2025-26 Off Season Thread

[PuckinUgly57]

Per Russell Morgan, reports out there saying Jeannot will not resign in LA and will test the market.

That's a bummer because the Kings need more toughness, not less, but my guess is the Kings made an offer less than what he was making and their camp said no. Maybe he tests it and comes back to LA with an opportunity to match - no one will pay Jeannot $2.665 million IMO.

He was playing some of his best hockey as a King when he got injured and I really wanted to see what type of impact he would have had in the Edmonton series. But if Jill did what he did anyway and shortened the bench I don't think we would have found out anyway.

Blake with another great trade, a 2nd in 2025 and a 4th in 2024 for a guy who didn't even finish one season in LA and walks come July 1.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

This is what The Athletic’s Free agent big board says about Marner. They use the words “Blue Chip” to describe him. But based on what I’ve read on these boards, he’s solid but not top shelf, sentiment. And is he really worth nearly $13 million per year?

Contract projection
7 years, $12,952,529 AAV

Coming off the most productive season of his NHL career, Marner is the kind of blue-chip player who rarely hits the open market in his prime. Adding him would be viewed as a franchise-altering move in several markets across the league because of a unique skill set that makes him not only one of the NHL’s most offensively gifted performers but also one of its more trusted forwards on the defensive side of the puck. The former Selke Trophy finalist has been a top penalty-killing option for years and routinely uses his elite instincts to pressure opponents into turnovers when defending at five-on-five. Marner will be paid among the game’s highest earners on his next contract.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

What about this kid? Others listed Flames, Sharks, Columbus, Flyers, Rangers, Wings, ‘Canes.

Could Sabres’ Bowen Byram get traded again? 8 teams that should be interested

The pending RFA is a potential trade candidate who would have legitimate value around the league. Now it’s decision time for the Sabres.

www.nytimes.com

When the Buffalo Sabres traded Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram, general manager Kevyn Adams didn’t know exactly how Byram would fit. The Sabres already had two young, left-handed defensemen anchoring their top two pairs. There wasn’t an obvious spot for Byram, another offensively-minded lefty.
“We were willing to kind of make that bet and say, ‘Let’s bring in a really, really good hockey player and see how it shakes out,’” Adams said after the season.

The bet was that the Sabres would either end up with another top-end defenseman to strengthen their blue line or they would have a quality trade asset to move later on. In terms of performance, the Sabres have gotten the better end of the Mittelstadt for Byram swap.

Byram, now 24, played 82 games last season and was, at times, an excellent defenseman for the Sabres. He looked his best when playing alongside Rasmus Dahlin. When Dahlin and Byram were on the ice together at five-on-five, the Sabres had 54 percent of the expected goals. Together, it was a pair of two elite puck-movers who helped drive play in Buffalo from the back end. His time in Buffalo on that top pair with Dahlin was the opportunity he never had in Colorado — to show he can shake it in more meaningful minutes.

The trouble is, when Byram was on the ice without Dahlin at five-on-five, the Sabres had 44 percent of the expected goals. Given the injuries and lack of depth on Buffalo’s blue line, that number isn’t a complete indictment on Byram, since his other partners included Connor Clifton, Jacob Bryson and Henri Jokiharju. And in his minutes away from Dahlin, he didn’t share the ice as often with the Sabres’ top forwards, either.

Some of those struggles may have been because Byram doesn’t make as many puck touches in the defensive end. When he plays with Dahlin, it’s his partner who tends to retrieve pucks to help shift play from defense to offense, and then either defender can break out with control and start rushing up the ice. So the big question is whether Dahlin was the driver of Byram’s success in Buffalo this year, or if he can carry his own pair (without playing alongside replacement-level defenders).
The potential is still there for Byram at 24 years old, just entering the prime of his career, according to aging curve work done by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn. The contract situation just adds pressure to the situation.

Byram is a restricted free agent. He’s due for a significant raise on his $3.85 million salary. An extension in Buffalo, according to Evolving-Hockey, could be as high as eight years, at $7.99 million a year, on average. That would come in above his current market value, which doesn’t project his full ceiling, either, since there isn’t an obvious path to more power-play time in Buffalo. The other path is a shorter-term contract; a two-year deal, with the Sabres or elsewhere, which would come in around the $5.4 million mark.
(There is a graphs that hoses here and I couldn’t copy them. So if you want to check them out, hit the link on the article.)
Some of his top comparables give insight into the player he can become. If he develops like Brandon Montour or Ryan Pulock, he could be worth investing in despite Buffalo already committing big money on long-term deals to Dahlin and Owen Power.
(There is a graphs that hoses here and I couldn’t copy them. So if you want to check them out, hit the link on the article.)
But on the flip side, players such as Zach Bogosian, Jamie McBain and Andrej Meszaros show how south things can go. That trajectory, plus the Sabres’ investments in their blue line, makes Byram a potential trade candidate, one that would have legitimate value around the league.

Now it’s decision time for the Sabres.

Los Angeles Kings​

The Kings have a need for a younger, puck-moving defenseman on the left side. Whether Byram would have an obvious path to more power-play time would be a question with Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke there. But for a team that only scored 6.45 power-play goals per 60 in the regular season, the Kings should be willing to mix up their deployment.

But Byram would be a top-four defenseman for them, whether he pairs up with Clarke as a more offensive duo, or even with Doughty for two balanced pairs split across the top-four. Since the Kings also have a surplus of right-handed defenseman, Jordan Spence would have the potential to pair with Power on Buffalo’s second pair in return.