Could Marc-Andre Fleury Return to Pittsburgh?
: Molinari writes the Penguins have a goaltending problem. As it currently stands the Penguins have one goalie under contract that has faced an NHL shot. That goalie is Casey DeSmith.
As Molinari points it would be easy to re-sign Tristan Jarry but the issue is Jarry is an unrestricted free agent. And while Jarry wants to re-sign in Pittsburgh, there will be a market for his services. Not only that will new general manager envision Jarry as the number one in Pittsburgh going forward. This tandem has not panned out for Pittsburgh, so who are some options?
NHL Rumors: Penguins, Maple Leafs, Senators, Devils, Canucks, and Lightning
Names out there include Frederik Andersen, Jonathan Quick, Laurent Brossoit, and Antti Raanta, and if that does not work they may have to trade for a number. And what about Marc-Andre Fleury?
Fleury is up there in age but has one year left at a reasonable cap hit of $3.5 million. And it makes sense considering Filip Gustavsson is the number one in Minnesota now. While he would love a return to Pittsburgh, does it make sense for Pittsburgh considering how close his numbers were to Jarry?
While it seems unlikely there is value in bringing him back, especially with the core that is there.
What Will Bowen Byram Next Contract Look Like?
Peter Baugh of Athletic: As Baugh writes, the Colorado Avalanche have $70.2 million on the books next season with several key restricted free agents due contract raises. One of those players is Bowen Byram.
The salary cap is only going up by $1 million next season which means the Avalanche have $13 million to spend mostly on the forward group, especially a second-line center. Again that comes down to Gabriel Landeskog.
NHL Rumors: New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche
In 42 games this season, Byram put up 24 points. The dynamic top-pairing defencemen was heavily relied on by head coach Jared Bednar in the playoffs. The most likely
Byram, who had 24 points in 42 games, is a fascinating case. He’s only 21, and he’s a dynamic, top-pairing-level defenseman when on the ice. His comparable is Noah Dobson, who signed a three-year bridge deal at $4 million a season.
That is most likely the case as Baugh writes, but if he is part of the core, the Avalanche will try to sign him to a team-friendly long-term deal that has value.
Avalanche Have A Devon Toews Dilemma
Bennett Durando of the Denver Post: Durando writes defenceman Devon Toews is entering the final year of his team-friendly $4.1 million deal.
The Avalanche have several options with Toews. They can extend him. Which is the most likely outcome. Colorado could take the risk as they did with Nathan MacKinnon and get that deal done before the deadline.
But with Mikko Rantanen due a new contract in a couple of years, the Toews cap hit will have to be affordable so the team can re-sign him. Does that mean someone has to go? It is another player or Toews himself?
If Colorado did trade Toews that would be a huge loss to their defense as he is a valuable piece to that core.
