OverDrive - Dreger and LeBrun on Kaprizov's contract impact, Roslovic's next team and the Panthers' deals

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun joined OverDrive to discuss the frenzy of contracts in the league, the state of the Panthers entering the season, Kirill Kaprizov's impact to contracts, the new phase of deals, Jack Roslovic's next steps and more.

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We got Luke coming up just after 5 o'clock. Al's brother will join us for that as well because Hayesbrough on the clock and that line is moving upward, man. The Rams are a massive favorite based on all these injuries for the Niners. So we'll get to that in about a half an hour, but there are the insiders, Darren Dregor, Pierre LeBron. That is an epic looking jacket. Where did you find that? Drake's may remember where I got this. This is kind of embarrassing, but...

Value Village? We were standing on the sidewalks of New York in January 2013. It was just freezing, waiting for the freaking lockout to end. And I had been in New York too long and had not been ready for the window to go next level. so I went into the NHL store and bought this Hartford Whaler's sports jacket. Love it to keep me warm. How much was it, Pierre? It looks fantastic, buddy.

It looks fantastic, Pierre. How much was it? Yeah. Oh, I don't remember. Way more than I wanted to pay for sure. You know, it is in those stores. I like to wear it when I have a cigar, you know? I call it my cigar smoking jacket.

Love it. I love it. Classy. Beautiful. Well, everyone is getting contracts in the NHL right now, including Nico Mikula, got himself an eight-year extension at $5 million per.

And we'll start with you, Dregs. This is Florida just keeping everyone. And call me a cynic. Like, at what point does Bill Zito have to decide some guys maybe should not be here for the rest of time in Florida? Because they're keeping everyone

and they're keeping everyone long term. Yeah, I get that. But look at the path of Niko Mikala and what he's had to endure in the National Hockey League before arriving in Florida and winning two Stanley Cups, right? Like, this man paid his dues and was more or less a misfit. And he's found his way under the guidance of Paul Maurice. You know, Ray Ferrer and I talked a little bit about this on the podcast. There's something about an eight-year term of this guy that makes me a little bit nervous, to be fair. But at $5 million, that's what it breaks down to.

$5 million on the annual average salary. You know, the proof is in the pudding. He's been a real good ad, a real good piece in that defensive core. He plays the system the way Paul Maurice wants him to play. He fits in well in that regard. So I'm not going to question work here, Bill Zito, because everything this man seems to do from management perspective is spot on. This might turn out to be another example.

Well, yeah, they have gone to three straight cup finals. And, Pierre, I wonder if you've, you know, adjusted your look at the Panthers with the Barcov news, him being out for the year and could chook out for a couple of months, if not more, and everyone bracing for Bill Zito and company down there possibly to address this issue. What do you see happening with Florida? I have adjusted in a sense that I don't see them winning the Atlantic in the regular season, but they can care less. I mean, their goal is just to get in. And can you imagine if they get in as a wild card and get Chuck back in the second half and get Barkoff back for the playoffs and go out and add someone before the March 6th trade deadline with some of the savings from Barkoff? And you get them in a 1-8 or a 2-7? Those are some of the thoughts that I've had dancing through my head is everyone's worst nightmare with Florida just doing what they have to do to survive and get in and then getting healthier.

But, you know, I chatted with Bill Zito last weekend after the devastating Barkoff news guys. And he made it clear. Like, he's going to look under every single stone. We now on March 6th and try and go get some help for his team. It's a bit complicated. His Barkoff comes back. Now there's a playoff salary cap. So he can't go out and spend $10 million if there's any chance that he comes back for the playoffs.

So those old loopholes are gone. But there's still some savings there. And he did not hide that he's going to go out and try and add. So I wouldn't, you know, I know that their stock went down a lot in some places, but I wouldn't write off the Florida Panthers just yet in terms of what they might look like come April. Pierre, the term you like to use rival GMs. What do other GMs think about the Caprizoff number that they got to, especially teams that have guys coming up, whether it be Eichol, Connor.

Like, do they have any thoughts on him getting that money with the guys they have to deal with on their own? Yeah, first text back I got from one with. was yikes but you know I think I think drags heard a lot of the same as I did from other teams like they they understood what Billy Garron when what scenario he was facing

their oh like Craig Leopold didn't want to lose Carrillo Capriza they don't they have not generated any players of that talent in the history of the 2.0 you know Minnesota franchise and they don't attract UFAs of high

caliber so oh totally I get it They were going to overpay, you know. Other players are going to be like, well, now I'm worth this, aren't they? And they're going to be looking at that contract as the biggest example. Maybe. I mean, that's what agents are telling us that they hope that now that this 17 is on the board, that everyone's going to point to the board when it's their high-in client who is up for renegotiation. There's no question.

You can't, comps are comps for a reason. I guess what I was trying to say, though, is that I think that team, teams and negotiations are going to say, well, yeah, but Minnesota, they were over a barrel. Like, that's a unique situation of Minnesota overpaid, blah, blah, blah, but you're right. Agents are going to say, I don't care why he got 17, he got 17, and now it's in the system. So there's no question that's going to have an impact on negotiations going forward. You know, I actually thought the reaction across the league would be more severe from NHL general managers. I think that when the reality set in, that Caprizzav pushed away from $128 million initially,

that caught the attention of most GMs. But Brad Turlivan joked with me, and he said, it was right after the Anthony Stollars, four-year contract extension was announced, and he said, hey, I must have done good work. I got five Stollies for one Caprizov. So I guess that's how you look at the map when you're looking at your own roster in your own club independently. But, you know, I'll tell you what, and this is not, I'm not criticizing the agents involved in these deals,

but immediately within the last year, you look at Miko Ranton and 12 million a year in Dallas, a Willie Nealander at 11.5 in Toronto. There are already some deals for I.N. players that look pretty darn good and what this new landscape looks like it's coming at us here. No question. I had some people in Ottawa sending me comments going,

and Jake Sanderson looks pretty good at 8 million, so to Stitz, Tim Stozla and Brady Kachaka. Dregs, in your opinion, who do you think is the next shoe to drop in? Do you guys get a sense? Like, is it Kyle Connor? You know, because obviously McJesus in Edmonton is going to hold everybody hostage for a while, but who do you think is the next guy? Yeah, I think Kyle Connor, Jack Eichol, maybe the Vegas Golden Knights is another one.

I checked in on Alex talking about. Buffalo Savers, and it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot going on there. I mean, the old standby is there's steady communication. Well, of course. I mean, these players are going into the final year before unrestricted free agency. McDavid is the outlier because we check in on this every single day, and until Connor McDavid wakes up and says, yeah, you know what, I feel like I want to get an extension done in Edmonton.

It's just not going to happen. And he's not at that place. Jack Eichael loves playing in Vegas. He loved living in Vegas. So, you know, even though he looks at the Caprize off contract, there's just no way that they're going to get there or just can't work with the Vegas Golden Knights. And as we talked about last week on, or earlier this week in insider trading, the Kyle Conner negotiation is also a little bit tricky with the Winnipeg Jets. You know, Winnipeg is one of those smaller market teams that just hasn't given up signing bonus money historically. So what is the structure of that deal extending Kyle Conner going to look like?

the player, he's entitled to ask for what he's going to ask for. And that's term, that's A.A.V. And if the player decides, yeah, signing bonus has to be a part of my structure, then it gets to be more of a problem. With Darren Drager, Pierre, the Bronner, T.S. And I think Eichol's a big one to monitor. Go ahead, Pierre. Continue. Yeah.

I was just going to say, I think Eichol is a big one to monitor, you know, always asking about the impact of Caprisov. I know that there are people involved in some of the negotiations that Dregg just mentioned, you know, I, that. I think the Eichol contract may be even more of a domino because let's just call it a more normal negotiation where it's not total desperation like Minnesota was with Caprisoff. So, you know, I think $14 million a year would get it done with Jack Eichol.

I don't know that Vegas, I don't know if Vegas is willing to go whether or not. We'll see. That's just me examining the market and trying to think what I call no state income tax in Vegas and him wanting to stay. That's just a number I'm pulling out of thin air. But let's say it ends up around 13 or 14 million a year. Then I think when it comes to Adrian Kempay and Alex Tuck and some of these other pending UFAs, that has a real direct impact on where those guys will go.

Because I'll tell you right now, I believe that I think Adrian Kempay's case, I think that their camp has brought up Neelander's deal in that negotiation with L.A., 11.5 million a year. I think Alex Tuck's in the double-digit territory, two-time 36 school scores. So it's just a long way of saying that I know myself anyway and maybe maybe I'm just, I need to get my head on straight. We're really entering a new phase where we've got to get used to some guys that we're used to making eight, nine million a year, entering a new phase year with double digits. Yeah. No kidding. I mean, you look at the RFA's, you know, Jackson Lecombe getting that deal and Luke Hughes getting that deal. Both make a nine million a year and good players, really good young players, but they got a massive amount. amount of money on a long-term deal.

And I saw that Ryan Huska, the head coach of the Flames, got himself a two-year extension. I believe that will coincide with the new arena out there in Calgary. And we'll start with you, Dregs. The Flames are an intriguing team for me because Dustin Wolf was so good last year. He kept them in the hunt, to their credit. Like, Huska did a great job. Their veterans did a great job. But, you know, what are the flames?

Like, when the rest of the league's trying to figure this out and trying to figure out who to call because maybe you can pry out some pieces. Are the Flames one of those teams where you feel like eventually Craig Conroy and company are going to trade and be open for business? Well, look, I mean, Pierre's done a lot of reporting on the Rasmus Anderson file, right? And for me, that's the biggest question mark moving forward in Calgary. You know, are they going to find a sweet spot? It seems unlikely.

Trade seems more likely at what point is the best trigger point for Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames. But you nailed it there, Brian. I mean, it comes down to goaltending. Dustin Wolfe was tremendous last year. Can he duplicate that this year? He's going to need to. Where's that offense going to come from? You know, Nazim Cadre did a good year.

Johnson Hubert, or more or less, return to form. You know, Coronado was really, really good. I just, I don't see it. I think that Calgary is going to be competitive. I mean, I just feel like they've got the pieces to stay in that realm, at least. But unless Craig Conroy does more than I, expect that he's going to do, I think it's going to be a real tough year in Calgary. Yeah, I agree.

One last one for me, any word on Jack Roslovick? I mean, this guy's just skating in Columbus. I mean, a pretty darn good player. Why does nobody want to touch this guy? Well, it's not totally true. We believe that he actually had something on the table in the summer from the Edmonton Oilers, and it didn't interest him. And what has also happened in the interim is that he has changed agents.

So obviously July 1st is on a goal like he wanted. So he fired his agent, went to a new agent. And obviously, certainly at the start of the off season, had certain parameters to where he wanted to go. I mean, I imagine turning down a chance to go play with McDavid or Dreisiddle, but whatever. So, yeah, he's still UFA. I'm sure he'll catch on here at some point because teams will break camp realizing

certain young players not ready or an injury. I mean, he'll end up somewhere for sure. Yeah, and look, just to jump in here, I kind of thought, and Pierre thought the same thing that because there's a more or less a proven player available that maybe

that would be a fit for the Florida Panthers. With all due respect to Roslovak who has some history with Paul Maurice, it dates back to Winnipeg, it just doesn't seem like he is a fit. And that's more of the style that they play than anything. But he's a good enough player that he'll find a home. As is the case, the reason I bring up Florida is obvious because of the injury.

All it takes is an injury early in the year, and he's free-free. You're not giving up anything. And maybe he gets a little bit desperate, too, and realizes that he doesn't have a job. And being in the league is certainly better than being out. Yeah, you'd think so. We're less than a week away from opening night. Maybe he needs a third agent to figure that out. you might want to get into the league at some point.

How does having no job not make you desperate the face? You've got no job, the Oilers call you, and you just say, I'm not sure about that. Yeah, well, we'll see, I guess. All right, boys. Great seeing you guys. I think that has to be a staple, Pierre. Got to bring the heat every single time.

Love that. Whaler's gear, man. Top-notch. Good stuff, boys. We'll do it again soon. I can do the mothballs. Okay. Go pack it away until we see you next time.

Thanks, guys. There's Darren. Thank you. and Pierre LeBrunner, TSN Hockey Insider. The newest tracks and the next big thing. Look what we found. And your first place to hear it all is IHeart, new music. Your digital station for brand new drops, fresh finds,

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