There are a handful of NHL players who’ve yet to land a contract for the 2020/21 NHL season. Among them is veteran forward Derick Brassard. A former player for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche, Brassard is traveled, experienced and still relatively productive player. So why hasn’t he signed?
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Brassard recently chatted with Le Droit’s Marc Brassard and provided a bit of an update on his status for next season and what’s been going on during the six weeks that free agency has been under way.
Brassard noted that he’s turned down some offers from European teams in the hopes another NHL team shows interest. Now 33 years old, he’s coming off a decent season with the Islanders in 2019-20 — he recorded 10 goals and 22 assists in 66 games — but there seems to be a lack of interest, likely due to a lack of available salary cap space.
What About the Islanders?
One might think that after having a good season, the Islanders would be interested in bringing him back on a low-cost deal. Based on his comments, it sounds like Brassard would accept if a deal was offered. So far, no luck.
He did indicate that the Islanders haven’t ruled out the idea of him returning but they have some other more pressing business to take care of first. RFA center Mathew Barzal is their top priority and is going to cost them a good chunk of money. As such, GM Lou Lamoriello doesn’t have the luxury of spending any extra money while the Barzal deal is still in limbo.
We’ll see if things change for Brassard once that deal gets done. If not, he may ultimately have to look overseas if he wants to keep his hockey career going.
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