Laying the groundwork
Busy offseason ahead for the NHL
The Stanley Cup playoffs ended July 7 with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second straight championship.
The individual awards have been handed out, the players are at home preparing for next season and the fans’ attention has turned to summer activities.
However, the business of hockey will continue during the next three weeks. General managers are laying the groundwork for an expansion draft, the annual entry draft and the start of the free-agent market.
July 8 kicked off the offseason calendar with the summer contract buyout period running to July 27. With the salary cap remaining at $81.5 million for the second straight season, there could be more buyouts than usual as capstrapped clubs try to shed salary. Candidates could include New York Rangers defenceman Tony DeAngelo, Edmonton Oilers winger James Neal and Colorado Avalanche blue-liner Erik Johnson.
The Seattle Kraken will stock their roster for next season via the expansion draft on July 21. They can select one player from each club except for the Vegas Golden Knights, who are exempt because they joined the league just four years ago.
Teams have until 6 p.m. Atlantic on July 17 to submit their lists of protected players to the league. They must protect one goaltender and either seven forwards and three defencemen or eight skaters. There will also be a roster freeze on the existing 31 clubs from July 17 until the end of the expansion draft on July 21. The Kraken will have a three-day window (July 1820) to interview other teams’ pending free agents.
Some teams with deep rosters could risk exposing a player in the draft they would prefer to keep. Their general managers could attempt to swing side deals with Kraken general manager Ron Francis to entice him into selecting different players.
Following the expansion draft comes the annual draft weekend. The first round will be on July 23, with Rounds 2-7 the following day. This year's top prospects include University of Michigan defenceman Owen Power, winger William Eklund of Djurgarden in Sweden and Halifax Mooseheads centre Zachary L’Heureux.
Trade activity tends to increase leading up to, and including, the draft weekend. The flattened salary cap could see a number of salaried players on the move by teams trying to cut costs for next season. Others could ship out players who no longer fit into their long-term plans. Trade candidates could include Buffalo Sabres centre Jack Eichel, Columbus Blue Jackets
defenceman Seth Jones and Washington Capitals centre Evgeny Kuznetsov.
July 28 marks the annual kickoff of the free-agent period at 1 p.m. Atlantic. Noteworthy players potentially available as unrestricted free agents include Washington Capitals’ superstar Alex Ovechkin, Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Dougie Hamilton.
Lyle Richardson is a freelance writer with The Hockey News and Bleacher Report and runs the website Spector’s Hockey. His column will appear in The Guardian through the NHL season.