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.



UFA Bound?

The Pittsburgh Penguins have publicly stated their desire to bring back both Evegni Malkin and Kris Letang this summer, but it appears neither is close to re-signing with two weeks to go until the unrestricted free agent market opens.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports that the Penguins and Malkin have not been talking regularly since preliminary discussions opened after the season, adding that "hockey people who speak with (general manager Ron) Hextall on a regular basis are very much under the impression that Malkin’s return to the Penguins is no sure thing."

As for Letang, Yohe reports the Penguins have tabled a three-year contract offer, but 35-year-old blueliner is looking for a five-year deal worth more than $8 million annually.

Rob Rossi of The Athletic reported earlier this month that Pittsburgh was prioritizing signing of Letang to a multi-year contract extension, with a goal of knowing his cap hit before intensifying talks with Malkin.

Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke said days later that signing both veterans remained atop the team's to-do list before their focus could turn to where to add elsewhere in the off-season.

"Well, we've got to see who comes back first before you worry about who you add. We've got to see who signs out of this group," Burke told Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The first priority right from the get-go: [general manager Ron Hextall] has been dealing with [Kris Letang] and [Evgeni Malkin]. We've all agreed to keep those discussions secret. There's no reason to do it publicly.

"But our goal is to get both guys signed and at contract terms and salary terms that makes sense."

Letang, 35, posted 10 goals and a career-high 68 points in 78 games this season while playing out the last of a an eight-year, $58 million contract that carried a cap hit of $7.25 million. He added a goal and four points in seven playoff games as the Penguins were eliminated in the first round by the New York Rangers.

Selected in the third round of the 2005 draft, Letang made his debut with the Penguins during the 2006-07 season. In 941 career games with the team, he has 144 goals and 650 points. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the team, having missed the 2017 playoffs due to injury.

Malkin, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the team, posted 20 goals and 42 points in 41 games this season after undergoing knee surgery last summer. He added three goals and six points in seven playoff games.

The 35-year-old centre, who was selected second overall in 2004, has 444 goals and 1,146 points in 981 games with the Penguins. He is coming off an eight-year, $76 million contract which carried a cap hit of $9.5 million. 

Pittsburgh has $23.2 million in cap space this off-season, per CapFriendly, after re-signing Bryan Rust to a six-year, $30.75 million extension last month. Goaltender Casey DeSmith is also among the team's pending unrestricted free agents, while Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen are scheduled for restricted free agency.
 



Buyout Watch

Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance of The Athletic listed 10 players on Tuesday who could be bought out during the window that runs from July 1-July 12.

Among the Canadian teams, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek, Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian, Vancouver Canucks forward Jason Dickinson and Colin White and Matt Murray of the Ottawa Senators all the made the list.

Mrazek's future has been a point of speculation dating back to the regular season, when the 30-year-old was limited to 20 games due to various injuries. He posted an .888 save percentage and 3.34 goals-against average in the first season of a three-year $11.4 million contract with an average annual value of $3.8 million. A buyout would give the Maple Leafs an additional $2.76 million in cap space this off-season and close to $3 million the following year. However, the team would then be left with a cap charge of $1.43 million.

Kassian had six goals and 19 points in 58 games this past season, adding two goals and four points in 16 playoff games. The 31-year-old is under contract for another two seasons at a cap hit of $3.2 million. A buyout would give the cap-strapped Oilers in additional $2.5 million in cap space for the upcoming season and free $1.33 million in 2023-24. The team would then be left with a charge of just under $1 million ($966,667) in the following two seasons.

Dickinson had five and 11 points in 62 games this season, his first with the Canucks. He joined Vancouver last summer as an unrestricted free agent on a three-year, $7.95 million deal, carrying a cap hit of $2.65 million. Buying out the 26-year-old would free up just over $1.7 million in cap space for the Canucks for the upcoming season and almost $2.6 million in 2023-24. The team would be left with a cap charge of just shy of $1 million for the two seasons for 2024-2026.

White is entering the fourth season of a six-year, $28.5 million deal signed with Ottawa as a restricted free agent in 2019. The 25-year-old has posted three goals and 10 points in 24 games last season and has been unable to recreate the success he had prior to signing the deal, when he posted 14 goals and 41 points in 2018-19. Since he's under 26, a buyout would save the Senators $3.875 million of White's $4.75 million cap hit over the next two seasons and result in $5.375 million in additional cap space for the 2024-25 campaign. The buyout would then leave a cap charge of $875,000 in the following three seasons.

Murray has been limited to just 47 starts over his first two seasons in Ottawa since signing a four-year, $25 million contract with an average annual value of $6.25 million. The 28-year-old recorded a .906 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average in 20 games this past season while missing significant time with an upper-body injury. A buyout would free $4.5 million in cap space this season for the Senators and $5.5 million in 2023-24. It would, however, also leave a cap charge of $2.5 million in the following two seasons.
 


 

Crease Concerns

As the draft and free agency draw closer, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators all face questions regarding their goaltending.

The Maple Leafs could have a new starter in place by next month if Jack Campbell hits the UFA market and the Oilers are in need of a netminder to share the load with Mike Smith after Mikko Koskinen signed in Europe.

The Senators face a different problem, in needing to decide which of their three NHL goaltenders - Anton Forsberg, Matt Murray and Filip Gustavsson - deserve the starting spot moving forward.

TSN Hockey Analyst Jamie McLennan joined Jay Onrait on Tuesday break down the crease concerns for the three Canadian clubs: