TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins Gino Reda to discuss how players like Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantili could reset the market with their next contracts, the Senators possibly taking a step forward in getting their long-awaited new arena and an important change in season ticket renewals coming to the NHL next season.
NHL’s young stars poised to reset market with next contracts
Reda: The great young NHL talent is ready to set a new salary bar. The Sens take a big step towards a new downtown arena. And how do the Leafs plan to sell their new reality?
Details on these stories and more with insider Chris Johnston.
CJ, let’s start with the young stars in the league. Given their talent, given the elevated salary cap, are we getting ready for a salary spike in the NHL down the road?
Johnston: Absolutely. I don’t think there’s any question about that, all free agents are poised to push the bar up from where it’s been.
But I think it’s really interesting that we have three players picked at the top of the 2023 draft, that being Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, and Adam Fantilli, all top-line centres for their teams – the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets –and each of them are unsigned at this point. And it’s not because the teams don’t want to sign them. These players have intentionally held off, I think, in large part because of the shifting market dynamics. And so those are three contracts that will get done at some point before next season and into this summer that I think could reset the bar.
And what’s interesting of all, Gino, I don’t think those guys would mind if a younger player, that being Macklin Celebrini, who can sign his next deal as of July 1 with the San Jose Sharks, if he went first in order to sort of establish what the market rate is. Of course, Celebrini is having the most productive of those young stars in terms of his season, almost on the cusp here of hitting the 100-point mark in this year.
As this season winds down and the focus is on the ice, naturally, thoughts in the front offices and among the agents have already gone to these contracts because I think you’re going to see some big numbers there. And term will be an interesting dynamic as it usually is because this is the last summer that NHL teams are going to be able to sign players to eight-year deals.
And so, will some of those guys get eight-year contracts? I think it’s possible, but we’ll have to see how that plays out.
Senators take step towards getting new downtown arena
Reda: There’s so much more money out there right now. It’s going to be interesting to see how the teams decide to distribute that.
Alright, let’s shift gears now. For years now, the Sens have realized they need a downtown arena. The 25-kilometre drive just doesn’t work, especially on weekdays. And there’s big news on that front this morning, CJ?
Johnston: Well, the Sens certainly hope so. They’ve announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Algonquin and Anishinabe Nation. And what’s significant there is I think it clears up any potential thoughts about who owns the land. The Indigenous peoples had previously put in a lawsuit in 2022 about land ownership in that area. The Sens have bought a parcel of land at LeBreton Flats, where, of course, they’ve been trying to get an arena going for a number of years now. And I think that the fact that these groups are working together on a memorandum of understanding in terms of a shared vision for that land is a positive step.
But there’s still a lot of things for the Senators to work out here. Questions about environment, transit, getting in and out, and, of course, who’s going to fund this and how exactly that arrangement will work – all still need to be tied up before we’re talking about the actual arena being built. But I do think it’s an important step for the Senators. And clearly, this is a team for a long time that sought to get an arena built downtown. And this is another tick along the way, I guess, if you look at the checklist for the Sens to actually do that.
How Leafs are handling 2026-27 season ticket packages
Reda: It’s a key step. Look, while the Sens are fighting for their playoff lives down the stretch, the Leafs are already trying to figure out how to get their organization back on the rails for next season. In the midst of that, you got a glimpse into season ticket sales and the plans for next year?
Johnston: I did, yes. And the renewals will be processed here on Thursday for existing season ticket holders in terms of the 2026-27 season. And look, it’s obviously not gone as the Leafs had wanted on the ice this year. They aren’t actually bumping the cost of the season tickets, but what is happening in 2026-27 is the league and the Players Association have collectively bargained the move to an 84-game season. So there’s a 42nd home game in Toronto and everywhere else in the NHL next year.
And what the Leafs have done is said, look, season ticket holders, you’re buying 41 games plus one preseason game. That’s the case again next year at the same price. If you want to buy the next game, the 42nd game, you get first dibs at it versus the general public. But essentially it gives them more to sell, as it does with all other teams. And this was done by design.
Just a reminder: With the owners and the players collectively bargaining that in the new CBA, the idea is to increase hockey-related revenue, as it’s called, the amount of money everybody shares in the pie. And the pie will grow next year in Toronto and all of the other 31 markets as the season ticket renewals start to get processed.
Reda: The timing of this step for the Leafs, I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem ideal for them. That’s it for the early edition of Insider Trading. The full IT with CJ and Pierre is coming up on the early edition of SportsCentre.
