Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for February 2025

Analyzing Ryan Donato’s Trade Value

at CDT | by 15 Comments

Since the turn of the calendar, especially leading up to the trade deadline, one player receiving plenty of interest is Chicago Blackhawks winger Ryan Donato. Despite the perceived market building around Donato, the Blackhawks reportedly haven’t ruled out negotiating an extension for their third-highest scorer.

The trade interest isn’t just because of hasty buyers either. Donato is having a career year, scoring 19 goals and 18 assists in 53 games which has already topped his previous high of 31 points in 74 games during the 2021-22 season.

Typically a pending unrestricted free agent averaging 0.70 points per game on an affordable $2MM salary would command a first-round pick or a pair of seconds. However, there is some reason for pause when considering Donato as a potential trade deadline pick.

Since January 1st, Connor Bedard, Taylor Hall, or Teuvo Teräväinen have assisted on six of Donato’s eight goals. Additionally — those three players have contributed to just over half of his total points this season. Now it’ll become a question about who exactly is contributing more to who’s success.

Given that Donato is having an offensive breakout in his eighth season, and his average ice time has jumped from a career average of 12:46 to 15:03 this season, he’s most likely benefiting from Chicago’s poor supporting cast. The Blackhawks have given Donato more responsibility than he’s ever had at the NHL level, allowing him to play with the game’s young star in Bedard and one of the best passers in Teräväinen.

If interested parties begin to believe this, it could limit what they’re willing to spend on Donato. It’s likely the probable reason why Chicago is entertaining an extension rather than giving Donato away for less than their asking price.

The comparable deal for Donato in recent history is the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli from the New Jersey Devils to the Winnipeg Jets last trade deadline for a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick with the Devils retaining the remaining 50% of his contract.

Toffoli had 26 goals and 44 points in 61 games for the Devils before the trade — similar to Donato’s production this season. Should the Blackhawks want more than a second and third-round pick for their highest-goal scorer, they might be better served in signing him to a two- to three-year extension.

Blues, Penguins Swap Mathias Laferrière, Corey Andonovski

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Penguins announced this afternoon that they’ve acquired minor-league forward Mathias Laferrière from the Blues in exchange for similarly-cast depth winger Corey Andonovski. Both will report to their new affiliate clubs in AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Springfield, respectively.

Laferrière, 24, was a sixth-round pick by the Blues in 2018 and hasn’t made his NHL debut. He’s now in his fourth season of professional hockey, almost all of which has been spent in Springfield, aside from a three-game assignment to ECHL Worcester in 2020-21. He’s been a versatile depth piece in that time, recording 21-49–70 with 62 PIMs and an even rating in 207 games. The 6’2″ forward can line up at both center and right-wing and posted 2-8–10 through the first 33 games of this season with Springfield.

Because Laferrière is set to turn 25 in late June, he will be narrowly eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. He’s thus ineligible for a qualifying offer and can sign anywhere he chooses if he doesn’t agree to an extension with the Penguins before July 1. He’s on a one-year, two-way deal he signed last June to avoid a bout with restricted free agency in St. Louis, paying him $100K in the minors.

Like Laferrière, Andonovski arrives in the Blues organization without NHL experience. Pittsburgh signed the 25-year-old as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton in 2022, and he’s spent the last three seasons and change suiting up for the Baby Pens in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 6’1″, 209-lb winger was a capable secondary scorer as recently as last year when he recorded a career-high 30 points in 63 games. He’s fallen on hard times in 2024-25, though, limited to 3-2–5 in 27 games with 15 PIMs and a plus-one rating.

Andonovski has also accrued enough professional experience to be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. He earns $5K less than Laferrière at the AHL level, saving St. Louis an insignificant amount of cash.

Neither player is expected to factor into NHL minutes down the stretch, and the likelihood of them seeing the game’s highest level at all in their careers seems slim. They’ll instead serve as minor-league depth for the next few months before having the opportunity to find new life this summer in another organization or overseas.

Ducks Could Make Ryan Strome Available At Deadline

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The Ducks are one of the apparent sellers heading into deadline season, but they don’t have many obvious desirable assets outside of pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Brian Dumoulin and goaltender John Gibson, whose rebound season could finally land Anaheim the trade return they’ve desired for years. However, in Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic’s latest trad board, he tossed center Ryan Strome into the mix for a deadline move. Strome is signed through the 2026-27 season at a $5MM cap hit.

While Anaheim has a thin center market going for them if they are indeed shopping Strome, there isn’t much else. As Johnston profiles, he’s a “decent middle-six option on a competitive team” but lacks much of any defensive acumen and often struggles in the faceoff dot. In terms of pure secondary offensive production, though, Strome is a more established and safer option than a breakout player like Ryan Donato, although he’ll provide most of his point production via assists and costs more than twice the money and has two years left on his deal.

There’s also the question of how aggressively the Ducks will push to offload him. Opting to sign veteran winger Frank Vatrano to a three-year extension last month muddies Strome’s role in the future as the Ducks continue to graduate prospects to the NHL past the halfway point of their rebuild. Strome’s money is likely better used elsewhere to land more impactful talents in free agency to support their young core, but with the Ducks operating closer to the cap floor than the cap this year with significant cap increases coming, that’s not much of a concern.

Moving Strome for a sizable return will almost certainly require general manager Pat Verbeek to retain some salary. Whether he views that as a prudent use of one of his two open retention slots through next season remains to be seen. Anaheim’s already used up one of their three on defenseman Cam Fowler, who will count against their books at a $2.5MM cap hit through 2025-26 after they traded him to the Blues in December.

The 31-year-old Strome is now in the third season of the five-year, $25MM pact he signed with Anaheim in free agency in 2022. The ex-Rangers pivot has clicked at a decent 0.52 points per game rate since arriving in Orange County, boosted by increased production in 2024-25. He’s recorded 7-23–30 through 54 games, and while those seven goals are on pace for his lowest total in nine years, his playmaking production means his overall production is coming at its best per-game basis since joining the Ducks. He’s also amid an uncharacteristically strong defensive campaign, recording a minus-four rating and 47.6 CF% at even strength that both check in as his best, by far, in Anaheim.

Canada’s Shea Theodore To Miss Remainder Of 4 Nations Face-Off

at CDT | by 28 Comments

10:45 a.m.: Theodore is expected to be out week-to-week due to the upper-body injury, the Golden Knights said Thursday. Whether he’ll remain out through the trade deadline remains to be seen, but it’s clear he won’t be ready to go when Vegas resumes its schedule on Feb. 22 against the Canucks.

8:17 a.m.: Canada defenseman Shea Theodore will be sidelined for the rest of the 4 Nations Face-Off after sustaining an upper-body injury in last night’s overtime win over Sweden, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters postgame (including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet).

The Golden Knights blue-liner hit the boards awkwardly while being hit by Swedish Kings winger Adrian Kempe early in the second period. He skated off under his own power and appeared to favor his right arm/shoulder area. During the game, TNT’s Jackie Redmond relayed that Theodore was already undergoing X-rays as part of his initial evaluation.

Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, his second appearance for the Canadian men’s national team ends after nine shifts and 6:59 of ice time. Canada cannot immediately replace Theodore on its roster – they can only add replacements if fewer than 18 healthy skaters are available for a game. Travis Sanheim was scratched as their extra defenseman against Sweden but will make his tournament debut on Saturday against the United States.

It’s a tough break for the 6’2″ lefty, who’s produced at an elite clip for Vegas since the turn of the decade but has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons. He hasn’t played more than 60 regular-season games in a single campaign since 2021-22. He was on track to play in all but one regular season game this year after missing a game due to illness back in October, but his availability for Vegas coming out of the two-week break in the schedule is now uncertain.

Theodore wasn’t going to be a top power-play option for Canada – they had Cale Makar and Josh Morrissey to quarterback their two units. But he was arguably their best puck-mover and most offensively gifted blue-liner behind those two, and a much lower-ceiling option in Sanheim now has to fill his minutes.

Vegas is far more concerned about Theodore missing time than the national side, though. He’s inarguably been their top defenseman this season, leading the club’s blue-liners in goals (seven), assists (41), points (48), shot attempts (282), takeaways (27), expected rating (+9.5), and CF% at even strength (52.1). For a team that entered the break on a 5-8-3 skid, that’s tough news.

Theodore’s lone previous appearance for the Canadian men’s national team came in 2019 when he recorded 2-5–7 with a plus-nine rating in 10 games en route to a silver medal at the World Championship. He also suited up for Canada at the 2013 U18 Worlds and the 2015 World Juniors.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Bruins Receiving Interest In Brandon Carlo, Morgan Geekie

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The Bruins are receiving inquiries about the availability of defenseman Brandon Carlo and pending restricted free agent forward Morgan Geekie, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan said last weekend (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI). Kaplan also relayed they continue to field calls on pending UFA Trent Frederic, who’s been garnering interest throughout much of the season. It’s far less likely that Boston will part ways with captain Brad Marchand even if they haven’t worked out an extension by the March 7 trade deadline, Kaplan added.

There’s little surprise that Boston is seeking to part ways with some of their middle-of-the-lineup players amid what’s likely to be a retooling effort over the next few seasons. They just locked in starter Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66MM deal at the beginning of the season and still have six years remaining on superstar David Pastrňák’s contract, as well as five years remaining on top defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s deal. The team’s books aren’t conducive to a complete rebuild despite them tracking to miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

After losing Jake DeBrusk in free agency last summer and signing Elias Lindholm to a max-term deal to augment their center depth, things haven’t gone to plan for the Bruins offensively. They’re clicking at 2.75 goals per game, 25th in the league and their worst since their 2.55 mark in the 2014-15 season. Marchand and Pastrňák have continued to produce at elite levels, but the latter is still only on pace for 40 goals after notching 61 and 47 in the prior two years. Lindholm has flamed out, limited to 10-19–29 through 57 games – unjustifiable production for his $7.75MM cap hit, no matter how well he grades out defensively (where he’s had average possession impacts this season).

Including Lindholm, five Bruins forwards have produced in the 15-30 point range at this point in the season. Among the pack are Frederic and Geekie, both in their primes and don’t have bonafide top-six ceilings on a championship-contending team. It makes sense they’d at least be talked about by Bruins management as they begin the shift to prioritizing younger, higher-upside pieces in their lineup.

However, Carlo’s name is more surprising to see on the list of potentially available players. In past years, his $4.1MM cap hit would have been considered below market value, especially as he’s locked in through the 2026-27 campaign. A tough year from the 28-year-old likely diminishes his trade value slightly, but with a lengthy track record of being a stalwart top-four defender, it’s likely teams will see a down season as a blip, not a trend, from a right-shot defender below 30 years old.

He will immediately rank among the top righties available on deadline day if Boston shifts from just taking calls to shopping him. That said, his all-around numbers this season aren’t inspiring. His 18:40 ATOI is his lowest since arriving in Boston nine years ago, and while he’s not relied upon for offense, his nine points in 56 games is the lowest pace we’ve seen from him in four years. Defensive metrics don’t paint a rosy picture, either. Carlo’s penalty kill time has been eaten into by Nikita Zadorov, and at even strength, his 45.6 CF% and -9.0 expected rating rank worst among the team’s full-time blue-liners. Extremely difficult defensive minutes don’t do him any good there, but with the latter number tracking as a career-worst, it’s a cause for concern.

Kraken Assign Jordan Eberle To AHL On Conditioning Loan

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Seattle Kraken have assigned team captain Jordan Eberle to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint. Eberle has been out of the lineup for nearly the entire season after suffering a pelvis injury in Seattle’s November 14th win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Eberle suffered the injury in a collision with Hawks defenseman Connor Murphy. His timetable was quickly drawn out in the wake of the injury. Eberle was originally designated as out day-to-day but ultimately needed surgery less than one week later. He was placed on long-term injured reserve and announced as out month-to-month on November 30th.

There have been very few updates on Eberle’s progress in the months since. He resumed off-ice workouts and light skating on January 23rd, but was said to still be a ways out from returning. Now, nearly three weeks later, the veteran winger seems to finally be on the mend. This AHL conditioning loan is likely an effort to keep Eberle on the practice sheet during Seattle’s two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off break, though he could have a chance at playing in one of Coachella Valley’s four games before the Kraken return from break. Of note, since Eberle remains on LTIR, he will be limited to six days and/or three games in the minors – though Seattle can appeal to receive two additional games.

Eberle was off to a red-hot start to the year before he fell to injury. He scored six goals and 11 points in Seattle’s first 17 games, good enough for second on the team in both scoring stats at the time of his injury. The scoring was a promising uptick after Eberle managed just 17 goals and 44 points in 78 games last season – far off the mark of the 63 points he posted in 2022-23. Eberle has emerged as a pillar of the Seattle lineup despite the fluctuating scoring. He’s glued himself to a top-six role and stood as one of Seattle’s best defensive forwards through parts of his first four seasons with the club. Seattle named Eberle as the second captain in franchise history before the start of the 2024-25 season. While he hasn’t had much of a chance to don the ’C’, the title still stands as a great indication of the role Eberle fills, and the priority he’ll be provided when he finally returns to full health.

Blue Jackets Prospect Cayden Lindstrom Could Miss 2024-25 Season

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Columbus Blue Jackets have received more bad news on top prospect Cayden Lindstrom’s recovery from an offseason back injury. Lindstrom underwent surgery in November and has been working his way back to full health ever since. He took a major step forward last week when he returned to the ice in full gear for the first time in over two months. But his return may have come a bit too late, and Lindstrom is still running the risk of missing the entirety of the 2024-25 season per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell told Portzline that Lindstrom is in stage three of a five-stage rehab process, and could move to stage four – no-contact skating – after seeing a doctor next week. But Lindstrom would need at least three weeks of no-contact skates before he’d be cleared for full practices, pushing his potential return to late March or early April, at best. Waddell closed by sharing that Lindstrom will continue skating with Blue Jackets coaches, rather than returning to rehab with his WHL club, the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Lindstrom was a hotly contested draft pick last season. He was one of many in the mix for the top-five picks and ultimately landed at fourth overall, becoming Don Waddell’s first draft pick as Columbus’ GM. It was a closely scrutinized decision, amplified by Lindstrom effectively missing the last four months of the 2023-24 season due to a hand and back injury, though he did return for four games between late March and early April.

Despite spotty starts, Lindstrom was a force in the WHL last season. He finished the year with 27 goals, 19 assists, and 66 penalty minutes in 32 games. Those points largely came from just how well the six-foot-four, 214-pound Lindstrom controlled the high slot – with a knack for quick plays and a hard shot making him a dynamic and physical scoring threat. Lindstrom was on a 14-game point streak – racking up 23 points – when he suffered his first injury of the year in December.

The promise of red-hot scoring will make Lindstrom hard to ignore whenever he does manage to return. His agent, Daren Hermiston, told Portzline that the top prospect has been finding other ways to hone his technical abilities while rehabbing, including looking into virtual-reality training similar to top, young NFL quarterback Jayden Daniels. Portzline also shared that there’s been plenty of collegiate interest in Lindstrom, even despite the missed games, and that the local Ohio State University is one of many schools trying to recruit him. Those rumors will train a warm spotlight onto Lindstrom when he’s back to full health, but his status as a top-five draft pick should be enough to carry him back to high acclaim.

NHL Announces 2028 World Cup Of Hockey

at CDT | by 35 Comments

With the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off just hours away, it seems the NHL is already establishing plans to deepen its international footprint. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh have plans to announce the 2028 World Cup of Hockey tournament that’d split games between North America and Europe, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The World Cup will be a mid-season tournament scheduled over the usual All-Star Break, like the 4 Nations Face-Off. LeBrun adds that this news sets up international, best-on-best hockey every two years until 2036 – with hope for a timeline that includes the Winter Olympics in 2026, 2030, and 2034 and the World Cup in 2028, 2032, and 2036.

Perhaps more exciting is the return to the name ’World Cup,’ suggesting that more countries will be involved than the four represented at the 4 Nations tournament. This would inevitably require the involvement of professional leagues around the world, as neither Czechia nor Slovakia have enough NHL players to staff an NHL-exclusive roster.

The naming of a worldwide tournament will also lead to the eventual question of Russia’s involvement. The country has been expelled from international play since the 2021 World Championship, where they fell to Team Canada in the quarterfinals. The IIHF recently reviewed Russia and Belarus’ eligibility for international competition but chose to maintain the expulsion through the 2025-26 season due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Hall-of-Famer Pavel Bure was chosen to represent Russia in recent conversations with the IIHF and, citing concerns over player safety, shared that Russia would be willing to finance additional security if it meant allowing “fans across the planet to watch one of the world’s best teams in action again.”

The IIHF’s decision will only apply to events they sanction – that decision only applies to IIHF-sanctioned events, and both the NHL and International Olympic Committee will still need to make their own decisions on whether Russia should play in their events. The NHL moving towards potentially biannual meetings between national clubs sets up an inevitable, and potentially precarious decision on Russia’s eligibility.

Minnesota Wild Reassign Devin Shore

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Feb. 12th: Indirectly confirming yesterday’s report, the Wild announced they’ve reassigned Shore to AHL Iowa meaning he’s successfully cleared waivers. Depending on the recovery timelines for Kirill Kaprizov and Jakub Lauko, Minnesota will likely need another forward or two when play resumes on February 22nd.

Feb. 11th: According to a report from PuckPedia, the Minnesota Wild have placed depth forward Devin Shore on waivers to reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. It is the fourth time the Wild have placed Shore on waivers this season.

Minnesota chose to waive Shore just six days before he would have required them for reassignment. With his next NHL game not scheduled until February 22nd, the move presented a timely opportunity for the Wild to manage their salary cap.

Despite the four waiver placements, the 10-year NHL veteran has spent most of the year in Minnesota. He’s scored one goal and two assists in 34 games averaging 8:28 of ice time per night in a fourth-line role. His multiple passes through waivers have given him considerable action with AHL Iowa, scoring two goals and 10 points in 14 games this year.

Given his $775K salary, the transaction won’t offer significant cap savings, but the Wild deemed the move worthwhile. If he clears waivers over the next 24 hours, Minnesota could recall Shore on February 21 or 22, giving them another 30 days or 10 games on the active roster before requiring waivers again.

Islanders’ Noah Dobson Changes Representation

at CDT | by 2 Comments

New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson is making headlines during the NHL’s two-week break. According to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Dobson has parted ways with his agent, Andrew Maloney of Maloney & Thompson Sports Management. He will now be represented by Judd Moldaver and Olivier Fortier from Wasserman Hockey, with Fortier serving as his lead agent.

The news will undoubtedly spark speculation about Dobson, especially after reports suggested that the Islanders might consider trading their young defenseman. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman later dismissed these rumors, stating that New York is not actively looking to make Dobson available. Nonetheless, the recent agency change will likely raise more questions than answers.

It doesn’t necessarily indicate that a trade is imminent. Friedman’s reputation in these matters is well established, and the change in agency may suggest that Dobson is seeking a long-term agreement with the only organization he has ever been a part of. However, his new agent Fortier, has yet to add any long-term extensions to his resume. The highest-value contract Oliver has ever negotiated is the four-year, $11.8MM deal between Mathieu Joseph and the Ottawa Senators in 2022.

Dobson’s other agent, Moldaver, has more experience with contract extensions. The Wasserman veteran is responsible for a few of the largest extensions in NHL history. Moldaver negotiated Roman Josi’s $72.47MM extension with the Nashville Predators, Zach Werenski’s $57.5MM extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Auston Matthews’ $53MM agreement with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Connor McDavid’s $100MM pact with the Edmonton Oilers.

Depending on how things play out, Dobson’s salary could more than double in his next contract, which could be difficult for the Islanders to swallow. General manager Lou Lamoriello isn’t a stranger to long-term commitments, but only time will tell if he’ll be willing to do that for Dobson.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top