Term is the big roadblock with unsigned RFA’s
With a couple weeks to go before the start of training camp, a few NHL clubs are still working to get some big names locked up on new deals. Brady Tkachuk, Rasmus Dahlin, Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are all unsigned, but for most of them the point of contention is not how much they are being offered, but for how long.
TSN’s Shawn Simpson reported over the weekend that Tkachuk will not report to Sens camp without a new deal. Ottawa is likely trying to get the big power forward signed to an eight-year deal similar to the contract extension for defenseman Thomas Chabot, while the Tkachuk camp may want a deal closer to older brother Matthew’s 3-year bridge deal with Calgary.
The Sabres signed RFA’s Casey Mittelstadt and Henri Jokiharju to bridge deals last week, but the reason that Dahlin is still unsigned is that Buffalo may want to lock up Dahlin (the top overall pick in 2018) for longer, but young Swede may want to see where the club’s rebuild goes before committing long term.
The Wild and Kaprizov are rumored to be close to a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $9 million per season. Vancouver has around $14 million in cap space (after putting Michael Ferland on LTIR) to fit in new deals for Pettersson and Hughes, which would indicate that bridge deals for both may be the preferred way to go.
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