As we get closer by the minute to July 1, the NHL off-season has already started to ramp up: the 2024 NHL Entry Draft was just completed at Sphere in Las Vegas to rave reviews (please keep an in-person draft), the buyout market is starting to heat up, and restricted free agency qualifying offers have to be submitted today. The Carolina Hurricanes have been active as they traded Jake Guentzel’s negotiating rights to Tampa Bay for a 2025 3rd-round pick, ending Guentzel’s time in Raleigh. That move does allow the Hurricanes to make serious efforts to extend and re-sign some of their free agents. Brady Skjei is coming off a career year for the Canes and is in prime position to cash in during free agency. Here are the best landing spots for the big, left-shot defenseman:
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes should push to re-sign Skjei, as they’ll likely lose Brett Pesce in free agency. If Skjei returns, it would give Carolina an excellent top 4 D (Skjei, Slavin, Orlov, and Burns) with Chatfield pushing for top 4 minutes. The Canes have some cap space to spend, but that will dry up quickly with Restricted Free Agents Jack Drury, Seth Jarvis, and possibly Martin Necas looking for raises. Carolina will try to keep a strong D corps while maintaining a deep forward group, but new General Manager Eric Tulsky will have some difficult decisions to make to complete the balancing act.
Nashville Predators
Nashville will be looking to fill a void on defense after sending Ryan McDonagh back to Tampa this off-season. The Preds defense is not deep, so adding a top 4 defenceman like Skjei behind Roman Josi would be a huge step in the right direction. Skjei could slot nicely on the 2nd pair next to Luke Schenn. Nashville has plenty of cap space and a clear opening for Skjei. The Predators will be looking to build off a strong 23-24 season, and Skjei would be a great addition to solidify their defense.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs have been linked with just about every free-agent defenseman. Toronto needs defensemen, that’s no secret to anyone. Skjei is the latest to be rumored to be headed to Toronto, along with Chris Tanev (likely a done deal), Nikita Zadorov, and Brandon Montour. Skjei would fit nicely with Toronto’s up-tempo style and transition game while also adding an offensive element to their blue line that is lacking outside of Morgan Rielly. Any defenseman would be excited about playing with the Maple Leafs’ core group, and Skjei would be no different.
Detroit Red Wings
There have been rumors that the Wings wanted to try to pull off a double signing of former defense partners Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei and it would be a huge coup if General Manager Steve Yzerman can pull it off. Moritz Seider needs help on the back end in Motown, and bringing in one or both of Skjei and Pesce would certainly go a long way toward propelling the Red Wings back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Minnesota Wild
Skjei is a Minnesota native, whom the Wild would love to bring home. Brock Faber, another Minnesotan, has been great for the Wild after being acquired in a trade with the LA Kings for Kevin Fiala, but Faber needs help. The Wild struggled defensively in 23-24 as they were 20th in the league in goals against. Skjei would fit well in Minnesota with his strong two-way game. Skjei and Faber would form an outstanding top pair on defense for the Wild for many years.
