Today I give my opinion on some recent signings plus three things I see some Pacific Division teams doing before the season starts this year.
Oilers to move out cap space
The Edmonton Oilers are in a real cap bind right now as they are right up against the cap and will most likely need to shed some cap before the season begins. Now according to CapFriendly the Oilers are over the cap by $6.03 Million dollars right now but they can put Klefbom and Smith on LTIR as they won’t play this year due to injuries and that would keep them under the cap by about $.300 Thousand dollars but they still have to sign RFA Ryan McLeod who will probably need a new deal that will cost about $.850-1.25 Million for around 1-2 years and that would put them back over the cap and that would mean they would need to make another roster move. Now with the Oilers needing to sign McLeod they could use cap space but there has also been some talk that the Oilers could try and bring back Sam Gagner who is one of the better bottom six forwards available in free agency and while he won’t be majorly expensive to sign he will probably still need $.800-950 Thousand dollars on a one way deal and if they sign him and re up McLeod they will probably be about $1.3 Million above the cap in which case they would need to move cap and I would expect one of Puljujarvi, Foegele or Barrie to be moved.
Now I would say that Foegele has the least amount of value of the three as he has a expensive $2.75 Million dollar cap hit for the next two seasons and while the contract isn’t to bad money wise it is however not the best deal for a decent bottom six forwards but I think Foegele would still have some value as a young forward who could produce well on a 3rd line and if the Oilers retained a bit of his cap I could see them get a mid round pick in return for Foegele as well as the cap space. And then there is Barrie who I believe still has great value for the Oilers and would bring the Oilers a nice return but after losing Keith to retirement this offseason it makes sense that the Oilers would want to keep the veteran defensemen around but what I think the Oilers could do is acquire a cheaper defensemen in a Barrie trade for around $2-2.5 Million dollars and a asset to get some good value for Barrie and still have a veteran D-Men on that blue line but also allow them to free up the necessary cap space to sign the forwards. And lastly the Oilers could also consider moving Jessie Puljujarvi who did just sign a new one year deal with Edmonton that has a AAV of $3 Million dollars for the next year before he is a RFA again and he is a decent top 6 forward for the Oilers and really does help with their secondary scoring but after a offseason where he was all over the rumour mill and the fact he could still be on the trade block makes me think that they could still trade him but with Puljujarvi still being a decent top six forward in Edmonton I think that aren’t hurrying to move him and the value isn’t there for Puljujarvi right now but if there is a injury in training camp and a team is willing to pay the price for Puljujarvi then I could see that happen but as of right now I think he are bound to see one of Foegele, Barrie or Puljujarvi moves in the not to distant future.
Stan Szeto USA Today Sports
Sharks to move a goalie and it is starting to sound like Reimer will be the one to go.
So with the Sharks above the cap and needing to clear cap space before the season starts it seems like a goalie will be the one to move as they currently have three NHL level goalies and while the simple solution would be to put one on waivers and send him to the minors to start the season or carry three goalies on the roster but I don’t see either as being a good option as carrying three goalies on the roster wouldn’t help their cap situation and it would take a roster spot from a good young player and while sending one down via waivers would help their cap situation it would also risk the Sharks losing a quality goalie for absolutely nothing and I don’t see the Sharks wanting to do that so I foresee a trade of some kind that will get one of the goalies out of San Jose. Now they won’t be moving Kahkonen as they just recently signed him to a two year deal and he seems to possibly be the Sharks goalie of the future so I don’t see him moving but I could see one of the two goalies who are entering the final year of their deals be moved.
First is Hill and Hill did okay in his first year with the Sharks last season putting up a .906 SV% and a 2.66 GAA in 25 games last year and is a tad cheaper then Reimer with a $2.18 Million dollar cap hit and is 26 years old which is 8 years younger then Reimer, and with Hill being younger and still able to be a pretty good tandem goalie, I could see some value in the trade market but I think that with his age and upside that he is more likely to be kept by San Jose and I wouldn’t even rule out a possible extension, while for Reimer he is 34 years old and a very capable backup who could even be a 1B in a tandem and is coming off a nice year with San Jose where he had .911 SV% and a 2.90 GAA in 48 games and while he could remain and help Kahkonen grow I think the more likely solution is he is traded and the asking price for Reimer right now seems to be a 2RD pick and for a team like Vegas, Philadelphia or Arizona who could all use a legit backup goalie I think there would be significant interest in Reimer and they should be able to get a 2RD pick if they do end up moving him but expect a Sharks goalie to be moved in the near future.
Flames looking to the free agent and trade market to add a winger.
The Calgary Flames have done a spectacular job of keeping this team competitive for next year because early on in the offseason after Gaudreau left and Tkachuk wouldn’t sign long term it seemed like the Flames were destined for a rebuild but that is far from the case as they were able to get Huberdeau and Weegar in the Tkachuk trade and just recently signed Kadri to a long term 7 year deal and extended Huberdeau for eight years so this group probably has a 2-3 year window to compete as most of their players only have two year left on their contracts including Backlund, Lindholm, Toffoli, Rooney, Hanafin, Tanev, Zadorov and Kylington as all eight would be UFA’s with Mangiapane being a year away from free agency and Markstrom and Andersson being two so they will have two maybe three years to compete depending on who they convince to resign in the coming years, but for now it is go mode for Calgary and why stop adding pieces as it seems they still want more offensive help.
Now after the signing of Kadri and moving of Monahan it sounded like the Flames were happy to have a lethal Center group but wanted to improve the wing because even though Kadri and Huberdeau are just as good as any replacements for Gaudreau and Tkachuk they still probably won’t get close to what the duo had in Calgary had last year and they lost some depth this offseason with guys like Carpenter and Jarnkrok leaving so getting a middle six winger makes sense and the two ways they can try to address this is either, go to free agency and get a good young winger as it seems they may have interest in Milano or Rodrigues who both got some look as top six roles last year but are more middle six players and could work well in the Flames locker room or option two, they could move a defensemen as their top 6 is pretty much set but with Meloche, Mackey and Valimaki all being waiver eligible and them not having the roster space for all three, it makes sense that the Flames could use one of them (my guess would be Valmaki) in a trade to get them a not to expensive third line winger who could play in the top 6 if there is a injury but I would expect the Flames to somehow get there hands on a middle six winger in the coming days and it is a situation that should definitely be watched.
Here is a list of all the NHL signings that have happened between AUG 3RD and AUG 6TH.
Metro
Carolina
Right Defensemen Anttoni Honka who was a 3RD pick in the 2019 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes signed his 3 years ELC with the Hurricanes that will carry a AAV of $.837 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Honka has shown steady improvement in Liiga over the past 3 seasons going from 19 points to 31 points to 37 points last year as a defensemen and while I think he is still a year or two away from having any shot at making the NHL, I do think he will continue to develop in Liiga and grow into a solid top 4 defensemen for the Hurricanes.
Atlantic
Buffalo
Center Tyson Kozak who was a 7RD pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 draft signed his 3 year entry level contract with the Sabres that will carry a AAV of $.850 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Kozak has a breakout season in the WHL last year putting up a great 69 points in 66 games and while he is still at least 2-3 years away from being a NHL forward and should go back to the WHL this year, I do think he could eventually be a 4th line Center for the Sabres.
Pacific
Central
Arizona
Right Defensemen Maveric Lamoureux who was a 1RD pick in 2022 by the Arizona Coyotes signed his 3 year entry level contract with the Coyotes that will carry a AAV of $.950 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Lamoureux has a pretty productive year in the QMJHL last season as a defensemen putting up 24 points in 54 games but is a towering defensemen at 6’7 and while it would still be a year or two before he is NHL ready and he will probably go back to the QMJHL for next year, I still think he is a future top 4 defensemen who will be scary to play against.
Chicago
Left Defensemen Jack Johnson and the Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a one year contract that will carry a AAV of $.950 Thousand dollars and the deal is 1 way. Johnson is coming off a good season where he was able to muster 9 points in 74 games with the Colorado Avalanche and get into 13 playoff games but he also helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup so he should definitely fight for a 3rd pair spot on the Hawks team next year and should be a leader in the locker room to all of the younger players.
Center Cole Guttman who was a 6RD pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning but never signed with them has now signed a 2 year entry level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks that will carry a AAV of $.950 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. After playing four years in college where he had three pretty decent seasons and a breakout year last season where he put up 45 points in 41 games, he will finally get a chance to turn pro and will most likely start in the AHL this year but I could see him eventually being a bottom six Center for the Blackhawks.
Colorado
Center Shane Bowers and the Colorado Avalanche have come to terms on a 1 year contract extension that will carry a AAV of $.750 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Bowers has been in a deep Avalanche team for a few years now and is actually the only 2017 1RD pick who has never played a NHL game but he had a decent year in the AHL last year putting up 9 points in 37 games and while I think he probably starts the year in the AHL to continue his development, I could see him play in the NHL at some point next year.
Minnesota
Center Samuel Walker who was a 7RD pick in 2017 by the Tampa Bay Lightning but never signed with them ended up signing his 2 year entry level contract with the Minnesota Wild and it will carry a AAV of $.855 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Walker played four seasons in college and put up some pretty consistent numbers hitting at least 25 points in every single season and now he will turn pro for the first time in his career and while I think he will play in the AHL this year and is still a few years away from being a NHL forward, it wouldn’t surprise me if in 2-3 years he is a consistent bottom six forward for the Wild.
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