The prospect of pending unrestricted free agent Paul Stastny re-signing with the Winnipeg Jets is looking bleak.
"We've really had no discussions to date," the forward's agent, Matt Keator, told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "There's plenty of time, so we'll see where it goes."
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and Keator had a brief hello at the NHL scouting combine in Buffalo more than a week ago, but that's about it, LeBrun wrote.
Stastny tallied 53 points this past season, including 13 in 18 games after he was traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Jets at the trade deadline. He added 15 points in 17 playoff games.
As the second-best center set to hit free agency behind John Tavares, Stastny will be in high demand come July 1, so he could be in line for a nice payday.
The Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was Alex Ovechkin's to lose.
After leading all players in postseason goals, the Washington Capitals captain received 13 of a possible 18 first-place votes, the Professional Hockey Writers Association revealed Tuesday.
Ovechkin's linemate and the playoffs' leading point producer, Evgeny Kuznetsov, received the other five first-place votes and 13 second-place votes.
Goaltender Braden Holtby was the consensus third-place choice, receiving 16 votes.
In a somewhat surprising development, Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury received two third-place votes, despite posting an .853 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Final.
The defenseman began experiencing discomfort during offseason training, and surgery was determined to be the best course of action after he consulted with the team's medical staff.
An update on his recovery time will be provided after the surgery.
Though he's still only 20 years old, Juolevi has failed to live up to the hype of a fifth overall pick so far. He's the only player chosen in the top 11 of the 2016 draft that has yet to appear in the NHL.
After a two-year OHL career with the London Knights, Juolevi spent this past season in Finland's top professional league, picking up 19 points in 38 games. If he's healthy by training camp, he should be in line to compete for a spot on Vancouver's blue line next season.
Both destinations seem like good fits for Kovalchuk. Each team is competitive and could use added scoring punch off the left wing.
Kovalchuk is 35 years old and five years removed from the NHL. But he scored 31 goals and added 32 assists in 53 games with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL this past season.
J.P. Barry, Kovalchuk's agent, reportedly intends to get a multi-year deal for his client.
Kovalchuk is free to negotiate and agree to terms on a contract anytime, but can't officially sign with a club until July 1.
Stanley Cup celebrations will continue throughout the offseason for members of the Washington Capitals, but for the team's general manager Brian MacLellan, he'll get back to work almost immediately.
The first order of business for MacLellan is quite obvious: get on the phone with John Carlson's agent and try to work out a contract extension.
Carlson is coming off a career year in which he led all NHL defensemen with 68 points, and added 20 more in 24 postseason games. Behind John Tavares, he's the best pending free agent set to hit the open market on July 1.
As a premier right-handed shooting defenseman who's still only 28 years old, there will undoubtedly be a long list of teams willing to pay Carlson handsomely into his mid-30s. A seven-year contract with an annual cap hit of $8 million seems realistic.
It may seem unfathomable that MacLellan could actually re-sign Carlson, given the team's cap crunch, but if the following steps are taken, it could be done with just enough money leftover to ice a roster capable of winning another Stanley Cup in 2019.
Buy out Brooks Orpik
Orpik was a rock on the Caps' blue line during the postseason, but he needs to go in order to keep Carlson in Washington. He'll be 38 years old next season and is entering the final year of a contract with a $5.5-million cap hit. Trading him isn't a real option, as it's unlikely any team would be willing to take on that salary. Here's how the buyout would work, according to Cap Friendly.
Season
Buyout cap hit
2018-19
$2.5M
2019-20
$1.5M
As you can see, a buyout would save the Capitals $3 million in cap room for the coming season.
Bridge deal Tom Wilson
Wilson is the team's second-biggest pending free agent behind Carlson. Luckily for the Caps, he's a restricted free agent, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, they won't be battling with other teams to sign him.
Locking Wilson up to a long-term extension would be ideal, but that usually means overpaying in the short term for security and a bargain down the line. Unfortunately for MacLellan, this is a luxury he cannot afford.
The Caps need to sign Wilson to a bridge deal. At least three years would be ideal for the team, but two years would be better for the player since he can become a UFA afterward.
Wilson made $2 million per year on his last deal, and after setting career highs with 14 goals and 35 points, he'll be in for a nice raise. A realistic result is a two- or three-year contract at around $4 million per.
Choose one: Kempny, Beagle, Smith-Pelly
The Capitals will have to let key members of their supporting cast walk in free agency. Both Michal Kempny and Jay Beagle are UFAs, while Devante Smith-Pelly is an RFA.
Acquired at the deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, Kempny played admirably alongside Carlson in Washington's top four despite being used sparingly in the Windy City. He only made $900,000 last year, but as a 27-year-old UFA coming off the best stretch of hockey of his career, it may take close to $3 million to retain him.
A premier face-off man and penalty killer, Beagle is one of the game's best fourth-line centers. He earned $1.75 million last year, and with the cap going up, he could also make $3 million in free agency.
Smith-Pelly scored as many goals in the postseason (seven) as he did in the regular season. He earned $1.3 million last season, so if his camp and the Caps can't agree on a 2018-19 salary, an arbitrator would step in, and he could potentially earn up to $2 million.
Given that Chandler Stephenson is capable of playing center, letting the 32-year-old Beagle walk is the most logical decision to make. Choosing between Smith-Pelly and Kempny is tough, but top-four D-men are more difficult to find than fourth-liners, making the former expendable. And since he's an RFA, the Caps could trade his rights.
Fill remaining spots with cheap contracts
With the aforementioned moves, here's a look at a projected 2018-19 lineup (bolded cap hits are projections):
Forwards:
LW
C
RW
Alex Ovechkin ($9.5M)
Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8M)
Tom Wilson ($3.5M)
Jakub Vrana ($863K)
Nicklas Backstrom ($6.7M)
T.J. Oshie ($5.75M)
Andre Burakovsky ($3M)
Lars Eller ($3.5M)
Brett Connolly ($1.5M)
Travis Boyd ($750K)
Chandler Stephenson ($650K)
Nathan Walker ($650K)
Mathias Bau-Hansen ($700K)
With Beagle and Smith-Pelly out the door, Boyd and Walker will have to flank Stephenson on the fourth line. Bau-Hansen, or another player in the Caps' system, will be in line to be the club's 13th forward.
Forward contracts: $44.863 million
Defense:
LD
RD
Dmitry Orlov ($5.1M)
Matt Niskanen ($5.75M)
Michal Kempny ($2.5M)
John Carlson ($8M)
Christian Djoos ($650K)
Madison Bowey ($800K)
Aaron Ness ($650K)
Bowey played in 51 games this past season but rarely got in the lineup after Kempny was acquired at the deadline. The 23-year-old former second-round pick should be ready to play a full 82 games this year.
Defense contracts: $25.95 million (including Orpik's buyout hit)
Goalies:
G
Braden Holtby ($6.1M)
Ilya Samsonov ($925K)
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is an RFA and having a backup goalie of his caliber is a luxury the Caps can't afford. Trading him for draft picks or prospects seems like the most logical solution.
With Grubauer traded, Samsonov, who just signed his entry-level deal in May, will fill the backup goaltending duties. He's a 2015 first-rounder with loads of potential.
Goalie contracts: $7.025 million
With nearly the same team coming back, the Capitals are able to ice a roster at a total salary of $77.8 million. Last season's maximum salary cap was $75 million, but next season's is expected to be between $78-$82 million. If it is on the low end of that projection, they would just fit under it. The number will be decided later this month.
Losing tough, gritty players in Beagle, Smith-Pelly, and Orpik is hard, but this is still a team that could compete for another Stanley Cup.
The Leafs sent the rights to 23-year-old forward Nolan Vesey to the Oilers in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2020.
Vesey, the younger brother of New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey, was picked in the sixth round by the Leafs in 2014. He scored 11 goals and added 14 assists at the University of Maine this past season.
If the Oilers can't agree on a contract with Vesey by Aug. 15, they'll lose his signing rights, according to Cap Friendly.
The minor deal is the first move of Kyle Dubas' tenure as Leafs GM.
Barry Trotz coached under the weight of an expiring contract all year, but it appears the door is open for a return to the Washington Capitals if he desires.
"If he wants to be back, he'll be back," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
When Trotz was asked about the situation postgame, he firmly stated he's also open to coming back.
I asked Trotz if he sees a future for himself in Washington: "Absolutely. Absolutely."
In four seasons as the Capitals' bench boss, Trotz has won the Presidents' Trophy twice, and has now captured the Stanley Cup. It's safe to say a lot of teams around the league would re-evaluate their own coaching situation if Trotz were to hit the open market.
Triumph can often bring out the most emotional moments in sports, and that couldn't have been more true with Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie on Thursday night.
In his Stanley Cup-winning postgame interview with Scott Oake, Oshie got choked up talking about his father, Tim, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Well okay, I guess I'm shedding some tears tonight for a team and player I don't follow or really care about. #oshiepic.twitter.com/bIUq46afGF
Alex Ovechkin walked away with not one, but two trophies on Thursday night in Las Vegas.
After tallying 15 goals and 27 points in 24 games en route to the Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights, Ovechkin was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP.
Ovechkin was remarkably consistent throughout the postseason, too, scoring at least three goals in every series. He did more than just score though, as he played with a high level of energy and physicality throughout the entire playoffs, recording 81 hits.
Evgeny Kuznetsov made a strong case for the Conn Smythe with a playoff-leading 32 points, but Ovechkin has been the heart and soul of the Caps since Day 1. It's his team and it's his Conn Smythe.
