The Montreal Canadiens were mentioned in the Anthony Mantha chatter, but the interest never got serious enough to turn into a real push. Marco D’Amico reported that while there was some talk about Montreal, the Canadiens did not make a legit offer.
In Nashville, the roster math is already forcing decisions. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean noted that new Predators GM Chris MacFarland has been active this offseason, adding seven players through free agency and trades with the Avalanche and Stars.
That leaves Nashville with 26 players under contract, and the team has to get down to 23 before the start of the season. MacFarland said on the first day of free agency that the Predators might need to move out players they normally wouldn’t consider if it helps them improve elsewhere.
Daugherty pointed to three possible trade candidates. Ilya Lyubushkin could draw interest because of his physical style, especially after the Dallas Stars trade that brought in Mavrik Bourque was tied to salary removal.
A team could come calling and maybe send back a late-round pick. Jonathan Marchessault is another name to watch, but his $5.5 million cap hit makes him a tougher sell, especially with his underlying numbers trending down over the past five seasons and MacFarland’s reputation as a data-driven executive.
Joakim Kemell rounds out the list; the 22-year-old former first-round pick still hasn’t developed the offense expected of him, and his return might be something like a third-round pick or a player with similar value.
On the Flyers side, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff said in a mailbag that Jamie Drysdale could land in the range of three or four years at $6.5 million.
And in Detroit, Dylan Larkin’s situation remains tied to the bigger picture. Di Marco wrote that Steve Yzerman’s departure as Red Wings GM could affect whether Larkin would reconsider his trade request. The issue, as Di Marco framed it, is that Detroit hasn’t really made any changes this offseason that would make them a better playoff contender.
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The offseason around the Red Wings keeps getting busier, and one of the more notable moves came in Winnipeg, where Cole Perfetti landed a five-year extension that keeps him in place through the 2030-31 season. It is the kind of long-term commitment that helps a team settle its core, and it comes as Detroit continues to navigate a very different kind of uncertainty at the top of its own organization.
Edmonton also made a significant swing in reshaping its goaltending picture, adding Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen to a roster that now looks markedly different in net. For Detroit, the bigger question is what comes next in its front office search, with the organization now weighing its options and trying to determine who will guide the next phase of the rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Three Forgotten Red Wings Defense Prospects Still Matter More Than Fans Think
A few of the Red Wings 2023 draft defensemen have kept moving along in college hockey this season, even if they have slipped out of the daily conversation around Detroits prospect pool. Larry Keenan at UMass, Jack Phelan at Wisconsin and Brady Cleveland at Minnesota Duluth have all carved out meaningful roles, with each one showing the kind of defensive growth that keeps pro teams watching closely.
Keenan has added offense to his game while still handling the work that matters most in his own end, Phelan has settled in as a dependable stay-at-home presence, and Cleveland continues to bring the size and edge that made him such an intriguing pick in the first place. None of that guarantees a quick path to the NHL, but it does mean Detroit still has three blue-line projects worth tracking as their college seasons unfold and the club weighs future contract decisions. [Read more 🡒]