JotCast | PHR Live Chat: 7/9/25

PHR Live Chat: 7/9/25

Josh Erickson

1:44

Hello all, start getting your messages in the queue! I'll begin answering at the top of the hour.

Rags Fan

2:00

I thought that Drury did well with the return for Miller, thoughts?

Josh Erickson

2:01

Agreed, and I thought Miller was unfairly maligned in New York. He's a mid-to-late first-round talent in most drafts, though. Not only do the Rangers recoup a pick that could fall in that range (or slightly south), but they land a second and a decent prospect in Scott Morrow for good measure. One of the better trades of the offseason.

Rags Fan

2:02

Would you resign Panarin? If so at what cost? And do you think we have a real shot at McDavid?

Josh Erickson

2:05

I imagine Panarin would take a marginal pay cut if given the appropriate term (four-ish years). They could probably get something done in the $10MM AAV range, down from his current $11.64MM price tag. That decrease obviously gets more exaggerated with the large salary cap increases from year to year. I would absolutely sign that deal, but maybe not right this second. I'd wait to see how the first 2-3 months of his season go before putting that extension offer on the table. If he's still producing at a 90-point clip at worst, I'm signing that deal without much hesitation – of course, that all depends on what other big-name 2026 guys come off the market between now and then. I imagine they try and punt a Panarin deal down the road as far as they can to see if they can realistically use his cap space to sign someone younger or better.

2:06

On McDavid, they have a real shot cap-wise. They'll need a spectacular resurgence in 2025-26 to make themselves an appealing destination for him, though. If he leaves Edmonton, it's to win immediately.

futures

2:06

Tarasenko and Safonov were both traded for future considerations. (Tarasenko was a salary dump I believe) are the futures anything tangible or just cash ?

Josh Erickson

2:08

The answer is neither. I'm not even sure if the CBA allows you to trade cash anymore. On rare occasions, a deal with future considerations as the return may be completed in conjunction with a trade between the two clubs' AHL affiliates involving AHL-contracted players. In Tarasenko's and Safonov's cases, though, those are just dumps – no return, tangible or financial.

LGD

2:08

Any fire to the Dougie Hamilton smoke? Assuming there’s no public info on players trade/no trade lists?

Josh Erickson

2:10

There's a pilot flame, maybe even a burner on the stove, but nothing beyond that. In some cases, that's reported in bits and pieces (there's been chatter that the Kings and Senators are on Rasmus Andersson's no-trade list, for example). Haven't seen anything specific on what teams Hamilton may have on his list.

rights

2:10

Do you think any of the players on your 8/15 exp list will still resign with current teams ? Would trades of the rights for late round picks next year possibly occur ?

Josh Erickson

2:11

This late in the summer, it's fair to assume no one on that list is getting a contract. The only player with enough potential long-term value to warrant surrendering a draft pick for (who isn't already on an AHL deal with the organization that's losing their NHL rights) is Red Savage. I could see Detroit recouping a pick for his rights, but I'd be surprised if it happened for anyone else.

2:12

*Getting a contract from their current team, I should say.

Matty M

2:12

Let’s say Detroit gets off to a miserable start this upcoming season (after what most consider to be a lackluster summer) and make a significant change. Who goes first in your opinion: Steve Yzerman or Dylan Larkin?

Josh Erickson

2:13

Yzerman, no question. Dylan Larkin isn't underperforming; he is what he is and has been incredibly consistent since the turn of the decade. If the determination is that he's miscast as the 1C, which I think is a shortsighted take, that failing is on the front office, not the player.

2:14

You cannot let the person who surrendered assets to part ways with a sorely missed piece in Jake Walman oversee the trade of the team's captain and top center.

Wayward

2:14

Any decent center options left that makes sense for the Canes?

Josh Erickson

2:15

Outside of two familiar faces in Jack Roslovic and Evgeny Kuznetsov, no. You're looking at fourth-line pieces at that point, and Mark Jankowski is fine in that slot.

Bs fan

2:15

What else will the bruins do, or are they waiting til 26/27

Josh Erickson

2:17

They're certainly done in terms of unrestricted free agent pickups. They don't have the cap space for a significant trade pickup without moving out a salary in kind. I could see them being in on a defenseman, but that would probably require them moving Pavel Zacha or Casey Mittelstadt in the deal. Is that really wise for a team with so many question marks about its offense?

DStars

2:17

Do you think Cameron Schmidt was one of the 2 or 3 biggest steals of the draft and how long it could take him to reach the pro lineup?

Josh Erickson

2:20

Absolutely. Smaller players are a market efficiency in today's NHL, but he's a bit of a project despite having some of the best raw skill in the class. It might be as late as 2028-29 or 2029-30 before we see him really push for a spot.

Jared McCann

2:20

What are the chances Seattle actually considers trading him anytime soon?

2:21

Follow up, if Seattle actually did consider trading him, what do you think they could get in return?

Josh Erickson

2:22

Considers? Very high. I don't think they're actively trying to get rid of him, but they're listening to every call they get. They're in an attractive seller's market with Rakell and Rust in Pittsburgh as the only two other established top-six options still available. McCann is less of a risk contractually than those guys at a slightly lower cap hit and only two years left on his deal. Slam dunk for 60 points. The Kraken could turn him into the higher-end defense prospect their pool lacks.

2:23

I've already given up on the Blackhawks being competitive this season & expect lottery percentage watching again. So I ask you, how many more seasons of bottom 2-3 performances left to endure? The prospects are so very young. Thank you!

Josh Erickson

2:25

At some point, Davidson has to pull the trigger on big moves. I thought it aligned well with their rebuild timeline to do it this summer, but then everybody decided to stay with their current teams and the market got to a point where it was unwise for Chicago to overpay long-term for the talent that was there. I don't think there are any trade options out there attractive enough that align with their timeline worth pursuing, either. Use 2025-26 as the season to decide which prospects you're keeping and which you're leveraging in trade discussions to add more established help over the next 12 months.

2:25

I see many local Chicago writers predicting Lardis & Rinzel to make the team & contribute right away. I wondered what you thought about that & how well do you think Lardis' offensive game will translate to the ahl/nhl? Thank you!

Josh Erickson

2:29

Rinzel, yes. Lardis, I'd be really surprised. You have to put his spectacular 2024-25 season in context with his age. Was getting him in the third round a steal at this point in time? Absolutely. His offensive game became more well-rounded last year, that's a good sign. But his tendency in previous seasons to carry too much of a shooting bias means he needs an adjustment period as he turns pro.

Chicago also isn't a particularly large team and he's still too raw of a prospect to toss into a forward group that lacks insulation like the Hawks' does. He could get a few call-ups but putting him in the NHL full-time is too aggressive.

Gbear

2:29

Where does Jack Roslovic end up signing with?

Josh Erickson

2:31

Winnipeg could use him, but I doubt he wants to go back, haha. He's not the needle-mover Detroit needs, but they still need more scoring depth and more options who can bounce between center and wing like he can. Maple Leafs, Caps could use him. The former is interested but is waiting to see if there's a trade they can pull off instead.

gmm8811

2:32

Any updates on the Canada Hockey scandal?

Josh Erickson

2:35

The trial ran from April to June and was a rocky process. There were two mistrials, and the judge overseeing the case will now render the decision and sentencing herself without a jury. They were dismissed after alleged misconduct by one of the defense lawyers. The trial concluded on June 13; the judge will issue the decision on July 24.

enjineer

2:36

This is a bit of a broad question. Do you feel as if the nature of a team's contention window is going to shift a bit more with the new CBA making all signing rights equal? I feel as if it will lessen the need for players to jump from the major junior or collegiate ranks and thus drafts will become less about picking players that fill the biggest need over the best player available? I just don't see the older GMs taking that risk when they know that their team could change on a dime so quickly.

Josh Erickson

2:41

I think your point about draft strategy is extremely valid. I'm very interested to see what clarity, if any, comes out from the full CBA text dropping in terms of Russian/KHL players' rights. As of now, they're indefinite because there's no transfer agreement with that league. If that changes to teams only holding KHL players' signing rights until age 22, that obviously changes the draft landscape dramatically and very few Russians will be drafted outside of blue chip prospects. The rest will be targeted as free agents (a la Tsyplakov, Shabanov) when they're ready to come over ~5 years into their development.

Not sure what any of that has to do with a team's contention window, though. Very few recent champions have been built with recent draft picks anyway.

aka.nda

2:43

If you were given the GM job for the Kraken and could only make one move to try to make the team better, possibly even “contend,” what would you try to do?

Josh Erickson

2:44

Invent time travel to get out of the Ryan Lindgren contract, for one.

2:45

Honestly, a bottom-five finish this season would be a good thing. Any of the top few picks past McKenna in 2026 are still going to be high-end impact guys who can step in right away (or almost right away) that Seattle needs to help get rid of the mushy middle pieces throughout their lineup.

Magnus

2:45

Your top-3 best contracts signed in the recent weeks?

Josh Erickson

2:49

3rd place/dark horse - Devils did spectacular with Dadonov at a $1MM base, plus reasonable performance bonuses compared to others (still shocked about that Toews contract structure). Would put Matt Duchene's deal in Dallas here as well.

2nd place - Ekblad's extension. The cap hit is enough of a discount to justify the eight-year term for some with his injury history. Marchand, not so much, but it's still a huge short-term win to keep the band together.

1st place - Tavares' extension, and it's not close. A four-year term is still good work for that sub-$4.5MM cap hit... he's got at least four years left in him and he was one point shy of a point per game last season.

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