JotCast | PHR Live Chat: 5/21/25

PHR Live Chat: 5/21/25

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Josh Erickson

1:58

Hi all, I'll start answering questions in a couple of minutes

Unclemike1526

2:00

Just saw an interesting trade rumor. Hawks deal Toronto's 1st round pick in 25 and Reichel for Marchessault and a 26 3rd round pick. I like it. Thoughts? Thanks.

Josh Erickson

2:03

That's certainly speculative at this stage. I guess Marchessault ended the year on a stronger note, I just went to check his stats and I encountered a rosier picture than I expected. The value seems about right there. Reasonably high mid-round pick headed back to Chicago. You're really dealing the first for Marchessault and Reichel for the third-rounder in two separate one-for-ones, at least value-wise. Marchessault's cap hit is low enough that it enables the Blackhawks to add more outside of him – $5.5MM through 2029. He's got a full no-move clause, though, does he want to go to Chicago?

DDUBS30

2:03

With all the needs the Islanders have to improve the roster , do you think they may move the 1st overall pick and move down a little bit in the draft to collect other assets to help speed up a “retool” ? And if they do stay at No1 , should Shaefer be the pick or one of the other top prospects?

Josh Erickson

2:05

I don't think moving the pick is something they're considering, no. The player they select with that slot should be able to help them starting next season. I would still give Misa the slight edge as the No. 1 prospect in this class, but the more I've thought about it, the closer he and Schaefer get in my view. I wouldn't consider anybody else in that slot aside from potentially Anton Frondell, who I admit I'm higher on than most.

Unclemike1526

2:05

Do you think the Hawks will chase Ekblad in FA and would he go there? Personally I'd rather have him than Marner. What do you think Josh? Thanks

Josh Erickson

2:07

You're very welcome

. I don't think Davidson views the blue line as a priority yet. I wouldn't rule out an Ekblad pursuit, but I don't think it's going to be very high on his list. Everything about his approach thus far suggests he's going to let the group of young D simmer for at least another year before deciding if he wants to jettison any of them for a more polished upgrade. This summer's focus will lie almost exclusively on how to create the best environment among the forward group for Bedard to succeed, in my view.

StlBlues26 fka StlBlues25

2:07

Whats the priority list for Army this offseason? Does it include extending Fowler? Thanks for the chats! Makes the day so much better.

Josh Erickson

2:10

And thank you for the kind words! Having certainty now that Torey Krug won't (or is very unlikely) to play again certainly helps things along for the Blues' front office. I'm sure they'd like to discuss a Fowler extension, but the resources they commit to that will depend on how quickly they can get things done with Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, both of whom are RFAs after 2025-26. Extensions for them, and potentially even Zack Bolduc, would be higher on my list than figuring out a deal for an impressive but aging Fowler. I'd imagine those talks spike midseason if he's open to them rather than over the summer. If they do happen, I'd think they would be later in the offseason, closer to camp.

DStars

2:10

With the 14th and 20th picks in the upcoming draft could you see Ravensbergen going to the Blue Jackets latter pick? Even though it’s very rare to see a goalie going in the 1st round and they still have the luxury of the 14th

Josh Erickson

2:12

They're one of a few teams that I think Ravensbergen makes sense for. Yes, it's rare to see a goalie go in the first these days, but the past few classes have been weak. Not only is Ravensbergen the best goalie prospect coming out of his draft year since Sebastian Cossa and Jesper Wallstedt in my view, but he also gets the benefit of competing against a weaker group of skaters here in 2025. I'm reasonably confident he'll hear his name called on night one of the draft.

2:15

I don't think he'll go any earlier than Vancouver at 15. Some other teams I could see really being interested in him that have later first-rounders: the Blues, Capitals, Kings, Predators, and Hurricanes.

draft

2:15

Taking into account that Hagens played with Eiserman and that he is a LI native, would the Islanders consider Hagens using the first overall pick or only draft Hagens if they traded down a few spots ?

Josh Erickson

2:16

I think if you have the chance to take who you think is the best player in the draft, you take it. Unless Hagens being the best player in the class is the Isles' truthful assessment, they take Schaefer or Misa and don't lose sleep.

LGD

2:16

Chances Palat or Dougie get moved? Keefe had some high praise for Palat when he was out so I don’t really see either leaving, fortunately or unfortunately. If one or both happen to get moved, what would that look like? Thanks!

Josh Erickson

2:18

The chances Palat gets moved are zero unless the Devils really find themselves in a cap crunch to the point where they're willing to attach a first-round pick. That's the price they'll have to pay to jettison a forward with two years left on their deal at $6MM who had just 28 points in 77 games last year. I don't see them seriously entertaining a Dougie Hamilton trade either unless Seamus Casey or Simon Nemec have a good enough start to next season to force their hand. It's also worth noting both Hamilton and Palat have full no-move protection, so even waivers aren't an option for the latter.

hiring

2:19

Don't teams want to hire new coaches and GMs prior to the draft combine at the beginning of June ?

Josh Erickson

2:20

Yeah, there's gonna be a rush in the next few days here. The Blackhawks/Blashill link is just awaiting formality and should be announced within 48 hours. There's a report out there today that the Bruins are no longer waiting on candidates who are still active in the playoffs. I expect most, if not all, remaining HC/GM vacancies to be dealt with in the next 9-10 days.

signings

2:21

Do you think Palmieri and Donato are staying in Long Island and Chicago and will resign in the next 5 weeks or so ?

Josh Erickson

2:22

I think both are still likely. I'd say a Donato extension is the more probable of the two considering there's not front office change to contend with. I give teams the benefit of the doubt that when they pull a player off the trade market, they do so because they're confidently close enough on a deal.

*not a front office change

Seguin

2:22

With the Stars cap space so tight this offseason, do you think there is a chance that Seguin gets bought out? He's owed a lot of money and his production is decreasing. Yes, he was injured...but hes far from the $9,500,000 player he once was.

Josh Erickson

2:25

There's zero chance. He's only owed $1.1MM in base salary next season and $1MM the following year. The rest of his compensation is via signing bonus. That makes the deal buyout-proof since only salary, not bonuses, are affected by a buyout multiplier. His cap hit would only drop from $9.85MM to $9.1MM (to not play for them) next season, just $750K in savings – less than the league minimum salary.

based

2:26

Hey Josh! Is this Panthers team better than last year?

Josh Erickson

2:29

Let's put it this way. When they won the Cup last year, the Panthers had nine players hit 10 points. Through two rounds and one ECF game, this year's Cats already have eight. Of course, the only point-per-game player is Eetu Luostarinen. Their stars, especially Tkachuk, haven't dominated in the way they did last year. The Marchand pickup and, even more so, placing him with Luostarinen and Lundell, has been the key so far. Bobrovsky's performances across the two playoff runs so far are pretty comparable. I think trying to compare the two clubs is like comparing apples to oranges. They're winning two different ways.

Cristall

2:29

You were right a while ago about Cristall. As you alluded to yesterday, do you think he's the steal of the 2023 draft ? Are his even better stats at Spokane partly due to playing with Catton ?

Josh Erickson

2:31

I do, although a conversation about 2023 draft steals isn't complete without talking about the Sharks nabbing Luca Cagnoni in the fourth round. There's a lot of picks from the early second round that year that I like – particularly SJ's taking Kasper Halttunen, Chicago's Roman Kantserov pickup, and obviously the Red Wings landing Trey Augustine. But Cristall has far and away the highest ceiling of the group. I'd agree with you on the second question, though. Catton's a hell of a player in his own right.

Mitch Marner

2:32

Assuming I am indeed bolting from my hometown team, which teams are your top landing spots this summer for my services? Any sleeper destinations?

Josh Erickson

2:34

I've always thought Utah made the most sense, and little has happened to change that. Mammoth Mitch has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? If the Islanders select Matthew Schaefer, I would imagine that leads to a Noah Dobson trade and, by extension, frees up the cap space they would have spent on extending him. If that's the case, I imagine they'll seriously pursue him as well. I would of course watch any other team with an obvious need and tons of cap space – the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Sharks, etc. – but I think the Mammoth strike the right balance of being able to give him a competitive offer while also being on the verge of being a consistent playoff team.

Marco Rossi

2:35

Am I commanding a number one pick via trade? Which teams are my likeliest landing spots? Or will the Wild still hold onto me after all the rumors?

Josh Erickson

2:38

I'm not sure the Wild recoup the ninth overall pick they used on Rossi, but he's still 23 years old and performed well enough this year to at least warrant a first-rounder or equivalent asset in return in a trade. I don't think Minnesota will target a pick as the principal piece, though – they want someone who can step in now (and banking on Danila Yurov to fill his role from the get-go is a tad ambitious). I would still advocate for keeping him. I get the feeling they'll seriously listen on calls, but they're not trading him for the sake of trading him. I would imagine Montreal, in need of a No. 2 center behind Suzuki after the Dach experiment has essentially fizzled out, would be quite interested.

prospects

2:39

If Desnoyer has a strong Memorial Cup, would you move him ahead of Frondell on your draft list ? Was Frondell's playoff production a disappointment to you ?

Josh Erickson

2:41

No. They weren't close enough based on their regular seasons for me to flop them. I also never take a ton of stock into postseason performances unless the player missed a significant portion of the regular season. It's all about total sample size.

2:41

Is Blashill enough to move the needle towards playoffs for the Blackhawks? Are they considering any other names? They've been pretty tight lipped after the Carle rejection. Thank you!

Josh Erickson

2:42

A singular coaching hire never is. He's an upgrade over what they had in Richardson/Sorensen, but they need help from the front office to give them another couple of weapons while benefitting from another year of development for their young defensemen. As I understand it, Blashill will be the guy.

Toronto 67

2:42

if the leafs let marner walk, who do you see being brought in in his place?

Josh Erickson

2:43

There's not a one-for-one move to be had and I don't think they'll try to make one. They'll use the vacated cap space to bolster the middle-six with multiple pickups. If he's willing to listen, they'll almost definitely pursue Marchand. I imagine pretty much every free-agent forward with top-six utility will be on their list.

Martone

2:44

Will Martone's play in the world tourney as Horvat's replacement significantly affect his ultimate draft position ?

Josh Erickson

2:45

Significantly? I doubt it. There isn't enough runway left in the tournament to get a legit sample size out of his showing there.

The Isle

2:45

Why are the Islanders asking for permission to speak to Brendan Shanahan when he might be getting fired anyway for failing to build a proper Cup contender over a lengthy reign? Are we all missing something? The Islanders are already a complicated mess as it is and he had much more to work with in Toronto.

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