Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – September 1, 2024

by | Sep 1, 2024 | Rumors | 25 comments

The Hurricanes signed Seth Jarvis on Saturday but other notable restricted free agents remain unsigned. Check out the latest in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.

SPORTSNET: Luke Fox recently looked at where things stood with the top restricted free agents still looking for new contracts.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was published a day before the Carolina Hurricanes signed Seth Jarvis to an eight-year contract.

Boston Bruins president Cam Neely expressed confidence that his club will get a deal done with Jeremy Swayman during an Aug. 22 interview. The 25-year-old goalie said the same thing during an interview earlier in the month.

Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (NHL Images).

Bruins training camp opens on Sep. 18. They have $8.6 million in cap space to put toward signing Swayman.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Reports last week claimed the two sides were still far apart. One report claimed Swayman sought $10 million annually. However, most pundits believe the Swayman camp seeks an average annual value of around $8.5 million while the Bruins are believed to be offering something “in the $6 millions”.

Fox speculated it could cost the Detroit Red Wings around $8.6 million annually to get defenseman Moritz Seider under contract. That would put the 23-year-old defenseman just under captain Dylan Larkin’s $8.7 million AAV.

As for Seider’s teammate Lucas Raymond, Fox wondered if Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman might opt for a shorter-term contract comparable to the four-year deal averaging $7.875 million annually signed last summer by Raymond’s teammate Alex DeBrincat.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Red Wings have over $17.6 million in cap space so there’s plenty of room to re-sign those two. Figuring out how much and for how long remains the key issue.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen wondered how much of an effect Seth Jarvis’ new contract with the Carolina Hurricanes will have on Raymond’s negotiations. Both players had similar production last season, with Jarvis netting 33 goals and 67 points with the Hurricanes while Raymond had 31 goals and 71 points.

What could be interesting is whether the Wings attempt to get a lower AAV by getting Raymond and Seider to accept deferred salary as Jarvis did on his new deal. It’s probably too late in those negotiations to shift gears now.

There’s not much to report regarding the Dallas Stars contract talks with Thomas Harley. Fox wondered if Stars GM Jim Nill would attempt to get the 23-year-old defenseman to sign a bridge deal as he did with winger Jason Robertson. On Aug. 9, Nill expressed confidence in getting Harley signed soon.

Turning to center Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said talks were still ongoing as of Aug. 22, expressing optimism that a deal would be done sooner rather than later.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hockey News’ Rob Couch examined whether it would be in the Chicago Blackhawks’ best interest to send the 22-year-old Perfetti an offer sheet.

The St. Louis Blues exploited the Edmonton Oilers’ limited salary cap space, successfully signing away defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Dylan Holloway last month. However, the Jets have over $5.7 million in cap space this season, giving them far more flexibility than the Oilers to match an offer sheet. Perfetti could also be reluctant to sign with another club.

Fox cited The Hockey News’ Kristy Flannery reporting on Aug. 19 that Pat Brisson, the agent for winger Dawson Mercer, indicated negotiations were ongoing with the New Jersey Devils.

A short-term, “prove-it” contract could be the most likely outcome for Peyton Krebs. The 23-year-old Buffalo Sabres center has struggled to establish himself as a potential top-six forward. Fox didn’t rule out a trade.

Speaking of a trade, Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson still prefers a change of scenery. However, GM Brad Treliving holds the hammer and still believes the 22-year-old Robertson has a great opportunity to become a good player with the Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Robertson could refuse to sign and report to training camp to force the Leafs into honoring his trade request. That’s unlikely to work in his favor as it’s his only leverage. It will hurt his preparation for this season and also hurt him financially.

Nashville Predators forward Philip Tomasino remains unsigned after coming off a difficult performance for him last season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Predlines’ Chad Minton pondered what could be behind the lack of progress in contract talks between the Predators and Tomasino and fellow RFA Jusso Parssinen. With just over $3 million in cap space, Minton speculated Predators GM Barry Trotz could be forced to choose between one of them.







25 Comments

  1. Not too many of the list of RFA’s should let camp go by. Not in their best interest. Maybe after first round of cuts but need to get in at least a couple of preseason games. Guys like Perfetti Robertson need to be there day one.

    • With you there SilverSeven – hard to understand the delays in most of these 13 signings

      These are the best of the lot and it would appear, on the sutface at
      BOSTON – $8,636,667 in cap space – 22 of 23 committed to (1 short)
      Jeremy Swayman 6′ 3″ 195 lb G (Shoots L) – past season: 44gp 2.53 gaa 0.916 save % 3 SO – Career: 132 gp 2.34 gaa 0.919 save % 12 SO – Expired cap hit: $3,475,000

      DALLAS – $6,243,759 in cap space – 20 of 23 committed to (3 short)
      Thomas Harley 6′ 4″ 206 lbs LD (Shoots L) – past season: 79gp 15g 32a 47 pts +28 – Career: 119gp 16g 37a 53 pts cumulative +29 – Expired cap hit: $863,334 – Bridge deal?

      DETROIT – $17,648.194 in cap space – 20 of 23 committed to (3 short)
      Lucas Raymond 5′ 11″ 188 lbs LW (shoots R) – past season: 31g 41a 72 pts -12 – Career: 238gp 71g 103a 174 pts cumulative -61 – Expired cap hit: $925,000

      Moritz Seider 6′ 3″ 205 lbs RD – past season: 9g 33a 42 pts -7 – career: 246gp 21g 113a 134 pts cumulative -27 – Expired Cap Hit: $863,334

      NEW JERSEY – $4,976,103 in cap space – 22 of 23 committed to (1 short)
      Dawson Mercer 6′ 180 lbs C (shoots R) – past season: 82gp 20g 13a 33 pts -26 – Career: 246gp 64g 67a 131 pts cumulative -29 – Expired cap hit: $894,167 – bridge deal?

      WINNIPEG – $5,776,309 in cap space – 23 of 23 committed to (someone gets bumped once Perfetti signs)
      Cole Perfetti 5′ 11′ 185 lb C (shoots L) – past season: 71gp 19g 19a 38 pts +13 – Career: 140gp 29g 46a 75 pts cumulative +24 – Expired cap hit: $894,167

      GIVEN THEIR PERFORMANCE TO DATE, THE TEAM CAP SPACE AND ROSTER STATUS ACCORDING TO PUCKPEDIA, YOU HAVE TO WONDER WHAT’S CONTRIBUTING TO THESE HOLD-UPS

      BUFFALO – $8,449,484 in cap space – 22 of 23 committed to (1 short)
      Peyton Krebs 6′ 186 lbs C (Shoots L) – past season: 80gp 4g 13a 17s +2 – Career: 215gp 20g 46a 66 pts cumulative -31 – Expired cap hit: $863,334

      CALGARY – $19,974,266 in cap space – 23 of 23 committed to
      Ilya Solovyov 6′ 3″ 208 lbs LD (Shoots L)- past season & career: 10gp 0g 3a 3 pts cumulative +2
      Expired cap hit: $898,333

      DETROIT – $17,648.194 in cap space – 20 of 23 committed to (3 short)
      Jonatan Berggren 5′ 11 197 lbs RW (shoots L) – past season: 12gp 2g 4a 6 pts -1 – Career: 79gp 17g 17a 34 pts cumulative -12 – Expired cap hit: $925,000

      LOS ANGELES – $1,321,666 in cap space – 23 of 23 committed to
      Arthur Kaliyev 6′ 2″ 210 lbs RW (shoots L) – past season: 51gp 7g 8a 15 pts -3 – Career: 188gp 35g 36a 71 pts cumulative -12 – Expired cap hit: $894,167

      NASHVILLE – $3,895,801 in cap space – 19 of 23 committed to
      Philip Tomasino 6″ 179 lbs C (shoots R) – past season: 41gp 7g 13a 20 pts -3 – Career: 148gp 23g 47a 70 pts cumulative -2 – Expired cap hit: $863,334

      Juuso Parssinen 6″ 3″ 212 lb C (shoots L) – past season: 44gp 8g 4a 12pts -6 – Career: 89gp 14g 23a 37 pts -7 – Expired cap hit: $850,833

      TORONTO – $1,275,333 in cap space – 21 of 23 committed to
      Nick Robertson 5′ 9″ 178 lbs LW (shoots L) – past season: 56gp 14g 13a 27 pts -1 – Career: 87gp 17g 17a 34 pts cumulative +3 – Expired cap hit: $796,667

      • Above should real “These are the best of the lot and it would appear, on the surface at least, that all should easily be signed within the parameters of the available cap”

      • Hmmm looking at those numbers, Kaliyev’s numbers are comparable but not as good as Robertson’s are and both can use a change of scenery….lol, both teams get something they are lacking as well.

      • The makings of a trade for sure, Ron. Good eye.

    • In Robertson’s case we pretty much know what the situation is since he has repeated his desire to be dealt. Treleving seems to have adopted the stance – and rightly so – that, if you don’t sign and report to camp you’re hurting yourself more than you’re hurting the team.

      • Really makes you wonder where these kids are getting their advice from

      • Worked well for Askarov and McGroarty. 🤷‍♂️

      • They both got contracts out of it. Whether it works out well for them is yet to be determined.

  2. Kind of crazy/sad when writers for THN don’t actually watch hockey. Cole Perfetti absolutely has not been playing centre in the NHL and has not established himself at that position whatsoever.

    • PuckPedia doesn’t help in that regard either, consistently showing

      Perfetti, Cole
      age22 posC shoots L

      • It may be his junior position but the Jets absolutely do not play him there with any remote consistency, at least not yet.

      • They do the same with Claude Giroux, consistently showing him as a C.

        I don’t know where he primarily played in Philadelphia, but since joining Ottawa – with maybe a couple of exceptions, he’s been a top line RW

      • The NHL seems to keep the players positions when drafted on their website. Necas and Jarvis are still listed as centers on the Hurricanes NHL roster. PuckPedia probably just uses the NHL listed position.

    • All due respect,positions aren t that relevant anymore unless keeping statistics on things like face offs! Some guys play center until the puck ends up in their defensive zone,then the lines best defensive player takes over!Boston had guys like Zacha, Geekie, Beecher, Poitras, Coyle,Frederic,Brown,Boyquist all play center at one time or another! Maybe they should just use Forward as a designation!

      • Part of the confusion can be attributed to the NHL’s website. They list Perfetti as a center. So does HockeyDB.com, Hockey-Reference.com, ESPN.com, and Sportsnet.

        TSN’s site lists Perfetti as a right wing. EliteProspects.com, meanwhile, lists him as a forward, meaning he plays more than one position.

      • Heh Lyle … that isn’t part of the confusion – it IS the confusion! :). And that doesn’t apply just to Perfetti.

  3. Some of those RFAs that havent hit yet should really try and find a new place to play. Not necessarily the clubs fault, but to get a new lease on life and a new start.

    Would be intersting to know what possible asking price could be on players like Krebs, Berggren, Kaliyev, Tomasino and Robertson who was drafted high or had shown promise but that hasnt been very good lately

  4. No doubt GP … but it can be confusing,especially when looking at the rosters of teams other than the one we primarily follow.

    With the plethora of stats compiled daily – not as much as baseball but it’s getting there – how difficult would it be to keep track, game by game as they do with all the other categories, the primary position played and show only that as each player’s position?

    • That’s a good point George. The NHL has the NHL Edge advanced stats that seem to have all of the players game data. Maybe AI can figure it out 🙂

  5. Many players are drafted as Centres but get moved in the NHL.
    There are just 4 spots and 8 winger spots available.
    Claude Giroux was the #1 Centre in Philadelphia for many years.

    The positions aren’t a mystery to GMs around the league or the pro scouts who evaluate players for trade purposes.

    The positions aren’t a mystery to fans of the actual player and teams they are on.

    The armchair GMs, fantasy poolers and folks relying on stat lines for evaluations get confused.

  6. I’m kinda curious how the insurance and payments work for these holdout guys. Like, if they dont have a contract, I assume they don’t get paid. Also, if they’re not on the team’s roster, what happens if they ate injured? Then their value goes down? I’m all for seeing them in camp, but I don’t blame them for a second for holding out.

    • I don’t think anyone is blaming them for not signing if they truly think they are worth more than the team is offering.

      I think the gist of what many are saying is, the longer a player remains out of camp the harder it is for him to “catch up” to the rest of the team in terms of game pace … and that can – not always but certainly in enough cases to become a possible issue – lead to a season-long struggle.

      The only one among this current crop of unsigned RFAs who has specifically asked to be dealt is Robertson, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a few more among the lesser lights are thinking along those lines when they look at the roster and see a lot of minimal ice-time in their future. Kent Nillson’s post above is apropos in that regard.

  7. Bruins camp opens in 2 week & a day

    SWAYMAN SIGNS A 1 OR 2 YEAR DEAL….❓
    Just to get to camp on time…

    He had a Bad Taste left in his month from last years experince dealing with Boston…‼️
    Now its more than likly even worse

    • williew, I think, from the Bruins point of view heading into the season with $8,636,667 in cap space, that it’s imperative they somehow get Swayman under contract at $7 mil per or just under, in order to leave them with sufficient cap space to bring up an ELC-level deal from their AHL team in the event of a short-term 1-3 game injury. Otherwise, if LTIR is not involved, they’d have to play those games a player short, something’s that magnified if the nagging injury is to a D-man and they have to play back-to-back games.

      Every team seeks to provide a cap cushion for that very purpose – especially early in a season when you see such short-term injuries more frequently.

      It looks more and more like it will be a 2-year deal at around $6.8-7 mil per.