Brian La Rose

Five Key Stories: 8/18/25 – 8/24/25

August 24, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With training camps inching closer, there is still some work to do in terms of roster building with several players in need of new contracts. A couple of those files were closed off over the past seven days and are among the key stories of the week.

Olofsson To Avalanche: It took longer than expected but winger Victor Olofsson has found his next team after signing a one-year, $1.575MM contract with Colorado. The 30-year-old is only two years removed from a career-best 28 goals but has seen his production drop since then. Last year, Olofsson notched 15 goals and 14 assists in 56 games in Vegas despite not seeing a lot of playing time in their top six. That should be particularly appealing to an Avalanche roster that has had some challenges getting production from their bottom six forward group. The deal eats up a little more than half of the cap space they had and with Logan O’Connor out to start the season, this could be it for them beyond potentially adding a player at the minimum salary around training camp.

Comeback Attempt: Veteran winger Milan Lucic is hoping to return to the NHL this season after inking a tryout deal with St. Louis. He last played in the NHL back in October 2023 but while on injured reserve, he was charged with assault and battery for a domestic incident though those charges were later dropped. However, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program but has now been cleared. In his prime, the 37-year-old was a feared power forward with 30-goal offensive production but over his last few seasons of action, he was more of a fourth liner. Now nearly two years removed from playing, it’s fair to suggest that he’ll be playing a similar role if he’s able to secure a full-season contract from the Blues.

Seven For Nazar: Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar has just 56 career NHL games under his belt after spending the first two months of last season in the minors. However, Chicago has seen enough to make a long-term commitment to him as the two sides worked out a seven-year, $46.13MM extension that will begin in the 2026-27 campaign. Drafted in the first round in 2022 with the pick acquired for Kirby Dach, Nazar spent two years at the University of Michigan before turning pro at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Last season, he notched 24 points in 21 games with AHL Rockford before putting up 12 goals and 14 assists in 53 games with the Blackhawks. They clearly feel he has another level or two to get to offensively and if he does, this could become a team-friendly deal before too long.

Surgery For Tkachuk: While Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk had hoped to avoid needing surgery, that isn’t the case as he underwent surgery to repair the adductor injury that he sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Despite playing through the injury in the playoffs, he was quite productive with 23 points in as many games to help them win their second straight Stanley Cup. Tkachuk, who is now LTIR-eligible, could be out until January. Florida will place him on LTIR, ending any short-term speculation about them needing to clear salary in the process. The Panthers wasted little time filling his spot on the roster in the short term, signing veteran forward Luke Kunin to a one-year, $775K contract. Kunin won’t be able to replace Tkachuk’s production but he’ll add further grit to a lineup that already has a lot of it.

Rossi Gets A Bridge Deal: For months, the word was that center Marco Rossi wanted a long-term contract but the Wild wanted a bridge deal. In the end, the team got their way as the two sides worked out a three-year, $15MM contract. The agreement is notably backloaded, securing Rossi a $6MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2028, his final year of RFA eligibility. Rossi’s second full NHL season was a strong one as he noted 24 goals and 36 assists in 82 games while logging over 18 minutes a night as a full-time top-six forward. However, his usage was dropped to barely 11 minutes per contest in their first-round loss to Vegas, fueling speculation about his future. But after all sorts of trade scenarios and even talk of an offer sheet, Rossi will stick around with the team that drafted him in the first round back in 2020.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Panthers, Clara, Malmstrom

August 24, 2025 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Last season, the Panthers used the LTIR flexibility from Matthew Tkachuk to add big at the trade deadline. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News argues that Florida should take the same approach and use the savings to add a rental player before the season starts. While that would only increase the amount of cap space they’d need to open up when he returns midseason (barring further long-term injuries), it would also give them a boost in the first half. While the Panthers came on strong in the playoffs, they struggled a bit down the stretch with Tkachuk out of the lineup and a slower start this season could complicate things in a tight Atlantic Division. Accordingly, the idea of pre-renting a player makes some sense in theory with an eye on fortifying their roster for the first half but the need to open up room to welcome Tkachuk back later on would only be intensified, rarely an ideal position to be in midseason.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

After a season that saw him play at four different levels plus internationally for Italy, Ducks prospect Damian Clara is hoping for more stability this season. He has already been loaned to SHL Brynas and as he told Gefle Dagblad’s Daniel Sandstrom, both he and Anaheim were in agreement that returning to Brynas (where he played in 2023-24) was the only viable option for him. The Ducks have already signed him to an entry-level contract but with three other prospect netminders signed who need playing time, keeping him in Sweden made sense. Clara had a 3.19 GAA and a .879 SV% in 21 SHL games last season with Farjestad. He has already been named to Italy’s roster for the upcoming Olympics as well.
After being non-tendered by St. Louis back in June, defenseman Anton Malmstrom signed a one-year deal in Sweden. However, he indicated to HockeySverige’s Robin Olausson that he did have offers to remain in North America although he didn’t indicate if they were NHL two-way offers or merely minor-league pacts. The 25-year-old signed with St. Louis as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and split his time since then between the AHL and ECHL levels.

PHR Mailbag: Robertsons, Kings, Bruins, Hockey Canada

August 24, 2025 at 6:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 22 Comments

The Robertson brothers get plenty of attention in this edition of the PHR Mailbag. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s column while we have one more to run from our latest call for questions.

bottlesup: As a Stars fan, I would prefer to keep Robertson under any circumstance; if things took a turn for the worst, though, what do you think a theoretical trade package would look like in return?

I know Jason Robertson’s name was out there in trade speculation but that felt more like a speculative way to fix a cap problem that only would have been created had they made a big splash in free agency. And given that there were very few core players who made it to the open market, I think the idea of trading him was more hypothetical than realistic. That is, for now at least.

If we look ahead a year, Dallas is still going to be tight to the cap ceiling. Yes, nearly $28MM in cap space per PuckPedia for 2026-27 sounds great but with Robertson and potentially Thomas Harley heading for double-digit AAV contracts, things are going to get pretty tight pretty quickly. But that’s a ‘problem’ they can kick down the road to next summer when he’ll be a restricted free agent so I wouldn’t be worried about a trade just yet.

Now, as to your hypothetical, that could go a few different ways. If they want a top-line forward back that just makes a bit less money, it could be close to a one-for-one swap. I think that would be their Plan A. Plan B would be a second-line winger making around half of Robertson’s projected cost (so the player would be in the $5MM to $6MM range), a top prospect who is nearly NHL ready (think someone around Mavrik Bourque’s readiness as of a year ago), and some help on the right side of the defense that would take up most of the rest of the savings. Basically, fill two important roster spots for the price of one with near-term help coming from the prospect as well. There’s always a futures-based return but they’d have to have something in place to replace Robertson before they could do that.

Having said all that, I think they find a way to keep Robertson in the fold long-term unless things don’t go as planned this coming season and GM Jim Nill decides a roster shakeup is needed.

bigalval: What are the chances that the Kings could bring Jason Robertson back home? I know they have interest in him and Dallas is near the cap. What would it take to get him?

Let’s address the cap stuff first. There is a relatively easy way for Dallas to open up the year with a bit of flexibility on the cap and that’s with not carrying a full roster. If they carry just 22 skaters, they should easily start with a little over $1MM in flexibility, barring any injuries in training camp. They can shuttle Lian Bichsel down on off days with paper transactions (they’re still legal this season before the restrictions come for 2026-27) as well so I don’t think they’re in a spot where they have to move money right now.

As for the Kings, they’ve burned up most of their cap space this summer from GM Ken Holland’s spending frenzy in free agency where he brought in a bunch of extra depth. Per PuckPedia, they have less than $3MM in cap room while Robertson makes $7.75MM. They’d have to send out a good chunk of money to make a move. That makes adding him without taking away a core piece extremely difficult.

If we look at the scenarios above, I think we can rule out a futures-based return simply because Dallas probably can’t acquire a Robertson-level replacement elsewhere at this time of the offseason. But let’s see if there’s a fit in the other two scenarios.

First, the player-for-player type of swap. Kevin Fiala makes slightly more than Robertson this season but he has three more years left on his contract which would be appealing to Dallas. But there’s a notable drop-off in production between the two so Dallas would want more. The hope is that Quinton Byfield is on the way up development-wise but one-for-one, he’s not going to cut it for the Stars either. Up front, there isn’t anyone else worth even considering in a one-for-one swap; Adrian Kempe had more points than either of them but as a pending UFA, he could be commanding something not far off what Robertson could get next summer in restricted free agency. Unless Los Angeles adds something substantial to either Fiala or Byfield, it’s probably not a great fit.

The problem is that their Plan B scenario that I mentioned earlier is an even lesser fit. Players like Trevor Moore or Alex Laferriere are the players making around half of what Robertson is now and they barely hit 40 points last year. That’s too steep a drop-off. In terms of a prospect who’s near-ready, there’s not a lot that fit the bill. Brandt Clarke is a little past that but he might be the closest that would be palatable. And as for proven RD help (not just prospect RD help like Clarke), they just lost Cody Ceci so they’re probably not trading back for him and Drew Doughty isn’t going anywhere. Basically, if I were Nill, I’d ask for Clarke as the add-on in a Fiala or Byfield swap and keep it simple. And that’s a steep price for the Kings to pay. Robertson would certainly help Los Angeles but I think there are some other teams whose rosters might better align with what Dallas might be looking for if they do move him.

Spaced-Cowboy: I’m more curious about a different Robertson but my Leafs bias is showing.

Let’s give the other Robertson some attention now. Nicholas Robertson recently signed a one-year deal worth $1.825MM to avoid salary arbitration. But it doesn’t do a whole lot to avoid any of the speculation surrounding his future with Toronto. He still doesn’t really fit the roster, especially the direction that GM Brad Treliving appears to be taking it.

On the other hand, trading him would have been easier a year ago than it is now. Last season, he made $875K, barely above the league minimum and an amount that could be buried in the minors if things didn’t go well and he cleared waivers. But $1.825MM isn’t as easy to get off the books. Fewer teams have that type of flexibility to absorb the deal in full while if they’re making a swap of young players in need of a change of scenery, expectations will be higher since the other team is parting with someone of at least some value. Robertson only has 56 points in his NHL career thus far and while he has shown a quality shot, he doesn’t do enough to play in the top six and the rest of his game makes him an iffier fit in the bottom six. How many teams out there have a top-six spot for him where he could potentially thrive? Do any of them?

With that in mind, while the fit isn’t great and Robertson probably wouldn’t mind being moved, I don’t see anything changing for him in the future. For better or worse, he’s probably staying on Toronto’s roster and hoping to get some top-nine minutes. In that scenario, I expect this season will be a lot like the last two and we’ll be speculating about the potential of trade again before too long.

VonBrewski: Don Sweeney is selling a “Bridge Year”??? More like a flaming bag of dog crap….Will they be a top-10 pick? I think yes.

Is he really selling a bridge year? I think his public statements are more along the lines of intending to be a playoff team while a bridge year would be one where they actually took a step back and looked toward the future. Basically, something like they did at the deadline last season but over a full year this time around.

Frankly, I think a bridge year would have made more sense for them over what they did this summer. In a vacuum, most of the contracts they signed made sense beyond Tanner Jeannot but they put a lot of time, effort, and money into making their team tougher to play against when that wasn’t the reason that they missed the playoffs last season. They missed the playoffs last year because of their struggles to score offensively, coupled with a subpar showing from Jeremy Swayman. Viktor Arvidsson could help with the offence but adding more fourth-line depth in Sean Kuraly and Michael Eyssimont over more scoring help felt like patching a weakness that wasn’t really there.

I do think they will have a top-ten pick although it will be closer to tenth than first. Getting Hampus Lindholm back and having a full season from Charlie McAvoy will help and I expect Jeremy Swayman to bounce back. That will raise the floor of this group above the other bottom feeders. But it’s hard to see the Bruins scoring enough to win consistently. They’ll get some 3-2 victories along the way, sure, but teams near the bottom of the league in goals generally don’t make the playoffs and I suspect they’re going to be near the bottom of the league in that regard.

Gmm8811: Now that the Hockey Canada trial is over…how long do you think Bettman will make the players wait to be reinstated? I’d like to see them allowed back now. They’ve paid a fair penalty already for being found not guilty. Do any of their former teams still hold their rights?

There was actually a notable event earlier this week on that front with TSN’s Rick Westhead reporting that the not guilty verdict for the players wouldn’t be appealed. Theoretically, had there been an appeal, that could have been enough for the league to say they were still ineligible pending the outcome of that appeal. But that won’t happen now.

Having said that, I don’t think Gary Bettman has much appetite to reinstate those players anytime soon. The statement released by the league indicates that they have concerns over the conduct of those players. To quickly turn around and clear them to play after that statement would be surprising.

While these aren’t direct comparisons, I think back to how things were handled with Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman. Some time elapsed and then as a team wanted to at least seriously consider hiring them, the reinstatement process was handled very quietly behind the scenes. When he was still with Montreal, Logan Mailloux went through a similar process where he was ineligible to play and then when he was entering a season where it looked like he could be a recall candidate, he went through the approval process and all of that was done without an announcement. I’m sure their preference is to follow a similar process here, let some time pass by and then consider reinstatement if and when a team indicates to the league that they’d like to consider signing one of them. I’m not sure the NHLPA will let that much time go by but I don’t expect Bettman and the NHL to willingly reinstate the five players quickly.

As for the rights question, all five players were non-tendered by their now former organizations at the expiration of their contracts, making them unrestricted free agents. They’ll remain UFAs until they’re reinstated which I don’t expect will be anytime soon.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.

Likelihood Of Connor Bedard Signing Early Extension Dropping?

August 23, 2025 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 14 Comments

As of July 1st, Blackhawks center Connor Bedard became eligible to sign a contract extension like every other player entering the final year of their respective contracts. One of the questions heading into the start of the summer was if he’d be among the players to quickly sign an early extension. With September a little more than a week away, it’s safe to say the answer to that question was no.

It’s quite possible that the answer will continue to be no as well. In his latest appearance for Bleacher Report (video link), Frank Seravalli noted that both Bedard and the Blackhawks feel any urgency to get something done now and they appear to be quite content with letting next season play out and then working on a contract at that point.

The 20-year-old was the first overall pick two years ago, a consensus choice after he simply lit up the WHL where he had 134 goals and 137 assists in 134 games over parts of three major junior seasons with Regina. The hope was that he could come in and be the next great NHL superstar.

Bedard’s progression doesn’t have him at that level just yet. After putting up an impressive 22 goals and 39 assists in 67 games in his rookie season, his point-per-game rate actually dropped last year when he had 23 goals and 44 helpers in 82 appearances. Both point totals were enough to lead the Blackhawks in scoring but at the same time, it would be fair to suggest that he underachieved relative to expectations last season.

Having yet to reach the 70-point mark and given the comparable contracts for top young centers in recent years, a rough projection for a long-term deal for Bedard would be around the $8.5MM range based on his performance so far. It wouldn’t be shocking if GM Kyle Davidson was amenable to something around that price point but for Bedard, it probably wouldn’t make as much sense. On the flip side, a long-term price tag that Bedard’s camp might want could be too rich for the team to sign at this point.

With that in mind, it makes a lot of sense for both sides to wait this out. Given the expectations the team has for Bedard, even a down year this season isn’t going to take him out of their long-term plans so there isn’t much risk in waiting. And if things don’t go as planned which would make a long-term agreement a little murkier, the simple solution at that point would be a bridge deal, allowing both sides more time to evaluate the situation.

Since Davidson took over as GM, he has handed out long-term contracts to a pair of young core players. Defenseman Alex Vlasic inked a six-year deal last year while forward Frank Nazar inked a seven-year agreement earlier this week so there is definitely a willingness from the team to lock up their key players quickly. It’s expected that Bedard will eventually follow suit but now, that might not be coming until next offseason, not this one.

Snapshots: Kuznetsov, Kings, Josefson

August 23, 2025 at 2:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Veteran center Evgeny Kuznetsov remains unsigned for the upcoming season. After signing a four-year deal in the KHL last summer with SKA St. Petersburg, the agreement was terminated a few months ago with the veteran looking to return to the NHL. Speaking with SovSport’s Vladimir Okishev, Kuznetsov’s agent Shumi Babayev said that there is a 90% chance that his client will sign with an NHL team. The 33-year-old was once a true top-line middleman in the NHL but his last season in the league in 2023-24 saw him struggle with more of a limited role as he notched just 24 points in 63 games between Washington and Carolina. Still, in a free agent market that is largely bereft of centers at this point, he could be worth a low-cost flyer in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider provides an inside look at how the Kings operated during the draft. At one point, they looked into a trade-up scenario from their original slot of 24 before moving down which was their original plan leading into the night. However, with just two of their preferred selections on the board when they dealt down to 31, they looked at trading back up after moving down to ensure they’d get Henry Brzustewicz. However, they ultimately were able to get him as planned where they were. Dooley’s piece also discusses their activity on the second day, including the trade of defenseman Jordan Spence to Ottawa.
After having to retire following the 2020-21 season due to concussion trouble, former first-round pick Jacob Josefson is attempting a comeback at the age of 34, recently speaking with Expressen in Sweden (video link) about his efforts. Josefson spent parts of eight seasons in the NHL, seven of which came with New Jersey who picked him 20th overall back in 2009. He opted to return home to play in the SHL back in 2018 and spent three seasons with Djurgarden before having to hang up his skates. His attempt to make a comeback kicked off with that same team in a preseason game on Friday.

West Notes: Hintz, Toews, Kravtsov

August 23, 2025 at 1:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Stars center Roope Hintz has fully recovered from the broken foot he sustained late in the playoffs, relays NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. The injury ultimately didn’t need surgery and he will be ready to take part in training camp next month. Hintz came back for the final two games of the series before Dallas was eliminated by Edmonton but he was clearly not at his best given the injury. He finished fourth on the Stars in scoring last season after putting up 28 goals and 39 assists in 76 games while adding a dozen points in 17 postseason appearances. It was the first time in four years that he didn’t reach the 30-goal mark, something he might have been able to reach had he been fully healthy during the regular season.

Metropolitan Notes: Fehervary, Bratt, Penguins

August 23, 2025 at 10:38 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

After missing all of the playoffs following knee surgery, the hope was that Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary would be ready to start the season. However, he recently told Sportnet in Slovakia (video link) that he is still dealing with some inflammation and that the knee is still hurting him. As a result, he hasn’t been able to get onto the ice yet when he was supposed to resume skating about a month ago. It’s unclear if Fehervary – who signed a seven-year extension last month – will be ready for training camp or the start of the upcoming season since he is now well behind in his recovery.

Oilers Notes: Berezkin, Gregor, Nicholl

August 23, 2025 at 9:26 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Winger Maxim Berezkin is one of the more intriguing players in Edmonton’s prospect pool. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2020, going 138th overall but has become somewhat of a later bloomer after becoming a full-time KHL player three years ago. He’s coming off his best season at that level, one that saw him produce 15 goals and 27 assists in 66 regular season games while adding 14 points in 21 playoff contests with KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as they won the Gagarin Cup.

Berezkin signed a new one-year to remain in the KHL back in May but that shouldn’t be viewed as a sign that he doesn’t want to come to North America. In an interview with Daria Tuboltseva for Vseprosport, he indicated that he still intends to sign with Edmonton but that he felt it would be best for his development to spend this season back home over potentially spending this year in the minors with AHL Bakersfield. Now, whenever he ultimately signs, Berezkin will be capped at a one-year entry-level deal.

Summer Synopsis: Utah Mammoth

August 22, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Now more than a month into the new league year, 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 Utah.

Utah’s first season in their new city didn’t see them make the playoffs but they took a big step forward in the standings, getting within seven points of a playoff spot while several of their young players made steps in their development. Accordingly, GM Bill Armstrong continued to add to his group this summer with an eye on getting the Mammoth to the playoffs in 2025-26 and snapping their five-year drought.

Draft

1-4: F Caleb Desnoyers, Moncton (QMJHL)
2-46: D Max Psenicka, Portland (WHL)
3-78: F Stepan Hoch, Ceske Budejovice (Czechia Extraliga)
4-110: F Yegor Borikov, Dynamo (Russia)
5-142: G Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko, Ufa (Russia)
6-174: D Ludvig Johnson, Zug (Swiss National League)
6-182: D Reko Alanko, Jokerit (Finland)

Desnoyers worked his way up the draft rankings during the season as potential impact centers are hard to come by. He was one of the top all-around players in this draft class and that defensive awareness looked like it might give him a chance of sticking with the big club at the start of the season. However, recent wrist surgery that will keep him out for three months will put an end to that. Desnoyers hasn’t signed his entry-level deal yet which keeps him NCAA-eligible but he’s expected to return to QMJHL Moncton and play a big role once again for the Wildcats.

Psenicka continues Utah’s recent trend of trying to add some size to their system, particularly on the back end. He split last season between his native Czechia and WHL Portland, not bringing much to the table offensively. Instead, he profiles as a true stay-at-home physical blueliner, the type of player who might not play big minutes in the NHL but could fill an important checking role on a third pairing for a long time. Hoch was another big selection from Czechia, bringing Utah some size on the wing this time. He hovered around the point per game mark in their junior league last season while also getting into 23 games at the Extraliga level. He’s more of a longer-term project and with another year plus an option left on his contract overseas, he’ll have some time to develop before Utah needs to reassess in a couple of years.

Trade Acquisitions

F JJ Peterka (from Buffalo)

Peterka finished second in scoring for the Sabres last season, but a perceived lack of willingness to remain in Buffalo fueled plenty of trade speculation, which came to a head a little before the draft when the trade was made. His 68 points also would have been second in Utah scoring and at 23, there’s reason to hope that he still has another gear to get to offensively. After going and making a big splash to shore up the back end at the draft last offseason when they acquired Mikhail Sergachev, Armstrong basically did the same thing up front. The Mammoth now have Peterka in his prime years and he should be a strong boost offensively to a team that finished 20th in goals scored last season.

UFA Signings

F Michael Carcone (one year, $775K)^
F Cameron Hebig (two years, $1.55MM)*^
D Scott Perunovich (one year, $775K)*
D Nate Schmidt (three years, $10.5MM)
F Brandon Tanev (three years, $7.5MM)
G Vitek Vanecek (one year, $1.5MM)
F Kailer Yamamoto (one year, $775K)*^

* denotes two-way contract
^ denotes re-signing

Beyond Peterka, most of Utah’s offseason activity revolved around improving their depth. Tanev has had a solid run in recent years of being a physical bottom-six winger who can kill penalties and chip in a bit offensively and his addition should give the Mammoth some grit in their forward group which is something they could benefit from. Carcone wasn’t planning to return to Utah next season, even going as far as saying so after the year. However, no other offers to his liking materialized on the open market, resulting in the two sides reuniting. He’s likely to hold the same depth role he had last season although he’s only a year removed from that improbable 21-goal campaign.

On the back end, Schmidt comes over from Florida after his one-year pact with them following his buyout from Winnipeg went about as well as possible. He showed that he can still be a quality contributor on the third pairing and he should be in a spot to play a similar role in Utah. Perunovich was once a touted prospect with offensive upside but has struggled to stay healthy and hasn’t been as productive as expected when he has played. After splitting last season between the Blues and Islanders, he’ll be hoping to land a spot at the back of the roster but starting the season in the minors with the Roadrunners is a real possibility.

Vanecek is coming off a year that didn’t go so well for him. He struggled in limited action with the Sharks before Florida brought him in at the trade deadline after moving Spencer Knight to Chicago as part of the Seth Jones trade. Vanecek was only a little better with the Panthers but he was able to secure this contract as some insurance with, at the time, some uncertainty about Connor Ingram who was in the Player Assistance Program before being cleared earlier this week. He’ll battle Ingram for the backup spot behind Karel Vejmelka.

RFA Re-Signings

F Jack McBain (five years, $21.25MM)
D Montana Onyebuchi (two years, $1.55MM)*
F JJ Peterka (five years, $38.5MM)

Peterka was signed as soon as he was acquired but interestingly enough, he signed a deal that bought Utah just one more season of club control than what they would have had if they went year-to-year with him. Evidently, the price tag for tacking on more UFA years was higher than what Armstrong wanted to pay. It does, however, set Peterka up to reach unrestricted free agency at 28 where he’ll be in good shape for a max-term deal at that time if he wants one.

McBain has been rather consistent in production over his first three full NHL seasons, ranging from a low of 26 points to a high of 27, that coming last season. One of the most physical players in the league, he also made some strides at the faceoff dot last season and could be their checking center for the foreseeable future. This price tag is a little high now given his production but as the salary cap continues to go up quickly, it should hold up fine.

Departures

F Travis Barron (unsigned)
F Nick Bjugstad (signed with Blues)
D Robert Bortuzzo (unsigned)
F Josh Doan (trade with Sabres)
D Michael Kesselring (trade with Sabres)
F Justin Kipkie (unsigned)
F Matias Maccelli (trade with Maple Leafs)
F Egor Sokolov (signed with CSKA Moscow, KHL)

Kesselring was the headliner in the package going to Buffalo for Peterka. The 25-year-old took a step forward in his development last season while chipping in with 29 points. Knowing that right-shot defensemen are always in high demand, Utah was able to sell high on him and could do so knowing that Sean Durzi and John Marino are still around. Doan was the other part of that trade and has shown some upside over his first two professional seasons but hasn’t been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL player just yet. With the strength of their prospect pool, he was someone who was relatively safe to move, especially getting a player like Peterka in return.

With Peterka coming in, Maccelli’s lineup spot was even more tenuous than it was last year when he slid down the depth chart and even spent a bit of time as a healthy scratch. Considering that he had seasons of 57 and 49 points the previous two campaigns, they certainly sold low on him, only managing a third-round pick that could elevate to a second rounder depending on his production. Bjugstad had a great first full year with then-Arizona in 2023-24, coming close to his personal best in points. However, injuries and ineffectiveness limited him to just 19 points in 66 games a year ago and with the club having surplus center depth already, they didn’t need to go outside the organization to replace him either. Bortuzzo, meanwhile, was limited to just 17 games last season largely due to injury and his ice time was minimal when he was in the lineup. At 36, he might have to settle for a PTO heading into training camps next month.

Salary Cap Outlook

Utah was able to quietly offload Shea Weber’s contract at the trade deadline and in doing so, that allowed them to stay below the cap even with the additions of Peterka, Schmidt, and Tanev. As things stand, they’re set to enter the season with a little under $6.7MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That gives them more than enough flexibility to add another piece now should one become available or bank enough in-season flexibility to be able to make a big splash or two at the trade deadline if they find themselves in the playoff hunt.

Key Questions

Will Cooley Sign Now? Young center Logan Cooley is entering the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract which makes him eligible to sign an extension. We’ve seen several young players quickly sign long-term deals but he hasn’t done so just yet. Cooley is coming off a strong sophomore season that saw him record 25 goals and 40 assists, finishing second to Clayton Keller in team scoring. We’ve seen the market for post-entry-level top young centers hover around the $8MM mark in recent seasons which would seemingly serve as a realistic starting point in negotiations. However, another jump offensively for Cooley could elevate him to an even higher asking price, especially in the context of the $8.5MM cap increase next summer. Accordingly, some have wondered if he might be better off waiting but given Armstrong’s penchant for trying to sign players quickly, expect them to take a real run at getting something done in the coming weeks if they haven’t already done so.

Can Crouse Rebound? Winger Lawson Crouse signed a deal very similar to McBain’s three years ago with the expectation being that he had gotten to another level offensively. That held true for the first two seasons of the contract but things fell off a cliff last year. After putting up 23 goals in 2023-24, Crouse had just 19 points last season despite playing in 81 games. At his best, he’s a legitimate top-six power forward but that was rarely the case last season. He’s not in a position of being at risk of slipping out of the lineup altogether like Maccelli briefly was last season but if he can’t get back to form in the first half of the season, expect his name to come up in trade speculation leading into the trade deadline.

Will The Young Russians Make An Impact? In recent years, there haven’t been as many Russian players going early in the draft. However, in 2023, the Coyotes (before their move to Utah) bucked the trend, selecting defenseman Dmitri Simashev and winger Daniil But with lottery selections, going sixth and twelfth, respectively. Both players spent the last two seasons as teammates with KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and have now signed their entry-level contracts to start their time in North America. Both prospects are raw but could plausibly play themselves into NHL action at some point this season, particularly Simashev. Getting quality NHL contributions at some point from them would certainly give them a boost and show that more pieces of their long-term plan are in place.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley also contributed to this post.

Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro and Rob Gray-Imagn Images.

Brad Hunt Receiving SHL Interest

August 22, 2025 at 7:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

For close to 15 years, veteran defenseman Brad Hunt has provided an offensive boost wherever he has played. At times, he has been a high-producing offensive blueliner in the minors while at other times, he was a power play specialist (or even briefly a winger) in the NHL. But it appears that he might be heading for a change of scenery as Mattias Persson of Sweden’s HockeyNews reports (subscription link) that Hunt is receiving interest from some SHL teams this summer.

The timing is a little curious given that a lot of teams in Sweden have already filled their import quotas but some are still trying to round out their roster with the season getting started in mid-September.

Hunt spent last season with AHL Hershey where he was limited to just 41 games where he had 19 points. In 2023-24, the 36-year-old was one of the top-scoring blueliners in that league, tallying 16 goals and 33 assists in 70 games with Colorado. He can certainly still be a productive player in the minors but as a veteran player and a limit on roster spots for veterans in the AHL, that likely isn’t helping his cause in a search for a contract in North America.

Hunt has played in 288 career NHL games over parts of ten seasons, tallying 26 goals and 60 assists along the way. His last taste of action at the top level came back in 2022-23 with the Avalanche when he got into 47 games with them. But in the minors, Hunt has been a key scoring threat, notching 84 goals and 214 assists in 422 contests spanning nine seasons.

While it’s possible that Hunt could try to catch on via a PTO deal for training camp and then try to land a full contract from there, it appears that he has at least one other viable option on the table with some interest in Sweden. With their season fast approaching, he’ll need to decide if that’s the route he wants to take sooner than later.

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