his hometown team, with whom he’s played since departing the NHL in 2018. The 2019-20 season was Kladno’s ϐ Czech division since 2013-14. But the team spent most of the year in the doldrums, facing the possibility of relegation. A season-ending loss to Litvinov sealed their fate. Jagr suddenly had to ask whether the desire to go on remained within him. He’d previously said of the possibility of playing in the sec-
| 76 | THE H OCKE Y NE W S
ond division: “I don’t know if I ǡ ǯ ϐ desire for hockey.” When Kladno was relegated, he’d rarely looked so beaten down. But one year later, Kladno is champion of the second division and set to return to the Extraliga. Jagr’s contributions were vital in pulling them out of their downward spiral. Mission accomplished? Maybe. Maybe not. Jagr’s 2020-21 debut required a little patience and understanding from both the fans and the team. The then48-year-old Jagr dealt with off-season injuries that delayed his ability to get on the ice. It’s OK, though, Kladno’s owner was pretty understanding. That owner, after all, is also named
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Jaromir Jagr. The man of many jerseys also wears many hats. Jagr eventually made his season debut on Dec. 16 in a 7-5 victory over Dukla Jihlava. At season’s end, Kladno defeated that very same Jihlava team to win promotion to the Extraliga in a thrilling best-of-7 series that went the distance. Beyond the chance to play in the top Czech league again, Jagr has another momentous milestone to look forward to in 2021-22. And he called his shot. Jagr made waves in the hockey world with his claims he would play until he was 50. Some scoffed. But now, he’s within a short distance of reaching that mark. Jagr celebrates his 50th birthday on Feb. 15, 2022. If he does return for 2021-22, he’ll do so clad in Kladno colors. It’s ϐ Jagr, whose career simply persists. Jagr played 1,733 games, divided between nine teams,
during his 24-season NHL career – a career interrupted by a players’ strike, three lockouts and a three-year stint in the KHL with Omsk. His career in North America was as prosperous as it was lengthy. During his time in the NHL, Jagr won two Stanley Cups, a Hart Trophy, three Lester B. Pearson Awards (now known as the Ted Lindsay Ȍǡ ϐ and was named an NHL all-star eight times. He also enjoyed a decorated international career in that span: Jagr is an Olympic gold medallist (1998) and twice took home World Championship gold (2005, 2010). The 2020-21 campaign was ϐ Ǥ spent his prime wowing crowds of 20,000 in sold-out NHL rinks but played his most recent campaign in old-fashioned, minor-league barns bringing his hometown team back to
PHOTO BY ROMAN MARES
‘ONLY GOD WILL JUDGE ME’
INTERNATIONAL TOP-DOWN MANAGEMENT
Jagr is both the owner and the star attraction for Kladno, which won promotion back to the Extraliga.
TOP: PHOTO BY ROMAN MARES; MIDDLE: SERGEI BELSKI-USA TODAY SPORTS
glory. Back where the journey began. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, no fans were allowed in the buildings during regularseason play, though up to 250 spectators were permitted for the second division’s championship series. He still heard fans chanting his name. “You won’t hear it anywhere else, either,” Jagr quipped to reporters after the championship when he was asked if the cheers made him happy. “I’m almost 50, of course, I’m happy internally, that we got back. But I’ve won and lost a lot during my career. Everything is just beginning, I think. I’m already wondering what’s next. The media was sent into a frenzy by Jagr’s journey toward promotion with his Kladno club. Hockey reporters in the Czech Republic focused almost as much on that story as they did the Extraliga playoffs. But Jagr isn’t skating by simply on his resume. He can still play – and produce – even at his advanced age. Jagr scored two goals and 12 points in 19 regular-season games this year and added two goals and 10 points in 16 playoff games. He may not skate with the speed or zeal he once displayed, but he’s
JUST BEHIND WAYNE
Jagr, who last suited up in the NHL in 2017-18 at 45 with Calgary, finished his NHL career second in all-time scoring.
THIS IS WHAT ALL YOUNG BOYS SHOULD WATCH. HIS DRIVE TO THE NET AT HIS AGE IS INCREDIBLE. IT SHOWS HOW TO PLAY AND WHAT TO DO. HATS OFF – Kladno winger Nicolas Hlava still graceful and smooth while in motion. Like a ship passing in the night – and not a ship named Titanic, to be clear. Jagr spent the season with another long-in-the-tooth former NHLer, 38-year-old Tomas Plekanec, at both even strength
and on the power play. The former Montreal Canadiens center paced the team in playoff scoring with six goals and 17 points in 16 games. The duo made things work regardless of who joined their line – fast or slow, quick hands or not. “They
know what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from them,” said 22-year-old Ondrej Machala, who usually rounded out the Jagr-Plekanec line. “Jagr has a great pass and I just had to shoot it.” While his feet may be slow-
ing, Jagr’s on-ice vision is still sharp. His play proved as much. Jagr sent scores of precise passes to teammates all season long. He, in turn, then got himself into position to strike when the moment was right. Jagr still throws himself toward loose Ǧ ϐ front of the net when needed. Kladno right winger Nicolas Hlava believes Jagr’s play should serve as an example for young players. “This is what all young boys should watch,” Hlava said. “Even if they only see him on TV or on the computer. His drive to the net at his age is incredible. It shows, to everyone, how to play it and what to do. Hats off.” Plekanec also heaped praise on Jagr. “We make jokes, that he’s still playing,” Plekanec said. “But we don’t have to talk about that. No one can expect him to be a top player, but he’s still good Ǥ ϐ his role and place. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played another two or three years.”
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TH E HOC K E Y N EWS | 77 |
INTERNATIONAL Game between Czech and Slovak national teams. All were to be played at an open-air rink ǯ slope, and tickets were sold out. COVID-19 changed those plans, and the event had to be post Ǥ ǯ December 2021. At this point, playing hockey Ǥ ǯ ǯ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ Dz ǯ easy anymore, believe me,” he said. “Because mostly during ǡ to score a goal, I would score. But suddenly, this doesn’t work. I have to practise, pay more attention to it and not gain 120 kilograms again. “At the same time, people ǡ ǯ ing, when people think I can,
| 78 | T H E HO C KE Y NEW S
I EXPECT MUCH MORE FROM MYSELF, AND I ALSO BELIEVE THAT I HAVE IT IN ME – Jaromir Jagr prove to anybody. What’s next? Rumors are spreading he could one day hold a prominent position at the Czech Ice Hockey Association. For now, he keeps playing because he still has a passion ǡ he has developed a serene old age. “Do you know why I’m still playing?” he asked when explaining what drives him. “I have a responsibility to the ǡ ǯ ϐ here and I wouldn’t be making
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Ǥ ǡ partners and sponsors would leave and the club may be done. I have no choice. People don’t understand it, but I don’t care. Ǥ ǡ also believe that I have it in me.” So he plays on. This year, Jagr became the would-be sic, which was to be played at the Spindleruv Mlyn mountain Ǥ event included an Extraliga game between Sparta Prague and Hradec Kralove, a seconddivision game between Kladno and Vrchlabi and a Legends
GOLDEN GREYBEARDS
Jagr, 49, and Plekanec, 38, played a key role in Kladno claiming the Czech second-division title.
but I know I can’t. Plus, I can’t Ǥ that I will do my best to help Ǥ ǯ one can understand my role. I don’t even want to be in such a position, but I have no choice. ǡ I take the club as my responsi Ǥ ʹͲ Ǥ a son, I would be embarrassed Ǥdz
PHOTOS BY ROMAN MARES
Plekanec donned the captain’s ‘C’, but Jagr still showed ϐ a team leader when necessary. He was in constant conversa a controversial call was made on the ice. But that attitude competitors and observers Ǥ ǯ ǡ Ǥ ϐ Ǧ conduct this year, most in the Czech Republic still revere Jagr as an untouchable holy icon Ǥ ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz Czech Republic is not very advantageous,” he said. “Then you Ǥdz his marketability. Jagr stars to vitamin water to grilled chicken to supermarket chains to expensive watches. The paparazzi still chase him and Ǧ Ǧ the streets. Tabloids speculate ϐ the one with whom he’ll settle down. Such are the byproducts ǯ Ǥ
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WOMEN’S HARMONIOUS HIVE
NZIHL
JUST ROLL WITH IT
What do you get when a Kiwi kid goes to a top Canadian prep school and then an elite American collegiate program? An unflappable goalie in New Zealand’s top men’s circuit who’s a bit of an arachnophile for three-on-nothing rushes BY JARED CLINTON
T
RAVIS CRICKARD CAN’T SEE
into the future any more than Miss Cleo could. He doesn’t have the gift of foresight, and he’s not about to read your palm or a deck of Ǥ ϐ instance, he managed to see a glimpse of what was to come. Crickard’s bit of soothsaying came in 2018 when he was considering the future of his club’s crease. As GM of the Botany Swarm, he had always handled matters in the immediate. He had brought in a longtime veteran of the New Zealand League, the country’s top-tier men’s circuit, to backstop the Swarm ahead of
| 80 | TH E HO CKE Y NE WS
their 2018 season. But it was Ǧ ϐ Ǥ saw was a team in need of a long-term solution. Then Grace Harrison arrived. That was the lightbulb moment. “It put the bug in our mind.” Crickard said, “If she was planning on returning to New Zealand full time, she could probably be our No. 1 goaltender or challenge for that spot.” ϐ her junior season with the NCAA’s St. Lawrence University Saints and was spending her off-season back home in New Zealand when she was asked to skate as a practice keeper for the Swarm. That in itself wasn’t surprising. She had previously been used as a second-stringer
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by the Swarm, four times in fact, prior to Crickard taking the reins as GM. But the 5-foot9, 145-pound goaltender he was witnessing now was a far cry from the one Botany had called on previously. Playing with older players was nothing new to Harrison. She had always played up a level or two throughout her minor hockey career, a byproduct of skating alongside her older brother, Shaun, and playing what is, in New Zealand, a relatively obscure sport. She had played three years in the country’s top junior league as a pre-teen. But what she really desired was the chance to play overseas and test herself against players from a traditional hockey country who lived and breathed the game. Dz ϐ fetched,” she said. “But it was one of those things where I had really supportive parents who agreed that hindsight is not a fun way to live, so just kind of roll with it.” Harrison’s leap of faith came in the summer of 2013 at the age of 16 when she was selected to participate in a joint international program between the
Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association and New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation. After ϐ ǡ ϐ junior team of the Toronto Lea ǡ Ontario’s largest hockey associations for women and girls. It would be Harrison’s litmus test to determine whether or not she could make the jump to play in North America. tent that she caught on the following season with the Ontario Hockey Academy, one of the top hockey prep schools North America. It was there that she caught the eye of the coaching staff from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and wound up a late-season recruit into the NCAA’s top division. She admits now that she questioned her ability and considered backing out and playing in Canada’s university circuit instead. “I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not good enough for (Div. I),’ ” she said. “ ‘I’ll go play in the CIS and get some rink time.’ ” But any consternation was all for naught. Harrison was good enough, and then some. And she proved her mettle in double time. By the end of her freshman season, she had become the Saints’ undisputed No. 1. And by the time she left St. Lawrence three years later, she was second in goals-against average (1.92), second in shut ȋͳȌǡ ϐ age (.919) and fourth in wins (49) in program history. Harrison’s rise was the culmination of her own ability, work ethic and one thing in ϐ New Zealand: reps, and a lot of them. The result was a goaltender who, as a 21-year-old in 2018, had left an indelible impression on Crickard – and also ϐ Ǥ Before his assistant coaching
HARRISON: BOTANY SWARM
Botney sought a long-term answer in the Swarm’s crease, while Harrison eschewed Europe to find a proper fit.
WOMEN’S gigs at the OHL, WHL, U-17 and U-18 levels, Crickard himself was a goaltender who, at one off-season camp, was paired with Genevieve Lacasse, then a college netminder but one who would go on to win World Championship and Olympic gold with Canada. Lacasse stood out among, and head and shoulders above, her male counterparts. “I’m watching (Harrison) and thinking about where she ϐ goaltenders in New Zealand, and I kind of had the same feeling,” Crickard said. “She looks just as good or better than anyone else here. She moves better, she’s technically better and, for ǡ ǯ ϐ younger than some of the goalies in the league.” But actually getting Harrison into the lineup had to wait. Af ϐ tistics, and with graduation on the horizon in 2019, she considered playing in the CWHL, but then the league ceased operations. She then spent time travelling the United States
and later leaned toward calling it quits altogether. “I had such an incredible experience at St. Lawrence that I was very content with my hockey career,” she said. “Going to Europe – I was a bit worried I wouldn’t ϐ ǡ I was quite excited to start using my degree.” Despite his interest in bringing Harrison into the fold, though, it wasn’t Crickard who persuaded her to join the Swarm. It was Harrison’s nowteammates who planted those seeds. Even still, as the pandemic cancelled the NZIHL’s 2020 season, Crickard had to wait that much longer to see ϐ Ǥ nally, this past May, Harrison stepped into the crease as the Swarm’s starter and as one of only two women in the league, alongside Canterbury Red Dev Ǥ ǯ ǡ ϐ start was shaky, but as she’s done throughout her career, she settled in. “Ten minutes in I stopped a 3-on-0. I treat 3-on-
GRACE & SHAUN HARRISON
TOP: BOTANY SWARM; BOTTOM: PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE HARRISON
TEN MINUTES IN I STOPPED A 3-ON-0. I TREAT 3-ON-0’S LIKE SEEING SPIDERS: THEY’RE MORE SCARED OF YOU THAN YOU ARE OF THEM – Grace Harrison on her first pro appearance Harrison was among friends during the four seasons she spent with the St. Lawrence University Saints.
0’s like seeing spiders: they’re more scared of you than you are of them,” she said, laughing. Whether it’s an odd-man rush, challenging for a starting role on the Swarm or travelling halfway across the world to pursue a dream, it’s that same easygoing attitude that has kept Harrison in the crease. ϐ ϐ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ nature is encapsulated when she pivots to talking about the season ahead and what comes next in a circuitous hockey career that has taken a Kiwi kid to a Canadian prep school, an elite American women’s collegiate program and all the way back home to New Zealand’s top hockey league. “I quite like to roll with what just comes up,” she said. “That’s worked out really well for me so far. St. Lawrence happened really last minute, going to Canada happened last minute…Roll with the punches. I’m 24, I’m just enjoying it. Hockey has done some incredible things for me, so we’ll see what comes next.”
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BUSINESS
PEER-TO-PEER
The former NHL player, agent and GM discusses the business side of free agency WITH W. GRAEME ROUSTAN
B
RIAN LAWTON, WHO
works as an Network, knows both sides of the neg from his time as an NHL agent Ǥ Ǥ a new TV gig with the new NHL me ǡ or does he move back into the ϐ ǫ ǡ free agency with the owner and ǡ Ǥ Ǥ W. GRAEME ROUSTAN: Ǥ
ǡ Ǥ ǡ ͺǡ ͳͻͺ͵ǡ ϐ Ȃ ϐ Ǧ Ǥ Any thoughts on the big day?
| 84 | TH E H OCKEY NE WS
BRIAN LAWTON: I never re ǡ ǯ Ǥ ͳͶ Ǥ Ǥ Ȃ ǯ Ȃ ͳͻͺͲǤ Ǥ ǯ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ϐ ϐ Ǥ And it’s not worth something in ǡ ǯ Ǥ ǡ ͺ Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ϐ ǡ Ǥ today, that’s what makes it kind ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǯ
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of guys that have been from the United States that were picked ϐ Ǥ ǡ ϐ ǡ and become very good friends Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ ǯ thing that’s near and dear to my Ǥ ǯ ǯ to understand or share in it, it’s Ǥ WGR: There’s been a huge ϐ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ ǫ
ǯ ǫ you see it 10 years from now? BL: ǡ ϐ Ǥ ǯ ͷͲ Ǥ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ǯ ͵͵Ͳ Ǥ ǤǤ ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Ȃ ǯ Ǥ Ǥǡ ǯ ǡ Ǥ of the NHL spreads wider and wider in the United States and ǡ ǯ going to see the percentages
> For more insider info on the business of hockey, pick up our Money & Power 2021 special edition, available at TheHockeyNews.com/store
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NHL NETWORK
1-On-1 with BRIAN LAWTON
BUSINESS TV OR NOT TV?
Lawton, whose deal with the NHL Network ends in July, is considering his next move in the hockey world.
ϐ Ǥ one league, in my opinion, in the world that truly is the most global of all leagues, in terms of star players. You’ve got ’em from everywhere, every corner of the map right now. Gary Bettman had a dream, back in the early ’90s, that he’d expand the footprint in the United States, but I would suggest if you asked him, he’d even be surprised as to how much it’s expanded around the world. To be, like, a pimple on a baby’s rear end in all of this expansion, it’s kind of fun for me. It really, truly is. I just see it continuing ϐ Ǥ more Americans get introduced and fall in love with the game of hockey, you will just see that growth continually enlarging. WGR: So you had a great career. You built such a great reputation on the ice for your skills. And then you left there and you started this agency – ϐ with Octagon. You got a lot of top-name players. Then you left there, and became the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, which is where we met years ago. And then you went to the broadcasting booth, which is where you are today. Everyone’s talking about the free-agency situation and the players and who’s going where. Could you put on your agent’s hat and give some insight into the discussions as to where a player should go.
BL: Every agency approaches it a little different. But, ultimately, the main components are sitting down with your client, talking about the possibilities, listening to what interests him most. And it’s not the same for everybody. Some people would say, “Oh, the players don’t care, they just want to go where the weather is the best or they can earn the most money.” We’ll start there, that’s what most people would say. That’s not always the case. Players want to win. The most fun you can have playing in the NHL is to be on a winning team. But there’s all types of consid-
BL: I don’t know about any of that. But for me, I’ve really enjoyed working at NHL Network. I love the people that I work with. And as you get older, priorities change. My wife runs a very successful sports business, that’s also an enterprise platform, called Sportsdigita. I put a lot of time and effort into that. This job has allowed me to do that. It’s wide open for me, I really, truly enjoyed being a player in the NHL. I certainly enjoyed being an agent. But managing a club was a lot of fun. Even though I love working at NHL Network, at times, you miss that part of having a
> With the new NHL media deal with ESPN and Turner, Brian Lawton becomes a free agent after his NHL Network deal ends in July. This adds to his existing free-agent status for a potential post as president of hockey operations or GM of an NHL team in the future. erations. Some of them personal. You saw a guy like Travis Hamonic, who went from the Islanders to out west for personal reasons. Money is always a consideration, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not always everything. WGR: So this is for the Free Agency Issue. You are the biggest free agent when it comes to the off-ice portion right now. You could go in and be a GM, you could run an agency, you could be sitting behind any desk at ESPN or Hockey Night in Canada or TNT. What’s next for you?
little bit more skin in the game for wins and losses. I’m super competitive. I love that aspect. All my life I’ve been judged, almost instantly. It’s very unique. I’ve worked at other jobs, obviously, outside of hockey. But there’s nothing like the uniqueness of knowing where you always stand. The feedback, it almost felt overwhelming when you’re a young hockey player in the NHL. But then you come to realize that you love it, and you accept that. And that’s
something that I certainly miss. And although I could never play hockey again at the NHL level, it’s fun to be involved with a team. That really gets the juices ϐ Ǥ WGR: Being in the front ofϐ ǡ something still on your plate? BL: Absolutely. And honestly, I truly don’t know what I’m going to do yet. Right now, I’m intrigued by Turner. I’m interested to see what happens with NHL Network. I’m intrigued by ESPN and how they’re going to do hockey. I’m always intrigued by certain positions, I did interview for the New Jersey Devils
GM position not that long ago. As well as the Minnesota Wild. So those are things that are always top of mind for me. Working at NHL Network has allowed me to stay sharp in every area. I’m super fortunate that I cover free agency for them. I cover deadline day, I do the NHL draft. It is painstaking work, but I do love doing it. It keeps me familiar with everything that’s going on in the NHL, so in the event that I do ever go back and work for a club, I’m current. And 100-percent current. And that’s why I put so much time and effort into this. I love doing it. It’s part of my job, but there’s also an ulterior motive, so I can always stay ready if something like that were to transpire.
> Watch the full Q&A with Brian Lawton at TheHockeyNews.com/P2P FREE AGENCY PREVIEW 2021
T HE HO CKE Y NE W S | 85 |
REWIND
TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL DEFENSEMEN I
VIACHESLAV FETISOV
For two decades, there were many world-class blueliners who played outside the NHL. They deserve recognition BY JAMES BENESH
N OUR 2020 COLLECTOR’S
ǡ ͳͲͲ Ǧ ǡ NHLers, and that’s because comparing the skills, resumes and accomplishments of players from Ȃ Ǥ tains players from the 1960s through the ’80s – prior to that, international hockey was still developing ǯ ǡ Ǥ ǡ from the ’90s onward, the best international defensemen have made their marks in the NHL. But for the ǡ ϐ ͳͲͲǥ ϐ Ǥ
1. VIACHESLAV FETISOV
2. VALERI VASILIEV
3. ALEXEI KASATONOV
I
B
T
N THE EARLY 1980S,
prior to the arrival of Mario Lemieux, Fetisov was in the conversation for secondbest player on the planet behind Wayne Gretzky. He possessed every important attribute: great size, leadership, toughness, smooth skating and ϐ Ǧ Ǥ 19, he was a Soviet league allstar and placed third in voting for best player, beginning an impressive 11-year span in which he’d both be named an Ǧ ϐ ϐ in voting for best player nine times. He won the best player award twice. Soviet teams led by Fetisov earned a medal in 22 straight major tournaments, 15 of them gold. Even though Fetisov was 31 before he set foot on NHL ice, he overcame culture shock and a lot of xenophobia to put together a solid nine-year career. He played in the top four of strong playoff teams, culminating in two Cups, the second of which he raised as the NHL’s oldest player (40).
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CAREER: USSR 1967-84
EFORE FETISOV, VASILIEV
was the Soviet Union’s top defenseman, and it wasn’t even that close. Between 1973 and 1981, he was on eight Soviet all-star ϐ Ǧ Ǥ perfectly respectable statistics for a blueliner, it was defensively and physically that he shone. First-hand accounts of his play detail a punishing physical style and smart technical defensive acumen. In Kings Of The
ǡ writes: “Strongman Vasiliev eventually transformed into a ϐ Ǥ to determine quite well when to get physical with his adversary and when to concentrate more on the puck, when to forecheck aggressively and perhaps even con his rival into skating alongside him for a while until the right time came to smash him into the boards and when to recognize an opportunity to steal the puck using nothing but his stick.”
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CAREER: USSR 1977-89 NHL 1989-96
O SAY THAT KASATONOV
was the least celebrated of ϐ up the Soviets’ famed ‘Green Unit’ greatly understates his value. For nearly the entire time they spent together viet national team, Kasatonov and Fetisov were defense partners. Fetisov’s greatness didn’t result in Kasatonov’s value being overlooked, however: he was named a Soviet league allstar nine times, plus he was a six-time all-star in major international tournaments. While Kasatonov had many of the same skills as Fetisov – great size, agility, aggressiveness and astute decision-making, he lacked Fetisov’s individual ϐ Ǥ in 1989-90 at 30 and instantly ϐ Jersey Devils’ top four and on both the power play and penal ϐ of his seven-year career. He’s been on the Hall of Fame radar for years.
4. JAN SUCHY
CAREER: CSSR 1961-83
I
T’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO
ϐ that doesn’t make a point of mentioning that Suchy was “the European Bobby Orr.” That should give you a good idea of what kind of player he was. Suchy was a dazzling skater, a risk-taker and a skilled passer Ǥ was his forte, he was also not-
FETISOV+KASATONOV: PAUL BERESWILL/HHOF IMAGES
CAREER: USSR 1975-89, NHL 1989-98
ALEXEI KASATONOV
REWIND ϐ defenseman to consistently use his body to block shots. He made four straight all-star teams at international tournaments from 1968 to ’71, and he was named the Czech player of the year twice in that timespan. His peak was probably more impressive than anyone else on this list, save Fetisov, but it was unfortunately so short.
6. ALEXANDER RAGULIN CAREER: USSR 1956-73
A
S A SOVIET IN the ’60s, Ra-
gulin was a bear among men. In his international debut at the 1961 worlds, he was 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, while the rest of the Soviet roster averaged 5-foot-
FRANTISEK POSPISIL
tells the same story: seven USSR all-star teams, none internationally – typical for a primarily defensive player. The heir to Ragulin, Lutchenko was big, strong and defensively solid. But unlike Ragulin, he was a very good skater. He used his speed mostly in the interest of preventing goals, with Soviet hockey historian Arthur Chidlovski calling him “one of the best defensive players in the history of Soviet hockey.” In the 1972 Summit Series, Lutchenko was the USSR’s most successful defenseman, cleanly checking Canadian forwards regularly.
other story. Accustomed to being a star and winning games, he had to accept that his early ’80s Vancouver Canucks were not very good and that, on the wrong side of 30, he’d never be an NHL star, although he was a solid top-four contributor. Bubla missed what would’ve been his one brush with NHL success ϐ ǡ kept him out of the second half of the 1981-82 campaign and the Canucks’ run to the Stanley ϐ Ǥ ǯ ϐ ǡ yet he still put up an impressive 30 points in just 43 games.
8. LENNART SVEDBERG
LARS-ERIK SJOBERG
CAREER: SWEDEN 1959-72
A
5. FRANTISEK POSPISIL
POSPISIL: FRANK PRAZAK/HHOF IMAGES; SJOBERG: HHOF IMAGES
CAREER: CSSR 1965-79
P
OSPISIL IS TO SUCHY what
Kasatonov was to Fetisov: born in the same year, played in most of the same tournaments together, and overshadowed by the other’s sheer brilliance. Pospisil ultimately enjoyed a more fruitful career than Suchy, but he couldn’t match Suchy’s exceptional peak. What Pospisil accomplished, he did so with a much more modest, meat-and-potatoes skill set: he wasn’t a great skater, so he had to be a fast thinker, positionally sound and physically strong to succeed. Pospisil was named to three all-star teams at international tournaments and, like Suchy, was twice selected the Czech player of the year.
10, 180 pounds. It wasn’t just his size but also his individual skills that made him the USSR’s top defenseman. Not blessed with speed, Ragulin was instead smart and had a great de Ǥ ϐ get around and won puck battles. He was a Soviet league all ϐ international all-star teams. At the 1972 Summit Series, he was the natural choice to cover Phil Esposito. The results were decidedly in Espo’s favor, but that hardly separates Ragulin from any NHL defenseman of the era.
7. VLADIMIR LUTCHENKO CAREER: USSR 1966-81
L
UTCHENKO IS ONE OF those
guys who’s famous locally and unknown everywhere else. And his award case
CONVERTED
FORWARD,
Svedberg was Sweden’s answer to Suchy. The only true “riverboat gambler” on this list, he was known for speed, stickhandling, rushing the puck and pinpoint passing. He did make defensive mistakes but was aggressive defending in the neutral zone, jumping up to confront puckcarriers, a high-risk, high-reward behavior. If Suchy was the European Bobby Orr, then call Svedberg the European Paul Coffey. He was named to three international all-star teams – all of them along with Suchy – and seven all-star teams back home in Sweden.
9. JIRI BUBLA
CAREER: CSSR 1967-81 NHL 1981-86
D
OMESTICALLY, BUBLA WAS
known as one of the toughest players of all-time, and he had great all-around skills: speed, strength, checking and passing. Consistently one of the top Czech players both in the Elite League and internationally, he made two world all-star teams. In the NHL, it was an-
10. LARS-ERIK SJOBERG CAREER: SWEDEN 1962-74 WHA 1974-79 NHL 1979-80
A
JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES star,
you couldn’t pigeonhole Sjoberg as mainly an offensive, defensive or physical player. He won the Swedish league’s “Guldpucken” as best player in 1969 and later made the 1974 World Championship all-star team before joining the WHA’s Winnipeg Ǥ ϐ ǡ three Avco Cups, was named the league’s top defenseman and served as team captain. When the Jets joined the NHL, he went with them, becoming ǯ ϐ tain. At 35, he was the NHL Jets’ No. 1 defenseman in all situations, playing an estimated 26 minutes per game and scoring 34 points.
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THE H OC KE Y NE W S | 87 |
IN MEMORIAM
Leppard and Bender, both 73, felt a permanent monument should stand to commemorate those lost.
FRIENDS OF ’59 P Remembering the Listowel arena collapse of 1959 and the eight who lost their lives playing hockey BY DENIS GIBBONS
ETE LEPPARD AND KEITH
Bender never forget about the friends and teammates they lost on a rainy Saturday morning in February more than 60 years ago. They were just 10 at the time and their whole world literally came crashing down on them. It was community hockey in Listowel, Ont., and the local peewee organization was holding tryouts for the prestigious Young Canada tournament the following month in nearby Goderich. On the morning of Feb. 28, 1959, the roof of the Listowel Memorial Arena collapsed under the weight of rain that fell on top of the existing heavy winter snow. Two dozen peewee players and coaches were buried in the rubble. Most were
| 88 | T H E HO C KE Y N EW S
rescued but eight people were killed, including seven youth players and Listowel recreation director Kenneth McLeod. McLeod was 37, a husband, and a father of four. Leppard was skating to the bench when he saw the arena wall slipping away. “It was down in a matter of three seconds,” he said. “Myself and more than 20 other kids were buried under the debris. I was lucky to be near the boards. My father, Gordon, grabbed me by the shoulders and took me off the ice.” Bender can still remember seeing the roof open up and daylight appear. He was sitting on the players’ bench at the moment of collapse and suffered a pinched nerve in his back, was left with no feeling in his left leg
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and was knocked unconscious by a falling beam. “I didn’t wake up until three in the afternoon in the hospital,” he said. “Because of that I don’t have a lot ϐ Ǥdz Coach Norm Stirling saved the lives of two young players when he tossed them against the boards and fell on top of ϐ the roof was heard. A crowd of between 500 and 600 had at ϐ Ǧ carnival the night before. After that day, childhood was never quite the same for Leppard and Bender. But they went on with their lives – playing sports and delivering newspapers and going to school – and later established themselves in their careers and had families. Bender became a teacher at Listowel Central Public School and in Markdale. Leppard was a counselor at the Midwestern Regional Centre. Both are now retired and still live in the community. They never forgot that day in 1959, and as time went on, they decided they didn’t want the town to forget either. The idea of creating a memorial came to Bender in 1989 on the 30-year anniversary of the arena collapse. He was doing an interview with CFPL-TV in London, Ont., when the notion was raised. Nothing formal had been done for his peewee teammates whose lives were cut short before they truly began. Stained glass windows were put in at two churches used for funerals in 1959 as a memorial for the victims, and a plaque was put in an arena by the Listowel Minor Hockey Association, but Bender and Leppard wanted a permanent monument created. Leppard’s call to action came in 1997 when attending the visitation for Cecil Rheubottom, the father of Jackie Rheubottom, one of the boys killed in the disaster. Cecil’s widow
was standing by the casket, so Leppard gave her a hug and asked her how she was doing. “That’s what brought it into my head that something should be done to remember these boys,” he said. In 1999, Bender and Leppard created the slogan “Friends of ’59” and before long $20,000 was raised to create a permanent memorial in the local Rotary Club Gardens in front of the library in the town of 3,000. On it are depictions of McLeod and the seven children killed in the roof collapse – Jimmy Hastings, Kenneth Hymers, Ricky Kaufman, Jackie Rheubottom, Bryan Seehaver, Barry Smith and Keith Wight. A mass funeral was held for the victims, with about 1,500 ϐ Ǥ Initially, there was some opposition to the monument. “For years this was washed in town because there were a lot of rumors going around about how the place was built and a lot of blame was put on contractors,” said Leppard, now 73. “I had phone calls. I would pick up the phone and all they would say is, ‘Let sleeping dogs lie.’ Then they would hang up.” Added Bender, who is also 73: “For years it just wasn’t talked about.” The Listowel arena was constructed in 1953, just six years before its collapse. A lot of volunteer labor was used. The rain that winter season in western Ontario caused snow loads to become excessively heavy on the roofs of arenas. Three people died when a curling rink roof collapsed near Huntsville, Ont., in January, 1959. Luckily, nobody was in the building when the arena roof came down in Chatsworth, Ont., around the same time. The same morning of the Listowel disaster, in nearby Acton, the Georgetown peewees were playing in a tournament when strange noises were heard from the arena roof. Spectators rushed to the exits. A heavy load of wet snow broke loose and slid down the tin roof to the ground. On that Georgetown team were several members of
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DENIS GIBBONS
REWIND
REWIND TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY
Following the tragedy, Listowel received an outpouring of support from around the hockey world.
ǯ ϐ Ǧ ͳͻ͵ Ȃ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǥ ϐ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ ǡ Ȃ Ȃ Ǧ Ǥ Ǥ Ǧ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ǯ Ǥ Ǥ ͳͻǡ Ǧ Ǥ
ϐ Ǥ Ǧ ͳͻͷͻǤ Ǥ ϐ Ǥ Dz Ǥ ǡdz Ǥ Dz Ǧ ǡ
Ǥdz Ǯ ǯ ǡ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ ̈́ͷͲͲǤ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ͳͻ͵Ͳ Ǥ ǡ
ǡ Ǥ Ǥ ͳͻͷͻ ǡ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ Ǥ Dz Ǧ ǡdz
ǡ ǡ The Toronto StarǤ Dz Ǧ Ǥdz Ǧʹ Ǧ ǡ ͵ʹ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ Ȃ Ǧ Ȃ Ǥ Ǥ ǯ Ǧ ͳͻͷͺǤ ǡ Ͷǡ ͶͲ Ǧ ͳͻͻͻ ǮͷͻǤǯ ǡ Dz ǡdz Ǧ ǣ “That dreary day in ’59 it fell. A cold and frozen sudden crack from hell And when we all could take no more Heaven opened up its door And took our comrades, gone from earth.”
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THE HO C KE Y N EW S | 89 |
AHL
DAMIANI’S DOMAIN R
Diminutive Riley Damiani knows he has his doubters, but he has the people who really matter on his side BY RYAN KENNEDY
ILEY DAMIANI WAS THE
ϐ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ϐ Ǧ ȋͳ͵ ʹͲͳͺȌ ǯ ǡ Ǥ Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ ǯ ǣ
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ǡ Ǧ ϐ Ǣ ϐ ǡ Ǥdz ͷǦ ǦͳͲǡ ͳͲǦ ǡ Ǥ ͵ ͵ Ǥ ǡ ǡ
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FOR DAILY PROSPECT COVERAGE, VISIT THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM
Ǥ Dz ǡ ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz
ǡ Ǥǡ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ʹͳǡ ǡ Ǧͳ
Ǥ Ǯ ǯ ǡ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ Dz ǡ
ǡ ǡdz Ǥ Dz ǡ Ǥ Ȃ ǡ ϐ Ȃ ǯ Ǥ ǯ ǡ ǯ Ǥdz Ȃ Ȃ Ǥ ǡ Ǥ Dz ǯ Ȃ ǯ ǡdz Ǥ Dz
ǯ ǡ ǯ ǡ Ǥdz ǡ ǡ ǯ Ǥ
DAMIANI: MOLLIE KENDALL
NEXT
NEXT NAHL
PROSPEROUS EXPANSION I
OWEN BARTOSZKIEWICZ
ARSENI SERGEYEV
Owen Bartoszkiewicz did his best Fleury impression this season by leading an expansion squad on a surprise run BY RYAN KENNEDY
F YOU’RE INTO WEIRD
BARTOSZKIEWICZ: MELISSA BOSAU PHOTOGRAPHY; SERGEYEV: SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS
parallels, consider the North American League’s Wichita Falls Warriors and the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. ϐ Ǧ expansion team from a hot state ȋ Ȍǡ ϐ a logo. Like the Golden Knights, the Warriors surprised with their immediate suc Ǥ And like Vegas with Marc-An ǡ an awesome goalie propelling them. In their case, it’s 2021 NHL draft prospect Owen Bartoszkiewicz (Barta-SKAY-vitch). “He’s been the backbone of our team,” said Warriors coach
Ǥ Dz tender, it’s all about getting ac ϐ -
Ǥ “As an expansion team, we were a little loose in our de Ȃ ǡ Ȃ ϐ ϐ ǡ he had to make some big-time saves. After that, our team start ǡ ǯ ǯ putting up good numbers.” Not bad for a rookie. Bartosz Texas, and despite the Warriors being an expansion team, the Northville, Mich., native said ǯ ϐ ǯ where he felt he could hang out Ǥ ǡ repaid those friendships with
six shutouts and a .917 save percentage. Wichita Falls made helped the Warriors sweep the higher-seeded Lone Star ϐ Ǥ Dz ǯ Ǯ ǯ ǡdz toszkiewicz said. “I make big saves when we need big saves. I’m crucial in the stressful mo ǡ ǯ Ǥdz Bartoszkiewicz, 18, is rated in the middle to late rounds of ǯ Ǥ of Nashville’s Juuse Saros and likes how the Predators goalie moves and tracks the puck Ǥ ȋǦ Ǧ 2, 195 pounds) than his role ǡ the intrigue. “It’s his athletic big saves,” Roth said. “His work ethic is second-to-none, and ǯ tine. He carries himself like a pro. Even in practice, if one gets ǡ Ǥdz After practice, Bartosz local YMCA to work out for another two hours, then hits the hot tub to relax. Wichita Falls (home of “the world’s lit dzȌ hours northwest of Dallas, and there’s enough there to keep a teen and his buddies occupied. Bartoszkiewicz hasn’t settled ǡ pandemic meant campus visits ǯ Ǥ en the wave of transfers in college right now, waiting for the ϐ Ǥ Dz to a big school,” Bartoszkiewicz Ǥ Dz Ǥdz Makes sense for a kid making Ǥ
WORTH THE LONG WAIT Sergeyev had a tough time finding a crease, but once he did he crushed it
IF YOU WANTED TO scout goaltending talent in the U.S. this season, the North American League was the place to be. A super-sized USHL was stocked with veterans, so the best 2021 draft-eligibles tended to be in the second-tier NAHL, where they could get crease time. And down in Louisiana, a Russian netminder named Arseni Sergeyev was making a name for himself with the Shreveport Mudbugs. “He’s intriguing because he’s really athletic and has a lot of talent,” said one scout. “His game is a bit loose, and he’s a bit unstructured at times, but his athletics and hands are big-time.” Sergeyev, 18, came over to North America in 2019, playing for three teams in three different leagues (NAHL, USHL and USPHL). Franchises were intrigued but never had a crease for him, and even at the start of this year, he didn’t get many games with the Mudbugs. But once the 6-foot-3 stopper got his chance, he put up excellent results: a 14-4-2 record with a 2.17 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. Next season, Sergeyev will head back to the USHL, this time with Tri-City after the Storm took him with the fourth overall pick in the Phase 2 draft. After that, he plans on going the NCAA route in 2022, though he hasn’t chosen a school yet. – RYAN KENNEDY
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THE HO CK EY N E WS | 91 |
NEXT ZACH L’HEUREUX
Many of those 38 players expect to hear their names called on draft weekend. But three in particular are on similar trajectories and share commonalities that go beyond on-ice attributes. They also share a name and a burning desire to achieve their NHL dream. Halifax Mooseheads left winger Zachary L’Heureux, Rimouski Oceanic center Zachary Bolduc and Gatineau Olympiques center Zachary Dean have ensured a bright future for their junior organizations and have also shown strong pro potential for their future NHL clubs. With a return to normalcy on the horizon, the Three Zachs will continue to make names for themselves as they continue toward the next stage of their careers.
ZACH L’HEUREUX
QMJHL
WATCH OUT FOR THE ZACH ATTACK The QMJHL actually managed to complete its 2020-21 season and showcase its draft-eligible prospects for NHL scouts. And among those on display were a trio of players who share more than just a name BY WILL MACLAREN
I
T WAS A SEASON like no oth-
er, one that will hopefully never be replicated. But unlike the WHL, with its shortened season and no playoffs, and the OHL, which had no season at all, the QMJHL managed to trudge through 2020-21 to the bitter end. In doing so, it came out the other side with a fresh crop of draft-eligible prospects for the NHL with about as much exposure as they could’ve expected.
| 92 | THE HOC K EY NEW S
They faced limited opposition and played a reduced slate of games, and they weren’t able to showcase themselves at the Under-18 World Championship in Texas. But 38 players from the Ǯ ǯ ϐ ǯ ϐ nal rankings of North American skaters. The objective now is to land on NHL teams’ draft lists come July. “On one hand, it was tough for the QMJHL since they didn’t release their players for the world under-18s,” said one NHL scout. “Still, the league has
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ZACH L’HEUREUX
done a great job – the fact that they’ve played almost a full season plus playoffs. And though it hasn’t been easy, you have to give them credit for pulling it off. The quality of the hockey has been good. At least they had those opportunities. The scouts did have an opportunity to see the guys they wanted to see, either in person or with video.”
L’Heureux was acquired by the Mooseheads after playing a pivotal role as a rookie for the powerhouse Moncton Wildcats last season. After Christmas, the Mooseheads faced only two opponents, Cape Breton and Charlottetown, in 27 games. Yet despite the challenge of repetitive competition (or perhaps because of it), L’Heureux played with an edge that led to a combined 13 games worth of suspensions. But when he was in the lineup, the Halifax brass liked what they saw out of L’Heureux, who scored 19 goals and 39 points in 33 games. He’s expected to hear his name called in the middle stages of ϐ Ǥ “I thought he fared very well, all things considered,” said Hal Ǥ Dz ǯ ϐ cult to be in a situation where you come to a rebuilding team and everyone’s leaning on you to lead that team every night at 17. He got here and played topline minutes, killed penalties ϐ Ǧ unit. He did everything well.” SCOUT’S TAKE: Dz ϐ had an opportunity to prove himself, and he did that when he was in the lineup. He’s got
L’HEUREUX: HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS
LW, 5-11, 196 THN DRAFT PREVIEW RANK: NO. 16
NEXT size, skill and compete, which is ϐ Ǥ ǯ Ǥdz
ZACH BOLDUC
C, 6-1, 175 THN DRAFT PREVIEW RANK: NO. 21
Meanwhile, in Rimouski, the Oceanic have passed the torch from Alexis Lafreniere, ǯ ʹͲʹͲ ϐ Ǧ selection, to another potenǦ ϐ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ ǡ ǯ ǡ Ǧ ʹ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ͳͲ ʹͻ ǡ Ǧ Ǥ
Dean’s coach loves his leadership while scouts are impressed by his motor. So there’s a lot to like.
THEY’VE PLAYED ALMOST A FULL SEASON PLUS PLAYOFFS. AND THOUGH IT HASN’T BEEN EASY, YOU HAVE TO GIVE THEM CREDIT FOR PULLING IT OFF – NHL scout on the QMJHL
ZACH BOLDUC
ZACH DEAN
BOLDUC: IFTEN REDJAH – FOLIO PHOTO; DEAN: OLYMPIQUES DE GATINEAU | DOMINIC CHARETTE
C, 6-0, 178 THN DRAFT PREVIEW RANK: NO. 29
Dz ǡdz Ǥ Dz Christmas and took over in this ȋ ȌǤ
ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ ǯ
ǡ Ǧ Ǥdz SCOUT’S TAKE: Dz ǯ ǯ Ǥ ǯ matter of the comfort level of Ǥ Ǥdz
ǡ Ǧ ment with arms wide open, and Dean took on a critical role, ͳͲ ʹͲ ʹ͵ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ǯ performance went above and Ǥ Dz ǡdz ǡ ǯ Ǥ Dz of offensive upside, but at the ʹͲͲǦ Ǥ ǯ ǡ Ǧ ate and competes hard, but at ǯ Ǧ Ǥ ǡ momentum, but he handled evǦ Ǥdz
SCOUT’S TAKE: Dz Ǥ Ǥ ǯ Ǥdz ZACH DEAN
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T HE HO C KE Y NE W S | 93 |
USHL
LONG AND STEEP ROAD BACK I
What seemed like a mole-hill injury turned into a mountain for Aaron Huglen, who was off for nearly two years BY RYAN KENNEDY
T WAS THE SPRING of 2019 and the future looked bright for right winger Aaron Huglen. The Northern Minnesota native had just completed a before-and-after rookie season with the United States League’s Fargo Force that saw him play the middle of the campaign for Roseau high school, where he led the Rams in scoring with 52 points in just 24 games. The NHL draft was approaching, and Huglen, a University of Minnesota commit, was a lock to get picked. “He had a real ϐ had a plan in place for Aaron,” said Fargo coach Pierre-Paul Lamoureux. “He could have gone into Minnesota as a freshman that year, and he is a mature kid, but physically to step into college hockey – it’s a big step. So the plan was for him | 94 | T H E HO CKEY NEW S
to have a great summer, train and build his body, come into Fargo and be a go-to player for us. Everyone was on board.” But just a few weeks later, Huglen’s story took a turn. At the time it seemed like a minor setback, but it became an incredible ordeal that he is still reckoning with today. “I was doing a lift, and I felt my back slip as I was doing it,” Huglen said. “Right away, I didn’t realize the severity of it – I thought it was just a pulled muscle.” But the muscle didn’t heal. Huglen eventually went to get an MRI, which revealed that he had a bulging disc, an injury that typically takes two or three months to heal. In the meantime, Huglen was indeed selected at the 2019 draft, going in
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camp or the pre-season.’ Then it was month-to-month from there, and he wasn’t getting any better. Early last year, he started regressing, and that’s when we as a staff and Aaron were getting really concerned.” Eventually, Huglen opted for back surgery – and even that was delayed, this time by the pandemic. But in the middle of ʹͲʹͲǡ ϐ eration. After that, it was more rehabbing, but on Jan. 2, Huglen ϐ the season and scored in a 4-1 win over Sioux Falls. It was his ϐ ʹͲ Ǥ Dz really good,” Huglen said. “I was nervous for sure, but talking to a lot of people, the main message was to have fun. You don’t know how it’s going to go, coming back after a year and a half. And it was a lot of fun.” the fourth round to the Buffalo Nothing’s more fun than winSabres. It was a great piece of ning, and the Force did a lot of news during a time of uncerthat this season. With Huglen’s tainty for Huglen and the Force help, Fargo went to the USHL – uncertainty that stretched on ϐ for a staggering amount of time Chicago Steel team. Huglen and included doctors from the shared team MVP honors with Force, the University of Mingoaltender Brennan Boynnesota and the Sabres. Even a ton and was also one of the medical opinion from the Minpost-season’s leading scorers. nesota Wild staff was part of In order to keep Huglen in the consultation. “The initial the fold while he was recoverinjury, we thought it would take ing, Lamoureux and his staff made the winger a de facto coach during his AARON HUGLEN time off. Huglen would look at video, go on road trips with the team and even deliver the occasional pre-game speech. “The coaches in Fargo were great throughout the injury, just keeping me involved with the team and being supportive in every way,” Huglen Ǥ Dz ϐ lot to them. Getting involved is so important for any athlete, just staying connected. You can kind of be a loner if you’re not a few months to go back to norinvolved in practices and such, mal,” Lamoureux said. “We had so it was important.” benchmarks for when we were So Huglen is in a good place expecting him to return. The mentally and physically, and goal was for him to be trainwith so much potential to still ing full-bore in the summer so unlock and the perseverance he’d be ready for training camp. to get it done, the future is once That didn’t happen. Then it again looking bright. was, ‘maybe the end of training
MJOYPHOTOGRAPHY/MITCH HIGHMAN
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NEXT
SCOUTING REPORT SAMUEL POULIN |
THE NO. 1 PROSPECT in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ system, and 45th overall in Future Watch, left winger Samuel Poulin has made the most of the trade that saw him go
from a struggling Sherbrooke squad to powerhouse Val-d’Or in the QMJHL this year. Poulin has been a tiger in the playoffs, helping the Foreurs to the final (where they lost to Victoriaville), and Penguins director of player development Scott Young loves how Poulin stepped it up when the pressure began to rise. “He’s been a leader on that team and a go-to guy,” Young said. “You want guys who are gamers.” Here’s Young breaking down Poulin’s style of play. – RYAN KENNEDY
HOCKEY IQ “WE REALLY LIKE HIS hockey IQ. It’s something we’ve always liked about him. But it’s always about doing it at a higher pace, those are the adjustments that have to be made at the next level. He’s improved a lot from his first camp to his second.”
COMPETE LEVEL “HIS COMPETE AND DESIRE to succeed are excellent. He’s a very competitive, committed player who is extremely determined to get to the next level and play in the NHL. He’s willing to do whatever he has to do to get there and that’s something we love about him.”
PLAYMAKING SHOT
“HIS HOCKEY SENSE ALLOWS him to see the ice well, and we like the way he moves the puck. He generates scoring chances off the rush, and he can generate them off plays down low and in being strong in the corners and protecting the puck. He sees the ice very well.”
“YOU WATCH HIM play and you say, ‘That’s a pro shot.’ Passing, shooting, he’s got that. We’re very happy with where his shot is.”
DEFENSE “FROM WHAT WE’VE SEEN this year he’s become much more committed defensively. He’s playing more of a 200-foot game. And that’s something every player has to realize, it’s not just about points. We think Sam has shown a lot of improvement in that area. He’s blocking shots, and he has played a lot at center this year, so he’s under the puck and on the right side of the puck defensively a lot. It’s an area he has improved on and will continue to improve.”
SKATING “HE’S A GOOD SKATER.
JONATHAN ROY/LHJMQ
We saw a big jump from his first pro camp to his second pro camp as far as his quickness, agility and his cutbacks in the corners in the offensive zone down low. He has made great progress in the past year.”
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THE HOCK E Y N EWS | 95 |
THE STRAIGHT EDGE
WITH RYAN KENNEDY |
@THNRYANKENNEDY
SELF-STARTER
Since Perrott couldn’t suit up in Owen Sound this year, he took matters into his own hands to create the PBHH Invitational.
DO-IT-YOURSELF NETWORKING M
Stay-at-home OHLers get creative and find a way to showcase their talents to prospective pro hockey employers
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cel its season, the only one of major junior’s three branches to miss out (the WHL had an abridged season while the QMJHL managed to crown a playoff champion). Since junior hockey is a crucial development step for players with dreams of playing pro, this was devastating. Some 2021 ϐ in Europe, but the majority had to simply
I MADE SURE THEY KNEW THIS IS 20-MINUTE PERIODS, STOP TIME, HITTING, FIGHTING. I WANT IT TO BE PLAYOFF-STYLE HOCKEY – Andrew Perrott stay at home, training in their garages and wondering about the future. That’s when a group of OHL players decided to do something about it. Andrew Perrott, Ryan Beck, Brendan Hoffmann and Ryan Humphrey had an idea to host a showcase for OHL talent, so they reached out to players they knew from social media and started to put together
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Sports Park, from volunteers and from parents. They also got sponsors and even though that part isn’t punk rock, I do admit it’s a lot more necessary when you’re dealing with a large hockey tournament than it is a hardcore show. In the end, these kids did it without the government, without the OHL and without the NHL. Sometimes DIY really is the only way to go.
TERRY WILSON / OHL IMAGES
Y TEEN YEARS WERE spent immersed in the hardcore punk community, a DIY network that began in the early 1980s and branched out into a worldwide underground. Punk pioneers such as Black Flag and Bad Brains blazed a trail in the U.S. by linking up with bands and kids in different cities to form a network that extended pretty much everywhere – and they did it all before any of us knew what the internet was. As the community grew, more bands, more fans and more independent record labels emerged. This was all very crucial: hardcore punk existed without any use or need for major labels or corporate interference. All-ages shows were preferred and kids like myself would book shows in church basements, Masonic Lodges or even the basements of their parents’ houses. I love it all to this day, even though I’m old and just putter around the house listening to my record collection. So with that in mind, I couldn’t help but cheer for a group of OHLers who saw their season washed away by a pandemic and the mishandling of said pandemic by the Ontario government. The OHL was forced to can-
what would ultimately become the PBHH Invitational Showcase in Erie, Pa. The tournament ran in early June with more than 100 players on six teams, mainly OHLers but also some from as far away as Slovakia. Not only did the organizers reach out to the players, but they also got NHL scouts interested, and at least 23 franchises sent at least one talent hawk to Erie, with many sending multiple scouts.
ǡ ϐ 2021 draft prospects such as Logan Mailloux, Bryce Montgomery and Francesco Arcuri, but, just as importantly, there were older OHLers who in a normal season would’ve gotten a chance to show off their skills to NHL teams in hopes of snagging a free-agent contract. And this was no half-effort hockey. “It’s real OHL games,” Perrott said. “When I talked to people throughout the process, I made sure they knew this is three 20-minute periods, stop time, hitting, ϐ Ǥ Ǧ Ǥdz There was some rust at the beginning, but scouts liked the competitiveness and it gave them a chance to see how much the players had developed physically after more than a calendar year away from real-game situations. And even if a lot of the players involved don’t get drafted or don’t land a free-agent deal, the Erie invitational allowed them to be hockey teens again – and the mental-health aspect of getting back to normalcy, even for a couple of weeks, cannot be understated. “It was just a rollercoaster of emotions,” Perrott said. “A lot of guys came up to me at check-in saying how excited they are to get back into this environment.” So the PBHH boys should be proud. They got a lot of help from the staff at Eriebank
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Noel ___ is now a Panther Toronto’s youthful GM, pictured Henrik is Daniel’s ___ brother Redirects a shot Violation of the rules Uproar Mike Modano played himself in The Mighty ___ Riding the pine: three words Unpaid players The ‘J’ in J-S Giguere Toews and ___ were teammates at North Dakota Hall of Famer who appropriately won four Cups with Toronto
> BEGINNER: This left winger, pictured above, was the last player to win the Calder Trophy after signing as an undrafted free agent.
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2012 NHL UFAs
1 First name of the first Finnish goalie to hoist the Cup 2 He became a Leaf late in the 2019-20 season. He’s now with St. Louis 3 Unskilled 4 Flame forward who hails from Golden, B.C. 5 Barry ___ wore the ‘C’ with the Rangers 6 Playing styles 9 Alexis ___ was on the cover of THN’s 2020 World Junior Championship Preview 11 Mike ___ was GM in Boston 12 TV’s Ray ___ is married to Cammi Granato 15 Gordie’s first book was Hockey…___ Howe! 16 Camille ___ was dubbed ‘The Eel’ 17 Rick ___ has twice won Olympic gold
> EXPERT: In 2007, enraged Anaheim GM Brian Burke challenged Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe to a “barn fight” after the Oilers signed which player with an offer sheet?
PUCK PUZZLE |
Can your hockey brain bring its A-game? The challenge is on!
A dozen goalies have scored a goal or been credited with one in an NHL game. Fill in the blanks to identify eight of them and the only one of the 12 who scored on a backhander will appear in the red boxes.
S DOAN JOKINEN SELANNE JAGR SHARP PARISE BRODEUR SEMIN SMYTH BURNS SUTER RINNE PROSPAL KRONWALL KUNITZ
> INTERMEDIATE: When Brendan Shanahan signed with the St. Louis Blues in July 1991, his former team, the New Jersey Devils, were awarded what future Hall of Famer as compensation?
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TRIVIA: GEOFF BURKE-USA TODAY SPORTS; CROSSWORD: DAVID BERDING-USA TODAY SPORTS
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DON’T SLEEP ON SEATTLE T
From a flat cap to the exclusive negotiation window, there are plenty of reasons the Kraken will be a major player in free agency too on the nose: a new NHL team landing in a non-traditional market, a vast and unexplored hockey desert literally surrounded by a desert. For any free agent considering the idea of signing with the Vegas Golden Knights before the 2017 expansion draft, the decision represented a risk. Was Sin City a place where you could raise a young family? Did metropolitan Las Vegas have traditional suburbs? Could a city comprised of 92 percent transplants from outside Nevada sustain a reliable fan base? Most importantly, could an expansion team in the uber-competitive modern NHL, with a greater all-around talent base than the sport had ever seen, have any chance to compete? The answer was a resounding “yes” to each of the above, of course. The Golden Knights became the greatest expansion success story in the history of major pro sports, inspiring such a fervent passion that thousands packed their practices, let alone Ǥ ϐ with 109 points and battled their way to ϐ Ǥ UFAs in the summer of 2017 had any idea that would happen. They didn’t understand that Vegas had more than two million people in its metro population and beautiful family-friendly neighborhoods near Red Rock Canyon. The players who were claimed in the draft eventually learned all about that from teammate and Vegas citizen Deryk Engelland, but UFAs weren’t drawn to Vegas beforehand. Engelland was the lone UFA who signed in advance and was chosen ϐ ǡ as the Golden Knights’ selection from the Calgary Flames. Four years later, the NHL’s UFAs won’t sleep on the expansion draft. The Seattle Kraken join up for 2021-22 and should be ϐ free agency. A quick canvas of prominent NHL player agents, when asked whether the Kraken appear on UFA clients’ radars
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as a legitimate option, returned answers such as, “The guys will be very interested in Seattle,” “I think Seattle will be a prime landing spot for UFAs,” and “Will be a very cool experience.” So why are current UFAs attracted to the Kraken? The easiest reason is the potential for joining a competitive franchise. The Kraken enter the expansion draft with all the same rules and advantages that Vegas had. The NHL wanted Vegas to succeed after it paid a $500-million expansion fee to join ǡ is just as hungry for a Seattle success story after the Kraken shelled out $650 million. Factoring in winning the No. 2 overall pick Ǧ ϐ ry cap, Seattle could be even better situated Ǥ ϐ ϐ ǡ deals should be available to GM Ron Francis in spades, allowing him to load up on additional draft picks and prospects and score young players with upside in exchange for eating teams’ bad contracts. Secondly, with so many teams maxed out ϐ ǡ
ǡ ϐ ʹͲʹͲǡ ϐ Ǧ UFAs, but that change doesn’t apply to Seattle. The Kraken get three days to make ͳͺ ʹͲǡ while the rest of the league can’t say boo ʹͺǡ Ǧ ϐ Ǥ one hand, there’s more leverage for Seattle to gain from using its expansion claims to target players already under contract, as it terrorizes opposing teams more, forcing them to consider side deals to save certain players from getting plucked, whereas there’s nothing those teams can do about Ǥ in the months leading up to the expansion draft that he’s open to building a winner in every way possible – via trades and draft picks, yes, but also via free-agent signings. So don’t be surprised if there’s far more interest in the Kraken than there was for the Golden Knights. Seattle, which gets ra-
FACTORING IN WINNING THE NO. 2 OVERALL PICK IN THE ENTRY-DRAFT LOTTERY, SEATTLE COULD BE EVEN BETTER SITUATED THAN VEGAS WAS blank slate, free to spend up to $81.5 million ϐ ǡ any UFA signed before the expansion draft will count as the claim from his previous team. They’re better equipped to win bidding wars than most teams. ϐ making bids. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s collective bargaining agreement
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bid fan support for franchises like the NFL’s Seahawks and MLS’s Sounders, is far more established as a sports city than Las Vegas was four years ago. It has more money to spend than any other team: technically $81.5 million when it enters its early negotiation window before the expansion draft. Will the Kraken wrap their tentacles around ʹͲʹͳǫ Ǥ
PHOTO COURTESY OF SEATTLE KRAKEN
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