There is less than a month left until the start of the NHL regular season. Many teams around the league are already prepared for the new season, but some still have work to do to be ready for the first matchup. One aspect is the extension of agreements with restricted free agents, among whom are several young stars in the league.
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Dawson Mercer, New Jersey
The talented Canadian, like the entire Devils roster, performed below his capabilities last season; while during the first two years in the NHL, Mercer showed steady growth, in the third, which was the last of his rookie contract, he not only did not make progress, but also looked worse than before.
However, the 22-year-old forward still has plenty of potential – he’s already proven he can score more than 50 points per season – and under the new coach he has every chance of reaching the next level. New Jersey would likely like to extend Dawson’s deal for a long time, but having less than $5 million under the cap pretty much rules out such a possibility.
David Mercer
Photo: AP/TASS
The forward is expected to sign a new contract with the Devils at the start of the new season, but it will be a bridge contract. And this deal will be good for the Club: the Devils will have time to test how ready Mercer is to become one of the team’s leaders.
Thomas Harley, “Dallas”
The rapid progress of the 23-year-old defender in the previous season could have been predicted at the end of the previous year; then Harley suddenly became a stable starter in the playoffs, and after the offseason he firmly established himself among the “stars”, becoming the team’s most useful player in the regular season and the second highest scorer among defenders after Miro Heiskanen.
Harley’s agent also represents Leon Draisaitl, who recently landed the biggest salary hit in NHL history. A new deal could now easily be made for Harley, but it definitely won’t be of the same magnitude – the trend of signing big contracts after a successful season is unlikely to extend to the Canadian, as Dallas only has $6.2 million at its disposal.
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Thomas, of course, could compromise and agree to a long-term or at least mid-term deal with a cap hit of $5.5-$6 million, but a bridge seems much more likely, as in the case of Mercer.
Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg
Perfetti has become an increasingly important figure for the Jets every season, although he is still far from being a key player in the team. At the same time, there were rumours all summer about a possible transfer of Cole to another club: the Canadian allegedly did not want to play in Winnipeg and was looking for a trade elsewhere. However, Elliott Friedman denied these rumours and said that the forward liked being part of the Jets and wanted to connect his future with this team.
Cole Perfetti
Photo: AP/TASS
Perfetti can hardly count on a big salary impact, but at the same time everything, albeit rather slowly, moves towards the conclusion of a new agreement between the player and the Club. Although the 22-year-old forward has not yet signed the next contract and is officially unemployed, he will become Winnipeg’s representative at one of the upcoming NHL media events. This says something.
Jeremy Swayman, Boston
Perhaps one of the most surprising stories of this summer. Swayman shared playing time with Linus Ullmark, who was traded to Ottawa, but at the same time he was the number one in the playoffs and looked very good. For the past few years, Jeremy has been on the list of the best goalies in the league, but for the second year in a row the American goalie could not reach an agreement with the Bears on a new contract.
If last summer the club and the player decided through arbitration, now throughout the summer the Bruins fans were almost completely in the dark about the negotiation process, which lasted until today; this year Swayman decided not to go to court, which he was unhappy with.
Sveyman was among the top 5 goalkeepers the following season:
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Boston has $8.5 million under the cap, but so far there is only one goalie: Joonas Korpisalo, received as a result of a trade with the Senators, who can hardly be imagined as the team’s number one. Despite the optimism on both sides reported by insiders, there is not much good news for Bears fans so far.
Both the goalkeeper and the club are interested in a long-term cooperation: the new contract is reported to be (if there is one) for eight years, but it all comes down to Sveyman’s salary. And here the American will have several levers to put pressure on Boston.
Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Detroit
In recent days, negotiations to retain the duo have gained momentum: Detroit undoubtedly wants to keep the German and the Swede in its ranks for a long time, who have the potential to become the main faces of the “wings” in the foreseeable future. A reserve of 17.65 million dollars allows Steve Yzerman to feel a little more confident: the Red Wings will definitely have funds for both of them. But we have yet to come to an agreement on the final amount.
Seider and Raymond will play with the Stanley Cup winner from Russia:
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At the same time, Detroit has another OCA, which Michigan would probably like to add to: we are talking about another Swedish forward, Jonathan Berggren. The 24-year-old forward played mainly for the local Wings team in the AHL last season, where he averaged just over a point, so we should expect him to get another chance to prove himself in the starting lineup.
