Associated Press – Page 2

By Stephen Whyno and And AP freelance reporter Denis Gorman contributed

Max Pacioretty was in a unique, if not uncomfortable spot going into NHL free agency coming off tearing his right Achilles tendon twice in the past year.

Turns out it was just the right time to hit the market.

The post-pandemic hockey landscape meant another year with just a $1 million increase to the salary cap, but everyone in the league knows it’s set for a big leap next summer. That made short contracts — many with performance bonuses like Pacioretty’s with the Washington Capitals — a popular route for players and teams willing to take moderate risks and kick money down the road.

“We had limited cap space, and we were trying to add certain elements to the team,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said Sunday. “That opportunity within the CBA to have a lower cap hit and carry over if those bonuses are achieved was appealing to us because we got him at a $2 million cap hit instead of a higher cap hit, which we might not have been able to afford.”

They weren’t alone. Of the 166 NHL unrestricted free agent contracts signed Saturday, 68 were one- or two-year deals. The Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers were also among the teams to hand out contracts with bonus incentives.

New York signed veteran winger Blake Wheeler, fresh off his buyout in Winnipeg, to an $800,000 contract with $300,000 more in bonuses and two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Jonathan Quick, fresh off backing up for Vegas on its title run, to an $825,000 contract with $100,000 more in bonuses.

That was certainly a plan going into the offseason for Rangers GM Chris Drury, who knew he’d be losing wingers Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency because of his team’s cap picture.

“You create your lists and get guys in order and start doing your homework,” Drury said Saturday. “I think everyone in this business — agents and players alike — are aware of the limited cap space we do have and did have.”

That’s a big club that includes everyone from the 2020 and ‘21 champion Tampa Bay Lightning to the Boston Bruins, coming off setting NHL records for wins and points in a regular season and losing in the first round of the playoffs.

“The flat cap is difficult for all 32 GMs,” Lightning GM Julien BriseBois said. “It’s not tougher for me than it is for them.”

Brisebois was sad to see big winger Alex Killorn leave for a lucrative deal in Anaheim and Ian Cole sign in Vancouver, but he added versatile winger Conor Sheary for three years, defensive center Luke Glendening for two and depth forward Josh Archibald and defenseman Calvin de Haan for next season.

The Lightning also traded three-time Cup winner Patrick Maroon and fellow forward Max Cajkovic to Minnesota for a 2024 seventh-round pick. Tampa Bay retained 20% of Maroon’s $1 million salary, which clears enough space to sign a player at the league minimum of $775,000 — perhaps with bonuses.

The Bruins similarly said goodbye to winger Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov: their three trade deadline acquisitions who helped them break the records. Boston, among several bargain contracts, brought back 2011 Cup winner Milan Lucic — on a bonus-heavy deal paying him $1 million with $500,000 in incentives.

Bertuzzi joined the one-year-contract trend, signing for $5.5 million with Toronto for next season.

With seasoned GM Ken Holland heading into likely his final season on the job and aiming to win right now, Edmonton was even more creative in signing winger Connor Brown, who’s coming off tearing the ACL in his right knee. Brown’s one-year contract is for $775,000 with $3.225 million in potential bonuses.

That’s how contenders need to operate in navigating a flat cap world. So many short-term deals could set up an interesting season of motivated players in contract years and potentially set up a bigger free agent frenzy next summer.

“We’re in a very fluid situation, especially with a flat cap essentially for three years, and all of a sudden getting some money back hopefully next year and continuing forward,” Cole said. “I think we’re kind of in some uncharted territories and I think it’s going to be an interesting landscape moving forward.”

Source: Associated Press

By Associated Press

June 26, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Connor McDavid is expected to win his third Hart Trophy as NHL MVP when the league reveals its award recipients at a ceremony Monday night.

The Edmonton Oilers’ captain could be a unanimous choice after leading all players with 64 goals, 89 assists and 153 points. McDavid’s season was the highest scoring since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.

McDavid was the unanimous MVP two years ago, when he also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding players as voted by his peers. He’s expected to win that trophy for the fourth time in eight professional seasons.

This year is a rare instance in which most of the major award winners have been obvious since before the end of the regular season.

San Jose’s Erik Karlsson is expected to take home the Norris Trophy as top defenseman. Karlsson at age 32 was the first defenseman to surpass 100 points in a season since Brian Leetch in 1992.

Boston could have three award-winners after setting the record for most wins and points in a regular season in league history: captain Patrice Bergeron, goaltender Linus Ullmark and coach Jim Montgomery.

Bergeron’s sixth Selke Trophy honor as the best defensive forward would extend the NHL record he broke last year.

The Vezina Trophy as top goalie and Jack Adams Award as coach of the year would be a first for Ullmark and Montgomery. Ullmark led the league with a 1.89 goals-against average and .938 save percentage and was tied for the most wins with 40 — getting them in just 48 starts.

Seattle’s Matty Beniers has been the clear-cut Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year for much of the season. Beniers led all rookies with 57 points and was tied for the lead in goals with 24, helping the Kraken make the playoffs in their second year of existence.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association vote on the Hart, Norris, Selke, Calder, Lady Byng Award for gentlemanly conduct and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication. General managers determine the Vezina, while members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association pick the Jack Adams.