Player movement around the NHL is about to heat up over the next few weeks, and several Canadian teams have big — in some cases, franchise-altering — decisions to make.
Who could be on the move? Here are three players on Canadian clubs — one from each position — to keep an eye on this summer:
ALEX DEBRINCAT, OTTAWA SENATORS
Contract status: RFA
The Ottawa Senators went for it last summer, trading three draft picks (Nos. 7 and 39 overall in 2022 and a third-rounder in 2024) for DeBrincat. In his first (and possibly only) season with the Senators, DeBrincat had 27 goals and 66 points in 82 games.
On a recent episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the Senators are “aggressively looking at” trading DeBrincat, who reportedly is not interested in re-signing with them. Despite a down season by his standards, DeBrincat still averaged 3.14 scoring chances per 20, which ranked 38th out of 402 forwards who played at least 500 minutes. (He averaged 3.16 chances per 20 in 2021-22, when he scored 41 goals for the Chicago Blackhawks.)
DeBrincat’s true shooting percentage dropped from 8.7 per cent in 2021-22 to 5.8 per cent last season — well below his career average of around 8 per cent. That suggests DeBrincat, 25, will bounce back next season, but at what price? His qualifying offer is $9 million, which will be the starting point for negotiations.
With two 40-goal seasons already under his belt, as well as a 32-in-52 performance during the shortened 2020-21 season, DeBrincat is in line for a big payday.
NOAH HANIFIN, CALGARY FLAMES
Contract status: $4.95 million cap hit through 2023-24
Teams looking to upgrade on defence will likely have to go the trade route, as evidenced by recent moves involving Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. Hanifin could be on his way out of Calgary after five solid seasons, and there should be plenty of interest in the 26-year-old blueliner.
Hanifin is one of the most well-rounded players at his position. Last season, he ranked ninth out of 215 defencemen (min. 500 minutes) with 1.66 stick checks and tied for 24th with 3.1 zone-entry denials per 20. Offensively, Hanifin led all qualified defencemen in completed outlet passes per 20 (10.4) and was 28th in completed slot passes (1.07).
Sportsnet’s Eric Francis recently wrote that the return the Philadelphia Flyers received for Provorov in the three-team trade, which included the No. 22 pick in the upcoming draft, could provide the framework for a potential Hanifin deal.
CONNOR HELLEBUYCK, WINNIPEG JETS
Contract status: $6,166,666 cap hit through 2023-24
It is the end of an era in Winnipeg, where the Jets are expected to make major changes after several disappointing seasons. Pierre-Luc Dubois will likely be first to leave, with Hellebuyck right behind him. Since taking over as the Jets’ No. 1 goaltender in 2016-17, Hellebuyck has started more than 75 per cent of their regular-season games (410 of 537) and all 40 playoff games. Even with all those miles on his tires, Hellebuyck, 30, continues to play at an elite level; he is a Vezina Trophy finalist for the third time in six years after saving 17.3 goals above expected — fourth most in the league.
The workhorse goaltender who starts 60 games a season has become an endangered species. Hellebuyck, however, thrives on it. An acquiring team will have to take Hellebuyck’s next contract into consideration. It will not come cheap; Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe speculated that Hellebuyck could make “north of $9 million” per year, which would place him alongside Sergei Bobrovsky ($10 million cap hit) and Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million) as the highest-paid active goaltenders in the league.
All stats via Sportlogiq
