JotCast | PHR Live Chat: 7/2/25

PHR Live Chat: 7/2/25

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Josh Erickson

2:41

Rossi might need to take a bridge deal either way. Minnesota isn't going to go long-term and the offer sheet interest isn't what his camp hoped. Teams interested in him will be more willing to give the Wild what they want in a trade if Rossi comes with cost certainty.

He Hate Me

2:42

Could Mason Lohrei and Casey Mittelstadt form the core of a trade for one year of Marty Necas (assume they can negotiate an extension before the deal)?

Josh Erickson

2:43

There's certainly no appetite from the Avalanche to take Casey Mittelstadt back, they went down that road once before. Lohrei yes, but it would likely take a first-rounder + one of Boston's best prospects (not Hagens) in there as well to get it done. Is that really a move the Bruins are in a position to make?

Jamal

2:43

Entering offseason bruins knew they needed a top 6 forward or 2. They picked up arvidson and some depth forwards…Have they moved the needle at all or are they looking internally for youth to fill a top 6 roll? Is a buyout for someone like korpisalo on the horizon?

Josh Erickson

2:46

Buyout, no. I wonder about a trade for Joonas, or maybe waivers if Mikey DiPietro outperforms him in camp. The Bruins won't have any arbitration cases this summer, so they can't buy out Korpisalo (or anyone else, for that matter). The first window has closed and the second one won't open for them. There were no long-term options out there worth pursuing aside from Ehlers, and I don't think he had any interest in going there. Arvidsson is fine. The Jeannot deal is yuck. The other deals they signed were great. Are they significantly improved from last year's record? Probably, assuming Swayman regresses to the mean and Lindholm and McAvoy stay healthy. Is it enough to seriously compete for a wild card spot? I still think they have the pieces necessary to put together a 90-point season, not sure about their ceiling being any higher than that.

I would assume Arvidsson slots in the top six to try to rebuild his trade value for an in-season flip.

DuckJunkie

2:46

Does the Ducks defense look pretty locked in or is there another addition on the way?

Josh Erickson

2:48

I hem and haw about Dmitry Orlov. I've heard a little bit of interest there. I don't see the fit, LaCombe/Mintyukov/Zellweger are all NHL-caliber lefties and should be in their everyday lineup. Their skillsets are worth developing. I could see them leveraging Trouba and adding other assets for a RD upgrade if there's one to be had, but not much else.

Caniac

2:49

Where does K'Andre Miller fit into the Canes lineup given we have 3 LD options. Does Slavin move over to RD?

Josh Erickson

2:49

No, it'll be Gostisbehere. He's played a bunch on the right before.

I imagine it looks something like

Slavin-Gostisbehere
Miller-Walker
Nikishin-Chatfield

Richard

2:50

If you were to guess are the Avs going to use some of this cap space or make some sort of trade? Cap space is never a bad thing but they have some holes to fill now

Josh Erickson

2:51

They do. They were hoping to be more aggressive in free agency. I'll circle back, I actually wonder if there's a fit between them and PIT for a Rust or Rakell trade. They really need another left-shot D, though. Still a few on the open market. Matt Grzelcyk would be a huge third-pairing upgrade, but I wonder if they want to go for someone more defensively oriented. Thought Dumoulin would have worked well there.

Ken Holland

2:51

Why sign Forsberg if Portillo was ready?

Josh Erickson

2:52

Because Portillo wasn't close to ready. They needed a backup, and Forsberg is hopefully an upgrade on what Rittich did last year. Portillo had a .889 SV% in the AHL last year, no way that warrants an NHL job this season.

DStars

2:52

How would u grade out Gulutzan hire for the stars? Wouldn’t have Neil Graham been the better hire considering he already knows and has helped develop a bunch of guys already there?

Josh Erickson

2:53

They promoted Graham to the NHL bench as an assistant, too, so they get the best of both worlds while allowing a more experienced voice to be the head of the operation. I like it. It's hard to grade Gulutzan's past HC tenures with the low-quality rosters he had to work with. Generally, things go better when HCs step back into AC roles for a while after their first couple of jobs if things don't pan out. I'm not saying he's the next Mike Sullivan or Bruce Cassidy, but I like the hire.

LastVegas

2:54

Does Stone move over to LW maybe with Eichel and Marner to make a dangerous top-line or does someone else fill that spot?

Josh Erickson

2:55

No, I imagine that's Barbashev or Dorofeyev – preferably the latter to take advantage of his goal-scoring ability plus Marner's playmaking.

Dorofeyev-Eichel-Marner
Barbashev-Hertl-Stone

That's objectively terrifying.

CGYflames

2:55

Is Prosvetov really ready to be a backup in Calgary?

Josh Erickson

2:55

Eh. They're taking a bet that either he OR Devin Cooley is. Didn't want to box out either one from taking the job. I think it will be the latter, but Prosvetov is fine insurance.

CGYflames

2:56

I still think we need one more right-winger to show up big like a Boeser kind of player. Who fills the void?

Josh Erickson

2:58

I agree, although I'd like to see how much Coronato can build on last season. Might they be in on Rust/Rakell? I know Ehlers isn't considering signing there. Might also be better off waiting to see how the 2026 UFA class shakes out.

Richard

2:58

Horrible news about Pietrangelo! He has had a good career and now hopefully not have long term issues! How does Vegas fill that d spot? Those are huge skates to fill

Josh Erickson

2:59

They're very, very high internally on Kaedan Korczak. Not saying he's a direct replacement, but they're going to take advantage of the opportunity to give him more minutes. Him, Theodore and Whitecloud is still a very fine right side.

Just one more here until the top of the hour, folks.

2:59

Have you heard any update on Veleno was went unclaimed through waivers ? Isn't he a UFA now or does he have to officially be bought out before singing elsewhere ?

Josh Erickson

3:00

We often don't hear of the official "buyout" after a player clears unconditional waivers because it's assumed the transaction takes place immediately upon clearance. He has been bought out and is a UFA, same with T.J. Brodie and M-E Vlasic.

Thanks folks, and hope everyone has a great rest of their Wednesday!

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