The NHL is preparing for third-party negotiations for 14 restricted free agents league-wide, and the former Toronto fourth-liner is one of them.
We are twelve days away from arbitration hearings in the NHL, which involves third-party mediators getting involved to determine contract values and lengths.
These, of course, are reserved for restricted free agents, whose rights can only be revoked by another team's offer for that player.
One of the names to watch, released by the league on Sunday, includes Toronto Maple Leafs' bottom-six forward Connor Dewar.
Dewar was acquired via trade with the Minnesota Wild, mainly as a penalty killer and fourth-line center, in early March 2024 before the trade deadline.
He spent the first three years of his career in Minnesota, playing 81 of a possible 82 games in 2022-23, putting up 18 points and 50 penalty minutes. In his 190-game NHL career, he has 103 total minutes in the sin bin.
His entry-level deal, signed in 2019 with the Wild, was for three years and $2.78 million, and because he played three years in the league after signing as a 21-year-old, it made him eligible for arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement.
General manager Bill Armstrong has been talking about the need to beef up the Utah HC penalty kill and fourth line, and Dewar would be a great place to start.
Could he make another big move and go for the Manitoba native in arbitration? We'll find out.