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Panthers’ Jack Devine Returning To University Of Denver

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The Panthers will have to wait until next year to see right wing prospect Jack Devine turn pro. The University of Denver announced Wednesday that the 20-year-old is returning for his senior season in 2024-25.

Devine slipped to the late seventh round in 2022, where Florida happily picked him up with the 221st overall pick. A few public scouts expected him to go closer to the midway point of the draft after a solid freshman season at Denver, but the October-born forward garnered less interest than expected.

Not only has he outpaced his actual billing over the last two years, but he’s likely worked his way up to first- or second-round status in an early redraft. Devine’s collegiate resume was made more impressive this year with a second NCAA championship, but his individual stat sheet in his junior year was quite impressive, too. He was easily the Pioneers’ best player, leading them in scoring with 27 goals and 56 points in 44 games with a +29 rating. That showing earned him a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in collegiate hockey, as well as First All-American honors for the NCAA’s West Region.

The Illinois native will now likely join the Panthers on an entry-level contract as soon as his senior season ends, assuming he intends to sign with Florida and not test free agency. The Cats will likely burn the first year of his ELC in 2024-25, allowing him to make his NHL debut down the stretch of the regular season or in the playoffs. Devine was ranked fifth in the Panthers’ prospect system by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in February.

Senators Retain Seventh-Overall Pick, Defer Penalty To 2025 Or 2026

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The Senators have opted to retain the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft after failing to win either draw during Tuesday night’s lottery, general manager Steve Staios confirmed today (via Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch). Ottawa is now required to forfeit either their 2025 or 2026 first-round selection as a result of failing to properly inform the Golden Knights of winger Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause in a July 2021 trade.

As was the case this year, the Senators will need to inform the league within 24 hours after the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery if they wish to retain their 2025 first-round choice or surrender their 2026 top pick. With Ottawa planning on challenging for postseason action after another difficult campaign this season, choosing to retain this year’s choice – likely the highest-value pick – was widely expected.

There will be a multitude of high-ceiling talents for the Sens to choose from in what’s billed as one of the deeper top 10s in recent memory. Checking in at seventh overall in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s recent polling of NHL scouts is dynamic defenseman Zayne Parekh, who lit up the Ontario Hockey League this season with 33 goals and 96 points in 66 games for the Saginaw Spirit. Both those figures led all OHL defensemen, continuing to take leaps and bounds forward in his development after earning All-Rookie Team honors with Saginaw the year before. The Toronto-area native is a right-shot blue liner and is ever-so-slightly undersized at 6’0″ and 181 lbs, but they should almost definitely step into the NHL by 2025-26 if not next season. He’d be a welcome addition to a Sens defense prospect pool that lacks much NHL upside outside of shutdown D-man Tyler Kleven.

Other options potentially available in the Sens’ range are two-way blue-liner Sam Dickinson, offensive defenseman Zeev Buium, Finnish forward Konsta Helenius, and quickly-rising winger Tij Iginla. All would likely be top-five locks in weaker drafts.

Oskar Lindblom Signs With SHL’s Brynäs IF

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Sharks pending unrestricted free agent left wing Oskar Lindblom won’t return to the club as expected, instead opting to return to Sweden on a two-year deal with Brynäs IF of the SHL. Lindblom’s new agreement with his hometown team also carries a three-year extension option for a maximum total of five seasons.

Lindblom, 27, spent the last two seasons in San Jose after being bought out by the Flyers in 2022, subsequently signing a two-year, $5MM agreement with the Sharks in free agency. The three-time 10-goal scorer was limited to only six snipes and 15 points in 73 games last year, though, and he failed to crack the Sharks’ opening-night roster last October.

He spent nearly the entire season on assignment to AHL San Jose, where the Ewing’s sarcoma survivor had six goals and 18 points in 41 contests. Lindblom’s lone NHL appearance this season came on November 10 against the Golden Knights, recording a -1 rating and one hit in 11:56 of ice time.

Brynäs, which plays in Lindblom’s hometown of Gävle, receives significant reinforcement after earning promotion back to the SHL from the HockeyAllsvenskan a few weeks ago. Lindblom played all of his youth hockey in the Brynäs organization and was selected from them by Philadelphia in the fifth round of the 2014 draft.

He graduated to a full-time fixture for them in the SHL in 2014-15, spending three seasons there before leaving for the Flyers in 2017. Lindblom totaled 38 goals and 87 points in 141 games in parts of five seasons for Brynäs in SHL competition during his first stint, including a 22-goal, 47-point showing in 52 games in 2016-17 that earned him Swedish Forward of the Year honors.

Lindblom is the third NHL transfer Brynäs has picked up already this offseason, joining former Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg and ex-Maple Leafs and Devils depth netminder Erik Källgren. Their brief stay in the HockeyAllsvenskan last season was their first season outside of the Swedish top division since 1959-60.

If it’s the end of Lindblom’s time in the NHL, he concludes his career with 56 goals and 56 assists for 112 points and a -1 rating across 337 games with the Flyers and Sharks.

Blues Sign Hugh McGing To Two-Year Extension

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The Blues have signed forward Hugh McGing to a two-year, two-way contract extension, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday. He’ll earn $775K at the NHL level and $250K at the AHL level each season, per the team.

McGing, 25, spent most of last season on assignment to AHL Springfield. He led the Blues’ primary minor-league affiliate with 31 assists, adding eight goals for 39 points in 51 games with 40 PIMs and a +5 rating. In doing so, he matched his career-high points total set last season despite playing 20 fewer games. His 0.76 points per game were his highest since recording a point per game in his senior season with Western Michigan University in 2019-20.

The undersized forward also earned his second career NHL call-up on Dec. 9, remaining on the St. Louis roster for 11 days before being returned to Springfield. He made five appearances in that time, struggling mightily with no points, a -5 rating, poor possession metrics and going 1 for 7 on faceoffs. McGing averaged only 8:23 per game and was given advantageous offensive zone usage at even strength.

McGing was a fifth-round pick of the Blues back in 2018. While he hasn’t provided anything in his limited NHL time that suggests he can handle a major-league role, the Chicago native has turned into a good role player with Springfield with above-average playmaking skills. He served as an alternate captain for the Thunderbirds this year and is a good fit in their top six, providing the Blues organization with a quality linemate for some of their younger, higher-ceiling prospects.

He was set to be a Group Six unrestricted free agent this summer, as he’d played fewer than 80 NHL games while completing three or more professional seasons. His new deal earns him a $90K raise annually over his previous $140K minors salary, perhaps more if he spends additional time earning the $775K league minimum while on the NHL roster. McGing will be eligible for true unrestricted free agency when his extension ends after the 2025-26 season.

The Blues have one other Group Six UFA to deal with before July 1 – 25-year-old winger William Bitten, who posted 17 goals and 33 points in 68 games for Springfield this year. After McGing’s extension, they’re now at 36 of the maximum 50 standard player contracts signed for next season.

Hurricanes Sign Joel Nystrom To Entry-Level Deal

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The Hurricanes have signed defense prospect Joel Nyström to a two-year, entry-level contract, per a team announcement Tuesday night. The 21-year-old Swede will earn a $832.5K base salary and $80K AHL salary for both seasons, with a $92.5K signing bonus each year for a $925K cap hit.

Selected with the sixth-to-last pick in the 2021 draft, the right-shot Nyström has been a promising offensive talent over his three full seasons with Färjestad BK in the Swedish Hockey League. He had his best campaign yet in 2023-24, totaling eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 51 games with a +12 rating.

That made him the highest-scoring defender for the SHL’s best regular-season squad, an impressive feat for a player still so early on in his development. He wasn’t deployed in terribly difficult minutes and rarely played more than 20 minutes in a game, but he was still an incredibly important contributor in a second and third-pairing role at even strength while seeing significant power-play usage.

Nyström fell into the Hurricanes’ laps in his draft year. Some public rankings, including Elite Prospects, had him tabbed as a late second-round talent. Early on, the last few picks of the 2021 draft mostly look to be gems. Nyström’s teammate with Färjestad this season, goaltender Carl Lindbom, was selected by the Golden Knights with the 222nd overall pick and is on track to have an NHL future after logging a solid .911 SV% in 26 SHL appearances this season. Utah forward prospect Sam Lipkin and Lightning right wing prospect Niko Huuhtanen were the final two picks after Lindbom and have also both exceeded the normal development curve of a seventh-rounder.

Nyström’s ELC contains a European assignment clause, per CapFriendly, so he’ll likely be loaned back to Färjestad next season instead of suiting up for AHL Chicago. Another strong season in Sweden should put him in consideration for NHL duties as soon as 2025-26. The Karlstad native will be a restricted free agent upon expiry and becomes the 27th player under contract for Carolina next season.

NHL Announces Ted Lindsay Award Finalists

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The National Hockey League has announced the three finalists for the 2024 Ted Lindsay Award given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted on by the players. The finalists are Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Connor McDavid was last year’s winner and Matthews previously won the award in 2022. Kucherov and MacKinnon are both finalists for the Hart Trophy as well.

Kucherov was the NHL’s leading scorer this season, tallying 44 goals and 100 assists in 81 games. His 144 points were the highest total ever for a Lightning player surpassing his own record of 128 points in 2018-19. Kucherov has already taken home the Art Ross Trophy for the most points in an NHL season and previously won the Ted Lindsay Award back in 2019, along with the Hart Trophy.

MacKinnon’s presence was of massive importance to the Avalanche this season as they dealt with a slew of injuries to key players. MacKinnon played in every regular season game and finished with 51 goals and 89 assists for 140 points, all of which were career-highs. It was the second consecutive season that the 28-year-old has topped 100 points.

Finally, Matthews had an incredible season leading the league with 69 goals and setting a career high with 107 points. On top of his goal-scoring prowess, Matthews also took on increased responsibility on the penalty kill playing nearly 58 minutes of short-handed ice time compared to just 3:29 for the whole season a year ago. Matthews increased defensive awareness led to him also being nominated as a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, given to the League’s best defensive forward.

The winner of the award will be announced in late June.

Maple Leafs Notes: Samsonov, Giordano, Brodie

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David Alter of The Hockey News writes that Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov is looking for stability on his next contract after working under a one-year deal for the last few seasons. The 27-year-old is an unrestricted free agent this summer and will be seeking a multi-year commitment on his next deal. Whether or not he will command more than one year remains to be seen as his body of work was unsteady in 2023-24. While he did rebound towards the end of this season from a poor start, he’s just a few months removed from passing through waivers unclaimed.

Samsonov didn’t have a great year despite what his record will tell you. He posted a 23-7-8 record but his save percentage was just .890 and his goals-against average ballooned almost a full point to 3.13.

The goaltending market is weak this summer and this will work in Samsonov’s favor, making it unlikely that he will return to Toronto, particularly after the Maple Leafs were unwilling to commit multiple years to Samsonov last summer after he had a strong first year with the team.

In other Maple Leafs notes:

  • Pending free agent defenseman Mark Giordano is keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to his future plans (according to Joshua Kloke of The Athletic). The oldest active player in the NHL last season wouldn’t fully comment on Kloke’s questions about whether he plans to retire or keep playing, instead, he simply stated, “It’s a pretty great lifestyle.” Giordano became the eighth defenseman for Toronto and was a healthy scratch for a big portion of the season, dressing in just 46 games and not seeing the ice in the playoffs. Luke Fox of Sportsnet writes that he believes Giordano will announce his retirement this summer, but that remains speculation at this point.
  • Sportsnet’s Luke Fox doesn’t believe that the Maple Leafs will try to retain defenseman T.J. Brodie as he approaches unrestricted free agency. Brodie started the season near the top of Toronto’s depth chart but slid down the list as the season wore on and became a healthy scratch towards the end of the year. General manager Brad Treliving reportedly didn’t engage in extension talks with Brodie and seems primed to let him walk into free agency for a second time after he let Brodie go while he was the GM of the Calgary Flames. At 33, Brodie is not the defender he once was, but he could still be an effective player in the right situation as a bottom-pairing defenseman. Brodie had a goal and 25 assists in 78 games last season while averaging almost 22 minutes a game. His even-strength analytics fell off considerably, particularly his high-danger chances against. Brodie spent roughly 40% of his shifts against opponents’ top lines and struggled in those minutes but could still fair very well against mid-tier opponents or the bottom of opposing teams’ lineups.

Predators Notes: Saros, Tomasino, Forsberg

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Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz told reporters today that the team will engage with goaltender Juuse Saros this summer in an effort to ink the netminder to a contract extension (according to Robby Stanley of NHL.com). The 29-year-old has just one year remaining on the four-year deal he signed back in August 2021, that deal turned out to be a massive bargain for the Predators as Saros has been playing under a $5MM average annual value.

Saros is eligible to sign a new deal on July 1st and was the subject of trade rumors for much of this past season. The chatter appeared to get to him as Saros’s save percentage fell to a career-low .906 and his save percentage ballooned to a career-worst 2.86.

In other Nashville Predators notes:

  • Michael Gallagher of Nashville Hockey Now is reporting that Predators head coach Andrew Brunette had harsh words for forward Philip Tomasino saying, “If he continues to have the skill without the work, I don’t think he has a chance to play with us next year.” It’s not the first time that Brunette has been publicly critical of Tomasino’s play as he had strong words in February as well. Tomasino was a healthy scratch frequently this season, at one point sitting in the press box for 11 of 52 games. The 24th pick in the 2019 NHL entry draft has been a decent offensive contributor at the NHL level registering 23 goals and 47 assists in 148 games but his overall game has led to criticism from Nashville’s coaching staff and ultimately caused the 22-year-old to be shuttled back and forth between the NHL and AHL. It will be interesting to see if Tomasino remains with Nashville long-term or if the Predators opt to move on from the talented youngster.
  • Alex Daugherty of The Nashville Tennessean writes that Predators star forward Filip Forsberg has revealed the ailment that plagued him through the second half of the season and into the playoffs. Forsberg reportedly dealt with a bone bruise on his ankle that cut his leg and made it difficult for him to wear skates. The injury happened when the 29-year-old blocked a shot in mid-February, and it required stitches to repair the skin. While the outside of the wound healed, the bruised bone underneath was the issue that caused Forsberg the most problems. The injury was never severe enough to keep Forsberg out of the lineup and he was a key catalyst to Nashville’s 18-game point streak that thrust them back into the playoff picture. Forsberg posted six points in six playoff games and had a career year in the regular season tallying 48 goals and 46 assists for a career-high 94 points.

Golden Knights Notes: Marchessault, Hague, Lehner

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The Vegas Golden Knights met with the media today to discuss their season and the future of the franchise. One player whose future is unclear is Jonathan Marchessault, a player who has been with the organization since the beginning in 2017. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Marchessault told the media that he and Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon met earlier in the day with both sides saying that they have a mutual interest in working out an extension to keep the 33-year-old in Vegas.

The Conn Smythe Trophy winner from last year’s Stanley Cup run is one of just five players remaining from Vegas’ inaugural 2017-18 season and he is the Golden Knights all-time point leader with 417 points in seven seasons with the team. While both sides have mutual interest in an extension, the Golden Knights are pushed right up against the salary cap and have several key free agents including Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Alec Martinez, and Anthony Mantha.

In other Golden Knights notes:

  • Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague reportedly has a lower-body injury that will not require surgery (according to SinBin Vegas). Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon told the media that the 25-year-old should be healthy and available for the start of next season. Hague suffered the injury in game 1 against the Dallas Stars and did not play for the rest of the series. Hague took his physicality to another level this season, dishing out 153 hits in just 73 games. The Kitchener, Ontario native doesn’t put up much in the way of offence and struggled down the stretch going scoreless in the final 20 games.
  • SinBin Vegas also reported that Kelly McCrimmon offered an update on the status of goaltender Robin Lehner. McCrimmon told reporters that if Lehner can’t play next season he will remain on the long-term injured reserve. McCrimmon went on to add that it might very well be the case that Lehner can’t play and the news isn’t overly surprising given that Lehner missed the last two seasons and hasn’t played since April 2022 after undergoing hip surgery. Lehner has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $5MM and if he remains on LTIR it would allow Vegas to exceed the cap by that amount.

East Notes: Luukkonen, Senators, Kuznetsov

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Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowski writes that the Buffalo Sabres and the agent for goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have opened up talks on a contract extension for the young netminder. The 25-year-old hadn’t been able to find consistency in the NHL prior to last season but was able to assert himself and provide the Sabres with excellent goaltending as he went 27-22-4, with a .910 save percentage and a 2.57 GAA.

Luukkonen is due for a big pay increase from the $925K he made last season, and it will be interesting to see whether he and the Sabres opt for a bridge deal or a long-term commitment. If the two sides opt for arbitration or a bridge deal, Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov would be a good comparison after he signed a one-year contract for $3.55 million last summer.  The alternative to a short-term pact would be a longer-term deal and according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, that type of contract could run the Sabres between $4-5 million per season.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • With the NHL draft lottery complete, the Ottawa Senators will have 24 hours to decide whether to forfeit this year’s first-round pick or push the decision to 2025 or 2026 because of the invalid Evgenii Dadonov trade. Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun tweets that he doesn’t think the Senators will forfeit this year’s pick as Ottawa’s new management group headed by Steve Staios has ramped up their scouting efforts in preparation for this draft. The Senators hold the seventh overall pick after another disappointing season and will likely use the top-10 pick to add to their young core.
  • Luke DeCock of The News & Observer tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes made Evgeny Kuznetsov a healthy scratch for game 2 of their second-round series against the New York Rangers. Max Comtois will make his NHL playoff debut, skating in Kuznetsov’s place. Carolina dropped the first game of the series on Sunday and have been receiving offensive contributions from Kuznetsov, despite him playing predominantly in a fourth-line role with limited power play time. The 31-year-old struggled in the regular season but has been good offensively in the playoffs, posting two goals and two assists in six games.

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