The Nashville Predators look to be on the rise heading into next season, and shrewd moves by general manager David Poile are the main reason why.
In recent weeks, Poile locked up leading scorer Filip Forsberg to a six-year contract extension before dealing longtime captain Shea Weber to Montreal in exchange for a younger star defenseman in P.K. Subban.
After bowing out in the second round of the playoffs for the third time in franchise history this spring, forward Ryan Johansen told Adam Vingan of the Tennessean that he sees the recent transactions as proof his team is ready to make that next step in the near future.
"As players and as a franchise, it's all about winning," said Johansen, who was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in another high-profile one-for-one deal that sent Seth Jones to Ohio. "You want to win. You want to come together as a group and have success and win a championship and hopefully championships.
"To see (management) try to make a move like that to try and just benefit the team, as a player, it shows they want to win and they want to win very soon."
"You know they're ready to take the next step," Johansen said of Predators management. "And as players, we're ready to come together again and win."
The biggest factor that may hold the Predators back is the tough Central Division - where the Blackhawks, Blues, Wild, and Stars all show little sign of slowing down after reaching the playoffs last season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning's dynamic scorer will arrive at the bargaining table for the first time this summer after completing his obligatory entry-level term as the NHL's production-on-the-dollar king.
Here's a look at what his next, much more proportionate contract might look like:
The background
The 58th overall selection five years back, Kucherov played one season in Russia, plus another in Major Junior, before starting his entry-level clock one month into the 2013-14 season.
He racked up 42 points in 69 games split between Tampa Bay and the farm before returning the next season - his first full year in the top flight - as one of the NHL's most productive players. He collected 3.13 points per 60 minutes in all situations, finishing with 29 goals and 64 points, and worked out of the most effective statistical trio in hockey. Scoring then accelerated in the playoffs; he netted 10 goals and 22 points in Tampa's run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite a woeful start to his third campaign, in which he mustered just three points in October, Kucherov stormed back to eclipse his sophomore work. He scored at over a point-per-game over the final five months, turning in 30 goals and 66 points in five fewer games.
Kucherov activated bonuses in each season, but still cost less than $900,000 to deploy.
The numbers
Kucherov's 131 points over the last two seasons ranks just outside the top 20 NHL wide, and his 2.99 points per 60 minutes of ice ranks seventh among players who appeared in both seasons.
But while those numbers will establish the bar in negotiations, it is his production in relation to the league's best which underscores how valuable he's been to the Lightning.
Check out the cost of Kucherov's production compared to the top 10 scorers, as well as teammate Steven Stamkos, whom the Bolts just committed $68 million to:
Player
Total Cost
Points
Cost/Point
Jamie Benn
$10.5M
176
$59,659
Patrick Kane
$16.8M
170
$98,823
Sidney Crosby
$17.4M
169
$102,958
John Tavares
$11M
156
$70,512
Alex Ovechkin
$19M
152
$125,506
Tyler Seguin
$11.5M
150
$76,666
Nicklas Backstrom
$13.4M
148
$90,540
Erik Karlsson
$13M
148
$87,837
Joe Pavelski
$12M
148
$81,081
Vladimir Tarasenko
$8.9M
147
$60,544
Steven Stamkos
$15M
136
$110,294
Nikita Kucherov
$1.79M
131
$13,651"
The Calgary Flames' Johnny Gaudreau, also restricted after completing his entry-level deal, is the only other comparable player inside the top 25. He tallied 11 points more than Kucherov, but cost almost $1 million more in performance bonuses.
The knock
This isn't a player with shortfalls; Kucherov has been the league's model of efficiency.
His presence triggering a greater even-strength production rate than Jamie Benn, Kucherov's 63 percent Goals For clip ranks highest among players who logged 2000 minutes over the last two seasons, and he continues to drive possession at the very top percentile.
Kucherov owns a high shooting percentage, which might give some pause, but with one of the most dangerous releases in the sport, his shot should provide results above standard.
What's more, however, has been his postseason play. Kucherov's notched 42 points in 45 games, and almost a half goal per game, which ranks second among active players.
The comparables
Filip Forsberg, who rather conveniently just signed a 6-year, $36-million deal with the Nashville Predators, is his closest comparable.
Both posted 60-plus point campaigns in the final two years of their entry-level deals after splitting duties between the big club and the American Hockey League in their first qualified seasons.
The wingers each hit the 30-mark in their third years, but didn't make massive gains from their sophomore totals, and both have similarly impressive underlying numbers.
The contract
It'll be incredibly challenging for Kucherov's camp to drive his price beyond that of Forsberg's, even with stellar postseason stats in their back pocket.
The precedent feeds right into the hand of Steve Yzerman, who with a couple days to spare before Stamkos hit unrestricted free agency, was able to have the superstar sign at amount well below market value.
With a major commitment to No. 1 defender Victor Hedman made a few days after the Stamkos signing, and a collection of restricted free agents still to follow, Yzerman must work to retain each and every asset at a marked-down figure.
Here's something you've probably never seen in a hockey game: a player landing a perfect backflip while skating backwards and proceeding to score a goal.
The player appears to be wearing figure skates, so perhaps he's some sort of figure skater-hockey player hybrid.
The Habs' development camp is well underway, and the ninth overall pick of the 2016 draft wasted no time in gaining attention from his superiors.
"His level of confidence with the puck, at his age, is exceptional," Canadiens director of player development Martin Lapointe said, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet. "To only be 18 and be so composed with the puck is impressive.
"He picks his spots to get up in the play. He defends well. We also saw his level of competitiveness is very high."
Sergachev, who's listed at 6-foot-3, 206 pounds, is also impressing with his degree of physicality.
"The strength he has already, at 18, is impressive," Lapointe said. "I love his brute force."
The 18-year-old blue-liner scored 57 points in 67 games for the Windsor Spitfires last season, and while it's clear Montreal's back-end will look different come October, the potential emergence of Sergachev on the Canadiens depth chart provides even more intrigue.
General manager Garth Snow would love to see Tavares continue to produce like Stamkos. Tavares has averaged 0.92 points per game so far in his 510-game career, while Stamkos comes in at 0.99 points in 569 games. And Snow would certainly love to see his No. 91 take the Islanders to the Stanley Cup Final.
But now that Stamkos is signed long term with the Tampa Bay Lightning, his expiring contract a distraction for more than a calendar year, Tavares is the next big fish in the free-agent pool.
Tavares, another kid from the Greater Toronto Area, will be a free agent after the 2017-18 season, when he'll be 27 years old. The similarities are downright eerie.
Snow, appearing on SiriusXMNHL radio Thursday, said the Islanders will reach out to Tavares next summer and talk extension, according to NHL.com's Brian Compton. At that time, Tavares will have one year left on his deal at only $5.5 million against the cap.
Turning 26 in September, Tavares led the Islanders to their first playoff series win since 1993 this year, as New York knocked off the Florida Panthers in six games. The Islanders fell to a Stamkos-less Lightning team in the second round in five games.
Tavares finished with 70 points in 2015-16, his 0.90 points per game his lowest since his second year in the NHL. But he was the Islanders in the playoffs. He had 11 points in 11 spring games, and scored the game-tying and series-winning goals in Game 6 against the Panthers.
He's the face of the franchise, and Snow and the Islanders are surely hoping to keep it that way. But make no mistake, he's due for a massive raise over a long-term deal, one that could keep him an Islander for life.
The Toronto Maple Leafs winger, who spent the majority of the 2015-16 season with the AHL's Toronto Marlies, chimed in on Twitter after stiffer consequences for fighting were announced by hockey's top developmental league.
Save you reporters some time. The 10 fight limit and no fighting off the face-off rule is great. Fighting isn't done, just guys who suck are
Clune had four assists and 22 penalty minutes with the Maple Leafs last season. He racked up 146 penalty minutes in the minors, along with eight goals and 16 assists for the first-place Marlies.
The goaltender signed a three-year, $11.01-million contract extension with the club on Thursday.
Markstrom appeared in a career-high 32 games as the backup netminder for the Canucks in 2015-16, going 13-14-3 with a 2.73 GAA and .915 save percentage.
The new contract carries an average annual value of of $3.67 million. The 26-year-old has one year and $1.55 million remaining on his original deal.
Fighting in pro hockey continues down the path of extinction.
The AHL Board of Governors met Wednesday to determine rule changes for the upcoming season, and starting in 2016-17, fighting will warrant harsher consequences.
"Players who enter into a fight prior to, at, or immediately following the drop of the puck for a faceoff will be assessed an automatic game misconduct in addition to other penalties assessed."
Additionally, if a single player accumulates 10 fighting majors over the regular season, he will automatically be suspended for one game, with subsequent suspensions handed up until a player reaches 13 fights.
If a player reaches 14 fights and higher, suspensions will be two games.
On top of the changes to fighting, the league also opted to ban offending teams from using their timeout after an icing call, a tactic often used by coaches to provide a brief rest period.
The AHL has previously been a buffer zone for the NHL when it comes to adopting new rules, as the affiliate league tested both 3-on-3 overtime and hybrid icing before the NHL implemented them.
Kelly played only 11 games last season for the Boston Bruins, scoring twice. He fractured his femur in November and was lost for the remainder of the schedule. He scored seven goals and added 21 assists in 80 games in 2014-15.
A Toronto native, Kelly spent the first seven years of his career in the Canadian capital, playing 463 regular-season games with Ottawa and recording 176 points.
He was traded to the Bruins in 2011, and the timing was perfect. He scored five goals and had eight assists in 25 playoff games as Boston won the Stanley Cup.
"We are excited to welcome Chris back to Ottawa," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "In our evaluation of our roster we felt that we needed to add another player with the ability to succeed in close situations and on the penalty kill.
"Chris will be able to contribute to both of those while adding another accomplished leader to our group. He understands the type of commitment that is necessary to play at a championship level."
The Senators have been mostly quiet this offseason, but the addition of a strong two-way center in Kelly will help a young group that will be playing for a new head coach in Guy Boucher.
The Flames selected Tkachuk sixth overall in the 2016 draft.
The son of former NHL forward Keith Tkachuk racked up 107 points in 57 regular-season games for the OHL's London Knights in 2015-16, adding another 40 points in 18 playoff contests.
The 18-year-old winger helped the Knights to a Memorial Cup championship in the spring.
