I hope everyone is enjoying the NHL playoffs so far! I missed having this stress watching the Sabres in the playoffs, and experiencing game one in person was something I’ll never forget given the amazing comeback. Anyways, I wanted to quickly talk about a handful of things that I want to watch over the summer before I call it a season. I’d like to thank all of the loyal Razzballers who read my posts throughout the season, especially those who asked questions or gave feedback. Hopefully the majority of you won your championships and will be back here so I can help your title defense. With that, let’s get to it!
1) Who becomes the #1 defenseman in San Jose?
It’s clear that the priority for the Sharks this summer is to acquire a stud defenseman and depth behind them. Whoever they acquire is going into one of the best situations in the league. It’s hard to say who will be available, but the Sharks have a ton of ammo to get anybody. Fox is a logical fit if he decides he wants to leave the Rangers. Perhaps they go young and hope Nemec can take a step forward in their organization? If they don’t get a top tier player like Fox, whoever becomes the de facto #1D and PPQB will be a huge winner of the offseason.
2) What superstars signed long term are on the move?
Brady Tkachuk has been an obvious talking point, as has Matthews. We already saw Thomas on the trade block at the deadline, but a deal didn’t materialize. Does somebody gamble on Pettersson bouncing back? It has the appearance of a wild offseason for trades. I think part of that is because the free agent class is so poor.
3) Who signs being one year away from free agency, and who gets traded because they’re so far apart on a deal?
Robertson is still unsigned and the Stars are coming off a big disappointment. Byram has been fantastic and is a year away from free agency (I expect a deal, but if not, he could be a Sharks target). Hischier is coming off a disappointing season on his part and for the team. What’s going to happen with Hughes in Minnesota? How big are Kucherov’s and Makar’s extensions going to be? In a way, the first few days of July will be shaped by these extensions and non-extensions moreso than free agency.
4) Who wins the lottery and who moves their pick for help now?
Perhaps we get a situation where a team with quality talent in place gets lucky in the lottery and McKenna / Stenberg go into great situations like San Jose or Florida. The more likely situation is one ends up in Vancouver or Calgary and it’s going to be tough sledding right away. Florida has to look into moving their pick assuming it stays in the 8-10 range. Could they unite the Tkachuk brothers? The draft is a week before free agency so it’s likely that we see the first big move then.
5) Does McDavid decide it’s time for a change?
This is obviously unlikely given he just signed a two year deal, but it can’t be ruled out. The roster is flawed and it’s difficult for it to be improved given the picks they’ve traded for 4th liners and the bad contracts they’re committed to. He’d obviously control where he ends up, and there aren’t that many teams that I can even picture him wearing that jersey and having assets that Edmonton would want back.
That’s all for now guys. I should be back in late August or the beginning of September for next season. Thanks to MarmosDad for posting once a week to help me out greatly. If you want to talk hockey and the comments section on the post is turned off (automatically happens after a week or two), you can reach me on Twitter @RazzballViz or on Bluesky at viztyskie.bksy.social . I hope everyone is able to enjoy the rest of the playoffs and has a good summer. For the last time in a while, thanks for reading, take care, and Go Sabres!
