Countdown to Free Agent Frenzy: The latest on Marchand
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We're just two days away from the start of Free Agent Frenzy on July 1. TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Keep up with every move using TSN.ca signing and trade trackers.
Drouin to explore free agency
Pending unrestricted free agent forward Jonathan Drouin will test the market when free agency begins on July 1, according to agent Allan Walsh.
Drouin, 30, recorded 11 goals and 37 points in 43 games with the Colorado Avalanche last year. He added three assists in seven playoff games before the Avalanche were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second round.
The 5-foot-11 winger is coming off a one-year, $2.5 million contract.
Drafted third overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2013, Drouin has 107 goals and 374 points in 607 career games split between the Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and Avalanche.
The Ste-Agathe, Que., native represented Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, recording a goal in three games in a fifth-place finish.
Flyers, York extension in the works?
The Philadelphia Flyers and defenceman Cam York are "not too far off" on a contract extension, according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.
"I don't get the impression that they are worried at all about him being an offer sheet candidate," Kurz wrote Sunday afternoon in a post on X
The 24-year-old blueliner had four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 66 games last season, his fifth at the NHL level.
Perry, Oilers running out of room?
Forward Corey Perry still hopes to re-sign with the Edmonton Oilers, but the pathway to finding common ground on a deal has been difficult with the team's salary cap situation, reports TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
"Very possible Perry ends up on the free agent market Tuesday. But the door remains open with Edmonton," LeBrun wrote Sunday morning in a post on X.
According to PuckPedia, the Oilers have about $12.3 million in cap space with 20 of 23 players on their active roster and defenceman Evan Bouchard likely due for a big raise as a restricted free agent.
Perry, 40, recorded 19 goals and 30 points in 81 games with the Oilers last season. He added 10 goals and 14 points in 22 playoff games before his team was eliminated in the Stanley Cup Final.
The 6-foot-3 winger is coming off a one-year, $1.4 million contract.
The latest on Marchand
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins hope to talk with forward Brad Marchand once unrestricted free agency opens on July 1, according to LeBrun.
LeBrun notes that if Marchand does not re-sign with Florida, the Bruins would be open to bringing him back after trading him to the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Panthers at the trade deadline.
The Athletic's James Mirtle believes Marchand will be the No. 1 target for Toronto come Tuesday.
Mirtle wrote in The Athletic in a story posted Sunday that Marchand could likely command about $8 million annually. However, Mirtle also notes that Marchand remaining with the Panthers may be the most likely outcome.
According to PuckPedia, the Leafs have just over $21 million in projected cap space this summer with 18 of 23 players on the roster for next season. However, restricted free agent forward Matthew Knies is likely due for a large raise on his entry-level deal and both Pontus Holmburg and Nick Robertson also carry the RFA designation. Forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz are each scheduled to his unrestricted free agency.
Mirtle also raises the possibility of Nikolaj Ehlers being a fallback option for Toronto should Marchand fall through, though "all indications are he is destined for another team at this point."
He had 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points in 71 games combined between the two teams during the regular season. The 37-year-old had an additional 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 postseason games as the Panthers went on to win their second straight Cup.
Recapping Saturday's Marner news
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported Saturday afternoon that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights were in ongoing talks regarding a sign-and-trade regarding star forward Mitch Marner.
However, as Dreger reported earlier in the day, there was no trade call and nothing signed as of yet. According to Dreger, there is more work ahead in terms of the potential of Marner being dealt to Vegas and what the return might be.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reported forward Nicolas Roy is part of the package Vegas is considering sending to Toronto. Garrioch reported Roy and defenceman Nicolas Hague are played the Leafs have their eyes on.
Marner is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency on July 1. If the two teams pull off a sign-and-trade, the Golden Knights would be able to give Marner an eight-year contract. If he were to sign with Vegas or another team on July 1, he would only be able to sign for a maximum of seven years.
Leafs general manager Brad Treliving discussed the possibility of a Marner sign-and-trade Saturday, but didn't go into much detail.
"I think you'd always like to get something, right," Treliving said via TSN's Mark Masters during a post-draft media session. "That's not always the case. That's probably as far as I want to get into it, but we'll see how things go."
"I don't know if the chances are greater today than they were yesterday, or are they be better or worse tomorrow. And I understand. I understand the interest, but certainly we got nothing to report, and I don't want to get involved in speculation and how that runs. We'll see how things unfold."
Marner, 28, recorded 27 goals and 102 points in 81 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. He added two goals and 13 points in 13 playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round.
Sens, Gaudette staying in touch
The Ottawa Senators and forward Adam Gaudette are continuing talks as the start of unrestricted free agency approaches, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.
There has been no decision made yet on whether he will hit the open market.
The 28-year-old had 19 goals and 26 points in 81 games with the Senators last season. He added a goal and three points in six playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
The 6-foot-1 winger is coming off a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
Drafted 149th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, Gaudette has 46 goals and 96 points in 301 career games split between the Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Senators.
The Braintree, Mass., native represented the United States at the 2022 World Championship in a fourth-place finish.