The Athletic Hockey Show - Top 5 teams to watch this off-season

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

With the Stanley Cup awarded and the NHL draft next on the league calendar, Hailey and Sean take a look at teams they expect to be most active, with roster tweaks, including buyouts and free agency, led by the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild.Hosts: Hailey Salvian and Sean GentilleExecutive Producer: Chris FlanneryProducer: Jeff Domet Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Hockey Show. Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Athletic Hockey Show. It's Haley Salvean and Sean Gentilly here with you. The Stanley Cup has been awarded once again to the Florida Panthers. It's apparently been damaged as well, but don't worry, it'll be fixed by the time they have their parade. And the offseason is kind of officially here, Sean. The countdown to the July 2nd mass exodus to the cottage begins.

Do you have, here's the first question of the show. Do you have a summer house in Muscoca waiting for you? What's the Pennsylvania version of Pierre Lebrun going off to Muscoca for his cottage? The Western PA version is Kaniath Lake, baby. Let's go. No, I have one. I have one. Bougi Uki Uki Avenue, Pennsylvania, Muscoca.

No, I have, I have one. property. I have one place to live because I don't get Canadian TV money like all of our beautiful friends. And I'm not afforded the opportunity to just turn off my phone and say, bye bye, everyone, for three months in the summer. That's okay. I accept that. It's my lot. It's my lot in life. Do we know where the cap, do we know where the cup was damaged, by the way? Do you have any was it at the elbow room I guess in the main question

and who damaged it it they finally got Russo to do a keg stand on the cup and he snapped off the top that's what happened allegedly that's terrible allegedly ooh it was cracked on the Montreal section

which is just going to become a huge oh just a huge problem oh no Matthew could chuck with The ball of keen hammer The scene fleeing the scene.

The Montreal media are going to go crazy. The bowl is cracked. The bottom is dented. Oh my God. Well, the First. And that's the end of the show, everybody.

Yeah. First, Florida disrespects the NHL's cap system with their lack of state income tax. And now this. What a disgrace. When will it end?

When will it end? I don't know. I think it's, like this doesn't the Stanley Cup get damaged like every year? I it definitely took a couple dings when the when the penguins had it. Logan Thompson definitely fell on it too. Oh, he might have done with it, didn't he? Was that,

Thompson? Someone fell over. Someone took a tumble with a cup on the a ice. Yeah, it was damaged. It's fine. Who cares? I didn't mean to talk about it this much. It was just a little joke.

But we are kind of. of officially in the off season. There are some big dates on the calendar still to come. The NHL draft is a week away for agency. We'll start a week after that. There's already been some moves. Our buddy Julian McKenzie is reporting today that the Ottawa senators are re-signing Fabian Zetterland. They acquired him at the trade deadline. Ryan Donato signed an extension in Chicago yesterday. That's Wednesday. The Devils also traded Eric Halle to the Nashville Predators for a fourth rounder. So things are already starting to happen. Some offseason balls are still bouncing around here.

And so today we thought we would talk about the teams that we're going to be tracking over the next few weeks because we didn't just want to talk about Mitch Marner's UFA status for 45 minutes. He will come up over the course of this conversation because some of these teams do have some cap space and they might have a Mitch Marner sized hole in their lineup. But that's the topic of the day, Sean. I think we should start in Chicago. That seems like the easiest place to begin. I think personally, they're the most interesting team in the off season.

If we remove the intrigue of like, where are all the Panthers guys going to go? Or where is Mitch Marner going to go? What about Connor McDavid? Like if you take out the, because those topics to me are more about the players than the teams themselves. Whereas I think the Chicago Blackhawks are just interesting. Why are you laughing? The Blackhawks are the most interesting team when you remove the three other most interesting scenes.

Right. Yeah. If you forget about all the other interesting teams, the Blackhawks are extremely interesting. Well, I met those are a little bit. Those are more interesting because the individual players involved not so much about the team construction and what might be happening there. So with Chicago, they're in the news. I think they're super interesting.

There's been this assumption around the NHL that they're going to be really aggressive this offseason. They have $25 million in cap space. They have this jam-pack prospect pool, two first-round draft picks. Folks are talking about, well, they have all this money. They should offer sheet someone big. They should throw $20 million at Mitch Martyr. Mark Lazarus and Scott Powers did a really nice job pumping the brakes on some of that. chatter. But it doesn't make the Blackhawks any less interesting just because they're not going to

spend half of their cap space on Mitch Marner. They've got money to spend. They've got things to do. They're trying to get out of the basement while also continuing to commit to their rebuild. Their first bit of business that we've seen officially, Sean, they re-sign Ryan Donato to a four-year deal worth $16 million on Wednesday. What does that signal to you about the Chicago Blackhawks? and like, do you agree that they're one of the most interesting teams this summer? I think it signals that they're done being bad on purpose, which they probably should have put a little bit more effort into last season. Like, I think that's a complete,

that's like a baseline, fine level deal for Ryan Donato. Like, I think it's, you know, would I be, am I a little nervous that he's going to come out and the shooting percentage is going to dip back down? And he's going to look more like, you know, bottom six, player on a crummy team like yeah sure but he's still young enough and he's talented enough where I don't know that he has to be necessarily as good as he was last season for that deal to hold up like he could realistically come back to earth a little bit and still be a useful

player right because he's he's a winger but he's played he's played center in the past I I think that's fine I think a four year four million dollar annual for deal for for for Ryan Donato is, is, completely reasonable. But yeah, like on the larger, on a larger scale,

like Chicago, Chicago interests me in a similar way. Like, I was interested in them last season because it's like, like, when are we going to, when are we going to try to push some, push some chips into the,

into the middle of the table, right? And I think, you know, it is kind of a bummer. Like, we love, we love Scotty.

We love Lass. as we we at this morning we're like oh okay Ryan Donato signs we got a T.J. Brody buy out like what's going on in Chicago? And then this morning they published something that's basically like all right, everybody, everybody tapped breaks. But right, but I still I'm still interested in seeing what they're doing. And it's because of Badard. That's why. That's why, you know, everyone is more invested in a in a bottom five team with with some money to spend. uh in in tracking their off seasons because they have they have him so everybody's like what's and he's two years in and there's and there's still and there's still dirt so every i think everyone's like trying to track you know what is this team going to look like in the next phase of connor badard's career and it's a it's a fascinating it's a fascinating question you know

the answer is at least for now seem like they're going to be a little bit less you know a little bit less salacious and a little bit less sexy than maybe we thought they they could have been, right? I guess I'm glad that they dropped that story this morning, so we didn't do a podcast being like, they're getting murder. Yeah, will Mitch Marner end up end up in Chicago? Ben Pope, I think, was the first report that they might be buying out T.J. Brody. And yeah, when we saw that, I was like, what are they cooking just to save $500,000? Uh, Lazan Powers. who poohed my excitement. It's mostly just for a roster spot.

Right? It's a roster spot and they're trying to, they're trying to give T.J. Brody a break too. Like it's like go sign with someone where maybe you make or maybe make a little more sense. But yeah, I do. I am. I'm interested in what they're doing.

And I think it extends beyond it's, it's not just about the monitor stuff either. Like they have the third pick in the draft. Scott pointed out. you know, that Kyle Davidson, the GM Kyle Davidson has said multiple times in the past that he's open to trading it. So it's not like, we're not breaking news here by saying that Kyle, that Kyle Davidson is, is interested in maybe move in pick number three. Yeah.

But he's also looked, they're also looking for a forward in that spot, which is also interesting. Because that is, you know, you look at that lineup moving forward, they still, they're still going to need some pieces to play with Padard. Whether, whether it's Marner, like, regardless of who it is. You know, because it can't just be the Connor Bedard and Frank Nizarre show. Like, they need, because Lucas Reikol hasn't popped like they expected he would on and on. Like, they've had some, they've had some pieces there that haven't quite pinned out. So it makes sense, you know, I think if you're them, if you're looking at them as, as the holders of the number three picked to cross your fingers and hope that Michael Mesa slides down there or, you know, right.

Hope, hope that someone, hope that someone you like drops. And if not, that's an interesting trade piece. Like, there should be other teams in the league that are interested in the third pick if it really is in play. I know Corey Promin said that Michael Mesa seems like the safe bet to be the first forward off the board in this year's draft. Obviously, the kind of consensus number one overall pick has been Matthew Schaefer, the defender. That's who Corey assumes the Islanders will take unless they are in tight. to take, I think there's a local player that's actually from Long Island, James Higgins. But it seems like Schaefer is kind of the consensus number one guy, but the thought after that

is that Mesa will be the first forward off the board. He was the exceptional status forward, who was a top player in the OHL this season for folks who don't watch a ton of junior hockey or they're not all in on the draft boards until your team's actually making a pick. He's kind of the big one. I think there's some Blackhawks fans who are hoping that that they come out of draft day with Michael Mesa. I think what makes not to bounce around too much, but to your point about like needing a forward, I think that's what makes the Donato contract extension,

like for the dollar and the term that they signed it to. So interesting is like obviously the Blackhawks need more top six caliber forwards. Right. And I think just re-signing Ryan Donato for $4 million a year. is probably the most cost-effective way of doing that, right? I know there is maybe some concern with the shooting percentage, but he was second only to John Tavares in goals last season among this pending free agent class.

And if you let Donato walk and then you enter that pool, I don't know how many of those guys you're getting who can consistently put the puck in the net for $4 million. Like, that's what makes the Donato deal a savvy bit of business and like trading for that type of player probably isn't going to be cost effective for the Blackhawks either because they probably want to keep that draft capital. They want more young players in the building. So that's that's kind of what makes that a nice savvy bit of business for Kyle Davidson. It's a good price.

If he scores five less goals, you're still doing okay compared to what else was in that free agent class for the price, right? Yeah, you just got to hope, like I said, You got to hope that the shooting percentage doesn't, doesn't crater. And you got to hope that he doesn't, because he's, and he's not a very good defensive player. Like, his defensive impacts are bad. So if he can, if he can, I so's everybody on the Chicago Blackhawks, right?

So, so you hope that, you know, his point production stays in the, whatever, 50, 50 to 60 area. And yeah, you say, thank you for a nice four million dollar player. Because he's a, he's a great example, Ryan Donato. is, I think, of how we're going to need to recalibrate our valuation of players and how we're going to need to change how we think about player salaries as the cap raises. Because was Ryan Donato a $4 million player five years ago? No. In the flat cap world. Yeah, right. As the cap raises, though, and especially over the next three years, next two years, like, I'm completely fine with that. Because ultimately Chicago needs to try to get better.

Like this is like enough. Enough's enough for them. Yeah. Yeah, I think the hope is more that the Chicago Blackhawks go out and get some like meaningful players once free agency opens. They already have the veterans, right? Like you don't need to go out and get another Nick Falino this off season. Like you don't need the veteran guy who's going to offer to help teach Connor Bedard how to cook and whatnot. They've got that kind of leadership and veteran ability in the room.

Now they just need a little bit more talent. What throws a bit of water on top of our excitement about the Blackhawks is, you know, obviously we're looking at their cap situation. But a ton of money, they're, you know, almost certainly buying out T.J. Brody that opens up around $500,000. It's not a ton, which is why Mark and Scott say that's more for the roster spot. but the kind of pipe dream was you know Mitch Marner's going to be in red alongside Cotter-Brad on the top line in Chicago so Lazzin Powers

have obviously who poohed us on the Marner to Chicago stuff Al Davidson is preaching patience again that's slid back into the vocabulary that we're hearing in these press conferences and interviews with the GM but do you think that's

maybe a mistake. Like when you hear that, when you hear the Chicago Blackhawks, which have been in the basement for a couple of years now, they've got baddard, they keep talking about how they want to get better and they want top six talent. But now they're saying, eh, we're going to do it the right way through our rebuild and not spend a ton of money on a Mitch Marner or even maybe a Nikolai Elers. Do you think, like, how do you feel about that? Because I hear that and I'm just like, that's boring to me. You're going to, so whatever, it's a ton of money for Mitch Marner, but you're just going to try to draft someone and hope he maybe becomes as good

as Mitch Marner. I don't know. How do you feel about that, Sean? I think I'd spend money. I'd be willing to be impatient enough to sign Mitch Marner or Nicola Eelers, but like, I do understand what Davidson saying. I think that's sort of, I hear that and I say like, okay, we're not going to, we're not going to try to give Sam Bennett $10.5 million a year for.

for seven years. That's, that's like, I think that's part of it too. Like there's, there's, part of being in a rebuild is knowing when to be patient and when to be impatient. And I think, I think that's kind of Kyle Davidson's challenge here. But at some point, yeah, man, they're going to, like this, they can't be one of the five worst teams in the league anymore. So we'll see. Maybe, maybe we're there. Yeah. I always think there's probably something to be said about by the time Bedard is a certain age, then maybe Mitch Marner ages out. So you want to have your core all together for as long as possible. They don't have a core.

Like, that's like, like, none of these players are any good yet. So, like, let's, let's not, let's not put the cart before the horse on this. But does then not make it seem like maybe they're right to not grab Marner? Because they're not one Mitch Marner away from being competitive. Like, I don't know if spending $15 million on Mitch Marner makes the Blackhawks good next year. I think it's some point as a general manager of an NHL team, you have to try to be good. You have some kind of obligation to your fan base for it to be unacceptable to lose, you know, to be a to be a 68 point team. Right.

You know, like you can't, you can't just commit to being terrible for years and years on end. We've seen it. It doesn't work. So I get it. There's a middle ground between that principle and then not just throwing $15 million a year at Mitch Marner because you feel like it's time. And that's the middle ground that Kyle Davidson needs to find. but like man i i it's we've and we've seen it we've seen it with the panthers and in whoever else yeah like the the era of having to build legitimately good teams through the draft and only through

the draft is kind of over like you can be creative you can be creative with it you can trade for people you can sign you can make shrewd reasonable signings on july one and and have it and have it pay off. Like this idea that you have to commit to eight years of misery before your team is any good is like it's farcical and it and it seems and it seems really unfair to fans. Yeah. So maybe that's part of the reason. It doesn't really seem to work anymore either. What's that? It doesn't really seem to work super well anymore either.

Yeah, because of because of the lottery odds like whether it's whether it's in the NHL or the NBA. Have you bought the overall pick? We like the conversation that we're having about. Yeah, totally like the, the islanders, there are there were a fringe playoff. team and it points this season right happened in the in the NBA too the top the top two picks go to Dallas and San Antonio who are you know who are not in the middle of of long-term rebuilds like the idea that that's the only way to do stuff is outdated and and it's kind of an okey doke to to pull this on fans over and over again yeah so yeah I'm interested in some bad teams maybe

trying to be good again whether in Chicago or San Jose or whoever like somebody somebody do something. Maybe the San Jose Sharks will. I love Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Those two little besties. Mitchie and Mac? Mitchie and Mac? Let's go. Maybe Patrick Marlowe's picked up the phone. It's a legendary Toronto Maple Leaf, Patrick Marlowe. I think my dad was really upset when he left. Yeah, because he was looking at Caroline. see and Seth Darvice pop? He doesn't watch the Carolina Hurricanes. No, no.

He would only watch the canes if they're playing the Leafs on a Wednesday night before he falls asleep. Anyways, I would understand the Black Hawk saying, like, we're not going to spend $15 million on Mitch Marner, but I think they're going to make some calls. Like, it seems like Powell Davidson will inquire, but once the ticket goes up, they're going to be out. Is that the sense that we're getting from Las and Scott,

which it's boring, but they're still interesting. We can take a break when we come back. You mentioned the Florida Panthers. They are obviously one of the more interesting teams to track. They went back to back Stanley Cups. They've got a ton of UFAs, probably going to be good again next year. When we come back, we're going to dive in on the Panthers and maybe a bit of the Oilers, too. All right, welcome back to the athletic hockey show.

Sean, you mentioned the Florida Panthers as an example of doing things differently and having success without just being bad for eight years. I mean, they weren't. They were bad for a while. Listen. They were bad for a bad. It's not because they were bad on purpose to get good. Yeah, they were bad accidentally for 20 or 25 years.

And that's fine. I have time. I have time for that. My issue is just. I'm really killing it today. It takes some serious stones to tell people who've watched Blackhawks caliber hockey for five years. Just like, okay, cool your jet.

Like it's, it's going to be patient. Not yet. Not yet. Crazy. But keep coming to United Center, please. Yeah. Hey, you can watch your games on TV again. Congratulations.

Yeah. The Panthers are an example of a team that built a championship roster. Differently now they're very interesting because they win back to back Stanley Cups. They have some of the big ticket, most interesting, unrestricted free agents on the market. Sam Bennett tops the list, Brad Marchand. Who do you think is the most, like obviously I think Sam Bennett's the one that he wins the cons. My 16 goals in the postseason, he's the bigger ticket item, but Brad Marchand is Brad Marchand. Like who are you tracking the most?

Like who interests you the most on the open market, Sean? whichever bottom six third pair players they sign who are 33 and really won a Stanley Cup and then turn out to be crucial players down the stretch for them obviously that's those are the most interesting players Florida is going to sign because it just seems like they have a knack they have a knack for doing that who will it be which random veteran will be taking the Stanley Cup from Alexander Barkoff next year um I think it's I think it's Marshawn I've I don't want to say resign myself because I don't really care one way or the other but just mentally to me Sam Bennett's already signed for $8 million a season for eight years with them. Marciaun's a little bit more interesting because he doesn't have the track record that Sam Bennett has or doesn't have the history that Sam Bennett has with Florida.

And that's obviously Marciaan did as much as you can with a single team in three months. months, right? He fits in perfectly, integrates himself into the locker room. He endears himself to the fan base. When to Stanley Cuff, like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, who poohing what, what Marchon did there. But, you know, Bennett's obviously been there longer, has that long-term fit, I think, with, with Matthew Kachuk in particular. And Sam Bennett has seen the other side of things. Like, Sam Bennett has seen how, how things can work if you're in a spot where they don't necessarily know how to use you and where the fit maybe isn't as clean as it's been for him in Florida since day one, right? And also the flip side of things, if Florida loses Sam Bennett, they have to replace Sam Bennett.

And who are you going to do that with exactly? Are you going to do it? You need to find a center and there aren't a lot of those on the market. So we're not even going to pretend who we'd know they would try to try to replace them with. um so for me the the more interesting guys marshawn because this is you know he he's going to be able to sign for a lot of money in certainly more years than it than he would have gotten had the last few months the season gone differently the other thing to remember about about brad marchand is it on his on his current contract in the one before that he signed both of those with the boston bruin

and he left money on the table, like a pretty significant amount of money on the table because that was the Bruins thing. There was a kind of a cap on how much they would make because it all started with Bergeron, Bergeron famously signed team-friendly deals basically throughout his career. Marchand hasn't ever really broken the bank.

He doesn't have an eight-year deal where he was making 10 per season on his track record. like he's there's still he's got he's got money left to make so it's a little it's a little bit more interesting for me i think to to imagine uh where where where he could end up i think what's interesting about marchand is like i think the door isn't closed to staying with the panthers i Pierre LeBron reported this about a week ago, but Sam Bennett, who just won the Khan Smyth, is their top priority. So there's going to be a window for Marchand to be talking to other teams or

potentially make a decision on another team while the Florida Panthers are trying to expend most of their energy and cap space on Sam Bennett. I guess it just depends on where in the world you live. It could be the worst thing you heard or like something you're holding on to. but Marciaan did mention in the second round that he grew up a Leafs fan and this is something that I think Leafs fans are going to be holding on to

until Free Agency opens and LeBron did say that Toronto Maple Leafs will be among the possibilities for Marshan. And I actually don't know he's just been the Leafs killer for so long that I don't know if him playing in Toronto would be really cool

because he goes home. and he's, you know, everything that he adds to a locker room. Or really weird because he's been their nemesis for so long. Hey, we thought it was going to be really weird for him in Florida because of... I didn't. I thought it was awesome immediately. I said this is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. What do you think Sam Bennett and him are going to talk about?

That was my first thought. After the run in that they had in the playoffs last season. Brad Marshawn comes in. It's added to the group text immediately like chirps Sam Bennett. Like everything's, everything's fine. Like I have, it's great. I have, I have, I have faith for Brad Marchon to successfully integrate into whatever locker room he's in.

He's, I think, and I think that's why he interests me more than Bennett is like, he's a more compelling personality. He's a more compelling character. And we all got reminded also like old man, Brad Marchon is. different than like 25 year old Brad Marshaun. His vibe with the media is different. He like sits at his locker and holds court and tells us these goods. He's funny and he's engaging.

Like he was like in peak form in that regard throughout throughout the course, the regular season. And like I don't know that that's necessarily the tact. He took 100% of the time when he was 28 in Boston or whatever. So that's just like he's one of the great characters in the modern, in the modern game. And I think the idea of him, you know, entering this next phase of his career, wherever it ends up being is, is really interesting. Sam Bennett, Sam Bennett doesn't have the obvious charisma that Brad Marshawn does. He doesn't have the zillion dollar TNT deal waiting for him the

moment he retires like Brad Marchon does. So that's part of it. I think, I think that's part of why I'm, why I'm like, you know, rubbing my hands together and trying to, and trying to figure out where Brad Marchion's going to end up in a way that I'm not with Bennett. Do you think he could end up somewhere annoying like Vegas? Of course he could. All things are possible with the Vegas Golden Knights. Just like I said to Frankie at the start of the Stanley Cup finals, and Stuart Skinner, all things are possible.

We got a taste of that. In Bill Fuller, all things are possible. Who knows? We had Stuart Skinner as a reason that Oilers could win the Stanley Cup and also a reason the oilers could lose the Stanley Cup. He chose door number two. I think there's going to, you know, our producer, Jeff, is holding dearly on to the fact that Marshan said in a very quick clip. I did grow a beliefs fan.

So that's an example of that. And to be fair to Brad Tree Living, this is really funny, Jeff. That's where I was going with it. Jeff just said in the chat, DNA baby. and I was just about to say, Leaves GM Brad Tree Living told the media it was time to change the DNA of the team. Probably no better way to do that than bring in

Brad Marchand and not just the DNA he brings, but obviously he shows up when it matters. Very funny, too. 58 points in 59 games against Toronto in his career. It's the second most he has against any team. Behind only the Buffalo Sabres, who have been very bad for a long time. They don't count.

Yeah. Torments the leaves would be really funny to see him in Toronto. Sam Bennett, it would be wild to see a Kahn-Smith winner leave in free agency. It's not something that happens often. But it's going to be, again, this is from LeBron. It's going to be up to Bill Zito to convince Bennett that, because they're not going to be able to pay up as much as Bennett could get on the open market. right. Like some of the numbers we're seeing people be like even my dad being like I would pay Sam Bennett $10 million. I would do it out of my pocket. I will start a go fund me to bring San

Bennett to Toronto. He's not going to make the same amount of money in Florida, but Zito's going to have to kind of convince him like staying in Florida is going to be better than going, making more money elsewhere is basically where they're at. It's not going to be a dollar's in. sense thing. It's going to be like you're, you'll be happier here with a few million dollars less. Don't worry. And he can get the eighth year too, which is, which is important. That's a, that's a big deal. And if, if you're big, if you're Bill Zito, big Zito, big big big, if you're Bill Zito, you can say Sam Reinhart, 8.625 a year. Take it. And if you're Sam Bennett, you're like, No state income tax.

Unfortunately, that enters the discussion here. Much as I am loathe to bring it to bring it into every discussion we have. I think in the case of Sam Bennett, when you're like 8.625 in a no state income tax state versus 10 and a half in Canada, like it gets real close, real quick. So yeah, I don't know, man. I've, of course we can replay this. whenever Sam Bennett signs with, you know, some team that isn't Florida in a couple weeks. But I feel like it just makes too much sense. Like they're the team that should overpay for Sam Bennett.

And I felt that way for, I felt that way air quotes overpay for Sam Bennett. I felt that way for a while and I still feel that way. It sounds like a lame cop out, but this is all going to come down to Bennett deciding if he wants to stay in Florida or not. Like, do you want to go cut the time? check or do you want to stay? You want to keep riding a golf cart to work every day, bud? With your best E-Math. Keep chasing Stanley Cups with your friends?

Yeah. Come on, come on back. You mentioned Ryan Hart. Yeah. You mentioned Sam Reinhart too. Bill Zito was able to retain him under pretty similar circumstances. He resigned him on midnight on June 30th, like right before free agency open.

So this might be a down to the wire the night before. But it's like, you know what? Actually, I do want to be here. Let's resign or he's going to head. to market. And again, LeBron said, Darren Ferris is notorious for wanting his, like, prize UFAs to hit the open market. Because the big, big checks coming in. He's also Mitch Marner's agent. So we'll see how that goes with Sam Bennett, obviously two really interesting players to watch with the Florida Panthers. Aaron Eckblad, by the way, also an unrestricted free agent. So we're tracking these UFAs, who are they going to

retain where are they going to go. And then how does Florida replace them to get back to a, for straight Stanley Cup final. So we're certainly watching the Florida Panthers over the course of the next few weeks. Edmonton Oilers obviously interesting too in another way and in the sense of you just lost two straight Stanley Cup finals. Connor, I don't think the Connor McDade, like everyone's going to push the McDavid thing. That's not top of my list. Like he's able to sign an extension on July 1st. Is he going to stay? Is he going to go? That is certainly part of the calculus and the conversation around the oilers right now. I'm more looking at what are you going to do in that. I don't want to dump on Stuart Skinner again, but we said it at the trade

deadline. That when we did our like, here's the five, here's our wish list. And at the deadline, we came on here and said, like, trade for Jordan Bennington. Or if it's not Bennington, trade for a sure thing. Get a goalie. And hindsight 2020, but not getting a goalie last summer or at the deadline ended up being a huge problem for the Edmonton Oilers. Sure, there was nights where Skinner or Calvin Pickard did the thing and they played well, but the inconsistency and the constant conversation of who's going to start and are they going to have it tonight is exhausting, not really great for a team that might want to win a championship. So I'm interested, like, what are you going to do to fix that situation in the crease?

And also, Evan Bouchard's a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. There's headlines on TSN is he worth $10 million. Like, there's a lot other than the, like, when is Connor McDavid going to force a trade conversation going on with Edmonton after losing another Stanley Cup? let's talk about Bouchard first. Okay. After my impassioned speech about the crease? Oh, we can.

Because I have a very easy solution for Edmonton and that. We can do that I'll just lob at the end of this. Then we can move on. Okay. I think regular season Evan Bouchard is worth $10 million a year. I do. I think his propensity to make the big mistake has been on display in the postseason for years now, we saw it to some extent in game six,

even though Frank Carado, chief Evan Bouchard skeptic, Frankie Carado, who's talked at length on our show about earlier. I deliberately chose not to use the term hater, but... He's a hatter of time. Evan Bouchard, I'll take him at 10 in the regular season. What we saw

in game six, even though he wasn't, and this is why I brought up Frankie, like Frankie kind of absolved him of responsibility on that Sam Reinhardt Cole. He kind of put more of it on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on a grenade pass.

So, so, fair enough. I'll take, I'll take, I'll take, he's word, word on that one. So even, even if we, you know, give him a pass for that. It's a little bit different trying to make those plays and make those high risk high reward plays against the Florida Panthers in June a little bit different than trying to do it

against the Anaheim ducks on February 6th in front of 11,000 people, right? And I think that's kind of what we've seen is that his game, when the leverage gets high and the game itself changes a little bit, you know, those decisions that you make that even themselves, over the course of a regular season where you say, yeah, he might make the occasional mistake,

but he'll give it back to you, he'll get it back for you over the course of, you know, six months. That stuff changes when you're talking about a seven game playoff series. And I think we've seen that, you know, up close and personal over the last, over the last little bit. So, Evan Bouchard, man, I, like, the, I'm fine paying paying him $10 million a year for 82 regular season hockey games. I'm fine with that. I, I think it's fair to have major reservations over what he brings in the postseason, though. Are we overreacting to a couple gaffes in the postseason, though? Because, like, I think we're at the point where we can comfortably say that

Evan Bouchard is the third best player on the Oilers behind McDavid and Dryside. There's obviously a gap after those two superstars, but he was third on the team. Like, he didn't have a terrible playoffs. Oh, he was a dash four in the final game of the season. So we're, so was probably... I don't think you can. overreact to stuff that... He was over a point per game

player in the postseason, though. Like, this isn't Evan Bouchard serving up, assist to the other team, and then not scoring or doing anything else. He had the same amount of goals as Connor McDavid in the playoffs. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I know. But he, I, in both

those guys were empty jerseys in game, in game six. So, I don't know. Like... Is this whole team in empty jersey in game six? I would just be like $10 million is fine honestly I'm okay with that it goes back to what we said about Sam Bennett and Ryan Donato and whoever else is like we need to change the way we think about players in their contracts as the cap as the cap rises a 10 million dollar player in 2026 is just

not going to be what it was in 2021 it's going to be significantly different so for him to make you know for there to be sticker shock at Evan Bouchard potentially making 10 million dollars a season. That shouldn't be the case, right? Like, I'm like, on a lot of levels, I'm fine with that. But I, just like so many guys on the oilers and so much about the way that team's made up, like, you look at the way stuff's gone. You're like, is this, is this guy going to help them beat the Florida Panthers? And he hasn't the last, the last two years. That has to be part of the, that's to be part of the, of the discussion with him. Fair. I just think we can have the discussion of like, he needs to be

better in the postseason, but I don't think that's going to stop the Oilers from signing him long-term and you're going to pass and say like, no, whatever, we're going to like. And you would think or hope that they would just sign him to a deal, like, and not go to arbitration because I'm sure, like, arbitration always gets messy. You don't get as much term, obviously. Like, you run the risk of walking him right to free agency. And then if the team stinks, you just lose Evan Bouchard. And a mediator's probably going to give him a big reward, too, because of his numbers.

So I don't think him not being great in postseason is going to stop him getting a contract. It's completely sensible and completely fair for them to give him what he wants long term, lock him in, and hope that he doesn't deliver a pizza that loses you the Stanley Cup. I get it. He's not the reason they lost the Stanley Cup. He wasn't. he's capable of the big mistake. We know that.

It would just, it would just, it would just make me nervous. I'm not saying I wouldn't sign him. He's a woman that lost like in game seven by one goal. Like this wasn't, there was one good game and they got basically blown out of the building most nights. I don't think we can blame.

That's fair. For the fact that the Panthers are just clearly the best team in the NHL this year. I don't. I'm not, I'm certainly, You drank the Frank Corrado Kool-Aid, you're being a hater. Guilty is charged. Sean's wearing an oiler's jersey right now, actually.

He's just really upset. Me and Frankie, me and Frankie sitting around drinking espresso and lemon cello out of like little cups. Little affigado. Like old eyed towels on the on the street somewhere talking about how much we don't trust Evan Bouchard. It is. I probably swung too far. Sean is joining the podcast from Vaughn. Yeah, me and Frank, you're going to go hang out at Canada's Wonderland after this.

We're going to go to the Vaughn Mills outlet mall and have some canoly and then go ride some, ride some roller coasters. Perfect. It's me and him. Obviously, the big deal is McDavid, smart money, despite the freakouts, is him signing an extension at some point this off season. And you would think, I would think if I'm Connor McDavid, I want everyone to leave me alone and stop writing that story. So I'm just, unless he's going to go. But he's probably not going to go. He's not going to leave Leon Dreisidal.

So he's just going to sign a six-year deal or something this summer and be the highest paid player, etc. The other interesting point on the Oilers, though, before we get to the goalies. Maybe some trades that they could do. Amanda Cain. they've got to clear some cap space to facilitate a big Bouchard contract. They're hoping there's going to be a big McDavid extension. I think trading Evander Cain is probably the most obvious way to do that. He's entering last season of a $5.125 million contract.

He can block a trade. He's got some trade protection, but... I'm sure he would have no problem doing that if it were beneficial. Daniel Nugent Bowman did a great, like, Who Stays, Who Goes, and he has Evander Cain as an obvious trade candidate. it. Same with Victor Arvinson. Disappointing first season for him. You know, the Oilers were a team, I think, in the offseason,

we were like stock up, we're buying stock. They did some good stuff at the unrestricted free agency. Like, they've got Arvetson and Jeff Skinner, the marriage between those kind of players didn't really work well. Like, Arvetson didn't play great. He was supposed to be the reliable winger beside Drysidal. That ended up being Kasbury-Captain in the playoffs. Not good for Victor Arvinson.

he makes $4 million for another year. Oilers could use that cap space. And then there's some obvious unrestricted three agents who are probably gone. They're interesting. Like make it to the cup final two years in a row. Team has a ton of warts, but they're still there. I think the biggest priority, though, is the goaltending. Call me crazy.

Wow. Don't fall off that limb. Oh, baby. I got the solution. What's your big idea? Stan Bowman can call up Kyle Duvus and trade for Tristan Jari How was that a fix?

It's not! They don't have a fix. There's no fix. You sign Jake Allen, you trade for some other 1B crumbum like that, like okay. Crumbum? Yeah, crumbum.

You're just trying to get rid of Tristan Jari. I don't care. You work for the time with. It's not, yeah, it's not. He took off his oilish jerseys, wearing a thing once in a no. I would rather have Tris and Jari is my gold tender, I think, than Stewart Skinner at this point.

Really? They're the same. I think, I think, for the most part. The fact that Stewart Skinner is so cheap is the reason why they're not going to do anything. He only makes 2.6. It's like, yeah, he stinks, but like, we didn't have to pay a lot. Then you can watch the third goal in game six, just on loop and be like, well, maybe we should get someone else.

should have we should have we should have some other option all due respect to calvin pickard i almost said picard again i was really close um the free agent goalie market's pretty non-existent good and the oilers don't have a ton of assets for a trade so we can just we can just fat is like the most pivotal and probably a priority for them they might be they might be stuff. Should have traded for Jordan Bittington before he went to Four Nations. Oh, is that after? Jordan Bittington, who just played really bad in an employee series. Yeah, sure, trade, trade, trade for him. I don't care. John Gibson, I don't know, John Gibson trade candidate, Jake Allen, basically the only, the only guy who could even remotely begin to answer the question

who's available on the, on the free agent market. Tough spot, man. Oh, but you know what? they are prioritizing allegedly an eight year extension for Trent Frederick what like a Oilers fans got to be just so psyched about that like you just you watch your team lose in

an increasingly embarrassing fashion to the Florida Panthers for the second straight season and then within 236 hours or however long it was you're like you want to you want a long term long term deal for Trent Frederick? Is that,

is that what you wanted? Yeah. Is that, is that what you're looking for from the off season? Yeah, it's, it's tough. If you just not do anything different,

just don't, like, bring all these guys back. Bring back Arvinson, resign Jeff Skinner. Just bring back, bring back the whole, the whole crew. And make it to the cup final and lose again.

And then lose in, yeah, and they lose in five games this time. Yeah, let's go for it. Maybe the LA Kings will beat them next time. I don't know. He projects for them as a third line forward. Like, I just don't get why that's the priority.

Why is that the first bit of business you're doing? Probably because it's the easiest bit of business. Because if you're trying to Frederick, you're like, okay. You want to sign me for eight years? Great. Sure. Let's move on if you're Edmonton. Poor points in the playoffs, like, I don't know.

I don't know. I'm trying not to crash out about the Oilers on the pot again. Good. Because I embarrassed myself with Max that one time. I heard about it. Like I said, I don't listen to the show, but I heard that the reaction was not great. Oh, nobody hated on me. Your reaction.

Oh, yeah. I freaked out. Yeah. Let's take a break. Dallas Stars. Very interesting. We'll talk about them next on the Athletic Hockey Show. All right.

Welcome back to the Athletic Hockey Show. The Dallas Stars. are one of the most interesting teams that we're watching this offseason. Jim Nill, their general manager. Maybe my, hey, here's something to watch. Will he win another GM of the year award? How funny would that be? Three straight GM of the year awards for Jim Gregory.

After three consecutive Western Conference final eliminations, including two straight against the Edmonton Oilers, maybe they might feel pressured to make a change. Jason Robertson is a name that has been brought up 35 goal score, two straight years of 80 points. He hasn't quite... Oh, the Dallas Stars just re-signed at Dushain

through a four-year contract extension through 2028, 29. Very necessary for them Because me and Dom are, when we're starting our offseason projects and we're just kind of going through Dallas's, every team's depth chart at Central, or at center.

And if they, it's in a similar situation to Florida, where it's like if you don't resign Matt Dushin, like, what are you going to do? Because behind Rupa Henson and Wyatt Johnston, not a ton. Right.

Nothing. Not, we'll say nothing. That's, that's fair. that'd be fair. So if they didn't get this deal done with Duchin, and it's for four years worth $4.5 million annually,

I like that. I like Matt Duchin at that number for them. I think four years is the give back to keep him at a number that low. Still a really good offensive player, still really productive. He's been really good two consecutive years for them. So, you know, no problems there. Check that box, right? The team is scoring this year.

Oh, yeah. He was fantastic. He's fantastic, right? You're betting on him staying healthy and staying productive and not giving back all that much defensively. But I think it's, I think the fit, the fit's pretty clearly there for him. So I think that's, you know, we can check that off the box for them or to check that box off for them. That's, that's good. Yeah, I think initially, like the top line item was of why we were interested in the stars is the conversation of like, are they going to make a change?

do they trade Jason Robertson? What's the chatter there? But then the B line was their UFA pool being Jamie Ben and Matt Dushain at the top of the list. And to your point, bringing back Matthew Shane should have been a priority for them. Seems like it was. That's a good contract.

The Dallas Stars just announced it as we were recording. But to the Jason Robertson point, what do you make of the conversation? Like, Shane and Harmon had a story come out. Just Shane, excuse me, had a story come out today. breaking down Jason Robertson's game, what he's worth, should the stars trade him? Like if you're looking at the Dallas stars and thinking maybe they need some big shakeup

because that's been the conversation is maybe they're going to do something drastic to change things in Dallas. Is Jason Robertson really the guy that needs to be part of that shakeup? I think he makes a lot of sense for a lot of different reasons. I think if you're looking to make. a make a fundamental change to the DNA of your team. I think that's probably it because, you know,

we've had, we've been having discussion for years when the, when the hints, Pavelski, uh, Robertson line was really cook and the question was always like, who actually, who drives this?

And a lot of people around the league, because this is a conversation I've, I've had more than once, or like, it's hints or it's Pavelski and like, with Robertson somewhere behind those guys, right? So I think if you are of the mindset that something needs a change in Dallas, I think that's, I think that's kind of where you start, right? Because what are you going to do?

You're going to trade Miro Heiskinan? You're going to trade Rupinz? Right. Just signed Miko Ranton in for a gazillion years. Because they need long-term answers defensively, too. And I think they need money to spend on that, right? Like you, the one side of their blue line is just perpetually, perpetually messy. And that's when they're, when you talk about them bringing in the Matt Dumbas and, uh, Cody Cici's of the world to, to plug holes there.

And I, I don't think that's any kind of, you know, true long term solution. So if you're like, we need to get a little cheaper up front to find ways to bring in, uh, some, some long term answers. on the on the on the on the on the on the on the on the on the defense they're outside of haykinen and you know thomas harley and island dell like those guys those guys are great but there's a there's a there's a pretty serious drop off after them too so i think you know if that's where you're looking to improve you're going to have to move out meaningful money and i think it's a it's reasonable that that discussion would start with robertson because there are there are questions for as good as he's been at times especially

of the last three or four seasons. He's been fantastic. Maybe on the edge of, you know, the heart discussion a couple years ago where he maybe should have popped up on some ballots. You know, I still think there's holes to his game that make him a little bit more of a questionable bet long term. And I think that, you know, if you really do want to change stuff up, it probably starts there.

Do you think Rannan makes Robertson a little bit? bit more expendable for the Dallas stars? Like you've got him locked in. I for sure. I think that. I think that the fact that that they brought in, rant and in without, I think, I don't think it would have been impossible if they would have sent out Jason Robertson at the trade deadline to facilitate a Miko Rantin in trade. I don't think that was entirely off the table. So, you know, the fact that we're having this discussion again, this isn't the first time Jason Robertson has popped up as a potential trade candidate. It's just not. So I'm not surprised by this. And I think, yeah, when you're in a situation like them where you keep running into that brick wall in the Western Conference final, three straight years now, you fire the coach. There's there's buttons that clearly Jim Nill is willing to push. And I think it makes a lot of sense that Robertson potentially is one of those. Yeah, they're going to need to do something because you're paying over $8 million for Miko Ranton, Tyler Sagan, Rope Hints, Wyatt Johnston, Miro Haskinen, and Jake Ottinger starting in 2025, 26. Like, their cap, their their cap situation is, is pretty tight.

And that's without potentially resigning Jamie Ben. Jason Robertson is a restricted free agent after next season. So maybe now's the time to do it before. It's just here's his signing rights. Like here's Jason Robertson at $7.7 million. I just don't think you want to keep going in every season with O'Yal Lubushkin and Matt Dunbo. That's the blue line.

Yeah, you can't, you can't do it. And good as a player, as Jason Robertson is, if you can find some kind of fix there, I think now is probably the time. He's a big name, man. Jason Robinson is a really good player and the fact that he's surfacing so publicly on the in trade discussions now is interesting.

Yeah. A lot of teams could use a 40 goal score this summer. Okay, very quickly and finally, Minnesota Wilder high on our list. They're in our top five. We are tracking the wild. Joe Smith and Mike Russo last week kind of looked at the Minnesota

to Wild and Marco Rossi is kind of the central figure of this off season for them. This is a team that doesn't have a ton of cap space, doesn't have a ton of draft capital. They've got a big free agent in Marco Rossi. They also have, so last fall, Wild owner Craig Leopold, this is from Joe and Mike, predicted that this July 1st would feel like, quote, Christmas morning because most of the money from the Zach Friese and Ryan Souter deadcap hits are coming off the books. They're still going to be a bit. Jeff sent this in the chat.

2.7 million between the two of them for carryover overages, things like that. But most of the $14.7 million that's been on the books for those two guys is coming off. So Bill Garon will be able to be a little bit more aggressive this summer and making the Minnesota Wilde contender, which makes them really interesting. But Marco Rossi is kind of like the big piece in the middle that's going to, what they do with him is going to maybe dictate some of what happens with the wild this off season. I think everybody had kind of written in pen that Brock Nelson would end up there in Minnesota. We'd heard it. We'd heard it at the trade deadline.

We've heard it at various points throughout the last year to like, all right, he's the guy, Minnesota native. The wild throughout their history have been. been in search of stability and quality play down the middle, right? It's just something that they haven't had historically. So people are like, yeah, of course, well, all that money's coming off the books. Brock Nelson will sign there. We see not so long ago he signs that extension with the Colorado Avalanche. He ceases to be an option there.

And now, yeah, we're talking about a potential Marco Rossi trade because they can't agree on, on length or or. This Matthew Shane extension, by the way, probably complicates things even more because that takes another free agent. For sure. For sure. For sure. I think I would have been surprised if Mattie Shane ended up somewhere other than Dallas. But of course, of course, it takes another option off the board.

Absolutely. So we're still talking about them. Senator Marco Rossi, who's their second best center behind Joel Ericksonac. You know, maybe they're talking. That hit a fever pitch during the cup final. kind of ironically, right? So, um, I don't know what you do. Because if you, if you trade Mark, if you're a center star team that trades your second best center and then you're like, okay, we have to find two in the market is just, it's what? Who were, who were we talking about?

Yeah, um, like, are you hoping that Jonathan Tave signs? Like, is that what you're holding out for? And then if you trade Marco Rossi, originally, I think Bill Garland, had told, he's made it clear that upgrading the center position is the team's biggest need this summer. So how does trading Marco Rossi accomplish that for you? Sure, you can trade Marco Rossi maybe for a scoring winger, but then who's your two C? Like, it's a, it's a really interesting issue that the wild have here. It's tough to imagine them. I know that, I know that, you know, you have to consider what the, what the ultimate contract will look like for Makarasi,

who is an RFA. With our brains, right? Yeah, but you don't, it's hard to envision a world where they're better for the upcoming season if they have to, if they have to dump him because, or they don't have to dump him. If they, if, if, if they choose to move on from him because he,

you know, weighs 175 pounds or whatever, whatever, that whatever the problem is there for for for for for bill garren um you got to you got to replace them and that's always the issue in these in these conversations and center is the most important position in the game everyone's always looking for them they when you when you have them you sign them long term so the end result is when you're talking about ufa pools uh my god what is it there's there's no brock nelson maybe no john tavares and then you're like Who among this group is capable of playing two C minutes for a team that has designs on being a contender? And it's like kind of nobody.

You want to unison Pia Souter and make him the two or three C on the Minnesota Wild? I don't think so. Yeah. Tough situation for them. And that's what makes them interesting for me. Right. And Garin told the athletic before the cup final that if he traded Marco Rossi, like he doesn't want to make the team worse.

like this is not a deal that Bill Garan wants to make for future assets because this is a GM and a team like he's been kind of sitting on his hands because of the cap situation. So I don't think Bill Garan wants to take his first off season where he can maybe do some meaningful work and be like, I'm going to get a pick actually because we can't figure this out with Marco Rossi. He wants this to be a hockey trade that is going to make the wild better. But those options are pretty tough. If you trade him for a winger, what two Cs on the market? There's not a ton of great ones. And are you spending more money and the same term on someone who's worse than Marco Rossi?

And then what are your trade partners? Do you pray that the Vancouver Canucks decide to trade Elias Pedersen before his trade trade clause comes in on July 1st? Is that the move? Are we looking at a Rossi Pedersen deal? Probably not. I like Marco Rossi as a player. I like Marco Rossi as a player.

and Elias Pedersen is coming off as embarrassing a season as he possibly could have. But if you're making Marca Rossi the centerpiece for an Elias Pedersen trade, then especially especially just so you can extend them for a bunch of years and a bunch of money. Oh, boy. It's a it. It feels like there's just like a ton of potential problems for Bill Garron. The moment, I'm telling you, the moment Brock Nelson re-upped with the abs, it should have been like, uh-oh. What do we do now?

feel like that's maybe what's happened here. That was, that was, he was believed to be their top target. So I don't know how you up, how, I don't know how you deal Marco Rossi and upgrade the center position this summer. Probably don't. We should have had this hire on the show. We should have brought Rousseau in. Just let the man sleep for God's sake. We should leave him alone.

I appreciate that Mike Rousseau likes to get all of his calls out of the way while he's, driving places. Like I will random, I, I enjoy getting a call from Mike while he's in the car because it's like, oh, he's just trying to kill time and I'm on the list. Wow, this is great for me. That's what every, that's what every day during the Eastern Conference final was. We would leave the hotel. We'd get in our rental car. We'd get some coffee and he would talk on the phone while we drove, we drove to the rink. He gets, puts the Bluetooth on. I got to get some business done. I got some business dealings. I'll talk to you in a few. Dad's on the phone.

I'm just sitting in the passenger side. You're sitting in the back seat on your scrolling on your phone. Are you off the phone yet? All right. Well, thanks to Sean. Thanks to the listeners. For listening to this episode, The Athletic Hockey Show. The Prospect Guys have the next show coming up on Friday.

Again, the entry draft is a week away. So a big show coming up. This is Prondman's time to shine. He's always shining. Pranman is always the main character, but this is really his moment. so make sure you listen to a show and tell him

Corey's playing sick too he's what Corey's playing sick he doesn't feel great oh really this is not a great time for it but we believe in the prawn dog man he's tapped in

he's gonna be fine everyone go in the comments and tell Corey he did a good job this week okay he's gonna be a busy time he did a full mock draft it was crazy he attempted

the impossible or whatever he said. The unreasonable. He's the best. Catch him on the prospect show on Friday. Sean and I will back on July 3rd because we don't, apparently no one wants to hear what we have to say about the entry draft next week.

No way. Producer Jeff says Corey has a sports hernia and torn a doctor muscle. Tore it right off the bone, sports hernia thing, like Matthew Kachuk. Corey did it for Matthew. Matthew Chukuk is trying to copy Corey Pranman. Would be the first time. Thanks, everyone. We'll be back after free agency.

July 3rd.