JotCast | PHR Live Chat: Free Agency 2025

PHR Live Chat: Free Agency 2025

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Josh Erickson

6:55

A good morning to all, and to all a good morning. I considered putting "Frenzy" in the title, but I feel like that may not be the most apt word ahead of today's Pius Suter sweepstakes.

I'll answer questions as they come in. Hoping to go until 8 a.m. here.

Landyn

6:56

Granlund to St. Louis?

Josh Erickson

6:57

I get the sense they've got a lot of interest in him and will be one of the 3-4 most aggressive teams. Too early to call them the favorite; I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see a return to San Jose, either. That would give the Blues a pretty terrifying top nine, wouldn't it? That may result in Mathieu Joseph getting buried in the AHL if they can't find a trade partner.

Landyn

6:58

Do the Blues resign Faksa?

Josh Erickson

6:59

Maybe they circle back if they don't land Granlund. I know they were having talks up until yesterday, but nothing got done. I don't see them signing both Granlund and Faksa; that would simply give them too many forwards to compete for jobs and effectively eliminate someone like Dalibor Dvorský. I don't think they want to do that.

Landyn

6:59

Where do you see Boeser signing?

Josh Erickson

7:01

I don't think any of the basement teams will be in the conversation. He's now the No. 2 player available and will look to take advantage of a desperate team today. Usually, those teams have some designs of competitiveness and don't have a clear rebuild plan like the Sharks, so I don't see them (or Chicago, or Columbus) being in the picture. The Ducks could; they've been clear about being aggressive this summer. My pick for a Boeser overpay, putting a damper on what's been an excellent offseason for them thus far: the Bruins.

Landyn

7:02

Who plays with Donato and Bedard with Marner off the table and Boeser likely off the table too

Josh Erickson

7:02

Last question from Landyn, haha. Let's see if they put Burakovsky there to boost his numbers and try to flip him

Rat

7:03

Does anyone stand a chance against Florida?

Josh Erickson

7:04

Plenty *could* happen. Bennett could regress to Calgary form. The age clock is ticking on Bobrovsky; he could turn into a pumpkin. It will be interesting to see how they replace Nate Schmidt, who was nice in a bottom-pairing role for them. But if that's your biggest concern after back-to-back Cup championships, you're in a pretty damn good spot. Hats off to you, Bill Z!

Kim

7:05

Do the Sabres finally get a top six scorer?

Josh Erickson

7:06

There's only three legit ones left in Boeser, Ehlers, and Granlund. I have not heard them in the conversation for Boeser or Ehlers in the slightest. Would not be surprised if they kicked tires on Granlund to give them another center option, but I don't think he's likely to land there with the interest he'll have. Short answer: not today, but they could still land one with a Byram trade after the dust settles.

7:07

We may even get a Byram trade today with the dearth of UFA defensemen outside Gavrikov, Orlov, Burns, etc.

Depressed Sens(Phillies)Fan

7:08

Any reason to believe Ottawa makes a splash? Or an attempt with the limited cap space....

Josh Erickson

7:10

They already made a really underrated splash with the Jordan Spence acquisition, IMO. I don't think it behooves them to overpay Ehlers or Boeser, they don't really have the room to anyway. They don't need a high-end backup after getting that Merilainen contract done but I imagine they'll sign a veteran No. 2/3 type today as insurance. One name I'd watch for with the remaining cap space to add to the top nine: Jonathan Drouin.

Phil

7:10

Who is realistically left that the Sabres can sign to move the needle?

Josh Erickson

7:12

If only Vladislav Gavrikov were a right shot, eh? I would have liked Dante Fabbro's fit there, but alas. There aren't any other shutdown righties I would look at to complement Kesselring and Timmins on that side, except for perhaps Jan Rutta. However, if you're looking for a true needle-mover, as I mentioned, I don't think that's coming today. That pickup would need to be via a Byram trade return.

7:12

it looked like Carolina was primed for a big offseason but it now looks like it could be relatively quiet. Any thoughts on what they might do today and going forward?

Josh Erickson

7:14

I do think there's a strong mutual interest between them and Nikolaj Ehlers. Let's see where that goes, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them walk away with the No. 1 player still on the board today. One thing to keep an eye on: Today may be extra quiet as some big names may not sign right away. There's less competition, fewer Plan Bs available, and thus more room for those players to really think about where they want to go.

StlBlues26 fka StlBlues25

7:14

What’s Florida’s path to get under the cap following their FA retainage?

Josh Erickson

7:18

Love these types of questions, remembering my one viral moment on Twitter when I went through the VGK scenarios to cap compliancy after the Eichel trade. Here's the good news: they're under the cap now with $1.275MM in space. Here's the bad news: that's with only 17 players. Need at least 20 for a bare minimum roster. Three times league minimum ($775,000) is $2.325MM. The math isn't mathing, just yet.

That's not a huge bridge to gap, though. I wonder about Evan Rodrigues – great player, two years left on his deal at a nice $3MM cap hit, but he's 31. Moving him gives them $4.275MM in space, allowing them to sign one guy in the $1MM range and then add 3-4 more on league min to fill out the roster and give them *some* injury protection in-season. That's the easiest path forward, IMO.

Stlborn

7:18

Who do Blues sign in FA?

Josh Erickson

7:19

They don't have a lot of needs or roster space. I wouldn't be surprised if one center, either Granlund or Faksa, is their lone one-way signing today.

Jason

7:20

Are there any free agents left or has everyone signed extensions? If so where are they going?

Josh Erickson

7:20

There's some left, but we're getting into "Andrew Mangiapane being among the top 10 names available" territory here. Eesh!

Ranger Fan

7:20

What do you see the Rangers doing? Must they trade K. Miller before they sign Gavrikov, or do they lose trade leverage if they sign Gavrikov first?

Josh Erickson

7:22

I don't think it matters either way. Plenty of teams see Miller as a desirable asset, even more now with very few effective top-four D available on the open market. Assuming Gavrikov looks to match the Provorov contract and signs for $8.5MM AAV, the Rangers are still in good shape – even to insulate themselves against a Cuylle offer sheet. They would only have $4.6MM in cap space after signing Gavrikov, but remember that teams can exceed the cap by 10% during the offseason. They'll have flexibility to match and then figure the rest out.

7:23

Is the 6 yr Marchand deal at age 37 a circumvention of the salary cap ?

Josh Erickson

7:24

Want to be very clear on this: no, not in the slightest, and the league won't even consider investigating it. That's because he signed the deal at age 35 or older. There is no remedy for the Panthers to get out of the cap hit. If they buy him out, they get no relief. If he retires, his contract still counts. Even if they mutually terminate, his cap hit still counts. Unless there's a legitimate injury and a thoroughly investigated and approved LTIR placement, Florida is stuck with the cap hit.

Brian

7:25

If the Caps leave most of the FA walk, who replaces them? There’s some candidates in the pipeline…..those turning pro and those in Hershey but who else should they be considering?

Josh Erickson

7:28

It's been quiet in Capital-land the past few days. They don't need D or G outside of press box/AHL signings, but I would like to see them acquire two top-nine forwards. That should be achievable. I imagine they try to keep Beauvillier. They'd have to trade someone to land Ehlers, but I've heard they're sniffing there. I wonder about Drouin, I wonder about a Connor Brown reunion, I wonder about Sabres legend Victor Goalofsson.

Mike N

7:29

What team will be todays biggest spender do you reckon?

Josh Erickson

7:30

The Hurricanes will try to be. Not sure if they're succesful.

Caniac0723

7:31

Likelihood of Ehlers and/or Granlund to Carolina?

Josh Erickson

7:32

There's smoke and fire on Ehlers. Less so on Granlund. I'd give you the following percentages.

Ehlers, no Granlund: 50%
No Ehlers, no Granlund: 30%
Granlund, no Ehlers: 10%
Ehlers and Granlund: 10%

Cbj4life

7:32

Are the jackets done for the day …if not who could we get

Josh Erickson

7:34

I don't think CBJ is looking at Boeser but believe they will be in the Ehlers/Granlund conversation. They have like $21MM in space, really more like $15MM if you set aside money for RFA Voronkov. Beyond that... do they even have room for a defenseman after retaining Fabbro and Provorov? Don't imagine they'll be in the goalie market aside from someone to replace Greaves as the No. 3.

Quack

7:35

Are the ducks going to be able to put a “playoff contending team” together after all these potential fa’s signed extensions yesterday?

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