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Archives for July 2025

Lightning Re-Sign Gage Goncalves To Two-Year Contract

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According to a team announcement, the Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed restricted free agent forward Gage Goncalves to a two-year, $2.4MM contract, with an AAV of $1.2MM.

Goncalves did well in his first real opportunity with the Lightning last season. Typically in a bottom-six role, Goncalves scored eight goals and 20 points in 60 contests, averaging 12:48 of ice time per game. Even in limited action and ice time, Goncalves’ physicality came through, finishing eighth on the team in hits with 71 checks.

A natural winger, he’s expected to remain in a similar role with the Lightning next season, making this a fair contract for both sides. Goncalves could theoretically move up the lineup in case of injury. Still, he doesn’t represent a better option than any of Tampa Bay’s other available wingers when the team is healthy.

Fortunately for the Lightning, the deal will keep Goncalves in Florida until his age-26 season, and they’ll still have another year of team control when Goncalves becomes a restricted free agent after the 2026-27 season. He’ll become eligible for arbitration when that time comes.

Given their lack of available cap space this offseason, the best path forward for the Lightning was retaining Goncalves, rather than finding someone to replace him in the team’s bottom six. He had fairly quality possession metrics with a 50.4% CorsiFor%, and held his own in the defensive zone with a 92.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Flyers, Dan Vladař Agree To Terms On Two-Year Deal

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The Flyers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with UFA goalie Daniel Vladař worth $3.35MM per season, per a team announcement.

After Jake Allen was taken off the market earlier this morning, Vladař became the best available option for the Flyers to fulfill their goaltending needs. He’s unlikely to take over the starting role outright in Philadelphia, but he should create a better tandem than they previously had with Samuel Ersson.

The shorter-term deal is likely some insurance for the Flyers, as it’s challenging to predict exactly what version of Vladař they’ll get. From 2022 to 2024, Vladař served as a backup and achieved a record of 35 wins, 21 losses, and 9 ties with the Flames, posting a SV% of .894 and a GAA of 3.05. Furthermore, his advanced metrics look even worse, considering his -20.1 Goals Saved Above Average in the same time frame.

Still, Vladař seemingly corrected many of his flaws this past season playing behind rookie Dustin Wolf. In the best season of his career, Vladař managed a 12-11-6 record in 30 games with a .898 SV% and 2.80 GAA, while securing a .586 quality start percentage.

Although those numbers wouldn’t typically generate much excitement, they’re far superior to anything the Flyers had available last season. Ersson recorded the highest save percentage on the team with a .883 line, while the team itself finished with a measly .879.

At the very least, Vladař should bring more stability to Philadelphia’s crease. Furthermore, the two-year arrangement gives the Flyers more breathing room to wait until their competitive window completely opens to add a bigger fish between the pipes.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article. 

Kings Sign Corey Perry, Joel Armia

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The Kings are signing winger Corey Perry, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said on the network’s TV coverage of free agency today. It’s a one-year, bonus-laden contract for the 40-year-old, per McKenzie. Furthermore, Frank Seravalli adds that the Kings are also expected to sign Joel Armia. It’s a two-year deal for him, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. LeBrun adds it’s a $2.5MM cap hit for Armia. The team confirmed both deals and a $2MM cap hit for Perry with an additional $2MM in potential performance bonuses.

This news will be headlined by Perry’s journey to yet another Pacific Division team. He was a legendary feature of the early-2000s Anaheim Ducks, even joining the squad on their run to the 2007 Stanley Cup. Perry was the gut punch backing Ryan Getzlaf’s jab – a role he filled for 14 seasons behind the Ducks captain. Perry recorded multiple impressive seasons across that span, routinely rivaling north of 30 goals and nearly 100 penalty minutes even through challenges with injury.

His career year stands proudly as the 2010-11 campaign, when he amassed 50 goals and 98 points, to go along with a staggering 104 penalty minutes. Perry led the NHL in goals, ranked fifth in total points, and was one of 43 players to record over 100 penalty minutes. He also led the league in even-strength goals, with 32. That red-hot season was enough to earn Perry the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Rocket Richard Trophy as top scorer. It was one of many dominant seasons that led him to 372 goals, 776 points, and 1,110 penalty minutes over the course of 988 games in Anaheim. He remains the club’s all-time leader in penalty minutes, and top-three in all-time goals and points.

But while Perry will long be remembered for his time in Anaheim, he’s blazed an impressive career since leaving the club in the 2019-20 season, at the age of 34. That year kicked off a string of short-term stops across the league, including one year in Dallas, Montreal, and Chicago, as well as two years in Tampa Bay. He was never able to rediscover his flashy mix of goals and penalty minutes. He instead leaned heavily on the grinder role, even amassing 95 penalty minutes in 81 games of the 2021-22 season with the Lightning.

Perry seemed set on filling a stout, bottom-end role through the remainder of his career, until an unexpected split with the Blackhawks opened the door for him to join the Edmonton Oilers partway through the 2023-24 campaign. He finished that season with fairly quiet totals – 13 points in 38 games with the Oilers – but found a much stronger stride back to offense this season. Perry finished the year with 19 goals and 30 points in 81 games. He finished the year ranked fifth on the team in goals and eighth in points. He then climbed to fifth on the team in scoring during the 2025 playoffs, where he filled a pivotal role en route to 10 goals and 14 points in 22 games.

Perry will enter the 2025-26 season at 40 years old. He’s shown a persistent ability to contribute to the lineup and showed no signs of slowing down in Edmonton’s recent run to a Cup Final elimination. Even then, he doesn’t seem to be an assured bet for more than lofty penalty minutes and a third-line role. His grit could be exactly what the Kings need behind a skilled top-six.

The same can be said for Armia, who joins the team as a stout bet for bottom-six center after filling that role for the last seven years in Montreal. Armia challenged his career-high in scoring this year, with 11 goals and 29 points in 81 games, falling just shy of the 30 points in 58 games he managed in 2019-20. He added to his stat line this season a comfortable minus-two and only 16 penalty minutes. Armia stands at an imposing 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, but his 87 hits this season didn’t rank in even the top-1o of Canadiens players. Instead, Armia earned his keep through fluid plays and a drive into the low slot on both ends of the ice. He’s a diligent forward who has amassed 586 career appearances across 11 years in the NHL. He’s scored 103 goals and 207 points in those appearances. That should be hardy enough to command a bottom-end role, likely rotating through the third and fourth line, in the Kings’ system.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.

Canucks Re-Sign Brock Boeser To Seven-Year Contract

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In a surprising swing, scoring winger Brock Boeser is remaining with the only organization he’s ever known. According to Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy, the Canucks are signing Boeser to a seven-year, $50.75MM contract, with an AAV of $7.25MM. Shortly thereafter, the Canucks made the signing official.

After months of trade rumors and a speculated separation, Boeser will make the surprising decision to stick around in Vancouver. He was shopped around heavily at the 2025 Trade Deadline, with Vancouver asking for as much as a first-round pick in return. No deal came together, though multiple teams were reportedly interested in offers, including the Carolina Hurricanes. A looming trade was enough to kick contract negotiations between Boeser and Vancouver to the summer – but Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin emphasized that the team remained interested in re-signing the scoring winger. That emphasis came in the midst of many other teams expressing interest in signing Boeser – including the Anaheim Ducks, who viewed him as a potential backup to signing Mitch Marner.

Instead, Boeser will commit to staying a Canuck through the bulk of his career. He joined the club with the 23rd-overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, following a standout season with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. Boeser followed his draft with two seasons as the University of North Dakota, where he became renowned for his ability to score goals in the big moments. His freshman year was headlined by 27 goals and 60 points in 42 games, though unfortunate circumstances and battles with injury held him to just 34 points in 32 games as a sophomore. Boeser curbed that misfortune by signing his entry-level contract at the end of the 2016-17. He was granted the first nine games of his NHL career shortly after, and quickly broke out with the first four goals and five points of his career.

With that, Boeser stamped the presence he brings to the lineup. He flashed as a volume shooter capable of taking advantage of slight openings and momentum in the rush. Those are the exact traits that led him to an impressive 29 goals and 55 points in 62 games of his rookie season – good for second in goals, and fifth in total points, among a loaded rookie class that also featured Kyle Connor, Alex DeBrincat, Clayton Keller, and Mathew Barzal. But Boeser’s flashy 2017-18 rookie campaign didn’t come without misfortune. He sustained a foot injury in just the first few games of the season, then again partway through the year with what was ultimately diagnosed as a bone bruise — in addition to a hand injury in February.

Boeser pushed through the injury, but his rookie season was ultimately cut short just a couple of months later when he fractured his back on an attempted hit. It derailed what could have been a Calder Trophy-winning campaign, but Boeser made an impressive surge back to health in the following season. For the string of injuries that he faced, Boeser’s on-ice product remained surprisingly consistent. He scored 26 goals and 56 points in 69 games of his sophomore year in the NHL, then scored 45 points in 57 games – a 65-point pace across 82 games – in year three.

Continued injuries held Boeser below 75 games played through the 2022-23 season, even as his scoring remained consistent. Injuries appeared to be a perennial issue, until Boeser surged back to full health and appeared in all but one of Vancouver’s games in the 2023-24 season. Good health brought with it a breakout year – underlined by Boeser netting 40 goals and 73 points during the regular season, and 12 points in 12 postseason games. It was his first time breaking the 30-goal ceiling.

But Boeser recorded a lofty 19.6 shooting percentage in his career-year – a mark that seemed far from sustainable given his career-long 12.7 shooting percentage entering that season. As expected, Boeser’s shooting percentage and stat line fell accordingly this season — with him finishing the year on 50 points, split evenly, and a 17.2 shooting percentage in 75 games played. That’s a hardy decline, but it could be closely coupled to Vancouver’s sharp decline in total goals scored. The team ranked sixth in the league with 279 goals, but fell all the way to 23rd in the league with just 233 goals this year. Their season was marred by challenging questions surrounding Boeser, J.T. Miller, and Elias Pettersson. It’s hard to ensure that all of those questions have been ironed out, but a hardy extension for Boeser should give the squad a reinforced focus on offense heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.

Sharks Sign William Eklund To Three-Year Extension

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The Sharks have signed winger William Eklund to a three-year extension worth $5.6MM per season, the team announced. He was entering the final year of his entry-level contract as a pending RFA. It’s a total value of $16.8MM for Eklund on his first standard NHL contract. He’ll be due a $5.8MM qualifying offer on expiry, per PuckPedia.

Eklund, 22, was one of the first cornerstone draft picks of San Jose’s rebuild. Selected No. 7 overall in 2021, he’s had a productive run in a top-six role out of the gate for the Sharks. He’s played two full NHL seasons after seeing a nine-game trial in 2021-22 and an eight-game one in 2022-23. In 174 career games, he has 35 goals and 110 points. That includes a 17-goal, 58-point showing in 77 games for the Sharks this year, finishing second on the team in scoring behind rookie Macklin Celebrini and averaging 19:33 per game.

It’s a shrewd deal, particularly for Eklund. He’ll take a bridge deal now with the chance to likely double his salary upon becoming an RFA again in 2029 at age 26 if he continues on his current development path. For the Sharks, it’s a tad peculiar to see them not go long-term with Eklund or pay him a higher salary on his bridge. It’s worth pointing out that Eklund’s deal doesn’t affect their ability to reach the cap floor this season since it doesn’t go into effect until 2026-27.

In a vacuum, though, it’s an exceptional value over the next few years for the star potential Eklund provides. As the team around him develops, he’s on track to be a surefire 70-to-80-point producer for the Sharks as Celebrini’s wingman for the foreseeable future. He’s maintained his draft slot well, currently ranking seventh in scoring among 2021 draftees. He’s played fewer games than everyone ahead of him except for Mammoth winger Dylan Guenther.

Image courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images.

Avalanche Sign Parker Kelly To Four-Year Contract

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According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have signed depth forward Parker Kelly to a four-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that it’ll be a $6.8MM deal for Kelly with an AAV of $1.7MM.

There’s no questioning the length of Kelly’s new contract, given he played last season on a one-year, $825K agreement with Colorado. Still, due to several injuries throughout the season in Denver, Kelly received a larger opportunity than expected with the Avalanche.

He spent much of his time on the team’s fourth line, but snuck into the third line when needed. He wasn’t the best fill-in option at center, given his 43.0% success rate in the faceoff dot with over 700 opportunities. Still, he provided quality scoring in his role, putting up eight goals and 19 points in 80 contests.

Despite the lack of success down the middle, he was a net positive toward the bottom of Colorado’s forward core. He managed a 51.5% CorsiFor% at even strength, the highest mark of his career, and a 91.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength, also being the highest of his career.

He made well on his tryout with the Avalanche, and the team rewarded him by making him a mainstay in their bottom-six for the next several years. Still, the team has several other additions to make this summer if they want to put together a complete and sustainable fourth line.

Stars Hire Glen Gulutzan As Head Coach

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July 1: Dallas has announced Gulutzan’s appointment.

June 29: The Stars have offered their head coaching vacancy to Oilers assistant Glen Gulutzan, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. They’ve yet to agree on a contract but are expected to announce him as their new bench boss in the near future.

The hiring will kick off Gulutzan’s second stint in the Stars organization. They’re the team that gave him his first NHL head coaching gig back in 2011, promoting him after he served as the head coach of AHL Texas for two seasons. His two-year run with Dallas was forgettable – a 64-57-9 record (.527) and no playoff appearances led to his dismissal after two seasons. He then joined the Canucks’ bench as an assistant for three years before resurfacing as head coach of the Flames, where he posted a 82-68-14 record (.543) before again being let go after two years. Calgary made the playoffs under Gulutzan in 2017 but was swept by the Ducks in the first round.

Gulutzan, 53, returns to Dallas hoping for better results this time around. He’ll have a much better roster to help him out. While he bounced from team to team for much of the 2010s, the now-53-year-old caught on as an assistant coach in Edmonton after being fired by the Flames and has remained there until today. He’s helped the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances on Kris Knoblauch’s staff, beating the Stars in the Western Conference Final on both occasions.

The former ECHL Coach of the Year with the Las Vegas Wranglers will take over for Peter DeBoer, who was a surprise firing after Dallas was bounced in this year’s WCF. Reports indicated the relationship between DeBoer and starting goaltender Jake Oettinger had rapidly deteriorated after DeBoer pulled him from their Game 5 season-ending loss early.

His new staff in Dallas remains to be seen. They already lost assistants Steve Spott to the Bruins and Misha Donskov to a role with Hockey Canada. It’s unclear if the lone remaining assistant, Alain Nasreddine, will return under Gulutzan.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.

Stars Sign Colin Blackwell To Two-Year Deal

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The Stars are bringing forward Colin Blackwell back to Dallas on a two-year deal worth $775,000 per season, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Blackwell, 32, returns to Dallas as cost-effective depth for a cap-strapped club. The versatile 5’8″ center won a career-high 151 draws for the Stars last year while providing solid depth scoring in a four-line role, posting six goals and 17 points and a plus-four rating in 63 appearances.

After spending the first few years of his pro career in the minors, the high-energy Blackwell has carved out a nice role for himself as a depth scorer, even in a bit of a journeyman role. He’s recorded 91 points in 298 career games with the Predators, Rangers, Kraken, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, and Stars. If he plays out this deal with Dallas, it’ll be his longest run with a single team.

Dallas now has a cap-compliant roster that they could theoretically roll into next season with no changes. Blackwell brings their roster count up to 21 – 11 forwards and eight defensemen, with $205,084 in space, per PuckPedia. They’ll still likely pursue a cap-clearing trade if possible, but there’s now officially an avenue toward starting the season with a full 20-man roster and at least one injury replacement.

Flyers Sign Christian Dvorak, Noah Juulsen, Dennis Gilbert

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12:32 p.m.: The Flyers have confirmed those signings and also announced a one-year deal for defenseman Dennis Gilbert worth $875,000. Gilbert, 28, had six points and 63 hits in 29 games last year with the Sabres and Senators.

11:04 a.m.: According to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Flyers are expected to sign defenseman Noah Juulsen. PuckPedia quickly followed up, indicating it’ll be a one-year, $900K investment by Philadelphia. Furthermore, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Flyers have also signed center Christian Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4MM contract. PuckPedia added that Dvorak will earn a $4MM base salary with Philadelphia and a $1.4MM signing bonus.

Juulsen will be following his former head coach, Rick Tocchet, with the Vancouver Canucks, to the Flyers organization. He was only afforded a quick trip through unrestricted free agency after a disappointing year with the Canucks. Limited by injuries, Juulsen concluded the 2024-25 campaign with no points over 35 games, averaging 16:17 of ice a night in a bottom-pairing role.

Already carrying quality depth on the right side of their defense, the Flyers are likely expecting Juulsen to fit into a depth role this season. He’s a fairly physical blue liner, averaging nearly three hits per game throughout his career. Furthermore, he earned a 90.3% on-ice save percentage at even strength throughout his tenure in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, the Flyers have also added one of the best remaining free-agent options at center in Dvorak. He’s coming off a quality season with the Canadiens, scoring 12 goals and 33 points in 82 games with a -5 rating. He’ll be a boon for Philadelphia in the faceoff dot, managing a 53.1% success rate throughout his 534-game NHL career.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how the Flyers utilize Dvorak. He’s a natural center, best deployed in a third-line role. However, if the team hopes to use freshly acquired Trevor Zegras down the middle, Dvorak could move to either wing. It’s a high cap-hit for a third-line forward, but he’ll give Philadelphia some stability toward the bottom of their forward core, especially with an influx of young talent expected next season.

Furthermore, if the Flyers are unable to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch, Dvorak could become a quality trade piece come deadline season. Contending teams are scouring the market for potential centers nearly every season, and Dvorak would be a valuable trade candidate considering his tertiary scoring capabilities and strength in the faceoff dot.

Blackhawks Acquire Sam Lafferty From Sabres

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The Blackhawks have acquired forward Sam Lafferty from the Sabres in exchange for their 2026 sixth-round pick, the team announced.

The move begins the 30-year-old’s second tenure in Chicago. The Hawks previously acquired him from the Penguins for Alexander Nylander in January 2022. He spent parts of two seasons with the club before getting dealt to the Maple Leafs in the 2023 Jake McCabe deal. He suited up 97 times in that span, posting 15 goals and 32 points – the most offensive he’s provided for any of his five NHL teams – and averaged nearly 15 minutes per game.

Chicago had Lafferty back in the organization for a few days last year, acquiring him from the Canucks in the trade that brought Ilya Mikheyev to the Hawks. He was a pending UFA, though, and instead decided to test the open market. He promptly signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the Sabres.

After scoring 13 goals and 24 points with Vancouver last year, it seemed like a worthy bet on Buffalo’s part. Instead, Lafferty struggled to be effective even in a fourth-line role. He averaged just 9:53 per game, making 60 appearances and scoring seven points with a -15 rating. Needless to say, both Lafferty and the Sabres likely preferred a move this summer if possible.

Lafferty now gets to return to the environment where he’s had the most success in Chicago, while the Sabres open up a roster spot and $2MM in cap space. He’ll look to compete for a spot in Chicago’s bottom six with young forwards like Oliver Moore and Landon Slaggert.

As for the Sabres, who hope to be more aggressive in free agency than Chicago today, they now have nearly $23MM in space with a roster size of 17, per PuckPedia. In addition to freeing up a space for a young player like Noah Ostlund or Isak Rosen to make the team out of training camp, they open up even more spending flexibility and shed an undesirable salary.

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