Rumour Roundup: Latest on McGroarty, Guentzel, Jarry and more

It’s shaping up to be a wild week in the NHL. Here’s a look at some of the names being bandied about heading into the draft and free agency.

Rejoice hockey fanatics, for the start of NHL free agency is almost upon us. 

Come July 1 at noon (ET), the league’s landscape for the 2024-25 season will begin to take shape as this summer’s various restricted and unrestricted free agents land new contracts and potentially new teams. 

And while the overwhelming majority of signing announcements this off-season will involve players who are free agents as of present, we can expect at least a handful of them to involve those who are actually still under contract. Because, also beginning on July 1, any players heading into the final season of a multi-year contract become eligible to sign an extension. 

If we zero in on that specific group, we find there are some major names in the mix. Three in particular that stand out: Leon Draisaitl, Mitch Marner and Igor Shesterkin. 

Why these three? Well, as was just established, each of these high-impact NHL superstars is about to enter into the final season of the contracts they signed with their current teams, which will leave them as UFAs upon expiry in 2025. And, more interestingly, despite the unique circumstances surrounding each of their individual futures, they all have the potential to reset the financial market for their respective positions — with Shesterkin being a goaltender, Marner a winger and Draisaitl a centre (though, yes, we know he plays a good chunk on the wing).

Considering the salary cap increase of $4.5 million for the 2024-25 season (setting the upper limit at $88 million) and the expectation that it will maintain a similar climb in subsequent years, the league finds itself heading into some uncharted territory when it comes to the amount of money star players will be able to command moving forward.

Now, before we get too ahead of ourselves, it is worth remembering there is a chance that none of Draisaitl, Marner or Shesterkin ink a new deal in advance of their current one expiring. But, in all three situations, the team — be it the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers — and their star player can decide to get a new deal done this summer to avoid said player becoming a UFA next summer and potentially testing the market. One would think each of those teams is relatively motivated to avoid that happening. Though, you never know. 

From a player’s perspective, meanwhile, there are likely additional variables to consider when making the personal decision of signing an extension or not, and if the decision is yes, what that extension then looks like. We will delve deeper into those variables by examining the current situations of Dra