It may feel like many NHL franchises will be in airplane mode over the next few weeks, but don't rule out any action.
Not every franchise will stick with their roster, even after the bulk of free-agent action came and went. In fact, five NHL teams appear to have some business still to do. Let’s look at them below.
Calgary Flames
The Flames were one of the least-busy teams in free agency and trades, mainly adding depth defenseman Nick Cicek and goalie insurance Ivan Prosvetov.
But Calgary GM Craig Conroy has a massive trade chip still to play in experienced two-way defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who's entering the final year of his contract and had 31 points this past season. In a market that is extremely thin at defense, Conroy could command quite the asset package in any deal for Andersson.
What’s holding back Conroy? Well, probably the fact that the Flames would likely take a step backward next season without him. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Calgary doesn’t have the horses to race against the top teams in the Pacific Division, and the most proven method to acquire those young, elite players is to trade veterans for assets and get high draft picks. The Flames aren’t at that stage right now, but moving Andersson would do great things for the team in the long run.
So few will be shocked if Andersson is moved sooner rather than later. He's in his prime years at 28, and the Flames aren't.
Edmonton Oilers
Are the Oilers really going to run it back with their same goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard? That’s the biggest question in Edmonton aside from a Connor McDavid contract extension, and it’s not going to go away simply because the off-season is in the dog days.
Skinner and Pickard brought the Oilers to the Cup final in back-to-back years, so yes, it’s possible that they could help them win it all. But with both goalies recording a sub-.900 save percentage in the playoffs, having somebody else who can be a bit more consistent in the biggest moments could be the difference-maker.
At the same time, it’s difficult to envision the Oilers coming away with a more experienced hand in net.
Alexandar Georgiev, Ilya Samsonov and James Reimer are the top three remaining goalie options on the free-agent front, but the Oilers have only $225,834 in salary cap space, so even if Bowman wanted a change in goal, he’d have to move around other players to free up sufficient cap space to do so.
That said, sticking with the status quo won’t make Oilers fans confident that Skinner and Pickard will be far more consistent than they were this past year and will lead them to a Stanley Cup championship. Bowman may wait until the NHL’s next trade deadline to see what possible goaltending solutions are out there, but it may make more sense to strike now.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild did very little in terms of notable roster changes this summer, adding Vladimir Tarasenki, Nico Sturm and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. In doing so, Minnesota GM Bill Guerin now has about $10.1 million in salary cap space, but looming large over the Wild’s financial future is the status of RFA center Marco Rossi.
The 23-year-old posted career highs in goals (24) assists (36) and points (60) this past year, but Rossi was barely used in the Wild’s playoff series. That suggested Rossi isn’t a long-term piece of the puzzle in Minnesota.
For that reason, we wouldn't be surprised if Guerin pulled the trigger on a trade centered around Rossi. It also wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that Rossi agrees to a one-or two-year contract extension with the Wild and sees if they believe in him more. Regardless, there will be some sort of development between the two sides, and it’s best to make that happen now instead of facing the questions at training camp.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens pulled off the biggest trade of the off-season with the acquisition of former New York Islanders star defenseman Noah Dobson. But while Montreal is technically $5.93 million over the salary cap ceiling, that’s only because former star goalie Carey Price’s contract isn’t yet on long-term injured reserve. Once Price’s $10.5 million cap hit is on LTIR, the Habs have about $4.57 million in cap space. That’s more than enough money to improve their group of forwards, which could use as much depth as Canadiens GM Kent Hughes can provide.
Hughes has done terrific work in building his team’s roster up from scratch, and he may choose to hang onto that cap room until holes pop up during the season. But the Canadiens have the expectation of making the playoffs for the second year in a row, and that almost certainly means their brass will spend every bit of cap space to improve by next year’s trade deadline. Whether or not those moves happen in the next few weeks or months is yet to be seen, but the days of the Habs taking a back seat to other franchises in trades are over. That has to be thrilling for Canadiens fans.
Toronto Maple Leafs
After the Mitch Marner saga came to an end on July 1, the Maple Leafs were flush with cap space. That was an unfamiliar feeling for Toronto fans accustomed to seeing the Leafs spend right to the cap ceiling. But Buds GM Brad Treliving didn’t keep that cap space for very long, instead adding center Nicolas Roy, left winger Dakota Joshua and right winger Matias Maccelli in trades.
Those moves left the Maple Leafs with about $2.93 million in cap space, but some of that money is likely earmarked for young RFA winger Nick Robertson. That said, it’s tough to see a fit for Robertson in the Leafs roster anymore after they added Joshua. He’s the only RFA left who’s scheduled for arbitration. The Leafs could see an option to trade him for some kind of asset at this point.
Whether the Leafs keep Robertson or not, there could be enough to add a veteran forward on a professional tryout contract and then sign them later on. That move paid off for Toronto last season with Max Pacioretty.
But at a time where depth matters for legitimate Cup contenders, the Leafs’ decision on what they do with their remaining cap space will be the source of great debate and discussion among Leafs Nation.
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