The Stanley Cup Playoffs are over, with the Vegas Golden Knights having been crowned Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in (brief) franchise history.
It means it's officially the NHL offseason. The free agency frenzy isn't until July 1st, but that won't stop the rumors from flying around the hockey world. If this past week taught us anything, the trade market is the best place to look for defensemen. Let's delve into the latest NHL rumors.
Erik Karlsson wants out of San Jose
Yes, this time, we mean it. This time the Erik Karlsson rumors aren't trade bait.
It's real, and the time has come to pounce on the star defenseman.
The San Jose Sharks and the Swedish native are finally on the same page.
After his representatives met with management last week, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Thursday on "Insider Trading" Karlsson wants out.
He hopes he's played his last game as a San Jose Shark. It's time one of the greatest blueliners of his era gets another shot at an elusive Stanley Cup. Will this be an easy deal? Not at all.
The Sharks have all the leverage. They have the player contenders want. They have him locked up long-term. The ball is in their court, and they won't rush to pull the trigger. But when they do, they've ensured Karlsson that it'll be with a team with a legitimate chance of winning the Stanley Cup within the next few seasons. It's the least they can do for the guy who was why the hockey world paid attention to the Sharks this year.
Either way, Karlsson has a no-trade clause. He likely has a short list of contenders he's willing to be traded to. All eyes turn to first-year GM Mike Grier, who will be the ultimate decider.
In the coming weeks, Karlsson will officially collect his third Norris Trophy. After enduring several injury-plagued campaigns, the 33-year-old scored 25 goals and had 101 points for San Jose. He also showed he could stay healthy, playing in all 82 regular season games for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.
He became the oldest defenseman to eclipse the 100-point plateau in a season. He was the sixth to accomplish the feat and the first since Brian Leetch in 1991-92.
This wouldn't be the first time Karlsson and his hefty contract would be moved.
The former Ottawa Senators captain has four years left on his contract with an $11.5-million cap hit, per CapFriendly.
Karlsson signed his eight-year, $92 million deal with the Sharks on June 17, 2019. It came after they acquired him from Ottawa as a $6.5 million rental in September of 2018. If this is the end, Karlsson finishes his San Jose tenure, having appeared in 293 games with 52 goals and 243 points.
Hurricanes will trade Brett Pesce if they can't keep him.
One way or another, defenseman Brett Pesce won't enter next season with an expiring contract.
The Carolina Hurricanes want to re-sign Pesce, but the Canes will ship him goodbye if they can't see eye-eye. The report was from TSN's Pierre Lebrun, who also said the Buffalo Sabres have inquired about his services.
Pesce, 28, has one year remaining on his contract, which began in 2017. He has a $4.025-million cap hit in 2022-23 and a no-trade clause.
Pesce is coming off a career season where he had 30 points. He also has averaged over 20 minutes for seven consecutive seasons.
The Hurricanes have been dealing with Judd Moldaver, Peace's agent.
Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns are the lone defensemen the Hurricanes have locked up past next season. Dylan Coghlan, Clavin De Haan, Maxime Lojoie, and Shayne Gostisbehere could walk. Jalen Chatfield still has another year before he's a threat to leave.
It adds to the team's off-season chaos. General Manager Don Waddell has 13 unrestricted and three restricted free agents to think about. Those decisions better come fast. If not, Carolina will be the one in a Hurricane of turmoil. Luckily, he has $24.1 million in cap space to work with.
Noah Hanifin requests trade from Calgary Flames
Throw money-making defenseman Noah Hanifin on the block too. Yep, that's right. According to the Athletic's Pierre LeBrun,
the 26-year-old has told the Calgary Flames he's not open to signing an extension. Like Mathew Tkachuk, he wants out a year early. He has one season left on his $4.95 million contract. He tallied 38 points this past season. He had a career-high 48 in 2021-22. He showed why Calgary was high on him in 2018. That was when they acquired him from the Carolina Hurricanes. So what gives? We have yet to find out.
So in the meantime, let's stick to something we do know.
Do you know who else Calgary acquired in that deal? Center Elias Lindholm. Guess what? He joins Hanifin as one of seven Flames who can walk as unrestricted free agents next year. New General Manager Craig Conroy already has a lot on his plate. The man said he didn't want any of the core leaving for free. But it's hard to imagine that happening. At least he has former Flames teammate Jarome Iginla as a special advisor, right?
That said, who knows? There's a lot that can change in a year. With a fresh face in Ryan Huska behind the bench, Calgary can go on a playoff run. If so, they can't afford another slow start. They need to come out Flaming hot. They need to give a reason for Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov to stay. Especially since Hanifin is one skate out the door.
Luke Schenn unlikely to be resigned by Maple Leafs
Luke Schenn lived out his boyhood dream. He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2023 trade deadline. He took part in their franchise's first playoff series win since 2004. But it looks as if he's about to be woken up.
Schenn and the Maple Leafs reportedly have not reached much common ground in contract negotiations. All signs point towards the 33-year-old defenseman playing for a new team in 2023-24.
Vancouver hockey insider Rick Dhaliwal provided an update on Schenn's status during Friday's episode of Donnie & Dhali – The Team on CHEK TV.
"Luke Schenn and the Maple Leafs are not close, as I was told, to a contract," Dhaliwal told co-host Don Taylor. "Keep an eye on him if he hits free agency. Let's see if it happens."
Schenn has earned less than $1 million annually in his previous four contracts. The most recent was a two-year, $850,000 AAV deal he signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021.
The Maple Leafs selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-2 righthander quickly leaped to the NHL from the WHL's Kelowna Rockets.
He appeared in 310 games from 2009-2012 as a Leaf. He scored 14 goals, had 75 points, and became a staple in their top six. But in the 2012 offseason, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a one-on-one swap for left winger James Van Riemsdyk.
Schenn spent four seasons with the Flyers. But those were less productive than the ones in Toronto. Injuries limited him to 213 games. He scored 12 goals and had 42 points during that span. Can you guess what fashion he left? That's right. Schenn was traded. During the 2015–16 season, Schenn appeared in 29 games for 5 points for the Flyers. Then he was dealt (alongside Vincent Lecavalier) to Los Angeles.
Schenn signed with the Arizona Coyotes that offseason for two years at $1.25 million AAV. After stints in the minor league systems of the Anaheim Ducks, and Vancouver Canucks, Schenn got his chance with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He opened coaches' eyes with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL with his tenacity, hockey sense, and powerful shot. It earned him a spot on Tampa's big club. He never looked back and proved to be a lockdown defenseman en route to back-back Stanley Cups. In the 2021 offseason, Schenn signed a two-year-$1.7 million contract with Vancouver. But this time was different. Schenn became a fan favorite.
This past season, he made NHL history.
Schenn set the benchmark for most hits by a defenseman. He broke Brooks Orpik's record of 2,946. But with his contract expiring, the rebuilding Canucks did the honorable thing. They traded him back to where it all began. He was a Toronto Maple Leaf. But with the team's cap crunch and Toronto needing money to lock up Auston Mathews and William Nylander, it looks like Schenn will be in a new uniform next season. But after describing his journey thus far, it shouldn't be something that'll stop him.
Through 933 games over 15 NHL seasons, Schenn has scored 42 goals and 191 points. He has three goals and seven points in the playoffs in 42 postseason games.
So up to this point, we've talked about moves that could happen. But there have been a few transactions that have already gone down. Let's dive in.
Devils agree to $7.875 million extension with Jesper Bratt
The New Jersey Devils announced Thursday that forward Jesper Bratt has signed an eight-year, $63 million contract extension ahead of restricted free agency this summer. Yep. $63 million for NO63. The contract has an AAV of $7.875 million.
General Manager Tom Fitzgerald expressed his excitement for the deal in the team's press release.
"It was always a priority to keep Jesper Bratt here long term and both parties are thrilled that a deal was completed," general manager Tom Fitzgerald said in a statement. "I value and commend the commitment Jesper made to this organization. We believe that he is a special player and a key member of our core group of talent who will contribute towards the team's long-term success and organizational goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to New Jersey."
Bratt signed two bridge deals after his entry-level contract before landing a long-term pact. His previous contract was a one-year agreement worth $5.45 million,
Now, he's the third-highest paid on the Devils behind defenseman Dougie Hamilton ($9 million) and center Jack Hughes($8 million).
Here is a breakdown of the salary for the contract:
- 2023-24: $10 million
- 2024-25: $9 million
- 2025-26: $9 million
- 2026-27: $8 million
- 2027-28: $7.2 million
- 2028-29: $7.2 million
- 2029-30: $6.6 million
- 2030-31: $6 million.
The winger has 102 goals and 276 points in 389 NHL games over six seasons. Bratt picked a perfect time to have a career season. In 2022-23, the 24-year-old scored a career-best 32 Goals and had 73 points for the second consecutive season.
The Swedish native was picked in the fifth round at No. 162 overall in the 2016 NHL draft by New Jersey. Bratt's fiery play made him a part of the Devils' young core. Now he's officially getting paid like one.
Timo Meier will get paid by New Jersey Devils
"Timo knows since I spoke to him (on June 15)," Fitzgerald said, according to NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale. "He knows how much we want to continue this long-term relationship, and he's reiterated that to me … this is where he wants to be.
"He sees himself as a Devil and has asked his agent to negotiate an eight-year deal with us," Fitzgerald continued. "It's music to my ears, and we'll continue to kind of chip away at it, but the goal is to have Timo Meier in a Devil's uniform for the next eight years."
The Devils acquired Meier, 26, from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline. Meir scored nine goals and had 24 points in 21 regular season games with his new club. Although he went pointless in the Devil's 4-3 first-round victory over the New York Rangers, Meier was a menace around the net. He constantly pestered the puck. He got in the face of Igor Shesterkin. He was everywhere but on the score sheet.
His fortunes changed in the second round, as he registered two goals and four points in five games. But it didn't matter. New Jersey was defeated 4-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes. The winger has registered back-back 76-point seasons. He scored 35 goals with the Sharks in 2021-22 and scored 40 between San Jose and New Jersey in the 2022-23 season.
Transaction: Vancouver Canucks reach buyout with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The Vancouver Canucks have decided to buy out Oliver Ekman-Larsson's contract. The 31-year-old defenseman still had four years left on his eight-year, $66-million contract. He was set to earn an AAV of $8.25 million. Vancouver will still be on the books for that contract. Except it goes to their "Dead cap" department. If picked up, that team will have Ekman-Larsson for free.
During the 2022-23 season, the Swedish native scored two goals and had 22 points in 54 games. In 2021-22 he scored five goals and had 29 points in 79 games. It's only gotten worse for him. Ekman-Larsson was traded to Vancouver from the Arizona Coyotes in July 2021, along with Connor Garland, in exchange for the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft (Dylan Guenther), plus forwards Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, and Antoine Roussel.
Although it is uncommon to see a team buy out a player with many years remaining on his contract, Vancouver did it.
Before the transaction, the team was projected to enter the 2023 off-season approximately $668,000 over the cap.
Now, Vancouver has some money to spend. They can use the space on a younger defenseman to aid their rebuild. The price of freeing up that space is a significant cap hit through 2030-31. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin spoke about the decision on Friday.
"The business of hockey is very complex, and tough decisions have to be made if you want to remain competitive," . "Buying out Oliver gives us a lot more flexibility and cap space the next couple of years and significantly reduces his hit in the subsequent season."
Before the trade, Ekman-Larsson spent nine seasons with the Coyotes. He ranked 15th among all blueliners in points (345) and fifth in ice time (15,486:04). During that period, he had two 20-goal seasons. He led the Coyotes in points twice and received Norris Trophy votes five times.
It will be interesting to see how much interest Ekman-Larsson generates in the free agent market. Some teams may view him as a player who can contribute in a less prominent role than he had in Vancouver. He played an average of 21:27 per night over the past two seasons.
