As most National Hockey League (NHL) teams prepare for the 2023-2024 season, some have failed to convince a few reluctant but talented young players.
The Minnesota Wild reached an agreement on Tuesday with defenseman Calen Addison, a key part of their power play. Last year, the 23-year-old Manitoban scored 18 of his 29 points on the power play. He will make $825,000 next season.
Here is the list of restricted free agents who are not yet under contract:
Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale – Anaheim Ducks
Zegras is by far the most interesting player on this list who is still out of contract. The forward is one of the most spectacular athletes in the NHL and should logically be part of the long-term project with the Ducks. He was Anaheim’s leading scorer, ahead of Troy Terry, with 65 points in 2022–2023.
Drysdale suffered a serious injury early in the season that forced him to miss around 70 games. If the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft can be trusted to contribute for 2021-2022, he has the potential to be one of his team’s best passers. With 32 points, including 28 assists, he showed a great calling card.
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Shane Pinto and Egor Sokolov – Ottawa Senators
The standoff between the Senators and Pinto continues as he was not present at the team’s golf tournament on Tuesday. After a good start to the season, the striker picked up speed significantly from January onwards. The 22-year-old would have high salary demands, he would like to receive more than $4.2 million, Morgan Frost’s salary.
If he manages to come to terms with the “Sens”, Sokolov could fight for a position at the big club. The Russian will certainly try to avoid a two-way deal, but with only 13 games of NHL experience, he will likely have to make concessions. He collected 59 points in 70 games in the American League.
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Jan Jenik – Arizona Coyotes
Jenik is another who has excelled in the minors but has been slow to establish himself in the Bettman scene. The Czech is in danger of falling behind several young forwards for the Coyotes, but he is an interesting resource for the Tucson Roadrunners. The 2018 third-round pick will want a real chance, and that could be somewhere other than the desert. Also keep in mind that the Coyotes also have 11 players in camp on professional tryout contracts.
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Tim Berni – Columbus Blue Jackets
Is there still a place for Berni in Columbus after the Jackets acquired Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson to bolster their blueline group? The Swiss would have rejected a two-way deal, but his priority would be to stay in Ohio. Let’s say he didn’t do particularly well last year with three points in 59 games and a differential of -26.