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Ducks Sign Carson Meyer To Two-Way Contract

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed forward Carson Meyer to a one-year, two-way contract, shares Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

This will be the first move of Meyer’s career, having played in Ohio through youth hockey, college, and the pros – though he did have a one-year stint with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm in 2015-16. The Columbus native was drafted by his hometown Blue Jackets in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He mad ehis professional debut in 2020-21, posting 20 points in his first 26 AHL games with the Cleveland Monsters. That scoring earned him an NHL debut in 2021-22, though Meyer couldn’t match the high scoring of his inaugural year. He scored just three points in the 13 NHL games of his career, warranting a move back to the minors, where Meyer added 27 points in 57 games.

That measly scoring continued through last season, though Meyer showed signs of improvement with 37 points in 55 AHL games this year – while serving as one of Cleveland’s alternate captains. But he’s yet to find the same spark at the top level, with just six points in 41 NHL games to this point in his career.

Meyer will now move to the West coast, where he figures to be a top option for the Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, and take a bit better advantage of his NHL opportunities.

Blues Sign Pierre-Olivier Joseph

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July 3: Joseph’s deal with the Blues is now official.

July 2: The St. Louis Blues are expected to sign defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year contract, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link). The deal was confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who shared that it is a one-year deal with a $950K cap hit (Twitter link).

This reported signing comes on the same day that St. Louis traded for Mathieu Joseph, Pierre-Olivier’s brother. The siblings will reunite in St. Louis, after not playing together since the 2012-13 season, well before either of their QMJHL careers.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph fought his way into first-round precedent through his juniors career, getting selected 23rd-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona traded Joseph’s rights before the end of his juniors career, dealing him to the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Alex Galchenyuk, in return for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick.

Joseph turned pro just a few months later, recording 17 points in 52 games with the 2019-20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The low-scoring rookie year has stood out as an oddity for Joseph, who earned a call-up to the NHL with 13 points in 23 AHL games the following year. He recorded five points through 20 NHL games in 2020 and 2021, though he wouldn’t establish a full time role until the 2022-23 season.

Finally playing through his NHL rookie season, Joseph managed five goals and 21 points in 75 games, becoming a solid member of Pittsburgh’s blue-line. That role slipped a bit this year, though, after a lower-body injury forced Joseph to miss a month of action in November/December. His spot on the team’s bottom pairing didn’t seem as secure upon his return, likely not helped along by Joseph’s 11 points in 52 games.

Joseph, who turned 25 on Monday, will now pursue a more concrete role on a St. Louis blue-line no longer featuring Marco Scandella. That should slot Joseph in behind Torey Krug and Scott Perunovich on the Blues’ depth chart, though he might face heavy competition for minutes from veteran Nick Leddy. Joseph’s ability to earn a strong role despite that competition will like be what the Blues look for, as they plan for him to become a restricted free agent next summer.

Two-Way Signings: Schueneman, Aspirot, Gaudette, Gambrell, Poolman, Richard, Entwistle

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The first day of NHL free agency saw over $1B spent for the first time in league history. Much of that went to stars across the league, though general managers are also having to focus on building up their farm programs. Here are five smaller names signed on Tuesday. Each of these deals carry a $775K cap hit at the NHL level, unless otherwise specified.

  • The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Corey Schueneman to a one-year contract. Schueneman, 28, appeared in 64 games with the Colorado Eagles this season, netting four goals, 22 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a +2. He’s a quick-paced, hard-shooting defender who carries a lot of heft in his frame, even at 5-foot-11. He’s already made his NHL debut, appearing in 31 games with Montreal between 2021 and 2023 and scoring two goals and seven points. Schueneman is likely set for a role on the Springfield Thunderbirds lineup, where he’ll compete for ice time with Blues prospects like Marc-Andre Gaudet and Hunter Skinner.
  • The Calgary Flames have re-signed defender Jonathan Aspirot to a one-year contract. Aspirot, 25, spent 66 games with the Calgary Wranglers last season, scoring a career-high 33 points and adding 80 penalty minutes and a -6. It was Aspirot’s first year in Calgary, after spending four years with the Belleville Senators. He totaled 63 points in 161 games with Belleville, and will now be set to reassume his top-end role with the Wranglers next season.
  • Belleville is due for their own reinforcements, with the Ottawa Senators signing Adam Gaudette to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Gaudette, 27, led the AHL with 44 goals last season, in his pursuit of 71 points across 67 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. It was a breakout year for Gaudette, after totaling 27 goals and 51 points in 65 games between the Toronto Marlies and Thunderbirds in 2022-23. Gaudette was formerly a top prospect in the NHL, appearing in 220 games across six seasons in the NHL. He’s only managed 27 goals and 70 points in those appearances, though his recent scoring could suggest upside still untapped. The Senators will hope that’s the case, as they position Gaudette for a premier role in the AHL next year.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Dylan Gambrell to a one-year deal. Gambrell spent all of this seaosn in the minor leagues, playing in 66 games with the Marlies. He managed 14 goals and 36 points – his highest AHL scoring since the 2018-19 season. Gambrell has been based much more in the NHL over the last six seasons, totaling 233 games and 40 points. He’ll be set for a top line role with the Cleveland Monsters, and push for a spot near the bottom of Columbus’ NHL lineup.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Colton Poolman to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Poolman, 28, has spent the entirety of his four-year pro career in the Flames organization to date. The younger brother of Canucks defenseman Tucker Poolman had three goals and three assists in 66 games for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last season.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Anthony Richard to a two-year deal (Twitter link). Richard spent 59 games with the Providence Bruins last year, netting 25 goals and 55 points. It was a small step down for Richard, after netting 30 goals and 67 points last year. He’s also totaled 24 NHL games since 2018, scoring eight points. Richard should be set for a starring role with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with a chance to push for the NHL roster.
  • The Florida Panthers signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a one-year deal. Entwistle, 24, has spent most of the last three seasons on the Chicago Blackhawks lineup, though he’s managed just 33 points in 188 games. He’ll now join the reigning Stanley Cup champions, though his two-way deal suggests he’ll have to work his way up to the NHL from an AHL start.

Free Agent Rumors: Stamkos, Bennett, Verhaeghe, Stolarz, Ekman-Larsson, Grzelcyk, Martinez

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The Devils are in the market for a top-six forward today, and they may end up as one of the finalists for Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.

They’ll be one of many teams making Stamkos’ agent’s phone ring off the hook today. TSN’s Bob McKenzie also expects the Ducks, Hurricanes, Predators and Red Wings to make aggressive pushes for the future Hall-of-Fame forward.

A return to Tampa Bay is extremely unlikely for Stamkos, whose 555 career goals and 1,082 games played have all come in a Lightning uniform. They weren’t close to an extension as of last weekend, and their signing of top UFA left winger Jake Guentzel to a seven-year, $63MM deal this morning has all but completely boxed him out.

More from around the Eastern Conference amid an already busy morning:

  • The Panthers are working hard on extensions for forwards Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe as they become eligible to sign at 11 a.m. CT today, sources tell David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. They’ve already gotten one big piece of business done today by keeping Sam Reinhart away from the open market on an eight-year, $69MM deal, but Bennett and Verhaeghe are two crucial pieces of their top-six forward group that remain unsigned past next season. It’s unclear what these deals may look like, but Reinhart taking a considerable discount on market value to remain in South Florida is surely a good indicator that Panthers GM Bill Zito can get them locked into deals that won’t break the bank.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger adds the Panthers are also trying to re-sign UFA netminder Anthony Stolarz, but they have some competition. The Blackhawks and Maple Leafs are also in the mix for the veteran’s services. While a career backup, he’s one of the best options on the market in a UFA class devoid of starters. He was electric when used in Florida last year, posting a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA in 27 appearances.
  • After making Chris Tanev’s six-year deal official, expect the Leafs to add another veteran blue liner in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dreger says. OEL is coming off a Stanley Cup win in Florida after putting up 32 points in 80 regular-season games, averaging 18:24 per night. He’d likely anchor a third pairing in Toronto on the left side behind Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe.
  • The Penguins are among the teams linked to defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reports. Grzelcyk is likely on his way out of Boston after spending the entirety of his eight-year, 445-game career there. He had 11 points and a +13 rating in 63 games last season while logging 17:36 per night.
  • Alec Martinez could continue his NHL career with the Blackhawks on a one-year deal, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The three-time Cup winner fell down the Golden Knights’ depth chart last year, limited to 55 games due to injuries and healthy scratches. He still managed 17 points, though, his most offense in three years, but had a -2 rating while averaging 19:03 per game.

Devils Acquire Johnathan Kovacevic

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The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic from the Montreal Canadiens in return for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick, per Amanda Stein of NHL.com. Both the Canadiens and Devils have confirmed the move.

The conditions on the draft pick have already been made public, as the Devils will send the best of the three fourth-round picks they currently own in the 2026 NHL Draft. New Jersey owns their fourth-round pick, the Winnipeg Jets’ fourth-round pick, and the Dallas Stars’ fourth-round pick for that draft.

It’s a low-risk move for the Devils as they’ve spent the last 48 hours re-working their defensive core. The team already shipped out defenseman John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club yesterday morning, and have been heavily linked to defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon heading into tomorrow’s action. By adding to a core group of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and Luke Hughes, and factoring in new goaltender Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey is looking to improve upon their 3.43 GA/G average during the 2023-24 NHL season.

As the Canadiens look to graduate several prospects to the majors, Kovacevic became one of the odd men out even though he is set to make $766K for the 2024-25 NHL season. After being claimed from the Jets organization shortly before the 2022-23 NHL season, Kovacevic quickly became a flexible defenseman in Montreal. Effectively averaging 17 minutes of ice time per night during his tenure with the Original Six organization, Kovacevic scored nine goals and 28 points in 139 games while averaging an on-ice save percentage of 90.6%

Kovacevic is likely destined for a bottom-six role in New Jersey regardless of how much the team shakes up their defensive core. However, if the defensive core succumbs to injury for a second straight season, Kovacevic could always move up the depth chart.

Lightning Acquire Lukas Svejkovsky From Penguins

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins have swapped depth forwards, with Pittsburgh receiving Bennett MacArthur and Tampa receiving Lukas Svejovsky (Twitter link).

MacArthur, 23, spent the season in the ECHL, totaling 32 points through 55 games. It was his second year in the league, after playing through his first pro season to the tune of 28 points in 53 games last year. Tampa signed MacArthur as an undrafted free agent in 2022, following the end of his season with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. MacArthur only played in parts of three seasons in the QMJHL, though he always found his way to strong scoring, recording 42 goals and 77 points in 54 games during his final year in the league. He’ll spend the final year of his entry-level contract pushing for a consistent role in the AHL, before setting his sights on the Penguins roster.

Meanwhile, Svejovsky, 22, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, after a strong year in the WHL. He went on to play two more seasons in the WHL, potting 76 points in 57 games in his final year. Svejovsky totaled a stout 162 points in his 196 career WHL games – seeming like a potentially lucrative prospect for Pittsburgh when he signed his entry-level contract in 2022. But Svejovsky had a slow start in pros, with just 15 points in 47 AHL games last year followed by four points in 19 games this year. Those low totals contributed to Svejovsky’s move to the ECHL partway through this year. He was able to rediscover his spark in the third-tier pro league, scoring 37 points in 30 games. That should be enough to earn him a move back to the AHL, though he’ll have to keep up his scoring if he wants to push any higher.

Canucks Sign Jett Woo To One-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Jett Woo to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will pay him a league minimum $775K at the NHL level and $150K at the AHL level, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link).

Vancouver drafted Woo in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft – among company like Alexander Romanov, Martin Fehervary, and Sean Durzi. But Woo still sits as one of 12 players from that round to not yet make his NHL debut, instead spending the last four seasons with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate. Woo had a slow start to his pro career, scoring just 10 points through his first two seasons, and 70 games, in the AHL. He’s picked up that scoring in the two seasons since, netting 21 points in 68 games last year and 31 points in 62 games this year. Woo has also picked up his intensity, also totaling 189 penalty minutes in the last two years.

The climb towards more high-event hockey earned Woo the first NHL call-ups of his career in February, though he couldn’t slot into Vancouver’s lineup. Still, he’s begun to grab the Canucks’ attention. With the team expected to move on from Nikita Zadorov, Woo could have a chance on this new deal to fight for his NHL debut, and a more confident contract next summer.

Sharks Sign Justin Bailey To One-Year, Two-Way Extension

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The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Justin Bailey to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will carry a salary of $800K at the NHL level and $375K at the AHL level, with $400K guaranteed, per PuckPedia (Twitter link).

Bailey, 28, willed his way into a full-time NHL role this year, after kicking off the AHL season with 11 points in 16 games. He was recalled in late November and potted five points across his first eight games with the Sharks, earning another promotion to the team’s third line, where he’d spent most of the remaining season. Finally ahold of an everyday role, Bailey posted five goals and 14 points in 59 games – NHL career-highs in all three stats.

And while Bailey could be a candidate to work his way back on to the Sharks roster with this deal, the two-way clause likely sets him up for yet another year in the minors. That’s where Bailey has spent much of his career so far, totaling 241 points in 370 AHL games, across tenures with the Rochester Americans, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Utica Comets. He’s proven a capable minor-league scorer, with at least 30 points in each of his last three full years in the league. Re-signing to a one-year deal should give Bailey a chance to prove his worth in the Sharks organization, and earn his way into a confident NHL future.

Leafs Among Teams Interested In Nikita Zadorov

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It was announced yesterday that defenseman Nikita Zadorov will be testing the open market, after not finding agreeable terms with the Vancouver Canucks. Now, TSN’s Darren Dreger has reported the specifics of those negotiations – sharing that Vancouver’s highest offer to Zadorov was $5MM. The veteran defender feels he can up that price in free agency, where Dreger adds at least 10 teams have expressed interest, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto’s interest comes as no surprise. General manager Brad Treliving has shared that the team will be prioritizing size and grit in their defensive additions this year – two traits that Zadorov brings in abundance, even if he may need reigned in elsewhere. Toronto were among the teams pushing to trade for Zadorov before his move to the Canucks, though they were joined by the Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, and New York Islanders in the race.

Each of those competitors should be expected to return to Zadorov this summer. The Devils recently drafted highly acclaimed Russian defender Anton Silayev – who plays a similarly brazen and aggressive style to Zadorov. That could make the older Russian a great mentor, though it’d also likely limit New Jersey to a short-term deal, as they anticipate the emergence of both Silayev and Seamus Casey in the NHL. Dallas and New York could be in better spots to give Zadorov term – with the Stars facing the possibility of losing Chris Tanev to the market while the Islanders could use all of the defensive help they can get.

It’s that kind of desperation that Zadorov will be banking on, looking to inspire a bidding way among teams in need of stout top-four defenders. But teams could run a risk of buying in a player’s market. In his age-29 season, Zadorov posted six points in 21 games with the Flames and 14 points in 54 games with the Canucks. What’s more, he added a career-high 125 penalty minutes in those matchups. It was one of Zadorov’s most eventful seasons, though 2021-22 still stands as his career-year, when he recorded 22 points and 77 penalty minutes in 74 games.

With July 1st just days away, Zadorov has set his price north of $5MM. Even with his low scoring, he’ll still stand as one of the market’s top defensemen, behind players like Tanev, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, and Shayne Gostisbehere. It will be likely in Zadorov’s best interest to sign as quickly as he can, before more acclaimed defenders have a chance to set the market price.

Toronto could also be pushed off the scent here, after acquiring the rights to pending UFA Chris Tanev for Max Ellis and a seventh-round pick. The Leafs haven’t yet engaged in talks with Tanev, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Twitter link), though the two sides will have through the weekend to find Tanev a deal in his hometown. Tanev is likely pushing for a similar dollar figure as Zadorov, and fills a like role on the right-side of the top four. Even then, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that both Zadorov and Oliver Ekman-Larsson could remain in Toronto’s plans (Twitter link).

Islanders Announce Doug Houda Won’t Return

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The New York Islanders have dismissed assistant coach Doug Houda, general manager Lou Lamoriello shared with Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Lamoriello added that the team will be retaining fellow assistant coaches John MacLean and Benoit Desrosiers. Lamoriello also shared that they will be announcing Houda’s replacement as soon as Monday.

Houda will be moving away from the Islanders after spending the last two seasons overseeing New York’s penalty kill. He didn’t inspire much, though, with the Islanders boasting the worst-ranked penalty kill in the league this season. It was a sharp fall from their top-10 ranking last year, and has seemingly earned Houda the boot.

Formerly a player, Houda racked up 561 career NHL games across 15 years in the league, spending extended time with the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres. He was a heavy, high-event defender who did well in shutdown roles. That’s the mindset he’s brought to his coaching career, which kicked off one year after his retirement, when Houda joined his alma mater Rochester Americans as an assistant coach.

Houda worked his way up to the NHL after just two seasons behind an AHL bench, proceeding to spend 10 seasons on the Boston Bruins’ bench, then six years with the Detroit Red Wings, prior to his pair of seasons in New York. While he certainly didn’t accomplish what he wanted to with the Islanders, Houda’s playing career and reputation as a loyal assistant coach will likely earn him a new role quickly.

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