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Mattias Ekholm Could Return For Oilers In Conference Finals

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Edmonton Oilers defender Mattias Ekholm remains day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, but coach Kris Knoblauch said Tuesday that the veteran could be available for the conference finals if the Oilers advance, reports NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest.

Ekholm has played just once since late March, returning for a single game on April 11 after a seven-game absence, only to aggravate his injury again. The 34-year-old has missed all 10 of the team’s playoff games, but Knoblauch mentioned he’s back skating and could return soon.

As Knoblauch stated: “Mattias has been on the ice for light skates,” Knoblauch said. “He will not be joining us this series. We’re hopeful that he can join us next series if we can get to that.”

The Oilers have performed impressively despite missing one of their top defenders and are now just one win away from another trip to the conference finals. But getting Ekholm back in the lineup would undoubtedly bolster the team’s Stanley Cup hopes. Ekholm posted nine goals and 33 points in 65 regular-season games and is just one season removed from posting a career-high 11 goals. However, Elholm’s playoff experience is where his value is felt most. He has appeared in 112 playoff games over his 14-year career and was a key contributor during the Oilers’ deep playoff run last season, recording five goals, 10 points, and a plus-nine rating in 25 games.

In his absence, the Oilers have used a variety of combinations on the back end, which includes the likes of Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher. Emberson has appeared in nine playoff games but has averaged just 9:29 of ice time per game. Stecher replaced Emberson in the Game 4 lineup, logging 16:46 of ice time in the shutout win.

Logan Stanley Set To Be Healthy Scratch For Jets

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Despite a clean bill of health, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley is expected to be a healthy scratch for Game 4 against the Dallas Stars, per Mike McIntyre of Winnipeg News.

Known for his physical presence, Stanley was injured in Game 6 of the team’s first-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Before his injury, he posted 42 penalty minutes in five games and had no points and a negative plus-minus to show for it. The massive 6’7” presence could give the team a physically imposing force on the back end, but his style of play may not be the best matchup against Mikko Rantanen and the Stars’ skill-heavy attack. The 26-year-old recorded one goal, 14 points, 88 hits, 76 blocked shots, and 78 penalty minutes in 63 regular-season contests this season.

As the Jets look to even the series, Haydn Fleury will remain slotted into the lineup on the team’s third defensive pairing alongside veteran Colin Miller. Fleury recorded seven assists and a minus-12 in 39 regular-season games. However, his playoff metrics have looked much better, as he’s produced a plus-two rating and chipped in two assists in five games thus far. Additionally, he has averaged 17:24 of ice time per game in the playoffs — a solid increase from his regular season average of 15:56 — showcasing a growing level of trust in the 28-year-old’s play. That figure was certainly inflated by their double-overtime victory in Game 7 of the first round. However, that opportunity provided Fleury with the platform to highlight the impact Fleury can have on the blue line, as he logged a career-high 33:02 after Josh Morrissey left in the first period with an injury.

Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel recently told media, including NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers, that Fleury provides the team with a mobile option on the back end. “Again, another skillset. He’s real mobile, he can skate out of trouble. Another guy that can be a part of that rush, a part of what we’re talking about getting after Dallas here and getting on our toes. And that’s what he brings to our game,” Arniel said.

Ken Holland Accepts Kings GM Position

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May 13: After days of anticipation, it has been released that Ken Holland has accepted the Kings’ general manager role, per Helen St. James of the Detroit Free Press (paywalled content). St. James covered Holland for many years during his extensive career with the Detroit Red Wings. Holland will become the 10th GM in Kings’ history.

May 12: It appears that the Kings are making progress with Holland.  Friedman reports that indications are that Los Angeles is closing in on landing Holland as their next GM.

May 10: Former Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland recently met with the Los Angeles Kings to discuss their open GM position, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in his 32 Thoughts podcast.

As Friedman notes, the Kings are surveying both internal and external options, but Holland is firmly in the mix. On the podcast, Friedman said, “One of the names that is starting to circulate a little bit right now for the Kings is Ken Holland. He was in the mix for the Islanders and I am reserving judgment for where I think the Islanders could be going here,” Friedman said. “But I’ve heard Holland’s name with the Kings and if they go external, he may have a shot here.”

The longtime general manager of the Red Wings, Ken Holland, led the team to four Stanley Cup championships. In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president to make way for Steve Yzerman to take over as general manager. Soon after, Holland was named general manager of the Oilers and tasked with leading a young, talented roster to championship success—just as he had done in Detroit. Despite several deep playoff runs, including falling just one win short last season, he was ultimately unable to deliver a title. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Holland and the team mutually agreed to part ways. Holland has also been rumored for other teams this hiring cycle, including the New York Islanders.

As Pierre LeBrun notes, Holland met with Kings president Luc Robitaille to discuss the position. But as Lebrun adds, the expectation is the team will meet with several more candidates before any decision is made. On May 5, the Kings and former GM Rob Blake mutually agreed to part ways, with Robitaille tasked to lead a search for Blake’s successor. Blake leaves his successor with a favorable salary cap structure. The Kings have over $23MM to spend this summer with just four roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia.

Canucks Coaching Race Coming Down To Manny Malhotra, Adam Foote

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The Vancouver Canucks are nearing the final days of their search for a new head coach after Rick Tocchet opted to part ways with the club this summer. The race for next-man-up has come down to NHL assistant coach Adam Foote and AHL head coach Manny Malhotra, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. The report was seconded by Patrick Johnston of The Province on Bluesky.

No matter which candidate Vancouver chooses, these reports emphasize the club’s desire to promote an internal candidate rather than search externally. That sentiment can definitely be appreciated, after Vancouver hired Tocchet and Malhotra, promoted Jaroslav Svejkovsky to NHL assistant coach, and added two AHL assistant coaches all just one year ago.

Neither Malhotra nor Foote have had much work behind a pro bench. Malhotra’s coaching career started in an assistant role with Vancouver in 2017-18, just three years after he spent his final NHL games in Montreal. Malhotra served behind the Canucks bench for three years before moving back across Canada to join the Toronto Maple Leafs for four years of the same role. He returned last summer and inspired a strong push from the Abbotsford Canucks this season. With Malhotra at the helm, Abbotsford pushed to a 44-24-4 record – good for second in the AHL’s Western Conference. They’re set to take on the only Western Conference team to outperform them – the Colorado Eagles – in the AHL’s Pacific Division Finals. That playoff race might delay, or dictate, any incoming promotion for Malhotra, despite Johnston suggesting he was the slight favorite.

Foote finds himself in a spot that’d be familiar to Malhotra – currently fielding coaching offers after spending three years as a Vancouver assistant coach. The past three seasons have been the first of Foote’s pro coaching career, and come over 10 years after he retired from the NHL in 2010-11. Foote was a hard-nosed and calculated bruiser during his playing days. He pushed to two Stanley Cup wins and 142 games of playoff experience with the Colorado Avalanche from 1995 to 2004. Foote served a perennial top-four role and, while he never scored more than 31 points in a single season, his presence was simply imposing for the opposite team – evidence by his 1,534 penalty minutes in 1,154 career NHL games. He’s now a fundamental guard of the troops who would bring Cup-winning experience and 1,000 games of experience to Vancouver’s head coach role. Malhotra can’t claim either benefit, with 991 career NHL games and a 2000 Calder Cup win standing as his only pro championship.

No matter which candidate they land on, Vancouver seems destined to invest in a rookie head coach for the 2025-26 season. Their options range in playing and coaching expertise, but both have deep roots in the Canucks organization. That fact could keep the loser of the head coaching race in the organization as an NHL assistant, unless they find new options elsewhere.

Metro Notes: Palát, Berard, Hollowell

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In a recent article from Todd Cordell of Infernal Access, he opines that the New Jersey Devils should look to move on from veteran winger Ondřej Palát this offseason. Whether through a buyout or trade, Cordell believes the salary cap savings could be better used to improve other areas.

Cordell’s argument is credible. Palát is making $6MM in 2025-26 and 2026-27 with a full no-movement clause and a modified 10-team no-trade clause. He hasn’t scored more than 31 points in a season since joining the Devils, and his ice time has dropped significantly over the last three years.

Assuming New Jersey is unable to find a trade partner, given the heavy trade protection, it’s likely the Devils buy out the remaining two years of Palát’s contract if they no longer want him on the team. Using PuckPedia’s buyout calculator, New Jersey would be on the hook for $3.533MM in 2025-26, $2.533MM in 2026-27, and $1.483MM in 2027-28 and 2028-29. Aside from Luke Hughes, the Devils don’t have many high-end players to retain this offseason. Should they need the extra cap savings to pursue a notable free agent, buying out Palát’s contract may be the best route.

More notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, New York Rangers forward Brett Berard has been removed from Team USA in the IIHF World Championships due to “physical limitations”. Neither Walker nor team representatives shared specifics regarding Berard’s injury, but he’s expected to be ready for the Rangers’ training camp in September.
  • In his recurring segment analyzing players within the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review recently looked at defenseman Mac Hollowell of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hollowell led all WBS defensemen in scoring this year with one goal and 31 points, but injuries limited him to only 56 games. Despite his offensive maturity in the AHL, there’s Rorabaugh doesn’t believe the Penguins will retain him, given they never recalled him this season.

Dallas Stars Activate Miro Heiskanen From LTIR

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Earlier today, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News passed along a note from Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer, indicating defenseman Miro Heiskanen would return tonight if everything at practice went well this morning. A few hours later, the Stars announced they’d activated Heiskanen from their long-term injured reserve, indirectly confirming he’d be in the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets this evening.

Heiskanen has been out of the lineup since January 28th after suffering a lower-body injury against the Vegas Golden Knights. During the game, after being tripped up by Dallas forward Roope Hintz, Vegas captain Mark Stone collided headfirst with Heiskanen’s knee, necessitating his teammates to help him off the ice.

A few days later, on February 4th, Heiskanen underwent successful knee surgery for the injury. Still, DeBoer expressed optimism that Heiskanen would return before the end of the regular season. Dallas waited a month to place Heiskanen on LTIR, using the salary cap savings to acquire fellow countryman Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Thanks to Rantanen, the Stars survived a hotly contested opening-round matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, defeating their Central Division rivals in seven games without Heiskanen or star forward Jason Robertson. Robertson returned for the Stars in Game 1 of their Round Two series against the Jets, and they’ll have a mostly healthy lineup tonight for the first time this postseason.

Although his offensive output was depressed this year, Heiskanen has been a premier player for the Stars, particularly in the Stanley Cup playoffs. During their run to the Final in the 2019-20 postseason, Heiskanen scored six goals and 26 points in 27 games. Throughout their back-to-back Western Conference Finals runs in 2023 and 2024, Heiskanen scored seven goals and 28 points in 38 contests, averaging 28 minutes of ice time.

Panthers/Maple Leafs Notes: Stolarz, Rodrigues, Ekman-Larsson

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Mark Masters from TSN reported that Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was seen back on the ice this morning before the team’s practice. While there is no specific timeline for his return, this development is a positive sign.

Without sacrificing his long-term well-being, the Maple Leafs should want Stolarz back in the crease sooner rather than later, given the mixed results they’ve received from backup Joseph Woll. Despite winning the first two games of the series he appeared in, Woll only mustered a .875 SV% on 48 shots. Still, in the two most recent games that ended up in losses, Woll had a much improved .904 SV% on 73 shots.

Although anything can change this time of year, there’s little hope Stolarz will return to the Maple Leafs for Game 5. It’ll give Woll another opportunity to prove his worth, and could give Toronto more confidence in not rushing Stolarz back too early.

More notes from the Panthers and Maple Leafs series:

  • According to Jameson Olive of the Panthers organization, forward Evan Rodrigues has not been cleared for Game 5. Still, Olive noted that the team has time to decide tomorrow, but the odds aren’t in Rodrigues’ favor after leaving Game 4 early in the third period. Rodrigues left Sunday’s contest after being interfered with by Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a few games after being hit from behind by Toronto forward Scott Laughton, a play in which Rodrigues was given a two-minute embellishment penalty.
  • Meanwhile, Ekman-Larsson is expected to play Game 5, despite missing practice today (Tweet Link). Masters followed up his initial report, indicating Ekman-Larsson is dealing with a mild illness, and head coach Craig Berube wanted to prioritize his rest rather than pushing him too far in practice.

NHL Sets Arbitration, Offer Sheet Thresholds For 2025

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From the beginning of the ’Salary Cap Era’ in the 2005-06 NHL season, offer sheets have been a mildly used tool by General Managers in the league, with most teams simply matching any given offer sheet. Since September 12, 2006, when Ryan Kesler signed a one-year, $1.9MM offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers to June 30, 2019, there had only been eight offer sheets signed, with Dustin Penner’s being the only one to go unmatched.

Since July 1, 2019, when the Montreal Canadiens signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year, $42.27MM offer sheet (which was subsequently matched by the Carolina Hurricanes), there has seemingly been more appetite for them from General Managers. This culminated in the wildly successful offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues last offseason, when they poached defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway from the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick and a third-round pick in 2025.

Still, some risk remains when considering worthwhile offer sheets. Teams must determine if the required compensation is worth the player in question, and the NHL recently released those compensation figures via Sportsnet:

AAV Draft picks required
$1.54MM or less No compensation
$1.54MM to $2.34MM Third-round pick
$2.34MM to $4.68MM Second-round pick
$4.68MM to $7.02MM First and third-round picks
$7.02MM to $9.36MM First, second and third-round picks
$9.36MM to $11.7MM Two firsts, a second and third-round picks
Over $11.7MM Four first-round picks

The most given up in the ’Salary Cap Era’ was the 2008 first, second, and third round pick awarded to the Anaheim Ducks for Penner’s offer sheet by Edmonton. No team has ever reached into the sixth tier of compensation, and that’s unlikely to change this offseason. Teams must use their own draft compensation, meaning they’d have to re-acquire any of their old draft selections should they need them for an unmatched offer sheet, similarly to what St. Louis had to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer.

Latest On Rick Tocchet

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May 13th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Tocchet won’t have to wait much longer for a new head coaching role. Dreger indicates that Tocchet will land a new gig this week, and the Bruins, Flyers, and Kraken have been the most interested suitors, similarly to Friedman.

May 12th: Former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet is the most recent entrant to the market after unproductive extension talks led Vancouver not to pick up his contract option for 2025-26. While there’s been some expected interest in his services already – the Bruins are believed to want to interview him – the market for his services isn’t as strong as some would have anticipated, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal today.

Weeks before it was clear Tocchet wouldn’t be back with the Canucks, he was being linked to the Flyers, where he spent a good portion of his playing career. Philly remains on the hunt for a permanent bench boss after firing John Tortorella late in the season. While Tocchet was reported as a favorite a few weeks ago, there’s yet to be confirmation he’s been interviewed by the Flyers. Friedman told Dhaliwal that Tocchet remains “high on their radar,” but they’ve expanded their search to other names enough (like Pat Ferschweiler and Jay McKee) that Tocchet is no longer a clear-cut frontrunner for the job.

As for other landing spots, Friedman believes Tocchet will ultimately end up commanding too much money for Boston to go his direction. Vancouver’s extension offer to Tocchet was in the $4MM range annually, Friedman said. While money wasn’t the primary reason Tocchet opted not to extend, it stands to reason he won’t take much less, if at all, than that figure after receiving a firm offer.

Another team demonstrating interest in Tocchet during this offseason’s hiring cycle is the Kraken, Friedman relays. It doesn’t appear the interest is mutual at this stage, though. There’s a legitimate possibility he goes unhired and returns to a familiar television job on TNT’s intermission panel, where he served between being let go by the Coyotes at the end of the 2020-21 season and being picked up by the Canucks midway through 2022-23.

There are other jobs out there – the Blackhawks and Penguins. It stands to reason he wouldn’t prefer the former if he’s not interested in another Western Conference non-contending team in Seattle. Pittsburgh remains an intriguing option – he won a combined four Stanley Cups there as a player and assistant coach – but it’ll be a while before they make a decision, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote earlier this month.

How Will The Colorado Avalanche Re-Tool This Summer?

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After one of the busiest trade deadlines since their run to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, the Colorado Avalanche fell short this spring, losing in Round One to the Dallas Stars. Last week, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette analyzed six pending unrestricted free agents that the team could look to keep for next year’s iteration of the roster.

Despite shedding Mikko Rantanen’s $9.25MM salary and not retaining him beyond this season, Rawal correctly points out that Colorado only has $8.7MM in salary cap space heading into the summer with 18 players already signed. Given their financial flexibility, it’s unlikely the Avalanche will re-sign Brock Nelson, Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Lindgren, Joel Kiviranta, Jimmy Vesey, and Erik Johnson.

If Colorado doesn’t bring back Nelson, they’ll again peruse the trade and free agent markets for a second-line center. He performed mildly well upon joining the Avalanche, scoring six goals and 13 points in 19 games, with another four assists in seven postseason contests. However, Nelson reportedly spurned a three-year, $22.5MM offer from the New York Islanders, meaning he’d leave Colorado with very little wiggle room if he were to sign a similar contract.

Being a limited center class in the free-agent market, the Avalanche would likely turn to the trade market to fill the gap. Unfortunately, after trading away several assets at the 2024-25 trade deadline, they’ll have little to offer other teams for a true second-line middleman.

It is unlikely that Colorado will re-sign Lindgren beyond this season unless he agrees to a significantly lower salary than his current $4.5MM. Lindgren’s future with the team could tie together with the health status of defenseman Josh Manson, who missed a large chunk of the 2024-25 season due to injury. If the Avalanche are confident Manson will open the 2025-26 season on the team’s long-term injured reserve, they may be interested in retaining Lindgren and his similar playstyle.

The last player Rawal believes the Avalanche will shy away from is Kiviranta. It’s not so much that Kiviranta wasn’t valuable to Colorado during the 2024-25 season, but because it’ll be hard to predict which player they’re getting. Kiviranta exploded for 16 goals in 79 games this season with a 19.0% shooting percentage, offering the Avalanche flexibility to move him up and down the lineup. Still, it may be unwise to significantly raise Kiviranta’s salary, considering he averaged an 8.1% shooting percentage over 219 games from 2019 to 2024.

The trio Rawal believes will likely stay in Colorado for at least the next season includes Drouin, Vesey, and Johnson. Drouin spurned longer-term offers last summer to re-up on a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Avalanche this year. There’s a good chance Drouin’s injury history will drive other teams away from offering long-term deals this summer, meaning Colorado could re-sign him again on a below-market deal.

Vesey and Johnson should be available at a low price, but they might choose to leave on their own accord. Vesey was very outspoken about his discontent with the New York Rangers for lack of playing time, and none of that changed in Denver. Meanwhile, although Johnson has spent much of his career in Colorado and has publicly shown his admiration for the organization, he’s a prime retirement candidate this offseason.

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