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Oliver Kylington Signs In Sweden

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A veteran blueliner has found a place to play this season.  Djurgarden of the SHL announced that they’ve signed defenseman Oliver Kylington to a one-year contract.

The 28-year-old was a second-round pick by Calgary back in 2015 and showed some flashes of upside over his six-year stint with the team.  It looked like he had turned a corner in 2021-22 when he collected nine goals and 22 assists in 73 games, putting him in a spot to be a potential top-four piece for them.  However, he was away from the team on a leave of absence for the next year and a half and played a limited role after that, resulting in the Flames going in a different direction last summer when he became a free agent.

Kylington wasn’t able to get the types of offers he was initially seeking in free agency, resulting in him waiting more than a month before he signed a one-year, $1.05MM contract with Colorado.  But playing time was hard to come by as he suited up in just 13 games with the Avs before being moved to the Islanders near the trade deadline; New York flipped him to Anaheim the next day.  Kylington played in just six games following the swap and then hit the open market this summer.

Kylington inked a PTO agreement with Carolina in late August with the hopes of landing a roster spot with them.  However, after three preseason games, he was cut fairly early, sending him back to free agency.  Clearly, no other NHL offers materialized so he has decided to head home where he’ll play a regular role in the hopes of boosting his stock next summer.

With 220 career NHL appearances under his belt, it’s quite possible that Kylington finds his way back to North America at some point, especially if he goes and plays an impactful role with Djurgarden.  But for now, his time at the top level has come to an end.

Metropolitan Notes: Carlson, Flyers, Borgen, Soucy

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Veteran defenseman John Carlson is in his 17th NHL season, all with the Capitals.  He’s in the final year of his contract, making him extension-eligible but the team informed him early that they didn’t want to engage in extension talks but rather want to see how the year plays out first.  Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti earlier this week, the 35-year-old acknowledged that he’d much rather prefer to have the security of a new contract in place but understands the business side of why they want to wait as well.  Carlson is making $8MM per season on this contract and with the likelihood of his role starting to decrease over the next few years, his next deal should come in at least a little below that price tag.  But if Washington decides not to bring him back, Carlson is already ruling out retiring and in that scenario, he’d be looking elsewhere in free agency next summer.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Long-time NHL rearguard Jay McKee wound up being a finalist for the Flyers coaching job, relays Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription link). He was linked as a speculative candidate if Philadelphia expanded its search but he wound up having a three-hour interview for the position.  McKee’s desire is not to be an NHL assistant first before moving to a head coaching role at the top level but he hasn’t ruled out going that route if an NHL head coaching job doesn’t materialize.
  • Rangers blueliner Will Borgen will play against Montreal tonight, notes Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). He has been dealing with a lingering lower-body issue that has held him out of practice and resulted in a mid-week recall of Scott Morrow but it appears that Borgen will be good to go.  The 28-year-old has an assist, seven blocks, and eight hits in six games so far this season.
  • Still with the Rangers, defenseman Carson Soucy took part in practice today in a regular (contact) jersey, mentions Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (Twitter link). The blueliner was placed on injured reserve earlier this week with an upper-body injury.  Soucy isn’t eligible to be activated until Monday but it appears that he won’t miss more time than the minimum seven days.

Wild Recall David Jiricek And Tyler Pitlick, Assign Liam Ohgren To AHL

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The Wild have made a trio of roster moves heading into their game tonight against the Flyers.  The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman David Jiricek and winger Tyler Pitlick from AHL Iowa while assigning winger Liam Ohgren to Iowa.

Jiricek has been up for most of the season but has played just once, resulting in his assignment to the minors yesterday.  He suited up for Iowa last night, making him eligible to be recalled as he has fulfilled the one-game requirement, part of the new rules brought into play this season to try to cut down on paper transactions.

Jiricek hasn’t had a lot of success at the NHL level since Columbus drafted him sixth overall in 2022.  He has played in just 60 games at the top level since then, 43 of which came in 2023-24; since then, he has been more of an AHL player, even after Minnesota dealt four draft picks and Daemon Hunt to acquire him last season.

Pitlick, meanwhile, is in his first season with Minnesota after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them on the opening day of free agency back in July.  He’s off to a good start in Iowa with two goals through three games and has 420 career NHL appearances over parts of ten seasons with eight different franchises.  His best showing came back in 2017-18 with Dallas when he had 14 goals and 13 assists in 80 games.

As for Ohgren, while he has played in all five games so far, playing time has been rather limited as he’s averaging just 9:10 per game while failing to record a point.  Given that he’s still just 21 and waiver-exempt, it might be better for his development to play in a more prominent role with Iowa for a little while Pitlick, a 33-year-old veteran, is better suited to play a low-minute role on the fourth line.  Ohgren had 37 points in 41 games with Iowa last season.

Atlantic Notes: Kane, Bryson, Lindholm, McCue

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Red Wings winger Patrick Kane suffered an injury late in Friday’s victory over Tampa Bay when he crashed hard into the boards.  He’s now set to miss at least one game due to the injury as Max Bultman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the veteran has been ruled out of playing tomorrow against Edmonton.  The 36-year-old is off to a strong start to his season with two goals and three assists in his first five outings, good for third on the team in scoring but he won’t be adding to those totals for at least a few days.  There’s no word yet on if he’ll miss any more time beyond Sunday’s outing.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Sabres announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jacob Bryson suffered an upper-body injury this afternoon against Florida. The injury occurred on his first shift of the game after taking a hit from Jonah Gadjovich.  Bryson came into the games with an assist through his first four games of the season while averaging a career-low 11:31 per game, an ATOI number that’s certainly going to take a dip after today’s contest.  Zach Metsa is the only other healthy blueliner on Buffalo’s roster so if Bryson is set to miss any more time, Metsa should be in line for his NHL debut soon.
  • After missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Colorado, notes team reporter Belle Fraser (Twitter link). When healthy, Lindholm is a top-pairing impactful blueliner but staying in the lineup has been a challenge lately; he missed 65 games last season due to a knee injury.
  • Maple Leafs prospect Sam McCue announced on his Instagram account earlier this week that he has committed to Bowling Green State University. The 20-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Toronto back in 2024 and is off to a strong start in his final season of major junior, putting up four goals and two assists in eight games with OHL Brampton.

Joel Kiviranta Out Indefinitely; Avalanche Assign Jack Ahcan To AHL

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The Avalanche will be without a veteran winger as they take on Boston tonight.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Joel Kiviranta is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.  In a separate move, the club also announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Jack Ahcan has been reassigned to AHL Colorado.

Kiviranta is coming off a career showing in 2024-25.  After only reaching the double-digit plateau once before (an 11-point effort in 2020-21), the 29-year-old potted 16 goals last season along with seven assists while also averaging a career-high 12:31 per game of ice time.  That helped him eventually earn a new contract with a small raise as he re-signed a one-year, $1.25MM deal back in August.

However, he has been quieter in the early going so far this season.  Through five games, Kiviranta has been held off the scoresheet and has managed just three shots on goal while his playing time has dipped by nearly two minutes a night despite still taking a regular turn on their penalty kill.  Now, he’ll be waiting a while to put up his first point on the season as head coach Jared Bednar clarified to reporters including Aarif Dean of Colorado Hockey Now that Kiviranta will be out several weeks at a minimum.

As for Ahcan, he was recalled from the Eagles on Sunday following a strong start that saw him put up four points in his first two AHL appearances.  However, he didn’t see any action during this recall, keeping his career NHL total at 11.

With these moves, the Avs have just a dozen healthy forwards and six healthy blueliners.  While that’s optical from the perspective of accruing as much cap space as possible, it’s a strategy that certainly carries some risk as well when it comes to injury exposure.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the team make at least one recall from the minors before too long.

Senators Expected To Resume Shane Pinto Extension Talks Soon

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With Senators center Shane Pinto heading into the final year of his contract this season, the team and his representatives held extension talks over the offseason but were too far apart in terms of his value.  As a result, those discussions were put on pause with Pinto’s camp wanting to get through the start of the season without any possible distractions.

It appears that will soon be changing.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that there’s an expectation that the two sides will meet again soon to rekindle those talks.

There have been some interesting moments in contract talks with him before.  When he was a restricted free agent back in 2024, there were suggestions that his camp was hoping to solicit an offer sheet in the hopes of landing a contract that was closer to the value they were seeking from the Sens.  Considering he wound up signing a bridge deal soon after, clearly one never materialized.

That bridge agreement was a heavily backloaded two-year, $7.5MM pact.  The deal sees Pinto receiving $5MM in salary this season.  With the qualifying offers being the lower of either his current-season salary or 120% of the AAV ($3.75MM in this case), he’s already set for a raise in his cap charge with his qualifying offer checking in at $4.5MM with salary arbitration rights next summer.

Pinto’s performance and the quickly rising salary cap ensure that he’ll be getting a higher number than that on his next deal.  Last season, he picked up a career-best 21 goals and 37 points in 70 games while largely playing in their top six.

This season, he’s off to an even better start.  The 24-year-old is tied for the league lead in goals with six through five games and while a shooting percentage of 40 is clearly unsustainable, both sides are certainly hoping that another career year offensively is on the horizon.

Garrioch relays word from a league source that suggested that Ottawa’s offer to Pinto’s camp was a longer-term offer in the $5MM to $5.5MM range, one that would lock him in as their third pivot for years to come.  With Tim Stutzle now moved to center and the acquisition of Dylan Cozens at the trade deadline last season, the hope is that those two will lock down the top two center slots for the foreseeable future.

But with that offer coming in not too high above the qualifying offer, it’s understandable that Pinto wouldn’t have wanted to sign that type of deal this early.  Meanwhile, a league executive suggested to Garrioch that Pinto might be looking to land a contract with a price tag between Cozens ($7.1MM) and Stutzle ($8.35MM).  While his offensive production to-date wouldn’t necessarily justify that, it’s also reflective of the expectation that salaries are set to jump quickly in this new cap environment.

There is definitely some risk in restarting discussions while Pinto is in the middle of a hot streak and Ottawa’s offer certainly won’t be pegging Pinto to keep producing at his current level.  But if he has done enough for the Senators to up their original proposal, it might be enough of a step to see if the two sides can get something worked out.

Brandon Montour Taking Temporary Leave Of Absence From Kraken

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The Kraken will be without their top defender for the next little while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Brandon Montour will be taking a temporary leave of absence from the team to tend to a family matter.  No further details will be provided by the club.

The 31-year-old had gotten off to a strong start for Seattle this season.  Through four games, Montour leads the team in assists with four through four games while those four points are tied for the team lead.  He’s also their team leader in playing time, averaging just under 23 minutes per game.  That comes on the heels of playing a similar role last season when he notched 18 goals and 23 assists in 81 games while logging 22:59 per contest, a solid first season with the Kraken after signing a seven-year contract with them as an unrestricted free agent.

With Ryker Evans yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury, Seattle’s defensive depth is going to get tested a little more now.  Cale Fleury has been the reserve defender for each game so far and in the short term, it makes sense that he would take Montour’s place in the lineup.

If Montour’s absence winds up taking some time, the Kraken might want to recall someone from AHL Coachella Valley to ensure that they have some depth available, especially with four games to go on their season-opening eight-game road trip.  While they have a full 23-player roster at the moment, they would be able to designate Montour to non-roster status to open up a slot to recall someone into if they decide to go that route.

Canadiens Announce Multiple Injuries, Recall Owen Beck

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While the Canadiens pulled off a comeback victory on Thursday against Nashville, it came at a cost as three players are now injured.  The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury while center Kirby Dach and winger Patrik Laine are day-to-day with lower-body injuries as well.  In a corresponding move, center Owen Beck has been recalled from AHL Laval on an emergency basis.

Guhle had gotten off to a solid start to the season, playing alongside Lane Hutson on Montreal’s second pairing.  He had a goal and an assist through the first five games while adding five blocks and 16 hits in a little over 19 minutes a night.  Guhle has missed at least a dozen games due to injuries in each of his first three NHL campaigns and that streak will now be extended with this injury.  After being scratched on Thursday, Arber Xhekaj will take Guhle’s place in the lineup while the Canadiens will likely recall a defenseman in the near future to give them a seventh option.

Dach, meanwhile, is working his way back from a knee injury that ended his 2024-25 campaign prematurely.  After managing his usage in the preseason, the Canadiens have limited his minutes a bit early on as he’s logging just 14:29 per night where he has a goal and an assist while anchoring their third line.  As for Laine, he’s off to a quiet start in his contract year with just one assist through his first five appearances while predominantly playing on the fourth line.  That’s not an ideal start but now this day-to-day injury will give him a quick reset.

Beck was one of Montreal’s final training camp cuts for the second straight season after Oliver Kapanen beat him out for the final spot on the roster.  He has played in three games with AHL Laval so far this season, picking up a goal and an assist.  Beck had 44 points in 64 games with the Rocket in his rookie year while also getting into a dozen games with the Canadiens where he had one assist.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The 2025-26 NHL regular season is now underway.  As is often the case, we saw a flurry of extensions before the season started, plus one more early on in the year while there has been some interesting action early on.  With that in mind, it’s a good time to once again open up the mailbag.

Our last call for questions yielded enough questions for a pair of mailbags.  Topics in the first included one of the early CBA changes regarding paper transactions, getting out the crystal ball when it comes to non-playoff teams, and the Hughes brothers.  Meanwhile, included in the second column were thoughts on what’s next for the Flyers, what type of impact Jonathan Toews could have with Winnipeg this season, and why we don’t see a lot of prominent players signing short-term contracts compared to other leagues.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Buffalo Sabres

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Sabres.

Buffalo Sabres

Current Cap Hit: $93,341,521 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Zach Benson (one year, $950K)
F Josh Doan (one year, $925K)
F Jiri Kulich (two years, $886.7K)

Potential Bonuses
Benson: $650K

After a strong rookie year in 2023-24, Benson’s sophomore campaign was largely the same.  While he didn’t take a step back in his development, he didn’t really progress either.  While he’s someone the Sabres clearly feel will still be a part of their long-term plans, finding a price point low enough for them to be comfortable with and high enough for Benson to be happy with will be tough.  With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal around the $4MM territory might make the most sense for both sides.  He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and if he stays in their top six all year, he could hit some of those.

Doan was one of the pieces coming to Buffalo in the JJ Peterka trade this offseason.  He held his own in a bottom-six role for the bulk of last season with Utah but that’s not the type of player that typically signs a long-term deal at this point.  A short-term bridge pact makes sense here, potentially in the $3MM area if he has a similar showing this season.  Kulich showed some promise last season despite a relatively limited role.  They’re hoping he can be a top-six center of the future and if it looks like he’ll be there at the end of this deal, a long-term pact could be on the table.  The rate for that could be in the $8MM territory, even if he’s on the second line given the inflation coming to the cap.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

D Jacob Bryson ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Kesselring ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Peyton Krebs ($1.45MM, RFA)
F Beck Malenstyn ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Alex Tuch ($4.75MM, UFA)

Tuch’s contract situation is one of the biggest discussion points in Buffalo right now.  He’s a local player who has publicly stated that he wants to re-sign but no agreement has been reached just yet.  Seeing the recent explosion of the winger market, it’s likely that Tuch’s camp is seeking to more than double his current price tag.  He has only passed the point-per-game mark once in his career but with two 36-goal efforts over the last three seasons, he’s still producing enough that he could very well surpass the $10MM mark on his next deal.  If Buffalo continues to struggle, his name will come up in trade speculation quickly so it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides plug away at this in the coming weeks.

Krebs bounced back last season after a tough 2023-24 campaign but he still hasn’t progressed to being a consistently reliable producer; he has yet to reach 30 points in a single season.  However, given that he plays a premium position and has arbitration rights, he should be able to double this price tag next summer.  Malenstyn wasn’t anywhere near as impactful in his first year with Buffalo compared to his 2023-24 season with Washington.  However, with his physicality, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $2MM mark next summer, even as a pure fourth liner.

Kesselring was the other part of the return for Peterka and is someone Buffalo likely views as an important building block on the back end.  He hasn’t become a full-time top-four piece yet but as a coveted right-shot defender with arbitration rights, he should be in a position to push for $4MM on a shorter-term deal while a long-term pact would likely run past $5MM per season.  Bryson has been a depth defender for the last few seasons and is likely to remain in that role moving forward.  That should keep him close to the minimum salary for next season and beyond.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Bowen Byram ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Justin Danforth ($1.8MM, UFA)
G Colten Ellis ($775K, RFA)
F/D Mason Geertsen ($775K, UFA)
F Jordan Greenway ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Lyon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jack Quinn ($3.375MM, RFA)
D Conor Timmins ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Jason Zucker ($4.75MM, UFA)

Zucker and Greenway found themselves in similar situations last season, players on expiring contracts who were likely to be moved if they didn’t sign extensions.  Instead, both worked out short-term deals that gave them some stability and kept Buffalo’s long-term options open.  Zucker’s trips through free agency haven’t always proven fruitful but if he stays in the 50-point range the next couple of years, he could land a small raise and a multi-year pact, even as a 35-plus contract.  As for Greenway, he has been the beneficiary of the power forward premium.  When healthy, he struggles to reach 30 points and even staying in the lineup has been a concern.  But given his size, physicality, and defensive acumen, there’s a high enough floor that Buffalo was willing to pay a premium on.  He’ll need to produce a bit more if he wants to beat this by any sort of significant amount.

Quinn wasn’t quite able to live up to offensive expectations last season, resulting in this bridge deal getting signed back in June.  Both sides will be hoping that he will be able to take that step forward and become a legitimate top-six piece.  If that happens, he could plausibly push past $6MM or more two years from now.  Danforth came over from Columbus in free agency as a versatile piece who can move up and down the lineup.  But he will have to find a way to produce more if he is going to have a shot at beating this in his next trip to the open market.  Geertsen hadn’t played in the NHL since 2021-22 before surprisingly making Buffalo’s roster in training camp.  Unless he can establish himself as an every-game player, he’s likely to remain at the minimum salary in the future.

To avoid any risk of an offer sheet, the Sabres filed for arbitration with Byram this summer, setting him up for a two-year deal that took him right to unrestricted free agency.  While they settled before the hearing, they couldn’t get any additional team control, meaning he’ll hit the open market at 26, in the prime of his career.  Given how much salaries have exploded, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he pushes for a deal in the $10MM range on a max-term agreement.  Timmins, acquired in a swap of third-pairing defensemen this summer, also managed to avoid arbitration with this deal.  He has shown flashes of offensive upside over the years but has been more of a fifth or sixth option for most of that time.  There’s a fine line to navigate for players in his situation as if he remains a lower-producing piece, the offers two years from now might not get to this level.  But a few more points could propel him past the $3MM mark.

Lyon became a full-time backup goaltender over his two years with Detroit, getting into 74 games overall.  However, his save percentage dipped to .896 last season which hurt his chances of getting a bigger deal this summer.  Still, he did enough to get his biggest guaranteed contract.  At this point of his career, it’s hard to see him moving into that top echelon of backups so while another small raise could be doable, he’s probably not going much higher than that.  Ellis was claimed off waivers and has yet to make his NHL debut.  Buffalo feels he has some upside as evidenced by the claim but when everyone’s healthy, he’s no higher than third on the depth chart.  This doesn’t feel like a situation where he’s going to get a chance to play into a big contract but if he does well in limited action, he could land where Lyon is now.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Ryan Johnson ($775K, RFA)
F Tyson Kozak ($775K, RFA)

Both Johnson and Kozak are on identical three-year deals.  However, with the minimum salary moving to $850K next season and $900K in 2027-28, their cap hits beginning next season should jump to $841.7K.

Kozak made his NHL debut last season, getting into 21 games where he did okay with limited playing time.  He wasn’t a big point producer with Rochester either but the security of a three-year pact with two one-way years was enough to get him to sign.  He’ll need to establish himself as a regular and make a bit of an impact to help his cause for a new deal as if he winds up with minimal production, he’ll become a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility.

Johnson, a 2019 first-round pick, has had a limited role so far when he has played, including a 41-game stint in his rookie year.  He also opted for the security of two one-way years while he looks to establish himself as a full-time defender.  Like Kozak, he’ll want to be more established by the end of this deal to avoid being a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility.  If he’s a regular third-pairing option by then, Johnson could move up into the $2MM range on a contract.

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