NHL Notebook: Trent Frederic ready to take on larger role for Bruins in 2023-24

Trent Frederic wasn't going to let contract negotiations ruin his summer.

The 25-year-old has accomplished several firsts in the offseason, skipping across the pond for the first time with his family for a cousin's wedding in Scotland as well as stops in London and Paris. He also overcame the 12,500 to 1 odds for an amateur golfer to make a hole-in-one. 

"It was pretty cool. I didn't think I'd ever get one of those," Frederic said over Zoom on Thursday when asked of his ace at the Payne Stewart design in Northern Michigan. He blanked on the name of the course, although the flag he bought in the pro shop to commemorate the occasion will surely serve as a reminder soon enough. "Let's see. A par 3. I think it was 154 [yards] with a 9-iron. Hit a good one. Luckily, I bought the ProV1s that day, so it actually spun back and went in. 

"So, it was a pretty cool one. I actually did it with a bunch of guys I played junior with at the NTDP, so it was a cool group to do it with. I guess once in a lifetime, probably."

If you forgot your wallet ahead of your round with the Frederics that week, no need to worry. A few days before Trent was picking up the tab on the first round in the clubhouse after one of his eight rounds during the week, his brother, Grant, made an ace "three or four days" before his, winning a two-year lease on a car as well. Even if the younger Frederic "kind of stole the thunder" from Grant, the latter would happily take the car in all likelihood.  

All the while, Frederic's agent was hard at work with Don Sweeney, hammering out a new contract in hopes of avoiding an arbitration hearing. There was ground to cover, considering Boston and Frederic were a year and $1.5 million apart in their arbitration filings as the team sought a two-year deal with a $1.4 million cap hit and the player came in at one year, $2.9 million. 

"I want to be a Bruin as long as I can. Obviously, I can't go anywhere else [as an RFA], so they're bringing me back," Frederic joked at breakup day in April. "I've had fun being here." 

Add earning the biggest payday of his life, thus far, to the list of Frederic's accomplishments this summer.

When all was said and done with negotiations, he was right – he wasn't going anywhere. The restricted free agent and the Bruins agreed to an 11th-hour deal on the day of the hearing, keeping Frederic in Boston for two years at $2.3 million per season. It wasn't an exact compromise in the middle, but Boston got the term it wanted while the player earned an average annual value closer to his filing. 

Either way, Frederic is pleased with where he's at.

"I mean, the process was different from the entry-level contract and my last contract," he said. "I guess with the whole arbitration thing, I guess it gives a little more leverage to RFAs. You know, I'm happy with the deal. I'm glad that we got to settle before. I think they're happy. I'm happy. So, it's all good."

Coming off a 17-goal, 31-point season (both career-highs) in which he averaged just 11:55 of ice time, Frederic earned the right to more than double his previous salary ($1.05 million). If he repeats and builds off his 2022-23 form, his current deal could quickly become a bargain in Boston's bottom or middle-six. 

With a team as cash-strapped as the Bruins, Frederic, once again tabbed to contribute on the third line, will be in line for increased responsibility. Linemate Taylor Hall is off to Chicago, helping to usher in the Connor Bedard era. Pal and center Charlie Coyle will be taking on an elevated role in the top-six. Tyler Bertuzzi's departure creates an additional hole in the middle-six, especially in front of the net and on the power play. As such, No. 11 will be asked to take on more of the onus on the third trio.

“I mean, you can't really replace those guys,” Frederic said. “They're great humans, and obviously they're great hockey players. But hopefully, I can try to get more responsibility on this team. It's gonna be hard to replace them, but I'll do the best I can.”

Frederic, a natural center, has made his way as a winger to this point in his NHL career, excelling on Coyle's right last season. He and Morgan Geekie will have their hands raised to pick up the slack down the middle. 

"I guess everything will kind of play out at camp. I don't mind playing center or wing," he said. "I think last year, I played pretty much all three – left wing, center and right. So, I'm comfortable playing both [center and wing]. ... I actually really liked right wing last year. Kind of my first time doing that. So, just kind of wherever I find a fit, just try to do my best there."

When Hall-Coyle-Frederic was fully together for 189:28 of 5-on-5 play in the regular season, the B's had a 53.68 percent share of shot attempts and a 55.44 percent edge in actual shots, according to Natural Stat Trick. They had a 12-5 scoring margin to go along with a 59.09 percent advantage in scoring chances (61.25 percent high-danger). 

Specifically for Coyle and Frederic, the Bruins outscored teams, 27-13 (17-6 high-danger), in 478:12 together. With No. 11 alone, Boston outscored teams, 47-23 (26-9 high-danger), and high-danger chances were 56.35 percent in its favor in 884:43 of 5-on-5 time during the regular season. 

Frederic has never taken more than 89 face-offs in a single season in the NHL. He won a mere 33.33 percent of his draws last season (24-for-72), going just 45.4 percent (137-for-302) on the balance of his career. Even then, he's aware of the areas for improvement, ready to meet the potential challenge head-on.

"I mean, I've pretty much been a center my whole life until the last like three years when I've been kind of in and out of center, but mostly out playing wing," he said. "I think I kind of understand the system at center, the way we play, you know, it's kind of a lot of times if you're the low forward, like when I was playing with Charlie, he always liked when I would chip in and play down low. I think for me, the biggest thing will be face-offs, and getting that first touch on the puck for our team will be a big factor in my success there. That's something I probably didn't do the best at last year, but I think with repetition, it should be good.”

More time on the penalty kill, where he played a career-high 35:54 last season (seventh among Bruins forwards; 134:36 less than sixth-place Patrice Bergeron), will be up for grabs. There will be a net-front vacancy on the power play with Bertuzzi off to Toronto. Frederic logged just 5:34 on the man advantage last season. After seeing practically all of his usage and ice time come at even strength in 2022-23, he hopes to make a greater impact on special teams. 

“Yeah, I would like to get involved in special teams in some way,” he said. “I guess that's all in my play. I'm sure with people kind of moving on or going to different teams, there should be more openings for that than there has been the past few years. I guess that will all trickle out at camp. But yeah, I would like to play more special teams. It's hard just playing 5-on-5 at times because you can lose some flow in the game. Even a little bit of killing and stuff like that goes a long way. You're not just sitting there getting cold, so I think sometimes playing those other special teams gives you a better opportunity 5-on-5. It would be awesome if I get the chance to do any of those.” 

Penguins feel Karlsson and Letang can coexist

The San Jose Sharks will tell you, having two of the better right-handed, offensive defensemen in the NHL might not be all it's cracked up to be.

The Sharks trotted out a one-two punch of Norris Trophy winners Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns (along with Marc-Edouard Vlasic) for four seasons to little avail, save for a trip to the Western Conference Final during Karlsson's first season in teal. 

Injuries and the aging curve were none too kind to Karlsson and San Jose's blue line as the Sharks missed the playoffs in each of the following seasons. Burns packed his things last summer and headed for Carolina in a salary cap dump. Karlsson landed in Pittsburgh via a blockbuster last week. 

Once again left to their own devices, Burns and Karlsson rebounded exceptionally. The former had his most productive season since 2018-19 and finished 10th in Norris voting. The latter had his best year since 2017-18 with 101 points (25 goals), far and away his most productive season, taking home the Norris as the first defenseman since Brian Leetch in 1991-92 to top 100 points. 

Understandably, it left room for speculation about the working relationship between Karlsson and Burns in San Jose, considering their offensive styles and desired power-play usage. 

"I just think that when you don’t do well as a team, collectively, things don’t tend to work out for anyone, and it didn’t for a long time," Karlsson told reporters in Pittsburgh, dispelling the notion of tension between him and Burns in a recent report. "It’s just unfortunate that it played out that way."

The Penguins are hoping for better fortunes with Karlsson and Kris Letang. The Swede doesn't expect any snags.

“I don’t foresee it to be any issue whatsoever coming in here, where you have a lot of strong players who have been here for a long time and have had extreme success," he said. "I’m excited to be able to work alongside guys like that.”

No matter what, winning cures all ills. Karlsson is hoping more of that lies ahead in Pittsburgh, where he'll be tasked with helping to extend the club's window as long as he, Letang, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still kicking. 

“It’s always been the ultimate drive, for myself,” Karlsson said. “I like to play the important games, and I like to be on successful teams and having success collectively as a group.”

QMJHL to ban fighting

One of the top junior leagues in the world is officially moving to eradicate fighting from its games. 

The QMJHL announced Thursday that it will automatically eject any player engaged in a fight. It will levy one-game suspensions for players who are "found to have instigated" a fight. If a player is clearly the aggressor in a fight, he'll be handed a two-game suspension. Players will begin receiving automatic suspensions for each subsequent fight.

“In order to prevent physical and psychological violence that may result in minor or serious injury or, in extreme circumstances, death, the QMJHL is responsible for establishing rules of intervention when a fight occurs between two or more people during a game, regardless of whether they are players or other team members (coach, assistant coach, trainer, etc.)," the league said in its safety regulations for the 2023-24 campaign. 

The 'Q' believes the rule, “provides for fights being prohibited with more restrictive and dissuasive sanctions in order to emphasize a safe quality of play conducive to the development of players participating in QMJHL activities.”

It comes after new commissioner Mario Cecchini called for a "culture change" upon his hiring in March, succeeding 37-year commissioner Gilles Corteau, who resigned after a hazing scandal surfaced.

Coyotes strike land deal for potential arena project

After plenty of strife throughout their tenure in the desert, especially over the last few years, the Coyotes may just be staying put in the desert, after all. 

Owner Alex Meruelo announced in a statement this week that he executed a letter of intent to purchase an empty parcel of land in Mesa, which could potentially serve as the site for a new sports arena and entertainment district for the organization. It would keep the Yotes in the proximity of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. 

"The Coyotes remain committed to building the first privately funded sports facility in Arizona history and ensuring the Valley as the club's permanent home," Meruelo said in the statement. There are other sites being considered as well. 

Arizona is going into its second season at 5,000-seat Mullet Arena at Arizona State University after its arena lease in Glendale fell through with the city. 

Since voters rejected a plan for an arena and entertainment district in Tempe earlier this year, the Yotes have pivoted to privately-funded options, such as the land in Mesa.

"I think referendums have proven to be very difficult, not just for us," CEO Xavier Gutierrez said in June. "You look at the backlash that certain other sports teams are having, it's very clear that there is a narrative that this isn't what really the public wants to approve via a vote. And so we're looking at other options."

Houston and Salt Lake City were among a slew of popular relocation speculation following the failed referendum in Tempe.