The era of player empowerment appears to be coming to the NHL.
According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Cale Makar's record-breaking deal, where he took just $400,000 less than what a max contract value would be, is the start of a new trend in the NHL, where players will be more looking to maximize their earning potential and front offices will have to adjust around that.
"This age of player enlightenment is certainly here," Seravalli said on The Fan Morning Show Tuesday. "(Players) seem to be more comfortable than ever saying, 'No, this is actually what I'm worth.' Cale Makar, 'I'm not trying to break the record for 100K just for a day to say that I did it. No, I'm going to put a stamp on it and say, yeah, I'm worth a million-and-a-half more per year than any player has ever signed for in NHL history.'
"So it is trending in that direction, but what I will say is on the extension front, and with players of that calibre, the elite of the elite, what you're also going to see is the adjustment is on the team side, understanding that this marketplace dynamic has shifted and the time for screw around is over. That if you want to keep these players, you're coming with the Brinks truck and you're doing it right from jump street as opposed to talking tough."
The 2027 off-season has promise to be among the most intriguing with superstar players like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Zach Werenski all extension eligible.
How their respective teams decide to go about their respective negotiations moving forward will be a major talking point as the 2026-27 season gets underway and moves forward.
Before that, however, there are a number of other interesting matters around the NHL that could be resolved before the new season begins that Seravalli spoke about.
Here's a little on each one.
Where will Minnesota's Hughes end up?
In the wake of Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin's comments on star defenceman Quinn Hughes, Seravalli sees the Wild looking to make a decision on Hughes to either sign an extension or move on from him sooner rather than later.
"If it were me, I'd look to rip the Band-Aid off at some point this month," Seravalli said. "Not to put a deadline on it, but I don't want my team and season being held hostage by this storyline.
"Think about the way the wind was let out of the building in Vancouver when Quinn Hughes was traded mid-year. It's not to say that it's not possible to do, I just think if you have a team that, otherwise, you believe is ready to contend and compete, that you don't want this hanging over your head and you don't want to try and do this surgery mid-season."
As for possible landing spots for Hughes should Minnesota decide to trade him, his initial destination of the New Jersey Devils, where his two brothers play, that he was rumoured to want to end up in after exiting the Canucks, still remains an attractive landing spot.
"We don't need Quinn Hughes to say it publicly, although they've all hinted at the idea of it, of course."
Winnipeg looking to slow-play Hellebuyck situation?
Connor Hellebuyck's trade request may have gone public, but that doesn't exactly mean he will get his way.
"I think they're also incredibly content, knowing how they do business, seeing this (trade request) as we're either getting to a threshold that we believe is an acceptable return for, arguably, the best goaltender of his generation, or we're gonna have Connor Hellebuyck honour his contract," Seravalli said of how the Winnipeg Jets might deal with the Hellebuyck situation.
Larkin staying in Detroit?
Way back near the beginning of June, it was known that Dylan Larkin had requested a trade away from the Detroit Red Wings.
So far, there's been nothing doing on that front, leading Seravalli to wonder if a trade might be happening at all, particularly with Steve Yzerman out of the picture.
"Look, he's a Michigan kid," Seravalli said of Larkin. "Has absolutely loved playing for the Detroit Red Wings and did not have a good relationship with Steve Yzerman, who was, essentially, dismissed. Like let's call it for what it is. ...
"Because of that relationship (between the Red Wings and Yzerman) and the way that it soured, if I'm Dylan Larkin there's a chance to save face here and say, 'Look, I'm going to give it another shot under this next manager to see if he can turn this around in relatively short order because this is the place I've always want to be. I've wanted to win here.'"
Can Ducks afford to keep Gauthier?
After the Philadelphia Flyers forced the Anaheim Ducks to give Leo Carlson what was the most expensive contract in NHL history by average-annual value, the Ducks are looking at another precarious situation with a young star forward in Cutter Gauthier.
Seravalli believes the Ducks will have no choice but to potentially low-ball Gauthier and look to ink him to a shorter-term deal in the immediate before looking to lock him up for the long haul.
"I do think that this is one of those situations where (Gauthier) doesn't have a ton of leverage, the team has to squeeze him because of the cap situation that they're in and my guess is it produces some kind of short-term deal, a two-year deal at pick a number north of 10 to get it done just to get him playing again," Seravalli said.
