The Minnesota Wild may wait for the waiver wire for blue line depth
Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic: (mailbag) The Minnesota Wild want to give Zeev Buium and David Jiricek a legit shot, and Declan Chisholm became the odd man out. He needed a raise, and it was going to be too much for being a seventh defenseman with the Wild. He got a two-year deal at $1.6 million after the trade to the Capitals. The Wild could add depth on the waiver wire at the end of training camp if need be.
Some realistic 2026 NHL free agents
Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet: People are already excited about the NHL free agent market next July. The top of the list has Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov, and Kyle Connor. There is an older that have been with their current teams for a while now – Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Anze Kopitar, John Carlson, Adam Lowry, and Boone Jenner.
There is a group of players who have a realistic shot of heading to the open market next summer.
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Rasmus Andersson – D – Calgary Flames – He’s also on top of the lists to possibly get traded. He may have a target in mind where he wants to sign an extension, so he could become a rental for someone.
Martin Necas – RW – Colorado Avalanche – If the Colorado Avalanche can’t find a way to keep him long-term, they could be looking at trading a top winger for the second year in a row.
Alex Tuch – RW – Buffalo Sabres – Teams would love to add his size. The Sabres will try to extend him.
Adrian Kempe – RW – Los Angeles Kings – His number will likely be higher than Nikolaj Ehlers $8.5 million.
Anthony Stolarz – G – Toronto Maple Leafs – He’ll be 32 years old by next July, but he’s had the best save percentage (.926) of any goalie who has played at least 60 games combined over the past two seasons.
Filip Gustavsson – G – Minnesota Wild – Will be 28 just before free agency opens next year. Will the Wild have room to fit in a big extension, and they will have Jesper Wallstedt pushing for playing time?
Mason Marchment – LW – Seattle Kraken – If he puts up 30 goals, teams will be interested in the six-foot-five winger.
The NHL free agent market has come to a halt
Mike Matheson – D – Montreal Canadiens – Teams looking for offense from the blue line will be interested.
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