Honestly, if the avs keep Middlestat and Drouin, I think we’ll be chilling. I do think this might be a bit easier to do since with Nichuskin being suspended, it’s like being on LTIR, so his cap space is freed up, and as far as I know, we can still be over the cap with him back, and landeskog also falls under this
The issue with Nichuskin is that, the moment his suspension is up in November, he's right back on the cap. If Landeskog is to return, then it would be the same deal. Not having a firm picture of his status creates a "worst of both worlds" scenario.
Canucks don't have to think about Hronek anymore. Edit: Also, I expect the Sharks to make a decent number of moves just because they have to. They're about 15M under the salary floor so they need to spend some money, ideally in ways that either acquire them assets or give them young enough guys that they can still be useful when the team's starting to look to contend.
If Detroit isnt atleast moderate activity, preferably more, there is a problem. Certainly not as aggressive in free agency, after the last 2 offseasons, as you mentioned. But locking up seider and raymond, a signing or 2 in FA to fill holes, and trades, thats a decent amount of activity. I expect atleast 1 trade for cap space purposes, and atleast 1 trade to improve the team. Stevie has his hands full this offseason.
I hope they trade Cernak, but I don't see it happening. *Hopefully* McDonagh helps Cernak regain his form from a couple years ago. Jeannot and Sheary are gonzo IMO
I'm not surprised Mike Bartner claimed that among Canadian NHL teams the Canucks would have a "ton of work" to do. Pending free agents include, from the NHL roster and minors (all unrestricted unless otherwise noted): - Ted Blueger - Elias Lindholm - Sam Lafferty - Dakota Joshua - Tyler Myers - Ian Cole - Nikita Zadorov - Mark Friedman - Casey DeSmith (goalie) - Arturs Silovs (goalie - restricted FA with neither arbitration rights nor 10.2(c) status) - via the minors: -- Sheldon Dries -- Vitali Kravtsov (RFA with arbitration rights) -- Linus Karlsson (same as for Kravtsov) -- Aidan McDonough (same situation as Silovs) -- Filip Johansson (RFA with arbitration rights) -- Jett Woo (RFA with arbitration rights) -- Nick Cicek (RFA with arbitration rights) -- Cole McWard (RFA with neither arbitration rights nor 10.2(c) status) -- Zach Sawchenko (goalie, having played just 7 NHL non-preseason games, making him a group 6 UFA via his age [26] as of 1 July Eastern Time)
