General managers across the NHL are pushing hard to get some deals done before making the trip to Nashville for the draft on June 28.
There have been a couple of trades already, with centre Ryan Johansen getting dealt to the Colorado Avalanche, while the Arizona Coyotes picked up defenceman Sean Durzi from the Los Angeles Kings.
A few more deals are reportedly in the works with one team at the centre of it all.
Flyers/Blues potential blockbuster delayed
No team is expected to be more active this off-season than the Philadelphia Flyers. They revamped their front office after firing general manager Chuck Fletcher and naming Daniel Brière as his replacement, while Keith Jones was hired as team president of hockey operations.
Philadelphia already moved defenceman Ivan Provorov as part of a three-team trade that included the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings.
Now a couple of other players are expected to be on the move with Kevin Hayes at the centre of another potential deal, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday.
The proposed trade involving Hayes has been delayed however, because Blues defenceman Torey Krug has not agreed to waive his no-trade clause, according to Friedman.
The 32-year-old is heading into the fourth year of a seven-year deal that carries a $6.5 million cap hit — but also a no-trade clause, according to CapFriendly.
Hayes has three more years left on his contract that carries a $7,142,857 cap hit and a modified no-trade clause, where the 31-year-old can submit a 12-team no-trade list.
Knights to extend Hill?
Though it’s not yet a done deal, it looks like the Vegas Golden Knights will be signing Stanley Cup-winning goalie Adin Hill to an extension before he becomes a free agent on July 1.
The deal is reported to be for two years and in the range of $4.9 million per year.
The 27-year-old from Comox, B.C., is coming off a two-year deal he signed with the San Jose Sharks that was worth $2.1 million per season. He was traded to the Knights last August for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft and went 16-7 with a .915 save percentage in 25 starts during the regular season, before taking over for the team in goal in Game 2 the second round of the playoffs.
During his run he went 11-4, posting a 2.17 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage en route to the Cup win.
Hurricanes in process of bringing DeAngelo back
The Flyers are also looking to offload defenceman Tony DeAngelo with the Carolina Hurricanes the likely destination.
DeAngelo signed a two-year, $10 million with the Flyers back in 2022. The 27-year-old appeared in 70 games last season recording 11 goals and 42 points.
DeAngelo played the 2021-22 season with the Hurricanes where he had 51 points in 64 games.