SILLY SEASON: SUMMER 2022

TORONTO, ON – As I pack my bags for the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, I can’t help but feel the excitement of not just a great series ahead between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche, but the next four weeks are going to be jampacked with activity.

Yes, a lot of us covering this amazing sport will be exhausted by the time the free agent market opens in four weeks, but that’s what the postgame beverages are for – okay, that’s temporary stress relief and doesn’t actually help with exhaustion, but I digress.

In addition to the Bolts/Avs battle that gets underway Wednesday with Game 1 in Denver, the NHL Draft is around the corner and then we’ve got free agency. And mixed all into the next four weeks is the silly season, summer edition.

Summer doesn’t officially arrive for another week (June 21), but we’ve already heard speculation around prominent pending unrestricted free agents Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in Pittsburgh, Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary and Filip Forsberg in Nashville, and trade chatter is starting to pick up with names like Tyson Barrie and John Gibson in the fold (more on Gibson later).

With the Cup about to begin, here are some storylines to follow away from the action:

Johnny Hockey

In this week’s Bitbuy Hot Take of the Week, I touched on Gaudreau’s future in Calgary. He may very well stick around, but having put off negotiations all season (at least that’s what they kept telling us) and now sitting four weeks from the FA doors opening, it only makes sense for him to see what’s out there.

Steven Stamkos went this route when he was a UFA in 2016. He spoke with other clubs during the then-allowed talking period and ultimately decided to re-sign with the Bolts – and that kinda worked out well for him.

The Flames obviously want to keep him and if he sticks around, he’ll make a case for being the greatest Flame of all time, but given the chatter that has followed him over his future, weighing his options isn’t the worst thing for him.

But aside from Gaudreau, the Flames need to lock up Matthew Tkachuk long-term and that’s going to be another topic to keep tabs on over the next month.

Forsberg Talks

The Nashville Predators and Filip Forsberg’s camp resumed contract negotiations this month and things remain fluid. This was the expectation from mid-season, too – that contract discussions wouldn’t pick up until a month or so before the start of free agency, which is why I was so confident a deal wasn’t getting ironed out mid-season.

Like Calgary with Gaudreau, Nashville wants to keep Forsberg. And he really wants to stay, but the money has to work.

Both sides seem fixated on a long-term deal, but the dollars and structure remain the stumbling blocks and that’s what the two sides hope to figure out over these next few weeks.

Reshaping Chicago

The Chicago Blackhawks are wide open for business, minus Jonathan Toews, Seth Jones and Patrick Kane. They’re entering a full rebuild and that’s why Alex DeBrincat’s name was all over the place in March and why many around the league expect him to be dealt at some point.

And while teams like New Jersey, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Philadelphia and the New York Islanders are among the teams (there are more) drooling over the possibility of landing a 24-year-old sniper who’s already scored 40 goals in a season twice, there are other assets in play for the Hawks.

Forwards Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik were discussed at nauseum leading up to the trade deadline. Both can become restricted free agents next month.

Considering the rollercoaster ride of a season Strome had, he managed to put up 22 goals and 48 points in 69 games and caught the attention of a few teams. If he’s finally moved, the return will likely result in a combination of draft picks/prospects. And he’ll also find relief in not having to worry about trade chatter for some time.

There was talk ahead of the trade deadline that the Kings were trying to land Kubalik. I’m curious if they revisit that option if they don’t pony up for DeBrincat.

Gibson Chatter

In March, we came across information that John Gibson’s name was out there. The Anaheim Ducks were taking calls, but nothing materialized — until last week, when myself and Nick Alberga came across more info on the matter.

Gibson, who has five-years left on his contract and comes with a $6.4 million salary cap hit, is open to the idea of being moved and the team is aware. This was reported on Monday.

No, he has not asked for a trade – things can get lost in translation on social media and people love to jump to conclusions (or don’t read properly), so I want to make that clear. He does not want to move, but understands it’s a possibility. He also owns a 10-team no-trade clause, so he’ll have some say. And despite a denial from his agent, four separate sources, two of whom are with the Ducks organization, told us the same thing.

The goalie market this summer isn’t overly deep. Jack Campbell, Ville Husso, Darcy Kuemper, Marc-Andre Fleury and Braden Holtby lead the list of top UFA netminders. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek will explore his options this summer, but could sit back and wait to see if a team offers up a premium for Gibson – and that might be the only way he pulls the trigger.

Either way, you’ll hear Gibson’s name out there a little more frequently as the weeks storm ahead.

Remember Chychrun?

Jakob Chychrun was the centre of the trade deadline attention for two months leading up to March 21, and then things just fizzled.

Well, the Arizona Coyotes are still willing to trade him and those discussions are expected to pick up steam.

The asking price hasn’t changed; it remains three or four assets, including a first-round draft pick, a top prospect and a young, current NHL talent. Whether a fourth piece is in the mix depends on the value of the previous three. But it’s a haul. Still.

The usual suspects still have interest, but it will be interesting to see if any other teams step up for his services. At 24, with a $4.6 million cap hit for the next three seasons, he’s one of the most attractive pieces in the trade market.

Cup Cap Hits

Not to put a damper on things, but both the Lightning and Avalanche have some fairly significant UFAs to worry about in a few weeks.

Ondrej Palat, Nick Paul and Jan Rutta all need new deals with Tampa.

The Bolts have $4,891,667 in cap overage space when you factor in Brent Seabrook’s LTIR space, meaning they can exceed the $82.5 million cap by that amount. That might be enough to keep Paul and Rutta, but they’ll need to be creative if they want to keep Palat.

As for Colorado, Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, Andrei Burakovsky, Josh Manson and Kuemper lead their list of UFAs. Plus, Artturi Lehkonen and Nico Aube-Kubel will be RFAs.

The Avs have $25.685 million salary cap space. That’s probably not enough to keep this band together. But they’ll worry about that in a couple of weeks.