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CapFriendly has them with 5.4M in cap space with a roster of 21 but they list Megna on the main roster - he signed a 2-way. If they demote him and go with a roster of 22, they would have 6.2M to sign Swayman and Frederic which should be sufficient. Swayman's number are probably going to come close to Samsonov who was just awarded 3.55M in arbitration. Samsonov 42 games 2.33 gaa 0.919 sv% vs Swayman 37 games 2.27 gaa 0.920 sv% If Swayman gets say 3.8M it would leave 2.4M for Frederic which is more than the mid-way point between team and player ask (2.15M).

He'll still be RFA. The team is asking for a 2-year award. Arbitration can only cover RFA years - ie it would have capped at 1-year if he was to reach UFA next year. He'll be UFA only in summer 2027 at age 27 - he won't have the pro-years to hit UFA earlier.

Their bottom-6 is going to free up their top-6 to play offence with the hope that overall they'll score more. The focus of the bottom-6 is to avoid getting scored on. They wouldn't even have someone to set up Beauvillier in the bottom-6 so what's the point of adding him. He scores when set up and playing with other offensive players - wouldn't be the case in the bottom-6 in Pittsburgh.

Beauvillier scored playing with Pettersson but when Tocchet started shuffling the lines to end the season his production took a hit. From 1 March onwards he only had 9pts in the last 22 games - over a full season that would be a 33pt pace. Also scoring doesn't seem to be what they are after for their bottom-6. Sullivan and Dubas talked of how they need to build a bottom-6 that they can trust defensively so that the top-6 can focus on scoring. The top-6 had to take over defensive duties and it has stretched them because the bottom-6 wasn't trusted. Beauvillier not all that reliable defensively - wouldn't really address what they say they need for the bottom-6. Dubas also excluded giving up high draft picks. He explained that he wants to reduce the gap between this era and the next so they need to keep their picks to start building up their prospect pool. Could see them moving picks for a high end player like Karlsson that can put them over the top but not a filler like Beauvillier.

They already have their backup goalie signed in Anton Forsberg. CapFriendly keeps players on IR as long as the team doesn't announce them cleared to play to central registry and don't count them towards the playing roster. Players on IR/LTIR count towards the cap - ie cap figures are correct but not roster size if a team has players on IR/LTIR. Garrioch was on TSN saying that they'll probably try and move a winger before the start of the season. They could also go with a reduced roster - minimum is 20.

Doesn't mean they were fully recovered. Playoffs are special and players are going to push beyond reasonableness to take part. Tkachuk played with a broken sternum. Ek suffered a broken bone and returned before it was fully healed but re-aggravated the injury and had to be shutdown. Some players even get injections between periods because they want to continue to play. Mikheyev played with an ACL injury since pre-season and got shutdown only at the end of January. You can bet though that if it was the playoffs he would have continued to play. Burrows vs Calgary in the playoffs broke his rib and admitted afterwards that he heard it crack but he hid it so he could continue to play. Millstein, Kucherov's agent, was concerned when Kucherov insisted to be in the lineup. Smith interviewed Anaheim's team doctor who said they would have not allowed him to return that early because the risk he re-tears his labrum was really high. Recovery time is estimated at 5 to 6 months but Kucherov did like Pastrnak and pushed to return after 4.5 months. Seguin took 6 months to recover. Rask had to end his career after the same injury. The league investigates all LTIR cases and his timeline was consistent with other players having underwent the same surgery. Hossa retiring precipitated Chicago's downward spiral. His last season he still had 26 goals. Chicago finished top of the West. Kane and Toews were only in the 2nd year of their matching 8x 10.5M deal. That same summer they traded Panarin and Hjalmarsson for cap reasons. Chicago hasn't made the playoffs since. Body composition changes as people age and the skin changes too so allergies can appear out of nowhere. It's also not unheard of. Wild's broadcaster Tom Reid also had to retire after playing trouble free till about 30. His skin suddenly started sticking to his cloths just like it did for Hossa. There were others too in his days. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhler-retired-suffering-skin-condition-opens/ “I don’t know if it’s similar or not,” Reid said when he joined Sportsnet 590 the FAN’s Hockey Central @ Noon on Wednesday. “All I know is it’s a condition that’s progressively getting worse for Marian, and that’s what it was for me also.” Reid offered a graphic description of his own condition: “The part of my body that was affected the most was my torso from my waist to my upper chest area,” he said. “It was just a situation where I had no skin.” The native of Fort Erie, Ont., said it was only in the final three years of his career that the condition “exploded.” He tried all sorts of remedies and would change his equipment and clothing constantly. He would also regularly wear a towel wrapped around his torso to absorb the fluid emerging from his skin. “I had to step away from the team a number of times during the course of the year,” Reid said of his final season in 1977–78. “I think I played 35 or 36 games that year because I spent a lot of time in the hospital.” His skin would clear up after an extended stay in the hospital, but as soon as he returned to the ice, the condition came back. While Reid wasn’t the only hockey player to suffer from a skin condition in the ’70s — in that era, they called it “The Gunk” — he reached a turning point when his doctors warned him of the consequences of extended treatment. “It got to the point that finally the doctors said, you know, we can’t do this anymore because we’re giving you steroids, we’re giving you cortisone shots. You’ll be dead by the time you’re 40,” he said. Reid chose to leave the game. To this day, Reid still doesn’t know what it was that caused the condition. He just knows it was so bad there was nothing he could do but walk away from the game.

They still had to make the playoffs without him. So many NHLers have had the same surgery so there's a known timeline for a hip labrum tear. Just around that time Pastrnak, Seguin, Rask (it even ended his career), Beaulieu. Recovery time is normally 5 to 6 months and an earlier return isn't recommended because of the risk of a re-tear. Kucherov made it back in 4.5 months - just like Pastrnak but Seguin took 6 months. Tampa expected him back in a later round (2nd or 3rd) and Millstein, his agent, said he tried to dissuade him from returning that early because of the risk of tearing it back.

Which players have supposedly been faking injuries to get out of playing? So many crazy stories of guys hiding concussions, playing through gruesome injuries because they don't want to lose their spot and/or let their team and teammates down.

6th concussion in just 7 years and that's just the ones that were confirmed. The more concussions the more likely to relapse and suffer permanent damage. Murray's history is rather severe - so many concussions and undisclosed upper body injuries and other various injuries throughout his career. The NHL verifies all LTIR cases but with his history there's no reason to believe there's malice. Ferland went down to Utica and got into a game but had to leave mid-game because he wasn't ready to return after all. A few years back Demko suffered one at camp in Vancouver and was declared healthy to travel only to re-lapse after taking the plane to get to Utica. Poolman was skating this March but never made it back to the lineup. Concussions are unpredictable and appearing healthy and wanting to play doesn't equate to being able to play. Former Canucks' goalie Anders Nilsson had to retire because of concussions. A few years back he detailed how it still impacted his every day life some 2 years remote from his last game. How it was hard to be around his kids because the noise would cause him headaches. He still had to wear shades because of sensitivity to light. Too many players finish with permanent damage that impacts their every day life whether concussion and/or physical ailments and it shouldn't be that way.

Murray has had 6 confirmed concussions in his career with 1 in each of the past 3 years and 2 in 2018 and another in 2016. There might even be more where he was announced with the vague "upper body injury".

Barzal didn't really replace Tavares though - he wasn't really lined up against other team's top lines. It's Nelson that took over the toughest matchups. Barzal was still sheltered that 1st season under Trotz and even saw a consequent drop in face-offs. HockeyViz and PuckIQ even suggest that he's been more sheltered than the previous season with Tavares. Losing Tavares for sure affected the PP but still feels like it was more the change of system than the loss of Tavares for Barzal's drop in production given his deployment. Lamoriello was hired as a transition GM in Toronto. He didn't even get to choose his staff. He didn't set the direction either. It's not even him that hired Babcock - was already in place when Lamoriello was added 2 months later. Ownership in NYI say they would be fools to try and play GM and leave it all to Lamoriello. He was hired as President of hockey ops and it's him that decided to name himself as GM in replacement of Snow who he fired. Lamoriello doesn't coach now either but he's still the one that says they won't sacrifice defence for offence when introducing Lambert as new coach. He also hired Trotz - wasn't imposed the coach like in Toronto. Can't really compare NYI to Toronto because he has full control in NYI while Toronto so many constraints with Shanahan president of hockey ops. Lamoriello brought in bottom-6 players in the off-season - he didn't add scoring to replace the loss of Tavares. Only 191 goals against while the median was 244 - from worst in the league to best. It became all about defence.

Lamoriello has repeated to no end that he believes you win by playing defence. Even after replacing Trotz with Lambert he again re-iterated that they are a defensive team 1st. Says he's a goal differential kind of guy - he's looking to win the low scoring 1 goal games. Was a very different mindset than under Doug Weight. As for Trotz he again recently explained that he coached the roster he was given (- that's why he wants to now have coaching/roster/drafting all align). Washington had far more offensive fire power than NYI. He didn't feel they could win by playing offence in NYI so he had them play defence 1st which is also what Lamoriello wanted. Can't really expect same production when players are allowed to cheat on offence. Easier to score when entering with possession and cheating to get a head start vs dumping the puck and having to battle back for it.

Tavares' departure coincides with the arrival of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz. Likely has far more to do with that change in management/coaching then it had to do with Tavares leaving. Tavares' last season in NYI was 2017/18. Lamoriello was hired in May 2018. Washington won the Cup that year and Trotz left right after and signed with NYI. Under Weight NYI was trying to outscore their defensive mistakes and were last in goals against while being 7th in goals for. Lamoriello's mindset was (and still is) defence 1st. That 1st season under Trotz they were the only team that allowed less than 200 goals against - 102 goals against less than the previous season (293 to 191). They became a responsible and sound defensive team. Trotz was all about limiting risks and not cheating for offence. They went from a possession team with high turnover rates in the neutral zone to the team that dumped it in the most, and had one of the most efficient entry rates where they only entered the zone if there was a safe way to do it without the risk of a turnover. It obviously impacted the numbers of all their offensive players. They were trying to limit goals against and win those low scoring games. They made the playoffs that year.

Adams points out that they need to become a better 2-way team and improve their defensive play and PK. He sounds confident in their offence. Aim doesn't seem to be to outscore mistakes. This is about a place holder for a couple of months till Quinn is back healthy - not someone to spend millions on and be stuck with. Adding a top-6 really seems redundant + they have Kulich who is already looking impressive as a teenager in the AHL. Kekaleinen last year thought the longer he waited the more likely he would need to pay to move Bjorkstrand. August has GMs on vacation and September focus is on training camp.

Buffalo were 3rd in scoring last season. Even without Quinn's 14 goals they would still be top-10. Preventing goals their issue. He's also not out all season and could be back already in November. Garland for 3 years for a 1-2 month absence doesn't seem logical. Neither Beauvillier or Garland are ideal bottom-6 either once Quinn is back. They could just claim someone off waivers like they did Jost or sign one of the UFAs still available. They could also give an extended look at Jiri Kulich - had 46 pts/24 goals in 62 games as an 18 year-old in the AHL + 11pts / 7 goals in 12 playoff games. Management has repeated endlessly that their priority is to move cap. Hard to believe they didn't do all their possible since the season concluded. If Pearson healthy and all the regulars on the roster + Höglander they don't seem to have the cap space to carry 23 players. What they do will show whether anyone has any value.

Beauvillier was added when Mikheyev was shut-down - ie opportunity to play with Pettersson that he might not necessarily get going forward. It's crowded on the wings. Wonder which team will get there first. Nashville cleaned house at the TDL then with the Johansen trade and the Duchene buyout - ie no player they don't want around and can concentrate on building that elite team. Vancouver still with players they are looking to move on from and having to settle for reasonable in free agency. Different approach. Nashville missing that elite C1.

Trotz was on the radio pre-draft saying he is willing to listen on Saros. LA were apparently in discussion at the TDL. Don't see Trotz interested in Beauvillier when he was already available when he was still with NYI. Beauvillier seems too mushy middle. They could have just kept Niederreiter. He started with Pettersson but to end the season played also with others. From 1 March onwards he only had 9pts in 22 games - over a full season that's a 33pt pace. Really doesn't fall in the elite category Trotz thinks his team is missing. Nashville has so much dead cap - not all that realistic to contend when so much below other teams- 8.8M this season, followed by 11.8M and then 8.8M. Nashville changed direction because the team around their high end players simply not elite enough.

Via NBC Chicago who cite Scott Powers of the Athletic, "Kurashev filed a request for a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $2.65 million. The Blackhawks' offer would pay him $1.4 million per season for the next two years."

Buffalo has been all about removing the glass ceiling and not blocking their younger players. They could use an experienced bottom-6 as they struggle defensively and their PK is poor but don't see them adding top-6/scoring. They added Greenway at the TDL on the hope to address their bottom-6 need.

Both sides present comparables. Can't go full out of range as there aren't comparables available and risk of being considered delusional and ignored.

Tarasenko is apparently the one they are after. Ottawa has no cap space but if they get suspended without counting against the cap then it would open up some room. Suspensions typically count against the cap though.

Dubois aced his media and fan tour in LA. Came across as modest and a team player and down to earth. Says the only think he wants is to win. Wanting out of Winnipeg where even the coach and former vets talked of a challenging room also understandable. Their culture and issues in the room were brought up by Bowness when he took over. They don't really seem to have a plan either with so many upcoming UFAs including Hellebuyck. Kind of a team at risk of getting caught in no man's land. He's 1 year to UFA and free to go to market then. Made the decent play and worked with Winnipeg to find a destination he would sign with long term and they got a good return.