It's not quite the offseason yet for the NHL, but it is at least for the Penguins.
What's on the calendar for the league this summer? Here's what's coming up.
June 1-11: NHL Awards finalist announcements
The NHL is announcing the finalists for each NHL award, one a day, through the 11th. Marc-Andre Fleury, Philipp Grubauer, and Andrei Vasilevskiy were announced Tuesday as the Vezina finalists.
The full schedule for finalist announcements is as follows:
Wednesday, June 2: Ted Lindsay Award
Thursday, June 3: Calder Memorial Trophy
Friday, June 4: King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Saturday, June 5: Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Sunday, June 6: Frank J. Selke Trophy
Monday, June 7: Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award presented by MassMutual
Tuesday, June 8: Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Wednesday, June 9: James Norris Memorial Trophy
Thursday, June 10: Hart Memorial Trophy
Friday, June 11: Jack Adams Award
The winners of all the awards will be announced during the Semifinals and Final round.
June 2, 7 p.m.: NHL Draft Lottery
The NHL will draw for the top two spots in the draft, and the remaining teams will be seeded in the inverse order of their regular season points percentage.
The drawing will include the 15 teams that didn't make the postseason, plus the Kraken. The Sabres have the best odds at 16.6 percent, and the Ducks are next at 12.1 percent. The Kraken and Devils are tied for the third-best odds.
The Coyotes still have odds in the lottery, but they've forfeited their first-round pick as one of their punishments for breaking the rules surrounding fitness testing of prospects during the 2019-20 season. If the Coyotes are drawn in the lottery, there will be a redraw.
July 15: Last possible day of season
The latest the Stanley Cup Final could possibly go is July 15.
24 hours after last day of Final: First buyout period opens
The NHL doesn't allow the buying out of contracts year-round. The first buyout period opens 24 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded.
Here is a primer I previously wrote regarding the NHL's buyout process.
I wouldn't anticipate this to apply to any Penguins players.
July 17, 5 p.m.: Deadline for teams to submit protected lists for expansion drafts
The Penguins and 29 other teams (Vegas is exempt) have to submit their list of protected players for the Seattle Expansion Draft.
Each team will protect one goaltender, and have the option of protecting either eight skaters regardless of position or seven forwards and three defensemen.
Players with no-movement clauses must be protected. Players with two or fewer years of professional experience are exempt from being selected and don't have to be protected.
July 18, 10 a.m.: Interview period opens for Seattle
Seattle is allowed to speak with pending unrestricted and restricted free agents who are left unprotected by their teams the morning after protected lists are due.
Since the expansion draft takes place before free agency opens, Seattle can claim players who are set to be free agents and have their negotiating rights until free agency begins. To gauge whether one of those players would be interested in signing with the Kraken if claimed, the Kraken have several days to interview them before making their picks.
July 21, 8 p.m.: Seattle Expansion Draft
Seattle will select one player from each team, except Vegas.
July 23-24: NHL Draft
The first round will be held on the evening of the 23rd, and the last six rounds will be held the following afternoon. The draft will be held virtually this year again.
University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power is the top-ranked North American skater by Central Scouting. Left wing William Eklund is the top-ranked European skater.
The Penguins aren't expected to be active in the draft until the second day, with their first-round pick going to Minnesota to complete the Jason Zucker deal. Their remaining picks are a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and three seventh-round picks.
July 26: Qualifying offer deadline
Teams must make their qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents, or those players will become unrestricted free agents when free agency opens.
July 27: First buyout period ends
Teams have until this day to buy out any players in the first period of the offseason. The second buyout period doesn't open for all teams, so this may be the only opportunity for teams to buy out any players.
July 28, noon: Start of free agency
Here's a look at the Penguins' free agent situation this offseason, with Teddy Blueger (restricted) being the biggest name from this season's roster.
August 11-26: Salary arbitration hearings
The Penguins have four pending restricted free agents who have arbitration rights: Zach Aston-Reese, Radim Zohorna, Mark Jankowski, and Blueger.
Here's a primer I previously wrote on the salary arbitration process.
The NHL's second buyout period only opens for teams who have a salary arbitration case. That period, if it opens for a team, lasts for 48 hours and begins on the third day following the team’s last salary arbitration settlement. The second buyout period only applies to teams that have salary arbitration cases that year. That period lasts for 48 hours, beginning on the third day following the team’s last salary arbitration award or settlement. However, if the case was sent to arbitration by the team and not the player, and the team did not give the player a qualifying offer, then the team must have at least two total arbitration cases for the second buyout period to be allowed.
August 15, 5 p.m.: Deadline for teams to sign college draft picks whose rights are expiring
The Penguins don't have any college prospects of their own who they must sign by the Aug. 15 deadline, but some intriguing players could become available after the deadline if they opt to not sign with the team that drafted them.
October 12: Tentative date to start 2021-22 NHL season
The date is contingent on border travel being back open, but the NHL is aiming to return to a normal schedule for next season.
