Keith Gretzky will remain with the Edmonton Oilers as the team's assistant general manager, GM Ken Holland announced Tuesday.
Gretzky returns to his previous role after being promoted to interim GM following the firing of Peter Chiarelli in January. Gretzky was a candidate for the GM job, which ultimately went to Holland in May.
The younger brother of Wayne Gretzky will also serve as GM of the club's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
He was hired by the Oilers as assistant general manager in the summer of 2016.
Prior to joining Edmonton's front office, Gretzky worked in the scouting department of several NHL clubs beginning in 2001.
Foo spent this past season with the AHL's Stockton Heat after playing 62 games with the team, and four with the Flames in 2017-18.
The 25-year-old forward posted 17 goals and 38 points over 67 contests with Stockton in 2018-19.
Calgary signed Foo out of Union College as an undrafted free agent in June 2017. He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, an annual honor given to the NCAA's top men's hockey player, following a stellar 2016-17 campaign.
The NHL didn't participate in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and it's unclear whether the league's players will be allowed to return to the grandest international stage for the Beijing games in 2022.
Entering the offseason, a Phil Kessel trade appeared to be a foregone conclusion. But now, it appears the 31-year-old forward will be staying with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I think that's the way things are headed at this point in time," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "I expect Kessel will probably play for Pittsburgh next season."
Kessel's contract includes a list of eight teams of his choosing he can be traded to. He reportedly flexed those muscles last month when he nixed a move to the Minnesota Wild due to concerns over the team's competitiveness.
"You have to understand that he has a no-trade clause and a lot of leverage," Rutherford said of Kessel. "In situations like this, it usually doesn't work out so well for the team. That’s just the way it is."
Kessel's name first popped up in rumors last summer due to a reported rift between him and head coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins then tested the market again in December.
Despite Kessel's productivity over the past two seasons and his integral role in Pittsburgh's back-to-back Stanley Cups, moving out his $6.8-million cap hit (through the 2021-22 season) would create much-needed financial flexibility. The Pens are set to have just $3.2 million in cap space this summer, while defenseman Marcus Pettersson will headline a short list of RFAs due for raises.
"Well, we're going to have to move some people to clear up cap space," Rutherford said. "A couple of players, probably."
With Kessel likely staying put, the GM hinted that someone from Pittsburgh's stable of defensemen could be on their way out.
"I think it’s fair to assume that there will be different people there," Rutherford said, referring to the blue line. "It’s something we have to consider. We just have some extra bodies there right now. So it's fair to suspect that there will be changes on the blue line."
Overall, while the Penguins may not make the kind of splash that was expected this offseason, Rutherford was adamant that there will be roster turnover.
"Changes are coming," he said. "Changes are in order, for sure. At this point in time, I don’t know exactly what they are going to be. It’s hard to say right now, but changes are coming. I’ll say this, though. I don’t think we’re going to make any changes that I would refer to as massive. I'd say I'm looking to retool more than anything."
Throughout June, theScore will be projecting contracts for the star-studded restricted free-agent class. In this edition, we project Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor's new deals.
The players
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
Laine and Connor became dynamic offensive weapons for the Winnipeg Jets while playing out their entry-level contracts. Between them, they've given the Jets five 30-goal seasons. Connor was selected 17th overall in the 2015 draft, while Laine was chosen second overall the following year.
Laine:
Season (Age)
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
2016-17 (18)
73
36
28
64
17:55
2017-18 (19)
82
44
26
70
16:29
2018-19 (20)
82
30
20
50
17:14
Laine has quickly evolved into one of the game's premier goal-scorers, but he's proven to be rather inconsistent. During the 2018-19 season, he scored 18 of his 30 goals during a 12-game stretch in November. He then found twine just four times at even strength over his final 58 contests and looked disengaged in more than a handful of those outings.
He silenced some of his critics with a stellar postseason performance, though the Jets were bounced by the St. Louis Blues in the first round.
Connor:
Season (Age)
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
2016-17 (20)
20
2
3
5
12:13
2017-18 (21)
76
31
26
57
16:54
2018-19 (22)
82
34
32
66
19:15
Connor has become an effective complement to Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler on the Jets' top line. He's smart, quick, blessed with soft hands, and has a nose for the net. His ceiling may not be as high as Laine's, but his floor and shift-to-shift consistency are significantly greater.
The team
Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty
As punishment for years of successful drafting, Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff finds himself in a significant cap crunch this offseason. In addition to Laine and Connor, the Jets have a long list of pending free agents, and only $25.37 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly.
Player (Pos.)
Status
Andrew Copp (F)
RFA
Brandon Tanev (F)
UFA
Par Lindholm (F)
UFA
Matt Hendricks (F)
UFA
Jacob Trouba (D)
RFA
Tyler Myers (D)
UFA
Ben Chiarot (D)
UFA
Nathan Beaulieu (D)
RFA
Joe Morrow (D)
RFA
Bogdan Kiselevich (D)
UFA
Trouba is a safe bet to be traded, but the Jets would probably like to re-sign at least a handful of the players listed above.
Obviously, Laine and Connor are top priorities, but the cap situation could affect how their contracts are constructed. Eight-year contracts, which require higher cap hits, seem to be out of the question.
The comparables
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Here's a select list of wingers to sign extensions out of restricted free agency over the last few years:
Player
Cap hit
CH%
Length
Year signed
Jake Guentzel (PIT)
$6M
7.55
5 years
2018
William Nylander (TOR)
$6.9M*
8.67
6 years
2018
Leon Draisaitl (EDM)
$8.5M
11.3
8 years
2017
David Pastrnak (BOS)
$6.6M
8.89
6 years
2017
Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG)
$6M
8.0
7 years
2017
Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
$6.75M
9.25
6 years
2016
Filip Forsberg (NSH)
$6M
8.22
6 years
2016
Vladimir Tarasenko (STL)
$7.5M
10.27
8 years
2015
CH% = Cap hit percentage, based on cap ceiling when the contract was signed
* - Nylander's cap hit in 2018-19 was prorated to $10.2 million because of time missed in negotiations
Nylander's deal will likely be viewed as the best comparison for Connor in negotiations. The Swede had 122 points in the two seasons before his new contract, while Connor had 123.
A comparison for Laine is tougher to find. He's never reached the 77 points Draisaitl accumulated in his contract year and doesn't offer the versatility of playing center like the Edmonton Oilers forward does. Tarasenko's deal, although outdated, is interesting. His contract year (37 goals, 73 points) is similar to Laine's 2017-18 season (44 goals, 70 points).
However, Laine's third-year slump creates an interesting debate. Should he be paid as the player he was in 2017-18 or 2018-19? That could be a point of contention during negotiations.
The projections
Darcy Finley / National Hockey League / Getty
For Connor, a six-year deal seems to be the most likely scenario. It provides long-term stability but wouldn't break the bank for the Jets. At this term, a cap hit would likely fall somewhere between $6.5 million and $7.5 million.
Laine's contract is more difficult to predict. He and his agent may prefer a bridge deal so they can return to the negotiating table in two or three years. The cap hit could range from $5 million to $7 million. If Laine's camp wants to get a long-term pact done in the six-to-eight-year range, then his AAV could potentially fall between $7 million and $9 million.
Connor verdict: 6 years, $43 million ($7.167M AAV, 8.63 CH%) Laine verdict: 7 years, $54.6 million ($7.8M AAV, 9.4 CH%)
"I am going to talk to Loui this week and get his thoughts on everything and why he made the comment he did, but (a trade) could be something that's real," Benning said, according to Kevin Woodley of NHL.com.
Eriksson, who has three years left on a six-year, $36-million contract, made the comments to Swedish website HockeySverige.se while playing for Sweden at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.
"There could be a fit and if you look at it from Edmonton's perspective, the interest might come from their newly hired coach Dave Tippett, who had Loui Eriksson in Dallas for three years, so there is a familiarity there," Dreger said. "The Vancouver Canucks do see value in Milan Lucic, in that they have a younger team, they have some smallish players... Milan Lucic could add a little bit of bite."
Both Eriksson and Lucic come with a $6-million cap hit.
Eriksson notched 11 goals and 29 points in 81 games this season.
Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher has made teams aware that he is willing to trade his club's first-round draft pick.
"It's early. I've mentioned to teams that we're in play but there hasn't been a big push for the pick yet," Fletcher said at a press conference Monday. "If we keep it and stay at 11, we're going to get a good player ... It's certainly a good chip that if moved, it could help."
Fletcher, who replaced Ron Hextall as the Flyers GM on Dec. 3, has said he will be "very aggressive" this offseason in an attempt to improve the team.
However, management is still confident Philadelphia will get a quality player if it keeps its first-rounder.
"At number 11, somebody will fall to us. After the top two ... I think from three to 15 there will be a lot of the same names but teams will have them ordered differently and I think that bodes well for us," assistant GM Brent Flahr said Monday.
"The way we look at it, we will take the best player at 11. I think as we go in the draft, we have some young defensemen that are in the NHL right now, and a couple coming, but we probably like to add defensemen depth to our organization going forward, whether it's at 11 or the second or third round, we will see."
The Flyers have nine picks in total in June's draft.
The NHL Board of Governors is expected to vote on the matter at an upcoming meeting in Las Vegas on June 19. The sale would give Meruelo a substantial majority stake in the Coyotes, with current owner Andrew Barroway retaining a small minority share, Morgan adds.
Meruelo has construction, real estate, and other holdings across the U.S. He put in a bid to buy the NBA's Atlanta Hawks in 2011.
Barroway became the Coyotes' owner in 2015, buying control of the club for $305 million.
The Boston Bruins were well-aware of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch accidentally anointing the Blues as Stanley Cup champions, and defenseman Brandon Carlo says his club used it as motivation.
"We saw it," he told WBZ after Boston forced Game 7 with a 5-1 win in Game 6 of the Cup Final. “(It) put a fire in us for sure. We don't like that kind of stuff. We don't want that to happen in Boston by any means. We're focused on the next shift and going from there, not focused on winning or losing. Just focused on the next shift and working our asses off."
On Sunday, mere hours before Game 6 and with St. Louis holding a 3-2 series lead, the Post-Dispatch prematurely published ads in its subscriber-only online edition congratulating the Blues on a Stanley Cup championship.
Fellow Boston blue-liner Torey Krug said Monday that the error was hard to miss "because it was everywhere," according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa, who reported that printouts of the ads were made available for the players to read.
The newspaper apologized shortly after the mistake began circulating.
Boston has seen this before. The City of Vancouver reportedly planned a Stanley Cup victory parade before the Bruins defeated the Canucks in Game 7 back in 2011.
