One of the reasons Karlsson is reportedly eyeing either the Senators or the Canadiens is because his wife, Melinda, a native of Ottawa, would like to live closer to her family again, according to Brennan.
Karlsson is officially a UFA as of July 1 and just finished his first season with the San Jose Sharks after being traded from Canada's capital to the Bay Area in September.
The 29-year-old had a long, dramatic departure from the Senators after spending the first nine seasons of his career with the organization. Karlsson was on the trade block for most of the 2017-18 campaign and was reportedly offered an extension worth $10 million per season to remain in Ottawa before he was traded.
Karlsson battled injuries during his stint with the Sharks but still managed to produce 45 points in 53 games before adding 16 more during the postseason on the club's run to the Western Conference Final.
The Senators finished dead last in the NHL in 2018-19 but have over $35 million in projected cap space to potentially bring back their former captain. The Canadiens, on the other hand, fell just short of qualifying for a wild-card berth this year and head into the summer with just over $11 million available to spend.
Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will be re-evaluated when the club returns home before his status for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is revealed, head coach Bruce Cassidy said on Tuesday.
"I don't know his status for Game 5," Cassidy said, according to Tara Sullivan of The Boston Globe. "He'll have to be re-evaluated at home. I can't say whether he'll play ... The conversation (Monday) was short.
"He was getting work done, we were going on the ice, the trainers come to me and said, 'Done for the night.' The question was asked that he'd like to sit with his teammates. I'm like, 'If medically he's able to do that, then that's fine.'"
Chara took a puck off his face early in the second period of Game 4 on Monday night. Brayden Schenn's shot deflected off his stick and upward, drawing blood from the towering defenseman and sending him to the ice.
*BLOOD WARNING Zdeno Chara takes a puck in the face ... heads off to the room pic.twitter.com/JlWbqsEtiX
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) June 4, 2019
The veteran returned to the bench in the third period while wearing full facial protection, but he didn't play another shift as the Blues went on to win the contest 4-2.
If Big Z is unavailable going forward, that presents a major issue for the Bruins' back end, as Matt Grzelcyk is already sidelined. Chara has notched five points this postseason while averaging just under 22 minutes per night on Boston's top pairing.
Game 5 goes Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET from TD Garden.
Throughout June, theScore will be projecting contracts for the star-studded restricted free-agent class. In this edition, we forecast Charlie McAvoy's new deal.
The player
Among all the young stars up for new contracts this offseason, Charlie McAvoy is the marquee defenseman.
The burgeoning superstar is only 21 years old, and he's already carved out a top-pairing role on the Bruins' blue line. He's destined to be a foundational piece for years in Boston.
Season (Age)
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
2017-18 (20)
63
7
25
32
22:09
2018-19 (21)
54
7
21
28
22:10
McAvoy has gone through injury trouble, but he's been incredibly effective when healthy while averaging 0.51 points per game over two seasons, which ranks 36th among all regular defenseman during that span. The vast majority of his points have also come at even strength, making his production even more impressive.
McAvoy, who shoots right-handed and is a tremendous skater, led the Bruins in average ice time during the 2018-19 season. He also doesn't shy away from physicality, recording 91 blocks and 92 hits over 54 regular-season games this past season.
He can make a strong argument in negotiations for a significant raise.
The team
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty
McAvoy's RFA case is an interesting one because his six playoff games in 2016 burned the first year of his entry-level deal, making him the rare player up for a new contract without three years of NHL experience.
The Bruins and McAvoy have already discussed a contract extension, with the young rearguard reportedly turning down a long-term offer last offseason, according to Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic. McAvoy's agent, Michael Curran, told Shinzawa his client wanted to focus on hockey after suffering an injury, pushing negotiations to this summer.
Boston's salary cap for 2019-20 is in good shape, and aside from McAvoy, the organization isn't facing any core players it needs to re-sign urgently. Danton Heinen and Brandon Carlo are RFAs up for new deals, but they won't command contracts as big as the one McAvoy will ink.
The Bruins are projected to hold just over $14 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly, meaning general manager Don Sweeney won't need to remodel his roster to make McAvoy fit.
Where McAvoy's salary falls on Boston's payroll is another interesting factor in his pending payday. The Bruins have signed Patrice Bergeron ($6.875 million annually), Brad Marchand ($6.125 million), and David Pastrnak ($6.666 million) to team-friendly deals, giving McAvoy a realistic chance to leapfrog David Krejci ($7.25 million) as the team's highest-paid player.
Contract hierarchy is a big part of the Bruins' culture, though, and it's allowed Sweeney to build a competitive roster.
"If you want to try to make every dollar you can, unfortunately that’s not going to be with this group," Marchand told Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt recently.
The comparables
Here's a list of notable defensemen since 2015 to sign deals five-plus years in length after their entry-level contracts expired:
Player (Team)
AAV
CH%
Length
Year signed
Dougie Hamilton (CGY)*
$5.75M
8.05%
6 years
2015
Aaron Ekblad (FLA)
$7.5M
10.27%
8 years
2016
Seth Jones (CBJ)
$5.4M
7.4%
6 years
2016
Morgan Rielly (TOR)
$5M
7%
6 years
2016
Colton Parayko (STL)
$5.5M
7.33%
5 years
2017
Noah Hanifin (CGY)
$4.95M
6.23%
6 years
2018
Shea Theodore (VGK)
$5.2M
6.54%
7 years
2018
CH% = Cap hit percentage, based on cap ceiling when the contract was signed
*Traded to Carolina
Based on that list, McAvoy shouldn't struggle to obtain a six-to-eight year contract, but the average annual value is where the Bruins' youngster will likely stand out from the pack.
While McAvoy's career points per game doesn't place him among the top-producing blue-liners in the league, only five other defensemen have matched his output over their first two seasons in the past decade.
Points aren't the only way to quantify a defenseman's value, and McAvoy plays a huge role on an elite team while excelling at other facets of the game not found on the scoresheet. Additionally, most of the deals above are considered bargains, giving McAvoy an opportunity to aim high and set a new bar for young defensemen.
The projection
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Given the decreasing amount of bridge deals around the NHL and where both McAvoy and the Bruins currently stand, a long-term agreement is the most sensible direction. There's only one player under contract beyond 2023 on Boston's roster (Marchand), leaving the franchise wide open to make McAvoy a central blue-line piece for a long time.
Just 13 NHL defensemen are playing with a cap hit of $7 million or more, and McAvoy appears poised to join that club because of his two rock-solid seasons, limitless upside, and potentially Stanley Cup-winning pedigree, all at just 21 years old.
Verdict: Seven years, $54.6 million ($7.8 million AAV, 10.6 CH%)
New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero and agent Darren Ferris denied a report Monday suggesting superstar winger Taylor Hall currently isn't interested in signing an extension with the club.
"No idea where (the website) got that aside from a 'source,'" Shero told NHL.com's Mike Morreale in a text. "Nothing on our end has changed and I have never heard differently from Taylor or Darren Ferris."
Hall's agent said, "I'm not going to speak to it because it's all fictitious and I'm just not going to respond to any of those questions out of respect to the conversations and discussions that are going on."
The 27-year-old is an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, 2020, and is eligible to sign an extension at any point as of the same date this year. Shero said in March that the organization planned to begin talks with the former MVP well before that.
Hall just wrapped up his third season with the Devils but was limited to 33 games due to a knee injury that required surgery in February. He still managed 37 points, which was good for fifth on the team.
*BLOOD WARNING Zdeno Chara takes a puck in the face ... heads off to the room pic.twitter.com/JlWbqsEtiX
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) June 4, 2019
Zdeno Chara was bloodied in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final after St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn's shot attempt deflected off the Boston Bruins defenseman's stick and caught him in the face.
The play occurred just over three minutes into the second period. The Bruins captain headed directly to the locker room but returned for the start of the third frame.
Chara was cut open in Game 1 of the series as well after catching a slap shot in the forearm.
Malone, 30, played 23 games with the Oilers over the past two seasons and has yet to register a point. Prior to his time in Edmonton, he notched 30 points and 188 penalty minutes in 189 contests with the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche.
Starrett, 24, took over the starting goaltender role with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors this past season. He left the Air Force Academy after the 2017-18 NCAA campaign to pursue a professional career.
Both players logged significant minutes in 2018-19 for the Condors, who won their division before being eliminated in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The St. Louis Blues will get a boost to their blue line Monday night in Game 4 against the Boston Bruins with defenseman Vince Dunn set to return.
Dunn took a puck to the face in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final and hasn't played since, but he confirmed to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston he'll be back in action despite not feeling 100 percent.
Vince Dunn returns to the #stlblues lineup tonight but says he's still in discomfort after taking a puck to the mouth in the WCF: "There's a lot going on in my mouth right now."
