The Hockey Writers Daily - Free Agent Saturday
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In today’s Free Agency edition, we have our 2023 Free Agency Tracker, targets & trades various teams, how the Hall/Foligno trade will help the Bruins, a roster rebuild proposal for the Penguins, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff:.
2023 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Get all the details of what's already happened & what's going to happen today, as the Free Agent window opens up for the 2023-24 season. Who's going where? Who's staying put? Who's stuck in limbo?
We've got it all here.
Devils Unlikely to Spend Big in Free Agency
The New Jersey Devils have made big splashes in free agency before. In 2021, they signed Dougie Hamilton, Jonathan Bernier and Tomáš Tatar as free agents. Last year, it was Ondrej Palát and Brendan Smith. The 2023 class lacks the talent for a spending spree, but there are some things general manager Tom Fitzgerald could address when the market opens at noon tomorrow (July 1).
Among the team’s needs heading into free agency are defensive and bottom-six depth and perhaps a goaltender, depending on how they’ve viewed prices on the trade market. Let’s review some options, a few of which we’ve gone over in previous weeks, to set the table for free agency.
NHL Rumors: Bruins, Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Oilers, Jets
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, Tyler Bertuzzi will be testing free agency. Meanwhile, is William Nylander asking for more than the Toronto Maple Leafs are willing to pay? Did the Detroit Red Wings want Klim Kostin and take Kailer Yamamoto to get him? Finally, the Winnipeg Jets are planning to buy out Blake Wheeler’s contract. What does that mean moving forward?
Insider Reports Maple Leafs Hit Snag With Nylander Negotiations
The most recent contract negotiations between the Maple Leafs and the forward have reached a critical juncture and the latest report from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is that the two sides aren’t terribly close. While sources suggest the Maple Leafs aren’t concerned with the July 1 timeline everyone else seems to be suggesting is the critical breaking point, LeBrun does point out that the organization faces the challenge of bridging the significant gap between Nylander’s contract demands and the team’s willingness to offer an extension, and doing so in a timely manner.
Failure to do so means the potential of having to trade Nylander, and even then, the current NHL landscape poses obstacles.
Red Wings’ Top Free Agent Targets for 2023
Now that the 2023 NHL Draft is over, Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings will turn their focus to free agency. And while this year’s free agent class is relatively weak compared to prior years, there are players out there who can address Detroit’s organizational needs.
Yzerman already added Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin to the fold after acquiring the two forwards from the Edmonton Oilers. Kostin, in particular, addresses one of Detroit’s offseason priorities – to become a more physical team.
As for Detroit’s other organizational needs, the players below have been identified as potential solutions based on a combination of talent, organizational fit, and contract expectations.
Bruins Address Positional Needs With Taylor Hall Trade
Earlier this week, Boston Bruins‘ GM Don Sweeney made his first significant roster move as he begins to address his club’s issues surrounding the salary cap. While the initial reaction I’ve seen from fans on different social media platforms is disappointment, many are commenting on why Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno were moved. However, Sweeney needs to shed salary, and Hall may be just the first domino to fall as the offseason progresses.
Despite many believing the Bruins’ return in the trade is underwhelming, Sweeney did an excellent job of addressing some positional needs by acquiring two right-handed defencemen, Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula, from the Chicago Blackhawks. Today, we look deeper at the trade and the two newly acquired defencemen.
Roster Rebuild: Penguins Can Contend With the Right Moves
We take a look at what Kyle Dubas & Co. could do this summer to bring the Stanley Cup back to the Steel City.
Oilers Should Reunite with Recently Bought Out Yamamoto
Darren Dreger first reported the buyout and noted that the Red Wings seriously considered keeping him but couldn’t make the moves to make it work. Detroit was fairly set on wingers, to begin with, so the trade acquisition was a bit odd at the time of completion. With Yamamoto now hitting the open market on July 1 as an unrestricted free agent (UFA), the Oilers have a chance to bring him back at a much cheaper cost to see if things could have worked next season with less pressure, expectation, and a smaller role without criticism about the contract.
More stuff from around the NHL:
From ESPN - Devils don't qualify Michael McLeod, Jesper Boqvist, Nathan Bastian
From Sportsnet - Red Wings sign forward Klim Kostin to two-year, $4M contract
From TSN - No. 1 pick Bedard begins development camp with Blackhawks
We hope you enjoyed today’s THW Daily, and we hope to expand our daily offerings as we develop and experiment with this new platform. Cheers!
Do you think that the flames will do anything this year with free agents or trades I’m pretty concerned that they may go into a tailspin I’m sad to see a player like Milan Lucic go
Great website