Despite a dearth of player movement during the 2023 NHL Draft earlier this week on Wednesday and Thursday, the rumour mill is churning more rapidly on the eve of free agency.
Not only are teams continuing to negotiate with players set to hit the open market Saturday at noon ET, there is growing attention on many players about to officially enter the final year of their current deals.
Nick Kypreos reported Friday on Real Kyper and Bourne that he spoke to one team that said “as far as they were concerned, the Leafs are not taking calls on William Nylander.”
The 27-year-old scored a career-high 40 goals and 47 assists in 82 games before adding 10 points in 11 playoff games in 2022-23. He, like Auston Matthews, is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2023-24 campaign. Nylander is among the players eligible to sign a contract extension for 2024-25 and beyond as early as Saturday.
Kypreos deduced that what his source said essentially means one of two things: either Toronto’s new GM Brad Treliving has no interest in trading away the forward, instead focussing on re-signing Nylander following his career year — or at least that the team with whom Kypreos spoke is not involved in any potential trade talks surrounding that particular player.
Nylander has a 10-team modified no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1 for the final year of his current contract, which has a salary cap hit just shy of $7 million.
“There’s no question in my mind or anyone else’s that (the Maple Leafs) want this guy signed, sealed, and delivered for the next five, seven, eight years,” Kypreos said.
Growing trade market for one of Calgary’s goalies?
The Calgary Flames have a crowded crease heading into next season with Jacob Markstrom, Daniel Vladar and the emerging Dustin Wolf all under contract. Markstrom has three years remaining on his deal and Wolf could be NHL-ready while entering the final year of his entry-level deal. Vladar, meanwhile, has two years left with an AAV of $2.2 million and Sportsnet’s Eric Francis said Friday during an appearance on Sportsnet 590: “I do think there’d be a big market for a guy with that cap hit, with that size, he’s six-foot-six, he’s a consummate pro, his teammates absolutely love him which is a crucial part of being a backup goalie.”
Vladar had a 14-6-5 record in 2022-23 and Francis speculated a team like Toronto, whose current GM used to run the ship in Calgary, could be one of the teams to give the Flames a call this off-season.
“I think the value’s high on a Dan Vladar if that’s the road the Flames decide to go whenever that is — whether it’s in the summer or the fall or if it’s at the trade deadline, I think that he’ll get back a pretty good return,” Francis added.
Might Panthers’ Duclair be available via trade?
Anthony Duclair had a career year in 2021-22, registering 31 goals in 74 games, but his 2022-23 campaign was impacted after he sustained an Achilles injury during off-season training that required surgery. He returned to Florida’s lineup in February and although his production dipped compared to the previous year he helped the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup Final, tallying 11 points in 20 playoff outings.
Panthers reporter George Richards spoke to Sportsnet 590’s Matt Marchese on Friday to discuss whether Duclair’s remaining contract could force Florida to move the forward, and which team would be a clear fit for him.
“I think if they can keep him they’d love to do so (but) this team really needs to get help defensively, they need forward depth, they’ve got injuries on the blue line with Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad and they really don’t know when those guys are coming back so you can’t really LTIR them because you’ve got to absorb that money, so we’ll have to see what happens with Anthony Duclair.”
Duclair’s salary cap hit for the upcoming season is $3 million and Richards mentioned Calgary as one team that could be in on Duclair if the Panthers look to trade him.
Pacioretty garnering interest from teams
Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff reported Friday “there is significant interest” in pending UFA Max Pacioretty. The veteran winger only managed to play five games as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022-23 because he re-ruptured his Achilles.
“Teams indicated the Canes have granted Pacioretty permission to peruse the market early,” Seravalli wrote. “Pacioretty and Connor Brown (ACL tear) are both eligible to sign performance bonus-based deals by virtue of being on the injured list for more than 100 days last season.”
Pacioretty, 34, is a six-time 30-goal scorer whose past two seasons have been marred by injuries.
5:51