Off-Season Watch: Sabres' Olofsson drawing attention
Published
Ahead of the NHL Draft on June 28-29 and the opening of free agency on July 1, TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Eyes on Olofsson?
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports multiple teams are "poking around" Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson.
Dreger notes that no deal is close as of yet, but a market appears to be forming for the three-time 20-goal scorer.
Citing multiple sources, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News recently reported that "Olofsson and his camp are expecting him to be dealt before training camp opens in September."
The 27-year-old winger is signed through next season at a cap hit of $4.75 million and is coming off a career year.
Olofsson had a career-best 28 goals and posted 40 points in 75 games this season, reaching the 20-goal plateau for the third time in the past four years.
A seventh-round pick of the Sabres in 2014, the Swedish forward has 83 goals and 167 points in 263 career games.
Short Stay in Montreal?
It appears Denis Gurianov's time with the Montreal Canadiens may be at an end after just a few months.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports the Canadiens are not expected to tender the pending restricted free agent, allowing him to hit the open market.
Gurianov was acquired by Montreal from the Dallas Stars ahead of the trade deadline in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov. He had seven goals and 17 points in a combined 66 games with the two teams, including five goals and eight points in 23 games with the Canadiens.
The 26-year-old would be do a $2.9 million qualifying offer for the Canadiens to retain his rights, in addition to being eligible for arbitration.
Basu adds, however, that the Canadiens are open to bringing Gurianov back, "for one year at a significantly lower number" than his qualifying offer.
Among the team's pending unrestricted free agents, Basu reports Alex Belzile is expected to test the open market on July 1 as he seeks a one-way deal. Jonathan Drouin, Sean Monahan, Paul Byron and Chris Tierney are also pending UFAs for the Canadiens.
Latest on Bouchard, Oilers Talks
After a breakout postseason, Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard is in need of a new contract as a restricted free agent this summer.
Oilers general manager Ken Holland spoke to The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman on negotiations, stating the Oilers are "challenged" due to the salary cap.
Bouchard, 23, posted eight goals and 40 points in 82 games with the Oilers this season. He added four goals and 17 points in 12 playoff games before the Oilers were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights during the second round.
Edmonton has a projected $5 million in cap space with 18 players currently under contract for next season, according to CapFriendly. The team has two other pending restricted free agents in forwards Klim Kostin and Ryan McLeod, who are both arbitration eligible.
Holland confirmed to Nugent-Bowman that he will qualify all of the Oilers pending RFAs, except for Noah Philp, who has elected to retire at the age of 24.
In negotiations with Bouchard, Holland pointed to the one-year extension he signed to McLeod last summer as a potential solution in order to maximize cap space in the short-term.
"We’ve talked two or three times," Holland said of negotiations with Bouchard. "We’ve got work to do. We’re challenged. We’ve got to find a solution.
"It looks like the salary cap’s going to move next year. Then, I’d think it would start to go up like it was before — $3 million to $5 million every year. I’m going to my fifth year as the manager of the Oilers. The first year I was here, the cap was $81.5 million. Five years later, the cap is $83.5 million.
"In that time, (Kailer) Yamamoto wants a raise, and (Jesse) Puljujarvi wants a raise. Bouchard wants a raise. McLeod wants a raise. Skinner wants a raise. (Darnell) Nurse wants a raise. We trade for (Mattias) Ekholm. We sign (Zach) Hyman. We re-sign (Evander) Kane. Things are tight. Money is tight. It’s a salary-cap world.
"We found a solution a year ago with McLeod on a one-year deal. I’ve got to find a deal that works for the Bouchard camp and works for the Oilers."
While some have suggested buyouts as a way for the Oilers to create cap space, Holland said he'd prefer not face cap charges in future years.
"It’s a possibility. I hope to avoid it because then I’ve got money on the cap going forward," Holland said.
Crunch Time
The Stanley Cup has been handed out and the NHL off-season is officially underway for all 32 teams.
With the buyout window set to open Friday and just two weeks remaining before the NHL Draft and Free Agent Frenzy, crunch time for general managers is upon us.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston broke down the situation across the league, including a look at the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs, who enter their first off-seasons under new management: