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Archives for February 2025

Utah Acquires Sammy Walker From Wild

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Utah acquired depth forward Sammy Walker from the Wild on Monday in exchange for future considerations, both teams announced. Walker, who had been on assignment to AHL Iowa, will report to Utah’s affiliate in Tucson.

Walker, an undersized but speedy center, is in his third season of professional hockey. The 25-year-old was a seventh-round pick of the Lightning back in 2017, but after a fruitful four-year tenure at the University of Minnesota, they opted not to sign him. He hit free agency and signed with his hometown Wild in the 2022 offseason.

The 5’10” pivot earned a handful of call-ups across his first two campaigns, getting into 13 games with Minnesota while recording a goal and an assist. He posted a minus-four rating during that time and averaged 10:13 per game, struggling to control play with a 43.2 CF% at even strength.

Most of his time has been spent on the farm in AHL Iowa, where he’s steadily regressed since an All-Star rookie season. He led Iowa with 27 goals and had 48 points in 56 games, even earning a spot on the United States’ roster for the 2023 World Championship. His offensive output dropped to 14 goals and 45 points in 70 AHL games last year, though, and has completely fallen off a cliff to the tune of two goals and 11 points through 30 games in 2024-25.

As such, Walker was tracking for his first campaign without an NHL recall. He’ll now get the chance to rediscover his game in the Utah organization, joining a marginally stronger Tucson roster, while the Wild open a fourth contract slot in advance of the trade deadline.

Trade Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Boston Bruins.

With tight playoff races in both conferences, there are many teams without a clear agenda heading into deadline day. The Bruins are one of those teams. An early-season coaching change hasn’t done much to jumpstart general manager Don Sweeney’s club, as an 18-13-3 record under interim head coach Joe Sacco still has them one point out of a playoff spot with negative games in hand. With a subpar possession game, unusually below-average goaltending, and a captain on an expiring contract, Boston isn’t in a good position to be the aggressive buyers they’ve routinely been at recent deadlines.

Record

26-22-6, 5th in the Atlantic

Deadline Status

Conservative Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$1.87MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: BOS 1st, BOS 3rd, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th
2026: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 7th

Trade Chips

If any Bruins roster players move – which isn’t a given – pending UFA forward Trent Frederic is the likeliest candidate. Whether he’s shipped out as part of a true selling move or a retooling swap remains to be seen, but in any event, the 26-year-old is likely more valuable to Boston as a trade chip than as an extension candidate through what looks to be a few questionable seasons. The versatile middle-six grinder has been drawing interest for weeks now, which should only be growing as Mikael Granlund has already come off a thin list of rental forwards with usability at center.

However, Frederic is amid a major offensive regression, posting seven goals and seven assists in 52 games after a career-best 18-goal, 40-point showing last year. That comes despite Frederic averaging a career-high 14:05 per game, most of which has come at even strength. He’s been deployed on the second power-play unit with quarterback Hampus Lindholm missing extended time but hasn’t seen much use shorthanded despite what his reputation as a checking piece may indicate. Frederic does rank second on the team with 142 hits, though, and his $2.3MM cap hit won’t likely require retention for most interested parties. That, plus his effectiveness as a strong secondary scoring piece in the prior couple of seasons, should net Sweeney a solid return as he looks to restock his draft and prospect cupboard and rework his roster.

Big-bodied wingers Justin Brazeau and Cole Koepke are also pending UFAs and have provided far more value to the Bruins this season than their league-minimum two-way deals would predicate. Brazeau, in particular, has found a niche, checking in as one of the team’s six double-digit goal scorers with 10 and 20 points through 51 games. He’s seen usage higher in the lineup, particularly with Elias Lindholm and Brad Marchand, and has a 6’5″, 220-lb frame while carrying above-average possession impacts. If his play holds, he’d be an upgrade on nearly every contender’s fourth line and could even check in as a top-nine piece on a few. Koepke has cooled off after a hot start to the year but has still been part of one of the league’s best shutdown lines this year with John Beecher and Mark Kastelic. The 26-year-old has 12 points in a career-high 47 games, and the trio’s 1.28 xGA/60 ranks second in the league among qualified trios, per MoneyPuck.

On the back end, left-shot Parker Wotherspoon is likely to draw interest from teams looking to add some injury insurance ahead of the postseason. A pending UFA with an $800K cap hit, he has a goal and an assist in 30 appearances for the Bruins this year while logging fringe shorthanded usage. He plays a low-event game, carrying the worst offensive impacts of any full-time Bruins skater at even strength this season, but his 1.8 GA/60 ranks among the team’s best.

Then there’s Marchand, who enters deadline season without an extension after he denied a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in October that a three-year deal was imminent. The 36-year-old still ranks second on the team in scoring with 42 points in 54 games and would net at least a first-round pick as part of a bigger return package. Trading him would signal a more aggressive sell-off than the Bruins have undertaken in decades, though, and remains an outside possibility at best despite his pending free agency.

Team Needs

1) Defense Prospects: While the Bruins’ pool is lacking in talent overall, they still have a pair of promising U-23 forwards in Fabian Lysell and Matthew Poitras. The same can’t be said for their future on defense, which lacks players with surefire NHL upside behind 24-year-old Mason Lohrei, who’s already established himself as a regular. The few first-round picks the Bruins have kept in recent years have all gone to forwards – understandable, given their increasing lack of secondary scoring – leaving the blue line unattended. More cost-effective youth to phase out overpaid depth like Andrew Peeke works to their present and future advantage.

2) Top-Six Forward: If it’s a retooling approach instead of a sellers’ one that Sweeney takes to the deadline, acquiring a top-six forward – whether a polished one or one with relatively certain upside – is a must. Morgan Geekie has been serviceable but overtaxed in a top-line role with David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha, and Lindholm’s lack of goal-scoring (nine goals in 54 GP) has put more pressure on their wingers to be productive.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blue Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko Out Indefinitely With Broken Jaw

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12:34 p.m.: Marchenko underwent successful surgery to repair the break, per a team announcement. He’s been placed on injured reserve and is out indefinitely.

7:52 a.m.: During an ill-fated moment in last night’s loss to the Dallas Stars, the Columbus Blue Jackets also lost arguably their top forward. In an article from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, he shared that a team source confirmed that forward Kirill Marchenko suffered a broken jaw.

Portzline adds that an errant puck hit Marchenko in the jaw during the second period of yesterday’s game, and he quickly went to a hospital near the American Airlines Center. The Blue Jackets haven’t disclosed a timeline for Marchenko’s recovery, but a broken jaw typically keeps a player out between six and eight weeks.

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Columbus. Factoring in center Sean Monahan’s long-term wrist injury, the Blue Jackets have lost two of their top forwards and most of their top line as they jockey for playoff positioning in the competitive Eastern Conference.

Not only has Marchenko been a bright spot for Columbus this year but he’s been a bright spot for the entire National Hockey League. He’s blown past his previous career-high of 42 points in 78 games with a 21-goal, 55-point performance through his first 53 contests this season.

His production has accelerated on the defensive side of the puck, too. Before the injury, Marchenko averaged a career-high CorsiFor% of 52.6% and a career-high on-ice save percentage of 92.1%. He was also leading the entire league with a +31 rating.

With captain Boone Jenner expected to return relatively soon, his presence should help mitigate the loss of Marchenko on the right side, though fully replacing him internally will still be a challenge. Fortunately for Columbus, neither Marchenko’s nor Monahan’s injuries are expected to linger for the remainder of the regular season. The Blue Jackets can, theoretically, strive for a strong finish despite having a depleted forward group.

Still, with more cap space than many of their contending peers, Columbus could look to add a small offensive piece before the trade deadline. The Blue Jackets weren’t previously expected to be an active deadline team but the injury to Marchenko could ultimately force their hand.

Blues Reassign Matthew Kessel

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The Blues reassigned defenseman Matthew Kessel to AHL Springfield on Monday, per a team announcement. They now have no extra defensemen on the active roster and a pair of open spots.

After being recalled Friday, Kessel only spent a few days on the active roster. He dressed for that night’s game in place of the ill Colton Parayko against the Avalanche but posted a minus-two rating and one shot on goal in 15:26 of ice time. He didn’t play in last night’s 2-1 win over Utah thanks to Parayko’s return, and with a three-game homestand carrying the Blues through to the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the need for an extra defenseman isn’t pressing.

Kessel becomes waiver-eligible after he plays two more NHL games, so, understandably, St. Louis will attempt to stretch that out as long as possible. Regardless of whether he plays again in 2024-25, he’ll need waivers to head to the minors at the beginning of 2025-26 if he doesn’t make the team.

The 24-year-old righty has suited up 27 times for the Blues this year, including 11 straight games in October and November. He routinely logged limited minutes when dressed and was sent to Springfield in December, shortly before St. Louis moved to acquire Cam Fowler from the Ducks.

Dating back to his debut for the team in the 2022-23 season, the 2020 fifth-rounder has one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 68 NHL games with a minus-four rating. He’s averaged 15:16 per game with a 48.0 CF% but has only averaged 13:05 per game in 2024-25, albeit with improved possession metrics.

The Phoenix native is amid an offensive emergence on minor-league assignments this season. While touted as a physical defensive specialist, he has 11 points in 17 games for Springfield after recording just eight in 36 AHL games last season.

Predators Recall Kevin Gravel

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Defenseman Kevin Gravel has returned to the NHL after a brief assignment with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Before tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators, the Nashville Predators announced Gravel’s recall, and he participated in practice with the team this morning.

Outside defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, the Predators have no injuries on their blue line, making it unlikely for Gravel to play. However, he remains a serviceable veteran option as the team’s seventh defenseman for the three games leading up to the scheduled break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

Gravel has skated in three games for Nashville in Lauzon’s absence, tallying one assist while averaging 18:19 of ice time per game. Given that he hasn’t played in an NHL contest since the 2022-23 season it’s a little surprising the Predators’ decided to give Gravel top-four minutes and a spot on the team’s second penalty-kill unit.

He wasn’t the only infrequent player to join the team for practice this morning. Nashville radio analyst Nick Kieser reported earlier that forward Mark Jankowski also joined the team.

The long-time bottom-six forward has missed six straight games for the Predators due to an upper-body injury, but he should return for a game or two before the 4 Nations Face-Off. He’s scored three goals and eight points in 37 games for Nashville this year, far below his seven-goal, 15-point performance in 32 games last season.

Senators’ Josh Norris Out Multiple Weeks With Mid-Body Injury

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Senators center Josh Norris will miss “a few weeks” with the injury he sustained in Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Wild, head coach Travis Green told TSN 1200 Ottawa on Monday. Green clarified that it’s a mid-body issue for Norris but didn’t issue further details.

Norris, 25, had only recently returned to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body issue. He had four points in three games since returning, including a three-point outing against the Capitals last Thursday.

It will be Norris’ most prolonged absence from a primarily healthy season. Recurring shoulder issues and multiple surgeries limited him to 124 of 246 possible regular-season games over the prior three seasons. While he won’t play a full schedule for the first time since his rookie showing in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, he was previously on track to only miss single-digit games for the first time since then.

Thanks to the upcoming break in the schedule for the 4 Nations Face-Off, a multi-week interruption won’t result in too many missed games for the 2017 first-round pick. He presumably won’t play in the four remaining games before the tournament but could be in line to return on Feb. 22 against the Canadiens or Feb. 26 against the Jets, Ottawa’s only two contests left in the month after the break.

Norris has consistently operated as the Sens’ second-line center this season, often skating with Drake Batherson on his right flank and, most recently, David Perron on his left. His 19 goals in 50 games are one back of captain Brady Tkachuk for the team lead, while his 31 points rank sixth. He’s averaging 18:24 per game, in line with his usage from his breakout 35-goal campaign in 2021-22, and winning 54% of his draws.

It hasn’t been as dominant of a campaign offensively as the Sens envisioned he would churn out when they signed him to an eight-year, $63.6MM extension after that 35-goal year, but returning to health and establishing himself as a solid top-six pivot is a win for a player whose career was on the verge of being entirely derailed by injury. He’s been among the Senators’ most physically involved forwards with 43 blocks and 126 hits and logs time on their top power play and penalty kill units.

He’s an important piece and, by extension, a significant loss for a streaking Ottawa club trying to hold third place in the Atlantic Division heading into the break. They’re one point ahead of the Red Wings and two points ahead of the Bruins and Lightning, although Tampa is the only one in the group with a game in hand. Overall, their .577 points percentage ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference and 13th in the league, putting them in position to end their seven-year playoff drought.

Norris could be flexed to injured reserve to open up a roster spot if the Sens need one, but an LTIR placement to increase cap flexibility can’t happen unless they project him to miss at least 10 games. That’s unlikely since the break in the schedule would hold him out past the trade deadline.

He’ll be replaced in the lineup by winger Cole Reinhardt, who Ottawa recalled from AHL Belleville on Sunday. Ridly Greig will shift to the middle to center Batherson and Perron tonight against the Predators.

Blackhawks Recall Artyom Levshunov, Place Louis Crevier On Injured Reserve

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The second-overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft is set to join the Blackhawks for the first time. Chicago announced they’ve recalled defenseman Artyom Levshunov from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, and have placed defenseman Louis Crevier on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.

Levshunov was the undisputed top defensive prospect entering last summer’s draft. The Michigan State University product scored nine goals and 35 points in 38 games in his only year with the Spartans leading to a bevy of individual rewards. The Zhlobin, Belarus native secured bids on the All-Big Ten First Teams and All-Big Ten Freshman Teams, was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and was named to the AHCA West Second All-American Team.

His size and explosive skating ability already made him an intriguing defensive prospect to start but his ability to be an offensive threat put him in a different category altogether. Shortly before the start of training camp, Tracey Myers of the NHL listed Levshunov as the top prospect in the Blackhawks’ organization.

Initially, his transition to professional hockey has been challenging. Levshunov decided to skip his sophomore season at Michigan State to pursue a professional career, and the Chicago organization insisted that he begin the year in the AHL. This approach is consistent with their new strategy for other top prospects, as they avoid rushing players too quickly into the NHL.

Still, he’s not expected to play in any games for the Blackhawks before their break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Tracey Myers reported that Levshunov’s recall is for development purposes only, and he’ll only practice with the team while the AHL is on their All-Star break.

He has scored three goals and a total of 13 points in 38 games for Rockford this season, which places him tied for 13th among rookie defensemen in scoring. Although Chicago was likely expecting more offensive production from their young defenseman, they will have the opportunity to evaluate him more closely in the NHL during practice.

Unfortunately, Levshunov’s recall comes with bad news. Reports indicate that Crevier suffered a concussion during the recent game against the Florida Panthers, resulting in his placement on injured reserve.

Crevier may not have the same prospect pedigree as Levshunov, but he came very close to reaching his career-high for games played in a single season, getting hurt just two games short. This year, he has scored three goals and one assist in 23 games with the Blackhawks, averaging 17 minutes and 48 seconds of ice time per game.

Canucks Notes: Miller, Trade Chatter, Hughes

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In today’s episode of ’32 Thoughts’ with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks and their recent trade activity were the center of attention. Friedman originally broke the news that the Canucks were trading forward J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers on Friday night, and Friedman provided even more context to the move.

Friedman reported that a players-only meeting happened during Vancouver’s early road trip to Florida in mid-October. This meeting addressed the rift between teammates Miller and Elias Pettersson. While the Sportsnet insider did not disclose which players led the discussion, the focus was on encouraging Miller and Pettersson to improve their relationship for the team’s betterment.

Ultimately, Miller’s relationship with Pettersson didn’t significantly improve, prompting him to take a month-long leave of absence. Friedman noted that when Miller returned in mid-November, the Vancouver organization had committed to trading him at some point this year.

The news from Friedman contradicts many of the reports surrounding Miller in December. In early December, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reported the Canucks had publicly asserted they wouldn’t be trading Miller, and that he wouldn’t be requesting a trade from Vancouver.

As things turned out, Miller was indeed on the chopping block, being sent to the Rangers for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick. Vancouver quickly moved the first-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins later that evening to acquire Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. Friedman believes that will be the only first-round pick the Canucks will trade this season.

After last night’s overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver is 23-18-11 through 52 games and is two points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Given their status as a bubble team at the moment, the Canucks’ first-round pick has a higher value than most prospective buyers as it could realistically become a lottery selection by the end of the year.

The Canucks are aware of this and have reportedly told interested teams they have no interest in moving their first-round pick unless they have a comfortable spot in the standings by the trade deadline. Vancouver traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Calgary Flames last season in the package for Elias Lindholm making it the first time since 2021 that they hadn’t made a first-round selection.

Vancouver’s position as a playoff contender may impact captain Quinn Hughes’ participation in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off starting next week. Hughes suffered a hand injury in the team’s recent game against the Dallas Stars, keeping him out of the lineup of last night’s contest. Friedman noted in his podcast that although no decision has been made, Vancouver could ask to withdraw from the tournament with Team USA to focus solely on getting healthy for their playoff run.

As arguably the team’s top defenseman, it would be a major blow to the American’s odds of winning the tournament. Still, Team USA has an easy choice for his replacement should he bow out in Washington Capitals’ blue liner, John Carlson.

Senators Reassign Leevi Merilainen, Activate Linus Ullmark

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Feb. 3rd: According to a report from PuckPedia, the Senators have moved defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker and forward Noah Gregor to LTIR. The move has allowed Ottawa the flexibility to activate Ullmark and have $105K in LTIR cap space.

Feb. 2nd: The Ottawa Senators have assigned goaltender Leevi Merilainen back to the minor leagues. This seems to be an indication that top goaltender Linus Ullmark is nearing a return from his long-term injury, as pointed out by TSN’s Bruce Garrioch. The NHL media site shows that Ullmark has been activated from long-term injured reserve. Ullmark has missed the team’s last 18 games with a back injury. Ottawa’s visit to Nashville on Monday could be his first game back.

Merilainen performed incredibly well in relief of Ullmark. He served as the team’s backup behind Anton Forsberg, but still appeared in 12 games and posted a dazzling 8-3-1 record and .925 save percentage. Should he not play in any more NHL games this season, Merilainen’s .925 would tie for the sixth-highest a Senators goaltender has ever recorded in a minimum of 10 games. Above him are three Craig Anderson seasons, and flash-in-the-pan years from Andrew Hammond and Robin Lehner. Ron Tugnutt (1998-99) and Dominik Hasek (2005-06) each posted .925 save percentages in 43 games of their own.

That’s certainly welcome company for Merilainen, who will now take his red hot play back to the minor leagues. He served as the Belleville Senators’ clear starter to begin the year, posting a 7-2-4 record and .901 save percentage through 13 games before his call-up. That still stands as the winningest record and highest save percentage on the AHL Senators, who have turned towards a rotation of goaltenders to fill Merilainen’s role. Malcolm Subban has been their more prominent fixture – playing in 11 games – though Michael Simpson, Mads Sogaard, and Mark Sinclair have each received their own shots at the AHL crease. All four fill-ins have posted save percentages below .890 – or in Sogaard’s case, below .860. Those numbers set Merilainen up for clear control of the Belleville crease upon his return – and continued strong play could force the NHL Senators to soon reconsider their choice of backup.

Ullmark will be rushed back to the NHL starting role in much the same way. The Senators have struggled immensely to find a consistent goaltender, and made a brazen move to acquire the former Vezina Trophy this summer. Aside from the long-term injury, the move has paid dividends extremely quickly. Ullmark recorded a 12-7-2 record and .915 save percentages in 23 games before getting hurt. After plenty of speculation around how he’d translate to a tougher environment, Ullmark has looked every ounce of cool, calm, and collected for the duration of his Senators tenure. This return from injury will give him a chance to continue that streak, and ramp up the Senators’ 7-2-1 hot streak over their last 10 games.

Five Key Stories: 1/27/25 – 2/2/25

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While the trade deadline is still more than a month away, there was still a flurry of activity around the NHL including Brandon Saad walking away from more than $5MM from St. Louis to sign for much less with Vegas.  While that move was newsworthy in itself, it wasn’t enough to land a spot in this week’s key stories.

Flyers/Flames Swap: The first notable trade of the week came from the Flyers and Flames.  Center Morgan Frost and winger Joel Farabee had been in trade speculation for quite a while and the two were dealt together to Calgary for wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, Calgary’s 2025 second-round pick, and the Flames’ 2028 seventh-rounder.  The Flames had long been seeking a longer-term piece down the middle and get that in Frost who has two years of team control remaining.  Farabee, meanwhile, has struggled this year and has a $5MM cap charge through 2027-28 and Calgary is picking up the full freight of the contract while hoping they can get him going again.  Clearing that contract appears to be the impetus for the move as Kuzmenko is on an expiring contract and is struggling mightily while Pelletier cleared waivers earlier in the season but was playing well before the swap.  The move gives them much more flexibility on the salary cap that they’ll look to put to use this summer.

Salary Cap News: For the past few weeks, there was plenty of speculation that the NHL and NHLPA would like to release salary cap projections for a year or two ahead of schedule.  They wound up doing one better, announcing that the 2025-26 cap will be $95.5MM while projecting that the Upper Limits for 2026-27 and 2027-28 will be approximately $104MM and $113.5MM, respectively, subject to minor revisions.  That results in roughly a 9% increase per season to the cap.  Meanwhile, the spending minimums will also go up, moving to $70.6MM in 2025-26, $76.9MM in 2026-27, and $83.9MM in 2027-28 (again, subject to any minor revisions).  The CBA is set to expire after the 2025-26 campaign so the fact these numbers are coming out early could be construed as a positive sign while teams will now be able to better project their spending flexibility for the next three years.

Canucks Make Moves: With the rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller being too much to overcome, Vancouver finally found a suitable trade, sending Miller along with defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington to the Rangers for center Filip Chytil, blueliner Victor Mancini, and a protected 2025 first-round pick.  Miller returns to the team that he started his career with and gives New York three veteran centers signed through at least the 2028-29 campaign, joining Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck.  For Vancouver, they get some long-term cap flexibility with Chytil only being signed through 2026-27 while also opening up some extra spending room for this year.  That, coupled with the draft pick, played a role in deal number two.

That move came only a few hours after the Miller one as Vancouver flipped the draft pick along with defenseman Vincent Desharnais and wingers Danton Heinen and Melvin Fernstrom to Pittsburgh for blueliner Marcus Pettersson and winger Drew O’Connor.  Pettersson is a strong upgrade on Vancouver’s back end while O’Connor is an improvement in their bottom six up front.  However, both players are pending unrestricted free agents although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Canucks take a run at extending them according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link).  Pittsburgh does well to pick up a first-round pick for two expiring contracts though it involves taking on $4.25MM in contracts for next season with Desharnais and Heinen both having an extra year on their deals.  Meanwhile, for the time being at least, the Canucks have even more long-term cap flexibility at their disposal.

One Signed, One To Go? The Capitals entered the week with their bargain goalie tandem heading for unrestricted free agency in July.  They ended it with Logan Thompson signed for the long haul as the team signed him to a six-year, $35.1MM extension that will carry a $5.85MM cap charge and a partial no-trade clause.  The 27-year-old has been stellar this season with a 2.15 GAA and a .924 SV% in 29 games so far and is on quite a bargain deal at the moment as his cap charge is the lowest in the entire league, below the minimum salary.  Meanwhile, Charlie Lindgren remains unsigned but that might not be the case for long following a report that the two sides are working on an extension that would drive his price up to between $3.5MM and $4MM.  Washington’s goalie tandem costs less than $2MM this season but that will be changing soon enough.

Stars Add Two Veterans: Following a long-term injury to defenseman Miro Heiskanen and season-ending surgery for blueliner Nils Lundkvist, the Stars decided to make a splash of their own on the trade market.  Following a series of transactions that locked them into using LTIR, they acquired center Mikael Granlund and rearguard Cody Ceci from San Jose for their 2025 first-round pick and Winnipeg’s 2025 fourth-round selection (which would elevate to Dallas’ third-rounder if they make the Stanley Cup Final.  Granlund was San Jose’s top point-getter this season and while he won’t be a top-liner with the Stars, he’ll deepen their center group with Tyler Seguin (hip) expected to be out until the playoffs.  Meanwhile, Ceci is a minute-eating second-pairing player who should help take off some pressure until Heiskanen returns.  San Jose takes arguably its most prominent rentals and packages them together but in doing so, they land another first-round pick as their extended rebuild continues.  Considering they signed Granlund as a short-term reclamation project in 2023 and took on Ceci as a cap dump from Edmonton, getting a first-rounder is a solid piece of business for the Sharks.

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