With the end of August typically being very quiet around the NHL, we had plenty of original content here at PHR over the past seven days. Here’s a recap of those columns.
When July 1st came, the unrestricted free agent defenseman with the most points was Matt Grzelcyk. He was coming off a career-best 40 points while also logging more than 20 minutes a night for the first time. In a market bereft of top-four defenders, he was an exception. And yet, nearly two months into free agency, he’s still looking for a contract. Josh Cybulski examined Grzelcyk’s situation, noting the rarity of a player coming off a “show me” contract, performing better than expected, and remaining in free agency this late. While his play was worthy of a raise from the $2.75MM he made last season, it’s looking less likely that he’ll actually beat that.
Our Summer Synopsis series continued with our writing team taking looks at Toronto, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis. The Maple Leafs lost one of their top players this summer with Mitch Marner heading to Vegas while the team added some extra grit and defensive acumen up front. Meanwhile, the Lightning largely had a quiet summer with their biggest move being the re-signing of 33-year-old center Yanni Gourde to a six-year contract, one that carries a team-friendly $2.33MM AAV. Meanwhile, the Blues had plenty of trade speculation over the summer but made just one move, a swap of 2021 first-round picks while they shored up their center depth in free agency.
Meanwhile, our Salary Cap Deep Dive series continues its tour through the Central Division as I examined the situations for Colorado and Dallas. Last season, the Avs weren’t able to re-sign a key pending UFA winger and they could be in a similar situation this year with Martin Necas, especially with Cale Makar due a significant raise two years from now. Meanwhile, Dallas is a year away from an intriguing summer with both Jason Robertson and Thomas Harley in line for significant raises without a ton of cap room. This season, both teams have limited room below the Upper Limit so making moves of significance won’t be easy unless they’re sending a key piece out as part of the swap.
With training camps fast approaching, one of the early storylines is always about trophy contenders. It’s an impressive-looking field for Rookie of the Year, headlined up front by Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov, Capitals winger Ryan Leonard, and 2025 Hobey Baker winner
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