Wolves face key contract decisions after being swept in 1st round
Down 0-2 in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs, the Chicago Wolves weren’t going to go quietly.
At nearly five hours, their 4-3 loss to Rockford in triple overtime last Thursday was the longest game in Wolves’ franchise history. Goaltender Max Lagace had made 72 saves. It was so long it outlasted the Golden Knights’ 7-0 series-opening victory over San Jose two time zones away.
With the Wolves swept in the best-of-five series, attention turns to key questions for the offseason.
Who stays, who goes
The Knights still have eyes set on the Stanley Cup, but the futures of some players in the organization are uncertain.
Forward Brandon Pirri ended as the Wolves’ fourth-best scorer and had a promising call-up with the Knights, totaling three points in two games. Pirri could see many offers as an unrestricted free agent.
Teemu Pulkkinen, 26, would like to play close to home, although home is across the pond. The forward has had a rough road to the NHL, and his first season in the Knights organization was also his first without a call-up. Despite ending the year as Chicago’s top scorer, he is reportedly going to play in the KHL next season.
Chicago’s top two defensemen, Philip Holm and Jason Garrison, have expiring contracts — but one could come at higher cost. Holm carried a one-year, $925,000 cap hit deal when traded to Vegas in February, while Garrison boasts a bulky contract with a $4.6 million cap hit and a $2.5 million minors salary. Garrison, 33, could compete for a full-time spot with the Knights, but so could Holm, and the team gets first chance on the 26-year-old as a restricted free agent, while Garrison is unrestricted.
Free agents Lagace and Oscar Dansk also would need new deals this summer. Their stellar performances at the AHL level and filling in when the Knights needed them most early in the season could mean the team tries to keep both. That might be unlikely, but the Knights clearly have some key decisions to make in net.
All Vegas, all the time
The Knights shared an affiliate with the St. Louis Blues in the 2017-18 season as the AHL was short a team. But next year, Chicago becomes an all-Knights operation, and there’s plenty of room to grow.
The Wolves could retain key players like TJ Tynan, Reid Duke, Griffin Reinhart and Jake Bischoff —who each have at least one year remaining in their contracts — along with some new faces.
Three of the Knights’ first-round picks from the 2017 NHL draft – defenseman Nicolas Hague and forwards Cody Glass and Nick Suzuki – have already spent time in Chicago. They likely will wind up with the Wolves in their first full pro seasons next year. The trio combined for 280 total points across the OHL and WHL this season.
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Contact Emily Polglaze at enpolglaze@gmail.com. Follow @enpolglaze on Twitter.