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The salary cap is going up this summer in the NHL. The Habs have some salary cap room and some youngsters/choices to move. The Montreal club needs a second center to surround Ivan Demidov.
That’s all well and good. And on paper, it’s true.
But if Kent Hughes wants to make a move to improve his team, he’s going to need a realistic target in a team that might be willing to trade a quality center.
Since we know that Lou Lamoriello is no longer in charge of the Islanders’ field hockey operations, let’s just say that there’s a good chance that some guys will be traded in the next few months.
After all, we suspected that the old Lou wouldn’t launch a rebuilding process. But maybe the new GM, be it Patrick Roy or someone else, could.
What Lou Lamoriello ouster means for Patrick Roy’s Islanders future https://t.co/RRXI9POCvj pic.twitter.com/7teWGsMYv2
– New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) April 23, 2025
And that’s when you wonder if the Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat and Noah Dobson of this world could go elsewhere.
Dobson’s case is different, since the defenseman is a year away from independence. But in the case of the two center players, who are under contract until 2013 (at $9.15 M and $8.5 M per year respectively for Barzal and Horvat), it’s different.
Trading them wouldn’t be cheap, but I’m sure the change in management will mean that the next field hockey operations boss, whether he’s GM or president, will be getting calls for his top players.
It’s only natural.
Which brings us back to Kent Hughes. The Habs GM doesn’t have much choice but to call Long Island to see if one of the big players could be traded this summer.
On that subject, there’s this old tweet from Pierre LeBrun that’s resurfacing. It’s about the fact that Barzal, a BC native, speaks French.
He thinks his parents sent him to French immersion school when he was young because his father secretly hoped he’d play for the Habs one day. – Pierre LeBrun on Mathew Barzal
One thing I didn’t put in the Barzal piece: he’s fluent in French. He thinks his parents put him in French immersion as a kid in Coquitlam, B.C., because his dad secretly hoped he might play for the Habs one day
– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 1, 2017
Of course, we know that Barzal, who can say no to 22 teams via his partial no-trade clause, will control his destiny. And if he feels going to Montreal isn’t right for him right now, he won’t go just because his father made a decision 20 years ago.
He’ll make the decision for the Mathew of 2025 – if there is one, of course.
But since the CH is on the right track, we figure this is something that can tip the scales (a little) in the CH’s favor. In any case, it can’t hurt, we agree.
Remember that Barzal has been injured this season, but that otherwise, he’s relatively often healthy.
in a row
– Read more.
– Pascal Vincent: his time in Columbus made him a better coach. [ 98.5 Sports]
– Lane Hutson: still room for improvement. [ TSN 690]
– He’s been historically bad.
Vasilevskiy’s .625 Efficiency in Game #1 is the worst in NHL playoff history by a full-game goaltender
10 saves on 16 shots
– Guillaume Villemaire (@GVillemaire13) April 23, 2025
– Things are bad in Toronto.
The Blue Jays’ offense is in trouble.
But you already knew that. https://t.co/VqxAa7K5b0
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) April 23, 2025
More must-reads:
- Hurricanes take care of business, sign star winger to lucrative eight-year extension
- Carter Hart, others found not guilty in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial
- The 'Multiple 100-RBI MLB seasons' quiz
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Hurricanes take care of business, sign star winger to lucrative eight-year extension
The Hurricanes announced Thursday night that they’ve signed winger Jackson Blake to an eight-year, $45M extension that will kick in for the 2026-27. While that would normally mean an average annual value and cap hit of $5.625M, the actual cap hit of the contract will fall in the $5.1M range due to deferred compensation, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The contract buys out the extent of Blake’s RFA eligibility and will make him a UFA following the 2033-34 season. Blake’s stock has been on the rise since immediately after Carolina selected him in the fourth round in 2021. He was a USHL All-Star in his post-draft season with the Chicago Steel before making the jump to NCAA hockey with North Dakota, where he totaled 102 points in 79 games in two seasons — earning a Hobey Baker finalist nod in his sophomore year. He signed his entry-level contract with the Hurricanes in April 2024 and joined them for the brief remainder of the regular season. In his first full pro season, Blake hit the ground running. He made the Canes out of camp and had five points through his first nine games despite seeing less than 12 minutes of ice time per night. That offense didn’t quite hold up the rest of the way, though. While he ended up seeing significant deployment alongside Sebastian Aho at even strength, he ended up finishing the year with a 17-17–34 scoring line in 80 games, finishing ninth on the team in scoring and ninth in Calder Trophy voting as the league’s Rookie of the Year. That’s fine production, especially considering he averaged under 14 minutes per game on the year. He’ll need to build on it to justify that cap hit, though, especially with so much risk attached to a max-term deal. The good news is that Blake has another year left on his entry-level contract to continue his development before he’ll need to start justifying that cap hit. The son of former NHLer Jason Blake turns 22 next month, yet with this deal, he’s guaranteed to surpass his dad’s career earnings. The Hurricanes have historically opted to sign their young players for as long and as early as possible, a trend that continues here. Sometimes, it’s paid off — their eight-year, $59.4M commitment to Seth Jarvis last offseason looks like a steal after he put up a repeat 67-point performance in 2024-25. There’s also the glaring example of where that strategy has failed regarding center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, whose $4.82M cap hit looks more stomachable now with a rising ceiling but is still well above his market value four years into the deal. The jury is still out on newly acquired Logan Stankoven, who they inked to an eight-year, $48M extension at the beginning of the month. Blake’s deal will be one of the last of its kind. It contains two elements — deferred compensation and an eight-year term — that will be outlawed when the new CBA Memorandum of Understanding takes effect on Sep. 15, 2026. If he waited until reaching RFA status next summer to sign, a lengthy negotiation could have lost him that eighth year if the two sides didn’t come to terms until the beginning of training camp. With the salary cap’s upper limit projected to reach $104M in 2026-27, the Hurricanes have around $16M in projected space with Blake’s and Stankoven’s deals taken care of. While they’re projected to be Carolina’s 11th- and 12th-highest-paid forwards on their opening night roster this season, they’ll be their fifth- and sixth-highest-paid forwards in 2026-27.
Biggest impact of Josh Naylor trade may still be to come
While the Seattle Mariners landed an impact bat on Thursday night, their trade for Josh Naylor has also likely impacted the entire upcoming MLB trade deadline. On Thursday, Seattle sent a pair of top pitching prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Naylor, with left-hander Brandyn Garcia (ranked as Seattle's 13th-best prospect by MLB.com) and right-hander Ashton Izzi (ranked as Seattle's 16th-best prospect by the same rankings) heading to the desert. Knowing what the Diamondbacks received in exchange for Naylor could well set the market for what is to come between now and the conclusion of the 2025 MLB trade deadline, set for 6 p.m. (Eastern) on July 31. The 28-year-old first baseman was ranked by The Athletic as the 17th-best trade candidate likely to be available, but ranked behind just one other first baseman (Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn, who was slotted in at 16th). If Naylor brought in a pair of pitching prospects, including Garcia, who has appeared in two games this season for Seattle, the Diamondbacks could be salivating over what third baseman Eugenio Suarez and his 36 home runs could bring in return. All MLB teams who will be buying or selling at this year's trade deadline have had the first price bar set for them with the Naylor deal. Now it will be fascinating to see what comes next, especially knowing that Naylor will be a free agent at the end of this season. If Seattle gave up two pitching prospects for a player who could be a late-season rental only, imagine what the Minnesota Twins may be able to recoup for starting pitcher Joe Ryan (under team control through the 2027 season) or the Boston Red Sox might get back for outfielder Jarren Duran, who won't be a free agent until the 2029 campaign. While Naylor may not be the biggest move to come during this span before the trade deadline comes to a close, his deal could be the one that establishes selling prices for the trades that are to come. With so few MLB teams expected to be outright sellers, the price for available talent was expected to be high. We learned on Thursday night with the Naylor swap just how high those prices may go.
Releasing Christian Wilkins Proves Spytek, and the Raiders Mean Business
Since taking over as the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders, John Spytek and Raiders Head Coach, Pete Carroll, have emphasized how critical it will be for them to establish a new culture for their team. After years of subpar play, the Raiders needed to improve their culture equally as much as they needed to improve their roster. Spytek wasted no time significantly improving the Raiders' roster, adding Geno Smith and Ashton Jeanty this offseason. Although a culture change usually takes more than offseason, the Raiders may have expedited the process by releasing veteran defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. The organization and Wilkins were not on the same page in regard to his rehab, pushing the Raiders to make a drastic move. While drastic, the move appears to align with Spytek's intended composition of the Raiders' roster. At the NFL Combine months before Wilkins' recent release, the Raiders' general manager explained what he would take into consideration when assembling the Raiders' roster. While Spytek likely figured Wilkins would be part of the team at the time, his words rang true following the veteran defensive tackle's release. “I think we're going to have a lot of positive energy. The guys that love to compete and play with passion are going to have a chance at our place. And the guys that maybe don't have that love of the game, they like it, it's a means to an end, there probably won't be as many places or spaces for them at our place," Spytek said. "I think we want to set the tone with our film. When people watch a week or two out for our games coming, like they want to know, like this is going to be a battle, this is going to be physical, this is going to be old-school football." It is challenging to maintain positive energy when a player who has only played five games with the Silver and Black fails to uphold their end of a contract worth over $100 million. Shortly after releasing Wilkins, the Raiders issued the following statement. "We have decided that it is in the best interests of the organization to move on from Christian Wilkins. This franchise has a Commitment to Excellence on and off the field. With no clear path or plan for future return to play from Christian, this transaction is necessary for the entire organization to move forward and prepare for the new season." The Raiders' words spoke loudly enough, but they did not say nearly as loudly as the actual move of releasing Wilkins. Full details of why the Raiders decided to move on from Wilkins after just one season remain unclear, but one thing is clear: the Raiders' new-look front office means business. Find us on X (formerly Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and Instagram @HondoSr and weigh in on this take. While here, check out our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE to discuss this take
Major 2024 NFL free-agency deals are aging very poorly
Several of the high-profile names of the 2024 free-agent class are really struggling to justify the massive contacts they received through the early stages of the 2025 season. Despite the generous contracts, some players have been very underwhelming after getting the big payday. In particular, these players who signed major deals are now playing on new teams or in new roles: Christian Wilkins — four-years, $110M with Raiders, now a free agent Kirk Cousins — four-years, $180M with Falcons, now a backup Bryce Huff — three-years, $51.1M with Eagles, now with 49ers Jonah Jackson — three-years, $51M with Rams, now with Bears Gabe Davis — three-years, $39M with Jaguars, now a free agent Gardner Minshew — two-years, $25M with Raiders, now with Chiefs Chidobe Awuzie — three-years, $36M with Titans, now with Ravens While certain free agents such as Saquon Barkley and Danielle Hunter have delivered massive returns on their contracts to the Eagles and Texans, respectively, these other big signings have taken a completely different trajectory. Whether it is due to injuries, underperformance or not fitting the schemes, these players have not lived up to their deals. Wilkins is a case in point. The Raiders decided to cut him after signing him to a four-year, $110M deal. He struggled with injuries that held him out in 2024, leading to the team and Wilkins disagreeing on how the injury has been handled. Because of this, the two split ways only one year into his contract. Huff only played in 12 games and had a total of 2.5 sacks for Philadelphia after inking a three-year, $51.1M deal. He was traded to the 49ers in June for a 2026 mid-round pick. Cousins might be the most egregious of these deals. The former Vikings QB signed a four-year, $180M, with $100M fully guaranteed. Yet, he only started 14 games in 2024, and now is the backup to Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons now are essentially stuck paying their backup quarterback an annual average of $45M. These signings highlight the risk of free agency. Paying top dollar for past performance runs the risk of overlooking team fit and future value of contracts. Too often, these high-profile veterans who get massive paydays decline very fast or simply fail to mesh with new systems. So far, these investments in 2024 appear to have aged very poorly. Unless these players turn their performances around in 2025, many of the teams will view these moves as a cautionary tale of overspending in free agency.
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