NHL Notebook: McTavish, Byram, York, don’t elect arbiration, remain eligible for offer sheet

But there’s some big names who declined to elect for arbitration, and potentially none bigger than Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish, Buffalo Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram and Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Cam York.

Byram’s name has been floating around for some time now, as the Sabres have fielded trade calls from around the league. The 6’1″, 205 lb. left-shot blue liner just finished his first full season in Buffalo, racking up seven goals and 38 points in 82 games played.

The 24-year-old was acquired by the team ahead of the 2024 trade deadline in a one-for-one swap with the Colorado Avalanche, who picked up Casey Mittelstadt in the deal. Byram has appeared in 246 NHL games scoring 33 goals and 110 points. Evolving Hockey predicts if Byram were to accept an offer sheet, the most likely deal would be a two-year, $5.35-million AAV contract.

McTavish,just finished his third full season in the NHL, setting career highs in goals, assists and points, with 22, 30 and 52, respectively. Drafted by the Ducks third overall in the 2021 draft, the 22-year-old put up 60 goals and 140 points in 229 games over parts of four seasons. Evolving Hockey predicts an offer sheet would be a six-year deal paying McTavish $6.683-million annually.

York, meanwhile, put up four goals and 17 points last year, a down year offensively from the 10 goal, 30 point season he had in 2023-24. Drafted by the Flyers 14th overall in the 2019 draft, the 24-year-old has appeared in 235 NHL games, scoring 19 goals and 77 points. Evolving Hockey predicts an offer sheet would be for three years with a $4.399-million AAV.

While all three remain eligible for offer sheets, it’s hard to imagine one coming for any of the three. According to PuckPedia, the Sabres have $13.64-million in cap space, the Ducks $28.98-million and the Flyers have $5.52-million. In the Flyers’ case, that doesn’t additional space they could get when they place defenceman Ryan Ellis on the Long-Term Injured Reserve.

News and notes…

• The Columbus Blue Jackets avoided arbitration with forward Dmitri Voronkov, signing him Saturday to a two-year, $4.175-million AAV deal. He’s appeared in 148 games for the Blue Jackets, scoring 41 goals and 81 points, and had 23 goals and 47 points in 73 games last year.
• Another team and its player avoided arbitration, as the Montreal Canadiens signed goaltender Jakub Dobes to a two-year, $965,000 AAV contract. Drafted by the Habs in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, he seemingly came out of nowhere last year, posting a 7-4-3 record across 16 games for the Canadiens, carrying a .909 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average.