The New York Rangers have traded forward Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick in 2022, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
More to come.
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Warning: Story contains graphic content about sexual assault.
Further details have emerged in the civil lawsuit against the Chicago Blackhawks brought by a former player.
The amended lawsuit details an incident in May 2010 and states video coach Brad Aldrich turned on pornography at his apartment and began to masturbate in front of the plaintiff, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, who provided screenshots of the updated lawsuit.
The player attempted to leave, but Aldrich blocked the exit and threatened him with a small baseball bat, the lawsuit states. Additionally, Aldrich verbally threatened the player, saying he'd never play in the NHL again if he didn't engage in nonconsensual sexual activity.
Pope also provides a screenshot from the lawsuit that states that for years after the abuse, the player was subject to homophobic and "humiliating trash talking by his teammates during scrimmages where coaches were present."
The assault allegedly occurred while the Blackhawks were in the 2010 Western Conference Final. Former Chicago assistant coach John Torchetti told TSN in June that team management met to discuss the situation but never brought it to police.
Brent Sopel, a defenseman on the team at the time, said "pretty much every" player knew about it.
The Blackhawks hired a former federal prosecutor in June to conduct an independent, team-financed review of the allegations, which have yet to be tested in court.
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Seattle Kraken forward Yanni Gourde will be sidelined for four months after undergoing shoulder surgery Monday, his agent, Paul Corbeil, confirmed to The Athletic's Joe Smith.
Gourde was Seattle's selection from the Tampa Bay Lightning in Wednesday's expansion draft. He established himself as a key contributor in winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning and was among the more prominent names the Kraken selected.
The 29-year-old center had 36 points in 56 games this past season and performed a key checking role throughout the playoffs. Gourde played 310 games with the Lightning from 2015-21 before joining the NHL's 32nd franchise.
The Kraken will open their inaugural season Oct. 13. Gourde's recovery timeline projects that he'll be available in mid-November.
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Hockey fans will get an early look at the NHL's new Pacific Northwest rivalry.
The Seattle Kraken will host the Vancouver Canucks in their first home opener on Oct. 23, the Kraken announced during Wednesday's expansion draft.
Seattle will play its inaugural regular-season contest on Oct. 12 on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights, according to NHL.com's Danny Webster.
The NHL will release its entire 2021-22 schedule Thursday.
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The Edmonton Oilers are meeting with pending unrestricted free agent Zach Hyman on Wednesday, reports TSN's Jason Gregor.
The Toronto Maple Leafs granted Hyman permission to meet with other teams earlier this offseason to explore trading his rights. A sign-and-trade is possible until free agency opens July 28, so the Oilers could potentially add the winger on a maximum eight-year deal, notes Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are among the other teams reportedly pursuing Hyman, who produced at a 63-point pace this past season as a staple in Toronto's top six.
Hyman is coming off a four-year contract that paid him $2.25 million per season; the 29-year-old is expected to land a significant raise.
Edmonton has $11 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly. The club is reportedly on the verge of re-signing goaltender Mike Smith to a two-year with an average annual value of around $2 million. The Oilers also lost defenseman Adam Larsson to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
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Minnesota Wild sensation and restricted free agent Kirill Kaprizov has received a contract offer from CSKA Moscow of the KHL, sources told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
The Wild are aware of the situation and still believe they will retain the reigning rookie of the year with two months until NHL training camps open, LeBrun notes.
Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin refuted speculation earlier in July that talks between the club and Kaprizov had stalled.
Kaprisov and the Wild reportedly disagree on the length of a potential deal. Minnesota offered Kaprizov an eight-year contract, but he prefers a three-year pact, according to LeBrun.
The Wild drafted Kaprizov 135th overall in 2015. He spent five seasons in the KHL - including three with CSKA Moscow - before venturing to North America. He notched 51 points in 55 games during his electric NHL debut to help Minnesota secure a playoff spot.
The Wild have over $26 million in offseason cap space to lock in a new deal for Kaprizov, according to CapFriendly. But Minnesota's financial situation gets tighter after next season: The recent buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise will count for over $12.7 million in dead cap space in 2022-23 and more than $14.7 million from 2023-25.
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The doctor who performed Vladimir Tarasenko's most recent surgery is certain that shoulder issues won't hold the disgruntled St. Louis Blues sniper back next season.
"Vlad's shoulder is very stable and strong," Dr. Peter Millett told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford. "He told me it is more stable and stronger than it has felt in a long while. To me, it feels rock solid. There is no doubt Vlad will be 100% ready for the upcoming season. I am confident he will be ready to play and that he will make a big impact for his team."
Tarasenko, 29, recently requested a trade out of St. Louis, where he's spent his entire nine-year NHL career. He's reportedly upset by the Blues' handling of his first two shoulder operations and no longer trusts the organization. Team physicians oversaw Tarasenko's surgeries in 2018 and 2019, but he chose Millett to repair ligament damage in 2020.
The Blues left Tarasenko exposed for Wednesday's Seattle Kraken expansion draft. The NHL's 32nd franchise could select the star winger to play in its top six or flip him to another team for assets.
Tarasenko has only played 34 regular-season games over the past two years. He was one of the league's top scorers before being hampered by injuries, eclipsing the 30-goal mark in five consecutive seasons from 2014-19.
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The Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks are among the teams pursuing Toronto Maple Leafs pending unrestricted free agent Zach Hyman, according to The Toronto Star's Kevin McGran.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and Detroit Red Wings have also expressed their desire for the gritty winger, but the Western Canadian triad are believed to be the frontrunners, McGran adds.
The Maple Leafs have reportedly granted Hyman permission to speak to other clubs so they can explore trading his rights.
Hyman will likely be too expensive for Toronto to retain. The Leafs have less than $10 million in cap space this offseason, according to Cap Friendly, and need to add players at every position to fill out their roster.
Here's a look at the current cap situations of Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton. However, numbers are bound to change within the next week due to the looming expansion draft.
| Team | Cap space | Players signed |
|---|---|---|
| Flames | $13.625 million | 14 |
| Canucks | $15.174 million | 15 |
| Oilers | $11.204 million | 19 |
Even if the Flames signed Hyman, they'd still need to add three more forwards to fill out their roster. The Canucks' cap situation is also delicate, as they need to sign restricted free agents Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes before the puck drops in October.
The Oilers are the most logical fit of the three on paper, but Edmonton also needs to sign a starting goalie.
Hyman is projected to sign a four-year contract with a $5.325 million average annual value, according to Evolving-Hockey.
The 29-year-old was the Florida Panthers' sixth-round pick in 2010 but has played all of his 345 NHL games with Toronto. On top of being one of the league's top forecheckers, Hyman has blossomed into a reliable top-six producer. He had 15 goals and 18 assists through 43 contests in 2021, which works out to a 63-point pace over an 82-game season.
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The dust has settled on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the NHL is rapidly approaching an avalanche of transactions, with the entry draft, expansion draft, and free agency all occurring before the end of July.
With so much action on the horizon, we ask five pressing questions surrounding key talking points for what promises to be a high-octane offseason.
Regardless of what may occur this offseason, no event will be as seismic as a potential trade involving the Buffalo Sabres captain. It's highly unlikely to happen before the expansion draft, but until Eichel pulls a Sabres jersey over his head again, the hockey world will be wondering when and where he's playing next.
The state of Eichel's neck injury is still largely unknown, and while he and the team are working towards a solution - whatever that may mean - the forward's incendiary comments towards the organization at the end of the year led many to believe bridges have been burned for good. And as much as it may sting for Buffalo and its loyal fans, now is the best time to trade him. Eichel's market will shrink considerably after the coming season, as a full no-move clause kicks in for the final four years of his contract starting in 2022-23.
Do the Los Angeles Kings dip into their deep pool of assets to accelerate their rebuild with a new No. 1 center? Is there a contender, say Vegas or Boston, lurking for Eichel's services? It's hard to predict now, but one thing is clear: Once the Seattle Kraken's draft concludes and the initial wave of free agency is wrapped up, Eichel watch will be in full force.
The Kraken will have their fair share of depth options to choose from, but will they end up with any stars? The Vegas Golden Knights targeted skilled, cost-effective players with upside when they picked their squad in 2017, and they have since blossomed into foundational pieces. But Marc-Andre Fleury - easily the biggest name available in that draft - instantly became the face of NHL's 31st franchise.
Could P.K. Subban be that guy in Seattle? The Devils are likely to expose Subban, and the defenseman would instantly provide the Kraken with a recognizable household name. The 32-year-old's $9 million cap hit would also help reach the cap floor and is easily affordable for one season.
If not Subban, Braden Holtby, Mark Giordano, Jakub Voracek, and Washington state native Tyler Johnson could be among the biggest names on Seattle's radar.
After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in unprecedented circumstances, the Tampa Bay Lightning are facing a significant roster reset. This isn't to say the club is approaching a full-scale rebuild - Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy remain a formidable core. However, the depth that played such a crucial role in each championship is going to take a major hit.
The Lightning were a well-documented $18 million over the salary limit in the playoffs, and they now carry a combined $85 million hit heading into the 2021-22 campaign, according to Cap Friendly. The financial squeeze likely means goodbye for pending unrestricted free agents David Savard, Barclay Goodrow, and Blake Coleman, and more bodies will have to go for Tampa to become cap compliant.
The Bolts are bound to lose a key player in the expansion draft regardless of the format they choose. If the franchise protects seven forwards, it risks losing Ryan McDonagh or Erik Cernak on the back end. If Tampa chooses to keep the blue line intact and protect eight total skaters, Johnson, Yanni Gourde, Alex Killorn, and Ondrej Palat will likely be available for the Kraken.
Will Julien BriseBois be able to swing a trade to minimize damage, or are the defending champs going to have to face this offseason head-on as the unit navigates a retooling?
The Carolina Hurricanes put the NHL on notice by permitting Hamilton to explore the free-agent market shortly after their playoff run ended. Carolina's unorthodox move could result in an enormous loss for a team that appears on the cusp of a major playoff run. There's a reasonable chance the Canes retain the star defender, but Hamilton deserves a hefty payday regardless of who provides the contract.
Hamilton ranks first among all defensemen with 42 goals and third with 609 shots since joining Carolina in 2018. The 28-year-old is also a possession monster, pacing every blue-liner that has at least 2,500 minutes logged with a 57.73 expected goals rate at five-on-five, according to Evolving Hockey. There are plenty of clubs across the league that could use his presence in their top four.
The seven-year, $61.6 million ($8.8 million average annual value) contract Alex Pietrangelo inked as last season's prized UFA defenseman is a fair comparison for Hamilton to shoot for, given he's younger and more productive offensively. If that's too steep for the Hurricanes, the Hamilton sweepstakes should be one of the stories of the summer.
One of this offseason's less-publicized talking points is the incredibly deep group of restricted free agents coming off their entry-level contracts. Cale Makar, Kirill Kaprizov, Elias Pettersson, Miro Heiskanen, Quinn Hughes, Andrei Svechnikov, and Patrik Laine are all stars who need new deals.
It's fair to assume Makar will come out of the negotiating period with the most lucrative contract, as he's the most established youngster of the group. Evolving Hockey predicts he could earn a whopping $10.34 million per season on an eight-year commitment, and it's tough to deny he's worth every penny. While Makar's impending negotiations with the Colorado Avalanche seem relatively straightforward, there's far less certainty with the rest of the crop.
How much can the Minnesota Wild afford to pay Kaprizov with Ryan Suter's and Zach Parise's bought-out cap hits handcuffing the club for the next four campaigns? And is the young Russian dynamo willing to sign long-term if there's limited flexibility to surround him with good players?
Can the Vancouver Canucks find a way to bridge both Pettersson and Hughes? Or will the franchise sink the majority of its cap space into the two young stars before their value inflates down the road?
These scenarios cover just the tip of the iceberg in what could be a monumental summer for some of the game's brightest young guns.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed restricted free agent forward Teddy Blueger to a two-year contract worth $2.2 million per season, the team announced Wednesday.
Blueger posted a career-best 0.51 points per game last campaign while averaging nearly 15 minutes across 43 contests. However, the 26-year-old is valued more for his defensive prowess.
Teddy Blueger, signed 2x$2.2M by PIT, is a very very low-event defensive bottom six centre who is elite on the penalty kill. #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/bk9QpDdrBD
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 14, 2021
"Teddy has proven to be a versatile, two-way center, as well as a fixture on the penalty kill," said general manager Ron Hextall. "He is a valuable player for our team."
Blueger was the Penguins' second-round pick in 2012, and he's appeared in 140 games with Pittsburgh since.
Although he's earned a new deal, the Penguins will likely expose Blueger in the upcoming expansion draft due to the team having a surplus of high-quality forwards ahead of him on its depth chart.
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