Ahead of the NHL Draft on July 7 and the opening of free agency on July 13, TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.


Could Leafs Let Top UFAs Walk?

With three weeks remaining before the free agent market opens, the Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to extend offers to pending UFAs Jack Campbell and Ilya Mikheyev, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reports.

The cap-strapped Maple Leafs have a projected $7.84 million in space this summer, per CapFriendly, 17 players under contract for next season. Goaltenders Petr Mrazek and Erik Kallgren are under contract for 2022-23, though the duo combined to play in just 34 games to Campbell's 49 last season.

"What stands out to me is that the Leafs seemingly haven’t reached out to make an offer yet," Johnston said of talks with Campbell and Mikheyev. "There’s ongoing dialogue and they’ve had discussions with the camps of those guys but no numbers exchanged, no real negotiation and this starts to feel like some guys we’ve seen walk out the door in the past when you look at Zach Hyman and Frederik Andersen in recent years.

"Keep in mind Mikheyev is looking to get $4-to-5 million on the open market and Campbell could even go north of that depending on where the goalie market goes on the 13th."

Campbell, 30, posted a 31-9-6 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average this season - his first playing in more than 31 games. He started all seven playoff games for the team against the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting an .897 save percentage and a 3.15 GAA. He is coming off a two-year, $3.3 million contract signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2019, prior to being traded to Toronto.

Mikheyev, 27, is coming off a career-best season, in which he recorded 21 goals and 32 points. He added two goals and four points in seven playoff games.

Along with Campbell and Mikheyev, trade-deadline additions Ilya Lyubushkin and Colin Blackwell are set for unrestricted free agency next month. Forwards Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Kase along with defencemen Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin are slated for restricted free agency. 
 


Fleury to Stick Around?

It appears the Wild would be happy to see Marc-Andre Fleury stick around in Minnesota after bringing in the 37-year-old at the trade deadline.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports, however, that the Wild - who have just $7.38 in projected cap space - have yet to open contract talks with the pending unrestricted free agent.

"The conversation hasn’t started between [general manager] Bill Guerin and Allan Walsh, who represents Fleury, but I can tell you that Guerin would very much love to reunite that tandem of Fleury and Talbot for next year," Dreger said on Insider Trading. "Fleury enjoyed his time in Minnesota with the Wild; it was short but the Wild can see the value of bringing the 37-year-old experienced netminder back.

"But Fleury isn’t prepared to think about that just yet, his family are just fresh back from vacation so there’s enough time for the business side of the game in the days ahead."

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Fleury was traded to the Wild for a second-round pick in March, just months winning the Vezina Trophy with the Vegas Golden Knights. He posted a 9-2 record upon joining the Wild with a .910 save percentage and a 2.74 GAA. He went 2-3 in the playoffs with .906 save percentage and a 3.04 GAA before being replaced as the team's starter for Game 6 -  a season-ending against the 5-1 - St. Louis Blues by Cam Talbot.

The Wild, who currently have 18 players players under contract for next season, face $12.74 million dead cap for next season after buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter last summer. 
 

 

Flying Back South?

Josh Manson has a played a key role during the Colorado Avalanche's run to the Stanley Cup Final, but his days with the team appear to be numbered.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports that the Avalanche are likely to focus on other pending UFAs after the Cup Final and the Anaheim Ducks, who traded Manson in March, are among the teams interested in signing the defenceman should he hit the open market.

"Josh Manson, pending unrestricted free agent, was brought in as a trade deadline acquisition by the Colorado Avalanche – it’s pretty much not realistic to expect the Avalanche to talk to him when they’ve got Nazem Kadri coming up, Valeri Nichushkin coming up, Darcy Kuemper coming up and they’re going to try to extend some guy named Nathan MacKinnon, so Manson is expected to go to the open market," LeBrun said on Insider Trading. "The Anaheim Ducks, I’m told, would like to talk to him when he hits the open market, of course he spent most of his career there, tremendously popular in that dressing room – other teams are going to be interested in him as well, but expect Anaheim to be one of them.

Manson has three goals and seven points in 17 playoff games with the Avalanche. He had six goals and 16 points in 67 games between the Avalanche and Ducks after being traded for a 2023 second-round pick and prospect Drew Helleson.

The 30-year-old is coming off of a four-year, $16.4 million contract signed with the Ducks in 2017.