Jeff Paterson of the Rink Wide: Vancouver podcast sits in Sekeres' seat co-hosting with Blake. The guys ponder if the Canucks will make a big move or not this off-season to free up some cap space (where have we heard that before?) so they can perhaps add another free agent or two. They touch on Jared McCann's comments on Luke Gazdic's podcast talking about his experiences in Vancouver as a rookie and how it affected him. Now that he's retired, is Alain Vigneault the greatest coach in Canucks history, or does that title belong to Pat Quinn? The guys also tee up the weekend for the Vancouver Whitecaps and B.C. Lions, with both teams looking to bounce back after rough outings. Lions QB Vernon Adams joins us and says the defeat to the Argos is well in the rearview mirror, as the Leos get set to host Adams' former team, the Montreal Alouettes, on Sunday. Former Canucks analyst Rachel Doerrie breaks down the Canucks signings this off-season and provides an update on Tyler Myers' $5 million bonus and if the team is likely to move him or not. We also chat with Rachel on the team's decision to draft Tom Willander over local product Zach Benson. The show wraps up with a Sekeres vs. Price battle in which Matt and Blake debate (recorded on Thursday) whether the Canucks should trade Myers before opening night in October. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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The Seattle Kraken and defenseman Will Borgen agreed to a new contract before his arbitration hearing, coming to terms on a two-year deal with an average annual value of $2.7 million, the club announced Friday.

Borgen was a pending restricted free agent. He would've had a hearing later this summer.

The 26-year-old collected three goals and 17 assists while playing all 82 games for the Kraken this past season. He added a goal and two assists in 14 playoff contests. Borgen also racked up 203 hits during the 2022-23 regular season, ranking 25th in the NHL and second only to Adam Larsson's 222 among Seattle skaters.

Borgen played the last two campaigns with the Kraken after spending his first two with the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted him 92nd overall in 2015. He debuted in 2018-19, then spent the entire 2019-20 season with the AHL's Rochester Americans before returning to the NHL the following campaign.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins inked forward Vinnie Hinostroza to a one-year, $775,000 contract, the club announced Friday.

Hinostroza was an unrestricted free agent who played the last two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.

The 29-year-old collected two goals and nine assists over 26 NHL games in 2022-23, adding five tallies and four helpers across 11 contests with the Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

He produced two goals and an assist in the Sabres' Heritage Classic victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in March 2022. Kyle Dubas, who was then the Leafs' general manager, is now the Penguins' president of hockey operations and interim GM.

Hinostroza has also suited up for his hometown Chicago Blackhawks in two separate tenures, as well as the Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers. The Blackhawks drafted him 169th overall in 2012.

Dubas has been active in his first offseason with the Penguins. He made six UFA deals July 1, including re-signing goaltender Tristan Jarry to a five-year pact and bringing in defenseman Ryan Graves, along with netminder Alex Nedeljkovic.

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Any player hoping to throw Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard off his game next season is going to have to answer to hard-nosed veteran Corey Perry.

"This league's not easy," Perry said Friday during his introductory presser, per the Chicago Tribune's Phillip Thompson. "Coming in at 18 years old, he's gonna have things that he hasn't seen before, playing against men and all these different things.

"That's why you have to do what you have to do, and that's kinda what's kept me in the league."

The Blackhawks acquired Perry's unrestricted free-agent rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning last week in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick and signed him to a one-year, $4-million deal one day later.

Perry, 38, has never been one to shy away from on-ice shenanigans over the course of his 18-year NHL career. Since making his big-league debut in 2005-06, Perry ranks fourth with 1,380 penalty minutes and has racked up 1,209 hits in 1,257 contests.

Though general manager Kyle Davidson was more interested in the mentorship and veteran presence Perry can provide, he acknowledged that an extra layer of protection for Bedard can be a "side benefit."

"Probably a guy you'd hate to play against (but) you'd love to have on your team," Davidson said after trading for Perry. "That's how we hope it'll play out."

Perry won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in 2011 after netting a career-high 50 goals for the Anaheim Ducks. He's amassed 417 tallies and 883 points over his career.

The Ontario native won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 and has a penchant for playing hockey in the spring, accruing 124 points in 196 playoff contests.

Perry chipped in with 12 goals and 13 helpers in 81 games this past season, his second in Tampa Bay.

The Blackhawks selected the much-hyped Bedard with the first overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft and now have a chance to accelerate their rebuild.

Bedard was born on July 17, 2005, just a few months before Perry kicked off his rookie campaign in the NHL.

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We're officially in the holding-pattern stage of the offseason.

While the list of notable unrestricted free agents has dwindled over the past week, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews remain unsigned. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci will likely either return to the Boston Bruins or retire from the NHL. Meanwhile, Erik Karlsson, Connor Hellebuyck, Alex DeBrincat, and John Gibson are all entangled in daily trade speculation.

Let's take a look at Gibson's situation, the murkiest of the four listed above.

"There's a little uncertainty. I'm not sure what's going to happen," Gibson told the "Cam & Strick Podcast" in an interview released Tuesday, a day after his agent refuted a spicy report from Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli.

"Whether I'm in Anaheim or somewhere else," Gibson added on the podcast, "I'm just worried about being ready to play. I want to have a good year."

Here's the bad news: Gibson is fresh off the worst season of his career. The Anaheim Ducks starter has a history of injuries, turns 30 next Friday, and his contract not only carries a $6.4-million cap hit through 2026-27 but also includes a 10-team no-trade clause.

Now, for some additional context: The Ducks were absolutely horrendous defensively this past season, allowing the most shots per game (39.1) in NHL history. And these shots weren't all from the point - Gibson faced the most inner-slot shots out of any goalie despite ranking 13th in total minutes played.

As for the attraction, well, it wasn't that long ago that Gibson was considered a borderline star. There's a decent chance the athletic 6-foot-2 netminder returns to form in a playing environment that doesn't exhaust him night after night. He's long been one of the more competitive, fiery goalies in the league.

Speculating here, but I see two obvious and two dark-horse destinations.

Obvious: New Jersey Devils

New Jersey's Vitek Vanecek-Akira Schmid duo is fine. But is it Stanley Cup-contender quality? The league has shifted toward cheaper tandems, so the Devils may not see a need to trade for Gibson. Then again, they have $5.6 million in cap space and just one player (restricted free agent Kevin Bahl) left to sign. They also have the picks and prospects to acquire a player of Gibson's caliber and have built up their roster to the point that a "win-now" move makes sense. If Anaheim wants a goalie in return, how about Vanecek?

Obvious: Buffalo Sabres

Devon Levi is the Sabres' goalie of the future. The youngster needs help next year, though, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie aren't great 1B options. The Sabres have $6.7 million in cap space, prospects galore, and too many NHL defensemen. So if they're serious about ending their historic playoff drought, they should, at the very least, consider acquiring Gibson (or Hellebuyck). The remaining years and money on the contract may be a deal breaker, but Buffalo otherwise feels like a realistic landing spot for Gibson.

Dark horse: Columbus Blue Jackets

Based on their moves this offseason, the Blue Jackets are desperate to move out of the NHL's basement. Can they make legitimate progress in the standings with a goalie tandem of Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov? Doubtful. To make a deal work with Anaheim, the overpaid Merzlikins would likely be involved, which would require Columbus to fork over even more future assets. Translation: The Gibson-Columbus trade fit is far from perfect.

Dark horse: Los Angeles Kings

The Kings don't have the cap space to absorb Gibson's ticket, nor do they have contracts of their own that are imminently movable. The front office must get creative if it desires an upgrade in net. Let's face it: The duo of Pheonix Copley and Cam Talbot isn't exactly getting anybody excited. Gibson would be an interesting gamble.

Highest upside among young UFAs

The salary cap rising by only $1 million (again) has led to a few curious trends.

For instance, since July 1, only four UFAs have signed contracts with a new club for longer than four years - forwards J.T. Compher and Miles Wood, defenseman Ryan Graves, and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Why? The 2023 UFA class lacked star talent, plus many players opted for short-term deals because they're eyeing a bigger payday when more money's available in a year or two.

Another trend: for a second straight summer, a sizeable group of young NHLers suddenly became UFAs after not receiving qualifying offers as RFAs.

Last year saw the likes of Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik, and Ilya Samsonov become UFAs overnight. This year's RFA-to-UFA crop can be divided into three buckets - those who re-signed with the team that didn't issue them a qualifying offer, those who signed elsewhere, and those who remain unsigned.

Michael McLeod has the highest upside among players who re-signed.

The Devils center took a step forward this past season and was one of the team's top playoff performers. Against the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, McLeod used his world-class skating and tenacity to attack from prime scoring areas. I strongly believe the 25-year-old is primed for a full breakout in 2023-24, perhaps grabbing the third-line pivot role. At worst, he'll live up to his one-year, $1.4 million deal by feasting on opposing fourth lines.

Daniel Sprong has the highest upside among players who signed elsewhere.

At one year, $2 million, Sprong's a perfect flier for the goal-deprived Detroit Red Wings. A threat off the rush at five-on-five and a secondary trigger man on the power play, he recorded 46 points in 66 games in 2022-23, despite skating for just 11:25 a night. His goals-for per 60 minutes rate (1.67) finished between Kirill Kaprizov's (1.70) and Jack Hughes' (1.66). That's damn good company - though Sprong's low usage as a member of the Seattle Kraken and his journeyman resume suggest coaches don't trust him in key situations. Maybe the 26-year-old finds a more permanent home in his fifth NHL city.

Ethan Bear has the highest upside among players who remain unsigned.

The right-handed defenseman, who didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Vancouver Canucks, recently underwent shoulder surgery and will be sidelined until around December. The injury's definitely affected Bear's stock, but is there an NHL team that doesn't need a depth option who can play both sides? Bear, 26, breaks the puck out well and is coming off a nice run with the Canucks, where he earned 18:32 a night. Perhaps he signs a one-year deal closer to training camp. Or maybe he's forced to wait until he's fully healthy.

What Ducks covet in draft-eligible D-men

Martin Madden was hired as Anaheim's director of amateur scouting in 2008 and promoted to assistant GM 12 years later. The McGill University engineering grad, who's based in Quebec City, oversees the Ducks' drafting.

Under Madden, the club has drafted and developed NHL-caliber defensemen at an incredibly high rate. It chose Justin Schultz and Jake Gardiner in 2008, Sami Vatanen in 2009, Cam Fowler in 2010, Josh Manson in 2011, Hampus Lindholm in 2012, Shea Theodore in 2013, Brandon Montour and Marcus Pettersson in 2014, Jacob Larsson in 2015, and Josh Mahura in 2016.

That's right. In every year from 2008 to 2016, at least one blue-liner selected by Anaheim has blossomed into an everyday NHLer (minimum 150 career games). And with post-2016 studs Jamie Drysale, Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau, Olen Zellweger, and Jackson LaCombe leading the next generation, it's looking like a handful of names will be added to the list soon enough.

But it's not just the quantity. Some of these defensemen were picked as late as 106th and 160th overall. What do the Ducks see that most other teams don't?

"It comes back to our core values in what we like in defensemen when they're young and what allows them to keep growing into the pro game," Madden told theScore at the conclusion of this year's draft in Nashville. (The Ducks didn't pick a blue-liner until 97th overall - Konnor Smith from the OHL.)

"So," Madden added with a laugh, "I'll let you figure that out …"

After some prodding, the executive elaborated a tad on those "core values."

"Hockey sense and mobility for a young defenseman are probably the two primary ingredients we look at."

Hockey sense and mobility? OK, so the Ducks aren't splitting the atom here. What's notable, though, is Anaheim's clear dedication to their core values.

If a team trims down its draft list to include only defensemen who have good hockey sense and good mobility, they're betting exclusively on a certain type. Based on Anaheim's track record under Madden, the bet's been pretty clever.

Parting shots

Tampa Bay Lightning: The flat salary cap continues to wreak havoc on the Lightning's once-enviable depth. Gone via free agency or trade: Alex Killorn, Ross Colton, Pat Maroon, Corey Perry, and Ian Cole. The replacements: Conor Sheary, Luke Glendening, Logan Brown, Josh Archibald, and Calvin de Haan. No offense to the new guys, but as a group they don't even come close to matching what's been lost. Tampa's star-caliber players will keep them very competitive in 2023-24. The pressure's more so on the second tier - think Tanner Jeannot and Nick Paul up front and Erik Cernak and Nick Perbix on the back end - to find another gear and compensate for the annual talent drain.

Favorite fits: I can't wait to see how Jonathan Drouin, Matt Duchene, and Dmitry Orlov fare this coming season. With Drouin and Colorado, this might be the former top prospect's last chance at establishing himself as an impact forward; yet there may not be a better place for him in the NHL than on old pal Nathan MacKinnon's club and, possibly, MacKinnon's wing. With Duchene and Dallas, I'm psyched to see how he blends into a versatile forward group; does Duchene line up at wing or center, and what kind of role does he assume on the power play? With Orlov and Carolina, the fascination lies in the possibilities with that stacked defense corps; specifically, how Orlov gets deployed alongside fellow top-pair guys Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin, and, if he's not traded in the offseason, another dynamite player in Brett Pesce.

See ya soon: If this is your first time, eighth time, or 20th time reading "Takes, Thoughts, and Trends," thank you, thank you, thank you. I loved producing theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag throughout 2022-23 (the edition you're reading is No. 22 of the season) and I'm looking forward to churning out many more starting in September. If you have a comment, concern, question, or idea, please don't hesitate to reach out via email (john.matisz@thescore.com) or through Twitter (@MatiszJohn). Oh, and on my way out, a self-indulgent podcast recommendation for the offseason: Please try out "When Goalies Were Weird," a six-part narrative series about 1990s-era goalies that we released in late 2021. The content's still relevant, and I assure you it'll be a good companion while you mow the lawn or road-trip this summer. More info:

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Former New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow is looking to get back in the game.

Snow is now officially a free agent. He was replaced as GM by Lou Lamoriello in May 2018, but his five-year payout deal with former owner Charles Wang came to an end on July 1. This means he's now allowed to speak publicly again, too.

"I would love to get back with an NHL team if it makes sense for both sides," Snow told The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

Snow said he had discussions about a couple of different NHL front-office positions in the five years since he was fired as Islanders GM, but none of them panned out.

"I don't know what the future brings when it comes to what kind of role with an organization," Snow said. "Those are conversations you have to have. To me, it always comes back to the word trust - people you trust. And, it's a two-way street."

Snow was maligned during much of his tenure as the club's GM, which began in 2006 - just one year after he was the team's backup goalie. The Isles made the playoffs just four times in his 12-year run, making it past the first round only once. By the end, Islanders fans funded "Snow Must Go" billboards across town.

However, it was Snow who laid most of the foundation for the club's back-to-back conference final appearances in 2020 and 2021. He made several astute draft picks during his tenure, including Brock Nelson (30th overall, 2010), Scott Mayfield (34th overall, 2011), Adam Pelech (65th overall, 2012), Ryan Pulock (15th overall, 2013), Ilya Sorokin (78th overall, 2014), Devon Toews (108th overall, 2014), Mathew Barzal (16th overall, 2015), and Anthony Beauvillier (28th overall, 2015).

Snow said watching the Islanders' deep playoff runs after his dismissal was rewarding, knowing he played a part.

"I was ecstatic and proud of the way guys performed," he said. "Really validated the reasons we identified or selected or traded or picked up players off waivers. ... You draft a player at 18 and then watch him grow - and some of the parents still stay in touch with me. Those are very rewarding relationships that I've had with a lot of the players, and I was proud of them."

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New Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene said he isn't taking the Nashville Predators' decision to buy out his contract personally, but he's "absolutely" using it as motivation heading into the new season.

"When a team tells you they don't want you anymore, it's tough, right?" he said Thursday during his introductory presser. "It's business, and the game is the business, but at the same time, the game is who we are as people. I've been a hockey player since I was two years old; that's how I identify."

The Predators bought out the last three seasons of Duchene's seven-year, $56-million contract last Friday, unexpectedly allowing him to test the market as a free agent on July 1.

The 32-year-old ended up signing a one-year, $3-million pact with the Stars, a team that Duchene said was on his radar before he signed with the Predators as an unrestricted free agent four years ago.

Now, Duchene is looking forward to joining a team that has a chance to "win right away." The Stars have made the playoffs in four of the last five campaigns, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and making it to the conference finals this spring.

"I haven't had too many (opportunities) in my career. I've been to the second round once," he said. "That's something that's frustrating me beyond I can explain, just to not have that really good taste."

He added, "To be part of this team that's been kind of a perennial deep-in-the-playoffs-type team ... it's really exciting to come in to."

The Stars' dynamite top line of Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, and Roope Hintz will likely stay intact in 2023-24, meaning Duchene could join forces with Tyler Seguin, who he's known since he was 10 years old.

"(He) does everything well. … The fact that you can step in right away and play with a guy like that is pretty special," Duchene said. "There's not many places in the league that you have options to play with a guy like that."

Duchene netted 22 goals and 56 points in 71 contests this past season as the Predators missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. He missed the last 10 games of the campaign due to a hand injury.

The Ontario native enjoyed a career year in 2021-22, putting up 43 goals and 86 points in 78 games.

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