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Snapshots: Eklund, Colton, Ullmark, ECHL

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Sharks winger William Eklund is in stable condition after being taken to the hospital after being cut on the wrist in a tune-up game for the upcoming World Championship, Eklund’s agent, Todd Diamond, told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.  The incident occurred during a board battle with defenseman Filip Hronek.  Diamond noted early indications are that no key tendons or nerves were cut on the play.  The tournament begins next week, with Sweden as the event’s co-host. However, given the injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if Eklund didn’t participate now.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Avalanche forward Ross Colton took part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, relays Ewan Rawal of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 28-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the series opener against Dallas and hasn’t played since; the non-contact restriction today suggests he won’t be available for the series’ final game tonight.  Colton got off to a hot start this season before dealing with some injury issues, finishing up with 16 goals and 11 assists in 61 games.
  • Speaking at Ottawa’s locker clean-out day, Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark told reporters, including TSN’s Claire Hanna (Twitter link), that while he indicated that he’d have liked to play for Sweden at the upcoming World Championship, the team has decided to go in a different direction. Sweden is a co-host of the event, but they already have their three goalies for the event in Samuel Ersson, Arvid Soderblom, and Arvid Holm.
  • On Friday, the ECHL announced it will welcome New Mexico into the league for the 2026-27 season. They will be the 31st franchise, getting closer to being lined up with the 32 in the NHL and AHL.  The Stars will serve as hockey operations consultants to help the franchise get up and running, while suggestions for the team’s name are now being taken.

These Players Could Benefit From A Change Of Scenery Trade

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The classic change of scenery trade has been around in professional sports for decades and pre-dates salary caps. A change of scenery trade usually occurs when two (or more) teams swap underperforming players relative to their salary, or a single player is moved out for a fresh start elsewhere. In the case of the NHL, the team would make this move to avoid buying out a player or burying them in the minors. The hope is that a different role or a new environment can jumpstart a player’s play and rejuvenate their career. The trade doesn’t always have to involve another player on a bad contract; it can also include a sweetener to entice another team to take on a bad contract or a player to be named later. In any event, teams are gambling on a return to form when they make this transaction, and there is always a risk when trading away an underperforming player or acquiring one.

The list of reasons a team might do it can extend beyond someone’s performance, but that is usually the main driver for the move. Some recent changes in scenery trades include the Milan Lucic for James Neal trade of 2019, when the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames linked up for a rare Alberta trade. Another example is the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade between Vancouver and Arizona that sent Larsson to the Canucks and Loui Eriksson to the Arizona Coyotes (plus many other pieces).  Finally, a recent change of scenery was between Buffalo and Ottawa at the NHL Trade Deadline when Buffalo swapped Dylan Cozens for Joshua Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker. Here are the top NHL players who could benefit from a change-of-scenery trade.

First up is Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. There might not be any name on this list that sparks more of a response than Pettersson, who just completed the first year of an eight-year $92.8MM extension. The 26-year-old had just 15 goals and 30 assists in 64 games this season and became a lightning rod of criticism for many reasons. Pettersson’s uneven play added fuel to a firestorm that brewed from Pettersson’s deteriorating relationship with former Canucks teammate J.T. Miller. Eventually, Miller was dealt to the Rangers, but at this stage, it might be best for Pettersson and the Canucks if he was moved as well.

A trade of that magnitude will be tough to pull off and would no doubt require the Canucks to either retain (unlikely) or bring significant salary back in the move. The Norris/Cozens swap showed that moving significant money is possible. Still, the Canucks will have to hunt for another team with a player (or players) who need to kickstart their careers with a fresh start in a new organization.

Now, transitioning to Anaheim and forward Trevor Zegras. A few years ago, people were projecting Zegras to become a franchise cornerstone for the Ducks, but those expectations were likely overstated due to the flair with which Zegras was putting up offense. The 24-year-old is undoubtedly talented, but he does too little away from the puck and doesn’t do enough with it these days to make up for his shortcomings. A former ninth-overall pick, Zegras could still be very productive in a different role on a team where he isn’t a focal point.

A team like Pittsburgh might make sense for Zegras, as the Penguins have been stockpiling young, talented forwards who have underperformed and would likely be interested. The problem for the Penguins is that they also have players underperforming under big contracts and might not want to take on another problematic cap hit if they can’t get Zegras to buy in and make the changes necessary to flourish. There are plenty of markets in which Zegras could be a fit, and there should be interest in him if Anaheim opts to move him. Something that would be beneficial for both sides.

Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier is another player who could use a fresh start in a new city. The 32-year-old has been relatively healthy the last few seasons, and while he hasn’t produced the same level of offense as he did earlier in his career, he has become a productive player once again. The issue with Couturier is that he will not live up to his $7.75MM price tag at this stage in his career and will likely never. Even if Couturier were to get back to his previous level of play, he doesn’t fit Philadelphia’s timeline, and his play may not even be at its current level when the team is ready to contend.

A Couturier trade would benefit both the player and the team. Still, it would be a complicated move requiring Philadelphia to eat a large portion of the AAV, something they may not want to do with five years left on the deal and over $36MM in actual cash left on the tab. A team with a strong forward group could look at Couturier as a potential candidate to bounce back if he can play with better players than he has in Philadelphia. Still, he would be an expensive risk even if Philly were to eat a significant portion of his salary.

Next up is defenseman Damon Severson of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who is just two years into an eight-year $50MM deal and has not been a good fit in Columbus. The 30-year-old was once a solid offensive defenseman for the New Jersey Devils but has fallen on hard times in Columbus and was a healthy scratch at times this past season in favor of 38-year-old Jack Johnson. Whether or not anyone wants to admit it, Severson (and his contract) have become an issue for the Blue Jackets.

Perhaps Columbus could link up with a division rival to facilitate a genuine change of scenery trade for another former Devils defenseman who has struggled, Ryan Graves of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Graves also just completed the second year of his contract, a six-year deal with an AAV of $4.5MM. Graves has been an unmitigated disaster for the Penguins, playing under a virtually buyout-proof contract. Since signing with Pittsburgh on July 1st, 2023, Graves has dressed in 131 games and has posted just four goals and 14 assists total. Last year was especially tough as the 29-year-old had just four points in 61 games. Perhaps no one needs a change of scenery more than Graves, and it feels unlikely he will get one anytime soon as Pittsburgh enters another retooling season. The Penguins aren’t going to use assets to get rid of his contract (at this time), which leaves a demotion to the AHL or a trade to another team as the likelier option. A swap for a player like Severson makes sense in theory, but Pittsburgh probably doesn’t have an appetite to take on a bigger cap hit for an older player for a more extended period.

Finally, we have goaltender Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jarry is a former two-time NHL All-Star but has not played remotely close to that level since inking a five-year, $26.88MM contract on July 1st, 2023. The 30-year-old was demoted to the AHL twice this past season but returned at the end to go on a solid run to close out the year. Jarry could benefit from a blank slate more than anyone in the NHL and would be ideally suited to operate with another solid netminder. Jarry’s inconsistency makes it nearly impossible to rely on him as your sole starter, but if he has a safety net, he could regain the form he showed early in his career.

As much as a fresh start would do him some good, Josh Yohe of The Athletic believes there is a very good chance that Jarry starts next season in Pittsburgh, which likely indicates there isn’t a trade market for Jarry’s services now. The Penguins aren’t interested in paying to get rid of his contract, and it may be best to hold on and let him either play out of his funk and get some trade value again or have him tank next season and allow them to get a top draft pick in a strong draft. For Jarry, though, a fresh start would give him room to breathe and remove the pressure of a fan base calling for him to be moved for quite some time.

Photo by Brett Holmes-USA TODAY Sports

Senators Notes: Tkachuk, Giroux, Jensen, Pinto, Worlds

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While the Senators are disappointed by a first-round loss in the Battle of Ontario, there are plenty of reasons for optimism in the future after ending a seven-year playoff drought. One is the continued top-end play of captain Brady Tkachuk, who was still dealing with the hip injury he sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off during the postseason, he told Claire Hanna of TSN.

“The hip happened that Sweden game, took some time coming back to try to get it as good as possible,” Tkachuk said. “Now it’s just, take the time to get that all healed up… it could heal up in the next couple of weeks.”

Entering a pivotal 2025-26 campaign for the Sens as they look to establish themselves in the upper echelon of the Atlantic Division, it’s good news that their leading goal-scorer doesn’t expect any lingering effects and should head into training camp at full health. Signed through 2027-28 at an $8.2MM cap hit, he still led the Sens in playoff scoring with a 4-3–7 line and a plus-two rating through six games. While his 0.76 points per game in the regular season were his lowest in four years, he still topped Ottawa’s roster with 29 goals and would have registered his fourth straight 30-goal campaign if not for missing 10 games.

Here’s more on the Senators:

  • Veteran pending unrestricted free agent winger Claude Giroux wants to continue his career in his hometown of Ottawa. He hasn’t talked to Sens general manager Steve Staios about a contract extension yet, but still feels that he can be an impact player, he told Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. He’s been extremely durable since signing a three-year, $19.5MM contract with Ottawa in 2022, only missing one game. His point totals have steadily tailed off, though, and the 37-year-old scored 50 points in 81 games in 2024-25 for the second-lowest per-game output of his career over a full season. AFP Analytics projects a two-year extension for Giroux just north of his current cap hit, but it stands to reason he’ll be happy to re-up for the same number or slightly less. He only made $5.5MM in salary this year, so a marginal decrease wouldn’t even be a pay cut compared to the final season of his expiring contract.
  • Defenseman Nick Jensen may need offseason surgery for the undisclosed injury that plagued him down the stretch, he told Garrioch. Ottawa sat Jensen for two of its last four regular-season games, and he missed a couple of multi-game stretches earlier in the campaign. The 34-year-old was still an effective shutdown presence in his first season with the Sens, posting 21 points and a +18 rating in 71 regular-season games. He averaged nearly 21 minutes per game in the playoffs and controlled 57.6% of shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 despite not recording a point.
  • Young center Shane Pinto is entering the back half of his two-year, $7.5MM contract and is interested in discussing a long-term extension after he becomes eligible to sign one on July 1, he told TSN 1200 Ottawa. After sitting out half of the 2023-24 campaign due to a suspension for violating the league’s sports wagering policy, he posted a career-best 21 goals and 37 points in 70 games in 2024-25 while shouldering top-six minutes.
  • Defensemen Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot declined invites from USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, respectively, to join their national teams for the 2025 World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, with the former citing rest as his reasoning (per Hanna and TSN 1200). Germany hasn’t yet approached star center Tim Stützle, he said, but will say yes once they reach out in the coming days (according to Garrioch). Dylan Cozens also said he’d welcome being added to Canada’s roster if asked, per TSN 1200.

PHR Mailbag: Red Wings, Sharks, Blues, Rangers, Canadiens, Wild

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the possibility of San Jose moving their top pick this year, offseason planning for the Blues, and much more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s column.

gowings2008: What are the Red Wings offseason plans? Trade and draft targets? Will they shed some bad contracts? Seems after today that the players expect more from management than what they’ve gotten recently.

I have to think it’s going to be more of the same from Detroit this summer.  They’re going to operate as if they’re trying to make the playoffs which will have them looking to add multiple veterans, just as they did last year.  With GM Steve Yzerman generally believing in a longer-term development path, I’d be surprised if they’re penciling in a bunch of their top youngsters on the NHL roster next season.  More likely is that most of them start in Grand Rapids.

I don’t see them being particularly active on the trade front in terms of trying to trade for impact talent, short of trying to find a change of scenery trade for someone like Vladimir Tarasenko, a move that would likely see them getting a similarly-priced underachiever coming back the other way.  I’ve said before that I think there’s a trade option out there for Ben Chiarot in a similar type of swap and if they wanted to retain money, I suspect they could get a better return than expected.  The only bad contract I think they’ll shed would be Justin Holl; he’s the only true buyout candidate I think they have.

While you didn’t ask about free agent targets, I expect they’ll be in on pretty much every top-four defenseman that actually gets to the open market but that list is getting pretty small as it is.  Up front, I suspect they’ll look at the top center options available but those will probably price themselves out of what Detroit can afford, sending them toward wingers.  For some reason, Nikolaj Ehlers stands out as a target, someone who can add some secondary scoring.  Like Yzerman said in his presser this week, I expect them to get something done with Patrick Kane to keep him around as well.

Draft-wise, they sit 12th right now heading into next week’s lottery.  Assuming they stay there, defenseman Radim Mrtka feels like someone they’d consider.  Roger McQueen could be a candidate to slide given his injuries while Carter Bear could go in that range as well.

tucsontoro1: Lots of chatter about San Jose moving their #1 draft pick if they win the lottery. Seems counter-productive to a rebuild??

It feels like we get this type of chatter more regularly now but a lot of it is just that, chatter.  It’s fun to dream up scenarios about a team trading for the number one selection but the reality is that it doesn’t happen very often.  More recently, the last time it happened was 2003 and that was a trade-down from one to three.  In theory, the Sharks could do that, land an asset of some note, and still get a high-quality prospect.  While their prospect pool has certainly improved, it’s still not the deepest given how bare the cupboards were when GM Mike Grier took over.  In the right scenario, a move like that would be defensible.

I suspect that’s not the context you were asking with though; I imagine you were talking about trading the pick outright.  Generally speaking, that would run counter to a rebuild but it depends on who you were getting in return.  If San Jose could get a high pick from the last couple of drafts that’s established already that fits in with the age group of their young core that’s willing to sign a max-term deal when their current contract is up, it could make some sense.  Having said that, I’m not sure there’s a player like that available which is why a move is unlikely to happen.  And in terms of trading that pick for a more established star with only a few years of control remaining, that wouldn’t make sense for a team like the Sharks that’s still a few years away from contention.

vincent k. mcmahon: Looking at the Blues FA’s this year (Faksa, Suter, MacEachern), do you see them potentially bringing any of the three back or moving on from all three?

Also, is there anyone you see the Blues potentially buying out (Faulk, Leddy, Joseph, etc)?

I think at the right price point, they’d be interested in keeping Radek Faksa and Ryan Suter.  Faksa has been overpaid these last few years as his offense never came around but he’s consistently above-average on faceoffs, has good size, and can kill penalties.  If he took something around half his current price tag of $3.25MM, that might work.  As for Suter, he’s still a serviceable depth defender and accepted something with a base salary of the minimum last summer with some bonuses.  Something with that structure could be appealing again.  Perhaps not on the opening day of free agency but as most of the options come off the board, that’s something they could pivot back to depending on what else happens.

Before looking at the buyout question, let’s look at their cap situation.  As things stand, they have around $6MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, with Joel Hofer needing a new contract as an RFA.  Beyond that, they already have enough players signed to ice a full team.  A two-year bridge deal around the $2.5MM range for Hofer sounds about right so let’s give them $3MM in cap room, assuming Torey Krug is able to return next season.  Otherwise, he’d be LTIR-eligible again, opening up some extra wiggle room.  With that money, they don’t necessarily have to do anything to create more space.

With two years left on his contract, I think there would be a trade market for Justin Faulk this summer.  The UFA crop is weak and considering he’s a right-shot option, there should be teams willing to accept a small premium on the cap hit ($6.5MM) in exchange for a shorter-term agreement.  His full no-trade clause goes away in July so I don’t think a buyout is going to be needed if they want to move him.

I’d put Nick Leddy in the maybe column.  He only has one year left and they can drop the cap hit from $4MM to $2MM with a buyout next season while adding a $1MM charge in 2026-27.  He has struggled since returning from injury so he’s definitely on an above-market rate.  On the other hand, if they waived him and sent him down, he’d carry a $2.85MM cap charge next year with no hit the following year.  Is it worth taking $1MM in dead cap charges in 2026-27 to save $850K next season?  Maybe.

As for Mathieu Joseph, he’s also in the maybe column.  He hasn’t exactly provided much value on his contract ($2.95MM through next season) after being acquired from Ottawa.  A buyout would save $2.2MM next season and add a $1.1MM dead cap charge in in 2026-27 so the same question with Leddy largely applies here as well.  After receiving a third-round pick to take on his contract last summer, I wonder if they could try to make a similar move and clear the full money that way.  With more money in the system and a higher spending floor, I think we’ll see a few more of those moves in the coming weeks.

I’ll give you one other buyout option, Alexandre Texier.  He’ll be 25 so it’s only a one-third cost, not two-thirds.  If management feels it just didn’t work out, they could buy him out and save $1.75MM in space for next season while taking on a $350K dead cap charge in 2026-27.  If they want to open up a roster spot and a bit of room, that might be the easiest route to take.

Schwa: Predictions for NYR this offseason…

– Option on 1st round pick?

– Notable UFA/RFA decisions?

– Can the team retool, or do they need to rebuild? If the latter, will they?

Thanks!

There were a few other questions originally but they’ve either been covered recently or have been answered as Chris Drury will remain as GM while they wasted little time deciding their coaching situation, letting go of Peter Laviolette and bringing in Mike Sullivan as their new bench boss.

As a refresher, the Rangers moved their 2025 first-round pick as part of the J.T. Miller trade, a selection that was flipped to Pittsburgh soon after.  However, the conditions on that pick say that if it falls within the top 13, New York can keep it and move their 2026 pick instead, albeit unprotected.  It currently falls at #11 heading into the lottery so it’s locked into a top-13 position.  My inclination is that Drury assesses that this is a playoff-bound team next season and keeps the pick, thinking that next year’s could land somewhere in the 20s.  It’s not without its risks given that many felt this was a playoff team this year but the hiring of Sullivan suggests they’re all-in on pushing forward with this core group.

In terms of free agents, there isn’t much of note with their UFAs.  The two they have with NHL experience are Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Calvin de Haan and it’s fair to assume neither will return.  K’Andre Miller and William Cuylle are the key RFA’s.  Miller likely winds up with a short-term deal and with New York’s cap situation, they’ll be pushing for a short-term bridge for Cuylle.  Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe should re-sign for cheap while it wouldn’t shock me if Arthur Kaliyev is non-tendered.  I’m leaning toward guessing that Zachary Jones gets a qualifying offer but his arbitration eligibility and desire to play more could have them going in an opposite direction.

The Sullivan hiring means they’re not interested in rebuilding.  The good news is that this team can retool.  I don’t think they’re as bad as their record was this year.  If they brought this team back exactly as it was with a quality coach like Sullivan behind the bench, I’d probably pick them as a playoff team.  They’re not going to be able to do much given their cap situation but they might not have to either.  Chris Kreider could be a trade option to move to open up some flexibility and change up one top-six piece but I think this roster won’t have too many changes come opening night in October.

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Hurricanes Sign Frederik Andersen To Contract Extension

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3:30 PM: The team confirmed that they’ve signed Andersen to a one-year extension.  The deal carries a $2.75MM guaranteed salary plus $250K for 35 games played, $250K for 40 games played, and $250K if Carolina reaches the Eastern Conference Final with him playing in at least half of the playoff games.  That brings the potential value of the deal to $3.5MM.  GM Eric Tulsky released the following statement:

Frederik has played extremely well for us and ranks in the top 10 all-time for winning percentage by an NHL goalie. We’re excited that he will be staying with the team for next season.

2:03 PM: An already-thin UFA market for goaltenders could be getting weakened even further.  ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the Hurricanes are closing in on finalizing a one-year extension with pending free agent Frederik Andersen.

Over four seasons with the Hurricanes, the 35-year-old has largely done well when healthy.  However, the challenge has simply been staying healthy.  Andersen has only played in 38 games over the past two seasons due to various injuries plus a blood-clotting condition.  Last year, he put up a stellar 1.82 GAA with a .932 SV% in 16 games while this season, he posted marks of 2.50 and .899, respectively.

Despite the limited action, Andersen was Carolina’s starting goalie for their first-round series against Carolina.  He played quite well in the first four games before suffering an undisclosed injury that caused him to come out early in that fourth game and miss Game 5.  However, team reporter Walt Ruff relayed today that Andersen was a full participant in practice for the second straight day, suggesting he should be good to go for the start of the second round against Washington.

Andersen’s soon-to-expire contract carries a $3.4MM AAV.  Given how much time he has missed the last couple of years, it would be surprising to see this next deal have that much in guaranteed money.  However, since he’s now 35 and apparently signing only a one-year deal, he is eligible to have performance bonuses in that contract.  Speculatively, that would lower the guaranteed cost while having some games played incentives that could push the potential value around what he has made over the last two seasons.

Andersen will once again form a tandem with Pyotr Kochetkov who still has two years left on his contract at a club-friendly $2MM charge.  That duo has been a cost-effective one (again, when healthy) for the last couple of years and that should continue now for at least one more year.

Carolina is shaping up to have plenty of cap space available this summer.  Following the re-signing of Taylor Hall earlier this week, the Hurricanes have around $32MM in room this summer, per PuckPedia.  Notably, they only have a handful of roster spots to use that money on.  While a new deal for Andersen will cut into that a bit, GM Eric Tulsky will certainly have lots of flexibility to try to add to his roster this summer.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Flames Sign Matt Coronato To Seven-Year Extension

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Set to become a restricted free agent this summer, Flames winger Matt Coronato has instead put pen to paper on his next deal early.  The team announced that they’ve signed Coronato to a seven-year, $45.5MM extension, one that will carry an AAV of $6.5MM per season.  PuckPedia reports the breakdown of the deal is as follows:

2025-26: $5MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
2026-27 through 2030-31: $6.5MM salary
2031-32: $6MM salary

The 22-year-old was a first-round pick by Calgary back in 2021, going 13th overall.  The Flames took a gradual development strategy with Coronato after picking him, as he spent two years at Harvard before turning pro in 2023.  He also didn’t go straight to the NHL as he spent half of his first full professional campaign in the AHL with the Wranglers where he had 42 points in 41 games before making the jump to a full-time NHL spot this season (aside from a two-game AHL stint in late October).

This season, Coronato finished tied with MacKenzie Weegar for third on the Flames in points with behind only Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau.  Meanwhile, his 24 goals put him third on the team in that department as well while he logged 17:35 per night of playing time.  That performance was good enough to secure him a spot on Team USA’s roster for the upcoming Worlds but following the results of an MRI, he opted to withdraw from the team as a preventive measure to recover and train on schedule for next season.

While it’s not common for a team to hand out a long-term deal to a player with only one full NHL season under his belt and a total of just 112 career appearances at the top level, GM Craig Conroy has rightfully determined that Coronato is going to be one of Calgary’s building blocks for the present and future.  With that in mind, it’s not surprising that getting a contract done was at the top of his to-do list this offseason.

It’s worth noting that Coronato had five years of club control remaining so they could have easily worked out a shorter-term agreement and then looked to lock him up on a more expensive pact down the road that would have kept him in the fold longer.  Instead, they’ve opted for the long-term deal now, meaning that Calgary only gets two years of extra control with this agreement while Coronato receives a 10-team no-trade clause in those final two seasons; players aren’t eligible for trade protection in their RFA-eligible years.

With the signing, the Flames now have around $67.7MM in commitments for next season, per PuckPedia, leaving Conroy with nearly $28MM in cap room to work with this summer.  Forwards Morgan Frost and Connor Zary along with defenseman Kevin Bahl are their most prominent remaining RFA-eligible players, while winger Anthony Mantha and goalie Daniel Vladar highlight their group of pending unrestricted free agents.

Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images.

Central Notes: Cooley, Kaprizov, Mayich

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Utah will be eligible to sign center Logan Cooley to a contract extension as of July 1st as he’ll be entering the final year of his entry-level contract at that time.  Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune posits that the five-year, $42MM contract extension Dallas gave to Wyatt Johnston could be a comparable used in negotiations while the team might point to the eight-year, $57.14MM deal they gave Dylan Guenther as a starting point.  After recording 44 points in his rookie year, Cooley put up 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games this season in a little under 18 minutes a night of playing time.  It’s likely both sides feel he has another level offensively to get to as well which would be factored into any new deal.  Between his draft status (third overall in 2022), the fact that he plays a premium position, and the big jumps coming to the salary cap, it wouldn’t be shocking to see an extension for Cooley push past the $9MM mark this summer.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • The Wild will be eligible to sign star winger Kirill Kaprizov to an extension as of July 1st and owner Craig Leipold has previously said they’ll pay whatever is necessary to keep him. But as John Shipley of the Pioneer Press notes, that alone might not be enough.  Kaprizov is in line for what will be a record-setting contract handed out to a winger and he can get that from Minnesota and likely several other teams if he was to get to unrestricted free agency.  Given that the Wild have yet to have much playoff success – they’ve lost in eight straight first rounds in ten years, the first team of the four major North American sports leagues to have that happen to them – it’s possible that Kaprizov might want to see what other opportunities await him and if there’s a better chance to play for a contending squad.  On the other hand, the Wild have much more cap flexibility to play with this summer and will surely be looking to try to make their roster look more like a contender.
  • Blues prospect Matthew Mayich will play at Clarkson University next season, the school announced (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was a sixth-round pick back in 2023, going 170th overall.  Mayich spent his four-year OHL career with Ottawa and saved his best performance for last, tallying 42 points in 66 games this season.  Louis originally was supposed to have his rights only through June 1st but with the change to allow CHL players to have NCAA eligibility, it remains unclear if that will affect signing timelines for players in that situation.

Offseason Checklist: Philadelphia Flyers

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those eliminated already in the opening round.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Philadelphia.

A year ago, the Flyers nearly pulled off an improbable run before falling off to finish the regular season.  Unfortunately for them, that slide continued for most of the 2024-25 campaign and they finished tied for last in the Eastern Conference.  While GM Daniel Briere likely knew that expectations were a bit inflated based on their finish last year, dropping back this much wasn’t what he had in mind.  As a result, there’s a lot that they need to accomplish in the coming months.

Hire A New Coach

Heading into the final couple of months, the belief seemed to be that John Tortorella would last the season and then he and the team would sit down to discuss his future.  However, following a sequence that saw them drop 11 of 12 games in the final few weeks of the season, Briere decided to make a decision before the year ended, firing Tortorella in late March while elevating Brad Shaw to the interim head coaching role for the final nine games.

Interestingly, the Flyers turned things around following the change, picking up 11 points under Shaw while averaging four goals per game.  While nine games is a very small sample size and it’s hard to put much stock in playing out the stretch, their performance under Shaw should help the 61-year-old gain some legitimate consideration for the full-time nod.  What might hurt him is that his only other head coaching experience came nearly 20 years ago when he was promoted to an interim role midseason with the Islanders.

It will be interesting to see what Briere will choose to do here.  As a team that’s still rebuilding, a coach focused on development would make some sense.  And in that case, keeping Shaw in the role on a short-term deal could make some sense.  That would allow both sides more time to assess if he’s the coach that could run the team for the longer haul or if he’d be the one who gets them through this next phase before looking for more of a win-now coach after.

Having said that, Briere has talked about this team trying to take a step forward in the near future which could have him leaning toward a more experienced option.  There’s no shortage of veteran coaches on the market now if he wants to go that route.  Either way, if they have a preferred option, Briere will need to move quickly as some of these vacancies will likely be filled before too long.

Find A Goalie Upgrade

The Flyers have been trying to find a legitimate starting goalie for the better part of two generations now.  The hope was that Ivan Fedotov could be their goalie of the future; they held onto that hope for a long time while they waited for him to come over from Russia.  However, after posting a save percentage of just .880 this season, there’s a chance they run him through waivers in 2025-26.  He’s not the long-term solution.

Aleksei Kolosov also had some potential but no desire to bide his time in the minors.  He spent the bulk of the year in Philadelphia, struggled more than Fedotov did, then went back to Russia over returning to AHL Lehigh Valley.  At this point, while he might have some upside, he can’t be counted on as the solution either.

Samuel Ersson has shown some flashes of being a quality goaltender but has also struggled under the weight of being the de facto number one goalie the last two seasons.  It’s possible that he’s part of the longer-term solution as the second option but it would be surprising to see Briere and the Flyers think they have their future starter on their roster today.

With a stated goal to be more competitive next season, this is a position that needs to be upgraded.  Unfortunately for them, that’s something that will be easier said than done this summer.  The UFA market between the pipes doesn’t have a single sure-fire starter available so they can’t go that route.  Meanwhile, legitimate number ones aren’t traded a whole lot although they could make sense as a possible landing spot for John Gibson if this proves to be the summer Anaheim decides to move him.  That said, he’d carry some question marks as well.

At a time when there aren’t as many true legitimate number one goalies out there, finding one becomes that much harder.  But at this point, even an upgrade a tier below that could be enough to give the Flyers a few more wins next season.  Even with all of Ersson, Fedotov, and Kolosov signed, they need to find a way to add one more netminder to the group, one that will see big minutes next season.

Re-Sign Key RFAs

A lot has changed over the last season for Cam York.  This time last year, it looked like he had taken that step forward to cement himself as a core piece on the back end.  However, things didn’t go so well this season, calling that into question.  The 24-year-old is seeing his bridge deal come to an end this summer and while he’s going to land considerably more than $1.6MM either way, Briere is going to need to decide if he’s seen enough to lock York up long-term or push for another short-term contract.

York is three years away from UFA eligibility so they could look for another bridge agreement although they run the risk of him having a breakout and needing a much more expensive contract a couple of years from now.  Or worse, he decides he wants to test the open market and simply opts to take an arbitration award at the end.  On the other hand, if they’re uncertain about his long-term upside, another bridge makes sense.  Meanwhile, if they feel that York for sure is going to be part of the long-term core, then trying to work out a long-term agreement makes some sense although the cost of it will likely seem high relative to his performance this season.

Tyson Foerster is another RFA of note.  He only has two full NHL seasons under his belt but has reached the 20-goal mark each time including a 25-goal showing this year.  If the team feels the 2020 first-rounder has another level to get to, they could look to try to do a long-term agreement, not unlike the pact that former Flyer Joel Farabee received.  Otherwise, a short-term bridge contract will be coming his way, likely somewhere in the $3.5MM range.

Speaking of forwards, Noah Cates also needs a new deal as his bridge agreement will end at the end of June.  Notably, he’s only one year away from UFA eligibility and has arbitration rights this time around.  After a rough first year on his soon-to-expire deal, he bounced back with 37 points this season.  That should be enough to land him a small raise on another short-term contract as it’s unlikely Briere will be comfortable handing out a long-term agreement to someone who has run hot and cold over the last few years.

Flip The Switch

If the plan is to go from asset accumulation to starting to add pieces, the Flyers have a lot of work to do this summer to try to get back into playoff contention.  On top of needing a viable starting goaltender, their back end isn’t the strongest nor is their forward group which finished in the bottom ten in scoring despite the hot finish under Shaw.  It’s the fourth year in a row they’ve landed in the bottom ten in goals scored so this wasn’t a one-off either.

If they’re going to truly get back into the thick of things, they’ll need at least one top-six forward addition coupled with younger players like Matvei Michkov, Foerster, Owen Tippett, and Bobby Brink all taking steps forward offensively to move their attack closer to the middle of the pack.  Defensively, with York struggling a bit last year, Jamie Drysdale being up and down, and Rasmus Ristolainen set to miss the start of next season, there’s a legitimate need for at least one top-four defender if they’re serious about being in the mix in 2025-26.

The good news is that Philadelphia is well-positioned to try to add some core elements.  They have nearly $25MM in cap room per PuckPedia, an amount that can be added to if Ryan Ellis needs to be moved to LTIR.  Yes, new deals for their RFAs will cut into that but there will still be enough left for one or two additions of note.

Meanwhile, the Flyers have three first-round picks at their disposal next month along with four picks in the second round.  Some of those will undoubtedly be kept to add to their prospect pool but some of those selections could be dangled for win-now help, especially if they can add an experienced younger player who fits in age-wise with their current core.  Adding through free agency but they have some decent trade chips to dangle over the coming weeks to try to flip the switch from being a rebuilding team to one looking to make a push.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Mattias Ekholm Won’t Play In Second Round

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While the Oilers came back from a two-game deficit to beat Los Angeles in the first round, they won’t be getting any reinforcements on the back end for their next series against Vegas.  Daily Faceoff’s Jason Gregor relays (Twitter link) that blueliner Mattias Ekholm won’t be available to play in the second round.

The 34-year-old returned to the lineup late in the regular season after missing seven games due to an undisclosed injury.  However, he played just three shifts spanning 1:52 in that game before going down with an undisclosed injury that has kept him out of the lineup since then and will evidently hold him out for a couple more weeks at a minimum.

Ekholm’s absence is certainly a significant one.  He had a career year last season in his first full campaign with the team, notching 45 points while logging over 21 minutes a night.  This year, his output dipped a bit to 33 points in 65 games but his 22:12 ATOI was third on the team.

Notably, Ekholm was their anchor on the penalty kill during the regular season and his absence was certainly felt in the playoffs.  The Kings scored on 40% of their power play opportunities during the opening round as Edmonton struggled considerably when shorthanded but they’ll have to make do without their top defender on that unit for a while yet.

In Ekholm’s absence, Brett Kulak has taken on a much bigger role than usual while John Klingberg returned early in the first round and jumped into a top-four spot, a deployment that will likely continue when their series against the Golden Knights opens up next week.

Canadiens Assign Oliver Kapanen And Cayden Primeau To AHL

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Following their elimination at the hands of the Capitals, the Canadiens have sent a pair of players to the minors to keep their seasons going.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned center Oliver Kapanen and goaltender Cayden Primeau to AHL Laval.

This will actually be Kapanen’s first taste of AHL action.  He started the season with Montreal before being loaned to SHL Timra for more playing time.  After putting up 35 points in 36 games with them, he was recalled to the NHL in April.  All told, the 21-year-old played in 18 regular season contests with the Canadiens, collecting two assists in a little under 11 minutes of playing time.  Kapanen also picked up a helper in three playoff appearances where he logged just under seven minutes a night of action.

As for Primeau, his stint with Montreal was short-lived after being recalled last weekend following the injury to Sam Montembeault.  He struggled mightily in limited action with the Canadiens this season, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 appearances.  However, he was dominant with Laval, winning 21 of 25 games while putting up a 2.00 GAA and a .926 SV%.  A pending restricted free agent owed a $1.068MM qualifying offer next month, Primeau and prospect Jacob Fowler will serve as the Rocket’s netminders for their postseason run.

Notably, netminder Jakub Dobes was not sent down.  Montreal used one of their four post-deadline recalls as a paper transaction to keep the 23-year-old eligible to play with the Rocket down the stretch.  However, it appears that won’t be the case now.  Dobes could be a candidate to play for Czechia at the Worlds or perhaps the team decided that since he has been a full-time NHL goalie since late December, it wouldn’t be right to send him down now.

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