Mike Russo reports that Nick Bjugstad is re-signing with the Minnesota Wild on a 1-year contract.
Bjugstad, 28, had 6 goals and 11 assists in 44 games with the Wild in 2021.
CapFriendly reports the contract is 1 year and $900,000.
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Wild Focused on Contracts for Kaprizov, Fiala
Michael Russo of the Athletic reports that now that the Wild have Joel Eriksson-Ek under contract, the team is turning its attention back to RFAs Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala.
He reports that the Wild would prefer a 7 or 8-year deal in the range of $8-9 million per season, but Kaprizov would like a shorter-term contract, so as not to lock himself into a contract that looks undervalued when the cap eventually does rise again. Russo suggests the two sides might need to compromise on a 4-6 year contract. Kaprizov is 3 seasons away from UFA status.
Russo also reports that Wild GM Bill Guerin says that initial contract talks have started with Kevin Fiala, and they will go deeper into those talks next week.
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Brandon Saad Might be Next Target for Kings
On the most recent edition of 31 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman says (30:00) that the Kings rebuild is over Jeff Marek suggests they might see an opportunity to compete in next year’s Pacific Division, which appears to be the weakest on paper at this point.
One name he wonders aloud about is Brandon Saad, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Darren Dreger reported about a month ago that the Kings were looking for two top-six forwards. They’ve already added Viktor Arvidsson this week.
Further, he mentions that he’d heard rumblings that Viktor Arvidsson wanted out of Nashville, and that Nashville GM David Poile’s comments on ESPN radio seemed to confirm that fact. He says he thinks Nashville will “take a big run” at re-signing Mikael Granlund.
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Friedman: Oilers Appear to be Favorites for Keith; Seth Jones Impact
On the most recent edition of 31 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman tackles the latest on the Duncan Keith to Edmonton rumors (32:00), and how they might impact Seth Jones trade talks.
He says that the Oilers are very much in on Keith. He also mentioned that Seattle was interested, but it didn’t seem to be trending that way. One problem in trade talks is that Edmonton isn’t keen on taking on Keith’s full cap hit, but Chicago is eager to shed the cap hit in its entirety, as they pursue other cap-costly acquisitions. From an outside perspective, it seems like an opportunity for a third team to jump in an eat some cap space to broker a deal.
He also reports that the belief is that Chicago would want Caleb Jones, Seth’s brother, to come back in a potential deal to make Chicago a more desirable destination for Seth. He says he’s heard that Chicago is a city and team that intrigues Seth Jones.
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Wild Close to Long-Term Deal with Eriksson-Ek
The Minnesota Wild are close on a new contract with Joel Eriksson-Ek, reports Michael Russo.
Eriksson-Ek was set to be a restricted free agent this summer. He is three seasons away from being eligible for UFA status.
Eriksson-Ek had 19 goals and 11 assists in 56 games this season. As Russo notes, he finished 4th in voting for the Selke Trophy for the league’s best defensive forward, including four first-place votes.
UPDATE: Sarah McLellan reports the contract is for 8 years with an AAV of $5.5 million.
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Pavel Buchnevich on the Trade Block
Frank Seravalli reports on the DFO Rundown Podcast (36:30) that Pavel Buchnevich’s name has been out there as a player available for trade.
Buchnevich, 26, had 20 goals and 28 assists in 54 games with the Rangers in 2020-21. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer, and is UFA-eligible the following summer.
Moving out Buchnevich would allow the Rangers to disperse his minutes among their young talented wingers, or allow them to pursue another winger with the physical game they are targeting such as pending UFA Blake Coleman.
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Seravalli: Marchessault, Smith, Pacioretty Could Be Available
Frank Seravalli on the DFO Rundown podcast (32:00) says that Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith and Max Pacioretty (in that order) are three names to keep an eye on moving forward.
Seravalli wonders who the new “shiny toy” Vegas will be chasing is, but whoever it is, they will assuredly need cap space for him. Tom Callahan outlined a potential trade for Jack Eichel (it included Reilly Smith). Dave Pagnotta reported that the team had discussions about Ryan Getzlaf prior to the trade deadline. Getzlaf will be a UFA this summer. As Seravalli mentions, center is an area of need for the Knights.
He also wonders what will happen in net with the Golden Knights, who have $12 million in cap committed to Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner.