While the Stanley Cup Final continues, the NHL's off-season has arrived for 30 teams who are preparing for the NHL Draft starting on June 27 and Free Agent Frenzy on July 1. TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.


Canadian Targets

As the countdown towards Free Agent Frenzy heats up, The Athletic surveyed its NHL writers from around the league to put down one player each team should target on July 1. 

The Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators were both tied Winnipeg Jets pending unrestricted free agent Nikolaj Ehlers as the two teams look to add scoring from the open market.

Ehlers, 29, recorded 24 goals and 53 points in 69 games with the Jets this season. He added five goals and seven points in eight playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second round. The 6-foot winger is coming off a seven-year, $42 million contract that carried a cap hit of $6 million. 

Ehlers is expected to have plenty suitors should he reach the open market and was also listed as the top free agent to target for the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken. He was ranked No. 4 on TSN's most recent Top 50 free agents list. 

Jonas Siegel of The Athletic listed veteran Patrick Kane as the player the Toronto Maple Leafs should target, while former Flame Andrew Mangiapane was listed as the top choice for the Winnipeg Jets. 

The Montreal Canadiens were linked Columbus Blue Jackets pending UFA defenceman Dante Fabbro and Vancouver Canucks to Dallas Stars veteran centre Matt Duchene. 

The Edmonton Oilers, who will face a short window to re-sign their pending unrestricted free agents, had Connor Brown listed as their top choice with the winger slated for free agency for the third straight summer. 

The 31-year-old Brown posted 13 goals and 30 points in 82 games during the regular season and has added five goals and eight points in 19 playoff games. He re-signed with Edmonton last summer on a one-year, $1 million deal.


Thomson key for Sens depth?

The Ottawa Senators brought defenceman Lassi Thomson back from Europe on Sunday with a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000.

Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports the signing will be key for Ottawa's depth after Nick Jensen underwent hip surgery last month. Garrioch reports Jensen is expected to be ready for the start of next season, while Thomson will complete with 2024 first-round pick Carter Yakemchuk for a roster spot in camp. 

The 24-year-old Thomson spent the 2024-25 season with Malmo in the Swedish Hockey League, where he scored 17 goals and 29 points in 50 games.

The Tampere, Finland native has played 18 games with the Sens across two NHL seasons, recording five assists. 

Thomson was selected 19th overall by the Senators in the 2019 NHL Draft. 
 

Is Marner worth $14M?

It appears multiple teams are preparing bids for Mitch Marner in anticipation of hitting the market but the question remains how much the winger will earn - and if he will become the league's highest-paid player.

Marner, 28, recorded 27 goals and a career-high 102 points in 81 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs this past season. He added two goals and 13 points in 13 playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round. 

The 6-foot winger is coming off of a six-year, $65.41 million contract that carried an annual cap hit of $10.9 million.

TSN Hockey analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive late last week to discuss if a team should pay Mitch Marner more than Leon Draisaitl, who is currently set to carry a league-high $14 million cap hit next season. 

Should an NHL team make Marner the highest paid player next season?

Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Jonas Siegel are joined by TSN Hockey analyst Mike Johnson to discuss if a team should pay Mitch Marner more than Leon Draisaitl in the off-season to give him the highest cap hit in the NHL next year.