With the Stanley Cup awarded on Monday night (congrats again to the Panthers), we have a very busy week coming here, so there's no time for a break.

The new Hockey Hall of Fame class was just announced yesterday, and here is the new class:

Introducing the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2024! 👏#HHOF2024 | #HHOF pic.twitter.com/jpVpB8QdWT

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 25, 2024

As great as it is to recognize the greats, the Hall of Fame is a bit of a farce at this point. Having a lower limit on women's greats, keeping Alexander Mogilny out of the Hall in favour of someone with outside issues and a lack of hardware like Jeremy Roenick, on top of a lack of accountability with the voting system, none of it is being done properly. Changes need to be made with the system.

Done with the rant and back to the schedule, the buyout window opens tomorrow (Thursday) and is only open for four days this year due to the later award of the Cup. That is going to cause a lot of pressure on GMs to make decisions quickly and decisively. With the window opening Thursday, there is then the draft on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday being the final day for buyouts, as well as qualifying offers being due to RFA's by June 30 to retain their rights.

The draft on Friday night and Saturday is also a hugely important time for shaping a franchise, both with the picks made, but also based on the trades that come to a head as well. Expect a lot of action in Vegas.

After all of that, free agency opens on Monday, with all the chaos and instant regret that it usually brings. Expect even higher that usual numbers this year too as a result of the cap finally going up.

It's not just the free agents that ink deals on July 1^st, it also marks the first day that players with only the 2024-25 season left on their contracts can sign extensions. We already know of a few like Joseph Woll and Jaccob Slavin, and I'm sure there will be others as well.

Here's my annual thread with a quick thought on each of the top-100 free agents.

Starting with the top-20, and the rest will be posted in chunks.

— Alex MacLean (@alexdmaclean) June 5, 2024

You can check out the 50 write-ups that I have been able to get to at this point if you want some quick hits on the top available free agents.

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To get you ready for everything draft related, you can pick up the Dobber Prospect Guide which not only has everything you need to know about the 2024 class of prospects, but all of the relevant prospects for your team. A great resource for info on players who might be traded, and understanding what needs a team has to fill their prospect cupboard.

I'll also link you some of my recent draft-related content here:

Ramblings with my Rankings at the time (they have been slightly modified, but I'll keep the official list to myself until my fantasy draft is complete).

Yesterday I published the double-weighted consensus list for the draft, which in my opinion is the best consensus list out there.

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The Boston sports teams are masters of ensuring that any of their negative news comes out behind something else in the news cycle that day. On Monday it was the trading of Linus Ullmark, which might have been seen as a negative on its own, but with the return as underwhelming as it was, it's definitely a negative for the fans.

Brennan had his take on the deal here, and I didn't disagree with anything said, but I wanted to add another little tidbit which centres on Brandon Bussi. Bussi is not waivers exempt next year, and is someone the Bruins would like to keep around. He would probably get claimed if he was put on waivers, and it's unlikely Boston runs with three goalies. That means that unless Bussi is traded (and he doesn't have huge trade value to manage that with) then we could see Joonas Korpisalo waived and start the year in Providence. This would allow him to take the pressure off, rebuild his game, and maybe build some trade value. It would also give Jeremy Swayman a clear run with the starter's role, and Bussi an open trial for the backup spot. Korpisalo is then the fallback options if either of the other two falter.

Or maybe Jeremy Swayman is traded for a top-line centre. Wouldn't that be fun.

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Before we get to the news, I also wanted to mention that work on the Dobber guide is underway, it's due out later in the summer, but you can pre-order in here to make sure you don't miss it.

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Dylan Demelo was re-signed by the Winnipeg Jets to a four-year $4.9 million AAV deal. He's been a 30-point Dman the last two seasons, but saw his peripherals bump up last year with more minutes. Assuming he keeps the same role next year, then he should be able to keep up the two Hits and 1.7 Blks per game.

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The more interesting signing from a fantasy perspective is Casey Mittelstadt re-upping in Colorado for $5.75 million a season for three years. Mittelstadt underwhelmed in the regular season after being acquired from Colorado, with only 10 points in 18 games. However, he picked it up in the post-season, with nine points in 11 games.

Since arriving from Colorado he has played mainly alongside Artturi Lehkonen, with a rotating cast on the other wing. The uncertain status for Valeri Nichushkin means that there is some power play time to fill as well, for a more permanent spot on the lethal top unit.

Mittelstadt paced for 59 and 58 points over the last two seasons respectively, so that's probably the best spot to begin with his projections for next year as well.

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The Hershey Bears defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL final for the second year in a row, with a 5-4 win in overtime. Hendrix Lapierre won the MVP award with two points in the final game to go with 22 in 20 playoff games, and is building up a ton of momentum to help him win a permanent roster spot with Washington in the fall.

Shane Wright looked just as dominant out there for the Firebirds, with 13 points in 12 playoff games, and three points in a losing effort in the final game. He should be a full-time top-six player for Seattle next year, and because of the ELC slides, he still has three seasons left on his entry-level deal, which will be a huge boon to Seattle's cap situation as they try to jump back into the playoffs.

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The Detroit Red Wings traded last year's second-round pick Andrew Gibson to Nashville for a 2^nd round pick this year and another depth prospect, then flipped that 2^nd rounder to San Jose as the cost for them to take on Jake Walman's contract.

It's surprising that the Red Wings couldn't find a positive return for Walman, and that they decided to unload him at a cost instead of Justin Holl, but it provides a fascinating opportunity for Walman to take on a possible top-pairing role and break out even further before he becomes a UFA in 2026.

This also makes a clean opening for Simon Edvinsson to take a roster spot this fall. He has earned it.

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In case you didn't fully believe it yet without official confirmation, you can now. Matvei Michkov is coming to North America. His contract with SKA has been terminated, and he will be at Philadelphia Flyers training camp battling for a roster spot. Get excited fantasy owners.

Don't expect the point-per-game to 100-point player impact right away that Artemi Panarin and Kirill Kaprizov had though, both were older and more developed when coming over, and while Michkov looks fantastic, there will likely still be more of an adjustment period.

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With Florida winning the Cup, there has still yet to be a player making over $10 million to have their name on the cup. Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky join Jack Eichel from last season as the highest paid players to win the Cup – at $10 million on the nose. With the cap rising in future years this is a glass ceiling just waiting to be shattered.

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See you next Wednesday, and if you want to keep up with it you can find me on Twitter/X here, or BlueSky here if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.