Ahead of the NHL Draft on June 28-29 and the opening of free agency on July 1, TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Senators To-Do List
The Ottawa Senators are set to have a new owner in Michael Andlauer, but the team faces a long to-do list in on-ice operations ahead of the deal becoming official in the coming months.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported Tuesday that there is unlikely to be major changes in the team's front-office immediately, leaving general manager Pierre Dorion in place for the off-season.
For this reason, I believe it’s unlikely we see any significant changes to Hockey Operations, until Andlauer has full control later this summer. Maybe he wants to get to know the current staff? As for Staios, he’s currently participating in scouting meetings with the Oilers. https://t.co/RkCgPIPaR8
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 13, 2023
As Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia writes, Dorion's top tasks will be adding a goaltender this summer and addressing the future of pending restricted free agent Alex DeBrincat.
Dorion stated after the season that pending unrestricted free agent Cam Talbot will not return to the club. Fellow goaltender Anton Forsberg is under contract for two more seasons, and while Mads Sogaard saw playing time this season, Dorion said in April that he doesn't expect him to take on a full-time NHL role next season.
“We feel (Sogaard) is our goalie of the future,” Dorion said. “He’s someone that’s going to be able to take the helm at some point in time, but in everything you do you’ve got to show patience.”
Garrioch believes that the Senators will look to add a goaltender via trade at the NHL Draft, or sign a veteran on July 1.
As for DeBrincat, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported last week that his agent has submitted a list of preferred trade destinations as contract talks continue to stall between the two sides.
"I don’t think you can say it’s a certainty, but it looks like it’s more likely than not," LeBrun said of DeBrincat possibly being traded. "What’s happened here is DeBrincat’s camp, led by agent Jeff Jackson, has submitted a list of preferred destinations that his client would be interested in joining. The reason that’s significant is that if general manager Pierre Dorion does trade DeBrincat, he would want him to be signed through this trade, so he could get maximum value back in return.
"Think of the Matthew Tkachuk deal from the Calgary Flames to the Florida Panthers last off-season. Don’t know who exactly is on that list but that list has been submitted."
Dorion and the Senators acquired DeBrincat last year in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, sending the seventh and 39th overall picks in the 2022 NHL Draft and a 2023 third-round pick the other way. He had 27 goals and 66 points in 82 games in his first season with the Senators.
DeBrincat is coming off a three-year, $19.2 million contract with a cap hit of $6.4 million. His qualifying offer is set at $9 million to retain his rights.
While the Senators missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season this year, Garrioch believes the team is close to ending their postseason drought, but must make the right moves this off-season to do so.
Rossi Available?
It appears former first-round pick Marco Rossi is not an untouchable player in trade talks with the Minnesota Wild this summer.
Joe Smith of The Athletic wrote Tuesday he believes the Wild would “be open to moving Rossi if the right deal came up.”
Smith speculates that a 2023 first-round pick could lure Minnesota into a deal, with general manager Bill Guerin stating he may want to move up from the No. 21 draft slot.
“You might want to move up, but I think this year a lot of people won’t because teams are going to hold onto their picks,” Guerin told Smith. “You’re going to have to pay a real premium to move up with how good this draft class is.”
Rossi was selected ninth overall by the Wild in the 2020 NHL Draft, but has been unable to find a permanent spot in the lineup. He had one assist in 19 games with the Wild this season, adding 16 goals and 51 points in 53 games with the AHL's Iowa Wild.
The 21-year-old centre had 18 goals and 53 points in the AHL Wild last season, going without a point in two games with the NHL club.
Flames' Off-Season Outlook
The Calgary Flames front-office overhaul appears to be complete with Craig Conroy in place as general manager and Ryan Huska as head coach.
Now, the team will turn its attention to roster changes and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger believes Calgary could be one of the more active teams on the trade market this summer.
Dreger notes that the Flames are up against the salary cap already and need to have one eye on their future with several key players one year away from unrestricted free agency. That group includes Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, among others.
Per CapFriendly, the Flames have just $1.25 million in cap space currently with 18 players under contract for next season. Dreger broke down the Flames situation along with other topics from around the league Tuesday night on SC with Jay Onrait.
