The Anaheim Ducks are staring at a decision that could reshape their summer, and the clock is almost out. With only a couple of days left to respond to the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, the math is starting to look ugly for Anaheim.
If the Ducks match, they take a financial hit and may not have enough left to re-sign Cutter Gauthier. If they don’t, they walk away with four magic beans in compensation.
That situation has turned Carlsson into the latest name in a growing class of players who could become offer-sheet targets. Brian Burke’s old prediction that second contracts would be dead is looking a lot less far-fetched these days, especially with the Carlsson and Barrett Hayton signings in the mix. The ripple effect could stretch beyond this summer, too, with more RFA offer sheets potentially coming for top targets this year and next.
There was also a major coaching move in Ottawa that nobody saw coming. Daniel Alfredsson left the Senators organization and accepted an associate head coach position with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The move was described as unthinkable, and it clearly landed that way around the league.
In Pittsburgh, the front office took a hit on Tuesday when Vukie Mpofu left the organization. Mpofu, the Penguins’ director of hockey operations and legal affairs, has taken a job with the Nashville Predators as assistant general manager.
The Penguins trade chatter isn’t slowing down, either. The speculation around Elias Pettersson continues to explode, and the reaction to the discussion has been as loud as the rumor itself.
Some of the pushback came from Vancouver fans, who didn’t really argue the point so much as go after the messenger. The whole thing carried a very Animal House feel: “Hey, he can’t do that to our pledges.
Only we can do that to our pledges.”
There was more movement in the Penguins’ system as well. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins re-signed a few players and brought back Rafael Harvey-Pinard on an AHL deal.
Elsewhere around the hockey world, the Ottawa room apparently didn’t love everything that came out of the Tkachuk brothers’ podcast, especially the episode with Papa Keith. According to the report, players weren’t thrilled with Brady Tkachuk, and his departure didn’t bother everyone.
In Philadelphia, things are messy for a different reason. Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale filed for arbitration, and that could affect what the Flyers do next.
And in Boston, Pavel Zacha is quietly heading toward a new extension of his own, one that could cost the Bruins a significant amount.
One more note from the Penguins side: a Q&A is scheduled for later this morning, with questions due by 10:00 a.m.
In Other News...
Penguins Suddenly Face A Tough Call On Two Coveted Veterans
Edmontons search for help on the wing has put a familiar pair of Penguins back in the conversation. Rickard Rakell has already been linked to the Oilers by insider David Pagnotta, and analyst Tyler Yaremchuk has gone a step further by suggesting that either Rakell or Bryan Rust would make an ideal fit for a club looking to upgrade its top-six scoring depth around elite talent.
For Pittsburgh, the intrigue is obvious because both veterans remain under contract and both still profile as the kind of offensive wingers who can slide into a contenders lineup without needing the puck to themselves. The question now is whether Edmontons interest turns into something more serious, and if so, which of the Penguins two coveted forwards would be the tougher one to part with. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Now Face Their Biggest Post Crosby Question Yet
The Penguins have spent the early part of this reset building back their prospect base, but the harder question is still the one that hangs over every post-Crosby conversation: where does the next true franchise player come from? Their draft position never gave them much of a shot at the top of the board, and with a pick that landed 22nd after a playoff run, the path to a cant-miss talent got even narrower. Kyle Dubas has added depth and some intriguing young pieces, but the organization still does not have a clear superstar waiting in the wings.
So the search has shifted toward bigger swings, the kind that usually live in trade chatter and aggressive roster-building talk. Dallas forward Jason Robertson has come up as a name fans and media would love to see in Pittsburgh, and there is also the more unconventional idea of using an offer sheet to try to pry away a star. The Penguins have promising prospects in the system, but until one of them breaks through in a major way, the franchises next defining move may have to come from outside the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]