Same goes for fellow RFA Dominik Kubalik, who had a down season and doesn’t appear to be in the team’s future plans. But Chicago, which is in full-on tank mode, seems pretty well set on letting Strome walk rather than qualifying him. 1 center between Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane.
In theory, this is obviously Dylan Strome, who was a healthy scratch to start the 2021-22 season but played at nearly a point-per-game pace over the second half as the No. You know we’ll be keeping close tabs on whoever the Canes let go, to compare his season with the cost and production of the one they keep. They’ve contributed to secondary scoring in a way the Canes have desperately needed. Ĭan Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter both be the answer? Their futures with the Canes go hand-in-hand, and it’s highly unlikely Carolina will end up keeping both. We’re talking about where else Johnny Gaudreau could sign. If that happens, will the Flames need to move on and sign someone else? Will he want to stay in Calgary once he sees what offers are out there? All that remains to be seen, but his choice will have potentially huge ramifications for the Flames.įlames fans, hide your eyes and burn some sage.
#The hardest decisions require the strongest wills free
And as a UFA, Gaudreau has control over what happens here, and there’s reason to believe he might want to peek at what’s available once free agency opens. However, he’ll require a massive raise from the $6.75 million cap hit he’s carried the past six seasons. He’s the Flames’ most skilled player and just put together another top-five Hart Trophy season, with career-best numbers.
Will the Sabres give him a qualifying offer and take it to arbitration? Or will they sign him to a long-term deal? Buffalo has plenty of cap space but needs to be mindful of saving it for the developing core of young players who will need contracts next offseason and beyond. But the question is what type of contract he’ll get. Barring a trade, he will be back in Buffalo. The soon-to-be 27-year-old winger will be a restricted free agent this offseason. But he could do better on the free market in terms of salary and opportunity.īuffalo’s toughest decision has to be what to do with Victor Olofsson. The Bruins would like to keep the 27-year-old. Lazar was good as the fourth-line right wing. Unless you’re factoring in Patrice Bergeron, whose decision on whether to return is in his own hands, it has to be Curtis Lazar, because just about everybody else is signed for 2022-23. But the first challenge is getting him under contract - and he’ll be due a raise from the $1.533 AAV he played under last season. 11 pick from the 2015 draft is just coming into his prime and would elicit interest from teams seeking a power forward with size and strength (6-foot-4, 200 pounds). (Milano has the larger qualifying offer at $1.8 million.) Deciding how much of a commitment to make to either might be their toughest call.Īssuming Arizona lets all of its pending UFAs walk, the most interesting negotiation will be with restricted free agent Lawson Crouse, who is 25 and had arguably his best NHL season to date in 2021-22. The Ducks’ bigger free-agent worries are forwards Isac Lundestrom and Sonny Milano, both of whom could choose to file for salary arbitration if deals can’t be agreed upon. Bottom-six penalty killer Zach Aston-Reese could be brought back, but if not, another player with his abilities could be found on the market or developed from within. Anaheim DucksĪnaheim is in good shape in that it doesn’t have a UFA it can’t afford to let walk. Which players could follow Fiala’s lead? We asked the writers who know the teams best. Guerin: "to keep him, we'd have to trade three guys …It just didn't fit." The first domino already fell in Minnesota, with 85-point scorer and restricted free agent Kevin Fiala being traded by general manager Bill Guerin to the Kings on Wednesday for a first-round pick and prospect Brock Faber. So plenty of cap-strapped teams are currently assessing their rosters, determining who can be brought back and who must be replaced. The league’s salary cap is set to increase next season for the first time in three years - but only by $1 million. The NHL offseason is upon us, and with it, there are tough decisions to be made.
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