Author: Dose

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Marc-Édouard Vlasic to be acquired by the Sharks

It’s the end of an era in San Jose.

The Sharks have placed Marc-Édouard Vlasic in the waivers in order to buy out his contract. He won’t be claimed in the waivers, so it’s a mere formality.

Elliotte Friedman made the announcement.

He was set to earn $5.5M in real money in 2025-2026, but has a $7M cap hit . The Sharks will save some money on payroll in 2025-2026 and have a small penalty in 2026-2027.

But the club has so much cash on hand that it’s clear this was done to get the Québécois out of the organization, not to save money on the payroll, in my opinion.

As a result, the Sharks are even further away from their salary floor, which is $70.6 million. Before the buyout, the Sharks were at $42.16 million in payroll going into next season.

Fetching Carey Price’s contract may become even more important for the Sharks. No?

Details to come…

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Brock Boeser: the Canadiens’ management reportedly discussed him at a meeting

Three days ago, Jimmy Murphy (RG.org) mentioned that the Canadiens were on a list of teams interested in Brock Boeser.

“In addition to the Wild, Kings, Mammoth, Red Wings and Canadiens, the Bruins want to work hard to try to sign the free agent.” –Jimmy Murphy

Boeser, a right winger drafted in the first round by the Canucks in 2015, has 434 points in 554 regular NHL games; all with the Canucks.

I was told late last night that the Canadiens’ executives are in constant meetings in the Montreal area this week, and that the idea of signing Brock Boeser has been discussed internally.

When you think about it, it makes sense: Boeser is a right-winger capable of scoring between 45 and 75 points, he can put it in, he plays right wing, he’s 6’1 and he weighs close to 200 pounds. Perhaps Jeff Gorton wasn’t lying when he said that forward help could come on the wings, not necessarily at center.

Boeser will be eligible for full autonomy on July 1, but he shouldn’t cost a fortune. There are several question marks surrounding his candidacy.

But will the American want to stay in Canada? Or will he want to return home south of the border?

At the right price, Boeser would be an excellent acquisition for the Habs… but what’s the real value of a guy like Brock Boeser? We’ll find out over the next few days.

Brock Lesnar Boeser must leave Vancouver
Over the past few months, it has become clear that his adventure in British Columbia could not continue.

For the past few years, Brock Boeser has been lining up minor injuries the way I lined up beers on St. John’s night in the late ’90s. In 2024, he even had to sit out due to a blood clot.

(Credit: Fox Sports)

In 2022, Boeser lost his father and resented hockey. His head was no longer in the game, and he had even asked his agent for a trade.

And last March, the Canucks GM completely destroyed his forward’s value at his post-trade deadline press conference.

“If I told you what I was offered for Brock Boeser, I’d have to run out of here because you wouldn’t believe me.” –Patrik Allvin

Extension

I was also told this morning that we shouldn’t be surprised to see the Canadiens trade not one, but both of their first-round picks for tomorrow night’s amateur draft in California.

If it means getting a top-six forward, the two picks will be sacrificed, I’m told.

However, would a team be willing to trade one of its quality forwards in order to get its hands on two first-round picks in a rather weak year? I have my doubts.

We’ll see.

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Jamie Benn took a crazy pay cut to stay in Dallas

The Dallas Stars are in a special position in terms of the salary cap. After all, there isn’t much of a surplus.

Even if the salary cap goes up in the next few years, the Stars have so many youngsters to pay that decisions have to be made in Texas.

The Mason Marchment deal… the Jason Robertson rumours… it all stems from there, in fact.

What will help GM Jim Nill, however, is the fact that Jamie Benn’s $9.5 M per year contract is up in a few days. This creates a certain amount of leeway.

We’ve always known that the player wanted to stay in Dallas, the only organization he’s played for in his career. But to do so, he would have to take a pay cut.

And clearly, he got the message.

Benn, who turns 36 in a few weeks, agreed to go from $9.5 million to $1 million plus bonuses. That’s what Pierre LeBrun reported this morning on X.

The guy knows he’s at the end of his career and he knows he’s made his money. He wants to stay in Dallas and he’s chosen to act like a captain by making room for the other players on the club.

Hats off to him!

One of the advantages of bonuses (he could earn an additional $3 million in bonuses) is that if he doesn’t perform well, he won’t be overpaid. And if he scores another fifty points, he’ll be worth every penny of his contract in tax-advantaged Texas.

The other advantage of bonuses, which are only available for rookie contracts, players who have had major injuries and those 35 and over? If you don’t have room on your payroll to swallow them, you can carry them over to the following year.

Well done Benn, then. After all, he would certainly have had more elsewhere, but he chose to remain loyal to the Stars.

And that’s a credit to him.

in Overtime

– Patrick Kane is not expected to leave Michigan.

– Stars coach: decision imminent?

– Malcolm Spence: one to watch in the draft. [TVAS]

– Interesting.

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“Don’t be surprised if the Canadiens do something unexpected”

The draft will take place tomorrow. The first round, at least.

Will the Canadiens do anything big in the next few days on the trade market? That’s the question on everyone’s lips, of course.

Because in reality, we know there’s a lot going on. We know that National League teams are trying to do things and hit the home run on the market.

But it doesn’t work every time, because of supply and demand.

In particular, Kent Hughes is having trouble closing a big deal – and he’s not the only one. We know he’s been turned down for several deals recently, which is to be expected.

But will that stop him from trying? Of course not. It’s his job, after all.

And from what we understand, the NHL as a whole doesn’t seem to be ruling out the idea of the Canadiens’ GM making something of himself. The proof? This sentence, in a piece by The Athletic on NHL-wide payrolls.

Don’t be surprised if the Canadiens do something unexpected.

Because the Canadiens have salary cap space if they can play with Carey Price’s contract, and they have a brilliant staff (in the words of The Athletic… and that’s not untrue), something could happen.

It would be surprising if that “something” were Cole Caufield in Utah as the #4 pick tomorrow night, as some are hoping, since the Mammoth’s top-6 is relatively full… and relatively small.

It could go either way.

It’s important to remember that the Habs don’t absolutely have to move, since the club can be patient if it wants to. The Stanley Cup isn’t for 2026, you know.

And let’s not forget that Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook aren’t exactly household names in 2022 and 2023. Maybe it’ll be the same thing (an unexpected transaction) in 2025.

Who knows what will happen?

overtime

– Good listening.

– Interesting.

– Indeed.

– One to watch.

– Read more.

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New collective agreement: big announcement tomorrow

Great news for hockey fans.

Unlike a sport like baseball, which is undoubtedly headed for a union war over the next few years, the NHL and the Players’ Association have decided to go the other way.

According to Frank Seravalli(DFO), as early as tomorrow (just before the draft), plans for a contract extension of the collective agreement should be announced. #GoodNews

Making sure we don’t have a union war is, let’s just say, a good thing.

But why? Not only because it’s fun to listen to hockey, but also because the league is finally coming out of the financial aftermath of the pandemic.

A work stoppage would have been counterproductive. But here, until September 2030, it won’t be a problem.

This means that projects like the 2028 World Cup can go ahead. On that subject, cities that want to apply can start doing so now.

What’s important to note about the new collective agreement?

The first thing to note is that the seasons will indeed last 84 games. We’ve been talking about it for a while, but now it’s officially here to stay.

Contracts will last six or seven years – not seven or eight – depending on whether a player stays with his team or decides to test his value on the independent market.

I like that.

There will be a salary cap in the playoffs, a standardized system for prospects’ rights (22 years for everyone instead of two years for the CHL guys and four years for the NCAA), an end to deferred money on contracts and a clear system for emergency goaltending.

Oh, and no more restrictions on what you can wear to the arena. I think it’s a shame, since I think it helps establish a work mentality before games, but I understand why guys can now dress as badly as they want.

overtime

– Will the defenseman be traded?

– Ah well hello.

– Nathan Saliba transferred to R.S.C. Anderlecht. [X]

– Which prospects will be drafted by the Habs? [TVAS]

– Well done.

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JJ Peterka: could the Canadiens have done the same deal?

Last night, the Buffalo Sabres finally traded JJ Peterka.

History repeats itself in Buffalo: the club drafts a good youngster, develops him… but the guy has no desire to put down roots in the city of defeat. The Sabres decide it’s better to trade him.

It’s a story as old as time. As long as I’ve been following hockey, anyway.

All this to say that even though he was still a few years away from becoming an unrestricted free agent, the player was finally traded to Utah. Just days away from becoming a free agent WITH restrictions, he accepted $7.7 M per year over five years in Salt Lake City.

And in return, Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring headed for Buffalo.

The first thing you think when you see this transaction is that the Sabres have been robbed. And to a certain extent, I think they have.

Peterka has scored 55 goals in the last two seasons, and in 2024-2025, he’s scored 27 times and earned 68 points. And he’s only 23 right now.

But at the same time, I don’t think we should underestimate what defenseman Michael Kesselring can bring to a team. At 25, the right-hander is coming off a 29-point season, and he’s going to keep improving.

At 6’4, the defenseman moves the puck well and has a $1.4M contract for next season – before becoming a restricted free agent. That’s something you don’t find on the streets.

I’m not saying he shouldn’t have been traded for Peterka, on the contrary. What I am saying is that a right-handed defenseman has value in the National Hockey League.

And here’s proof.

The question we have to ask ourselves is whether the Canadiens could have picked up Peterka under those conditions. Was it a logical deal for the Habs?

On paper, it’s clear that adding such talent would have been positive.

But it’s important to remember that Peterka doesn’t play center. We know that the Habs are open to adding top-6 talent even if it’s on the wings, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Would the Sabres have traded Peterka in the division for the same price? In my eyes, it would probably have been Logan Mailloux, a young right-handed defenseman, who would have been in demand instead of Kesselring.

And who would Josh Doan have been? Emil Heineman? Considering that the price wouldn’t have been the same as for a Western club…

Another question is whether Peterka wanted to play in Canada. And if so, would he have accepted “only” $7.7 M per year like in Utah? That’s more than Juraj Slafkovsky, but less than Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

I’m not saying it would have been impossible for the Habs, quite the contrary… but I also wonder how much the Habs want a guy taller than Peterka (6′ according to Hockey DB, so probably 5’11 in reality) for the future.

Completing this transaction would undoubtedly have been more difficult for the Habs than it was for the Mammoth. And the American club is rewarded: it suddenly finds itself with an offensive top-6 that has a lot of bite – even if it’s not the biggest.

extension

8.5 M for Mikhail Sergachev… $6.0 M for Sean Durzi… $7.7 M for JJ Peterka… $7.15 M for Clayton Keller… $7.142 M for Dylan Guenther… $5.85 M for Nick Schmaltz… $4.75 M for Karel Vejmelka…

Yes, the Coyotes are well and truly dead. And in Salt Lake City, we can dream of the playoffs in 2026.

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JJ Peterka traded to Mammoth

We’d known for some time that JJ Peterka was unhappy in Buffalo. We knew he was on the trade market, and with the draft approaching, we suspected we might see him move as early as this week.

And tonight, things got moving. Around 11 p.m., Frank Seravalli reported that the Sabres and the Mammoth had reached an agreement regarding Peterka… but that something was holding up the deal.

Presumably, the Mammoth wanted a deal for Peterka, who would become a restricted free agent in a few days, before paying top dollar for his services.

And in the end, it’s just been settled: Peterka is heading to Utah.

A great signing for André Tourigny’s team.

More details to come…

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“It’s completely untrue”: Barry Trotz denies that Jonathan Marchessault wants to quit

Jonathan Marchessault has been the talk of the town in recent weeks. Somewhat out of left field, Frank Seravalli speculated that the Québécois might like to join the Habs to get closer to home after a difficult year in Nashville… and the player added a layer to it that very evening, saying that Montreal has a special place in his heart.

And when you consider that the Habs coveted him a year ago, it was easy to make the connection.

Since then, however, things have been pretty quiet. Certain informants have expressed certain reservations… and the subject of taxes has been raised as an important element in this matter.

We know that in Nashville, taxes are much lower than in Quebec, let’s say. And that’s a factor that could tip the balance.

And yesterday, in an interview with the Nashville Post and as reported in this TVA Sports article, Barry Trotz was quite clear: the rumours about Marchessault are “completely false”.

Trotz was a little surprised to see all this in the media, so much so that he called Pat Brisson to get an update on the player. And obviously, following that conversation, he was reassured.

He was told that there was “nothing going on” with Marchessault.

The impression was growing that we should expect to see Marchessault back in Nashville next year. Hearing Barry Trotz say such things, insisting that he expects his veteran core to bounce back strongly next year, made it seem more and more likely that the former Golden Knights star would not be traded this summer.

But at the same time, we know that everyone lies at this time of year, Marc Bergevin and P.K. Subban be damned…

Overtime

– Brandon Saad will stay in Vegas.

– Justin Carbonneau and Carter Bear are the favorites.

– Nice readings.

– Indeed.

– Interesting.

– Another defeat for CF Montreal.

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84-game regular season: could start as early as 2026-27

The 2025-26 season will be the last year of the current collective agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA. That means it’s a year away from expiring… but the good news is that we’re not (really) expecting a labor dispute on this issue.

Both sides were hoping to settle before the Stanley Cup Final, but there’s been a bit of a delay. That said, it’s really no big deal: it’ll get settled in the end.

That said, the new collective agreement will come with changes. And the number of matches has been mentioned as one of them for a few years now.

And rumor has it that this subject is currently part of the negotiations. The plan would be to add two regular-season games, taking it from 82 to 84.

According to Pierre LeBrun, if this change is confirmed, we can expect a shorter preparatory schedule, possibly with only four games per team.

And in reality, a measure of this kind is likely to suit just about everyone. For the league, regular-season games are much more profitable than pre-season games… and even for the players, the pre-season schedule is often a little long for everyone’s liking.

The only ones who suffer in all this are the players who are fighting for a position, and who will have a little less time to develop their skills. Unfortunately, this group doesn’t often get the short end of the stick at the negotiating table.

Remember that next fall, the Canadiens will play six preparatory games before 82 regular-season games. So, in 2026-27, the club would play the same number of games: the only difference is that there would be two fewer in pre-season and two more in the regular season.

And for fans, two more meaningful games is also something to look forward to.

So expect all this to happen as early as 2026-27. Because no, I don’t think that’s a problematic issue in the negotiations.

Overtime

– Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

– Interesting news.

– Logic: Cooper Flagg was selected first overall in tonight’s NBA draft.

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Kent Hughes turned down several offers for a top-6 forward in recent weeks

The Canadiens are looking to improve for next season, and it’s no secret that they’re trying to find a top-6 forward.

According to Frank Seravalli, Kent Hughes is “aggressive” in his search for a top-6 forward.

Aggressive” doesn’t translate well into French, but it’s important to understand that Kent Hughes doesn’t give up, and is constantly making offers left and right.

According to Seravalli, Hughes has been on a mission for the past two or three weeks, calling general managers across the NHL.

The only problem is that the Canadiens’ GM is being told no by the ton.

Seravalli even described the situation as if Kent Hughes had been retired at bat every time in recent weeks.

The good news is that Kent Hughes is going for it and not giving up.

Perhaps it’s time to ask whether what the Canadiens have to offer is too tempting for other teams. Montreal has one of the best banks of prospects in the NHL, but it’s probably not ready to touch everyone.

Listening to the offers, the names Joshua Roy and/or Logan Mailloux keep coming up. I’m willing to bet that these two guys don’t excite a ton of NHL general managers.

Knowing that Kent Hughes gets turned down so often may also mean that general managers with interesting top-6 forwards are asking for a lot.

Hughes has become accustomed to transactions where Montreal doesn’t offer much for a risky return. To get your hands on a player you’re sure of his value and what he can bring you, you’ll probably have to put more on the table.

The Habs GM has also become accustomed to surprise transactions during the summer and at the draft. We can expect this trend to continue this year.

If Kent Hughes keeps swinging the bat, he’s bound to hit the ball sooner or later. All that remains to be seen is whether it will be a home run.

Overtime

– There’ll be plenty of fantasy in Philadelphia.

– Jake Allen is of interest to many teams.

– He’ll need a rest before the fight.