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Archives for June 2025

Blues’ Blueline Needs A Retooling

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The St. Louis Blues made a surprising playoff push this past season, and even more unexpectedly, they pushed the Winnipeg Jets to the very limit in the first round, ultimately losing a Game 7 in overtime after Winnipeg scored in the final second of regulation to tie the game.

It was a heartbreaking end to a season where St. Louis amazed many by putting together a performance strong enough to qualify for the postseason. The Blues achieved this despite having one of the oldest defensive units in the NHL, and many expect St. Louis to retool its defense this summer. The team made several moves last year to bring in new faces, but with Torey Krug’s career over and Nick Leddy in the final year of his contract, the Blues will probably add one or two new defensemen.

On the right side, the Blues have a decent lineup, with Colton Parayko in the top pairing. However, fellow veteran Justin Faulk likely needs to move down the lineup to the bottom pairing, which isn’t ideal given his $6.5MM cap hit for the next two seasons. Faulk’s salary has put St. Louis in a position where they must utilize him higher in the lineup than may be appropriate, considering his capabilities at 33 years of age.

While Faulk remains a decent power-play producer, he hasn’t registered an above-water Corsi or expected goals percentage since the 2019-20 season, his first in St. Louis. Last season, he recorded four goals and 28 assists in 78 games but had a 47 CF% at even strength, which was the second worst among St. Louis defenders. He’s now a third-pair defenseman, suggesting that the Blues need to find a top-four right-shot defenseman.

If that is the case, which it should be, St. Louis will need to line up behind several other teams that also require help on the right side of their defense. There will be options available for those who can play there, but many will come at a steep cost or have significant flaws in their game. Rasmus Andersson is a name that fits the former and is likely to be in play this summer (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). Andersson would be a great fit with the Blues, but cap space and trade assets could pose an issue.

The Blues have just over $5MM in cap space available for next season; however, Krug’s $6.5MM salary is expected to go onto LTIR, which would open up room to accommodate Andersson’s cap hit. On the draft pick front, the Blues don’t have much to offer in this draft since they only possess their first-round pick, along with their fifth and sixth-round picks. They could explore options beyond this year or tap into their prospect pool, which is a solid group (ranked 14th in the NHL by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic). Given the demand for Andersson, it might require the Blues to part with a top prospect like defenseman Adam Jiricek or forward Dalibor Dvorský.

If the Blues want to trade for a top-four defenseman without heavily investing in their future, Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson could be an option. Karlsson’s name often comes up in discussions about right-shot defensemen, but since few are available via trade, he has to be mentioned. While he hasn’t fully fit in with the Penguins, he has still produced his signature offense, contributing little on the defensive end. Nevertheless, he might find a role under head coach Jim Montgomery in St. Louis.

Montgomery values structure and accountability – traits that aren’t exactly Karlsson’s strengths. Still, he could thrive in a modern offensive system that emphasizes controlled zone entries and exits, as well as maintaining puck possession. Montgomery has coached several players to career-best years (like David Pastrňák and Hampus Lindholm), and while it may be less likely for Karlsson, he could help the three-time Norris Trophy winner regain a higher level of play.

Now, St. Louis could also explore free agency to find a suitable fit. They only need two more roster players: a defenseman and a contract for backup netminder Joel Hofer. Even with more than $11MM in cap space, things might get tight with the next target, Aaron Ekblad. There are no guarantees that Ekblad will hit free agency, and if he does, he will be in high demand given his role in back-to-back Stanley Cups in Florida. AFP Analytics projected Ekblad to receive a seven-year contract worth $7.8MM per season. Still, that projection seems relatively low at the moment, considering the robustness of his market.

The Blues might pursue another UFA defenseman, but there’s a significant decline in quality after Ekblad. Dante Fabbro could be the best available option, with a projected four-year deal around $18MM in total, which is quite steep for a defenseman claimed off waivers just seven months ago.

Shifting to the left side, St. Louis is likely set in the top four with Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler contributing. Broberg had a breakout year last season, and Fowler showed notable improvement after being traded to the Blues. The 33-year-old was able to leverage his stretch pass and offensive instincts while minimizing some defensive mistakes that troubled his last few seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. Much of that can be credited to playing for a stronger team, but the Blues’ move to take a chance on Fowler has paid off.

The Blues could improve by finding an upgrade for Leddy. To be fair to the 34-year-old, he missed 49 games last season due to a lower-body injury, but when he played, it was clear his game had declined. Leddy still skates well enough, but he’s no longer the reliable zone exit threat he once was, as his transition game isn’t as strong as it used to be. Defensively, Leddy has never excelled, and his numbers have also fallen recently, making it hard to use him beyond bottom-pairing minutes. The Blues might find better value for the $4MM they are paying him in the final year of his contract and use the savings to strengthen the right side of their defense or upgrade other areas. Trading Leddy won’t be easy, but some teams may still be looking for a puck-moving depth defenceman after the first wave of free agency.

The other significant issue with keeping Leddy is that if the Blues plan to use Faulk on the bottom pairing, Leddy and Faulk might struggle as a duo since neither player excels defensively. This could lead to some challenging nights for the veterans, as neither skill set can effectively support the other. A free agent veteran like Brian Dumoulin, who can offer a steadier defensive game, might align better with what Faulk needs in a partner.

The Blues need some adjustments once again this year, and it’s yet to be seen whether they will make minor tweaks or undertake significant changes. Either way, it’s unlikely that the Blues are done making defensive modifications. If anything has been learned over the past 12 months, it’s that Doug Armstrong will be proactive about making changes and will utilize every tool available to improve his team.

Photo by Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Capitals Re-Sign Henrik Rybinski To Two-Way Deal

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The Capitals have retained pending RFA forward Henrik Rybinski on a two-way deal for 2025-26, the team announced Thursday. He’ll make the league minimum $775K salary if he’s in the NHL and a $130K salary in the minors.

It’s a nice birthday present for Rybinski, who turns 24 today. He’s yet to make his NHL debut but has spent the last three seasons developing in AHL Hershey after signing his entry-level contract in March 2022. That deal was due to expire this summer, making him a restricted free agent, but he’ll get some offseason business early out of the way with an extension.

Rybinski signs a deal that carries a lower NHL salary and cap hit than his $813,750 qualifying offer would have provided, but does land a higher AHL salary in the process. That’s the more important number for him since he’s not anticipated to spend much of any time on the NHL roster in 2025-26. He is coming off a nice year in Hershey, though, posting a career-high 10-25–35 scoring line with a +11 rating in 60 games.

The two-time Calder Cup champion with the Bears will now get another season to show the Caps what he can do. He was initially a fifth-round pick by the Panthers back in 2019, but they opted not to sign him to an entry-level deal, and his signing rights expired two years later. Washington ended up picking him up in free agency after he scored 65 points in 47 games for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in 2021-22.

Since Rybinski will turn 25 by next July 1 and has accrued three seasons of professional experience, he’ll almost certainly be a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer, so this was Washington’s last summer with control over Rybinski’s rights. The only way they can avoid making him UFA-eligible next summer is by playing him in 80 NHL games next season, a highly unlikely scenario.

Blue Jackets Acquire Brendan Gaunce From Wild

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The Blue Jackets have acquired center Brendan Gaunce from the Wild in exchange for right-winger Cameron Butler, the team announced Thursday.

Gaunce, 31, begins his second stint in Columbus after spending one season in Minnesota. The Wild signed him to a two-year, two-way deal on the opening day of free agency last year after spending three seasons in the Blue Jackets organization, primarily with AHL Cleveland. He only made 12 NHL appearances, posting one point and a minus-four rating while averaging 9:42 of ice time per game.

He spent the bulk of the season down with AHL Iowa when he wasn’t in the Twin Cities as an injury call-up. There, he posted a 15-14–29 scoring line in 39 games while posting a -16 rating and serving as an alternate captain. That was one of the better stat lines on a weak Iowa club this year, and his 0.74 points per game was higher than his career average of 0.69 over 382 minor-league games over the course of his lengthy professional career.

As for Butler, the 23-year-old gets a fresh start after a rocky beginning to his professional career. Columbus signed him as an undrafted free agent following a 55-point season with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2022-23. He’s struggled to even hold down a regular AHL role in Cleveland, though, posting just 11 points in 91 games over the last three years. He only appeared in 37 out of 72 possible games last season and was looking like a strong non-tender candidate when his entry-level contract expires following the 2025-26 campaign. He’ll now look for more ice time in Iowa as the 6’4″, 209-lb power winger looks to get his development back on track.

Pacific Notes: Woodcroft, Klingberg, Perry

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Although he failed to find a new role as a head coach in this summer’s coaching carousel, Jay Woodcroft will return to the NHL next season. According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, the Anaheim Ducks are expected to hire Woodcroft as an assistant coach to serve on Joel Quenneville’s staff.

It’ll be a few days before the Ducks formalize Woodcroft’s hire. His previous contract with the Edmonton Oilers runs through July 1st, so an announcement should be coming then. Woodcroft hasn’t coached in the NHL since the 2023-24 season, when he was fired as the Oilers’ head coach on November 12th.

As valuable as the Ducks likely perceive Woodcroft’s previous head coaching experience, they likely targeted him to help improve the team’s offense. The Toronto, Ontario native coached Edmonton to a 79-41-13 record in 133 games (64.3% win percentage), while the team finished eighth in GF/G at the end of the 2021-22 season, and first in the league during the 2022-23 season.

Other notes from the Pacific Division:

  • After a largely successful return to the NHL this past season with the Oilers, it doesn’t appear that defenseman John Klingberg will return to the team this summer. Speaking on the Chris Johnston Show, host Chris Johnston reported that Klingberg is likely to become an unrestricted free agent. That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t return to Edmonton, but he may find more lucrative offers elsewhere. Although injuries limited his return during the regular season, Klingberg finished the postseason on a high note, scoring one goal and four points in 19 games with a +3 rating, averaging 19:08 of ice time per game.
  • Unlike Klingberg, the same doesn’t appear to be true regarding veteran Corey Perry. In today’s episode of Sportsnet’s Around the NHL with Elliotte Friedman, a segment on Sportsnet 590, Friedman shares that Perry and the Oilers are working towards a new deal. Assuming a relatively cheap deal for Perry, there’s little to lose for Edmonton. The 40-year-old veteran is coming off his 20th NHL season, scoring 19 goals and 30 points in 81 regular-season contests, with another 10 goals and 14 points in 22 postseason games.

Hurricanes Sign Juha Jääskä To Two-Year Contract

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The Carolina Hurricanes have gotten some early work done with one of their depth forwards from the 2024-25 season. According to a team announcement, the Hurricanes have re-signed forward Juha Jääskä to a two-year contract worth $1.55MM. Per the team’s announcement, Jääskä’s contract will transition from a two-way agreement in 2025-26 to a one-way deal in 2026-27.

After quality back-to-back campaigns with the Finnish Liiga’s HIFK, the Hurricanes signed Jääskä as an international free agent toward the back half of the 2023-24 NHL season. In those two seasons, Jääskä scored 22 goals and 67 points in 113 games, with another five goals and 11 points in 13 postseason contests.

A little old to be considered a true prospect (27), Carolina first deployed Jääskä with their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. He quickly reaffirmed the Hurricanes’ decision to sign him, scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 53 AHL contests. His scoring output was good for fifth on the team, and sat second among wingers behind prospect Bradly Nadeau.

Carolina rewarded Jääskä’s quality transition to North American hockey this past season. Spending all of January at the NHL level, Jääskä tallied three assists in 14 games with a +3 rating in a fourth-line role. Adding four more games played by the end of the campaign, Jääskä finished the 2024-25 season with four assists in 18 contests, averaging 8:56 of ice time.

It’s hard to make any assessment of Jääskä’s game at the NHL level in his brief stint. He responded well to head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s system as evidenced by his 61.7% CorsiFor% at even strength, but he was deployed rather safely with 61.7% of his shift starts coming in the offensive zone. Depending on whether the Hurricanes rearrange their bottom-six this offseason, Jääskä is destined for a similar role with the organization next season.

Panthers Acquire Daniil Tarasov From Blue Jackets

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The Florida Panthers are making quick work to fill in their hole at backup goaltender. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Florida Panthers have acquired netminder Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In response to LeBrun’s report, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic shared that the Blue Jackets are acquiring a late-round draft pick in the trade. Columbus confirmed the trade, announcing they’ve acquired Florida’s 2025 fifth-round pick (160th overall) for their former backup.

As a potential non-tender candidate heading into the offseason, the Blue Jackets did decent work in not letting Tarasov leave for nothing. After being surpassed toward the end of the 2024-25 campaign by youngster Jet Greaves, there was little chance Tarasov would remain in Columbus for next season. Now, he’ll attempt to revive his career behind fellow countryman Sergei Bobrovsky.

There was a time when Tarasov was believed to be the future of the crease for the Blue Jackets. Columbus selected Tarasov with the 86th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, and he quickly impressed a year later with the MHL’s Tolpar Ufa. After spending a few years in the Liiga and KHL, including a strong 2020-21 season with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, where Tarasov recorded an 11-3-2 record in 16 games and achieved a .925 save percentage, the Blue Jackets brought Tarasov to North America.

Unfortunately, his professional career in North America got off to a slow beginning. In his first two years with the Blue Jackets and their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, Tarasov participated in just 43 games, which limited his development opportunities.

It wasn’t until the 2023-24 season that Tarasov became a full-time member of Columbus’ goaltending tandem. He managed an 8-11-3 record in 24 games with a .908 SV% and 3.18 GAA. His underlying metrics were strong, including 3.9 goals saved above average (GSAA) and a .565 quality start percentage, indicating that his development had returned to the right track.

Alas, this past season undid most of the positive steps he took a year ago. After starting the year as the backup again, Tarasov ended with a 7-10-2 record in 20 games, posting a .881 save percentage and a 3.54 goals against average, which caused his GSAA to drop to -10.5, resulting in the loss of his roster spot.

Given that Bobrovksy started 54 games for the Panthers during the 2024-25 season, and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, Tarasov should garner similar deployment next season. He’ll benefit from a stronger defensive core in front of him and may see his earning power grow before he becomes an unrestricted free agent before the 2026-27 NHL season.

Seattle Kraken Acquire Frédérick Gaudreau

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11:17 a.m.: Both teams have confirmed the trade.

10:32 a.m.: The Seattle Kraken are making their forward core tougher to play against.. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Kraken have acquired forward Frédérick Gaudreau from the Minnesota Wild for a draft pick. Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff quickly added that the Kraken are sending their 2025 fourth-round pick (102nd overall) to the Wild.

For a second time since the Stanley Cup Final ended, the Kraken have taken advantage of a team looking to clear salary from their roster. Similarly to the trade that brought Mason Marchment to Northwest Washington, Seattle has procured a quality middle-six option on the cheap.

Gaudreau is coming to the Kraken on the heels of one of the better campaigns of his career. He finished the 2024-25 campaign fifth on the Wild in scoring with 18 goals and 37 points in 82 games. Although he’s best in a third-line role, Gaudreau spent much of the year in Minnesota’s middle-six due to injuries at the top of their forward hierarchy.

Although he showed more thump in his offensive output this past season, there is reason for pause. Gaudreau finished the campaign with a 16.4% shooting percentage, nearly double his career percentage leading up to the season.

On the defensive side of the puck, he was largely a net-zero. He had a dismal 44.2% CorsiFor% at even strength, but maintained a palatable 48.2% success rate in the faceoff dot with a 90.4% on-ice save percentage at even strength while starting 53.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. It’ll be interesting to see if Seattle deploys Gaudreau as a center, given they’ve got Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Chandler Stephenson, and Joe Veleno down the middle already. Either they’re planning on shifting Gaudreau or one of the aforementioned players to the wing, or the Kraken are planning another trade from their forward core, similar to trading away André Burakovsky.

Meanwhile, the Wild’s take on the trade is fairly obvious. Trading Gaudreau relieves another $2.1MM from their 2025-26 salary cap table, giving them $17.7MM in available space leading up to July 1st. Now, even if they were to sign Marco Rossi for his asking price of $7MM per season, the Wild would have more than $10MM left to bring more quality pieces into the fold.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how they re-work their options down the middle if they were to trade Rossi. Top free agent options such as Brock Nelson and Matt Duchene have already been taken off the table, while John Tavares is still expected to re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. As of now, if they trade Rossi without acquiring a prominent center in return, they’d likely enter the season with Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman as their top two options down the middle.

Dallas Stars, Jamie Benn Agree To One-Year Extension

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10:04 a.m.: The Stars have confirmed the signing. Johnston expanded on the bonus structure, reporting that Benn would receive a $500K bonus for 20, 30, 50, and 60 games played, $500K for a Western Conference Final win, and $500K for a Stanley Cup Final win.

9:05 a.m.: According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Dallas Stars are close to re-signing their captain, Jamie Benn, on a one-year contract. LeBrun added that the contract should be completed today, while TSN’s Darren Dreger shares that the contract is bonus-heavy. According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, Benn’s contract will be a one-year deal worth $1MM, featuring performance bonuses similar to other contracts for players over 35. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that the contract can become a $4MM deal, meaning Benn will have $3MM available to him in performance bonuses.

Once completed, the new deal will leave the Stars with under $1MM in cap space entering the offseason. It effectively eliminates any chance Dallas will retain trade deadline acquisitions such as Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, or forward Evgenii Dadonov. Still, there was little expectation the Stars would pursue extensions with those players anyway, and they have effectively brought back the team’s core with some shrewd moves from General Manager Jim Nill over the last week. 

Benn may no longer be a high-scoring power forward who can contend for the Art Ross Trophy, but he remains a crucial leader in the Stars’ locker room and a valuable secondary scorer. His scoring has declined significantly in recent years, dropping from nearly a point-per-game average in 2022-23 to 60 points in 2023-24 and 49 points in 2024-25.

Like any aging player, Benn’s foot speed has also declined in recent years. Although he has never been known for his speed, Benn ranked in the 76th percentile with 504 bursts of 18-20 mph during the 2021-22 season, while the average was 300. In comparison, he recorded 383 bursts in the 2024-25 season, with the average at 326, according to NHL EDGE data.

Still, what he’s lost in offensive capabilities and speed, he’s made up for on the defensive side of the game. For the first time since the 2021-22 campaign, and only the fourth time of his career, the Stars deployed Benn in the defensive zone more than the offensive zone. He responded as well as he ever had, earning a 90.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength, while maintaining an 11.7% team on-ice shooting percentage while he’s on the ice at even strength, the second-best output of his career regarding the latter category.

Effectively, even with the potential of the contract becoming a $4MM agreement, Benn’s new contract appears to be a steal if he continues his defensive prowess. The bonus structure of the contract allows Dallas to push most of the overtures to their 2026-27 salary cap table, when the salary cap rises to $104MM.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

Detroit Red Wings Re-Sign Antti Tuomisto

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A few hours ago, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they’ve re-signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Antti Tuomisto to a one-year contract. Detroit has yet to share Tuomisto’s salary for the 2025-26 season, but it’ll likely be a $775K, league minimum deal.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Tuomisto was regarded as one of the better prospects in the Red Wings’ pipeline. Detroit drafted the Pori, Finland native with the 35th overall selection of the 2019 NHL Draft from Ässät U20 of the U20 SM-liiga. One year after being drafted, Tuomisto scored 15 goals and 49 points in 48 games for the same team with a +18 rating.

The noise he created overseas earned him some recruitment offers from the NCAA, and he eventually committed to the University of Denver for the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately, injuries and limited ice time led to a disappointing college experience. Despite winning the National Championship with the Pioneers in the 2021-22 NCAA season, Tuomisto finished his collegiate career with eight goals and 44 points in 117 games with a +6 rating.

Leaving after his sophomore year, Tuomisto returned home to Finland, this time with the Liiga’s TPS. He rebounded well, scoring five goals and 20 points in 60 games with a -6 rating. Feeling he had turned a corner after spending another year in Finland, the Red Wings signed Tuomisto to a two-year entry-level contract after his season concluded.

His first year with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, wasn’t nearly as poor as his time in the NCAA, but Detroit was likely hoping for more. He scored five goals and 17 points in 50 games, and even spent some time with the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye. In Tuomisto’s defense, the Griffins were a relatively low-scoring team during the 2023-24 campaign and didn’t generate much offense from the blue line.

Fortunately, he took multiple steps in the right direction this past season. Leading the team’s defense in scoring, Tuomisto finished the 2024-25 campaign with three goals and 27 points in 67 games. Still, if Tuomisto expects to make the jump to the NHL anytime soon, he’ll want to increase his scoring efficiency.

In the NHL, defensemen typically have a shooting percentage ranging from 4% to 7%, though some may fall outside this range. Given that Tuomisto finished the 2024-25 AHL season with a 2.8% shooting percentage, that won’t be enough to cut it at the top level if he continues shooting at such a high volume. The Red Wings are expected to have some turnover on their blue line this summer, but it remains to be seen if Tuomisto will be a part of that transition.

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