Welcome to the part of the off-season where (usually) nothing really happens

Who here thinks Nylander is going to get traded? Where does he land if he does get dealt?

With DeAngelo to Carolina its down to 3 teams for EK lul

Assuming Toronto is one of those teams, nah it’s just 2. He’s not coming to Toronto.

He's gonna either sign an extension or walk

He's gonna end up staying in San Jose. No point in retaining all that salary just to get Petry and Carter or Granlund in return

I think SEA has a good chance. Did the math and checked they cap get him at 8.5m comfortably all they got to do is move either Burakovsky or Wennberg in the deal then either move or buyout Shultz.

Next day we just get the traded for EK tweet and more confusion awaits

Been so unpredictable this offseason for us lul

Haven't thought about that, but good thinking
Gonna be hard to resign beniers next year thohgh

Big cap jump (4-4.5m) is supposed to happen next year. Shultz and Dreidger also comes off the books so they got the space to do it

Bunting is going to be so good with the Canes man...

Canes are looking solid and deep. They have about $2 million (+/-) depending on # of active players on roster which can accrue to the TDL for about $5-6 million of cap space. Patrick Kane or a deadline trade for a sniper. I still think they might be trying to make room for Tarasenko right now but they probably need to move out Martinook to at least offer Vlad $4 million then they don't need to move any assets. Keep Pesce as their own rental for a ridiculous blueline.

Each pair is nearly a $10 million duo. Slavin-Burns; Skjei-Pesce; Orlov-DeAngelo. When they need to shut the door they can roll out Slavin-Orlov/Pesce and when they need to pump shots on net they can go with Burns/DeAngelo/Skjei.

3 deep in nets. 3 dangerous lines. And still a solid pipeline of prospects; especially at blueline where they have some age (Burns/Orlov) and contracts (Pesce/Skjei/DeAngelo) coming due.

Very impressive team building.

I like the work they have done as well, but they still lack one thing. I would like them to be a bit meaner for the playoffs. Orlov is pretty physical, but Lemieux really isnt the answer for it. (Torontos cap problems might be bad, but Bertuzzi, Domi and Reaves at least gives them some grit)

A slightly younger Corey Perry kind of a-holes are great in the playoffs.

Bunting helps their forwards in that regard; Orlov their blueline. Still not a big part of their DNA but Noesen proved he could fit into the top 6 so maybe they mix in those guys along with their skill players

Does Bunting even make it into their top 6? Cause Bunting in the top 9 is a lot different than Bunting top 6. Now I am just going off Daily Faceoff but they have him on the 3rd line with Staal and Fast.

If he doesn’t get the majority of his mins paired on the top line with Aho, I don’t see him coming close to producing the numbers he did with Matthews and Marner.

I like his fit on CAR with what he brings to the ice but not production wise.

Yea idk I feel he's gonna give them headaches with his relationship with refs

Probs will see some regression to away from AM let's see

Don't see the point of the Leafs trading him.
They won't get an equivalent level player back and since chances are that they're in their last year of their competitive window they should hang on to Nylander for dear life.

A key part of the next "down time" is the health status on a few key players around the league (whether it is for cap purposes/roster building/etc):

G
Robin Lehner - Vegas
Matt Murray - Toronto

D
Aaron Ekblad - Florida
Brandon Montour - Florida
Tucker Poolman - Vancouver
Jake Muzzin - Toronto (assumed to be LTIR)
Ryan Ellis - Philadelphia (same; LTIR-retired?)

F
Matthew Tkachuk - Florida
Andrei Svechnikov - Carolina
Josh Norris - Ottawa
Connor Brown - Edmonton
Max Pacioretty - Washington
Jack Quinn - Buffalo
Tanner Pearson - Vancouver
Christian Dvorak - Montreal
Bobby Brink - Philadelphia
Gabe Landeskog - Colorado (out for 2023-24/possible LTIR-retire due to surgery risk)

Not injury related, but also monitoring the return of:
Elvis Merzlikins - Columbus Blue Jackets (several injuries last season then left due to grandmother's decline and death in Latvia) should be good to go but off-ice has taken a toll on him mentally the last few years (Matiss Kivlenieks death in 2021).
Spencer Knight - Florida Panthers
Alex Texier - Columbus Blue Jackets

If anyone has any updates as to confirmed progress/return to action please post it.

I’m still baffled at how the leafs think they can actually pull off an EK trade lol.

Despite how much I dislike Boston, it's gotta be fairly sad to see Bergeron retire. What a fine player he was.

He just might have been the best defensive forward in modern hockey. Also a rare case of a player that played his whole career for one team. A complete franchise legend, always placing his team before himself.

Should be an easy HHOF case for him.

The bane of my existence as a Leaf fan but nothing but respect for one hell of a player. 🐐

Just wait for Bergeron too pull a Tom Brady and come back right before the season.

Sens then miss the playoffs again and their fans begin too cook up the most horrendous takes for the following season once again, the cycle continues

I think Montour & Ekblad start the season on LTIR for the Panthers. I think CHUCKY will be fine by season opener.

Respect to Bergeron and to a happy retirement.

Lastly, Florida extended Eetu Luostarinen to 2026-2027.

Bergeron was the pinnacle of class, leadership, commitment, hardwork, and excellence. His game never faltered and he had one hell of a career. No matter how many days of my life he ruined by sending my Leafs packing, I've got nothing but respect for the guy. Tough to find players like Bergy.

Best of luck in retirement, the NHL won't be the same without Bergeron. I'm sure we'll see him again some day as a coach or GM. Legend.