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Canadiens make a good move: Solid deal for Danault

By James O'BrienJul 15, 2018, 6:01 PM EDT
6 Comments

Unanimously good moves haven’t happened regularly for the Montreal Canadiens these days, so it’s worthwhile to appreciate even what would seem like easy calls.

With that in mind, signing useful forward Phillip Danault to a nice three-year contract ranks as one of Marc Bergevin’s best decisions in some time, whether you can chalk up the value to RFA leverage or not. The Canadiens confirmed that the cap hit is a reasonable $3.083 million per season.

Danault, 25, has essentially been a point-every-other-game player for Montreal. He scored 25 points in 52 games this past season after a relative breakthrough in 2016-17, when he collected 40 points in 82 contests. Not too shabby.

It’s conceivable that Danault could maybe chip in a bit more if leaned upon in a bigger way, as he averaged 16:35 minutes per game, with a touch less than a minute (56 seconds) of that average happening on the power play.

Now, it’s not as though the Canadiens are being foolish in playing him in his current role, as it’s plausible that he’s best served as a supporting cast sort of asset. The point is that Danault seems to make good use of his time, might be able to do a tad bit more, and tends to check out reasonably well from a possession standpoint. He’s not the type of player who will win you a Stanley Cup, yet he’s also the sort of guy who wouldn’t take much off of the table, either. In other words, this is a justifiable contract and could even be a nifty value.

Faint praise? Pretty much, but it’s better than the usual reaction for Bergevin & Co. (laughter, mockery).

—

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

ProHockeyTalk’s NHL free agency tracker

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By Sean LeahyJul 13, 2018, 11:00 PM EDT
18 Comments

The NHL’s off-season is under way and with free agency beginning July 1 there will be plenty of action this summer. Check back here for all of the trades and signings that teams will be making in hopes of improving their chances at winning the 2018-19 Stanley Cup.

July 17
• The Devils agree to terms with Blake Coleman on a three-year, $5.4 million deal (Link)

• A busy morning for Ray Shero also sees Stefan Noesen agree to a one-year, $1.725 million deal. (Link)

• Ryan Pulock, Islanders agree to a two-year, $4 million contract. (Link)

• Jimmy Vesey and the Rangers avoid arbitration and agree to a two-year, $4.55 million deal. (Link)

• Tomas Nosek re-signs with the Golden Knights. One-year, $962,500. (Link)

July 16
• Ryan Hartman and the Predators agree to a one-year, $875,000 deal. (Link)

• Elias Lindholm inks a six-year, $29.1 million extension with the Flames. (Link)

• The Ducks lock up Adam Henrique with a five-year, $29.125 million extension. (Link)

• Juuse Saros signs a three-year, $4.5 million extension with the Predators. (Link)

• Jon Gillies and the Flames agree to a two-year, $1.5 million deal. (Link)

July 15
• The Blue Jackets and Oliver Bjorkstrand agree to a three-year, $7.5 million extension. (Link)

• Philip Danult re-signs with the Canadiens. Thee years, $9.249 million. (Link)

July 14
• Ryan Murray accepts his qualifying offer with the Blue Jackets. One year, $2.825 million. (Link)

• Rob O'Gara re-signs with the Rangers. One year, $874,125. (Link)

July 13
• Joel Armia and the Canadiens come to terms on a one-year, $1.85 million contract. (Link)

• Marc-Andre Fleury and the Golden Knights agree to a three-year, $21 million extension. (Link)

• Andreas Johnsson accepts his qualifying offer, a one-year, $787,500 deal with the Maple Leafs. (Link)

• The Stars extend Devin Shore with a two-year, $4.6 million contract. (Link)

July 12
• Connor Hellebuyck signs a six-year, $37 million extension with the Jets. (Link)

• The Blackhawks send the contract of Marian Hossa’s contract, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle and a 2019 third-rounder to the Coyotes for Marcus Kruger, Jordan Maletta, Andrew Campbell, MacKenzie Entwistle’s rights and a 2019 fifth-rounder. (Link)

• Cody McLeod returns to the Rangers on a one-year deal. (Link)

• Jamie Oleksiak and the Penguins agree to a three-year, $6.4125 million extension. (Link)

July 11
• Adam Erne re-signs with the Lightning. One-year, $800,000. (Link)

• Anthony Mantha and the Red Wings agree to a two-year, $6.6 million extension. (Link)

July 10
• Patrick Maroon heads homes to St. Louis and signs a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Blues. (Link)

• Nikita Kucherov signs an eight-year, $76 million extension with the Lightning. (Link)

July 9
• Ross Johnston gets a four-year, $4 million extension with the Islanders. (Link)

• Rasmus Dahlin inks his three-year, entry level contract with the Sabres. (Link)

• The Islanders add forward Jan Kovar, who spent the last five seasons in the KHL, with a one-year deal. (Link)

July 7
• Alex Lyon re-signs in Philadelphia. Two years, $1.5 million. (Link)

• Dmitrij Jaskin and the Blues agree to a one-year, $1.1 million extension. (Link)

• Colin Miller signs four-year, $15.5 million extension with the Vegas Golden Knights (Link)

• Dylan DeMelo re-ups with the San Jose Sharks. Two years, $1.8 million total. (Link)

July 6
• Matt Nieto stays with the Colorado Avalanche. Two years, $3.95 million total. (Link)

• Oscar Dansk re-signs with the Vegas Golden Knights. Two years, $1.35 million total. (Link)

• The Dallas Stars re-sign Jason Dickinson to a one-year, $875,000 contract. (Link)

• Alexander Petrovic re-signs with the Florida Panthers with a one-year deal. (Link)

• After getting bought out by the Wild, Tyler Ennis signs with the Maple Leafs. One year, $650,000. (Link)

• Ryan Strome re-ups with the Oilers with a two-year, $6.2 million extension. (Link)

• Oskar Sundqvist inks a one-year, $700,000 to remain a St. Louis Blue. (Link)

July 5
• Cedric Paquette gets a one-year, $1 million deal to stay with the Lightning. (Link)

• Trevor van Riemsdyk, Hurricanes avoid arbitration with two-year, $4.6 million deal. (Link)

• Anthony Duclair heads to the Blue Jackets on a one-year, $650,000 deal. (Link)

• Andreas Athanasiou stays with the Detroit Red Wings with a two-year, $6 million deal. (Link)

• Jacob De La Rose re-signs with the Canadiens with a two-year, $1.8 million contract. (Link)

• The Ducks bring on Andrej Sustr with a one-year, $1.3 million contract. (Link)

• Boone Jenner gets a four-year, $15 million extension from the Columbus Blue Jackets. (Link)

• Christian Folin gets a one-year deal from the Philadelphia Flyers. (Link)

• Jordan Nolan heads to the St. Louis Blues. One year, $650,000. (Link)

July 3
• Robby Fabbri stays in St. Louis with a one-year, $925,000 deal. (Link)

• The Boston Bruins re-sign Sean Kuraly for three years, $3.825 million. (Link)

• Remi Elie re-signs with the Dallas Stars. One year, $735,000 (Link)

• Calvin de Haan signs with the Carolina Hurricanes on a four-year, $18.4 million contract in free agency. [Link]

• The Islanders signed goalie Robin Lehner to a one-year contract. [Link]

• Brad Richardson is back with the Arizona Coyotes on a two-year contract. [Link]

• The Islanders bring back Matt Martin in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Link)

July 2
• Tomas Hertl re-ups with the Sharks on a four-year, $22.5 million contract. (Link)

• Carter Rowney gets a three-year deal from the Anaheim Ducks. (Link)

• Joe Thornton re-signs in San Jose with a one-year, $5 million deal. (Link)

• Brian Gibbons lands a one-year, $1 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks. (Link)

• Slater Koekkoek is back with the Tampa Bay Lightning. One year, $865,000. (Link)

• Zac Rinaldo has a new home with the Nashville Predators. One year, $650,000. (Link)

• James Neal gets a five-year, $28.75 million deal from the Calgary Flames. (Link)

• Tom Kuhnhackl joins the Islanders on a one-year deal. (Link)

July 1
• Matt Calvert joins the Colorado Avalanche on a three-year, $8.4 millon deal. (Link)

• Valtteri Filppula joins the Islanders on a one-year, $2.75 million deal. (Link)

• The Buffalo Sabres send Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues for a 2019 first-rounder, 2021 second-rounder, forwards Tage Thompson, Patrik Berglund, and Vladimir Sobotka. The Blues also pick up O’Reilly’s $7.5 million signing bonus. (Link)

• Luke Schenn will be manning the Anaheim Ducks’ blue line next season. One year, $800,000. (Link)

• Defenseman Nick Holden is joining the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights. Two years, $4.4 million (Link)

• Islanders sign Leo Komarov for four years, $12 million. (Link)

• Sven Baertschi is back in Vancouver on a three-year, $10 million contract. (Link)

• Riley Nash cashes in on a big year and gets a three-year, $8.25 million deal with the Blue Jackets. (Link)

• Vladislav Namestnikov is staying with the New York Rangers with a two-year, $8 million extension. (Link)

• Tobias Rieder hooks up with the Oilers on a one-year, $1.3 million contract. (Link)

• Matt Cullen goes back to Pittsburgh on a one-year. $650,000 deal. (Link)

• John Moore gets a big contract from the Boston Bruins. Five years, $13.75 million. (Link)

• #TavaresWatch is over. John Tavares has signed a seven-year, $77 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Link)

• The Sabres and Blues basically swap backup goalies now that Chad Johnson signs for one year, $1.75 million in St. Louis. (Link)

• The Hurricanes find their backup in Petr Mrazek. One year, $1.5 million. (Link)

• Michael Grabner heads west with a three-year, $10.05 million deal with the Coyotes. (Link)

• Kyle Brodziak joins the Oilers for two years, $2.3 million. (Link)

• After two seasons in the KHL, Val Nichushkin returns to Dallas with a two-year, $5.9 million deal. (Link)

• J.T. Brown joins the Wild on a two-year, $1.375 million contract. (Link)

• Ryan McDonagh inks a seven-year, $47.25 million extension to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Link)

• The Stars stay busy adding Roman Polak (one year, $1.3 million) to their blue line. (Link)

• Tomas Plekanec is member of the Montreal Canadiens again. One year, $2.25 million. (Link)

• The Chicago Blackhawks add Cam Ward ($3 million) and Chris Kunitz ($1 million) on one year deals and ink Brandon Manning to a two-year, $4.5 million contract. (Link)

• The Coyotes make Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s eight year, $66 million extension official. (Link)

• The Colorado Avalanche add to their blue line bringing in Ian Cole on a three-year, $12.75 million deal. (Link)

• Blake Comeau is signed by the Dallas Stars, three years, $7.2 million. (Link)

• Tyler Bozak joins Perron in St. Louis as the Blues ink the center to a three-year, $15 million deal. (Link)

• Thomas Hickey heads back to the Islanders with a four-year, $10 million contract. (Link)

• Paul Stastny leaves Winnipeg for the Vegas Golden Knights on a three-year, $19.5 million deal. (Link)

• The Jack Johnson to the Penguins deal is real and it’s $16.25 million over five years. (Link)

• Thomas Vanek (one year, $3 million), Mike Green (two year, $10.75 million) and Jonathan Bernier (three year, $9 million) have all signed with the Detroit Red Wings.

• James van Riemsdyk heads back to Philadelphia with a five-year, $35 million contract. (Link)

• David Perron returns to St. Louis and signs a four-year, $16 million deal with the Blues. (Link)

• Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel each get four-year, $12 million deals from the Vancouver Canucks. (Link)

• The Calgary Flames pick up Derek Ryan (three years, $9.375 million) and Austin Czarnik (two years, $2.50 million). (Link)

• Greg Pateryn gets a three-year, $6.75 million deal from the Minnesota Wild. Eric Fehr (one year, $1 million) is joining him. (Link)

• The Bruins, Sabres Stars find backups with Jaroslav Halak (two years, $5.5 million) headed to Boston, Anton Khudobin (two years, $5 million) on his way to Dallas and Carter Hutton (three years, $8.25 million) going to Buffalo.

• Matt Hendricks moves on to the Wild with a one-year, $700,000 deal. (Link)

June 30
• Winnipeg Jets clear valuable cap space by shipping Steve Mason to Montreal Canadiens. (Link)

• Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks agree to eight-year, $64 million extension. (Link)

• Ryan Reaves is sticking in Sin City, signing a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. (Link)

• Chris Wagner heads to the Boston Bruins on a two-year, $2.5 million deal. (Link)

• Eddie Lack returns to New Jersey on a one-year, $650,000 deal with the Devils. (Link)

• The Carolina Hurricanes hand Andrei Svechnikov his three-year, entry level deal worth $2,497,500. (Link)

• Niklas Hjalmarsson inks a two-year, $10 million extension (kicks in 2019-20) with the Arizona Coyotes. (Link)

June 29
• Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings agree to eight-year, $88 million extension. (Link)

• Michal Kempny stays in Washington with four-year, $10 million extension. (Link)

• Capitals name Todd Reirden as Barry Trotz’s replacement. (Link)

• Frank Vatrano returns to Florida Panthers on one-year, $925,000 contract. (Link)

• Carolina Hurricanes re-sign Valentin Zykov with two-year, $1.35 million contract. (Link)

June 28
• Penguins hand one-year, $650,000 deal to J.S. Dea. (Link)

June 27
• Penguins deal Conor Sheary, Matt Hunwick to Buffalo Sabres. (Link)

• Devante Smith-Pelly returns to Washington Capitals with one-year, $1 million deal (Link)

• Penguins re-sign Riley Sheahan to $2.1 million, 1-year deal. (Link)

• Arizona Coyotes bring back Kevin Connauton with two year, $2.75 million extension. (Link)

June 26
• Vancouver Canucks re-sign Derrick Pouliot, one year, $1.1 million. (Link)

• Pittsburgh Penguins re-sign Bryan Rust with 4 year, $14 million deal. (Link)

• Ottawa Senators buy out final year Alex Burrows’s contract. (Link)

• J.T. Miller gets five-year, $26.25 million extension from Tampa Bay Lightning. (Link)

• Sam Morin gets three-year, $2.1 million extension from Philadelphia Flyers. (Link)

• Joe Morrow re-signs with Winnipeg Jets for $1 million over one year. (Link)

What should Blackhawks do with cap space after Hossa trade?

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By James O'BrienJul 12, 2018, 6:33 PM EDT
10 Comments

The most fun part of the Marian Hossa trade is pondering the possible future trades it opens up thanks to improved cap space for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Cap space estimates tend to be tenuous at best in July, but that’s especially true with Chicago, as the Blackhawks still have some roster spots to sort out. Still, Cap Friendly’s estimate of the Blackhawks having about $8.55 million in room seems fair enough.

It’s also plausible that the Blackhawks might find even more breathing room. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if the return of Marcus Kruger may spur the Blackhawks to move Artem Anisimov, whose $4.55M cap hit runs through 2020-21.

Even if they don’t trade Anisimov to cut costs, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman gave himself opportunities to make a splashy move this summer. Considering that Chicago missed the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and eyes an aging, top-heavy core, landing a substantial asset could be huge for a “win-now” team.

(Especially since, as promising as Adam Boqvist is as the eighth pick of this past draft, he could be a bit of a project at just 17 years old.)

Here are some of the most enticing possible trade targets for the Blackhawks, keeping in mind that there aren’t any obvious difference-makers remaining on the free agent market.

Artemi Panarin – We might as well get the most obvious name out of the way, considering how much Bowman loves bringing back former Blackhawks. (It’s quite fitting that Panarin was traded out of Chicago in such a move to land Brandon Saad.)

There’s probably a fascinating subplot to ponder from Columbus’ perspective. If they know Panarin’s gone, would they bet against Chicago rebounding by asking for significant draft assets for “The Bread Man?”

That’s a debate – maybe a post – for another day. Let’s focus on the Blackhawks’ side of an equation, instead.

Panarin remains in the meat of his prime at just 26, and he’s quite a value at $6M, though that cap hit expires after this coming season. It’s not totally out of the realm of possibility for Panarin to ink an extension at some point with Chicago, as “The Windy City” ranks as the sort of big market he’d prefer. (Though maybe he’d really want to go big and merely eye New York or Los Angeles?) With Kruger, Cam Ward, and others coming off the cap in summer 2019, the money would likely be there … although a pricey Panarin extension would make a top-heavy team even more imbalanced.

The longer term situation is already fascinating, but Panarin would be a great find even if Chicago only wanted to bet big on 2018-19.

The Russian winger generated a career-high 82 points last season, emphatically proving that he can score without Patrick Kane. It probably should have already been obvious that they enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, but Kane’s slight – but noteworthy – slippage in production cemented such notions.

Panarin’s game-breaking ability would make him a huge “get,” and his familiarity with Chicago and the Blackhawks organization couldn’t hurt.

He likely wouldn’t be too easy to pry from Columbus, though.

Max Pacioretty – “Patches” doesn’t seem long for Montreal, considering the rumblings about a lack of contract extension negotiations and the team’s reported urgency in trading him.

Compared to Panarin, Pacioretty brings some advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

  • He’s cheaper, at least in 2018-19, as Pacioretty’s cap hit is $4.5M.
  • *cough* some might say that his GM might be, um, easier to swindle.
  • Pacioretty has a larger body of work in the NHL, generating 30+ goals five times, and playing 626 regular-season games.
  • “Patches” also literally has a larger body than Panarin. Perhaps the Blackhawks would perceive him as more attuned for the playoffs? (That’s a stretch, of course, if Bowman merely watched Panarin’s work against the Caps. Then again, NHL teams often march to the beat of their own drums …)

Cons

  • Pacioretty’s a little older at 29.
  • He’s coming off of a tough season. Pacioretty barely scored more points (37) in 2017-18 as he scored goals (35) the year before.
  • The American winger seems to be more focused on an extension than Panarin. If Chicago’s more interested in a rental, that could be a stumbling block.

Few players have scored more goals than Pacioretty since he broke through with 33 in 2011-12. One can dream of big things if he were paired with an elite center, or at least better linemates.

And that $4.5M cap hit would really keep other options open for the Blackhawks or other bidders.

Jeff Skinner and/or Justin Faulk – The Blackhawks and Hurricanes have done business before, including the Teuvo Teravainen – Bryan Bickell trade, not to mention Carolina paying big money for former Blackhawks backup Scott Darling.

The Hurricanes could feasibly move one or both of Skinner and Faulk, and by pulling some strings, it’s not even that outrageous to imagine Chicago landing each player. (Again, it would require some maneuvering.)

Like Panarin and Pacioretty, Skinner is entering the final year of his current contract. In his case, he carries a $5.725M cap hit.

With three 30+ goal campaigns and three additional 20+ goal seasons to his name (not to mention 579 regular-season games played), it’s kind of startling that Skinner is only 26. He’s only missed three games total in the last three seasons – he appeared in all 82 last season – putting most of his health fears to rest.

Skinner is a fantastic skater who’s rarely shy about firing the puck. One might downplay his strong possession stats thanks to sometimes-heavy offensive deployment, but those numbers don’t hurt either.

He’s never appeared in a playoff game during his NHL career, so Skinner would probably be even hungrier to reach the postseason than his would-be Blackhawks teammates.

Faulk, 26, could end up being the best consideration of them all, because he’s the sort of dynamic defenseman the Blackhawks generally lack beyond Duncan Keith.

Since 2014-15, Faulk’s scored 56 goals, the seventh-best total among NHL defensemen. Only Brent Burns (85), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (70), and Erik Karlsson (63) lead Faulk by a significant margin.

While he’s not considered an elite shutdown-type guy, his possession stats show promise, and he comes in at an affordable $4.833M cap hit. One nice perk is that Chicago would land extra cost certainty with Faulk compared to other options in this post, as Faulk’s cap hit runs for an additional season (through 2019-20).

Erik Karlsson – Look, it’s tough to imagine Chicago pulling off such a heist, considering that repeated bids to contend leave them with limited futures.

Still, it would be foolish not to at least mention Karlsson, particularly if the Senators realize they can only shop the superstar as a rental. With a $6.5M cap hit, Chicago could easily afford Karlsson … for a season, at least.

***

The Blackhawks would pop some champagne if they could merely land one of Panarin, Pacioretty, Skinner, Faulk, or even Karlsson. It remains to be seen if they can entice any of those sellers to take a deal.

Moving Hossa’s contract encourages imaginations to run as deep as Gino’s Pizza, though. If nothing else, few teams have more incentive to go all-in than the Blackhawks.

Who would you go after, if anyone, if you were in Bowman’s shoes?

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Hellebuyck turns career year into $37 million extension with Jets

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By Scott BilleckJul 12, 2018, 10:30 AM EDT
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The Winnipeg Jets to-do list got a little shorter on Thursday.

The Jets locked up their goaltending future, signing Vezina runner-up Connor Hellebuyck to a six-year, $37 million contract.

Hellebuyck had a breakout season in 2017-18, posting 44 wins to set a new franchise record for the Jets (and a new record for American-born goalies) in a single season. He also posted franchise marks in shutouts with six and save percentage with a .925, as he seamlessly turned into one of the league’s premier netminders.

And now he’s getting paid like one.

Hellebuyck becomes the sixth highest paid goaltender in the NHL, behind Carey Price ($10.5 million AAV), Henrik Lundqvist ($8.5 million AAV), Sergei Bobrovsky ($7.425 million AAV) Tuukka Rask  ($7 million AAV) and Pekka Rinne ($7 million AAV). Hellebuyck’s contract comparables include Braden Holtby, Frederik Anderson and Semyon Varlamov.

The deal means the Jets will avoid going to arbitration with Hellebuyck, who was a restricted free agent.

The move also means that that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has one less RFA to sign in an offseason rife with talented players needing raises. CapFriendly has the Jets sitting with $20.6 million in cap space, with a couple of bigger ticket items to sort out soon.

Cheveldayoff will now turn his attention to fellow RFAs in Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey, the team’s top, and one of the NHL’s best shutdown pairings. Trouba is looking for a long-term deal while the Jets will likely be able to bridge Morrissey. The Jets also have Brandon Tanev, Adam Lowry and Marko Dano to sign after the trip filed for arbitration.

Winnipeg will also be looking to extend 44-goal man Patrik Laine, who is likely to come close to double digits in AAV, if not exceed them.

Among starting goalies this season, Hellebuyck showed very well, posting an xSv% of 92.92%, good for fifth in the NHL with a minimum of 1,500 minutes played.

Hellebuyck made huge strides in his game after a disappointing 2016-17 campaign. Hooking up with Adam Francilia at the NET360 camp in British Columbia, Hellebuyck appeared to re-invent himself and the results were immediate as he erased many of the doubts people had of him coming into the year.

The Michigan native was instrumental in leading the Jets to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history, and Hellebuyck was also named to the NHL All-Star game.

The Jets will enter the 2018-19 season with Laurent Brossoit handling backup duties after the team traded Steve Mason to the Montreal Canadiens as a part of a salary dump. The Jets signed Mason last offseason to a two-year, $8.2 million deal after Hellebuyck’s rough season previous, but he quickly became expendable because of Hellebuyck’s play and myriad injuries that plagued Mason throughout last season.

—

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

Beyond Karlsson: Five players who could be dealt this summer

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By Scott BilleckJul 11, 2018, 12:23 PM EDT
2 Comments

The hockey world is collectively holding its breath at the moment.

Erik Karlsson‘s future certainly doesn’t seem to lie in Ottawa with the Senators, and much of the past week(s) has been dubbed #KarlssonWatch as such.

But while Karlsson is obviously the biggest commodity on the trade block, there are several other players with pretty good pedigrees that could be on the move as well.

Let’s take a look at five prime candidates to still switch teams this summer, in no particular order.

• Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes

Here’s how a solid defenseman gets his name on the trading block:

1. New owner arrives
2. New owner appoints new front office pieces
3. New front office pieces see team in shambles
4. Team in shambles hasn’t made playoffs in nine years
5. Team in shambles that hasn’t made playoffs in nine years doesn’t have a starting goalie
6. Team in shambles that hasn’t made playoffs in nine years doesn’t have a starting goalie already traded away prospects for another good defenseman
6. Trade good players to help rectify bad situation

The Hurricanes are rebuilding and already made a good trade to get Dougie Hamilton from Calgary. Faulk had a down year, sure, but the Hurricanes weren’t a very good team.

And they need to address Scott Darling and his inability to be a starting goalie in the NHL if they want to compete this year. They’ve found a backup in Petr Mrazek, but missed out on Philipp Grubauer and now need to try and pry something away from a team willing to give up a potential starter.

It’s either that, or they need to find a way to get better in front of Darling.

• Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens

This one is pretty much set in stone, right?

When your general manager reportedly comes out and says there’s not going to be any contract negotiations regarding an extension, that’s a good a sign as any that it’s game over in Montreal.

That same report even suggested that Pacioretty might even look at re-signing with the Canadiens, the NHL’s brightest-burning tire fire at the moment.

Sure, the Canadiens are rebuilding and Pacioretty likely will command a decent return given his friendly salary, but any rebuild requires some veterans to stick around, and Pacioretty is the guy they should be wooing instead of bringing back Tomas Plekanec.

Oh, Marc Bergevin.

• Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

The days of Hart trophies and Art Ross’ are long gone for the aging Perry, who has begun the descent in his career arc.

Perry carries with him a salary cap hit of nearly $9 million a season and that doesn’t run out for another three seasons, so moving the former ‘Rocket’ Richard winner won’t be easy.

Salary retention would likely be a must in any trade the Ducks pull off, but the Ducks need to sign a few players, including Ondrej Kase, who is quickly becoming Perry’s replacement at right wing.

This one seems unlikely given what Perry makes, but some teams need to hit the cap floor and some teams are willing to give a player of Perry’s stature a fresh lease on life hoping to extract some end-of-career heroics.

• Milan Lucic, Edmonton Oilers

It goes without saying, but this is a brutal contract for the Edmonton Oilers.

Lucic hasn’t fit and isn’t adapting to the game that’s getting faster around him, leading many observers calling for the bruiser power forward to be traded.

It’s not easy.

Perhaps we could see a Karlsson-lite sort of deal, where Lucic is packaged with a better player to shed his salary, similar to what Ottawa is trying to do to rid themselves of Bobby Ryan‘s contract.

It’s a bit of mess for Peter Chiarelli, who got himself into it in the first place. He loves himself some Lucic after winning the Stanley Cup with him in 2011.

But Chiarelli’s job isn’t getting easier after missing the playoffs with arguably the world’s best player. This isn’t about loyalty anymore for Chiarelli, it’s about his job security.

• Artemi Panarin, Columbus Blue Jackets

When a player is on the fence about committing his long-term future to a team, it usually means he doesn’t want to commit his long-term future that certain team.

This is devastating for the Blue Jackets, who have one of the better teams in the NHL.

From our own James O’Brien:

He set a new career in total points. He averaged more shots on goal per game. His possession numbers jumped to an elite level. He was Columbus’ best and most impactful player for the entire season. When he was on the ice during 5-on-5 play the Blue Jackets controlled 57 percent of the total shot attempts. They outscored teams by a 61-37 margin. Without him on the ice the Blue Jackets were outshot (49 percent shot attempt) and outscored (108-111).

Panarin has a year remaining on his current contract and will turn into an unrestricted free agent next July. The return on him would be pretty good if perhaps slightly muted given the situation at this point.

It’s a lose-lose for Columbus, unless they want to give him a two-year deal and hopefully convince him to sign a longer-term contract later down the road.

The Blue Jackets aren’t far off from competing for the Stanley Cup. They have a lot of talent on their roster, including a world-class goaltender.

But you can’t lose Panarin, your best player, for nothing in a year’s time. If he isn’t willing to re-sign and meet your criteria, then you’re forced to move him, and that’s the situation, at least it appears, the Blue Jackets find themselves in.

Think someone else is likely to get moved?

Have your say in the comments.

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Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck