Daily Nuggets: Early Look at 2023-24 Pending UFAs; Marchessault’s Final Season in Vegas?

There are some big names that are slated to become free agents after the 2023-24 season. Auston Matthews headlines a long list of talented players. It is hard to imagine the Toronto Maple Leafs without Matthews, but another early exit from the playoffs may change that. Other notables include Sebastian Aho of Carolina, Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg, Elias Lindholm of Calgary, and Jonathan Marchessault of Vegas. Could this be the final season of Marchessault in Vegas?

Speaking of 2023-24 expiring contracts, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Alec Martinez are also in the final year of their contracts with Vegas. Who are the Golden Knights most likely to re-sign?

The Metro Division is loaded with talented teams. Cases can be made for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers to be Stanley Cup contenders. Pittsburgh Hockey Now writer Dan Kingerski breaks down the Metro Division and if the Pittsburgh Penguins have done enough to improve.

It is all eyes on Jake DeBrusk in Boston. Do the Chicago Blackhawks also have eyes on DeBrusk as a potential piece for their rebuild? A lot will depend on how their 2023-24 season goes and how quickly Connor Bedard is developing. If Bedard is on pace for 40 goals in his first season and the Blackhawks are in the playoff hunt, it is very possible the Blackhawks could target DeBrusk.

The Los Angeles Kings figure to be one of the contenders to win the Pacific Division. The Kings made a big splash by trading for Pierre-Luc Dubois, but did the Kings improve their defense and goaltending?

The Philadelphia Flyers are slated to be bad. What kind of bad will they be? There is the fun version of bad, a team that works hard and keeps games close. There is the bad version of bad, a bad team that finishes with 64 points. Then there is the interesting level of bad. A team that has a mix of young talent that is fun to watch. For the sake of Flyers fans, we can hope the Flyers will be fun and interesting to watch next season.