The intrigue keeps building in this NHL offseason. The action off the ice has been almost as compelling as what we saw on the ice.
One franchise was sold and another fell into limbo. Multiple regime changes changed team priorities. Rebuilding squads didn’t wait for the postseason to end before making blockbuster trades. The coaching carousel spun wildly.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has had much to monitor ahead of the NHL draft.
Tuesday brought news of the long-awaited Ottawa Senators sale, with Montreal Canadiens minority owner Michael Andlauer winning the bidding. This is great for that city, since Andlauer brings a hockey background (from also owning the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs), and he has recruited Ottawa businessmen into his group.
Holdover general manager Pierre Dorion is running the store for now, and he has plenty on his plate, such as shopping goal-scoring winger Alex DeBrincat.
DeBrincat, a restricted free agent, wants to be traded to a favorable location where he can get a new deal for, say, $9 million per year. His leverage makes him a tough fit for the Blues, but that didn’t stop league insider Elliotte Friedman from saying this on his “32 Thoughts” podcast:
“I had one guy say to me, ‘That’s a Doug Armstrong player. That’s a guy that Doug Armstrong would want. So, those are some of the teams that people are kind of focusing on. Obviously, I think there’s a ton of interest.”
Armstrong must also maintain surveillance on the Arizona Coyotes, a team facing an uncertain future after its latest arena bid failed. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong ran the Blues’ scouting operation in his previous job. He wants more prospects and draft picks, and the Blues can offer both.
Our Town’s Clayton Keller could want out, given the sorry state of things, and top prospect Logan Cooley declined to sign for next season due to the franchise uncertainty. Either forward could fit the Blues’ quest for a quick turnaround.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been the pre-draft aggressor with former Blues president John Davidson and former Blues draft czar Jarmo Kekalainen driving the market.
Kekalainen traded the No. 22 overall pick in this draft and a conditional second-rounder to the Philadelphia Flyers in a three-way trade to land defenseman Ivan Provorov. He sent a third-round pick to New Jersey for defenseman Damon Severson, who got an eight-year, $50 million contract in the sign-and-trade maneuver.
Fortifying the Columbus blue line was a priority with Mike Babcock expected to coach the team. And as Justin Faulk, Torey Krug and Colton Parayko will attest, defensemen don’t need to be Norris Trophy candidates to get paid in this league.
The Flyers are embarking on an overdue rebuild with new team president Keith Jones and new GM Daniel Briere making big plays with input from taskmaster coach John Tortorella.
After offloading Provorov, Briere is listening on just about anybody, with goaltender Carter Hart; forwards Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton; and defenseman Tony DeAngelo generating the most buzz.
After getting run out of Toronto, Kyle Dubas relocated to Pittsburgh to oversee the Penguins. Previous GM Ron Hextall clashed with both the team’s ownership, Fenway Sports Group, and coach Mike Sullivan.
Dubas is tasked with retooling around Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. That could mean trading a top-six forward like Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, or Rickard Rakell and buying out Mikael Granlund.
Brad Treliving left Calgary and became general manager in Toronto. Signing center Auston Matthews to an extension is his top priority, but he must also decide if there will be enough long-term cap space for forward Michael Nylander, too.
Former Blues forward Craig Conroy succeeded Treliving in Calgary and picked assistant coach Ryan Huska to replace sourpuss Darryl Sutter. Now, Conroy must make decisions on forwards Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Tyler Toffoli and defensemen Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev.
All six will enter the season with expiring contracts. All six could become unrestricted free agents. All six could become trade chips if they won’t re-sign.
Barry Trotz returned to Nashville to replace forever GM David Poile and drive a major overhaul. The Predators were busy before the trade deadline, and Trotz could make additional moves, even putting goaltender Juuse Saros possibly in play. Unlike Doug Armstrong, Trotz is taking the long view of things.
The Jets are also hitting the reset button. Center Pierre-Luc Dubois won’t re-sign in Winnipeg as a restricted free agent this summer. He is a year removed from unrestricted free agency, and like DeBrincat, he wants a long-term deal from a team of his choosing.
Unlike fellow Jets trade chips Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, Dubois would be at least a theoretical fit for the Blues.
Armstrong has said he doesn’t expect to be a big player in this market — given his salary cap constraints — but we have come to expect the unexpected from him.
And the NHL could offer lots of surprises this summer.