The Ottawa Senators have managed to keep Claude Giroux in the fold, and they did it with a deal that gives the veteran forward both security and upside. Giroux agreed to a one-year contract with a $2 million cap hit and as much as $5 million in performance bonuses, plus a full no-move clause. The agreement still hasn’t been officially announced by the team, but the message is clear: Ottawa wasn’t letting him walk.
That decision came with plenty of outside noise. Giroux, 38, had drawn real interest from around the league, with reported pushes from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers.
There was also late talk of a possible return to the Philadelphia Flyers before the conversation shifted hard toward staying in Ottawa. The structure of the deal suggests he’ll have a chance to earn more through bonuses tied to games played and playoff success.
In Toronto, meanwhile, the fallout from Mitch Marner’s departure is still hanging around. Former Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube made it plain that Marner’s value went well beyond production.
Marner, who joined the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade last summer, put up another strong offensive season, but Berube said he was also the emotional engine of the group. He called Marner vocal, energetic, and a player who kept pushing teammates to raise their level.
That kind of presence is hard to replace, even for a team that thought it could move on.
Montreal is dealing with a very different kind of roster issue, and Kirby Dach’s case is turning into a tricky arbitration file. The Canadiens gave Dach a $4 million qualifying offer, but he filed for salary arbitration after being presented with a two-way deal.
That matters because it would pay him full salary only at the NHL level, with the possibility of a significant drop if he were sent to the AHL. For a player who has already dealt with injuries and has appeared in just 154 games over the past three seasons, Montreal is clearly using his health history as part of the equation.
Dach’s side is likely trying to force a one-way contract and lock in NHL pay, but arbitration cuts both ways. Analytical projections suggest his market value could land below $4 million, which means the process could end up working against him. It’s a leverage play on both sides: Montreal protecting itself, and Dach trying to secure his place and paycheck.
Out in Anaheim, the pressure is coming from a different direction altogether. The Ducks are in the middle of a growing offer-sheet mess involving Leo Carlsson and the Philadelphia Flyers, and Elliotte Friedman says the dynamic has already shifted away from Ducks management. Anaheim reportedly tried to get ahead of things with a deal in the $12.5 million AAV range before the offer sheet arrived, but the expectation around the league is still that the Ducks will match.
Even so, the uncertainty hasn’t gone away. Friedman’s read was that Verbeek has lost control of his own team, and another report says ownership may have to abandon its usual way of doing business if it wants to match Carlsson and then keep pace with similar deals for the other RFAs. The Ducks may still end up matching, but the ripple effects could be bigger than the one contract in front of them.
In Other News...
Ducks Just Made Their Stance Clear On Young Defenseman Tyson Hinds
The Ducks have made a clear commitment to Tyson Hinds, locking up the young defenseman on a two-year extension that runs through the 2027-28 season. It is also a one-way deal, which says plenty about how Anaheim views a player it drafted in 2021 and has continued to develop through the organization.
Hinds has already started to turn that long runway into NHL opportunity, making his debut this season after building up his rsum in San Diego and adding to a profile that already included a QMJHL best defensive defenseman honor and a gold medal with Canada at the 2023 World Junior Championship. For Anaheim, the larger question now is how quickly that trust translates into a more regular role at the NHL level. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Lock In Tyson Hinds As Blue Line Depth Starts Taking Shape
Tyson Hinds is the latest young Ducks defenseman to get a real foothold in the organizations plans, with Anaheim signing the 2021 draft pick to a two-year contract after his steady climb through the AHL. Hinds has already gotten a taste of the NHL, appearing in six games with the club, and the Ducks are clearly betting that his development has reached the point where he can be part of the conversation on the back end.
For a team still sorting out its blue-line depth, the move gives Anaheim another controllable option as the roster takes shape for next season. Hinds is expected to fill a depth role, but the way the Ducks structure his deal suggests they want him ready for more than just emergency duty, especially if the defensive mix keeps shifting during camp and into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Ian Moore Just Earned A Bigger Place In Anaheims New Blue Line
Ian Moores first full look with the Ducks came in a season that asked him to do a little bit of everything, and it ended with a stronger case for a long-term role on the blue line. Drafted by Anaheim in 2020 after his path ran through the USHL and Harvard, Moore spent most of the 2024-25 campaign in the NHL and showed enough poise to stick around for 67 games, finishing with four goals and 12 points while also getting into 10 playoff games.
What makes Moores rise interesting is how much he had to adapt along the way, even before the postseason. At different points he was shuffled around the lineup, then sent back to defense, and the Ducks clearly saw enough to keep investing in him with a new two-year deal. Now the real question is how he fits into a blue line that is getting more crowded, and whether his next step is simply surviving camp or carving out a regular role in a defense corps that is starting to take shape. [Read more 🡒]