Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the potential for an offer sheet this summer, Alexis Lafreniere’s future with the Rangers, Jeremy Swayman’s trade value, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.
aka.nda: What wizardry does the Golden Knights’ offseason have in store for us?
Rarely has there been a dull summer for Vegas since they joined the league but I think this offseason could be the exception. They’re not in a spot where they have to dump salary to be compliant with the salary cap. I’m sure they’d like to try to re-sign Ivan Barbashev but depending on what happens with other areas, they might not even need to clear money to make that happen.
A lot of their offseason activity this summer will revolve around Robin Lehner. Is he able to come back? If yes, then they might want to look to trim some money if they want to realistically try to keep Barbashev in the fold. Otherwise, they can put him back on LTIR and use his $5MM. Some of that will go towards a backup to Logan Thompson (likely Adin Hill, Laurent Brossoit, or another veteran netminder) but that won’t cost $5MM alone; they can use some of that plus their cap space and try to keep Barbashev that way.
If they do decide they want to move some money out, Alec Martinez is the logical choice. He’ll be on an expiring deal next season and isn’t the impact defender he was when he first joined the Golden Knights. Accordingly, his $5.25MM AAV is on the high side. They probably won’t be able to clear that full deal without either paying part of it down or giving up other assets but they could take back a forward making a bit less to fill one of the vacancies that will be created in free agency.
Vegas likes to chase down the big deal, I get it. But there isn’t an elite free agent out there and let’s face it, they probably don’t have the prospect pool and draft capital to make the top offer in the bidding for an impact player on the trade market. Years of moving picks and prospects will do that to a team. So perhaps this summer will be a quiet one for Vegas, one that sees them lose a few players but keep the core largely intact. In other words, the type of summer that befits a strong contender.
gowings2008: What are some 2nd line center options for Detroit heading into next season?
I have some bad news for any team looking for help down the middle this summer – there isn’t much in free…
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