We’re now past the midpoint of August and training camps are starting to get closer. We saw a handful of moves on the transaction front over the past seven days, several of which are highlighted in our key stories.
Going For 20: Long-time NHL veteran Jack Johnson isn’t ready to call it a career just yet as he has signed a tryout deal with Minnesota. The 38-year-old was an every-game regular as recently as 2023-24 but his second stint with Columbus last season saw him reduced to a much lesser role with playing time very limited when he did get in the lineup for his 41 games. Johnson has 342 points in 1,228 games with six different teams over 19 seasons and will look to make it an even 20 if he can secure a contract from the Wild, a team that moved Declan Chisholm at the draft and didn’t re-sign veteran depth defender Jon Merrill.
Bridge For Evans: Seattle took care of their last remaining restricted free agent, working out a two-year bridge deal with defenseman Ryker Evans. The contract carries a cap hit of $2.05MM. The 23-year-old wrapped up his first full NHL campaign last season and it was a good one that saw him pick up 25 points in 73 games while logging over 19 minutes a night of playing time. Evans also played for Canada at the Worlds in May, notching a pair of assists in eight outings. The deal is slightly front-loaded with his required qualifying offer in 2027 checking in at an even $2MM; that offer will also come with salary arbitration rights. By going with a bridge agreement instead of a long-term pact, Seattle projects to enter the season with nearly $4.6MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.
Johansen Grievance Ruling: While it took quite a while – the better part of a year – a ruling has been made in the Ryan Johansen grievance for the termination of his contract. Philadelphia acquired him in 2024 and after he cleared waivers, he was assigned to the AHL where Johansen asserted there was an injury (a nagging hip issue), leading to the rescinding of the assignment. However, the Flyers then terminated Johansen’s contract last August, citing a material breach of contract. The hearing went to an arbitrator who has sided with Philadelphia, meaning that Johansen’s deal will not be restored in part or in full on the books. Johansen’s contract being added retroactive to last year’s books would have caused a bonus overage penalty for the Flyers which would have then rolled onto their 25-26 numbers. Johansen didn’t play at all last season and remains an unrestricted free agent although it would be surprising to see him sign now.
Calling It A Career: Veteran defenseman Chad Ruhwedel has decided to retire at the age of 35. He was a late bloomer, not really establishing himself in the NHL until he joined Pittsburgh at 26 but wound up becoming a reliable depth option who could step in and play on the third pairing for several years, including the 2021-22 campaign that saw him play in a career-best 78 NHL games. Ruhwedel spent most of last season with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford and rather than seek out what would likely have been a PTO deal, he has decided to hang up his skates now. He ends his career with 50 points in 369 NHL games over parts of 13 seasons, a solid run for a player who was never drafted.
Detroit Adds A Defenseman: The Red Wings have added some extra depth on the back end, signing veteran Travis Hamonic to a one-year, $1MM contract. The 35-year-old was a high-quality shutdown defenseman in his prime but he has seen his role scaled back in recent years to that of a depth defender lately. Hamonic was battling Jacob Bernard-Docker for playing time with the Senators for the bulk of the last two seasons and that battle is now set to continue with Detroit’s other signing on the blueline this summer being Bernard-Docker after he was let go by Buffalo.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig-Imagn Images.