Are the New Jersey Devils still not done yet?
Corey Maksiak: The New Jersey Devils only have Janne Kuokkanen to sign as far as restricted free agents. After that, there is one more near minimum depth player to sign.
That gives New Jersey around $12 million of cap space still. This leaves them plenty of room to make at least one more significant move maybe even two. There is more and more of a sense that the Devils are still looking at a goal-scoring forward. That forward would appear to require power-play proficiency.
Do not expect much more from the Pittsburgh Penguins?
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey NOW: Even with the signing of Zach Aston-Reese, Ron Hextall still has the Pittsburgh Penguins in more or less a holding pattern. Most thought Aston-Reese would get more than $1.8 million but signed for just $1.725 million.
There is still precious little cap space. The theme when it came to cheap adds onto the roster was simple. The word no was heard a lot. Over and over again, the conversations stopped.
With how methodical Ron Hextall is, there lies little expectation of something else significant happening now. Pittsburgh has multiple needs. If Hextall can find a taker for Marcus Pettersson‘s contract, that would open some things up. Even if some money was retained, it would still help.
Kevin Fiala arbitration watch could impact other moves
Michael Russo of The Athletic: It is rare to see an arbitration like this with Kevin Fiala but this does happen. Fiala is believed to be on the market in some capacity and a short-term deal hurts those prospects.
The club-elected arbitration route has been employed this summer even. Chuck Fletcher did this in Philadelphia with Travis Sanheim. Minnesota has to offer at least $3.5 million to Fiala. Fiala’s camp will come in with their number. Then, the arbitrator rules.
The hearing is scheduled for August 17th. If there is a ruling, things may get interesting quickly in Minnesota, or not.