Brian La Rose

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Janmark, Sharks

October 11, 2025 at 1:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Brock Boeser played more shorthanded in Vancouver’s season opener than he did all of last season combined. That might not just be an outlier either as head coach Adam Foote told reporters including Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre that he hopes that the winger can become a regular on the penalty kill, a role he hasn’t held since his college days. The Canucks lost arguably their top player shorthanded this summer when Pius Suter signed with St. Louis while Teddy Blueger, another regular in that department, is banged up. Armed with the security of a seven-year deal signed at the beginning of free agency this summer, it appears that Boeser is welcoming the chance to play a bigger role this season.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

Oilers winger Mattias Janmark is expected to return to the lineup in about a week, notes Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link). At that time, Edmonton will be forced into a tough roster decision. The addition of Jack Roslovic gives them 23 players on the active roster, excluding Janmark (and Jake Walman) on injured reserve. When either is activated, someone will have to be cut while the eventual return of Zach Hyman (likely sometime next month) may necessitate two players getting sent down to get back to cap compliance. With Janmark due back soon, the first of those decisions will need to be made fairly quickly.
In recent years, the Sharks haven’t been a high-spending team and even this year, while they’re in LTIR, it’s due to taking on two significant contracts for injured players whose deals are largely covered by insurance. But as they eventually look to emerge from their rebuild, they’ll have to spend more on active players, upping their actual payroll as a result. Speaking with reporters Friday including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, owner Hasso Plattner indicated that the money should be there when they need it once the team starts playing better. San Jose has been at the bottom of the standings for the last two seasons and finished fourth-last in 2022-23 and is still in its rebuilding process. Accordingly, it might be a little longer yet before Plattner needs to increase his payroll spending.

Vincent Trocheck Out Week-To-Week

October 11, 2025 at 12:46 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The Rangers will be without a key player for at least the next little while. Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays (Twitter link) that center Vincent Trocheck is listed as out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

The injury occurred during the second period of Thursday’s victory over Buffalo after a penalty killing shift with the team announcing soon after that he wouldn’t be returning to the game.

The 32-year-old has been a key cog down the middle for New York for several years now as a true two-way, all-situations player. Trocheck had his best offensive showing back in 2023-24 when he had 77 points in 82 games. While that output ticked down to 59 points last season, he managed to lead the NHL in shorthanded goals with six. He started the season anchoring the top line with the expectations that he’d once again be one of their top offensive performers.

In Trocheck’s absence, Mika Zibanejad’s move to the wing will be short-lived as he lined up in Trocheck’s center spot on the top line at practice today, per Newsday’s Colin Stephenson (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Juuso Parssinen appears to be set to make his season debut with a lineup spot opened up due to Trocheck’s injury.

How the Rangers try to replace Trocheck on the roster is intriguing. The team can place him on regular injured reserve, opening up a roster spot. However, they only have $842K in cap space at the moment, per PuckPedia, which isn’t enough to recall any of Brett Berard, Brennan Othmann, or Gabriel Perreault, the players they likely would want to give a chance to.

As long as Trocheck is set to miss 10 games and 24 days, he becomes eligible for LTIR which would allow them to then bring up one of those three players. However, they’d then stop accruing cap space, further cutting into their already limited flexibility on that front. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to opt not to bring anyone up to take his spot in the short term. That would give Parssinen (or Jonny Brodzinski, who’s also on the roster) a chance to make a mark while allowing them to bank enough regular space to recall a prospect over the next few weeks, keeping them out of LTIR altogether. Either way, they’ll be navigating through a significant loss in Trocheck for at least a few weeks.

Pyotr Kochetkov To Miss At Least One Week

October 11, 2025 at 11:38 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Carolina is one of the rare teams choosing to carry three goaltenders this season and that depth is going to come in handy early on. The team announced that Pyotr Kochetkov will be out for at least a week due to a lower-body injury, noting that while it’s not a serious injury, the recovery timeline is longer than head coach Rod Brind’Amour was hoping for.

The timeline of at least a week suggests that Carolina intends to place him on injured reserve. That designation means that a player must be out for at least a week. But with a full 23-player roster, putting Kochetkov on IR would allow the Hurricanes to bring someone up from the minors, though likely not a goalie with Brandon Bussi already with the team after a late-camp waiver claim.

Kochetkov has been the de facto starter the last two seasons, at times on merit and others with Frederik Andersen being on the shelf. Two years ago, it looked like the 26-year-old had taken a big step forward when he posted a 2.33 GAA and a .911 SV% in 42 outings.

However, things didn’t go quite as well last season. While he made a career-high 47 starts, his numbers weren’t as strong, checking in at 2.60 GAA and a .897 SV% while he struggled in the playoffs, playing to a 3.60 GAA and .855 SV% in just four outings, two of those coming in relief. In between, he dealt with a concussion and noted after the season that he had been playing through an injury.

With Kochetkov on the shelf, Andersen now becomes the clear-cut starter, a role that he hasn’t been able to hold onto for extended stretches in recent years due to his own injuries. Over the last three seasons, he hasn’t made more than 33 starts in a single one so if Kochetkov’s absence winds up being more longer-term, Andersen will be tested much more than he has been in recent years while Bussi could get a chance to make his NHL debut as well.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins

October 6, 2025 at 9:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

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, first up are the Bruins.

Boston Bruins

Current Cap Hit: $93,323,333 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Fraser Minten (two years, $816.7K)

Minten was brought in last season at the trade deadline as part of the return for Brandon Carlo. While his ceiling might not be overly high, he’s viewed as a potential third-line middleman and those players can carry some value. If he can establish himself as a full-timer over the next two seasons, a bridge deal should surpass the $2MM mark while a longer-term pact – if warranted – could run closer to the $5MM territory. Given that it’s risky to sign lower-scoring players to long-term deals, a bridge deal feels like the most probable outcome at this time.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Viktor Arvidsson ($4MM, UFA)
F John Beecher ($900K, RFA)
D Jordan Harris ($825K, RFA)
D Andrew Peeke ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Jeffrey Viel ($775K, UFA)

Arvidsson was Boston’s biggest splash of the summer in terms of trying to add some extra scoring help to their roster, acquiring him from Edmonton in what amounted to a cap dump from the Oilers. Despite that, he’s only a couple of years removed from a 59-point campaign but he has managed just 42 points in 85 games since then. That’s still respectable production but he’ll need to bounce back a bit if he wants to get a raise next summer. Otherwise, another short-term contract in this price range should be doable.

Beecher was a regular last season but didn’t produce much, notching just 11 points in 78 games while mostly playing on the fourth line. That led to this deal, one that came in just above his qualifying offer. Assuming his role is similar this season, arbitration rights should push him a little past his qualifying offer but it’s likely to be just over the $1MM mark. Viel has seen very limited NHL action in recent seasons and is likely to remain at or near the minimum moving forward.

Peeke had a decent first full season with the Bruins. While he wasn’t a full-time top-four player as he was at times in Columbus a few years back, he did spend a bit of time there while stabilizing the third pairing at others. Right-shot blueliners are hard to come by so even if he stays at this level moving forward, another multi-year deal and an increase into the $3.5MM territory is attainable. Harris took a cheap contract after being non-tendered by Columbus in June and appears to be their seventh defenseman to start the season. Given his track record with Montreal in the past, he seems like a strong non-tender candidate for next summer, simply to avoid giving him arbitration rights. Meanwhile, unless he can play somewhat of a regular role, he’s likely to stay close to the minimum salary as well.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Mikey Eyssimont ($1.45MM, UFA)
F Marat Khusnutdinov ($925K, RFA)
F Sean Kuraly ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Mason Lohrei ($3.2MM, RFA)
F Casey Mittelstadt ($5.8MM, UFA)
F Pavel Zacha ($4.75MM, UFA)

It has been an eventful couple of years for Mittelstadt. The Sabres decided to move him for Bowen Byram at the 2024 deadline in a swap of younger core pieces. Colorado then inked him to this deal, feeling he could be their longer-term solution as their second center. However, he struggled with them, leading to this move to the Bruins back in March. Still just 26, Mittelstadt is young enough to still potentially be an impact player offensively and has two seasons of more than 55 points under his belt. If he can get back to even that level, a jump past $7MM per season is reasonable. However, if his struggles continue, not only will he likely be on the move again within these next couple of years but he’ll also potentially be looking at a dip in salary.

Zacha was the focus of some trade speculation this summer after a dip in production from 59 to 47 points last season. Still, that’s decent second-line production from a position that’s always in high demand. Even if 47 is the new range for his output moving forward, Zacha should be in a spot to get a raise past the $5MM mark and a long-term agreement in 2027. Kuraly is back for a second stint in Boston after signing with them this summer. He has been a solid fourth liner for most of his career but this price tag provides a reasonable reference point for what his next contract should be; unless he can lock down a bigger role between now and then, it’s going to be hard for him to beat this by any sort of significant margin.

Eyssimont was also brought in via the open market in July with a deal that is his personal best. A little younger than Kuraly, there could be a bit more earnings upside for him as he only has a couple of full-time NHL seasons under his belt so far. That said, given that he’s a winger instead of a center, the ceiling for him might check in around the $2MM mark. Khusnutdinov was brought in from Minnesota last season with Boston hoping that a fresh start could unlock some of the offensive potential he showed in Russia. He’ll need to show it on this contract as he’s not a prototypical fit in a bottom-six role; if the production doesn’t improve between now and the 2027 offseason, he becomes a non-tender candidate.

Lohrei wound up playing a much bigger role than expected last season due to injuries and showed lots of offensive upside but some defensive warts as well, making a bridge deal like this one the inevitable outcome. If he can build off that and clean up some of his in-zone concerns, a long-term contract could wind up doubling this price tag.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Henri Jokiharju ($3MM, UFA)
F Mark Kastelic ($1.567MM, UFA)
G Joonas Korpisalo ($3MM, UFA)*

*-Ottawa is paying an additional $1MM per season on Korpisalo’s deal.

Kastelic came to Boston as part of the trade that netted the Sens Linus Ullmark. He was supposed to simply be a depth fourth liner for the Bruins but wound up playing a few extra minutes per game while being their leading hitter among forwards, earning him this extension in-season. While this is more than a lot of fourth liners make, the fact he’s a center who wins faceoffs at an above-average clip also helped his value. That said, given his offensive limitations, there’s going to be cap on his earnings upside that’s pretty close to this.

Jokiharju was added at the trade deadline to see how he might fit in with this group and the early returns were positive enough to land him this contract just before free agency opened. Still just 26, he has shown flashes of top-four upside but consistency has been an issue. If he can become a steady 18-20-minute player, he could see a pretty big jump on his next deal, especially as a coveted right-shot player.

After a rough year in Ottawa, Korpisalo was also in the Ullmark trade last year. His first year with the Bruins was a bit better although his overall numbers were still a little below league average. Even with the Senators paying down part of his deal, he’s on the pricier side for a backup without above-average play. He’ll need to turn things around if he’s going to have any shot at a raise on his next contract.

Signed Through 2028-29

None

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Morgan Geekie ($5.5MM through 2030-31)
F Tanner Jeannot ($3.4MM through 2029-30)
F Elias Lindholm ($7.75MM through 2030-31)
D Hampus Lindholm ($6.5MM through 2029-30)
D Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
F David Pastrnak ($11.25MM through 2030-31)
D Nikita Zadorov ($5MM through 2029-30)

When Pastrnak signed this contract two-and-a-half years ago, there was some sticker shock when it came to the AAV. Yes, he was in the middle of his first 100-point season but was that the outlier or a sign of things to come? It turns out it was the latter as he has surpassed that mark the last two years as well. In a cap environment that’s seeing salaries go up quickly, this deal already looks like a team-friendly one, something that should only continue moving forward. Lindholm (the center), on the other hand? Not so much. His first season with the Bruins was tough as his offensive stagnation continued. While he’s not getting top center money, he’s at least getting high-end number two dollars and 47 points doesn’t qualify for that distinction either. They’ll be hoping for a bounce-back as if this is his ceiling moving forward, this contract will be an anchor in a hurry.

Geekie had a breakout season in 2024-25, scoring 33 goals after only tallying that many combined over the previous three years. That made this contract particularly tricky, especially with arbitration rights. In the end, they settled on a deal that pays him more like a consistent second liner moving forward. If he stays around the 25-goal territory, they’ll get decent value. But if his output drops more to his previous numbers, this could be a problematic deal as well. Jeannot’s deal, on the other hand, looks problematic already. Despite a tough year in Los Angeles that saw him on the fourth line, Boston ‘won’ the bidding war for his services, thinking that a change of scenery and perhaps a bigger role could help rejuvenate him. While it’s possible that happens, it’s more likely that he continues on the path he has been on the last couple of years, making this an overpayment both in dollars and term.

McAvoy’s deal also carried some sticker shock when it was signed four years ago. However, the first two years worked out pretty well although last season was a little tougher. He wasn’t as impactful as he was the previous two seasons and a long-term shoulder injury sustained at the Four Nations Face-Off ended his year prematurely. For an all-situations number one defenseman like McAvoy is, the price point is reasonable, especially as salaries start to escalate quicker. But he will need to get back to the level he was in the first two seasons of this contract for the Bruins to get the type of return they’re hoping he’ll be able to provide.

Lindholm (the blueliner) had a breakout year in his first full season in Boston in 2022-23 but hasn’t come close to that type of offensive production since while he missed 65 games due to injury himself. He wasn’t signed to be a big point producer though and as long as he’s succeeding in tough defensive matchups and chipping in a bit at the other end, this deal should hold up well. Zadorov was another of GM Don Sweeney’s big swings last summer that raised some eyebrows. In Boston’s defense, he played a bigger role with them than he had elsewhere and this price for a top-four defender is defensible on its face. However, if you’re of the mindset that he’s more of a third-pairing player in an ideal world, then it’s a big overpayment, no matter how much physicality he brings to the table.

It took until the start of last season for Swayman to get this deal, one that has been used as a benchmark for others since then. However, he responded with his worst performance by a significant margin. The injuries on the back end certainly didn’t help but it’s fair to say that they’re expecting Swayman to be one of the top goalies in the league. He’ll need to get back to that level for them to get a good return on this contract.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

D Brandon Carlo ($615K through 2026-27)

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Zacha
Worst Value: E. Lindholm

Looking Ahead

Boston opens this season with a little more than $2MM in cap space, a reasonable amount but one that might not allow them to bank much in-season flexibility once you account for injuries that will likely creep up over the first few months. That said, if they wind up being sellers once again, they’re probably not going to be looking to take on money closer to the trade deadline anyway while if they are in the mix, they’ll have to get a little creative to add.

Looking to next summer, the Bruins will have a little less than $20MM at their disposal with Arvidsson and Peeke being the only players of some significance to re-sign. New deals for them could cost around $8MM, leaving some flexibility to add a piece or two and at least shore up their depth. However, with over $48MM in space as things stand for 2027-28, that will be the window for Sweeney to potentially take a bigger swing to change up his core group.

Photos courtesy of Bob DeChiara and Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

East Notes: Glendening, Senators, Sabres, George

October 6, 2025 at 9:18 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While Luke Glendening didn’t land on the season-opening roster for the Devils, that shouldn’t be interpreted as him not having made the team. Per team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link), head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the veteran is expected to sign with the team before they depart on their season-opening road trip which begins Thursday in Carolina. New Jersey has set up their roster for an in-season LTIR placement which should come as soon as Tuesday, opening up the cap room at that time to sign Glendening. The 36-year-old had just seven points in 77 games with Tampa Bay last season but won 57% of his draws, making him a serviceable specialist on the fourth line.

Elsewhere in the East:

While the Senators placed winger Drake Batherson and defenseman Tyler Kleven on injured reserve today, neither have been ruled out for Thursday’s season opener, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Their IR placements were back-dated to when they were injured in training camp, meaning they technically have already served the required seven days. Both players skated for about 45 minutes today but haven’t been cleared to return just yet.
Sabres winger Zach Benson (undisclosed) and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (upper body) returned to practice today as they work their way back from their respective injuries. Neither has been ruled out of Thursday’s season opener. Meanwhile, winger Jordan Greenway (mid-body) and defenseman Owen Power (strain) skated on their own today. Unlike Benson and Samuelsson, they’re not on the active roster as they were among the long list of players that landed on injured reserve today. At this point, their availabilities for Thursday appear to be in question.
Despite playing in 33 games with the Islanders last season, Isaiah George was sent to the minors today. Speaking with reporters (video link), GM Mathieu Darche indicated that the 21-year-old had a strong camp but the decision was made to prioritize playing time, something he’ll get a lot of with Bridgeport but wouldn’t have received in New York as the eighth defender on the depth chart.

Mammoth Sign Kevin Rooney To One-Year Contract

October 6, 2025 at 8:36 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While Kevin Rooney’s tryout with the Devils didn’t lead to a contract with them, it helped lead to a contract elsewhere. The Mammoth announced that they’ve signed the forward to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay $775K at the NHL while PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the AHL portion carries a $325K salary.

The 32-year-old has seen NHL action in each of the last nine seasons, the last three of which came with Calgary. Last season, Rooney got into a career-best 70 games with the Flames, collecting five goals and five assists, while winning a little over 47% of his faceoffs and recording 109 hits on their fourth line. For his career, he has 32 goals and 28 helpers in 330 career contests.

Rooney has also gotten into 242 career AHL contests over the years, spending time with both New Jersey’s and Calgary’s farm teams. In those appearances, he has fared a lot better offensively, picking up 34 goals and 59 assists. However, he hasn’t played regularly in the minors since 2022-23 when he got into 51 games with AHL Calgary.

Utah’s season-opening roster contained the maximum of 23 players. Accordingly, they will either need to make a roster move to accommodate adding Rooney to their active roster where he’d likely serve as the 13th forward or Rooney will receive a non-roster designation and land on waivers on Tuesday to start the process of sending him to the minors. Considering he went into camp with New Jersey without a guaranteed deal and accepted a two-way pact from the Mammoth, it would seem like there’s a good chance that Rooney would be claimed if Utah chooses to go the latter route with him.

Pacific Notes: Walman, Laferriere, Burroughs, Blueger

October 6, 2025 at 7:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While it was a good day off the ice today for Jake Walman with a seven-year extension in-hand, the on-ice news isn’t as good. Team reporter Tony Brar relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner has suffered a setback in recovering from an undisclosed injury that has kept him out for most of the preseason. Instead of being expected to suit up on Wednesday against Calgary, he is now listed as questionable. The 29-year-old logged over 20 minutes a game both down and in the playoffs for the Oilers and is likely to play a similar top-four role this season; it just might take a little longer before his 2025-26 campaign actually gets underway.

Summer Synopsis: Montreal Canadiens

October 4, 2025 at 4:01 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

With training camps now upon us, 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 Montreal.

The Canadiens were hoping to be in the mix for the playoffs last season and a late-season surge not only allowed them to do that, but it also allowed them to sneak into the postseason, perhaps a little earlier than anticipated. While they were quickly dispatched by Washington in the opening round, their movement this summer suggests that they’re expecting to take another step forward in their rebuilding process this season.

Draft

2-34 – F Alexander Zharovsky, Ufa (MHL)
3-69 – F Hayden Paupanekis, Kelowna (WHL)
3-81 – D Bryce Pickford, Medicine Hat (WHL)
3-82 – G Arseni Radkov, Tyumen (MHL)
4-113 – F L.J. Mooney, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
5-145 – G Alexis Cournoyer, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
6-177 – D Carlos Handel, Halifax (QMJHL)
6-189 – D Andrew MacNiel, Kitchener (OHL)
7-209 – D Maxon Vig, Cedar Rapids (USHL)

It’s not very often that a team trying to emerge from a rebuild trades two first-round picks instead of adding to its prospect cupboard but the Canadiens did just that, dealing the 16th and 17th selections (forward Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson) as part of a draft-day swap that saw them add a top-pairing defenseman, a move we’ll get to shortly.

They also made a pair of moves on the second day of the draft, trading up for their first two selections, including two second-round selections to get Zharovsky. The winger showed lots of raw offensive skill in Russia’s junior league last season before making his KHL debut in the playoffs. He’s likely at least a couple of years away from being considered to move to North America but if he develops as planned, he could be a top-six piece down the road.

Paupanekis was the other player they moved up for. A big center who showed some flashes of offensive upside with a capable defensive game, they’re hoping that he could be a bottom-six option down the road. Pickford was picked in his second year of eligibility after averaging nearly a point per game in the regular season while adding 24 points in 18 playoff contests. He’s eligible to turn pro next season and could be an intriguing offense-first blueliner in a few seasons.

The rest of Montreal’s selections qualify as longer-term projects. Mooney is the headliner from the list, a player whose skill level is pretty high offensively with a ceiling higher than many drafted ahead of him. However, he’d also be one of the smallest players in the NHL if he makes it which undoubtedly contributed to his drop on draft day but midway through the draft, Montreal felt it was worth the gamble.

Trade Acquisitions

F Zachary Bolduc (from Blues)
D Noah Dobson (from Islanders)
D Gannon Laroque (from Sharks)

The Canadiens swung arguably the biggest trade of the summer to bring Dobson in from New York. Included in the swap was an eight-year, $76MM sign-and-trade contract, making him the highest-paid skater in franchise history in terms of AAV. Clearly, Montreal feels that his drop in points to 39 (down from 70 the year before) is something that isn’t going to be continued while they’ll be counting on him to take a step forward in his defensive game as well. If all goes according to plan, they’ll have a right-shot top-pairing defender locked up through his prime years, checking off a key part of their rebuilding checklist although with Lane Hutson in the fold, he may not get as many prime offensive chances as he did with the Islanders.

Bolduc comes over in a one-for-one swap with St. Louis that saw a pair of 2021 first-round picks get moved for each other. Bolduc had a strong second half last season, ultimately coming up just short of 20 goals while also bringing a bit of physicality to their bottom six. Montreal will be expecting him to pick up where he left off and fill a similar role with them this season. As for Laroque, he was acquired merely as a contract matcher in the swap with the Sharks. He didn’t play at all last season and wasn’t invited to camp this year, suggesting his playing days are likely done.

UFA Signings

F Alex Belzile (one year, $775K)*
F Sammy Blais (one year, $775K)
D Nathan Clurman (one year, $775K)*
D Marc Del Gaizo (one year, $775K)*
G Kaapo Kahkonen (one year, $1.15MM)
F Joe Veleno (one year, $900K)

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

As has been the case under GM Kent Hughes, Montreal largely stayed on the sidelines when it came to free agent additions this summer. Their most expensive signing – Kahkonen – is likely to start in the minors (assuming he clears waivers), a sign of how little they spent here. Veleno, bought out by Seattle back in June, is someone who should break camp with the Canadiens but is likely ticketed for a limited role to start the year. Blais is on the borderline for a roster spot while the others are all ticketed for the minors.

RFA Re-Signings

G Jakub Dobes (two years, $1.9MM)
F Sean Farrell (one year, $775K)*
D Jayden Struble (two years, $2.8MM)
D William Trudeau (one year, $775K)*

*-denotes two-way contract

Struble’s first two seasons were nearly mirror images of each other. There were times when he flashed top-four upside and other stretches where he struggled to simply get in the lineup. This bridge deal allows both sides more time to see if there’s a full-time spot for him in Montreal while it’s front-loaded, yielding a cheaper qualifying offer two years from now.

Dobes started the season in the minors but a late-December recall saw him get off to quite the start, winning his first five games, including several against some of the better teams in the league. On the flip side, he struggled more down the stretch and with fewer than 20 games played (including playoffs), he’s still rather inexperienced. Montreal will be hoping that he can shoulder a bit more of the workload after Sam Montembeault was among the league leaders in games played last season.

Departures

F Joel Armia (signed with Kings, two years, $5MM)
F Alex Barre-Boulet (signed with Avalanche, one year, $775K)*
F Christian Dvorak (signed with Flyers, one year, $5.4MM)
F Brandon Gignac (signed with Kloten, NL)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (signed with Penguins, one year, $775K)*
F Emil Heineman (trade with Islanders)
D Noel Hoefenmayer (signed with Sochi, KHL)
G Connor Hughes (signed with Lausanne, NL)
G Gustav Lindstrom (signed with Djurgarden, SHL)
D Logan Mailloux (trade with Blues)
F Michael Pezzetta (signed with Maple Leafs, two years, $1.55MM)
G Cayden Primeau (trade with Hurricanes)
G Carey Price (trade with Sharks)
D David Savard (retirement)
F Xavier Simoneau (NHL rights relinquished but signed AHL deal with Laval)

*-denotes two-way contract

In the NHL, the center market is often a market of its own. The contract given to Dvorak is a good example of that. He has yet to record 40 points in a season but his defensive game and faceoff ability coupled with a scarcity of available options yielded this deal, one that agents will undoubtedly be trying to use as a benchmark moving forward. Armia was another longer-term bottom-six piece in Montreal who is moving on. While he hasn’t produced enough offensively to live up to his first-round draft selection, he has carved out a viable career as a strong checker. Filling their roles defensively could be challenging for the Canadiens this season.

Heineman was the other piece in the Dobson swap. He got off to a strong start in his first full NHL season before being hit by a car in Utah, landing him on IR and upon his return, his production dropped. Nonetheless, the Isles feel he still has another level to get to. Still just 23, Heineman has been traded three times now for quality players, Sam Bennett, Tyler Toffoli, and Dobson. Pezzetta was a regular on the roster for the past few years but played sparingly overall, being healthy scratched more than 50 times.

Savard was another fixture on Montreal’s penalty kill and was eighth in total blocked shots last season. However, he was struggling as the season went on and knew by the playoffs that he was nearing an end to his playing days. Dobson is his replacement, though he’ll play a much bigger role overall. Dobson’s addition also was enough security to part with Mailloux in the Bolduc trade. Mailloux has shown himself to be a strong offensive defenseman in the minors and even in his brief taste of NHL action. His defensive game is an area of some concern and the Blues will be hoping to help him take some steps forward on that front as he looks to be a full-time regular for them this season.

With Price entering the final year of his contract and an early-September bonus paid, the Canadiens gave up a fifth-round pick to send him to the Sharks, allowing themselves to get out of LTIR. He hasn’t played since a five-game stint late in 2021-22 and won’t play again. Primeau was the backup heading into last season but struggled mightily, leading to his clearing waivers and Dobes coming up. However, he finished strong in the minors which was enough for Carolina to send a seventh-round pick for him to add to their goalie depth.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Price trade significantly altered Montreal’s cap situation for the upcoming season. Instead of being several million deep into LTIR and facing a certain bonus overage penalty for the fourth year in a row, they have over $4.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. While they’ll want to keep a significant chunk of that for bonuses (around half of that), that should still allow them to bank ample in-season flexibility to cover injuries and, if they’re in a push for a playoff spot, try to make a late-season addition or two.

Key Questions

What Will Laine Bring To The Table? Patrik Laine’s first season with Montreal was certainly eventful. He suffered a knee injury in the preseason, causing him to miss nearly two months. Upon returning, he became a power play dynamo, finishing fourth in the league in power play goals scored with 15 (two off the lead) despite missing 30 games. However, he only managed five goals at even strength and as the season went on, his playing time and role dropped amid concerns about his five-on-five play. The end result was a career-low ATOI. Now healthy, he’s entering a contract year and it feels like he’s a big Wild Card heading into the season. Can he re-establish himself as a legitimate top-six threat at even strength and position himself for a long-term agreement? Or will he continue to be primarily a power play gunner, something that would have him staring down a significant dip in pay from his $8.7MM AAV.

How Will They Fill The 2C Role? While Montreal made a big move to add Dobson on the back end, they weren’t successful in adding an impact center, something they and many other teams struck out on. As a result, they enter the season with largely the same options and questions as before. Can Kirby Dach stay healthy and take a step forward in his development? While Alex Newhook has started on the wing two straight years, he has finished down the middle each time. Can he be a full-time option and push for that spot? Recently, Oliver Kapanen has seen some preseason action in that role but he has just two assists in 18 games thus far in his early NHL career. Can one of them step up or will that be a weak spot again this season?

What Type Of Impact Will Demidov Have? The Canadiens were able to get Ivan Demidov out of his KHL contract late in the season, allowing him to get into a couple of regular season games and their five playoff outings, showing flashes of the upside that made him the fifth overall pick just a year ago. Can he have a similar type of impact as fellow countryman Matvei Michkov and give Montreal a second offensive line, something they’ve been lacking for a while?

Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

West Notes: Kempe, Cooley, Stars

October 4, 2025 at 2:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

While Kings forward Adrian Kempe made it known that his desire was to get a contract extension in place before the start of the season, it’s not looking like it will happen. Part of the reason for that might be the comparable his camp is using. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (video link) that Toronto’s William Nylander is believed to be one of the comparables that Kempe’s camp is using. Nylander is in the second season of an eight-year, $92MM contract and has reached the 80-point mark in four straight years, including a 97-point effort in 2023-24. Meanwhile, Kempe has yet to reach that plateau although he has topped 70 the last two seasons. The difference, of course, is the much different salary cap environment now compared to when Nylander’s deal was signed but it’s not surprising that Los Angeles GM Ken Holland would be resistant to make an offer around that price point.

Waivers: 10/4/25

October 4, 2025 at 1:15 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 7 Comments

With a little over 48 hours remaining before season-opening rosters need to be submitted to the league, it’s expected to be a very busy weekend on the waiver wire. Not surprisingly, it’s another big list of players on waivers today as 17 players have been put there, per PuckPedia. Meanwhile, all 12 players on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Here’s today’s list of players on the wire:

Dallas Stars

F Cameron Hughes
D Vladislav Kolyachonok

Florida Panthers

D Tobias Bjornfot
G Brandon Bussi

New Jersey Devils

F Thomas Bordeleau
F Angus Crookshank
F Brian Halonen
F Zack MacEwen
D Colton White

Philadelphia Flyers

D Dennis Gilbert

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Alexander Alexeyev
D Ryan Graves
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard
F Bokondji Imama
F Samuel Poulin

San Jose Sharks

F Colin White

Utah Hockey Club

F Cameron Hebig

Graves is the headliner in today’s class, primarily due to his contract which has four years left on it. We covered his situation in more detail earlier today.

Among the rest of the players, Bjornfot is no stranger to being in this situation but he has been claimed twice before. He spent most of last season in the minors with Florida but did get into 14 games with the Panthers and has 134 games at the top level under his belt. Alexeyev played sparingly last season with Washington not wanting to risk losing him for nothing on waivers but it appears that Pittsburgh doesn’t have that same level of hesitance. Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was claimed off waivers by the Penguins back in February before being flipped to Dallas over the summer so it’s possible another team might have their eye on him as well. Gilbert signed with the Flyers this summer after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo but while the thought was that he’d at least be able to land a seventh role, that isn’t the case.

As for the forwards, San Jose’s White is by far the most experienced with 323 NHL appearances. However, he has primarily been an AHL player in recent years and it’s likely that he will clear and be assigned to the Barracuda. Poulin was a 2019 first-round pick but hasn’t seen much time with the Penguins, including just seven games last season. But at 24, he’s young enough to potentially be of interest to a team that wants to take a longer look at him. Bordeleau held his own in 27 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 but only played once for them last season before being moved in July in a swap of AHL players. But like Poulin, he’s young enough (23) to potentially draw attention.

These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.

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