With the NHL condensing the bulk of its offseason activity in a matter of just a few days this summer, this past week promised to be a busy one and it was. The annual entry draft was held with the Islanders selecting Matthew Schaefer first overall while the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its annual induction class. Meanwhile, some big trades and contract extensions highlight the rest of our key stories.
A Mammoth Acquisition: Pun aside, Utah made a splash on the trade front for the second straight offseason, acquiring winger JJ Peterka from Buffalo in exchange for winger Josh Doan and defenseman Michael Kesselring. Additionally, Peterka signed a five-year, $38.5MM contract as part of the move. Peterka’s point total increased by 18 for the second straight season as he collected 68 in 77 games, good for a share of second in scoring for the Sabres. Meanwhile, Kesselring gives Buffalo the right-shot defender they’ve long been coveting at a club-friendly $1.4MM price tag next season while Doan has shown some upside over his first 62 games of NHL action. He has one year left on his entry-level deal at a $925K price tag, meaning that Buffalo also opened up a lot of cap flexibility for next season with this move.
CBA Extension: While the current CBA doesn’t expire until September 2026, there will be labor peace beyond that. The NHL and NHLPA announced that they’re in agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding that, once ratified by both sides, would constitute a four-year extension to the CBA. Full details haven’t been disclosed yet but among the changes are a change to LTIR rules (including in the playoffs), a more streamlined system for draft rights, an increase in the minimum salary, the elimination of paper transactions (a player will have to play in a game in the AHL before being eligible for recall in the new deal), the elimination of salary deferrals, and a 75-day minimum timeframe before a player who was traded with salary retention will be eligible to be traded with retention for a second time. More changes are expected beyond these as well.
Dobson Dealt: The biggest trade of the draft was one that happened well before the draft started (even if they waited until the middle of the first round to make it official). The Islanders dealt defenseman Noah Dobson in a sign-and-trade agreement to Montreal for winger Emil Heineman plus the 16th (Viktor Eklund) and 17th (Kashawn Aitcheson) picks in the draft. As part of the move, Dobson signed an eight-year, $76MM contract. Dobson is coming off a quieter year offensively but still managed 10 goals and 29 assists after putting up 70 points in 2023-24; he and Lane Hutson will give Montreal a strong one-two punch offensively from the back end for the foreseeable future with Hutson under club control through 2031. Meanwhile, the Islanders get a winger who had a solid rookie year in Heineman and while the thought was they’d try to package those picks to move up, they wound up getting a pair of players who were viewed as being closer to top-ten picks that wound up slipping. While they have a big hole to fill on the back end now, their prospect pool is also much deeper.
Key Extensions: Several players signed contracts to avoid testing the open market on Tuesday. Included among them were two of the top-four-ranked players on our Top 50 UFA list. The Panthers re-signed Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64MM contract. He just reached the 50-point mark for the first time this season but he was a very impactful player in the playoffs and was likely to get more than that had he made it to the open market. Meanwhile, after a long negotiation, the Maple Leafs and John Tavares were able to work out a four-year, $18MM agreement. $2MM of that money is deferred, meaning the cap hit of the agreement comes in at $4.388MM. Tavares will be entering his age-35 year next season but is coming off a 38-goal, 74-point season and easily would have landed considerably more had he made it to July 1st. Toronto also agreed to terms on a six-year, $46.5MM contract with pending RFA winger Matthew Knies. Knies only has two full NHL seasons under his belt but it’s fair to say that the Peterka contract served as a strong comparable for this deal.
Still with Toronto, one possible extend-and-trade option is winger Mitch Marner. The Maple Leafs and Golden Knights have been discussing a sign-and-trade for Marner that could see at least one player come back to Toronto. Meanwhile, there is speculation that should a trade not get worked out with Marner signing with them quickly in free agency, a tampering charge could be filed by the Maple Leafs. As for how the Golden Knights could even afford to sign Marner at market value, it looks like Alex Pietrangelo and his $8.8MM contract will be landing on LTIR following the report that he is heading for multiple surgeries that will put his playing career in jeopardy.
More Trades: There were plenty more trades before or during the draft, including a trio of notable swaps. The Ducks gave forward Trevor Zegras a fresh start, sending him to the Flyers for center Ryan Poehling, the 45th pick (Eric Nilson), and a 2026 fourth-round pick. Zegras has two seasons of more than 60 points under his belt but has struggled over the last two years, failing to reach 50 points combined. Philadelphia clearly feels that they can help get him back to his old form. The Canucks added some grit on the wing, acquiring Evander Kane from Edmonton for a fourth-round pick (David Lewandowski). The Oilers needed to clear salary and Kane will get a chance to play in his hometown and add some extra scoring on the wing with Brock Boeser likely to leave in free agency. Lastly, after years of speculation, the Ducks finally moved goaltender John Gibson. He is now a member of the Red Wings who acquired him in exchange for veteran netminder Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round selection. Gibson posted a 2.77 GAA and a .911 SV% in 29 games for Anaheim this season and will have a pathway to much more playing time on a Detroit team that got a combined .896 SV% from its five netminders in 2024-25.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images.