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Archives for September 2025

Flames Sign Dustin Wolf To Seven-Year Extension

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The Calgary Flames have signed reigning Calder Trophy finalist Dustin Wolf to a seven-year, $52.5MM extension, per a team release. The deal will carry a yearly cap hit of $7.5MM. That price tag will pull Wolf into the upper echelon of goalie contracts, making him the eighth-highest-paid goalie in the NHL.

Calgary is clearly confident after Wolf’s unprecedented play on his entry-level contract. He was once an overlooked goaltender, falling to the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft largely thanks to his slight 6-foot, 160-pound frame. Wolf was playing with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips at the time of his draft. He returned for a fourth season in Everett in the following year, and wrapped up his  WHL career with a staggering .935 save percentage in 149 games – the highest save percentage ever recorded across multiple WHL seasons.

Wolf moved to the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2021-22 and earned the starter’s crease within just a few months. He was flashy and energetic, even as a first-year pro, and worked his way to a phenomenal 33-9-4 record and .924 Sv% in 47 games. That mark was enough to earn Wolf the AHL’s Baz Bastien award, handed out annually to the league’s top goalie. Not to be outdone, Wolf managed an even better record (42-10-2) and better save percentage (.932) in more games (55) in his second pro year, again taking home the Baz Bastien Award. With that, he became just the third goalie to ever win the award twice, and just the second to win it in back-to-back years.

That gave Wolf an incredible amount of momentum headed into last season. He played 18 games in the NHL between 2022 and 2024 – and managed a stout 8-7-1 record and .923 save percentage. But fans knew more was to come when Wolf finally broke into the Flames’ roster full-time. New Flames general manager Craig Conroy cleared the path for that to happen when he traded Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils in 2024. The lights were shining bright and trained solely on Wolf, headed into last season.

Wolf wasted no time proving he belonged in an NHL role. He won his first three games of the season with a .936 save percentage and managed his first shutout in his ninth game of the year. By the end of December, Wolf was touting an impressive 12-5-2 record and a .914 save percentage. Those numbers slipped slightly as Wolf worked his way up to 53 starts on the season – the 17th-most in the league. He finished his rookie season with a 29-16-8 record and .910 Sv% – tying Stuart Skinner, Pekka Rinne, and Andrew Raycroft for the eighth-most wins by a first-year starter.

It was a truly electric performance. Calgary’s chances to win rose significantly when Wolf took the net, and his athleticism and confidence were both unwavering. Advanced stat site Evolving Hockey estimates that Calgary received five wins-above-replacement (WAR) from Wolf – the fifth-most in the NHL, just narrowly behind Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper and above Ilya Sorokin. That’s an incredible mark, and one that Calgary will quickly reward with a long-term extension. Teams have been duped in the past by strong rookie seasons. Hockey fans will surely remember the short-lived peak of Steve Mason. But Wolf seems well set to earn the starting role in every season of his new deal. He boasts all of the skill, speed, and sharp thinking to play at the top level, and will look to vindicate a great rookie year and hefty extension with a growing performance this season.

Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images.

Summer Synopsis: Pittsburgh Penguins

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With training camps now just a couple of weeks away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective.  Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled.  Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason.  Next up is a look at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins have been at a crossroads for a little while now but it appears that they’re now set to take a bit of a step back to focus on the future.  Dan Muse takes over from Mike Sullivan behind the bench with an eye on player development although Pittsburgh will be entering training camp with the oldest roster in the NHL.  That will likely change at some point during the season if the standings dictate a sell-off of players as expected.

Draft

1-11 – F Benjamin Kindel, Calgary (WHL)
1-22 – F Bill Zonnon, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
1-24 – F William Horcoff, Michigan (Big 10)
2-39 – D Peyton Kettles, Swift Current (WHL)
3-73 – D Charlie Trethewey, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
3-84 – G Gabriel D’Aigle, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
3-91 – D Brady Peddle, Waterloo (USHL)
4-105 – F Travis Hayes, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
5-130 – F Ryan Miller, Portland (WHL)
5-148 – D Quinn Beauchesne, Guelph (OHL)
5-154 – F Jordan Charron, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
6-169 – F Carter Sanderson, Muskegon (USHL)
7-201 – F Kale Dach, Sherwood Park (BCHL)

GM Kyle Dubas went into the draft with the most picks and was particularly active on the trade front, including trading down from 12 to 22 and then flipping one of the firsts acquired in that swap to move up to 24.  For good measure, he swung two more swaps on the second day of the draft.  Interestingly, at a time when a lot of teams mix in some international picks, all 14 of their selections played in North America last season.

Kindel was a surprising selection at 11th overall.  Viewed as likely to land more in the late teens or early 20s, he wound up nearly going in the top ten with Pittsburgh believed to have tried to move up to make sure they got him.  He plays with the type of pace that Dubas is hoping the Penguins will one day get to as their roster eventually gets younger and while he’s a little undersized, he profiles as a top-six piece for them.  Kindel has played down the middle at times and if he’s able to stick at that position in the pros, he’ll become that much more valuable.

Zonnon is another player who went a bit earlier than expected with most of his rankings ranging from the late 20s to the early 40s.  Like Kindel, he brings a lot of offensive creativity to the table as Pittsburgh’s early goal in the draft was clearly to increase their skill.  Horcoff was another player picked well above his rankings but as a six-foot-five center, that was bound to happen.  He wasn’t much of a difference-maker in the USHL but a midseason move to the University of Michigan helped his offensive game and certainly contributed to his rise on rankings lists.  He might ultimately pan out as a two-way third liner but those players can be quite impactful overall.  None of these three picks are likely to push for a spot with the big club for at least a couple of years.

In terms of their selections on the second day, they went in a different direction.  Kettles is a big shutdown defenseman who profiles as someone who might best fit in on the third pairing but whose size and reach should cause some havoc if he develops as planned.  Trethewey came into the season as a projected first-round pick, even slotting in with a lottery ranking in some preseason lists.  But his season with the US National Team Development Program wasn’t as impactful as hoped.  The raw tools are there to be a potential top-four selection but he’s someone who might wind up being a longer-term project.

D’Aigle was an interesting pick as he struggled mightily last year with QMJHL Victoriaville to the tune of a 4.53 GAA.  But the Tigres were a weak team and at six-foot-four, he has the size that teams covet between the pipes.  Peddle is a physical blueliner who wasn’t able to produce much in the USHL during the regular season although he flashed a little more upside in the postseason.  He’ll move to the QMJHL this season and then head to college; both of these players are longer-term picks as well, a theme that can be said for most of the rest of their selections.

Trade Acquisitions

D Connor Clifton (from Buffalo)
D Mathew Dumba (from Dallas)
G Arturs Silovs (from Vancouver)

While Clifton and Dumba are veteran right-shot defensemen (the side teams typically covet), their additions were more about the second-round picks that accompanied them than they were about adding the players.  Clifton will add some grit on the third pairing while Dumba may be in tough to simply crack the lineup.  Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and likely won’t be part of their plans beyond this season.

That isn’t the case for Silovs.  While he struggled considerably in limited action with Vancouver last season, he held his own when a pair of injuries pressed him into their starting role in the playoffs the year before.  He was the top goalie at the Worlds in 2023 and the AHL Playoff MVP this spring with Abbotsford and while it was widely expected that the Canucks would have to waive him with their veteran tandem now in place for several years, Dubas decided to jump the queue and swing a trade for him.  He’ll go into training camp as the likely backup goalie with a chance to push for a bigger role if he fares well early on.  He has a 3.13 GAA and a .880 SV% in his first 19 NHL regular season games.

UFA Signings

D Alexander Alexeyev (one year, $775K)
F Justin Brazeau (two years, $3MM)
F Connor Dewar (one year, $1.1MM after non-tender)^
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (one year, $775K)*
F Bokondji Imama (one year, $775K)*^
D Caleb Jones (two years, $1.8MM)
D Philip Kemp (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Joona Koppanen (one year, $775K)*^
G Filip Lindberg (signed in Finland)
F Anthony Mantha (one year, $2.5MM plus $2MM in bonuses)
F Philip Tomasino (one year, $1.75MM after non-tender)^
D Parker Wotherspoon (two years, $2MM)

*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing

Mantha was easily Pittsburgh’s most intriguing addition this summer.  At his best, he has been an impactful top-six forward but consistency has been a challenge.  Signed by Calgary last summer in effectively the same type of situation the Penguins are in now, he suffered a torn ACL barely a month into the season, making him eligible for performance incentives which are tied to games played.  A good showing could be enough to convince Dubas that he’s worth keeping around a little longer or he could ultimately find himself on the trade block a few months from now.  While most of their additions were of the depth variety, Mantha is one who brings a bit of upside if he stays healthy.

Tomasino and Dewar were both non-tendered to avoid salary arbitration but re-signed fairly quickly after the free agent market opened up.  Tomasino got off to a tough start in Nashville and was flipped to Pittsburgh in November for a future fourth-rounder.  He was able to hold down a regular role (when healthy) with the Penguins but still didn’t show the top-six upside he had at the beginning of his career.  He remains RFA-eligible moving forward but will remain a non-tender candidate because of the arbitration rights.  Dewar played sparingly with Toronto last season and was moved in a cap-clearing deal at the trade deadline.  The change of scenery allowed him to play a bigger role and with seven points in 17 games following the swap, he did well enough to earn another chance.  He and Tomasino should be in the mix for bottom-six roles.

Brazeau will also be a part of that mix.  He only played his first full NHL campaign last season, splitting time between Boston and Minnesota in largely a fourth-line role.  Given the later start to his NHL career, the 27-year-old still could have a bit of upside; otherwise, he’ll likely reprise that fourth-line role with the Penguins.  Wotherspoon also played his first full NHL season in 2024-25 at the age of 27.  He quietly logged 18 minutes a night for Boston and with the left side of Pittsburgh’s back end not particularly strong at the moment, he could have a chance to play a bigger role.  Jones and Alexeyev also have NHL experience and could find themselves in the mix for a spot in training camp.

RFA Re-Signings

None.  Pittsburgh non-tendered all of their restricted free agents except for one (who had already signed in the KHL).  Dewar and Tomasino were eventually retained but as UFAs as noted earlier.

Departures

F Raivis Ansons (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Isaac Belliveau (trade with Buffalo)
F Emil Bemstrom (signed in Switzerland)
F Kasper Bjorkqvist (signed in Finland)
D Nathan Clurman (signed with Montreal, one year, $775K)*
G Taylor Gauthier (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Matt Grzelcyk (unsigned)
D Mac Hollowell (signed in Russia)
F Jimmy Huntington (signed with San Jose, one year, $775K)*
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (trade with Dallas)
D Filip Kral (signed in Czechia)
F Marc Johnstone (signed with Toronto, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (signed with Vancouver, one year, $775K)
F Mathias Laferriere (signed in Slovakia)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (trade with San Jose)
F Matthew Nieto (unsigned)
D Colton Poolman (unsigned)
F Vasiliy Ponomarev (signed in Russia, Pittsburgh retains his RFA rights)
F Chase Stillman (trade with Vancouver)
D Conor Timmins (trade with Buffalo)

*-denotes two-way contract

Grzelcyk had to settle for a one-year deal last summer and responded about as well as he could.  He posted a career high in assists (39) and points (40) while logging over 20 minutes per game for the first time.  In essence, it looked as if he had shown that he can still be a legitimate top-four defenseman.  And yet, more than two months into free agency and training camps almost upon us, he’s still looking for a contract.  Speculatively, his camp aimed high coming off the year he had and the limited options on the open market but his smaller stature likely didn’t help his cause.  Now, another one-year deal might be what he has to wind up settling for.

Among the other blueliners who saw some NHL action last season, Timmins was the other part of the cap-clearing move from Toronto at the deadline.  He played a somewhat limited role for them down the stretch and will have a similar role with Buffalo.  Kolyachonok has been up and down in recent years and was a waiver claim back in February and likely would have been on the outside looking in at a roster spot had he stayed in Pittsburgh.  Joseph’s second stint with the Penguins didn’t go particularly well which made his non-tendering for the second straight year a pretty safe decision.

Nedeljkovic had his ups and downs between the pipes, briefly taking over as the starter at times while at others, he struggled considerably to the point of his lowest full-season save percentage, checking in at .894.  Considering their goal of getting a little younger, bringing Silovs into Nedeljkovic’s role carries a bit more risk but also more upside.

Among the forwards that moved on, Ponomarev is the most surprising given that he accepted a three-year deal in Russia at a time that the Penguins were hoping to see some prospects take a step forward and push for a roster spot.  They’ll have to wait a while for that to happen with him now.  Nieto dealt with more injury trouble last season and wasn’t anywhere near as effective as he was when he was last healthy in 2022-23.  At this point, he’s a PTO candidate at best.  Bemstrom’s stock had dropped in recent years, going from a roster regular with more than 200 games of NHL experience to someone who cleared waivers and spent most of last season in the minors.

Salary Cap Outlook

Even after taking on some pricey contracts for depth defensemen in Clifton and Dumba, the Penguins still have plenty of cap space, a little over $13MM, per PuckPedia.  Depending on how the roster is configured, that number could still go up.  They have all three of their retention slots remaining and although being a third-party retainer is out of the question following the early institution of the more restrictive rules on salary retention, Pittsburgh is well-positioned to try to utilize some of that flexibility, either through retention or taking on more unwanted contracts.

Key Questions

When Will The Trades Happen? Defenseman Erik Karlsson has been in trade speculation for a while now.  So have wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell.  Even centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have seen their names out there although the likelihood of them moving is much less certain (only if they decide they want to move which is far from a given).  But as of yet, Dubas hasn’t pulled the trigger on a move, even though it has been a market featuring way more buyers than sellers this summer.  Will he look to try to get more leverage closer to the trade deadline or will something materialize earlier in the season?

Can Novak Bounce Back? Among the moves made last season was Dubas acquiring center Thomas Novak from Nashville near the trade deadline.  It was an odd move for a selling team to acquire a veteran middleman but it was an intriguing buy-low acquisition.  Novak came into last season with back-to-back years of 40-plus points with strong possession numbers.  Last season, the latter was still good but his point output dropped and he was injured two games after the trade.  If Novak can get back to that 40-point level, he’s someone who could plausibly become part of their plans beyond the end of his contract in 2027 or, alternatively, become an intriguing trade chip in a market that is lacking in center depth.

Will Jarry Provide Starting-Level Goaltending? When Dubas signed Tristan Jarry to a five-year deal after being hired, it was a vote of confidence that Pittsburgh’s goaltending was set for a while.  But the first two seasons of that deal have been up-and-down, to say the least, with last year being particularly rocky as he found himself clearing waivers and in the minors at one point.  It’s clear that the team views Silovs as a possible piece for the future while Joel Blomqvist is waiting in the wings as well.  If Jarry can get back to being a legitimate starter, things can settle down between the pipes for a bit.  If not, his future with the team could get murky in a hurry.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Evangelista, Barzal, Jarvis, Luypen

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Predators winger Luke Evangelista is one of the few remaining restricted free agents with training camps on the horizon.  Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey relays that the two sides are focused on a bridge deal with the sides discussing contracts between one and three years but that there is still a gap to work through with more talks scheduled for this week.  The 23-year-old notched 10 goals along with 22 assists in 68 games last season and has 86 points in 172 career appearances with Nashville.  A short-term pact should carry a price tag in the $3MM range, one that they can easily afford with more than $9MM in cap room, per PuckPedia.  Kieser added that there has not been any talk about trading Evangelista so far.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Speaking at the NHL Player Media Tour today, Islanders forward Mathew Barzal provided reporters, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), an update on his recovery from a knee injury that ended his season early. While he stopped short of declaring himself fully healthy (acknowledging he might not get back to that point), he will be ready to go in training camp.  Between this injury and one earlier in the season, the 28-year-old was limited to just 30 games last season where he had 20 points.
  • Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis told reporters at the NHL Player Media Tour today, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), that his rehab from a shoulder injury has gone great. He opted not to undergo surgery this offseason despite dealing with the issue for the second year in a row, calling it a pain tolerance situation.  Jarvis, who had 32 goals and 35 assists in 73 games last season, also signalled an openness to being tried at center again, an experiment that hasn’t gained much traction over the last two seasons.
  • After being non-tendered by Chicago back in June, unrestricted free agent winger Jalen Luypen has found a team for the upcoming season as ECHL South Carolina announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old spent most of last season in the AHL with Rockford, notching eight goals and six assists in 56 games.

Predators Sign Dylan Gambrell To PTO

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Several teams have added players on professional tryout (PTO) agreements in recent days and many more will do so before training camps open up.  It appears the Predators have joined the list as Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco reports (Twitter link) that forward Dylan Gambrell has inked a PTO agreement with Nashville.

The 29-year-old isn’t too far removed from playing a regular role in the NHL.  Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, Gambrell played in at least 49 games per season while splitting time between San Jose and Ottawa.  2020-21 saw him log more than 16 minutes a night of playing time but beyond that, he largely played on the fourth line.  In 233 NHL games between the two teams, he has 17 goals and 23 assists along with a 46.1% faceoff rate.

However, Gambrell has been limited to just AHL action over the past two seasons.  In 2023-24, he picked up 14 goals and 22 assists 66 games with Toronto’s farm team while playing on a one-way contract.  He wasn’t able to secure that last summer, instead inking a two-way deal with Columbus.  With the AHL’s Monsters, he picked up 13 goals and 12 assists in 54 appearances.

Gambrell has enough professional experience to qualify for veteran status at the AHL level; teams can only dress five skaters with 320 games of experience which has made it a challenge for some capable veterans to find a home at that level for the upcoming season.  At this point, it’s unlikely that Gambrell would be able to command a one-way deal from the Predators but a solid showing in training camp could be enough to earn him another two-way agreement and a spot with AHL Milwaukee for the upcoming season.

Afternoon Notes: Trenton, Bruins, Senators, Flames

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The Utah Grizzlies will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey for the 2026-27 season, with an announcement set for tomorrow, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli. If true, the Grizzlies will be set to move right after celebrating their 20th season in Utah. In doing so, they will bring ECHL hockey back to Trenton for the first time since 2013. The city previously hosted the Trenton Titans – briefly the Trenton Devils – for 24 years beginning in 1999. The club was red-hot at the turn of the century, reaching the Kelly Cup Finals in 2001 and taking the Cup home in 2005. They featured some incredible hockey names in their history. Stanley Cup winner and Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy presided over Trenton’s inaugural season, and current Utah Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong coached the team from 2002 to 2004.

The Utah Grizzlies are currently affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles, the latter an ironic twist given the Eagles’ rivalry with the Grizzlies when they were a part of the ECHL. This move would break that tension, and return pro hockey to an upgraded CURE Insurance Arena.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Sticking in the ECHL, the Boston Bruins have announced a three-year extension of their affiliation with the Maine Mariners. The affiliation began in 2021, and marked the first NHL partnership in Maine’s brief history. It was a continuation of a long history of work between the two teams. The Mariners served as Boston’s AHL affiliate from 1987 to 1992, before being relocated to form the Providence Bruins. The ECHL Mariners haven’t found their stride under Boston just yet – losing in the first round of the postseason three times, then missing the postseason last year. They’ll face a very interesting turnaround next season, after losing former player and head coach/general manager Terrence Wallin this summer. Maine hired Rick Kowalsky – aptly, a member of the Kelly Cup-winning Trenton Devils in 2005 – to fill the vacancy. Kowalsky has previously spent four years an ECHL head coach, 10 years as an AHL head coach, and six years as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils.
  • Shifting to looming NHL training camps – the Ottawa Senators are expected to bring multiple professional try-outs to the start of their camp, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Ottawa could use a bit of padding to their depth at all three positions, setting them up nicely to bring in some of the top remaining free agents. The likeliest paths to the lineup will be on the fourth-line wing, where Michael Amadio and Nick Cousins currently reside on the depth chart. Some options for UFA candidates could include 36-year-old wing Max Pacioretty, 30-year-old centerman Tyler Motte, or 31-year-old defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.
  • While Ottawa pursues the PTO market, the Calgary Flames are expected to stay away, per Ryan Pike of Flames Nation. While the Senators will look to vindicate a push to the playoffs last season, Calgary is likely much more geared towards keeping spots open for their emerging youngsters. Players like Rory Kerins, Dryden Hunt, William Stromgren, and Aydar Suniev could all make valiant pushes for bottom-six minutes next season.

Kings In No Rush To Shop Brandt Clarke

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A front-office change in Los Angeles brought sweeping change to the Kings’ blue line this summer. With Hall-of-Fame executive Ken Holland at the helm, the club lost their top left-shot defender in Vladislav Gavrikov to the Rangers in free agency and also traded promising puck-moving righty Jordan Spence to the Senators for futures. Their replacements were a pair of declining but hardened top-four fixtures, Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin, on the open market.

But Brandt Clarke, the club’s eighth overall pick in 2021, remains with L.A. as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract. That’s despite reporting that the Kings were open to moving him at last season’s trade deadline in their pursuit of a forward upgrade. They ended up not making a move large enough to require parting ways with him, and of course, those ideations of a trade were under a previous regime.

The 22-year-old’s development has been handled in somewhat of a puzzling manner. The 6’2″ righty always faced a bit of an uphill battle as an OHLer who had his draft year completely upended due to COVID. While most of his peers ended up sitting on the sidelines for the entire season, he was high-end enough of a prospect to play pro hockey overseas. He was thus loaned to HC Nove Zamky of the Slovak Extraliga, where he logged 15 points in 26 games en route to becoming a top-10 selection by the Kings.

Clarke returned stateside and didn’t miss a beat, exploding offensively. He was arguably the best player in major junior hockey in 2022-23 aside from the draft-year phenom Connor Bedard, posting 61 points in just 31 games from the blue line for the Barrie Colts.

He also made his NHL debut that season, posting two assists in a nine-game trial. But as he made the jump to pro hockey full-time in 2023-24, that offensive outburst the prior season wasn’t enough to get him an extended runway in the NHL. He made 16 appearances for the Kings but ended up playing most of the campaign for AHL Ontario, where he clicked at nearly a point per game in his first real taste of high-level hockey and led the league in rookie assists.

That made Clarke essentially an undeniable piece for the Kings’ main roster. While he made the team out of camp and never looked back, he was still used rather sparingly, despite top righty Drew Doughty missing a good portion of the season due to an ankle injury.

Concerns about his individual defensive acumen limited his playing time to just 16:17 per game, although he was still relatively involved physically with 121 blocks. He churned out five goals and 33 points in 78 games – fine production for that limited usage – and posted good possession numbers in sheltered minutes with a +13 rating and 54.0 CF% and 54.2 xGF% at even strength.

As he enters a contract year, there should be more opportunities for him. Even if he doesn’t necessarily slot in above Ceci on the team’s depth chart, he should get the additional power-play minutes that Spence is vacating and, realistically, his general mobility should make him a candidate to leapfrog the newcomer and begin the season as L.A.’s No. 2 option on the right side behind Doughty.

That roster math, plus a new braintrust in place, has likely bought him some time to make a lasting impression on the Kings’ brass. While general manager Ken Holland told RG’s James Murphy that Clarke is “a really talented guy with a bright future,” he neither committed to a change of scenery nor long-term belief. “Now we’ve got to figure out where it’s going. I think the best way is to…I mean, I know him, but I don’t know him. Do you know what I mean?” Holland said.

Adam Fantilli’s Camp Wants To Wait On Extension Talks With Blue Jackets

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Last month, Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said he planned to initiate extension talks with center Adam Fantilli’s camp as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract. However, he wasn’t successful in doing so. Waddell told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic that Fantilli’s camp is unwilling to sign a long-term deal before a pivotal third NHL season that could dramatically increase his market value when he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

“We’ve had no negotiations at all,” Waddell told Portzline. “I spoke with (Fantilli’s agent Pat) Brisson last week, and they’re in no hurry from their end. It won’t get done before the season.”

As Portzline emphasizes, the lack of talks shouldn’t be misconstrued as concern over Fantilli’s long-term future in Columbus. In fact, it’s a completely understandable perspective from an incredibly high-ceiling talent who lost some precious development time, missing nearly half his rookie season due to a calf laceration, wanting to make sure he’s paid fairly on a long-term deal.

Of course, it’s also a bet on himself to keep up the momentum he created last season. The 2023 third-overall pick played all 82 games and really began to shine in the back half of the season, clicking at nearly a point-per-game pace after a comparatively slower start to the campaign. All in all, he tallied 31 goals in what was his first fully healthy professional season, tying with Kirill Marchenko for the team lead. He added 23 assists for 54 points to rank fifth on the team in scoring. He didn’t look out of place when trialed in top-line minutes when No. 1 pivot Sean Monahan was out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch later in the year due to a wrist injury, either.

If he signed an extension this offseason, that likely would have commanded a cap hit around $9.5MM on a seven-year pact with the cap projected to jump to at least $104MM for 2026-27, AFP Analytics projects. But if Fantilli can build on his 70-point pace over Columbus’ latter 41 games last year, there’s a strong case for him to dip into the eight-figure range annually and surpass Zach Werenski’s $9.583MM cap hit as the Jackets’ highest-paid player.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward move from Fantilli’s camp. A long-term offer presumably won’t be on the table if he plateaus this year, resulting in negotiations shifting to a bridge deal and some lost earnings compared to whatever long-term offer is on the table now, at least in the short term.

Whenever extension talks do commence in earnest, cap space won’t be much of a limiting factor. The club has $46.155MM to spend under the projected $104MM limit for 2026-27 with 14 roster spots filled. Their most expensive expiring talent, veterans Charlie Coyle ($5.125MM) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson ($4MM), will almost certainly get pay cuts if they’re re-signed.

Prospect Notes: Luchanko, Yurov, Marrelli

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Flyers top center prospect Jett Luchanko spent most of the summer rehabbing a groin issue, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. It kept him out of development camp and, depending on where he’s at in his recovery, may cause him to miss a chunk of rookie camp as well before full training camp gets underway next week. The team remains hopeful he’ll be able to participate in rookie camp, Hall says, although it only kicks off in three days.

This training camp cycle is an important one for Luchanko, who surprised many by making Philly’s NHL roster out of camp last season – just one month after his 18th birthday. The 5’11” pivot was the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft and, after going pointless in four games for the Flyers, returned to juniors. He had 56 points in 46 games for the OHL’s Guelph Storm before finishing the season with Philly’s AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, where he had six assists in seven playoff games.

That strong finish could be a stepping stone to another opening-night job for Luchanko, who the Flyers likely prefer to have in a professional environment based on their generous usage of him thus far in his development. That would mean another NHL stint – the proposed exception to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement that bars him from reporting to Lehigh Valley on a full-time basis isn’t expected to be approved before the start of the season.

There’s more on some other notable NHL up-and-comers:

  • On the heels of signing his entry-level contract and his anticipated NHL debut this fall, Wild 2022 first-rounder Danila Yurov spoke to The Athletic’s Michael Russo about his offseason preparation. The 21-year-old forward arrived in North America from Russia in mid-July and has been living in New York with one of his U.S.-based agents, he said. He’s been making friends and training with several NY-based NHLers, including Ducks marquee trade pickup Chris Kreider and star Rangers defenseman Adam Fox. The lengthy acclimation period will hopefully boost his chances of making an impact in his rookie season after posting a 34-40–74 scoring line in 108 KHL games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk over the past two seasons.
  • Blue Jackets defense prospect Luca Marrelli will be out until at least mid-December after having offseason shoulder surgery to repair a labrum tear, general manager Don Waddell told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. The 19-year-old righty signed his entry-level contract midway through last season and, thanks to his October birthday, will be making his pro debut with AHL Cleveland whenever he returns to health. A 2024 third-round pick, he had an offensive explosion with OHL Oshawa last season, posting 74 points in 67 games before leading his team in playoff scoring with a 6-30–36 line in just 21 appearances. He was named to the CHL’s Third All-Star Team, the OHL’s Second All-Star Team, and led the league in playoff assists.

Rangers Hire Ryane Clowe, Promote Jim Sullivan And Ryan Martin

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The New York Rangers have hired former player Ryane Clowe to the role of assistant general manager. He will join the freshly-promoted Ryan Martin and Jim Sullivan in the role of advising and supporting Rangers’ general manager Chris Drury. Martin will continue serving as the general manager of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. This announcement comes on the heels of New York also hiring Blake Wheeler, Chris Pryor, Mark Flood, and Darryl Williams to various roles.

This news comes on the heels of Clowe’s sudden, and surprising, resignation from the San Jose Sharks’ assistant GM role. That was the first GM position of Clowe’s career, and one he moved into last summer after serving three years in a consulting and advising role with the Rangers. Now, with his feet wet, Clowe will return for a hardier role in the New York organization. He’s no stranger to the Rangers, having played 12 games with the club in 2012-13 and, more notably, played across from them in his 56 games with the New Jersey Devils from 2013 to 2015. Clowe has been around the NHL for the entirety of the 2000’s, and racked up a lofty resume in and around the league. His playing career ended in 2015 with 309 points in 491 games.

Sullivan also has deep roots with the Rangers. He began his career with the club as their director of hockey technology in 2009. That role evolved into the director of player development from 2014 to 2021. Then, Sulivan earned another promotion to the title of vice president of hockey strategy that he’s served in ever since. Now, he’ll climb one rung further up the ladder, and truly begin building a resume that could land him in a team’s GM chair one day. It’s an impressive climb, especially considering that Sullivan – an economics major – has no history playing professional sports. Still outside of his 50’s, Sullivan will stand as an emerging piece in New York’s front office.

Meanwhile, Martin has been promoted to associate general manager – one rung above both Clowe and Sullivan. Martin has served as Hartford’s general manager since the 2021-22 season. He has led the team to two playoff appearances in four seasons, and presided over the turnover of three head coaches. Martin’s biggest accomplishments came prior to his time in New York. He was once a core piece of the Detroit Red Wings’ front office, and served as GM of the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2012 to 2020. He won the AHL’s Calder Cup in 2013 and 2017 with Grand Rapids, and even joined Detroit on their run to the 2008 Stanley Cup as the team’s director of hockey administration. Martin’s trophy cabinet is rounded out by a Gold Medal at the 2021 World Junior Championships, when he supported Team USA as a scout. He’ll bring that lofty experience back to New York next year, looking to have even more say on a team in the midst of a big turnaround.

Rangers Hire Blake Wheeler, Three Others To Hockey Operations Roles

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Freshly-retired pro Blake Wheeler wasn’t able to stay away from the NHL for very long. He has been hired to an advisory role in the New York Rangers’ front office, per Vince Mercogliano of USA Today Sports. Wheeler played in 54 games of New York’s 2023-24 season, but missed the entirety of last season due to a right-leg injury. Alongside this hire, Mercogliano shares that New York has also hired Chris Pryor, Mark Flood, and Darryl Williams to scouting roles. Pryor will preside over scouting, specifically, CHL players on NCAA tracks while Flood and Williams serve as pro scouts.

This news will mark the beginning of Wheeler’s career behind the bench, after playing through 16 seasons in the NHL. He was originally the fifth-overall selection in the 2004 NHL Draft, but didn’t make his NHL debut until 2008, after he had completed three years at the University of Minnesota. The wait proved worthwhile, as Wheeler jumped to 21 goals and 45 points in his rookie season – playing for the Boston Bruins, despite being drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes. Wheeler earned an entrenched role in the lineup, but didn’t find a true breakout until he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010-11.

Wheeler scored 17 points in his first 23 games with Atlanta, then jumped to 17 goals and 47 points in 80 games when the team relocated to Winnipeg for the 2010-11 season. That performance put Wheeler on the track that’d guide the rest of his career. He routinely rivaled 40 assists and north of 60 points throughout the rest of his career – though that streak was broken up by a pair of career-years, and 91-point seasons, in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Wheeler’s career spanned 13 years with the Jets organization, though he opted to move to the Rangers for his sunset years. He signed a one-year deal with New York that’d end sorely, with a freak injury in February 2024 ending Wheeler’s final season early. He returned to play nine minutes of one postseason game, to little effect.

Now, Wheeler will use his 1,172 games of NHL experience to help guide New York towards their next step. He headlines a true heap of experience in this hiring cohort. Pryor played parts of six seasons in the NHL between 1984 and 1990. He took to scouting just four years later, and has served in roles across the NHL ever since. That includes four years as the Islanders’ director of player development, 10 years as the Flyers’ director of scouting, and serving in assistant general manager roles for both the Flyers and Penguins. Pryor stepped away from front office roles in 2023, but now returns to take on a unique post in New York.

Flood and Williams carry similar stories, albeit with much less experience. Flood played in nine AHL seasons, on top of a career that led him to play in seven different countries. He retired in 2022 and immediately took on a pro scouting role with the Senators that he’s filled for the last three seasons. Williams played a fruitful minor-league career from 1989 to 1999, then rose the ranks of minor-league coaching before landing the Vancouver Canucks’ video coach role in 2008. He carried that role until 2014, when he joined the Rangers as an assistant coach for four seasons. Williams stepped away from New York for various roles in 2018, and has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach on the Flyers’ bench.

These hires will give the Rangers one more push towards a revamped room. They were among the toughest teams to watch last season – falling to a 39-36-7 record and no playoff experience in the midst of locker room drama and poor relationships. Moves like hiring head coach Mike Sullivan and loading the front office with pro experience will each go far in helping New York bounce back to form next season.

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