JotCast | PHR Live Chat: 10/1/25

PHR Live Chat: 10/1/25

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Bruins

2:45

How will the bruins be this year?

Josh Erickson

2:47

Bad. Not as bad as what we saw last year, but bad. I fear they fall into the 85-point trap with McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm both back at full health and Swayman bouncing back, but I think their roster as a whole is injury-prone enough to comfortably keep them in the bottom 10 league-wide and in contention for a high draft pick.

Milan Lucic

2:47

Do I make the Blues?

Josh Erickson

2:48

The likelihood was slim before, and it's essentially gone now after missing those few days with his injury issue. Unless it's a handshake agreement, PTO invites essentially have to have a perfect camp to land a deal. That's not the case here.

StlBlues26 fka StlBlues25

2:49

Based on Kaps contract, what do you expect McDavids camp will be seeking in UFA? How does EDM projected cap space line-up with Conor’s next contract?

Sam

2:50

Any concern with the Blues’ goalie pipeline? Binnington isn’t going to be around forever. If Hofer is the de facto starter in a couple of years, and assume they don’t bring in anyone else, they got Colten Ellis, Vadim Zherenko, Will Cranley, and Love Harenstam. Who should the Blues target for some goalie depth (current free agents, European goalies, etc.)

Josh Erickson

2:54

Sorry – answering the Kaprizov/McDavid question first

The Oilers are not competing with open market value for McDavid. If he's staying, it's a blank check he's signing for what he feels is the best balance between fair compensation and helping the team win a championship. It won't be a long-term deal. He either makes the call to test UFA or he signs a two- or three-year deal with Edmonton that will be less than what Kaprizov signed for, probably in the $15.5-$16.25MM neighborhood.

If he hits the market, though... man, the floor is probably $19MM per year.

2:55

On the STL goalies question, that's a pretty good pipeline! Ellis should be NHL backup-ready by the time Hofer is starter-ready. Zherenko and Cranley are fine long-term AHL options. There's not much urgency there, now or in the future.

StlBlues26 fka StlBlues25

2:55

What was your thought on the Fowler extension? Does that extension hinder StL from resigning both Holloway and Broberg?

Josh Erickson

2:58

I really didn't love it at face value, and I really don't like it knowing that there's full trade protection until Jan. 2029 (and still a 15-team no-trade list after that). He was exceptional for them last season. He's also going to be 34 in December and the extension doesn't kick in until 2026-27. The probability of him being an NHL-caliber player, let alone a top-four defenseman, by the end of the contract is not all that secure.

As for 2026-27, the Blues have $25.9MM in space with seven open spots. Two of those are new deals for Broberg and Holloway, who will likely command a combined $15MM at least. That's $10MM for five spots. Doable, but takes them out of the market for a big-name UFA.

2:59

Alright folks, we're inching up to the top of the hour here. Thanks for all the great questions today!

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