<p>The 2024 NHL offseason is now a month old and while the activity has slowed down substantially compared to the beginning of the month, this past week was a busy seven days around the league.</p>
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<p>Here&#8217;s the very latest Around the NHL:</p>
<h2>Patrik Laine released from NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-patrik-laine-cleared-to-return-from-nhl-nhlpa-player-assistance-program">The Columbus Blue Jackets announced</a> Patrik Laine has been released from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Laine entered the program in January, while recovering from a shoulder injury.</p>
<p>The former 2016 second-overall pick played in just 18 games last season for the Blue Jackets. While it&#8217;s certainly a good news story to see Laine on the road to recovery, his future in Columbus is now the focus.</p>
<p>The 26-year-old sniper has asked GM Don Waddell for a change of scenery. Laine has two seasons left on his contract at $8.7 million average annual value and does hold a modified 10-team no-trade clause. He hasn&#8217;t played more than 60 games since the 2019-20 season and while he can light the lamp with the best of them, there&#8217;s certainly a level of risk involved for any interested teams.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tsn.ca/don-waddell-on-laine-trade-talks-he-would-like-a-fresh-start-someplace-1.2152979?_gl=1*92nb4t*_gcl_au*MjExNDY2Nzk2LjE3MTk2MDg5MjM.">Waddell recently commented</a> on Laine&#8217;s future and admitted he&#8217;s not interested in giving him away for nothing and will only be making a trade if it makes sense for everyone invovled. While any team could use Laine&#8217;s scoring abilities, his contract isn&#8217;t a realistic option for Brad Treliving to consider.</p>
<h2>Blue Jackets extend two restricted free agents</h2>
<p>Waddell has been one of the busiest executives in hockey, as Columbus extended both Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko last week.</p>
<p>Johnson was selected fifth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. He scored six goals and added 10 assists in 42 games last season. Johnson&#8217;s potential includes developing into a top-six forward. The 21-year-old signed a three-year extension, worth $1.8 million AAV. Once the deal expires, he&#8217;ll have two more years as a restricted free agent.</p>
<p>Meanwhile the 24-year-old Marchenko also signed a three-year deal, however he&#8217;ll make more than Johnson, earning $3.85 million AAV. Marchenko has quickly developed into an impact player in Columbus, recording a career-high 23 goals and 42 points in 78 games last season.</p>
<p>The Blue Jackets are looking to improve on their dead-last finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Marchenko and Johnson will be big catalysts for their offense and it will be interesting to see what type of return Waddell can manage in the Laine trade.</p>
<h2>Konecny signs massive extension with Flyers</h2>
<p>Columbus wasn&#8217;t the only team busy last week as the<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/flyers-sign-travis-konecny-to-eight-year-8-75-million-contract-extension"> Philadelphia Flyers announced</a> they have extended forward Travis Konecny on an eight-year deal worth $8.75 million AAV.</p>
<p>Konecny would have been one of the biggest names among 2025 free agents next summer and now is taken off the market. The 27-year-old scored 33 goals and added 35 assists in 76 games last season. Konecny&#8217;s teammate Travis Sanheim played the role of &#8216;insider&#8217;, sending out this tweet before the deal was made official by the team:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources say Flyers forward Travis Konecny isn’t going anywhere, as the 27-year-old is closing in on an extension to stay in Philly. </p>
<p>My source: ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/uNLS382vjy">pic.twitter.com/uNLS382vjy</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Travis Sanheim (@sanheim17) <a href="https://twitter.com/sanheim17/status/1816517533736009933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Once Konecny&#8217;s extension kicks in for the 2025-26 season, he&#8217;ll become the Flyers highest paid players. In 564 NHL games in Philly, the pesky winger has scored 174 goals and dished out 226 assists, for 400 points total.</p>
<p>Konecny is a player who has been linked to the Maple Leafs throughout his career on the trade market. His style of play is exactly the &#8216;piss and vinegar&#8217; Treliving is looking for. With this extension in place, it takes Konecny off the rental market ahead of the trade deadline and of course, the open market next summer when free agency opens. At this rate, Konecny will be a Flyer for life.</p>
<h2>Buffalo Sabres secure depth in net</h2>
<p>After starting the season as the Buffalo Sabres number three goaltender, Pekka-Ukko Luukkonen signed a five-year contract extension worth $4.75 AAV.</p>
<p>The somewhat surprising extension comes after Luukkonen posted a career-best season with a 27-22-4 record, along with a 2.57 goals against average and .910 save percentage, while his five shutouts ranked second in the NHL.</p>
<p>Heading into the 2024-25 season, Luukkonen will have an upper hand on the starter&#8217;s crease in Buffalo. He&#8217;ll have to fend off veteran James Reimer, who was brought in on a one-year deal and top prospect Devon Levi. Reimer is on the books for $1 million, meanwhile Levi&#8217;s NHL cap hit is $925,000.</p>
<p>Luukkonen has just 100 games of NHL experience under his belt. It will be interesting to see how his contract plays out as there&#8217;s certainly a level of risk involved extending him for five seasons. The Maple Leafs went with just three years on Joseph Woll&#8217;s extension, on more of a bridge deal as Woll will make $3.6 million AAV starting in the 2025-26 season.</p>
<h2>Two former Maple Leafs remain unsigned</h2>
<p>Both Tyson Barrie and James van Riemsdyk have yet to sign an NHL contract for next season. The veteran duo are likely in store for a one-year contract around $1 million and may have to settle for a professional tryout agreement closer to training camps opening in September.</p>
<p>While the Maple Leafs don&#8217;t have a ton of space left to fill on their roster, both Barrie and JVR are interesting options to consider for Treliving. Would Leafs fans rather have Barrie or Conor Timmins among their depth chart?</p>
<p>van Riemsdyk can still be effective in front of the net and with the Leafs losing Tyler Bertuzzi to free agency and with questions surrounding how ready Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan are going to be, as well as Nick Robertson&#8217;s trade request, there&#8217;s certainly a number of questions to still be answered ahead of next season.</p>
<p>Entering the second month of the offseason, Treliving and the Maple Leafs have $1.2 million in cap space available. Robertson remains the only NHL roster player without a contract for 2024-25.</p>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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Columbus Blue Jackets Patrik Laine scores a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 2024 NHL offseason is now a month old and while the activity has slowed down substantially compared to the beginning of the month, this past week was a busy seven days around the league.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
Here's the very latest Around the NHL:
<h2>Patrik Laine released from NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program</h2>
<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-patrik-laine-cleared-to-return-from-nhl-nhlpa-player-assistance-program">The Columbus Blue Jackets announced</a> Patrik Laine has been released from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Laine entered the program in January, while recovering from a shoulder injury.

The former 2016 second-overall pick played in just 18 games last season for the Blue Jackets. While it's certainly a good news story to see Laine on the road to recovery, his future in Columbus is now the focus.

The 26-year-old sniper has asked GM Don Waddell for a change of scenery. Laine has two seasons left on his contract at $8.7 million average annual value and does hold a modified 10-team no-trade clause. He hasn't played more than 60 games since the 2019-20 season and while he can light the lamp with the best of them, there's certainly a level of risk involved for any interested teams.

<a href="https://www.tsn.ca/don-waddell-on-laine-trade-talks-he-would-like-a-fresh-start-someplace-1.2152979?_gl=1*92nb4t*_gcl_au*MjExNDY2Nzk2LjE3MTk2MDg5MjM.">Waddell recently commented</a> on Laine's future and admitted he's not interested in giving him away for nothing and will only be making a trade if it makes sense for everyone invovled. While any team could use Laine's scoring abilities, his contract isn't a realistic option for Brad Treliving to consider.
<h2>Blue Jackets extend two restricted free agents</h2>
Waddell has been one of the busiest executives in hockey, as Columbus extended both Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko last week.

Johnson was selected fifth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. He scored six goals and added 10 assists in 42 games last season. Johnson's potential includes developing into a top-six forward. The 21-year-old signed a three-year extension, worth $1.8 million AAV. Once the deal expires, he'll have two more years as a restricted free agent.

Meanwhile the 24-year-old Marchenko also signed a three-year deal, however he'll make more than Johnson, earning $3.85 million AAV. Marchenko has quickly developed into an impact player in Columbus, recording a career-high 23 goals and 42 points in 78 games last season.

The Blue Jackets are looking to improve on their dead-last finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Marchenko and Johnson will be big catalysts for their offense and it will be interesting to see what type of return Waddell can manage in the Laine trade.
<h2>Konecny signs massive extension with Flyers</h2>
Columbus wasn't the only team busy last week as the<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/flyers-sign-travis-konecny-to-eight-year-8-75-million-contract-extension"> Philadelphia Flyers announced</a> they have extended forward Travis Konecny on an eight-year deal worth $8.75 million AAV.

Konecny would have been one of the biggest names among 2025 free agents next summer and now is taken off the market. The 27-year-old scored 33 goals and added 35 assists in 76 games last season. Konecny's teammate Travis Sanheim played the role of 'insider', sending out this tweet before the deal was made official by the team:

https://twitter.com/sanheim17/status/1816517533736009933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Once Konecny's extension kicks in for the 2025-26 season, he'll become the Flyers highest paid players. In 564 NHL games in Philly, the pesky winger has scored 174 goals and dished out 226 assists, for 400 points total.

Konecny is a player who has been linked to the Maple Leafs throughout his career on the trade market. His style of play is exactly the 'piss and vinegar' Treliving is looking for. With this extension in place, it takes Konecny off the rental market ahead of the trade deadline and of course, the open market next summer when free agency opens. At this rate, Konecny will be a Flyer for life.
<h2>Buffalo Sabres secure depth in net</h2>
After starting the season as the Buffalo Sabres number three goaltender, Pekka-Ukko Luukkonen signed a five-year contract extension worth $4.75 AAV.

The somewhat surprising extension comes after Luukkonen posted a career-best season with a 27-22-4 record, along with a 2.57 goals against average and .910 save percentage, while his five shutouts ranked second in the NHL.

Heading into the 2024-25 season, Luukkonen will have an upper hand on the starter's crease in Buffalo. He'll have to fend off veteran James Reimer, who was brought in on a one-year deal and top prospect Devon Levi. Reimer is on the books for $1 million, meanwhile Levi's NHL cap hit is $925,000.

Luukkonen has just 100 games of NHL experience under his belt. It will be interesting to see how his contract plays out as there's certainly a level of risk involved extending him for five seasons. The Maple Leafs went with just three years on Joseph Woll's extension, on more of a bridge deal as Woll will make $3.6 million AAV starting in the 2025-26 season.
<h2>Two former Maple Leafs remain unsigned</h2>
Both Tyson Barrie and James van Riemsdyk have yet to sign an NHL contract for next season. The veteran duo are likely in store for a one-year contract around $1 million and may have to settle for a professional tryout agreement closer to training camps opening in September.

While the Maple Leafs don't have a ton of space left to fill on their roster, both Barrie and JVR are interesting options to consider for Treliving. Would Leafs fans rather have Barrie or Conor Timmins among their depth chart?

van Riemsdyk can still be effective in front of the net and with the Leafs losing Tyler Bertuzzi to free agency and with questions surrounding how ready Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan are going to be, as well as Nick Robertson's trade request, there's certainly a number of questions to still be answered ahead of next season.

Entering the second month of the offseason, Treliving and the Maple Leafs have $1.2 million in cap space available. Robertson remains the only NHL roster player without a contract for 2024-25.
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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