WINNIPEG – They call it silly season for a reason and once the dust happens to settle after July 1, the debates are heated, grades are handed out and winners and losers quickly declared.
In this quest for immediate judgement, sweeping assessments are made when almost everyone knows that what ends up on paper doesn’t always translate into success or failure, no matter what mathematical equation or version of the eye test is used.
But that’s part of the beauty of the sport and this stretch of time is when plenty of the action happens, from handing out the Stanley Cup to the NHL Awards to the 2023 NHL Draft up to the crescendo that is NHL free agency.
Most teams will tell you they’ve got plenty of work left to be done, some more than others, but the coming weeks are when a few deep breaths are taken.
There are still some quality free agents available to sign, value contracts to be pursued and potential trade partners still to be found.
That’s also part of the spin cycle.
The winners and losers column will be handled by colleague Ryan Dixon on Monday, but for the first topic of the final edition of Wiebe’s World until the fall, let’s use the Colorado Avalanche as a case study.
Just over a year removed from capturing the Stanley Cup, the Avalanche had to prepare for a new economic reality, with top centre Nathan MacKinnon about to officially begin the extension he signed last summer, one that carries an AAV of $12.6 million.
Not only did that make him the highest paid player in the NHL, it represented a jump of exactly double of what he was making in his previous contract – which ended up being a bargain.
With the cap only going up $1 million for next season, MacFarland had to make a difficult choice in allowing J.T. Compher to move on as an unrestricted free agent, as the versatile centre inked a five-year deal worth $25.5 million ($5.1 million).
Compher played in all situations for the Avalanche and did an excellent job playing in an elevated role.
MacFarland made a preemptive strike in making a deal with the Nashville Predators for centre Ryan Johansen last week to try and fill the role.
Getting Johansen at 50 per cent of his original cap hit ($4 million instead of $8 million) was a major factor in the decision and the other thing to consider is that it’s just a two-year commitment for Johansen compared to a five-year commitment that Compher got at 28.
Also, while it doesn’t seem like much on the surface, that $1.1 million saved ends up being important, since every dollar counts for a team trying to win that will be as close to the cap ceiling as possible.
Of course the Avalanche are banking on a bounceback season from Johansen, they’ve also made some moves around the edges of the roster to try and expand their depth.
The other major development for the Avalanche was the ability to convince Bowen Byram to sign a bridge deal that carries an AAV of $3.85 million.
At a time when many young players are looking to cash in coming out of their entry-level contracts (and we don’t blame them for that), Byram decided to bet on himself on a shorter-term deal.
The reasoning for that is two-fold: it allows him to stay with a Stanley Cup contender that didn’t have a ton of money to spend and it also provides the opportunity to establish a much higher value in his next deal – which coincidentally should begin when there is a lot more money in the system, as the salary cap is expected to have a considerable bump by then.
As long as things continue to progress for Byram and he can stay healthy, he’ll be in for a big raise in his next contract.
“First of all, Bo is a massive piece for us. He’s one of the best young defencemen in the league,” MacFarland told reporters during a Zoom call on Saturday. “He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do and how we like to play. He drives things from the back end, he’s got really good skill and he’s a really good trusted defender.
“Those aren’t always the easiest, they’re tough contracts to do.”
Meanwhile, the Avalanche are in a position where they won’t need to consider trading him or someone like fellow blue-liner Sam Girard.
That’s even more important when you consider top-pairing D-man Devon Toews has just one year remaining on his deal ($4.1 million) and will also be seeking a raise in pay.
The Avalanche did have to move on from longtime D-man Erik Johnson because of cap considerations, though the first overall pick from 2006 landed on his feet with the Buffalo Sabres on a one-year deal worth $3.25 million.
Playing without captain Gabe Landeskog for a second full season is going to be a challenge, but the Avalanche have brought in a number of players to try and fill the void by committee.
It also helps that the Avalanche have MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen to headline a forward group that also includes Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin.
That group was bolstered by two other preemptive strikes made by MacFarland, who shipped forward Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for a pair of high draft picks, 31st and 37th overall, after the Habs missed out on Pierre-Luc Dubois.
The Avalanche quickly shipped the 37th-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to the Tampa Bay Lightning for 26-year-old forward Ross Colton, a restricted free agent who also became a salary cap casualty.
Colton, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, is a middle-six forward who can play centre or wing and immediately provides a boost on the third line and can move up the lineup in case of injury or other opportunity.
MacFarland also made a long-term bet in Miles Wood, inking the former New Jersey Devils feisty left-winger to a six-year deal worth $15 million ($2.5 million).
No doubt some folks are curious about the term of the contract for a player that’s going to play a bottom-six role and is going to be 28 in September, but Wood has five double-digit goal-scoring seasons on his resume (including a career-high 19 during the 2017-18 campaign).
MacFarland would argue Wood brings the cost certainty that is a major plus for a team with several big-ticket items on the books, including the $9 million AAV being paid to top D-man Cale Makar.
“Miles is a big-bodied winger that can skate. He clearly has an identity for how we want to play the game,” said MacFarland. “That North-South type of approach. He has got a little bit of a wrecking ball philosophy with how he plays the game. He’s a good net-front guy that we feel is going to fit.
“That size component is something we felt we needed to add to the mix and he certainly does that. We feel he’s got some good runway in front of him.”
The Avalanche also brought in forward Jonathan Drouin on a one-year deal worth $825,000.
A third-overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2013 NHL Draft, things didn’t go as planned after a trade to the Montreal Canadiens for defenceman Mikhail Sergachev.
Limited to two goals and 29 points in 58 games with the Canadiens last season, Drouin is a highly skilled winger who won a Memorial Cup with the Halifax Mooseheads back in 2013 when he was linemates with MacKinnon.
Although Drouin is expected to play more of a complementary role with the Avalanche, the environment he’s going to should help him get back to enjoying the game.
“Yes they do have a long history together. When you watch them playing in junior together, obviously the chemistry was there,“ said MacFarland. “Of course, we’re going to pick Nate’s brain. He knows him better than anyone, not only as a player, but as a person and as an individual. He was in full support of this type of situation.
“It’s a low risk, high reward type of situation that hopefully will pay dividends for both. We’re really excited about it. Nate as definitely an honourary member of the scouting department for a few days, that’s for sure.”
Later in the day, the Avalanche retained the services of trusted winger and valuable penalty killer Andrew Cogliano on a one-year deal worth $825,000.
According to CapFriendly, the Avalanche are spending just over $42 million on 10 forwards (and still need a deal for Colton),
Getting Alexandar Georgiev last summer from the New York Rangers and immediately signing him to a three-year deal that carries an AAV of $3.4 million ended up being a stroke of genius.
Not only did Georgiev have no trouble handling the big bump in his workload, it allows the Avalanche to roll with a combined salary of $5.4 million in the blue paint, with Pavel Francouz having one more season left on his current contract.
Having Francouz available for more than the 16 games he appeared in last season will be an important element to help keep Georgiev a little fresher.
Knowing the importance of incorporating players on entry-level deals over the next several seasons during this championship window, MacFarland made two picks in the first round on Wednesday as well, adding centre Calum Ritchie of the Oshawa Generals at 27 and Russian D-man Mikhail Gulyeyev at 31.
And while nobody in the Avalanche organization wanted to be eliminated in Game 7 of the first round by the Seattle Kraken, the scary thing for the rest of the league is that this group is going to be well-rested to go on a longer run.
There will be no Stanley Cup hangover to contend with, just the motivation to return to a place they worked hard to get to and want to get back to.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS KEEP MOST OF BAND TOGETHER
Speaking of difficult decisions, the Golden Knights had to try Original Misfit Reilly Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round pick in 2024 in order to keep forward Ivan Barbashev (five years at $5 million AAV) and goalie Adin Hill (two years at $4.9 million AAV).
You can be sure that Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon would have preferred to keep Smith around but he’s 32 years old and scheduled to make $5 million in each of the next two seasons.
Smith gave the Golden Knights six excellent seasons after coming over in the expansion draft and he departs after capturing the Stanley Cup.
The versatile middle-six forward chipped in four goals and 14 points in 21 Stanley Cup playoff games, which capped a stretch of highly productive and dependable play.
But he also became a salary cap casualty as the Golden Knights kept Barbashev (five years younger at 27) in the fold and prevented him from being one of the most highly sought after players on the open market.
Barbashev meshed well with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault and is someone who can effectively move up and down the lineup and also provide a physical presence to go along with his offensive production.
The Golden Knights have two restricted free agents left to sign, forwards Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev.
As for Hill, he gets a raise and is expected to share the crease once again with Logan Thompson, who was having an excellent season that was derailed by injuries.
Similar to the Avalanche, the Golden Knights goaltending budget should be in the $6 million range – not including Robin Lehner, who spent all of last season on IR.
Laurent Brossoit, who started 11 games during the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Golden Knights, returned to the Winnipeg Jets on July 1 on a one-year deal worth $1.75 million.
TROTZ MAKES MARK
In officially sliding into the GM chair with the Nashville Predators, Barry Trotz asked his scouts to take some swings in the NHL Draft, then he went out and instituted an obvious culture change.
After Johansen was moved out, the Predators bought out Matt Duchene and the final year of his $8 million contract.
Trotz then signed noted leader and culture carrier Ryan O’Reilly to a four-year deal with an AAV of $4.5 million, brought in heart-and-soul blue-liner Luke Schenn on a three-year deal with an AAV of $2.75 million and added veteran forward Gustav Nyquist on a two-year deal with an AAV of $3.185 million.
The Predators traded for former Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh last summer, so they’ve changed the mix considerably around captain Roman Josi, alternate captain Filip Forsberg and goalie Juuse Saros as they get set to usher in a new era under head coach Andrew Brunette.
It was great to see the standing ovation for outgoing Predators GM David Poile inside Bridgestone Arena at the end of Day 2 of the NHL Draft.
Poile has been a hockey lifer and given the number of GMs that went out of their way to wish him well and thank him for his mentorship, it’s easy to see the impact he’s had on the sport during his lengthy run as a GM.
THE DRAFT DID BEGIN AT TWO
Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek had left many guessing at what he was going to do, he raised a few eyebrows by selecting Swedish centre Leo Carlsson second overall.
Verbeek didn’t care about the mock drafts, the Ducks list had Carlsson second and that’s who they went with.
Only time will tell if the Ducks got it right or not.
Carlsson had a solid run at the 2023 IIHF men’s worlds to cap a strong season and is known for his dependable two-way game.
He fits the bill as a franchise centre and now it’s up to him to grow into one.
There was plenty of intrigue about where Russian winger Matvei Mitchkov would land and now the question turns to when he might land on the Philadelphia Flyers roster after being selected seventh overall – one pick before the Washington Capitals.
Colleague Luke Fox has the story on the union between Mitchkov and the Flyers here.
As for that Top-10 NHL mock draft I completed in this space last Sunday?
Well, happy to report that seven of the 10 players I had among the group were chosen and all 10 of them went in the Top-18, but there were only two direct hits.
One of them was a freebie, Connor Bedard to the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 1, the other was Adam Fantilli going to the Columbus Blue Jackets at three.
That’s why I prefaced it by saying there is a reason we have draft experts on staff in Sam Cosentino and Jason Bukala.
In my defence, I did anticipate the Ducks going in another direction, though that was with Mitchkov and not Carlsson.
I had defenceman David Reinbacher going early (at six instead of five) and he was one of three picks who was chosen within one spot of where I had them going (Will Smith and Ryan Leonard were the others).
Love the landing spot for Fantilli, who signed his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets on Saturday and he’s turning pro.
Fantilli and University of Michigan Wolverines linematee Gavin Brindley landing with the Blue Jackets is a great development for the organization.
On an unrelated note, stick tap to Fantilli for wearing a vest with the names of many of the people who supported him on his journey, complete with the inscription “it takes a village.”
Blues GM Doug Armstrong surprised many by making all three picks he accumulated in the 2023 NHL Draft.
When the bigger deal involving Kevin Hayes fell through (although the Blues circled back and got him later), Armstrong felt compelled to select Slovakian centre Dalibor Dvorsky at 10, Swedish centre Otto Stenberg at 25 and Swedish D-man Theo Lindstein at 29.
Being able to add three first-rounders in a single year figures to be a great way for the Blues to enhance the prospect pool.
One of the other highlights from the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville included the streeter interview with “Kyle from Chicago.”
Absolutely awesome look for the Blackhawks GM, showing some personality at what can be a stressful time for many folks in the hockey business.
Davidson has a tall task ahead of him in reshaping the Blackhawks, but having Bedard in the organization is going to fast track that process.
Bringing in Taylor Hall, himself a first overall pick in 2010, was a smart move.
Not only can Hall give Bedard a skilled scorer to skate alongside, he can offer some advice on how to handle the journey and deal with some of the pressures that come with growing into the face of a franchise.
AWARDS THOUGHTS
As the chair of the Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to vote on many of the awards that were handed out earlier this week.
One of the things I appreciate about the process is that opinions don’t have to be uniform and that there is often more than just one right answer.
People value different things in players in terms of how they assess their impact and value.
The PHWA has chosen to be transparent in having the results of the ballots released to the public and I’ve always supported that.
If we want players, coaches and executives to be transparent with us, we have an obligation to be transparent when given the opportunity to vote on awards.
One of the toughest awards to vote on this season was the Norris Trophy.
As it turns out, many people have a staunch opinion on this topic and it caused plenty of consternation.
It’s not an award for which D-man gets the most points and I fully understand that, but after plenty of internal debate, I ultimately made the decision to vote for San Jose Sharks blue-liner Erik Karlsson.
My reasoning is simple.
Although there are some obvious deficiencies when it comes to his defending (and I’m not ignoring those), the fact remains that he is one of six (i repeat SIX) D-men in the history of the NHL to record a 100-point season.
He drove the Sharks offensive engine and that’s something I could ultimately not ignore either.
Had Cale Makar not missed as much time as he did, he probably would have earned my first place vote.
Although his ability to defend, coupled with his extraordinarily high points per game total, given the ice time he logs and the matchups he faces, missing more than a quarter of the season is too much time to garner consideration.
That’s not to discount the season he had
This is my ballot and I’m sure there are choices some of you won’t agree with – and that’s okay.
That’s also part of the process.
BALLOT FOR KEN WIEBE
HART TROPHY
1. Connor McDavid
2. David Pastrnak
3. Mikko Rantanen
4. Jason Robertson
5. Jack Hughes
NORRIS TROPHY
1. Erik Karlsson
2. Josh Morrissey
3. Miro Heiskanen
4. Dougie Hamilton
5. Adam Fox
CALDER TROPHY
1. Matty Beniers
2. Stuart Skinner
3. Owen Power
4. Wyatt Johnston
5. Matias Maccelli
LADY BYNG TROPHY
1. Anze Kopitar
2. Jaccob Slavin
3. Jack Hughes
4. Brayden Point
5. Joe Pavelski
SELKE TROPHY
1. Patrice Bergeron
2. Mitch Marner
3. Anze Kopitar
4. Jordan Staal
5. Nico Hischier
NHL ALL-STAR TEAM
Center
1. Connor McDavid
2. Leon Draisaitl
3. Nathan MacKinnon
Right Wing
1. David Pastrnak
2. Mikko Rantanen
3. Matthew Tkachuk
Left Wing
1. Jason Robertson
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
3. Artemi Panarin
Defence
1. Erik Karlsson
2. Josh Morrissey
3. Miro Heiskanen
4. Dougie Hamilton
5. Adam Fox
6. Cale Makar
Goaltender
1. Linus Ullmark
2. Connor Hellebuyck
3. Juuse Saros
NHL ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forward – regardless of position
1. Matty Beniers
2. Wyatt Johnston
3. Matias Maccelli
Defence
1. Owen Power
2. Jake Sanderson
Goaltender
1. Stuart Skinner
THANKS FOR READING
This is the final Wiebe’s World Sunday NHL column of the season and I want to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you who took the time to check it out over the course of the season. Your feedback is always welcome, even when you don’t agree with my takes. You can always reach me at: wiebesworld9@gmail.com with topics you would like explored in further detail. Enjoy the offseason and thanks for following along.
