B/R NHL Staff Roundtable: 3 Bold Predictions for the Offseason
Thirty-one teams want what the Colorado Avalanche have. The journey to the Stanley Cup for the 2022-23 season has begun.
With the Champagne from the Avs' celebrations just drying (and more to come Thursday with their parade), every other team in the league will look to bolster its chances via the NHL draft, free agency or the trade market.
Evgeni Malkin Goes from the Steel City to the Big Apple
If we're going to be bold, then let's really be bold.
Where will Evgeni Malkin play next season? The smart bet would be with the Pittsburgh Penguins, of course. He has spent his career on the team and won three Stanley Cups.
While the Penguins have their problems, they are hardly in the sewer of the NHL. They finished third in a tough Metropolitan Division and were one goal away from beating the New York Rangers in the playoffs even with multiple key players missing for parts of the series.
But Pittsburgh is far from stable. There's a new ownership group. General Manager Ron Hextall has been on the job for only a year. The Penguins have failed to move beyond the first round of the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, and their contention window is about to close.
Most importantly, Malkin, who will turn 36 in July, is about to become an unrestricted free agent, and negotiations don't seem to be going well. That could be because of leaks intended to create leverage, but nobody seriously questioned whether Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins would part ways.
If not Pittsburgh, then where might Malkin sign in two weeks? For a number of reasons, Manhattan makes a lot of sense. The Rangers' Ryan Strome and Andrew Copp will be unrestricted free agents, and there haven't been any indications they are close to re-signing either. New York will need to address the second-line center spot one way or another. The Rangers would add a point-per-game veteran with Cup experience without having to offer the five-plus-year contract required for other free-agent centers.
Malkin's priorities are unknown. Perhaps he would refuse to sign with another Metropolitan Division team out of respect for the Penguins. Maybe the Rangers' cap space—$11.9 million—will keep them from meeting his demands. But New York can offer a chance to play for a contender on the rise.
It's nowhere near inevitable, or maybe even likely, but it hardly takes mental gymnastics to see the potential mutual appeal of such a move.
—Adam Herman
Johnny Gaudreau Signs with the New Jersey Devils
Following a career-best 115-point performance to sit second among the league's leading scorers, Johnny Gaudreau is due for a significant raise from his $6.8 million salary. He's going to get it from the New Jersey Devils, signing a seven-year deal worth an annual average value of $9.5 million.
The Flames would like to keep Gaudreau. However, they must also re-sign restricted free agent forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Oliver Kylington. Calgary has $26.9 million in cap space and 12 players under contract for 2022-23, so the 28-year-old Gaudreau could prove too expensive.
On May 5, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said he was open to adding an impact player to improve the team. He was talking about using his first-round pick (second overall) in a trade. However, the bet here is that he'll be unable to find what he's looking for on the trade market.
Fitzgerald made the biggest splash last summer by signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year contract. With $25.3 million in salary-cap space, he could go to the well again by bringing in Gaudreau.
Gaudreau is a New Jersey native who might be intrigued by playing with a promising team. Skating alongside gifted young center Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes, he would provide a significant boost to a power play that finished 28th in 2021-22.
Signing Gaudreau could complicate efforts to re-sign restricted free-agent winger Jesper Bratt. But Fitzgerald could address that by using him as a trade chip to fill another roster need, such as acquiring a reliable starting goaltender.
—Lyle Richardson
Evander Kane Stays with the Edmonton Oilers
He provided energy.
From the moment Evander Kane stepped on the ice in an orange and blue sweater, the Edmonton Oilers were a different hockey team.
The 2009 No. 4 pick was prolific alongside Connor McDavid after he was plucked from the bargain bin by a general manager desperate enough for a turnaround to grab him.
In January, Kane was waived with the intent to terminate his contract by the San Jose Sharks following a 21-game suspension for his violation of the league's COVID-19 protocols. In September, his then-estranged wife, Anna, had accused him of sexual assault and domestic battery. After an investigation, the NHL said in October it couldn't substantiate her allegations.
On the ice, Kane's arrival helped the Oilers fit other players into better lineup slots and kick-started a 28-11-4 run that helped Edmonton finish second in the Pacific Division.
It reached the Western Conference Final for the first time in 16 years, and Kane finished tied for the playoff lead in goals (13) despite playing five fewer games than co-leader and Cup champ Nathan MacKinnon.
Kane will become an unrestricted free agent unless the grievance he filed with the league is upheld. He argued that the Sharks wrongfully terminated his seven-year, $49 million deal. If he wins the case, San Jose will retain his rights and owe him $21 million over three years.
There's no chance the Sharks would welcome him back into the fold, though, so the bold suggestion here is that San Jose will be happy to be free of Kane, and the Oilers will find a way to bring him back. The chemistry Kane had with McDavid is something the Oilers will need if they want to make another deep run in the postseason.
And if Kane can stay on the ice, there will be a springtime rematch between Edmonton and Colorado.
—Lyle Fitzsimmons