This is seemingly more more of a salary-saving move by the Panthers than an actual need for a player like McGinn. The Panthers are eating 12.5% of Demers’ contract to send him to Arizona, but it frees up a spot on the blueline for either Ian McCoshen or MacKenzie Weegar. McGinn is coming off of a disappointing 17-point (9G / 8A) season in Arizona.
After just one season in Florida, Demers is on the move to his third team in three years after being traded to the Coyotes on Sunday. Arizona was in need of a right-shot defenseman and they have found their man in the 29-year-old Demers. The Canadian-born blueliner is coming off of a season in which he collected a career-high nine goals with 19 assists (28 points) in 81 contests for Florida. With Jakob Chychrun to miss a lot of this season, Demers will slide right into a top-4 role, likely alongside Alex Goligoski.
Kesler underwent offseason hip surgery on June 8th and Ducks’ General Manager Bob Murray hopes that Kesler will be back by Christmas, but added that there is no official timetable on his return. With Kesler out, Antoine Vermette could play with Andrew Cogliano and Jakob Silfverberg, while Rickard Rakell has also shifted back to centre to start training camp.
Lindholm is coming off of offseason shoulder surgery and the Ducks are expecting him to miss the first month of the season. Fellow defenseman Sami Vatanen is also out until November, so the Ducks brought back veteran blueliner Francois Beauchemin and their injuries open the door for a young defenseman like Andy Welkinski to make the team out of training camp.
Vatanen underwent surgery on a torn labrum this summer and the Ducks don’t expect to have the play-making defenseman in their lineup until early-November, if all goes to plan. This is a tough way for Vatanen to start 2017-18 after a rough 2016-17 season that saw him record just three goals and 21 assists (24 points). Look for Brandon Montour to see an extended look in the top-4 and on the power-play while Vatanen is out.
Pastrnak was back in the Czech Republic and was gearing up to skate with a team there if he didn’t get a new deal in Boston. GM Don Sweeney held his ground and got a good deal for both sides and now one of their top offensive weapons will report to training camp. Coming off of a 70-point (34G / 36A) campaign, the 21-year-old enters 2017-18 with huge expectations. Look for him to be a point-per-game player.
Little was entering the final year of a five-year deal with a $4.7M AAV, so the 29-year-old centre gets a bit of a raise starting in 2018-19. Little has been a strong playmaker for the Jets, but has had some concerns over the years, missing 60 games over the last three seasons. If he can stay on the ice, Little has 25-goal, 40-assist upside.
Ellis underwent knee surgery in June and is expected to miss the first three months of the season, at the very least. This is a huge blow to the Predators’ talented blueline as Ellis is coming off of a career-highs in goals (16) and points (38). With Ellis sidelined, look for offseason acquisition Alexei Emelin to play a more prominent role and for Matt Irwin to see regular playing time.
Severson was a restricted free agent coming off of his entry-level contract and was able to come to terms with the Devils a few days before the start of training camp. Severson owns a big point shot and some sleeper value entering the 2017-18 season, after posting 31 points (3G / 28A) in 80 games a season ago.
Doan announced his retirement in the newspaper following a 21-year career with the Arizona Coyotes. The 40-year-old was the seventh overall pick in 1995 and appeared in 1540 career NHL games, scoring 402 goals and 570 assists (972 points). Doan had 28 points (15G / 13A) in 55 career playoff games, but the Coyotes only made it out of the first round in eight of their nine playoff appearances.
